New Dominion

by C. G Harris

  Surrounding him stood a ring of Whisper Wraiths. They loitered outside of his circle facing Zoe, but now Alex and I were the more immediate threat. They turned their eyes on us, or more specifically, me.

  Blistering cold hit me in the face, the likes of which I hadn’t felt since Judas removed my permafrost infused soul chill. The glacial blast made me realize why I had been so cold over the last few days. It was the Whisper Wraiths. I couldn’t just see them, I sensed their frozen, little hearts every time they were around. That would have been a useful realization about a gazillion hours ago. I could have thrown a few more wrenches into their plans if I had known they were haunting nearby. Now they had their own arctic army.

  All the Whisper Wraiths had the look of a Nazi soldier. Some had helmets, some wore dress uniforms with threadbare gold trim, but they all had the horrifying, rotted faces of long decayed corpses. It was apparent that I saw them while Alex and Zoe were still oblivious to their presence. This was going to be a fight like none I had faced before.

  “Simeon?” I turned to see Alex staring in astonishment. For half a second, I thought she stared at the horde of Whisper Wraiths, but then I peered over at the man crouched near the floor. He had flicked his attention up toward Alex. He wore a beige trench coat and a black top hat which covered long, curly locks of silky, black hair. A goatee and rounded sunglasses finished off the sinister effect. Give him an electric guitar, and he would be a shorter, much better-looking, brother to Slash from Guns and Roses.

  The man’s attention didn’t waiver for long. He just responded with a smile and continued to scribble in his circle. Next to him, a Whisper Wraith seemed to issue instructions as he went. No matter what the guy was doing, I decided it was my job to make it stop.

  The moment I made my decision, Alex grabbed my arm. Her eyes weren’t on her friend Simeon, they had turned toward Zoe. That’s when I realized she had stopped screaming.

  My eyes widened with horror when I saw a Whisper Wraith hunched over Zoe’s shoulder, hissing something in her ear. Before I could do anything to stop her, Zoe waltzed over to the man now standing in the center of the ritual circle. To Alex, it must have seemed like Zoe had lost her marbles. The Whisper Wraiths were invisible to both of them, so Alex would have no clue they were the ones pulling Zoe’s strings.

  Zoe regained her senses a few seconds later, but by then it was too late. Simeon held her tight in his arms.

  “What are you doing?” Zoe began to struggle, looking confused. “How did you—”

  Simeon pulled a ceremonial dagger from beneath his jacket and held it to her throat. “Hush now, little peach. Don’t spoil the moment.”

  It didn’t take a genius to realize what he was about to do. This was some sort of blood magic, and Zoe was there to supply the blood. “Wait! Stop!”

  They both cast their attention to me for the barest of moments, then the man pulled a second dagger out and held it in front of Zoe with the blade exposed.

  “Grab hold, my little peach.”

  “Not on your life.” Zoe folded her arms across her chest.

  “All I need is your blood. I can get it from your palms or your throat. Doesn’t matter to me.”

  Zoe’s eyes flicked in our direction. The hopelessness I read on her face made me want to tear this man’s head off. If only I hadn’t left my Whip Crack lying in the dirt below. I could have ended this whole thing with one snap.

  Alex, however, came prepared with both of her Kamas in hand.

  “Easy there, darlin’.” He twitched the dagger at Zoe’s neck. “I wouldn’t want to slip.”

  Alex gripped the Kamas tighter but didn’t move. Neither of us could without killing our friend.

  Zoe held a hand out and wrapped her palm around the blade in front of her. The moment she did, Simeon yanked it back, slicing a deep gouge in her skin. Zoe screamed, and I lunged forward, but Alex pulled me back.

  “Not yet,” she whispered.

  “The other one, if you please?” Simeon thrust the dagger out in front of her again.

  Zoe cupped her injured hand to her chest and hesitated.

  “Still time to change your mind if you like.” He twitched the dagger at her throat, and Zoe chirped a little cry of pain. She extended her other hand, shaking like a leaf, and grabbed the blade again. Simeon repeated the process and then yanked her by the hair. Terror filled her face as she sobbed.

  “Arms out wide, peach. Show us how much you love this world. Like you’re going to give her a great, big hug.”

  Zoe hesitated, then spread her arms out as far as she could reach. Simeon spun her around in a circle, letting the blood trickle down onto the ritual circle around their feet. The moment they made it all the way around, Simeon pulled Zoe back, kissed her on the cheek, then shoved her out of the way.

  Zoe stumbled back toward the wall, and the room hummed with power. The lines and sigils on the floor lit up in an eerie, crimson light, and Simeon sat down cross legged in the center of his circle and began to chant.

  “Make sure Zoe’s okay.” I ushered Alex over in Zoe’s direction. “I’ll keep our friend from finishing his parlor trick.”

  Alex ran over to Zoe, unlatched her chain from the wall, and helped her up. That’s as much as I saw before my pants burst into flames.

  Unlike my first experience with the hyper-warming sensation, this time I knew just what had happened. My friend, the flaming battle axe, had made its reappearance and none too soon. I jerked it up and away from my skin as I danced around, using my free hand to pat out the flames on my pant leg.

  I didn’t bother to look back at Alex and Zoe. There was no way to explain this.

  To make things worse, the Whisper Wraiths had grown a backbone. Instead of fleeing at the mere sight of the axe, they redoubled their numbers before me, standing in defiance to defend their charge still chanting on the floor. Before I could stop Simeon, I had to pass his wall of Wraiths.

  “Fine. Let’s see what a fiery blade does to the body of an undead corpse.”

  “A what? Who are you talking to?” The sound of clinking chains broke my concentration. Alex still tried to free Zoe of her shackles. “Stop playing with your imaginary friends and stop that guy.”

  “I am ... I mean, that’s what I’m trying to ... never mind.”

  I refocused my attention on the looming wall of invisible, undead Nazi slaves and swung my axe at the closest head. The Nazi dodged my blow, but my follow through hit the one next to him. The moment my blade touched him, he turned to a sizzling cloud of Zombie dust.

  This might be easier than I thought.

  I swung again, wiped out two more, and caught another on my back swing. They couldn’t seem to go on the offensive, but they did put up a physical barrier. The pressure they exuded on my mind felt excruciating. I swung my axe in wild arcs as voices battered at my brain. They shouted and hissed, clogging my every thought and action. It felt like walking through a screaming fog full of barbed wire. It hurt my head in ways I couldn’t even describe, but I was still winning. As long as I kept swinging, sooner or later they would run out of Wraiths to throw at me.

  I began to regain some conscious thought when something crashed into my shoulder. I ducked and spun around, wondering where the strike came from. Turned out the Wraiths had a way to attack after all.

  Alex stood on the other side of the room, spinning one of the Kamas on its chain. Lucky me, it seemed I would receive a first-hand demonstration after all.

  The Whisper Wraith hissing in her ear had his eyes on me. He grinned like a schoolboy and had his hands latched deep into her shoulders. I had to find a way to ...

  Alex launched another attack, and the Kama went sailing past my head as I heard Zoe yell something at her. The blade threatened to ventilate my ear, but I ducked and charged in, trying to beat her before she reset. Alex yanked the chain in response and looped it around my foot, causing me to trip halfway in. Before I could recover, she swung her other Kama down, sending the blade into the f
loor millimeters from my face. I rolled and dodged again, but Alex reset for another strike. She pulled the Kama back on its chain then used her foot to send it right back at me again. There was a musical jingle of chain, then the blades sank into my thigh.

  I screamed in pain and collapsed to the floor as Alex swung around for a killing downward blow. That’s when Zoe hit her from behind. Alex went sprawling forward, dislodging her from the Whisper Wraith at her ear.

  “What in Hades is going on?” Zoe struggled to hold Alex down, but I put an arm out and stopped her.

  “It’s okay. She’s all right now.”

  Alex looked around and then down at the chain strewn across the floor. When her eyes zoned in on my leg, she stared up at me.

  “I think it went off while you were cleaning it.”

  The confusion in her face would have been hysterical had I not been bleeding all over the floor.

  “I can explain, well, nothing at all,” I said, “but I have to get to that guy right now, and I can only do it if you two are right next to me.”

  I could have said I needed to keep them from turning into homicidal puppets at the hands of the Whisper Wraiths, but I figured that was too much information for right now.

  “Can you help me stand up?”

  Alex and Zoe helped me to my feet ... foot, and together we shuffled toward the circle. I swished and slashed my arm through the air, much to the confusion and dismay of my two assistants, but with each swing of my invisible fire axe, every last Whisper Wraith went down in a poof of sparks and smelly corpse dust. Within seconds, Simeon stood before us, a wry smile on his face.

  “It looks as if miracles won’t cease after all.” He swept his hands around in a mock bow. “I’m afraid you’re all too late, my friends.”

  Simon tipped his hat, and I reached for his throat. An invisible barrier flared to life, flashing red, hot pain into my arm where the scripts encircled him on the floor. I jerked back, holding my wrist. There was no way through. He was right. We were too late.

  “I wish we had more time.” His grin widened as he recognized my desperation. “But I have I have a rather hectic schedule to attend to. You understand.”

  With that, the man crossed his arms over his chest and screamed in sudden agony. Thousands of centipedes erupted at his feet, enveloping his form like a fog of spindly legs and pincers. They consumed his body until there was nothing left but a feather adorned top hat lying amidst a dusty circle and a pile of ash.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  I all but ran the entire distance to the shop, determined to get to my tricycle as fast as possible. It was more of a staggered limp with some serious foot dragging, but I did my best. I bled from my chest, head, and ankle. Plus, I was no neurologist, but the fact that I saw two of everything meant my brain might be out of alignment too.

  “Slow down. No one’s following us.” Alex jogged close in behind me with Zoe on her tail. “What was all that back there? Why is it every time your pants catch on fire, I black out and try to kill you?”

  “If I had a nickel ...” I trailed off as we rounded the front of the shop, and I saw that the door was open.

  I pulled up short, holding my arm out to stop Alex and Zoe from getting any closer. “Come on. Haven’t we had enough for one day?”

  I reached under the back of my suit jacket and pulled out the Whip Crack. Alex had brought along a handy little harness that allowed me to wear it concealed over my shoulder without lopping a clavicle off. I hit the release, and the familiar sound of rasping metal announced it was still thirsty. My cousins had left it lying in the dirt next to the Blood Rakes. I couldn’t believe they hadn’t looted the whole pile on their way out. They must have been more concerned with escaping with the remainder of their limbs intact.

  “I’ve had a really bad day,” I shouted into the open door. “Whoever’s in my shop, you have to the count of none to get out, or I am coming in to pull you out in dog food sized chunks.”

  I waited half a beat then shouted, “None.”

  “Stop.” A scream came from inside the shop, and a figure all but dove out the door. Jazzy crouched on the ground holding her hands up for the second time that night. “It’s us. Meg and Jazzy. Don’t shoot ... whip ... whatever, geez. You guys need to lighten up a little.”

  I relaxed and limped forward, tossing the retracted Whip Crack over my shoulder. “Sorry, Jazzy,” I said. “It’s been ...”

  “A really bad day. Yeah, I heard you the first time.”

  I winced and nodded by way of apology again. “Is Meg all right?”

  Jazzy stood up and surveyed the three of us for the first time. “Yeah, she’ll be okay. She looks a lot better than you three, that’s for sure. You know you’re bleeding ...” She pointed at my scalp.

  “Yes, from everywhere, I’m aware. I don’t have time for that right now.”

  I scrambled inside the shop and popped the secret door in the rear that led to the old school bus carcass where I hid all my stash. Stores were looking awfully grim at the moment. Only a couple of Hostess Sno Balls and a few sodas. Not even a Twinkie. Nobody wanted Sno Balls. There wasn’t a chance in hell anyone would trade secrets for a Sno Ball.

  I popped open the old glove compartment and pulled out what was left of a first aid kit. I grabbed the gauze, opened my shirt and started strapping and taping.

  “I realize you’re busy not bleeding and all, but do you have time for a few explanations? I would very much like to understand what happened back there.” Alex grabbed another roll of gauze and did her best to clean up my head. “And why are you in such a hurry? Your cousins aren’t coming for us, at least not for a good, long while. We can patch you up at the agency and—”

  “Nope.” I tore off a strip of medical tape and pasted it to my chest. “We have to go Topside, and right now. I know it sounds crazy but ...”

  Something dawned on me, and I stopped mid-triage to look over at Alex.

  “Wait, you knew that guy.”

  My words made her stop for half a beat too, but she tried to cover and kept working.

  “I thought he seemed familiar, but I was wrong. Let’s just get you patched up and—”

  “No, you knew him. You called him by name. Simeon.” It was as if I had sucker punched her in the gut. She stopped bandaging and stared down at the ground for a moment.

  “Everyone knows the name Simeon Scott. He had a big reputation. He was an agent for years. One of the best ... or worst, depending on how you looked at it. He rose high in the agency, but there were always rumors about him. Stories that he was some sort of traitor. Maybe he was on the take from someone higher up or even dirtier than we are. Then one day he vanished, and no one heard from him again. They staked out the Gnashing Fields for months, waiting to see if he had died, but Simeon never came out. If he found a way to hide in The Nine, it was good enough to avoid even our tracking and surveillance abilities, and down here, that’s not possible.”

  “What do you mean, ‘not possible.’”

  “I mean, if you are property of The Nine and someone wants you found bad enough, The Judas Agency can find you, period.”

  “All those conspiracy theories about tracker implants were right.” I shook my head.

  “If only it were that simple.” Alex sat back and stared at me again. “Now spill it. What happened at the warehouse? Tell me what’s going on.”

  I couldn’t seem to meet her eyes. “I don’t know what to tell you.” That was the truth. I had no idea what to tell her. “My mind went crazy too. Maybe this Simeon guy has some kind of hypnotist power.”

  Alex narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think so. Even if he did, it wouldn’t work down here. And what does that have to do with going Topside?”

  I scrambled to think of something that would make sense. Right now, I would even settle for plausible. “It was something I heard when I fought the ghosts.”

  “Ghosts?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

  I prayed telling her this much was not
a breach of my secret denarii contract. “Yeah. I don’t know how much you remember about when you attacked me, but I saw these ghost things. I swear it was like they were real. They were all over me, and one of them said Nick is in danger.”

  Alex crossed her arms over her chest. “The ghosts talked to you?”

  “Yeah, well, not all of them. Just one. It was sort of like—Nick-is-in-danger. He-needs-your-help.” I moaned like a ghost but didn’t sell it in the least bit.

  “And your pants?”

  I glanced down. “I don’t know. Spontaneous combustion? We’re in Hell. What do you want me to say? Are you coming with me or not?”

  I stood up and winced at the pain in my thigh a little more than I had to, hoping it would play on her sympathy.

  “Fine. But only because I want answers.”

  I nodded. “Me too. Let’s go.”

  I hurried back through the front of the shop and noticed Meg sitting with Jazzy and Zoe. I had been so preoccupied with stopping my own leaks, I hadn’t even noticed them on my way in.

  “We’ll be back later.” I glanced down at Meg. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

  She looked up at me and smiled.

  I turned my gaze back to Zoe. “Do not do anything stupid while we’re gone. I can’t afford any more rescues. They hurt too much.”

  Zoe nodded but didn’t say anything else. Her eyes were wet with the threat of tears, but I couldn’t take the time to smooth things over right now. If being a hard ass kept her here, so be it. I would live with the consequences later.

  I turned to grab the trusty tricycle I kept stashed inside the shop and headed for the door. Of all times to give up the Rusty Rocket, it had to be now. The second I was out the door, a boom rattled my teeth and made me duck. I spun to see that the door to my shop had been slammed shut—hard.