by J. C. Diem
“We should make a stop on the way and add to our ranks,” Mark said. “The Obliteration Squad and Containment Squad aren’t the only highly trained agents that we can call on.”
“You want Lexi to empty out the PIA graveyard?” Reece asked.
“Who better to battle demons, golems and their minions?”
“You’re so smart,” Kala said affectionately. “We’d be screwed without you as our boss.”
Leaving our base, we headed to the outskirts of D.C. to find the PIA Headquarters and grounds now empty. There were no signs of a struggle, so Cromby had probably just evacuated the place.
With no living agents here to add to our team, I shifted us to the cemetery that was at the back of the grounds. Splitting up, we sprinkled our blood on all of the graves then gathered in the center of the boneyard. My death magic was so strong that the corpses sensed me even though the sun was still a couple of hours away from setting. They were eager and expectant and knew that I was going to call on them.
“Why do I feel so full of energy?” my father asked.
“The moon will be full tonight,” Kala explained. “All shifters are affected by it. Our inner beasts know they’re going to be freed and they’re full of anticipation.” As the only full human, Mark was the only one who was exempt from our excitement. His concern for Ava had left a perpetual frown on his face.
I released my death magic and green fog sprang to life. It spread out to encompass the entire cemetery. “Rise!” I commanded and bodies that had lain dormant anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of centuries rose. The vast majority of my zombies had been dead for so long that their clothes had rotted away, yet their bodies were flawless. They felt no embarrassment at being naked. They were beyond the ability to care. Each one stared at me expectantly. We hadn’t used enough blood to make them look this good. My death magic was far stronger than even Viktor D’ath’s had been.
“Let’s head to the armory and get them outfitted,” my father suggested. “Some of these agents have been dead for so long that they probably won’t know how to use modern weapons. We’ll have to give them a crash course on how to operate the guns.”
I took us back to the main building and Mark used his tablet to hack open the side entrance. The magical wards that had guarded the building and grounds were gone. It would have been handy having a warlock on our team, but Cromby was the head of our US organization and he needed to be protected.
Mark sent a wistful glance at the door to Ava’s office then led the way downstairs to the armory. My newly recruited undead minions numbered in the hundreds. It was a pitifully small force compared to what we would shortly be facing. They filed inside in an orderly line and each took a weapon and ammo. They didn’t have pockets, so they grabbed backpacks to load up. The older dead had to be shown how to use the guns and how to reload. My father patiently showed them and they were quick learners. Beneath my command, there was no chance that they would accidentally shoot their allies by mistake.
“Is everyone ready?” I asked and received nods from the entire group. We returned to the lawn and prepared to head to Los Angeles. I’d never been there and had to rely on Kendricks to guide me. Knowing we needed enough space for everyone, he chose a sports stadium. We emerged on a well-tended grassy field.
I glanced around at the rows of empty seats that stretched upwards and spotted an exit sign. “Reece and I will go on ahead,” I said to the others. “I’ll contact Kendricks and the gang once we reach the cemetery. They’ll be able to carry you to us.”
“Hurry,” Mark urged me. He held his assault rifle tightly enough for his knuckles to turn white. He didn’t possess any supernatural powers, but his senses were keenly honed. He could feel the doom that was coming for us all.
We sprinted from the stadium through eerily quiet streets. Humans hunkered inside their houses, desperately hoping that they would somehow be overlooked if the hordes arrived. Frantic to escape from the country, other civilians had descended on the airport. It had been reported on the news that there weren’t enough flights to keep up with demand. Most people were left stranded, but they kept turning up anyway.
I didn’t need a map to be able to find the dead. They called to me, leading me where we needed to go. Reaching the closest cemetery, we moved to the center of the grounds and I called on Kendricks. My zombies appeared, carrying Mark, my father, Kala and Flynn with them.
Zeus appeared on his own. Highly attuned to impending attacks, he was showing no signs of disturbance so far. I hoped my guess was right. Even if I was wrong and Jorgen attacked New York rather than Los Angeles, I could transport my army to the other side of the country in the blink of an eye. I’d been to New York once and I would be able to take us directly to Central Park if I had to.
Moving quickly and methodically, we sprinkled our blood on every grave then moved on to the next cemetery. As the sun began to sink from the sky, we ran out of time. We hadn’t managed to visit every boneyard in the city, but it would have to do.
I’d have tens of thousands of zombies at my beck and call once I called them back to a semblance of life. It would be a formidable army, but the sense of helplessness that was rising inside me told me that it still wouldn’t be enough.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Five
At Mark’s urging, I shifted us to the Hollywood sign that overlooked Los Angeles so we could have a wide view of the area. I’d always wanted to visit L.A., but I’d never expected that it would take Armageddon to get me here. The gigantic white letters towered over us, held up with struts that looked like they’d fall over at a stiff wind. They’d lasted this long, so they should hold up for a while longer.
Instead of walking along Rodeo Drive, window shopping in the stores that I couldn’t afford to step into, I was hunkered down with shape shifters and a small army of zombies. The city sprawled out beneath us. It was far larger than I’d realized. From the mansions of the rich and famous to the poorer suburbs, no one would be safe. Instinct told me that they would all shortly be in peril.
As darkness fell, we heard the distant fluttering of wings rapidly approaching. My guess had been correct. Kurt was targeting Los Angeles. The stars were blotted out as the birds descended. The noise became thunderous as hundreds of thousands of birds winged their way into the city. Most probably weren’t nocturnal, but they had no choice but to follow the resurrected griffin that was leading them.
Driving its minions into the suburbs, the griffin directed them to attack anyone who was unlucky enough to be outdoors. Screams rose as the birds smashed through windows to get at the occupants of houses and apartment buildings as well.
Next came the dogs, cats, cows, reptiles and spiders, herded by the other stone golems. So much for my hope that they’d need time to gather more minions. Mark looked at me and I nodded. It was time to raise my army of the dead. Transporting back to the first cemetery, I called on my death magic. It swelled within me far faster than I’d expected. It had been boosted by my wolf, who was eager for the moon to rise.
As I raised my hands, green fog appeared and swirled around us. Waiting for my magic to spread to the far edges of the graveyard, I shouted a command. “Rise!” Beneath our feet, thousands of bodies stirred and became fleshed out. My zombie army rose to stand before me, perfectly formed even though most of them had died decades ago.
We moved on to the next cemetery with my new recruits following in our wake. By the time I’d raised the last corpse, hell pits had begun to appear throughout the city. I was relieved when only the smaller, black skinned imps climbed out. The leviathan sized demons would be coming, but Kurt was apparently going to save them for later.
Civilians ran screaming through the streets, but there was little hope of escape. Animals, birds and spiders by the hundreds of thousands swarmed through the city. The golems snatched up helpless humans and bit, clawed or crushed them to death. The chimera breathed fire on a car that was parked in a driveway and it exploded. Flaming metal
sprayed everywhere and the fire quickly began to spread. We didn’t have any elementals to put out the flames this time.
My zombies swarmed over the chimera and took it to the ground. Several long-dead PIA agents sacrificed themselves by detonating their grenades. They were blown to bits along with the golem. No sooner did its head become detached than it broke down into sand as its creator reclaimed his soul. My zombies pieced themselves back together and were ready for action again.
The golems quickly learned not to send their minions against us directly. My zombies merely ate the animals and used them as fuel. Our attacks were so well coordinated that the stone monsters shied away from us and fled rather than fighting.
Demons were another story. They ran amok, killing at will. My undead army used their bare hands to tear them apart and decapitate them. Only a small fraction of my force carried weapons, but they didn’t need them against these things. I wasn’t sure how effective the zombies would be against the goliath sized demons, but I guessed I’d find out soon enough.
In his wraith hound form, Zeus was in his element. He hunted down and gleefully bit the heads off dozens of imps. Each time one fell, black souls wafted towards the hell pits. Fresh troops climbed from the pits in a never ending stream.
Somewhere in the sprawling city, Kurt Jorgen was overseeing the attack. At the moment, our armies were evenly matched. The tide would turn once the moon rose and he unleashed the captive shifters and elemental wielders. His goal wasn’t to defeat us. We were merely an annoyance to him. He wanted to wipe out the entire human race and who better to kill humans than shifters? Once they had a taste of human flesh, they’d be compelled to murder them for food. If he managed to lock them into their wereforms permanently, they’d be able to decimate entire towns and cities daily.
Pausing after shooting a demon in the head, Kala looked up at the moon dreamily. “It won’t be long now,” she said. Her eyes shone gold in the darkness and her voice was deeper than usual. My father smiled in anticipation. He was looking forward to changing and going on the hunt.
I sensed the shifters and non-shifters the moment Kurt teleported them into the city. Their minds were closed to me and he held them deep in his thrall again. In moments, the moon would reach its peak and the shifters would turn. Then they would become uncontrollable killing machines.
“Get ready,” I told the group and everyone but Mark stripped down. I didn’t have a plan, apart from the one Mark had suggested. He’d told me to try to wrest control of the shifters back and I needed to be closer to them to do it.
Zeroing in on the large group of shifters, we descended into the ground. We rose in the midst of the captives just as the moon reached its ascendency. We were standing on a beach and I spared a glance at the world famous boardwalk. Then my wolf burst forward so rapidly that I was just a blur as I changed form. Reece transformed just as quickly.
All around us, werecanines, werefelines, werebears and every other type of shifter assumed their bestial forms. I threw my head back and howled and my mate joined me. Our combined song caught the attention of every were-creature on the beach. Instead of hunting down the humans as the alien voice in their heads told them to, they turned to us. Reece and I weren’t just alpha werewolves, we were the supreme rulers of both our species and every other species of shifter that existed. We’d been born to rule and they had no choice but to obey us.
Seeking out every alpha in the throng, we forced through the walls that had been erected in their minds. In this form, they were much stronger and could withstand the brutal invasion. The moment their walls shattered, their power was added to ours. Our combined strength was enough to break the rest of the shifters and elementals free.
Ava and Sabine shook their heads as the spell was broken. The nagi spied Mark through the crowd and smiled tremulously as he forced his way through to her. Taking her in his arms, he hugged her hard, ignoring the werebeasts that surrounded them.
Sabine delicately picked her way over to Flynn. He held his hand out and she took it. Changing into her true form, they embraced, wrapping their arms and tails around each other. Their devotion was so poignant that it brought tears to my eyes.
Standing on the top of an apartment building to watch his attack in person, Kurt howled in fury at having his prisoners snatched away again. The gray demon stood behind him. His scarlet eyes bored into me as he smiled. Raising his hands, he spoke in his alien tongue and gigantic pits began to open.
In the street before me, a car unwittingly drove over the edge of the pit. Tipping forward, it disappeared from sight, carrying its shrieking passengers with it. Half a dozen behemoth sized demons clawed their way out of the pits that were dotted around the city. Their evil spread like a miasma as they stretched out their wings and bellowed in triumph. Windows shattered beneath the volume and ferocity.
Go, I told my army of shifters and non-shifters. Hunt down the hell spawn. Obeying me with glee, they joined my undead servants and turned on the growing horde of small and large demons. Together, Reece and I sprinted for the closest behemoth. It might be big, but it was far slower than us. We climbed its body and it tried to knock us off. Spreading its wings wide, it beat them hard enough to almost dislodge us. We clung on with our claws then climbed higher. Leaping from its shoulder, we latched onto its neck with our claws. Tearing into the flesh, we bit and clawed our way through to its spine. We severed its spinal cord and it fell in a boneless heap to the ground. Its soul broke free and wafted back to the hell pit.
Leaping off the whale sized body, we turned to target the next monster. Shifters who should have been mortal enemies were working together to take the leviathans down. My contingent of PIA zombies used their weapons and grenades to demolish the golems each time one was resurrected. Ava and the other elementals used their magic to wreak havoc.
Slowly, but surely, we were gaining ground. Kurt Jorgen screeched something at his sidekick in a foreign language. Flynn was close enough to overhear him and even as a wereconstrictor, he understood what the faery was saying. He’d spoken in German and I read the translation from his mind. “Stop toying with them and end this battle now!”
Giving Kurt a sullen look, the gray demon obeyed. He chanted in his hellish language and hollow dread filled me when more gigantic death pits appeared. All over the city, flames from the pits lit the sky. It wasn’t just six portals to hell this time, but dozens of them. Numerous behemoth sized demons clawed their way free. As their glass-shattering bellows sounded, I lost all hope that we were going to win this war.
“Good God,” Mark breathed when the demons reared up to loom over the city. “We can’t stop this many of them.” The defeat in his voice increased my sense of doom.
Finally, I remembered what was so familiar about the leviathans. Thomas had once been sent a vision of hell by a faery. He’d seen these gigantic demons, but he couldn’t have known that they would one day overrun the Earth.
Zeus whined in puzzlement when something new crawled out of the pit. Standing on all fours, it shook itself and opened scarlet eyes. Pitch black like the lesser demons, it stood taller than an average human and had a thick, shaggy pelt. Sulfur emanated from it when it opened its mouth and howled. The sound echoed around us and was repeated by other beasts that had crawled out of the pits.
“It’s a hell hound,” Mark said grimly, confirming my thought.
With a deep growl, Zeus sped towards it. The hell hound seemed to grin, baring snaggleteeth that were long and razor sharp. It had long talons instead of claws and they dug into the ground as it launched itself at my guardian. Like Zeus, it made no noise as it ran. They clashed soundlessly, only their growls and barks made any noise.
Vicious and evil, the hell hound bit into Zeus’ throat. Turning his neck insubstantial, my wraith hound raked his solid claws down the hell spawn’s side. Black blood spurted and the hound yelped, but the wound healed almost instantly. Biting and lunging, they circled each other, searching for an opening. They were almost matc
hed in height, but Zeus had the advantage with his ability to turn into a spirit. The hell hound threw itself at my guardian and bore him to the ground. Waiting for his opponent to snap at his face, Zeus disappeared, leaving the hound confused. He appeared a moment later and his jaws closed around the hell hound’s throat. With a wet crunch, he tore the demon dog’s head from its shoulders. A twisted, malformed soul rose and drifted back to the pit.
One hound was down, but dozens more were now roaming through the city, pouncing on their victims. Giant sized red demons and the much smaller black skinned ones were boiling from the hell pits. I knew that the city was already lost, but I couldn’t just give up. I had to do something, even if it would ultimately be a waste of time.
Call on the ghosts for help again, Reece urged me. I couldn’t do that in this form and my wolf reluctantly subsided. Transforming back into my human shape, my naked, lifeless body fell as I wrenched my soul free. Reece caught me and gently lay me down as ghosts appeared in my now gray vision. Hundreds had gathered, drawn by the battle that was vicious enough to come to even their notice. Word had spread among the spirit community and they knew what I needed. They began to draw energy from me and I quickly became drained.
Cortez lurched into view and stood before me. More and more of my zombies appeared as they sensed my need. Using their death magic as a battery, I became recharged. I fed my energy to the spirits, giving them the power they needed to turn vengeful. They swept towards the gigantic demons and went on the attack.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Six
Resurrected by their creator, the golems waded back into the battle. My troops were adept at taking them down by now. Shifters and zombies worked in packs to target them and to blow their heads off with grenades. From his vantage point, Kurt Jorgen barely waited for them to fall before turning them to sand and filling their vessels with his soul again.