VIII. House of Nightmares

Just past hour 71, the magma tube slid open and Darrus tumbled out. He coughed a few times, then looked up. Cankerworm and half a dozen armed Guardians looked back down at him. The barrels of the Guardians' weapons looked at him most intently of all.

"So." said Cankerworm. "How do you feel?"

Darrus coughed again. "Like I want to ring your neck."

Half a dozen guns cocked loudly.

"But that I can't bring myself to so much as lift a finger against you." Darrus finished.

The guns remained where they were.

"Very good." said Cankerworm. "Everything is back to normal."

The guns lowered and the Guardians departed.

"Darrus, I trust you've found no sign of the Nightmare?" said Cankerworm.

Darrus stood up and brushed himself off. "None."

"So we can rule out that it is still alive at this point, can we?"

"Not yet. I had the succubus Lilith DeCarte build a beacon to draw any Nightmares in New Liberty to it. It takes some time to work, but if it's not there within a day, it's not alive."

Cankerworm cleared his throat. "You've been in that tube for just under three days."

"What?" demanded Darrus. "You sent someone to throw the beacon into the Lake of Fire, didn't you?"

"I was never told you had created a beacon." said Cankerworm.

Darrus didn't answer, he just ducked through the door and was gone.

*

Darrus came out in the entryway to the brothel. The same girl was waiting at the front. As Darrus approached, he noticed that the makeup under her eyes was heavier than it had been. She was trying to mask the heavy bags under them, with little success. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"Good afternoon." she sighed. "What are you looking for today?"

"I need to see Lilith DeCarte." he said. "It's urgent."

The girl yawned. "Yes, yes, I'm sure. She's in the first lounge on the left down that hall."

Darrus walked in the gestured direction. He turned a corner and found a large man blocking the way. He had long, black hair and wore a wide-brimmed hat. For a moment, Darrus thought it was the Fury, then remembered that was impossible. This man bore a startingly resemblence, but carried himself too awkwardly and dressed in brown and black, not the Fury's flamboyant red.

"Excuse me." said Darrus, pushing past. A large hand clamped down on Darrus' wrist as he passed. Darrus assumed the man was high on some drug or other, and briefly considered ripping his arm out of its socket. He settled on a more civilized course of action.

"What are you doing?" he asked the stranger.

"Much..." said the man. "has...chang-ed." His words came out slowly, as if they were being carefully formed.

"I'm sure. Now let me go." said Darrus. The hand released and he continued down the hall.

The hall was dark, but Darrus could see regardless. He noticed that the walls themselves seemed to be undulating. Faces and fingers swirled out of the wallpaper in places bathed in shadow. Ever since he'd set foot in the brothel there'd been a chittering sound hovering at the edge of perception.

Darrus reached the lounge. There was one figure inside, who stormed up and smacked Darrus on the cheek.

"What the hell took you so long?" Lilith demanded.

Darrus rubbed his cheek. Being divine herself, Lilith was one of a relatively few beings that could actually cause Darrus pain. "Cankerworm threw me in a lava tube for 70 hours. Believe me, this wasn't my idea. Now, where's the bell?"

"What about your precious Nightmare? As you can see, the house is crawling with them! No one can even close their eyes without being assaulted by them!"

"I noticed. If Szziszzigji is here, he'll stick around long enough for me to incinerate the beacon and get back here. Now come on, we've no time to lose. Where is it?"

"In my room." said Lilith. The two went out the lounge door and appeared in Lilith's spartan bedroom. Lilith pressed the bell into Darrus' hand. A second later, he was gone.