Hellboy: Unnatural Selection(37)

"So," said Hellboy, "why does this guy leap to mind for you now?"

"Your comment about magic and myth," she said. "And the fact that Blake's last real lecture was entitled 'When There Were Dragons in the World'."

"Right," Hellboy said. "Dragons."

"As I said, he believed that humankind had purged the earth of all that was good. Drove away the wonder. And he spoke of the Memory, using the exact same terminology as the legendary book by Zahid de Lainree."

"And you think what, Kate?" Abe said.

"I think that when he disappeared in 1969, he went to find the book."

The room was silent for a while, all thinking their own thoughts. When there were dragons in the world, Hellboy thought. Damn, that's now! He flexed his arms and tensed his neck, feeling the stiffness settling in there from his fight with the Firedrake.

"Aren't we adding two and two to get five?" Tom said. "I mean, there's nothing here to say it's anything to do with Blake, is there? And this all happened ... when exactly?"

"His wife died in 1973. If Blake were still alive now, he'd be almost ninety, and his boys would be in their late forties."

"And you think this is all revenge?"

Kate shrugged. "I never knew the man. But yes, vengeance for his wife. And to prove that he was right."

"Maybe he's just mad."

"That too."

"It leaves so much unexplained," Abe said. "Where are these creatures coming from? How are they suddenly appearing again?"

"If he has the book, he has a map to the Memory."

Abe shook his head. "It's all too woolly for me," he said. "And even if it were true, it gives us nothing. Hellboy? What do you think?"

"I think we have to find where this butthead is and have a chat with him."

"He's been missing for almost twenty-five years," Kate said. "How do you expect to find him?"

"Ask. Tom, do you have a list of recent sightings of these things?"

"Cryptids," Kate said.

"Huh?"

"I call them cryptids. Cryptozoological creatures."

Hellboy nodded his head sagely. "Classy," he said.

Tom slid a computer printout across the table in Hellboy's direction. "What do you mean, ask?" he said.

"I have my ways," Hellboy said. He used one finger to position the paper in front of him and started scanning down the list. "Cryptids," he muttered. "Classy."

"Hellboy ... " Abe said.

"Hey, buddy, I know. You need to go after Abby. Tom knows that too, though he didn't say anything. Just keep in touch. I'm here if you need me."

Abe nodded his thanks and stroked the flared gills on his neck.

They were standing in the entrance foyer of BPRD headquarters, waiting for Liz Sherman to arrive. She had called in from the airport to say she was on her way, and Hellboy had not liked the tone in her voice. She was vulnerable at the best of times, but today she had sounded defeated. He wanted to see her, talk to her, take her with him. The way she sounded, being alone would be the worst thing for her.

"I'm afraid for Abby," Abe said. "She doesn't belong out there any more than we do, not really. But we've adjusted. We've accepted, I still don't think she has."

"Accepted what?"

"That we're different. Abby's a werewolf, Hellboy. Ninety-nine people out of a hundred would call her a monster, and that's never likely to change. She hasn't come to terms with it yet. Her being out there on her own ... I'm scared of what will happen."

Hellboy nodded, looked up through the atrium's glass roof at the night drawing in.

"Full moon in two days," Abe said.

"Right."

They stood in silence for a while, two friends feeling the weight of worlds on their shoulders. Hellboy flexed his huge right hand, flicked his tail at the floor, shrugged his shoulders to twist away some of the stiffness. Kate's ideas were still sinking in, but at least now he had an aim and a purpose in mind. Sitting around was fine, but as far as he was concerned, it never got anything done. He needed to be out there. And as soon as Liz arrived, he would be. "You have any idea where she might have gone?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Abe said. "I'm thinking maybe Paris."