The Tome of Bill (Book 8): The Last Coven

by Rick Gualtieri

  “What the hell is that?”

  “Huh?” I glanced back over my shoulder to find Kelly pointing toward The Source. I was about to tell her to stop gawking at the giant spooge pool when the light in the cavern changed ever so slightly, the red hue becoming a bit softer.

  What the...?

  I turned toward The Source and what I saw caused me to momentarily forget my mission. A brilliant white glow shined right below the surface, growing brighter as whatever was causing it moved toward the shore. A moment later, a dome of blinding white energy broke the surface, seeming to push the magical orange goo away on all sides.

  No way. It wasn’t possible.

  Yet somehow, it was.

  “What the fuck is she doing in there?” Kelly asked from behind me.

  I was at a complete loss of words as Sheila became visible from within the aura. Not only was she standing, somehow whole again, but she looked pissed. The energy pouring off of her was easily the most powerful I’d seen it, so intense that she was somehow able to keep the primal energies of The Source at bay around her.

  “Is she one of them?” Veronica asked nervously.

  “I don’t think so,” I replied. The Jahabich possessed the forms, but not the powers of their former hosts. Decker hadn’t been able to perform magic, and I doubted Starlight needed blood to survive now. If Sheila’s powers were intact, then that meant she was, too, or so I had to hope.

  Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones noticing her emergence.

  Several of the mages still fighting saw her, too. Multiple lances of magical energy flew out and hit her aura, dissipating harmlessly against it as she continued to wade toward dry land.

  Calibra turned and saw her, genuine surprise on her face. “NO!!”

  The entire cavern shook from the compulsion’s power and several of the creatures fighting – both vampire and mage – dropped unconscious as it washed over them. Christy wasn’t one of them, though, and she used the distraction to hammer home another blast, a smaller version of the spell that Calibra had used to fuck up Druaga’s day.

  Calibra raised a hand at the last second and a protective dome of purple energy sprang up around her. She smiled from within, having apparently recovered from the drain of battling a death god.

  That wasn’t good.

  She pointed a hand toward The Source and once more began to draw power from it. Her smile turned into a laugh as its power added to her own, allowing her to fend off Christy’s attack. We’d squandered our opportunity, allowed her to get back on her feet, so to speak. And now we were going to pay for it.

  But it seemed a certain witch was going to be served her check before the rest of us.

  Energy crackled around both of Calibra’s hands, breaking my voyeuristic malaise. I rocketed forward, not quite as fast as Christy could teleport, but pretty damn close.

  “Insignificant insect of a witch!”

  I reached Christy just as Calibra let loose with a bolt of energy, managing to throw us both out of the way just in time. I landed atop her, shielding her with my body. “Are you fucking insane?”

  “Get off me, Bill. She hurt my baby and she’s hurting Tom. Now it’s my turn to hurt her.”

  “All you’re going to do is...”

  “DIE!!”

  I glanced up, certain the compulsion was aimed at us, but instead saw that Calibra was throwing a spell at Sheila, still a few feet from shore. The massive blast of power met her aura, the proverbial irresistible force versus the immovable object.

  The power at Calibra’s command was insane, so intense that it didn’t dissipate upon hitting the faith aura. But neither did it penetrate. Instead, it began to push Sheila back further into The Source.

  Calibra wasn’t finished yet, though. She smiled and then gestured Sheila’s way.

  “Bite me, you dried up bitch,” an angry voice cried from high above us. “I’m gonna enjoy skull-fucking your … ARGH!”

  “Oh God, no,” Christy whimpered as Tom convulsed.

  I got back to my feet, but it was too late. A crackling bolt of plasma flew from Tom’s body and slammed into Sheila’s aura, adding its fury to the spell she was just barely fending off.

  It was as if a bolt of lightning hit a tanker full of rocket fuel. The energy from the Prism reacted with the aura of faith, and a storm of white-hot power exploded from it. The entire cavern rumbled as if a giant was awakening beneath our feet. Then a shockwave of energy raced from the site of the impact in a three-hundred-sixty-degree arc, slamming into us all and sending bodies flying ass over teakettle.

  * * *

  What the fuck? I’d never felt anything like that before. The force of the shockwave aside, it had actually been kind of numbing, as if someone had created the magical equivalent of Novocain and picked that moment to test it out.

  The effects had to have been delayed, though, because by the time I opened my eyes and sat up, I felt like a bus had run me over.

  And no wonder, too.

  I couldn’t help but notice the lack of brawny muscles or toned abs on my body. Talk about a poor time to be myself again. I tried to summon the rage that had been bristling inside of me, eager to get out, and found it missing. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t exactly happy at that moment, but the voice whispering in my mind to kill and maim had gone silent.

  And that wasn’t the only thing.

  The entire cave was quiet. Gunfire, magic, head-smashings; all of it had seemingly ceased. That, or I’d gone deaf.

  “What the hell?” Christy asked shakily from my side.

  Okay, not deaf.

  “I don’t know.” I gave my head a shake to clear it, then looked up. Calibra was doubled over, her hands on her knees. As for Tom, he was nowhere to be seen.

  It was the same all around us – like a giant hand had punched each of the combatants in the solar plexus. Not even the Jahabich were unaffected. I spied a few close by, standing still as ... statues. The normally malevolent glow of their eyes was barely a pinprick, as if someone had shut off their pilot light.

  “Out of my way, now,” Christy growled with such intensity that I found myself obeying.

  She raised a hand toward Calibra and a few red sparks appeared at her fingertips, but nothing more.

  “No,” she cried. “This can’t be happening. Not now!”

  “What have you done?” Calibra growled, but it wasn’t aimed at us. Instead, her gaze lay in the direction of The Source.

  Shit ... Sheila!

  My worry was unfounded, though. Amazingly, she was still where she’d been, looking a bit dazed but still in one piece. All around her, The Source pulsed in color, one moment its normal orange hue, the next a flat mud brown that made it look more like a cesspool than the gateway for all magic in this world.

  Her aura was barely visible around her, more a nightlight than a shining beacon, but she was alive. She saw me looking her way, waved groggily, then began working her way back to solid ground again.

  Calibra, on the other hand, wasn’t in quite as jolly of a mood. She turned toward us, a look of pure rage on her face. The murderous intent I’d seen before was still there, but things had changed. The tether of energy that had connected her to Tom was gone. In fact, there didn’t appear to be any power crackling off her at all. Her hair, previously raven black, was now streaked with white. Something strange had just happened, although I didn’t have a clue as to what that was. “What have you done?” she repeated.

  I managed to drag myself back to my feet as she approached us, but she backhanded me aside. It wasn’t as earth jarring of a blow as I’d been expecting, but it was still more than enough to send me tumbling.

  I landed, stunned, unable to do much more than watch as Christy faced her. The two witches pointed their hands toward one another and again nothing happened save the barest of sparks flying forth.

  Out of juice, but not out of the fight, Calibra did the next best thing. She grabbed the younger witch by the front of her blouse and decked
her. Christy’s eyes rolled back in her head, and this time Calibra slapped her – the sound ringing in the eerily silent cavern.

  No.

  She did it again, this time even harder.

  No!

  That did it. Once more, I felt the red rage inside of me, a small ember at first, but rapidly growing into a five-alarm blaze.

  I shook off the blow and prepared to launch myself at the queen bitch when a thunderous report sounded, deafening from its closeness.

  A chunk of Calibra’s upper arm blew off and she staggered back, releasing Christy, who fell to the ground unmoving. I turned and saw Sally striding our way, weapon in hand, and a look on her face every bit as angry as I felt inside.

  I reined myself in for the moment. Christy was far more important than making sure Calibra got her just desserts. She was still breathing, but had been messed up pretty badly. Still, alive was the important part. That was going to be more than I could say for the yabba dabba douche who’d laid hands on her.

  I stood and turned toward where Calibra stood clutching her ruined arm. Sally joined me on one side of her while Sheila, finally free from The Source, raced up on the other.

  From off to our left, Alex and James stepped past a column of still unmoving Jahabich and approached as well.

  “Shall we draw straws?” I asked. “Or does everyone want a piece?”

  “That last one sounds pretty good to me,” Sheila replied.

  I smiled at her, glad to see her alive and whole again, but then had to ask, “How did you not drown?”

  “No clue. Maybe I had some unfinished business.”

  Sally made a gagging sound. “Oh, will you two just get a fucking room already?”

  “I’m thinking we should carve the cake first,” I replied.

  Alex stepped forward. “This is First Coven business, Freewill. An oversight that is long overdue to be corrected.”

  I was tempted to argue, but fuck it. So long as this bitch was dead, who really cared where the killing blow came from? “Age before beauty.” I started to make an “after you” gesture, but then stopped dead in my tracks.

  The wound on Calibra’s arm was knitting itself back together, the process growing faster by the moment.

  Oh no!

  Something caught my eye from behind the two Dracs – multiple orange glows.

  “Look out!” Sally cried, but to no avail. One of the Jahabich slammed its club arm into the side of James’s head, sending him to his knees. The others came back to life just as quickly, falling upon him and Alex.

  Though I was pretty sure of what I would see, I quickly glanced toward The Source to find it back to its normal color. Whatever had disrupted everything was over, passed, which meant...

  A shockwave of power burst from Calibra, knocking Sally and me away. Sheila’s aura sprang to life, protecting her, but Calibra was ready for that. Quick as thought itself, she kicked out. Her leg ignited upon contact with the faith magic, but such was the force of the blow that Sheila went flying ... straight into the arms of a gaggle of Jahabich.

  Calibra was in the fight again, which was bad for us.

  But if she was back, then maybe that meant...

  I turned toward Christy and focused. Her pain and suffering. Ed, casually blasted away. Tom, killed, reborn, then used as little more than a pawn. Sheila, broken and discarded like an unwanted toy. I thought of all the friends who’d been hurt or worse. I saw their faces in my mind and let my heart break in anguish over what had already been done and what was likely to come if we failed.

  When I looked down at myself again, my hands were wicked claws and thick, veiny muscle stood out under my skin.

  Good timing, too, because Calibra was heading my way.

  “No more words,” she said. “I am going to tear you apart with my bare hands.”

  “The hell with that shit,” I replied. “I’ve got plenty of words left.” I closed the distance between us and lashed out, raking a furrow across her midsection. “Not the least of which is fuck you!”

  FIRST TO DIE

  I didn’t know a great deal about magic. Hell, I didn’t know a great deal about fighting either. But in both cases, I figured hitting the bad guys hard enough so that they couldn’t mount an effective defense was a sound strategy.

  Slashing, punching, and kicking, I brought the battle to the matron of both vampires and mages, hoping I’d wear her down enough for ... I dunno, maybe for her to die of old age or something.

  Maddeningly, Calibra healed almost as fast as I could wound her. It was like trying to stab a lump of Silly Putty to death. Throwing her into The Source was a potential solution, but she was attuned to it. For all I knew, I’d chuck her in and the bitch would part it like the Red Sea.

  No, this was best done the old-fashioned way. A stake, or my fist, through her heart. I wouldn’t rest easy until I saw that she was good and dusted. None of that half-assed turning away while she was dying shit that heroes loved to do in the movies. Fuck that noise.

  Pity that Calibra had other plans. She caught my fist as I tried to flatten her stupid fucking nose and crushed it. We’re talking crumbled bag of potato chips here. Goddamn! Oh, and it really fucking hurt, too.

  I was no slouch in the healing department either right then. So the second she let go of the deflated balloon of skin that had been my hand, it immediately rebuilt itself. Freaking weird feeling. Imagine reconstructive surgery followed by months of intense physical rehabilitation all taking place in the space of a few seconds. And then imagine it happening again as she lashed out with her own claws and gutted me where I stood.

  That took the wind out of my sails and I went down to one knee. It was only for a moment, but that was all she needed to turn the tide against me. I went from offense to defense in the span of a heartbeat. Calibra wasn’t exactly the hand-to-hand expert that Alexander was, but she was strong and unthinkably fast.

  Bones broke, skin parted, and many contusions were had as she gained the upper hand. It was unbelievable. Before I’d met her, the only person who’d stood toe to toe with my Dr. Death form had been Alex, and I only had his word to go on for that. Hell, this body had practically torn Turd a new asshole when we’d fought. I hated to admit it, but I’d let myself get taken in by the same arrogance I’d attributed to other vamps.

  I’d believed myself invincible.

  I was wrong, and if I didn’t turn things around soon, I would be dead wrong.

  * * *

  It was only a matter of time. Already that drink I’d taken from the mage seemed like ages ago. No matter how strong the vampire, there’s only so much abuse anyone can take. If I hit my limit before I somehow clawed this chick’s face off, I’d turn back to myself. And if that happened, I might as well save everyone the trouble and throw my own ass into the goo.

  No! That was quitter talk.

  There were too many lives at stake, including one that hadn’t even begun yet.

  Call me a stubborn dickhead, but I wasn’t about to let them down.

  Calibra had just finished using her claws to take a chunk out of my shoulder. She spun, meaning to bring them around again for another go – turning herself into a living Cuisinart.

  It was the only chance I was going to get. I mustered my strength and stepped in, taking advantage of my greater size and wrapping my arms around her in a bear hug. It wouldn’t hold. She could snap my arms like matchsticks, but not before I could sink my teeth in and...

  Feel my mouth ignite as a red glow sprang up around her.

  I staggered back a step, my body singed from head to toe.

  “You didn’t think I was serious about using only my bare hands, did you?” she asked with a smile before plunging a glowing fist into my stomach.

  * * *

  Well, that was certainly a new one, being torn apart from the inside while having the wound instantly cauterize itself as it went. I imagine this was what it would be like to be gutted by a lightsaber, if lightsabers had clawed fingers that seeme
d to like grabbing hold of organs and squeezing until they popped.

  Calibra’s eyes glittered as she amped up the power, throwing some of that blue energy into the mix to help ensure I was too busy twitching to do much about my situation.

  Hmm, what was that smell? Oh yeah, that was me being barbecued from the inside out. Go figure, I kinda smelled like chicken.

  Regardless, I wasn’t overly eager to sample a bite.

  Mustering what little control I had over my muscles, I grabbed hold of her wrist to try to yank her out of me. Pity she still had a free hand, which – now that both of mine were occupied – she placed upon the side of my face, almost lovingly.

  It didn’t last. She tightened her grip, almost to the point where I was certain she’d rip my ear clean off. However, it wasn’t my ear she had in mind. She elongated the nail on her thumb and I barely had time to gasp in panic before she plunged it into my right eye.

  Pain exploded in my head as she filleted my optic nerve and began to dig deeper. My healing was just barely keeping up with the fire in my gut. If she poured power straight into my brain, too, there would be nothing I could do save accept ending my adventures and turning into a fine white powder.

  It might have been the effect of having my grey matter poked with a skewer, but I could have sworn I heard laughter coming from somewhere deep inside of me. I had a moment to imagine some small remnant of Dr. Death’s personality enjoying the show as I proved that, even with his power at my disposal, I still wasn’t good enough.

  I...

  Calibra’s gaze wavered from mine and an instant later she yanked her thumb out of my head with a disturbing sucking noise. Oh well, whether alcohol or fingers, what was the difference how those brain cells died?

  She grabbed hold of something inside of me – my spine, I think – then spun around, dragging me along with her.

  Her free hand flashed out and snatched at something. When it came back, I saw she was holding a Desert Eagle, complete with the tip of a trigger finger still attached to it. Shit!