“Damn little guys. Don’t know what it’s like being so damn big.”
He hesitated for a moment, then took a weak leap into the hole. He grabbed the inside clumsily and nearly fell back out again. After a moment of kicking, Zeke’s hand found him and helped pull him up.
He stood up in the tunnel and took a breath. “Shit. Smells worse in here.”
“At least they left us a trail to follow.” Joel pointed a flashlight at a trail of dried, putrid slime. A short distance down the tunnel, the group stopped with the trail.
“A ladder,” Zeke said, noticing the side of the tunnel.
“There are three levels of tunnels,” explained Daniel as they climbed. “Each one roughly three meters high.”
Charlie liked that thought. “Didn’t wanna tell me outside, huh? Spoil your fun?”
“If we follow them toward the center of the mountain, the Karellan’s research facilities will be directly above the top level. There probably won’t be any access, seeing as how it’s top security, but we can cut into it using the torch.”
Zeke glanced at Daniel in the darkness. “You know all this because of that hobby of yours?” He had been suspicious of the boy for some time. Knowledge of the Karellan’s technical details was scarce in the lower city. Only the Supervisor himself would have access to the specs of the Muselheim or the maps of the plate tunnels.
Daniel was a first-class citizen.
“Be on your guard,” advised Joel as they reached the second level. “There may be draugr still lurking in the tunnel.”
Behind him, Charlie said, “I suppose you can tell by that new-corpse smell, right?”
Zeke wondered how many of the monsters Metatron had absorbed. Did the malak miss any who were hiding in the tunnels? Just how powerful was he?
“It certainly does smell more putrid up here,” observed the priest as he helped pull the others to the top.
“So what does that mean?” asked the giant. “Are they alive and fresh? Or dead and dried up?”
“I’m not entirely sure. It’s hard to tell with these things.”
“You’re the Slayer, aren’t you? You kill them for a living? What happens when they’re dead?”
“Quiet you two,” whispered Zeke. “We’re in a steam tunnel. The heat makes it smell worse. But if there are any left alive, don’t let them know we’re here, okay?”
“Broiled draugr,” said Joel. “And me without a doggie bag.”
“Think I found the ladder,” said Daniel. He climbed up.
Charlie watched him in the dim light. “So we climb up this ladder, cut through the roof, and we’re out?”
“In the sweet air of freedom,” said Zeke. Then he added, “Until we’re caught.” He scurried up the ladder after Daniel.
“It might take a while. The outer shell of the plate is pretty thick, especially at the top,” said Jae-Hoon, leaving Charlie below him.
“Don’t think we need to worry about that,” said Daniel. “Come look at this.”
They hurried up the ladder to the first level of tunnels. A short distance away, dim security lights streamed in through a hole in the plate. A large square cut out of the floor, it led directly into the facility. A secret passage. As if someone had forgotten to close it.
Or had intentionally left it open. The thought made Zeke shiver.
They pulled themselves through and found themselves in a long hallway. Daniel wandered to a nearby keypad and punched a few numbers. “That should take care of the alarm system. Now we have to . . .”
He was interrupted by a loud click from a door nearby. Charlie, standing nearby, gave the door a push. “Unlocked. Guess we should start looking here.” He walked through.
Joel called after him. “Be careful. We don’t know where that goes.”
The priest followed behind them. “It’s a church,” he said, noticing his surroundings. The others followed. They found themselves in a modest chapel, complete with stained glass windows, an altar, and seating for a small congregation. “What’s a church doing here?”
Daniel strode confidently to the opposite wall. He found another door. “Are you forgetting? The Armageddonist Church is state-sponsored.”
“The Karellan needed an organization the people would trust,” said Zeke.
“That’s right.” The boy hit numbers on another keypad. “It makes it easier for him to collect information. He’s got spies everywhere. Even some who don’t know they’re spies.”
Jae-Hoon began to feel sick. What does this mean? he asked himself.
“But that means this is exactly where we want to be,” Daniel finished as the door clicked open.
Joel stepped forward, barring his path. “How do you know all this?”
“I work for the government. Didn’t I tell you?”
“Still, wouldn’t this be highly classified information?”
“The Supervisor knew about the facility, didn’t he?” Daniel seemed nervous.
“Did he also know the access codes you’ve been punching in?” Joel pressed. “You seem more than familiar with this setup. Is that going to make this operation look like petty theft?”
Zeke stepped forward. “Does that matter? He’s helping us. If he wanted to turn us in . . .” He felt sick about what he was about to say, “Dumah wouldn’t have trusted him.” There was a pause. Joel seemed reluctant to back down. “He has what we need, and he’s on our side. That’s all that matters.”
The pirate stepped back slowly. “I suppose.”
Daniel continued, slightly annoyed, but more or less as if nothing had just happened. “If this is a standard chapel, then we should find a secure terminal in here.” He pushed the door open and found more than what he was looking for. Monitors, control panels and keyboards lined the small room. “Interesting,” he said quietly.
“How’s that interesting?” asked Charlie.
“This is more than a secure terminal.” He pointed to a row of monitors. “This is a security system, which by itself isn’t unusual in a facility like this.” He swung his arm around the room, nearly hitting Joel. He pointed to another computer behind him. “But this is a library terminal, and I think this next to it is a public records archive.”
Jae-Hoon looked surprised. “Public records? I thought the Hierophant was the only one in the Church with that kind of power.”
“You might be right.” Daniel sat down and started working.
“I don’t get it,” said Charlie. He tapped on a monitor like a child at a zoo, trying to wake up a sleeping animal. “What is all this stuff?”
“Books and records are too easily damaged. Fire. War. Coffee spills. So a while back, the Theocracy set up this network to digitalize every book they could get their hands on, while they locked up the originals in a vault somewhere.”
“And promptly lost them,” added Zeke, who had heard this from Micah years before.
“Right,” continued Daniel. “Anyway, the Karellan thought it was one of the Theocracy’s good ideas, and had the network revived after the war. First-class citizens can download a copy of just about anything they want to read. Assuming it’s not restricted, of course.”
“While the people in the slums go illiterate.” He gripped his sword sub-consciously.
“This is strange. Looks like there are a few books available only to the Karellan himself.”
“Can you open them?” asked Joel.
“I can check.” The keyboard began to click.
“Hold on,” said Jae-Hoon. “The Karellan uses this terminal? That would make him . . .”
“A church official,” said Zeke, who already understood. The others watched Jae-Hoon, waiting for him to make the connection.
Waiting for him to put aside his faith and see the truth.
“The Hierophant,” he said quietly. The Church was controlled by the Karellan.
“Got it!” shouted Daniel, excited. “Doesn’t seem like it should be restricted. This one’s about chemistry.” He paused as he selecte
d another book. “A few look like they’re about the old religions. Let me try one.”
The computer flashed and a warning sound beeped.
“What’s wrong?” asked Joel.
“Calm down. It’s just asking for a password. I’ve never seen one on an individual book before.” He hit a few keys. “Looks like we better leave this alone. Three failed attempts at a password and some pretty heavy security will be heading our way.”
Charlie snorted. “What? Like the police? Funny how they’ll let us walk right in but got all these alarms for a book. What’s it called, anyway?”
“Just says The Book of Razael,” said Daniel.
Zeke snapped to attention. “What did you say?”
“The Book of Razael.”
“It’s here?” It had been ages since he heard that name. Ten long years. He thought the book had been lost.
Destroyed.
In Rome.
“What’s wrong?” asked Joel. Zeke’s face was white. “Do you know this book?”
A voice from the chapel boomed. “He is bound to the book and the book is bound to him,” said Metatron.
Chapter Ten: Man and Beast
“Leave us alone!” shouted Zeke, with an uncharacteristic amount of fear in his voice.
Metatron boomed again. “That, I’m afraid, I can not do. You are bound to the book. And now I must bid you to return to the chapel.”
Charlie had never seen his friend frightened. “What are we going to do?”
He forced himself calm and took a deep breath. “Just as he said. We’re going to return to the chapel.”
“Are you insane?” asked Joel furiously. “We can’t fight a malak!” He stepped in front of Zeke to stop him.
“No, but it’s the only way out, and we need to buy Daniel enough time to find what he needs and send it to the Supervisor.” He pushed past the pirate, who made no effort to argue.
“This is suicide!” shouted Charlie.
“It’s either that or murder. Either way, we’re dead. Take your pick.” He paused, waiting. Silence. He turned to Daniel. “Can you handle things here?”
“I got it. You be careful.”
“Let’s go,” he said to the three others.
They approached the door. Zeke made the first move to open it, but he did so very slowly. They peeked out. Somehow, the chapel seemed darker than before.
There was no other source of light. The malak was not in the room.
“Metatron?” called Zeke to the empty room. “Where are you? Show yourself.”
A disconnected voice called back. “You are not strong enough to face me. You will deal with another.”
A dark figure dropped into the far corner of the chapel. From it, a voice growled, “I’m afraid this is unacceptable. Whether the Karellan has taken interest in you or not, Mr. Branderlief, I can not abide by spies in his personal workshop.”
The voice was familiar, but not to Zeke.
Joel stepped forward. “Hugin? Is that you?”
The ninja was shocked. “Joel? You’re alive? I thought I blasted you into oblivion.” His voice was cutting.
“Master would be disappointed in you. My ruse should have been easy enough to see through.”
Hugin ignored the other three men, who stood back and watch. “No, my friend,” he snarled. “You are the disappointment. Failure to show obedience and respect to your lords?”
“The Karellan is not worthy of honor. I can not obey him without betraying our master’s principals.”
“Then lets settle this,” Hugin spat.
He darts forward. A ninja sword emerges from an unseen sheath. The blade speeds downward. Metal clashes against metal. Joel’s titanium daggers, already drawn, are crossed under Hugin’s blade.
The ninja pushes down, struggling to connect his blade with the pirate, who struggles to push up. The blades don’t move.
The other men draw their weapons. “No!” the pirate shouts. “This is not your fight.” Zeke sheathes the sword. The others hesitate, but follow his lead.
Hugin flips backwards. His foot connects with his opponent’s face. He lands on his feet.
The pirate stumbles back, slashing frantically with his right hand while trying to regain his balance. Hugin blocks easily. Joel plants his feet and stabs with his left hand. Hugin sidesteps the dagger, spinning his back to the pirate. He raises his elbow, jabbing it into the back of his opponent’s head.
Joel falls face forward, but catches himself at the last moment and flips onto his back. The ninja sword is already descending. A frantic wave of his arm and the titanium dagger deflects it.
Lucky blow, thinks the Raven. Joel would have agreed.
The pirate adds a kick to his attack, which knocks Hugin off balance. Neither fighter is down long. Leaping back on their feet, they push towards each other, weapons forward. Metal clashes. Blades lock. They push away from each other.
The pause is brief. In a flash, they size each other up. Analyzing every strength and weakness they can see.
Then they attack.
What follows is a storm of slashing and stabbing. Evading. Spinning. Kicking. Of the three men watching, only Zeke can follow the fight. Years of training with a sword gave him the knowledge he needs to see each detail of their battle. Jae-Hoon sub-consciously pulls out his silver spike, feeling inadequate that he can’t follow the fight. Charlie just stares.
The storm subsides with a low growl and a flash of crimson. Hugin’s shoulder bleeds. A dagger glistens red. In the moment it takes him to realize he made a hit, the ninja retaliates. He swings his blade across Joel’s face.
The wound stings, but it isn’t deep.
The two fighters dash towards each other, once again crossing their blades in stasis. They push back, hard. Both men stumble to opposite ends of the chapel. The three onlookers scatter as Hugin flies backwards toward them.
The ninja pulls out small throwing stars and tosses them relentlessly. His aim is precise. The pirate swings his daggers in a tight arc, blocking efficiently. When the rain of stars subsides, Joel hurls one of his knives at Hugin.
The ninja dodges it easily. “All that training and you still throw away your defenses? Master would be disappointed in you after all.”
The voice of the malak fills the small room. “Enough!” despite the noise of the battle, Metatron’s voice echoes for some time. “You are here for Branderlief. Do not waste your time with the others.”
“I will get to him in due time!” growls the ninja into the empty air. “This wharf rat won’t take long to die.” Without another word, he runs at Joel.
What happens next is faster than even Zeke can see. The room flashes and suddenly Metatron stands between the two fighters, a hand stretched out to Hugin.
Against Hugin.
Another light flashes and the ninja is thrown to the far wall of the chapel. He falls to the floor and doesn’t move.
The malak turns. “We must find a new challenger.”
Zeke raised his sword. It shook nervously. “You won’t fight me yourself?”
“Do you wish to die so quickly?” Metatron’s deep voice echoed through the church hall. “Follow me. Your opponent will be Grendel.” The malak turned and walked toward the door. After a few steps, he vanished, fading into the air like a ghost.
Charlie looked to Zeke. “What do we do?”
“Exactly what he said. We follow him.”
“But . . .” Jae-Hoon interjected.
Zeke didn’t let him finish. “We still need time. Daniel’s not finished.”
“And the ninja? Are we just going to leave him here?”
“Yeah. He might turn us in,” added Charlie.
Jae-Hoon shook his head. “I was more concerned with respecting the dead.”
Joel was already stooping over the fallen body. “You can both calm down. He’s alive, but won’t wake up for a good long time.”
Zeke turned to the priest. “Tell Daniel we’re leaving him here. If this guy does
wake up, I want him to be ready.”
“It’s fine.” The boy stood in the doorway. “I heard everything. I’ll be okay.” He nodded and headed back into the computer room.
“Then we follow Metatron.” He readied his sword and headed out into the hall. The others followed, nervously. At the end of the corridor, a door had been opened.
A malicious invitation.
They entered, and the smell immediately knocked them back a step. “Damn, it smells even worse than those tunnels,” said Charlie, instinctively covering his face. Looking around the room, they understood why. The laboratory was cavernous. Rows and rows of cages lined the walls, extending nearly out of sight to the opposite end of the room. They extended up nearly seven stories high.
Each one filled with draugr.
Zeke was awestruck. “Joel, I’m beginning to think you were right. There just may be a connection between the Karellan and the draugr.” The understatement of the twenty-sixth century.
At the far end of the room, they saw the malak. And he wasn’t alone.
Standing behind Metatron was a gigantic draugr. As they approached, they could see its details more clearly. It was stitched together from pieces of other draugr. Its head was misshapen. Its body was swollen. Its arms created from the torsos of other monsters, its fingers from their arms. The hands of the original owners still dangled their own fingers from the ends. The entire body was covered in stitches.
Another Frankenstein-esque creation.
“This is Grendel,” spoke Metatron. “Most recent in the Karellan’s attempts to increase the quality of production. And yet, still a failure compared to the others. He shall not be completely useless to my cause, though.” A large blade appeared in his hand. He swung it at Grendel’s chains. There was no clash of metal. The chain snapped like a thread.
He swings again. Another chain snaps. More and more restraints are cut. The monster pulls away from the wall. It understands its impending freedom. The men back away. Grendel pulls hard against the final chain. It snaps.
The monster is free.
With a grim smile, Metatron vanishes into nothingness.
The four men back up. Charlie raises his rifle. “This thing’s big. You got a plan?”
Ragnarok: The Fate of Gods Page 13