“It's one of my many gifts,” Purdue said.
Oniel stared at them, his beady eyes flickering from one to the other, like he was deciding who he was going to disembowel first. Purdue would imagine that he would want to kill him first, since he wanted his vengeance for his brother but he also knew that Oniel was violent enough to completely mutilate a stranger like Sam just for sport. He and his late brother were feared for just how brutal they were to anyone that they were targeting. They were the perfect instruments of death for a dangerous criminal like the Wharf Man. Now, without his original crew to help him channel his affinity for violence, Oniel seemed to have given his talents over to the Order of the Black Sun instead.
“You're not going to win this fight,” Purdue said, again showing the pearl. “There is frozen water all around it. One thought from me, and I could have you drowning just like the Wharf Man. Walk away, Oniel. I know you have your grudge but my fight with the Black Sun doesn't involve you. I'll even forgive you telling them that I was alive...and that caused a whole lot of problems for me.”
Oniel took two steps forward this time, rejecting his offer to leave.
“Aye,” Purdue said, cupping the pearl in his palm. “Let's get this over with then. I have better vendettas to deal with than yours.”
Oniel charged at the two of them but Purdue was ready. He thought about ice rising up to shield them and just as he did, the pearl's power pulled a sheet of ice in front of them, intercepting Oniel's blade.
“Thank god for that pearl!” Sam shouted, taking a few steps backward. He didn't have any sort of weapon to fight Oniel off with, especially not a magical pearl that could control water.
Purdue lowered the wall of ice and Oniel tried another strike but Purdue had a surge of water spray up from the ice and knock the knife out of Oniel's grasp.
“I know you said you would kill me...” Purdue said calmly. “But that's not going to be today. Why not leave and try again another time. Right now, I've got bigger concerns. And to be honest, I think your anger is misplaced. Your boss and your brother were both terrible people that hurt far more people than they helped. The world is a better place with them gone.” It was cold but he had very little desire to be gentle with an assassin hell-bent on murdering him.
Oniel pulled another knife from his other sleeve.
“You're a persistent bastard, aye?” Purdue rubbed his face in annoyance.
Purdue caused more water to burst out from under them and manipulated it to pour over Oniel like a hose. The force of the water knocked Oniel off his feet and sliding across the ice. He rolled on the ground, soaked from head to toe by the water. He got back up but was shivering more violently now. If he didn't get somewhere warm quick, he would probably die from hypothermia.
“Enough of this.”
Oniel, silent as ever, didn't seem to mind that his body was freezing. All he cared about was his vengeance, and making it as painful as possible for Purdue. He was focused on the one objective and he wasn't going to stop until the deed was done or he was physically incapable continuing. If he kept this up, he would die out here in the cold.
“I'll give you one last chance. Stop this now.”
Oniel shook his head and opened his mouth. He spoke with the same hoarse sounds that he had the last time he delivered a message to Purdue—and it was the same message.
“K-kii—ouu.”
Kill you—Purdue wasn't going to let that happen.
“No. You're not.”
An eruption of water spurted out from the ice and rose into the air, high above Oniel, forming an enormous wave. With another thought, Purdue brought that wave down on Oniel. The assassin was caught in its force, being dragged across the ice back toward the temple.
“Damn,” Sam whistled. “That was impressive. Is he dead?”
“I'm not sure,” Purdue said honestly. “But I'm sure we'll find out. Shall we?”
They continued their trek toward the temple, knowing that Oniel was nothing more than part of a first line of defense. The things that they would find inside would probably be much more dangerous than him. Now that he was with the Order of the Black Sun, Oniel wasn't nearly as scary. It didn't help that his boss was an immortal psychopath who now controlled one of the most dangerous collections of people on the planet. Oniel went from being a top enforcer in a crime ring to nothing more than another cog in a much, much larger machine.
Purdue hoped to walk by Oniel's shivering, unconscious body in the snow, still soaked from the wave he had thrown at him but there was no sign of him. He had probably retreated back into the temple. Perfect—another enemy to still have to worry about. He should just trapped him under the ice like he had done to the other guards outside. Now, Oniel could warn the others inside about their arrival but Oniel definitely wasn't going to be able to shout his warnings to the whole place, so his warnings might be somewhat delayed.
Purdue wished that the wave would cause a bit more significant and lasting damage than it apparently had. He wouldn't have shed a single tear if that surge of water had killed Oniel either. The man had spent his whole life cutting people down, and had since joined a group that had killed plenty more. It would have probably been a service to everyone else if Oniel was taken out for good. All he seemed to contribute to the planet was murder.
It said a lot that such a dangerous man was a small part of Julian Corvus' order. He'd made the Black Sun a far more dangerous group, and they were heading straight into what would probably be a swarm of them.
11
CHAPTER ELEVEN – THE PERFORMANCE
Purdue and Sam approached the entrance to the temple. It was surprising that they didn't come across any more of the Black Sun guards. Maybe they thought Lucius and his group would be a sturdy enough defense. They may have been if not for Lucius' less than stellar leadership. His mania had taken priority over his mission and cost him. Now he and his men were popsicles in the frigid waters below. It was Julian's own fault for trusting a man who so clearly wasn't right in the head. It wasn't a good idea to give a man who just spent weeks isolated, freezing, and starving to death a weapon and trust him to perform well. There had to be someone better to patrol the temple's perimeter. Hell, all of the men he was barking orders at were probably more suited for the job at hand.
Maybe that's what Oniel was supposed to be but he was a sadist who only cared about slitting Purdue's throat rather than actually protecting the temple. He wouldn't have been an ideal choice either for ensuring that no intruders came to disturb their plans.
It was odd that the Order of the Black Sun's outer defenses were so minimal. Then again, it might have just felt that way. For all they really knew, dozens of guards were lying in wait, hidden in the snow. They could just be watching for the right moment to pounce or spring a trap. Or allowing Purdue and Sam to enter the temple might have been the trap.
They were bound to find out soon enough. Purdue expected Julian Corvus and all of his cronies to be waiting for them the second that he and Sam walked inside but was relieved that he couldn't see anyone at all nearby.
The interior of the Mayan temple looked quite a bit different than Purdue remembered from his brief time inside during his trek to Honduras. For one thing, he could actually see this time. The Order of the Black Sun had lit up the whole place like a Christmas tree. Purdue had only been inside for a few minutes last time and he had spent those few moments in nearly complete darkness. The Black Sun wanted to see what they were doing and what exactly this place really had to offer them.
Purdue wondered if they had found the sacrificial altar yet. If they had, why hadn't Julian's wish been made? Or maybe they didn't even know that part of the story...but that didn't seem very likely. Purdue had found that bit of information with ease so it shouldn't have been difficult for them. They had teams of researchers devoted to learning anything could about relics that could be useful to their cause. They must have known about the temple's real importance. How could they not?
; “Nice place,” Sam muttered beside him but looked more than a little disgusted by their new surroundings. “Very cozy. Think Nina is somewhere in here?”
“I doubt it,” Purdue said, keeping his voice down just in case anyone was nearby. He wearily kept looking up and down the narrow corridors. The Black Sun did a fine job lighting the place up but there were still plenty of lingering shadows that an enemy could creep out of. “They would probably have her, Charles, and Jean-Luc Gerard locked up some place secure, like wherever their headquarters is. I don't think even Julian is moronic enough to bring them here. It's not secure at all...”
“But they would be perfect bait.”
“True,” Purdue said, knowing full well that Julian might try to spring some sick trap like that on them. It was definitely his style, but it also would be a gamble. “That is if they're still alive...”
Sam frowned. “They have to be...”
Purdue wanted to believe that too. Sometimes he had to. Otherwise so much of his efforts would have been for nothing. If their friends were dead, then it didn't matter if they beat Julian Corvus and the Order of the Black Sun—they would already have lost.
A sound burst down the corridor. It sounded like something had dropped and hit the floor hard. Purdue stared down the hall in the direction that the noise had come from. Purdue pictured an entire legion of enemies waiting around the corner, and imagined that one of them had dropped their gun. They were probably all shushing one another and trying their best to stay hidden.
Purdue and Sam waited a long moment, hoping that someone would show themselves but no one did. Whatever that noise had come from, they weren't going to get any answers easily. They cautiously walked down the hall in the direction that the sound originated from. Purdue pulled the book of shadows out of his bag and flipped it open. He held his free hand out in front of him, ready to cast one of the many spells from inside that witch's private journal. He wasn't very experienced with the black magics inside but any magic to use as a weapon was better than being completely weaponless against a possible and probable ambush.
They turned the corner and the both of them braced themselves to be staring down a whole platoon of Black Sun troops but there was no one there after all. They both let out a sigh of relief and continued down the next corridor. Based on the light fixtures that had been placed in this corridor, the Black Sun had clearly already been through there. For all they knew, the Black Sun members were on the complete opposite end of the temple, too busy setting up lights to put up much of a defense. That was good. If they could just get to the altar first, then Purdue could use the book of shadows to quickly incapacitate one of the Black Sun goons. With magic, he had no doubt he could kill at least one of them on the altar with ease. And if the stories were true, that was all they needed to do to activate their chance at a wish.
The pair of them came to a doorway that had a large rock beside it. That slab of stone acted as something of a door but had been pushed aside, allowing access to whatever was on the other side. Purdue and Sam entered an enormous chamber, but only after poking their heads inside first and making sure that the coast was clear. A huge room like that made it easy for someone to spot them, or for someone to hide. Either way, an ambush would really put a great big wrench into their plans.
When everything seemed okay, the two proceeded into the room. It was different than the tight corridors they had been moving through and Purdue got the distinct impression that the entire temple had been constructed around this particular chamber. It just seemed so open, like it was meant to house a large number of people—like a football stadium being made to house thousands of fans. They entered through one of the four doorways that were on each side of the chamber. They came through the west-most doorway; the other doorways made him nervous. Someone could easily be on the other side of those openings, waiting to pour in.
There was nothing in the stone room besides a large stone slab in the very center of it. That must have been the altar, the one he'd read so much about. If they could perform a sacrifice at that altar, then the Moving Temple of Ah Puch's power would grant them one wish. It had been hard to imagine before, but now, staring at the slab of rock planted in the floor, it still didn't feel real. They were so close to being able to repair all of the damage that had been done to their lives.
The slab of stone that made up the altar had cracks in it that seemed precise—perhaps even man-made—and looked to be where the blood spilled from the sacrifice would seep into the altar and activate the temple's powers.
Suddenly, the room echoed with muffled cries, and when they turned around, Sam's face grew very pale, his whole body tensed up, and his mind was struggling to process the reality of what he was seeing.
Purdue could tell just from Sam's expression what was going on.
Kendra was there—and there was a knife at her throat.
That wasn't right. She couldn't have been there. She was back home waiting for him, just like she said she would be. She had to be...but the Black Sun operative with an arm around her and holding a blade at her neck said otherwise. The Order of the Black Sun had found her, found an easy weapon to use against Sam. How? He had been so careful to still keep mostly hidden even when he was with Kendra. It was far from a public relationship. Hell, they had spent most of their glorious time together in bed. Those rooms he stayed in had become slices of paradise when Kendra was around. This was different. Kendra's presence in this situation felt much more like some sort of hell.
He was so used to that beautiful woman smiling at him but he couldn't see her smile now. Her mouth was taped over, hiding those lips he had kissed so many times. All he could focus on were her eyes, which were brimming with wet tears.
“Welcome, Purdue. Cleave,” the Black Sun operative said with a Cheshire grin. “We were hoping you would show up at some point. I imagine you got here without any issues. No problems on the road?” He said it with a knowing wink, well aware that they had probably come across Lucius and the sentries outside in the snow.
“No problems at all,” Purdue said. “A few minor inconveniences, aye...but nothing serious.”
“How about now, Cleave?” The man said, bringing his attention to Sam and laughing when he spoke. He pressed the knife closer to Kendra's skin. “Have you run into any problems today?”
Sam wanted to tear that man's throat out and shut him up for good. He couldn't believe that they had found her. It shouldn't have been possible yet there she was. They'd dragged his new lady friend all the way up to the Arctic for no other reason than to use as a weapon against him. Why? They already had Nina, Charles, and that occult expert that Purdue had mentioned a few times. They had plenty of other potential hostages that they could have brought along instead...but they had to take her too. That was just like the Julian Corvus he remembered from Rhodes—unrelenting and not having any depths that he wouldn't stoop to in order to get what he wanted.
It did make him worry a little though. Maybe it wasn't a matter of how many hostages they had and instead they had actually needed one since Nina and the others were dead. He didn't want to believe it, but at this point, he wouldn't have been shocked if they were already far too late to save their friends. But they still had to try, and now they had to save Kendra too.
“Don't touch her,” Sam growled. “You let her go. Now.”
“Why would I do that?” The man snickered, moving the blade even closer to her flesh. “She's right where she needs to be, don't you think?”
“Pardon me,” Purdue interrupted. “I don't believe we've met, have we? All of you Black Sun lads look the same to me. It's hard to keep track of who is who. I only remember Corvus because he wears nicer suits than the rest of you. But no, I really don't think we've met. I'd remember an ugly mug like yours, my friend.”
“I'm Boris,” the man said, licking his lips like a hungry animal. “And you two are well known to me. I've spent a lot of time learning all about you. Anything I could find out to make be of better servi
ce to Julian.”
“Ah,” Purdue snickered. “You're one of Julian's puppets. God, we keep bumping into so many of you. You want my advice, you need to cut those strings and start thinking for yourselves. Does wonders for you.”
Purdue looked down at the page that was open in the book of shadows. He didn't want to risk turning the page or Boris might cut that girl's throat so he had to make do with what his eyes could already see when he looked down. There was one spell that might be able to do the trick. It would pop this Boris guy like a balloon. Sure, his insides would explode all over Sam's girlfriend, but he definitely wouldn't be able to hold that knife to her throat anymore.
“I wouldn't recommend it,” Boris said threateningly. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're no warlock, are you? No regular Harry Potter. And from what I know from that kind of magic...it's a tricky thing to control. And one mistake and you could kill yourself or everyone in the room. So if you're thinking of using one of those incantations on me...just remember...you might just hurt this girl too...and you don't want that, do you sweetheart?”
Boris ripped the duct tape off of Kendra's lips and she let out a yelp of pain. Her sobs and heavy breaths were far louder now as she gasped for air. She looked at Sam desperately but then she looked down at the blade hovering under her chin.
“Please...” she said.
Sam's heart almost broke right then. He had never seen her like that and he had hoped never to see her like that. She had nothing to do with any of it. She shouldn't have been there.
“I could just surprise you,” Purdue said nonchalantly, still looking down at the open page in front of him. He did his best to try and memorize the strange words that he was seeing. The gruesome and crude drawing beside it showed what would happen well enough. That witch Mona Greer was certainly a very talented artist. “For all you know, I've spent my time in hiding rereading the Harry Potter novels every day. I may just be a full-fledged sorcerer now, aye? Maybe I'll turn you into a goddamn frog. How does that sound?”
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