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Sorry about the absence. I hope to be back by September 15 October 6, with a full explanation. Or, at least, a decent excuse.
If all the demons had come after Antonio at once, he'd be dead.
But these demons, however unnaturally cooperative they may been, were still unwilling to let the outside world know of their existence. So only those demons who happened to be in human form could follow him freely. The rest had to stay hidden. And it took so long to change from one form to the other.
But still they tracked him. Antonio used every trick he knew, and a few new ones he just thought up, to stay ahead of them. And he still had to fight a demon or two every now and then. He was slashed frequently, and wound up taking six more Counter-Potions, he was at eight times the recommended limit. If the poison didn't kill him the antidote just might.
He couldn't surface, couldn't go to the police. Not looking like this. He'd need a few days to heal, a long bath, shampoo, herbal facial, and new clothing before he could even consider letting anybody see him.
Finally he had lost the demons. His bleeding had stopped, so he no longer left a blood trail. And his path was so winding, so convoluted, no one and nothing could possibly track it. Not a demon. Not a sprite. Not a hellhound.
Not even him himself.
The World's Greatest Demon Tracker had collapsed, trying to weather the knowledge that nobody would hear his dying words. His last little bit of wisdom, gone forever.
He lay for hours or days, feeling his strength fade. At one point he wept. He openly wept. Not for himself, but for the world, which would be a poorer place without him. He prayed the rest of humanity would find the strength to carry on.
Antonio heard what sounded like heavy breathing. Could it be a subway train? Am I lying on a track?
No, it was definitely breathing. Antonio reached up a hand to his face, forced open a blood-caked eye.
Hellhound!!
Both his eyes were open now. But no. It was large, but not large enough to be a hellhound. Just a regular dog, a big dog, a stray, lost in these tunnels.
"Excuse me," said the dog, "But are you Antonio, The so-called demon tracker?"
Antonio smiled. He was so famous even stray dogs knew him. But how can you give an autograph when all your 8 x 10 glossies are gone with your trench coat? Ain't no way he was signing Rover's body part! The pain was fading. There was a nice white light and a pleasant warmth that grew warmer and warmer and hotter...
Antonio was back into himself. He was clear-headed, and the pains and the tiredness were gone. But he was hallucinating, because a blindingly white Unicorn talked to a large German Sheperd.
"Hear me, dogling," said the Unicorn. "Had you not been are a Facilitator of the Essencia's Will, I would have punished you for your arrogance. Ask this of me again, and I will forget your title." She sounded like a little girl, a sweet little girl with an English accent. She sounded the way Lewis Carroll thought little girls sounded.
"I do not hide behind my title. I will ask you to do what is right when I need it done. You can do it, or face my wrath. Or does a Unicorn require my help to discern Right and Wrong?" The dog (dogling?) answered. He didn't want a fight, but he was ready for one.
"Do not forget yourself! I concede your greater knowledge of Good and Evil, but you have much td learn about Right and Wrong." The Unicorn looked down at Antonio, who was still too stunned to get to his feet. "You! Human! Because a Facilitator of the Essencia's Will asked me, I have healed your wounds. Because you are Antonio, the World's Greatest Demon Tracker, you will sign my flank. Make it out to 'To My Biggest Fan, Debeenia. Love, Antonio'."
Antonio still had a few working markers (five), so he got up and did as she had asked, though she had to spell Debeenia for him.
The Unicorn, proud and happy, spun herself into a drop of silver moonlight, then faded away.
"Show-off! Greetings, Antonio. I am Mr. Fwuzzums. I believe we may be able to assist each other."
"The Mr. Fwuzzums! The one that works for the Essencia? For the Good? Fighting gonners? Man, I'd heard that the Mr. Fwuzzums wasn't human, but I had no idea you were a dog. Wow, believe me, Jack, I'm almost as honored to meet you as you are to meet me."
Go to Chapter 25: May Cause Nausea, Fatigue, Dry-Mouth, Hysteria, And Death
Go to Chapter 27: Meetings and Greetings
Bring your friends into the Gonspiracy! Tell them about
Banny
And
Lissa
and get their eternal gratitude, and a chance to win $10,000 and a Sony DVD Player, because using your friends for your own personal enrichment, and having them owe you for it, is the gonner way!
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Dave Lerner Stories (note that to use the mailto you'll need to edit it in your 'send to' window. I apologize, but I've already lost one address to spam, and if I get inundated again, I won't have time to read your letters.) - All Rights Reserved. Note that this includes images of the Tricryptogon, and the name "Tricryptogon".