He kissed her, and she ran her hand through his hair.
“You were supposed to wait until we at least finished our dinner,” she said.
“After dinner will be round two,” said Jack.
Heavy footsteps sounded from outside the guesthouse, and then the door slid open to further contradict him. Ryoko and Mira were standing directly outside, and their expressions shifted from serious, to surprised, back to serious, with a slight tinge of embarrassment.
“Ever heard of knocking?” snapped Katie.
Ryoko cleared her throat awkwardly. “There’s trouble down on the beach.”
“We’ll explain on the way,” said Mira. “Get dressed. Fast.”
CHAPTER 37
It was a little jarring for Jack to go directly from passionate sex to running through the dark of night. He fell in step beside Mira, with Katie and Ryoko directly behind them as they headed for the rope line leading up to the top of the caldera.
“What are we facing?” he asked.
Mira’s expression was worried, and she gave him a slight shake of her head.
“You likely know more than I do about our opponents,” she said. “I believe they are some of the incarnates that you said Mezolak has been creating. The one I saw looked almost…”
She trailed off. Jack felt like he could sense what she might be struggling with.
“Mezolak is using the imprints left on Zedekiah’s Scepter to create each of them,” he said. “They’re all based on real people, living or dead, who’ve been struck by the weapon.”
“Including me,” Mira said, in a somewhat disconcerted-sounding tone.
Jack winced. “I probably should have mentioned that earlier.”
They made it to the rope line and immediately started up it, hand over hand. Mira was in the lead, and she dropped to a crouch as they made it up to the top of the caldera’s lip.
“They were over there,” she whispered, gesturing to a spot on the beach.
Jack didn’t see anyone where she was indicating, but he knew better than to assume that the incarnates weren’t capable of hiding.
“We’ll move in quietly,” he whispered. “See if we can catch them off guard.”
Katie and Ryoko gave their nods of approval. Mira looked tense, but she followed behind him as he started down the second rope line, along the exterior of the dormant volcano.
He dropped down to the sand, skipping the last fifteen feet. No sooner had he touched down did Mira’s incarnate emerge from the shadows, flanked by Volandar’s incarnate and two more that Jack did not recognize.
Jack summoned his Spectral Sword and dropped into a combat stance. Mira’s incarnate looked much like she had back when he’d first seen her, with matted, wild hair and an oversized, slackened jaw. Volandar, in the same right, was a twisted mask of the vampire that Jack had known, appearing as much ghoul as man.
The other two incarnates were unfamiliar. One was naked and covered with thick scales on every part of its body other than its neck and face, which were deformed in much the same way as the others.
The other was small, barely larger than a child, with skin the color of rust and a massively oversized tongue to go along with his ghoulish jaw. He swayed from side to side, shooting his tongue out in the manner of a chameleon to tap against spots on the sand.
“Careful,” said Jack. “The incarnates have the abilities of the people they were created from, except supercharged by latent magical essence in Zedekiah’s Scepter. This fight’s going to get hairy, fast.”
“How did they even get here?” hissed Katie.
“They came out of the ocean,” said Ryoko. “The one with the scales has some kind of water magic. Different than mine, but still powerful.”
Mira’s incarnate was apparently uninterested in long, drawn-out stare downs, as she hurled herself forward at Jack and his friends without waiting. Jack moved to intercept her, swinging his sword at neck level. He felt a surge of satisfaction when he moved faster than she could dodge and then a pang of disappointment as the incarnate cast Shadow Form.
His blade passed through her harmlessly, and he felt her slam a fist into his stomach as she rematerialized and attacked. It felt like being hit by the stone golem, except times ten and focused into a much smaller point.
He gasped for air and managed a counterattack. Mira’s incarnate dodged backward with the speed and style of a jumping cricket. Jack looked over at his friends, hoping that they were faring better than he was.
They’d each chosen one of the incarnates to fight individually, and it seemed as though there had been a certain amount of logic to their matchups. Ryoko was fighting Volandar’s incarnate, taking advantage of the fact that the Valerian vampire’s doppelganger relied mostly on brute strength, which she could counter with her powers.
Mira was doing battle with the scaled one, and still seemed to be in the process of gauging its abilities. It attacked with jets of water, directly out of its mouth, and the way Mira was dodging made Jack think that its saliva might be the real threat she was concerned about.
Katie was slowly circling the small, red incarnate, both crossbow and wand leveled at its head. Its size was deceptive, and it seemed content to take its time, rather than showing its full strength. Jack had an especially bad feeling about that one in particular.
Mira’s incarnate let out a screech and hurled herself forward at him. Jack countered with a quick series of slashes, not putting all that much energy into any of them. She dissolved into shadow to dodge, which he’d been expecting, and he did the same, casting Shadow Form and becoming incorporeal.
His goal, if the idea he’d hastily thought of could be called that, was to try to engage with Mira’s incarnate while they were both immersed in the darkness. He tracked her movements through the fluid, silhouetted manner of seeing that Shadow Form left him with and tried to slide his inky blackness against hers.
It felt weird. It felt really weird. As though he was squeezed against someone on the subway and more people just kept packing into the car until he started to be, well, inside them. The blackness that was Mira’s incarnate seemed to shudder as he tried to surround it, and as she reformed, he felt his own body automatically doing the same.
They were both on the sand, and he was lying across her. It would have been a victory, had the two of them been matched in strength. The incarnate was far more powerful than he was, and an instant later, Jack was scrambling to hold her back. She had her jaws open, and was making a valid attempt at chomping down on his face with teeth that looked like they belonged in a museum exhibit.
Mira’s incarnate closed her mouth into his shoulder, biting loose a chunk of flesh the size of an orange. Jack screamed through gritted teeth, and all at once, the encounter became real to him.
Mira, the actual Mira, was drenched in an oozing substance that slowed her movements and left her an easy target for the scaly incarnate. She was being pummeled, and blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Ryoko was still putting up a fight against Volandar’s incarnate, but she couldn’t do anything against him. Her water magic was only an annoyance to him. Jack knew that she was theoretically capable of summoning storms that could wipe cities off the map, but it wasn’t something she could do on a whim without the proper time, concentration, and motivation.
Katie was on the ground, lying motionless underneath the small, red incarnate. It took Jack a couple of seconds to realize that its tongue was wrapped around her chest and neck. Her face had gone pale, both hands pulling at the monstrous appendage that was choking her, to no avail.
“No!” he shouted. He cast Shadow Form again. Mira’s incarnate used the same trick that he’d fallen victim to before, instantly pulling them both back to their physical bodies.
Jack cast Shadow Levitation and tried to use the extra mobility to slip upward and free from her. The incarnate let out a hissing snarl and seized him by the ankle. She rolled her arm, snapping his body down against the sand ha
rd enough to make Jack wonder if vampires could suffer concussions.
She pinned him to the ground in a manner that seemed like a sick imitation of the way he and the real Mira sometimes wrestled during sex. Her teeth closed again, in a flash of movement, this time ripping through his bicep. He was being eaten alive while his friends died all around him.
Jack slammed his head forward, catching the edge of the incarnate’s mouth with the side of his forehead. One of the incarnate’s bloody teeth dug into his skin, and the movement probably hurt him more than it had hurt her. But it also served to free one of his arms.
Jack summoned his Spectral Sword. He wasn’t about to let his friends die in a fight against opponents that he had helped create. He used the sword’s extra, hanging tendril to pull one of the Mira incarnate’s arms to the side, and then swept it in a blurring arc at chest level.
The Mira incarnate vanished, dissolving into darkness the instant before the blade made contact. Jack tried to use the opportunity to gain some space for himself. He sucked in a quick breath as he rose to one knee, and more than just air entered his lungs.
Shadows enveloped him, covering his eyes, and filling his nose, mouth, and ears. He had never thought of using Shadow Form as an offensive tool before, and was caught completely off guard by how it affected him.
It was oblivion. It was an impossibly dark, silent night combined with the drowning sensation of needing to breathe and not being able to. It scared Jack like few things could anymore, and the creeping despair that came along with it was even worse.
He was going to die. Ryoko, Katie, and Mira would be next, and he wouldn’t even be around to stand with them, in the end. It was over.
The instant before he passed out, a dazzling flash of white tore across his vision, like a shooting star breaking through thick, dark clouds. Jack coughed and managed to take a breath. The veil over his eyes thinned slightly, enough for him to get a glimpse of what was going on.
Two of the incarnates, Volandar and the scaly one, were already dead. His friends were scattered across the ground all around him, injured or unconscious. And Xepher stood a short distance down the beach, surrounded in an aura of light so bright that it made the sun look mild.
The small, red incarnate charged at the old warlock. Xepher let out a series of blasts of white light that was reminiscent of a machine gun salvo. It was enough to slow the monster, but not stop it completely.
The Mira incarnate’s Shadow Form veil engulfed him again. Jack tried to scream, and only managed to waste his breath. He needed to help Xepher win the fight. He needed to help his friends.
He needed to sleep. The blackness became his world.
CHAPTER 38
The terror still had a physical presence in his chest when he woke up. Jack jerked into a sitting position and swatted at nothing, breathing heavily and cold from his own sweat. He was alive. He was back in Xepher’s guest house. His wounds were bandaged, and his friends…
He scanned the other futons. Mira was lying in one of them, and he took a couple of seconds to verify that her chest was moving up and down in the familiar pattern of sleep before relaxing a little.
Jack stood up on shaky legs. He was only wearing his boxers, and it took him a minute to find his shorts and pull them on. He opened the guest house’s sliding door and stepped out into the afternoon sun. Had he been unconscious for that long?
Katie was nearby, sitting on the grass near the hot spring. She turned to look at him as she heard him approaching, but didn’t smile. She had on sweatpants, a t-shirt, and no shoes or socks.
“Are you okay?” asked Jack.
Katie shrugged. “Still have a headache, along with some bruising around my neck. Fine, other than that.”
Jack only then noticed the dark, purple concentric lines overlapping around the base of her neck. Katie brought her fingers up to them and shuddered. He’d have to be careful about those the next time he fed off her.
“Where’s Ryoko?” asked Jack.
“She’s recovering in the ocean,” said Katie. “Volandar’s incarnate managed to hurt her pretty badly. She missed one of her water dodges and took a punch to the head, which stunned her for long enough for that fucking monster to do some real damage.”
Jack gritted his teeth. His face burned with annoyance and shame. He’d confidently led them all into a fight that they stood no chance of winning and then picked a tactic that only hampered their odds even more. Fighting the incarnates one on one had been playing into their hands.
“And Xepher?” asked Jack. “I passed out right after he showed up. I’m assuming he’s the reason why we managed to survive?”
“Yeah,” said Katie. “But it wasn’t easy for him. Especially Mira’s incarnate. He must have spent twenty minutes straight trying to land one of his blasts on her. That bitch was the strongest of the bunch, by far.”
“But he managed to kill her?” asked Jack.
“He killed all of them, Jack,” said Katie. “Then he used a spell to levitate us back into the valley. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I mean that about both the incarnates, and him.”
Jack took a slow breath, feeling several injuries he hadn’t realized he’d sustained groaning in protest.
“Mezolak must know that we’re here now,” he said. “We’ll have to leave as soon as Xepher helps me break the loyalty oath. It’s too dangerous to stay here.”
Katie didn’t look at him. She had her hand over her mouth, and a chill ran through Jack as he realized that she hadn’t told him everything, yet.
“There’s something else,” she whispered. “Lestaron Island. It’s already been attacked.”
Jack blinked, feeling as though he’d misheard her even though she’d spoken slowly and clearly.
“What…?”
“The Sheriff called my cell phone, if you can believe it,” said Katie. “She was desperate to find you. Desperate to find any help that she could get. Mezolak and his incarnates have taken over the town. He’s waiting for you there.”
Jack slowly shook his head. His heart felt heavy and painful, and the feeling only intensified as it continued to beat in his chest. He swallowed, trying to get rid of the sharp lump that had taken up residence in his throat.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll head back as soon as Xepher lends me his aid. We can fix this.”
Katie blinked a couple of times, and looked at him with glistening eyes.
“Can we?” she whispered. “Because after how that fight went on the beach, I… I just don’t know.”
“We can, and we will,” said Jack.
“You said there were hundreds of those things,” said Katie. “Some of them might even be stronger than the ones we just faced.”
“Maybe we can convince Xepher to come with us?” asked Jack.
Katie shook her head. “He’s recovering, too. He used up a massive amount of his essence in that last fight, Jack. He can’t help us.”
“Then we’ll do it ourselves!” he shouted. “Katie, I’m not letting that bastard destroy our home. Fuck him. I’m going to make him pay for everyone he’s hurt.”
“Jack…” whispered Katie. “It’s not that simple.”
“Isn’t it, though?” asked Jack. “It’s what I’ve always done. It’s why Mezolak wanted me as his tool in the first place. I’m good at fighting, Katie. I’m good at killing.”
She didn’t say anything to him. Jack felt a slow, throbbing headache, along with a lingering dizziness. He would need to feed soon, but it didn’t seem like the appropriate time to ask. He set a hand on Katie’s shoulder, and then headed off to look for Xepher.
He found him in the orchard, picking ripe apples and setting them into a basket. Xepher’s demeanor was the complete opposite of Katie’s. He had a small smile on his face and seemed completely unaffected, even though the hand he was holding the basket with was heavily wrapped in bandages.
“You’ve recovered,” said Xepher. “That is good.”
“I’m
sorry,” said Jack. “Those monsters were here because of me.”
“It matters little to me why they were here,” said Xepher. “The fact that they would attempt to desecrate my sanctum was enough to force my hand.”
Jack nodded. He waited, expecting the old man to say something more. Xepher was silent.
“I don’t have much time,” said Jack. “If you can still help me, sooner would be better than later. Mezolak, the demon that’s taken over my father’s body, has also attacked my home. I can’t just leave the people there to die, but I won’t stand a chance facing him as long as he has a hold over me.”
“I am sorry.” Xepher sighed, and his face finally grew serious. “The essence I expended in defending you and your friends was a large portion of my power. I cannot safely help you with the counter spell I’d had in mind. It will be several weeks before I am recovered enough for it.”
Jack shook his head. “I can’t wait several weeks. Please, there must be something that you can do.”
“I am sorry,” said Xepher.
Jack gritted his teeth. He wanted to shout at the man. He wanted to punch one of the trees. He wanted to do anything to distract himself from picturing Sheriff Jessie, Mayor Stinson, and all of the rest of the innocent people back on the island being attacked and killed by Mezolak’s incarnates.
“No,” muttered Jack. “There’s a way. There has to be.”
“Perhaps,” said Xepher. “But if there is, it is one I have no knowledge of.”
Jack waited for a minute before turning and walking out of the orchard. He ran a hand through his hair, debating his next move. He could try heading back to Lestaron Island anyway, and making a desperate last stand. No, that was as stupid and foolhardy as it sounded. He’d only be giving himself over to Mezolak to use as a weapon again.
He could let Katie, Mira, and Ryoko go in his place, assuming they were all still able and willing to fight. He liked that idea even less. The idea of letting the women he loved throw themselves into a fight that belonged to him made him feel like a coward, even if it had a better chance of success.
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