The Beast Below (Asylum Chapter 14)

Jordan Deakes knew he was being watched. It was a feeling he was getting familiar with. His legs ached and his lungs burned but he pushed himself to run further. One more circuit of the park to determine who was spying on him.

On the swings, five children egged each other to go higher and the roundabout held another three. An elderly couple rested on a park bench, looking over the sloping ground at the city laid out before them. Two teenage boys rode pushbikes, racing a girl in roller skates. Two women simultaneously chatted and scrolled on their phones as they walked their pushchairs through the grounds.

None of them seemed to notice him jogging past, but the feeling of being observed did not leave him.

He came to a stop and started his cool-down exercises, keeping surreptitious eyes on those around him. A young boy entered the park and marched directly in Deakes’s direction. He strode with purpose, completely out of character with any other nine-year-old.

‘Where is she?’ he demanded as he neared Deakes.

Deakes continued stretching out his right leg. ‘Hello to you too, Theo.’

The kobaloi blew a raspberry. ‘Don’t play with me. I want to know where she is.’

Two months ago, Deakes and Andrea had visited Theo’s clan and had a conversation with their Sage, Cruise. She had reiterated the fact that the kobaloi refused to join the Asylum and, as far as Deakes knew, no further contact had been attempted. He had no idea why Theo would want to know Andrea’s whereabouts now, but it did pique his interest.

Deakes had received no word from Andrea since she had gone on a covert assignment. Could it be that the mission involved the kobaloi and that Theo had found out about it? If so, Theo may know more about Andrea’s motives but he was unlikely to share the information with Deakes openly.

‘I haven’t seen her for a few days,’ he lied, working on his other leg. ‘Maybe I can pass on a message. What do you want her for?’

Theo’s glare was almost palpable. ‘A message? So you have taken her. Tell me where she is. Now.’

Deakes stopped stretching and stood up straight. He stared down at Theo. ‘I know you’re not a child, Theo, and I have no reservation with punching you out if you want to get physical.’

‘You could probably knock me down,’ Theo said, ‘but what about the rest of us?’

The kids on the swings and the two on the pushbikes were staring in their direction. At least Deakes now knew who had been watching him. Because it had been so long since his talk with Cruise, he had not thought about the kobaloi for many weeks – he had missed the tell-tale sign of their oversized eyes.

He turned back to Theo and smiled grimly. ‘I’m ex-military. I can handle your ragtag bunch.’ He paused allowing the threat to sink in, then said, ‘But I don’t want to hurt you or any of your clan. Just tell me why you want to see Andrea and we can be civil about it.’

‘Andrea? Thppt. I don’t care about her. I want to know what you’ve done with Cruise.’

Deakes couldn’t keep the shock from his face. ‘We haven’t seen Cruise for weeks.’

‘Don’t lie to me. You and your Asylum tried to recruit us, and we refused. Who else would kidnap her?’

*

Sloane Cambell stopped walking when the earth trembled beneath her, casting her eyes at Pippa. The other vampire consulted her watch until the tremor ended.

‘A shorter event,’ Pippa said. ‘And a longer interval since the last one.’

‘An aftershock from the main quake?’

Pippa shook her head. ‘I’m not convinced. There’s been too much activity. I’d expect aftershocks to subside after a week or so.’

Sloane nodded and continued walking through the grass. It had been a month since the major earthquake had rattled the Asylum’s main building. Since then, the tremors had been erratic but persistent. They lasted anything from ten seconds to three minutes and occurred haphazardly, sometimes up to six times a day, sometimes nothing for three days.

The dance which the tectonic plates performed under their feet was irritating at best, frightening at worst. If the ground was preparing to rip itself apart, they had limited time to search for Eddie. And if they were still here when a larger earthquake hit, they could wind up injured or worse – not even vampires could protect themselves against the forces of nature.

They pressed on in silence until their destination came into view. Lounging against the bough of a tree was Warwick, the tikbalang. He saw them approaching and stood up, a sight which muddled Sloane’s mind. His size and shape made it seem she was looking at a horse standing upright but between his equine legs and head, his torso and arms were human.

‘Hello,’ he said in his Filipino accent. On his shoulder, a small rodent chittered animatedly. Warwick clicked his tongue and gave a tut in quick succession, then added, ‘says hello too.’ Both species originated in the Philippines and the two had bonded at the Asylum. It helped that Warwick was the only one who understood the hindi-ardilya language.

‘What news do you have?’ Sloane asked.

‘Have you found Eddie?’ Pippa added

The hindi-ardilya chattered, raised itself onto its hind legs, sat down, stood up again. All the time its bushy tail undulated as though caught in a breeze.

‘Not Eddie,’ Warwick translated. ‘Something that knows Eddie.’

The vampires shared a worried look. ‘Some… thing?’ Sloane said.

The chittering slowed and dropped in volume. When he spoke, Warwick’s voice was equally hushed.

‘He is beseeching you to drop this search.’

*

Deakes’s mind reeled. Cruise, the kobaloi Sage, was missing. He understood Theo’s assumption that she had been taken by members of the Asylum, but that didn’t ring true with the nature of the organisation. The Asylum for Relocated Cryptids was a refuge for non-humans from the modern world. Entry was purely voluntary.

Something that Sloane had said came back to him. When he had last seen the vampire, she admitted that she had gone to the Asylum to seek out Eddie, a cryptid believed to have been killed. The search for Eddie had not yet proven fruitful, but Sloane had shared other news that Deakes had dismissed at the time. She had said that some of the resident cryptids believed the Asylum was closer to a prison than a safe harbour.

Could it be that someone in the organisation was not as honest as they appeared? Was Andrea secretly working against Harris’s doctrines?

Deakes refused to entertain that idea. He was a good judge of character and Andrea had proven time and again that she strove to protect cryptids at all costs. She would not be party to holding them captive or stealing them from their homes.

But there was someone at the Asylum who he could conceive would be that underhand.

‘You think someone from ARC kidnapped Cruise?’

Theo glared into Deakes’s eyes. ‘I know it.’

‘There are a lot of freaks in this world who would take a five-year-old girl. She could be in real danger.’

‘Cruise can take care of herself. And she isn’t five.’

‘I know. She only looks it, which will be enough for a paedophile.’ Deakes let out a haggard breath. ‘Before I joined ARC, I was a private investigator. Finding missing people was part of my job. Let me help you find her.’

Theo’s lips trembled. A flicker of doubt flashed across his face.

‘Don’t,’ he stammered, ‘don’t act like you’re not in on it. You know where she is, you’re just bluffing.’ He leaned closer and growled, ‘The only reason we haven’t killed you yet is because we need you to take us to her.’

Deakes had received death threats before but this was the first time from someone who resembled a child. He would have laughed were he not concerned for Cruise’s safety.

‘If you’re so certain that she’s at the Asylum then I will take you there. When I’ve proven that we haven’t kidnapped her, will you then let me help you find her?’

‘I’m not going with you to the Asylum alone. Jaq and Gil will come with us.’

‘Fine.’ Deakes nodded. ‘I just hope you know how much time we’re going to lose in tracking Cruise down.’

*

After a hasty shower and change of clothes, Deakes drove the three kobaloi to the Yorkshire Moors.

Jaq looked like a twelve-year-old girl, with dark hair pulled into a ponytail. Her large eyes were the colour of mahogany and they flicked in every direction as she constantly took in their surroundings. Gil could have been her twin, though his hair was shorter and his awareness not as keen. Both remain quiet on the journey, following an order Deakes suspected Theo had given.

For his own part, the only sounds which Theo emitted were the raspberries he blew at every question Deakes asked. Twenty minutes into the journey, Deakes gave up on making conversation. Instead, he used the car’s Bluetooth to make a phone call.

The voice that came from the speakers was gruff yet full of cheer. ‘Hi there, Ten. Got more pumpkin trouble?’

‘No, Quinn,’ Deakes answered, ‘that was all put to rest.’

‘So this is a social call?’

‘Not really.’

‘Good. Never was one for chitchat. What can I do you for?’

‘There’s a missing girl and I’ve been pulled away on a fool’s errand.’ Deakes ignored Theo’s thppt. ‘I can use your help starting the investigation. How soon can you get to Garthridge.’

Quinn’s voice was immediately stern. ‘I’ll be there tonight.’

*

At Hutton-le-Hole, a small village on the edge of the Moors, they swapped from Deakes’s personal car and jumped into one of ARC’s Land Rovers. They were still an hour or so from the Asylum but Deakes made up time by testing the vehicle’s top speed. He had to slow when he pulled off the tarmacked road and headed through the scrubland – the ground was so uneven that he risked flipping the Rover if he drove recklessly.

He’d travelled to the secluded Asylum enough times over the past year that he knew the route across the rough land well enough. He climbed the ridge which hid the valley and was soon pulling up beside the giant stone head.

The head nodded a greeting, giving Deakes the wave of dizziness which he would never get used to.

‘Hunter, can I ask you a question?’ Deakes asked.

‘What’s on your mind, Jordan?’ The troll’s voice was both soft and rough, like sand trickling between rocks.

‘Have any new residents arrived within the past few days?’

‘Darwin and Imogen brought in an improbability of puffins.’

Deakes stared pointedly at Theo as he said, ‘No humanoid cryptids?’

‘No,’ Hunter replied. ‘But everyone here has been preoccupied with the tremors.’

‘They’re still happening?’ Deakes thought that the earthquake he’d been present for would have been the culmination of the tectonic disturbances. His understanding was that small quakes occurred prior to and shortly after a major event and it had been a month since the main building had been rocked.

Hunter answered, ‘They won’t stop until whatever is moving underground is tamed.’

*

Sloane kept her hand flat, fingers together. Pippa’s fist was clenched.

‘Paper beats rock,’ Pippa said. ‘I guess I’m going in.’

‘I win.’ Sloane’s voice was stern. ‘The choice is mine. I’m going.’

Warwick’s rodent pal had taken some convincing but had eventually seen that the vampires would never abandon their search for Eddie. Sloane had tried to impress the depth of the love her employer, Dust, had for the missing man, but she wasn’t sure if hindi-ardilya had the same sense of affection that came with the humanoid form.

It was only Warwick’s subtle wit to which the hindi-ardilya listened. When asked what he had chittered at the rodent, the tiklabang sheepishly said, ‘I told-’ click-tut ‘-that I wouldn’t be able to protect him if you chose to drain his blood.’

Despite her assurances that neither she nor Pippa would resort to that, the hindi-ardilya made sure it kept its distance as it led them west. Near the foot of the valley wall, it stopped a few yards from an opening in the ground, chattered nervously at them and then sped away.

As the vampires peered into the pit, Sloane had stated that one of them should remain up top while the other ventured into the blackness. Now, having won the round of rock-paper-scissors, she dropped into the hole.

The floor was only four feet below Pippa’s feet, affording Sloane an easy exit when the time came. A downward slope cut under the earth. Sloane walked forward, switching on her phone’s flashlight and stooping to fit in the passage. The ground was uneven and dirty, but the lack of detritus – scat and bones – led her to believe the cave was not used as a creature’s lair.

Ten feet in, the path turned sharply to the left. The way ahead was pitch dark, impossible for anyone with light-dependent eyes to traverse without aid. She moved on, stumbling twice but managing to keep her feet, passed a second bend and stopped.

The rough walls and floor ended here, giving way to a corridor skilfully hewn from bedrock. She was able to stand up, the ceiling a few feet over her head. At the end of the short passage, her way was blocked by a metal door. The portal looked imposing, like that of a bank vault.

Why had the hindi-ardilya led her here? What could be locked inside that would help in her search for Eddie?

She approached the door, looking for a way to open it. No keyhole, no number pad, no retinal scanner. Just in case, she raised a hand to push at the door. Before she touched the surface, there was a click and the door swung inward.

‘Come in,’ a voice rasped.

With muscles tensed should she need to flee, Sloane crept into a small lobby. She noticed the locks and realised the door wasn’t designed to keep something in but to protect whatever was inside from outsiders. There were doorways in two of the other walls, one opposite and one to the right. The speaker called from the former.

‘Come through, come through. You’ve already been caught on the infrared cameras so don’t be shy now.’

Every instinct told her to leave, or at least to go back and get Pippa. There was safety in numbers. But she knew that if the door was closed and locked behind her, there would be no way she could force it open – even her vampiric strength had its limitations. This could be her only chance to find a solid clue to Eddie’s fate and she wouldn’t waste that.

She raised her head and walked into the next room. It was a spacious area, with an easy chair to one side and two desks at the other. One desk held a neat pile of leather-bound books and various papers and pens. On the other, three computer screens bathed the room in pale light.

Her host sat at the computer desk, silhouetted against the screensavers. He was bald, but for the thick ponytail which hung down his back, and wore glasses. As she moved closer, she realised they were sunglasses.

‘Do you live down here?’

‘Try not to sound so surprised,’ he answered. ‘I… I don’t do well around people. I’m better here. Alone.’

‘Then why have you let me in?’ She took a step back. It wasn’t too late to hightail it back to Pippa.

‘When you’re friend-’ he clicked his tongue and tutted ‘-told me of your search, I thought I could help you.’

‘You can speak Hindi-Ardilya? I thought only Filipinos knew the language.’

He smiled. ‘When you’ve been around as long as I have, you pick up a thing or two.’

His body language and tone of voice were non-threatening and Sloane relaxed a little. She pointed to the chair beside the spare desk. ‘May I?’

‘Please do.’ As he swivelled around to face her new position, his ponytail swayed to one side. The end swung up over his shoulder, held its place for a second longer than seemed natural then fell back. There was something about its texture that was wrong, but as he was backlit by the monitors Sloane could not put her finger on the problem.

‘What do I call you?’ Sloane asked.

‘Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Martan Kosmatka. Forgive me, I’m not used to being around new people.’

‘You’re an anthropophobe, you said. Trust me, the more people I meet, the more I’m leaning into it.’

Martan shook his head without disturbing his ponytail. ‘It’s not that I’m afraid of people. But you’re not here to hear my problems. You’ve come for a reason.’

Sloane considered the man’s motives. He had communicated with their mutual friend, the hindi-ardilya, and was expecting her. He must have some knowledge of Eddie.

‘I’m looking for someone,’ she said.

 ‘Edvard Thorrsen.

At the mention of the name, Martan’s ponytail quivered. Sloane fancied she heard a hiss from behind the man’s back.

‘Do you know Eddie? Do you know what became of him?’

‘Edvard is my friend.’ Quietly, Martan added, ‘My only friend.’

Behind him, the ponytail slithered and coiled. Though Martan was motionless, it crept onto his shoulder and Sloan was startled to see two black, glassy eyes blinking at her. A small mouth opened and a tongue flicked out to taste the air.

She looked at Martan’s sunglasses. Looked back at the snake’s head. Her stomach rolled.

‘You’re a gorgon.’ Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

Martan’s hands reached for his glasses but he left them in place.

‘You’re astute,’ he said, ‘but not correct. Gorgons are female. I am a gorgus.’

‘You can still turn me to stone with one glance.’

Martan was quiet for too long. When he spoke, he sounded hurt.

‘I could. But I don’t think you will give me a reason to.’

As they were talking, the ponytail-cum-snake turned its head from one to the other as though following the conversation.

‘Is that why you’re locked in here? Did Eddie trap you?’

Martin’s hand fell back to his lap. ‘Edvard would not hurt me,’ he said. After another pause, he added, ‘And I’m worried about him.’

Emotions battled within Sloane. Of all the non-human creatures she had met, none had possessed the power to petrify another living being. She would never describe herself as brave, but she knew little fear. The thought of being captured by this gorgus’s deadly stare filled her with dread.

But the pain in Martan’s words, raw and aching, touched her deeply. She knew Martan would not hurt her. His use of sunglasses inside and locking himself away from the world were testament to his benign nature.

‘Do you think he’s dead?’

The corners of Martan’s mouth lifted. ‘I’ve yet to see anything that can kill Edvard.’ He tapped the side of his sunglasses. ‘That’s the only reason we can be friends.’

‘Is there somewhere else he calls home?’

Martan shook his head. At his side, the snake mimicked the motion.

‘Edvard and I made a promise decades ago. We are unique individuals. A threat to the world and also in danger from it. We know each other’s secrets and foibles. We are stronger together. Edvard would not abandon me here.’

‘What are you saying?’

‘Edvard has not left the Asylum.’

*

Deakes drove away from Hunter, taking the kobaloi down into the valley. Jaq's eyes were sharp as she took in every detail; the two-storey complex to which they were headed, the small village beyond and the miles of wild land that stretched north. Gil looked bored.

They reached the paved road and headed toward the main building. The steering wheel shuddered beneath Deake’s hand and the vehicle fishtailed to the right.

‘What are you doing?’ Theo cried.

Deakes clutched the wheel tightly, straining to keep the car on the road. The four of them bounced in their seats as the ground quivered underneath them.

‘This isn’t right.’ It was the first time Deakes had heard Jaq speak. Her voice was surprisingly coarse.

A deep grating sound rent the air as, ahead of them, a crack appeared across the road. The ground tore in two. The far side of the crevice lurched up, spilling earth and broken cement. Their side pitched down, pointing them directly into the widening hole.

Deakes stomped on the brake, ignoring the curses from behind him. The car held steady. He threw it into reverse, pressed the accelerator and backed them away from danger.

The ground shook again, twisting the road at an angle, and Deakes was powerless to stop the Rover sliding to the left. The car fell onto its side, crashing against a surface that was neither grass nor road. Gil yelped as he hit his head against the door. Deakes’s seatbelt dug into his waist and shoulder, the only thing preventing him from toppling onto Theo.

Through the window at Theo’s side – beneath Theo now – the ground glistened and tremored. It swept along, squeaking against the glass as it moved, heading in the direction of the fissure.

All three kobaloi spoke at once.

‘What is happening?’

‘Get us out of here.’

‘It’s alive.’

Deakes pushed hard on the accelerator but the wheels were no longer in contact with the ground. ‘We’re going to have to climb out.’ He pushed his door open. Gravity closed it.

Dust and grit plumed from the opening ahead. In the murky air, something moved.

‘Theo, you’re going to have to climb over me,’ Deakes said and he opened his window to the smell of dirt and damp earth. The sound of splitting rock and falling stone filled his ears.

Theo unclasped his seatbelt and clambered over Deakes. Deakes clenched his teeth against elbows and feet that found his soft parts. The kobaloi squeezed out of the window and helped Jaq escape the car.

‘Get his door,’ Theo commanded, pointing at Deakes, then leaned back into the car to reach for Gil.

With much effort, Deakes managed to free himself from his seatbelt and crawl through the open doorway. The ground continued to judder around them.

When Gil joined them, all four turned to look at the cloud which bellowed from the rent earth. Something was climbing out of the ground. Obscured by the murky air, all that could be gleaned was the impression of size and shape – a long body, five feet high and at least twenty in length. Snapping sounds issued from it, reminding Deakes of bone striking bone.

From the swirling dust, two huge luminescent eyes watched Deakes.