by S. J. Bryant
"What about the dogs?"
"No good. The canine unit is terrified of the lecheons. They won't even go near the entrance to this place."
"Shame. Okay, I'm ready when you are," Nova said. She patted the gun at her side. It was older than the one she usually carried, and had been specially fitted with wooden bullets.
"Alright, let's move out," Briggles said and gestured to his men.
***
Nova crept forward with her gun held out in front, a strong torch attached to the top, shining a steady light out before her. The dark tunnel was lined on the floor, walls and ceiling with steel to avoid any specs of wood. The metal reflected her flashlight and echoed with her clanging footsteps.
To the right and just in front of Nova was Briggles. A senior officer, Johnny, followed close behind. The information from the hotel had led them here, to a diplomatic building with a lecheon wing. Based on the schematics, they had broken into groups of three that would sweep through each room until they found the coven.
Nova's back tingled. They were in lecheon territory, without a doubt. Even the occasional painting decorating the walls was from the lecheon home-world. They showed people and animals being sucked dry and lecheons rising up above the other creatures.
Nova's quickened breath matched that of her companions. She tried to level it, to take the shake out of each of her gasps but it was useless. Her heart and lungs were out of control. Her entire body was poised, ready to run or fight.
The pool of light cast by her torch and those of her two companions glimmered, but beyond that there was just darkness. It came in close to the light, consuming it, eating away at it. Nova's mind raced as her imagination filled the darkness with monsters. Perhaps the lecheons were lying in wait right now, just outside her circle of light. Her neck tingled as she imagined them sizing her up from the shadows.
Nova shook her head and her torch quivered in response. She couldn't get distracted. Her very life might depend on her staying focused. Now was not the time to be overcome with fear. She steeled herself against the possibilities and focused on what was actually real. It was only then, when she gave herself a job to do, that she managed to reign in her racing heart.
"They've been here," Nova whispered. She nodded down to the floor. Spaced every few feet across the metal were bloody footsteps. It looked as if someone with bare feet had stepped into a vat of red paint and then walked the dark corridors.
"They're injured," Briggles said with certainty.
Nova nodded slowly, she didn't voice the other possibility; that they'd fed.
They followed the bloodied footsteps further into the labyrinth.
"Team one through six, do you copy? Has there been any contact? Over," Briggles spoke into his communicator. They hadn't heard anything from the other teams. It could mean that they hadn't encountered anything, or it could mean they were all dead.
The silence dragged on for what felt like a lifetime. Nova found herself holding her breath, begging for a voice to answer from the other end of the line. If all the other teams were dead, it would only mean that she was next.
"Copy that Inspector. We're all clear on our end. Team One out."
"Same here. Team Two out."
Nova breathed a sigh of relief. The teams continued to respond to the roll call. They were all there and yet none of them had seen anything. They hadn't even seen bloody footsteps. Nova kept walking. She stayed in a perpetual semi-crouch, ready to duck, jump or dive in any direction at a moment's notice.
"How much further do you think?" she asked. It was impossible to tell distance in this damned place.
"Not much further and we'll be in the real living quarters," Briggles whispered. "Weapons at the ready."
He was right. Not twenty metres later they stepped out of the tunnel and into a wider common room. Nova's torch lit up furniture, a plush couch sat in one corner, and a computer terminal set into one wall. A food generator sat near the kitchen. The footprints traced through the room, weaving amongst the furniture and going deeper into the darkness.
Tanks and cages lined the walls. Nova's torch lit up long-dead carcasses in the bottom of the cages. Her face scrunched up at the sight.
"What the hell?" she asked, appalled.
"Live food," Briggles replied.
"That's disgusting. How can that be allowed?"
"Diplomatic immunity." Briggles shrugged. "Politicians always get away with more than they should."
The empty sockets of a dog's skull stared at Nova from the nearest cage. The rest of its bones lay in a heap as if the creature had died cowering.
Nova shook the horror from her mind and followed the footprints. Briggles and Johnny did the same. The metal floor turned into carpet and masked their footsteps. They were wrapped in silence, overpowered only by the complete darkness.
The footsteps disappeared.
Nova came to a halt at the last footprint and scanned around with her torch. There were no more to be seen. The corridor forked into two and there was no way to tell which path to take. She looked over her shoulder and her heart stopped. Briggles and the officer weren't there.
Her heart burst in her chest and pounded into overdrive. Her breath came faster and adrenalin shot up from her heart into her neck and face. Her ears pounded with the blood pumping through them and her vision became narrowed, focused.
She moved in a very slow circle. She took the time to study every piece of furniture and every centimetre of carpet. A sudden reaction could be fatal. She just had to keep calm. There was nothing, could see nothing –
"Boo."
Nova's scream was choked off by a hand around her neck and another clamped over her mouth. A strong body stepped up behind her, pressing against her back.
She lifted her gun, meaning to shoot it over her shoulder, but before she could pull the trigger her attacker's fist bashed her forearm. The force of it made her arm seize. Her fingers clenched in and then flexed out, her gun dropping to the ground. Her eyes flew wide and she struggled against her captor.
"You smell even better than last time," Corvus whispered in her ear. She'd recognise his voice anywhere. Dammit! Where was Briggles? She writhed against his tight hold but couldn't get free.
Corvus's breath tickled in her ear. His moist breath floated over her cheek and into her nose. It smelt of blood, but something else as well. Rocks. That's what it was, his breath tasted like stone.
"You're going to make quite the tasty treat. Much nicer than those fatty officers anyway," Corvus said. His leach-tongue came out and slid along Nova's collar-bone.
She shivered and her stomach heaved at the gross invasion. The cool air of the underground complex wafted over the wet trail, leaving a chill. Nova forced her mind to concentrate, willing herself to focus. Her arms were mostly free to move; there had to be a way to break free from him.
Nova breathed in through her nostrils. She filled her chest with as much air as it would hold and then opened her mouth and bit down. Corvus's finger caught between her teeth and she gnashed down.
He cried out with pain and his grip loosened.
It was just enough.
Nova ducked down and forward, breaking free of his hold. She scrambled on the ground for her gun, but couldn't find it. She leapt to her feet and ran through the pitch darkness, one hand tracing along the wall. Her heart pounded. She knew that Corvus would be able to see her as if they were standing under the brightest sun.
Nova reached into her left sleeve and pulled out a sharpened wooden stick with a deadly point. She was careful to hold it directly in front of her body, where Corvus wouldn't be able to see it.
She could hear him pounding after her.
"You little bitch. I'll make you pay for everything you've done," he roared, his footsteps pounding closer.
Nova felt a whoosh of air and ducked to her right. Corvus flew past her, his fingers bent like claws and his mouth wide open. As he sailed past, Nova thrust out with the sharpened stick and plunged it into
his ribs. The wood sunk in with a fountain of blood.
Corvus cried out and stopped his mad dash. He clutched his left hand to his chest and ripped out the wooden spike. He wrapped his other hand around the wound but blood leaked from between his fingers. He glared at the wound with his mouth open.
Nova didn't wait a second longer. She sprinted down the corridor, following the barest glimmer of sunshine. It gave off just enough light for her to see Corvus's body slide down the wall to the floor.
She ran.
She pelted faster until her breath was nothing more than exhausted gasps. It felt like she'd been running forever and yet there was still no sign of Briggles or the others. She sprinted through the rooms and corridors; always going towards the glimmer of light which got brighter the closer she got.
She reached a set of stairs. They led up towards the surface and at the very top was a glowing rectangle of light. She didn't hesitate and rushed up the stairs, bursting out of the doorway and into the open air. She stumbled to a stop and leant forward, allowing her lungs to catch up with her breathing.
There were people all around. They were police officers, the same ones who had gone down into the lecheon hideout. They looked exhausted. Their eyes were wide open, haunted.
"Nova! Nova, thank goodness!"
Nova glanced up in time to see Inspector Briggles running through the press of people. His stomach bobbed up and down with his movement. He was red-faced and puffing frantically. He got to her side and heaved in and out, his chest wheezing.
"What the hell happened down there?" Nova demanded, furious that she'd been left behind.
"An ambush. They were ready for us. I think the phone number was left at the Helliot on purpose," Briggles said, rubbing his temples.
"I meant where the hell were you? I turned around and suddenly you're gone," Nova panted.
"We didn't have a choice. One of those things jumped down in front of us. We lost Johnny," Briggles looked down at his feet.
Some of Nova's anger melted away. The officer, Johnny, had been an honourable veteran. Now he was just a bloodless meat-bag. She sighed and slammed her fist against her empty holster.
"We lost six good men. The others at least were able to get out," Briggles said, his voice catching in his throat.
Nova nodded.
"Damn lecheons!" Briggles hands curled into fists. "You know if the Human Confederacy would get off their arses and actually monitor them, we wouldn't have these problems."
"Well the Confederacy isn't going to help us now," Nova said.
"You've got that damn right." Briggles nodded, some of the air returning to his body. "Four reports I've sent them. Recommendations on how to track lecheon activity, provisions for offenders, everything they needed to fix the problem. You know what they did with it?"
Nova shook her head, but could guess.
"They filed it away never to be seen again. Worried about appearing 'speciest' or something. Well, I'd like to let a few lecheons loose in the inner galaxy, then see how quick they change the policy."
"Inspector." Briggles's tirade was stopped by Doctor Dunwood. He shambled over to them, the book tucked under his arm and a furrow splitting his brow.
"Doctor, I really don't have time for lecheon trivia. If something doesn't happen soon, we're going to have a real situation on our hands."
"Of course, Inspector, but I've found something you might need." Doctor Dunwood looked at them, his eyes flicking between Nova and Briggles.
"Well? Do I have to throttle it out of you?" Briggles said. His face was still red, although Nova suspected it was more from anger and frustration than from exhaustion.
"No, sir. It's just that at the moment the underground is their domain; it's dark, we may as well be fighting them at night time."
"Very good, Dunwood. Why are you telling me things I already know?" Briggles wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and looked up at the thin doctor.
"I just mean that if we can find a way to get light in there then things will be back in our favour."
"I already knew that," Briggles said with a resigned sigh. "The problem is we don't have any way to get enough light in there. Our torches aren't enough and there are so many tunnels and turns we could never get a light to shine everywhere."
"Maybe not, but what if it was enough to light up say, the main corridors. From there your men could shine their torches into the side rooms and check for lecheons."
Briggles frowned and looked over his officers. They were scared and worried.
"I don't know if they'll go back down there."
Nova grunted and kicked the ground with her left foot. "It's not their decision. You're the Inspector. Now is as good a time as any. I think Corvus is injured, maybe even fatally."
"What?" Briggles and Dunwood turned to look at her with their mouths hanging open.
"I managed to get him with a wooden spike," Nova said with a shrug.
"If their coven leader is down, then it's the best time to strike!" Dunwood said.
"You're right," Briggles said with a decisive nod. "I'll get every—"
The ground rumbled and heaved beneath them. The dirt all around them lifted as if it was caught by a wave and Nova was thrown into the air. When she fell back down, she landed with her knees bent and managed to stay on her feet.
Some of the others weren't so prepared. They sprawled across the ground, their arms and legs splayed, their bodies landing with dull thuds. Some cried out in pain as elbows and hips were thrown against the dirt.
The well-manicured lawn had suddenly become an uneven tumble of dirt and grass, lying in dips and ridges, and chaos erupted.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"My lord! What happened?" Selene cried as Corvus stumbled down the corridor.
Corvus groaned but didn't say anything. He clutched the bloody wound in his chest. It oozed blood and his shirt and arm were stained red with it. Pain radiated out from the wound, pumping to every extremity of his body with each beat of his heart. He felt the poison spreading. For the moment it was confined to his upper chest but it wouldn't be long before it took over the rest of his body.
Selene glanced at his wound. "Oh," she whispered.
Corvus didn't need to look. He knew how bad it was; if the pain wasn't enough, Selene's face said it all. He ignored her and kept shuffling down the corridor. Selene fell into step beside him and without a word slipped her arm around his waist, taking some of his weight. He breathed through his nose in an effort to keep calm, to slow his heart rate, and stop the poison from spreading so quickly.
He walked with Selene through the hotel. What the inspectors hadn't found was the adjoining tunnel. The lecheons had been busy in their time on Boullion Five. There were tunnels snaking through the whole city. They could take a traveller almost anywhere, if that traveller knew what he was doing.
"Set it off," he whispered.
"Are you sure?" Selene said, her eyes were wide, "Not everyone has been accounted for."
Corvus gritted his teeth. "Set it off. They're not coming."
Selene nodded and slipped her arm out from around Corvus's waist. She turned back the way they had come and her footsteps disappeared down the corridor. Corvus continued forward on his own. He pushed himself as hard as he could; he couldn't afford to go any slower. Angry blood pumped through his face as he thought of his coven. They should have waited for him! But no, he'd given them the instruction to retreat to their hideout if things got bad.
Things had got bad.
"Come on. We've got to make it to the end of this tunnel," Selene said as she sprinted back down the corridor after him. She grabbed hold of his arm and pulled.
Corvus winced at the pain that shot through his body from her touch. He didn't curse her; she was right. They had to get moving out of this place or they would die anyway. He hobbled down the corridor. The bend was just in sight. A few more feet and they would be in safety. Just a little further.
The ground heaved.
A deep boom rocketed through the catacombs and Corvus hurtled forward, slamming into the opposite wall. Selene went with him and their bodies toppled over one another. He ducked his head in close to his chest and kept his left hand locked around his chest. The worst thing he could do was let go of that wound. Without the pressure the wood residue would see him dead in no time.
After a few seconds the ground calmed down. The rumbling slowed and Corvus's ears began to recover from the initial blast. He struggled onto his knees and then pushed himself back to his feet. The tunnel ahead was still clear.
"At least the explosives still work," Selene said, using the wall to haul herself up.
They staggered on down the tunnel.
The explosives would keep the inspectors busy while he and his coven made escape plans. They had a hard choice. They could give up now, leave Boullion Five and go back to the home-world or one of the far-outer galaxies; or they could make a stand here. Staying would be a risky choice; Byzant's coven could reappear at any moment and the bitch helping the inspectors was good; too good.
Corvus groaned as another burst of pain shot into his limbs. Why was he worrying about their decision when the odds were good that he wouldn't even make it back to the hideout? The poison was already seeping out of his wound and into other regions of his body. There was almost no cure for a wood poisoning this severe. The shallow ones could be dealt with; his immune system would take care of it. But a deep chest wound was usually fatal.
"Just a little further," Selene said, laying her hand on Corvus's back.
He glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye. "You know you make a good leader," he whispered. "Why didn't you fight to be prime female?"
Selene shrugged and a sad smile split her face. "Would you have chosen me if I had?"
Corvus was quiet as he thought on that. "Probably not; Laticia and I were meant to be."