Free Red Right Hand by Levi Black Page A

will carry you to the nearest of your kind.”
    â€œThat is very generous of you, little goddess.” His eyes narrowed, red right hand slipping from the folds of his coat. “ Too generous, I think.”
    Terror crawled across Ashtoreth’s face at the sight of Nyarlathotep’s hand. She cowered, pushing herself farther into the hollow of the soiled mattress, her wide eyes pinned on that red right hand. “It is not a trick, Dark Lord! It is how my power works! Find and fetch are part and parcel of desire!”
    The Man in Black took a step toward the bed, his red right hand rising slowly. A black energy crackled along the nerves laced over the raw, skinless flesh.
    I grabbed his arm without thinking. My hand touched his coat and it rippled under my fingers, curling around them. An alien melody sang softly in my mind. Nyarlathotep turned, scowling, as I jerked my hand away, cutting off the song.
    â€œWe have what we came here for. She seems harmless, so let’s go find the bad guys.”
    â€œDo not attempt to bar my action again, Acolyte. It will not end well next time.”
    I bristled. “Thanks to you, my night can’t really get any worse.”
    A smile cut across the Dark Man’s face. “We shall see about that, Charlotte Tristan Moore.” His red right hand disappeared in the folds of his coat. “Let us be about our bloody-handed business tonight.” With that he turned, striding toward the door.
    Daniel looked at me for a long moment before turning and following. I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, and started after them.
    Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
    â€œChild, wait,” Ashtoreth called, making me turn at the doorway. Her mouth opened in a black-gummed smile. “Thank you for your mercy.”
    My words were as harsh as my voice. “It wasn’t mercy for you, bitch. I just didn’t want to see whatever he planned to do.”
    â€œStill, I owe you my gratitude.” The Whore Goddess rose, kneeling on the unclean mattress. She stretched out her arms. The wound gaped open, starless void yawning wide. “Would you like to fuck my wound?”
    Ashtoreth’s terrible giggle chased me down the hallway.

 
    13
    T HE PARKING LOT was empty except for my car, Daniel, and the Crawling Chaos.
    Where the hell do these names come from? The Crawling Chaos? The Whore Goddess?
    Actually, that one is kind of obvious.
    Scratch that. I’d seen the Man in Black’s true form. Crawling Chaos actually was a pretty apt description.
    They stood on the sidewalk, Daniel looking at the Man in Black like a lost puppy and the Man in Black looking up at the stars. The door creaked as I pushed it open, chill night air hitting me like a slap. It smelled clean and clear making me realize my mouth tasted foul, the back of my throat burning from being sick.
    I would kill for a mint or a stick of gum.
    Nyarlathotep’s red right hand came out of his coat pocket as I stepped up to them. The slick, bloodless fingers held a silver foil-wrapped object.
    A stick of gum.
    He held it toward me.
    I stopped short. “I hate that. Don’t read my mind.”
    He didn’t say anything, just stood there in his creepy coat holding out the stick of gum. It winked at me, the yellow sodium lights above us reflecting dully off the foil. I didn’t want the gum anymore, not from him.
    The taste in my mouth intensified, curdling. I tried to swallow, to force it down, but it stuck to the back of my throat like a cold. Even with the taste choking me, I didn’t want that gum. I didn’t trust it not to be a trick.
    â€œIt is not a trick, Acolyte. It is simply what you wished for. What advantage could I receive from giving you a stick of gum? You can trust that no harm will come to you,” he purred, his voice tickling along the inside of me.
    He’d read my mind again. It made me want the gum even less, although my mouth tasted so bad