Chapter 17
BING FELTlike a million ants were crawling over his skin. It was the same way he’d felt during the worst of the fight at Lake Wacka Wacka. Paranormal energy saturated everything, and it was hard to see for all the ribbons of energy going every which way. It made him want to turn into a wolf and rip something to shreds.
The only thing that settled him was that Walter seemed completely at ease. He was alert, of course. But as they pushed through the first set of doors of the large courthouse building, Walter started whistling and twirling something in his fingers.
“What are you doing?” Bing asked, his voice tight.
“Hmmm?” Walter asked.
“You’re whistling. And what’s in your hand?”
“Oh.” He showed Bing a toothpick. “I don’t know where I got it. I think it’s Monkey’s. He’s anxious to fight.”
“Me too.” That was worrisome on so many levels. He really didn’t want Walter in a fight, and he sure as hell didn’t want Monkey taking charge. But they didn’t have a choice, and frankly, if there was going to be a fight, he’d be grateful to have a demigod on his side.
Damn it, where was Sand? He needed to get her to explain her plan to Walter. If he could get her to confess that her goal was to wander the earth wreaking havoc with Monkey, then Walter would know he had to do the right thing—toss out Monkey. The demigod was far too dangerous to keep around.
Unfortunately Bing had no idea how he’d get the woman to do it, but he might come across an opportunity. So far Walter had adamantly refused to push Monkey out. He obviously thought he could control the entity inside him. Maybe that was true for now, but how much of Walter would survive over time? He’d wither away to nothing. Bing would do anything to prevent that from happening. Even wander without backup into a courthouse in search of the Kangaroo King, whoever the hell that was.
“Let’s both try to keep it together,” Walter said in a singsong way. Then they stepped through the second set of doors and heard a whole lot of grunting and jeering from somewhere. Walter’s brows went up. “Okay, then. I guess we have a target.”
Bing shook his head. “We’re not here to fight.” Though he sure as hell wanted to.
“Right. We’re here to find Auntie Sand.” Walter pointed to the courtroom where all the noise was coming from. “I’ll bet she’s in there.”
“Thank you, Mr. Obvious,” Bing said without heat. It was something Walter used to grumble under his breath, usually at something stupid in a movie. It was another attempt to find an easy banter with each other, and this one worked better than his last try.
Walter flashed him a grin. “That’s Captain Obvious to you, mister.”
Bing snorted. “The hell it is. We’re both privates in this army.”
Walter grinned, and Bing felt a few more of his nerves settle. Then, together, they walked silently through the halls toward the jeering and grunting. They came to another set of double doors, presumably leading to a courtroom. The wood was thick, without a window, so they couldn’t see through, but the smell that seeped out from beneath it reminded Bing of location shoots on a farm. It was a ripe earth smell that made his nose twitch.
With a nod to Walter, he slowly turned the knob and pulled open the door… and got a face full of kangaroo butt.
Bing jumped back, as did Walter. The room was wall-to-wall kangaroos, all moving and groaning as they filled every inch of the room. Bing couldn’t see anything else. They weren’t the real animals, of course, but phantom creatures made up of ribbons of energy. He studied the one directly in front of them. He traced the energy lines until he found the pin holding the pattern together. With a gentle exhale, he pulled the pin and watched the creature unravel into nothingness.
“That’s so cool,” Walter whispered.
Bing smiled, warmed by the clear happiness in Walter’s voice. Itwascool, now that he thought about it. And it was fun to hone in on the next kangaroo and dissolve it too. Then the next. Soon five kangaroos were gone and they could step inside the courtroom.
Except… none of it made sense. At first glance, it appeared that a trial was going on, but it was unlike any courtroom he’d ever seen. First off, the judge was a small woman barely peering over the front edge of the stand. Looking closely, Bing guessed she was one of the jockeys. Several more kangaroos crowded into the jury box, along with jockeys and a couple of tall houseplants. But what caught his attention—and kept it—were the people at the table for the defense. Cara sat there, her arms folded across her leather vest. She looked healthy but thoroughly pissed off. Beside her lounged Nero, who appeared to be napping. Beside them stood Gelpack, a gelatinous alien in the vague shape of a human. He simply stood there, rippling every now and then but not saying or doing a thing, because everyone’s attention was on Walter’s Auntie Sand.
She stood in the middle of the room like a prosecutor, addressing the jury and the judge as she paced in front of the bench. “Every day new celebrities show up in magazines, and YouTube gods and dancing bears fill the internet. A few miles from here, a new dark demon appeared and nearly destroyed the earth. We cannot allow this to happen! We are the old gods! We are the true gods. We must band together to destroy the upstarts.”
Everywhere around, the kangaroos grunted their approval, slapping their tails down with force. The jockeys also cheered, hooting right along with Auntie Sand, and even the potted plants seemed to shake. Everyone looked excited except for Cara, Nero, and Gelpack, though the alien seemed to ripple more fiercely with the noise.
Bing advanced into the room, dissolving one more kangaroo as he stepped up to the railing that separated the gallery from the main courtroom. Cara jolted when he touched her shoulder, spinning around with a fierce look. She blew out a hard breath the moment she saw him.
“Bing! Thank God you’re here. How did you find us?”
“We were following her.” He pointed to where Sand was still detailing the power of the old gods.
“Who knows the great god who loved the kangaroo?” she cried. Apparently no one here, because the members of the “jury” stared blankly at Sand as she fumbled to regain their enthusiasm. “You must help me catch and destroy the new gods who steal our power.”
Nothing.
“So you can reign supreme in Wisconsin. The Kangaroo King! The Kangaroo King!”
