by K V Deal
That settled, my brain began to scream, ‘resume the hunt.’
I resisted long enough to point to both Axle and Carah and then jab a finger at Gloria. They nodded, weapons in hand. I motioned a furious Charlie to follow me. Charlie and I tracked him through the building and down into the one-time basement, now dungeon.
How the hell does he know about all these underground places?
His trail went down a tunnel, through an abandoned building, to an empty road. I looked back and forth, trying to spot the shape shifter, with no luck. He had vanished into the city.
I let out a snarl.
“Damn it!” Charlie screamed, hurling her crossbow to the ground.
I was feeling the same way. He had gotten away! Again! My instincts screamed at me, but there was nothing I could do. I wasn't a hunter!
I spun around and began to stomp my way… I stepped on something soft. I looked down to see a chunk of fabric on the ground. It looked like… Crouching down, I picked up the fabric.
Yes! It looked like it had come from the jacket the doppelganger had been wearing when he was impersonating Cyrus! I must have got him with my tail after all—and there was blood on the fabric!
Charlie looked over my shoulder. “Hey! Lemme see!” She snatched the cloth out of my hand. The minute she grabbed it, she let out a yelp and dropped the cloth.
“You okay?” Concern for MY friend cut through my anger.
“I'm fine… It’s just…” She looked at the fabric and rubbed the hand she had grabbed it with. “Let’s just go find the others. I… There may be something I can do.”
My ears perked up at that, but she was already heading back into the tunnel.
I took a moment to grab her crossbow and the cloth. As I picked up the piece of jacket, I noticed something odd. Where there had been a solid smear of blood, now there were a couple of circular patches in the smear that were clean, almost to the point that I couldn't tell they had had blood on them in the first place.
The hell?
Looking after Charlie, I saw she was already well into the tunnel. This new mystery would have to wait. That thought in mind, I followed her back underground.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Chapter 16
The real Cyrus sat on his hospital bed in the medic wing as a doctor worked a healing item over a heavily cracked area of the golem’s stony head. The doc had a sour look on his face, probably at having to use the strange tool, but it wasn't like conventional medicine did much to help a walking statue.
Cyrus looked over at the opposite bed where Gloria lay sleeping. “This is my fault,” he said, sounding even more emotionless than normal. “One of the contractors came to ask me about something in one of the exterior rooms.”
“How about I guess,” Charlie growled. “Not a contractor?”
“No.” Cyrus shook his head and winced. “He was efficient. I recall a single heavy blow. All I remember after that is waking up here.”
“I'll admit, I didn't think that you were going to pull through when we got you,” the doc said, shaking his head. “Your head was pretty well fractured.”
“I, for one, am glad you were wrong,” Cyrus intoned.
“Me too!” Carah said from where she sat nearby on a stool.
Cyrus looked up at us. “What happened to the perpetrator?”
“He got away.” My tail lashed.
“He took a prisoner too,” Axel said. “Rachel, that girl that you sent us to find? Her. And most infuriating of all, she was just about to tell us where the Inquisitor base is.” He sighed.
Cyrus jerked his head over to look at Axle earning a glare from the doctor. “She knows?”
Axle nodded, the frustration plain on his face.
Cyrus paused and then turned to look at Gloria. “She will be asleep for a while. We cannot simply wait for her to wake. It could be days.” Another pause. “I will take command for the interim. Such is my role.”
That really wasn't a surprise. Heck, it kinda felt like he ran the place most of the time anyways.
He turned back to us. “Due to this doppelganger’s nature, I cannot be sure he has not infiltrated any other team I might trust with this. Thus, Axle, your team's new mission is to hunt down this Edward and recover Rachel.”
Axle hesitated just for a second and then saluted. “Yes, sir. Come on, guys.”
As we filed out of the room, Cyrus called out to us one last time. “When you find him...” now it was his turn to hesitate. I turned back to look at him as he watched Gloria. “…don't let him off easy.”
“Right.” My tail lashed as our little group headed out the door.
“Well…” Axle sighed. “Now we have to find a shape shifter. Again.”
“Come on. Cheer up!” Carah said. "We did it once. We can do it again.” She smiled at him.
“Yeah, but it wasn't like Rachel was hiding!” He grumbled. Leaning up against the wall, he ran a hand through his hair. “Edward will be. And he’s smart. I really don't have any idea how we do this.”
There was silence as we all tried to think of a plan.
“I may have a way...but...ya can’t make fun of me, okay?” Charlie said, looking off down the hall away from us.
“Why would we make fun of you?” Carah asked.
Axle shook his head. “Charlie, you know us better than that.”
She hesitated and then opened up a hand, palm up and stared at it. “I tasted his blood--off that rag. I think... I may be able to track him.”
Rag? Wait the one we found?
“You tasted it?” I asked in confusion. “It never came near your mouth!"
“Wait, wait, wait!” Carah said, waving her hands as she looked at the two of us. “Go back a step. What rag?”
“We found a scrap of fabric with some blood on it when we chased him. Looked like it came from Cyrus' clothes.” I quickly answered before turning back to Charlie. “You tasted it?”
“Yeah! I tasted it! No, I don't know how, but when I grabbed it, I got his taste!” She clenched her fists and glared at me. “Ya got a problem with that?”
“Nobody has a problem, Charlie. We're just surprised” Axle added, keeping his tone as calm as he could. “So, you tasted it. And you can track it?”
“Yes? Maybe? I don't know. I think I can.” She gestured off in a direction. “That way. Don't ya ask me why that way. I can just...taste him that way.” She crossed her arms and looked away. “And...sorry. I'll try to rein in the grump.”
Axle took an impressive pose. “Right! Everyone arm up and get ready for a real fight. Meet back here in an hour.”
Carah looked down at herself. “Ummm... I don't know about you, but I never armed down. Hell, feels like we've been running hot since we left Charlie's house.”
Axle looked at her, blinked, and scratched his head. “I...may not have thought that through. It sounded good though, right?”
“Ya sounded very action-hero-ish. Very impressive,” Charlie said, her face completely serious. Then she snorted a laugh.
It was good to hear her laugh again, and I know I was smiling at her jab.
Axle was smiling, too, even as he tried to defend himself. “Aw, come on! It wasn't that bad, right?”
“Of course not. Well, depending on your definition.” Charlie laughed.
“It was pretty bad.” Carah giggled.
I just shook my head and chuckled.
“Well, shoot,” Axle sighed. “Let’s get going.”
Minutes later, we were working our way through the streets under the light of the moon. Charlie was in the lead with the rest of us following behind, watching for surprises.
As I thought things through, Edward hadn’t really had time to set up ambushes or even to think about them. Heck, he probably didn't think we had any a chance at following him.
But...
He’d surprised us once already when he impersonated Cyrus. It wouldn't pay to underestimate him.
Occasionally as we walked, Charlie wo
uld wave her hand in a lazy arc, palm out. When she did, I noticed there were new markings on her hands, strange circular patterns where the skin was lighter. She had a large design on her palm and smaller ones between each finger joint. The patterns twitched slightly as she passed her hand through the air.
Well, guess I know now how she tastes things.
“Is it just me, or are we heading back towards the marina?” Carah asked suddenly.
I blinked. She was right. It seemed somewhat strange for him to have two safe houses in the same part of town, but...
Hmmm...Maybe he needs to be near the river for some reason?
As I pondered that, I looked around. Since the Inquisitors’ attacks, the city had taken on a nervous feeling. The tension of our pursuit of Edward in the moonlight didn't help matters.
Charlie suddenly halted, and Carah almost ran straight into her.
“Charlie? Are we here?” Axle asked.
“No,” she answered and turned into an alleyway. She went about half-way in before kneeling to pick up something. It looked like the remains of a pair of pants? “These taste like Rachel,” she said.
“Okay, tasting somebody's pants? That can’t feel good.” Carah winced.
I reached out and gently took the...pants and pulled my lamp off my belt for a better view. Now that I could see, I wasn't sure if you could still call them ‘pants.’ Strips had been cut roughly from the outer edge of each pant leg. Only about half of each pant leg was left.
“The hell?” I couldn't help but mutter.
“Looks like his prisoner wasn't cooperating,” Axle said, looking around the alley. “See?” He gestured at the ground.
Personally, I couldn't see a damn thing that suggested a fight. It just looked like a trashy alleyway to me. Charlie stood up and hurried off.
Carah yelped. “Guys, guess we’re moving again!”
As we traveled, we found more evidence that Rachel wasn't taking her kidnapping quietly. Not too long after the pants, we found a broken strip of fabric. It looked as if it had been ripped in half, its solid knot still firmly tied. There were bloody marks on the fabric where she had fought with her bindings. Another sign was just a little further along. This time I could tell there had been a struggle.
“Well, damn!” Carah said, scratching her head. “He’s putting up with a lot. Not sure I would do that for a prisoner.”
“He must really need her. Otherwise, I can’t see why he wouldn't have killed her and been done with it,” I said more grimly then I had intended.
Carah winced but muttered an agreement.
Minutes later, I could see the moonlight reflecting off of the waters of the sunken city. Charlie's pace picked up as we continued our way down the hill, until, once again, she ground to a halt.
“That building,” she stated, jabbing a finger at what looked to be an abandoned storefront about a city block away. It had the look of one of those mom and pop shops where the owner lived above the shop, just…’medievalised.’
I couldn't help but notice that Charlie was standing funny as she pointed. Her stance was a cross between the efficient intensity of a predator and the awkwardness of something that wasn't sure if its legs would support it.
Axle stepped up beside her to squint at the place in the moonlight. “Looks like the door is shut. I’ll bet he locked it too, which means that, while we can go in that way, it’s going to be noisy. Since he has a hostage, I’d prefer a little stealth. Any ideas?”
Carah eyed the grates across the shop windows. “Those bars look pretty well attached. I bet I could get them off, but quietly? No dice. Back entrance? It is a shop, after all.”
“If it has a back door, I’d bet good money he's got it locked or has something nasty waiting,” Charlie said.
“He didn't at Rachel's house,” Carah pointed out.
“Maybe... We busted our way in right through the front. Might have been something in back if we’d looked around,” Charlie said, shaking her head and crossing her arms.
“Girls, sorry to interrupt, but not helpful,” Axle cut in.
Carah's comment on the windows got me thinking, though. The building next to the shop... With the hill, its first story was at the same height as the shop’s second story. Its door was broken in too. In my mind, that indicated that it was most likely abandoned.
Maybe...
“What if we jump?” The words slipped out before I’d thought things through.
“What?” Axle turned to look at me.
Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.
“Jump. We go in through that building there and just jump over.”
Carah's eyes lit up. “Now there’s an idea! Come on! Let's do it!”
I...hadn't expected her to be so gung-ho about it. She grabbed my arm and started to drag me towards the house.
“Well, nice to know we got a plan--even if it's a stupid one,” Charlie grumbled. Then she paused and took a deep breath. “What I meant to say was, ‘Sounds like a plan.’”
“If we’re gonna do this, then let's at least do it smart,” Axel said. He headed over towards the buildings beside us. “Try to get out of sight of the shop.”
He took point as we kept to the edges of the buildings while making our way down the hill. That meant walking in the gutter. I was hating the fact that there wasn't a single sidewalk in the city proper anymore, just gutters running right alongside the buildings. Thankfully, the patch we were in was relatively clean. All the same, considering what I had seen in them since the change, I really wanted to get out as soon as possible.
As we got closer, I began to feel a powerful magic leaking from the shop. It was just like... “Guys?” The others glanced over at me. “I think he's trying to remake that thing he had Rachel in.” Even as I spoke, the strength of the magic increased. The sensation even overpowered the usual feeling I got from our own magic items.
Axle nodded grimly and picked up the pace.
Reaching our target building, Axle stepped out of the gutter onto the small arch spanning from the street to the building's steps. He spied inside before walking in, waving us to follow.
The inside of the building was the usual mix of stone and wood architecture. Looking around, it was pretty obvious that it hadn't been Search and Rescue who had broken in the door. The place was in shambles with furniture dumped over and artwork in shards all over the floor. An image had been painted onto one wall--a clawed fist with a viper wrapping around it.
Carah gave out a disgusted snort when she saw me looking at it. “Gang sign. It's for a group calling themselves ‘The Picked’ or something,” she said dismissively.
"The Chosen." Axle corrected her.
Charlie turned to glare at us, a finger to her lips in a shushing motion. Carah winced, mouthing 'sorry' back to Charlie, before we headed down the corridor looking for the rooms facing the shop.
First room we found didn't have a window. It was some kind of den with a fireplace. It was just as torn up as the front hall.
As we continued to search, something began to tickle my senses. There was something else, a new feeling of magic that almost overwhelmed what I figured Edward was doing.
I knew the feeling. I was sure I did. But it was just masked enough that I couldn't place it. I wrinkled my nose in annoyance, knowing that it was just going to keep bothering me till I could place it.
“Over here!” Charlie hissed back at us while leaning out of the next room.
Hurrying over, I followed the others into the small room.
There on the far wall was a window. No matching window was visible on the shop though.
Shit.
Charlie leaned out the window looking farther back down the house. She waved us over. “Look!”
There, a little way further back on the shop wall, was a window.
“That's gonna be an awkward jump...” Axle leaned back into the room, scratching his head.
Replacing Charlie at the window, I eyed the jump. It would be iffy. No doubt t
here. Not an angle you could do a running jump from. The only way to do it would be to crouch on the ledge and throw yourself across from there. It would be pretty noisy if you missed too. Glancing down, I couldn't help but notice that from this point here the ground was another full story down. That…might hurt. But even with all the objections, there really was no choice but to try.
“Well, maybe there’s another…” Carah started.
I hopped up on the sill, braced myself and then…
Leapt.
“Jake!” Carah gasped.
Shit!
I was falling too fast!
I reached out as I flew through the air, flexing my fingers as I reached for my planned landing point. Twisting as best I could, I tried to line up my hands to catch the bottom of the shop’s window. My claws hit the sill, and I clamped down! The momentum tried to yank my hands free, but I dug in my claws and held firm. Slamming into the wall, I winced, more at the sound then the impact.
I hung there for a moment as I listened for any sound.
Nothing happened. I could still feel the pressure of the spell. Hopefully, Edward was still busy working on that.
With a grunt of effort, I slowly hauled myself into the window. Success! I turned around to grin at the others.
There was a loud bang from the rear of the shop that shook the whole building. I could see the looks of shock on the others’ faces. Probably the same look I had on mine.
Edward’s spell stopped, and the almost familiar magic I had been feeling beneath it suddenly came into focus. It was those damn invisibility cloths the Inquisitors carried!
I felt a growl start up in my throat as I looked at the others. “Get the hell over here now! Things just went from bad to worse!” I held out my arms to reel in my teammates as they leapt.
As Carah got ready all I could think was, if we wanted Rachel to come out of this alive, we were going to need to bring our A games.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Chapter 17
I hauled Axle through the window to join the others.