by C. T. Adams
“I’ll take this one.”
Ahmad looked at him curiously. “I don’t believe that will last long in battle, but you’re welcome to try.”
As they stepped out of the room, Lucas gave him an odd look. “Where did you get that?”
Eric shrugged. “It was hidden in the corner. Will it stand up against a metal blade?”
Lucas looked at Ahmad and then back to him. “I think you’ll be surprised. Have you ever seen one used?”
He shrugged. “Only in Charles’s memories.”
Lucas smiled broadly and nudged Antoine. “You’ll enjoy this. But sit well out of reach.”
The main room was empty of everything except the tables.
“En garde,” Ahmad said, and immediately swung the sword as though it were made of paper. Eric sidestepped and held the club like a sword to block the blow. But he quickly realized that position wasn’t to the weapon’s best advantage. The sword had him on reach, so he needed to make the distance a disadvantage. And the goal wasn’t to injure each other. There were plenty of enemies who would do that for them.
When Ahmad lunged again, Eric ducked and stepped inside his reach to deliver a powerful blow to the councilman’s chest with the front of the weapon. The thick flat area that he’d seen Jack use as a club. It had broken the jaw of many a snake in the hindsight. Ahmad let out a harsh breath and stumbled back, but recovered quickly and landed a slapping blow against Eric’s knee. It could have crippled him with the blade turned to cut—reinforcing that this was practice only.
“Thanks,” he said with a dip of his chin. “I like that leg.”
“Then you should protect it better,” came the cold reply, before Ahmad turned and swung, intending to slice the tip of the sword across his chest. It wouldn’t kill him, but the cut would sting for some time. Eric had no choice but to block the blow with the club and hope for the best.
Then something interesting happened. The blade stuck fast in the wood, locked between two of the obsidian flakes. Eric gripped the hilt with both hands and pulled down sharply. The blade bowed and the hilt was pulled from Ahmad’s hand. Eric flipped the club over and lunged before Ahmad could react to the loss of the sword. With the extra weight of the attached steel, it took every ounce of Eric’s strength to stop the blade before it sliced through Ahmad’s bicep. As it was, it opened a small gash in the red silk shirt and Ahmad hissed in pain before leaping back.
“Sorry about that,” Eric said with a wince as blood began to flow down the arm. “I tried to stop it in time, but the weight threw me.”
“Yesss,” Ahmad replied with enough power bleeding from him that the wound healed before Eric could even get the sword unstuck from the club. “I’m sssure you are.”
Eric heard slow claps and turned his head. “You were right, Lucas,” Antoine said, his eyes shining in amusement. “I always enjoy watching my esteemed council brother lose a sword battle. Disarmed and cut. Tsk, tsk, Ahmad.”
Ahmad simply glared at Antoine and held out his hand for the sword. As Eric made to hand it to him he started to feel . . . odd. A familiar tickling sensation passed over his body. He had a brief moment of panic before he dropped to his knees as he was swept into a dark place.
“Just seal that breach!” He heard a woman’s voice and could finally make out a vision in the golden light, as a compact spotted bobcat snarled at the two wolves beside her. He recognized Raphael as the black wolf with a single white paw, mostly because of the blue-white glow that surrounded him. The other wolf was Holly, and she was standing high on her back legs, as though she were straining to reach something. There was a sliver of darkness above her, as though something were trying to break through. Eric threw himself forward, came up under Holly, and raised her until she was standing on his shoulders. He felt his magic pour into her and then into the wall of darkness she was holding up. He didn’t even know if she realized he was bracing her, and that was okay.
An image of Charles lying on a bed appeared and the bobcat let out a harsh breath. “I was planning for this to be a little more relaxed awakening, but we just don’t have time for that. He can put up his own shields to hold her out, but he needs to wake up, uh, mad.” Amber stalked toward Charles, ears flat. “I’ve done this before, but it won’t be pretty, people. Be prepared to take cover.”
Amber regarded the man on the bed for a moment before nuzzling his nose. She sighed and shook her tawny, furred head. “Next time, teddy bear, sign up for lesson two.” She unsheathed her claws as Eric watched, and proceeded to dig them into the big man’s thigh. She pulled down sharply, released, and then did it again, almost too fast for his eyes to follow. Holy crap, she was making his leg into a scratching post!
A howl of rage filled the darkness and Eric was abruptly thrown backward. He came to in a flash of pain, in the room where he’d started, now empty. He could still hear a growling bear. Then he realized it was because there was a bear growling in the next room.
Eric winced as he stood and realized he must have fallen right onto the war club. Fortunately, it was flat under him, so the only cuts he’d gotten were from the sudden movement he’d made when he woke. Those obsidian flakes were like razor blades. His shirt was covered with tiny cuts that seeped blood when he walked. In a panic, he tucked his fingers into his pants pocket. The vial was safe, unharmed. His heart began to slow down, but then he heard an angry yell.
“I’ll kill that woman! I swear I’ll kill her.”
Eric stumbled to the doorway. Lucas moved to one side so he could see. Charles Wingate was hopping around the room in a terribly undignified way, rubbing a leg that looked perfectly healthy. But Eric knew what Amber had done, and guessed there was some phantom pain involved in the process.
“Shields up, Charles,” Eric said as a reminder, and the big man turned and blinked.
“What? Oh! Quite right, m’boy!” The power that was flooding the room was suddenly dampened. Charles growled again and tried to put some weight on his leg. He managed it with only a few small stumbles. “Amber did that once before when I was unconscious. Swore she’d never do it again. Damnable cat!”
Holly was on her knees, still looking a little dazed. “She said you had to wake up mad to get your shields up strong enough.”
“Then she did an admirable job.” Charles was calming down and squinting at the bright lights in the room. “Feel like I’ve been hibernating, and I suppose I have been.” He looked around the room slowly, sniffing the air with his large nose. His eyes fell on Lucas and he seemed suddenly older, tired. “I’m sorry, old friend. I’d hoped . . . But you understand why I couldn’t tell you.”
Lucas nodded, and smelled of both sorrow and resolve. “You didn’t lie. I’ll live to see old age with my family.”
Charles turned to Ahmad. “I presume you’ve selected your sword? You, Antoine, and I must go on the offensive at once. Now that she’s been removed from my mind, she’ll panic. We need to take full advantage of her confusion.”
Ahmad gave a short nod. “Eric Thompson will accompany us instead of Antoine. I’m . . . satisfied with his skill.”
Charles smiled. “I wasn’t aware Eric was a swordsman, but I’m not surprised. Josette told me there was no reason to save any of you. And yet, it’s you, those who might not have existed, who are here now and willing to fight. Each seer crafts the future as we see it. But my dear sister-in-law works on the premise that all chaos should be avoided, while I work on the premise that hope can turn chaos to our benefit if properly embraced.”
Ahmad raised an eyebrow and smelled of mild annoyance. “Do you plan to wax philosophical for the entire trip?”
The big bear let out a rolling laugh. “I probably will, old friend. I probably will.”
Chapter Twenty-two
NASIL WAITED AT the cave entrance while Derek dug through the scattered belongings. “There’s no knife here.”
He wasn’t surprised. The body of the human was gone and even though there was blood evident, it wasn’t e
nough to cause death.
He’s alive!
Nasil shook his head. Where did that thought even come from? He strode forward and slapped Derek on the side of the head, knocking him to the floor. “Then use your nose and find out where it’s been taken.”
“You don’t have to follow behind me. I can do a simple job.” Derek’s voice was sullen, but not angry enough to attack. And his scent was still cowed by the mass of snakes and spiders waiting outside.
“Then do it.” Nasil turned and hissed to his comrades. They bowed and began to slither off into the distance. “The snakes will give you some time to get the knife. We’ll get into position to start the attack as soon as you have it in your possession. But,” he added in warning as he turned his back and started out of the cave. “Don’t presume we’ll save you if they find you. The knife isn’t so important to us that losing it will harm anything.” It was a lie, but he’d spent most of his life learning to believe lies, so there would be no scent to warn the wolf. Actually, now that Marduc knew of the knife’s continued existence, it was her sole focus, so it was his sole focus.
You don’t have to take her orders.
The voice annoyed him. No, he didn’t have to. He wanted to.
Didn’t he?
Find the knife, my mate. I will go now to find a nesting place. But I must have that knife, filled with alphic power, before the moon comes. I can feel the storm approaching. The time to fertilize your young is near. If not today, then tomorrow.
The time to fertilize? Hadn’t they already been fertilized? Wasn’t that what the endless bouts of exhausting sex had been about?
No, Marduc said sadly. You provided the seed, but only the magic of the serpent moon will make them live. You must protect me until then, keep me safe from harm.
Nasil threw up a small shield while she turned her attention to other things. Why did he keep getting only small bits of information? He’d thought Marduc pregnant with his young, and yet she wasn’t. He knew of no meteor storm coming toward Earth. Humans had telescopes and satellites. Such events were known years in advance. Of course, anything was possible, but it seemed highly unlikely.
Perhaps he should make a small trip down into the Sazi village with the last of the feather dust. He hadn’t given it to Derek, nor had he mentioned it to Marduc. It might be a good idea to find information about any meteors heading this way. It might be that the great snake’s definition of a day or two was a hundred years. He knew how easy it was to get confused when you’d been alive for millennia. Why, it seemed only yesterday he’d been plotting with Sargon to infiltrate the council, but that had been more than a decade ago.
That’s when I met Bruce.
That was the human’s name. Bruce. Why did it trip off his tongue so easily?
Yes, it was worth a trip to infiltrate the Sazi again. There were plenty of things down there worth taking the risk for. Plenty of questions to be answered.
Chapter Twenty-three
CHARLES WAS SETTING a blistering pace. Eric wouldn’t have thought the old man had it in him. He was keeping up, but only just, and even Ahmad was having to push himself so as not to fall behind. “You’re leading, Eric. Where do we go from here?”
The camp was far behind them, hidden below the horizon of the plateau they hiked. Eric scanned the horizon in the late afternoon sun, looking for something in particular. Finally, he spotted it—a tiny splash of red among the bushes. He pointed toward it. “That’s where we camped. It’s not far beyond that.”
“It would be best to reach her nest before nightfall. It’s easier to see her.”
Ahmad turned his head sharply and nearly ran into a bush. “But I thought you said Marduc couldn’t be seen.”
Charles smiled and strode ahead. “Oh, she can’t. But it’s still easier. You’ll understand when we get there.”
But it’s still easier. You’ll understand when we get there.”
Suddenly the radio on Eric’s hip crackled. “—rles, come in! Damn it! Are you out there?”
Eric plucked it from his belt and pressed the call button. “We’re here, Lucas. What’s wrong?”
“Attacking . . . from all directions. Screw Marduc. Get your asses back here. Trying . . . to move . . . ple inside to defend.” They could hear sounds in the background. Screams and hisses and that odd chirping sound he’d heard in the cave before the spiders dropped from the sky.
He looked at Charles. He’d been right that Marduc would attack, but was she actually with the snakes? “Do we go back?”
Charles paused, looking back uncertainly. Eric couldn’t stand here much longer. He either had to go back or go forward and hope they’d survive. Should he contact Holly? She hadn’t watched him leave and was blocking herself off somehow.
“Damn you, Charles!” came Lucas’s voice again as the static finally cleared. “You’re just standing there, aren’t you? Well, Ivan just went down, so you lead the bears again, you bastard! Do I have to give you a blow-by-blow of who’s bleeding and dying to get it through that thick skull of yours? Didn’t you always tell me to fight the battle at hand, not the one that might come?”
Eric couldn’t take it anymore. Holly? Holly, are you there?
Happened so . . . fast. I can’t—
I’m coming. Stay out of the way of those fangs!
He started moving back toward the camp. “Go find Marduc if you have to. But I have to go back. My mate’s in danger.” And she was his mate, regardless of whether she was human or Sazi.
Eric heard sounds behind him and risked a glance backward. Charles and Ahmad had made their decision and were following at a run. But they weren’t catching up because Eric couldn’t seem to slow himself down.
The scent of blood hit him first. There was so much dust rising in the air, the camp was nearly hidden from view. But as he got closer, he saw slithering forms that moved like lightning. A woman’s scream made his pulse race. It wasn’t Holly’s. Thank God.
But the woman needed help. She was racing for the cover of the main building, but her way was blocked by a pair of rattlesnake-shifters. She held a young child tightly against her, her hand pressed against the girl’s face so she couldn’t see. She screamed again as the snake struck out. She’d never be able to get out of the way in time. Eric threw himself forward and brought the club down sideways, just as the snake’s neck was fully extended, fangs bared. The force of the blade hitting flesh slowed Eric down, and he fell to one knee at almost the same moment the severed head of the snake hit the ground. The other rattler’s tail started to buzz viciously as he turned to the new threat. He struck quickly, but Eric swung the club and knocked out a fang. The snake shook his head and reared back.
He was ready to take another swing when Ahmad appeared in front of him. “Get her inside. I’ll take care of this.” Power began to fill the air as Eric grabbed the hand of the terrified woman and started to drag her toward the building. The scent of blood was strong enough to choke on. He saw Holly shooting a rifle with deadly accuracy from the top of one of the trailers. Just as he reached the front of the building and handed the woman over to Tony—who was pushing people inside the building as fast as they arrived—Eric saw movement in the tree next to Holly’s head.
Spider to your right! She turned fluidly, a quick roll that looked practiced, and fired into the tree. Bursts of fire erupted from the barrel and a trilling screech of pain shot cold shivers all over Eric’s body. Holly stood up and quickly walked the perimeter of the RV, looking for anything that might be climbing up. He felt relieved when she crouched back down and started to fire into the distance.
Where were all these snakes coming from? There were dozens, if not hundreds. There couldn’t possible be this many shifters living around here. They must have been called in just for this. That spoke of a long-standing scheme, not just a hurried reaction to losing Charles on Marduc’s part.
But there was no time to think about it, because a black snake popped up on Lucas’s blind side. Normally Eric
wouldn’t worry about the Wolven Chief, but Lucas couldn’t smell them coming anymore. Eric ran across the parking lot and slammed into it before it could strike Lucas in the back. Lucas turned his head from the fight he was engaged in and let out a harsh breath of relief before returning to slicing at the petite cobra who was rearing and hissing with dogged determination.
Another slice of Eric’s club took off the head of the black snake. He felt some regret, because these snakes, these Sazi, probably didn’t even know why they were fighting.
He looked around, trying to see where he could help most. There were battles being waged by everyone he knew, along with some of the Sazi from the trailers. More than one person was dead and he mourned Ivan’s still, bloody form propped on the side of the building before throwing himself at a rearing spider with all the rage he felt inside.
Eric heard Holly’s voice in his head as the club chopped into the spider’s forehead. Blood sprayed in a wide arc. Hey! Who’s that? He looks like you, Eric. And he’s got the box with the knife.
He turned to see a familiar back racing into the distance. It was Derek. He watched in horror as Holly leapt down from the RV and raced after him. She shot, and while her finger pulled the trigger, nothing happened. She threw the rifle to the side and pulled a semiautomatic handgun from her waistband and chased after him as he left camp. Holly! Wait for me to get there. Don’t catch him. Don’t catch up. He’ll kill you.
More shots were fired, but he couldn’t tell if they were within the camp or outside. He could feel the moment that Holly shifted to wolf form to make it easier to chase Derek. But the closer she got to him, the more Eric started to panic. Holly wasn’t a match for his big brother. She just didn’t have the level of viciousness needed to kill a man.