ALLIANCE (Descendants Saga)

by James Somers

  So, his daughter had come to be captured. He had wondered when something like this might happen. Hoping it wouldn’t had not prevented it. Her possessing Malak-esh had not stopped it. Brody sighed. He was her father. Trap or not, he had no choice.

  Cole was not there with him. In a way, he was glad of that fact. If he was about to go to his death, then he did not want to risk the young man’s life along with his own. But he wouldn’t go without a word either.

  Brody appeared inside the house again. He scrawled a hasty message: Sadie in danger. Adolf has her.

  This would be enough. He had made preparation years ago. In the event of his death, Malak-esh would go to Cole. There was no one else worthy to wield the weapon.

  Brody made a change of clothing with his mind. From work shirt and jeans, his dress changed to dark pants, boots, a dark shirt and a black duster. He had not gone into battle in years, but he had kept up on his skills. Malak-esh seemed to be waiting to be freed. It soon would be.

  Karlheinz had ordered the doors shut at the Reich Chancellery bunker, also known as the Fuhrerbunker. He turned to his new wife, Eva. They had married only days ago. However, since he had long before assumed the role and life of his leader, Adolf Hitler, she would be known as having married him. Karlheinz had ceased to exist long ago.

  He kissed his wife and poured wine for them. She was talking, asking him what they would do now. How long would the Allies be kept at bay here in the bunker? Did he have a means of escape planned?

  Karl could only smile and nod, handing her the glass of wine he had prepared for her. She took the glass, looking into his eyes. The noise of battle in Berlin was kept at bay down here.

  “Are you sure we shouldn’t leave Germany?” she asked.

  Karl sat beside her with a glass of wine in his hand also. “Do you trust me, my love?”

  “Of course, darling,” she said.

  He closed his eyes, sighing, then opened them again to look at her. “Then do not worry. I have planned our escape.”

  Eva nodded, sitting back on the couch. She brought the glass to her lips and drew the wine into her mouth and swallowed. Karl closed his eyes again.

  Within seconds, he heard the glass drop from her hands. There was a slight gurgling deep within her throat. Karl did not open his eyes until she became still.

  Even then, he did not look at her face. He wanted the final memory of his wife to be of her alive. The poison had twisted her expression. He did not want to see her this way.

  He stood and crossed the room. Bombs thumped down upon buildings far across Berlin. The Allies were coming. His Fuhrer’s command had been specific. It was time to obey his master.

  He opened his center desk drawer and withdrew his Walther PPK 7.65. He walked back to the sofa, deferring from looking directly at Eva’s drawn figure. He sat upon the couch on her right. Placing the gun to his temple, he fired a single shot.

  Adolf did not know when his doppelganger, Karlheinz, killed his wife and himself in Berlin. It did not matter. He had made the arrangement months ago when it became clear that the Allies would take Berlin. The thought planted in Karlheinz’s mind, Adolf had known that he would carry out the plan to the letter without reservation. Such was his power as being descended from sprites.

  Even his Anna would obey his every word. Only his death could break the spell he had upon her mind. But with Malak-esh in his possession, his death was distant in his thoughts now.

  Yes, Lucifer had said that Brody West would come. But Adolf did not fear this man now. Not when the odds had been turned in his favor. After all, what was the great fear that everyone had held for the man? That sword. It and it alone had almost guaranteed that no one could defeat him. Not anymore.

  The bunker he had built here at the Berghof would provide the perfect place for him to end this matter once and for all with West. It had been a long time coming. Adolf had failed to kill the man and avenge his own father. He had been robbed of that opportunity. Now, he had another chance. He meant not to waste it.

  “I want you to go,” Adolf said to Mengele.

  The doctor turned from the girl. Sadie was lying on a gurney. There Mengele had strapped her down and given her what Adolf had provided to keep the girl sedated.

  “But this will kill her,” Mengele had said.

  “No,” Adolf had assured him. “She is a Lycan. Poison Dart frog venom is just the thing to keep her down for as long as I need.”

  Mengele walked to him, watching Adolf with the sword in his hands. “The blood, it worked,” he said.

  Adolf held Malak-esh in his hands, admiring the weapon’s mercurial blade. His hands were stained crimson red with Sadie’s blood. She had been kept alive, but enough had been taken to coat his hands and the hilt of the sword. It would comply with anyone holding it, for now.

  “Go away?” the doctor asked. “Why? Where?”

  “I have a portal construct in place. It was made for me by some of the best spell casters still living.”

  “I don’t know,” Josef said. “I am a man of science. I don’t understand all of these mystical things that happen around you. I wouldn’t know how to—”

  “You don’t need to know,” Adolf said. “I can send you anywhere. Japan would be best. You are known. If the Allies find you, they will kill you. Take the virus to our allies in Japan.”

  “They will not let me keep it, if they find it on me,” Josef said.

  “I’m not sending you to the Imperial Command,” Adolf explained. “I was thinking Hiroshima. Take the virus there. If it becomes clear that Japan will fall then I want you to unleash it.”

  “In Japan?”

  “Only if the Allies are going to take it,” Adolf said. “When they invade the island, they will take the disease back with them. It will spread. You have been vaccinated. I’m safe and Anna and my unborn child are safe.”

  Josef stared at him for a long moment. “And if you don’t survive this?”

  Adolf glared at him. “I have no intention of losing.”

  Josef said nothing.

  “However,” Adolf continued, “if I die here today, then the world will burn.”

  “But I—”

  Adolf stared into Josef’s eyes, taking hold of the man’s mind with his own. “You do understand my orders don’t you, Josef?”

  Josef gazed back at him in sudden wonder of the man. He nodded eagerly now. “Yes, I understand. I will release the virus in Japan. I will do it for you.”

  Adolf smiled. “Very good, Josef. Let’s get you on your way then.”

  He walked Josef to the looking glass hanging upon the wall. It stood the height of a man. Adolf touched the glass. It shimmered beneath his fingers. “Hiroshima, Japan,” he said and then removed his touch. The portal continued to shimmer like water.

  “Step through, Josef, and farewell.”

  The doctor nodded and then stepped through the glass with the silver briefcase still handcuffed to his wrist. Inside the case, a vial rested. And, inside the vial, a virus waited to be unleashed upon the world.

  Adolf waited a moment, wanting to be sure that Mengele had been transported to his destination. Then he raised Malak-esh and struck it across the mirror, destroying the portal for good. The glass shattered with a slight electrical discharge arcing to the blade as it went through. Now, no one would be able to follow the doctor.

  He turned. Anna stood on the other side of the room, waiting for him. He smiled at her, but she was entranced at the moment, staring into the distance.

  “Anna, my love,” he said.

  She looked at him now. “You will not remember any of these things. Not meeting me. Nothing at all but the life you had with your parents when you were still young.”

  “My parents?”

  “They moved to London several years ago,” he said. “You’re going to go see them.”

  She did not seem to understand. Of course, this was normal. He had held her under his mental control for so long it was expected that she would
not know anything now that he was wiping her memory of him.

  Still, it had to be done. He would not have her suffer because of him. If he failed to kill West then she would never remember him. She would have a life with her parents and with their child. If he did kill West and then escape, then he would know where to reclaim his family.

  “Take this,” he said, holding out a small silver sphere.

  Anna took the sphere from his hand. “What is it?”

  “This will take you into the future, away from this time, away from this war. These were made for me by a great spell caster. One of the few remaining Sons of Anarchy.”

  He held up another. “I have one just like it. We can be together in another time. While this present calamity passes, we will be kept safe, waiting. Then we will all be together.”

  “Together?” she asked, still comprehending nothing that he said.

  He smiled. “I love you, Anna,” he said and kissed her.

  This did not register either, but it didn’t matter. All that was left now was to speak the word and send her into a spelled limbo that would release her only years into the future, when they would be forgotten and safe.

  A flash of light erupted behind him.

  Brody West stood next to the gurney where Sadie had been strapped down. His gaze found Adolf instantly. His eyes took in Malak-esh in Adolf’s hands. He saw Anna Parks standing there as well. She was obviously with child. He hadn’t realized what had happened to her, that she had been with Adolf all of this time. He was shocked by it all.

  Adolf spoke a word. “Proficiscor.”

  Brody wasn’t sure, but he thought it might be Latin for depart.

  A radiant light whirled around Anna Parks and tore her away from the room. Some kind of portal. Adolf was sending her away.

  Brody began to stalk toward him. “It did not have to be this way, Adolf. You should have left well enough alone.”

  “I still owe you, old man, for the death of my father!”

  Adolf ran at him with Malak-esh raised high. Brody could see the blood upon his hands. He assumed this must be how he was controlling the sword and why Sadie was unconscious on the gurney. A brilliant maneuver, but it wasn’t going to help him. Not if he had anything to say about it.

  However, Brody still hadn’t produced his own Angel Fire sword.

  “Time to die, old man!” Adolf shouted.

  But when he drew within twenty feet, Brody whipped out a Sten MK3 submachine gun from beneath his duster. Adolf’s eyes grew wide with surprise and horror. He hadn’t expected such a thing.

  Brody opened fire. Adolf attempted to deflect bullets, but Malak-esh had only been given the power to absorb magical attacks like those produced by Superomancers and angels. In this situation, it was only a sword.

  Bullets tore into Adolf’s body, driving him backwards. Malak-esh fell away from his hands as they were hit multiple times by gunfire. His uniform was bloodied, but he wasn’t dead yet.

  Adolf picked himself back up, standing defiantly to his feet again. As he straightened, he laughed. Blood ran down his face and stains spread on his shredded khaki pants and jacket. He gained strength every second.

  “Did you forget my ability to heal, old man?!” he shouted.

  Brody’s mouth turned up in a slight grin. “No, Adolf, I didn’t forget.”

  He tossed the submachine gun with its spent magazine down to the concrete floor. Then he dashed across the space between them as a blur. Three broad blindingly fast steps closed the gap. Adolf held out his hands to deliver a death grip. Brody called his own Malak-esh to his hands.

  The mercurial blade drove through Adolf’s chest as he laid his hands upon Brody’s face. Brody released the sword, breaking the grip Adolf was trying to hold upon him before any damage could be done. Adolf staggered backward with Angel Fire still driven through him.

  He fell to his knees finally, his healing power unable to overcome the blade. Adolf fell forward onto his face as Malak-esh vanished from the wound, returning to Brody’s waiting hand. He shut his eyes, unwilling to take any chances on the man rising again. Brody sent a fire into Adolf’s body, burning him to ash in seconds with a white hot flame.

  The deed was done.

  Brody lifted Sadie’s weapon from the floor. There was no danger. The sword would not obey him, even if he had decided to use it, but he could still carry it.

  He brought the blade back to Sadie and placed it with her. She had been drugged and there was nothing he could do for her except allow whatever it was to wear off. Brody cut her chains with his own sword and then placed his hand upon his daughter. A moment later, she was transported back to their home in Tennessee. She would wake up the next day in her own bed none the worse for wear.

  Brody, however, still had a loose end to tie up. Anna Parks had been sent away. A woman who was apparently working with Adolf and probably carrying his child. All of these problems had been caused by Grayson Stone’s child. He wouldn’t have Adolf’s unborn son one day rising to do the same things. It was a terrible business, but it had to be done.

  He strode back to the place where Anna had been standing when she vanished. A portal trace was still present. He would be able to follow her through to wherever she had gone. She had only been gone ten minutes. He would arrive after her by only that much. Even if she tried to hide herself, it would be unlikely that she could be successful in that amount of time.

  Applying the necessary energy to the portal construct still in place, Brody watched as the spell took hold. The portal energized once more. Brody West walked through.

  Dilemma

  Cole had fortunately found Sadie sitting upon the couch in their home in Kingston before he found Brody’s note. In fact, Sadie was holding the note crumpled in her hand when he arrived. She looked a mess, like she had been in a fight and hadn’t bothered to clean up yet.

  When she looked up at him, she was sobbing, tears still fresh on her cheeks. “He’s gone,” she said, sounding utterly bewildered.

  “Gone? What do you mean?”

  Sadie proffered the crumpled paper as he drew near. Cole took the page and read the words Brody had left. He didn’t know what to make of it. This didn’t make sense.

  “He addressed it to you,” Sadie said. “Why weren’t you here with him?”

  The words stung him. Cole looked up from the page at her, glaring. “Why wasn’t I here with him?”

  Sadie relented. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know it wasn’t your place. I’m just frantic, Cole. He’s gone.”

  “Now, wait a moment,” he said, trying not to panic. He didn’t even understand what the note meant yet. “Explain this to me. Why would he leave a note saying he’s gone to rescue you when you’re here at home, safe and sound?”

  “But I wasn’t,” she said, starting to cry again. “I’m not sure what happened. I was chasing him and then, all of a sudden, I’m waking up here instead.”

  Cole sat down beside her. “Calm down. I don’t know what’s happened,” he said soothingly. “Tell me everything you remember and maybe we can figure out what’s going on together.”

  Sadie took several deep breaths, trying to rein in her emotions. She dried her tears on her sleeve. Cole waited patiently until she had calmed down enough to begin.

  “Last we knew, you were in Japan hunting Southresh,” Cole said.

  “That’s right,” Sadie replied. “I followed him a long way, all across the islands. Then I found him in Horyu-ji in Ikaruga. He lured me to a Buddhist temple there.”

  “Lured you? A trap?”

  “Don’t worry, I knew it was a trap from the beginning,” she said. “I wasn’t going to let that dissuade me.”

  Cole held his tongue. Knowing that she had not been harmed allowed him to push back the fears he naturally felt from hearing that she had knowingly walked into Southresh’s hands. He nodded instead, allowing her to continue.

  “I faced Southresh and defeated him,” she said.

  Cole’s raise
d his brow in surprise.

  “You didn’t think I could do it?” she asked, but the anger was gone from her tone. “I’m still surprised myself. But, yes, I killed his host. Southresh is back in Tartarus now.”

  “You’re sure of that?” he asked.

  Sadie nodded. “After I killed his host and departed, I stayed the night in Germany, preparing to go after Adolf again. That night Lucifer appeared in my room.”

  The hairs on the back of Cole’s neck stood up. Again, he had to quell his fear for her. He kept reminding himself that she was here with him. She was safe.

  “Did he say anything?” Cole asked.

  “He said that he felt Southresh leave this world,” Sadie explained. “So, I think he must really be gone.”

  “What else? Surely that wasn’t all he came for.”

  “He threatened that we couldn’t stop his true plans, that Adolf’s time was drawing to a close anyway,” she said. “He didn’t seem to care that I was after him.”

  “And that’s all?”

  “He left me after that,” she continued. “But, when I woke the next morning and departed the inn, Adolf was standing across the street. He taunted me.”

  Cole looked puzzled. “That seems odd. How would he have known where to find you? Especially when you had only come from Japan the night before.”

  “Maybe Lucifer told him?”

  “And Adolf would just show up?” Cole said, balking at the idea. “He knows that you have Malak-esh. All this time he’s been running from you, using decoys and such. Did he bring an army with him?”

  “It was only Adolf,” Sadie replied. “When I tore after him, he did run. In fact, he led me on a chase through several portals.”

  “Wait a minute,” Cole said, interrupting her. “Adolf can’t construct portals.”

  “I wondered about that,” she said. “But I saw him do it.”

  Cole was shaking his head. “Something’s not right. Why did you follow him?”