FREEFALL (A Megalith Thriller Book 1)
Page 28
With one good hand, he stripped the carbine’s mag and reloaded. He picked up the first soldier’s weapon, unfired and ready for action. Cullen sheathed the sword in his belt once more and glided up the stairs.
The moon sang to his blood. Told him time was fleeting.
Cold air burned in his chest. A woman, dressed in chain mail and leather leggings stood at the top of the stairs. Though he’d never seen this incarnation of her, Cullen knew it was Morrigan holding the door for him. Cold and hard as the metal door behind her.
They ran out of the caverns, onto a moonlit path. Only the jingle of her mail shirt sounded beside him, the lancing fire in his wounded shoulder forgotten.
Morrigan dropped behind for an instant, and then resumed their pace on his left side. Darting forward, she deftly removed the sword from his belt as they ran and sprinted ahead.
Glancing over her shoulder, she called, “I’ll see you in the fray, Cullen. It’s so good to have you back.”
The moonlit grove came into view with scores of bodies choking its entrance and its outer ring. Higher than the ground surrounding it stood an altar. A white-clad form lay atop it with two robed figures at the head and foot.
Morrigan announced their attack with a shrill scream that bent the first wave of armed men before her. She entered their ranks in a maelstrom of glimmering sword flashes, cutting them down like wheat beneath the scythe.
Unnoticed in her diversion, Cullen slowed enough to shoulder his carbine and fired to the right of her. Dropping the empty weapon to the forest floor, he swung the other in place and sprayed the soldiers on Morrigan’s left while she continued to carve her way through their middle.
He left the second carbine behind and picked up two more from the bodies strewn about. Back to back they fought, driving toward the mound at the grove’s center. Deadly as their surprise proved to be, the press of bodies overwhelmed Cullen and Morrigan.
As they mowed down the oncoming ranks, more swarmed in behind. In the back of his head he knew the bee stings encompassing him were bullets perforating his body, getting ever closer to mortally wounding him.
The empty carbine in his hands became a club, breaking jaws and crushing helmets. He held an unconscious foe to his chest to absorb a volley of gunfire.
His strength waning and weapons reduced to his hands, Cullen’s heart soared when he caught sight of Larkin entering the grove from the cavern path. Ducking in and out of the surrounding underbrush, he fired on the backs of Maeve’s soldiers, the carbine’s suppressed barrel keeping the location of their attacker a mystery.
Cullen charged forward in a final burst of energy. Tossed his bullet riddled shield away and swung closed fists in a blur at every face he saw.
Morrigan’s cry faltered at his back. She stumbled into him, nearly knocking them both to the ground as they stepped over corpses in all directions.
Larkin spun along the outer edge, picking up a dropped weapon and flanking the mob.
A howl rose from the cavern path, coalescing to the shriek he heard in Cruacha’s underground tunnels. The horde of Subs hurtled into the grove, bearing down on Maeve’s remaining forces with merciless hunger. They tore into the outer ring with their claws and crudely fashioned blades.
Outnumbered and taken by surprise once again, the soldiers lost all interest in Cullen and Morrigan, bleeding and broken as they were. Wheezing beside him, she rewarded him with a sly smile.
About to add a comment, her head bucked forward unexpectedly, and she fell lifeless to the ground.
Maeve stood behind her, a pistol aimed on Cullen’s forehead. The sounds of struggle dissipated around them. Only his ragged breathing and the victorious glint in her eyes registered. All out of options, Cullen stood his ground on wavering legs.
“You just came out of the blue didn’t you, Cullen?” she said. “All this from a gentle Anthropology professor? Imagine what I could mold you into. Leave this foolish pursuit behind and join me.”
“No,” he gasped.
“I could kill you now. Don’t you want to give it a little more thought?”
Cullen peered over her shoulder, at the altar only twenty feet away. Nora’s lips thin lines, her teeth clenched on a strap of leather, wild eyes aimed in his direction. Someone stood at her shackled ankles, probably Lugaid, the one who had assured Maeve he could cut their unborn child from Nora’s womb.
He took a step involuntarily, earning a new hole in his right knee. Cullen crumpled to the ground and fought to rise again, his eyes locked on Nora’s. Another shot to his left knee sent him face forward into the dew covered grass. Still, he crawled up the hill, past the hem of Meave’s robe.
She laughed at him, cold and heartless. Returning to his sight, Maeve knelt down and pressed the muzzle of her pistol into his ascending brow.
“You were always the best of them, Cúchulainn,” she whispered. “Full of the need to defend your honor and your king. Fearless and fighting to the bitter end. How unlucky of me that you would never be mine.”
Maeve reached up and choked him with her free hand. Her features contorted with hatred.
“No matter. I’ll have your son soon enough. He will outshine your legend and form a new bloodline to bring the nations of the world under my control. You, however, need to go away, not just to the void but permanently.”
Her grip on Cullen’s throat tightened. Maeve muttered and incantation, her eyes rolling up in her head. The moorings of Cullen’s soul sprang from their tethers. Pain, exhaustion, even emotions dissolved with each heartbeat. Everything that made him a man, a creature of the universe, began to fade.
Moments from losing his hold and drifting away forever, Maeve’s grip suddenly released. He heard unsuppressed shots echoing in the night. Her hands dropped to the grass as she swayed from side to side. Blinking with astonishment, her mouth gulped open like a fish out of water gasping for breath.
Unnoticed by Maeve, Fergus stood behind her, his Colt smoking in his hand.
The hatred in her face took on a new aspect, vengeful and determined as she said, “You haven’t killed me, Cúchulainn. Not by a long shot. Gather your little band of thieves and run. Tuck your tail between your legs, Hound of Ulster, because there isn’t a corner of this world, no matter how remote or undesirable it may be that I cannot find you. Tick tock, tick to—”
Another shot rang out, silencing Maeve.
Fergus anxiously hefted Cullen and fairly dragged him to the altar where Nora lay on its smooth surface. She rested on her side, facing them. Tears obscured the beautiful eyes he longed to see. Nora clenched the white gown between her blood-soaked legs, rocking with the sobs that coursed through her body. Alone, having given birth, but with no child to hold, she seemed broken.
Cullen turned his heavy head around the grove, searching for the other robed person. Spotted him running from the circled glade, supporting a bundle in his arms and disappearing down one of the branching pathways.
Crestfallen at the loss of their child, Cullen slipped from Fergus' arms and slumped at the head of the altar.
"Nora," Cullen whispered in her ear, his own dam of tears bursting as he pushed stray hairs away from her cheeks.
"You came," she said, her wispy voice trailing off.
"I'm here. Everything is going to be okay. You'll be alright, sweetheart."
"We have a baby, Cullen. I think a nurse took him to get cleaned up. Did you see that tuft of red hair?"
Delirious from the loss of blood or drugs, the focus of Nora's eyes wavered. The fear of her going into shock and dying, when he'd finally reached her, filled him with anguish.
Cullen held her closer, kissing her forehead and murmuring repeatedly, "We're okay now, we're together. We're okay now, we're together."
The old dream, freefalling in a starless night, returned to Cullen. A breeze rustled in his hair this time, and Nora fell with him.
EPILOGUE
According to Laeg's version of the events following Maeve's death, the Subs had spre
ad out and decimated the soldiers stationed at Cruacha. By the time he and Val stormed into the oak grove in their stolen Jeeps, there were only a few stragglers trying to fend off the snarling beasts.
They found Fergus pacing the top of the mound, protecting Cullen and Nora from the encroaching pack. Laeg claimed the pack looked more like it was circling the altar as a defense—and was about to say so—when Val opened fire, chasing them off.
Larkin emerged from the surrounding forest, wordlessly taking Nora in his arms and heading for an idling Jeep. Fergus threw Cullen over his broad back and deposited him in the small, rear seat beside her.
Laeg spun off on the path leading to Cruacha's main buildings, skirting fires—set off by Val—that blossomed throughout the complex, and chased the personnel vans driven by Robbie and Alex. Transports with as many as four pregnant women to a seat, many of them also holding at least one orphaned baby. They caught up on the main road and waved Alex to a stop. Fergus drove ahead with Val to disable the barricades.
Alex rushed over so he could tend to Mr. and Mrs. Houltersund. The doctor's expression turned grave when Alex investigated the wounds, demanding that they move into a van where he could deal with their injuries.
Alex's hands passed over them both while he muttered in what Laeg believed were several ancient languages, vaguely familiar but unknown to Laeg.
The caravan of raggedy heroes drove on in the night, heading north toward the Canada border and splitting up with no intended destinations.
Laeg glanced in the rearview mirror. Saw the haunted eyes of the abducted women looking back at him or off into the moonlit desert. Alex worked with calm efficiency, stemming Nora's bleeding and preventing shock from setting in. Cullen lay silently, propped up against the sliding door, only the slight rise and fall of his chest as proof that he lived.
He pressed on the gas, desperate to put as many miles as possible between them and Megalith's resources before word of Cruacha’s fall escaped.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This is between you, the reader, and me, the author. No publisher required. Glad to meet you.
I have dreamt of writing adventures since I was a child and spent days devouring heroic epics by Lloyd Alexander and Robert E. Howard. That changed to adult fare like Dean R. Koontz and F. Paul Wilson, shaping my style and tastes in fiction.
Growing up wanting to be Indiana Jones, I later earned a BA in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
To date, I have lived the exciting life of a cat wrangler (AKA litter scooper), world traveler (DBA Account Executive), and enjoyed the delightful rewards that come with a loving family.
I am developing an alternate history guided by my fictional Megalith Empire that spans the past two thousand years. The first installment is FREEFALL, which you have in your hands, and is based on the reincarnation of Cúchulainn, the Irish folk hero.
I will also adapt my graphic novel manuscript, a modern-day retelling of the Mayan Hero Twins mythology. Floating at the edges is a Canadian werewolf tale.
Join the conversation on Facebook, under D R Sanford or find fun extras at www.sanfordbooks.wordpress.com.
BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION POINTS
(SPOILER ALERT. You should read the book before reading these questions.)
1. Discuss the concept of reincarnation and the permanence of the human soul. Is there only one go-around to get it right? Would reincarnation be limited to the human form or could the soul cycle through any living thing? Religions all around the world address it in a different manner. Why is that?
2. What really brought Walker’s involvement to the forefront? How did he go from towing the line to opening himself for attack?
3. Cullen is changing, succumbing to the beast within. Is this a good thing? Maybe so in the short term. Early on he is defined as the good guy who’ll turn his cheek. He paid for that. Is there danger in swinging to the other end of the spectrum?
4. Everyone has a back story, but Laeg is still a little mysterious. What’s his story?
5. How can Cullen and his team possibly stop Maeve if she can’t truly be killed? I’d actually like to know.
Share your thoughts with friends, and feel free to share with me too. You may even convince me to give up some secrets before they reach print.
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
PROLOGUE
THE DREAM
THE NIGHTMARE
THE REGRET
THE FIRING SQUAD
THE BLAME
THE CALL
THE DISCOVERY
THE HUNT
THE GROVE
THE CHASE
THE CRASH
THE EXPLANATION
THE MEGALITH FAMILY
THE BEAST WITHIN
THE MYSTERY WOMAN
THE TEAM
THE LAST SUPPER
CRUACHA
INFILTRATE
PANIC
SEARCH
FIND
DESCEND
STAND
DISAPPEAR
REST
RISE
REDEEM
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION POINTS
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
PROLOGUE
THE DREAM
THE NIGHTMARE
THE REGRET
THE FIRING SQUAD
THE BLAME
THE CALL
THE DISCOVERY
THE HUNT
THE GROVE
THE CHASE
THE CRASH
THE EXPLANATION
THE MEGALITH FAMILY
THE BEAST WITHIN
THE MYSTERY WOMAN
THE TEAM
THE LAST SUPPER
CRUACHA
INFILTRATE
PANIC
SEARCH
FIND
DESCEND
STAND
DISAPPEAR
REST
RISE
REDEEM
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION POINTS