Sarwat Chadda - Ash Mistry and the City of Death

“We’re not going out or anything,” said Gemma. “But, y’know how it is…”

“No, not really.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Gemma. She seemed genuinely concerned. Why couldn’t he have more friends like her? Instead he was hanging out with immortal assassins and demons. Maybe he needed to re-evaluate his New Year’s resolutions.

Less demons.

More Gemma.

He blushed. “Er, I’ve been thinking I’ve got the wrong sort of friends.”

“Tell me about it.” Gemma smiled, but her teeth chattered.

Ash whipped off his coat, adjusting his T-shirt to hide the punch dagger sheathed across his back. “Put this on.”

“No. You’re only wearing a T-shirt. You need it more than me.”

“Trust me. I don’t feel the cold much.”

She laughed, but accepted the coat.

“What’s so funny?”

“You, Ash. I remember seeing you slogging around the sports fields on cross-country runs, looking as miserable as a human being could. Muddy up to your knees, soaking wet, in last place.”

“Always last. Yes, I remember those runs.” Him last – Jack, as ever, first.

“But you kept on going. That was either incredibly stubborn or incredibly stupid.”

“Probably equal amounts of both.”

“But you stuck at it. I always thought that was great. Things never came that easy to you.”

“Still don’t.”

Gemma’s eyes narrowed. “That still true? You’ve changed a lot, Ash.”

The way she said it made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Gemma spoke quietly, and her tone was edged with… what? Interest.

She put her hands in his. “You’re right, you don’t feel cold.”

Gemma tightened her fingers round his. He looked into her eyes, and she didn’t look away.

“Oh, Ash, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Parvati was standing right next to him.

Ash couldn’t believe it. “What are you doing here?”

Gemma dropped Ash’s hand. “Who’s this?”

Parvati ignored her. “We’ve got trouble.”

Khan joined them. He looked Gemma up and down. “Namaste.”

Parvati pulled Ash aside, but Gemma followed. Parvati spun round. “Will you go away?”

Gemma glared, but Ash spoke up. “It’s OK, Gemma. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Parvati arched her eyebrow. It was sharp and elegant and designed to be arched. “This is Gemma? The female you want to mate with?”

“What?” said Ash.

“What?” said Gemma.

Parvati continued. “You’re not familiar with the term? Procreate? Make babies with?”

Why did the gods have it in for him? Ash turned to Gemma. “I won’t be long.”

“Fine. Take as long as you want,” snapped Gemma before storming off.

“So that was Gemma?” asked Khan, grinning like a tiger having just spotted a limp deer. “Tasty.”

“Leave her alone,” said Ash. “I mean it.”

Khan gave a melodramatic tremble. “I’m so scared.”

How could tonight get any worse?

A high-pitched cackle rose out of the fog. It was brittle and cruel, and it descended into a hysterical laugh, echoing across the park. Children began to cry, and grown-ups stared around, bewildered and not a little frightened themselves.

That’s how.

“Jackie,” said Parvati. “I’m such a fool. She’s tracked you.”

Jackie’s mad, demonic cry had haunted Ash’s nights many months after returning from India. Now, hearing it again, he remembered the depth of fear he’d felt the first time he’d heard it.

“How?” Ash asked.

“Scent. She must have picked it up at Monty’s.” Then she looked at Ash again, frowning. “Where’s your coat?”

Oh my God. My coat.

Jackie was following Ash’s scent.

Which was all over his favourite Sherlock Holmes coat.

Which Gemma was wearing.

“ ’ve got to find Gemma,” said Ash.

People screamed as savage snarls and howls erupted all around them. A black shadow raced through the fog, hideously large with a massive head and shoulders, charging in and out of the mist on four legs.

Ash looked at Parvati, and the old understanding was there. She nodded and disappeared into the fog. He looked around. Where was Gemma? Then he saw someone who might know.

“Jack!” He ran up to the boy, who was balancing a tray of burgers and Cokes. “Where’s Gemma?”

“You’ve got some nerve,” he snarled. “Gemma’s mine and she’s not interested in a freak like you.” He dropped the tray and put up his fists. “Time I taught you a lesson.”

“I so don’t have time for this,” said Ash.

The howl broke in. A giant dark shape raced towards them, its heavy paws slamming on the hard earth. Jack screamed and Ash pushed him behind him.

Kali’s dark storm exploded within his soul, flooding him with supernatural energy. Ash roared and leaped.

He slammed into the beast. For a second he saw burning yellow eyes and long, crooked canines, a slavering tongue. The jaws widened.

Ash instinctively thrust his hand down the creature’s throat. His fingers, locked into a spear-point, tore through the soft tissue, sliced open the lungs, and then tightened round the pulsing heart. He ripped it out before the jaws could close round his arm.

The monster was dead before it hit the ground. It crashed, rolled and came to a halt at the feet of the terrified Jack.

It was a huge hyena, more the size of a lion, with massive hunched shoulders and a misshapen head, snout fatter and shorter than a natural animal. Its pelt was bristling black and spotted and the claws long and curled. Blood spewed from its twitching jaws, washing the frozen earth.

Ash turned the pulsing sac of the monster’s heart in his hand. It gave a feeble splutter as it discharged the last of its blood, then it stilled. He tossed it away.

“You were about to say something, Jack?”

Jack’s legs shook as tears smeared his face. There was a wet stain running down his Levi’s. “No… no… nothing.”

“Good.”

How many demons had Jackie brought with her? Ash remembered three others in the car, but here, lost in the fog, the sounds and cries and screams were all jumbled up and coming from everywhere. A rocket whizzed horizontally across the park, trailing bright multicoloured sparks and smoke. It vanished into the swirling grey fog and exploded somewhere among the trees.

Ash ran along the wreckage of the display frames. The large scaffolds holding hundreds of fireworks had been toppled over. The timers tripped, and dozens of Catherine wheels spun like fiery Frisbees across the ground. Missiles shot off in random directions or just exploded on their frames, setting the surrounding grass and nearby trees alight with rainbow-coloured flames.

A small kid wandered alone, separated from his parents. He still held his sparkler, waving it dumbly while tears rolled down his fat cheeks. Then the fog rolled over him and he was gone. How could it have gone so wrong so quickly?

Where was Gemma?

Ash stared at the horrified faces of the people screaming and running in blind panic. Vaporous smog lay over the chaos. Then a bellowing roar shook the fog, making it tremble and ripple outward.

Ash ran towards the source of the ripples.

A tiger was fighting a huge dire hyena. A grotesque hunchbacked jackal stalked the outer ring of the battle, and behind them the towering bonfire tottered. The wooden struts cracked and the structure swayed from side to side.