The Veil: Corruption (HASEA CHRONICLES BOOK 2)

by Stuart Meczes

  “Wendigos?” I stammered. I’d never seen one, but I’d heard plenty about them. There hadn’t been a sketch in my copy of the handbook, and the new copies only had a blurry photograph. But I knew that if Devils were considered the creature to fear on foot, Wendigos were the creatures to be feared in the air.

  “There are at least ten!” shouted the pilot. “Hold on, I’ve got a lock on one.”

  I saw the gun nearest me swivel. The cabin was filled with the tremendous whine of some kind of energy build up, and there was a deafening boom. I saw a red beam explode from the gun. Through the window, I saw the Wendigo on the wing jerk to a halt, and a white, burning hole the size of a basketball appeared in its chest. It fell backwards off and vanished into the sky below.

  “Holy crap!”

  The other gun made a beeping sound and began to build up power.

  BOOM!

  “Two down!” he shouted.

  The guns continued frantically spinning around and reeling off rounds. Outside I could see half a swarm of creatures swirling around, trying to dodge the laser beams. One by one, they exploded in a burst of red and disappeared.

  “There’s too many!” shouted the co-pilot.

  Smash!

  The window by my seat shattered as a white claw hit it with the force of a piston. Bitter air rushed into the cabin. Alarms started blaring, and oxygen masks sprang out of panels in the ceiling, bobbing about on their tethers. A face stared in from the open hole; red eyes glared and a mouth sported several layers of dagger-like teeth that drooled into the rim. The Wendigo pushed its claw into the hole and began to rip away the frame of the airplane as if it were paper. The stewardess aimed with careful precision and pulled the trigger in a series of controlled bursts. Each one was a direct hit. The creature let out a vicious squeal, shrinking away from the opening. I heard the pounding of metal as it scrambled onto the top of the fuselage.

  The Concorde was dropping like a stone now, and the pilot tried to even out the pressure. The co-pilot slapped the dashboard and stood up. He retrieved a gun from a lockbox just like the stewardesses and loaded it up.

  He stepped out of the cockpit, armed and wearing a portable oxygen mask. He moved to the rear of the jet, towards the bathroom, and held out his gun with a slightly trembling arm. The stewardess continued to cover the cockpit door, pulling one of the nearby masks over her face.

  Sage Faru and I stood close to one another, weapons at the ready. My evolved body didn’t really need an oxygen mask, but I could still barely breathe from adrenaline. My heart felt like it was going to explode. I clutched the sword so tightly my knuckles turned white.

  There was a scream of metal, and then the hatch door was ripped from its hinges. I watched as it cartwheeled through the sky and plummeted down out of sight. Obsidian slewed sideways, and I had to grip onto a headrest as the floor tipped away from me. The stewardess screamed as she was thrown towards the open door, mask trailing like an umbilical chord. Sage Faru moved with lightning speed, grabbing the woman and throwing her back into the cabin. Her hair billowed out in a fury of blonde as she was cast into a plasma screen television on the nearby wall. It shattered in a shower of sparks, and she grunted as she fell to her knees. Faru didn’t apologise. Nor did he need to; he’d just saved her life. The pilot regained control and the jet steadied itself.

  The first Wendigo entered the plane.

  It hovered in the doorway and then folded its wings, using its hands to launch itself inside. It landed with a loud thud and went straight for Sage Faru. The Stewardess and co-pilot fired off a few rounds, but the furious creature shrugged them off. It swung its claws, and I noticed the unmistakable crude eye of the SOS tattooed on the bleached skin of its chest. The Sage parried the attack with the circular blade, opening up a deep wound in the Wendigo’s wrist. It hissed as white blood seeped onto the thin carpet. The material bubbled and then a series of holes appeared.

  Acidic blood. Brilliant.

  I ran forward, joining my leader in the fight. The Wendigo let out a furious screech and grabbed for me. I swung out the sword, but it dodged the attack and landed a weighted backhand on my collarbone. I felt my bone crack as I was sent stumbling backwards. Gritting my teeth, I retreated for a moment, focusing my energy on healing. After a few seconds, I felt the bone knit itself back together.

  There was a loud screech behind me. I spun in time to see that another Wendigo had ripped a hole in the ceiling above the co-pilot.

  “Look out!” I shouted above the roar of the wind. Sprinting forward, I tried to save the man, but I was too late. He let out a muffled gasp of horror and let off a few panicked shots. Only one of them hit, enough to remove a chunk of the Wendigo’s jaw.

  But not enough to stop it.

  There was a hideous squelching sound as the Umbra reached out its arm and impaled the man through his chest. He was pulled through the gap, and I watched in horror as his lifeless body was thrown several hundred yards away from the plane, disappearing through the clouds.

  “David, no!” the stewardess choked breathlessly. In blind anger, she unloaded a wild burst of rounds into the Wendigo. I had to jump back for fear of being hit. When the clip was spent, the creature was doubled over, keening from the pain caused by a dozen weeping bullet holes. Seeing my opportunity, I covered the rest of the distance and sliced upwards with the Crimson Twin, dividing the creature in half from groin to head. I screamed with pain as some of its liquid fire blood splashed onto my arm. I covered the wound with my other hand and tried to heal. Then I looked down at the bubbling carpet at my feet and my eyes went wide.

  Oh crap!

  I ran away from the mess as the floor crumbled in on itself, creating a yawning hole about five feet wide that burned through the entire fuselage. An upturned trolley that had once held an array of drinks – which were now smashed and leaking all over the cabin – tumbled into the crater and vanished.

  God, I hope we’re over fields.

  Sage Faru was still fighting the Wendigo. He looked knackered, drained from a combination of maintaining active Golems and our earlier excursion. Otherwise, the Wendigo wouldn’t have stood a chance. Some of his robe had been burned away, and he was bleeding from a large gash on his cheek. I joined him in the fight and together we hacked and slashed our way through the wounded beast.

  Sage Faru was pushing the carcass out of the hatch door when I heard a series of thuds and turned to see two more Wendigos drop into the hole at the top of the fuselage and stalk towards us. The Seelian made a low growl of irritation. “How many of these despicable creatures are there? I am beginning to get angry.”

  The stewardess took a blast of oxygen from a mask and then unloaded a few more rounds into the advancing Wendigos. Then her gun clicked. “I’m out of ammunition!” she cried.

  “Go into the cockpit and bar the door!” I shouted back. But as the words left my mouth, I knew they were useless. If a Wendigo wanted in, it was getting in. The stewardess nodded regardless and rushed from the cabin. The door clicked shut.

  Sage Faru gave his trademark, knowing smile. “It appears it is down to the two of us to secure this Concorde,” he said.

  I nodded.

  His expression sobered. “Listen to me. When I tell you to, push one of them into me. I only have the energy to do this once, so you must not fail. Do you understand?”

  “Okay.”

  Together we ran into battle. I raised my sword up to bring it down on the nearest Wendigo, but it caught the blade between its hands. A fierce hiss escaped the space between its white palms, and black smoke coiled upwards as the blade singed its skin. I yanked at the sword, ducking as the second unleashed a furious swipe at my head. The creature refused to let go and moved forward with each pull.

  Sage Faru moved to the side of me and opened his hands wide, palms outstretched. “Now, Alexander!”

  I reacted instantly, pivoting on the spot and using all of my strength to spin the Wendigo around. It was a move I’d used on a Golem
during training when I’d first joined the Warren. But the difference here was the opponent’s strength. Whereas the Golem had gone flying the length of the dojo, the Wendigo was simply turned 180 degrees.

  But it was enough.

  With a grunt of exertion, I heaved my foot into its chest, and it fell backwards into the open arms of Faru. He seized the thrashing creature and locked his arms tightly around it. Blue energy appeared around the creature, and its body turned into an x-ray version of itself before disappearing into dust. Sage Faru let go and sank down into one of the seats, exhausted.

  Three down, one to—

  Something hit me with the force of a bus. I didn’t even have time to gasp before I was collected up by the Wendigo and flung down the length of the cabin. Together we hit the far wall beside the cockpit, and as it crumbled, we bounced off, me losing my sword in the confusion. The creature dragged me sideways, stumbling as if drunk.

  Through the open hatch door.

  I heard Sage Faru cry out and saw the unusual sight of a Concorde jet from the outside, mid-flight. It was a mess – with the holes ripped through it, it looked like a can of food attacked by a rodent. It diminished in size rapidly.

  It took me a few seconds to comprehend what was happening.

  I’m falling.

  The fear seized me, and it was all I could do not to scream in terror. The wind whipped at my uniform and hair. It was cold and fierce and whistled harshly in my ears.

  Then, shimmering red eyes took up my field of vision, and I understood I was still attached to the Wendigo. My Chosen senses came back to me, and I planted an elbow into its nose just as the creature bit at me. It shrieked but didn’t let go. A few of its claws were imbedded deep inside my skin. For the first time, I registered the pain and dampness as they bled me out. The Wendigo spread its wings and, as if we’d deployed a parachute, we jerked upwards. We soared into a high arc and then started to descend again, faster and faster. The creature was dive-bombing us. With me on the bottom.

  I smashed my fist repeatedly into the side of its face. My blows barely seemed to register. So I grabbed handfuls of its greasy hair and thrust my forehead into its already-wounded nose. The creature made an odd gurgling sound and became dazed. I hoisted myself up its body and the weight change shifted us into a spiralling ball, hurting towards the ground. As the world spun in front of me, I caught snapshots of the city below. I could make out buildings. And rivers. And even cars. They were tiny, but it meant that we were getting closer to impact.

  I racked my brain for some way to survive this. There seemed to be only one logical option, and even then it was a long shot. Knock it out and use its wings to slow my fall.

  The Wendigo tried to clamp its jaws on my throat. Before they could connect, I seized it by the throat and held it away from me. Thick globules of its saliva spilled over my fingers, making them sticky. The smell was nauseating. Unable to bite me, the creature instead unstuck one of its claws for a moment and slashed at my face. I was temporarily stunned by dizzying pain. Blood seeped into my eyes, and I struggled to see. I could feel loose skin and knew that it had torn away some of my cheek.

  I fought against the urge to pass out and instead smashed my fist into its shoulder with everything I had, hearing the satisfying crunch as I broke bone. Its arm fell limp. Without hesitating, I plunged the thumb of my free hand into its eye socket and didn’t stop until I felt the pop as its eyeball burst. The Wendigo unleashed a wail that chilled me to the bone.

  We kept spiralling towards the earth, a constant, vicious scrabble as we each tried to gain the upper hand. Once again the creature used its wings to steady itself, and I clung on for dear life.

  Then, in the middle of the fight, something changed.

  The creature stopped trying to attack. Instead, its face broke into a demented grin. It reached out with its razor claws, and I waited for the attack. But it didn’t go for me. It grabbed at its own wing and, with a shriek of pain, severed it. The separated appendage broke free from us, flapping and looping in the wind. Acidic blood spewed from the stump, and I had to rotate my body to avoid it. With only one wing left, we fell into a wild corkscrew spin, whirling around and around and still down, like a rollercoaster ride from hell. We were gaining speed quickly. Then, with a voice that sounded like a burst water pipe, it spoke.

  “Long live Hadessss.”

  The Wendigo severed its other wing.

  I watched in horror as it split away and sailed off with the wind like the first. The Wendigo gave another horrific grin and then its head lolled forward, dead from blood loss. I couldn’t believe it. The crazed creature had sacrificed itself to kill me. I acted instantly, knowing I had a few seconds to move before it was too late.

  I scanned for the wing and saw it a few yards above me, spiralling downwards like an oversized sycamore seed. I bought my knees up to my chest and pressed my feet onto the Wendigo’s chest. With every ounce of strength I had, I stamped downwards and burst up, grabbing at the wing. My fingers connected with the tip, and I snatched at it, holding it on either side. With it held out like a sheet of material, the vertical draft did its work, and my fall was immediately slowed. I breathed a sigh of relief as I slowly started to descend. I can survive this.

  Then the wing tore in half.

  A small hole created by the creatures’ own acidic blood had formed, and with the added stress of the wind and my weight, the membranes around it tore open. It spread until the skin was stripped from the hollow bones. Exposed to the increased pressure, they snapped in half. All of a sudden, I was holding nothing but broken bones attached to a trail of flapping skin.

  I realised then with sudden horror that it was over.

  I shoved the remains of the wing away from me from me and watched as it spiralled away through the air. I leaned backwards and saw the area below as clear as day. I was probably less than three thousand feet away now. In the distance I could make out the private airstrips where we had taken off. I could see cars and even people now, tiny, like scurrying ants.

  I could see everything. I was too close not to.

  It dawned on me that, even as a Chosen, I couldn’t survive a fall from this height.

  Nothing could.

  After everything, I couldn’t believe that this was going to be the way I died. Everything Lafelei had said was irrelevant. There was no way to escape. Images of Gabriella filled my mind, and I felt the sting of tears on my cheeks.

  I’m sorry. I love you.

  I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.

  11

  Gabriella

  Mikey was barely breathing.

  I stood underneath the harsh strip lighting of the recovery centre room, struggling to fight back tears. Mikey was fading fast. One of the Alliance doctors – a Bloodling named William – had come in a few hours before and slowly shook his head after doing some assessments. “I’m afraid it’s too late,” he’d said with a sad expression. “The change has got him now. Whether or not he survives is down to him.” He’d paused in the doorway. “I’m sorry, Gabriella.”

  Then he’d left.

  Mikey’s kidneys had already failed. He was hooked up to a dialysis machine, but it was just to make the process more bearable. The change couldn’t be stopped. From the moment he had been bitten, the clock had been set.

  Delagio and Grey stood like ghosts at the edges of the room, their faces the same pale shade as the walls. Scarlett was crumpled in a chair, staring into the distance, looking her true age. Barton had gone back to his apartment. I had no idea where Aran was. I didn’t care. All I cared about was the fact that my boyfriend’s brother – that Mikey – was slowly dying in front of my eyes.

  It was like Sophia all those months ago. Except it was also tragically different. Alex and I had saved the little girl’s life by sheer luck. But there was no luck to be had here. There would be no saving Mikey.

  Seventy-two hours. That’s how long the venom took to do its evil work. It started with a high fever an
d incoherent babbling as the poison flooded the brain. In the six hours since we’d returned to the Warren, Mikey had already passed through that stage. As the countdown progressed, his vital organs would systematically fail. Starting with his kidneys. Ending with his heart. Then, finally, the clock would hit zero.

  And Mikey would die.

  All we could do was pray that he made it through to the other side. Some did.

  Some didn’t.

  I gripped the back of Scarlett’s chair as grief rolled through me. It’s my fault. I was the Huntmaster. The moment that I’d seen Mikey in Indigo, I should have made sure he got out safely myself. I forced myself to stare at the frail figure in the bed. I’m so sorry.

  Mikey made a sound of pure anguish, and I stifled a sob. I’d not wanted to think about that part. The pain. Constant pain that bought with it horrific, nightmarish visions and unbearable suffering that no amount of morphine could stem – like being injected with hydrochloric acid. Bloodlings had bitterly dubbed it Dante’s Touch.

  Scarlett called it burning alive.

  The bite marks were all over him. The bastard Vampire had gone to town on poor Mikey. He had three sets of teeth marks on his face, two on his shoulder, and seven on his neck. Each one had swollen to triple its original size and had become a nauseating mass of purple bruises and white pus. No point in cleaning them. Doing so would only produce more. And more would make his suffering even worse.

  I’d never felt so helpless.

  Whilst Harmonia – a clean-up squad with several Charm-powered Chosen – had been wiping the memories of those in the restaurant attack, and after I’d managed to get a handle on my shock, I’d spoken to a stunned Delagio. After finally being able to get his words together, he’d explained how he’d been busy fighting the Imp. He hadn’t been able to react in time to the Bloodling breaking through one of the bathroom vents. He’d been caught by complete surprise and knocked out cold. We all knew what had happened next.