Unhidden (The Gatekeeper Chronicles Book 1)

by Dina Given

  One black boot stepped out from the darkness then another. Zane went to his knees at the sight of the man who stood on the dais. He didn’t cut a very imposing figure: average height, average build, with neatly cropped black hair. His face was pale and weathered, but it was clear he had been very handsome in his youth, and some of that attractiveness remained. He wore a black tunic with a silver belt and a gray cloak on his shoulders.

  Although he wasn’t physically intimidating, his cold, black eyes were those of a highly intelligent and calculating individual. They darted around rapidly, landing on every point in the stadium, taking in the entire scene within moments. And, for a reason I didn’t understand, he terrified the ever-living shit out of me.

  His eyes landed on me, a slow smile spreading across his face, and it was all I could do to fight the urge to run. My stomach roiled at the sight of him, and all I wanted to do was find a closet to cower in.

  So, this was the infamous Gabriel Marduk. I was so distracted by the sight of him that I almost missed the figure standing behind and to his right.

  The woman was tall and slender with porcelain skin and pale yellow eyes that matched the color of her golden hair hanging in long, loose curls about her shoulders. She wore a white gown that fell to her feet, clinging to every feminine curve of her body. Over her gown was a rich, red cloak. A small smile played on her full lips, and when those lips parted, I could see bright white fangs. A vampire! Was there no end to this menagerie of creatures?

  Connor came scurrying out of the shadows, like a rat out of a sewer. “As an emissary of the United States government, I order you to stop. If you take one more step onto U.S. soil, it will be seen as an act of war, and we will wipe you and your people from existence.”

  Marduk took one very slow and deliberate step forward. I fully expected Connor to transform into a cartoon character, with steam coming out of his ears and his eyes bugging out of his head. Connor opened his mouth, most likely to spew another impotent threat, when Marduk tired of him and gave the blonde woman a quiet order.

  She moved faster than my eyes could follow, nothing more than a blur in the night, and she was at Connor’s throat. He managed to get out a girlish shout of surprise before her fangs plunged into his jugular. I expected blood to gush from the wound, like I had seen in True Blood, but it was neat and clean. The vampire drank deep, not about to waste even one drop of blood. Connor’s skin turned so pale he was almost translucent. His cheekbones sank in and his breathing became erratic.

  When she was done, she unceremoniously dropped him onto the ground where he lay unmoving, and returned to Marduk’s side. I didn’t know whether Connor was dead or just really close to it, but I didn’t care either way. He got what he deserved.

  Marduk lifted his arms and spread them wide as if to embrace this new world. He said in a clear, booming voice, “Earth is finally ours. Take what you have been promised!”

  Stomping, braying, fluttering, and howling erupted from the gateway behind him. All fighting between the elves and manticores froze as their attention was drawn to the rift. A terrible onslaught of creatures poured forth: ghouls, shadow demons, vampires, and other creatures I had no name for. They swarmed around and past me, heading straight for the exits.

  Although they had been killing each other only moments before, the elves, manticores, and soldiers now stood side by side to prevent this new threat from escaping into the city. Jason emerged onto the field and joined in the efforts to keep the creatures at bay. They fought hard, blocking the exits, but it was fruitless. The number of creatures was overwhelming.

  I looked down at the battle axe in my hand. Where was all of the power I had been promised when I really needed it? How could I possibly ever hope to stop this?

  Looking around in confusion, my eyes landed on Marduk, who was approaching me with a satisfied smirk, keeping his arms held wide. He stopped in front of me with an expectant look. When I didn’t respond, he said, “What, no hug for your father?”

  The world spun out of control. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. What had he just said to me? The destroyer of worlds was my father? If so, what did that make me? A part of me thought the revelation explained a lot about why I was the way I was. The other part of me rebelled against the idea. He was lying; he must be. He was trying to manipulate me. But, then, why did it feel like the truth?

  “Wh-what are you talking about?” I asked, swallowing hard.

  “Ah, yes. Zane told me you lost your memory, but I thought for sure you would remember me. Not to worry, I am certain that can be remedied when you come home with me.”

  That shook me out my stupor. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Of course you are,” he laughed.

  Turning to the figure in the red cloak who still shadowed him, Marduk said, “Cressida, I would like you to meet my daughter, Ashnan. Ashnan, this is Cressida Lebeau, my advisor. She will see to it that you arrive home safely while I deal with things here.”

  The vampire stepped toward me, and I took a step back.

  “I said, I am not going anywhere with you, or your advisor.” I hefted Sharur and fell into a fighting stance, making my point crystal clear. I was significantly less effective fighting with my left hand, but Marduk didn’t know that.

  The smile dropped from his face, his lip curling up in a menacing snarl. I noticed his hand twitch, though he didn’t follow through on the move to hit me. “Cressida, if you would be so kind.”

  “With pleasure,” the vampire drawled in a husky voice. When she came to an abrupt stop back at her designated place behind Marduk, she was cradling the semi-conscious figure of Daniel in her arms. She made it look as if he weighed no more than a feather.

  “Put him down, or I’ll cut your undead head off,” I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

  The vampire merely chuckled softly. Given the speed in which she had moved, I would never get close enough to hurt her, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be strong enough to beat her.

  “Don’t be foolish. You belong in Urusilim, and you belong with me. If you truly care for this boy and want to keep him safe, you will come with me, and I will leave him here, unharmed.”

  “Why do you want me so badly?”

  “You’re my daughter. Isn’t that enough of a reason?”

  The answer was a resounding no; however, this wasn’t the time or the place to argue the point. It didn’t really matter anyway.

  I looked around me at the dwindling numbers of defenders. The bodies of elves, soldiers, and beasts were strewn about the stadium; dark pools of blood mottled what had been a neatly groomed baseball diamond. I was relieved to see that Jason was still standing and looking uninjured, but for how long? I couldn’t leave Earth behind and allow it to fall into the hands of these monsters.

  “I will go with you …” Marduk looked like the cat that ate the canary. “But …”—I enjoyed watching that self-satisfied smile slip off his face—“only if you recall all of your creatures back through the rift, and Sharur stays here in the keeping of the Mage Council.”

  His initial rage turned to angry amusement. He snorted. “Who do you think you are, making demands of me? I should have Cressida take your head and be done with you. But I think you’ll learn this lesson better if I take their heads instead.” He waved toward the fighting elves, soldiers, and manticores barring the exits.

  As if on cue, dozens of dragon-like creatures with great, leathery wings flew out of the rift, high into the night sky above Citi Field. They were beautiful, with scales of shimmering green.

  “Take her,” he said to the vampire.

  “With pleasure,” she hissed, dropping Daniel.

  I didn’t see Cressida move, but I knew she was coming. I fell to my knees, barely avoiding her grasp. Swinging Sharur, I buried the axe in the vampire’s thigh. It certainly wasn’t a fatal blow, although I hoped it might at least slow her down. She barely seemed to notice, painfully pulling me up by my long
braid. I kept my grip on Sharur, yanking it free from the bone.

  Bearing her fangs, Cressida pulled my head back and sunk her teeth into my flesh. I cried out at the initial bite, but then the pain subsided. Soothing warmth flooded through my body, calling on me to stop struggling and simply give in to that peaceful sensation. My fingers started to loosen on the axe handle when I heard that strange voice push its way clear of my muddled thoughts. Kill her!

  I struggled to focus, but looking skyward, all I could think was how beautiful those dragons were, breathing arcs of orange flame. Everything moved in slow motion. Then I was falling. The ground rushed up to meet me and jarred me back to my senses.

  Zane and the vampire were nose to nose, Zane breathing heavily and the vampire not breathing at all. “He said to take her home, not to drain her dry,” Zane snarled.

  “I had no intention of draining her,” Cressida said calmly. “I was simply making her more docile for transport. Although, I now see why you find her so irresistible,” she goaded.

  I staggered to my feet, using the axe as a crutch. With a light toss, I spun it in the air, catching it so the handle was facing forward. I pulled back and threw it like a javelin straight at Cressida. The spike at the end of the axe handle pierced her rib cage and sunk deep into the vampire’s heart. Momentary shock crossed her face before she exploded in a spray of blood and gore, all over Zane, but he didn’t look too upset about it.

  Before Zane could take up the call to drag me home, he was hit from behind by a barrage of icy blasts that came in rapid succession, preventing him from doing much more than try to protect himself. The ice was coating his skin faster than he could melt it off. Alex was buying me the time I needed to end this thing. I knew by looking at him that he had rallied all of his strength for this one last act.

  Marduk was walking purposefully toward the exit from the stadium, trailed by a menagerie of his devoted followers. Although some creatures had immediately made a run for the exit when they had come through the rift, the majority had stayed within the stadium, following Marduk’s commands. At this point, they were ready to march on New York City by his side.

  I hesitated, not wanting to leave Alex, knowing he didn’t stand a chance against Zane. But Marduk was making his way toward Jason, and the small group of defenders. Would Zane kill Alex or remember their old friendship and spare his life? I didn’t want to take that chance; however, I couldn’t let Marduk go. My mission wasn’t yet finished.

  With vampire and manticore venom still flowing through my veins, it felt like I was moving through molasses. Though, the vampire venom must have somehow counteracted the manticore venom because the feeling returned to my right arm.

  I snatched up the now slippery axe from the puddle of vampire goo and took off after Marduk at a sprint, pressing through the inertia and throwing my body into overdrive.

  Creatures threw themselves in my path, and I cut them down easily with Sharur, the axe blade slicing through flesh like Jell-O. Yet, even as the bodies piled up behind me, I knew the odds weren’t in my favor. Only a handful of elves were left fighting. The rest were either dead or wounded. Alex would be incapacitated soon, and dragons were descending from the sky.

  One well-placed blast of dragon fire would end me well before I could hope to reach Marduk. In the openness of the baseball field, there was nowhere to hide. I was a perfect target. Firing a gun into the sky at moving targets while running was no way to actually hit anything; therefore, I simply kept sprinting and hoped the dragons would ignore me, since I had no other options.

  I closed in on Marduk’s rear guard, chopping and hacking at them from behind. I took the first few creatures by surprise and was able to slice off heads and limbs without much of a fight. Blood and brains flew through the night air, splattering my face as I pushed through the throng. When the creatures finally took notice of me, they parted like the Red Sea at the sight of Sharur.

  Marduk stopped walking and turned to see what was disrupting the group. I stood between the parted rows of creatures, covered from head to toe in gore, holding the axe at the ready and breathing heavily.

  “We’re not done here yet,” I said.

  “On the contrary, I believe we are. If you hadn’t noticed, you are defeated. All of your elven and human friends are dead or will be very soon. Have some sense, girl, and join me.”

  “Actually, I invited some other friends to the party. They were just fashionably late.” I removed a small stone from the pouch at my waist. Alex had given me the pink oblong crystal for exactly this moment. I dropped it at my feet and ground my heel into the object, crushing it. When it cracked open, a spark of light was released high into the night sky. It only lasted for a moment, but it illuminated the stadium as if it were daylight.

  When the light faded and nothing more happened, Marduk laughed. “My dear child, you are going to have to do better than that.”

  “Oh, I did.”

  Just then, a blast of energy slammed into the crowd of creatures immediately surrounding Marduk, scattering them like so many bowling pins. Alcina, Ronin, and two other mages, all in flowing white robes, were blocking the exits from the stadium, holding glowing staffs.

  Marduk spun to face this newest threat, and when he saw who it was, screamed into the sky in anger. “Alcina, you little bitch!”

  The little girl merely smiled sweetly. “Don’t tell me the big, bad Lord Marduk is afraid of little girls.”

  “Kill them!” he commanded his army.

  Half of the monsters hesitated, not wanting to go up against the Mage Council, though some of the more confident or maybe more stupid creatures rushed forward.

  I took advantage of the distraction and headed for Marduk. His back was to me, and I had a clear path right to him. I wouldn’t get a better chance than this.

  When I came within three leaps of Marduk, a brick wall slammed into my side, sending me reeling away from my target. Arms wrapped around me like a vice as we hit the ground, tumbling. I slammed my head back and heard the satisfying crack of a nose breaking. My captor grunted and loosened his grip enough to allow me to break the hold. I found my footing and spun around, swinging Sharur, but pulled back at the last instant when I saw my opponent was Zane.

  “What did you do to Alex?”

  “I didn’t realize you cared about him so much. Are you trying to make me jealous?” he mocked, wiping blood from his nose with the back of his hand.

  “Did you kill him?”

  “And what if I did?”

  “I would have to return the favor.”

  He gave a sharp, humorless laugh. “I don’t think you would or could. After all, you still love me. Fortunately, I don’t have such emotional weaknesses and plan to kill you without any remorse whatsoever.” He lifted his hand, gathering that familiar orange glow I knew meant a fireball was on its way.

  Before he could fully form it, I swung Sharur and smashed him in the temple with the flat of the axe blade. He fell to his knees, stunned, blood running down his temple.

  I threw a roundhouse kick and knocked him fully to the ground. He tried to get his hands under him and push himself up; however, I sat on his back and put the shaft of the axe to his neck, pressing it into his throat. “Doesn’t feel so good to have your air supply cut off, does it? Consider this payback for our meeting in the alley,” I snarled close to his ear.

  He tried rocking from side to side to throw me off, but I only pulled back harder on the shaft. His face turned red then blue. He gasped and gurgled, making weak wheezing sounds, before his eyes fluttered closed.

  As soon as he lost consciousness, I released my hold. He took a shallow, rattling breath yet didn’t awake. I could have killed him, but he had been right. I was still in love with him, and I had promised him I would try to find a cure to bring him back to me.

  I stood and looked toward Marduk. A chaotic mass of writhing bodies blocked my view. I turned back toward centerfield, searching for Alex, but there were corpses everywhere, and I
couldn’t pick him out. I hoped that meant he wasn’t among the dead or dying, but if he wasn’t with me, where else would he be?

  Alex might be past saving, and stopping Marduk was my priority; as a result, I decided my best course was to fight alongside the mages. I started to move in that direction when pain exploded across my back, causing me to stumble forward.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it?” came Zane’s growl.

  I turned and saw him wielding his staff like a baseball bat. He took another swing, aiming for my knees, and swept my legs out from under me. I fell hard on my ass, agony shooting through my hips. Zane stood over me and lifted the staff for the final blow to my head. He brought it down as I brought up Sharur, and the two weapons collided, sending a shocking jolt through my hands, though I managed to maintain a grip.

  Zane stomped a foot down on my stomach, and I doubled over with a breathless “oomph.” He began raining kicks on my sides, cracking a rib in the process, while looking for an opening to swing the staff again. I was in a terrible position, prone on my back with my hands full, trying to block his staff, unable to protect my vulnerable body from the vicious blows of his heavy boots.

  “You were too weak to kill me; now I’m going to make you regret that decision,” Zane said with a hint of glee in his voice.

  Maybe he was right. It wasn’t like me to show mercy. Maybe I should have just finished him, but the point was moot. I would die at his hands.

  The pain wracking my body was unbearable. I couldn’t take a breath without searing torment in my chest from the cracked rib. I was taking fast, shallow breaths to avoid the rib pain, but dizziness overcame me from the lack of oxygen.

  I couldn’t focus through the haze in my brain. I felt a great distance arise between the fighting and me. Even the pain was starting to feel farther away. Blackness crowded the edges of my vision. All I had to do was let it in, and I would be free from this agony, from this battle, from Zane, Marduk, and the Mage Council. Maybe it was time to lay down the axe.