Bennett Peak had long disappeared from view, but the ship’s pursuers were relentless, still behind them after three hundred miles – though for all the stress caused it might as well have been a million.
“Do you see anyone else, Adrienne?” a blonde-haired man asked with a desperate look stretched across his face. “Or anything? By all that’s holy, please say no…”
There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on for eternity but at last, her answer came.
“We’re in luck; I don't see a thing,” she replied, relieved that they had made it out of the hornet’s nest, at least for now. Her brunette hair was whipping around wildly as she took one final look aft. “Thank God, Marcus,” she continued wearily, “I think we can breathe a little easier now.”
That’s when another man swaggered between the two of them. He was big and burly, looking toward the sky, which had become blacker than his own messy hair. “Ady, I ain't too sure about that,” he said calmly in a deep voice while one of his large hands found a place between her shoulder blades. “Something about this all don't feel right… Gut tells me ol’ DJ called off his troops for some reason and despite how great I know we are; we were let go.”
Now, Gage Crosse had a flair for being blunt most, if not all of the time, but as usual about these things he happened to be right. Glancing over to Marcus, who had moved over to the guardrails, Gage found him flushed with resentment.
Indeed, Marcus was mired in thought as a wooden necklace dangled from his tight grip. Painful memories just hours old forced their way into his mind as chaotic bursts of vision.
He saw Dajjal staring directly at their youngest teammate, Joey Mosely, those burning red eyes piercing his very soul. The demon then bent down, tearing off Joey’s necklace before flinging it to the deck like a piece of trash.
Since you have stolen four of my treasures… Dajjal's abhorrent words rang out… it's only right that I take one of yours!
Joey was beaten, bloodied, and bruised, crumpling to the deck with all the weight of Marcus’ breaking heart.
Dajjal bent down once again, placing a hand on Joey’s back before …
It was too much to bear and Marcus clamped his eyes shut, the memories falling away to black. Though he had cried himself out of tears some time ago, somehow a few still managed to wring their way down his face. “I hate that fucker,” he said through his gritted teeth, making sure there was no confusion as to how he really felt.
“Don't we all, Marcus,” Gage agreed grimly. Like a mirror to their misery, the turbulent skies opened up with a torrential downpour. Gage looked up to the incoming barrage. “Don't we all.”
Thankfully, there was no need to worry about getting drenched, at least not yet. The wards scarred around the Odyssey, engrained in the very wood, were still holding and made sure only the slightest sprinkles of rain reached the deck.
“Om,” Gage called out to the intercom, “is there any way for us to bypass this storm? Ya know, this shit looks like it's gonna be extra bumpy.”
There was a crackle, Om's soothing voice cutting through the darkness despite his bad news. “Sorry Gage,” he said, “but this is quite a large one. It stretches out far to the north and south, so we're going to have to go through it in order to reach the rendezvous point on time. I’m going to take the Odyssey higher so we aren't thrown around too much, but I suggest that you all get inside – the ship’s taken a lot of damage and I'm not too confident the wards will hold for very much longer.”
“Roger that,” Gage answered. “We’ll go below.”
“Thank you. Climbing shortly,” Om replied, hesitating slightly before continuing, “and Gage, might I direct you all to quarters or anywhere other than the galley. Seth and Kyle are in there and, well, these bear shifters are quite odd.”
Gage managed a chuckle at Om’s expense. “Hell ya don't have to tell me twice, I've seen how those big fuckers dress; can only imagine how they eat. I’ll plan to come speak with ya after the storm settles.” He turned attention to Marcus and Adrienne, catching their downtrodden expressions in an errant flash of lightning. “Come on you two, let’s head inside before the dam bursts.”
The trio promptly made their way across the quarter deck, heading to the doors that led down into the ship. Gage pulled them open and entered, followed by Marcus and Adrienne. As she crossed the threshold, a few of the nearby barrier wards sputtered then failed, the rainstorm consuming the deck.
“Well that was…” Adrienne said as she swiftly slammed the doors behind her, but not before a blast of chilly water splashed across her back. “…well timed.”
Gage scrunched up his face, partly sympathetic, but more so trying to keep himself from snorting. “Apparently not,” he said, choosing to smile, “your back is soaked, darlin’.”
“Apparently that's a common problem when people get around you Gage,” she snipped, shivering slightly from the damp.
Marcus smirked at the both of them before turning down the passage. His eyes caught some of the faint light from the wall fixtures and Adrienne swore he could pass himself off as happy, but she knew better.
“So guys, do you want to head to the galley anyway?” Adrienne asked. “Gage, I bet you’re starving.”
Gage and Marcus traded looks before speaking in unison.
“No!”
There was a hushed round of laughs before Marcus continued. “Maybe later, after it’s um… cleared out.” He paused and gave his beard a quick stroke. “Now, I have a spot I think we can head to and use to think things over; it’s down on Deck Four.”
“In the bowels of this boat?” Gage asked wearily, folding his arms. “Just where I wanted to be… in some bowels.”
“Do you ever listen to yourself after you open your mouth, Gage?” Marcus said, crossing his arms when Gage threw a stern look his way. “Now come on, don't look at me like that! I promise it'll be therapeutic. You have to trust me.”
Adrienne found herself interested in this now hyped-up location, but Gage was still reluctant to say the least. Honestly, his bed was the only destination he desired until they got to the rendezvous point and he would have happily leapt into it right then, whether or not Ady was there. Better yet, she could carry on with Marcus down into the ship and leave him alone to actually sleep.
“Alrighty then,” Marcus replied, paying Gage no mind – majority rules after all. “This way, ladies and gentlemen.”
Gage cocked an eyebrow after being ignored and they were led through a maze of dark corridors, followed by stairs, and more halls. A little while later, they arrived outside the engine room.
“This it?” Gage asked, unimpressed by the starkly bland passage accompanied by an annoying rumble.
“Yep,” Marcus said, promptly sitting himself on the floor. “This happens to be my little corner away from the world.”
Adrienne looked around and actually found the sound relaxing, although Gage was still antsy, fidgeting like an impatient child. The two of them took up on the wall opposite Marcus, Adrienne sitting down while Gage, protesting childishly, remained standing.
“I told Joey that I would often come down here to mull things over, especially when things got bad or downright shitty,” Marcus continued. “I even slept down here at times.”
Gage looked at the ashen walls, cold and uninviting. “Marcus, no offense, but I don't think I could find a way to sleep down here, even…”
“With an arsenal of sleeping aids?” he interrupted, smiling loosely. “J indicated something similar when I brought him down here. You both really are so much alike…” Dejection overtook the hallway and Marcus shifted his eyes to the floor. “Now that we're actually down here, I feel like it’s the worst possible place I could have picked; it just reminds me of him. To let the two of you know, it's where I first let him know.”
“About?” Gage asked.
“How I felt about him.” A sniffled worked its way out of Marcus, “and fuck, here I go again. Before we left New York, I spec
ifically made it a point to tell him not to cry about bad things that might happen in the future and now, that's the only thing I seem to do…”
“Marcus, there's nothing wrong with that at all,” said Adrienne as she shifted herself over to his side of the hall, placing an arm across his upper back and tapping his chest with her other hand. “Joey has that effect on all of us. God knows how, but he's worked his little self right here into our hearts.”
Gage finally gave up his protest and slid down the gray bulkhead, taking a seat on the floor. It was warmer than he expected, pressing his upper back against the wall while flopping his muscular legs across the corridor. Tilting his head back, he drew a long breath and when he exhaled, the amulet seemed to tug at his neck for attention. He looked down at the simple, shiny disc and its spiky chain, his eyes lingering on them for a moment before drifting across to each of his ring fingers, where two more artifacts resided. The Ring of Dispel was gorgeous, its platinum entwined gold seeming to glow with an inner aura, while the Seal of Solomon was rusted out, barely held together by a thin, brown crust.
So much trouble and pain from these things, he thought to himself, the very fate of the world bound in those small items adorning such a big man. Gage, not sure how much more of this you can take. You can continue to tell yourself that it’s fine, but I don't think you believe that one-hundred percent. Not to mention Death’s interest in you…
Gage hearkened back to his time in the cellar, all the way back in Denver. While down there, he had debated with himself in the dark about leaving the tiny trinket there in that dusty hole. There, the demons would have been none the wiser, still struggling to hold onto what little power they had gained. The apocalypse would be held at bay, but still in some way possible, so long as these items were out there. It was that lack of permanence that drove him to make the decision to pull the amulet and chain out of there and stop the Noctis and their plans wholly in their tracks.
There was no doubt that Gage was driven to see things through to the end and once committed to stopping this threat, he had to see it through, regardless of what the other parts of himself were saying.
You can’t take much more, his inner voice reprimanded.
I know, but I have to, he replied in thought. There’s no other way. I told myself before starting on this road that situations where one places themselves outside their comfort zone can lead to them discovering who they truly are. I don’t know where this road is leading just yet, but I feel as if I am growing into who I’m meant to be…
“Gage?” Adrienne called. There was no reply so she kicked his foot with hers, hard. “Hey big stuff, you doing okay?”
He was snapped out of his thoughts. “Yeah… sorry about that. Just thinkin’ on all this bullshit and glad we’re on what I hope is the downward slope because my ass is worn the fuck out.”
“No kidding,” said Marcus, “I don’t know how you field guys do this, day in and day out; it’s so tiring. I guess it explains how I wound up sitting behind a desk instead of being out on the front lines in the grit of it all.”
“I remember you mentioning that,” Adrienne recalled, “but I thought you said that you longed to get out into the field, away from the reams of paperwork that were weighing you down?”
“Well, the desire is always there,” he replied. “As my brother would put it, it was the motivation that was lacking – that initial push to get out there and endure. I wish I had found it earlier in life, but I seem to have tapped into it when you guys came into my life… especially Joey.” With his name coming up again, they all noticed he wasn’t there; his mix of boyish innocence and nerdy charm absent.
The room fell quiet, except for the ever-present hum.
“We’ll get him back, Marcus,” Gage told him reassuringly.
“I know,” Marcus replied, looking over at Gage. A bit of heat briefly built up behind his ears and Marcus didn’t realize that it had also made its way to his cheeks. “Yet, I can’t help but think he would still be here if we hadn’t fled.”
“Are you doubting the call I made back there?” Gage asked sternly, noting his color. He leaned off the wall slightly, getting into a defensive posture. “I mean shit, I cared about the kid too!”
Ady perked up, scared she would have to leap in and stop a fist fight. It would've been a messy affair, Gage's punches coupled with what she assumed would be some pretty kick-ass spell casting from Marcus’ runed fingers. Thankfully, she didn't have to budge, though emotions were still running high and could ignite at any point.
“If I’m honest,” Marcus replied directly to Gage, staring unblinking into his green eyes with his own stern blue ones, “I sure as shit did at first, but after going through what we just did, I realize that you made the right call. Admittedly clouded by my feelings, I couldn't see Dajjal’s forces were far too overwhelming for us to have a snowball’s chance in Hell of surviving a fight, never mind finding J. They would’ve smothered us.”
Adrienne relaxed, breathing a very prominent sigh of relief. “Jesus Christ boys, be sure to warn a girl next time you decide to whip your cocks out for a sword fight. My money's on Marcus, by the way.” She sent a wink his way as Gage fell back against the wall once again, sputtering his lips in disagreement.
“Damn ya both,” he said gruffly, shutting his eyes in protest. “Ya fuckers.”
Adrienne and Marcus both chuckled, finding what little entertainment they could given the current situation, considering all they could do is wait and ride out this storm that was between them and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
They were heading to Seth and Kyle’s homestead, the brothers graciously offering it as a place for a secret meeting, promising most of their shifter sleuth would be out of town. There, the team planned to speak with Drogir, a gargoyle who sat on the the Order Council, in relative secrecy.
There was much to discuss: from the ambush itself and incorrect intelligence on the Devil’s Highway, all the way to potential demonic espionage. It was all important and needed to be addressed, but away from any prying eyes in support of the Noctis that were lurking in the dark corners of headquarters.
“A shame it’s come to this,” Marcus stated. “Hiding in the shadows, far from HQ in order to avoid being overheard. I never would have imagined the day.”
“If it’s any consolation, it kind of brings you even more into the field operative fold, M,” Adrienne said to make him feel a little better, though she wished there was someone around who could do that for her. “I know it doesn’t take away the gut-wrenching feeling we have about Joey being all alone in the clutches of that devil.”
“I know, and it sucks Adrienne.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more more,” she replied sadly. “Changing the subject, there is something I’ve been wondering about since the attack: why were Dajjal’s attacks ineffective against us? From what we had heard before, he was fairly adept at turning people into piles of shredded meat.”
“You know, that’s a really good question,” Marcus said. “I haven’t had much time to ponder obviously, but my first guess? It would be the Ring we got from the Otherworld. Since the Ring of Dispel can nullify any harmful magic used against the bearer, it makes sense that Dajjal couldn’t use his powers to kill Gage on the spot.”
“True,” said Adrienne, believing Marcus could be right, “but what about the rest of us?
“Yeah, we are still breathing,” Marcus joked, though it fell flat. “Hmmm, perhaps the Ring offers some kind of extended protection to those the wearer directs it to guard. Or, getting all poetic, it could be protecting the ones that Gage holds in his heart; the ones he loves.”
“I would not be surprised if that were actually the case. Do you think it applies to Seth, too?”
“Unsure,” he answered solemnly. “I don’t remember seeing Dajjal trying to attack the two of them magically once his powers didn’t work on Gage and Joey. The Ring might have protected them, yet they could have been smited – I have no idea how far its p
rotections run or if we are even on the right track here.”
“Regardless, I can safely say we are on the right track about the hatred for that particular demon,” she said. “Much hate than I have pent up against vampires.”
“Same here,” Marcus concurred.
“Ugh, I can't wait to get to Gatlinburg,” Adrienne said. “This is really wearing on me. I've seen about as much of the Odyssey as I can take. It’ll be good to stretch our legs… on the ground, even if only for a few hours.”
“As much as I love this ship, I agree” Marcus stated, a devilish look sliding onto his face. “So, do you think there will be moonshine at their place? Not that I plan to drink my woes away or anything.”
“Haha,” Adrienne responded. “It's okay if you do, because I might be right there joining you. That said, you have seen Kyle and Seth right? I would be disappointed if there wasn't any around, so it’s probably a safe bet.”
Marcus laughed. “I guess so, but seeing as Kyle’s been walking around in Joey’s red underwear for a while, I hope and pray they have some regular clothes back at their park. Damn shifters.”
Just then, a grating noise squashed the relaxing hum, Adrienne and Marcus looking around the place, worried that the storm had just gotten a lot worse. However, their fears were soon allayed when they looked across the hall; it was just Gage, who had fallen asleep despite all of his earlier protests.
A RUSTLE AKIN to a thousand flapping wings rose in harmony out of the cool breeze. Before long, it all fell back to silence, replaced by the gentle pitter-patter of leather soles on uneven stone steps. Unhurriedly, a sizable man strode his way up them, his legs alone about to burst through the seams of the expensive suit he wore. Approaching the building’s entrance, he loosened the tie constricting his heaving neck, unfastening a single button for added reprieve.
With a deep breath, he glanced to the left, confirming he had come to the right place. Just beneath his eye level was a bronze plaque, small but refined upon the ruddy brick façade. It read ‘West Haven Elementary’ in thick, embossed lettering.
The Devil's Highway (Journeyman Book 4) Page 2