a feat without even the so-called Gospel of Shadows to guide him. It makes one wonder, does it not? For if Mulkerrin has gathered such power to
him, what might Octavian have accomplished beyond the veil? What powers has Hell given to him?”
Silence.
5
Salzburg, Austria, European Union.
Tuesday, June 6, 2000, 3:24 P.M. :
Allison Vigeant was being pulled, dragged really, across Makartsteg, a narrow bridge spanning the Salzach River. John Courage was trying not to be rough, but he would hear no
argument. Not that he could have heard her over the screaming. Allison imagined that they must look like a swarm of insects from above, so many people clogged the bridge and the streets around it.
Several times she had almost been separated from John, but he roughly shoved people out of the way if he had to.
Allison took an elbow in the chest then, and bent over to catch her breath while the rush of people flowed around and past her, as if she were a rock in the rapids. Then Courage was pulling
insistently on her arm, and she was moving again, one hand clutched to her breasts. They reached the north side of the river, and headed east along its bank, but then she stopped again, even as the
tide of panicked humanity started to thin out.
“Damn it, John,” she said, her anger turning into a panic for her lover, “we can’t just leave him back there!”
He wanted to ignore her, but could not.
“Look!” he said, sweeping his arm wide, forcing her to take in the hell that had sprung up around them. Back across the bridge, demons of all sizes roamed free, though she
didn’t see Mulkerrin’s possessed soldiers anywhere. A splash made her look downriver, and Allison saw something impossibly huge, incredibly black, sliding up toward them. For the first
time she noticed that the bridge they had crossed was the only one standing, that the other three in this part of town had been torn apart by the earthquake and that this thing was thrashing at
their pilings, bringing even their remains down into the water. The bridge was still packed with people, and whatever was in the water would soon bring them all tumbling down.
“We’ve got to help them,” Allison said quietly, but she knew the reality of their situation. The police and army were already coming in, starting to evacuate people. A small
force of soldiers ran by them even now and stood at the river’s edge, shooting at the black thing which splashed water up at them. No, Allison knew that she and Courage, and Will, of course,
would have to find other ways to help. Mulkerrin had to be destroyed if any of these people were to survive.
Courage had a grip on her arm which never faltered, and he’d been pulling, hurrying her along. But now it was Allison who picked up the pace. They had not run into a single demon on the
north side yet, among the frantic crowds, but she knew that was nothing more than luck.
“Where are we going?” she finally thought to ask.
“It’s close,” he said, “and I think we’ll be safe there for a while.”
Allison kept her mouth shut after that, concentrating on getting wherever this safe place was. They were rushing toward the plaza where Elisabethkai, the street they were on, met Linzer Gasse
and several other narrow roads. The city which had seemed so vibrant to her before, smelling of chocolate and filled with the music of Mozart, was now a maze of danger. Blue skies which had
reflected off cobblestones and golden domes had become black clouds hovering above shattered homes, churches and fountains. The stench of sulphur filled Allison’s nostrils.
They heard screams ahead, and a woman ran into the plaza, floral dress torn down the back, blood smeared and running down her calves. Dozens of other maddened civilians scattered as she shrieked
like a lunatic, stumbling into their midst She tripped, nearly tumbling over crumbled masonry, and then stopped short at a huge fissure that separated her from the river side of the
him, what might Octavian have accomplished beyond the veil? What powers has Hell given to him?”
Silence.
5
Salzburg, Austria, European Union.
Tuesday, June 6, 2000, 3:24 P.M. :
Allison Vigeant was being pulled, dragged really, across Makartsteg, a narrow bridge spanning the Salzach River. John Courage was trying not to be rough, but he would hear no
argument. Not that he could have heard her over the screaming. Allison imagined that they must look like a swarm of insects from above, so many people clogged the bridge and the streets around it.
Several times she had almost been separated from John, but he roughly shoved people out of the way if he had to.
Allison took an elbow in the chest then, and bent over to catch her breath while the rush of people flowed around and past her, as if she were a rock in the rapids. Then Courage was pulling
insistently on her arm, and she was moving again, one hand clutched to her breasts. They reached the north side of the river, and headed east along its bank, but then she stopped again, even as the
tide of panicked humanity started to thin out.
“Damn it, John,” she said, her anger turning into a panic for her lover, “we can’t just leave him back there!”
He wanted to ignore her, but could not.
“Look!” he said, sweeping his arm wide, forcing her to take in the hell that had sprung up around them. Back across the bridge, demons of all sizes roamed free, though she
didn’t see Mulkerrin’s possessed soldiers anywhere. A splash made her look downriver, and Allison saw something impossibly huge, incredibly black, sliding up toward them. For the first
time she noticed that the bridge they had crossed was the only one standing, that the other three in this part of town had been torn apart by the earthquake and that this thing was thrashing at
their pilings, bringing even their remains down into the water. The bridge was still packed with people, and whatever was in the water would soon bring them all tumbling down.
“We’ve got to help them,” Allison said quietly, but she knew the reality of their situation. The police and army were already coming in, starting to evacuate people. A small
force of soldiers ran by them even now and stood at the river’s edge, shooting at the black thing which splashed water up at them. No, Allison knew that she and Courage, and Will, of course,
would have to find other ways to help. Mulkerrin had to be destroyed if any of these people were to survive.
Courage had a grip on her arm which never faltered, and he’d been pulling, hurrying her along. But now it was Allison who picked up the pace. They had not run into a single demon on the
north side yet, among the frantic crowds, but she knew that was nothing more than luck.
“Where are we going?” she finally thought to ask.
“It’s close,” he said, “and I think we’ll be safe there for a while.”
Allison kept her mouth shut after that, concentrating on getting wherever this safe place was. They were rushing toward the plaza where Elisabethkai, the street they were on, met Linzer Gasse
and several other narrow roads. The city which had seemed so vibrant to her before, smelling of chocolate and filled with the music of Mozart, was now a maze of danger. Blue skies which had
reflected off cobblestones and golden domes had become black clouds hovering above shattered homes, churches and fountains. The stench of sulphur filled Allison’s nostrils.
They heard screams ahead, and a woman ran into the plaza, floral dress torn down the back, blood smeared and running down her calves. Dozens of other maddened civilians scattered as she shrieked
like a lunatic, stumbling into their midst She tripped, nearly tumbling over crumbled masonry, and then stopped short at a huge fissure that separated her from the river side of the
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