Crack the Sky: Preternatural Chronicles Book 8 (The Preternatural Chronicles)

by Hunter Blain

“The fuck I am,” I shot back, eyes still pluming with raw energy.

  The lump in the demon wolf’s hand let out a high-pitched whine, and I gasped as I saw Depweg move.

  “He’s not dead yet, vampire,” Lolth said, her smile somehow growing wider.

  My eyes went out, sword vanishing in a muffled whoosh, and I lowered myself to the ground before letting my wings retract.

  “What do you want,” I asked in defeat.

  “Your armor.”

  My heart sank as I vaguely comprehended how bad an idea it was to give insanely powerful armor—made by God himself—to the already formidable goddess of the Shadow Court of Faerie.

  She could use that kind of power to do exactly as she had always desired: bathe the universe in absolute darkness. I wasn’t sure exactly how she would do it, but I was sure she could do it.

  It was then I noticed that Lolth and the demon wolf that was once Jose seemed familiar with one another. Or at the very least, not surprised. The implications of either of those scenarios twisted my guts into tight knots.

  I also pieced together that, even though Jose was in a different frame of time after removing the crystal, he was still able to perceive me. I could only assume it had to do with going full demon-monster thanks to the powers of Hell itself.

  “You’re working with Samael,” I said, both to solidify the thought and let Lolth know that I was in on the joke.

  “Ah. He finally gets it,” Lolth purred. “Surely you cannot be that surprised, vampire. Is your memory so short that you have already forgotten how the Judeo-Christian Devil aided in my plans to swallow Midworld?”

  “I remember using the same black hole he helped you make and shoving your bitch ass through it.”

  My hands clenched into fists as I took a step slightly to the side where I had seen the glint of my weapon in the moonlight.

  “And look at the consequences of your actions, foolish vampire. Try, try, try as you might…you will always have to face the consequences of your actions.”

  I sent all my focus into a fission ball the size of a grain of rice in my right fist, ready to explode and take out several acres with it once I launched it at Lolth.

  “I’ve become fucking great at dealing with consequences, Lolth. I’d say I’m a Lilith-damned master at this point. And do you know why that is?” I asked Lolth as I took another half step closer until the crystal necklace—hidden by the thick grass—was between my feet.

  “Do tell, vampire,” Lolth confidently urged, knowing the superior position held by herself and her demonic ally.

  In a low, stonelike voice, I growled, “Because consequences…have evolved me from a game of checkers…to one of chess…”

  As I let the meaning of my words register with Lolth, I was surprised when she shrieked, “Kill the wolf!” right as I dove down for the crystal.

  My fingers slammed into the ground and gripped a handful of dirt in an effort to make damn sure I had the crystal in my grip.

  “NOOOOO!” I screamed as the demon grabbed Depweg in both hands, lifted him above his head, and twisted his fists in opposite directions.

  38

  Cracking bones filled my ears, like a car driving over a roll of bubble wrap, as a sheet of purplish-black blood spilled from the monster’s hands as if he were wringing out a wet sponge.

  As soon as he was satisfied that no more pops would sound, the demon opened both hands, and a twisted, mangled body began to free-fall to the ground.

  At seeing the massively disfigured Depweg with my own two eyes, everything went into slow motion.

  My own screams sounded distant to me as I flung my right hand toward Lolth while launching off the ground toward my crumpled best friend.

  Lolth’s remaining eye went wide as she dodged the small ball of expanding light that was now the size of a marble.

  The demon’s glowing eyes seemed to notice me and began tracking where I was flying as giant fists started slamming at a downward angle, ready to smash me to paste.

  With a Viking’s battle cry, I warped space around me until I was moving faster than the monster could possibly track. My own perception was on hyperdrive, and everything moved slowly for me.

  Reaching where Depweg was free-falling, I dropped my warp of space-time and continued over him, right toward Jose’s face.

  I had deliberately made him think I was leaping for my friend, only to show him what I really had in mind.

  As my rook confidently glided across the chessboard toward the queen that Jose portrayed in this little game, I wrapped the necklace around his open lower jaw.

  There was a pop that I felt more than heard, and I knew he was once again attuned to my time…and not Depweg’s.

  Placing my feet on the demon’s ample chest, I turned and reached for one of Depweg’s lifeless limbs.

  In the back of my mind, something nagged that I shouldn’t have been able to interact with the living Depweg…unless…

  Grabbing hold of what appeared to be an arm, I swung Depweg in an arc like a professional baseball player up to bat, and smashed Jose’s head with the corpse of my brother.

  As we had learned with the dog that had crashed through my leg as effortlessly as if it hadn’t been there, Jose was reminded about being struck with something from this time line while wearing the crystal.

  While doing absolutely no more damage to the dense rag doll that was my friend, the demon wolf’s head exploded like shooting a watermelon with a .50 cal.

  Letting go with only one of my hands, I reached up and easily pulled off Jose’s bottom jaw as his entire skull was reduced to gore.

  Pushing off the decapitated monster’s chest with my feet, I rolled in midair while desperately trying to figure out where Depweg’s head was.

  I was looking for an extended snout, but only saw broken teeth where his face had been crushed inward.

  While still traveling in slow motion (at least from my perspective), I put the necklace on my friend right as my bomb exploded.

  Landing on the ground, I willed an ivory shell around where Depweg and I huddled together…or where I huddled over the lump that was once my brother.

  I heard Lolth scream once before being cut off as the vicious light from my bomb hit her while in her relatively tiny cat form.

  I didn’t think the explosion itself would kill her, seeing as she was tied to this time line. But something the sun from this stream of time had taught me was that light was universal. I had proven this hypothesis when I’d used my light attacks on Lolth, even when nothing else could hurt her.

  The ground rumbled as my armor warned it was using an alarming amount of energy to keep the manifestation from collapsing.

  I screamed through gritted teeth as my energy tank danced dangerously close to empty, promising that I would not survive a fission bomb from this close, even with the armor.

  Pieces of my ivory shell began to flake as jets of flame pierced my defenses. First a few, then several as the bomb continued to do what I had designed it to do.

  An idea came to me, and I placed both hands on the shell in the direction of the blast.

  Willing a small section of it to open around my palms, I roared with an unhinged jaw while focusing on the energy of the blast.

  Power began to flow up my arms, making them go numb as I sucked in the fission bomb, just like I had done on the highway in Houston when Lolth had made Locke drop his attack.

  Closing my mouth but baring my teeth, I dropped my manifested shield and took on the brunt of the attack, trusting my armor to know what to do.

  My feet pushed into the ground as shaking arms fought the wall of energy trying to consume me. Power rushed into my hands, precipitously filling my tanks to the point where the gold of my armor was glowing brightly.

  Something came to mind, and I understood that blast was still expending energy, while my batteries were nearing their max capacity.

  Locke came to mind, warning me not to play with forces I didn’t comprehend because the co
nsequences could be catastrophic.

  At that moment, I was humbled and humiliated that Lolth had been right. Consequences and I were forever entwined in a tango of fate.

  The wall of energy dropped without any warning, and I collapsed to the ground in a sprawl, no longer pushing against an unstoppable force.

  Quickly scrambling to my feet, I looked around to see the woods in front of me with full grass beneath my feet.

  “What the…” I mouthed as my eyes scanned all around, trying to understand what had happened.

  Then it hit me.

  My attack had been tied to my time and hadn’t impacted the world around me. Only the light had been able to affect this stream of time.

  However, the attack absolutely could have killed me and probably Depweg because it—

  “DEPWEG!” I shouted, turning around to see the bloody lump on the ground, unmoving.

  Blood-matted fur glinted like black diamonds in the light of the moon.

  I knew my best friend…my brother…was dead.

  39

  “Dep-weg,” I croaked between quick breaths that acted as if I were being electrocuted, my chest heaving.

  For the first time since I could remember, I was thankful that the tears welling in my eyes blurred my vision. My brother’s mangled corpse would forever stain my thoughts like a watermark that I would always see for the rest of my life…however long that would be.

  I lost all control over myself, and my body acted on its own volition as I shot to my feet and turned to face the decapitated monster that had once been Jose. My emotions spewed white-hot rage through my veins like a car pumping nitrous.

  My flaming gladius burst to life absolutely drenched in spilling heavenflame that had a tinge of green to it. Fire spouted skyward from the tip of the long blade like a flamethrower, reaching higher than the canopy of the trees that sat watching…waiting…

  “AAAAAHHHHH!” I screamed in fury as I readied the strike that could split a mountain in two, pluming eyes locked on the unmoving corpse of Jose.

  I froze, then, seeing the shadows of the trees rustling as if in anticipation of the strike, and I saw there was a green hue that reflected off the bark.

  With a snarl almost painfully creasing my mouth with its intensity, I allowed my eyes to follow the source of the light and see hellfire dancing every bit as strong as the heavenflame.

  What was worse was that my celestial armor had manifested in preparation for battle. But it wasn’t the ivory and gold I was used to.

  Obsidian gauntlets lined with gaudy red spikes all over made my brain crash as wide eyes continued to climb up my frame.

  Everywhere I looked, armor befitting a general of Hell regarded me as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

  On my chest, the cross made from Da’s blood and ashes was upside down. The image of Samael’s throne room came to mind, with banners showcasing the same upside-down crosses.

  “Guh!” I yelped as I stumbled backward a few steps, trying to escape the sword that was still clutched in my hands and relentlessly giving chase as if the obsidian armor wouldn’t let go.

  My boot hit a mound of something soft, and I cringed as I knew exactly what I had just backed into.

  Closing my eyes, I could feel the hate coursing through my body filling every fiber of my being with unforgiving wrath. Even with my eyes closed, I could see the blue and green of the different ends of the eternal spectrum fighting through my eyelids.

  I saw my parents, then, standing as they were at the gates of Heaven the first time I had been let through by the Gatekeeper.

  My mother patted my chest as she gave me the beanie that I treasured just as much, if not more, as the coat around my body.

  With unbreakable determination, I willed the hell-armor to shimmer away, revealing my usual, cherished attire.

  With my right hand poised toward the sky and flames still fighting for dominance, I let my left palm slowly glide up my coat until its fingers reached my beard. Continuing upward, I gingerly grazed over the material of the beanie, letting myself feel the love that had been put into every stitch.

  Feeling the love begin to choke the bubbling hatred inside my heart, my armor sensed what I needed without me having to ask for it, and the chest plate shimmered to life, once again ivory.

  Opening my eyes, I lowered my hand, letting my gaze follow as fingertips touched the right-side-up cross made from Da’s ashes and blood.

  Tears began to flow again, but not from sorrow or grief…but from love. The love I felt at that moment was enough to completely extinguish the hate, and the green hue of the surrounding forest was swallowed by the blue.

  Letting my gaze glide from my chest to the decapitated monster before me, I willed my outstretched arm to lower…and then let my gladius vanish.

  “I don’t forgive you, you fucking bastard. But I refuse…I REFUSE…to…to hate…you…”

  In a gesture that signified squashing the building hate that thrashed until its very last breath, I slowly turned and let my eyes fall on Depweg.

  “I…I love you, brother,” I whispered, wiping at my eyes with the sleeve of my coat.

  Not knowing what to do, I lowered my head and began the process of opening the floodgates of sorrow. I could tell it was going to be a soul-wrenching session that would be heard two towns over with my incoherent wailings. But I also didn’t care.

  Depweg was gone, and I was left alone in a universe I didn’t belong in.

  40

  After several minutes of body-wracking sobs, I was empty of all emotion. No happiness. No sadness. Just a numb nothing that enveloped me like a swaddled baby.

  Getting to my feet, I debated on burying Depweg there with his family or taking him back to our river of time.

  As if my life were nothing more than a tragedy, a small drop of rain hit my boot with a barely audible—almost adorable—thump.

  Another crashed next to the first, and I looked up to see clouds begin blotting out the moon.

  The biggest raindrop that had ever existed seemed to strike me right in the eye, making me curse under my breath and blink my eye several times. It felt so weird to have any other liquid besides tears in your eyes. Even plain old water felt wrong.

  Lowering my head to make up my mind about what to do with Depweg before it started pouring, I placed my hands in my coat pockets…and felt something.

  Pulling out a long, narrow container that felt like thick glass or maybe acrylic, I examined the vial and instantly thought it looked like it belonged in a Resident Evil game or movie. It was flanked on either end by metal caps, with the creepy-looking liquid deep at the center.

  “How the hell did you survive in there, little guy?” I asked the fancy sci-fi vial, turning it over in my hand as I thought about all the fighting I had done with it jostling around in my pocket. “Reddit is gonna have a field day with you.”

  The image of the secret agent from N.O.R.M.A.L. that dabbled in improv came to mind; Wales, I think his name was.

  I sucked in a sharp gasp, all of a sudden holding the vial like it could break in my hands…and let my gaze drop to the still warm corpse of Depweg.

  “Were-pire,” I whispered, for some reason trying to keep myself from shouting in excitement.

  Kneeling down, I unscrewed one of the metal lids and saw there was a capped syringe hidden away. Repeating the process on the other side, I was met with a rubber plunger.

  “Please forgive me,” I asked of Depweg, knowing he was going to be super pissed that I had infected him with a virus made by Nazis working for Hell.

  “Um…” I breathed out, trying to figure out where to inject.

  Passing my eyes over the mound of pulverized flesh, my gaze stopped on his flattened head. A section of skull was moved or missing, revealing Depweg’s exposed brain.

  Uncapping the tip of the syringe, I gingerly slid the needle into the gray matter, all the while making hesitant “Oooh” and “Ahh” noises you might let out when slowly jammin
g a needle into your best friend’s freaking brain.

  Once it was in, I moved my thumb to the plunger and counted down.

  “Three…two…one…” and pressed the button.

  Nothing happened.

  Leaning down to examine the apparatus, my nose was invaded with the smell of blood and wet fur, making me crinkle my nose.

  “Ah. Got it,” I proclaimed as I pulled back on the plunger until it clicked into place, revealing it was a spring-loaded system.

  “Okay. Let’s try this again. Three—”

  My finger barely grazed the button and it shot the liquid directly into Depweg’s brain faster than the blink of an eye.

  “Shit!” I hissed, remaining still for a moment before shrugging my shoulders, satisfied that the hard part was over.

  Standing up, I glanced at the empty vial and tossed it to the ground. With bated breath, I let my eyes roam over Depweg from head to toe over and over and over again, waiting for something—anything—to happen.

  Seeing the crystal still hanging from his lower jaw, I quickly moved it over his crushed skull where I best thought his head and neck would grow from, making sure the necklace stayed in place if and when he came back to life.

  Several seconds passed, and I began to lose hope. All movies I had ever seen suggested that the transformation should have been almost immediate. Either that or it waited until the hero lost all hope and turned his back to sulk away, defeated.

  “Come on, man. You can do it,” I urged Depweg. “If this doesn’t work, I swear to Lilith I’ll bury you in an ancient Indian burial ground! Damn what Stephen King has to say on the matter!”

  Silence was my answer, and I knew I had nothing to do but hope and wait.

  Deciding to make the best use of my time, I walked over toward Depweg’s family, stopping to sorrowfully gaze upon the young boy and his mother. Glancing back over my shoulder, I looked to see Depweg hadn’t moved, and briefly wondered if that was for the best.

  Even if he did come back, would he be able to handle the anguish caused by the loss of his family?