by Steve McHugh
Layla nodded. “Do you think this is ever going to get better?”
Tommy smiled. “Yeah, it will eventually. We’ve lost people, good people, people we love, and we’re still fighting. We will beat Arthur. We will show the world what Avalon has become.”
Tommy spoke with such conviction, such utter assurance that Layla couldn’t help but be boosted by his words.
Hades arrived at their carriage window. “We’re good to go. I’ll have to send these people some troops to help keep order. With so many extra people, they want to ensure there are no problems.”
“I have a question,” Layla said.
Hades nodded. “What’s up?”
“Now that Jared’s joined Abaddon, won’t he be able to tell everyone where we are in Greenland? Are we going to get back to the Earth realm and find our home a smoking ruin and our friends imprisoned? Or worse?”
“Your bracelet is linked to the blood curse mark on the back of your shoulder,” Hades said, pointing to her wristband. “Without a bracelet, no one has power in my compound, and they are unable to tell anyone its location. It’s just a safety feature. And even if he has a band, you can only talk about it with someone who has the same blood curse mark.”
“Jared can’t tell Abaddon where we all are?” Olivia asked.
Hades nodded. “We’d have had a whole new war on our hands if he’d been able to say anything. And since he appears to have always been under Abaddon’s command, he would have revealed our location a long time ago if he could. So, until he finds someone else with the same mark, who is also wearing a bracelet, he’s mute concerning our home.”
“So, he’s still a threat that needs to be resolved,” Zamek said. He turned to Layla. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re right, he does,” Layla agreed.
The group set off a few minutes later, with Layla feeling slightly better about what she was going to find in the Earth realm.
The guardians at the realm gate let everyone through and Layla found herself in a room almost identical to the one in Red Rock, except that it was full of people who were happy to see them. Felicia Hales strode toward them, hugging Tommy, Olivia, and Hades in turn. She kissed Diana on each cheek, and high-fived Remy as he walked past. Zamek shook her hand, and they nodded toward one another.
Felicia stood in front of Layla and sighed. “I’m glad you’re okay—you had people worried.” She embraced Layla and nodded. “Go on out. We have some people waiting for you.”
Layla thanked Felicia and exited the realm gate control room. Harry, Chloe, Persephone, and the rest of the group were waiting for her.
“I’m sorry,” Chloe said, hugging Layla tightly after she’d said her hellos. “About Jared.”
“How’d you know?” Layla asked.
“He went on national TV and told the nation that he was working with Avalon to stop the spread of terrorism in Red Rock. They treated him like a damn rock star. It’s been a few days since you left.”
“Only a few hours for me,” she said. “It’s like a raw anger bubbling just under the surface. I’m going to find Jared and I’m going to hurt him very badly.”
They took some BMW SUVs to a disused airfield to the north of Westchester County Airport. Half a dozen Black Hawk helicopters sat on the tarmac, along with a C-130 Hercules. Several more members of Hades’ security force waited for them, including Commander Fenix, who came over to Layla as soon as he saw her.
For a moment, she thought he was going to ask her how she could have missed Jared being a lying sack of shit. But instead he offered his hand, which Layla shook.
“I’m sorry about Jared,” he said. “We all thought he was one of the good guys.”
Layla just nodded, unsure what else to say and unwilling to open the emotional can of worms. It had been a long few days, people she cared for had been hurt, and Jared’s betrayal was just one more thing on the shit heap of recent events. She would have to deal with her feelings about it sooner rather than later, but for now she just wanted to get ready to fight.
Harry led her into a nearby building. “You doing okay?” he asked. Layla sat down on a red cushioned sofa as Harry placed a thermos in front of her. “Figured you could need this.”
Layla unscrewed the lid and inhaled the beautiful coffee aroma. “You, sir, are a god amongst men.”
“Hell yeah, I am,” Harry said, making Layla laugh.
Tommy entered the building and placed a sandwich and chocolate bar in front of her. “Eat. You’re going to need it.” He left before Layla could reply.
She bit down reluctantly on the bacon and egg sandwich and soon found herself shoveling in the rest as fast as possible. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was. When she’d finished the food and three cups of coffee, Harry placed a small ring in front of her.
“Are we to be wed?” Layla asked, picking up the black ring and turning it over, looking at the runes inscribed underneath. “I have to warn you, I expect my husband to stay at home and keep the house clean.”
“You’re a witty woman,” Harry said.
“Yes, yes I am. Also, I need a dowry.”
Harry stared at Layla for several seconds. “You done?”
“I have more, but you go ahead.”
“It’s a sorcerer’s band, but in ring form. Oh, and without the built-in magical napalm.”
“How did you make this?”
“Zamek and I have been working on it for a while. I want one that lets me create things from my mind.”
“I heard you wanted Green Lantern’s ring.”
“Doesn’t have to be green. I’m okay with any color.”
Layla chuckled. “That’s big of you. How’s that going?”
“It’s in the planning and never-going-to-happen-in-a-million-years stage.”
“Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I’ll just have to keep trying to get super powers the old-fashioned way.”
“Get bitten by something radioactive?”
“Or blinded, blown up, shot in space; basically, I figure I hang around radioactive material for long enough and I’ll die or gain superpowers.”
Layla raised two thumbs in support. “Good luck with that.”
Harry smiled. “The ring doesn’t do anything until you activate it.”
“So I can wear it all the time and not lose my powers?” Layla slipped it onto the index finger of her left hand. She used her power to change the shape of the metal thermos cup into a bird. “How do I activate it? Also, why would I even want to wear this thing if it takes away my powers?”
“We’ll get to that in a second. Pinch above and below the ring and squeeze slightly.”
Layla did as she was instructed, and the effect was immediate as her powers just vanished. It was an unpleasant sensation. She pinched it again and they returned.
“Okay, yes, the ring will nullify your power,” Harry said. “I know it’s difficult to feel like you’ve lost a limb or something, but we’re working on it. But that’s not the cool thing about the ring. When you activate it, it disables the powers of everyone in a fifty-foot radius. So, yes, you’ll be human when you’ve activated it, but so will anyone else near you.”
Layla stared at the ring. “Holy shit, that’s useful. How?”
“Zamek and I managed to cobble together some runes that make it work. Short periods only, and by that I mean ten to fifteen minutes. Then the ring burns out and won’t work for several days. I figured if you’re going after Abaddon, you could use something to equal the odds. This is a prototype, Layla. There are no others out there, and we’re not sure we can recreate it. It took me a year just to figure out the right type of metal to use—titanium, by the way.”
“Why black?”
“The runes turned it that color. I’d advise you to not use it often.”
“You’re like Q.”
“I’m not giving you an exploding pen. Or an Aston Martin.”
“Spoilsport.”
“You ready to go see ever
yone else?”
Layla got up from her seat. “How bad is it out there?”
“It’s not brilliant,” Harry admitted. “We lost Canada, but most of the people in Hades’ strongholds got out. So, not great, but it could be worse.”
They found the rest of the group on the runway.
“You feel better?” Chloe asked Layla.
“I’ve eaten for the first time in what feels like days,” Layla said. “So not bad.”
“We had a platter,” Remy said. “In the car on the way here. An actual platter of food. It. Was. Amazing.”
“Right,” Hades said, and everyone quieted down. “We’re going to go to New Mexico and then head to Nergal’s compound near El Paso. This is not a search-and-rescue mission. We’re going to stop Abaddon from claiming any of the spirit scrolls that are still there. We have word that she left from a private airfield just outside of Winterborn two hours ago. Thankfully, my people were able to cause enough trouble that she was delayed for the few days I wasn’t around.”
“So Abaddon is just going to turn up at Nergal’s and take over?” Zamek asked. “I don’t see Nergal’s people being happy that she had him killed.”
“Abaddon is going to march in there and murder every single person loyal to Nergal,” Sky said. She’d been waiting in New York with several members of Hades’ team for everyone to join her and get ready to go after Abaddon. “She has an army of blood elves at her disposal. This is going to get messy and we can’t just wait until one side wins. There are inhabited places in Texas that neither side will have any problem with destroying when the fight spills out of the compound. And it will.”
“And once Abaddon has those spirit scrolls,” Hades said, “she’s going to be a lot more pro-active with them than Nergal was. If anything, he was too cautious about using them. We want this fight to be contained, but getting those scrolls before Abaddon is the focus of the mission here.”
“One other thing,” Persephone said. “We need to strike back. We lost Canada. We lost our home. We lost friends. Now we’re going to show Arthur and Avalon that this is far from over. Once we do this, Avalon will double its efforts to find us. So let’s make it count.”
“We need to destroy Nergal’s factory and help the people he’s abducted,” Sky said. “Abaddon will kill them all. I don’t think anyone here thinks otherwise.”
“And what happens to the people he’s turned, who don’t want help?” Harry asked. “Didn’t mean to interrupt, I just thought of it.”
“We need to give them a choice,” Hades said. “They either come with us, or we’re going to send them to Shadow Falls. After Arthur tried to kill us all a few years ago, we evacuated the entire realm of Shadow Falls. As far as Avalon knows, it’s empty, and after we destroyed an elven realm gate we found there, we’ve been using it as a sort of makeshift prison realm. We’ll take the umbra there. We’ll try to rehabilitate anyone who has been brainwashed by Nergal and Avalon.”
“And if they’re not brainwashed?” Layla asked.
“We’ll try them as criminals,” Persephone said. “And they’ll be dealt with according to Avalon’s rules of law; the old ones that we adhere to. Those who have committed war crimes under their own volition will be dealt with accordingly.”
“Meaning what?” Layla asked.
“I have a prison that is unknown to anyone but myself,” Hades said. “Avalon still doesn’t even know it exists. War criminals will be sent there. Any more questions?”
“How are we going to fly those things to Texas and back?” Irkalla asked.
“They’re all modified,” Hades said. “The Black Hawks can fly about five thousand kilometers without a refill, and the Hercules can fly about seven thousand kilometers before it needs to refuel. We’ll be just fine. They’ve been designed to be slightly larger than a standard one too, so it can carry more people.”
Layla looked past the Black Hawk at the Hercules. She’d gone to an air show years ago, just her and her mom, and seen one fly. It had been awe-inspiring, and for a while she’d wanted to be a pilot. Life had, obviously, had other ideas, but the grace and power of the massive machine was something that still made her smile.
“You all ready?” Hades asked.
“Let’s go piss off Avalon some more,” Remy said. “It’s becoming a hobby of mine.”
People moved away to get ready and Layla climbed into one of the Black Hawks, strapping herself in.
“Nervous?” Remy asked her, after she’d been looking out of the window for several minutes. They’d all been given headsets with microphones so they could communicate over the sounds of the powerful engine.
“A little,” she told him.
“I figured I’d be on the frontline charging in,” Harry said. “I’m going to go commando on all their asses. The movie, you understand, not the lack of underwear.”
Kase placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.
“You’re going to stay in the car,” Chloe told him. “You don’t heal from bullets.”
“Neither do you, if it’s the right bullet,” Harry pointed out.
“Harry, I admire your courage,” Diana told him, “but please don’t do anything stupid. You deserve a spot with us. You’ve proven yourself, and you’re providing intel on this mission. We need someone who can stay back and keep us informed about incoming troops, or escaping troops, or anything that will screw us over.”
“The cavalry then,” Harry said with a wink. “I need a horse and a sword.”
“You do not get a horse,” Remy said. “If anyone gets a horse, it should be me.”
“You’re a fox,” Chloe said. “Why do you need a horse?”
“To look majestic,” Remy said, as if the answer was obvious.
“Have you ever looked majestic for a day in your life?” Harry asked.
“My coat is soft and glossy. Can you say the same?”
“Is now the time to explain that I’m not a fox?” Harry asked.
Remy stared at him for several seconds. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on.”
“Well, I know you’re missing out on being able to go on the big kids rides at theme parks,” Harry said quickly.
Everyone in the Black Hawk laughed and even Remy smiled. “You’re a terrible person, Harry. A terrible person.”
25
Four days after she had killed Nergal and joined Abaddon, Kristin was beginning to feel as though she might have made the wrong decision. Abaddon had stayed in Canada to oversee the fall of the towns belonging to Hades, and while some small groups continued to resist, the necromancer had been mostly satisfied with the outcome. Humanity had praised them on the news. She was meant to feel happy that she’d picked the winning side. But she didn’t.
Her clone had died earlier the day before. She had been cut off from communicating with it since it vanished through the realm gate and had also felt a loss of power. For two days that absence of power remained. And then on the third day, the power pinged back into her. Her clone was dead.
She’d lost all of her clones in the last few days as the enemy continued to fight, and with each death she regained more of her power. With the death of the last living clone she was now able to recreate them all as needed, but she would wait until she needed them.
Kristin knew that telling Abaddon about the death of the clone in the other realm would be a bad idea. Abaddon would be less than happy that Kristin’s clone had failed, and she wondered if the necromancer’s disappointment would be taken out on her. They had no way of getting through the realm gate in Red Rock, even after they’d dug it out. And they had no way of operating the gate in Red Rock, no Guardians to turn it on. It would take time before they were recreated, and Kristin wondered how long she had before the death of the clone was discovered.
Thankfully she had been sent to deal with the aftermath of Red Rock and hadn’t seen much of Abaddon or Elizabeth since murdering Nergal. But now, on day four of the taking of Canada, the necromancer
had finally decided to head to Texas to deal with Nergal’s compound.
Abaddon had managed to keep Nergal’s death a secret from Avalon, but someone loyal to Nergal had managed to take control of his compound, which had gone into high alert, now expecting an attack: an attack that Abaddon was all too happy to provide.
Kristin, Abaddon, and Elizabeth reached a disused airfield close to Winterborn and climbed into a private jet. Kristin had been ordered to join them. Jared—a man that Kristin distrusted after she’d discovered he’d been working for Abaddon all these years—sat in the rear of the jet.
Jared stood and bowed his head to the necromancer, who nodded in return before taking her seat. The jet was large enough to fit twelve and it had a bedroom in the rear. Kristin sat across the aisle from Abaddon and Elizabeth.
“You don’t like me a whole lot, do you?” Jared asked Kristin after the jet had taken off and he’d caught her scowling at him.
“We had you in custody,” she said. “We beat you. You didn’t give up where Hades’ main compound is, and not once did you let us think you might be working with us.”
“I wasn’t working with you,” Jared told her. “I was working for Abaddon. Like I have been ever since she found me.”
“Found you?”
“I was a soldier in the British army. We were training in Turkey and my squad and I came across an old vault buried in the ground. We found some scrolls, but there were people who didn’t want us to have them, so they attacked us. Killed most of my squad, but I accidentally activated a scroll, and now here we are.”
“You said Abaddon found you?”
“She was watching the force attacking us—they’d been interested in the scrolls, and she was interested in where they were. She interjected once the fight was over and offered me a job. The old me died, and I was reborn. After a few years I was placed in a position where Tommy could find me by accident and offer me a job.”
“Your entire past is a lie, I assume.”
Jared nodded. “My age, my upbringing, everything was a fabrication. I wasn’t meant to get close to Layla. It just worked out that way.”
“Did you genuinely like her?” Elizabeth asked.