“Tabitha, get serious.”
“I am serious.”
“Christ.”
She shrugged.
“More of a Thor girl, myself.”
The explosion outside cut Kane’s response short. He rushed to the window, looking out across the city as a ball of fire rose into the night. The dark, looming shape in the night sky raised the hairs on his neck. He watched as the Battle Cruiser launched another cannonball at a building. The shot exploded, sending the tall church tower crumbling to the ground into burning rubble. Two smaller Special Forces gunnery ships flew on either side of the cruiser, the rounds from the deck-mounted rail guns glowing hot in the night as they shot down to the streets below. Kane opened his hearing, heard people screaming as shrapnel rained down around them, the constant fire of the rotary guns loud and relentless. He heard shots ring out into the streets, the sound coming from the ground. Boots on pavement, the squeaking of armor mixed with the sound of blunderbusses being reloaded.
“Shit,” Kane said, breathless. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Son of a bitch.”
Tabitha moved to the window next to him, dressed in a new shirt.
“I tried to see them,” she said. “I don’t know where Anderson and Farnsworth are.”
Kane closed his eyes, listened for anything.
A woman’s voice stood out. Fall back. First garrison, fall back.
“We’re outnumbered, General!” Farnsworth. “Wilson! Get your men out of there!”
“No time, sir!”
Kane spotted his hat still laying on Tabitha’s bed from earlier. He picked it up, put in on, and turned to Tabitha.
“They’re getting slaughtered out there. They need us.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tabitha and Kane hit the ground at a run, the cold from Tabitha’s shift spell dying away quickly against the heat of the fires from the buildings around them. People ran screaming from the homes they’d built in the broken structures in what used to be the largest port city in the South. The smell of charring, burning wood and ash burned Kane’s nose, but he kept his pace, Tabitha slightly behind him as they turned the corner onto Calhoun. Kane ducked, dragging Tabitha down with him as gunfire hailed at them, peppering the wall beside them. Kane looked up at the chaos as he backpedaled around the corner, pushing Tabitha behind him.
The Special Forces troops marched in the street, spreading out, firing blunderbusses at anyone near them who wasn’t in armor. Revolutionaries returned fire, some making their mark as the Special Forces battalion scattered, taking cover. Only a few went down, but the return-fire leveled a dozen people, both Revolutionaries and civilians alike. The soldiers fired again, and Kane felt sick as he watched them aim for their attackers…and for the innocents running away, tripping over the dead as they went.
The Special Forces troops ceased fire momentarily to reload, ducking around corners and behind overturned carts and carriages.
Kane rubbed his rune onto his amulet, smiling a little as the small gears inside began to spin, the amber heating up. He looked at Tabitha.
“I’ll take the troops. You get those people to safety. I’ll cover you.”
Tabitha nodded. Kane cast his fireball spell, conjured one in each hand, and combined them by putting his hands together. He moved from cover and lobbed the large fireball into the air. It landed in front of the soldiers, the blast making a crater in the ground as parts of Special Forces troops flew. People ducked the rain of debris as Tabitha darted to another alley, calling to them to follow her. Civilians ran in her direction as more soldiers approached, their blunderbusses firing. Kane hurled more fireballs, ducked as bullets peppered the wall next to him. He charged another couple of fireballs and lobbed them around the corner, the sound of explosions satisfying as he heard shouts from the men caught in the blast.
One of the men moved from his cover inside a hollowed-out building, his weapon aimed at Kane’s position.
“There’s too many of us, Magician! Come out with your hands in the air, and your amulet deactivated!”
Kane moved from his cover, a large fireball in his hand.
“Nope.”
He hurled the fireball at the soldier, throwing low. The ground exploded at the man’s feet, sending him flying. He hit a wall, went to the ground, and lay still.
Kane waited a second, then ran into the street and toward the direction Tabitha had taken the civilians. He was met with a barrage of gunfire, bullets whipping by his head, barely missing him as he ran in the opposite direction. He stretched his hearing, listening for Tabitha.
Her voice rang clear.
“Get down! Hide! Draugalega Frosti!”
A blast. Men shouting. Ice crystals shattering.
Kane turned right out of the alleyway and sprinted down the street in the direction of Tabitha’s fight. A soldier lay on the ground ahead, dead, his body impaled by a spear made of ice. More explosions, the sound of turbines. Large ones.
Shit, a Battle Cruiser? Kane thought. Gentry wasn’t there to take the city.
He was there to annihilate it.
Another voice called out, high-pitched like a young kid who’d either found his courage or wanted to get his brains blown out.
“Flank them!” Wilson shouted. “Lay down fire to suppress them! Cover the men moving forward!”
“Shit,” Kane muttered. Tabitha was closer. He darted across the street as another ice blast flashed in the distance. He turned the corner, the street sign indicating that he’d found Calhoun St. The buildings were in better shape, but the hailstorm of bullets from Special Forces blunderbusses combined with Tabitha’s ice bolts were taking a toll. Kane spotted Tabitha just as ten soldiers converged on her. She clenched her fists and crouched, her body glowing blue, the glow intensifying as they got closer.
Tabitha vanished without trace.
The soldiers looked around, confused. Kane ducked inside a doorway, letting a fireball form in his hand.
“Fan out,” the commander said, his voice canned behind his goggled helmet. “Search the area. She’s close by.”
“The Commissioner wants her alive?” another asked, sounding a little unnerved. “Maybe he needs to get his ass down here and give it a whirl.”
“Cut the chatter, Private,” the officer said. “And man up. We aren’t gonna let some doll with frostbite take us down.”
“Hey, doll-face don’t need her knees,” said another. “Commander, he gonna complain if she ain’t got no kneecaps?”
The commander looked at him and shrugged, his breathing gear hiding any kind of facial expression.
“Shit happens. Lot of stray bullets, and these blunderbusses aren’t meant for precision. She doesn’t need her legs. Move out.”
They were spreading out when an ice spear sailed from a broken window, impaling one of the men in the face hard enough to sling his body backward and staple his head to the ground. They all turned at once, the commander shouting as they fired at the direction the spear had come from. Tabitha stepped out of a swirl of ice behind them, her body glowing blue as she glared at them and spread her arms wide.
“Draugalega Sprengia!”
The blast was the largest Kane had ever seen her use. It fanned out, the force blowing the two closest men to pieces, the frozen parts shattering against walls and the street. The others fell backward, some of them flying through the air.
Three down. Seven left. And only two Magicians. Kane let a smirk form on his lips.
It almost didn’t seem fair.
He stepped out of his hiding spot, charged the fireball a little more, and flung it at the group of soldiers as they were getting up. One of them caught the charged fireball in the chest, the blast sending him in all directions as the others ducked the chunks of their comrade and got to cover.
“Fuck ‘em, take ‘em down!” the commander shouted. The six troops opened fire. Kane ducked back as Tabitha disappeared again. He felt his amulet. He only had one spell active, so it wasn’t terribly
warm.
Tabitha appeared next to him.
“People are on their way to the airfield,” she said. “Wilson’s pinned down. And these guys are rude!”
Kane looked at her.
“Six left,” he said. “Take the rooftop, send a shower down on them. I’ll cook them from here.”
Tabitha clapped her hands.
“I love a cookout! Oooh, can we have burgers after this?”
Gunfire filled the air, the men shouting in panic as dozens of firearms sang in the night.
A dozen men charged down the street, all of them decked out in Revolution fatigues. They carried rifles, blunderbusses, revolvers, all of them opening fire as the six troops returned fire. Bullets caught them in the face, chest, one took a round in the neck as they fell under the Revolutionary gunfire.
Kane saw Anderson wave to him before she turned to her men.
“Secure the area,” she said. “Fan out! Make sure we aren’t waiting on a sniper to pick us off!”
Kane and Tabitha approached Anderson. She nodded to them, addressed Kane directly.
“Good to see you’re alive, Shepherd.”
“Same to you. Wilson’s in trouble.”
“Position?”
“Due North.”
Anderson turned as Anthony walked up to her. He nodded to Kane, grinned.
“Take a few men and bail Wilson out,” Anderson said to the young man. “Hit them hard. No survivors.”
“Ma’am,” Anthony said. He looked at Kane again. “Thanks.”
Kane nodded to him. The kid turned, called out to three men, and they took off into the night toward the sound of Wilson’s group. Anderson began to march through the street, looking around at her men as she spoke. Kane and Tabitha fell into step with her.
“We need to drive them back,” Anderson said to Kane. “There’s no telling how many there are.”
“We need to leave this city. Now.” Kane shook his head. “Things just got complicated.
Anderson bristled.
“What?”
“Everyone dies,” Tabitha said. Kane looked at her, her eyes completely white, her face drawn and expressionless. “Fire. Men shouting. Nothing left.”
“There’s a Battle Cruiser on the way,” Kane said. “They’re not looking to win a battle. Gentry’s looking at total annihilation. Nothing left. That’s why he wanted the Revolution to lock down here. We have to go.”
“The airfield,” Anderson said. “It’s our only shot. Farnsworth is there now.”
“We can’t leave these people behind,” Tabitha said, her eyes back to normal. “How many are here?”
“We’ve been able to evacuate most of the civilians,” Anderson said. “The rest have taken up arms and joined us. Where are Nick and the Marsh Witch?”
“They’re out,” Kane said. “Not their fight. We don’t need them.”
The air around them went frigid instantly. Kane looked at Tabitha. She shrugged, shook her head, her eyes wide. Not her.
Shit!
The shadows moved in and out of the area. Kane called out to the Revolution troops, stopping short as they fell to the ground, their throats cut wide open. The shadows moved toward them. Kane shouted to Tabitha and Anderson to get behind him, activated his amulet and had his Ethereal Shield up just as a blade swiped out from the shadows. It glanced off the barrier inches from his face.
Kane glanced sidelong at Tabitha.
“Get to the house and get our Grimoires,” his whispered. “Be quick.”
“I’m not leaving you here,” she said.
Another swipe glanced off the barrier. Kane looked back to see Richard standing in front of him, grinning.
“Very nice trick, piggy,” he said. “I saw you activate your little toy.”
“Got it fixed,” Kane said, shrugging. “Amazing what some glue and tape will do.”
“You can’t have this city,” Anderson said. “These two are back in action, and we’ve got the people to push you back.”
“I’m afraid you don’t.”
A gust of wind blew through the street as Gentry stepped out from behind an overturned cart. Kane clenched his fist, wanting to tear the Brit apart. His amulet was warm. He’d have to make a choice. He couldn’t attack Gentry with fire and keep the Ethereal Shield up at the same time. The spell was too demanding on his amulet.
“Let’s be realistic, Miss Anderson,” Gentry said as he walked toward them. Richard backed away a few steps as Gentry approached. “You’ve been outnumbered and outgunned ever since your people destabilized the Confederacy. Were it not for the foolish belief that they were immune to such an uprising, the Confederate Oligarchs would’ve wiped the Slave Rebellion out.” He gave a wry smile. “It’s amazing what technological advances we have in the North. I don’t care to take any hostages tonight, General Anderson. I’m simply here for the two Magicians who have caused us all this headache. There will be no survivors this evening.”
Kane stepped forward, his face inches from Gentry’s.
“What do you want with us, Gentry?”
“Your Grimoires.”
Tabitha’s breath caught behind Kane. She moved up beside him.
“You bastard,” she said. Kane looked down at her.
Her eyes were still white.
“What is it?” he said, turning to her fully.
“The house,” Tabitha said. “They’re searching. Don’t burn until you find them. Tear the place apart.” She shook her head, her eyes returning to blue.
“I’m afraid you’ve already lost, Mr. Shepherd,” Gentry said. “Come peacefully, and I will call off the attack.”
“I thought you wanted us to stay here,” Kane said. “I thought you exiled us.”
“I needed Mr. Douglas to serve his purpose without interference.” Gentry began to pace as he spoke. “Fear is a wonderful tool, Mr. Shepherd. I use it liberally. I needed the Revolution, the people here, to fear the possible retaliation from forces greater than themselves. It merited the execution of nine souls, but one cannot make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. I needed you both to stay here, believe you were powerless.”
“Why did you make Tabitha believe her amulet was destroyed?” Kane asked. “Why not just break it?”
“I wanted to study it,” said Gentry. “Our amulets are fascinating tools. They require so much of us, but do so much more: They pay the price for our magic, Mr. Shepherd. All magic has a price.”
A lump formed in Kane’s throat. He swallowed it and glared at Gentry.
“Why our Grimoires?”
“Because I want to destroy them.” Gentry smiled at Kane. “After they’re destroyed, you two will be powerless. There only need be one Magician this country. And he should work for the Northern Oligarchs.” He looked at Tabitha. “I assume Miss Drake hid them, but my men will find them easily.”
Tabitha grinned, scrunched her nose playfully as she shrugged her shoulders.
“Miss Drake did hide them,” she said. “But your men won’t find them. Draugalega Ferðast!” Tabitha whipped from sight, the air cold, a patch of ice on the ground where she’d once stood.
Kane looked at Gentry. The Brit was fuming, his face red. Richard gripped his knife, his eyes dark as he glared at Kane.
Kane smiled.
“She’s a keeper.”
“She’ll be dead soon enough,” said Gentry. “Richard, if you please.”
Something snapped in Kane’s mind. The shield was down, and he was flying at Richard, his fists out, a shout bellowing from him as he crashed into the Shadow Wraith, slammed him to the ground. Richard snarled at him, tried to swipe out with the knife, but Kane swatted it away and landed two solid jabs to Richard’s face. He heard Anderson struggling with Gentry. He rolled off Richard, picked the Wraith up by his shirt, slammed him back down. Richard’s head lolled to the side. He was out.
Kane spun to see Anderson and Gentry fighting. Anderson swung, Gentry ducking the tall woman’s fist. Anderson spun, her leg ou
t in a savage kick, but Gentry sidestepped it and put his arm up to block another right hook from her. He batted away a left jab, a right, blocked a side kick.
His face was calm, never once showing exertion or emotion.
Kane rushed him, a fireball in his hand. He slung the blast at Gentry, but the commissioner raised his hand, a gale of wind blowing it back at Kane. Kane ducked the fireball and sent another. Gentry blew it away again. Anderson rushed him, but Gentry threw a blast of wind at her, blowing her off her feet. She hit the ground and rolled several yards away.
Gentry faced her, a smirk on his face.
“Næturbrjóst!”
He raised his arm, the wind howling around him as Anderson lifted into the air. She struggled against it, floating in the air as her arms and legs moved futilely against the gusts.
Gentry kept his eyes on her as he spoke.
“I see you’ve managed to rid yourself of the Wendigo, Mr. Shepherd. A shame, really.”
“You cursed me,” Kane said, the realization hitting him.
Gentry shook his head.
“No, good sir, I simply ordered it. Richard carried it out. It’s amazing what one can do with a blood-soaked bullet.”
Kane’s mind flashed. Antonia’s house. He was about to kiss Tabitha. The police. A shot fired. The bullet had almost killed him.
Richard’s voice hissed in his ear.
“It was in the blood.”
Kane made to swing at him and went to his knees, the side of his skull ringing in pain from where Richard smacked him with the butt of the knife. He moved in front of him, smiling as he knelt down in front of Kane.
“My mother was Sauk,” Richard said. “Our people were once a mighty tribe in the North until the white man drove us to the Canada territories. Only my mother remained to marry. We were exiled from the tribe because of her…talents.” He leaned in close. “She taught me the curse of the Wendigo. Taught me to curse the blood. My father taught me to shoot.”
“A little pasty for a Native, aren’t you?” Kane said, keeping his body tense, as the pain in his skull began to subside.
Richard grinned.
“I said my mother was Sauk.” He looked over at Gentry. “My father was not of this nation.”
Gaslit Armageddon (Clockworks of War Book 2) Page 24