Evil - Chapter 38
Dr. Jortensur worked at a high-tech laboratory outside of the city. Its exterior was sleek and white, shiny enough that the sun glistened off the polished surface.
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
It's not easy being the Antichrist.
Anjelica’s mother never told her that she was a demon. Now, all she wants is her old life back, but that’s not possible for her. Not after what she’s seen.
Anjelica used to be a popular cheerleader with an awesome life, but that was before an evil cult of demons tried to use her blood to open a portal to Hell and start the Apocalypse.
She was rescued from that fate, barely, and because of the imminent threat to her life, her saviors ripped her from Los Angeles and brought her to a safe house in the middle of nowhere.
They said it was for her own good, but she would rather be dead than stuck in boring, old Bronard, Missouri. She was from the big city, so a sleepy, rural life wasn’t for her.
She longed for excitement.
So, when she met a young witch with a mysterious past who promised to show her everything she knew about opening portals and traveling between distant lands, they bonded immediately
I mean, what’s the worst that could happen, right?
It’s not like they would open an intergalactic gateway to another planet and get thrown into a brand, new world with no way to get back to Earth, right?
Join Anjelica in her own solo adventure and find out what happened to her immediately after the events in Magic.
The lobby was a massive place, sparsely decorated save for a few white couches and a futuristic-looking reception desk in front of glass panes that reflected the light streaming in from outside.
The receptionist was dressed in white from her turtleneck down to her boots. Honestly, she looked like a James Bond henchman, complete with a white headband pulling back her brown hair. When she smiled, her teeth gleamed in the light, just like the rest of the lobby. I hated her because no matter how hard I looked, she didn’t seem to have a single flaw.
“Good afternoon, welcome to Fleranox.” She fluttered her big blue eyes as she spoke. For all her perfection, there was nothing behind her eyes—no hope, no joy, no love, but also no hatred or pain. Just vacant blankness. “How may we help you?”
“Yes,” Kimberly started, looking as out of place as I had ever seen her. “We’re looking for Doctor Jortensur.”
“Is she expecting you?” the receptionist asked, her voice chipper yet monotone.
“Not exactly. We have a package to deliver for her.”
The receptionist held out her hands. “I can take it.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. We have strict orders to deliver it to the doctor personally.”
The receptionist’s face twitched slightly before she smiled again. “I can assure you that leaving it with me is like leaving it with her.”
Kimberly’s eyes narrowed. “We have orders.”
The receptionist cocked her head, first left and then right. “And where is your package?”
“Excuse me?” I said.
She pointed to our hands. “You have four hands between the two of you, and none of them have a package in it.”
Kimberly patted her jacket. “That’s because I have it in my pocket. It’s fairly small but quite important.”
The woman blinked, trying to process our lies. Then, she smiled again. “Very well. I will phone the doctor and ask if she is available. However, I will warn you that I haven’t seen her today.”
“Thank you for trying.”
“Yes,” the receptionist said into the phone after a moment. “Is the doctor available for a package delivery—yes, I know—they insist—I see. I will let you know.” She placed the phone down. “I’m sorry, but the doctor is not in today. Now, if you will please—”
“When was the last time she checked in?” Kimberly asked.
“I can’t give you that information.”
“Fine. When was the last time you saw her, personally, with your own eyes?”
The receptionist scrunched up her face. “I believe she left for lunch three days ago, and I have not seen her since. It’s not uncommon for me not to see her for several days. She tends to stay in her office while working on a project.”
Her face returned to the neutral expression she’d had for most of our conversation, and she held out her hand. “Now, the package.”
“But she’s not in her office,” I said. “When was the last time you remember her missing a day of work?”
She laughed. “She has never missed a day of work in all the time I’ve known her, though she was working on a project for the ki—an outside contractor. Perhaps that’s where she’s gone.” Her eyes narrowed. “These are very odd questions for a pair of delivery drivers.”
“We’re nosey,” Kimberly said, pulling a notepad from the inside of her pocket and pressing it down on the table. “Make sure she gets this, okay?”
“Will do.”
The receptionist placed the pad behind the desk with a look of bewilderment and confusion. When we were outside, Kimberly turned to me. “Do you think your people can find out where the good doctor lived?”
“I think so, but they’re not just my people, they’re our people, right?”
She looked at me. “I’m forced to work with them right now, but my only people are fairy kind, not humanity. This will be bad for both of us, so it just so happens that at this moment, our goals are aligned.”
“And what if our goals diverge?”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Now, let’s find a phone and call the director to get that address.”
***
Director Frente gave us an encrypted emergency line we could use to make immediate contact with the base, and when we called, they patched us through to a tech team that found the good doctor’s address in a matter of minutes.
Dr. Jortensur lived in an elegant area of the city, close to the palace, which made sense if she worked directly for the king. The beautifully maintained row houses on her street reminded me of the one Madam Fantasmo brought us to after we’d escaped our execution. The car pulled up in front of her townhouse, and it stood out from the ones on either side of it, both for its size and the fact that it was the only black house on the block. It was like the inverse negative of the office and walking up the steps to her house, I already liked her better, simply for the fact that her taste was odd.
“Be careful,” Kimberly said. “If she works for the king, she’s not to be trusted.”
I nodded, and she knocked on the door. After several seconds, she knocked again, more loudly. When there was no response, Kimberly tried the door. There was a time that I wouldn’t have walked into somebody’s house without their permission, but those days were long gone.
Kimberly jiggled the handle, and it popped open for us. The smell of rancid meat kicked me in the face before we even entered. I gagged and nearly threw up, but Kimberly didn’t seem phased.
“I need a bucket or a toilet,” I said, heaving.
“Do not throw up here,” she said. “You don’t want to leave your DNA at the scene of a crime.”
“What crime? I mean, besides our breaking and entering?”
But she didn’t answer. She walked up the stairs, where the stench grew worse, toward the sounds of somebody talking. She held up her hand as she neared the top. Her blue wings appeared out of her back, and she lifted herself into the air. Her hands went for her daggers as she disappeared into the hallway.
There were a few moments of silence, and then she reappeared. “It’s okay. Well, it’s not okay, but—just come up here.”
I entered the upstairs room, where the dead body of an older woman was on the bed. She had died watching the TV, which explained the sounds we heard downstairs.
Bile backwashed into my throat, and I choked it down as Kimberly went to the body. She picked up a glass of water next to the bed and smelled it. I don’t know how she could have smelled anything over the stench of the woman.
Dr. Jortensur looked at me with her dead eyes. I turned toward the television. The news was on, the crawl saying, “King vows swift retribution on Risyl for abduction of son.”
The image flashed to one of King Ulthar in front of his throne, holding a golden scepter in his hand. “Yesterday,” he said in his grandest voice, “the government of Risyl conspired with the rebellious contingent of our people to abduct my son from a peaceful, diplomatic motorcade. We are working diligently to find the rebellious scum, but we must make clear that any aid given to enemies of the crown is an act against all of us. I have worked for years to bring a peaceful end to our war, but President Achel’s actions have made it clear that there can be no peace. Tomorrow, as the sun rises on our great nation, we will demonstrate our full power using Risyl as an example. Once Risyl falls, the other nations will bend the knee or face the same fate.”
The king’s glare softened. “I tell you this to give you time, citizens of Risyl, to find safety and to beg your government to return Prince Yimnit before it is too late. If they surrender before daybreak tomorrow and return my son, then all will be forgiven. If not—well, I am a kind and merciful king to those that adore me and a cruel one to those that oppose me.”
The television faded to black, and when I turned back around, Kimberly held a remote control in her hand. “She was poisoned. I’m sure of it. No doubt to prevent her from telling anyone how to stop this machine.”
“What do we do now?” I asked. “We can’t let him fire that weapon.”
“We won’t. Dr. Jortensur wasn’t working alone. Whoever it was, we have to find them and get them to help us shut down this device before sunrise tomorrow…or a whole country’s blood will be on our hands.”
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
The pacing in this chapter is really well done. That moment when they walk into the doctor's house and the smell hits them before they even see the body creates such good tension. The tie-in with the king's ultimatum happening simultaneously through the TV news broadcast is clever worldbuilding. Makes me wanna know how they're gonna stop the weapon without her help.