“You should really go inside, out of the rain,” Sara suggested as Mystique stood looking at the target range. Sara was wearing a raincoat but Mystique was just wearing her jeans and t-shirt. She didn’t care, though; the weather didn’t bother her.
“Go inside. I am going to check the river and look around some more,” Mystique suggested, knowing Sara would never let her wander around alone.
Twenty minutes later Mystique finally entered the house. It was a huge log-cabin style building with a large fire pit in the center of the great room. A large kitchen area with a huge dining table filled the left side of the room. A set of stairs leading to the second floor bedrooms and bathroom was built next to the kitchen along the back wall. A hallway opposite the front door led to the master bedroom, a study, and a bathroom.
Sara suggested they take adjoining rooms on the second floor for security reasons. Mystique chose not to argue and raise Sara’s suspicions so they took the two rooms on the left side of the hall with Mystique sandwiched between Sara and the bathroom. Sara offered to make dinner while Mystique freshened up and unpacked.
Mystique had brought a lot of clothing and gear, so unpacking took a little time. She had brought extra clothing for Shektee to use. When she was done unpacking, Mystique took a quick shower and changed into a comfortable set of sweats. Downstairs Sara had a pair of steaks cooking on the fire pit grill. The smell of the cooking steaks filled the air, making Mystique’s mouth water with anticipation. Sara also had a few large potatoes wrapped in foil baking in the fire. Condiments were spread out on the table along with a pair of plates and silverware.
Mystique ate in silence as she watched the fire burn. The food was delicious. Sara was a natural cook and away from the city she was relaxed enough to enjoy cooking. Normally Sara had to worry about Mystique sneaking out and getting into trouble. She figured that out in the middle of the woods there wasn’t much reason for Mystique to sneak out. Sara hoped this would be a relaxing weekend with minimal trouble. She had no idea Mystique liked fishing, so this weekend had already been a nice surprise. Sara loved the outdoors.
The next morning Mystique dressed for spending a day in the rain and after breakfast she grabbed her fishing pole and went fishing. The river was not very big, maybe thirty feet across at the wide spots. It was also only two to three feet deep and very clear with a rocky bottom. Sara had followed her out but had stopped at the water’s edge. She didn’t see any reason for getting wet. Neither of them had brought hip boots, so when Mystique waded out into the river she got soaked. Once Mystique stopped moving up and down the river and settled in to fish, Sara set up a small canopy and worked on starting a fire. Sara’d brought a small torch to light the wet wood, so it didn’t take her long to get a good fire going.
By noon Mystique was starting to get cold and Sara was complaining about her getting sick. She’d caught three good-sized fish so they headed back to the lodge. Sara cooked two of the fish while Mystique took a hot shower and changed into dry clothes. She had planned on going hunting or at least doing some target practice with the rifle, but decided to stay inside and do some studying. Sara was glad that they weren’t going back out into the rain. The two spent the rest of the day sitting by the fire pit watching videos or reading and studying.
***
As Mystique had hoped, the rain was turning into a full thunderstorm. It was as if nature knew what she was planning to do and was fighting against it. She waited until a little after two in the morning before sneaking out. It was easy for her to get past Sara’s perimeter of alarm traps. Sara had gotten more creative in designing the traps but that had only made beating them more interesting.
Mystique hiked about a half-mile down river before she stopped and looked around. The night was pitch black but Mystique’s enhanced vision allowed her to make out basic shapes. She made sure Sara hadn’t followed her and that there was no wildlife in the area that might attack her. Once she was satisfied, she sat down on a large rock overlooking the river and started the chant.
The lighting increased in frequency and size as Mystique continued to repeat the chant over and over. Finally, one large bolt struck mere yards away from her. The force of the lightning strike was enough to knock her backward over the rock she’d been sitting on. As Mystique tried to clear her head and pull herself upright, a hand reached down and grasped her upper arm.
“You had to summon me to a rainstorm,” Shektee said, acting angry and upset, but Mystique knew better. If Shektee had really been angry she would’ve left her on the ground.
“Everything go okay with Captain Remington and his people?” Mystique asked, having to shout over the noise of the storm.
“We can speak of it somewhere less annoying. Where’s your vehicle?” Shektee asked, expecting Mystique to have driven out of the city to summon her.
“I don’t have one. I am staying in a house a short walk upriver,” Mystique told her before turning to lead the way back to the lodge.
They didn’t bother trying to talk on the hike back. The storm had returned to normal but it was still making it difficult to see or hear anything. As they got within sight of the clearing around the lodge, Shektee put her hand on Mystique’s shoulder. When Mystique looked back she dropped into a crouch and focused on her obfuscate ability. Something had triggered Shektee’s combat form and until Mystique knew what it was, she was taking no chances. Shektee crouched down next to her and leaned forward to press her forehead to Mystique’s
“I feel the presence of nearby predators. Wait here while I go find them.” Mystique heard Shektee’s voice but there was no background noise and she was certain that Shektee’s mouth had not moved.
Mystique watched as Shektee shifted forms into a large black panther and slunk away. Mystique carefully looked around to see if she could spot any sign of what’d caused Shektee’s feeling. The only thing she observed was that the windows to Sara’s room were broken. She was trying to think of what could’ve caused the damage when she heard a faint scream. So she tried to focus on listening. A few long minutes later the scream came again and this time Mystique was sure it’d come from the lodge.
Mystique knew that she should wait, but sitting and waiting was not her style, so she started moving toward the back door of the lodge. She focused on her obfuscate ability, knowing if there were people watching the lodge she was about to crawl out and into their view. Mystique slowly belly crawled across the open yard to the wood stack near the back door. As she slipped up onto the porch, she realized the tripwire Sara had set was broken. At least Sara had gotten a short warning before they got inside.
The back door swung open with a gentle push. Mystique was crouched to the side waiting for someone to react to the opening door. When nothing happened and she didn’t hear anything, she quickly slid inside and gently closed the door, careful not to make any noise. Without thinking, Mystique instinctively drew a combat knife with her left hand and a throwing spike with her right.
As she started to move down the hall toward the great room, she heard the sound of liquid being splashed, followed by a weak groan. She wasn’t sure but she thought it was Sara who had groaned. Seconds later, a man’s voice was demanding to know where Mystique was. Sara didn’t respond at first but then screamed in pain.
Mystique reached the end of the hall; she was crouched low and still back far enough to be in the shadows when she saw the first assailant. He was wearing light powered combat armor and carrying a gauss rifle. Mystique saw him and smiled; the fool had taken his helmet off. Shifting just a little allowed Mystique to find two more men in armor. One was holding Sara near the fire pit while the other studied her. He seemed to be waiting for some sign from Sara. Sara’s head was hanging low and Mystique was not sure that she was conscious. Finally, Sara started to raise her head and the man in charge picked up a burning ember from fire pit. He demanded Sara tell him where Mystique was hiding as he moved the ember closer to Sara’s left eye.
Mystique had seen enough; if t
hey wanted to play dirty, she could play. Cocking her arm back for a full-strength throw, Mystique launched her throwing spike at the man without his helmet. Mystique had fought people in powered armor at the embassy for practice and knew that her spikes were useless against it. There were a few weak places she could drive her knife through but that would mean close hand-to-hand combat. The man’s helmet would have deflected Mystique’s strongest throw with ease had he been wearing it. The spike slammed into the man’s forehead just above the right eye. The sound of their dead companion crashing to the ground stunned the two with Sara for a fraction of a second but it was long enough for Mystique to slip into the master bedroom. As she went, she yelled as loud as she could, “You wanted me. Here I am!”
Shektee had found the two men watching the lodge and was watching them when she heard Mystique’s yell. The yell had come from inside the lodge, meaning Mystique had entered the building and engaged someone inside. Shektee wasted no time. She launched herself at the nearest man, her claws slicing through the weak flex armor of the neck. The second man had time to look at her and scream before she also took his head.
Inside, the man holding Sara dropped her without a thought, pulling his heavy rifle into position to fire. The other man spun toward the sound of Mystique’s voice, grabbing a grenade from his harness as he did. Without hesitation, the man pitched the grenade into the hall where it detonated. It was a flash grenade with a sonic element that caused anyone within its blast radius to be blinded and deafened. The door to the bedroom protected Mystique from the flash, but the sonic blast left her ears ringing and her equilibrium a mess.
Shektee heard the blast and charged the building. The large plate-glass window that allowed such a nice view of the river and woods shattered as Shektee’s combat form slammed into it. She was projecting a strong aura of fear as she landed in the middle of the room. The man with the rifle swung around and fired out of instinct, strafing the room as he did. The other man was more disciplined and ignored Shektee instead of focusing on the target of his hunt. If he killed the witch, then the demon would be sucked back to whatever hell it’d been summoned form, or at least that was what he believed.
Shektee dodged the hail of bullets as she moved closer to the man shooting at her. A few rounds grazed her bone armor, doing a small amount of damage, but nothing that would slow her down. Within seconds the man had emptied his ammo clip, giving Shektee the opening she needed. She dove forward as he ejected his clip, driving the claws of her right hand through his stomach armor where the weaker, more flexible, bands of armor were instead of a hard plate. With her left hand, Shektee ripped the rifle from his grasp and threw it across the room. She wanted to feed on him but didn’t have time to remove his helmet, so she had to satisfy herself with his fear and pain as she ripped his head off, helmet and all.
Mystique was waiting when the man entered the doorway to the master bedroom. The benefit of growing up on a high-gravity planet had been increased by the ancient, causing her to be stronger than most men. She was still no match for powered armor but it did allow her to push the dresser across the room like a battering ram. The impact of the dresser was enough to knock the man back across the hall and into the wall on the far side but not enough to hurt him. In anger, the man kicked at the dresser, expecting it to slide out of the doorway, but Mystique had anticipated his move so she was holding the dresser in place. The man’s armored foot smashed through the side of the dresser and downward. Mystique reacted instantly by pushing the dresser over, levering the man’s leg to the side and bringing him to his knees.
Mystique grabbed the edge of the dresser for balance and support as she jumped up and dove feet-first out through the doorway. She caught the man by surprise as both her heels slammed into the side of his head. His armor absorbed most of the impact but his head still snapped to the side.
Unfortunately for Mystique, this man was the veteran of many close combat fights. He swung his right arm in a wide arc, sweeping her off him. Mystique knew she had to keep pressing her attack; if the man had a chance to recover he’d win. So she rolled with the arm sweep, grabbing his arm as she went. When he reached the end of his range of motion she pulled, causing him to fall over on his side.
The man countered by firing his pistol, hoping the random shots would cause Mystique to retreat or misstep, anything that would give him a chance to get back to his feet and free of the dresser. So far he was in no real danger, but neither was he able to do anything to the witch. The gunfire in the great room had stopped so he was running out of time. He had no illusions that his man had been able to kill the demon, which meant very soon it would be coming for him. He swung his left arm around, his hand open and him hoping to catch some part of the witch’s clothing, if not her. He also kicked with both feet, shattering the dresser to pieces.
Mystique squirmed quickly to the side as she tried to push the man’s pistol arm upward. The bullets missed but having to dodge them had put her in a position of his left hand snagging her shirt. His grip was tenuous at best but it was enough to break her momentum. He was gaining the upper hand and there was little she could do about it. Another swing of his right arm landed a glancing blow to her ribcage, causing a sudden spike of pain. The man took advantage of her slight hesitation by rolling over and swinging his left arm in a sweeping motion, catching and pulling her in to him.
Before the man could get a good grip on Mystique, he found himself being lifted off her by his helmet. Shektee picked the man up by his head and then she spun around, flipping him over her shoulder. She slammed him into the floor with enough force to crack most of the floorboards.
“Alive,” Mystique tried to yell but found she could barely say it. The glancing blow to her ribcage had cracked a few ribs, making it difficult to breath. Shektee heard Mystique’s command and had to struggle to obey it. Every instinct in her demanded that she kill the man. She did allow herself to cripple him, driving her claws into his shoulder and hip joints. Next, she split his helmet in two and removed it.
Meanwhile, Mystique crawled up the wall to stand leaning heavily on it. Sara had gotten to her feet and staggered to the entrance of the hallway. She was carrying the gauss rifle from the man Mystique’s throwing spike had killed. She could barely lift the heavy rifle but was determined to protect Mystique.
Mystique saw her lifting the rifle to aim it and waved to her to stop. Shektee saw the woman and felt her concern. Mystique pushed off the wall and staggered in between Sara and Shektee. Sara didn’t fire; she couldn’t without risking hitting Mystique with a stray round. She’d hoped to distract the demon long enough for Mystique to escape. Shektee knew Sara could hurt her with that rifle but guessed that she wouldn’t, so she shifted forms to that of a large woman. With one hand she grabbed the man’s breastplate at the collar and with the other she helped Mystique walk down the hall to the great room.
Sara backed up slowly. Mystique didn’t think she could move quickly if she wanted to. The attackers had beaten and tortured her badly. Her left hand looked like it had third-degree burns, forcing her to use her forearm to lift the barrel of the rifle. Once all four were in the room, Mystique sat on one of the sofas while Sara leaned against an armchair. Shektee dropped the man in the center of the room, then turned to Sara.
“Stop aiming that at me,” Shektee demanded in a very commanding voice. Sara hesitated, but a nod from Mystique gave her enough reassurance to lower her aim.
Shektee watched as the barrel moved away from her and to the floor. Once she was satisfied Sara wouldn’t shoot her in the back, she went to check on Mystique’s wounds. Besides the cracked ribs Mystique, had a number of bruises, but no other broken bones. Shektee focused on healing Mystique’s ribs. She was not competent enough to completely them, but the bones were well on their way to being whole again. Once she was done, Mystique was able to breathe much easier.
“Find out who he is and who sent him after me. Please” Mystique asked Shektee. Sara watched in fascination as the dem
on cared for Mystique and followed her orders. She’d read Mystique’s file and knew a little about Shektee but she hadn’t believed it, at least until now.
Shektee bent down and kissed the man’s forehead, causing him to lose consciousness. She read his memories and drained a small amount of his life energy to replace what she’d used healing Mystique. It would take her time to sift through all the man’s memories to find what they were looking for. She gave a quick look but nothing presented itself as important.
“I have his memories. It will take some time to find who sent him. He’s from another world here to track us down and kill us,” Shektee explained, looking over at Mystique.
“Thank you. Could you take him outside while I talk to Sara. He liked causing pain; see how much he can take before you kill him,” Mystique said, calmly sentencing the man to a terrible death. Sara tried but couldn’t feel sorry for the man.
“I’ll call you when it’s time to leave,” Mystique added as Shektee carried the man into the hall and out the back door.
“Sara, how long before your backup arrives?”
Sara thought about playing dumb and stalling but decided against it. “Five, maybe ten, minutes, tops. They had to scramble from the embassy. So, that’s Shektee, the demon mentioned in your file?”
“Yes. Summoning her causes a lightning storm, hence the reason for coming way out here during a storm. I hadn’t expected to be the target of someone’s hunters. I’m going to disappear and go into hiding. Tell Major Castleman that I’ll be in touch when I know more about who’s after me,” Mystique explained as she got up and headed toward the stairs.
“I’m going with you. I’m your bodyguard,” Sara stated, struggling to get to her feet.
“No. Shektee is my bodyguard; she’ll keep me safe. You need a hospital and time to recover. I’ll be back down in a minute.”
***
Three minutes later Mystique was at the back door calling to Shektee. Sara was standing next to her, leaning heavily on the wall but determined to go with her. Shektee came walking up to the back door, a satisfied grin on her face. Mystique handed her a set of sweats to wear and a pair of sneakers. Shektee inspected each as she put them on.
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