The Deathless Quadrilogy

by Chris Fox

  Jordan had seen enough people drained to know what was happening, but it took everything he had not to flee. He wanted to help, but he…couldn’t. The terror was immense, so much so that he couldn’t even find the words to yell commands.

  Not that anyone was listening. The defenders were going down fast, the only survivors those who could hide in the shadows.

  “Do you see now, fool?” Nox taunted, evidently having finished draining Davina’s now desiccated corpse. There was nothing of the Director in that voice. “Your powers are feeble, your Ark far away. After I’ve killed the rest of this offal, I’m going to take that key from you. Then we’re marching on Peru. Everything you’ve tried to build will be swept away.”

  Jordan cowered, paralyzed, as Nox approached.

  83

  Payback

  Blair surveyed the army around him with immense pride. When Isis had first mentioned the Great Pack he hadn’t understood the size, or the grandeur. The power, or the sense of belonging.

  Before him stretched a seemingly endless cluster of dogs, coyotes, and foxes. Sprinkled between them were champions. Ka-Ken, each with a Ka-Dun and his pack.

  Liz stood at the head of the pack, her auburn fur rippling in the cold wind rolling off the bay. Yukon nuzzled her side, the too-large dog standing to Liz’s waist. Given that she was nearly twelve feet tall that was no mean feat. On her other side, a few steps away, stood Yosemite.

  It was the first time Blair had really seen the Great Bear, and he was impressed. Despite the thick folds of skin showing how much weight the Bear had lost, he was still one of the largest creatures Blair had ever encountered. He was half again as tall as Liz, and his claws were easily a foot long. His thick black fur added to his size, as did a muzzle large enough to bite off a man’s head whole.

  Alicia stood with the Bear, one hand against the creature’s flank. The two seemed to share a bond now, shared suffering from Windigo’s depredations. The fact that they had no idea where Windigo was terrified both of them, and their wide-eyed gazes never stopped moving. Blair was no psychologist, but he hoped it wasn’t permanent for either of them.

  The last group was the strangest, and it kept away from everyone else. Fifty deathless of all shapes and sizes, all armed with assault rifles. He could feel their strength. Some rivaled Melissa herself.

  Melissa nodded at Blair, indicating that her forces were ready.

  “It looks like we’re good to go.” Liz beckoned him forward, so Blair moved to join her. “They’re going to need a rousing speech,” she whispered. “I hope you’ve got something good.”

  Blair smiled at her, giving her hand a squeeze. Then he turned to face the crowd. He enhanced his voice, drawing power from the Ark behind him. “We’re out of time so I’m going to make this quick. We’ve been asked to help protect one of the most important places in the world, a city that may determine the fate of us all. If we fail here, the enemy we face will spread across the world like a cancer.”

  He pointed at Melissa and her deathless.

  “I know that fighting alongside deathless feels strange. Some of you have fought them, and even those that haven’t…well, we’ve all lost someone to the virus. I’m asking you to put that aside. We need the deathless. They’ve come because I’ve asked for their help against a common foe.”

  Blair swiveled his arm, now pointing at the portal. “You can all see through the portal, to the city where we’re going. We are the only thing standing between that army of demons and the potential end of our world. So, who’s willing to fight?”

  A chorus of shouts and barks rippled through the crowd, growing into a throng of cheers and howls. Those cheers combined into a single word, chanted by deathless and werewolf alike.

  Fight. Fight. Fight.

  It filled the packmind, the word charged with rage and hope and pride.

  “No demon leaves this battlefield alive,” Blair roared. He raised the key, aiming it at the pack. Wave after wave of immense power flowed from the Ark, a river of white light that he passed on to the Great Pack. They became larger, stronger—and much, much faster. A tiny Shih Tzu grew to the size of a wolf. A German Shepherd was now cow sized. “I can do more. I know I can.”

  Blair concentrated on the Ka-Dun, on their ability to shape. He divided the flow of energy from the Ark, feeding it equally to every shaper. Faces lit with wonder as the Ka-Dun felt the strength he’d given them. He wished he could do the same for the Ka-Ken, but saw no way to help any of them.

  Except Liz.

  Blair turned to her, feeling her emotions through the bond. He was humbled by the affection and awe he felt there. He took her hand again, feeding her a river of light, then gave that river shape, channeling it into a single manifestation: speed. He wove into her helixes the ability to blur, mimicking his own ability perfectly.

  “You can blur now, as fast as I can. At least until the energy I’ve given you runs out. I genuinely feel bad for these demons.” Blair shifted to warform, staring up at her much taller form. “Now get out there and defend my honor while I hang back and look pretty.”

  Liz laughed. “Liz kill demons. Testosterone. Grrr.”

  She blurred toward the portal. The pack followed her lead, flowing into the portal by the dozens. They sprinted forward, moving to engage packs of demon dogs. They snapped and snarled at each other, squaring off into dozens of skirmishes. The Great Pack were faster, but the hellhounds were tougher and stronger, even after Blair had modified his pack.

  The battle devolved into chaos, yips and growls competing with the shouts of the Ka-Dun. Blair felt every dog’s death, but he compartmentalized them. He needed to be focused right now, for all their sakes.

  The Ka-Ken and their Ka-Dun were engaging the larger demons, the winged ones. They were having mixed success. On one flank, a Ka-Ken was picked up and carried high into the air by her demonic opponent—then the demon dropped her. She tumbled toward the earth, slamming into the marble with incredible force. She didn’t rise. Her Ka-Dun went into a frenzy, he and his pack leaping on the demon who’d killed his mate. They tore it apart, then looked for another target.

  Anger smoldered, but Blair refused to give it reign. He strode through the portal at the rear of the pack, instantly diminished in strength. On the other side of the portal he was a god. Here, the Ark was a distant candle flame. He could barely feel the flicker of power it offered. Still, his own strength was considerable. If he could leverage the key, he could still be a potent force on the battlefield.

  He watched the battle unfold, trying to pick the best way to utilize his abilities. Melissa and her deathless fanned out ahead of him protectively. She darted back toward him. “Where do you want me?”

  “Back up the Ka-Dun,” Blair ordered. “Pick off those dogs as quickly as possible.”

  Melissa nodded, blurring toward the combat. Her deathless followed.

  Blair turned to Alicia. “I want you to—”

  “I’m going with Liz,” Alicia interrupted. She glared at Blair, daring him to protest.

  He considered contesting the point, but didn’t have time to convince the teen. “Okay, find Liz. Tell her to drive a wedge through their ranks, and cut us a path to the pyramid. See if you can get the other Ka-Ken to help her.”

  “I will.” She nodded and sprinted after Liz.

  Blair glanced in Liz’s direction, awed by what he saw. She was squaring off against a pair of corrupted Ka-Dun, each armed with a black sword. They flanked her, blurring toward her at exactly the same time.

  Liz was faster. She blurred between them with her sword. Limbs flew, and when the blur stopped, both demons toppled lifelessly to the ground.

  A thunderous roar shook the entire battlefield. Blair spun, unsure how to deal with what he was seeing. Three demonic giants were laying into his forces with their laser-cannon arms. Beams of sharp green energy lanced into his forces, cooking dogs and Ka-Dun alike.

  Yosemite charged forward, leaping for a giant’s throat. He tore int
o its flesh, worrying at the throat with his enormous fangs. Yosemite looked comically small next to the giant, but the move knocked the giant onto its back. A tremendous crash shook the entire battlefield.

  Yukon took advantage of the giant’s weakness, darting in to sever a hamstring. He darted away again, narrowly dodging a kick. Then the Anakim breathed, and a dense black cloud enveloped Yukon. It took Blair a moment to realize that the cloud was made up of small flying insects. Wasps, maybe?

  Yukon began yelping, desperately blurring away from the insects. They pursued, and the dog yipped frantically, running in Blair’s direction.

  Blair raised the staff, firing a blast of white light that disintegrated the wasps. He turned to the trio of Anakim, wracking his brain for options. He could already tell that thing was tough enough to survive a blast from the staff. So what could he do?

  He glanced at Yosemite as the Bear was knocked away from the giant’s throat. The Bear crashed into the side of a small pyramid, shaking his head as he rose. Then Yosemite gave a roar of his own, and rushed toward the much larger giant again.

  “Hmm. Yeah, the Godzilla defense.” Blair aimed the staff at Yosemite, channeling almost all his remaining strength into the Bear. He sent out a complex signal, reshaping the Bear’s DNA just like he’d done to the pack. Yosemite grew larger, stronger, and tougher. Twenty feet tall. Twenty-five. Thirty. Forty feet tall. Finally, Yosemite stood eye to eye with the giants. “That’s more like it.”

  Yosemite lumbered up to the giant he’d been battling. The two titans seized each other, wrestling back and forth until Yosemite got the upper hand. He picked up the giant, hurling him into the middle of the battlefield.

  The Great Pack were smaller, and much more nimble. They blurred out of the way of the impact. The demon dogs were too slow, and many were crushed under the giant.

  Melissa and her deathless took advantage of the distraction caused by the impact, adding automatic weapons fire to the screams and blasts.

  The tide was turning in their favor, the pack slowly overwhelming their demonic counterparts—mostly due to Liz. She and her Ka-Ken were tearing through winged demons, slowly forcing a path toward the pyramid. Resistance was stiff, but every demon who faced Liz died. Her mastery of the sword was beyond incredible. It was at a level he’d previously only seen exhibited by Osiris.

  “That’s my girlfriend.” Blair laughed and turned back to the portal. He was out of juice, but there was no reason he couldn’t go get more.

  84

  Flanked

  Jordan’s breaths came in short, ragged gasps. He scrabbled across the floor until his back met the warm stone wall. His forces had been routed and Nox was advancing on him, a palpable aura of fear flowing from a menacing black staff that seemed to drink in the light. Jordan knew he should fight, but inexplicable terror blanketed everything.

  Behind Nox, his army of demons were mercilessly cutting down the defending champions. Councilor Awa was tackled to the ground not far away, and all Jordan could do was wince when the demon began noisily feeding. Awa fought weakly, but was unable to push the demon away.

  This fear is unnatural, Ka-Dun. Use the past. Remember Set, who also used this ability. In the end, you defeated him. You can defeat this threat as well. The terror isn’t real. Do not let it control you.

  Jordan focused on that memory. He relived the humiliation of losing control of his own bladder, of being forced to work for Set against his own friends. He was tired of being trampled over by bullies, and he’d be damned if he let it happen again.

  The anger ran deep, and Jordan jumped into the river, letting it carry him. He moved by instinct, baring his fangs as he raised a hand.

  “What are you going to do, little puppy?” Nox asked, laughing viciously. “You can’t even stand up.”

  The words bit into him, and the anger surged. Jordan focused on the staff, forcing himself to look at the source of his terror. He used every bit of will, every ounce of discipline, all focused into one action…and jerked the staff from Nox’s grasp with his telekinesis.

  It flew into Jordan’s hand, freeing him instantly from the fear.

  “Don’t call me puppy.” Jordan drew on the distant flow of power from the Ark to fuel his blur. It proved a wise decision, as Nox blurred, too. The Director was nearly as fast as him, shifting into a defensive stance as Jordan approached.

  Jordan wasn’t sure how the staff worked, but he didn’t really care. The top looked pretty damned pointy. He slipped it past Nox’s defenses, ramming it through the Director’s chest in a spray of stinking black gore. Jordan slammed into Nox, pinning the demon against a thick stone column. He slammed his forehead into Nox’s, and the demon’s skull bounced off the hard stone.

  Nox’s tail coiled around Jordan’s leg, yanking him off his feet. The demon slammed Jordan into the floor repeatedly, and Jordan just barely kept his face from smashing into the stone. Bones snapped, but Jordan battled past the pain. He seized Nox’s tail in both hands, then bit down hard.

  Nox screamed as Jordan worried at the tail, finally tearing it loose. The blood tasted awful, but Nox’s screams made it worthwhile.

  Jordan rose shakily, raising a hand. The staff ripped free of Nox’s chest, shooting back to his hand. All around him, beleaguered werewolves were being overwhelmed. Awa’s struggles were feeble now. The demon continued to feed.

  He had to stop it. Jordan concentrated on the staff, feeding it an experimental flow of energy. A black signal pulsed from the staff, and Nox’s features changed from smug anger to utter horror.

  Nox vanished, leaving his forces leaderless.

  Jordan fed more energy to the staff, focusing on the demons still scattered throughout the room. The black signal washed over them, and they broke and ran just as Jordan’s own forces had done when faced with the staff. “Cut them down. Don’t let them leave the temple.”

  The surviving werewolves followed Jordan into battle, cutting down their tormentors. Demon after demon fell as they fought their way to the front of the temple.

  He’d nearly reached the tunnel on the first floor when a familiar shock of red hair stepped from the shadows next to him.

  “What the hell is that thing?” Trevor asked, nodding at the staff.

  Anput stepped from the shadows a few feet from him.

  “Something Vulcan created, I’m betting. It inflicts the same kind of fear Set used.” Jordan’s chest was heaving, and he was happy for the break. All of them needed it. He did a quick count, frowning when he realized only seven werewolves were still standing. “Please tell me you have some good news to report. I’ll take anything at this point.”

  “We’ve got a chance.” Trevor looked inordinately proud of himself. “I was able to redirect the portal. We cut off Nox’s reinforcements, and we brought some of our own. Blair and Liz are here. They’ve brought the Great Pack, which just engaged Nox’s forces.”

  “We have to move quickly then,” Jordan said. He started trotting up the tunnel, which was now empty save for a dozen or more demonic corpses.

  “Why? What do you have in mind?” Trevor asked, trotting alongside.

  “We need to stop Nox, right now. As soon as he realizes he’s losing, or there’s a chance he’ll lose, he’ll vanish. We’ll never have a better shot than right now.” Jordan didn’t wait for a reply, blurring out of the tunnel and into the artificial sunlight.

  More chaos greeted him. A quick scan suggested Nox still had maybe sixty winged demons, and about ten times as many dogs. Most of the mechanized dog bot things were already down, but the few surviving ones were laying into their enemies with enviable fury. Two out of the three titanic Anakim were laying waste to their foes, seemingly unstoppable. The last was being torn apart.

  “That is the biggest goddamned bear I have ever seen,” Jordan said. “It has to be fifty feet tall.”

  Trevor just laughed.

  Opposing the demons was the answer to Jordan’s unuttered prayer: the Great Pack. It couldn’t be
anything else. Hundreds of cow-sized dogs were blurring through the enemy ranks. Between them were dozens of Ka-Dun, backed by Ka-Ken leaping from shadows whenever a threat presented itself. Deathless with automatic weapons were chewing up the demons’ right flank, forcing them to engage the pack.

  Overshadowing both groups was the struggle between the giants. The Bear had finished his first target, and roared at the next Anakim. The pair approached each other like wrestlers, grappling each other as they struggled for dominance.

  “Now there’s something you don’t see every day,” Jordan said.

  “Tell me about it,” Trevor agreed. “Any sign of Nox?”

  “He’ll be in the most protected position, assuming he hasn’t fled the battlefield.” Jordan scanned the field again, trying to determine where the Director would go. He’d want a high vantage point, ideally with concealment.

  Jordan looked up, studying the pyramids and obelisks, looking for any sign of Nox. If Nox stayed out of the battle, there’d be no way to find him. But if he were still fighting, he’d have to come out of the shadows to shape.

  There was no sign of him, at least not that Jordan could find.

  “Is that him?” Anput asked, pointing at the thickest part of the battle.

  Jordan was shocked to see Nox mixing it up on the front lines. A burst of superheated flame came from his hand, incinerating a Ka-Ken. It was totally unlike the Director, going against everything he’d taught Jordan. Perhaps being a demon had robbed him of that level of control. Maybe whatever lurked in his head forced him to act differently. Or maybe that wasn’t the Director at all.

  “Looks like it. Let’s take him out,” Jordan said. He wished Leti were here too, but last he’d seen her she was tending to the wounded. Instead, Jordan turned to Elia, who led the ragtag cluster of combat-ready champions. “I want you to hold the mouth of this tunnel. Keep the survivors inside safe, and don’t risk anyone else.”