Sarah’s ears started to move, so maybe I hadn’t imagined the sounds completely. I looked back to check on Father Thomas and Samuel, and they had weapons drawn. Apparently, they had heard something as well; I could see it from the looks on their faces. Sarah stopped as we came into a large, round room. Three tunnels branched off in front of us. Sarah started toward one of the tunnels, and that is when we heard the first of the Berserkers cry out.
I could see them now racing down the tunnels toward us. Their pure white skin made it easy to pick out their positions against the darkness of the tunnels. Slobber was dripping from their open mouths as they charged toward what they expected to be an easy meal. The light reflected off of the four-inch incisors poking out of their mutated jaws. They were a perverted version of something that had once been human, just another reason to hate the Fallen.
I tried not to feel pity for the creatures rushing to kill us, but it was hard not to. They had been twisted, starved for blood for so long that their bodies started to shift into some new kind of creature. Their jaws grew, as well as the bones in their feet and hands. Once they had completed that part of the transformation, they fought against each other for the Fallen’s perverse pleasure. The winners receiving blood to drink, and the losers a release from this life. This helped create the bond to the nest and to their master.
We must have been in the right place because we had at least twelve of the creatures charging at us now. It was more than I had ever seen in one place. I quickly expanded the ball of fire I was already holding and sent it down one of the tunnels, reducing four of the Berserkers to ash. When the creatures died, my flame was extinguished, plunging us into darkness. I quickly created another flame and watched as Sarah charged headlong down one of the other tunnels.
For the moment, I was relegated to the role of helper. The priests had moved to face the Berserkers from one tunnel while Sarah was in the other. I tossed the flame up into the air and pinned it there with my gift. Then I slid my new swords from their sheaths over my shoulders. If any of the Berserkers got by the defenders, I was ready to act.
Father Thomas reached behind himself and, with a deft flick of his wrist, launched two golden disks at one of the monsters. The disks tore into the beast’s chest, creating gaping wounds, and it spun crashing to the ground. As it fell, the Berserker rolled into the feet of one of the other monsters, slowing its advance. Samuel dodged one of the creatures and then used his curved sword to kill the other. Sensing an attack from behind, Samuel threw himself flat on the ground, narrowly missing being raked by the creature’s claws. Lying on your back was no way to win a fight, and it quickly put him on the defensive. I spared a quick glance toward Sarah and then rushed into the fray. I stabbed downward with both swords through the Berserker’s shoulders; Samuel dealt a massive blow, plunging his sword into the creature’s chest. As he climbed back to his feet, a simple strike to the beast’s neck severed the head from its shoulders.
We both turned to assist Father Thomas whose robe was ripped from a claw slash across his chest, but the last beast was already lying dead at his feet. He had a bloody dagger in his hand that he clearly used to cut off the creature’s head. Sarah came back down the tunnel to meet us. As usual, she was covered from head to toe in gore. I did notice one little scratch in the shiny new enamel of her armor. When I pointed it out, she only laughed. I used my gift and burned all of the corpses, leaving no trace of the battle we had just fought.
Father Thomas stripped off his robe. For a man of the cloth, he sure liked to walk around with his shirt off a lot. I could see that the blood was already clotting in his wounds. The priests’ tattooed scripture would heal them, although much more slowly than if I were to do it myself. I suspected that Father Thomas was healing slightly faster than any member of his order could. I wondered if he had some latent amount of the gift passed on to him by his ancestors.
His eyes met mine, and I asked, “Do you need a moment to rest or are you okay to continue?”
“Don’t slow down on my account. I’ll be fine soon enough.”
I smiled as he stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against. Jokingly, I reached up to pet the top of Sarah’s head, earning myself a fierce growl. She hated when I did that, but when your girlfriend is werewolf, sometimes you just have to. “Okay, we must be close to the nest. Sarah and I will go in first. We aren’t going to stop moving until we reach our target. Anything that gets around us, I am counting on you two to handle.”
Samuel stripped off his robe, as well, and both men’s chests were faintly glowing with a golden light. They both looked ready enough to go. I nodded toward Sarah, and she led us down the tunnel at a run.
I sprinted after Sarah not wanting to let her get too far in front of me. I kept expecting each twist of the tunnel to be where we ran into the first of the Fallen. Every turn just led us further into the depths of the undercity. As we continued running, I started to see crosses hanging from the tunnel walls. It was odd to see anything religious this close to a nest. Sarah and I started to slow our pace in awe of the number of artifacts we were seeing. This didn’t make any sense. The walls were lined with crosses, cups, rosaries, and religious paintings.
We picked up speed again. There would be time to examine these artifacts later if we needed to. Sprinting around the corner, we ran right into five of the Fallen. Sarah put all her speed and weight behind her first strike, lopping the legs off of two of the Fallen at once. She finished by rolling through the startled group, cutting off their escape. It was my turn now; leaping into the air, I planted two of my swords into the chests of two of them. I pulled my blades free and joined Sarah, while Father Thomas and Samuel each cut the heads off of the wounded vampires. The last Fallen just stood there as if not moving would make him invisible. I ducked as Sarah’s blade flew in a wide arc, removing the creature’s head and sending sparks flying from the wall.
Sarah laughed at me again before saying, “That was for petting me earlier.”
I smiled at her, “Don’t be a bad girl.”
She gave me a little punch to the gut. By little, I mean it only lifted me about six inches off the ground. While recovering my wind, I had some time to look around. There was nothing here. Five Fallen should have just been the tip of the iceberg; the entire nest should be charging at us from every direction. I had thought about questioning the two legless Fallen as they tried to crawl away. Instead, I incinerated them along with the other three bodies. I had had enough of these games. I wanted answers; I just needed to know who to kill to get them.
Somehow, we had missed Dimitre again. I could feel the cold uncertainty like a stone in my gut. How had he found out we were coming? Was it possible we had a leak in the Ascendancy? There was no way to tell when Dimitre had left. The only thing we had left to do was enter the empty nest and hope that he had left us some type of clue.
As we entered the nest, I was shocked to see a Fallen staked to a large column of stone in the center of the room. Sarah slipped her sword back into her sheath and shifted back into her human form. There was no threat remaining here. I looked at Father Thomas and shrugged. “This isn’t what we were expecting.”
He moved up to my side. He gave the pinned Fallen a brief look and then asked, “Would it be okay if we headed back to the monastery? I’d like to bring the Brotherhood back down here to collect these stolen artifacts.”
I gave Sarah a quick glance to make sure she had no issues with the request.
She gave me a wink and replied, “That would be okay, Father.”
I reached out and clasped the man’s hand. “Thank you for your help today, and the fine swords. By the time you get back, we should be done poking around. I wish you the best of luck.”
I reached past the father and gave Samuel’s hand a firm shake as well, and then they both headed back the way we had come. Outside of getting some really great weapons, the day was a total bust. There was one thing left to do. The Fallen in front of us was still alive. I dou
bted she had any useful information, but it was worth a try.
As we approached the Fallen, she started to writhe against her bonds. Her body was bucking as she tried to rip her flesh to get free from the stakes in her hands and feet. I thought this might be the start of the process to make a Berserker. Sarah and I moved closer, and the creature started drooling, saliva pouring from its open mouth. I could swear it was trying to talk, but all I could hear was the word blood.
I reached out and slammed her head back against the pillar. Her expression was pitiful, but her eyes started to come into focus again. When she saw me, her entire body went still. It was eerie how it happened; it made her look like a living statue.
I almost lost it when the creature smiled at me. I pulled one of my swords out to end it, but Sarah grabbed my arm. I turned back to the creature and it began talking. “The master says I am to give you a message. Are you Blackthorn?”
I wanted to step away from the creature at the mention of my name, but I held my ground, just barely. “I am John Blackthorn. Give me your master’s message and be damned.”
I’m not sure if it was possible, but the creature seemed to grow even stiller. Its eyes closed, and it seemed to almost sag against its bonds. Then her eyes flew open and her head started to shake violently back and forth. She stilled again, her eyes rolling back in her head, and started to speak.
The voice that came out was different from before. It had more power behind it, and just a hint of laughter. “I have led you on a merry chase have I not, John Blackthorn?”
It had to be Dimitre talking to me through one of his underlings. That was something I didn’t know the Fallen were capable of. “Merry is not exactly the word I would use. Frustrating, maddening, and disturbing all come to mind, though.”
The creature rattled against its bonds. “You wound me. I enjoyed our time together very much.”
“That makes one of us.”
“Well, since you are not a man of pleasantries, maybe you can be one of understanding. The payment I received for this task made the experience worthwhile; meeting you and your friend was just a bonus. Completing my task in the very city the Ascendancy rules with an iron fist made it just good old-fashioned fun.”
I looked at Sarah just to make sure she could hear the creature, too. From the look on her face, she heard it and was just as disgusted as I was. “Well, since you are in the sharing mood, why don’t you tell me who hired you?”
The Fallen shook as Dimitre’s laughter filled the room. “Oh, John, straight to the point as ever. Where is your sense of flair, your comprehension of the dramatic? I cannot tell you who hired me, but I will say that it was an old friend of Adam’s, one who is looking forward to seeing him again soon.”
I felt an icicle wrap around my heart. Wasn’t Adam out with Joshua right now? What were they doing? We had to get out of here and find them. If something happened to Adam, we wouldn’t be able to hold the Ascendancy together.
The noise of Dimitre’s laugh drove me to lash out. “Damn you, Dimitre, do you not have the courage to face me yourself?”
The Fallen thrashed against it bonds one final time and fell still. The laughter had ended, and somehow the silence was worse.
A noise gurgled out of the creature’s throat. I leaned in closer trying to make out the words. “He said you would release me.”
I stepped forward and cut the creature’s head from its shoulders. “And so I shall.” There was no thrill of battle. Dimitre had robbed me of that as well. One last look at the creature filled me with sorrow. I turned and walked away.
7
Joshua
Climbing into the car with Adam was one of the hardest things that I had ever done. The finality of it, knowing that I could be placing myself in harm’s way. It was not too long ago that I took the same risk by coming here at the behest of the Council. I felt the familiar twitch of a vein in my forehead as my pulse quickened. Not for the last time, I made sure to wipe my features clean of any trace of my emotions. It would not serve any purpose to show him what I was feeling. If anything, it would only hurt my chances if I was forced to try and flee.
What would happen if I ended up incarcerated in this prison? Was this going to be the last time that I saw daylight? Adam told me that I was coming with him to be an observer, so that he had someone with no personal feelings toward the prisoner, to help him sort through the interrogation. Still, I could not shake the feeling that I wouldn’t be returning from this trip. The silence we were sitting in only added to the darkness of my thoughts.
The car rolled forward, and the slight bounce of our tire hitting a rut almost made me leap from my seat. Both of my hands were gripping my knees. I watched as the knuckles turned white, then forced myself to release them. I had felt the same fear the first time he had sent me out with John, but at least then, I’d stood a fighting chance. Now I was with the oldest Gifted on the planet. If he wanted me tucked away in a prison cell, there was nothing I could do about it.
The silence stretched out, and Adam still had not given me any indication as to what he was thinking. He had one leg crossed over the other, with the San Francisco Chronicle open on his lap, and looked to be lost in whatever article he was reading. If he sensed how nervous I was, he didn’t show it, or even acknowledge it in any way. I replayed our meeting in his office, trying to reassure myself that everything was going to be fine, but somehow, repeating that mantra to myself fell flat. Just as I was starting to find some calm, the car came to a stop.
The quick double tap on our window from the driver’s knuckles almost had me jumping out of my seat again. The silence of the ride to our destination had done nothing to quell my fears. When we exited the car, I was surprised to see our location; we were standing outside of what appeared to be a hardware store. The wooden building was weathered from years of exposure to the salt air from the sea, and the painted sign out front was faded by the sun. Our driver walked to the storefront and opened the door. With no better choices presenting themselves, I followed Adam inside.
The inside of the shop was dark and there was dust on the floor. No one had been here for months, if not years. The state of the place was not making me feel any better about my current situation. This was just the kind of place you could take someone, and ensure they would never be heard from again.
As if reading my mind, Adam said, “Don’t mind the dust. The place is actually set with a spell that will replace it after we walk through. We wouldn’t want anyone peering in the windows to think this place was open.”
Adam continued further into the building, and I followed. The lighting did nothing to alleviate my anxiety. Shadows hid God only knew what from my sight. Maybe he was going to feed me to one of his precious Lycans. We continued our journey down several flights of stairs, and my thoughts of ending up as dinner only grew stronger with each step. I swear I could hear scratching coming from the other sides of the walls.
When Adam reached the bottom of the stairs, he gave me a brief look over his shoulder before walking further into the darkness. What choice did I have but to follow him? With a deep breath, I stepped off the last step and into the dark. I was surprised when moments later sunshine stormed into the darkened basement. Adam had opened a door to a small jetty below the shop. The light gave me the courage I had lost in the darkness, and I hurried to catch up with him.
The smell quickly assaulted my nose. The underside of this dock must have not been cleaned in some time. The salty ocean water mixed with the smell of rotting fish made my stomach roll over. Thankfully, I did not add to today’s already embarrassing moments by spilling my breakfast all over my shoes. I crept out onto the shifting wooden structure, making sure to follow in Adam’s exact footsteps. Adam jumped a small gap between the dock and the waiting boat with ease. My footing seemed to be a little more precarious, but with a simple leap, I found myself safely on the deck of our transportation.
The boat pulled out into the bay, offering us stunning views of the val
ley. I turned around to look back at the city and was stunned by how high above the water it actually stood. The rolling hills and multicolored buildings were breathtaking. To my left was the Golden Gate, and to my right the wide-open expanse of the bay. The only thing that broke the magnificent view from the water was the island of Alcatraz.
Adam reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Breathtaking, isn’t it?”
I could only nod my head in wonder at the beauty around us. I finally was able to pull my eyes away from the rugged shoreline to our right and pointed across the bay to the left at the small city growing on the other side of the Golden Gate. “Is the only way across by boat?”
Adam smiled while looking across the giant expanse of water separating the two cities. “It is for now, they have started to build a road that circles the bay, or you can take a ferry across. I can tell you the city council has been talking about building a bridge across the expanse for some time. Hopefully, they will secure the funding for the project, although for the life of me, I have no idea how to build a bridge that big without the aid of magic.”
Looking at the giant expanse, I could see exactly what Adam meant. Building a bridge across that expanse without using the gift seemed like a daunting task. How many lives would it cost, I wondered, to build such a thing? This was a new century, though, and it seemed the impossible became more possible almost daily.
Our boat slowly cut around the left side of Alcatraz, and I could see the cannon emplacements that dotted the top of the structure. It had the look of an unassailable fortress. Coming toward the island by sea would be suicidal; no navy on earth would have tried to storm the bay when this was a military installation. Luckily for us, the military had converted it into a prison for wayward soldiers.
Ascendancy Origins Trilogy Page 18