“I hope I give you gas, you bastard!” Marty always did have a way with words. He was pissed. I was a little surprised by how easily Marty could stand there and insult an Ogre that was almost twice his size. Marty was obviously handling his introduction to the world of the Fey better than I would have. But more importantly, Marty suffered from that lamentable trait that many shorter people suffer from, an intractable desire to get in the faces of anyone taller than they were, if only to prove that they weren’t intimidated. You don’t get much more intimidating than an Ogre and Marty was having none of it. He moved forward with speed I should have been surprised at but wasn’t.
I might not have been surprised but the Ogre was. Now, Marty in no way, had the mass to shove the Ogre aside, but he certainly was more than willing to give it a shot. I don’t think that Marty could have taken him, despite his pugnacity. I would never find out, because at that moment the Ogre’s head exploded into a cloud of blood, bone and brain.
Chapter Twenty Two
I was stunned for a moment, but that was a reaction I shared with nearly everyone around me. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, things started happening almost at once.
Jeryn Callisandra and the dwarf reacted quickly and dropped to the ground and tried to find cover. Splinters of stone flew up as fire from the woods beyond began to rake the rock that they had hidden behind. They began to return to fire to the woods and glanced over to us as if they couldn’t decide where to shoot first.
The Ogre’s headless corpse stumbled backward, as if Marty’s shove had not only knocked him back but taken his head off as well. I didn’t want to think of the caliber of weapon that could decapitate an Ogre and I certainly hoped that it wasn’t aimed at me. I wasn’t taking any chances, I pulled Dalia down as gunfire erupted towards Serlisch.
He moved with all the grace that I had always seen in full blood Fey. Like flowing quicksilver he found a hollow in the ground to conceal himself as the staccato crackle of gunfire peppered his position. He was pinned down there. I could see him cast glances back at us, hoping that he would get the chance he needed to take revenge on the man who had ruined his face.
I found myself on the ground, crawling for cover. Unfortunately, we were unarmed and that is a terrible thing to be in the middle of a gunfight. It appeared that the fire that was mainly a suppressing fire to keep anyone from moving. Correction, it was keeping Jeryn Callisandra and his crew from moving. Whoever the group in the woods was, they weren’t shooting at us, just Jeryn. They had taken out the Ogre first and in that I found myself in complete agreement. I’m not saying the rest of his crew wasn’t dangerous, but an Ogre is a nasty piece of work and taking him out would have been my first choice as well.
I was wondering who exactly was out there when fire irrupted from the top of the mound and the low ruins that perched there. I couldn’t see anyone up there but there had to be. I could see the spurts of flame that shot out of the automatic weapons and streaked towards the woods. It looked like someone else had taken up a hand.
Marty crawled over to me and grinned. “I thought you said this place wasn’t used! It’s busier than Grand Central station at rush hour, for god’s sake!” Whoever was up on the mound was ignoring us for the moment and was trading fire with whoever was in the woods. I was hearing short controlled bursts from both sides and that told me that whoever these jokers were, they knew what they were doing.
Meanwhile, Jeryn Callisandra troupe of bastards were pinned just as we were. I had tried a move forward to where our guns lay, but a burst from up top the mound put an end to that. If I stayed where I was, fire from the top of the mound couldn’t hit us, but The guns were fair enough out in the open that an attempt to grab them was likely to be fatal. Stalemate. It wasn’t dark yet but it would be soon. My guess was that as soon as it got actually dark enough someone would make their move. The guys in the woods could make their rush and the troops on the mound could move down and do whatever the hell it is that they wanted. Hell, by then maybe Serlisch would get his chance to put the chop on me. I decided that by the time the sun set I needed have a better plan than cowering at the base of the hill hoping that everybody out there would kill each other for me.
I pulled Dalia around to where I could see her face in the gathering twilight. She was scared and obviously had good reason to be. It was reassuring that despite her fear she wasn’t shutting down. She could still function, that was what I needed.
“Dalia, listen to me. We’ve got to get the hell out of here and I’ll need your help to make it happen” A short burst from the gloomy woods directed towards Serlisch thudded into the soft earth of the mound behind me showering us with dirt. If we stayed we might get killed as easily by accident as on purpose. We wouldn’t be any less dead if it was intentional or not.
“How? If we move we are likely to be killed by one side or the other. I do not think we can make it back to the car under fire and with all those voices calling out to us.” I could see that she was actually more afraid of the whispers than she was the bullets and I couldn’t really blame her for that.
“You’re right. We can’t make it back to the car. But at the same time , we can’t stay here. It’s only a matter of time until someone gets lucky and actually manages to shoot us. It looks to me that everyone is basically ignoring us here at the base of the mound but that situation is time limited. When it gets dark they will be able to make a move. We need to be gone by then.” Marty was more exposed, although he was shielded by the Ogre’s body. I couldn’t see him too easily, but I knew he could see me, so I waved him over and was rewarded by seeing movement towards us. Stray shots from above pocked the ground around him as he worked his way toward the mound.”
“Again, How?” Dalia was exasperated and it showed.
“We can’t make the woods, which if I am reading the situation correctly, is full of people who are not shooting at us but at whoever is on the top of the mound and Jeryn’s bunch. We don’t know that for sure, but it doesn’t matter anyway. Our basic problem still hasn’t changed. We have to get to the Bright Kingdom and now is just as good a time as any to go. We’re right against the mound. If we open a gate through the Veil, it will be right behind us and we should be able to slip through.”
I saw her work though my words and as realization hit her I saw an actual smile cross her face. The idea of leaving everyone fighting over nothing appealed to her. It certainly appealed to me.
“Here’s what we’ll do. As soon as Marty gets over here, we’ll brief him on what we are going to do. The thing will really come down to timing. We need this happen when all our friends make their move, at nightfall.”
Marty had managed to get close to us. There was only a small distance to clear and I could see that he was carrying something and that it was making it harder for him to move. He made a dash across the open space as a gun from the top of the mound spat at him, throwing little clods of dirt into the air. When he plopped down next to me he grinned.
“How could you throw a party like this and not have any party favors? Luckily for you our Ogre friend brought plenty for all of us.” He started handing out a some small daggers, well, small for an ogre is pretty man sized for us. It wasn’t much, but it felt better to be armed, even if it was only a dagger.
“What else did you get?” I could see Marty had a bundle under his arm.
“Nothing. He had a purse attached to his belt but I couldn’t get it free. This isn’t the best time to be looting bodies.
“Agreed.” I filled him in on my plan and he nodded. It would be tight. As the last rays of the dying sun filtered through the trees, the gunfire had nearly stopped. Occasionally, a shot would be snapped off at a supposed target. It looked to me as if everyone had decided it was a waiting game. It wouldn’t be a long wait, ten minutes at the most.
“Be nice if we could get the guns, or least some of them.” He point to towards the weapons that Dalia had dropped at the spot where Jeryn Callisandra had been standing. I agreed
with him but couldn’t see a good way to get them.
“How about when she opens the gate? I’ll grab ‘em and make a beeline for the gate. I feel better if the only people who don’t have guns at this gunfight were better armed.” His eyes searched mine and I nodded. It was risky, but getting the guns could only help.
“Okay,” I said, “ But you better let me do this. I’m quicker than you.”
“The hell you say! Doesn’t matter anyway. It has to be me. If you get shot, I’m not going to able to protect Dalia on the other side of the veil. If I get shot, while a tragedy of Homeric proportions, you’ll still be able to function, albeit unarmed. It’s got to be me.” His logic was unassailable as it was uncomfortable. I didn’t like asking my friend to take a risk I couldn’t, but at the same time I couldn’t leave Dalia alone to face whatever waited over there. I knew I could count on Marty to do whatever he could, but He would fail and she would fall.
I nodded. There really wasn’t any choice. “Okay, but here’s how we’ll do it.” I called Dalia closer so she could hear above the sporadic gunfire. “As soon as it gets dark, I‘ll give Dalia the signal and she’ll open the gate. It should be flashy enough so that everyone out there and up there will be distracted. At that instant, you rush forward and grab what you can. Without stopping, you turn and run as fast as you can for the gate. If you can’t get to the guns, don’t worry about it. We’ll handle whatever comes up. Dalia, as soon as I give the word we all hit the gate. Once Marty and I are through, I want you to smash the gate closed. Don’t let anyone else through and don’t leave any traces that can be followed. Got it?”
She nodded but looked troubled “Will they not just open the gate and follow us?”
“Not right away. They’ll have to settle who has control of the mound. Jeryn and his crew could probably do it, but they won’t get the chance. Because once Marty and you are through, I’m going to use this on the passage between worlds.” I opened my shirt and pulled out the cross of iron that I had fashioned. I could feel where it had ridden next to my skin, leaving a burning rash. I may not suffer burns the way a full blooded Fey would, but it still made me uncomfortable.
Dalia visably recoiled. “That is iron. It is forbidden to carry that through a gate!” I looked at her and smiled.
“Yeah, it is forbidden. But I’ve got rules of my own and the number one rule is that Mrs. Underwood’s little boy does what it takes to survive, damn all rules!” She slowly nodded.
“How does that help us? I thought you said we couldn’t take any iron through?” Marty seemed a little puzzled by my about face.
“I said we shouldn’t and we’re not supposed to. But actually, I won’t be taking it through, or at least not all the way through.” I turned and saw that the sun had almost set and long shadows covered the sparse scrub between the forest and the mound. It wouldn’t be long now.
“I don’t get it.” Marty had a confused look on his face, a look that I seldom saw there.
“By dropping an object of iron during the passage through the Veil he will ground the Veil, disrupting it, possibly tearing it.”
“That sounds ‘Bad’.”
“It is indeed “Bad” Marty. The iron will twist any rituals used near it and a gate will not form. No one will be able to follow. It’s not something a full blooded Fey could try, for obvious reasons. That is the most likely event. But there is another possibility, it could tear the Veil and in this spot that could be worse than anything that might happen to us on either side of the Veil. If the Veil were to tear, the forces of the Adversary could come through. They are drawn to this place and if a tear does not draw them quickly, it will draw them surely.” She paused “Even if a tear does not occur, the Veil will be chaotic and unstable. It would take many months to cleanse the area and settle it enough for a gate to be opened safely. “
“We’ll either be safe of dead by then. We can deal with the consequences later, first we have to survive.” It was almost dark and I knew that it would only be a few moments before someone made a move. I decided to steal a march on them. I signaled Marty and Dalia to begin. I interspersed my body between Dalia and whoever might be looking, hoping to hide what she was doing.
Either someone out there saw what was going on or they decided to move on their own. Just as Marty erupted into action I heard movement from above. It was near dark, but the Fey have excellent night vision. Dalia pressed her hands against the mound and began to chant in a very low tone. I couldn’t hear her words, but I knew what they were. She was opening the gate.
A low rumble coursed through the hill and the ground beneath her hand began to ripple like waves on a still pond. The sickly looking sod parted, a drape of grass and dirt, revealing a milky glow. The white light came out of gash in the mound that was about 5 foot high and 3 foot high. The light was a beacon to anyone who was watching, but there was nothing to be done for that. We had to open the gate. I only hoped that it would distract attention away from Marty. The rumbling stopped and I could hear a low humming sound that I always associated with a temporary gate. Dalia turned to me and nodded and I noticed that her face was flush and beads of perspiration dotted her brow.
“Go on! Get to the other side and keep the gate open!” I shouted. She looked confused, unsure what to do. She didn’t want to leave us behind. “Go! I have to be the last through. I’ll bring Marty and as soon as we’re through, close the gate!” She didn’t look happy, but she went.
At my signal, Marty had leapt into the darkness and I could barely make out his movement in the darkness. There was fire from above and I could see the muzzle flashes as slugs tore into the ground about two feet in front me. I suspected that was just about as far as they could suppress their fire from the top of the hill. There was answering fire from the woods, directed at Jeryn Callisandra and his crew as well as the interlopers on the top of the hill.
Marty had reached the spot where Dalia had dropped the guns. I could see his silhouette as he searched in the deepening darkness. If he had been Fey, he probably would have seen them. Even as a human he would have found them if he had been given a little more time. But time was the one thing that he had run out of.
I wasn’t positive where the bullet came from that hit Marty in the back. I think it was from the top of the hill but it could just as easily been a stray from the woods. I had, by this time, worked out that the guys in the woods didn’t want to shoot me or any body with me. They’d had plenty of chances to do that in better light. Most of their fire had been directed at Jeryn Callisandra and whoever was on top the hill. Those guys had kept the troops in the woods from crossing the cursed open ground around the mound, None of that mattered to Marty who jerked and spun with the impact of the bullet.
I heard him grunt as he dropped to his knees and fell over. He looked confused, but not surprised as if he had always known it would come to this. I said nothing as I rushed into the darkness only to see the ground in front of my jump with the impact of bullets from above. Marty raised himself up on his elbows.
“Jake! I can’t make it. I’m bleeding like I got gallons of this stuff running through me. You best get to steppin’.” He sound calm, but his voice wavered a little bit. I could tell that he was struggling to stay awake.
“There’s no way I am leaving you. You are my sworn man and my friend. I ain’t leaving so forget it.” I cursed whatever candy ass god or gods let me lead my friend out here to get shot.
“You can’t do anything for me but you can still help her, if you go now.” He coughed a little and spat blood. That wasn’t good. It probably meant he had internal bleeding. I hesitated. What he said made sense. The problem was that I wasn’t in the mood for sense. I wanted something that defied both logic and sense. I wanted a miracle.
“Go on! Now! I can see the muzzle flashes from the top of the mound. They’re working their way down. They’ll be here soon!” I still couldn’t move, my mind racing through what actions I could take, discarding the suicidal and the insane, try
ing to settle for the ridiculous. I was paralyzed between my fear for Dalia and my friendship for Marty.
“Damn it, don’t waste this! Go! You got to be alive to make the motherfuckers pay! Go, now!” He was shouting and I could hear the sounds of booted feet thudding into the earth above as whoever was on the top of the hill realized what was going on. I could also see people moving around in the scrub and I knew it was only few moments before someone was in a position to take shot at me.
“Goodbye Marty. I’ll see you on the other side someday.”
“But not today Jake, not today.” Marty relaxed and sank back to the ground and all I could see was a still shape in the darkness.
I clenched my fist tightly and pounded the mound with the unfairness of this. I turned to the tunnel of light and crouched. It was a little too short for me to enter running.
Inside the gate was the veil, thick and waiting. I pushed into it and felt it part before me. It was like a rushing sensation in my ears. Passage though the veil is timeless. It’s forever in an instant. I reached in my coat pocket and pulled the iron cross that I had made out and flipped it behind me. Immediately, I could feel the Veil twisting and straining. My vision was distorting and I could feel the currents around me whirl as an immense amount of energy began to build behind. I hurried through the bright light that was now tinged with whirls of red and black. I stumbled through the far side of the Veil and into the sunlight of the Bright Kingdom. I could hear the sounds of static discharge behind me and I turned to look back through the Veil. I could see dark clad figures moving into veil. Inside the Veil there was a monstrous sound. A sound like steel crying and moaning, stressed beyond the breaking point.
Naming Day (Jake Underwood Book 1) Page 21