Dark Gate Angels Complete Series Omnibus

by Ramy Vance

  Anabelle walked over to the two shades as Terra fell from the rock above and Abby flew over to them. "Fancy seeing you here."

  "It shouldn't be. We’ve been searching for you for hours. The Netherverse is not a small place. It figures you would be on the opposite side from us."

  Terra and Abby stared at Myrddin as if they'd seen a ghost. "You're...you're here?" the girl stammered.

  Myrddin smiled kindly at her. "Yes, but we will have to save the celebration of our reunion for another time."

  Terra shrugged. "Why? We have this thing in the bag. That nerd didn't even hit hard. What's the big deal?"

  "’That nerd’ is able to adjust to anything he's attacked by. Now, one of my strongest spells won't even affect him, so we must work fast."

  Terra scoffed as she cracked her shoulders. "What for? The horde is taking care of those weak-ass ghouls, and Sarah and Kravis have the rest taken care of. And the ether dragons are still coming. We've won."

  José chuckled to himself and raised his sword, which cast a shining light that cut through the darkness of the Netherverse.

  In the distance was a tall tower covered in eyes and tentacles. The thousands of ghouls milling around it screeched and started to move toward the DGA, Myrddin, and José.

  "That's where we need to go, and that's what we have to fight through," the MERC said.

  "What the hell? Is that, like, an Elder God version of Mordor?" Anabelle asked.

  Abby and Terra glanced at Anabelle, their eyes wide with surprise. "I thought you didn't know nerd stuff?" Abby asked.

  The elf shrugged. "It's Tolkien. Everyone knows Tolkien. Come on, you didn't think I'd watch the movies? Legolas is...never mind."

  Myrddin sighed. "Never mind, indeed. It's worse than Mordor. We call it the Heart of the Netherverse, and Tesla might very well be in control of it."

  Anabelle nodded as she stared at the Hearth. "Cool. Let's go fuck it up."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Terra took in the mass of ghouls. Even though she knew she should have been worried about them, she could not take her eyes off the tower. When she'd first seen it, the edifice had been connected to the ground. Now it had broken off and was floating up into the purple and red sky as asteroids zoomed past it and a heavy black fog Terra could hardly see through spread and obscured the tower.

  At the tower's zenith, a bolt of purple lightning cracked. Then a thunderous roar ushered from the tower as the air around the tip started to twist and split as if a new portal were opening. Instead, a giant purple eye emerged.

  As the eye glared around, casting purple light everywhere it looked, more eyes began to open all over the tower, creaking as if they were snakes trying to force their way through their soft eggshells.

  Anabelle whistled, looking slightly worried. "Okay, I see the Mordor resemblance now. I swear, the Dark One must be a huge fantasy nerd. This is copyright infringement."

  Myrddin, who was still gazing solemnly at the tower, shook his head. "It doesn't matter what he is a fan of. It goes much deeper than that. The Dark One is plugged into our universe. Whatever we've written, whatever we've seen, he consumes. It is his way of existing in our plane, and it makes him all the more dangerous."

  Abby landed next to Terra and scanned at the tower. "So, what do we do now?"

  Myrddin's blue eyes crackled as he turned to face the DGA agents. "That is the Dark One's stronghold. If we remove him from there, we might be able to stop him or possibly even kill him."

  "Then what are we waiting for?"

  Terra's HUD pinged, along with the rest of the DGA agents’. She looked down. It was a video transmission from Sarah. Her face was panicked, and the destruction could be seen around her. Gnomes were fighting ghouls, magic and plasma darting back and forth behind Sarah as she ran. As they watched, she took cover, gripping her pistol tightly, then popped out and fired.

  The confidence in her eyes was gone, replaced by an almost bestial fear. "We're being overrun. I don't know what the hell happened, but the number of the ghouls tripled. We're going to have to fall back. There's no way we can take them."

  Anabelle shouted into her HUD, "What about the dragons? Where are they?"

  "Still en route. Alex says they'll be here, but I'm not sure if we can stay alive until then. If we retreat, we can at least keep them at bay at the Gate. It'll funnel all the ghouls through a killing hole. If we can defend that, we have a chance at holding out until the dragons ether-nuke this whole place."

  The HUDS pinged again. This one was a message from Roy from within his dragon mech. "There are too many of them. What the hell are you guys doing over there?"

  A few miles away, ghouls were starting to build up. They had pulled their rancid, rotting bodies from the corpses of the Elder Ones’ dreams, the Dark Melody spreading over their flesh as they shook, wailing into the darkness as if their very existence was pain.

  Anabelle glanced at them and grimaced. "We're having our own problems here. Did you call just to complain?"

  "No," Roy shouted back. "We're retreating. We figure—"

  "You can post up at the Gate and use it as a killing tunnel. Yeah, I figured."

  Roy smiled. Even over the video, you could tell that he was impressed with what he thought was Anabelle's strategic knowledge. "Yeah, that's exactly what we were planning. Don't know how we got so many ghouls so fast. Just a couple of minutes ago, we were tearing through those sons of bitches. Now there's so fucking many of them."

  Abby, who was pacing, snapped her fingers. "It's Tesla. He's using teleportation to jump to different areas and activate more of the ghouls."

  An idea sparked in Terra's head. "Can't you track him? Teleport to wherever he is and keep him from resurrecting the ghouls?"

  Abby shook her head, looking frustrated. "No, we can't. It eats up a lot of power. If we were to jump more than once, we would be so low on power, we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves, let alone fight Tesla."

  Terra raised her hands to the thundering sky and screamed, "Damn you, Nikola Tesla, and your fucking science magic."

  There had to be a better plan than this. All that Terra had heard was that everyone was going to need to retreat, putting the entirety of the fight with the Dark One on the DGA, Myrddin, and José. She knew that wasn't going to be nearly enough. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked, turning to Myrddin. “Don’t you have a plan for this? What is your long game?"

  Myrddin was silent, watching at the horde of ghouls approaching from the tower. "There was only a list of variables, and I perhaps put too much stock in one of them."

  "What was that?"

  The wizard's eyes darted from Terra to Anabelle. "The Path of the Lost. You and Anabelle are not the only ones who can channel that kind of power. Sarah can as well. I believed that if you three gathered, it would be enough to destroy the Dark One. I was not anticipating this kind of force from him."

  "You thought our strength was enough to take him out?"

  Myrddin nodded. "The Dark One is not like many of the trials you have faced. He is pure raw strength. His machinations and plans are only for him to deal with what happens in our physical realm. When we are alone with him, we will have only our strength."

  Anabelle crouched, staring at the ground beneath her. "That's all we need? Raw power?" She looked at the Elder Gods floating above. "I have a plan."

  Myrddin looked uneasy.

  Anabelle stood and walked over to him. "You and I have had our issues, and I'll admit, you're the wise old man who knows everything that's going on all the time. But you put me in charge for a reason, and I'm asking you right now: do you trust me?"

  There was no hesitation in Myrddin's answer. "Yes. Completely."

  Anabelle turned to Terra. "Do you think you can punch through this with me? All the way to the tower?"

  Terra looked at the floating tower as the ghouls continued to shamble in their direction. The feeling that came over her was difficult to describe. It was as if the fear melted, showing
something else beneath, something she had only seen in glimpses and had once thought was the entirety. "I can make it to the tower as long as you don't slow me down."

  Anabelle smiled, a glint of hope in her eyes. "Good. Here's the plan. Sarah, Rasputina, Grok, and Cire will meet us at the tower."

  Myrddin's eyes went wide as he opened his mouth to speak.

  Anabelle raised her hand, cutting him off. "Myrddin, you head to Roy's Gate and help command the troops. José, you go to the other Gate. Abby, you have the most important job. Bring Persephone to meet us."

  Abby's face hardened with fear. "We told you, if we teleport all over the place, we won't have the power to fight Tesla. We'll be a sitting—"

  "Cut it out, Abby."

  Abby jumped at the sharpness in the elf’s voice.

  Anabelle’s eyes were cool and stony as she stepped to Abby. "You're more than all that tech. You're strong. You are, not all the bells and whistles, and if there's anything you should have learned by now, it's that your strength comes from within.."

  Abby shook her head. "No, it's not like that. We don't have magic like you, and we're not...we're not like Terra. We can't just will ourselves to be strong."

  Anabelle rested her hand on the girl’s shoulder and smiled. "That's not true." She tapped the side of Abby's head. "That's all magic. And that's all strength," she said as she pointed at her heart.

  Terra stepped over. She knew the truth in Anabelle's words. "You got this, Abby."

  The scientist’s bottom lip trembled as she opened and closed her hands rapidly. "What if we...what if I screw up?"

  Terra didn't think, she just acted. She wrapped her arms around her and hugged as tight as she could, lifting Abby into the air. "You're not going to fail. None of us are. You understand?"

  She put her back on her feet as Anabelle threw her arm over Abby's shoulder. "And if you don't, you die, and we die, and that's pretty much the end of our problems."

  Abby's laugh burst out of her as if she'd been trying to stifle it. "Okay, okay. Terra, you're killing it with the motivation. Anabelle, you could still use a little work. So, are we supposed to say something before our last big fight?"

  Terra felt like there was too much to say, so instead, she pressed her fist to her chest. Anabelle and Abby did the same. "All right," the human mumbled. "I love you guys."

  Anabelle faced the ghouls heading toward them. "Yeah. Couldn't ask for better friends."

  Energy started to flow through Abby's body. "We love y'all too. See you at the eye."

  Terra cocked her head sideways as she looked at the tower. "Actually, I think it looks more like an asshole."

  "All right, we'll see you at the asshole."

  The air crackled, and Abby was gone in a flash of bright blue light.

  Terra didn't feel any fear. Only a strong sense of calm. When she looked around, Myrddin and José were gone. She took a deep breath and held it in. Felt her lungs burning. "You ready to do this?"

  Mana burst from Anabelle as her eyes turned white. "Watch my back, and I'll watch yours."

  Terra flexed, casting her own aura. "Sounds good."

  Alex and the rest of Boundless shot out of the Netherverse Gate, following the gnomes, who were retreating.

  Sarah, Rasputina, and Grok were behind Boundless, firing plasma weapons and magically attacking the ghouls who were trying to force their way out of the Gate.

  Creon was at Sarah's side, armed along with everyone else. He ran to the Gate, attached his HUD to it, and shut it down. "This will buy us a little time."

  Sarah's HUD pinged, along with everyone else's. She quickly read her new orders. "Goddamn! That'll leave you without some of your heaviest hitters. We can't leave you like this. There's got to be another way."

  Alex closed her HUD and glanced at each member of Boundless before turning to Sarah. She had the look of someone who had accepted a heavy fate. "How much do you trust your commander?"

  Sarah didn't answer immediately, but when she did, her voice did not waver. "Almost as much as I trust Kravis."

  "Okay, then you need to follow that order. We'll figure something out. We don't really have a choice."

  A caravan of tanks filled with gnomes who were armed to the teeth came over the hills in the distance.

  Kravis and Persephone were sitting in the gunner's position in the tank leading the reinforcements. They pulled up to the Netherverse Gate as energy pulsed through it, threatening to break free. "What do we have going on?" Kravis asked.

  Sarah explained the situation, still expressing doubt about leaving the gnome army to fight without her, Grok, and Rasputina. “I need to help them through the portal, then find Anabelle and Abby. Fuck. I don’t like leaving you.”

  Kravis shrugged off the information as if he'd been told he was going to miss teatime. "You gotta do what you gotta do. Simple as that."

  Alex agreed. "We all know we can't make it out of here alive. This is where we make our stand against the Dark One, whatever it takes."

  Grok's laughter rang out.

  Sarah spun, her eyes narrowing. "What the hell do you find so funny?"

  She folded her arms, returning Sarah’s hateful stare. "You are all acting like you're defenseless. Persephone is standing right there."

  All eyes went to the drow, shrank from the attention.

  "No offense, Persephone, but I don't get what the fuck is so funny, Grok. Persephone's tough, but she's not packing nearly as much power as you or the lich."

  "None taken," Persephone said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Grok sneered as she spoke. "Rasputina, why don't you go ahead and tell them what Persephone and Abby have been hiding from everyone?"

  The lich, who did not seem to find any of this amusing, nodded slowly. "None of you ever stopped to ask yourselves why Persephone was a lieutenant of the Dark One. Grok can wipe out entire armies single-handed, and you know my former strength. Didn’t you think it odd that Persephone's power paled compared to ours?"

  The thought had crossed Sarah's mind a handful of times, but she had left it at that. "We don't have time to play games. What are you saying?"

  Grok walked over to Persephone and looked the drow in the eye. "Now is the time, girl. Show them what you truly are."

  Persephone's eyes welled, and she sniffed the tears back as she clenched her jaws. "No, I can't! What if—"

  Rasputina interrupted her. "If you do not, all of these people will die. Grok and I have seen what you are capable of. Leave your shame behind. Now is not the time for such childishness. You must play your role."

  Persephone looked down at her hand and slowly nodded. "You're right. I'll do what I have to do."

  Kravis grunted as he walked over to the Netherverse Gate, checking the readings Creon was looking at. "I like a surprise as much as the next person, but we don't have any time to waste. I'm going to set up our defenses. You all can keep having your hidden-potential moment."

  Sarah joined Kravis near Creon. "He's right. Creon, we're going to need help finding the rest of the DGA. Can you stay alive long enough to help us?"

  Creon swiped through a couple of screens on his HUD. "I'll do what I can here, but my priority will be guiding you. I have the route planned. Once I open the Gate, you'll have to move fast."

  Sarah understood all she needed to. She wished she could have a moment alone with Kravis, but there wasn't time. Each second counted. "Rasputina, Grok, are you ready to go?"

  The lich and the orc nodded.

  "Boundless, we're putting a lot on you."

  Alex and the rest of Boundless saluted Sarah as their dragons roared, preparing to take to the air.

  "All right," Sarah shouted. "Creon, let us through."

  Creon hit a switch on his HUD, and the Netherverse Gate opened.

  A blast of purple energy shot out of the Gate, slamming into Sarah, Grok, and Rasputina.

  As the smoke from the energy cleared, a ten-foot-tall giant stepped out of the portal. The ghoul’s ski
n had rotted but was stitched together by the inky texture of the Dark Melody along with Tesla's bizarre technology, giving the giant the look of a spectral set of skeletons glued together. It held an axe made of moving flesh in one hand as it loosed an ungodly roar.

  Before anyone could react, Persephone stepped between the army and the giant ghoul. She flexed her hand and her arm splitting down the middle, releasing her tentacles. That was not all that changed. Four leathery wings sprouted from her back as her neck stretched, five eyes opening on her face in the shape of a pentagram and red cracks appearing in her skin and shining as a fiery black halo formed above her head.

  Persephone slammed her hand to the ground, causing thousands of tentacles to burst forth and surround the giant. They grabbed his arms and legs and dragged him to the earth as a siren's scream erupted from the drow, black energy flying from her mouth and tearing through the ghoul's body as if it were paper.

  Sarah stared at the eldritch celestial. "Fuck. Uh, well, I guess you guys are all set. Good luck."

  She walked past Persephone, who let out another screech as Grok and Rasputina joined her at the Gate. "You guys could have told me she could do that. What the hell is that, by the way?"

  Rasputina took a step toward the portal. "It is difficult to explain. Perhaps over a drink, if we survive."

  Sarah grinned. "Never thought I'd say this, but sure."

  Then the three of them stepped into the Netherverse Portal.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Roy, Blackwell, Naota, and the Mundanes were with the orc army a few miles east of the Netherverse Gate as Cire stood before them. The orcs had hardly lost anyone in the retreat from the Netherverse. They had fought valiantly, and now they awaited Cire's words.

  The mech rider noted that the demeanor of the new shaman had changed a great deal since they first met. Cire had come to HQ as a former slave, a beaten, broken orc uncertain of his place in the grand scheme of his life. Now he stood before the horde, the de facto leader of a race that had been enslaved by the Dark One.