Spectre's Rest

by Nick Moseley

  ‘Now what?’ Trev gasped. The Twins were a blur, parrying, striking, blocking. He could feel his energy reserves fading; he didn’t think he had more than a few minutes’ worth left. Barton better have a plan, he thought.

  ‘Mishti next,’ Barton said. Like Trev, he seemed to be flagging. ‘Then we drop back into the doorway.’

  Trev nodded. It made sense. If the two of them moved into the doorway itself, only a couple of shadows would be able to attack at a time. It didn’t explain how they were going to get the door closed, though.

  ‘Now!’ shouted Barton.

  Desai landed a forceful blow on the nearest shadow, staggering it, and spun away to escape through the door. Trev and Barton immediately dropped back into the doorway. The shadows followed. There were so many of them now, rows and rows of green eyes blazing in the darkness.

  ‘When I say,’ Barton said, ‘hammer them back!’

  ‘Right,’ said Trev. He dug deeper into his store of energy, preparing for a last big effort. Barton fought on, waiting for the right moment. To Trev, his arms aching despite the vapour weapons’ influence, that moment was a long time in coming.

  ‘Now!’ said Barton again.

  He’d timed it well. The two shadows trying to force themselves into the doorway had both just rebounded from one set of attacks and were preparing another. It gave Trev the moment he needed to infuse his weapons with a burst of energy and lash out with them.

  The shadows reeled back a step, colliding with the others pressing in behind them. Trev ducked through the doorway and fetched up against the opposite wall, panting. Barton hauled the bulky metal door closed behind him. As it neared the frame, black hands thrust through, reaching for him. Desai jumped forwards and hacked at them with her blade. They retreated and the door clanged shut, its lock engaging with a clunk.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ said Trev. ‘Bloody hell.’

  There was a series of dull thumps from the other side of the door, then an uneasy quiet. Trev looked up and was stunned to see just how few of the cell block’s defenders had survived. Aside from himself, Barton and Desai, only five others had made it, and one of those was the man with the head wound. He was at least now standing unaided, but didn’t look as if he’d be able to fight. Suzanne was another of the survivors. She was sitting on the floor, her knees drawn up. Trev didn’t recognise the other three men.

  With the battle over and the adrenaline ebbing, the guards’ faces were blank with shock in the torchlight. Nobody spoke; nobody made eye contact. Trev holstered his weapons. He felt like he was about to collapse. Exhaustion, fear and despair hit him from three different directions. Sheer stubbornness kept him on his feet. It was the only thing of which he still had a healthy supply.

  ‘We’d better get to the library,’ Barton said, breaking the silence.

  ‘What’s the point?’ asked one of the guards. ‘Those things’ll get us wherever we go. Die here, die there, what’s the difference?’

  ‘The only way we’ll have any chance at all is if we join up with the others,’ Barton said. ‘But I’m not going to force you. If you’d rather stay here, alone, in the dark, then knock yourself out. I don’t give a toss. The rest of you, let’s move.’

  He set off down the corridor. The guards eyed each other, then followed. The man who’d complained hesitated the longest, but in the end he went too.

  ‘Sounds like he’s run out of the inspirational stuff,’ said Oscar, from down by Trev’s feet as they joined the back of the group.

  ‘Hard to put a positive spin on a massacre,’ Trev replied.

  ‘Chin up, chief,’ Oscar said. ‘We’re not dead yet.’

  ‘You say that like it’s a good thing,’ Trev grunted.

  Thirty-Nine

  They were still a few minutes away from the library when they saw the first of the shadows.

  It was standing halfway down a corridor that led off the one Barton’s beleaguered group was traversing. The guards went for their weapons but the creature didn’t attack; it stayed a safe distance away and watched them pass, green eyes tracking their progress. It wasn’t long before they saw a second, and then a third. Like the first they were just standing in turnings off the main corridor.

  ‘What are they doing?’ Trev whispered, worried that the sound of his voice might provoke them.

  ‘They’re not blocking our route to the library,’ Desai observed. ‘They’re just keeping tabs on us for some reason.’

  ‘Or they’re herding us,’ said Oscar. ‘They seem quite happy for us to get to the others.’

  ‘Why? Why not kill us now, while we’re vulnerable?’

  ‘How should I know?’ Oscar snapped. ‘Maybe they want to get all the survivors in one place and then launch a mass assault, or maybe they’re just toying with us.’

  ‘If Corbyn’s still in charge then it’s probably option B,’ Trev said.

  ‘I don’t really care why, as long as we get there,’ Desai said. ‘The library’s pretty defensible. Only one door in or out and–’

  She broke off, eyes widening.

  ‘What?’ said Trev.

  ‘I’ve just remembered that there’s a conduit in the library,’ Desai replied. ‘In that upstairs room.’

  ‘Oh bollocks, I can’t believe we forgot about that,’ Trev groaned. ‘We’d better tell Barton.’

  He picked up his pace and made his way to the front of the group, where a grim-faced Barton still had the lead. ‘A word?’ he said to the Custodian, speaking quietly so he wouldn’t be overheard.

  Barton gave him a weary look. ‘Only if it’s good news.’

  ‘It’s good news for someone,’ Trev said, ‘but not us, unfortunately.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘There’s a conduit in the library.’

  ‘Are you kidding me?’

  ‘Uh, no.’ Trev winced. ‘Should’ve mentioned it earlier, I know.’

  Barton stared at him like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘Jesus. You’re serious.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘No wonder the shadows are letting us get to the library. They know they can trap us in a pincer movement there.’

  ‘Pretty much the size of it,’ Trev admitted.

  Barton’s incredulity gave way to anger. ‘You realise that the only thing keeping this group together is the idea that the library offers them some sort of safety, right?’ he said. ‘How do you think they’ll react when we have to tell them it’s just as dangerous as anywhere else? That we’ve let ourselves be steered into a trap because you bloody forgot there’s a conduit in there?’

  ‘Not well, I’d guess,’ Trev replied.

  ‘Not well,’ Barton echoed. ‘Now that is an understatement.’

  ‘So what’s the plan?’

  ‘You’re throwing this back into my lap?’ Barton said. ‘I had a plan. You just torpedoed it. Why don’t you come up with a replacement?’

  He waved a hand at Trev, dismissing him, and began talking into his radio. Trev fell back to where Desai and Oscar were walking.

  ‘How did he take it?’ Oscar asked.

  ‘About as well as I thought he would,’ Trev said. ‘He masked his disappointment with rage.’

  ‘Are we still going to the library?’ Desai said.

  ‘Looks like it,’ Trev replied. ‘We might as well get everybody together.’

  ‘Safety in numbers?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘As soon as we get there we need to seal that upstairs room as best we can,’ Oscar said.

  Trev shrugged. ‘What if the shadows are already coming out of it?’

  ‘Hopefully they won’t be,’ Oscar said. ‘That conduit’s their trump card. I reckon they’re planning to distract us with an attack on the main door, then send a second wave in through the conduit when we’re not looking.’

  ‘It’s the kind of sneaky tactic they were using in the cell block, so it’s possible,’ Trev conceded. ‘All right. When we get to the library, Mishti and I w
ill go straight upstairs and block that door somehow. Come on, let’s get to the front.’

  They jogged through the group to catch up with Barton. Suzanne gave Trev a questioning look as he went past and he responded with a cheerful thumbs-up. She frowned. Trev couldn’t blame her for being suspicious. It was pretty obvious that something was up.

  ‘I’ve radioed ahead to Grace to warn her,’ Barton said as they caught up with him. ‘Have you got a plan yet?’

  ‘Yeah, kind of,’ Trev said. ‘As soon as we get to the library we’re going to do our best to seal that room before anything comes through.’

  ‘We won’t be able to keep them out for long,’ Barton replied. ‘I was hoping that we’d have a chance of defending that one main door, but there’s no way we can hold them off on two fronts.’

  ‘We’ll do what we can,’ said Trev. ‘We can at least buy some time.’

  ‘So your whole plan is just to prolong the inevitable?’ said Barton.

  ‘That’s all your plan was, too,’ Trev pointed out.

  Barton shook his head but didn’t reply. They reached the library door and the Custodian knocked on it. ‘Grace? It’s Ralph.’

  The lock clunked and the door opened a crack. An eye regarded them through the gap, then it disappeared and the door swung inwards enough to let them in.

  ‘First floor,’ said Desai, and set off at a run past a startled Grace Montano. Trev went after her. They pounded up the stairs and along the mezzanine level to the storeroom. The door was ajar. Trev stepped inside, breathing in the smell of dust and old paper. He was halfway across the room when he saw a green glow forming behind the small inner door.

  ‘Bollocks,’ he said, coming to a halt. A shadowy hand curled around the edge of the doorframe.

  ‘Trev! Out!’ Desai shouted at him.

  Trev hesitated, then stepped forwards and kicked the door as hard as he could into the shadow behind it. There was a meaty thump and a hiss of anger. Trev quickly backed away, pulling down as many of the stacks of boxes as he could to create obstacles.

  He got back out onto the mezzanine and Desai shoved the door closed. ‘Is there a key?’ Trev asked her.

  ‘Doesn’t look like it,’ Desai replied.

  ‘Shit,’ Trev said. He looked around. ‘Maybe we can tip the bookcases in front of it?’

  He grabbed the nearest bookcase and pulled. Made of solid wood and weighed down with books, it didn’t move.

  ‘Quickly!’ said Desai, still holding the door closed with her shoulder.

  Trev grabbed an armload of books from the shelf and dropped them before going back for more. He cleared two shelves and tried tipping the bookcase again. It still wouldn’t move.

  Something slammed against the door from the other side and it rattled in its frame. Desai jerked her head away. ‘I said quickly!’

  ‘I’m trying,’ said Trev, sweeping more books onto the floor. He emptied a third shelf and hauled on the bookcase again. It tipped a little, but he couldn’t stop it settling back into place. ‘Bollocks! Someone get up here and help!’

  Desai was now almost horizontal against the door, getting as much leverage as she could. Trev hurled the books off a fourth shelf. Footsteps clattered up the stairs and suddenly Barton was alongside him, pulling at the bookcase. Between the two of them, they managed to tip it past the point of no return. Desai leapt clear as it crashed to the floor, blocking the door.

  Trev and Barton pushed against it as the shadows hammered at the other side of the door. ‘We need another,’ Barton said. ‘One’s not going to hold them.’

  ‘Right,’ said Trev. Desai was already shovelling books off the bookcase to the left of the door and Trev joined her. Within a few seconds they were dragging it away from the wall and tipping it. Barton got out of the way as it fell and helped them slide it against the first. Even on their sides, the bookcases were broad enough to cover more than half the height of the door.

  ‘It’s a solid door, but they’ll break through the top before long,’ Barton said.

  ‘Look on the positive side,’ Trev replied. ‘We’ll probably all be dead long before that happens.’

  Barton didn’t bother to argue the point; even the scowl he shot Trev seemed half-hearted.

  There was a shout from below. Desai leaned over the side of the mezzanine. ‘They’re at the main door,’ she said, drawing her vapour weapon.

  ‘Better get down there,’ said Trev, and they sprinted for the stairs. The library echoed with a series of booming impacts as the shadows tried to force their way inside. Back on the ground floor, Trev did a quick head-count as he joined the group of frightened defenders. It wasn’t reassuring. Montano had been left with only four guards, plus the ever-present Richie and Dr. Bookbinder, who had left the safety of his chair and was lurking behind her.

  The door shuddered.

  ‘We stop them at the door,’ Barton said. Frightened faces turned towards him. ‘If they get inside, we’re in big trouble. So let’s make sure they don’t.’

  He stepped up to the door, vapour weapon in hand. Desai looked at Trev. He gave her a tired nod and the two of them joined Barton on the front line. The other guards formed up behind them.

  ‘What if they do?’ said a voice.

  ‘Do what?’ asked Barton, his attention focused on the door.

  ‘Get inside.’

  ‘We stay in a group and make sure our backs are to a wall.’

  ‘If you can, get out and get to the chapel,’ Bookbinder said from behind Montano. ‘You’ll be safe there.’

  There was a pause. ‘What?’ said Barton. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘They can’t get into the chapel,’ said Bookbinder. ‘It has… protection.’

  ‘Well, we’re pretty much at the point where divine intervention is our best chance,’ Trev muttered.

  ‘What protection?’ Barton pressed.

  ‘It’s warded,’ Bookbinder explained. ‘Designed to divert psychic energy away.’

  There was another, longer, pause. ‘Might’ve been useful to know that about three days ago,’ Trev said.

  The door cracked under a particularly heavy impact. Upstairs the pounding on the storeroom door intensified.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Bookbinder.

  ‘If we survive this, I’m going to kill you,’ said Barton.

  The door creaked. Then it exploded inwards.

  Shadows poured into the doorway. Trev, Desai and Barton met them with their vapour weapons but it was immediately apparent that there wasn’t a hope of keeping the creatures out of the library. It was like trying to dam a river by using a sieve and a stern expression.

  The defenders had no option but to fall back. Trev swung his weapons with desperate speed and hoped that there was nothing behind him to trip him up as he back-pedalled. All he could see was green eyes and clutching hands, and all he could hear were shouts and screams.

  Barton’s instruction to stay in a group was forgotten or ignored. The shadows split the defensive line, driving a wedge between the two sides. Trev found himself shunted towards the wall to the left of the door with Desai alongside him. Barton had gone the other way. Trev couldn’t see him, but he could hear the Custodian shouting orders.

  Now this is a battle, lad! said Caladbolg in his ear. A last stand. What every true warrior dreams of!

  Trev didn’t have the time or the breath to reply. He fought on, back against the wall. Desai’s green blade flickered in his peripheral vision, mirroring the shadows’ green eyes.

  ‘Oi! Twatbags!’ yelled Oscar. He darted across the room, his aura bright against the background of dark bodies. Several of the shadows grabbed at him as he went past. One managed to get a hand on him but there was a burst of white light and it snatched its hand away as if in pain. Oscar laughed and shot off in another direction. He drew a few shadows with him and the pressure on Trev’s group lessened, if only a little.

  Trev knocked the shadow in front of him away with both weapons and had a second to loo
k around. If he’d thought his spirits couldn’t sink any lower, he’d been mistaken. The shadows were everywhere. There was no hope of fighting them off and no hope of escape. Trev estimated that he might – if he rode his luck – live long enough to use up his remaining psychic energy. After that, he’d be unarmed and his life expectancy would be measured in nanoseconds.

  Barton’s group had wedged themselves into a corner and were fighting desperately. Suzanne was with him. Trev’s group included both Grace Montano and her own shadow, Richie. Bookbinder, with no means of defending himself, was cringing against a bookcase behind them.

  The shadow recovered and attacked again, and Trev fought it off again. Oscar went by for a second time, dragging a couple more shadows into pursuit. Trev appreciated his efforts but knew that the cat was never going to draw enough of the shadows out of the fight to allow an escape from the library.

  ‘Oh God, what is that?’ Trev heard Desai say.

  He flicked his eyes to the door. A huge shadow was squeezing its way inside, towering over its fellows. Its arms almost reached the floor and its misshapen head was crowned by pointed ears.

  Dravine.

  ‘That just isn’t fair,’ Trev said.

  The giant shadow shoved some of the others out of its way and closed in on Barton and his group. Trev saw the Custodian’s mouth drop open in an O of shock as the thing appeared in his field of vision.

  ‘I’m going to help Barton!’ Trev shouted to Desai. It was a ridiculous idea, but the alternative was to stay where he was and watch the Dravine-shadow crush Barton’s group before it came after Trev’s. Trev was aware that a part of him just wanted it all to be over. There was no getting away from it; he was going to die. All he could do now was decide when. He was going out on his own terms.

  ‘DRAVINE!’ he roared, spinning past one shadow and smashing another in the face with Caladbolg. He charged at the giant shadow’s back.

  Surprisingly, he got its attention. It swung around to face him, the other shadows scrambling to get out of its way. As its eyes locked onto him, Trev reflected that the whole “going out on his own terms” thing was perhaps a minor error of judgement.