Nick followed Michael through the corridors of the castle. Voices and laughter came from behind closed doors, but luck was on their side. The group slowly made their way down a winding stairway. As they rounded a curve, they heard whistling.
Nick held up his hand, and they all stopped. They pressed their bodies against the stone wall. Fear gripped Michael. His heart raced in his ears and sweat beaded along his forehead. He swallowed hard to suppress a scream that threatened to burst from within him. He scratched his nails nervously along the stone wall. Michael knew what the Nephilim were capable of. He knew the weapons they carried. He knew that he wouldn’t survive if he had to go back to his cell.
Nick retrieved his knife from his leg strap. The leather glove gripped the knife handle well. That was good. The gloves wouldn’t be a hindrance in a fight.
Nick pulled a tiny mirror from a sack on his belt and stole a peak at the Nephilim coming around the corner. The monster was distracted, tapping away on his tablet as he lumbered up the stairs. He’d never know what hit him.
The Nephilim came around the curve in the staircase and, as Nick moved towards him, he looked up. His blood red pupils locked on Michael and then Li. Nick’s hand gripped the back of the Nephilim’s head and smashed his face against the stone wall. Then Nick jabbed his knife into the Nephilim’s temple. As he withdrew the blade, blood oozed from the wound.
“We can’t leave the body here,” Justin whispered. “If they find it, they’ll know.”
“They’ll know soon enough,” Nick said. “We’ve left a trail of bodies since the patio.” Nick looked at Michael and asked, “Are we close to the armory?”
Michael nodded, jealous of how easily Nick killed the soldier. He’d wanted to do that so many times, kill one of his captors, but he’d been powerless, stripped of all dignity. But now he knew that once his powers returned, he’d liberally dispense justice. He’d show no mercy for these monsters.
“I’ll take him,” Li said. “You take the lead.” Li slung the Nephilim over his shoulder. He eyed the blood stain on the wall as he headed down the stairs. The stain was evidence of danger, enemy penetration. They’d left their mark. Their time was running out.
At the bottom of the stairs, Nick looked to Michael for guidance. Michael pointed right, and they headed down the hall. They passed heavy, locked doors. Michael felt his heart race as they neared one of the rooms. It was the room where they conducted their experiments. He tried to control his breathing. He inhaled deeply and slowly let the air escape over his lips as he exhaled. As they passed the room and the distance from it grew, Michael’s heart calmed and his breathing returned to normal.
Gabriella knew their luck wouldn’t hold. She couldn’t believe they weren’t in a full-fledge battle already. In her gut she knew why the castle wasn’t well guarded. Daevas wasn’t here. He couldn’t be. If he were, the guards would be on their toes. She couldn’t decide if she was glad or angry that Daevas wasn’t here. On the one hand, they weren’t ready to fight him, but on the other hand, he could possibly tell them where to go next. Relief flooded Gabriella when Michael tapped Nick and pointed to a door and mouthed “armory”.
Nick stood at the door, listening for voices coming from the inside. He heard two guards caught up in a conversation. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t asked Michael the questions that now swirled through his head: How is the armory defended? How many guards are there? Do they wear protective gear?
Instead, Nick felt he was going in blind on possibly the most dangerous mission in his life. He was going into a room full of his kryptonite without adequate protection. He looked at the gloves that covered his hands and arms. As long as he kept the poison from touching his flesh, he would be fine. Nick slid his knife into the leg strap and held a fire powder bead in each hand. “I’ll go left. You go right,” Nick signaled to Justin.
Justin nodded. They’d have to move fast to overtake the armory. Surprise was their only advantage, and they’d have to move quickly. Once they held the armory, the advantage would shift towards them. He rolled the fire powder bead on the tips of his fingers and waited for Nick’s move.
Gabriella prepped her bead. She’d look for whoever was targeting Nick and Justin and take them out. She prayed they weren’t dressed in protective leather clothing. If they were, the value of the beads would greatly diminish.
Li had no intention of dying today. He was a survivor. He would kill those monsters and claim the protective gear and a stash of weapons that he could store at Gabriella’s house. This journey, though dangerous, had definitely opened his eyes to the dangers that surrounded him.
Nick eased the door open. The voices continued to ramble on. He peaked and saw one of the Nephilim standing with his back to him. The Nephilim stood by a long table that ran the length of the massive room. Weapons of all kinds were stacked on the table: knives, swords, shields, bows, arrows, crossbows, bolts, handguns, and automatic weapons. The handguns and automatic weapons surprised Nick. Asteri and Nephilim didn’t usually fight with those weapons, too many moving parts. The more moving parts a weapon had, the easier it would be for the enemy to mentally hijack the weapon and render it useless or use it against the owner. That was why he relied so much on his knives and swords. Only he controlled his weapons.
The other Nephilim placed boxes onto shelves. He’d squat beside the box, arrange something, and then reach high to put the box on the shelf. Nick waited for the Nephilim to raise the box to shoulder height, and then he burst through the door.
Nick sprinted towards the Nephilim by the shelving while Justin raced towards the soldier by the table. The Nephilim looked over his shoulder with the box still raised above his head. Their eyes met, and the Nephilim dropped the box and shouted.
Nick threw the fire powder bead and directed it towards the Nephilim’s eyes. The bead burst, and the powder dusted the Nephilim’s face. Tiny flakes infiltrated his body through his nostrils as he breathed. It burned his lungs and zapped his strength. He fell to the floor, moaning, and curled up like a baby.
The Nephilim at the table startled at the sound of their attack. His eyes widened and he turned to grab a weapon. Justin threw a bead. The Nephilim blocked the bead with a shield. “Ahhhh!” he roared. “You will pay.” The Nephilim gripped a sword in his free hand. “I’m ready. Are you?” he taunted.
Gabriella was ready. She stood out of his peripheral vision while his focus was on Justin. She threw the bead at the Nephilim, and it smacked him in the cheek.
The Nephilim fell to his knees and wiped at his powder covered flesh with his gloved hand. He reached onto the table and pulled down a crossbow and bolt. As he struggled to load the weapon, Justin and Gabriella approached him.
Justin extended his hand towards the Nephilim and said to Gabriella, “He’s all yours.”
She wrenched the crossbow and bolt from his hands. She loaded it and aimed the weapon at his head. “First, I have some questions for you,” she said.
Li stepped into the armory and watched as the others overpowered the Nephilim. He felt like a straggler and carelessly dropped the dead Nephilim that dangled over his shoulder. The armory door closed behind him. He studied the ugly face, the elongated head, and razor sharp teeth. Li had seen so many Nephilim over the years that they seemed to blend together, but he didn’t recognize this one.
Li noticed Nick standing over the Nephilim as he writhed on the floor. Nick threw questions at him. That was good. The more information they could get the better. He scanned the room and saw Gabriella pointing the crossbow at the other Nephilim’s head. He was thankful she wasn’t in danger, and anyway, he had a feeling Justin would protect her if he wasn’t able to. He’d noticed the way Justin took in Gabriella’s every movement. Justin soaked up her very essence, and she certainly encouraged his attention.
Li noticed stacks of leather on one of the shelves. He stepped over and rummaged through the piles. They were well organized by item. Pants, long sleeved shirts, face masks, and gloves lay in
massive quantities along the shelves. He pulled on a pair of gloves, grabbed two more pairs and headed over to Gabriella and Justin. He wanted to get in on the action.
Gabriella poked her captive with the crossbow bolt. “Where is Daevas?” she asked as his eyes filled with fear. She’d retired from this side of life, the hand-to-hand confrontation with evil, for the calmer life of information gathering. As she rebuilt her life at ‘New Beginnings’, she’d served the Asteri cause by keeping her eye on the supernatural battle that waged on a daily basis. She’d enjoyed the years she’d spent keeping tabs on everyone and sharing her findings with the ‘Powers that Be’, but at this moment, she realized that she missed the thrill of the fight. Nothing compares with the exhilarating rush to save or take a life.
The Nephilim heard the question but refused to answer. If he did manage to live through this, and his betrayal was discovered, he’d be sent to the Pits. No one that went to the Pits ever made it out alive. If they were lucky, they’d unleash pain and destruction on their fellow inmates before they were victimized, and the only reward for their success would be another day in Hell.
As the questions continued, the Nephilim felt the sting of irony as he gasped for breath. He’d spent his days surrounded by fire powder poison only to succumb to it at the hands of his enemies. Working the armory was supposed to be a ‘safe’ job. Nothing ever happened here. All he had to do was catalogue the weapons and gear and prepare it for shipment. This breach, this attack was all wrong. It should never have happened. He reached up to the table and a knife clattered to the floor. He groped along the stones towards the knife. He didn’t want to die like this. He wanted to protect himself. If he could stab them with the knife, they’d suffer too. Perhaps he could shift the advantage.
Gabriella watched as the Nephilim desperately attempted to save himself. “Do you really think that’s going to help you?” she asked and kicked the knife farther away from him. “I’ll ask you again, where is Daevas?”
As the knife slid across the floor, so did the Nephilim’s hope of salvation. He knew they’d never leave him alive. He was surprised the Avenger hadn’t killed his buddy already. “He’s gone,” the Nephilim muttered.
“Where is Daevas?” Justin asked harshly. Li nudged Justin and handed him a pair of gloves. Justin made a show of putting on the protective leather. He let them snap against his arm as he stared at the Nephilim crumpled on the floor. Then Justin took a sword from the table. He held it up and examined it in the light.
“I don’t know,” the Nephilim uttered. His lungs burned and each breath felt like tiny knives slicing the insides of his body. “He doesn’t tell me. I’m a nobody.” He stared at Li, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. “But Daevas is friends with Kahan. Maybe Kahan can help you.” He cocked his head, locking eyes with Li, and said, “What are you…”
Li couldn’t take the sight of that Nephilim any longer. He had nothing helpful to offer them; questioning him would only be a complete waste of time and only lead to unanswered questions. Li thrust the sword through the Nephilim’s mouth so that the tip of the sword penetrated his skull and came out on the other side.
Gabriella was stunned when the bloody sword protruded from the back of the Nephilim’s head. “What did you do that for?” she yelled. “He was talking.” She pointed to the now dead Nephilim.
“He would feed us lies,” Li said. “Talking would not benefit him at all. He knew his death was only moments away. If we listened to him, he’d have us chasing our tails.” Li pulled the sword free, and the Nephilim fell flat on his face. A river of blood flowed from his head.
As the puddle grew, so did the anger within Justin. “So that is it,” Justin said harshly. “You do not trust us to make the right choice in regards to his information, so you kill him without our permission.”
Li stepped closer to Justin, their chests nearly touching. “I do not need your permission,” Li snarled.
Nick heard the fight brewing by the table. He didn’t mind the killing, but he didn’t want contention within the ranks. He plunged his sword into the heart of the Nephilim before him and quickly joined the others.
“Stop,” Nick ordered, his voice calm and low. “Today was his day to die.” Nick motioned to the Nephilim on the floor but looked at Justin and Gabriella. “But,” he turned towards Li, “they were interrogating him. He was their prisoner. The call was theirs.”
Li took a calming breath. He studied the dead monster at his feet. “You are right,” Li said. “I overstepped. Please forgive my exuberance,” he lied. If he had to do it again, he’d kill that sniveling Nephilim.
Gabriella nodded and Justin gave a quick shake of his head. “Very well,” Justin said. “Don’t let it happen again,” he warned, “or you may find more than words lashing your flesh.”
Li’s eye twitched at the warning, and his internal armor snapped into place. Justin wasn’t just after Gabriella, now he was threatening Li. “Let me show you what I found,” Li said, trying to calm the moment.
Li led them to the aisle of shelving with the protective clothing. “Look at this,” he said, signaling down the aisle with his hand. “They have enough sets to fully clothe hundreds, perhaps thousands of Nephilim.”
Nick set his hand on the soft leather pile before him. He looked around at the massive amount of weapons in the armory. “They’re preparing for war. A war in which we could never hope to defeat them.”
Gabriella’s hand grazed the soft leather piles as she walked down the aisle. The aisle seemed to go on and on. “How many animals did they butcher for this much leather? Where did they get them all?”
“I don’t know,” Justin said, grabbing a shirt. “But grab a set. You’ll need it against them.”
Nick grabbed a sword whose blade had a red hue to it. He figured the red hue was caused by the poison. “Be sure to grab some weapons too,” he said. “You’ll need the advantage against them. Use their creation to destroy them.” Nick pulled a pair of leather pants on over his other pants. Once on, the leather molded to his body. He found a shirt, gloves, and threw a face mask into a pocket on the pants. He secured his belt and added other “specialized” weapons to his arsenal as he wandered through the armory.
Once everyone suited up, they found some large duffle bags and filled those with sets of clothing and weapons. Michael stood, hands on hips, and stopped as the others filled the bags. “Question,” he said. “Do we sneak out and leave all of this to them, or do we destroy it?” He looked around the room, his arms spreading out towards the shelves.
“There’s only one option,” Nick said. “We go out there, kill them, and then destroy this place. Let Daevas come home to rubble.”
Gabriella nodded. “Agreed. Anything we don’t take or destroy will be used against us or another Asteri in the future.”
Li ran his gloved fingers over the red tinted steel of a knife. “If we stay together, we should take them down quickly. They won’t have a chance against these weapons.”
“Good,” Nick said. “We’re all in agreement.”
The group of five, dressed in the protective clothing, grabbed some poisoned weapons and regrouped at the door. Nick faced Michael and said, “Michael, I’ll lead, but I need your guidance. You know this place better than any of us. Do you feel strong enough to fight?”
Michael didn’t have all of his strength yet, but he did have determination. And with the help of the poisoned weapons he wouldn’t need all of his power to fight. The weapons gave him all the advantage he’d need. “I’m good,” he said. “I’m ready to mete out justice.”
Nick understood. He could imagine that a powerful desire had built within Michael during his captivity to destroy his captors. He wouldn’t deny Michael this opportunity, just as no one would be able to stop him from destroying Hayden’s captors.
As they pulled on their face masks, they essentially morphed into Grim Reapers. Death was coming to the inhabitants of the castle.
Nick eased open the door
and headed down the hallway. They went from room to room, killing the Nephilim within the castle. At one point they were nearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of Nephilim hanging out in the entertainment room, but Gabriella pulled out a fire powder grenade. The fire powder wafted throughout the room while shrapnel coated in fire powder cut through the Nephilims. Then they were easy pickings
After they’d cleared most of the castle, they came to a large door. The strong stench of urine and manure seeped into the air. Nick put his ear to the door, listening for voices. But words weren’t what he heard. Braying and shuffling of hooves on the stone floor echoed throughout the room.
Gabriella recognized the sounds of the hooves on the stone floor at the same time Nick did. Her eyes grew wide. There was only one animal that she knew of that could make those sounds and was also not affected by the fire flower. Her stomach turned as she realized what kind of leather covered her body. She pulled off the face mask and ran her finger over the soft leather.
Li knew when he opened the door what they’d find. He pushed it open, and hundreds of unicorns were confined in stalls too small for them. The stalls lined the massive stable. The unicorns’ bodies pressed against each other on their sides. Their horns waved like wands through the air. Wands that were powerless to cast a spell and rescue the unicorns.
Li removed his glove and pressed his bare palm against the silky body of the unicorn nearest him. It seemed unnatural for such an exotic, intelligent beast to be treated so inhumanely. “We must free them,” he said.
“Of course,” Nick replied. “But we should keep a few to help us carry supplies.” The unicorns would allow them to collect more weapons and protective wear that they could use against Daevas, Kahan, and their minions. He strode to the end of the room and opened the stable’s massive double-doors. Sunlight poured in through the opening.
Justin opened the latch on the stall door and threw it open. He stepped aside quickly to avoid being speared by a horn. The beasts neighed and nickered as they made their way to freedom. Then he went to the next stall and freed the next batch of unicorns.
Synchronicity (Scintillate Series Book 3) Page 10