The Seer let out a long, slow breath and pulled a long knife from a sheath at his hip. It was nearly a foot long with a wide, thick blade that was razor sharp along one edge and finely serrated along the other. He held the blade up so that it caught the light. The slightest of murmurs ran through the crowd above.
“These assembled Faithful,” he continued in his low voice, “have served us well. Their service, though, is far from over, brothers. They will be risen to a new level of servitude and made into the first of our foot soldiers.” The Seer raised the blade point down over the woman’s chest. “Don’t be afraid,” he whispered, “we are Paragons. We will not be harmed.”
The knife fell and buried itself between the woman’s breasts with a meaty sound. Blood sprayed from the wound and Jordan stepped back as The Seer used the blade’s serrated edge to saw through his victim’s sternum on its way to her navel. The scent of blood and viscera filled the chamber.
When it was done, The Seer stepped back with scarlet dripping from his pale face. He stared at the corpse in wonder with his black eyes and said aloud, “The Portal has opened!”
A cheer rose from the gathered throng.
The woman’s body twitched, convulsed, and then ruptured.
The Seer stepped away from the sacrifice as black, oily mist poured from the savaged body and over the sacrificial table. It collected on the floor, heavy and low-lying until it swirled around Jordan’s ankles. He itched to get out of it, to get out of this place entirely, but then remembered The Seer’s words and held his ground. Then, something solid moved over his foot like a jellyfish and he jerked his foot upwards with a curse.
“Steady, Paragon,” The Seer said. “Your kingdom is at hand.”
A glistening black shape the size of a hotel bath towel burst flapping from the low lying mist. It streaked through the air like a bird of prey and slapped itself against the nearest workman’s face. The man let out a sudden scream that was quickly reduced to a choking gag.
The sound was like a starter’s pistol. More of the black, flapping masses erupted from the mist and sailed toward the nearest of the assembled men. Jordan saw the driver go down with a flat sheet of oily black covering his face. Most of the men screamed and rushed toward the exits. A cloud of oily black monsters swooped overhead and descended on them like a nightmarish rainfall.
Jordan watched wide-eyed as it happened. He saw Ricardo get up from the mud, his linen suit a mess, and look out over the chamber. He wasn’t on his feet a second before one of the black things slapped into him and knocked him down again.
The three Paragons at the altar were the only men standing now, but still the things kept coming. They circled overhead like bats, the flapping sound they made drowning out the generator hum. Jordan’s hair rustled in the breeze they created.
“Don’t worry, Jordan!” The Seer said over the noise. “Within this holy chamber we are safe from them! Watch!”
Jordan was already watching. Men were starting to rise in slow, jerking motions. The things that covered their heads were starting to sprout thin tentacles that rose in slimy stalks like a plant breaking free of the soil. The men staggered about, searching.
“If we were up there,” The Seer said, “they would attack without hesitation. Within this holy place, though, we are protected. See, even the remaining sacrifices are untouched.” The Seer pointed. Jordan hadn’t noticed, but he was right. The sacrifices were all still lying unaware and sedated.
“Why?” Jordan asked. “What good are these things if they’re willing to attack us?”
“Only for now,” The Seer said. “Only until the ritual is finished and the other sacrifices are added to this one. Then, our master will walk among us and they will obey him and, through him, us.”
Jordan nodded and tried to keep his feelings of disgust from shining through. Every fiber of him was screaming to get out, to run from this place and never return. He looked at his brother.
Carmine was looking up and grinning. He noticed Jordan and said, “This is fucking awesome!”
“They have caught the scent,” The Seer said, pointing.
Jordan looked up. The things that had only minutes before been men were shambling away from the lip of the chamber and into the tunnel that led up to the old Blackstar plant. Over their heads, the black things flapped in a steady stream in the same direction. Jordan realized what scent The Seer had meant.
It looked like Leticia, Texas would be a ghost town after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“So much as twitch too fast, Israel,” John said, “and my people will fill you with enough voltage to light up Times Square.”
Israel’s eyesight was still awash in white, but he could make out blurry masses. He was pretty sure there were six men in the room besides John. Each of them seemed to be positioned near one of the original six and were either aiming a weapon at them or putting handcuffs on their wrists. John was busy stomping out a small fire where one of the flash bang grenades had set the carpet alight.
“Agent Brindley,” someone said, “we’ve secured this wing and Agent Namura and his team are seven minutes out.”
“Thanks,” John said, stomping out the last of the flames. Someone retched and the room was suddenly filled with the scent of bile.
“Dammit, Allison,” John said. “Somebody open a window before we all gag.”
There was movement around him as Israel tried to blink away his blindness. The blurry masses seemed to be resolving themselves into overlapping shapes.
“Erin?” Israel said to the room. There was no reply.
“She’s fine,” John said, “I just don’t think she can hear you at the moment. She was really close to one of those bangers.”
“John?” It was Michelle’s voice. “What are you doing?”
Israel watched as an overlapping trio of John Brindleys walked over and knelt next to Michelle. “I’m really sorry about this, babe,” John said in a gentle tone. “I really am. Thing is, it’s my job. My real job, not the crap I did around here trying to keep the monsters in the zoo.”
Israel could hear the tears in Michelle’s voice. “But we were… You bastard. How could you do that?”
“Well, it was part of the cover. I mean, I needed to show that I intended to stick around for the long haul, you know? What better way than to date one of the Sentry elite? Now, I’m not stupid enough to think we can get past this, but I want you to know that I don’t regret a moment with you. We really had some laughs. Try to hang on to that.”
“You know, mate,” Stone growled, “I understand doin’ your duty, but one day there’ll be a reckoning for what you did with the girl, there.”
“Ah, Mr. Stone. My favorite martian. Of course, you aren’t really from Mars, I guess, but still the comparison stands. Do you even know where he’s from, Olivia?”
“John, you and all your friends here are fired,” she said. Her usual assertive tone was softened by her obvious discomfort.
John laughed. “Fair enough, I suppose. Guess it’s a good thing I have this whole Federal Agent thing to fall back on.”
Israel’s vision was focusing more quickly now. Michelle and Allison were both on the couch with an agent covering them with a taser. Warburton and Stone were still behind her desk with an agent pointing a pistol at them. Erin was on her feet, but was leaning with her face against the wall and her hands cuffed behind her. A third agent was just out of reach behind her with a taser leveled at the center of her back.
Israel was still kneeling in the floor. There was a trio of agents around him, each with a taser pointed at him. All of them were just out of arm’s reach and looked scared to be there. Israel figured there was no way to make a move at one without the other two firing on him.
“It’s a real bitch, isn’t it?” John said. “King of the undead, but a little electricity shuts you down like an unplugged fridge. What do you think, Allison? Does that have something to do with him needing all that brain and spinal tissue? Never mind
, it doesn’t really matter. That’s for the boys in the Discovery Branch to figure out. I just know it works and it’s going to get me a huge promotion.”
“Erin?” Israel said. “You good? These guys are just doing their job.”
Erin responded with a muffled grunt.
“Hey, shut up, Trent,” John said. “Namura wants the two of you walking and talking for some reason, but piss me off and I’ll have my people zap you and take my chances. Erin’s invisibility trick won’t do you a bit of good now. Besides that, you’ve got some dead agents to answer for in Atlanta.”
Israel shook his head. “That wasn’t me. The Screeds killed those men.”
John looked confused. “What’s a ‘Screed’?”
“It’s a who, Agent Dumbass. Carmine and Jordan Screed. They work for the Progeny. The other dead guy in Atlanta was one of them. Big guy with tattoos on his face? His body would have been hard to miss even for you jokers.”
“The only bodies we found were our agents,” John said.
Israel took a moment to absorb that. “That dude has to be dead,” he said. “He hit the ground so hard he bounced.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” John asked.
Erin started laughing in a slow, chuckling rhythm.
John walked over to her and said, “And what’s so damned funny over here?”
Erin’s laughter grew a little louder.
“Hey, slut,” John said, “I’m talking to you.”
She laughed a little harder.
John reached out and spun her around to face him. “What’s your problem, whore?” he said, leaning in close to her.
Erin was grinning through the bruises on her face. She took a deep breath and said, “Invisibility? Man, that’s just stupid.” There was a metallic clatter as the cuffs on her wrists hit the floor and she vanished.
The rest happened so fast that the non-Paragons in the room would remember it as a series of blurs for the rest of their lives. Erin reappeared behind two of the agents surrounding Israel and put her hands on their shoulders. They instantly disappeared, with Erin vanishing again right on their heels. As she did this, Israel rolled forward and came up in front of the third agent, snatching the taser out of his hand. Before the man could react, Israel backhanded him hard enough that he heard his jaw dislocate. The agent slumped in a heap at Israel’s feet.
Lightning fast, Erin appeared behind the agent covering Stone and Warburton and sent him away. An eye-blink later, the woman covering the Brandt sisters was gone. Then, Erin returned to the woman who’d been covering her and sent her away. This left them alone with a shocked and suddenly very frightened John Brindley.
Erin leaned close to the wide-eyed man. “Reach for a weapon,” Erin said, “and I will send you to the fucking moon.”
John started to speak, stammered, and then nodded his understanding. He held his hands palm out and well away from his body.
Israel looked at Erin. “Please tell me you didn’t…” He pointed upwards to finish the question.
“Only five or ten feet,” she said with a dismissive wave. “I sent them to Matt’s memorial. They should be fine.”
Michelle said something to Erin in a low tone. Erin nodded and reached behind her. Erin concentrated for a moment and the handcuffs securing Michelle’s wrists vanished. Michelle rose and smoothed out the wrinkles in her slacks. Then, she walked in calm, measured steps over to Israel. She held out her hand without a word. Israel smiled and handed her the taser.
In one smooth motion, she turned and shot John in the chest with it.
Agent Brindley dropped like an anchor when the darts hit him. He trembled in tight, rigid convulsions while she held the weapon’s trigger down. She did that for a long time before Israel touched her on the shoulder. She looked up at him, still holding the trigger, and then shrugged. She dropped the weapon onto the burnt carpet and went to sit next to her sister.
John didn’t move except to breathe.
“Told ya, mate,” Stone said. “Now somebody get these bloody things off my wrists.”
“And close the door,” Warburton said. “Namura and the rest of his stormtroopers are still coming. We need to lock down and move quickly. We have five minutes, at best.”
Israel searched the man he had knocked out and found a set of handcuff keys. He went around uncuffing the others while Erin sent John and the unconscious guard to join their coworkers.
Stone slammed the door harder than was strictly necessary and Olivia used her keyboard to activate the deadbolts. “What’s our play, Olivia?” he said.
“The Progeny comes first,” Olivia said. “Michelle, do you have any idea where and how soon they plan on opening this breach?”
Michelle retrieved her tablet from the floor and tapped at it a few times. “According to the most recent e-mails from the phone and Pythia’s predictions, they are in a place called Leticia, Texas and they’re there right stinking now. As far as the timetable for the ritual itself, it could be anytime in the next twenty-two hours.”
“You mean that thing could already be open?” Israel said.
Michelle shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Okay, so, let’s tell the DGRI. They can get a plane to drop a bomb on the place or something. That’s what they do, right?”
“It is. It’s the only thing they do. The DGRI is a sledgehammer, not a scalpel. If we’re wrong about this, and there is still a chance we are, they’re just as likely to wipe out that town for the sake of thoroughness and then call it an industrial accident. Trust me, we’ve seen it before,” Michelle said,
“We are always hampered by what we do not yet know,” Olivia said, “so we must do the best with what we do know and learn more as we go. We need a team on the ground in Texas.”
Stone turned to Erin. “Can you get us to this town?” he asked, hope simmering in his eyes.
Erin shook her head. “No, it doesn’t work like that. Sorry.”
“Can you get us to Vegas?” Israel said. “That’s closer than here, at least.”
Erin thought about it. “Not all of us. The farther I go the harder it is, and I’ve only ever taken Israel with me, which added to it. I guess I’m willing to try with two of you, but I’m not making any promises.”
Michelle held up her tablet. “I’ve got Leticia mapped. It’s a straight line distance of just under a thousand miles from Vegas.”
“Do we have anything in Las Vegas?” Stone said to Olivia.
Olivia shook her head. “I’ve already checked. The closest Sentry jet is in Washington state.”
Stone shook his head. “Bloody hell,” he said.
“You know who’s there,” Olivia said. “We need to use him.”
“He’s a mercenary wanker who I’d just as soon kick in the jewels as look at,” Stone growled.
“Which makes him a resource,” Olivia said. “Now put it behind you and let’s focus on the larger problem, Stone.”
Stone grumbled something under his breath in a language Israel didn’t recognize but nodded his assent, none the less.
“All right, then,” Olivia said. “Stone, you’re with Erin and Israel. Erin, Israel, Stone is in charge. You might be Paragons, but he’s been fighting the Progeny since before either of you were twinkles in your fathers’ eyes. Listen to him and you’ll see the sun come up. Michelle, Allison, you’re with me. Send all the information you’ve compiled to Mr. Stone’s phone and then get to work on a plan to deal with a breach of this size in case it comes to that.”
“What about you?” Israel asked.
Olivia Warburton responded with the first genuine smile Israel had ever seen cross her face. It was an expression that would have looked matronly on another woman, but made her look just a little bit crazy. “Don’t you worry about me,” she said. “There are a few senators I’ve shelled out good money and favors to over the last few years. I think it’s time to put them to good use.”
“You should contact The Arcane,” Stone said.
“I will. Now get out of here. Call me as soon as you have any solid information. I’ll keep Namura and the DGRI off your scent for as long as I can.”
Erin had been standing still, concentrating. She held her hands out, palm up for the two men to take them. Israel did so without hesitating. Stone stared at her for a moment and then gently grabbed her hand.
“Don’t worry, Stony,” she said, tightening her grip on his hand, “this isn’t my first threesome.”
“Seriou-” Israel started
“What di-” Stone began at the same time.
The three of them were gone before either had a chance to finish.
They reappeared on the roof of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, the same place Erin had stood when she’d last been in the city. Stone staggered forward as soon as they appeared and Erin leaned into Israel, nearly falling. “Okay,” she said, “that sucked a little.”
Israel supported her as she shook her head and regained her balance. Once she was steady on her feet and assuring him she was fine, he looked up and said, “Stone? You with us?”
“Right as rain,” he said in a voice that contradicted the words. “How you can do that without your stomach turning inside out is beyond me.”
“Well,” Erin said, “I’ve gotten used to it and Israel’s dead, so it works for us.”
Israel gave her a flat look. “Really. Shut up.”
“I just need a tick here,” Stone said. Then he looked around and said, “Why are we on a roof?”
“She’s got a thing for them,” Israel said. “She thinks she’s Batgirl.”
“And now you can shut up,” Erin said, slapping him on the arm. “This is just a place I remembered well enough to get to. We can get to street level and then take a cab to wherever we need to go.”
“Yeah,” Israel said, “where is that exactly? Who’s this person you don’t want to call?”
Stone sighed and ground his teeth together as he spoke. “Carter,” he said. “Carter Black.”
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