by CT Knight
“Suit yourself. You’re the client.” I admit, I probably said that a little too nonchalantly. It was a bad business practice but if what we were about to walk into got really bad, I didn’t want to get too attached to her. Difficult as that might have been.
We rushed up to the third warehouse and stopped to listen. There was no chanting. No sounds of seance or even the rustling of robes. Just dead silence. The lack of sound was sometimes worse than the real threat.
The warehouse door was heavy, even on the sliding rail. Those buildings were so worn looking from regular use and the salty air that it was hard to tell which ones were operational and which were abandoned. This particular one was empty, which could have been a sign of the latter. Or it could have just been that it would be full again in the morning. Either way, it was the best option we had.
What little light there was from outside, cascaded through the open door for about five feet before giving way to near pitch black. The holes in the roof let in a little extra light but not enough to see more than shapes in my peripheral vision.
“You see anything?” I asked Sasha, knowing her eyes were better suited for the task.
“Nothing.” She didn’t say that because it was too dark. She really meant nothing. As in, nothing there. Even I could tell that as long as I didn’t look directly at anything.
“So Maury was wrong,” she said, sounding a little relieved.
“Maybe not.” I took out a Light Stone from my inner jacket pocket and spoke the right words to it. The little rock lit up with the same brightness as a torch, giving us much better visibility for about ten feet in every direction. But it was a big warehouse. We would still have to do substantial searching if we were going to find anything in that place. And while we may not have been able to see much more than a few of the steel support beams in the middle of the building, I knew if the Acolytes were in there, the Light Stone just gave our position away.
“Welcome, Arthur Pendragon!” a voice shouted from what seemed like all around. “Welcome to you and your lovely guest.”
I half expected a Soul Ripper to come flying at one of us but there was only the voice.
“You know who I am?” I asked, trying to sound imposing.
“I know what you are. Container. Vessel.” I didn’t like where he was going with things. “Nothing more than a cardboard box for those more powerful than—”
“That’s enough!” I shouted, angry that whoever this taunter was, they were bringing up my personal problem. Especially in front of my client.
“Apologies. You are correct,” the voice went on. “This is not about you. Your…” he searched for the right word. “Other will soon pester you no more. The Chaos Bringer comes. Tonight, all will be subjected to its whims.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not here yet.” I kept moving the Light Stone, trying to see if I could spot the speaker. I didn’t want to move farther in or get away from Sasha but it was clear whoever was taunting us was doing so well away from the light.
“Of course not. But now you have brought us whom we seek,” it said.
“But you already have…” I turned to Sasha whose face went stone cold as a metal loop fell over her eyes and settled to her waist.
The chain jerked once, pinning her arms and tightening around her.
“Arthur!” she screamed just before the chain jerked her deeper into the dark of the warehouse.
CHAPTER 11
I ran as fast as I could, farther into the warehouse. The Light Stone kept just the faintest hint of Sasha’s face illuminated as she was pulled away from me. She looked passed out. Either that or the sudden rush and the pull scared her enough to make her keep her eyes closed. Neither mattered. Here we were, trying to solve one kidnapping and my client was being kidnapped right in front of me. I had no idea who or what was on the other side of the chain but they were going to have a short talk with the business end of my gun when I got my hands on them. No one abducted my clients.
I pushed my legs to go faster, slapping the soles of my shoes on the concrete floor. At first, it seemed like I was catching up until she disappeared from sight. Swallowed by a puff of black smoke. I jogged to a stop right through the wisps of black. The smoke smelled like ozone and swirled around like tendrils looking for a victim to grab. They’d already grabbed one.
“I must thank you for bringing her to us, Arthur Pendragon,” the voice said.
“Who are you?”
“My brethren and I are the Chaos Bringer’s legions of followers. We are all the same, differentiated only by our images. But if you must know me as an individual, you may call me Prime. For I am the Prime servant eager for the rise of the Chaos Bringer.”
“What do you want with Sasha?”
“It matters little to you.”
“I have to say, I disagree. She’s my meal ticket at the moment. I don’t know if you guys pay bills but—”
“You speak of debt. Very well, Arthur Pendragon. The Chaos Bringer is most giving. Perhaps a trade is necessary. A more tangible currency in exchange for your bringing her to us.”
“Sorry. I don’t work that way.”
Prime’s laughter filled the warehouse, bouncing off the metal ceiling and walls. I’d heard more menacing laughs. Still, it might have hit the desired nerve if my blood hadn’t been up. Such as it was, Prime’s laugh was more annoying than anything.
“Too bad. For if you did, you would enjoy but a taste of what the Chaos Bringer offers. Even so. Consider our payment.”
A sudden crack of asphalt echoed through the warehouse. The floor shook slightly as if something was moving under it. The same crack happened again. I moved the Light Stone back and forth, trying to see what was causing it. At first I saw nothing. But after a series of several more cracks, I noticed a dim glow burst from the concrete floor. The glow slowly moved around, like mist, along a large red arm. The arm was followed by a fifteen-foot-tall monster.
“Just a lowly Chaos Minion. Barely a harbinger of what is to come but do enjoy its many talents, Mr. Pendragon,” Prime said before laughing. The sound of his merriment faded away and was quickly replaced by the roar of the beast he’d left me with.
“Why are theses things always so tall?” I muttered, swinging my gun up. I was glad I‘d kept its sniper form. I had a feeling it was going to take some high caliber rounds just to knock the thing down.
“Freeze,” I said to the gun. The grip quickly turned ice cold and I took aim at the oversized minion.
The projectile glowed blue as it shot from the barrel, like a tracer round except these rounds were magic infused. Very expensive. The ice bullet stuck dead center in the chest of the Chaos Minion. The monster roared. I couldn’t tell if it was in pain or anger. I fired two more rounds—one in its throat and one in its head. Neither had any more of an affect than the first shot.
“You gotta be kidding me. Lamron,” I said to the gun as I turned to run. It morphed back into my good old forty-five. The smaller form was much easier to run with. I pocketed the Light Stone, figuring there was no reason to give the minion an easier target to see. Unfortunately, that made things difficult for myself.
The monster roared again, probably in its own irritation at no longer being able to see me. I posted up behind one of the pillars and caught my breath. That was the second time that night I had taken a run. My pants were gonna fall from weight loss if this kept up.
I had to admit, I was in a bad situation. Most beasts of the veil would fall as easily as any human when hit with an elemental magic the opposite of their own. That just meant one thing, the red color of the Chaos Minion had nothing to do with fire, making the ice bullets ineffective. It also meant the monster wasn’t going to go down easy. I didn’t want to waste any time with it. Not when the Acolytes had Sasha and her sister. Though what they needed Sasha for was beyond me. But I couldn’t let this thing run loose in the city. I had little doubt that some practitioner might come along and vanquish the beast at some point. But in the meantime,
it could hurt a lot of normal people or worse. Plus, this wasn’t something that needed to be public. Normal people have normal problems. And those are bad enough. I should know, I’ve got the same problems myself. But the last thing the normal people of NYC needed was paranormal problems. This thing had to be stopped right there and bullets weren’t going to do it.
The beast stomped around, roaring for me to reveal myself. I poked my head out from behind the pillar. The minion wasn’t intensely bright but it was the most visible thing in the dark warehouse. That was good. It meant I wasn’t likely to run into it on accident and, unlike me, it couldn’t hide and take me by surprise.
I didn’t like my choices for combatting the thing. Especially since there was only the one option. And he knew it, too. I could feel the warlord buzzing around inside me, eager to take control. Somehow, he always knew when I was about to do something like this. But I wasn’t ready to give myself over. Not yet. And the last thing the world needed was the warlord, his enemies and the Chaos Bringer running around. Of course, they might all just off each other. Still, it was a sacrifice I’d rather not make. Not if I could help it.
I put a lot of focus into my next move. It was the reason I chose the Eastern schools of magic. They impressed control and calm above just about everything else. If it wasn’t for those teachings, the warlord would have easily taken over and who knows where we’d be.
My fists were clenched tight but my breathing was calm, moving in and out in a perfectly timed circulation. It almost wasn’t enough. My hands lit up in black and white colors. Both of them swimming about as if feuding with each other. Total opposites but working together.
The buzzing became a boom inside of me. I had to get this over with fast, before the warlord made his way out. I didn’t doubt he could take down the minion but I didn’t want to lose myself over that.
I dashed out from around the pillar as the monster roared one more time. Few things were scarier than a fifteen-foot monster barreling toward you. Unless you’re running at it, too. In which case, few things are crazier. But there we were. The worst part was, this wasn’t even the main concern. I just hoped it was the last of its kind.
I leaped up as the minion brought its fists down, missing me by inches. My fists cracked into its face, doing more damage than any of the bullets did.
My feet hit the ground but I didn’t let up. A right then a left on its knees brought the thing to the floor. It swiped at me but I ducked. I could have had a career in boxing if it weren’t for this stuff. I proved that fact a little more with an upper cut to the chin. The Chaos Minion reared back, dazed by the strange combination of chaos and control I was hitting it with.
As the monster fell to its back, I could hear a voice in my head. It wasn’t speaking English. I shook it off, knowing that was the first step to the warlord coming out. He was getting harder to hold back. I had to end the minion quickly.
I stepped onto its chest and slammed my magic fists into its head. One, two. One, two. The last sound it made was a whimper as its teeth cracked under the immense pressure of balance swirling around my closed fists.
The warlord yelled at the same time I did while I brought both fists down like anvils straight into the Chaos Minion’s nose. I barely registered the sick popping sound as the beast’s head rolled to the side. No other sound came from it. There was no movement and no rise and fall to indicate breathing. It was over. For the minion anyway.
I staggered backward, clutching my sides. I could feel the warlord coming out. It stung all over my body. The last time this happened, I was told my features were changing. I had to get rid of the magic.
The horse stance was good for a lot of things. Mostly a well-balanced foundation. I sank low and inhaled. My arms went up then came back down. The black and white swirls faded away. As they did, so did the voice of the warlord. I took a few more deep breaths until there was no more light in the warehouse and no more buzzing from the spirit that hid inside me. I took three more breaths before I opened my eyes. That was two threats gone but not the main one. I really hoped to stop whatever ritual the Acolytes needed before they summoned the Chaos Bringer. If magic bullets didn’t work on one of its minions, they sure weren’t going to work on the main event. And the risk I just took was far too great to take again.
“Good news is, I know I’m on the right track,” I said to myself. It was a lonely sound in such a large space.
The short cut back to my office was only slightly illegal. It was worse during busy traffic hours but that area of town was pretty quiet at that time of night. And considering how the world was probably running out of time, I kind of figured going the wrong way down a few one-way streets wasn’t really that big a deal. Whatever it took to keep the world from ending, right? I kept the window rolled down in Sasha’s car. The night air felt good as I passed through the city streets. If I got the chance, I’d apologize about the shoddy hot-wire job.
I ran through the night’s events in my head. It was all pretty straightforward. Boy meets shifter girl. Shifter girl hires boy to find sister. Crazy cultists want to summon giant monster to destroy the world. As most jobs went, this one was pretty standard…at least for me.
I slowed at the light. I didn’t have time to stop but I had less time to be stopped by a cop for running the light then having to explain how the car wasn’t mine. Well, that or getting into a wreck. Which would still lead to dealing with law enforcement.
I looked left then right, thinking I could just go. I would have, too, if it weren’t for the familiarity of the intersection.
“Oh no,” I said as I realized where I was. I looked up at a nearby laundromat. The movement on its roof was not something I’d wanted to see.
The yellow eyes glared down at me and the figure leaped up from the rooftop. I moved my foot to the accelerator but it wasn’t as fast as the werewolf that crashed down on the hood of the car. Its hand busted through the windshield. From there, all I remember was being thrown into the air.
The lights went out soon after that.
CHAPTER 12
Dreams are a funny thing. Sometimes they reveal secrets. Other times, they’re just gibberish. Usually they’re a bit of both. Most of the time, the magically inclined can tell the difference. If they’re willing to pay attention.
I’d had this particular dream before. It was mostly the same every time with a few alterations here and there depending on the last things I saw while I was awake. In this version, I’m sitting at the top of the world. A world ravaged by war and death. Except it’s not me who’s sitting there. It’s the warlord. I see through his eyes like a prisoner trapped in a jail cell whose only view to the outside world is a television.
On the ground, surrounding my feet are the bodies of people from the past and those of the current era. There are cars merged with horse drawn wagons. And the crumbling buildings are all made up of some amalgamation of ancient stone and modern glass and steel. I can hear him laughing as he lords over everything, conquerer of a destroyed world. Far in the distance is a towering monster, larger than anything I’d ever seen before. This was the first time I’d seen such in this dream.
I stood up and walked toward it. Or rather I was forced to do so while the me that was trapped screamed for the warlord to stop. I was yelling how there could still be living people around us. But he continued forward, unconcerned for those that might be trampled under his feet.
The heat in my prison grew hotter as the warlord burned for a battle I didn’t want. He didn’t just plan on conquering the world. He wanted the veil under his grip as well. The warlocks, shifters, vampires and all things that went bump in the night. He wanted them under his thumb.
I could only watch as his spear rose into the air. He pulled it back and threw it at the beast rushing toward him, two titans prepared for a battle that would crack the very core of the planet. The spear passed harmlessly through the beast and its clawed fingers reached for the warlord’s throat. I could feel the impact of its hand.<
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My eyes burst open to the sight of wolf’s teeth baring at me. My hands reached up for the furry hand wrapped around my own throat.
“Arthur Pendragon,” The werewolf said. “I warned you not to come around here.”
“What can I say? This area is known for its calzone.”
The wolf snarled and threw me toward Sasha’s car. I knew I put a dent in the hood as I landed on it. My leather jacket took a fair amount of the force. It wasn’t just Gorgon Oil that thing was coated in. There were all sorts of protective layers in that jacket in addition to its formidable material. It and me had been through some tough situations together. That didn’t mean, though, that being thrown into a car didn’t hurt.
“I guess that’s a fair trade,” I said, wincing. “She can just use my fee for car repairs.”
“Who are you talking about?” the wolf asked as it stalked toward me.
“The owner of this car.” I rolled off the hood and back to the ground. “Really big chick. Total body builder. I met her online.”
The wolf swiped at me but I managed to duck out of the way. “Listen, John. I know what this is about.”
“Then what’s taking you so long?” He rushed me but as before I stepped out of the way. I had the distinct feeling that he didn’t want me dead. I had based that summation on the fact that I was still alive. Maiming, though, seemed very much on the table.
“Here’s the thing,” I said. “I was just on my way back to my office to get it.”
The wolf stood still. “I distinctly remember telling you not to come here without it. And you pass through to get it? Are you taunting me?”
“No, not at all. I’m just trying to explain—”
“Where’s my money, Pendragon?”
“OK, you’re right. You’re right.”
“It’s not at your office, is it?