The beast I’d blown off the rock jumped the fifteen feet up and landed next to his companion.
“Firepower,” Alec yelled.
We both commenced to discharge some of the harshest blasts of magic we could muster. They slowed only slightly as our balls of fire and exploding stars slammed into them. Their bodies seemed to just absorb the magic. When they were almost within reach of us, arms outstretched like zombies from some old B-list movie, Alec employed his portalling trick, landing a safe distance behind them.
I refused to panic. Instead, I pointed a hand at each magic-eating monster, and said, “Subrigo,” infusing my will into the word and concentrating on sending the spell out of both hands.
Hanging ten feet in the air above my head, the two men dangled helplessly. The corners of my mouth twitched into a small triumphant smile. Not because I thought I’d beaten them, I was just happy the levitation spell had worked. The solution was only a temporary one, though, and it took a huge amount of energy for me to keep them afloat.
“Alec,” I forced through clenched teeth. “We need a plan, here.”
He ran to my side, looking from one enemy to the other. They were silent, but struggling against the predicament I’d put them in. The silence was odd, but we didn’t have time to analyze it.
“I’ll re-dose the other four real quick,” he said.
“Hurry.” I could feel the magic draining out of me—magic and energy I would need desperately in the very near future.
He hurried and was back at my side in a few seconds.
“Alec, use your sight. See if they have any sort of shield around them.”
He concentrated and I felt him shudder when his sight opened. “Yeah, yeah. Eww. Definitely not humans. They have a shield. It’s pretty crude, kinda like the one Joe had Seth make that’ll absorb attacks.”
“Great,” I said with more patience than I felt. “Now disassemble it!”
“Oh, yeah, right.” He turned his attention back to the levitating men. It took him a full minute to break down the crudely constructed shields. “Okay. Drop ‘em and fire!” He said inside my head.
They crashed to the ground and before they could even get their feet back beneath them, Alec and I blasted them. Knowing they weren’t humans, I gave it my all, blasting them with my signature blue lightning. It didn’t take much before all that was left of them were two smoldering piles of gooey charcoal.
I turned to look at the other four assailants with my sight open. They, unlike their now dead companions, were really human men. Their eyes were huge with fright.
“What should we do with them?” I asked.
“I don’t know. We can’t exactly leave them here to join the enemy as soon as our spells wear off.”
Stepping close to them, I looked down on the men who had made deals with the devil. “I know what to do with them.” I turned to look at Alec with a satisfied smirk on my face.
“What?”
“How about you portal them to that little boxed-in canyon where we imprisoned Grease Ball and his friends? Leave them there, and we’ll deal with them later.”
Alec smiled and pounded me on the back hard enough to force me to take a step forward, stepping on one of the men’s hands. The crunching noise sounded painful. Too bad. “You’re a genius, Paige. I’ll take these two first. Be right back.”
Resting my back against a big rock, I sat while Alec did his thing. Just as he returned from his second trip, I heard Johnathan in my mind again.
“Everyone check in, let me know you’re okay.”
I concentrated on the mind-talking spell and sent out my reply. “Alec and I are okay. Had to dispatch four humans and two…” I looked at Alec, I had no idea what they were, I’d never looked at them with my sight open.
“Orc-like things,” Alec sent.
“Orcs?” I asked, one eyebrow raised with doubt.
“Yeah, all gray skin, smashed noses, and twelve inch tusks. Ugly suckers.”
“Halli?” I heard Johnathan send.
I held my breath. Several nerve wracking seconds later, she answered, “We’re here. Just finished off a swarm of Sprites. Sharp little arrows. Poison. Seth’s shield saved us.”
“Poison? Are you okay?” I sent.
“Fine. Just need to rest a few minutes.”
“Johnathan, everything okay with you and Joe?” I asked.
“Yep. We ran into a little trouble. We’re both good, though. Joe says everyone rest for ten minutes and then continue on. We need to be in position soon.”
I laid my head against the rock I leaned on. Only a few minutes passed before a feeling of dread crept up my spine. I whipped my head up and looked out over the terrain we’d passed to get where we were. I scrambled to my feet.
“Alec,” I whispered. “Look.”
He stood next to me. “That probably isn’t a good sign.”
I sent a message over our mind-link. “The fog is rolling in… fast. We’d better forego resting and get into position.”
I looked toward the town of Moab and saw nothing but unnatural fog for as far as I could see in that direction.
lec and I scrambled up the steep incline, the loose rocks making the journey difficult. Our destination was one of multiple small caves where we had a decent view over the elephant rocks to the dead zone where we assumed the dark ceremony would take place. Alec went in first, holding a star-bright to light the way.
The small cave was cool inside, but slightly warmer than it was outside. We made ourselves as comfortable as we could on the dirt and rock floor. Alec extinguished the star-bright so our position wouldn’t be given away by the glowing blue light. I semi-reclined against the cave wall, facing the entrance. Alec handed me a bottle of water and a granola bar out of his backpack—which would stay in the cave during the fight.
“I’ll take first watch, Paige. You need to rest. Levitating those two things that long must have been exhausting.”
“It was. Thanks, Alec.” I closed my eyes and dozed off almost instantly.
A tendril of fog reached out and touched my foot. I sat up and pulled my feet further into the cave, my heart beating a rapid, heavy metal drum solo in my chest. The fog had reached us. I used my shield bracelet and blocked the entrance to the cave. I wasn’t sure what it would do, if anything, but I didn’t want that fog inside with us.
I scooted up next to where Alec sat near the entrance. “I can’t see anything,” he said, staring out into the thick haze that blocked everything from view.
I shuddered. Memories of blindness seeped into my mind—and I didn’t like being reminded of that. “How long was I asleep?”
“Probably not long enough. Less than an hour.”
“Well, I won’t be able to sleep now. You should get some rest. I’ll keep watch—or at least listen—for any movement up here or below.”
“I’m okay. I didn’t use up nearly as much energy as you.”
“Okay.”
We sat in silence. Listening for any intruders. It was the eeriest feeling I’d ever experienced. Alec entertained himself by bouncing small pebbles off the shield.
I wished Johnathan was with me. I didn’t like being separated from him, especially when danger was imminent. But, I knew the danger of losing all of us in one moment of undetected ambush, was too great. We had to come from different directions in order to increase our own chance at surprising the enemy. As thoughts of Johnathan filled my head, I heard his voice.
“It looks like the party’s starting early.”
Alec and I looked at each other. It couldn’t have been any later than nine, although it was hard to tell with the fog making it almost pitch black for the last several hours.
“So early?” I sent back out to the group.
Joe and Johnathan were closest to the dead zone, hiding among the large boulders at the base of the Parade of Elephants. “Yes. People are starting to show up. The fog is clearing around the dead zone.” His voice came to me in a whisper, even though on
ly the Five of us could hear it.
“Should we head down?” I sent.
“That’s what I was going to ask.” Halli’s voice entered my mind.
There was a pause before the answer came in Johnathan’s whispered voice. “Yes. Be careful everyone.” Then, just to me, “I love you Paige.”
“I love you, too.” I sent to Johnathan alone.
I released the shield and Alec and I half slid, half ran down the steep incline to the trail below. I could hear Halli and Seth coming from the Double Arch to our right.
A horrible screech filled the air, followed by what sounded like dozens of others accompanied by the sound of feet pounding on the ground toward us. The fog thinned and figures began to appear, some running toward us and others veering off to where Seth and Halli were coming from. I barely had time to process what kinds of creatures were attacking us. Trolls out front, at least a dozen of them, but I didn’t know what else. I didn’t wait for them to close in on us. They were obviously sent to stop us from getting to the dead zone—which is where Johnathan was.
I razed three of them with blue lightning fueled with the fear I felt for my friends. Out of the dark, several large forms leapt at us, snarling and snapping huge jaws.
“Devil Hounds!” Alec roared.
I threw up a shield just in time, and three of the ugliest, hugest, dog-like animals smashed into it face first. Quick yelps were followed by snarling, deep-throated growls.
“I’ll drop the shield on three,” I said, staring at the dripping, three inch fangs just inches from my face. I took a couple steps back. “One. Two. Three!”
I dropped the shield and zapped the Hound closest to me with a ball of fire. It yelped and rolled a few yards away. Alec shot a steady stream of flames at the other two. I added my power to his until the two remaining Hounds were a pile of ashes. The one I’d hit first recovered and crouched down, preparing to leap. With a howl loud enough to break eardrums, it pushed off. My voice matched the loudness as I screamed out a battle cry. I sent a golf ball sized, orange sphere straight into its gaping mouth just as its hind quarters pushed it into the air. There was a millisecond of a pause as the little sphere spiraled out of sight into the Hound’s throat. Then, the fireworks began. The ball exploded inside the heinous creature and splattered Alec and I with smoldering gore.
Smoke from our defensive magic replaced the fog, filling the air. We ran forward in an attempt to get to the place of the Gathering. We were met by a host of Undead—Ghouls, Wraiths, and Wights. The area around them became colder; our breath turned to ice crystals and fell to the ground before us. Thanks to Joe’s wisdom, we knew that the only way to kill Wraiths and Wights was with weapons that had been blessed. Alec and I pulled our daggers from their sheaths, grateful that Joe had thought to give them to us.
The dagger held in both hands, I brought it from my waist, energy building, up to the nearest Wraith’s neck. The dagger slid through its transparent skin and bones and I let the momentum of the swing carry me around in a complete circle. My blade met the next enemy in the side of the head, cleanly slicing off the top of its skull before the first Wraith’s head even hit the ground. The Ghouls stood back, waiting to take over our bodies when we fell.
Halli and Seth reached our position and we fought back-to-back with them. Halli had a dagger in each hand and mowed down the enemy like a machine gun. I followed her lead and took to using the powerful kicks she’d taught us to knock the enemy to the ground and then finish them with my dagger. I suddenly found myself without a Wight or a Wraith to occupy my attention, so I turned to focus on the slobbering Ghouls. Since it’d worked before, in the State Hospital, I used the warming spell again. I was able to fry the three Ghouls’ measly brains in a matter of two seconds.
Dagger in hand, barely winded, I turned in a circle to find my next opponent. There were none; we’d cleared the path.
The four of us ran around the huge, elephant-shaped rock blocking our way to where Johnathan and Joe were. Explosions and screeches filled the air. The grunts and thuds of hand-to-hand combat were heard between blasts of magic. I ran faster. The scene that met my eyes as I cleared the rocks, was one of chaos and death.
Back to back, Joe and Johnathan fought with nightmares. The indescribable creatures they faced caused me to stop in my tracks for half a second. I wasn’t alone—Halli and Seth stopped, too. Only Alec proceeded without so much as a stutter to his steps. I forced my feet to move—against every instinct in my body and soul—toward the monstrosities.
The things changed form as they fought. When we joined the fight, I thought we were fighting a bunch of different things. I concentrated on a couple that looked like eight-legged, giant spiders that stood erect on the back four legs of their hairy bodies. They used their four front legs like razor-covered arms, swinging them at my boyfriend with vicious strikes. I raised my arm, and with a throwing motion, sent a bolt of electricity flying directly at its chest. A satisfying explosion blew bits of mutant spider twenty feet in the air. I repeated the action as its companion turned toward me. Direct hit number two.
I stepped forward, thinking to finish them off. The flesh of the spiders’ backs split open and out crawled a giant slithering snake creature from one, and a man-like creature with the head of a many-toothed praying mantis from the other.
“You have got to be kidding me!” I yelled.
Johnathan caught my eye. “Go for their heads, it’s the best way to stop them!”
As if to emphasize his point, he blasted a crocodilian looking monster right between the eyes, exploding brain matter flew everywhere as the body dropped to the ground and started to dissolve with a hiss.
Joe used his sword to slice through the necks of the oncoming foe. I dropped my dagger back into the sheath tied around my thigh—I was much faster with magic. We tore through the remaining monsters until none were left standing.
“Shit! Positions!” Joe yelled as a pit the size of a baseball field opened up on the flat ground before us.
I turned toward the pit in an effort to get into position. I froze and drew in a sharp breath as my eyes took in the form of our enemy—Brone floated above the whirling hole. He directed his fledgling Warlocks and soul-sellers in the ceremony that had opened up the Gates of Hell.
His image—he wasn’t there in the flesh—turned toward me. His good eye looked at me and his mouth formed a half smile, the scarred side of his face twisted grotesquely, unable to complete the smile.
“I’m delighted you could make it to my little Gathering, Quinae Praesidia. I am so looking forward to the end of your reign here on Earth.” Brone’s laughter echoed off the surrounding rocks. “I’m so glad you survived the distractions I sent for you. This is going to be good!”
Alec gasped beside me. “Mariah!”
I followed his gaze. Mariah was near the edge of the pit. Two men held her, forcing her to her knees.
“Sacrifice them!” Brone yelled.
My stomach plummeted as I realized that others, both people and animals, were held to the ground all around the pit. I looked back at Mariah; one of the men jerked her head back by the hair, exposing her neck as he brought a knife toward her throat.
“No!” Alec ran toward her.
She was a hundred yards away from us—there was no way he’d reach her in time. I focused on the man holding the knife, and—using the hypothalamus warming spell—fried his brain in a millisecond. His partner took even less time.
As soon as she realized she was free, she stood and bolted toward Alec. “Alec! I’m sorry!”
She only succeeded in taking two steps. A snake-like Demon slithered out of the blood ringed pit, raised up twenty feet in the air before its entire body was out of the pit, and brought its gaping mouth down over her whole body. She was gone in less than a heartbeat.
Alec slid to a stop. The Demon swayed and turned its attention to him. Before any of us could help him, we were all caught in our own battles.
Two beasts spit out
of the pit. I recognized the overalls and greasy hat of the bigger one. They zeroed in on me. A transformed Grease Ball and his friend galloped toward me, all claws, fangs, and red eyes. Foam dripped from their open mouths. Mouth breathers, I thought just before I finished them off with twin lightning bolts through the chest.
I searched for Johnathan through the smoky haze. The smell of singed flesh and death burned my nostrils. I ran in the direction I thought he was and found him facing two shadowy figures. Only, he wasn’t fighting. He stood with his arms half raised, his mouth open in shock.
“John!” I shouted, hoping to be heard over the battles.
Things, horrible things, crawled out of the pit all around us.
I reached Johnathan’s side and touched his arm. He shook me off, his gaze locked on the shadows coming toward us. “Emma?” he whispered. “Linzee? You’re bleeding.”
My heart stopped. Mind-Shadows. Creatures that stole memories from people to use against them, stood before Johnathan now, only he saw his dead baby sisters. I pulled my blessed dagger from its sheath and leapt forward in one motion, taking the heads from the Mind Shadowing Wraiths with one swing.
The agonized scream that tore from Johnathan’s throat stabbed right through my soul. I turned to him and he grabbed me by the upper arms. His eyes were wild, his grip like steel. A high-pitched groan escaped my mouth as his fingers dug into my skin. He shook me without mercy; spit flew from his mouth as he cried out.
“You crazy… you killed my… you… Linzee! Emma! No… no.”
My brain slammed into the front then the back of my skull as he continued to shake me.
All of a sudden, his grip on my arms loosened and the shaking stopped, I looked into his face. His eyes went wide, then rolled back in his head as he dropped to the ground. I stared at him, confused. Did he just faint?
“He’s hurt, Paige. Do something!” Seth stood beside me, fighting the things that were closing in around us.
Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2) Page 28