The Deathless Quadrilogy

by Chris Fox

  “By Ra, you’re right,” Irakesh said. He gave a warm laugh. “Aunt Anput, it’s good to see you. Surely you can convince David that we’re no threat, and should be released.”

  “Why would I do that, nephew?” Anput asked. Her hair fell in artfully coifed waves, and she wore a pair of glasses highlighting gorgeous brown eyes. “You are one of the largest threats I have ever encountered. Your reckless actions put Isis and Ra at odds, and nearly cost us everything.”

  She approached their makeshift cell, stopping just outside the energy barrier, then delivered a warm smile to Trevor. “You, on the other hand, I am most definitely willing to vouch for. David, you should let Trevor out immediately. He’s a capable ally, one that I trust.”

  “I was already planning on it.” David waved a hand, and the wall before Trevor fell away.

  He stepped through, offering Anput a hand. She ignored it, sweeping him into a hug. He could feel her pressed against him, triggering that odd feeling of lust. Given that he was basically a walking corpse, it was damned odd. It was part of her vampire heritage, something she’d inherited from Osiris.

  “Thank you,” Irakesh said. He stepped forward, but David waved a hand and the energy field reappeared. Irakesh bumped nose-first into it, falling back with a curse. “Are you really going to keep me imprisoned? I serve Trevor. Anput, surely you recognize the Collar of Shi-Dun.”

  Anput gave a musical laugh as she inspected Trevor’s wrist. “You’ve enslaved him. This might be the single most beautiful thing I have ever seen—Irakesh forced to serve a man he detests.”

  “Collar of Shi-Dun? Explain,” Yuri asked. He stood near the back of the room, a near-silent shadow until he spoke.

  “The collar controls the actions of the person wearing it,” Anput said. She gestured at Trevor. “Whoever wears the bracelet is in control. Trevor can force Irakesh to do just about anything.”

  “Explains situation,” Yuri said. He gave a grim smile. “Glad to see Trevor still ally. More glad to see Irakesh wear collar. Like dog.”

  “Trevor,” David said, “are you okay with leaving Irakesh here? No offense, but I don’t want him in my backfield. The rest of us will head to the Nexus.” He wiped a lock of hair from his eyes, eyes hardening. “There’s a high likelihood that the grey men will respond in force. If they do, you’re going to want one of these.”

  He reached inside his coat, withdrawing a small golden boomerang and handing it to Trevor.

  Trevor hefted it experimentally. It was heavy, and just a little larger than his hand. When he wrapped his hand around the center portion, the two tips jutted out on either side. “It’s warm, and I can feel power within it. Is it Sunsteel?”

  “Near enough. You supply the energy. The weapon enhances it, firing a beam that disintegrates anything it touches. The more energy you supply, the more powerful the beam.” David aimed his weapon at the wall, and twin beams of green shot from it. They converged just past his hand, slamming into the wall in waves. “That was the lowest intensity, which would still kill an un-enhanced human. A full blast can disintegrate just about everything I’ve shot at. There are some defenses, but not many.”

  “Got it. I assume our opponents will be using something similar?”

  “Stole from them. Grey men use same,” Yuri confirmed. “David, should alert Jillian?”

  “No time. We’ll have to go with who we have. Everyone get close,” David ordered. Trevor stepped closer, as did the others. “Okay, hang on. We’re going.”

  A familiar white flash emanated from David, the same type Trevor had seen when using a light bridge. There was the instant of vertigo, then he was standing in the Nexus’s central chamber. Blair was there, but there was no sign of Jordan.

  “You said you can save us. Start talking,” Blair said. He was still in human form, but his voice carried even more authority than it had just a few days ago. Trevor had rarely been as glad to see anyone.

  “Wait a minute. Professor Smith?” David asked. His eyes widened. “It is you. Oh, my god. You’re Ark Lord Blair?”

  “Do I know you?” Blair seemed unmoved, shrugging at Trevor. “What’s he talking about?

  “I was one of your students at SRJC. I took Anthology 1A with you. Then, about six years back, I stopped by with my friend Jillian. We told you she was writing a book, remember?” David asked, clearly hopeful.

  “I think so. You were asking why pyramids appeared all over the world throughout history. At the time I thought you were writing a cheap thriller. It wasn’t research for a book, was it?” Blair asked.

  “Nope. Turns out we were looking for the Arks before we even knew what they were. Listen, I realize we don’t have time to catch up. We need to move quickly.” David turned to the center of the room. “Ka, get your holographic butt out here.”

  Ka obligingly shimmered into view. “How can I help you, David?”

  “Monitor the Antarctic light bridge and let us know the instant it activates. Track the arrivals, and give us numbers and location,” David ordered. Trevor was impressed. He sounded like an experienced battlefield commander, despite his age.

  “Seven grey men have already arrived,” Ka replied cheerfully. “They are making their way toward the central chamber. At their current rate they will arrive in one minute and twelve seconds.”

  “We need to decide what we want to do right now,” David said. He stared hard at Blair. “We can fight them, and we’ll probably win. Doing so will give them information about you, though—things they may not already know. They’ll transmit everything they learn back to their collective as it happens.”

  “So we want to wipe them out without showing them everything we can do.” Blair shifted in the blink of an eye, suddenly becoming eight heavily-muscled feet of silver fur—with teeth. “I’m betting they’re familiar with champions by now. That means blur should be safe to use.”

  “Perfect.” David nodded. “I gave Trevor one of their weapons. I’ll hang back and let you engage. I’m not bad in a fight, but I’ve heard legends of what the two of you can do.”

  “Yuri melt faces, too,” Yuri said. He trotted to the far side of the room, dropping to one knee and taking aim at the doorway.

  “I’ll hang back as well,” Anput said. Her body darkened, then disappeared as she slid into the shadows. “It’s better they don’t know I exist, especially if they’re working with Hades.”

  Trevor slipped into the shadows as well, gliding to a position about fifteen feet from Yuri. Their fields of fire would overlap, and since Yuri couldn’t see him, it was important to stay out of his line of fire.

  Something was approaching. He didn’t hear anything, but Trevor could feel something with the ability to shape getting closer.

  These grey men are powerful shapers, his Risen whispered. Perhaps more powerful than you. Their strength will not be easily overcome. Utilizing surprise is vital. The moment they enter, we must destroy them. Do not hesitate.

  Trevor didn’t reply, though he did agree. These fuckers had to go. He gathered his weight, doing a running jump at the wall above the doorway. He grabbed the wall, sinking his claws into the marble, and hung there, suspended over the door. Aiming the strange boomerang, he waited.

  He didn’t have to wait long. The first grey man leapt into the room, a golden boomerang clutched in each hand, and began firing pulses of green, walking the gunfire across the room. The first blasts zipped in Blair’s direction, but he blurred right, then lunged with his claws. The grey man crossed its arms in front of it, a golden wall of force appearing just in time to ward off Blair’s blow.

  The grey man seemed completely unaware of Trevor’s presence. Trevor lined up the shot, just like his dad had taught him as a kid, then poured every bit of energy he could summon into the boomerang. The green beam was thicker and brighter than the shots the grey man had fired, but seemed otherwise unremarkable—until it struck the grey man in the back of its oblong head, vaporizing it. The body tumbled into the room, its boomerangs
clattering across the floor.

  Trevor had only a split second to react as another grey man appeared in the air a few feet away. Its boomerang was already firing, a stream of deadly green coming right for Trevor’s face. Time slowed, and he tumbled slowly backwards as the pulse advanced toward his face. It was still coming quickly, despite the blur.

  He threw himself down, kicking off the wall to add just a bit more speed. The pulse passed millimeters from his nose, blasting into the wall behind him. Trevor jerked his boomerang into line with the new attacker, squeezing off a hasty shot. The grey man disappeared, and the shot cored the wall behind it.

  Blast it. Could these things teleport? He wished David had given them more information to go on.

  Trevor vanished, dropping silently to the floor. There was no sign of his attacker. No sign of any attacker.

  “Brace yourself,” David roared from the back of the room. Trevor grabbed the base of Ka’s pedestal, just in time for a wave of pure force to sweep over him. Blair wasn’t as lucky, catching the full brunt of the attack. He was hurled toward the wall, sailing in Trevor’s direction.

  Trevor extended a hand, and Blair caught it. Trevor swung him around, launching Blair toward the doorway. He blurred at the apex, adding to Blair’s momentum.

  Blair shot forward like a supersonic missile, sailing into the hallway. Two grey men suddenly became visible, knocked to the ground like bowling pins. Blair was on the first before Trevor blurred up the corridor. He lined up a shot on the second, ending it with a blast from the boomerang.

  The last grey man appeared behind Trevor, ramming a glowing blue blade through his chest. It hurt, but he had no internal organs to destroy.

  The blow would slow him, though.

  “Gregg, get out of way,” Yuri roared from behind.

  Trevor smiled grimly, shifting his body to green mist. Two sleek black missiles shot into the grey man, a wave of fire ballooning outward. When it had cleared, the surrounding walls were covered in disgusting green residue.

  “That’s the last of them,” David said. He rose from cover, trotting over to Trevor and Blair. “We’ve got to move quickly. They’ll be back soon, and in greater numbers.”

  “Okay, Obi-wan,” Blair said, raising a wolfish eyebrow. “What do you propose?”

  “There’s a lot I don’t have time to tell you,” David said. “You should head for the Peruvian Ark. I need to get back to the Black Knight, but I can send Anna with you. There’s something in the Amazon that’s of great interest to Hades, which means the grey men are after it, too. Anna can brief you on the entire situation once you’re safe.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Blair said. He folded his arms, staring hard at David, then at Trevor. “The grey men are a threat, sure. But they aren’t the only threat. I need to get my house in order. That means going back to Santa Rosa. You and Anput should continue to South America, meet with Jordan, and see what you can do. When I get a handle on what’s going on in Santa Rosa, I’ll come to Peru to update you.”

  “We’ll miss you,” Trevor said, “but I completely understand. Take care of Liz for me.” He offered Blair a hand.

  Blair shook it. “Thanks for understanding, Trev.”

  “Be safe, man, and tell Liz I love her.” Trevor turned to Anput. “Lead the way.”

  21

  Up to Speed

  Jordan appeared against the wall of the central chamber, spotting Elia across the room. She knelt, praying, at the feet of the statue of Isis. The bullet holes from the combat he’d instigated while still working for Mohn had been painstakingly repaired, though those spots were a slightly different shade of white.

  “The real thing was much more feisty,” Jordan said. He ambled toward her, trying to be as unthreatening as possible.

  “Is. The real thing is much more feisty,” Elia replied, rising gracefully. She turned to face Jordan, her entire body tense. Undisguised hatred smoldered in those eyes. “I tire of your blasphemy. I know that I cannot stop you—you have too much brute strength for that—but I do not need to listen to you profane the scriptures. What do you want, heathen?”

  “I wanted to let you know I was here,” Jordan said. “I’m going to meet some friends at the light bridge, and they might be coming in hot. Keep your people away from that room until I’ve dealt with the situation.” Jordan moderated his tone, reminding himself that he couldn’t approach every interaction like this was the military.

  “What? You’ve invited yet more heathens to this holiest of place? I will not allow it. I will—”

  Jordan did the least confrontational thing he could think of. He teleported. He didn’t have time to deal with her shit, not right now.

  He appeared next to the light bridge. They hadn’t arrived yet, so he folded his arms, settling in to wait. Waiting was, and always had been, the worst part of being a soldier; he’d learned that long before he’d worked for Mohn.

  All you could do as an enlisted was wait for orders. Those orders could mean your death, or the death of your friends. Yet the orders were never the worst part. It was the damned waiting, the not knowing what you were going to have to do in order to preserve lives.

  Jordan didn’t know who or what was coming across the light bridge, nor when it would happen. Would they be pursued by these grey men? What were their weaknesses? Their tactics? Jordan needed intel, but—like it or not—all he could do was wait.

  So he did.

  Sixteen minutes later the light bridge finally activated, its clean white light flooding the room. Three figures stood there, and Jordan was surprised to realize he recognized all of them.

  He’d expected Trevor. He hadn’t expected the other two.

  Jordan recognized Anput from his time at the Ark of the Cradle. She had always been thick as thieves with Trevor, and had served Ra loyally. Her husband, Anubis, had been a royal pain in Jordan’s ass.

  The last figure was the most welcome, and Jordan moved forward to offer his hand. “You look like hell, Yuri.”

  “Eh, not so bad. Just older. Years tough,” Yuri said. He shook Jordan’s hand, his grip as firm as ever. His goatee had patches of grey now, but his hair was still dark and he still wore the same mirrored shades he’d always loved. “Good to see you, Commander.”

  “Welcome to the Mother’s Ark,” Jordan said. He released Yuri, and turned to the others. “Unfortunately, our stay here is going to be short. I can’t take you further into the Ark just yet. An order of priests have taken up residence, and it will be simpler if we avoid them. Now, how about someone tell me what the hell just happened in the Nexus?”

  “We have a lot to catch up on, Commander.” Anput offered Jordan her hand like she expected him to kiss it. Jordan shook it instead. “I see you’ve grown far more powerful than at our last meeting. Hopefully you can help us win this war, Ark Lord.”

  “Which war, exactly?” Jordan asked.

  “She’s talking about the Builders,” Trevor supplied. “What she and David call the ‘grey men’.” He gave Jordan a respectful nod, which Jordan grudgingly returned. “We engaged them in the Nexus. They’re tough, but we took down a handful easily enough.”

  “This time,” Anput said, frowning. “They are masters of adaptation. We do our best to hide our true capabilities, because every time they see us do something they either counter it or start using it themselves.”

  “I need a lot more basic information before I feel qualified to even discuss a war with these grey men,” Jordan said. He folded his arms. “Trevor and I have been gone for five years. He might know some of what’s going on, but I’m still in the dark about a lot of things. Yuri, what happened with Mohn Corp.? Is the old man in charge of the Syracuse facility?”

  “No.” Yuri frowned, stress lines tightening around his eyes. “Syracuse gone. Old man dead, or worse.”

  “What happened?” Jordan asked quietly.

  “Nox,” Anput snapped. Her expression suggested that her hatred was personal. “He’s Hades�
�s chief enforcer. He took Mohn Corp. apart in less than three months. His demons hit every facility around the globe, converting or destroying everyone. Everything Mohn had, Hades now has.”

  Jordan didn’t like the implications of that at all.

  “You’d know Nox by another name,” Anput continued, moderating her tone. “Trevor, I suspect you’ll recognize it too. Nox was once the Director, the most highly trusted member in Mohn’s organization.”

  “The Director?” Jordan said. He sat down against the marble wall, slumping to the warm stone. “That’s pretty much the worse news I could have imagined. If he works for Hades, we’re in serious trouble.”

  “He’s worked for Hades for five years.” Anput spat. “During that time we’ve lost engagement after engagement. We’ve been powerless, while Hades has made deals across Asia and Africa. He’s building a global army, slowly infecting every leader he meets with demonic taint. They have no idea the cost of the bargain they’re making, and the fools are lining up to sign on. He’s already got Syracuse as a beachhead in North America. Now, he’s set his sights on South America.”

  “What does Hades want?” Trevor asked.

  “Good question,” Jordan added. “Set seemed unbalanced, but Hades was self-serving. What does he want? Global domination?”

  “David was able to intercept some of their recent communications,” Anput said. “They’re after a city, maybe the first city to ever have existed. In that city is something called the Proto Ark. The problem is, we don’t know why they need it.” She brushed a lock of dark hair from her face. “Hades works with the grey men, and we’re guessing that they’re the senior partners in that relationship. They’re mostly holed up in Antarctica, and seem to be letting Hades do the bulk of the work. I’d guess his first order of business is conquering every continent, but that can’t be his end game. He’s proven too intelligent for that.”

  “I’m still trying to get a handle on these grey men,” Jordan said. “Are they an immediate threat? If so, are you trying to focus on them or on Hades?” He felt like he needed a flow chart to understand their various enemies.