Sarwat Chadda - Dark Goddess

Billi flicked open her mobile to check the time, but instead stopped to look at the display screen. The photo of her and Kay shone brightly. Billi had transferred it from Kay’s old mobile to hers. She knew she shouldn’t have, but looking at him felt different now. Only a week ago his smile would have cut her; now she just felt its warmth-its support.

Vasilisa looked up. “This is all my fault, isn’t it?”

“No. This is their fault. The Polenitsy.” Billi wiped her damp hair away from her forehead. “Don’t worry. I won’t let them touch you.”

“You promise?”

“Promise.”

Arthur pushed his way through the crowd. His eyes darted left and right, never dropping his guard. “Once Vasilisa’s on her way, we’ll set up at the Canterbury preceptory.”

Someone started shouting. Arthur jumped.

“You two stick together,” he ordered, and barged back down the car.

Vasilisa tightened her small cold fingers around Billi’s and looked up at her. “They’re here,” she said, her voice soft and infinitely sad. Tears welled in her eyes.

Then the lights died.

CRIES RAND OUT. THE CAR WAS LIT BY SMALL SPOTS of pearly white as people used their mobiles to see, but all that was revealed were other stark faces rigid with fear. Billi tightened her hold on Vasilisa as the masses moved and people buffeted against each other. The air thickened with terror.

“I can’t breathe!”

“Get out!”

“It’s a bomb!”

“It’s terrorists!”

“Open the doors!”

A scuffle broke out as people tried to barge their way through the interconnecting doors while those in the next carriage tried to do the same. The screams multiplied, and someone clawed at Billi’s leg as they were knocked down.

The first howl silenced the entire train.

The second howl unleashed total chaos. The heaving mass of panicked passengers degenerated into pandemonium. They didn’t know which way to run-the snarls and predatory growling seemed to be coming from all around. Billi heard the telltale slash of claws and the ripping of flesh, and someone’s scream rose to an ear-splitting screech. Savage barks signaled the attack, then it was all tearing and biting. A black shape with a dripping snout loomedup, framed by the haze of cell phone lights. It peered down the carriage and saw them. It shook its ragged head, tossing bloody spittle across the ceiling.

“ Deus vult!” Arthur slammed into the beast. He smacked his forearm across its jaw and rammed his dagger into its throat. People around him screamed, and suddenly he vanished into the panicking crowd.

“We’re leaving,” said Billi.

She jumped up and grabbed hold of the straps dangling over her head. Both of her feet came up high, then shot out, cracking a window. The glass exploded as she kicked it again. She grabbed Vasilisa around her waist.

“You first. Carefully.”

Vasilisa hesitated, then embraced her. “You did your best,” she said.

“It’s not bloody over yet!” exclaimed Billi. She wasn’t going to quit. They were getting out. There was no room to fight properly in here. Although the wall of terrified bodies stopped the werewolves from reaching Billi, she only had a few more seconds. She pushed Vasilisa out of the broken window, careful she didn’t catch any of the jagged shards stuck in the frame. Billi felt Vasilisa step away, then she put her arms through the gap and followed.

Billi landed on a narrow ledge that ran alongside the train. She reached out, and Vasilisa grabbed her hand immediately.

Don’t panic . How many times had that been drummed into her? If she just stuck to the tunnel, along the rails, she’d come out at the next platform. Simple. She clicked on her flashlight and shuffled along the ledge with Vasilisa behind her. They cleared the front of the train, and she hopped down onto the tracks.

“Don’t touch the rails.”

They followed the curve of the tunnel, slow and steady. They left the train behind, and soon the bestial cries and screams were lost, and the only sound was Billi’s heart thumping in her chest. Her hand found a door handle and tested it: unlocked. She pulled Vasilisa in.

A storeroom. Billi inspected a map of the tube system pinned to the wall; they were halfway to the Knightsbridge station. Two service tunnels branched off nearby, and maybe if she took those, she could lose any pursuers. But that was a long detour. Speed or safety? Billi peeled the map off the wall and gave it to Vasilisa while she checked the rest of the small room. Screws, tape, and various other engineering tools cluttered the shelves. Billi pulled out her sword and felt better. She smiled at Vasilisa.

Vasilisa put her finger to her lips.

The door was thick, but Billi still heard the scuttling of claws against the concrete. There was a short grunt as something landed on the ledge outside and sniffed. Billi pushed Vasilisa into a corner and gave her the flashlight. The handle clicked and the door opened slightly.

Billi shoulder-charged the door, and there was a yelp as it smashed into the intruder’s face. She leaped back into the tunnel, landing squarely on the chest of the fallen werewolf. She slashed twice, each time feeling the blade bite deep. The monster coughed and gurgled, and Billi rolled off as two more approached her.

“Behind me!” she shouted to Vasilisa. Billi defended the doorway, stopping the werewolves from reaching Vasilisa. The air hissed, and Billi ducked as one of the pair swiped its claws in the space where her throat had just been. She stamped on its long toes and kicked out at its legs, but it rolled and was back on all fours, snarling and snapping. Billi slashed and parried furiously with her wakizashi , not letting anything pass. Then she glimpsed flashlights bouncing along in the darkness. Help was coming. Police, rescue services, transport staff-she didn’t care. They may not be able to fight, but they’d give her a chance to escape.

“Here! Here!” Billi screamed. She just needed to hang on a few more seconds. The third werewolf, the one with the bleeding head, got to its feet. Billi swung at it again, but it blocked her blow. Just for a moment she was caught motionless. Then the werewolf swung both its arms into her, catapulting Billi off her feet. She tumbled through the air and crashed down on the ground, banging her head on a ledge. Bright sparks erupted in front of her eyes.

“Billi!”

Billi tried to get up, but was totally lost in the darkness. The floor pitched and tilted, and she groped for something to hold on to. She caught sight of a brown-pelted werewolf emerging from the storeroom, Vasilisa trapped in its arms. The light caught its black oily lips and deadly fangs before Vasilisa dropped the flashlight, leaving only her terrified screams.

“Vasilisa,” Billi croaked, all the air driven from her lungs. She punched out drunkenly, but there was nothing there. She smelled the raw damp odor of sweaty fur and spun toward it, hands outstretched. But the werewolf swatted her away, and Billi tripped and crashed against the concrete. Then even the distant lights faded, and the screams of the small girl fell silent until all Billi had was…nothing.

T HE SKY IS BURNING, BUT IT’S SNOWING. PEOPLE LIE around Billi, charcoal statues slowly accumulating a blanket of snow. The trees are blackened sticks of ash; one has branches that still smolder.

It’s the end of the world and she knows it.

The billboards have burned to nothing, and the houses themselves are ruined, black, with their roofs collapsed and all the windows shattered. The cars sit idle, their drivers husks of carbonized flesh and bone.