Did the others feel this?
Or was this a force that only he could feel through Bia’s blessing?
Matthias hurried around the table and Erik followed, trying not to stare. When they reached the stretch of empty chairs between Tae and the other side, Matthias pulled out the chair and gestured for Erik to sit next to Tae. He then sat in the chair on Erik’s other side. Erik found the display of protection annoying, especially considering if things actually went downhill and became violent, Erik was their best hope of getting out of here intact.
Tae reached over and squeezed his arm in greeting. Erik turned and smiled in response. Byron had taken a seat next to something that looked like a giant bright blue dung beetle but covered in fine, white fur that had two human-looking faces on either side of its head.
“We are glad you joined us here today.” The Angelic that spoke looked like a collection of sand formed into a pillar and lit on fire. The voice emerged from somewhere about a foot in front of it and sounded harsh and echoing. “You have the most of the empowered ’dants on this side of the veil. And we are hoping an alliance could be entered into.”
“’Dants?” Elana was the one to ask, her voice’s ethereal quality making the words seem to float. It was Byron who answered.
“That’s what they call anyone human but I think they mean you have more diversity in bloodlines not more people.”
“I mean exactly what I said.” The voice got harsher, like sand grinding against glass. Then it softened, became conciliatory. “I apologize. I am unused to speaking with ’dants as equals.”
That was all Erik needed to hear to know that one part of the myths Matthias had told him was true; they ruled over their land. He doubted any humans were treated with respect. Tae, Elana, Daya, and Elliot shared his reaction and reared back. The others around the table either didn’t notice or didn’t react visibly.
The Angelic went on speaking to Byron.
“You are powerful because of your connections with the government of your people, but many of your people are not truly of the bloodlines or are weak in their power.”
Erik could see Byron and his companion stiffen, but before they could open their mouths to argue again, Matthias took up the reins of the conversation.
“What exactly is it that you wanted our help for? And why exactly should we help you?”
“And if this is between the Organization and you guys, why are Matthias and Erik even here?” Daya asked. She frowned at the two of them and Erik returned the expression.
“The berserker has been seen in action,” the pillar of sand replied. “He has destroyed one of our most powerful warriors, one bred for fighting. If he could do this, then what else might he do?”
Erik growled under his breath. Everyone wanted to use him, see what he could do. He felt like he was a child again, unable to control his own life.
“As for the other one, our contact insisted that one would not come without the other.”
Everyone looked at Byron, who merely smiled and remained silent.
“As for what we want.” The Angelic turned to its companions.
The alienness of the things at the far end of the table unnerved Erik even though he wasn’t the center of their attention, but Matthias simply smiled and waited for a reply.
Finally the thing that resembled a soap bubble in black and green . . . burped out an answer, there was no other description for it. Each word was accompanied by a popping, burbling sound. “We are under attack.”
“So . . .” The rest of the sentence was evident even if Matthias did not speak it. So, why should we care? So, why should we help you? So, isn’t this what you deserve?
The sentiment was echoed around the table. Daya crossed her arms over her chest and Elliot rolled his eyes.
“We have been under attack for centuries by you. Why should we care for your suffering?” Elana’s voice was darker than he’d ever heard it, taking on deep echoes that made his stomach shiver.
“Our ’dants are dying as well . . . people like you. A dark comes, it devours them.”
Humans, the soap bubble meant. Erik had no hope that the humans were treated well, but that wasn’t a reason not to save them. Something sour curdled in Erik’s belly and he looked at the Angelics across the table. Didn’t they also deserve to be saved? Nothing deserved to be . . . devoured.
“Still I ask, why should we care?”
Daya reached out to put a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. It sank a millimeter deep, then stayed there.
“You cannot expect to have an alliance with your enemies. Why should we feel badly?” Elliot was frowning as he said it.
Erik wanted to protest, but he’d been involved in this conflict for less than a minute compared to them. Perhaps their anger was justified. Then he thought of Elana’s flesh, turned into some horrible garment on the table below the Organization safe house. He hardened his heart and thought about their offer.
“Anyway, if you cannot hurt it, what makes you think we will make any difference?”
“We have powers, do not doubt that.” As the two-faced beetle spoke in an oddly harmonious voice, the energy in the room grew so heavy Erik could smell ozone in the air and feel pressure against his skin. Then all at once it receded and his skin felt cold without it. “But our powers are not like yours. They come from the same place perhaps, but we do not express in the same way. None of the ’dants in our world have powers similar to yours. We wondered if you might see if your powers could affect the darkness that attacks us.”
“So you want us to what? Cross the veil into enemy territory?” Erik was nervous enough being in this building, let alone following them to some land where he would have even fewer rights than he did in this one. Plus being outnumbered? No, thank you. Tae was already shaking his head and while the Counselors weren’t that obvious, it was clear no one would be keen on a trip.
“No, no. We realize that would be asking too much at this point in our . . . relationship. The darkness has made inroads into this world. We felt you could go out with some of our Suits and check it out.” It was Byron who spoke and everyone stiffened at the news.
“Where?” Daya growled.
“Not that far from here; we’ve kept it contained and quiet so far but it won’t be long until we can’t anymore.” Byron grimaced as he said this, as if the words stung the inside of his mouth.
“How exactly are you containing it? You said your powers didn’t work on it,” Elana questioned.
The pillar of sand answered them. “We said that our powers could not stop it, not that they had no effect. It seems to feed on us, devour our strength. For some reason it is not as aggressive here as it is in our land. It does not tear through your land or people. Here is more a slow, steady taint. We have managed to keep its hunger sated.”
Erik did not want to know but also had to ask.
“With who?”
It was the reaction of the other Suit that told Erik he had guessed right. The nervous widening of eyes and quick cover of any emotion was a dead giveaway. Byron and the Angelics betrayed nothing.
Erik didn’t know if the others saw it, but then Byron tilted his head to the side, blinked slowly, and said, “No people. We had our allies here channel energy into it.”
Erik didn’t believe it for a second. He might be new to this but the idea that the Angelics would be willing to give up even an ounce of power to save human lives already seemed ridiculous to him.
“We’ll go.” Matthias said. “To see. Any talk of an alliance or a deal is tabled until then.”
Erik wanted to argue with Matthias, but what could he say? He didn’t trust these “allies” at all but if there was a dark invading his world and his city, they could not simply sit back and ignore it. There was no real choice, and the looks of resignation everyone on their side of the table wore clear as day let him know they all knew it and were not happy about it.
“Let us go now then. Why wait?”
Byron rose fr
om the table, as did the other Suit. The other beings stayed seated.
“Our allies will meet us there.”
The other Blooded rose and followed them out. Tae stayed close to Erik and managed to whisper, “Well, this isn’t suspicious at all.”
“I know. Don’t trust them,” Erik whispered back
“Already there. Also, what do they think we can do exactly? If it’s something we can’t touch, most of us are already screwed.”
Erik nodded as they exited the headquarters into the bright financial district sunshine.
“Hello, my name is Brady,” said the Suit, who was tall and pale, with strawberry-blond hair cut into a crew so short it was almost brown. He was wide in the shoulders and the sleeves of his jacket bulged as he moved. He had fallen back next to them without a sound.
Erik said nothing. These people sold off others. They were slavers by another name. None of their fancy suits or office buildings or polite small talk would distract from that.
“Are we not taking a car?” Tae asked.
“No, it is close enough that we should just walk.”
“And what exactly do you think we can do, when you have such powerful allies that can do nothing?” Tae asked.
“Well, that’s for you to show us, isn’t it?”
Erik could feel the anger under his skin. It had been there since this morning at school, but this Suit’s smug face flared it higher, warm right below the surface. It made his whole body feel tight, as if it was waiting to burst forth, but it wasn’t fighting to do so. Instead it was content to be there, right there, until he needed it. He didn’t need it to bash Brady’s face in, but oh how he wanted it. He kept calm as they turned the corner and knew where they were going.
The mall barely deserved the name. It was four small, squat, two-story buildings, connected by bridges across all the second stories. Many of the stores were extremely high-end, while others were completely out of business. There seemed to be no in-between. It had been on its last legs for years, with businesses closing and opening rapidly. Blank spaces mocked the customers. Erik only knew of it because of the movie theater, which showed a wide variety of foreign and limited-release indie movies.
Some people wandered about. Most of them were in the dazed fugue state all mall shoppers slipped into as easily as breathing, but a few looked and felt different. Erik moved farther up, leaving Tae and Brady walking in uneasy silence, until he was next to Matthias, who was watching Byron’s back with a focus usually reserved for house cats tracking a small rodent. He bumped his shoulder into his Counselor’s a couple of times until Matthias finally looked at him, irritated. Erik gestured with his chin to the woman they were passing.
She moved with a determination, her eyes not even taking them in. Matthias looked at her and then gave Erik an even more frustrated look.
He didn’t see it.
Erik gestured to another man. Daya was slightly in his way, trying to give space to both her ghostly lover and Elana’s twin. He kept his eyes straight ahead but danced around her as if she were no problem.
Matthias frowned.
Erik leaned in. “They’re too perfect. Look at how they move, not a hesitation, not a misstep.” It wasn’t everyone around them by any means, but enough to notice. As they crossed from the first building into the second, the number of them increased. There was silence as they walked, but Matthias and Erik kept their eyes on the strange people, none of whom paid the group the slightest attention. They moved too smoothly and interacted with the world without looking directly at it.
By the time they crossed into the third building, there were more odd humans than normal zombified shoppers, and everyone in the group had noticed. They closed ranks around one another. Byron and Brady kept on the outside, along with, surprisingly, Elana, who floated to and fro, studying the people. They paid her no attention, which, considering they could not see her, made perfect sense.
At least they assumed this, until an older White man covered in brown spots turned the corner and paused after being confronted by her. Then he moved around her and continued on his way.
Elana rushed back to the group, as unsure as the rest of them as to what it meant. Erik met Matthias’s eyes and nodded toward Byron ahead of them. He had almost the same movement, the same easy knowledge of what was around him. True, he wasn’t as ignorant of his surroundings as the people they were seeing, but Erik could not help but feel the sources were related somehow, if not exactly the same.
As they neared the fourth building, Erik could feel it. No one else reacted, but goosebumps broke out over his skin. There was a chill up ahead, completely unlike any of the other times he felt power build up on his skin. This did not feel like pressure. It felt like a ghost, or a cold wind blowing through his body and sinking into his soul. He felt nauseated as Brady and Byron moved forward into the darkness of the fourth building.
“I do not like this.” Elliot said.
There were murmurs of agreement, but no one backed out. There was something ahead of them. Something not of this world. Something cold and dark that sapped the very air around it. It was responsible for the people they had passed. The perfect, empty people.
As Byron and Brady moved deeper into the darkness, Matthias followed. Daya and Elliot attempted to block Erik and enter before him, but he was quicker and didn’t have to contend with Tae. At first the inside looked exactly the same as the other three buildings, aside from dimmer lighting and the fact that it was empty of people. As his eyes adjusted, Erik could see that the dimness was not because of the lack of lights or windows. This building was just as open as the other three; it was simply that the light was being devoured.
A tree grew in the center courtyard, glittering in the light that remained. It sucked the illumination from the air in glowing lines that sank into the bark. Fruit hung from a few branches. Some were bright red and ripe but most were brown and shriveled, dead on the branch. The light was not staying with the tree but moving down its trunk like a freeway, feeding the moving dark curled around its base. It shivered and soaked it in and grew and as it moved Erik could see a pair of legs kicking as they stuck out of the darkness at the base of the tree. And he could hear muffled screams.
MATTHIASS
He had no idea what the Agency, its Suits, or its allies thought that they could do here. Elliot’s invisibility and Elana’s intangibility would be less than useless against this thing, whatever it was. His own camouflage would not work either.
Thank goodness he had other skills.
Luckily they had come armed for war and not only with their abilities. Elliot was pulling a weapon from his pocket and Matthias did the same. The handguns were loaded with the ammo from the black case. Ammunition invented by the geniuses who worked for the Organization. Those who belonged to the bloodlines of Ogun and Hephaestus, Sophia and Kuebiko. It was a horrible weapon but Matthias was ready to use it.
He felt Erik tremble next to him and then his body’s heat increased three times, filling the air with warmth that made the others move closer. Before Matthias could grab his arm, Erik shot forward toward the darkness.
“Daya!”
She was moving before Matthias’s yell. Her skin was already hard and gray, and the increased weight was making her slower.
Where were Byron and Brady?
He glanced around as he moved forward until he spotted them, leaning on a pillar and watching the whole fight unfold before them.
Assholes.
Erik reached the base of the tree and darted around a length of shadow that reached for him. He dove for the two feet disappearing into the darkness. Matthias raised the gun and aimed for the other side of the target. As he pulled the trigger he flew back a few steps, despite bracing himself. Primordial forces flew from the nozzle. The things that held the world together, gravity and magnetism and a hundred other forces Matthias didn’t understand, twisted and formed to reduce things to their component atoms.
It cut through the darkness, an
d the thing rose up. A long thin note reverberated in the air, which made even Byron and Brady place their hands over their ears, though neither was near it or doing anything. The invisible energy cut a valley into their target, making it more transparent. Matthias was congratulating himself when the valley healed up as if it had never been there and Erik screamed.
Matthias looked down at his gun and cursed. Some of the forces the gun used must be related to those that Erik was tied to.
Erik’s hands were sunk partway into the darkness, refusing to let go of the ankles that it had swallowed. He turned to the side and vomited. When he looked up Matthias could see that the whites of his eyes were completely red. Daya reached his side and clamped her arms around his waist, pulling with him. Elana floated above it, a distraction that dodged tentacles of darkness. Elliot moved about, firing shot after shot into the dark mass of its body.
“Elliot, stop firing!”
Elliot paused at Matthias’s yell and turned to look at him.
“Why?”
“Just hold all fire until I tell you!” He didn’t want to yell out Erik’s problem in front of everyone, but with every shot from Elliot Erik had jerked and screamed a little louder. Everyone would place the blame on his hands sinking into the creature, but Matthias could see the bloody tears running from his eyes and knew the real cause.
Elliot growled and put the gun away. He yelled to the Suits, “Hey assholes! Some help would be appreciated!”
Byron and Brady both looked puzzled at his exclamation, as if they could not understand why he would be asking them for help. Matthias saw that the Angelics had joined them in leaning against the wall and observing. Matthias growled and let his power wrap around him.
Daya and Erik were making progress together and the figure was out of the dark up to its knees. Erik’s hands where they had sunken into the thing were not his usual brown but black like burnt meat. As he struggled, Matthias could see the black flaking off, revealing pink, bloody new skin underneath. His healing ability was most likely the only reason that he still had hands at all.
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