Mitchell crossed his arms and glared at the man. “And you helped create these monsters?”
“What? No! I was a data cruncher. I was basically a hacker working for the government. I just…I got sucked into all of this.”
“And you found out about this Titan Project by accident?”
“Spartan. It’s the Spartan Project. The warriors are the Titans. And if you see one up close, you’ll see why. These guys are huge. Like, seven foot tall huge. I think the average weight for these guys is three hundred and fifty pounds. And they’re solid muscle. They’re giants.”
“Regardless.”
“Right. Um, I stumbled upon it, and the guys who created it made me data mine you. Apparently they stumbled upon the fact that monsters exist. They got it into their heads that all monsters needed to be wiped out. Including the ones that we created.” He cleared his throat. “And by ‘we’, I mean, of course, you.”
“So these self-righteous pricks consider my boys to be monsters because…” Mitchell trailed off, unwilling to state what he already knew.
“Because they were augmented with werewolf virus.” Stevens chewed at the inside of his cheek. “Yes, colonel, they know.”
“So our own government is coming after us, after they sanctioned our actions?”
Stevens shrugged. “I don’t think our government knows about the Spartan Project. This is a Black Op pet project. Totally off the books.”
“And run by the NSA and the CIA. Against their own charter and in violation to their Constitutional restraints.”
“Pretty much, yeah.” Stevens plopped back down on his bench and sighed. “That’s why I thought you needed to know. So I printed out the highlights and ran like hell to your doorstep.”
“And they know you’re here.”
“More than likely, yes.”
Mitchell scratched at his chin and stared away. “So why haven’t they struck yet?” he asked rhetorically.
“My guess is that they aren’t sure if the Titans are up to the task. They aren’t sure if they’re ready.”
“And that’s why they’re spying on our video feeds. To measure us up.”
“Again, that would be my guess.”
Mitchell smiled. “Maybe it’s time we gave them something worth watching.”
*****
Wallace dragged Lilith’s prone body to where Jack and his warriors were gathered and dumped her unceremoniously at his feet. “The concussion from the blast knocked her on her fanny. She’s been out since.”
Jack turned to Allister and lowered his voice, “Is there anything special we should do before—”
“Remove her heart. Quarter the body and separate it,” the griffin seemed almost giddy as he spoke. “Quickly, before she recuperates and strikes.”
Jack pulled the angelic dagger that Brooke had given him and hefted it in his hand. The small blade suddenly felt much heavier. As he looked down at the bound woman lying at his feet, he suddenly felt as though what he was about to do was somehow wrong. She wasn’t able to defend herself…she wasn’t attacking anybody. It felt like…like murder.
He looked to Allister and shook his head. “I can’t just—”
Before he could finish his sentence the griffin struck out with its front claws, slicing open her sternum with its razor sharp talons. Jack practically jumped back as Allister’s massive head snapped forward and he plucked the still-beating heart from the woman’s gaping chest; the bloody muscle still pumped as he held it in his beak.
“I guess that settles that,” Hammer muttered as the griffin stepped back and cocked his head at Jack.
Phil stepped close and lifted his sword. “Stand clear.” In quick swipes, he severed limbs from torso and head from neck. His actions left the group standing silent over the carnage. He wiped the blood from his blade then picked up the heart. “We should package these separately.”
Dom stepped back slowly and shook his head. “I thought there’d be more…I dunno…something, involved. A bright light. A blast wave. Something.”
Brooke pulled one of her angelic blades and sunk it deeply into the chest of the Fallen one. “It moved.” She gave Jack a steely stare then leaned on the blade, sinking it deeper.
As the blade sliced through Samael’s chest, a bright green light erupted, temporarily blinding the crowd. The light slowly dimmed and the warriors all lowered their hands from their faces. The winged angel had departed, leaving the broken body of Damien Franklin in a pool of blood that was soaking into the dry, rocky ground.
Jack swallowed hard and looked to Dom. “Let’s get this mess boxed up and out of here.”
“Aye, Chief.”
Paul Foster stepped forward and raised a hand to get Jack’s attention. “If I may? Rufus had a few ideas on how best to reduce the possibility of her ever being brought back.”
Jack shrugged, a sick feeling forming in his gut. “I’m all ears.”
*****
Each member of Delta Team made landfall and secured their chutes. Using their locator beacons they converged on the landing zone and made ready. Spalding performed a coms check with OPCOM then pulled his topomap of the area.
“This is the last known location of our spotter. The secondary wasn’t able to locate him but OPCOM got a single ping off his cell before it either went dead or got shut off. That was over twnty-four hours ago. You’ve all been briefed on the wendigo and know what it’s capable of. Keep your eyes open and your ears alert. These things are supposed to be stealthy sons of bitches. They’re sneaky as hell and dangerous.”
Lamb clicked off the red lensed torch and nodded to Spanky. “Shoot first scenario?”
“Normally I would say no, but that’s probably not a bad plan. Just ensure your target is clear. Know what’s beyond your tango. These are some dense woods. If anybody got separated out here and wounded, we might not find them until it was too late.”
“Copy that.”
Spanky folded the map and stuffed it back into his pouch. “Everybody on your toes tonight. This is our first encounter with one of these.”
Sullivan stood first. “I’ll take point.”
Tracy patted the big man’s shoulder. “I’ll cover your six.”
“Two by two and let’s make a clean sweep. Remember, anything that remotely looks like a cave or cover, alert the team. Move out.” Spalding slid in just behind Sullivan and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Go time.”
The men broke into two man groups and moved silently into the woods. More than once Sullivan reached for his helmet to lower his night vision goggles, but waited. Once they were in place, his natural night vision would be gone. He preferred having his full peripheral vision available; it allowed him to concentrate on his surroundings without necessarily focusing on any one thing in his field of view.
After less than two kilometers of slow moving through rough terrain, Spalding slowed to a halt, his fist hovering in the air. He turned slowly and pressed a finger to his nose indicating that he smelled something, even if he couldn’t see it.
Spanky gave a slow nod and slid in next to the large man. He lifted his face and inhaled deeply. The sweet rot of decayed flesh tickled his olfactory and he fought back a gag. He covered his mouth and motioned to the men behind him to spread out but stay within view of each other.
The deepening darkness of the woods and the lack of moonlight had cast the area into an inky blackness that even their enhanced vision had difficulty cutting through. One by one, the click-whir of enhanced night vision activated and each commando found their heads on a swivel as they scanned the area ahead of them.
They slowly made their way through the woods, the sound of rushing water rising in volume, telling them they were closing on one of the many active streams that fed the lake.
“Delta Actual, we’ve lost all satellite visual on your team,” Tufo’s voice echoed through the earpieces. “Arial drone dispatched to your area to feed inputs.”
Spalding clicked his throat mic and whispered
, “Copy that, OPCOM. Advise when on approach.”
Spanky felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned just as a scream broke through the silence of the woods. He could hear something large crashing through the underbrush and headed in their direction. He pulled Little John back and yelled to his team, “Defensive positions!”
Each man dropped to their knee or to the ground, their weapons trained on the sound coming from the woods. Spanky keyed his coms once more. “OPCOM, we have incoming.”
*****
Kalen worked his way through the debris and approached Brooke from her blind side. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up from the ground, spinning her around before setting her down and sliding his hands up her back. “You have no idea how relieved I am that you are unharmed.”
She stared at him in shock for just a moment before a sly smile crossed her pale features. “So happy not to disappoint you.”
“Don’t misunderstand, I know that you are an accomplished warrior, but I couldn’t help but worry when I saw you plunge headlong into the throng of demons.” He pressed his forehead to hers and sighed. “I truly don’t know what I would have done without you by my side.”
She leaned back and stared at him, he smile widening. “I’m sure you would have figured out something.” She instinctively reached up and tucked a long strand of his white hair behind his ear. Her smile widened as she traced the pointed tip with her finger. He looked into her eyes and noted a certain mischievous glimmer that he hadn’t noticed before.
“You seem…happy.”
Brooke threw her head back and laughed a deep, hearty laugh that caught Kalen by surprise. When she finished she tucked her face close to his ear and whispered, “Who wouldn’t be? We’ve won, haven’t we?”
He nodded slowly and leaned back to study her. “Yes, I suppose we have.” He released her from his embrace and looked out over the destruction. Many of the bodies still smoked from the blast and bits and pieces of the building were still burning. “Still, this wasn’t how I expected the battle to go.”
“Well, lover, exactly how did you think it would happen?” She slid in next to him and traced a nail across his sinewy shoulders. “You’d show up and they’d simply surrender?”
Kalen shook his head slowly. “Somehow, I thought the battle would be more…epic.”
“Epic?” She laughed again and walked around to face him. “What could be more epic than to vanquish your enemies while none of your warriors are harmed?” She pranced around, her arms wide as she gestured wildly. “From your mightiest to your least, not one single warrior so much as bloodied. From the giant winged one to the lowliest gnome…not one so much as met a blade. Imagine how they will sing of your battles throughout your realm. When we tell them of your skill and bravery, they’ll make you King.”
She ran a hand over his chest and squeezed his shoulders as she gave him her most sultry stare. “When we tell them of…” he trailed off.
“Of course.” She kissed the corner of his mouth and ran her fingers through his long white hair. “You’ll want somebody with you to corroborate the story, somebody who can regale them with your heroics. Who better than me? Your future queen.” She smiled again and kissed him full on the mouth.
Kalen pulled her in tighter and returned her kiss. His hands ran up her back and grasped her by the back of the head, holding her in place as he kissed her roughly. His mind raced and his heart broke as his tongue danced with hers.
“Break it up, you two. We still have work to do.” Jack nudged Kalen in the shoulder as he walked by.
Kalen flustered for just a moment and then gave her a lopsided grin. “We shall continue this later.” She turned to leave and he slapped her on the ass, catching another smile and raised brow from her before he himself turned and trotted away.
He quickly approached Jack and pulled him aside. “We must talk.”
16
Mitchell unlocked the handcuffs, releasing Stevens and pushed him down into the chair at Dr. Peter’s workbench. He tossed the cuffs unceremoniously onto the counter and pulled the stack of files to the edge. “You get to explain this crap to our resident expert.”
Stevens stared at the printed sheets he had brought to them and gave Mitchell a wide eyed stare. “It’s not like I designed this stuff, Colonel. I just copied it and…”
“It wasn’t a request,” Mitchell growled through gritted teeth. He spun and pointed a finger at the doc. “If he tries to worm his way out of this, eat him.”
Evan tried to hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “If I eat him, who will help me?”
“We’ll nab another CIA spook and twist his knickers until he’s willing to cooperate.”
“Wait…what do you mean, ‘eat me’?” Stevens’ head bounced between Mitchell and Evan.
“He’s our resident vampire.”
Evan extended a hand. “Dr. Evan Peters, at your service.”
Stevens reached out to shake hands then pulled his arm back suddenly. “Good Lord. Your hands are like ice.”
“Comes from being undead, I’m afraid.” Evan smiled and settled in across from him at the table. “Shall we begin?”
“Holy…you weren’t kidding? He wasn’t kidding? You really are a vampire?” Stevens stammered as he stared at the man.
“He wasn’t kidding. I really am a vampire.” Evan opened a file and spun it around to face Mr. Stevens. “Now, shall we start at the beginning?”
Stevens began to shudder and his eyes darted to Mitchell. “You aren’t leaving me here, are you?”
“You’re in good hands.” He nodded to Doctor Peters. “Keep an eye on him, Doc.”
“We’ll be fine.” The two watched Mitchell step down out of the lab and march toward the stairwell. Evan turned back to the files and pushed them slightly forward. “From the top.”
Stevens swallowed hard and eyed him warily. “You wouldn’t really eat me, would you?”
Evan laughed and shook his head. “Good heavens, no.” He watched as Stevens visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping slightly. “No, I’d simply drain you of all of your blood and then dump your lifeless corpse into the incinerator.”
Stevens’ eyes widened as he stared at the man in horror. “You’re kidding…right?”
“Let’s not test your hypothesis.” He pushed the folder closer once more. “Now…shall we begin?”
*****
Jack stood silently, his jaw clenching and unclenching. His eyes darted around the ruined facility as his mind raced. “You’re sure?”
Kalen nodded solemnly. “I wish I weren’t. But yes.”
Allister approached and fluttered his large feathered wings. “We need to depart soon or we’ll face the daybreak upon our arrival.”
Jack squeezed his eyes shut and pursed his lips. He turned to Allister and motioned him closer. “You and I need to talk. Kalen, gather the troops and have them prepare to return. See if you can find us a portal that’s closer than the one we came in through.”
“Chief Jack, what shall we—”
“Just find us a portal back. We can’t risk Azrael being stone if we have to face her. Again. And I’d much rather do it on familiar ground. Just get the troops ready to return. OPCOM has a clean-up team inbound. They can handle what we leave behind.”
Kalen nodded and turned to leave.
“Should I ask?”
Jack turned and faced the griffin, his face stern. “How many more of those spells do you have up your sleeve?”
Allister glanced down to his taloned feet. “I have no sleeves, Chief Jack.”
“It’s just an expression, my fine feathered friend. Just an expression.” Jack wrapped an arm over the griffin’s neck as best he could and pulled the bird like head in closer. “Listen up. We have a problem.”
Jack led the griffin off to the edge of the debris field, making an effort to appear as though he were discussing the damage to anybody who might observe the pair. He watched as Kalen gathered the troops then w
ent to the edge of the river looking for a boulder large enough for Azrael, Phil, and Allister to travel through. All the while, he explained Kalen’s worst fear to the legendary monster.
“So, is there any way to save her?”
“The girl?” Allister cocked his head to the side as he spoke.
“Of course, the girl, who the hell else would I be asking about?” Jack’s frustration was evident as he spoke.
Allister thought for a moment then shook his mighty head. “No.”
“Come on! There has to be a way.” Jack began to pace as he pleaded with him. “I mean…even Kalen says that she must still be inside there. She’s fighting this. Somehow feeding her false information or…phony memories or something. Otherwise she couldn’t have tipped him off.”
Allister continued to shake his head. “Even if that is so, in order to destroy the beast, the host most be killed.” He sighed heavily and hung his head. “I am just so sorry that I didn’t foresee this as a possibility. I cast the net that contained them all to this area…but I never thought that she would leave her own vessel for another while her vessel was intact.”
“I wouldn’t have thought it either or I would have made Brooke stay at the base.” Jack ground his teeth as he stared at him. “But there has to be a way. An exorcism or…something.”
Allister shook his head. “The longer she possesses her body, the harder it will be for Brooke to maintain any control. It won’t be long and Lilith will know that we are aware of her.”
“But how do we yank that bitch out without killing Brooke?” Jack had to force himself to keep his voice low.
“That is what I am trying to tell you. We cannot. In order to kill Lilith, we must kill the host while she possesses the body.”
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