Twisted Sister of Mine (Overworld Chronicles)

by John Corwin

  An arcphone sat near the door, the holographic images of runes and spell code dancing in the air above as it probed the shield for weakness. A row of six slots floated at the top. Cyrinthian symbols filled three of the slots.

  "Halfway through to making a hole," Shelton said, his voice tense.

  I felt Elyssa's hand tighten on my arm. She kissed my cheek. "You can do this. I know you can."

  Just having her there meant the world to me. I looked to Vallaena. "I'm ready."

  "Wait for the right demon spirit, Justin," she said. "Remember, you will probably have only one chance at this. Manifesting across a magical barrier will tire you more than you can imagine."

  I managed a weak smile. "I got this."

  I opened my incubus senses, and felt the tendrils of essence extend from me. Then I swallowed, my physical trigger to direct them inward. My own soul halo glowed before me for an instant before I felt the twisting sensation of my tendrils flipping inside-out as they pressed through the barrier between this world and my second astral address, the demon plane. I waited. Hundreds of spirits passed me, some tiny, some huge. Several times, I sense the presence of a good candidate for hound-doggery, but they sensed me and escaped before I could draw them in.

  How long I sat there, I couldn't say, but finally, a presence came into range. It felt very much like most of the ones I'd summoned, albeit more mature. I ensnared it with my tendrils, gripping the soul before it could whisk away. Opening my eyes, I focused on the area just on the other side of the shield.

  Manifest!

  A dark pool formed in the floor much like the ones I'd summoned through outside. Suddenly, the weight of the world fell on my shoulders. It felt as though all my energy was being drained at once. I staggered, fighting to keep my concentration on the manifestation.

  "The name, Justin," Vallaena whispered. "Remember the name."

  My face went tight with strain, and I felt sweat pouring down my forehead. I almost fell.

  "I've got you," Elyssa said. "I'm here."

  Her voice bolstered me. Lent me strength. I sent the demon name to the forming hellhound. The dark form struggled free of the primordial matter, standing unsteadily on four legs, and looked at me with yellow eyes. Through the connection I sensed the demon name burning in its mind.

  Shift, I thought to my minion, and imagined a shape.

  The hellhound twisted, smoothly morphing into a familiar and naked shape, though it was missing vital components south of the waistline.

  "Is that Shelton?" someone murmured.

  "Where's his—"

  "Shut up," Shelton said with a groan.

  I told the hellhound—using mind waves, of course—to give the demon the name. It turned toward the cancerous growth in the floor. The demon's eye and mouth were closed, leaving a seamless black tumor connected by a thin strand to the summoning rune beneath it. The moment the hellhound stepped closer, the eye blinked open. The creature rotated toward it, horrific mouth peeling open in a toothy snarl.

  The guardian's name blazed into my mind and the hellhound's at the same time, the pattern of the summoning rune somehow translating into sounds, twisting my mouth and that of the hellhound's into unnatural shapes as we spoke a string of consonants usually reserved for Scandinavians.

  The demon's maw flickered, the teeth vanished. An eye stared back. It blinked once, twice, and the demon melted into the floor until nothing remained but the glowing light from the shield.

  The shield over the arch flickered like a failing florescent bulb, then solidified.

  I groaned.

  It flickered again, slower, and slower. Then blipped out of existence. An instant later, a small sphere shot from the arch. It hovered in the air, rotating inches from the malaether. The thrum of deadly energy lessened, fading as the tiny sphere sucked it in until it vanished with a blink. The orb hovered for a moment more, dropped onto the floor, bounced once, and rolled to a stop.

  Silence.

  I looked around the small room at the tense faces. "I think we did it," I said. "We did it!"

  Cheers erupted. Elyssa hugged me tight, smooching all across my face. Relief swept through me, and my legs dissolved to jelly. Vallaena had been right about the strain. I was beyond exhausted.

  I told the hellhound to shift back to doggy form since nobody wanted to look at a naked, emasculated version of Shelton, and told it what a good doggy it was. The hellhound growled, sending me a message loud and clear that he felt degraded by such treatment, and curled himself on the floor around the rune.

  "Once we get through the shield, we can put it back in the arch, or find another hiding spot," Shelton said as he high-fived Adam.

  My phone rang. I answered.

  "Justin, this is Michael. We've got problems."

  The Grand Melee. "Did you warn the Arcane Council?"

  "Security won't let me anywhere near them. Security golems barred Zagg from entering. "We're not getting anywhere, and the main event will be starting in thirty minutes."

  Across the room on the other side of the arch, figures appeared, one of them in a top hat. He waved his staff and a hole appeared in the shield. Jeremiah Conroy stepped inside the room, and tipped his hat to us.

  I looked at Shelton, at the arcphone. "We need a hole, Shelton, now!"

  "I can't make it go any faster," he said, kneeling to look at the symbols floating above it. Five of the six slots glowed green. The last one flipped through symbols faster than I could read them.

  Ivy entered the room behind Jeremiah. She gave me a sad look.

  "I didn't betray you," I shouted. "I couldn't go through with it, Ivy. Please believe that I love you, and would never hurt you."

  Her lower lip trembled. "You lied to me, Justin. Bigdaddy was right about you."

  "No, he's not," I said, praying Shelton's spell breaker finished in time.

  The hellhound burst from its position, hackles raised, lips peeled back in a snarl. Jeremiah gave an almost contemptuous wave of his staff, and sent the beast slamming hard against the wall with a yelp. Another wave, and the Cyrinthian Rune floated to him and landed neatly his outstretched palm. He clenched it. "It's too early, but it'll have to do." He regarded me for a moment. Sighed. "You have done more to muddle my plans than a rabid coon hound, boy. I told you to stay out of my business, but you won't listen."

  "Guess you would have gotten away with it if not for us meddling kids," I said, my voice low and angry.

  "Oh, but I have, boy. I have."

  "You've twisted my little sister," I shouted, anger pouring from me. "You've warped her into your little child soldier." I looked at Ivy. "Don't listen to his lies. He's just using you. You're more powerful than he could ever hope to be."

  "I listened to your lies, Justin," she said, tears welling. "You hurt me." She shook her head, wiping at her eyes.

  "Let's go, child," Jeremiah said, patting her on the shoulder. "We have a mission to finish."

  "Like killing the Arcane Council?" I said. "You're insane! Daelissa will use you and enslave everyone." I banged futilely on the shield. "She'll kill you!"

  Jeremiah grunted. "Forget us, boy. Forget Foreseeance four, three, one, one. It's over. I promise you, I have only good intentions"—he revealed the rune in his hand—"for this."

  I pounded on the shield. "You're going to doom us all!"

  He chuckled, and it sounded downright evil. "You don't know the whole story, but someday you will." Jeremiah turned and walked away. Ivy gave me one last glance, and left with him.

  Shelton's arcphone chimed. The shield peeled away in the middle, leaving a hole. I rushed through without any plan but to tackle Jeremiah and take the rune back. He flicked his staff, and the shield on the other side closed. I rammed it with my shoulder, over and over, as if brute force might break through. Exhaustion claimed my strength. I slumped against the shield, panting and could only watch as Ivy and Jeremiah disappeared around the corner.

  Elyssa knelt by my side. "We have to stop the golem
s from killing the council," she said.

  "How in the hell are we gonna stop a monster golem?" Shelton said.

  That was a damned good question. "When do the giants fight?" I asked.

  "Any time now," he said.

  "Can we take the golem down with magic?" I asked. "Or is there a kill switch?"

  Everyone exchanged uneasy glances. Shelton answered. "Once those things go in the ring, they're autonomous. But the controllers should have a kill switch."

  "Michael told me Zagg was detained by security. That means we'll have to go down there and do it ourselves."

  "I don't know if we can break through all those security golems," Shelton said uneasily.

  I remembered the size of those golems in the practice field. How could I possibly take something like that down? The answer was obvious.

  "MacLean, you go to the operators. Get to them by hook or crook and hit that kill switch."

  "Aye," he said and raced back up the stairs.

  "I'll go with him," Adam said and left.

  "Elyssa, can you do whatever it takes to evacuate the council? I don't care if you have to carry them out over your shoulder."

  "I'm coming with you," she said.

  I gripped her shoulders. "Please, I need you to do that. Shelton and Bella will have my back."

  She opened her mouth to speak.

  "We don't have time, Elyssa. Please."

  She kissed me hard. Looked at the others. "Don't let anything happen to him." With that, she blurred away.

  "Shelton, Bella," I said. "Let's go."

  "I will come with you, Justin," Vallaena said.

  "Are we going to be running?" Shelton asked. "You know I can't keep up with supes."

  "I will carry you," Vallaena said.

  Bella arched an eyebrow. "He's my boyfriend. I'll carry him."

  "Uh," Shelton said, an instant before Bella slung him over a shoulder.

  "Follow me," I said.

  "I'm gonna lose my lunch," Shelton shouted.

  We blurred through empty hallways, emerged outside, and headed toward the stadium. Cheers erupted as an announcer called out names. The tremor-inducing thud of giant feet pounded the earth from within. It sounded like the fighters were already on the field. I went past the stadium, toward the forest, and stopped at the edge.

  "How do the stadium doors open?" I asked Shelton.

  "There's a gatekeeper," he replied, face bright red, though definitely not from exertion. He gave Bella a pleading look. "Can you put me down, now?"

  Bella looked at me. I nodded, and she set him on his feet.

  "Vallaena," I said. "Do whatever it takes, but get the gate open. Can you do that?"

  She nodded and flitted back the way we'd come.

  "You still know how to open the forest shield?" I asked Shelton, remembering the spider bat pranks he'd told me about.

  He gave me an uneasy quirk of an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why?"

  I turned to the petite dhampyr. "Bella, I need you to camouflage yourselves from smell and sight."

  "Whatever for?" she asked. "I don't like the sound of this, Justin."

  "Yeah," Shelton added. "'Cause spider bats don't attack humans." His face went pale. "Whoa, wait a blasted minute."

  I put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to bring the guest of honor to the fight."

  "This is a bad idea, man."

  "It's a terrible idea," I agreed. "But we need to bring out the big guns to take down the golem."

  "What are you talking about?" Bella asked, her violet eyes wide with concern.

  Shelton groaned, and stabbed his thumb at me. "Genius here is about to let loose the mother of all predators."

  I needed something huge and powerful to fight the golem. My answer?

  The tragon.

  Chapter 47

  Releasing the tragon from its forest prison might rank near the top of the stupidest things I'd ever done, but since Michael and Zagg had failed their tasks, I had no choice. I sent text messages to them, just in case, before I went through with this insanity.

  I waited impatiently for several seconds before Zagg replied.

  Security let me go, but I don't know if I can get to the operators.

  Michael responded a split second later.

  Still no go. Taking alternate approach.

  MacLean and Adam didn't reply.

  I held back a string of expletives, and clapped my hands together. "This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy!"

  The looks I received from the others only confirmed that.

  "Get ready," I told them. "I'm going in." Without another word, I raced into the forest. Thorns and branches snagged my clothes, making fast progress difficult. "Here traggy, traggy!" I called. "Come and get me you big ugly thing!"

  I picked up a large branch, and thwacked a tree, shaking leaves, and upsetting a flock of spider bats. They shrieked and flew away.

  "Come get me!" I yelled.

  I heard a grunt. A low groan. Loud snuffling. The trees fifty yards away parted, and a scaly, red snout poked through the foliage. It snorted, rustling leaves and sending a thin column of smoke drifting skyward. Two beady eyes appeared seconds later. The tragon glared at me for a moment, tilting its head as if amazed anyone could be so epically stupid as to yell at it. It roared, and flames licked the trees nearby, stopping well short of me, but heating the air enough to make my eyes water.

  Limbs crackled and broke, and the beast lunged. I yelped, and raced back the way I'd come. A tree branch slapped me in the face, and I stumbled through a patch of thorns, which tore at my shirt. Somehow, I managed to keep my feet. I saw Shelton and Bella ahead. "Now!" I shouted.

  Eyes wide, Bella raised her staff. She and Shelton flickered from sight. I ran toward the invisible shield, hoping Shelton knew what he was doing. I looked behind me as I blasted out of the woods and into the open field, a spray of dead leaves flying in my wake, and a thorny vine at least ten feet long dragging from the tail of my shirt. The tragon skidded to a halt just short of the treeline, angry eyes glaring at me. Apparently, it remembered the shield.

  I jumped up and down. "Come on, you idiot. Come and get me!"

  It took a slow step forward. Leaned down. Opened its mouth and roared. Flames shot into the clearing. The creature tilted its head. Took another step forward, tiny wings on its back flapping with agitation, and gingerly poked its nose about where the shield usually stopped it.

  I picked up a clod of dirt and flung it. It smacked into the center of the tragon's forehead. The monster reared back, opened its massive muzzle, and roared. With blinding speed, it sprang like a reptilian kangaroo, flying through the air and landing only yards away from me. The ground trembled beneath me and earth sprayed in my face with the tremendous aftershock. I stumbled, somehow recovered, shrieked, spun, and ran, all within the space of a split second. The tent city loomed, forcing me to dodge through narrow alleys, jump stakes and ropes, and avoid coolers, beer bottles, and other garbage littering the grounds. The tragon, meanwhile, simply tore through everything in its way, crumpling tents, and crushing anything so unlucky as to sit between its feet and the ground. I prayed nobody was inside any of the tents, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

  The moment I passed the final row of tents, I veered left, and ran along the stadium wall. A roar went up from the crowd, and thunderous applause echoed from within. Jubilation abruptly morphed into screams and sounds of panic. I heard the announcer shouting something as the screams grew louder. I looked up, and saw flying carpets streaming from landing zones high up in the back of the stadium, some of them with people clinging desperately to the side. Swarms of spider bats, frightened by the commotion in the forest collided with fleeing super-humanity, resulting in even more hysteria.

  I was too late.

  Unfortunately, with a gazillion-ton dinosaur-slash-dragon hot on my heels, I couldn't exactly stop. The portcullis loomed on my left. If I hadn't been breathless, I would've breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing it open.
At least Vallaena had done her job.

  I pivoted on a dime to veer beneath the portcullis. Unfortunately, someone had spilled ice cream on the walkway. My foot skidded on it. All sense of traction vanished. My feet flew sideways, and my shoulder slammed into stone.

  The tragon leapt, tiny wings flapping, and a clawed foot smashed into the walkway, two of the creature's three toes landing to either side of my body. Ebony talons screeched against the stone, digging gouges. I looked up in time to see jaws the size of a monster truck rushing toward me. I dove, and hit the walkway as the tragon's mouth chomped empty air where my body had been a split second earlier. My feet skidded on the spilled food, found a clean spot, and I lurched forward on all fours beneath the portcullis. I heard a whooshing noise. Monstrous teeth clacked together so hard, a rush of warm air puffed against my backside. By then, I'd managed to get upright, despite my legs feeling like overcooked spaghetti.

  Giant claws pounded the earth behind me. I ran through a massive tunnel, and emerged an instant later into the stadium. Across the wide space, a four-armed robot five stories high grappled with an equally giant stone golem. Parts of the stadium near the melee looked blackened and charred, especially the enclosed club seating area where Zagg had indicated the Arcane Council usually sat.

  The robot smashed the head of the golem with one huge fist. Red lasers speared from the metal monster's eyes, burning molten gouges in the golem's stony body while its other hand held the stone giant's head motionless. The robot's other two arms gripped the golem's, holding it immobile. It looked like the robot had the upper hand, but had the golem already killed the council?

  I magnified my vision, and saw the charred remains of two corpses behind melted glass. On the opposite side of the room, a gaggle of gray-haired men in robes beat frantically on the door. One of them pulled out a staff, and shook it, but it apparently wasn't working, because nothing happened.

  The hand the robot held over the golem's face glowed cherry red. A white beam burst from bubbling metal, melting it to a nub. Now free, the stone giant turned its head, showing a single giant eye glowing white as the moon. Light speared from the eye, hitting the robot in the face, turning the metal lava red. The robot threw up another hand to shield its face, but it was too late. Its head sagged in the middle, drooping like a wet paper bag, and melted away in a stream of molten metal. The mega-bot's arms went limp, and it listed to the side, metal groaning like a ship running aground on rocks. In slow motion, it fell to the side, crashing to earth, sending a wave of grass and mud spraying in every direction. The ground buckled beneath my feet, nearly costing me my life as I stumbled away from tragon jaws.