Thornfalcon (The ARC Legacy Book 1)

by Matthew W. Harrill

  Oliver's body swelled as something snakelike writhed under his skin. Samantha shuddered.

  Eva screamed. “No. Not again!”

  Oliver laughed, a cold sound devoid of mirth. “You considered yourself safe! Ha!” His voice dropped several octaves until it grated like stone on stone. Guttural. Alien.

  “Io,” Samantha shouted above her mother's screaming, “Push him back!”

  Io jumped at Oliver, shoving him across the room, hitting the circuit breaker panel.

  Please work, Samantha prayed, and squeezed the trigger. Bullets spat out, the recoil surprisingly ferocious, the gun threatening to buck loose. Two bullets passed through Oliver's body and into the panel which exploded in a burst of pyrotechnics. Oliver twitched violently, electricity coursing through his body until he slumped to the floor.

  Samantha turned away. “Come on, we've got a council to rescue.”

  Angry at being duped, Samantha stormed into the hallway, her rifle raised to her shoulder, ready to fire.

  “Sammy, don't,” Io warned, but she had the bit between her teeth.

  Her mother followed close behind. “Be careful, Love. Don't let the crazy take over.”

  “There's no crazy here, Mom.” Samantha felt energised, focussed, as she tore through the passageways, following the sight of her rifle. Was it the combat suit doing this to her? In moments they were at the outside of the council chamber. She was fearless, trying the handle. It wouldn't budge. She stepped back, fired several rounds at the handle. The lock shattered. She kicked the door, jumped in behind it, and slipped on something wet. Pulling her mask up, she smelled a strange iron tang on the floor. She moved. The liquid was tacky and warm.

  “Samantha,” Io called from the doorway. “Listen carefully. Stand up and back out of the room.”

  “Why?” She pulled her mask the rest of the way off. “It's only—” She stopped, assaulted by a scene of absolute horror.

  “Gila!” Eva dove to the floor and now Samantha understood Io's attempts to keep her from the chamber. At her feet lay the body of Gila Byron, one of her mothers' dearest and oldest friends, her face cold and lifeless.

  “Nooooo. Nooooo,” Eva moaned, holding Gila's body and rocking it.

  Samantha stepped away, closing her eyes, trying to comprehend what had occurred. She looked up, gasped, covering her face with her hands. “There are more.” She stepped around the room, tears streaming down her face. “Jeanette, Mohammed, Gaspard. Over there, John, Forrest, Swanson. Hang on.”

  There was movement. Swanson tried to cough.

  Samantha quickly knelt by him. “Swanson, what happened here?”

  The Council Head tried to draw breath, bubbles of red frothing from his mouth, blood gushing from deep wounds in his chest. He didn't have long. Samantha could see he knew he was lost. “Tho … thors…” he whispered.

  “Thorsten?”

  Swanson coughed.

  Samantha waited for the spasm to subside.

  He nodded. “Traitor. He came for me. John fought. Got me first. Brave, brave man. Rest had no chance. Alexander … aid him. Clare, Tricia, taken. Thorsten. It was Thorsten. He took her orders.”

  “Swanson!” Eva saw them from across the room and came hurtling toward them.

  “Careful Mom,” Samantha warned. “He's not long, now.”

  “What do I do?” she asked.

  Swanson closed his eyes. “Protocols. Use protocols. You are ARC.” He coughed, flecks of blood landed on his face and forehead. “Protect the world,” he whispered. “Angels. Knights. Resurrection.” He opened his eyes once more. “I'll tell Madden you said hi.”

  “Swanson, that's not funny,” Eva said, her eyes closed, tears streaming down her face. When she opened them he was still staring at her.

  Eva began to shake.

  “Mom, he's gone. Step back.” She leaned across. “Step back, Mom.” Samantha closed his eyes with the palm of her hand. His skin was still warm, but limp. It was an odd sensation.

  “The rest of them passed before we got here,” Io said. “It is as this man said. The large one over there, he put up an effective struggle until he was defeated. The rest of the Council were not so lucky. It looks like someone had some fun before killing them.”

  “Who is 'her'?” Samantha said aloud. “Swanson said 'they took her orders'. And Aunt Clare's missing. Where's Jim?”

  “Here,” Jim said as he pushed the door to the chamber open and stopped. “Dear God, who did this?”

  “Thorsten Guyomard and Alexander Steadman,” Samantha replied. “There's a message.”

  The table was painted with blood. Messy, and clearly in a hurry, one of the attackers painted the words, 'A thousand years of darkness'.

  “A thousand years of darkness?” Jim asked.

  “Aeon of falling,” Samantha replied. “They should have written, 'We did it'. Jim, do you know where Charlotte is?”

  “She's securing the boat. We've been together since we came back, well, until just now.”

  “Oh,” Samantha and Io shared a glance. She instantly felt guilty for suspecting a woman who had shepherded her through the last few days. “We have to get out of here.”

  “Not yet,” Jim countered. “We need answers. Is anybody missing?”

  “Thorsten was in the cellar, torturing Io. He and Alexander did this, and they took Tricia and Clare.”

  Jim sighed at the fate of his boss. “Why was the Council reconvened?”

  “Thorsten reported that the location of the nuclear targets was released,” Eva said, standing up. “We need to find out where they are.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “There's technology here too,” she added. “It needs to be locked down.” Eva booted up her computer; the screen opened at the front of the room, blood-spattered panels emerging from the wall. Two locations blinked on a map: Forsmarck in Sweden and Almaraz in Spain. “Really?” Eva complained.

  “That doesn't make any sense,” Samantha said. “If Aeon Fall wanted to maximise damage, they could choose any number of stations closer to populated areas.”

  “Protocol first,” Eva said aloud, hitting a key. “Okay, this place is secured. The organisation is aware of what's happened.”

  She paused watching Samantha zoning out, staring into space. “Your father wouldn't want me moping. I was put in this position because I act regardless of circumstances. It's so very hard, Sammy, but we'll have to mourn them later. We have bigger concerns.” She switched views on the screen. A red warning light showed up around the words 'Proximity Alert'. On screen they could see several boats landing at the waters' edge, men with guns climbing ashore. “The gas bomb. We're surrounded.”

  “Go,” Jim ordered. “We can worry about this mess remotely. Our forces are on the way.”

  “How do you know so much?” Eva asked, her voice suspicious.

  “Because your sister breaks even more rules than you do, Director. She trusts her team and disseminates information she thinks may be of use. I'd very much like to get her back.”

  Eva secured the console, then turned to the bodies of her colleagues. “We should do something for them.”

  “You are,” Jim replied. “You're honouring their memory by staying alive and bringing those responsible to justice. Mourn them when it's all over. Until then we have to find Directors Rosser and Pellirojo. Let's get back what remnants of the ARC Council we still can. Go.”

  Avenge them, Samantha prayed as she passed Io.

  “I will,” Io promised.

  “Go, go, go,” urged Jim.

  Eva chucked him her rifle, which he caught one handed. “I daresay you can use this better than me.”

  “Director, from what I hear there's not much beyond your abilities.” Jim checked the rifle over. “Workable. I'll take the rear. Sammy, you take our friend and your mom. Head back downstairs.”

  Samantha nodded and pushed forward, relieved to get away. “Watch out for Mom,” she warned Io, slipping her mask down and leaving the remains of her extended family.
The musty smelling tunnels were welcome after all the blood. She eagerly sought their depths, hoping to find another Aeon Fall terrorist on her way. Her rifle remained cold and unused. No enemies were there.

  “So much for Karael coming to claim you,” she sniped.

  “They never expected resistance,” Io replied. “We might understand the extent of their plans if we find the remaining directors, though it could be retaliation to your opposition.”

  “Nice way to make someone feel guilty.”

  “If there is one thing I have learned, it is desperate people take desperate measures. This is far from over.”

  As if to emphasise his point, there was a loud explosion from far behind them.

  “Whoo! That went off with a bang!” Jim shouted as he came running up behind them. He took the lead.

  “What did you do?”

  “Thermite explosion,” he grinned. “Jerry-rigged to blow when someone disturbed the door to the council chamber.”

  “That's awful,” Eva said.

  Io's frowned, shaking his head. “Did you have —”

  “Enough,” Samantha intervened. Not like we can do much beyond vengeance anyway.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Jim agreed. “They've had a cremation of sorts. Plus it will give them pause and us more time.”

  They moved briskly into the bowels of Chateau d'Yvoire, passing room after room including the fuse room. Samantha stole a glance as they passed. The remains of Oliver still smoked against one wall, what looked like tentacles hanging limp from his middle. Samantha shuddered and moved on.

  The passageway opened into the underground dock where an agitated Charlotte Benson waited for them, a speedboat idling. “About time,” she said. “Were you followed?”

  “Not with the flesh still on their bones,” Jim grinned. “We've got to go now.”

  “Where?” Charlotte asked. “Where are Aeon Fall's targets?”

  “Spain and Sweden,” Jim replied. “It didn't make any sense.”

  That was the key. It didn't make any sense. On a hunch Samantha retrieved the new crow book from her bag, along with a torch. She climbed into the boat while everybody discussed Aeon Fall and their strange plans. Using the flashlight she read, and gasped at a page she had never seen before. “It wasn't there in the other copy,” she whispered.

  “Do you have something?” Io asked.

  “I have everything,” Samantha replied. “This isn't about ARC. It's just posturing. It's about you, Ioviel.”

  His eyes widened. It was the first time she had ever used his full name.

  The others stared at her. “Is there a nuclear power station in South Western England?”

  “Hinkley Point C,” Jim replied. “But the area's no more populated than the other two sites.”

  “It's near a point of massive significance to us though,” Samantha replied, turning the book and shining the flashlight on the page. “Thornfalcon. It's a place, not an object.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The journey across the lake was a quick one, surprisingly free of incident. The fire in Chateau d'Yvoire drew a response from the surrounding village, the inhabitants gathering outside the walls. Aeon Fall wouldn't have it all their way, that is if any of the ARC council survived. Above Samantha, Charlotte, Io, and Jim, the helicopters flew past, descending to an area around the headland.

  “Response team,” Charlotte shouted above the noise of the engine.

  “Responding to what?” Samantha shouted back. “It's all over.”

  Gunfire erupted behind them, sparks flashing off the descending helicopter, as bullets bounced off the exterior.

  “It's never over. There's more to ARC than the obvious, Sammy. You know our secrets have secrets.”

  Samantha snapped around at Charlotte's voice. It was a low growl. “Yeah, she said, “and so does Porter Rockwell. We aren't being chased, now. We're playing catch up, being squeezed between Rockwell and his hound. Let's get on a plane, catch our breath. There's too much coincidence here for them not to be going to England.”

  * * *

  They landed at the Bellevue jetty and Jim hustled them all into one of the ARC vehicles. In minutes they were in a smaller ARC jet where Carrot waited for them.

  “Captain, has anybody been through here recently?” Eva asked.

  “Yes, Director. Directors Steadman and the young Guyomard took a larger plane.” The pilot frowned. “They neither logged a flight plan nor mentioned their destination. It was most irregular.”

  “Did they have anybody else with them?”

  “There were several others. I couldn't tell who, but a couple looked like women. They were in a rush.”

  “Well it is dark,” Jim said, reminding them it was now the middle of the night. “You're all aware of the protocols, yes?”

  “Director Scott is acting Head of the Council until all department heads can be convened to ratify her appointment or replace her,” Carrot answered, her face hard. “What happened over there?”

  “Thorsten Guyomard and Alexander Steadman are renegades,” Sammy said, her voice trembling. “They killed most of the Council and took Clare and Tricia. We're going to get them back. Get us airborne, Captain. Head for England.”

  “Bristol airport,” Jim added. “There are hangars at smaller airports like Exeter but Bristol has better storage facilities and I've the feeling we'll need supplies on this journey. Plus, if Sammy's right, perhaps we don't want them to see us coming.”

  Jim sat opposite Samantha, flipping open a laptop. “Power grids and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” he said without looking up. “I can keep an eye on all three sites from here. If anything happens, we'll know who guessed correctly, and who looks foolish.”

  “I didn't hear any of you disagreeing to my assertion,” she replied.

  “That's because you've got good judgment, girl. Now why don't you tell us what prompted you to be so certain about a previously unmentioned power station—one with the latest technology and safeguards?”

  “Porter Rockwell knows this is Io's way home. Io, tell Jim what you need for the Phaethon Stone,” Samantha prompted.

  “The ashes of a righteous angel,” he replied, hefting the small velvet pouch Eva had given him in the castle. “A corrupt source of power untouchable by man.”

  “And we're looking at nuclear power. That's pretty clean.” Jim blinked. “Unless there's a reactor overload.”

  “And a full-on meltdown,” Samantha finished for him. “Corium.”

  “I need to be a fallen angel. My situation is good enough for Karael so, like it or not, I must accept the truth of my condition. Finally I need the grave of a fallen demon. Leviathan.”

  “And with that, I give you Thornfalcon, in Somerset, England.” Samantha turned the book around, showing the sketching of a church. “There's an account here of a battle between two mighty beings, one cutting the other down amidst the ruin of the church.”

  “But that can't be Leviathan?” Eva questioned.

  “It is,” Io replied. “Karael returned and reported the battle and the fallen one's identity.”

  “I'm telling you, that can't be,” Eva pressed. “I've been to Hell. I've seen Leviathan's army, even been chased by his own floating citadel.”

  “But did you see Leviathan himself?”

  Eva blinked. “I saw many things down there. What did he look like?”

  “He was young by angel standards, one of the last formed by our Father.”

  “You mean He's not up there, churning out angels?” Charlotte said.

  “Not for a very long time. The Cherubim and Seraphim, who surround Him at all times, succour him. Some think the relationship different, that they are drawing from Him. It's been aeons since a new angel was born. Leviathan took the form of a serpent mostly. He followed Satan and descended. However unlike my other brethren, he became distracted on Earth and dwelled there for a time. Karael was sent to despatch Leviathan. When he returned, he had a fire in his eyes. He was
filled with fervor. Leviathan vanquished, he said. We decided Karael's purpose was such. The hound of God, some called him.”

  “Yeah but leashed to which master?” Jim asked. “Either way, if Thornfalcon's your target, and they blow Hinkley C, it will likely destroy the entire region.”

  “Or they want to get him there because it's close by, and the threat of so much devastation makes it too hard to avoid,” Samantha said. “Remember, he's an angel. If he can carry corium, he can walk through irradiated fields. But he's also been exposed to humans—our frailties, our complicated nature.”

  “Is that how you see it, Io?” asked Charlotte. “Are you one of us now?”

  “To know humanity is to love it,” Io replied, his eyes sad. “By placing myself in this position, by saving Samantha and coming to know her, and you, I have come to terms with a truth. Heaven should be there for mankind, not keep itself separate, aloof. There should be symbiosis, but all I see is the parasitic nature of our existence, feeding off pure souls as they ascend.”

  “Is that what you do?” Eva asked. “I thought you were the guardians of those who experienced the rapture and ascended?”

  “Everybody has their place in Heaven. But by being there, they emit a force.”

  “The same as Hell then,” Eva decided. “They tap souls too. The only difference is sometimes the souls go rotten there. Do you have corrupted souls in Heaven?”

  Io looked down. “They are called Pariah. I'd rather not speak about them.”

  “Okay well, what would you speak about? The Godmissile? Thorsten was pretty set on getting answers out of you. What is it? A weapon to destroy earth?”

  “Aeon Fall want access to Heaven to set the Godmissile in motion. It is not a weapon as you would understand it. Not directly. It's a permanent gateway through which all realms become one. It's Heaven's final strike against Hell where all of the Heavenly Host is unleashed.”

  “This gateway, it doesn't happen to draw its power from a dark planet, does it?” Eva asked.