The Circle Gathers (Veil Knights Book 1)

by Rowan Casey

  Behind them, the rift closed with a sharp snap.

  The first four figures were small in stature; three and a half, maybe four feet tall at best, Jessie guessed. They were humanoid in shape and were wearing what looked to be padded clothing covered in some sort of leather armor, but that’s where the resemblance ended. Their skin was a yellow-gray in color, like aged and fire-darkened ivory, with ridges and cracks in the flesh that gave it an uneven haggard appearance. Their hair, where it peeked out under the metal helms they wore, was dirty white. Their eyes were a pale blue and full of what Jessie took to be a crafty kind of intelligence, which didn’t bode well for her given the dull grey swords they were all holding in their hands.

  The fifth and final member of the party couldn’t have been more different than the first four. The woman was tall and thin, close to Jessie’s height in fact, and dressed in a coat of chain mail over which a cloak of thick fur rested. She had dark boots on her feet and held a long metal spear in one hand. Her hair was a deep black with violet highlights and worn in a tall Mohawk down the center of her otherwise shaved skull. Her eyes were yellow, like a great cat’s.

  A Fae warrior with a patrol of Dvergr to assist, said a voice in the back of Jessie’s mind.

  She nodded her head in agreement, not taking her attention off the newcomers, and then...

  Wait! A what with a what?!

  How the fuck did I know that?

  But she didn’t have time to figure it out, for the Fae chose that moment to speak.

  “Should have joined the Circle when you had the chance, Knight.” The woman’s voice was deep and rang with an odd kind of musical lilt that made it unlike anything Jessie had ever heard before. “You’ve left yourself vulnerable by delaying and we’re here to be certain you never have the chance to claim that mantle again.”

  The Circle? Jessie asked herself, but apparently that inner voice was out of answers for it remained silent.

  To the four Dvergr standing in front of her, the Fae said, “Take her alive, if you can. Would be nice to have a plaything through the winter, eh boys?”

  There were grunts of agreement from the dwarf-like creatures and then they rushed forward as one to carry out the command.

  17

  Jessie felt her berserker spirit rise within and she gave it free reign, letting it take over her movements as if together they’d done so a thousand times before. She picked up the steel barbell bar, sans the weights, and stepped forward, away from the benches and other gear that might hinder her ability to move and fight back.

  The Dvergr quickly surrounded her, swords in hand. Jessie spun in a slow circle, keeping an eye on as many of them as possible, waiting for them to make the first move. Once they did, she knew it would go quickly.

  She was watching the individual directly in front of her when she sensed movement at her back. She spun, thrusting the barbell out in front of her lengthwise, slamming the end of the pole into the Dvergr’s chest where she expected the solar plexus to be. Her opponent grunted and doubled-over, fighting for breath, and she used the opportunity to sweep his feet out from under him and then stomp down hard on his neck, crushing it, putting him out of the fight permanently.

  Given that she’d left her back exposed, Jessie knew the warrior behind her would be making his move, so she pivoted on one foot, spinning the bar overhead as she did so. She brought her weapon down sharply to parry the incoming sword strike from the Dvergr she was now facing, knocking the sword to the side before reversing the bar back in the other direction to deliver a stunning blow to his skull. The second Dvergr collapsed without a sound, leaving the odds now two to one.

  Well, three to one, let’s not forget the Fae.

  Right.

  The remaining two Dvergr grew more cautious, slowly circling her with one on either side. Jessie moved in the opposite direction, her head swiveling back and forth to keep them both in view as much as possible, so they looked like two rings of dancers moving in opposite directions. The Dvergr made several feints, stepping forward momentarily and brandishing the evil-looking swords they were carrying, but Jessie wasn’t fooled. She waited them out, her stance at the ready, knowing that they wouldn’t want it to stretch out too long.

  The scuff of a boot on concrete from behind let Jessie know that the Dvergr at her back was coming for her even as the one in front charged forward at the same moment. Keeping her eyes forward, Jessie shot one leg backward in a perfectly-timed rear kick, catching the attacker behind her square in the face. She then shifted her weight forward, knocking the frontal attacker’s sword to the side with her staff while leaping up and kicking out with the opposite leg.

  Focused on the weapon currently parrying his sword strike, the Dvergr never even saw the kick until it landed square between his legs. He doubled over in pain, giving Jessie ample time to spin her makeshift Bo staff around and smash the back of his head in with it.

  Holy shit! she thought, looking at the four bodies surrounding her. Did I really do that?

  She didn’t have time to consider the answer, however, for

  the Fae launched herself at Jessie in a spinning whirlwind of an attack, her spear coming around and shoved straight toward Jessie’s unprotected flesh.

  Except Jessie was no longer standing there, having slid several feet to the right. She’d seen the Fae shift her weight and her years in the ring told her what was coming. She reacted by twisting to her right, away from the deadly blade on the end of her opponent’s spear shaft.

  The Fae was back on her in an instant, trying to overwhelm her with the sheer ferocity of her attack. Slash and parry, cut and jab. Back and forth they went, neither of them gaining any significant advantage, their weapons ringing in the empty air of the warehouse.

  They broke apart, gaining Jessie a momentary respite.

  She tried circling to her left, watching her opponent closely, searching for some opening in her guard that she might exploit when the opportunity presented itself.

  The Fae was doing the same, of course, and apparently saw one before Jessie did.

  She exploded toward Jessie, her weapon swinging in toward Jessie’s midsection in a vicious strike, and the assassin was even faster this time than Jessie had expected her to be.

  Jessie dropped the point of her staff and met the Fae’s weapon with her own, channeling the energy of her attacker’s strike away from her and toward the ground instead. She twisted and brought her own weapon around in an arc that was aimed at the Fae’s midsection.

  But her opponent was already gone by the time the blow had landed, dancing back out of range on nimble feet.

  Back and forth they went, blow after blow, twisting and turning, moving across the floor, each of them striving to gain the upper hand and deliver the winning blow.

  It was Fae warrior who drew first blood, cutting in beneath Jessie’s guard and slashing the tip of her spear across Jessie’s shoulder. Blood flowed, staining her jersey, and the Fae grinned in triumph.

  “The beginning of the end, Knight” she mocked.

  Jessie ignored her and the cut as well. She could tell it wasn’t too deep and she therefore wasn’t in any real danger from it.

  She’d gestured impatiently at the other.

  Come and get me.

  The Fae came at her again and they traded another series of blows, the sound of their weapons colliding ringing out across the room. This time, when the Fae stepped in close, Jessie took advantage of the situation and lashed out with her leg, striking the other straight in the chest and causing her to stumble backward.

  Sensing an opportunity, Jessie kept up her forward momentum, driving her opponent back across the room with a combination of staff fighting and martial arts moves, throwing out strikes and kicks in between blows of her makeshift bo staff.

  Finally the Fae warrior began to tire and changed tactics. She said something beneath her breath and as Jessie watched, amazed, the woman’s hand began to glow a brilliant green.

  The Fae th
rust out that glowing hand and shouted something in a tongue Jessie didn’t recognize. There was a flash of power, followed immediately by that crackling noise she’d heard earlier.

  Except this time, it was right behind her!

  Jessie didn’t need to be told what that meant, instantly grasping that her opponent intended to force here through the rift into another realm, where she’d be at a distinct disadvantage.

  Forewarned is forearmed, she thought, and braced herself for the charge she knew was to come.

  The Fae warrior didn’t hesitate. With another shout in that same foreign tongue, she rushed forward, slashing with the head of her spear, trying to force Jessie back through the opening of the rift.

  But Jessie was ready for that very move. She parried several of the Fae’s strikes, narrowly missing getting skewered in the process, and then landed a blow of her own against her opponent’s shoulder. That slowed the Fae’s follow-up strike just enough for Jessie to take a chance on an unexpected move.

  As the other woman swept her spear across her body in a horizontal strike, Jessie tossed her own weapon vertically up into the air and dove forward in a somersault that took her beneath her opponent’s weapon, putting her behind the Fae warrior.

  Jessie bounced back to her feet and spun about as she came out of her roll. Now she could see the rift that had been behind her in all its glory and gasped at the sight of the dark void that greeted her gaze. Gone was the icy, desolate landscape she’d spied earlier and in its place was a great sea of nothingness. At last she fully understood what the Fae had planned for her.

  But there was no time to consider it. Jessie grabbed her makeshift staff as it came downward on the other end of its arc and the second the weapon was in her hands she lashed out, catching the Fae even as she was turning to follow Jessie’s move.

  The barbell struck the Fae in the waist, right in the middle of her turn at that point when she was most off balance, and the blow had the desired effect.

  The Fae warrior stumbled backward, right into the mouth of the rift standing open behind her, and vanished from view with a piercing scream that seemed to go on forever in Jessie’s mind.

  She didn’t know where that rift led but she had no doubt that it wasn’t anywhere pleasant.

  Jessie stood there for several moments, her weapon in hand, in case the Fae returned. When that didn’t seem likely, she breathed a sigh of relief and turned away.

  Only to be met with the sight of four Dvergr bodies lying on the floor behind her.

  She didn’t know if they were dead or merely unconscious, but she was quite positive that she didn’t want them around even half a moment longer. She glanced at the rift, which still hadn’t closed, and then at the bodies and came to a decision.

  She hurried over and prodded each of the Dvergr in turn with her staff. None of them gave any sign of consciousness, so she put down the staff, grabbed the closest Dvergr by the heels and dragged him across the floor to the rift. Standing near but not too close to the edge, she spun around once to get some momentum and then tossed the Dvergr through the opening after the Fae.

  Jessie repeated the process with the other three bodies, managing to get the last through the opening just seconds before it snapped shut with a final sounding crack.

  She was alone in the warehouse once more.

  This time she knew she hadn’t imagined any of it, however.

  Jessie wanted some answers and she wanted them now.

  Thankfully she knew just where to get them.

  18

  After bandaging her minor injuries, Jessie called a cab and directed it to take her to Avalon. When she arrived, she found the club closed and dark, which was surprising given she assumed it was the kind of place that would be open every night of the week. The cabbie was reluctant to leave her there alone, but Jessie waved him off. This was the Silver Lake district; she could walk over a block or two and find another cab without difficulty.

  The building seemed different in the darkness. More somber. More...ominous, somehow. Perhaps it was just her mood, which wouldn’t have been surprising given what she’d been through that evening, but she didn’t think so. She had the sense that the club was watching her somehow, that it knew she was there and that she hadn’t come in peace.

  Fuck it, she thought.

  Striding to the front door, she raised her fist, intending to knock away until it was answered. Before she could start hammering, the door opened and she found herself face to face with Hautdesert.

  “Ah, Miss Noble. Mr. Grimm will be pleased to hear that you’ve made it after all. If you’ll follow me, please.”

  He turned and walked away before she had a chance to say anything, leaving her to hustle along in his wake to catch up.

  Hautdesert led her through the darkened club and over to the same rear corner where she knew Grimm kept an office, but that was not their destination, at least not this time. Instead, he led her down the short corridor to the elevator she’d noted the other night. He pressed the elevator call button and waited in silence.

  Despite her earlier bravado, Jessie was feeling unsettled by now. Her anger and need for answers was slowly being steamrolled by the recognition that Grimm had been telling the truth, the monsters were not only real, but hungry as well. She’d written off her previous encounters as drug-induced hallucinations, but the confrontation earlier that night didn’t allow her to do that. She’d had bodies to dispose of, for heaven’s sake! Bodies that were clearly, indisputably not human.

  That was rocking her world, to say the least.

  The fact that Grimm knew to expect her immediately thereafter simply made it worse.

  The elevator doors slid open with nary a sound and Hautdesert extended a hand in front of him.

  After you.

  Jessie stepped inside and turned around, expecting Grimm’s man to follow, but Hautdesert remained where he was, standing outside the elevator and looking in at her with an enigmatic expression. Jessie opened her mouth to protest, to ask what the heck was going on, but the doors slid shut before she could get anything out.

  The elevator began to descend.

  It went on for what seemed a very long time, only increasing her nervousness.

  When it stopped at last, Jessie braced herself, not having any idea what to expect when the doors opened.

  To her surprise, she found herself looking out into a long but narrow room with a vaulted ceiling and artistic tapestries covering the walls. There were several other individuals waiting there as well; Jessie counted seven men and four women. Most of them were adults, but there were a pair of teens and a couple of twenty-something’s as well. As a group they looked up, saw that she wasn’t who they expected, and went back to what they were doing.

  The door started to shut, so Jessie shot out a hand, stopping it, and then stepped out into the room ahead of her.

  No turning back now, she thought, as the elevator quietly closed and headed back in the direction it had come.

  The others weren’t paying her any mind, so she took a moment to look around and get her bearings.

  The first thing she noticed was the large crystal chandelier hanging over their heads, throwing light over the entire room. It was modern and stylish, and no doubt cost a pretty penny. Her gaze traveled past the chandelier to the ceiling above and she had to quench the urge to duck as she took in the massive dragon painted across the vaulted space. The creature had been painted in the act of diving downward toward some unknown prey, its clawed talons extended and its mouth open wide as if ready to swallow her whole.

  She took a few steps forward, turning to get a better look at it, marveling at the detail the artist had put into the mural, from the texture of the creature’s scales to the steam coming forth from its nostrils. It was so lifelike that Jessie could almost imagine the artist had captured an actual dragon and imprisoned it there on the ceiling with some kind of arcane magic.

  The thought made her shudder; she’d had enough magic for o
ne evening.

  She turned her focus to the rest of the room, conscious that several of the others were obliquely watching what she was doing now but not particularly caring; she wasn’t in the mood to socialize at the moment. The right-hand wall was just a long stretch of unmarked wood – mahogany, maybe – and held little interest for her. The left side was covered in a series of gorgeous tapestries, each one more vibrantly colorful than the last, and she stepped closer to examine the one nearest to her.

  Its carefully woven surface was covered in several different scenes, or collections of images, and taken together they seemed to tell a story of sorts. Here a group of men and women were gathered together around a banquet table, wining and dining with abandon. There a group of knights in armor chased a fox through a thicket on horseback. Further on the same group of knights appeared to be defending a shining castle atop a green hill from a horde of invaders, while nearby one of their own battled a massive dragon that curiously resembled the beast painted on the ceiling above Jessie’s head.

  Amidst it all, two images in particular caught Jessie’s attention. The first was of a bearded knight, dressed in armor but with his helmet cradled under one arm, standing before a lake from which a woman’s arm was emerging. In her hand was a shining sword that cast light around it in all directions.

  The Lady in the Lake, Jessie thought upon seeing it, a strange sense of wonder falling over her as the pieces of the puzzle began falling together in her mind.

  The second image was that of a white stag, bounding through the forest, while a knight in dark armor chased in on horseback. The stag had a fresh wound in its side and the sword in the knight’s hand was bloody. That particular piece had the opposite effect; Jessie’s heartrate rose ominously at the sight of the majestic beast in such obvious danger.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Jessie turned to find a man in his mid-to-late twenties standing nearby, a warm smile on his face. He had ginger hair, freckles, and pale skin, a fact that wasn’t helped by his choice of wardrobe; faded black denim jeans, a t-shirt, and scuffed leather jacket and boots.