Seeing Cadell and Colm blocked from assisting Martin, Helen left the sheltering trees and ran toward him, turning the ring on her finger so that it faced outward from her palm. She ducked beneath a Tainted’s sword arching toward her neck, struck him in the forehead and spoke the word “Excaecare,” while her ring’s face was still in contact with the man’s head. The man screamed, dropped his sword and covered his eyes with both hands. He stumbled about, sightless, until two of his companions from the Unseen came to his aid. Helen helped Martin to his feet and they moved quickly toward Cai. Red orbs of light appeared all over the island; skimming a few feet above the ground, they flashed toward the Unseen monks.
The sound of screaming men filled the air as the orbs struck the Unseen warriors and set them ablaze with magical fire. Unnerved by the appearance of supernatural fireballs and the unexpected assault of the Selkirks, Blackwell’s mercenaries fled the field in panic. The balls of fire ignited five members of the Unseen in seconds and others chased down their targets with the efficiency of laser-guided missiles. Soon nearly all of D’Errico’s Unseen were afire. Those that could ran frantically toward the frigid waters of Boston Harbor.
Cai bolted from the trees to help Helen and Martin as they ran to get out of the open. He threw Martin over his shoulders and sprinted back to the relative safety of the trees, using one hand to drag Helen with him. Suddenly a burning tingle shot through his body and he smelled the sickly odor of burning flesh. Cai stumbled and dropped to his knees just behind the tree line, sending Martin sprawling across the ground, his back covered in flames.
Cai seized Martin by one arm and rolled him onto his back in an attempt to extinguish the flames, but the magic fire needed no oxygen to burn. Cai drew a knife and cut Martin’s jacket from his body, burning his own hands slightly as he tossed the garment away.
Helen’s magic flared to life and she stepped out of the trees again. The magic created a focused stream of wind that whipped the snow into a blowing, swirling cloud that stung the skin. The localized gale kept both the Tainted and the Unseen from pursuing Cai and Martin, forcing their enemies backward even as they struggled to move forward. Maintaining her spell required her to remain exposed and in the open, but she ignored the danger and continued to raise the directed stream of howling wind. With her attention focused on protecting Cai, she was struck from behind. She fell, the back of her head bleeding profusely.
Cai left Martin where he lay and charged the Tainted who had attacked Helen. The Tainted had raised his black steel sword over his head, preparing to decapitate her. Before the Tainted’s blade could fall, Cai ran the Tainted through with his backsword. The tip entered through the Tainted’s right side, slipped between the ribs and pierced through to the left side of the Tainted’s torso. Checking quickly to ensure there were no more enemies in the immediate vicinity, Cai saw only those already fighting Cadell and Colm. He assured himself that Helen was still alive and carried her back into the trees. When he arrived there, he found the wounded Martin struggling desperately with Blackwell’s red-haired warlock for possession of Solomon’s ring.
Cai charged the warlock. His foot crashed into the warlock’s ribs as he crouched atop Martin. The blow sent the warlock rolling through the snow. He rolled to his feet with feline grace and drew a large double-edged dagger. The dagger leaped out of the warlock’s hand without him having to move his arm. Magically propelled, the weapon buried its eight-inch blade hilt-deep into Cai’s stomach. Undaunted, Cai attacked again, leaving the blade imbedded in his body. Cai’s backsword opened a wound the length of the Warlock’s chest and he leapt backward, his magic carrying him out of Cai’s reach. Seemingly of its own accord, the blade in Cai’s belly moved sharply downward, slitting Cai from navel to groin. He fell, face first, into the blood-drenched snow.
The warlock then returned to the barely-conscious Martin and assailed him with a series of vicious kicks to the head and body. Still, with a strength born from fanatical religious zeal, Martin maintained his grip on the ring. Finally, the warlock murmured words. His hands glowed red with magic and seared the flesh of Martin’s wrists where the warlock’s fingers were wrapped around them. Martin still would not relinquish the ring. The warlock maintained his grip on Martin’s wrist with one hand and clawed at his face with the other. The magical heat burned Martin’s face and eyes until they smoked and the flesh melted. Martin still held the ring. The warlock looked to Cai, who had rolled onto his side. Extending his hand he summoned his dagger out of Cai’s stomach and back into his hand. He chopped at Martin’s hand, hoping to sever the muscles that allowed him to maintain his grip on the ring.
The warlock’s head jerked sharply backwards and hole appeared in his forehead. Cai had struggled to his knees and fired his Wilson Combat .45 caliber pistol; emptying its magazine into the warlock. The wounds healed almost instantly and the warlock grinned at Cai as he resumed sawing the dagger into Martin’s arm. Pulling Martin’s still-clenched fist free of the last bit of flesh holding it to the arm, the warlock stood, holding the severed hand. It was still gripping the ring. At that moment, Cadell and Colm came into view through the trees.
Colm rushed to Cai. Cadell rushed the Warlock, driving a foot into his nose as he leaped over the stricken
Martin’s prone form. The warlock fell onto his back but managed to roll way from Cadell’s sword point as it plunged toward his chest. Cadell kicked the warlock in the chest as he tried to rise. The warlock rolled to his feet and magically propelled his dagger at Cadell’s face. Cadell batted the dagger away and arched his sword downward toward the warlock’s neck but the blade bit into the warlock’s shoulder as he dodged sideways. Cadell spun, reversing his blade’s direction, and slashed the warlock deeply across his belly. The warlock fell to his knees and Cadell poised his sword for a killing blow. The warlock’s eyes flashed with magic and scarlet beams of magic shot into Cadell’s face. A cloud of red glowing mist surrounded his head. Blinded and fighting through searing pain, Cadell began swinging his sword blindly in front of him and stepping forward in hopes of making contact with his enemy. He struck only air.
Callum tackled Blackwell into the snow from behind as Christian fenced with two of Blackwell’s guards. Blackwell and Callum were wrestling on the snow-covered ground. On top for the moment, Callum rained punches into
Blackwell’s face and felt the skull deform under his knuckles. Blackwell’s hands clawed at Callum’s face and finally managed to find his right eye with a thumb. Callum reared back and one of Blackwell’s right fists struck him under the chin, shattering his jaw. The back of that fist slammed into the side of Callum’s head and threw him off Blackwell. Callum managed to get to his knees but was unable to stand. Blackwell’s obsidian scimitar materialized in one of his hands and he stalked toward Callum.
Having dispatched Blackwell’s Tainted escorts, Christian helped his brother to his feet. Callum summoned his trueblade and they faced Blackwell together as the Nephilim dropped his glamour and assumed his true, monstrous visage. The two Blessed Warriors attacked as one; years of training and fighting together allowed them to communicate on a level more profound than speech. Christian circled to the left and thrust his saber toward the monster’s side. Callum charged directly at the Nephilim and attempted to sever one of its arms.
The Blackwell demon fended off Callum’s blow with its obsidian-like scimitar and landed a crushing blow with one of its six arms on Callum’s chest, sending him rolling uncontrollably across the ground. But Christian’s saber sank into the demon’s side and the creature lunged to the right, pulling itself off the trueblade. Christian pressed his attack, slashing and thrusting as Blackwell retreated, the continuing attacks buying time for Callum to recover from Blackwell’s blow. Seeing that the Blackwell monster held Solomon’s vessel in one of its hands, Christian redoubled his assault.
“Go for the vessel!” he shouted, seeing Callum was now on his feet and was again on the attack. “I’ll keep him busy!”
Callum
brought his greatsword down across one of the demon’s left arms, leaving only a bleeding stump just below the elbow. His next cut opened a gash in the arm that held the vessel and caused Blackwell to drop it and retreat several steps backward as Christian maintained a constant attack. Callum scooped up the vessel and sprinted toward the causeway that led off the Island and to the Selkirk’s vehicles. “I have the vessel!” he said into his radio. “I’m heading away from the park, but Christian needs help.”
“Cai and Helen are down,” Colm replied via radio, “and Cadell is blind. The warlock has the ring and I don’t know where he is. Get the vessel out of here no matter what,” he instructed. “I’m on my way to help Christian!”
Colm ran through the snow. As he approached, he saw Blackwell land a backhanded blow to Christian’s head, launching him, airborne, for several feet. Colm’s longsword slashed across the Blackwell demon’s back in a blow that only just failed to sever its spine. Injured but not crippled, the Blackwell thing lashed out with his scimitar, forcing Colm to shuffle backward to avoid being eviscerated. Colm was forced into a fighting retreat while he fended off a blindingly fast series of scimitar slashes. Christian had forced himself to his feet and rejoined the fight by cutting the Blackwell demon deeply across its right thigh. It fell to its knees and Colm closed in for a killing blow. Then more of the warlock’s fireballs appeared to form a deadly barrier between Blackwell and the brothers. The wall of heat and light moved, forcing the Selkirks back and allowing Blackwell to regain his feet and flee.
“Something’s interfering with the video link,” Clive said as Evelyn opened the SUV’s door. “But Cal said that he had the vessel, so he should be coming this way.”
“The warlock must have summoned fire elementals,” Clive surmised. “Where is he getting all of this power?”
“There’s a lot going on and it’s hard to tell who’s who with these things,” Evelyn replied, holding up light intensifiers. “The fireballs seem to be taking out the Unseen and not going after the Tainteds. They’re also not hitting the guys, for some reason.”
“Mom’s using her power to protect us; you can feel her power around you if you try.” Clive explained.
He pointed to his monitor. Through the interference distorting the screen, they could see, via the orbiting drone’s cameras, a single figure running toward the entrance to the Island’s causeway. There were two figures waiting ahead of him and three several hundred feet behind.
“That has to be Cal,” Clive said, pointing toward the figure on the monitor.
“He’s running right into an ambush.” Evelyn said.
“Go,” Clive said, “I’ll be okay. We have to get that vessel.”
Evelyn closed the door and sprinted down the causeway.
Callum was nearing the end of the causeway when a ball of fire hit the ground only inches in front of him, exploding and knocking him off his feet. As he tried to rise, a flash of polished steel came out of the night. A dagger was embedded inches into his left arm. Two Tainted warriors sprang from the shadows. Callum knocked the dagger from his arm with his greatsword and met a Tainted’s sword thrust with a downward parry and a step to the left. Guiding his enemy’s blade up and to the right, he sank his sword’s blade into the Tainted’s neck and drew it sharply to the left to produce an inches-deep wound that spewed gore in a pulsing spray.
The second Tainted slashed his scimitar at Callum’s legs. Vaulting over his enemy’s sword, he kicked the Tainted under the jaw, then in a single motion, drew the length of his blade across the left side of the Tainted’s neck and then quickly downward to bisect its head between the eyes. The Tainted fell, but then the warlock’s dagger flashed out of the darkness again, straight at Callum’s chest. He deflected it away from the center of his chest, but it still sank into the flesh just below the shoulder, forcing him to drop his sword. The warlock emerged from the darkness and magical light flashed from his eyes to stream towards Callum’s face as a cloud of red, luminous mist enveloped his head. The Blessed Warrior screamed, dropped to his knees and put his hands to his face in an attempt to put out a fire that could not be extinguished. The warlock drove a kick into Cal’s jaw, shattering the bone, and sprawled the Blessed Warrior onto his back. Three more kicks to the head robbed Callum of consciousness. The warlock retrieved Solomon’s vessel from Callum’s pocket.
I have the vessel, he said to Blackwell telepathically.
“Good,” Blackwell’s mind replied. “Open a portal. I’ll come to you.”
The portal was open when Evelyn reached Callum. The warlock was now guarded by four Tainteds and holding the portal open by force of will. Callum lay unmoving on his back. Evelyn attacked without hesitation. Her first target was the Tainted furthest to her left. Charging, she feinted a cut to the left side his head and then, as Cadell had taught her, reversed the direction of her cut to bring the second edge of her rune blade into the opposite side of his head. Her sword sank an inch into his skull.
A second Tainted spun his scimitar in a diagonal upward slash that would have cut her from groin to shoulder had she not slipped backward in the dancelike manner she had seen Cadell use. She pushed her sword forward and used her wrists to bring the blade downward even as she stepped backward. This time the rune-sword bit into the top of her enemy’s skull and bisected his forehead. The third and fourth Tainteds attacked and she was forced into parrying and dodging in the same instant. She parried a thrust to her mid-section but was slashed across the front of both thighs. A foot then slammed into her stomach, robbing her of breath and balance. She crashed onto her back.
Driven by instinct, Evelyn drew her Beretta and fired. Her first two rounds found the Tainted’s chest, but only succeeded in forcing him back a few steps. Even as the Tainted’s chest wounds healed, she directed her aim lower and unleashed a volley of shots into her foe’s knees, shattering the bones. The Tainted fell forward, landing atop her bleeding legs. Dropping the Beretta, she drew her rune covered dagger from her boot and plunged it into his side, between the ribs and into his right lung. A sickening gurgle forced itself from the Tainted’s mouth and he spewed frothing blood that sprayed over Evelyn’s face. The body collapsed unmoving, with her legs still trapped beneath it.
“Bitch!” the last of the warlock’s Tainted guards hissed as he threw the slain Tainted off of Evelyn. The last Tainted ground his foot into the wound in Evelyn’s left thigh. He grinned widely as she screamed and raised his sword for a killing blow. Evelyn, unable to either kick or crawl away, held her dagger up in a last, desperate attempt to defend herself. Then the Tainted’s head dropped from its body, bounced off Evelyn’s torso and rolled through the open portal. Christian stood over her, with his saber coated tip to hilt with blood. Behind him, Colm was fencing with the Blackwell monster, battling to keep him away from the portal. “Help Colm!” Evelyn yelled.
Christian went to his brother’s aid. Together the two Selkirks held the demon away from the portal. Still grasping her knife, Evelyn rolled painfully onto her belly and crawled toward the warlock where he stood, his back to her, a few feet away. She hoped that if she could wound him, even slightly, he might not be able to hold the portal open. Her vision was beginning to fade as she was leaving a ragged trail of blood in the snow. She endured and pulled herself forward.
Colm was cut diagonally across his upper left arm. One of the demon’s remaining fists crushed his nose and knocked him into an out-of-control tumble that ended in a violent collision with a tree. Christian’s sword flashed and cleaved a gash diagonally from the Blackwell demon’s hip to its shoulder. Christian swung again, attempting to sever the monster’s worm-like neck. The demon pulled the neck away from Christian’s sword and shot its lizard’s head out in a snake-like strike to sink its inches-long teeth into his left shoulder. The Blackwell-demon shook its head violently to and fro with Christian still its jaws, twisting his body in all manner of unnatural positions. It demon flung Christian away and he careened into several trees before thuddin
g to the ground. The Blackwell thing shambled toward the portal, still bleeding from its many wounds, finally passing through the magical doorway.
The warlock followed and was halfway through the portal when Evelyn’s knife sliced him across his right ankle, severing his Achilles tendon. The warlock fell into the portal and it collapsed before his right leg was across its threshold, amputating the foot just below the knee.
The warlock’s blinding spell dissipating as soon as he passed through the portal and Cadell went to tend to Cai. He had stuffed his woolen watch-cap into Cai’s wound, attempting to slow the flow of blood. He looked toward Helen, hoping to see movement that would tell him if she was breathing. Taking a vial of healing tincture from a pocket, he poured its contents into Cai’s wound. The flow of blood ebbed substantially but did not stop. Cadell moved to Helen and carefully lifted her head to inspect her wound. Finding that she had been struck by a sword’s pommel and not by the blade, he took a vial of tincture from her pocket, poured half of the magical concoction on the wound and watched it begin to heal. Helen stirred slightly. “Helen, it’s
Cadell. You have to drink this!”
“Cadell…” she murmured, still only semiconscious,
“That’s right, little sister,” Cadell said softly. “Drink this,” he implored, putting the vial to her lips. Her lips parted and she swallowed the semi-viscous liquid.
Seconds later she was fully conscious. “Welcome back,” Cadell said, stroking her cheek. “You have to pull yourself together. Cai needs help,” he instructed, pointing toward his eldest brother. Helen’s eyes cleared slowly. She nodded and went to Cai. “He should have a bottle of tincture in his pocket. See if you can wake him up enough to drink it.” Cadell spoke into his radio. “Clive, are you still with me?”
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