Fifteen seconds to go. Having reached the rest of Eagle Two, I crouched just inside the mouth of the tunnel, opposite Ab and Duma’s position at the entrance across the enormous cavern, and took a quick survey of the situation from this new vantage point.
Medea was standing on the dais less than fifty yards to the right, just inside the cavern. Perses lay in a heap on the ground just in front of the stone platform. Six ghouls stood between Medea and Perses, bobbing wildly as they watched the crowd, while the pair of gigantic Ifrit stood stolidly on either side of the once-mighty Titan, seemingly unfazed by what was going on around them. I was slightly behind and to Medea’s left, and if Perses’s eyes had been open, he would have been staring directly at me. As it was, he appeared unconscious, and his aura resembled a dying fire, sputtering and softening its glow.
Medea, on the other hand, was channeling the sparks of energy that were floating high overhead, the tendrils of her sanguine aura extending up to corral it. She was dressed in a floor-length, blood-red robe that was adorned with gold embroidery, and its hood was pushed back to reveal her wild red hair. She was wreathed in a magical energy that took the form of a cloud of pulsating, multicolored light that became brighter the more energy she gathered from above. As she raised her hands above her head, the chanting rose to a deafening crescendo, and the sparks of energy began to disappear into the fingers of her bloody aura, turning them a brilliant electrical red. The power began to course from above through her aura and into the magical cloud of energy that surrounded her in waves, coming faster and faster.
Her voice boomed out in a language I was unfamiliar with, but the stepped cadence that echoed through the cavern definitely felt like a ritual or a spell, and I knew that she was gathering the energy she needed.
I checked my watch. When the thunderous explosion echoed through the cavern, and dust and debris flew into the chamber from the main entrance—a few seconds later than I’d anticipated—the once chaotic space was plunged into a sudden eerie silence. Even Medea stopped midsentence at the explosion. On cue, gunfire erupted from across the cavern, sending an instant panic through the chamber. High-pitched shrieks pierced the air as bedlam broke out within the crowd, and the continuous metallic rattling of machine guns and automatic-weapons fire echoed around the chamber.
I ran into the cavern and crept among the rubble between the chamber’s back wall and the rear of the dais to avoid having to push my way through the dense, and now terrified, crowd. I really needed the Pelian Spear, which I had cleverly left with Ab. Nonetheless, I closed the distance between me and Medea as fast as I could.
She disappeared before I was halfway there.
“Medea just teleported,” I screamed into my mic. “Do not let her leave this cavern!”
The half-dozen Ghilan, who had been bobbing their bulbous heads below Medea and laughing to each other, climbed up to take her place on the dais. The pair of giant black Ifrits roared a challenge in no particular direction and threw their arms out wide, searching for enemies. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Phonoi and Androktasiai pour like ants out of the high tunnels that flanked the cavern’s main entrance, now directly across the cavern from my position by the dais. The freakish Phonoi skittered, many on more than two legs, while the decidedly female and mostly nude Androktasiai spilled across the floor like liquid, oozing among the screaming people. Both types of creatures reveled in the chaos, slicing throats and ripping abdomens as they pressed toward the dais. In Medea’s absence, the creatures had reverted to their baser instincts.
It was hard not to watch the chaos the creatures caused as I continued to close in on the dais, moving more carefully, trying to sneak up behind the Ghilan to take out at least one before they realized where I was. It just wasn’t right. The Androktasiai were beautiful, down to the last murderous succubus. It was like seeing a Victoria’s Secret catalog come to life—if the models were members of the Manson family. Most were dressed in rags that barely covered their bodies—highly distracting, to say the least. Fortunately, I was a consummate professional, and those things didn’t faze me. If it weren’t for their fingers ending in razor-sharp claws and their teeth like piranhas’, it would probably be a pleasant way to go.
Their male counterparts, on the other hand—the Phonoi—were as hideous as they were stunning. None had mouths or ears on their featureless bald heads, only slits for nostrils and a pair of beady black eyes. The similarities among them stopped there. Each of the Phonoi was unique with regard to its armament.
The human voices continued to rise again, only this time discordantly and in absolute hysteria. Steady gunfire rang all around, echoing along with the screams and roars, creating a deafening dissonance. I paused briefly in an attempt to locate any members of my team within the fray, but I couldn’t. I would just have to trust in their skills and determination. Besides, I had issues of my own to contend with.
In a sudden burst of speed, I charged ahead and plowed, slashing, right into the heart of the six Ghilan on the dais. I took the first two apart and cut the right arm off a third before they could even react to my presence or form up to defend themselves. I stopped to face them and watched the one-armed Ghilan run away into the crowd, gibbering wildly.
Two of the creatures attempted to flank me, and one stayed directly in front. But before any of us could act, one of the Ifrits teleported just behind them and let out an earsplitting roar.
Fuck me. The lion-headed black Jinn was huge, and its smaller ghoul cousins suddenly began cackling their horrible laugh, bobbing excitedly and lashing out at me, emboldened by its presence. I braced myself for the onslaught and pressed my mic button with the heel of my hand.
“Frigate, I need a little help. I’m on stage,” I all but screamed.
Before I could wonder whether Frigate was even alive, the beast’s chest exploded in a cloud of flaming orange mist that looked like embers. The rupture of the creature’s chest showered everything on the dais, including me and the three remaining Ghilan, with fiery gore, but the sight of the gaping hole in the dead Ifrit’s ruined chest buoyed my spirits so much I completely ignored the pain.
The massive black hulk toppled over on the stone dais with a meaty thud, stopping the Ghilan in their tracks long enough for the report of the Barrett to echo through the chamber above the crowd’s din like a peal of thunder in the enclosed cavern. I couldn’t help but grin. Then I roared a battle cry and snapped the confused and frightened Ghilan back to attention. I had the initiative, so I didn’t waste time searching for the other Ifrit. There was an old fishing saying that suggested fishermen shouldn’t leave fish to find fish, and the same wisdom applied to enemies on a battlefield.
I attacked the closest Ghilan first. It tried to lunge as soon as I moved, throwing its long arms out wide while rapidly covering the short distance between us. I stepped to my left, and it sailed past me to the right as I brought both swords down on it in a wide arc. The impact of my blow and the creature’s own momentum sent its body sliding off the rock stage behind me in several different pieces.
I spun to face the Ghilan to my right and was blindsided by the one behind me. I landed in a flop with a human-sized Jinn on my back trying to rip through my cuirass with its razor-clawed fingers. It failed miserably, though it shredded the back of my vest.
Before I could push myself up to turn over, the distinct metallic chattering of a machine gun split the air as the Ghilan slumped and fell across my back. I lifted my head in time to watch several of the Spartoi move beyond the dais, guns sweeping past my position.
I flipped the wounded creature off me, got to my knees, and drove the blade of my sword into the side of its head as I spun around. I wrenched the blade free, taking most of its head off with it, while searching for the last Ghilan. I caught sight of the creature, which was fleeing past the prone Titan chained to the floor just in front of the stage. As the Ghilan nea
red it, the Titan’s arm lashed out to the end of its chain and seized the creature by the head, crushing it like an overripe tomato. Suddenly Perses’s eyes were wild, and he let loose a roar that shook the cavern, causing stalactites from the ceiling to crack loose and fall into the crowd. I had to dive across the dais to avoid one particularly hefty formation as it exploded on impact with the stage.
I pushed myself up and tried to take stock of the situation. The grotto was pure chaos. Most of the remaining few hundred people were crowded into the center of the cavern. Only a few dozen of those in the center were armed, and they were firing randomly at my team as well as the Phonoi and Androktasiai that were still attacking them. Here and there, however, small, well-armed pockets of Medea’s human followers were forming up ranks, trying to hold out against the Spartoi.
Back across the cave, I could see Ab, head and shoulders taller than most everyone around him, swinging his massive hammer in wide arcs while bodies—plural—flew. I quickly lost sight of him. Pairs of Spartoi fought through the crowd, firing their assault rifles or hacking with their broadswords. There were dead bodies everywhere, and for the briefest of moments, knowing that neither Duma and Ab nor the Spartoi would distinguish between armed and unarmed, I felt remorse for their deaths. But I couldn’t dwell on that now.
Continuing to search the crowd, I couldn’t see Duma, nor could I see Frigate’s team, presumably still back up the main tunnel, but every so often the report of the huge sniper rifle would echo through the cavern. Luckily, the numbers of Phonoi and Androktasiai were dwindling, but the surviving ones still appeared, alone and in groups, ripping into anything they met. What bothered me most was that I couldn’t see the other Ifrit or find Medea or Hecate in all the ruckus. I knew neither the Ifrit nor Medea could teleport without line of sight, which severely limited their range underground. They couldn’t have gone far yet.
In front of the stone stage, the naked Perses, entirely human looking though ten feet tall, was chained with the gleaming, mercurial Alysideus Prometheus, hand and foot to the floor, as some sort of energy cloud gathered above him and began to envelop his body. In addition, he was bound within a circle of barely glowing symbols and writing carved into the stone floor. My heart sank. I jumped down to get a closer look, and he tried to grab me.
“I’m trying to help you, you bastard,” I screamed as I dodged out of his shortened reach.
Perses roared again, his face contorted with rage and his eyes and hair wild as he pulled and thrashed at his bindings. The chaos of the situation around us was making him lash out, but unless something got within his reach, the restraints prevented him from doing much. I guessed that the cloud that surrounded the bound Titan was probably the chaotic energy that Medea was harnessing, aided by the glowing writing on the floor. Even more alarming, the havoc my team was creating with our attack had to be adding to that energy. The Phonoi and Androktasiai might well have been left to their own devices on purpose for the very same reason.
I couldn’t let myself dwell on thoughts like that. I needed to find the bitch and stop her before it was too late. The world’s chaos would be of no use to her if she were dead. To that end, retrieving my spear from Ab would be extremely helpful.
“Talon Three, this is Talon One. I need the Spear, and I’m coming to you. Can you give me a sign of your current location?” I called over the radio.
“Am I Talon Three?” said Ab’s voice. “I thought I was Talon Two.”
“No, you tool,” cut in Duma. “I’m Talon Two; you’re Talon Three.”
“Why do I have to be Talon Three?” Ab actually managed to sound dejected in the middle of battle.
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re both Talon Two,” I screamed over the radio. “Ab, just let me know where you are so I can find you, dammit.”
All of a sudden, one of the Phonoi launched fifteen feet into the air, spewing green slime about a hundred yards farther south toward the mouth of the tunnel my team would have entered. Under it, I could make out Ab’s hammer as his massive head and shoulders suddenly bobbed above the crowd.
“Good enough.” I ran as fast as I could, shoving through the crowd, ducking and dodging attacks as I ran toward him. I needed to get the Pelian Spear from him as quickly as possible. As I approached, I could feel the nasty sensation of violence creep into my very being. Apparently, more than a few of the Phonoi had died at Ab’s hands.
“Whoa, D—here,” the big Peri said, dropping his hammer and holding up one hand to stop me as he tossed the Pelian Spear toward me. “Keep your distance. I’ve crushed about six of these things, and you know how pinkies get when they die.”
He held one hand out to stop me while he bent down to grab his hammer again. In a single fluid motion he grabbed the hammer and swatted backhanded at a crazed charging robed figure and sent its crushed form flying into another small berserk group of Medea’s followers.
I’d dealt with these death spirits more than once and could normally control myself, but if there were many more of them, I’d only be able to hold out for so long. If I couldn’t, I might lose all control and attack anything in my path, including my teammates if it got bad enough.
I caught my spear and ran back into the fray to work out some of my Phonoi-induced violent ideas while I could still think clearly. I charged directly into a frenetic group of five of Medea’s human acolytes. In seconds, I killed three of them and then managed to control myself enough to disable the remaining two before moving on again.
“I’ve got eyes on the Tango but no clear shot,” Frigate screamed. “She’s in the northeast corner surrounded by some freaky lookin’… things. Oh, fuck—” His comlink went silent.
“Frigate, respond. What is your status? Respond!” I shouted as I ran at full bore across the cavern toward the main entrance, where the sniper team was supposed to be holding position.
The fact that Frigate screamed while reporting scared me as much as being unable to raise him after he cut out. In all the years we served together, I never saw his heart rate get much above room temperature.
I slashed and stabbed my way through several small crowds of the same type of malformed, mutated humans I had seen at the crash site in Bulgaria, as well as mundane people, without a second thought beyond my team’s wellbeing. Bullets ricocheted off my cuirass as I pushed my way through. I didn’t care.
Several Spartoi were firing into the passage at something I couldn’t yet see as I approached within a hundred yards of the tunnel mouth. I raced to close the distance, and the three dragon-tooth warriors were suddenly thrown backward toward me some twenty feet, as if an explosion had gone off at their feet. The hazy remnants of a burst of magical energy hung like a cloud of smoke where they had stood.
I ran in a wide arc, trying to bring myself around so I could head straight down the tunnel, fearing for my sniper team’s lives. What I saw first just inside the mouth of the passageway surprised me: a smallish old woman in a plain dark robe.
The robed figure was pivoting away from the Spartoi and peering down the tunnel, lowering her right arm as she kept her left raised and pointed down the passageway now less than ten yards in front of me. While I could tell from her aura she wasn’t Hecate, I could see and feel the greasy black magical power she wielded—like Medea’s, only significantly weaker. I just couldn’t tell what she was doing with her left hand.
I shifted my weight as I ran, turning the spear in my hand, and I threw it as hard as I could at the old witch. The spear struck her in her upper back and continued straight through her. She staggered, and I watched the greasy energy she controlled scatter like oil from a drop of soap. Before I made it another ten feet, a burst of machine-gun fire from in front of her tore into the witch, jarring her body like a spastic puppet. I stopped short as she keeled over.
Once I was close enough, I could make out Geek sitting in a pool of blood agai
nst one of the carved stone columns. He was pale, and his pants were shredded where his prosthetic leg had been. Frigate was getting back to his feet using the Barrett as a crutch. Sarah was changing out clips on the other side of the tunnel, holding the Vector in front of her face in a combat-high stance. A wave of relief washed over me, stopping me abruptly for a second as I took a deep breath.
When I saw blood on Sarah’s face, I ran over to the group. All of them had bloody noses. Sarah’s face was hard and her hair matted with blood, but I could see the muscles in her jaw tighten as she looked past me into the cavern, keeping watch.
Frigate grinned lopsidedly, hopping on his left leg but far from done. “Glad you could join us, but we got a party to get back to,” he said, moving farther into the tunnel’s mouth to get back into position.
“Find Medea,” I said to him. “Now.”
“On it.”
Geek grimaced as I bent over to check on him. Sarah pushed in right behind me now that Frigate was up. She knelt at his side, her eyes moving quickly between checking Geek over to keeping watch into the cavern behind us.
“I’m okay,” he croaked as he tried to move into a more comfortable position. “I hit my head after one of those mutant thingies grabbed my leg and wrenched it free. By the time I came to, there was an old biddy waving at us, and I couldn’t breathe.”
Sarah checked his head. “Just a scalp laceration.” She patted him on the shoulder. Her face was drawn and streaked with dust and blood, but her eyes were lively and intense. “She put us in some kind of vacuum bubble. Felt like we’d just descended a few hundred feet underwater. The Spartoi tried to take her from behind, but they were less than sneaky about it. If your spear hadn’t distracted her, we’d have been goners in a minute.”
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