by M K Mancos
He was a big bastard who thought because he’d been promoted to foreman, he had taken ownership of us as well. I hated him with every fiber of my being. Kendrick walked by him and slightly snapped his fingers. The foreman’s eyes grew wide and his voice cut off.
Now that was a beautiful thing.
A great rumbling started under our feet, radiating out from the area where the gate held fast in its earthy resting place. Kendrick and I exchanged glances. This wasn’t good. Not by a long shot.
I expected to see golems forming from the walls but held my breath when whispers of darkness pooled around our feet, moving up with the cold hands of death.
My lungs failed to work. I tried not to panic, but it’s hard when the body’s natural response to fight or flight is to kick up the adrenaline and increase heart rate and respirations.
A white line of energy exited my chest. I felt as if someone had taken my spine and tried to pull it out of my body through my sternum. Agony rattled my nerve endings and opened my mouth in a mime of pain. No breath, no voice to yell.
The essential part of my being that had been woven into my DNA by generations of Doran witches was being pulled from me by a shadow being that lived off the energy.
Kendrick ran to me as I started to fall to my knees. Oxygen deprivation eclipsed my vision with black spots. A loud ringing filled my ears.
I didn’t want to die in so stupid a manner. Far from my family and Kells. Fucking Hazel, who was going to help her if I died?
Kendrick was fast becoming my best friend. The man was sharp and had some mad skills when it came to battling shadow beings. With my head lowered and eyes closed I had no idea what he did, only felt and smelled the raw magic as it ripped through the air. The grip the shadow beings had on me abruptly let go, and I fell forward onto my hands.
Slowly the world came back into focus. I started to breathe a little easier.
Kendrick patted my back a few times. “They’re getting more desperate.”
I only looked up at him with an expression of you think but kept the words to myself. Being petty and sarcastic wasn’t going to fix our immediate problem. Also, I wasn’t so sure the traps I had in my pack were going to work on a damn gate. Not one of this nature.
Even though my legs were still shaky, I placed my hands on my knees and pushed up into a squatting position. My head didn’t feel as if standing was a good idea at the moment. Dizziness made my surroundings seem to roll and pitch. I dragged my pack closer to me and opened an energy drink I had left over in one of the pockets. I held it in one hand and ripped the top off with my teeth then drank it down in a couple quick swallows.
It hit my system like a house on fire, bringing me back to a feeling somewhat like myself. Chucking back shots of ramped up caffeine wasn’t my norm, but I really needed the energy after that being had sucked it out of me like a starved vampire.
What I really needed was to assess my abilities. A thought that the shadow beings might be able to procure my particular talents by feeding off them turned my stomach but couldn’t be discounted. The mechanisms they used to garner energy were vastly different from that of humans.
“Why don’t you just lean against the wall here and rest a bit. You’re not going to do me a damn bit of good if you overexert yourself and get snatched to the shadow realms.” Kendrick had his hands on his hips. The glare from his miner’s hat made it impossible to see his expression, but I expected it was pretty stony.
“I’m afraid if I do, I’m never going to get up.” Besides it wasn’t such a brilliant idea to have me lean against a wall when any moment a golem or some other shadow being might decide to step through into our world.
As a matter of fact, how were they getting in? There had to be another portal down here. Not to the Shattered Lands because we’d pretty much found that, and no one was getting in or out of that thing without a hell of a lot of work. No, there had to be another entrance to the shadow realms.
The mine in Cooper’s Mill came to mind. There were so many cracks and fissures in the ground there the beings practically had free rein over the town. This situation was a little different since the tunnels were only now being dug. The mine had been operational for years before the fissures formed. Convention researchers argued that the shift in plates during the cave-ins had caused the faults to open from the shadow realms. After what I’d seen down here, I wasn’t so sure I’d agree.
I remained where I’d fallen and hunched over, resting my forearms on my knees. “We’re missing their entry point. It’s not the tunnels alone. There’s got to be a crack down here.”
“Damned if I know where it is.”
I glanced up. “Not good enough. We need to find it and close it. If not, we’re just spinning our wheels.”
Kendrick looked over his shoulder where the foreman continued to mouth words and walk in circles, confused as to why his voice was gone. “I suggest we wait until later and come down here when it’s not quite as crowded.”
For safety, the authorities had closed the tunnel to night digging. I knew the initial building of the tunnel was closed early on, but I had heard that part of it was the Upper Manhattan line. Construction from this side of the Hudson wasn’t started until the early 1900s, or so I’d read. This made perfect sense to my confusion on the dates. If this site was closed for safety and security and never reopened, then the Convention had done their due diligence in the matter.
I stood and brushed the dirt off my pants. I was tired, both mentally and physically. Personally, I didn’t know how much more I could tolerate without answers or direction. Part of me wanted the shadow realms to make their damn move so I could do my job and shut them down for good. The other half knew that was unlikely.
Look how long the Convention had already been fighting that very force. We’d not gotten any closer to making our world safe from them or their influence. I doubted a victory such as that would happen in my lifetime, but I’d as soon fight on until my last breath than give the world over to them.
We worked as always until the end of our shift, then walked out of the tunnels with the rest of the guys. The spell had worn off the foreman’s voice and he shook his head as he wiggled his Adam’s apple back and forth as if that might help.
He gave the tunnel entrance a pissed off look. “There’s something weird about that place.”
I raised a brow. “Probably just dust and debris in your throat.” I gave a shrug. “It happens.”
With that I picked up my pace and caught up to Kendrick. He stopped at a small vendor who sold fruit and hot meat pies. He grabbed us a couple for dinner and we sat near the water and ate. No sense in going home when we were just going to go back into the tunnels later.
They made their move around midnight.
It began as a series of static charges in the night. Pops and blasts sparked around us. The air crackled with oppressive heat, as if someone baked the world in a kiln. The temperature rose at least twenty-five to thirty degrees since day. Humidity ramped up as a storm brewed on the horizon.
Kendrick and I set traps in a perimeter around us, then waited for the shadow beings to breach our world.
They attacked from all directions with the express purpose of ending us. Two more war mages down and they had command of this area and time. They knew we worked to keep the gate from being opened—which meant they wanted the opposite. Didn’t it?
I took a defensive stance, with a magically tuned cudgel borrowed from Kendrick, held like a baseball bat on my shoulder. I only waited for the pitch.
These golems weren’t like the others. If the others were an advance team, these were the enforcers. Their large heads were shaped like boulders. Arms hung from rounded, slumped shoulders down at their sides, dragging the ground. The hands were larger than proportionate for their size, ending in long fingers.
Nails like knives tipped the ends of each digit.
I swallowed down my panic. Even stooped over, the creatures were at least a head and a half talle
r than Kendrick and me. I shot a glance over my shoulder at my brother-in-arms. He just shook his head and moaned like Lurch from the Addams Family.
Then they were on us. Our circle of protection fell to dust and we were surrounded by the horrible swinging arms that moved like the slingshot ride at an amusement park. They whirled and twirled and came at us from all angles at once, making it nearly impossible to defend ourselves.
A crack of lightning lit the sky and the beings ducked, hiding their mismatched eyes from the glare.
I shouted over the roll of thunder and growls of our opponents. “Kendrick! They hate light!”
I reached into my pack and pulled out a halogen flashlight. Those bulbs were killers to the optic nerve on the best of occasions. In this case, they actually killed.
With a turn of my wrist, I shot the beam of light into the face of one of the creatures. It screamed in pain, then burst into flames.
I laughed.
Sometimes the solution wasn’t magical at all.
Having only one, Kendrick was forced to make a crude semblance of one with his staff and a few uttered words from his pyrotechnic talent. A beam shot from the end of his stick with the same brightness as my flashlight.
We went to work, one using magic, one using tech to vanquish the creatures back to the shadow realms.
Twenty-Eight
Kells
Phone flashlight held aloft, I started walking. I must have trudged for twenty minutes before I saw something up ahead that wasn’t unrelieved black. Logically, I thought I imagined it. Realistically, I did know a few things about the history of New York and my stomach began to drop. If those were workman making the tunnels, and I’d gone back that far—I really didn’t want to know.
The charm around my neck began to heat my skin. I glanced down and noticed it glowed. I placed my fingers over it and got a bit of a zap. Not knowing what that meant, I kept walking until I could make out movement by the light.
Tall silhouettes took on terrifying proportions. Still, I couldn’t tell if they were human or other. I may not fare well in the late 1800s, but I damn sure had a better chance here than some third-rate level of hell.
I kept walking. The terrain under my feet got rockier, uneven. I stopped and dropped down to feel the floor. Dirt met my fingers. For the first time I noticed the smell. Earthy, real. Minerals and the spent Sulphur of an explosion. They had probably used dynamite to blast through the rock before digging out the tunnel.
As I grew closer, one of the beings stood and put his hand on his shovel and stared into the darkness, right at me.
Another one stood and stared. “What is it?”
Good. English. I sagged in relief and kept going.
The first one threw the shovel down and started running toward me. That’s when I noticed the shaggy hair, and rumpled clothes. Malachi.
I picked up speed until I jumped up into his arms. He swung me around, kissing my face and hair and crying.
“I knew I’d find you. I just had to keep digging.”
He made no sense.
"What do you mean, you crazy head? I've been walking for weeks." At least I thought it was weeks. I really had no idea.
Though I suppose, if that were true, I'd have died of hunger or dehydration by that point. He gave me another kiss and set me on my feet.
"It's been only days here." He ran his hands up and down my arms. "We need to get you out of here."
"I have no problem with that. I'm so tired of seeing nothing but dirt and strange beings." I ran my hand through my matted hair. "I swear to all the Gods and witches of old, I want to see sunshine."
"Come on." He ushered me out of the tunnels and into the light.
I pulled back and covered my eyes. Even though the day was overcast, it still made my eyes close involuntarily.
People milled about outside the entrance. Police and men in suits of a bygone era were standing by the entrance arguing. Their voices carried over the ambient sounds of horse-drawn wagons, hawkers, street vendors, and children playing.
A few of the words caught my ears and I stopped. My attention was riveted on the group, but moved to Malachi as he, too, listened intently to the conversation.
"…close it down. The company wants to build only in Manhattan for now."
The police were in action, ready to send word into the tunnel for the workers to vacate the project. Keep out signs had already been placed around the entrance, and chains with large wooden planks waited to be erected to help drive the point home.
All around me, I smelled the stench of a recent magical working. A big one. And not a pleasant one to welcome fall. This had all the hallmarks of a battle.
Malachi rested his hand on my shoulder. His fingers a gentle pressure on my skin. "The Convention works quickly."
I turned to him. "This is their doing?"
"Closing the tunnel build down? Yes." He grew quiet and walked me away from the area and down a street with some of the beautiful buildings I remembered from our time. "We need to talk, but not on the street."
"If we're going someplace safe, I could really use a bath, food, and about a gallon or two of water." I still had no explanation for why I was still on my feet when I should have been either unconscious or dead. I told him as much.
Malachi stopped and looked at me. He ran a gentle hand down the side of my face. "You might have been folding microcosms of time. It's possible, especially in an area of high magical vortices."
I blinked a few times. My brain was too dry to process that at the moment. "Food. Water. Now. Please."
Without another word he ushered me into one of the buildings and sat me down at a little table. A man I'd seen at the tunnel entered the apartment and handed Malachi a few small packages.
The scent of fresh baked bread and seared meat filled my nose. My stomach let out a loud growl.
Malachi unwrapped one of the sandwiches and handed it to me. "Eat slow."
As if. I was hungry enough to eat the termites out of the walls. No lie. But it was good advice. I didn't want to make myself sick.
I took a cautious bite and let my eyes roll back in my head at the wonder of bread baked fresh daily. My gaze strayed to the guy standing there watching me. I had an odd shimmer go through me that we had met before, but I couldn't place him.
"This is Kendrick." Malachi held out his hand to indicate his friend. "He's from the Convention."
"An inside agent?" I spoke around a hunk of bread. So far, I'd only managed to chew that and hadn't gotten to the meat or cheese yet. I didn’t care. That was by far the best damn bread I’d ever tasted.
Kendrick studied me with an unflinching gaze. "You can say that."
Yeah, it bugged me. Where did I know him from? He wasn't the man in the tunnels with me.
Shit, that reminded me…
"Look, we have to get the Convention to get in there and secure the area. The shadow beings are aggressive and on the rampage. They separated me from the others and took me to this chamber."
Malachi held up his hand. "Others?"
"Oh yeah." I explained about Ellis and Samantha and how they came through at different points in time.
Malachi looked surprised. "Ellis? Ellis Lake?"
"You know him?" To say I was surprised was an understatement. "Wait. Didn't Melody Doran marry a Lake?"
"You know your Doran family tree." He looked suitably impressed and should have been. I’d worked hard on research and uncovering little factoids he probably didn’t even know.
"For my dissertation. I've been studying your family for years. Oh, my Goddess. I was down in the tunnel with one of your great uncles." The fact I was too freaked out to catch on at the time chapped my tired ass.
"What did they want with you? They put you in that chamber for a reason."
"That's the worst part. They had this big round, metal/stone thing that looked like something off the Stargate set. They kept wanting me to open the damn thing."
Malachi and Kendrick exchange
d glances.
“They’ve been skipping through time trying to find someone capable of opening that gate.” The conviction in Malachi’s voice even made me believe the truth in the words. He knew, and he hadn’t even been there.
I put down my sandwich and stared at them. “You’re telling me you know about the gate.”
Malachi gave a decisive nod. “I found it buried in the tunnel. The dig uncovered it. That’s why the Convention is here to shut it down.”
“Shit. What does it lead to? Why are the shadow beings so hot to get inside?” My heart picked up its beat until it hit a frantic pace.
“It’s more like they’re trying to release what’s behind that door.” Kendrick picked up his hat off the table in the kitchen and hurried to the door. “I’ll be back. I want to tell Maltabán.”
I didn’t bother to ask who that was but figured it had to be someone within the Convention hierarchy. My blood chilled with a horrible thought.
The little food I’d eaten curdled on my stomach. I rubbed a hand across it.
“You’ve gone white as copy paper.”
I moved a hand to my lips. “Do you think that’s why they took Jane Porter?”
He closed his eyes and nodded. “It could very well be. They know she’s powerful. Any witch with that kind of energy they’re going to be able to track fairly easily. The fact she’s a medallion makes her even more valuable for their purposes.”
“So, what can we do?”
“Keep looking for her, but we have to secure that gate, so no other entities leak out or try to breach it.”
I struggled to understand what he said. Did that mean he wanted to lock it down even before we found Jane Porter?
“We can’t do that. Not until we find her. What if they dragged her there?”
Malachi shook his head. A sad finality filled his eyes. “They can’t. That gate leads to the Shattered Lands. It’s where the very worst of the shadow beings have been sent and sealed in. We can’t let that door open or it will release those same entities into the world again.”