by Jamie Davis
“I found her trail,” Frannie called out.
Victor squinted at the faintly glowing trail ahead and smiled.
Danny ran forward from behind Victor to stand beside Frannie. Too loudly he said, “Any sign of her?” asked too loudly.
“Shhhh … ” Victor scanned the surrounding buildings. Close to downtown, structures loomed larger. That meant more hiding places for enemies, more places to get trapped.
“No,” Frannie shook her head. “But that’s the trail so we know—”
“Will you both keep your voices down?” Victor hissed. “And remember where we are.”
“Sorry,” Danny said. “I was just excited that we finally found her.”
“We haven’t found her. We found her trail.” Victor looked at Frannie. “Any idea of how long ago she came this way?”
Frannie shrugged. “No idea. All I can say for sure is that she walked through here and went that way.” Frannie pointed ahead down the street.
Victor beckoned to Bullock and Garraldi.
“Alright,” Victor said as they approached. “Keep your eyes open. We’ll be moving faster so that means less time to spot any traps. No time for mistakes. And if you want to still be breathing the next time you see Winnie, then keep your voice down, even if you find something.”
The trail’s glow seemed to wax and wane as they followed it.
Sometimes the glowing golden motes disappeared and they had to fan out to search until one of them found it. This happened too often at first, and then the frequency felt downright dangerous.
The farther they traveled after Winnie, the stronger Victor’s feeling of dread.
If you don’t hurry, then all is lost.
He couldn’t shake the feeling.
It was—
Something across the street: a braying klaxon and Danny was shouting.
Victor spun around.
Danny was thrashing, knee-deep into the seemingly solid asphalt.
A series of grunts and hoots rolled through the air.
Fell denizens roused by the Klaxon and came that way.
Victor ran across the street. Maybe he could dispel the trap before Danny sunk too deep for rescue.
Garraldi and Bullock fired their rifles as the first of the Fell beasts rounded the corner behind them. They dropped the first few but more bounded around and toward the small group of humans.
Frannie ran up and raised her hands high overhead, then she slapped them down on the pavement.
The ground rippled in a crescent from her blow.
A tidal wave of asphalt and concrete knocked the monsters from their feet, making it easy enough for Garraldi and Bullock to pick them off while they wobbled, struggling to rise from the undulating waves.
Victor reached Danny, now mid-thigh in asphalt. “Stop struggling. You’re only making it worse.”
Victor had never tried to counter Fell magic directly, and could barely catch a whiff of the spell, but he couldn’t afford to worry. He focused on the pavement, channeled all of the power into his palm, and pressed it onto the road.
He half expected to be pulled in, too, but when his glowing hand touched the asphalt, the klaxon stopped and the thin red lines receded.
Danny slowly rose.
More gunfire behind him. The klaxon was dead, but the rifle fire was drawing creatures, too. If they were going to get away, he had to free Danny quickly.
Victor poured everything he had into his palm and watched, heart pounding, as Danny kept slowly ascending until his feet were finally atop the ground with a final, almost deafening POP!
He fell over backwards and crab-walked away from the trap until he was several yards away.
“Get up, Danny,” Victor said. “We have to get out of here. That gunfire is going to bring everything within a quarter mile right the hell down on us.”
Garraldi and Bullock stopped firing as the final attackers fell.
“This way,” Frannie called, waving her arms. “I think she went over here.”
The other four followed Frannie down a side street and into a small park. When they reached a pavilion in its center, they all crouched in the provided cover, searching for signs of pursuit.
“I don’t see the trail, Frannie,” Victor said. “Where did she go?”
“I lost it again.” Frannie pointed across the park to a neighborhood full of row houses. “But she was definitely headed that way.”
“Let’s wait a minute; make sure that no one is following us Then we’ll head after her again. I don’t want to catch up with half of Kane’s minions behind us.”
“Agreed,” Garraldi said. “And if your magic works on the Fell magic, which apparently it does since you freed the kid in a minute, maybe you should take the lead from Frannie.”
Victor shook his head. “No, she still has better sight for seeing the traps. Besides, if I miss one and step in it myself, who’s gonna bail me out?”
“Good point,” Garraldi said.
Victor scanned the park and street behind them, but saw nothing.
“Garraldi, do you or Bullock see any pursuit?”
“No,” Garraldi replied.
Bullock shook his head.
“Then we move,” Victor said, rising to stand. “Frannie, you’re on point. Then Danny, me, Garraldi, and Bullock.”
The group started off with Frannie in the lead. At the edge of the park, Frannie pointed at the ground and the faint golden motes of Winnie’s trail. Frannie walked faster.
They jogged along until they reached a residential street. The trail ran halfway down the street before doubling back and heading up the stairs on a nearby building.
Frannie stopped and pointed to where the path doubled back.
“I can see a trap. Winnie must’ve seen it, too. She stopped when—”
Danny was already running. “She could be right over there.”
“Danny stop!” Victor called out. “Slow down and think!”
Danny either didn’t hear or wasn’t listening.
He reached the top of the steps and flung open the door.
Then he was windmilling, about to fall.
Danny caught himself against the doorframe, barely. “There’s no floor in here, just a pit,” he called out.
The others ran over to join him. Victor looked past Danny, up at the open shell of a building, then back at the street.
“That’s not the trap,” Victor said, pointing to the street. “That’s meant to lure someone into this building. The trap is in here. See the attachment points on the walls around the pit? They had a tarp or net or something to catch whoever ran inside. There’s a set of similar attachments above as well. I think that’s rigged to drop something on whoever falls inside.”
“Where’s Winnie, then?” Danny asked.
“She must’ve fallen inside. But look.” Frannie pointed into the pit.
Victor looked down. And there it was: an exit, crudely dug in the corner. The passage appeared to slope down, to the city’s sewers or maybe a subway tunnel.
“I can see a faint trail heading through that passage,” Frannie said. “Whoever took Winnie must have gone that way after they caught her.”
Danny started to climb down. Victor reached out to grab him.
“Stop. We do this wrong and they kill her soon as we’re down there. Think, Danny.”
Danny swallowed and nodded. “You think she’s still alive?”
“Why move her if she was dead?” Victor kept the less positive answers to himself.
“She’s alive or there wouldn’t be a trail,” Garraldi said. “It’s tracking her life force.”
“Alright,” Victor said. “So how do we go in there after her?”
Fannie pointed to Bullock. “He’s the best at cloaking himself. Only Winnie is better.”
Victor looked at the large man. “You up for scouting our path?”
Bullock nodded.
“Then it’s Bullock, Frannie, and me, then Danny and Garraldi. Sound good?”
Everyone nodded.
Victor looked over the edge and into the building’s shell. The foundation’s sides were smooth. The descent would be tricky, at least without someone getting hurt. The last thing they needed was a broken ankle among them.
“Ideas on getting down safely?” Victor asked.
“Lower me down as far as you can and I’ll drop the rest of the way,” Frannie said. “Then Danny. He’s the next lightest. We can help the rest of you drop safely once you lower yourselves over the edge.”
Victor wished they had a line of some kind. But unfortunately, this was their best option. His connection to Winnie had tinned, enough to make him wonder if they were already too late.
Victor nodded. Frannie sat on the edge of the pit and turned to lower herself over the edge. Bullock and Garraldi each lay on the edge, grasping hands with Frannie, extending their arms down as far as they could go.
Frannie dangled about eight feet above the floor. “Drop me, I’ve got this,” she whispered.
“On three,” Garraldi said. “One, two, three.”
The men released their hold on Frannie and she dropped to the floor.
Frannie fell to her hands and knees, then a few seconds later, she stood and waved.
“I’m fine. Send Danny down.”
Danny came next, and then they were both below, helping to break the others’ falls. Once they were all safely on the ground, Victor led them toward the passageway.
But they were stopped by a series of guttural shouts above them.
Victor looked up and had to muffle his own cry.
A group of fifteen winged beasts the size of large dogs were perched around the building’s shell. The largest of them yelped, pointing down at the cornered group.
“Run,” Victor hissed. “It’s a trap!”
But it was too late. The beasts screamed then dove as one.
CHAPTER 31
The pack of flying-dog creatures dove towards them, jaws wide, exposing vicious sets of long, pointed teeth set in a double row lining their mouths. Their wings were feathered and raggedy like a buzzard’s, with hook-like talons extending from the edge of each wing.
Victor brought his rifle to bear on the first of the beasts approaching from above. He fired a burst but missed when he ducked to avoid the snapping, gnashing teeth.
He heard gunshots to his left and right as the others fired wildly at their attackers. All except Bullock, who reached up and pulled one of the beasts into a bear hug. Holding the dog-buzzard with one arm, he reached up with the other and snapped the creature’s neck with a single twisting yank at its muzzle.
Guns were useless for the most part. Frannie was the first to use magic, summoning a burst of white-hot plasma and releasing it at one of the creatures.
The beast burst into a plummeting ball of fire and fell to the floor.
Frannie turned her attacks on others as they flew past her.
Several of the creatures started barking. They were coordinating their efforts by focusing on Frannie—using her magic bolts to drop attackers in a row.
“Keep that up, Frannie! It’s working. We’ll cover you!” Victor waved the others to form a circle around her while she continued to pick off the swooping dog-buzzards one by one.
Garraldi and Bullock fired magic at the creatures, but they lacked Frannie’s finesse and accuracy, making them only marginally successful.
Danny had resorted to firing his rifle in short three-round bursts at anything moving above them.
Victor thumbed the selector to the same setting on his rifle, started doing the same, and was rewarded with a hit on the next pass.
More dog-buzzards joined the attack. While the team had managed to kill or injure nearly a dozen of the beasts, twice that number had taken their place.
“We have to try something else!” Garraldi called. “I’ve got an idea, but you’ll need to cover me and Bullock. We’ll try to raise a shield to keep them away.”
Victor nodded and locked in on his target.
The dog-buzzards doubled their efforts to get at the humans below.
One of the beasts latched its jaws onto Frannie’s arm. She screamed like the skull was being ripped from her head as it dragged her down to the ground.
Danny dropped his empty rifle, pulled out his pistol, and fired five rounds point-blank into the dog-buzzard’s skull.
A series of frustrated screeches and howls turned Victor’s eyes to the sky. The creatures were striking the invisible barrier and yelping with frustration.
But those yelps were drawing more of their kind.
“We can’t keep this up,” Garraldi grunted, out of breath.
“Can you move while you hold it?” Victor asked.
“I think so,” Garraldi said. “But we need to hurry, and I can’t go fast.”
“Just hold them until we make it to the passage. Then we can collapse it behind us. Danny, help Frannie make it to the passage, then bandage that arm. We’re right behind you.”
Danny holstered his pistol and helped Frannie to stand. She cradled her bleeding arm close to her body as she and Danny moved toward the entrance.
Victor walked backward, keeping his rifle trained upwards just in case one of the beasts broke through the shield. They were diving in a succession of blows, talons and teeth gnashing the invisible barrier with every pass.
Garraldi and Bullock backed into the opening, side by side, and blocked the opening.
Victor pulled off his pack and dug inside until he found the door-breaching charges. He had an unconventional idea for their use.
This passage was supported by a timber frame holding the dirt and rock in place. If he could place the charges on a few of those key supports, it should trigger a cave-in and block the way for their pursuers.
Once he had the charges in place, Victor shouted at Garraldi and Bullock. “Give the things a push away from the entrance, then turn around and run past me. Fast as you can.”
The chanters reached out, manipulating the shield enough to deliver an invisible blow to the creatures behind it.
Then they dropped their arms and ran past Victor. He turned to follow, holding the remote detonator behind him and pressing the button with his thumb as he ran.
The resulting explosion knocked him from his feet and hurled him into a cloud of vaporized dirt.
He lay still, clearing his head. Then Victor rolled over and looked back up the passage. Dust cleared, revealing a pile of dirt and rock where the passage had been.
“I sure hope there’s another way out,” Danny said.
Victor started walking. “Not like we had a choice. It was do that or have them chasing us all the way down to wherever Winnie is.”
“I wasn’t complaining, just making an observation.” Danny went back to wrapping a bandage around Frannie’s arm while she continued to wince.
“How bad is it?” Victor asked.
“I’m no mender. She’s going to need stitches eventually, but I stopped the bleeding for now.”
“Good,” Victor said. “Frannie, can you still cast with your arm like that? We might need your skills again soon.”
“I’ll do what needs to be done.”
“Then we’d better hurry on down,” Victor said. “See what’s on the other end. Bullock, Frannie—same plan as before. You two cloak up and take the lead. We’ll follow.”
Frannie and Bullock nodded and started to the front. They cast their cloak spells and faded from view. He could still see they were there from the corner of his eye. When he looked right at them, the air shimmered, like heated air rising from baking pavement.
The two blurry shapes moved down the passage. About ten feet away, Victor could no longer see them in the darkness. He turned on his tactical flashlight to its dimmest setting and started behind them, followed by Danny, with Garraldi taking the rear.
He walked faster, thinking of Winnie, and praying that they weren’t too late.
CHAPTER 32
Maria sq
ueezed both triggers, alternately firing her dual pistols.
The charging Garbarian crumpled to the ground. So did the one behind it.
Her pistols locked open with the slides back, now empty. She ejected the magazines and loaded another two in rapid succession.
“Push them back and finish them,” she shouted to the command unit.
They were still recovering from the surprise attack—a mass of Garbarians crawling out of every manhole cover in sight.
Nearby, a young Duster comm tech wrestled herself out from under a Garbarian body and retrieved a fallen rifle to fire into the mass of rapidly approaching creatures. Some Dusters were recovering from the initial attack, but others—too many—were down and not getting up.
Maria aimed more carefully this time and started taking head shots. She dropped fifteen more with well-timed taps to their sloped foreheads.
That broke enemy momentum long enough for the remainder of Maria’s command team to gather their wits and return fire like the soldiers they were.
It took several minutes but they eventually managed to hunt down every creature in the area and finish it off.
“Get the comm windows back open!” Maria shouted. “I need to know what’s happening.”
Elaine’s mirroring spells had worked for several hours longer than expected. But the new day’s sun had sapped the spells’ power. Kane’s forces redirected their efforts to a concentrated attack on the Dusters’ true positions.
Luckily, Cleaver York arrived with nearly fifteen hundred fresh volunteers. Maria used them to bolster the line while she and Elaine worked on a new strategy to vanquish their enemy. That was when the counterattack spilled from the sewers.
Maria needed to know if the attack had caused enough damage to shift her forces around and compensate for any holes in the line.
As unwounded techs returned to their positions, the comm windows opened and Maria could view the battlefield in real time. Fortunately, the surprise attack had failed to hurt them badly enough to require any on-the-fly decisions.
“Maria,” Elaine called. “Any word from the B-Team?”
“No, and they should have checked in by now.”