by James Axler
“We’ll need to get back to Lomon and the Zambians,” Nathan interjected. “There’s quite a few men who’ll need the power of the staff. And I suppose you’ll take your interphaser back home....”
Kane shook his head.
Grant and Brigid locked their eyes on the Cerberus leader.
“We’re staying. Durga was seduced while we were in our downtime,” Kane explained. “Maybe he was in contact with the entity that trapped us even before I was put into a coma.”
“You never explained what exactly happened during your nap,” Grant said.
Kane grimaced. “There was a creature. It claimed godhood. It called itself the queen, and it pulled Durga and me from our bodies. We beat it, eventually. That’s when we woke up.”
“And you’re concerned that Durga’s going after her?” Brigid asked.
Kane nodded. “The bitch said she was imprisoned. Just like Kakusa had been.”
Brigid frowned. She’d heard the story of the possessing entity, trapped at the bottom of the ocean in a facility called the Tongue of the Ocean, TOTO for short. That entity had the potential to unleash itself as a plague upon the world, despite being trapped in cephalopodlike individual bodies, psychically connected as a hive mind.
That there was such a prisoner here in Africa, able to reach beyond the walls of its tomb and effect Kane...
“Gamal mentioned a queen, as well,” Brigid stated quickly. “She seems to be calling a lot of bad people to her side.”
“Maybe it even had a conversation with North,” Kane mused. “When we first saw her, she was a cloud around him.”
Grant looked around. He then activated his Commtact. “Lomon, Thurpa, any sign of that weasel bastard?”
“None.” Both men answered at once.
“We can’t leave,” Kane said. “We walk away from Africa, we’ll lose Durga’s trail.”
“And how do we track this demon queen?” Grant asked.
Nathan tapped the shaft of Nehushtan. “It’s been guiding me toward you. Toward the people who could figure out what threat woke it up.”
Kane, Grant and Brigid watched as CAT Beta assembled and approached them across the battlefield. There weren’t many remnants of the Panthers of Manosha, only guns, wreckage, and body parts left behind by engorged kongamato.
“We’ll do what we can for Lomon’s injured,” Kane offered. “The six of us owe them that much.”
“And a communication link to Cerberus,” Domi added, jogging the short distance between her team and Kane’s. “We’ve been listening to your conversation.”
“You’ve been quiet about it,” Grant commented.
“We’ll be on call. An interphaser hop away, if necessary,” Sinclair said. “After all, someone has to watch Cerberus and America while you three are running around on the Dark Continent.”
Kane regarded herr, then frowned.
“Sela, this continent is a hell of a lot darker than anyone ever guessed,” Kane finally announced.
The breaking dawn did little to lighten the mood as the Cerberus warriors made their way back to the battered Zambian contingent.
* * *
GAMAL OPENED HIS eyes. He remembered crawling through the grass, especially after pulling the pulped remained of his crushed foot from between chunks of machinery. The same energy field that protected him from incoming gunfire had done little to deal with damage on the underside of a heavily armored truck bed.
And now, he wasn’t certain where he was.
All he could see were shadowy figures. There was little light with which to make out details.
It looked as if he was surrounded by men in hoods. And there were a dozen of them.
One stepped closer, crouching before Gamal as he fought his way to a seated position. A click, and a small LED light turned on, illuminating Durga’s reptilian features. Gamal winced at the nearness of the Nagah prince, and his wicked smile.
The glow from his tiny torch seared Gamal’s eyes. It took a few moments, but finally they became accustomed to the glow.
It turned out the men’s hoods were not made of cloth.
They were all Nagah, just like Durga.
“Are you going to kill me?” Gamal asked.
Durga’s wicked smile continued, unabated. “Neekra still has some fondness for you, despite your failure.”
Gamal looked down. He saw his leg ended in a heavy, crudely wrapped bandage.
“Do not worry about your impairment,” Durga said, standing once again. “Neekra will provide for you.”
Gamal breathed a sigh of relief. “Really?”
Durga winced. “I’m sorry. I got that all backward.”
Something cold brushed its fingers across Gamal’s skull. Icy chill burned his scalp, digging into his brain. The Manoshan warlord suddenly began to thrash.
His screams filled the air, his skin changing from deep ebony to a ruddy, rusty crimson.
“You will provide sufficient biomass to take care of Neekra’s impairment,” Durga added.
Pain sliced through every nerve in Gamal’s body.
“After all, what good is a queen who is simply a waking dream? Isn’t that right, love?” Durga asked.
Gamal felt his lips move. But he heard a woman’s voice speak.
“That is correct, my king.”
Gamal wanted to scream, but nothing came out. His senses fell away, and the African warlord was no more.
In his place was a demoness.
“Now, let us hurry to my city, before this body burns out,” Neekra said.
Durga nodded. “Yes, my queen.”
* * * * *
Don’t miss the exciting conclusion in NECROPOLIS, coming May 2014.
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ISBN-13: 9781460325964
WINGS OF DEATH
Copyright © 2014 by Worldwide Library
Special thanks to Douglas Wojtowicz for his contribution to this work.
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