by Joel Stewart
Chapter 9
Chentar, Capital of Chengar
The basement could have been any basement. The bar it was located under could have been any bar. The people seated around the old, dusty table could have been gathered for any reason. But this wasn’t any basement under any bar, and the people gathered were an even dozen of Chengar’s top military leadership. Admiral Stenman, the highest-ranking member of the Chengarian military and apparent leader of the group, stood, silencing the room. He was dressed in civilian clothes and was doing his best to look like an average citizen, as were all the members seated at the table.
The group was bigger than he had liked. The bigger the group, the more likely there would be a traitor in their midst, and they would all end up dead men. He cleared his throat. “We all know why we are here.” He started. “This woman will cause nothing short of global destruction.” He paused to choose his words carefully. “We need to make a decision.” He continued. “Do we go along with this evil and wait for the inevitable . . . hoping the outcome is favorable for us? Or do we find a way to resist and hope that there is a force in this world great enough to stop her?”
Everyone looked very uncomfortable. The atrocities performed against the former mayor of Chentar had not gone unnoticed, and no one wanted to be the next person on that terrible wooden stake. General Rogner broke the awkward silence. “We all feel the need to resist. That is why we are here. What will become of our country if this woman implements the lavish brutality we have all seen as of late? The starving population left behind by that fool, Denof, will praise her as they are morphed into an unrecognizable version of humanity. We will be no better than those Ardian barbarians.” Heads were nodding around the table. “The question I feel we are here to answer is . . . how. How do we resist such a terrible power?”
Murmurs broke out around the room. Admiral Stenman cleared his throat loudly to quiet it. “Any resistance we mount must be in secret and cloaked in authenticity. We know she has global aspirations, we know she has powers beyond belief, and we know she does not hesitate to deal with obstacles to her plan in the most terrible of ways . . .”
“She is a demon!” Rogner interrupted passionately. “A demon sent from hell to destroy everything living! To join with her is to side with death itself!” The room exploded in agreements and affirmations.
“Keep your voices down!” Stenman snapped in a hushed anger. “We won’t resist anyone if we are dead!” The room became silent so suddenly the sound of an officer clicking his pen became painfully noticeable. Stenman continued, “You may be correct, she may be a demon bent on destroying the world, but for now she is content with conquering it.” He lowered his head and stood in silence for a moment. He knew his actions this night might be the cause of very painful death. “What I propose is this. We go along with her plan for now.”
Murmurs around the table picked up once again but Stenman hushed them so he would not have to raise his voice. “We go along with her for now and keep our eyes and ears sharp. It does not make any sense to fight a battle we cannot win, and if we are removed from the power we wield, the ones that replace us will be mindless loyal drones. We need to find someone or something that can counter her power, and until that is found, we need to play the part of the loyal dog. She took over this country because she needs it, and until we figure out why, we have no choice but to go along.” Heads nodded in agreement. With the gruesome death of the mayor so fresh in their heads no one except General Rogner was passionate about actively taking actions that would make them the next example.
“We all need to agree right now. This meeting never happened, and this resistance doesn’t exist.” Rogner added. “We will need some sort of challenge phrase as well, to make sure that any messengers sent between members of our group are legitimate. We can’t entrust anyone with knowledge of this group unless we are absolutely sure they are with us. Captain Chenok has sided with this woman and he is as clever as they come.”
“I agree.” Stated Stenman. “It is best if all communication for now be directly between us and coded as best as we can make it. We all have reason to talk with each other at this point given our respective positions. Only bring others in if it is a last resort. I will be under the most scrutiny of anyone here due to my opposition on the night Denof was killed. Only contact me if we have a potential countermeasure to the woman that is verifiable. The challenge phrase will be ‘Tomorrow will be an interesting day if the conditions are right’. And the response will be ‘I’ve had my fill of interesting days; the end of Denoria will bring peace’.”
There were other minor discussions, but over the next hour, officers left one by one. This staggered departure was part of the plan to make sure that, to anyone watching, it did not look like there was a large group gathered. One of the officers turned down a dark alley just outside the bar and was greeted by a man who appeared out of the shadow. The scar running from nose to chin was the only indicator of his identity under his dark hood. “It is as you thought.” The man whispered meekly. “They are plotting against our Queen. They don’t know how to resist her, so they plan to play along for now until they can find a meaningful way to resist. Given the fear the mayor inspired, I would be surprised if any but Stenman and Rogner actually went through with it though.”
“I want a list of names.” Chenok replied in a gruff voice. “Keep a finger on the pulse. If they make a move, I want to know about it. As long as they still do what they are told, I don’t care what they say in secret, but if they do come up with something meaningful, I want to know about it.”
“Yes sir.” The pitiful-looking man responded. He slinked back onto the main street and continued on his way.
Captain Chenok disappeared back into the shadows of the alley. He watched as the other members of the group left the bar one by one. Stenman. I recommended she kill you at the start, he thought. Still . . . I might have a use for you after all.
Chapter 10
Dengrin, Capital of Denoria
“And where is your leader?” Lena taunted. “Is she too afraid to face me after the last time we met? I sealed you once and I can do it again.”
Hiding behind the walls next to the door to her house, and behind Lena, Cliff and Davis stood with pistols drawn. Davis put his index finger up to his lips as he looked at Cliff. “Wait.” He mouthed. He inched over to a window and peeked out to get a better view of the potential battlefield. There was some cover to the right and left of the house, but the four demons were standing in the open driveway. They did not seem to have an entourage of others with them. Lena is taunting them . . . A stall tactic? Stalling for what? he thought. He could see Bren falling for her stall hook, line, and sinker. He couldn’t make out what Bren was saying but his face was getting intense. Davis moved back to the door so he could hear what was being said.
“Well, what can I say?” Lena replied to some unknown question by Bren. “Except . . . maybe . . . Fire!”
Davis chanced a peak around the corner of the door just in time to see the quizzical look on Bren’s face before a bullet caught him in the shoulder. Another caught him in the arm, and several lodged themselves in Menor and Ridone before frost held out her hand. She formed an invisible shield around the group that deflected the bullets coming at them from all directions. Hidden foxholes, Davis thought. She was buying time for her people to get in position . . . smart. He and Cliff were both poking their heads out the door to watch what happened now. Davis was sure this fight was over before it had begun—three of them were already riddled with bullets. To his surprise, Bren only grimaced.
“You think these modern weapons can stop us?” He roared angrily. Davis watched Bren launch himself at Lena. One hand had his flaming longsword while his other was stretched forward creating his own bullet blocking barrier. Menor and Ridone started deflecting bullets for themselves in their own way, Menor ran with his arm outstretched creating a shield while Ridone pulled his two swords. They began to glow, and he used them to deflect
incoming bullets with impossibly fast reaction times. Due to the cruel smile on Ridone’s face, Davis couldn’t tell if he was incapable of making a shield like the others or if he just enjoyed deflecting the bullets. Frost just squatted in place. She maintained her barrier but took no aggressive action. A tactician, Davis thought.
The next display left Davis staring with his mouth hanging open. Lena’s fiery sword formed in her hand and she engaged with all three of them in the most intense combat Davis had ever seen. They all moved with unnatural speed. Ridone, Bren, and Menor were jumping into battle with Lena, getting knocked back, and then jumping in again. Ridone and Bren favored their sword-based attacks while Menor just used his fists. Shockwaves flew from Menor’s attacks if they found a target or not, and as a result, several small craters were forming in the ground around Lena. It was obvious Lena was slowly losing ground. They were able to maintain a bulletproof shield around them while fighting. Lena was a whirl of flame, her glowing white eyes seemingly reacting to their attacks before they made them. But then he saw it.
Frost was standing now, holding out her other hand that was not keeping up her bullet shield. A blue bolt shot from her hand and slammed into Lena’s arm, knocking her to the ground in front of the porch. She got back up, but her arm was hanging limply as if she could not use it. “We have to do something.” Davis whispered to Cliff, who nodded in agreement with an unspoken I will follow your lead. Ridone moved to the right of Lena and held out a shield while Menor did the same on the left. Bren stayed in the middle, apparently unshielded beyond the cover his teammates were providing.
“And this is where you fall,” Bren said smugly.
Bren had blood stains on his clothing, but the bullets he had taken did not seem to be bothering him at all. Or maybe they are bothering him, and he is just that strong, Davis thought grimly. “I think the blonde guy is unshielded from this direction.” Davis whispered to Cliff. Davis thought he knew Bren’s name but wasn’t sure if Cliff had made the same deductions. Cliff nodded in agreement. Rounding simultaneously into the doorway, Cliff and Davis both unloaded bullet after bullet from the two pistols each one carried. They were right, Bren was not shielded from their direction. No less than six bullets found their home in Bren’s chest before he put up a hand to shield, causing him to stumble backward and fall onto the ground. Menor and Ridone both dashed toward the doorway but Ridone was intercepted by Lena who whirled her flaming sword in front of him, cutting off his attack route.
Menor continued his charge unhindered however, and moments later Davis found himself jumping out of the way of his fist. Cliff jumped back in the door of the house, but when Menor’s fist missed Davis and hit the doorpost, the beam shattered, and a shockwave pulsed out from the impact point that knocked Cliff into the air and through the side wall of the house. Davis summoned all his training and attempted to channel his own force to counter Menor. He felt the river flowing through him as he attacked, but Menor deflected his blows like an adult might knock away the useless attacks of a child. Fortunately for Davis, his attacks were a distraction enough for Menor to drop his shield, and before he knew it bullets from Alex and Jesse in the back of the house were hitting Menor in the side. Their aim was terrible, but two hit Menor in the arm and it was enough for Davis to connect a punch with Menor’s jaw.
The power flowing through Davis released and Menor went airborne for a moment before landing on the ground next to the now semi-recovered Bren. Davis looked himself over. He was half expecting to find a bullet in himself the way Alex and Jesse were shooting, but when he found none he was grateful that he had given them both a pistol before this started. Cliff was stumbling through the hole in the wall he had made with his exit—he looked a bit bloody and dazed, but overall seemed OK.
Looking back at Lena, Davis saw her shaking her injured arm trying to regain feeling while generating a shield that was deflecting a barrage of energy attacks from Frost. Bren’s sword was lying at her feet. I hope we bought her enough time, he thought. Ridone was helping Bren limp back to where Frost stood, Menor was following. They grouped up behind Frost’s protective bullet shield. Davis didn’t know where Lena’s foxholes were hidden but he guessed they were hidden well. He saw the four generals lift their hands up, palms out. Davis recognized the position from when Lena shot an energy blast at him the previous night. A sickening thought hit him. When Lena blasted him, she told him that we would be able to block an attack ten times more powerful . . . which meant . . . as fast as he could move, Davis dashed to Cliff and threw him over his shoulder. “Get down the staircase!” He yelled to Jesse and Alex. Davis was hopeful, but he did not think he would make it to the staircase in time.
Outside, Lena smiled to herself as she heard Davis directing the others for the basement. That meant she needed to protect only herself. Bren was eyeing her with contempt, the bullet holes in him were really adding up and she could see him weakening. “Kill her!” Bren ordered. Simultaneously, the four generals fired intense blackish-red energy beams from their palms. Lena put as much strength into her shield as she could, but it eventually gave way and she was blown backward and into the porch steps. The blast gutted the house behind her, the attack wasn’t wide enough to hit the side walls, but the interior of the house was completely blown out. Debris was scattered all down the backside of her hill and some was lodged in the buildings in the valley beyond.
Lena slowly staggered out of the rubble and back to her feet. She smiled as she saw Ridone pulling the longsword out of Bren and Frost. Lena had grabbed it from the ground, charged it with energy, and thrown it just as the generals were unleashing their devastating coordinated attack. The energy she charged the blade with let it cut through their attack and slam Bren in the chest. The power of the sword had knocked Bren backward and into Frost, skewering her with the same blow.
“Frost and Ridone . . . keep Lena occupied. Menor . . . and I will track down the others . . . they are more important.” Bren ordered between gasping breaths. One of his lungs had been pierced by the sword. The sword had gone into Frost’s abdomen, which, while not as debilitating as Bren’s injury, made fast movements difficult. Ridone rushed at Lena while Frost unleashed another brutal barrage of the same blue energy blasts she had hit Lena with earlier. Lena knew that if just one got through she would be in trouble. Her flaming sword materialized once again in her hand and she began to split her attention between Ridone and Frost. Menor started running toward the house but Lena tried to move and cut him off.
Before Lena could reach them, Menor smashed his feet into the ground simultaneously, stopping his momentum. The energy he had built up while running did not stop however, and his stomp transferred the energy into the ground. It traveled through the subterranean medium like a slow-moving snake, periodically shooting puffs of dust into the air until it reached the underside of the house. Once under the house it erupted like a volcano, blowing massive chunks of debris into the air along with Davis, Cliff, and the roof of the house. Cliff and Davis had been knocked to the ground during their coordinated attack and had not had a chance to get back to their feet.
While Menor’s attack hit its mark, it came at a price. Lena hit him square in the chest, knocking him through the air and down the front of the hill. He eventually collided with her exterior wall, smashing through it and coming to a stop buried in the ground on the other side. Lena spun around, flaming sword slashing away another of Frost’s bolts before deflecting another slash from Ridone’s glowing swords.
A gun nest started unloading its magazine into the rubble that Menor was stuck under hoping for a shot, but the concentrated fire drew Frost’s attention and one redirected bolt ended the gunman’s attempt to further damage her comrade. Unable to follow up on Menor’s attack, Bren concentrated fire on Lena with Frost while Ridone continued to jump in and out with melee attacks. Lena was completely locked down, but the battle was a stalemate. Injured as they were, Frost and Bren were unable to use their stronger attacks, and Lena was just able to
fend them off while fighting Ridone. Unfortunately, time was on the side of the demons.
Menor dug himself out of the rubble at the bottom of the hill and worked his way around the bottom of the hill until he was behind Lena. He then ran at Lena as fast as his somewhat injured body would let him. With an ability similar to Davis’s, he built up a shockwave in front of his body as he ran, strengthening the attack that would inevitably come at the end of the charge. He smiled when he saw Lena, but she was completely preoccupied with the other three. When Frost and Bren saw him coming they increased the intensity of their attacks to keep her focus. Lena did not see him coming until it was too late. She turned toward Menor just as his punch connected with her face. The energy from the shockwave he had created channeled through his fist and into her, sending the now unconscious angel careening through the air like a bullet into the town below. Menor watched her collide with a skyscraper in the distance and not come out the other side. They all stared after her for a full minute before they decided she was not coming out for a while.
Davis saw Ridone and Menor heading toward the wreckage that used to be Lena’s house. The two side walls were still standing but that was all that remained of the structure. He slowly staggered to his feet and sank back into a combat stance. His body was racked with injuries, but he couldn’t afford to acknowledge the pain at this point. He needed to buy Lena time to recover and join the fight. Periodic bullets bounced off the shields Menor and Ridone maintained. Davis put his guns back in their holsters—they would not help him here. Cliff was moving a little bit and moaning on the ground behind him—he was alive at least. Thoughts of the last time he engaged Menor flooded through his mind, the way that all of his training turned out to be nothing more than a pesky annoyance. His heart sank. What chance did he have? A distraction. That was all, he needed to buy Lena time.