SBAT Chapter 13

“John, I’m going to flay your soul personally before I put you down the grinder,” the beautiful brunette is saying. Beautiful isn’t a strong enough word; Selina has never laid eyes on such an ethereal, untouchable, overwhelmingly attractive person. Everything about her pulls at Selina.

“Do they still have that thing?” Constantine replies, puffing at his cigarette as he watches the woman look through keys on a heavy iron ring. He doesn’t seem impressed.

Selina watches warily. Constantine seems to know a lot of people here. They all seem to owe him favors, and they all seem to hate him. This woman especially.

“Course we do. You know nothing ever changes down here.” She rams a key into the lock and turns it. There’s a meaty click. She looks over her shoulder at Selina. “And you should run from him as quickly as you can,” she warns.

“I will once we’re out of here,” Selina promises.

The woman pulls the key out of the lock, glares at Constantine, and then stalks away.

“End of the line, luv,” Constantine tells Selina.

“He’s in here?”

He scratches at the back of his neck, giving her a pained look. “Look, er… Catwoman.”

“Yeah?”

“People come back from hell. All right? That’s not, er, without precedent.” What is the look on his face? Is that pity? “But they don’t come back the same.”

“Open the damn door,” Selina growls.

Constantine hauls it open, revealing a cramped room. The tall stacks of books piled everywhere make it seem even smaller. The only furniture is a humble bunk. The carpet is a dirty, swamp green. The wallpaper is yellow, and the clicking, flickering light on the ceiling made it all look ghostly and unreal.

Bruce Wayne, wide-shouldered and square-jawed, sits on the bunk. There’s stubble on his face, and his clothes are rumpled. He appears unhurt, yet looks defeated in a way that Selina has never seen before. She almost doesn’t recognize him.

“Bruce!” She rushes to him.

Constantine keeps the door open and watches the hallway.

Bruce peers at her suspiciously, then past her.

“Constantine,” he says.

“You remember. It’s real, mate. You aren’t dreaming.”

Bruce swallows and stares at Selina.

“I’m real, Bruce. You’re safe now.”

“You found me?” he asks. He’s not dazed or ****; he’s been here for a long time. Selina tries not to think about that.

Selina shakes her head. “No. No, it was the kid.” Spoiler is not a child, but Selina can’t help but read her wholesome naivete that way. “The purple one. Spoiler.”

“Spoiler?” Bruce has never been emotive, but his eyes widen slightly. He is horrified. His expression hardens.

“Come on, mate. Are you hourly?” Constantine asks, flicking away his cigarette.

“Did you bring her here?” Bruce asks as he gets to his feet. “You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have come here. None of you should have.”

Constantine shrugs. “I know.”

Selina takes Bruce’s hand. “Come on.”

“I haven’t bought us much time. They owe me, but there are limits,” Constantine says tersely. “Take him back out the way we came in. Carry this.” He hands a scroll sealed with wax to Selina. “Do not let go of his hand or the scroll.”

“What are you doing?” Selina asks.

Constantine looks down the corridor. The lights flicker at the far end, and his eyes narrow. He puts another cigarette in his mouth and flicks his lighter open. “I’ll get the purple one. Go on. Go now.”

“Come on,” Selina repeats, yanking Bruce’s hand.

SBAT

Steph’s boots sound light on the tile floor. Cape fluttering, she sprints down the stairs and into another hallway, stopping short.

Constantine blocks her path in his long coat. A cigarette glows in his hand. His gaze is suspicious.

Steph cocks her head. “Wait. How’d you get out?”

“Get out?” he says, face neutral as he approaches.

“Yeah. You and Selina were hanging over this grinder thing.”

“Is that what they told you?” Constantine’s face looks gray.

“Whatever.” Steph shakes her head; she doesn’t like the sad way that he’s looking at her. “Where’s Selina? Did you find Bruce?”

“They’re already out. And lower your voice. I gave them the last ace I had up my sleeve. We need to be careful.”

“They know you’re here.”

“I told you not to make any deals.”

“How do you know I made one?”

“Do you think it’s my first day?” he says in a fierce whisper. “I warned you. I warned you,” he repeated.

“I was trapped. I did what I had to.”

“No. You had to wait until I came for you.”

“And I was supposed to trust you?” she demands, following him down the hall.

He shook his head. “Bloody hell. Now I’ll have your ghost haunting me too.”

“Why doesn’t anything you say make sense? Don’t worry about me, just find the exit.”

“Here.” He points at a tall archway. Beyond lies a vast chamber. It’s a train station, but with a ceiling so high that it’s like looking into a black sky with no stars. A train is pulling in. “Now. Go.” Constantine starts forward at a run, and Steph darts past, leaving him wheezing behind her.

She doesn’t get a far. A huge burst of flames explodes in front of them, almost bowling them over.

A creature easily twenty feet tall strides forward, and this looks more like a demon than anything Steph has seen yet. He’s massive, and carries a huge axe. His curly horns are as thick as trees.

“Constantine,” he booms, standing between them and the train.

“Fucking hell,” Constantine mutters.

Steph can only stare. Constantine is resigned. Flames drip from the axe, and the power radiates from the creature.

Constantine sighs and takes off his coat. “Hold this for us, love.”

“What?” Steph catches the musty trench coat, which stinks of tobacco.

Constantine starts forward, undoing his cufflinks. “All right, you daft fucking twat,” he snarls as he strides toward the creature. “Do you know who I am? Do I look as though I have time to piss about with you? D’you think some nameless tosspot of a demon’s going to be the one to bring down John bloody Constantine, today of all days? I pity whatever pile of shit passes for a brain in that thick fucking skull of yours. If you had a single lucid thought, you’d run and say you’d never seen me. Instead, you go to the First of the Fallen as another fucking failure who fucked about with Constantine and then found out.” He rolls up his sleeves, his voice rising. “But fuck me, yeah? Course you will. You lot are all alike, even once you’re another stain on my fucking shoe. Are you waiting for something? Come on, then! If you think you’re hard enough!” he roars, spreading his hands.

There’s another whoosh of fire and Steph shields her face. When she looks up, the demon’s gone.

Constantine beckons to her. She hurries to him and gives him his coat, following him onto the train. He lets out a little sigh of relief as the doors shut.

“Do you have some powers I don’t know about?” Steph asks.

“Not especially,” he replies, lighting another cigarette.

“That was a bluff?”

“What isn’t?”

“Jesus. I mean—never mind. I can’t believe he fell for that,” she says, heart racing.

His eyes look distant. “You’re one to talk.”

[ I forgot. New blog post if you care. ]