“You’re welcome to try,” came the response.
Numerous portals opened in the clearing, dark voids tearing through space. “But I doubt you’ll find enough time to do that.”
Chains of Darkness!
Tom leapt out of the way as a crisscross of silver chains lance towards him, tearing through wood, uprooting earth. He had no doubt being caught by them would end badly for him.
Warping between two heavy, silver, metal chains, Tom was now far above Caine. His arm took careful aim, and then he fired.
Art of Assault: Line Shot!
The industria beam sliced through Caine’s shoulders, and the air smelt of burning flesh. He cried out, leaving an opening for another spell. His side this time, he slipped to his knees.
Tom felt the whoosh of portals opening behind him, warping reflexively away.
“It’s too late. You always move in the same patterns, ever since Trevor trained us.” Caine mused, “Old habits are hard to break, especially when cornered.”
Tom felt pain seize him. A pike had embedded itself in his leg, another in his side. Two heavy chains lay around him, sapping his industria. The Chains of Darkness, so named because they would draw the victims industria into a dark void, leaving them powerless and ‘dark’ after enough time.
“One point for me. One for you,” Tom nodded.
“Your esoterica ‘Warp’ makes you sneaky, Tom.” Caine replied, “You were right that I tried to evade you — at first — but then…you know what they say about the best offense.”
“Are you saying you lured me here?”
“My broader operations can’t be disturbed.”
“Your massacre of the four cities left me no choice but to come after you like this. What you’ve done can never be forgiven.”
“I’m not asking for forgiveness. Maybe you’ve beaten Masquerade, but my beast mask research is too far gone. I will emerge the victor.”
Warp Slice!
Tom’s knife just barely skimmed past Caine’s neck, the latter moving just enough to avoid the blade. Caine’s arm lashed out and Tom was sent crashing away, slamming through trees. A regular person would have turned into a red smear by now, but Sentinels were made of hardier stuff.
Numerous portals opened up in the forest. A sword dropped into Caine’s hands from one. Explosives, spears, lances, knives, chains and other weapons peeked out from the others.
Tom gripped his knife.
“I will take you down, Caine.”
The portals prepared to discharge.
“Unlikely.”
The two charged at each other.
* * *
Hours later.
There had been a forest there the day before. Various people would go there for romantic rendezvous, for picnics, for fitness. But yesterday was not today today. Today, half of the forest had been reduced to nothing but craters were boulders had been, splinters where trees had grown and ash where grass had spread.
In one such crater, Tom lay, his Sentinel uniform blackened with flame and reddened from the blood. A gash on his torso refused to go away, despite already using his third regen pill. It figured, his industria levels had cratered.
He hadn’t been able to capture Caine, despite all his effort. That didn’t mean the man had gotten away scot-free. No, Tom had left him a parting gift.
Elsewhere, Caine fell out of a portal, wheezing and coughing. Despite having just a knife, and not an especially large one, Tom had torn him up with guile, strategy and power. A Sentinel, even one with a non destructive esoterica, was still capable of levelling a forest. And more would be coming.
Epilogue II
“Damn, Caine really did a number on those guys,” The first man laughed.
“Don’t celebrate just yet.” The woman warned him, “We’re no closer to our goal than we were before Caine’s grandstanding.”
“It’s alright,” The man at the center of it all said, “I’ve been well aware of Caine’s actions for some time. We share ways of thinking that may not be immediately obvious to you guys.”
The rest of Asura had gathered. They were ten in number. Cast off agents from countries who didn’t want them, people who had retired but wanted excitement, or people who had never fully been accepted.
Their leader’s charisma and lofty ideology had drawn them together.
A perfect world.
Who wouldn’t want that?
Also by Michael Allison
Hunter - Book 1: Forged
The Hunter Saga begins here. Superpowered bounty hunters, the godly Orisha, the valiant Rune Knights. As these factions jockey for power, the balance of the world is constantly swayed. The world’s most dangerous secret, the Arche, is the only thing that can definitively tip the scales.
The journey to retrieve the Arche leads Derek to the town of Pesque. He can’t do it alone and will need the help of Douglas West and a trio of bounty hunters with their own motives. But Douglas has his own ambitions, and his band of Marauders may prove to be more trouble than they’re worth.
They say you can’t go home again, but Derek’s bounty hunter ally Zeke wants to do just that. Before their quest for the most dangerous secret can begin, Derek and his team of four will journey to Karn County to heal wounds of the past, so they can move towards the future.
Zeke knows the truth about the massacre of a decade ago, what he doesn’t know is that it never stopped. As the clock ticks towards the next purge, a doomed child’s plea will pierce everyone’s hearts.
To fulfil a desire for redemption, to finish a grudge match started a decade ago, to regain the courage to act, Derek’s quintet will quickly learn Karn County has something for each of them, but only if they can all survive.
Hunter Book 2 - Target
Coming 2019.cover and subtitle not final.
The Hunter Saga continues here. Superpowered bounty hunters, the frightening Nephilim, the valiant Rune Knights. As these factions jockey for power, the balance of the world is constantly swayed. The world’s most dangerous secret, the Arche, is the only thing that can definitively tip the scales.
Derek and the Dawn group’s journey for the Arche is about to get a lot more straightforward. The path to the True Map has been made clear, and all they need to do is retrieve it, but a barrage of challenges will whittle down their trust in themselves, and each other.
As Simon’s self-doubt, Rachel’s newfound shiftiness and Zeke’s deadly past begin to take their toll, Douglas West begins to wonder if he and Derek will be better off without the rest of the team.
The Nephilim Jason has spent his life cultivating ties to the darkest part of the underworld, now he will use all that power to tear Dawn apart as he extracts his pound of flesh.
As bounty hunters, Rune Knights and the Nephilim himself launch an assault of biblical proportions on Dawn, they will be overrun and besieged on all fronts.
Facing their first real challenge, the team will have to pull together or be torn apart.
Sentinel Book 2 - Ensnared
Coming 2019.
The hero’s journey has to start somewhere. Tyrone Sy is no hero, not yet. Armed with the mystical force, Industria, he is one of the Sabres, WestScarlet’s crack team of warriors. Together with his teammates Eva, Lionel, and Avery, he is pledged to defend WestScarlet from threats great and small.
Broken down by the events in Draekeor, Tyrone’s fury against Caine rages. To defeat him, they’ll have to crack the mystery of the Phoenix and Caine’s Orphanages.
But an unholy alliance between The Caretakers and the mysterious organisation known as Asura stands in the way…
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