Advent: Book 3 of The Summer Omega Series (Summer Omrga)

by JK Cooper

  You will get to. That coin in your pocket isn’t really a coin. It’s a complex weaving of spells with instructions for the sentient fire. The king intends to forge something for you.

  She rubbed at the silver token in her pocket again, feeling the ridges of the design that resembled a circuit board, if the ancient Celts had created circuit boards. Huh, cool.

  You modern women are so hard to impress.

  She smiled. That’s true. So, where’s this portal thing?

  Demon gate. I assume there. Athena felt him gesture forward with his nose.

  You know I can’t really see where you’re pointing, right?

  He chuckled. You know where I’m pointing though, even if you can’t see it.

  And she did. She looked to where the two guards at the center of the cavern stared. It was where her guide also gazed.

  The Fae woman spoke. “She’s here at the king’s request. Reveal it. We’re going through.” She held out her hand to one of the guards where the king had stamped a silver tree.

  The guard nodded. A gash of fire appeared at the center of the room, gold electricity sparking off the edges. The center rippled, like a pond in the breeze. It had a mirror-like quality, reflecting Athena’s astonished face, while also revealing the red sky and black earth on the far side.

  The Fae nodded at her. “Be prepared. There may be demons waiting on the far side, though we believe they moved on to another part of Alsvoira.” She stepped through.

  Demons may be waiting?

  Ptyas chuckled, but there was no humor in it. Why do you think they call it a demon gate? They made these after we abandoned Alsvoira, trying to follow.

  Athena hesitated, knowing this was no smoke or spiderwebbed illusion. She would be on another world once she stepped through.

  Look who’s finally impressed, Ptyas chided.

  She smiled. I feel like an astronaut, or part of SG1. Her scythe appeared in her hand.

  Athena stuck it into the portal. Her hand tingled, turned cold, and then went entirely numb. She yelped and pulled it back. Her hand returned fine, warm and whole. This is safe, right?

  Ptyas shrugged his wolf shoulders inside her. Depends on if the demons really moved on.

  Athena held her breath and stepped through.

  She lost all feeling in her body for a few seconds and then staggered out onto sharp black sand, choking on the cold, sulfurous air. An astronaut sent to explore icy hell. In many ways that’s exactly what Alsvoira has become, Ptyas replied. Though the residents do seem to be elsewhere.

  The smell was terrible. “Sometimes I wish I could turn this off.” Kale held one of his cleanest t-shirts over his face. “Tell me we’re close.”

  The driver looked over his shoulder. “Maybe two miles.” He sniffed. “It’s not great, but it’s not that bad.”

  “You’re human. You can’t smell it, not really. When we got close to the lake, I could smell the salt and water. Now it’s all rot, decay, death.” Kale pulled his shirt away. “Want a lesson on how the Lycan nose works?”

  The man shook his head.

  “Too bad. The lake doesn’t really smell, but they’re pumping wastewater into it near here. Know how I know this?” Kale walked up right behind the driver.

  The man remained silent.

  “Because I can smell the waste in it. Wrap your head around that for a second and imagine what that means.”

  Kale could see the look of disgust reflected in the windshield. “Exactly. Gross. On top of that I can pick out the scents coming off the bacteria that bloom and then die off in the salty water. I can tell this is choking off the nutrients and killing the brine shrimp too, which brings in flies. I can almost hear the flies!”

  The driver grunted. “I smell rotten eggs. Is that part of it?”

  Kale built up a new rant in his head about how that was sulfur from the bacteria, not anything to do with eggs, but as a car passed them on the left, the bus shuddered and the engine in the back made a screeching sound as metal tore. The bus came to a stop as the lights went out. “Maybe threw a belt?”

  “Sounded worse than a belt. Something else.”

  Lights came on inside the bus as people pulled out flashlights or lit up their phones, the few who still had battery life remaining.

  Shelby took his hand and squeezed, her own hand clammy. She leaned into him in a pleasant way, but hissed in his ear. “The demon is here. Can’t you feel it?”

  Kale couldn’t, but he didn’t want to tell her that. He went rigid. “Where?”

  In the flickering light of moving flashlights, she closed her eyes and pointed down. “Storage.”

  “Bubba, Francis, Sean, with me. Let’s take a look at the engine.” Kale didn’t want to alarm too many of his pack just yet.

  “Chelsea, Amanda, Genn, Bryanne, with me. Let’s take a quick inventory, in case we need to walk from here.” Shelby gave him a scared smile. “The girls here kick gluteus too.”

  Kale nodded. “Didn’t mean anything by excluding you. I welcome the help. I’m sure you all kick mechanical and inventorial gluteus.” Demon gluteus too, he thought.

  “And don’t forget it.”

  They filled in their volunteers quietly after stepping down the stairs and off the bus, making a loose plan to open the storage door, see what they were dealing with, and either hit it with all they had, or call the rest of the pack out to fight with them. Kale felt a group of Feral several miles out. He sent a call for them to move closer.

  Bubba pulled out a candy bar and began devouring it. “Know what I really wish I had right now?”

  Kale put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, still surprised at the iron cable like muscles he found there. “Your momma’s fried chicken?”

  “Dang straight! Nothing like a plate of crispy chicken when you’re about to tangle with a demon for the first time. Oscar’s worried.” He pointed to the window where the outline of a wiener dog could be seen backlit by flashlights. A whine reached them through the glass.

  “We’ll be fine,” Kale said it with more confidence than he felt. “Ready?” That question was for all of them.

  He looked from face to face, getting a silent nod from each. “Okay. Let’s do this. Which one, Shelby?”

  She pointed. “It’s there.”

  Kale stepped toward the bus. “I’ll open it.”

  “No, I’ll not let my Alpha put himself in needless danger.” Francis stepped forward faster and pulled the handle. He jumped back as the hydraulics lifted the hatch.

  Bryanne shined a flashlight inside.

  Bits of luggage sat with blankets, a cardboard box with lentils and a few cans inside, and a tent that hadn’t been packed well, canvas bulging out of a zipper. A silver pellet zipped into the box, sending lentils flying, but nothing else moved.

  “Just making sure.” Bubba recalled the pellet. “I don’t see nothing. Can demons go invisible? Are we dealing with them ninja demons?”

  Bryanne traced her hand through the air, leaving a streak of crimson light. It shot away from her and into the storage area, breaking into a million dots of light that hung in the air or spotted the supplies inside. She staggered, but pushed Genn’s hand away. “I only held enough magic to do that one spell. I’m okay. It’s definitely in there, but it seems to be in pieces.”

  Kale allowed himself a breath of relief. “It’s dead then?”

  Shelby held up her scythe, glowing bright red. “No, it’s very much alive. It’s hiding.” She slashed at one of the bright dots. It shattered and went dark. “Not enough?” She slashed another and another. Ten went dark in quick succession as her blade flew through the space with Lycan enhanced speed and grace.

  The lights shot together.

  Amanda screamed and tripped backward over a loose rock. She didn’t hit the ground. She stopped inches from the ground and then tipped forward to her feet. “Thanks, Bubba.”

  “I won’t let nothing happen to that sweet backside.”

  “Gross and kinda tende
r.”

  “Focus, you two.” Chelsea hissed as her hands ran through complicated gestures. Amanda did the same. Sean joined them.

  Kale hoped the spell to protect their magic worked. The Wiccans had been practicing it all day, but Chelsea said it only partially worked. I’ll take any advantage we can get.

  The demon materialized amid flames as boxes of supplies caught fire next to its smoldering body. The bulk of the beast more than filled the storage area. Black eyes stared, wings curled, claws tore into the flooring, and talons braced against the sidewall.

  It bellowed, sharp black teeth dripping green saliva that sizzled in the flames sparked by molten skin. And it crawled out, fast as lightning.

  Kale shifted and pounced, knocking the creature against the side of the bus. It rocked violently. Faces appeared in the windows. So much for keeping this quiet. He slashed and bit and whined as his teeth slammed into what felt like concrete.

  Another wolf attacked it from the other side. Francis fared no better. His claws and teeth doing no damage. Kale dodged a swipe at his belly from one of the talons. The sharp claws still scraped against armor with enough force to vibrate his bones. The armor wasn’t flickering in and out of existence, which meant Chelsea’s spell was helping.

  Another slash sent Francis flying backward. The sub-Alpha lay silent, but sent Kale a message that he was hurt, but healing. Genn took his place, snarling as she bit at what would be the softer, vulnerable parts of most animals. They proved hard and impenetrable. Genn’s teeth didn’t even break the thin skin of its wings.

  It slashed at her neck. Kale jumped, knocking his mother to the side, his face shifting into something closer to human that formed raspy, growled words. “Now, Bubba!”

  Silver pellets flew like bullets, whizzing through the air. A few bounced off. One chipped a spine at the beast’s elbow. Several others melted and spattered against scaly red skin to drip down molten muscles to fall ineffectual to the ground.

  Genn licked the wound on her ribs that would have destroyed her neck. It was healing slower than it should.

  That was close, Kale said.

  I’ll be fine, his mother said. Get back to the battle.

  Shelby spun forward, half shifted. Her scythe sliced through the air.

  Kale turned away from his mother to watch his girlfriend fight. Please work.

  The blade cut into a pectoral muscle, exposing red blood that flowed like lava down its chest. It bellowed again and pushed Shelby hard with a claw in her chest. Shelby slid across gravel, but kept her feet. It unfurled its wings and began flapping hard. The wind pushed everyone else back. It opened its mouth wide.

  Kale felt his armor thin around him.

  “No you don’t.” Bryanne lifted her hands, her eyes red. A whip of sizzling light appeared in her hand, dotted with golden leaves. With a flick of her wrist it wrapped around the beast’s maw, closing it. Another whip appeared in her other hand. “We can’t let it get into the air.” She sent the second to wrap around a wing. She pulled.

  “I’m on it.” Shelby’s voice was deep and raspy as she ran forward. Her scythe tore through the thin material of the lashed wing. The other wing flapped wildly, slapping against Shelby and knocking her to the ground. She rolled to her feet and prepared to dash in again.

  The demon glared at Bryanne as it calmed itself, squatting low.

  Bryanne swore as it jumped, pulling the whips and the Druid into the air with it. Bryanne fell and slammed into the ground, scattering gravel. She let go of the vine-like restraints.

  The demon tore the whip from its mouth with razored black claws and shoved it inside. The wound on its chest healed.

  It forced open the damaged wing, the second restraint ripping to illuminated pieces. It opened its maw toward the broken magic. Glowing fragments flew toward the gaping mouth. Behind it, people were coming off the bus to watch or try to help.

  Kale lifted a clawed hand, shifting more. “Stay back.”

  Shelby slashed into the exposed side of the beast’s neck, cutting deep. A claw flew sideways, catching Shelby in the waist. She spun through the air and landed hard. Kale ran to her side, wolf once more. You okay?

  She shifted too, to heal faster. Armor took most of it. Just knocked the wind out. Couldn’t let it fly away.

  The demon bellowed. Stolen magic healed the more dire neck wound, leaving the wing damaged. It screeched at the group of attackers and said something in a guttural language, spitting acidic saliva.

  Bryanne stood on shaky legs and created another whip. “You’ve got that right. It won’t be as easy as you hoped to steal what she has.”

  Shelby stood too, shifting back to human now that her ribs healed. “You understand that thing?”

  Bryanne cracked her whip. “Unfortunately. It called you some names there aren’t even translations for.”

  “Let’s teach it some manners.” Shelby snarled as she strafed around the creature, scythe glowing red and held at eye level between them. Her eyes changed from amber to a matching red as Druid magic filled her.

  The demon sniffed the air, growled something, kicked gravel at Shelby, forcing her to duck, and ran off into the dark.

  Everyone gaped at where it had been. Retreat didn’t seem to be a demonic attribute.

  Shelby coughed and sucked in more air, her teeth stained with blood from her fall. “We have it on the run?”

  Bryanne curled her whip in on itself. “No. It said something about there being other magic nearby it could use against us.”

  Kale cocked his head to the side, listening to the crunch of gravel as the demon ran into the night. There was another sound in the background, thumping and pulsing. “Music. There’s a concert or a dance or something happening not far from here.” There was a hint of sweat and artificial smoke in the air, along with a chemical tang Kale recognized from cutting a glow stick open as a kid. “Maybe a rave.”

  Shelby stared off into the dark, the red draining from her amber eyes. “There are hundreds of people there, happy, excited, enjoying the music. We have to protect them. It will cut through humans like paper.”

  Kale shifted and sent out directions. We go after the monster together. Let the smaller group lead, but be ready to jump in. We’ll also need anyone with medical training to stay human and help any wounded we find. Spread the word to the non-Lycan members of our pack.

  He ran, feeling Shelby sending out her own version of instructions as she shifted and followed. His courage got a boost, despite the worry inside him, as his paws padded along the chilled pavement of the freeway exit toward the lake. He hit a hot patch where the demon must have stepped, tar sticking to fur. That thing almost killed Francis and my mother, and all we’ve really managed to do is clip one wing. The wounds it leaves heal like they were made with silver.

  But we can hurt it, Shelby said. We know it. It knows it.

  We? Pretty sure you’re the only one of us who can.

  Maybe, but I still need your help.

  The sound of music grew louder. Then the screams began.

  Kale ran faster, pushing his body to the limits.

  Shelby matched his speed.

  It wasn’t Theo’s best show, but it was on track to be in the top five, despite all his concerns and the recent situation of the world going nuts. The distraction was good. Maybe that’s why all these people are here too, trying to escape the madness outside and just feel purely human for a second. To forget. To feel safe and alive.

  He transitioned to another track, dancing along to the beat with the crowd, and a demon fell from the ceiling to land in the middle of the crowd, tossing several dancers to the side with its bulk. Theo stopped dancing and sneered. The little creature that came through the portal had grown.

  It clawed at a group nearby, slashing someone across the ribs. Another girl fell, holding her cheek.

  The crowd parted, panicked teens running for the exits, trampling one another, the screams louder than the music for a moment. But a large chunk of
the crowd stood and stared, perhaps thinking it was planned. Theo pulled the cord between his laptop and the soundboards. The music died. He spoke through the mic. “This is not part of my show. Make your way calmly to the exits.” People froze. Of course, that made sense. Idiot humans. “Go!”

  They began to move again, faster, but more organized. Theo aided their departure with his magic, creating patterns in the crowd that reduced the likelihood of trampling and injury. A few teens huddled near the demon’s feet.

  “Get the injured out of here!”

  A man turned back, braving the demon to help lift the bleeding and broken. The demon lumbered toward him. Theo concentrated his magic directly above the beast, the patterns in the smoke becoming firm, distinct, and complex. The demon stopped chasing the man and focused on the magic-infused fog, mouth full of obsidian teeth gaping wide.

  Tendrils of light left the fog and flowed into the beastly mouth that dribbled green saliva. The patterns fell apart above it. It lumbered after another group of helpers who were lifting a girl dressed all in black whom Theo hoped wasn’t dead. That didn’t last as long as I’d hoped. He poured more magic into the fog, feeling it leave him. Can’t keep this up all night. There wasn’t a finite supply of magic inside him, but it took energy to shift entropy. He’d pass out at some point if he didn’t stop the beast.

  His quiver was in the Vespa. He needed the crowd safe before he made a break for it. The demon devoured his magic in seconds again. It stalked toward the stragglers. “I wish Alec was here.” Fizz came to his aid, zipping around the monster and bumping into it. Massive clawed hands swatted at the wisp, but Fizz was too agile, dodging around the hands and slapping them.

  The demon, snarling with what Theo swore was frustration, opened its mouth wide. Fizz slowed as tendrils of light pulled away from its flaming body.

  “Get out of there, Fizz. It’ll break your containment spells.” But Theo’s friend was moving sluggishly, spurts of colored flames leaking out of the blue. “No!”

  A light ripped away from the ceiling and slammed into the demon’s open maw hard enough to send the beast staggering backward. Fizz darted away. Theo blinked down from his perch, confused.