I stared down at the two halves of the man I'd killed. It was... messy. My sword was raised, flooding the parking lot with the light of the sun, ready to strike if he so much as twitched. He didn't. After a few seconds the gray armor covering what was left of Mauvaise disappeared, revealing the remnants of an expensive looking business suit. A sword clattered to the ground next to him.

I'd never killed a man before. Sure, there was Madeline, but she was a vampire. The henchmen I'd chopped up with Mike had been undead monsters, as well. Not Mauvaise. Mr. Evil had been a human. A person. I felt like I should feel guilty, or shocked, or something. I didn't. All I felt was a grim sense of satisfaction. He'd been an asshole, and now he was dead.

I lowered my Sword. The light winked out. I became aware of the heaving of my chest, the shaking of my limbs. Then the smell hit. Gunpowder and shit, mixed with the coppery tang of blood. Death smells. I gagged a little, stepping back.

"Fuck that guy," Mike broke the silence. "Am I right?"

"Good work, Kevin." A gauntleted hand thumped my shoulder. The Blue Knight stepped past me, retrieving the Gray Knight's Sword of Bequest from the guts and blood it had landed in. "You done good."

I shook myself and took a look around. The parking lot was a charnel house. Bits and pieces of bodies were scattered around the overturned RV. Most of them had been frozen by Patrick, but here and there a leg or chunk of flesh still wriggled around. The RV itself, along with the van next to it and several random cars, were puckered with bullet holes.

"Fuckin' A, Kev." Mike thunked an arm around my shoulders, making a scraping noise as our armors rasped against each other. "How's it feel to be a badass?"

I was still trying to control my breathing. I was also trying not to puke. I stepped out of Mike's casual embrace and fumbled my sword back into it's sheath. "We should go."

"Yeah," Patrick agreed. "We better skitty. Surprised the fuzz ain't here already."

"The fuzz are the least of it," William clambered out of the RV's side door. He reached down and helped Lady exit, leaving them sitting on top of the overturned vehicle. "The Lady Named herself. The Servant is on it's way."

"The Servant?" Mike asked.

"No time," William brushed him off. He jumped off the RV, then helped Nynyane down. "Mike, grab what we need from the hotel room. Kevin, start the Jeep. Everyone else, find the other Swords."

"And guns," Mike shouted as he headed back to the hotel. "Get me some of those guns!"

"Hurry!" William barked. Mike broke into a jog. I decided to follow his example and run for the Jeep. When I got there I had a problem. The key was in my pocket, but my pocket was covered by glow in the dark steel. I fumbled around like an idiot for a few seconds, then wasted another half a minute trying to figure out how to dismiss the armor.

Finally, I got it. The armor disappeared, and I clambered in and started the engine. By that time, Lady, Patrick, and William arrived. William was holding the other swords. Patrick had a big black duffel bag. I had to turn the Jeep off again so I could go pop the trunk. The swords and a duffel full of guns and ammo were dumped in. I left the trunk open and restarted the car. My phone buzzed. A text. From the same number as before.

IT'S COMING GET OUT NOW!

"Mike!" I hollered. "Hurry the fuck up!"

The Red Knight had just exited the lobby with an armload of guns. The other two knights dismissed their armor and climbed into the Jeep with Lady. Instead of waiting, I gunned the engine in reverse, peeling to a stop right in front of Mike's dumbass. "Go, go, go!"

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Mike dumped his cargo and slammed the trunk closed. His armor disappeared. I shifted to drive and got moving before he finished getting in. "Dammit, Kevin, what the hell?"

"It's coming," I told him shortly. I almost revved my way onto the street without looking, and almost got us hit by a pickup. For some stupid reason, I thought the streets would be empty. Apparently a big loud gunfight didn't have much effect on traffic in Vegas. I had to wait another painful 6 seconds before there was an opening and I could turn out into the street.

I wanted to push the accelerator down to the floor, but traffic stopped me. I had no choice but to follow the flow.

We made it two blocks. Then the buzzing started. Keening? I don't know. It was high pitched. It was loud. It made me dizzy enough that I almost crashed the car. The lights ahead of us went out, a wave of darkness rushing our way. A large mass glided just behind the wave. I got the impression of tentacles and pulsing flesh.

The darkness hit us. The Jeep died, and I just barely avoided crashing into the car in front of me, which was also stopped. The keening escalated, crescendoed, rattling the windows, vibrating my teeth. My skin itched and all my hairs stood up. I clutched at my ears, screaming. The writhing mass of flesh passed overhead.

Two seconds later, a boom rattled the windows a second time. I'd heard a lot of loud noises tonight. Guns, flashbangs. Screaming ghosts and whatever the fuck had just passed us. This was louder. I didn't just hear it. I felt it. Like standing too close to a bomb. My bones rattled. Pain lanced through my skull as my eardrums ruptured. I was still screaming, but I couldn't hear it anymore.

A metal hand clamped on my shoulder. I could hear again. The keening was still loud, but I could make out William shouting. "Start the engine! Start it!"

The streetlights were starting to flicker back on. Some of the cars ahead of us had managed to start, and they were speeding away just as fast as they could go. I turned the key, half expecting the Jeep to fail me at this critical moment. It sputtered, but then the engine caught and the old girl roared to life. I peeled out, swerving around some idiot in a Tesla that was still parked in the road.

"What the fucking fuck was that?!" Mike demanded.

"Not now," William shushed him. "If we can hear it, it might hear us." The Keening was changing pitch, cutting in and out. It was starting to sound less like feedback from a microphone and more like the cry of a very large, very angry Eldritch horror. Crashes and booms still echoed from the direction of the hotel. I glanced in the rearview mirror, but I could see anything. I wanted to turn for a proper look, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the road for that long.

Speaking of the road, we had a decision to make. "Where are we going?"

"Away," said William. "Get us out of the city."

"What about the hotel?" Mike asked. "All those people?"

Come to think of it, I hadn't seen a single soul at the hotel once Mauvaise attacked. Not even the desk clerk. I hoped everyone was just hiding. It would have been the sensible thing to do with gunfire and evil spirits flying all over the place. I hoped they stayed hidden until the Servant (because what else could it be?) left. I wanted to tell myself they'd be ok, but it was more likely everyone within a block of that thing was screwed.

"If we had a way to fight that thing we wouldn't be running," William told him. "Going back to fuck with it just means we'll die, too."

"It's been tried," added Patrick. "Didn't go well."

"Now everyone shut up," William continued. "It doesn't think like we do, but it's not stupid. No more talking til we're far, far away."

About two blocks later, I finally saw the police. Two cars, sirens blaring, blue and red lights flashing as they barreled around the corner. For their sake, I hoped the Servant was gone by the time they arrived. I pulled over as they screamed past. With the Jeep stopped, I could finally turn and look.

I didn't see much, at first. Then a ripple of darkness streaked across the city. Lights snuffed out in a wide line that was thankfully heading in a different direction than us. The Keening faded, but did not disappear. I noticed a wetness, and reached up to find blood. It was still leaking out of my ears.

"Mike," I got his attention.

"What did I say?" William demanded.

"Shut up," I told him. I turned back to Mike. "Pull your phone out and find me the way out of here."

"Yeah," Mike nodded. He rummaged in his pocket, then cursed. "I think it's still at the-" He cut himself off. "I don't have it."

I handed him my phone. I didn't bother unlocking it. We've known each other's passcodes for years. A horn honked behind me, and I remembered I was supposed to be driving. I got us moving again.

"You've got a text," said Mike. "It's... hey. I think that's Finder's number."

"I know," I told him. It hadn't been hard to figure out. It's not like I knew a lot of people that could see the future. "Get to the maps."

"Turn right here," Mike directed. "We're headed for the Strip."

"What?" I spared him a glance. "Why?"

"How should I know?" Mike waggled the phone. "I'm just passing on the message."

I grumbled, but took the turn. Ten seconds later, the Keening got louder. The cars and lights blacked out on the street we'd just left. The Jeep didn't die this time, and I did my best to drive inconspicuously.

"Ok," I nodded acceptance. "The Strip it is."