The two Spartoi teams left at their specified intervals quickly, quietly, and without incident, and my team was underway when we got the first radio report.
“We are in position, ready to broadcast and receive,” Geek reported, “but there is no entrance. Repeat, we see no cave into the mountain.”
“I expected this,” I replied. “Nest, switch to thermal imaging and reverify.”
“I’ll be damned,” Geek responded after a minute. “There you are, you beauty. I have a visual on the entrance. I can see the cave mouth with thermal, just not with regular optics.”
“All teams, be aware that entrances are shielded from view,” I said. “They are there, but approach with extreme caution until you can confirm.”
Thermal and infrared imaging couldn’t be fooled by simple cloaking spells or fairy glamours, so I didn’t know if the entrances would be visible to the naked eye until we were on site. It wasn’t a major issue, but it was going to make sneaking up on any sentries behind the veils very tricky.
Later, radio checks confirmed that the teams were closing on their positions. Geek confirmed everyone’s movements via thermal imaging from his satellite feeds when he could, and Frigate kept watch on the main entrance using an infrared spotting scope. According to Frigate, he had a good view nearly seventy yards into the tunnel, but so far, he hadn’t seen anything specific except the occasional humanoid form.
My team was making excellent time climbing the mountain without issue when Geek broke silence again, about ten minutes later. “We have two bogeys ahead of Eagle One, moving between you and your point of entry. Be advised that I also see several large birds circling the main entrance, and I have heat signatures for additional sentries at each point of entry.”
“How many at the cave mouths?” I inquired.
“The number is unclear,” Geek replied. “Each entrance has a minimum of one, but assume more. Will advise when possible. What are those birds?”
“How close are we to the rovers?” came the response from the team leader of the first Spartoi squad.
“Eagle One, you are approximately half a klick from their position and closing. There are two rovers. Happy hunting. Repeat, should we be concerned about those birds?”
“Tell Frigate to consider the birds target practice. They’re sentries,” I replied. The birds had to be Strixes, and I figured the owl-like creatures couldn’t cause us issues if they were dead.
We climbed as quickly and quietly as we could—which was far easier for Ab and Duma than for me, though I’m no slouch—and got to our position outside the highest cave mouth. We made it in just over an hour and took cover behind a snow-covered landslip with a good view of the entrance about twenty yards away. Despite the terrain and the conditions, we’d covered the nearly three-thousand-foot climb to eleven thousand feet with ease.
As I ducked my head around the landslip to get a glimpse of the cave mouth, Duma grabbed my shoulder and pointed off to one side of the ten-foot veiled opening then held up two fingers. I craned my neck just a bit to locate the two decidedly human guards and noticed two more just inside the cave’s entrance. I pointed at the cave and held up two fingers, but Duma shook his head, indicating that he couldn’t see what I pointed at. It was definitely magic, and not fairy glamour, that shielded the entrances—otherwise, Duma would have seen through it, too. The trick was going to be attacking the two separate groups in such a way that neither had time to raise an alarm.
Communicating by throat mics had the distinct advantage of whispers still being clearly audible even in windy conditions, but since talking face-to-face over the wind required screaming, I used hand signals instead. I pulled my MP5SD-N submachine gun up to a ready position and thumbed the selector switch to fire three-round bursts, making sure the gun was ready. Then I looked at Ab and Duma, held up a tight fist, and pointed to my ear, letting them know that we wouldn’t move until we heard from the others. I indicated that Ab should stay put and Duma’s target was the pair of guards he could see. I would take the two just inside the cave. The Peris acknowledged my order, and Duma drew his two kukri knives. Meantime, we waited—and watched.
Within twenty minutes, Eagle One confirmed they had taken out the roving sentries and were now at their appointed entry at about ten thousand feet. Shortly thereafter, we got word that the other team was also in position.
“Team, this is Talon,” I radioed. “We wait until next radio check and then advance. Nest, hold tight until I give you the signal to travel.”
It took less than ten minutes for the guards to radio in their situation reports, and then we made our move. I pointed at Duma, and he took off in a blur. I bolted upright behind our snowy hiding spot, took a tight bead on the first guard just inside the cave, and put three rounds into his chest with a muffled metallic spitting sound. He crumpled to the ground, and I closed in on the surprised second guard without hesitating and targeted him before he knew what had happened. I fired three rounds into his chest, putting him down as well.
By the time I got to the cave, Duma was next to me, bright-red blood dripping from his knives. The only sound came from the soft, metallic slide of the bolt on my gun moving with each shot.
I waved Ab forward, and as he loped up the hill toward us, I looked at the mess Duma had left behind. Blood was everywhere, staining the snow. I stared back at him hard with my lips drawn into a tight line and shook my head.
“That’s why I shot them,” I yelled, pointing down at the two I’d killed and back at the carnage he’d left behind.
He just shrugged. We had no time to cover them up. We needed to move.
A pair of kerosene lanterns lighted the mouth of the cave, and only the first few feet of the tunnel were natural. Farther on, the roughness of the gouges showed that the rest of the digging had been done by hand rather than machine. The barest hint of light from somewhere down the tunnel in front of us cast a meager glow but afforded us enough illumination to see our surroundings.
Before we advanced, I bent down to get a quick look at the guards I’d killed. They were, by all indications, normal humans. They weren’t wearing any kind of armor over their outdated army-surplus olive drab fatigues, and not surprisingly, they were carrying Iranian-made KLS versions of the AK-47—the standard weapon used by terrorists and wackos throughout the world. They were cheap, easy to get, easy to maintain, and simple to use.
I searched the guard for his radio, turned the volume way down, and jammed it into a pocket on my vest. From what we’d observed, they checked in about every thirty minutes, which meant we’d have at least that long before an alarm was raised, if the broken veils hadn’t alerted them to our presence already.
CHAPTER 34
Ab reached into a small gear bag, pulled out one of Geek’s reworked radios, and propped it on a rock next to the cave’s entrance. Not the best hiding spot, but we had to leave it uncovered to relay the signal.
In the ambient light, there were no signs of high-tech surveillance equipment, or even electricity, as we snuck down the ten-foot-diameter, rough-hewn tunnel. I took point, with Duma right on my heels and Ab bringing up the rear. The farther we advanced, the warmer and more humid the air became. Initially, the only smells were of rock and earth, but sharper smells of body odor and wood smoke began to permeate the air as it warmed.
The second Spartoi team reported that they’d found a branching tunnel off the main shaft of their point of entry with noises and food smells coming from it, but no one had encountered anything living yet. While it was good for our recon work, it likely meant everyone was gathered elsewhere, and I didn’t like what that might mean.
“We have encountered the entrance to a massive cavern,” came another transmission from the second team, “a thousand yards across and forty yards high. Crawling with numerous unfriendlies. They appear to be occupied with some sort of group worship or ritua
l. No sign of primary Tango. We are returning to the fork and will establish a two-man overwatch and continue reconnoiter down adjacent shaft. Over.”
My team continued along the tunnel, leaving relay units as we went, until the rock walls became smoother and appeared more machine cut than dug by hand. I held up my hand in a fist while I crawled forward to check what was ahead.
The light in front of us was bright, and I could hear voices—lots and lots of voices in some sort of rhythmic cadence. The smell of human body odor, wet rock, and a mixture of burnt things, including flesh, became so thick I could taste it. I could also feel a palpable, tingling energy that made the hair on my neck and arms stand on end the closer I got. The voices rose and fell in concert, though I couldn’t make out any specific words. It was definitely some sort of ritualistic chant and exactly what I feared—Medea was starting her witchery.
A side passage carved out of the rock face branched off to my right as I continued to creep forward. It was nearly at the junction of the main passageway and a massive cavern, which I assumed was the one reported earlier by the Spartoi squad. I stopped just shy of the cavern’s mouth and listened. The noise from the gathered mass of people was so loud that I couldn’t distinguish any other ambient sounds. At least they wouldn’t be able to hear us, either. That meant we didn’t need to be as quiet, but we still needed to move quickly and maintain a low profile until we found Medea.
From my vantage point near the tunnel junction, I could see a small part of the massive cavern with some sort of a stone dais at the far end. The stage-like structure was huge—easily a hundred yards across—and surrounded by stalagmites and rubble. The cavern was brightly lit, but I couldn’t determine the light source. From my position, all I could see were humans—lots and lots of humans. It had to be the same crowd the Spartoi reported seeing. To Athena’s soldiers, anyone who wasn’t us would be an “unfriendly.”
I lizard-crawled to the mouth of the main shaft, past the side tunnel, to get a better view and then waved for Ab and Duma to move up to the carved side tunnel behind me. Across from me, and on the other side of the dais at the opposite end of the massive grotto, was another cave mouth, but I couldn’t get a good view of the rest of the space without exposing myself to the throngs of chanting people.
I ducked back into the shaft, and Duma beckoned me. He pointed down the carved side passage, and I could see light and shadows from the giant cavern illuminating an area about a hundred yards farther down the passage—another entrance into the huge space.
I held up a fist to Ab. He acknowledged it, and then I directed Duma to follow me down the side tunnel toward the light. I tapped Ab’s shoulder and indicated that he should keep an eye on us for further signals.
I took point, holding my silenced submachine gun with both hands just in front of me, under my face in a combat-high position as I’d done before in countless close-quarter battles. Duma crept silently behind me. The ambient light in the side tunnel increased as we approached the next opening to the massive cavern. Over the clamor emanating from the cavern to our left, I could just make out the faint sounds of scraping and shuffling, along with muffled voices and the occasional laugh echoing from even farther down the passage.
I crept up to the near edge of the cavern and peeked into the grotto. From this secondary entrance, I could still see the tunnel on the other side of the dais across the cathedral-sized space, but now I could also see a passageway on the near side of the dais, as well, and another, significantly broader passage midway across on the right. Including the two we’d found, that made five separate entrances into the giant stone hall. All of the passageways into the enormous cavern were rough textured and possibly even natural, but the most significant opening into the cavern—the one on my right—was far more intricately worked, and its mouth was carved with geometric shapes and all manner of symbols that I didn’t recognize. It was also flanked by a pair of ten-foot-wide caves about twenty feet off the floor above it.
From this position, I also had a pretty good view of the chanting crowd. There were easily a few thousand of them crammed into the very center of the mammoth space. Some of the people were kneeling while others stood and swayed, but all of them had their arms stretched overhead and were dressed in loose white robes that resembled long nightshirts. I could see quite a few children as well as I tried to take stock of the situation. What a mess this was going to be.
Duma placed his hand on my back and thrust his chin in the direction of the two caves halfway up the walls on either side of the intricately carved tunnel to our right. At the edge of the farthest one, a huge Phonoi crouched like a monkey, watching over everything that was happening below him. From what I could see, he had four arms—one pair heavily clawed and one pair more humanlike, though only barely. Taking up most of the opening, he was enormous compared to the ones I’d encountered in the past.
I backed up to safe cover and gestured to Duma to head down the passage to see if he could identify the source of the noises I’d heard a moment ago while I remained where I was. Duma was far stealthier and faster than I could be.
Duma crept farther down the passageway, and the first Spartoi team reported that they were now holding position just inside one of the caves leading into the massive cavern and confirmed what I was seeing. According to their description, they were in the tunnel on the nearside of the dais, off to my left.
A report from the second Spartoi squad followed immediately, relaying that they had killed several hostiles and discovered an unoccupied living space and that they were continuing to search. The overwatch contingent of the team had nothing to report.
After his reconnoiter, Duma returned to my position. He held up his hand and flashed all five fingers at me four times, indicating there were twenty people farther down this side tunnel. I nodded and was about to start figuring out a plan when a thundering scream rocked the cavern, literally shaking the walls, followed by absolute silence for the briefest of moments. Duma and I looked at each other, his skeletal mask revealing nothing of the surprise and urgency I knew, like me, he had to feel. Within seconds, the wild chanting from the main cavern began again, increasing significantly in intensity and volume. Several less intense shrieks followed.
“I’ve got movement in the main tunnel heading deeper inside,” Frigate reported over the radio. “I cannot make out the origin or any further detail, but whatever is moving is big.”
The chanting in the cavern was reaching a fevered pitch. I poked my head around just enough to see what was happening and was surprised to find the crowd had separated into two groups, creating a clear path roughly east to west from the elaborately carved tunnel to our right toward the dais at the far left corner. An involuntary shiver crept up my spine, and I could feel the crispness of the air as the atmosphere became more and more alive with energy.
“I have a visual on two Ifrit and six Ghilan dragging something massive by chain,” said the voice of the Spartoi leader over the radio. “They are coming through the main cavern entrance to the east. Phonoi and Androktasiai are appearing in cave mouths along the eastern wall, approximately five yards above the same entrance.”
From my vantage point, I could not yet see the Jinns, but it was impossible to miss the seven Phonoi and Androktasiai now clinging to the mouths of the caves up the wall like spiders waiting in their web.
I watched as three more of the death spirits gathered at the cave mouths to join their brethren. With all that was going on, we needed to find Medea soon—not to mention Hecate. But I needed to know where they were before we advanced. I didn’t want to attack this crowd only to have Medea show up behind us—or worse, sneak away.
All of a sudden, a lot more frenzied movement echoed up the side tunnel from the area Duma had reported seeing twenty people. I pointed at Duma and then hooked a thumb down the tunnel. At that point, we couldn’t risk encountering anyone or anything, i
nnocent or not, that might raise an alarm and give us away. I drew my thumb across my throat. I couldn’t see his face behind his mask, but I knew he was smiling.
Back up the tunnel, Ab tightened his grip on his hammer and shifted in anticipation as his brother took off down the passage. Peri were like sharks with blood when it came to battle—they could smell it coming. I followed on Duma’s heels as he ran off, swiftly and eerily silent.
The tunnel ahead of us emptied into a smaller cavern, maybe fifty yards across at its widest, where people in the same outdated fatigues as the other guards were running to gather things off bunks and from around tables. It was significantly warmer in here than in the tunnels and stank strongly of body odor with a slight tinge of rotten eggs. The space was some sort of barracks, with most of it taken up by four long rows of bunks, stacked two high, and metal lockers around the edges. A series of ten rectangular tables and benches split the room down the middle. At a glance, I counted at least twenty targets moving through the space. Duma quickly covered the ground between the cavern entrance and the nearest group to our right, and he began his deadly dance among five people caught completely off guard by our presence.
I took aim with the MP5 at the closest group to my left and fired as I advanced, weaving among the bunks, putting three bullets into each target before moving to the next. I didn’t even stop to see what or how Duma was doing. When I ran through the clip, I ejected and replaced it and continued firing as I encountered targets.
I had eliminated eight targets before the distinct metallic rattling of one of the knockoff AK-47s erupted from my right, followed by two solid impacts on my cuirass as hay from the mattress on the upper bunk to my left scattered through the air. My attention shifted to the shooter, who was standing just on the other side of a set of bunks. His eyes grew wide when I faced him, and he dropped the gun and ran. I shoved the bunks at him before he got very far, and the rickety wooden framework knocked him down and then fell on top of him as the impact took down the next three bunks, as well, like falling dominoes. The sound of the falling beds echoed off the rock walls inside the cavern but was still only barely audible over the chanting that echoed from the main cavern.
Havoc Rising Page 29