Shadow of a Doubt

by Hunter Blain

  As I brought the water up to Da’s eager mouth, I could hear Depweg call out behind me, “Objective complete. Time to go.”

  “John,” Da said with a voice that sounded reminiscent of his former self. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Take it easy, brother. Let’s get you out of here, then we can talk and talk and talk. We’ll jab like a couple of high school girls,” I said as I began to unclasp his shackles. The blood had dried over the leather, and I had to coat both his hands in water and scrape at the gangrenous scabs with my fingernails. I fought to swallow the lump in my throat as my body warred between fury and sorrow. I was a churning ocean of emotions that rose and fell.

  “No. NO!” Da said behind his own wave of emotion that threatened to break on the shore of his sanity. “You need to know.”

  I freed his first hand, and it dropped like a stone to his side. I placed my shoulder under his armpit and used both my hands to free his other one. He smelled like a corpse that had been left in a sewer to rot. I wanted to vomit, but I kept my shit together for him…for Da.

  I gritted my teeth in building rage as I let him slowly slide down the wall. From the back of my mind came the thought that he was smaller than the Archangel Gabriel or Valenta had been.

  “John, you…are…you are…” Da began, fighting the wave of unconsciousness that steadily approached like the tide. He clearly hadn’t been fed in a long time and barely had the energy to speak.

  “Contact!” Joey cried out as his Springfield began barking a steady staccato up the stairs. I whirled with my shotty at the ready and watched as Joey sent eight rounds into the darkness before the firing ceased and we were left in a tense silence.

  My heart thudded, and I could feel it impacting my breathing. I tried to take steadying breaths now that it was game time. But as I sucked in a count of three, my heart would slam against my chest, making my breath catch for a millisecond as if someone were jabbing my stomach at quick intervals.

  A shriek pierced the thick silence, followed by another, then another. After a few seconds, there was a cacophony of high-pitched screams threatening to burst my eardrums.

  “Contact, left flank!” Depweg cried out as he began sending three-round bursts into the darkness behind the stairwell in the middle of the long room.

  “Right flank!” Joey yelled as he pulled back from the stairs and began firing steadily down the right side. This cleared my line of sight for the stairwell just in time to see a flood of featureless creatures with glowing amethyst eyes spilling down toward us.

  I pulled the trigger and was surprised at how much the shotgun kicked. It freaking hurt! Though I wouldn’t admit that to anyone.

  A silver slug went straight through the first wave of Shadow faeries, dissolving them like a hand through a cloud of smoke.

  From in front of me and to my left, I was aware that Locke had begun firing his .22 on single-fire option rather than the spray-and-pray of full auto. Magni was supporting the injured Ludvig, who tried to lunge forward and fight. The boy was stronger than he was at that moment and kept him in check.

  I took a step forward, trying to keep myself between Da and the door as I squeezed off two more rounds. The floodgates opened, and more faeries began to swarm the dungeon.

  “Joey!” I cried out, realizing the direness of the situation. He glanced to the left and started firing into the building mass. I saw Depweg do the same, opting to focus on the immediate threat.

  I squeezed the trigger again, and a cloud of iron rocketed out, slamming through multiple enemies in a much larger area than the slugs.

  I shot the weapon one more time before the horde began to react and spread out.

  “Shit,” I barked through my teeth as a wave collected and then slammed into Joey, swallowing him in writhing blackness.

  “NO!” Depweg bellowed. We were helpless to act. Our ammunition would go through the incorporeal Shadow faeries and hit our flesh-and-blood ally.

  All firing ceased as the wave stopped progressing and calmed like a body of water after a violent windstorm.

  “You see, I told you they’d come to us,” a familiar authoritative voice proclaimed from the darkness. The wave dissipated to reveal Oberon in his perfectly tailored black suit. He was holding Joey by the throat as he walked into view. A featureless black cat with glowing purple eyes was sauntering behind him, twitching its tail as it walked. The Shadow army circled the air like a picture frame around their masters.

  Joey pulled his KA-BAR and tried to stab Oberon in the neck, but couldn’t reach with how long the Shadow King’s arms were. Oberon smiled at him and effortlessly hurled Joey to where Depweg and Locke had backed up to the cell doors. Joey bounced off the metal with a bone-crunching clang before collapsing to the ground. The tough son of a bitch (no pun intended…well, a little) slowly lifted himself to his feet and brought his gun up. As if he were starring in an action movie, he spit blood to the ground before returning to business as usual. With dread, I noticed he had several cuts covering his exposed skin. The puckered edges were already turning black.

  Depweg ejected his nearly spent magazine and replaced it with a fresh one. Locke and Joey took their cue and did the same.

  My fingers fumbled at the bandolier, and I removed a single shell and tried to load it into the breach. As I did, I took a protective step backward to my friend and accidentally kicked his foot with my boot. I dared a glance at Da and saw him struggling to keep his eyes open as he gasped in lungfuls of air. My hands let go of the weapon, which bounced against my chest on its sling. The shell clattered to the ground in seemingly slow motion.

  Blinding rage turned everything a tinge of red as I turned to face the person responsible for torturing my friend, my mentor. My fists clenched so tight that my knuckles popped and blood began to trickle from where my nails dug into the flesh of my palm. My jaw hurt from how hard I was clenching it. Spittle flew from between bared teeth as my breathing became heavy. Every breath filled my body with oxygen that fueled the fire of hatred which threatened to ignite my entire being. I was wrath incarnate.

  Depweg, Locke, and Joey began firing their weapons at Oberon, who held up his hand, palm open. Oberon shifted his eyes to me and fucking smiled as the bullets stopped in midair just in front of his hand. With his other hand, he reached forward and then yanked backward. The weapons that were being held flew out of my friends’ hands and clattered to the ground in front of Oberon, the slings ripping apart. Oberon began a slow, throaty chuckle before he said, “You’re in my world, children. I make the rules here.”

  My squad stood frozen in confusion, even Depweg. No military in the world had a training protocol for this kind of enigmatic enemy.

  “Depweg, key!” I yelled. Depweg didn’t even hesitate. He threw the key underhanded toward me, which I caught without looking. With my other hand, I pulled out a white pebble from my coat and threw it at the clustered group while screaming at the top of my lungs, “HOME HOME HOME!”

  “NO!” Depweg cried before there was a brilliant white flash. Oberon shielded his eyes from the flash while the shadow creatures shrieked in pain. In the brief reprieve, I slammed the door to the cell shut with a reverberating clang. Dust and dirt rained down around me from the impact as I reached through the bars. I inserted the skeleton key into the lock and secured the door before trying to break it by yanking it sideways. Well, the movies lied—as usual—and the iron key did not break. Instead, I pulled it out and pocketed it.

  Oberon recovered and bellowed in rage before pointing at me and yelling, “Lolth!”

  The cat leaped toward me while transforming into a vicious reptilian beast in midair. It filled the entire height of the dungeon, knocking over the torture machines as it charged forward. Saliva dripped from a mouth full of gleaming, jagged teeth while amethyst eyes blazed, lighting the room in a bright purple light.

  Reaching my hand into my coat, I smiled, knowing how much this was about to hurt. I pulled out my military-grade flashl
ight, pointed it at the charging monster, and pressed the button. Light that was so bright as to be banned from civilian use due to the risk of blinding airline pilots slammed into an unprepared Lolth. The reptilian shriek that pierced the air and ricocheted off the stone walls stabbed my eardrums like an ice pick; I didn’t fucking care. I began screaming back at the monster that recoiled from the brilliant beam before setting the flashlight on the ground and forcing myself to turn back to Da.

  I kneeled next to him, looking back over my shoulder, as Lolth disappeared back up the stairs in a blur of pitch-black mist, the volume of her cries diminishing as she fled.

  I turned back to Da, who had the smallest crease of a smile touching his eyes and the corner of his cracked and bleeding lips. I could hear Oberon’s boots slamming against the stone floors behind me as he charged forward while screaming in rage. Though the light wasn’t as affective against him as the pure shadow goddess, it was still uncomfortable as hell. I was also banking on it stunting his adopted shadow abilities.

  He slammed into the iron cell and tried to tear it free, prompting me to begin laughing. He froze in indignation before I turned to regard him and said, “Nuh-uh-uh. Iron doors, King Fuckface. The irony that they are used to keep people in shouldn’t be lost on you, huh, fairy boy?”

  “I will tear your world asunder. You will watch as every mortal on your precious Earth withers and dies. I WILL SIT ON A THRONE OF BONES AND WATCH YOU SHRIVEL AS YOU STARVE!”

  “Gonna take a while, big guy,” I said while extending my ample belly and slapping it before rubbing my hand all over my stomach and chest. I made completely inappropriate moaning noises while licking my lips suggestively. “You like that, don’t you? Yeah. Mm-hmm.” The confused rage in his eyes was almost palatable on my tongue, like a rich and tasty delicacy.

  My brow furrowed in an instant and I stuck my roaming hand toward Oberon, giving him the universal salute as if he had just cut me off in traffic. His dark face turned burgundy, or maybe it was maroon, while he yanked on the cell door with renewed vigor. His screams became unintelligible at the insults I threw his way, which I was confident he had never experienced in his entire existence.

  I turned back to Da with a beaming smile. While Oberon reacted exactly as intended and bellowed while rattling the iron cell, I winked at Da. I charged the handle on the Benelli semi-auto shotgun that hung across my chest until I saw the first red shell enter the breach.

  “Hey, Oberon,” I called out as I turned to face the front of the jail cell before bringing the stock of the weapon to my shoulder. “Say ‘cheese,’” I said before squeezing the trigger and sending a white phosphorous cloud from the dragon’s breath to coat Oberon from head to waist. In his hubris of being on his home turf, he hadn’t manifested his celestial armor, leaving behind flesh that was ripe for incinerating.

  Oberon’s cry of surprise and pain was music to my ears. I wanted to record it and make a remix to listen to while trying to go to sleep.

  I squeezed the trigger again and coated from his midsection down to his knees to help even things out. I had to shield my eyes from the burning man as he turned and raced to follow Lolth. The iron bars on the cell had also been coated and had begun to morph as they melted.

  I kneeled back down next to Da while chambering more red shells until no more would fit.

  “We don’t have a lot of time,” I said to Da as I tried to help him to his feet. He pulled his arm from my grasp while shaking his head.

  “I-I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just…slow you down,” he said between weak breaths. I could tell he was fighting to stay conscious. “John, I have to tell you…” a chorus of screeches sounded from the stairwell as what I could only assume was an entire army of Shadow Fae began rushing to us. The first pair down instantly evaporated from the light, but not before allowing the pair behind them to inch forward before meeting the same fate. With each shadow that died, its disappearing body allowed enough cover for the one behind it to move closer and closer. Then they spilled into the room, with wave after wave meeting their fate before the ones behind made it ever nearer.

  “John, ta-take my blood. Take…all of it. But you must hold on to it. Don’t-don’t let your body process it,” Da babbled near incoherently.

  “What? No! Besides, I can’t. I don’t have Baleius with me. I-I’m a mortal,” I explained as I dropped to a crouch in front of my friend. For once, I was relieved I didn’t have my abilities. It was the perfect excuse to not follow through with his wish.

  Da shook his head weakly before he reached up with heavy hands and placed them on my shoulders. He closed his eyes and my body began to shimmer like the air above the asphalt in a Texas summer.

  “What the…” I started before I noticed I was covered in a white armor etched in gold. It fit like it had been custom-made for me, including the helmet that hugged my face comfortably. Power rushed into me and I stood straight up, feeling my preternatural power flooding into my body as if every storm cloud on Earth had unleashed their pent-up lightning all at once.

  I yelled with delighted power before looking inward and seeing a very confused Baleius. Grab the fucking wheel! I commanded before returning to Da.

  “Take…this,” Da said on the verge of passing out. In his hand was his celestial gladius. He tried to lift his arm but couldn’t bear the weight. I reached down and grabbed it, worry growing in my chest like a wildfire.

  “Drink. Drink it all,” Da said, turning his head to expose his neck. I could see the artery pulsing just beneath the paper-thin skin.

  From behind, I heard the screams of the Shadow Fae growing closer. They were right outside the door to the cell now, which was almost completely melted.

  “No!” I cried out, mortified.

  “You-you must. It will allow you to control the gladius. Drink…drink and keep my blood in you.”

  “I can’t! Da…no, please!” I began to sob uncontrollably, knowing it was either one of us, or both of us.

  “Do it,” Da commanded with the last of his strength.

  The Shadow Fae were almost inside the cell as I kneeled and placed my mouth against his thin neck.

  In my mind, Baleius placed his hand on my shoulder and said, Let me do it. We don’t have time.

  No! I cried in defiance. He-he’s my friend. I need to do it.

  Hurry, or we all die! he urged.

  I opened my mouth, letting my fangs elongate until the tips pushed into his flesh to the point just before breaking the skin. I froze, knowing I was about to kill one of my dearest friends who had watched out and guided me for decades. Tears streamed down my face. I could taste the salt as they fell to his skin.

  It’s 1990 and I am waking up in my room the night Father Thomes and I agreed to become partners.

  “You have such potential to help this world,” Da says, brimming with pride. “And here, I made you a small gift to commemorate the occasion.” Da extends a gray beanie he knit during the day.

  A whine escaped my throat as I began to pull back, unable to do it. Da grabbed the back of my neck with the last of his incredible strength and pulled my head down until my fangs pierced his skin and the pulsing vein underneath.

  Angelic blood, older than time itself, erupted into my mouth and down my throat. Once it hit my stomach, energy shot out from my core in all directions like a nuclear explosion. My fingertips, toes, and nose began to tingle as I drank deeply. I closed my eyes and squeezed out enough tears to fill a swimming pool.

  “He chose wisely,” Da said to the air in a whisper. I barely heard him over the din of shadow screams as I continued to drink. The power was tremendous. Like standing on a mountain in Sweden while the northern lights danced in the sky, it took my breath away as I basked in its wonder. The dark parts of the dungeon not being bathed in the luminous flashlight became as bright as day. I was fully aware of every being struggling to rush the cell where I was ending my friend’s life.

  The blood flow stopped, and I stood with my eyes still clo
sed, focusing on making the blood a part of my very essence rather than just processing it like normal. Da’s angelic blood became one with my flesh—infusing with my DNA—and I felt my sword hand tingle.

  I opened my eyes and Da’s gladius—my gladius—was aflame with brilliant heavenfire.

  Looking down at my lifeless friend, I saw there was the hint of a smile permanently etched on his face. I returned the grin while wiping my eyes with my free hand, and nodded before I said, “Thank you, Raziel. I won’t let you down. I promise.” Then I turned and unleashed the fucking fury that had been itching to escape, like a supervolcano exploding through the Earth’s crust.

  My eyes blazed red mixed with plumes of white that snaked up my forehead at the edge of my vision. I bared crimson-coated fangs as I lifted the gladius to the first wave of Shadow Fae that had made it to, and destroyed, the flashlight.

  I channeled all my rage, all my sorrow, and unleashed a violent scream that stopped the approaching army dead in their tracks. A biblical torrent of white-blue fire rocketed forward, incinerating every being it smashed into in an instant, like a soap bubble against a speeding freight train. The entire dungeon was lit up in blinding light, turning the remaining shadow monsters into wailing puffs of smoke that dissipated within seconds. The flames swirled throughout the entire dungeon, melting the iron of every fucking cell as the destroyed torture machines were reduced to embers in the blink of an eye.

  The flames went full circle and splashed into me; but I knew they wouldn’t burn my flesh. Da, however, was cremated in a flash of heavenfire. I let it happen because it felt proper.

  My scream petered out, and I slowly lowered the gladius as the flame tsunami was halted. Silence and darkness rushed to fill the void, the only modest light being provided by the glowing pools of melted iron and dying embers.