The Book of Doom - By Barry Hutchison Page 0,45

his employer, the bouncer stepped back into the lift. Herya glared after him as the doors slid closed.

“Yeah,” said Herya. “That’s right. You’d better run, if you know what’s good for you.”

She stood up and dusted herself down, then looked over to Zac and Argus. When she saw the demon, her eyes widened just a fraction.

“All right?” Zac asked.

“Yes,” Herya said defensively. “Of course.”

“Herya of the Valkyries,” Argus said. He spoke her name grandly, as if announcing her arrival at a formal dinner party. “Such a beautiful girl, you no think, Zac? That hair. The wings.” He adjusted his fez and smiled more broadly than ever. “Beautiful girl.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot you two know each other,” said Zac.

Argus laughed as he skipped over to the Valkyrie. “Ah, but if only I had such good fortune,” he said, planting kisses on both of her cheeks. “Today is the first day I have had the pleasure.”

Zac looked to Herya. “But I thought you said...?”

“No, I didn’t,” she replied quickly.

“But you—?”

She gave him the same look Argus’s nipples had given him just minutes before. “Leave it,” she said, then she added, “please.”

Zac gave an uncertain nod and leaned back into the couch. Argus took Herya by the elbow and steered her over to join him. “Please, sit. Little Angelo will be joining us...”

A squirming sack landed with a thud on the floor between them.

“...now.”

An enormous man in a small loincloth thudded down on to the carpet from a large hatch in the ceiling. The man straightened up and groaned as his back went click.

“Ooh, that’s better,” he said. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

The man had one eye set in the centre of his forehead. It blinked slowly as it looked at Zac and Herya.

Zac stood up. “Who is this?” he demanded.

“Ah, do not worry, do not fret. This is my assistant, Steropes,” said Argus. “Steropes is a Cyclops, yes? You see the irony? I have many eyes; Steropes has only one!”

Zac stared up Steropes. Aside from having just one eye, the Cyclops looked much like a man. A large, mean-looking man. With tattoos.

His hair was clipped short and a rough stubble covered his chin. He was stockily built, with a broad neck and bodybuilder arms. Although he wore no clothes aside from a worryingly small loincloth, his tattoos covered his skin like an all-over rash.

Despite his appearance, Steropes’s voice was soft and quiet. “Afternoon,” he said. He gave Zac a friendly nod, which the boy felt obliged to return.

“All right?” Zac asked.

“Yeah, not bad, not bad,” replied the Cyclops. “Thanks for asking.” As he spoke, he bent and tore open the sack, letting Angelo spill out on to the floor.

“Wh—?” Angelo spluttered, blinking frantically in the sudden light. He flailed around on his back for a moment, before scrambling to his feet. He screamed when he spotted Steropes – a high-pitched girly screech that made the glass in the chandeliers quiver.

“Whoa, easy, easy,” soothed the Cyclops. “Sorry about the whispering and the bundling you up in the bag an’ all that. Boss’s orders. Hope you weren’t too traumatised by it all.”

Angelo screamed again in response.

“Angelo, Angelo, relax,” Zac said. He stepped closer to the boy, then tried to pull back as Angelo threw his arms round him. Try as he might, though, he couldn’t break the bearhug.

“Oh, it was horrible,” Angelo gasped. “Just horrible!” Zac could feel the boy’s heart pounding inside his chest. He was uncomfortably warm to the touch, but he was still a few degrees away from being hot. “I thought I was never going to see you again,” Angelo sobbed. “Can you imagine how horrible that would be?”

Zac hesitated. “Horrible. Yeah.”

Angelo spotted the Valkyrie and yelped with delight. “Herya!” He detached himself from Zac and hurried over to her, his arms spread wide.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned. Angelo faltered to a stop just a few steps away from her, but his smile didn’t fade.

“You’re alive. We’re all alive!” He raised both hands triumphantly above his head. “Go, Superfriends!”

There was a moment of embarrassed silence. Angelo lowered his arms again.

“Nice, nice! Is very nice, yes? Happy reunion,” said Argus. “Please, my apologies for the way you were all brought here. In my line of work I find direct approach is simplest. Besides, I have an image to maintain, yes?”

Zac looked at the belly, the curly shoes and the tiny fez. “I’m sure you do.”

Angelo glanced nervously at Zac. “Is that... Is that him?”

“Argus the