Anton Strout - Dead Waters

“We can name it later,” I said. “Focus on the ceremony.”

He thought for a moment before answering, but there was uncertainty in his voice. “I would think this type of large-scale ceremonial magic is best performed at liminal times and places, but I’m not sure.”

“Liminal?”

“It means being at a crossroads,” he said. “On the cusp of great change.”

“Like a threshold?” I asked. He nodded. “You said those two monsters guarded the Strait of Messina. That’s a threshold of sorts. And isn’t a bridge like the Hell Gate another one? I think you may be right about liminality. By their very nature, those two creatures are bound to liminal places.”

“You’re right,” he said, counting off on his fingers. “For instance, the shores of bodies of water . . .”

“We have that,” I said. “Check.”

“Not just places,” Godfrey said. “Time is important, too.”

“Like when?”

“There’s a whole list,” he said. “Solstices, equinoxes, full moons, midnight . . .”

I pulled out my phone to check the time, date, and weather. “We’re near the September autumnal point of the equinox.” I checked the phase of the moon on my weather app and relaxed when I saw it. “Oh, thank God. We’re only at a new moon, not a full one.”

Godfrey didn’t relax. “I was getting to that on my list,” he said.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that,” I said. “Dammit. I think the crossing over of all these various thresholds may be enough.”

“Tonight may be the night she attempts the ceremony, then,” Godfrey said.

I checked the time on my phone again. “The good news is midnight is almost six hours from now. There’s still time, but we have to act now. Any idea how one goes about killing sea monsters, God?”

“Nothing on record that I know of,” he said, “but the two of them may be at their most vulnerable right before the ceremony. If that doesn’t hold true. . .Well, when in doubt, go for the heart seems to be the advice that works best.”

“I’m not all that keen on getting that close,” I said. “And as a matter of perspective, I’d need a pretty goddamn big stake to pull something like that off.”

“Sorry,” he said. “Clearly this is why I don’t teach any of the paranormal combat classes.”

I nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’ve got to hurry, but thanks for the information, Godfrey. I feel good now.”

“You feel good,” he repeated with a wary tone. “Why?”

“Because there’s a power in knowing what something is,” I said. “A power that’s going to help me kill it before it gets a chance to rise and take on New York, and most important, a power to save Jane. Do me a favor. Go up to Allorah Daniels’s office and let the Inspectre know about this.”

I ran off for the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Godfrey called out after me. “What are you going to do?”

I didn’t bother to turn back. I was already bounding up the steps, a hint of hope finally in my heart after days of frustration. “Looks like I need to prep the boat with something sea monstery,” I said. With all this talk of mythological connections, I only wished I had some Argonauts on my side to go with it.

Affixing a pointed ram to the front of the Fraternal Order’s boat was a daunting task. It wasn’t like there were IKEA instructions on how to mount one, but after a fair amount of Googling, I felt relatively secure with my handiwork when I finished a few hours later. By the time I got back from the docks, I was surprised to see that along with the students, the Inspectre, Connor, and Jane were all still in Allorah’s office, each of them off working in separate corners on small piles of files and folders. Allorah Daniels was at her desk and looked up when I walked in.

“Please tell me you are here to take them away,” Allorah said.

I nodded. “Not the kids. Just Connor and Inspectre. What’s going on? Why are the kids still with you?”

The Inspectre looked up. “Holding is a bit backlogged so we kept everyone here away from Wesker and the like. In the meantime, I thought we all could get a little work done.”

“Way to multitask,” I said.

“It is the foreseeable wave of the future,” Connor said, standing up and walking over to me. “The cuts and all.”

“Did Godfrey come up and tell you about our sea monster problem?” I asked.

The Inspectre nodded.

“Does that mean I get to be a sea monster, too?” Jane asked, looking a bit panicked.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “I hope not, but I’ve just spent the past few hours rigging our boat to contend with them, so we need to act fast.”

“So what happens to us?” Heavy Mike asked from over in his chair. The hand Elyse had stabbed him through was now bandaged, and he cradled it in his lap.

“That’s the good part,” Connor said. He walked over and tapped Mike on the forehead. The student flinched back, squinting his eyes shut.

“Ow,” he said. “What’s that for?”

“Notice how my hand didn’t pass through you?” he said.

“Yeah,” he said. “So?”

“Well, for one thing, it means you’re not a ghost,” he said, “which in turn means you’re not really one of my cases.”

“That’s a relief,” Mike said.

“Don’t be too sure about that,” Connor said. “Whether all of you knowingly engaged in dark paranormal activity in the Tri-State area remains to be seen. That will be up to the Enchancellors to decide.”

“Dude,” Trent said. “I helped you people out.”

Connor threw up his hands. “I’m not judge, jury, and executioner,” he said, in the worst faux-Stallone accent I had ever heard. “That’s for them to figure out.”

“We’re to be executed?” Elyse said, nervous. She leapt out of her seat and made a break for the door out of Allorah’s office before I could grab her. Jane, however, moved with lightning speed and grabbed Elyse by the hair. The actress’s body flew out in front of her as her head snapped back and she fell to the floor with Jane still holding on to her. Elyse lay there, writhing around. Jane let go of her hair and gave her a vicious kick to the stomach.

“Jane!” the Inspectre called out, but she wasn’t paying attention to him. Her eyes were fixed on Elyse, burning into her.

“It’s because of you and that professor of yours that I’m in this mess,” Jane said. “People hungry for power, going for the quick fix. When are you going to learn that there are no simple solutions? Power corrupts. Magical powers, doubly so.”

I’d never seen Jane like this before—so angry, violent. I went to her and pulled her away from Elyse.

“Easy,” I said. “Calm down.”

“I’ll calm down when I’ve got this mark off of me,” she snapped. “Not a second sooner.”

Allorah Daniels looked over at the Inspectre. “Go. I’ll try to take them to down to Holding again,” she said. “Then I’ll gather the Enchancellors to discuss what needs doing about this in the grand scheme of things. I can’t not report this threat of sea monsters to the board, but listen, Argyle. I know this thing with Professor Redfield is personal for you. If you want to handle this with any discretion before I drag them all into this, I suggest you and your people leave now.”

The Inspectre nodded. Allorah turned from him and headed out the door, leading the four bound students. Once she was gone, the Inspectre turned to me. “Is the boat ready?” he asked.

“I think so,” I said. “I’ve never built a giant spear or ram before, but it’s functional. It will hold.”

“Good,” he said.

Jane looked nervous. “So, now what?” she asked.