Dauntless

by Thomas G. Atwood Jr.

  “I’m counting on that,” I stated, a grin growing on my face with every word. “He takes me, and the stone, to where he has Laurie.”

  “That’s a terrible plan,” Kat stated. “He has torturers, Kacey. He’ll have them work you over for the hell of it. How do you propose you go in there, alone, face down Pyrus, Drake, and God knows who else, and get out in one piece?”

  “I don’t. No way in hell that I can do all that alone, but if you guys help me out…”

  Frank snorted. “I get it. We plant a GPS chip on you, and you lead us straight to their hideout. Smart.”

  “You mean suicidal!” Dad protested. “You have no margin for error in your plan. If he gets his hands on you and something goes wrong…”

  “Then you’ll still have the location of the hideout. With that, you can stop the ritual and rescue Laurie, even if I don’t make it.”

  “Kiddo…”

  “Don’t call me kiddo,” I retorted, snapping at him. “I’m an adult and a Sentinel.”

  “Not yet you’re not!” he shouted in return. “We can’t even consider this.”

  “I have to agree,” Ripper stated, stroking his beard. “This is beyond dangerous, and you’re still in training. I can’t let you go out in the field like this.”

  I scoffed. “You let me fight at Olympus headquarters.”

  “I didn’t let you do a damn thing; you did that on your own.” He glanced at Kat. “Do you think the plan would work with you being the bait instead?”

  “Not a chance,” Kat returned, shaking her head. “Drake’s not stupid. He’d never believe it. Best case scenario, Drake doesn’t show. If we’re unlucky, he might show but with some nasty surprise to kill us before the exchange. It needs to be Kacey.”

  “I’m responsible for the girl’s safety. I can’t let her go through with this.”

  “It’s a good plan, and it won’t work with anybody but her,” Kat stated. “Do you want me to go through the list? He won’t believe David or us; he’ll shoot Frank, and Aidan is a wild card to him.”

  “The answer’s no. I won’t let anyone who’s not a Sentinel do anything this dangerous.”

  “Then make her a Sentinel. Put her through the Test.”

  “Guys, what’s the Test?” I asked, noting the concern flashing through Dad and Ripper’s eyes.

  “No way she’s ready for that,” Dad responded.

  “She is, and besides, we are out of options,” Kat returned.

  “Guys! What’s this Test?” I waved my hands in a vain attempt to get their attention.

  “It’s a final demonstration of your skills. Afterward, you become a Sentinel, with all the rights and privileges, and no one can contest it.” Kat rubbed her eyebrows and walked away from the wall she was leaning on. “It’s dangerous and could cost you your life.”

  “What is it?”

  “We can’t say.”

  “Fine, who determines when I’m ready?”

  “You do,” Ripper stated, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “At any point, a recruit can call for the Test. Another Mage administers it, and either they succeed, or they’re trapped.”

  “Trapped?”

  “In the Veil, the home of the dead. It’s where spirits go after they’ve passed on. Most spirits will move on to other places, but you’d be stuck, not living but unable to die.”

  “For how long?”

  “Eternity,” he stated, the word dropping like a bomb in the still of the room. “Kid, I can’t tell you not to do this, but if you do, then you better be damn sure that you’re ready. This isn’t a luxury cruise, and we won’t be able to help you. We can come up with another plan to save your friend.”

  “Let’s do it,” I said without a second’s hesitation.

  “Kid, I don’t think you understand. You can’t do it. You’re not ready; you’re not strong enough. You don’t have anywhere near the training, hell you’re just plain not good enough. You can’t put yourself through this for some friend.”

  “Laurie’s more than a friend; she’s family. She’d do the same for me if she could, and I’ll be damned if I let her spend one more minute as Drake’s prisoner.”

  Ripper held up his hands in defeat. “Prep her,” he barked at Kat as he stormed away. “Pray something has gotten through that thick skull of hers.”

  “Kacey, come with me,” Kat stated, her voice quiet and soothing.

  “Give me a second,” Dad said, rubbing his hands together.

  “David, this is time sensitive.”

  “I know that. Give me one second with my daughter,” he shot back, glaring at her. Kat cocked her head and walked to the doorway.

  “Kacey, I hope you’re not doing this to get back at me because this would be one stupid way to do it.” Dad set his hands on my shoulders. “If you’re not sure, then don’t do this. We can find another way.”

  “What’s your idea?”

  “I don’t know, but I can’t lose you.” He wrapped me in a bear hug, and I felt his tears dropping onto my jacket as he held me close. “I can’t lose you. You’re my daughter, Kacey. I know you’re angry at me, and you have a right to be, but you mean everything to me. You have to come back.”

  In that instant, I remembered all the time I spent with my dad. I saw him swinging me on the playground, laughing as I flew through the air. I remembered the way his face lit up with each report card and how he’d shout at the top of his lungs with every basketball game. I remembered how he took me to every football game at home, buying ridiculous amounts of food. We’d cheer and feast until I felt like I’d explode. I hugged him as he cried on my shoulder. Despite how angry I was, he was my dad, and I loved him.

  He let me go, wiping the tears from his eyes as he scowled in fake annoyance. “Damn allergies,” he lied.

  “Yeah, I hear they’re terrible in the dead of winter,” I stated, prompting a chuckle from him.

  “Good luck kid,” Frank said, walking out the door with my dad.

  Aidan walked over to me, beaming as he followed them. “I’ll see you soon,” he said, giving me a soft peck on the lips.

  “That’s it? Everyone else is going nuts about me doing this, but not you.”

  “They don’t know you as I do,” he retorted. “I have no doubt you’ll succeed. It will amaze me if this test is anything more than a minor inconvenience.”

  I laughed as he walked away. Kat walked down the halls of The Mansion. As I followed her, the tapestries on the walls began to change. The paintings of lovers kissing and mounds of treasure no longer decorated the walls. Images of dark, twisted woods, brutal displays of combat, and monstrous creatures replaced them. Each one leered down at us as we walked past. The wood that composed the walls and floors began to change as well. Polished, scarlet wood gave way to a dull, black wood that was more and more warped with each step. Kat came to a stop between two gargoyles, each one standing in silent vigil with weapons held high. A pitch black door stood behind them with the image of a roaring dragon etched into it.

  “Last chance, Kacey. If you want to back down-”

  “Not a chance.”

  “Alright,” she stated, opening the door. A low groan emerged from the gargoyles mouth as we stepped inside. The door slammed shut with a crack, throwing us into darkness.

  Chapter 19

  Darkness hung over us like a fog, and the air inside was stale and thick with dust. A flash of orange light appeared as Kat struck a match, lighting the candles that surrounded us. A crimson pentagram took up the entirety of the room with iron candlesticks positioned at each point of the star. A gray bowl lay in the center,
and Kat dumped a pile of foul-smelling herbs in it. A pungent aroma filled the room as she finished emptying the bag. My heart skipped a beat as she lit the last candle, and the rest of the room became visible. Leering skeletons glared down at me, their skulls a bleached white.

  “You need to fire your decorator,” I said, rubbing my arms.

  “It’s necessary,” Kat said, measuring piles of ingredients before placing them in the bowl.

  “Necessary for what? All it’s doing is managing to give me the creeps.”

  “The Test will take you into the realm of the dead. The decorations, as you call them, ease the transition.”

  “How?”

  “Death calls to death,” Kat replied in a cryptic tone as she emptied the last bag into the bowl. “Sit in the middle of the pentagram.”

  I walked over to the painting and sat down. Kat placed the metal bowl in my lap, running her fingers through her hair.

  “I need you to listen to me. The Test consists of two parts. The first part involves you walking through the realm of the dead. You’ll face your worst fears. Nightmares, terrors, and horrors that you won’t even admit that you’re afraid of.”

  “What did you see?” Kat stared up at me in surprise at what I realized was a personal question. “Sorry.”

  Kat drummed her fingers on the ground and let out a long groan before answering.

  “Spiders.”

  “Spiders? You mean like the little ones?”

  “More like the size of Pomeranians. Thousands of them with beady eyes that skittered across the floor and hissed at me. I tried to run, but they were everywhere. No matter how fast I ran, or where I hid, I could still feel their little furry legs crawling up my leg and...” She shuddered at the memory. “I don’t like spiders.”

  “Noted. You know the big spiders are safer; it’s the little ones that are dangerous.” Kat shot an annoyed glare at me as she worked.

  “I need you to focus, Kacey.”

  “Right, I’m focused. So that’s it, all I have to do is face my fears? What happens after that?”

  “After that, the spirits will judge you. If one finds you worthy, you’ll bond with it.”

  “Well, how the hell am I supposed to know which ones want to bond with me?”

  “The spirits control everything in the area, from the weather to the animals. The one that sticks around is the one you want. All the others will go away in time.”

  “Okay, let’s get this done,” I replied, rubbing my arms as I glanced around.

  “Alright. Are you sure you’re ready?” Kat asked, standing over me with a lit match in her hand. She dropped the match in the iron pot. The herbs and dust were lit in an instant, filling the room with a hazy blue smoke. The world around me spun, transforming into a white haze as I struggled to keep my balance. The skeletons leaped off their perches, cackling as they spun around me. Empty sockets blazed with fire, and their jaws moved up and down in silent conversation.

  Within seconds, the world around me vanished, replaced by a sea of blackness. Stars winked into existence one by one, and my stomach fell as I saw an endless drop below. A green tree branch stretched beneath my feet, the sole thing keeping me from an endless fall. I followed the branch, and trees began appearing. Each tree was a sickening green color, and white bile flowed from every branch like tears. I gasped as I inched closer. A person lay pinned to each tree with iron spikes driven through their wrists, knees, and neck. Blood flowed from each wound, more blood than any of the victims had in life. Each one let out a moan as they struggled to glance at me before their heads lolled back down. Their skin was as pale and lifeless as a porcelain doll, and their veins pulsed with a strange black fluid. I reached out to try and save one of them, but the ground moved beneath my feet. I collapsed, gripping the branch with all my strength as I inched away from the victims.

  An iron gate lay at the end of the path. I saw one of the skeletal statues from earlier clad in midnight black robes. He watched me, blue flame flickering in its eye sockets.

  “Uh, hey,” I said as the creature studied me. “How’s it going?” The creature said nothing, watching me as I walked closer to the gate. When I stood next to him, he pointed a single finger at the gate, causing it to swing open with a loud creak.

  “Wait a minute, who are those impaled guys?”

  “Mine,” the creature spoke, a deep, booming voice that swept through the area like a crash of thunder. He pointed to the gate again, and his eyes changed into a searing red flame. I stepped through, causing the world around me to vanish in a flash.

  When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a quiet, well-tended field at the top of a hill. Gravestones littered the ground for miles, and granite statues towered over the cemetery. I stared over the hill and gasped in horror at what I saw. The city, my city, was burning. Bright orange flames clutched around each of the skyscrapers like hellish fingers, gripping them tight as the buildings collapsed into rubble. Green, scaled creatures stalked through the ruins, grinning anytime they saw someone. They raced across the ground, mouths slavering as they laughed at the huddled people. Claws and talons ripped flesh from bone as they tackled their prey, slamming them into the ground as they devoured them alive. People tossed ropes over telephone poles, and they hung themselves rather than get caught. Others dove from the top of the few remaining buildings, an angelic gaze on their face as they plummeted to the ground below.

  “What the hell?” I asked, reeling away so fast that I tumbled. My fingers dug into the wet and muddy earth as I backed away. Drops of blood fell from the sky like rain, casting everything in the thick, sticky liquid. Lightning flashed through the sky, revealing the names etched into the slate tombstones. The name David Alexander came into clear view, and my heart leapt into my throat as I saw the date was a few days away. One by one, the names on the gravestones revealed themselves. Kat, Laurie, Frank, and even Aidan and Ripper’s names lay on the stones. Each one had the same words written underneath the date.

  We died because of you.

  “No!” I shouted, collapsing to my knees as tears flowed down my face. “It’s not possible…I didn’t…It can’t be my fault. It’s not. It’s not my fault.”

  “It is,” a voice behind me groaned. I spun around and screamed at the figure I saw shambling toward me. The hobbling corpse was an exact copy of Kat. Her immaculate blonde hair was dirt caked and stringy with all but one small patch torn away. One blue eye glared at me in accusation while a white haze covered the other. Her skin was a deep gray and was dangling from her arms and legs.

  “You killed us…” the creature moaned, staring at us. “I shouldn’t have saved you.”

  “Everyone’s life would be better if you’d left her to that vampire.” Aidan’s voice rang out as he emerged from the shadows. One by one, all my friends emerged from the shadows, each one broken and mutilated in a dozen different ways. My hands trembled as I struggled to inch away from them. I was desperate to hide from the low rasp of their voices and the rancid rot that hung from them.

  “You’re not real,” I said, my eyes going as wide as plates as they surrounded me. “You’re not real!” I screamed in accusation, grabbing a rotted branch from the ground and pointing it at them. The creatures laughed, a low, cruel sound as they cornered me.

  “We’re not real,” Laurie’s voice mocked. “Is that why you let us die?”

  “I had a wife and kids,” Frank returned, his single eye watering as it glared at me. “Why’d you have to take them from me, Kacey? I could have saved them.”

  “She doesn’t care,” my dad’s bitter voice rang out as his skeletal hands gripped my shoulder. The touch sent chills running down my body. “She’s never cared about anything but herself. I should
have left you back in that cabin.”

  I swung the branch at him, but it bounced off his chest. I glanced down at my hands in terror. I had no magic anymore. No enhanced strength, speed, anything. Only the awkward blow of a five foot, awkward teenager. I struggled, desperate to rip myself free as my zombified friends lifted me into the air. They screamed with mad glee as they hauled me toward an open grave. The gravestone came into sharp focus as they pulled me toward it. My name decorated the tombstone. A simple epitaph sat carved into the stone: Kacey Alexander, a curse to everyone she’s met.

  I howled in terror as they threw me into the grave. The lid slammed shut, leaving me in darkness as I struggled to breathe. One by one I heard a thud as they dumped dirt on the coffin, leaving me to scream as they buried me alive. Terror gripped me as I strained against the lid of the coffin. I pushed as hard as I could, but the coffin stayed sealed tight. I screamed, kicking and slamming my fists against the container in vain. Tears ran down my face as I realized I was going to die, trapped and alone.

  No, a voice in the back of my head stated. You did not come all this way to fail. You are going to get out of this. You are going to succeed, and then you are going to make Ripper choke on his words. The thought filled me with rage, and I slammed my fist against the coffin. It remained closed, and I pounded on it again and again. Each punch ignited the anger inside of me, and my powers began to return. The angrier I was, the stronger I felt until the coffin cracked and shattered open. I braced myself for the flood of dirt but stared up in surprise as nothing happened.

  Brilliant white light flooded my vision, and a skeletal hand reached through. It helped me up, and I stared in surprise as I saw another of the undead figures clad in a light blue cloak. Its skull was twisted and warped into a perpetual grin, and it pointed off into the distance. An eerie cackle echoed out from him. The light coalesced into an icy forest with frozen trees and snow-packed trails everywhere. The figure pointed into the distance, its laughter growing with intensity.