by Bali Rai
Mace tapped the machete against his leg. ‘I’m getting bored,’ he warned. ‘Make sense and make it quickly, Judas.’
Stone flicked away some ash, nonchalant. ‘My real boss is a senator,’ he continued. ‘I’m working directly for him, on a black op.’
‘A black op?’
Stone nodded. ‘Undercover,’ he clarified. ‘You were in the army, you know what I mean.’
Mace nodded as Stone continued his explanation. ‘Some people in government are unhappy with the way things are. Powerful people who want the demons gone. The rebellion you have out here is insignificant. My job is to make contact and offer our support. To help you grow and achieve your goals. Secretly.’
Mace shook his head. ‘You’ve been in Fire City for a long time,’ he pointed out. ‘Why the sudden change?’
‘Jonah,’ Stone admitted. ‘He’s changed the game. Things are moving on quickly.’
‘What about Aron?’
Stone shrugged. ‘What about him?’
‘Were you a part of . . .?’
Mace was unable to finish his sentence, incapable of believing that a boy he had reared as one of his own had betrayed them. Aron was part of their extended family and what he’d done was unfathomable.
‘I took him to the Mayor,’ lied Stone. ‘But I had nothing to do with his interrogation. That was the old man and someone else.’
‘Who?’
‘There was another voice on the recording. I didn’t recognize it. Probably someone on the council, from the way that he spoke.’
‘Talking to Aron?’
Stone nodded. ‘Offering him a deal. I can play it for you, if you want.’
Mace shook his head. ‘I want Aron back,’ he replied. ‘Tonight.’
‘Too late,’ Stone revealed. ‘I found him at the mansion. The Mayor had him killed.’
‘He’s dead?’
‘Judging by the large hole in his head, I’d say yes.’
Mace felt a tear sliding down his right cheek.
‘He meant something to you?’ asked Stone.
‘To all of us,’ Mace admitted. ‘We were family.’
‘His betrayal means nothing, then?’
Mace glared at the mercenary. ‘Of course it means something!’ he snapped. ‘But you can’t turn off emotions. Not if you’re human.’
‘Then,’ Stone said, after considering the correct response, ‘I’m sorry for your loss, Mace. Truly. Sometimes life as a soldier hardens you. But I’m not some demon, I understand what loss is.’
Mace sat back and took a deep breath. ‘So you’ll help us, then?’ he asked.
‘Help you what?’
‘Take revenge,’ Mace told him. ‘Against Valefor?’
Stone considered his options and realized that he had no choice. He had to convince them that he was on their side. It was the only way to achieve his goal. He nodded. ‘What did you have in mind?’ he asked.
Mace smiled. ‘Let’s just get things straight,’ he said. ‘I don’t trust you. I don’t trust your motives and I don’t care about your boss. But I’m willing to give you a chance, see how you behave. One wrong move and it’s you and me, Stone. You’re not the only one with Special Forces training. You put one foot wrong, or I find you’re lying to us, and you’ll have me to answer to. That OK with you?’
Stone said that it was. ‘I would be the same,’ he offered. ‘I’d expect you to prove your worth. I’m happy to take my own medicine, big man.’
‘Good,’ Mace replied. ‘Let’s rejoin the others then. You need to hear the plan. We’re running short of time.’
The plan, as Jonah explained, had been formulated at the Haven with Mace. In truth, parts of it had been settled long before that. The move away from Fire City, hooking up with other rebels – Mace had been thinking of these for some time. His original ideas had changed due to circumstances, but they were essentially solid. Jonah was the big difference – the catalyst, as Mace had called him. He was their undeclared hand.
‘We need someone to round up Mias and his legion,’ Jonah told them. ‘Get them all to Valefor’s lair, or within the square at least.’
Mace nodded at Stone. ‘That’s your job,’ the giant told him. ‘Can you manage it?’
Stone nodded. ‘My men can help,’ he replied. ‘They’ll follow my lead and they won’t say a word.’
‘That’s good,’ said Jonah. ‘We could do with the numbers. The second thing is to lure Valefor away from his nest. That’s my part.’
Martha looked scared. ‘Why lure him away?’ she asked.
Jonah looked to Mace, who raised an eyebrow. His expression told Jonah that he was on his own. If he wanted to explain why, it was his decision.
‘He and I have unfinished business,’ Jonah said after the pause.
‘Why are you looking at Mace?’ asked Martha.
Jonah turned to her and half smiled. ‘I’ll explain later,’ he said. ‘There are some things you need to know.’
‘What things?’ she asked.
‘You have to trust me,’ he replied.
‘I do,’ she told him. ‘You know I do.’
Jonah nodded. ‘Later, then?’
Martha shrugged and said OK.
‘So that’s Valefor and the others,’ Mace picked up. ‘The last thing is getting out. We need to get everyone together.’
‘You mean the few that are left,’ replied Faith.
Mace tried to smile but it got lost somewhere inside him. ‘Yeah,’ he said softly.
‘We’ll gather at the Haven,’ the big man continued. ‘It’s the last place they’ll expect. Although if the plan goes well, they won’t be able to react because they’ll be dead.’
‘What about the human army?’ asked Stone.
‘You again,’ Jonah told him. ‘They’ll listen to you. We need them to stand down.’
‘But how are you going to kill all the demons?’ the soldier added. ‘It’s not possible.’
Mace nodded to Jonah, giving his assent. ‘Tell them,’ he said.
Jonah gave Martha another look before doing as Mace asked. ‘Once they’re in the market square, we’re going to detonate a bomb,’ he explained.
Stone’s entire face lit up, a smile crawling across it. ‘Tell me you’ve got a nuke,’ he said in excitement.
‘Not a nuke,’ Jonah replied. ‘A thermobaric bomb.’
The whistle that left Stone’s mouth was piercing.
‘What’s a thermobaric—’ began Faith.
‘The next best thing to a nuke,’ Stone interrupted with glee. ‘They suck in oxygen, and then blow everything within their radius to kingdom come. The more open the area, the bigger the bang. A giant pressure wave, one massive ball of flame, and boom! Instant demon barbecue.’
‘Stop it,’ said Prior with a sardonic grin. ‘You’re making my stomach grumble.’
Jonah considered the time, and the certainty that Valefor had sensed his return to the city. To send his earlier message, he’d lowered the barrier between human and demon. Consequently he’d given Valefor a bigger scent to track. There was no guarantee that the demon lord would wait for an invitation before seeking Jonah out.
It was time to act.
51
STONE ASKED PRIOR how he was feeling.
‘Not bad for someone who’s dying,’ replied the old man.
They were sitting in Stone’s car at the edge of the industrial zone with two soldiers in the back. Waiting for Mias.
‘How do you know he’s here?’ Prior asked, holding down a cough that made his lungs burn.
‘I spoke to Pipe.’
‘Who is . . .?’
‘The man in charge of the army,’ Stone explained.
‘I thought you were the man,’ said Prior.
Stone nodded. ‘Unofficially I am,’ he revealed. ‘But Pipe doesn’t know that. He thinks that I pass on orders from command.’
Prior looked bemused. ‘Which you do,’ he pointed out.
‘Do and don’t,
’ Stone replied cryptically.
‘You know,’ said Prior, ‘you do a great line in bullshit. Anyone ever told you that?’
Stone smirked and looked out into the night. ‘My mother used to,’ he joked. ‘In between selling herself to anyone with the money.’
‘My heart bleeds,’ replied Prior. ‘No, truly.’
In front of them stood three huge warehouses, each with its own factory. Five hundred people worked on each shift in each building, churning out goods that they’d never enjoy. Prior reflected on the fall of the Haven, recalled all the people he’d seen die since the demons came. For years they’d been paddling against the tide, consoled by saving perhaps one soul out of every hundred. Had it all been for nothing, some vainglorious exercise in futility? No, he thought, not that. His time was near and he was feeling blue.
May, Oscar and the others mutilated, Tyrell taken away, and Aron’s betrayal – all of it weighed heavily on his shoulders and made him feel a loneliness he’d never felt before. He remembered the boyhood dreams he’d grown up with, the feeling that life was there for the taking. Not once had he ever imagined the world as it now was. Who could have? And now that the end was coming . . .
‘There he is,’ said Stone as Mias appeared from one of the factories. ‘Leave it to me.’ He turned to face his men. ‘Anything looks wrong,’ he told them, ‘take that overgrown monkey out. Understood?’
‘Yes, boss,’ both men replied together.
Stone took a deep breath and stepped out of the car into a bracing, chill wind.
Martha and Faith had gathered the few belongings they owned and said a final goodbye to the bar. With the Mayor dead, there was no one asking why it was closed. Most people were scurrying to whatever shelter they had, wary of the curfew. A few customers had knocked on the bar doors, only for Mace to send them packing. No doubt when things became clear, some other collaborator would take over from Martha’s dead stepfather and reopen the place. Until then, time had been called.
Martha found herself caught between what felt like the end of an era and her growing feelings for Jonah. She had spent her entire life in Fire City, much of it round the bar. Memories of her mother, of Aunt May, of her friends, and even of the drunks, flooded into her head. Yet they fought for space alongside the lingering feel of Jonah’s arms, the warmth of his body and his mesmerizing scent. One door closes, she told herself as she locked up and set off into the darkness with the others.
The army patrols had lessened during the day, and Martha felt strangely calm. If Stone had done his part correctly, Mias and his minions would be rushing to the market square. The journey across town would be easy, with little secrecy required. Habit forced them into the shadows, as always, as they passed through the streets.
Martha’s gut twisted and more memories took hold. It seemed odd that she felt something for Fire City when all she’d ever known was strife and death. Yet, it was there; a nagging sense of loss that she couldn’t contain. Everywhere she looked, the faces of dead people stared back – her mother, Oscar, Aunt May. She spotted the little store that Luca’s father, Corey, had run. Almost always empty. She remembered trading a set of glasses for a comb, and how Mica Williams had given birth on the dirt floor, May and Faith tending to her as Corey stood on the street and cried. She thought about Luca, wondering where he’d gone after Corey had died, whether he and Mica were still breathing themselves. Felt bad that experience stopped her dwelling on the dead, made her move on quickly. Felt guilt . . .
They approached the clock tower slowly. A single patrol sat at its base, two younger men and a grizzled old soldier smoking a fat cigar stub. Mace thought about turning back but decided it would look too suspicious. Instead, he approached the patrol.
‘Looking for a place to spend the night,’ he said casually.
The man with the cigar coughed, then smiled, his eyes on Martha. Faith grew tense, expecting the worst, but the soldier soon calmed her fears.
‘I’ve been told to expect you,’ he said. ‘I’m Pipe. Stone told me you’d be along with the Mayor’s daughter.’
‘Stone?’ asked Mace, praying that Martha would hold her tongue.
‘Yeah – you’re needing an escort to the rebel hideout, correct?’
Faith swallowed and said yes. ‘Clean-up,’ she said, guessing at what Stone had told the soldier.
‘Bodies, clean-up – all the same to me,’ Pipe replied. ‘I bet those demons have done terrible things down there. Seen ’em take out a rebel group out west some years ago. It weren’t pretty.’
Mace told him that they’d be fine on their own.
‘No can do,’ insisted Pipe as a waft of vanilla-scented smoke hit the women. ‘Stone has his orders and I got mine. And I always follow orders. It’s what separates the men from the cockroaches . . .’ The grizzled old mercenary grinned at Faith and told them to follow him. His men, taking a little too much interest in Martha, bought up the rear. ‘You look like army to me,’ Pipe said to Mace.
‘I was,’ Mace replied. ‘Fought against the demons during the War.’
‘Against ’em, for ’em,’ Pipe replied. ‘Who cares as long as you’re on the winning side, eh?’
Mace mumbled something unintelligible and looked away.
* * *
Jonah stood on the roof of Valefor’s lair, his eyes blazing the colour of a setting sun. A cold, fierce wind battered against him but he kept his mind on the task at hand. No sign of Mias and his minions yet, but something else had stirred in the bowels of the building beneath his feet. A deep and ancient evil, immensely powerful.
Understanding that he’d have to trust Stone to complete his part of the plan, Jonah jumped from rooftop to rooftop, crossing the square, concentrating on his own mission. Behind him the air pressure changed and something oozed from the spot on which he’d stood, like a swarm of black wasps, fizzing with kinetic energy.
‘WHY DO YOU RUN?’ Valefor’s voice, harsh and metallic, echoed around Jonah’s head, making him feel nauseous. His heart rattled inside his rib cage. ‘YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!’
Jonah smiled. ‘I don’t want to,’ he whispered. He turned and ran . . .
Mias scratched at his fur, and considered Stone’s words.
‘How many?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Stone told him. ‘One, maybe two hundred?’
‘Like ants swarming into a lion’s den,’ said Mias.
‘They’re armed,’ Stone replied. ‘Guns, bombs. It’s a full-scale rebellion.’
Mias shook his head. ‘We destroyed them in their pit,’ he pointed out. ‘How could they amass a force so quickly afterwards?’
Stone had always been good at making up stories – an expert at deflecting people away from the truth. He thought fast and hard, the whole process taking less than ten seconds. Mias appeared not to notice, but Stone knew that he might be reading his thoughts. The best lie contains an element of truth, he remembered. He thought about Mace and his rebel band and used their images to shield his true intentions.
‘These rebels are coming from outside the protected zone,’ he said. ‘They’ve been planning it for months. The stranger that Valefor seeks is with them.’
Mias’ eyes lit up with hatred. ‘The stranger I fought?’
‘The same,’ Stone told him. ‘Your chance for revenge, to curry favour with your lord.’
‘And you are sure of this – completely sure?’
‘Yes, Mias. It is my job to be certain.’
Stone knew that the next response would be crucial. He waited impatiently, his breathing shallow.
After what seemed like an age, the ape-demon replied. ‘I shall amass the legions at my master’s lair,’ he declared. ‘This stranger will pay for his crime. I vow that on my own soul.’
Stone smiled. ‘I’ll go now,’ he said quickly. ‘Set up a perimeter.’
‘As you wish,’ replied the demon. ‘But only I will engage the rebels. Is that clear?’
‘Absolutely, my lord.’
/>
‘Go, then.’
Stone came back to the car and got in.
‘Well?’ Prior asked, the icy finger of fatality stabbing at his chest.
‘We’re on,’ said Stone. ‘It’s nearly barbecue time.’
Prior nodded, shut his eyes and, through the pain, thought about his father.
Pipe told Mace that he’d come far enough. ‘We won’t be helping you out down there,’ he added. ‘Not my job to scrape up the shit left by Mias.’
‘No,’ Mace quietly replied. ‘We’ll do that.’
‘You need anything,’ said the soldier, ‘just holler.’
Mace crawled through the mountain of rubbish and dropped down into the tunnel, landing barely centimetres from Liam’s corpse. The rats had been feeding and maggots wriggled across the open wounds. Mace shouted up to the women, telling them to hold back. Fighting back tears and vomit, he lifted the body and dragged it away, leaving it in a dead end. When he was done, he let Martha and Faith enter the tunnels.
‘It’s not pretty down there,’ he told them. ‘I want you to prepare yourselves.’
‘More than two decades of demon rule already has done?’ asked Faith, feeling a little annoyed.
‘I get your point,’ Mace gently told her, ‘but these were our friends. Our family . . .’
‘We have no choice,’ Martha told them both. ‘I won’t leave them to rot.’
‘What about the soldiers?’ Faith asked. ‘When we come out, they won’t just let us leave, will they?’
‘We’re not coming back this way,’ said Mace, pulling a grenade from his pocket. ‘And anyway, they’ve served their purpose. Move down to the next junction. Quick!’
The women did as he said. Once they were safe, Mace pulled the pin and threw the grenade out into the mound of rubbish covering the entrance. It was quickly followed by two more.
The blasts caught the mercenaries above by surprise, turning discarded tin cans and pieces of wood into lethal slivers of shrapnel.