Shadowrun 43 - Fallen Angels

by Stephen Kenson

  "Of course!" she said. "I mean ... yes, sir. I double-checked the information against the company records, and it was an exact match. There were no signs of tampering!"

  "To the less experienced eye, perhaps," Michael said quietly.

  "I checked these facts myself," Eve said angrily. "I trust my source. Maybe you're mistaken!"

  The other man didn't react, but Cross leaned forward slowly, dark brows drawing together over his stormy gaze. "Are you saying, then, that the director of the Seraphim doesn't know his business, Ms. Henshaw?".

  "The . .." Eve began, the words dying in her throat. She glanced at Michael again—Michael—who was regarding her calmly, no emotion showing on his face. No one ever saw the director of the Seraphim. His identity was a secret closely guarded at the highest levels of the company. She turned back to her boss.

  "Mr. Cross—" she began, but he cut her off, speaking to Michael as if she wasn't even in the room.

  "So the data is a forgery?"

  The Seraphim director nodded. "Almost certainly. A job this well executed means someone either had access to our records or to original genetic samples, but given the way the information matches up with ours, I'd say it's the first. The match is almost too good. Add that to the evidence of alterations in the file . . ." He laid the pocket secretary on the table. "I'd say someone wants us to believe he's still alive."

  "And you authorized this operation?" Cross said to Eve, pointing to the map displayed on the wall screen. She mutely nodded her head. The CEO turned back to Michael.

  "One of your agents is in place?"

  "As usual."

  "Get me a line," Cross said. "Now."

  "As fascinating as all this is, I think it's going to become quite inhospitable out here quite soon," Lo-than said, looking at Gabriel. "What is it exactly that you plan to do?" The team leader turned his attention back to the troll.

  "I should just leave the lot of you to rot," he said, "take care of the other two up the mountain, and call it a night."

  "Assuming that's what your employer wants," Akimura countered. "After all, we all know how . . . unforgiving companies can be when people fail to live up to their expectations."

  The wind roared again, and a flash of lightning momentarily lit up the sky, the peal of thunder immediately following suggesting the strike was uncomfortably close by.

  "Personally, I don't . . ." Gabriel began, then he trailed off, eyes focusing past the fixer, as if listening to something the rest of them couldn't hear. Orion gathered himself as if to strike, and Akimura practically prayed for the adept to wait. The rest of Gabriel's team didn't react, keeping their weapons closely trained on the shadowrunners, who would still be caught in a killing zone if they made any sudden moves.

  The slight movement of Gabriel's jaw made it clear he was subvocalizing responses. He suddenly gave a short, humorless snort of laughter, and a sardonic half smile curled one side of his mouth. His thumb rested on the hammer of his pistol. Everyone tensed, but then Gabriel uncocked the gun and raised it so it was no longer pointed directly at the runners.

  "The mission's scrubbed. We're moving out," he said to the rest of his team. "Seems you get to live," he said to the shadowrunners.

  "Lucky us," Akimura replied quietly.

  Gabriel suddenly leveled his gun directly at the fixer, its targeting laser painting a red dot squarely on his forehead, like a glowing caste mark in the darkness.

  "Don't fool yourself," he said. "I could kill you right here and right now, orders or no orders, and be done with it. Who would even know?" There was a dreadful pause as he waited to see how Akimura would respond, but the fixer remained completely still, locked eye-to-eye with the Cross company man. After what seemed like an eternity, Gabriel raised his weapon again.

  "But I'm a professional," he said, "and I don't want to waste the time or the ammo. Stay out of our way and hope our paths don't cross again, street trash."

  He gave a hand signal, and his team went into motion, backing away into the shadows of the trees, their weapons still carefully trained on the shadowrunners. Another flash of lightning illuminated their retreat for just a moment before Gabriel, too, backed away. Then the Cross team was gone, vanished into the darkness.

  "What the frag just happened?" Orion asked, glancing around to make sure the sudden withdrawal wasn't some sort of trick.

  "We got lucky," Akimura said, drawing his gun. "Damn lucky. For the first time in a long time, I think somebody up there likes me. Let's move. I don't think we have a lot of time left." He glanced up at the sky just as the wind howled, shaking the trees, and a heavy rain began to fall.

  Midnight guided Kellan unerringly to a ridge along the mountainside and the narrow entrance to a cave. The rocks and rubble scattered around the cave mouth still smoked from what looked like some sort of explosion. From the blackened marks, Kellan wondered if one or more of the lightning bolts they'd seen had struck there. Though the cave was cloaked in shadows, a faint, golden light shone from within the mountain.

  "Inside," Midnight said curtly, and Kellan picked her way over the debris, ducking her head to step into the passage in the rock.

  She somehow wasn't surprised to feel a sense of familiarity as she moved into the cave. It looked exactly like the place she'd seen in her dreams, only from a different perspective. At the widest point, where the ceiling was high enough that she could have reached up and not been able to touch it, Kellan saw the source of the light filling the cavern.

  The glow came from a figure kneeling on the stone floor, as if in prayer or meditation, made up entirely of golden light, with white-gold wings furled around its body. As they approached, the shining head rose, crowned in a bright halo, and its eyes opened, their depths filled with white-hot light that seemed to look right into her soul.

  "Kellan, say hello to Morningstar," Midnight said.

  Hello, Kellan, came the voice in her mind. I have been waiting for you for a very long time.

  20

  Kellan looked at the fantastic, shining spirit, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Kellan looked at the fantastic, shining spirit, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

  Waiting . . . for me? she thought.

  Yes, it replied. Ever since the day your father summoned me.

  My father? Kellan remembered her dream of the elven mage calling and binding a spirit, and now she understood that in the dream, she had been the spirit. She had seen Midnight shoot her father!

  Yes, said the spirit, Midnight killed him. You and I have long been connected by the amulet, and it was my vision I sent you. Kellan looked at the jade necklace now in Midnight's possession.

  "Impressive, isn't it?" Midnight said, nodding toward the spirit, her eyes reflecting its golden glow. "Can you imagine what a spirit this powerful can accomplish?"

  "Is it enough to be worth so many lives?" Kellan said.

  "So, you've started figuring it out," Midnight mused. "All those and many more, Kellan. I hope now you understand that you should not cross me."

  "Why did you bring me here?"

  "Because I might need you," the elf replied. "I have

  Thierault's notes, what I remember from the original summoning, and this," she held up the necklace, "but they might not be enough to command this spirit. I might still need a magician, perhaps even one related to Thierault by blood."

  "My father," Kellan said quietly, and Midnight nodded.

  "That's right. I figured as much from the timing. Too bad you didn't take after him in more ways than just inheriting his magical talent; you'd have made a good elf."

  "Not if it means being a fraggin' slitch like you!" Kellan shouted, the anger she'd been stoking in her heart for the last twenty-four hours finally flaring.

  "Temper, temper," Midnight said, pointing her weapon at Kellan's heart. "If you play it smart, you can still walk away from this, Kellan. Once I get what I want, I'll have no further use for you, and we'll call it quits, but if you force me . . ." She left
the remainder of the threat unsaid, but her intent was crystal clear.

  For a moment, Kellan wondered if Midnight was fast enough to kill her before she could get off a spell that would fry the lying murderer to a crisp. What did she have to lose, after all?

  No, Kellan, Morningstar's voice came back into her mind. There is another way. I can help you, if you will help me.

  Help you?

  Help to free me, the spirit replied, and we can both have our revenge.

  Kellan didn't look away from Midnight. Why should I trust you?

  What choice do you have?

  "So," she said to Midnight. "What now?"

  "Now I perform the ritual, and you keep an astral eye on things and tell me what's happening. Any tricks and . . ." she waved the gun in Kellan's direction.

  She will be vulnerable during the ritual, Kellan, Morningstar's voice whispered in her mind. Just do as I ask. . . .

  Kellan felt completely empty and entirely filled with rage. She simultaneously understood that she could not trust either of them, and had no choice but to behave as if she did. Her mind was empty of any other options. "All right," she said out loud, answering them both at once, "let's get this over with."

  "I knew you'd see it my way," Midnight said with a smug smile.

  Outside, the storm intensified, until the shadowrunners were leaning heavily into the wind as they struggled up the mountain slope. Rain slashed down in driving sheets, with the wind slapping it in their faces, lightning flashing and thunder booming overhead. One bolt came close, splintering a tree and sending part of it crashing down near Orion, but the elven warrior rolled nimbly out of the way.

  "There!" Akimura shouted, pointing to a tiny, glowing dot of light in a fold of the mountain's rocky flank. Orion squinted to see it, then broke into a run, the others close behind.

  Kellan stood close to the wall while Midnight spoke the words of the ritual. If Midnight had any concerns about keeping one eye (and her gun) trained on Kellan while speaking the mystic phrases, she didn't show it. Much of the ritual was in Sperethiel, which sounded both lyrical and oddly familiar to Kellan's ears. She realized as Midnight spoke that the words she'd heard in her dream were in Elvish as well, but she'd somehow understood them at the time.

  "Seterin'ranshae!" Midnight intoned, then switched to English, holding up the necklace in her free hand. "Known as Mornings tar, by the power of your name do I compel you, by the rites and powers of the elements, I bid you, be manifest here to do my will and no other. By this token, you are so bound. Arise! Arise and do my bidding."

  The necklace, Morningstar said to Kellan. She must put on the necklace.

  "You have to wear the amulet to command it," Kellan advised her, speaking for the first time during the ritual. At Midnight's questioning look, she added, "The power is there, I can see it, but the amulet needs to be worn to gain its full effect."

  Midnight gestured for Kellan to approach. "Put it on me, then," she said, "but don't get clever."

  Kellan stopped in front of Midnight, and Midnight handed her the necklace. She could feel the muzzle of Midnight's gun pressing against her stomach, the elf's dark eyes as cold as stone. Kellan unclasped the golden chain, slipping it around Midnight's pale neck and smoothly fastening it in back before taking a step away from her.

  "Now what—?" Midnight began, but the rest of her question was choked off. The jade amulet burned with a fiery light, and the elven woman staggered back as if struck. The gun slipped from her suddenly nerveless fingers to clatter onto the ground as light poured from Midnight's formerly dark eyes.

  Yes! Kellan heard the triumphant call in her head, as Midnight gave a strangled cry.

  There was a clap of thunder outside that echoed in the cave as the spirit Morningstar seemed to dissolve into a golden mist. It transformed from a glowing, angelic being of light into a figure out of nightmare: horns and claws and bared fangs, burning with the color of a forge fire. Kellan only saw it for an instant before it flowed into Midnight's eyes and open mouth, pouring into her as the amulet glowed and she stood, frozen. In an instant, the shining form of the spirit was gone, and Midnight stood alone, head bowed, dark hair veiling her face.

  Kellan hesitated only a split second before going for the gun on the floor, but that hesitation was enough. As she crouched to reach for the weapon, Midnight's hand came up like a striking snake, grabbing Kellan by the throat in a grip like iron. Kellan looked up to see her eyes open, the cold black replaced by a hot, white-gold glow shining from within.

  "Ah, Kellan," she said, and her voice vibrated in Kellan's head, a buzzing blend of Midnight's own voice and Morningstar's. "Still with so much to learn."

  "I did what you said!" she rasped. "Finish her off!"

  "I'm grateful. Unfortunately, you have heard my true name, and I cannot risk you ever telling anyone. You felt what I felt when your father bound me; you will understand that I can never allow myself to be so bound again. It's too bad your father isn't here for this, but you will have to do in his place." The hand gripping Kellan's throat began to squeeze, cutting off her air. Kellan's vision began to swim.

  "Get the frag away from her!" someone yelled from the mouth of the cave, the shout followed by the thunder of gunfire. Blood spattered over Kellan as the bullets struck Midnight, causing her to lose her grip and stagger back against the wall of the cavern. Kellan gasped and coughed, twisting as she fell to her knees to see Orion standing just inside the cave entrance, soaked to the skin, pistol in hand. Right behind him came Lothan, G-Dogg and an Asian man Kellan didn't recognize.

  "Kellan—" Orion shouted, but G-Dogg called out.

  "Look out!" he said, drawing his own weapon.

  Kellan automatically rolled to the side as Midnight surged out from against the wall. Though her vest was dark with bloodstains, she could see the wounds made by Orion's shots already closing, fiery light burning in Midnight's eyes and from the jade amulet.

  "She's possessed!" Lothan called out from behind the others.

  Orion and G-Dogg both opened up on Midnight, guns roaring in the close confines of the cave. She jerked and danced like a puppet with broken strings, bullets tearing through areas of her close-fitting suit where the armor was weak, pounding flesh and bone where it was not. Midnight collapsed to the floor, dark blood pooling around her.

  "Kellan!" Lothan called out, "Everybody! Fall back now!"

  Orion ran forward to grasp Kellan's wrist, pulling her up and helping her out of the cave onto the ridge.

  "We should have made sure she was finished!" Orion yelled at Lothan, who shook his head.

  "Mere bullets can't kill something like that," he said. "She's possessed by a powerful spirit."

  "It calls itself Morningstar," Kellan told them, and Lothan grimaced.

  "I know. We need to banish it, but the file doesn't have the necessary—"

  "Its true name is Seterin'ranshae," Kellan gasped out, careful to pronounce it correctly.

  Lothan beamed like a proud father. "My dear, you'll be a master of the Art yet! We—"

  "Incoming!" G-Dogg yelled.

  Lothan instantly raised the Staff of Candor-Brie in a warding gesture, its crystal flaring in the darkness and pouring rain. They heard the dull roar of an explosion, and it seemed as if the very air was on fire. Kellan flung up her arms to shield herself as the force of the blast knocked her down.

  She hit the ground, but quickly regained her feet as the flames cleared. Lothan stood unmoved, though his robes were singed and burned in spots.

  Morningstar, in Midnight's body, stood just outside the entrance of the cave. Light streamed from her eyes as the remnants of mystic flames shimmered around her hands.

  "Well done, magician," the spirit sneered in its combined voice, "but I wonder how long you can maintain such a defense against me."

  "Long enough," Lothan countered. Planting his staff firmly on the ground in front of him, the troll mage pointed his other hand at Morningstar. "By the power of the elements,
and by my will, Seterin'ranshae, you will be banished from this plane!" he shouted above the wind.

  Rather than recoiling from Lothan's use of its true name, Morningstar merely laughed, rolling thunder echoing the sound across the mountains.

  "I will not be bound again, and I will not be banished!" the spirit cried out, and raised Midnight's hands to the roiling sky. A bolt of lightning split the heavens and struck the ground at Lothan's feet with a tremendous burst of thunder, sending rocks, dirt and the troll mage flying. He collapsed in a heap on the ground, nearly sliding down the ridge.

  "Lothan!" Kellan cried, rushing to his side. The others responded by opening up on Morningstar with a hail of gunfire. It drove the spirit back a step, bullets tearing into Midnight's flesh, but the damage healed before their eyes as quickly as it was done, the burning light growing brighter around Midnight's hands.

  "Lothan, are you all right?" Kellan asked, crouching at her teacher's side. Lothan groaned loudly, pushing himself up and nodding.

  "I shielded myself from the worst of it," he said. "Ye gods, it's powerful. We might not be able to stop it, Kellan." Lothan looked at the spirit as Morningstar raised Midnight's glowing hands.

  "Shield the others!" he rapped out, and Kellan concentrated on extending her magical defenses around her fellow runners as the spirit lashed out with another shimmering bolt of mystic power. It stabbed into G-Dogg, who howled in pain, clutching the side of his head with his free hand and dropping to his knees.

  With a battle cry punctuated by a rumble of thunder from above, Oridn drew his sword, casting aside his pistol, and rushed Morningstar, blade held low in a two-handed grip. The spirit turned, but too late to unleash a spell against him. The enchanted blade slashed across Midnight's outstretched arm, laying it open almost to the bone. A dual scream of pain was torn from her throat, and the spirit retreated, but the wound was already starting to close.

  "Orion's blade may be able to destroy it," Lothan said to Kellan, climbing to his feet. "We must defend him against the spirit's magic long enough for him to accomplish it."