Enclave

by Brandon Varnell

  “And why should we do that?” asked the succubus, Kaylee, he was sure that was her name. Hmm... he really should try to remember this woman’s name. “Why should I even listen to you, Executioner? You’re an outsider.”

  “Former Executioner,” Christian corrected, only taking absent note of the way Samantha flinched. “And we should take them with us because they are obviously here for a reason.”

  “Yeah. You. This has nothing to do with us.”

  It seemed this woman was going to be stubborn, which was fine. Christian could deal with stubborn people. He was also quite stubborn.

  “You don’t know that. Whatever they have to say could very well affect you just as much as it affects me. Besides,” Christian’s lips twitched into a grin, “I doubt they would take no for an answer, and if you get into a fight, I won’t be able to help.” He lifted his arms, Lilith’s legs and arms swinging limply, her head lolling against his shoulder. “And while Tristin might be useless in a fight and Leon is, uh, not really there at the moment, Samantha and Sif are both members of the XIII.”

  Several of the succubi shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the XIII. They clearly knew what it meant to be one, which didn’t surprise Christian. The XIII was a title synonymous with some of the best Executioners in the world. Even a single member had the capability of taking out hordes of monsters on their own.

  And three of them were standing right there, even if only two were fully cognizant.

  Kaylee stood in indecision for a moment before, with a snarl, she said, “fine. But, we’ll only let the women come with us. The man and the incubus must return from whence they came.”

  Christian studied Samantha, who eyed him with wary eyes, as if she was no longer sure she could trust him. It was a prudent choice since she probably couldn’t right now. Not when he was still unsure of her intention.

  “Is that acceptable?” he asked.

  Samantha bit her lip. Meanwhile, Sif leaned in to whisper into the woman’s ear, though Christian was able to pick up what they were saying easily enough.

  “I don’t like this.”

  “Neither do I, but I don’t think we have much of a choice. We came all the way out here, so we might as well see this through to the end.” The raven-haired commander paused. “And I doubt they’ll let us leave here alive if we don’t agree.”

  “We could probably take them. Without Christian, they won’t stand a chance. We could probably even take him out right now.”

  Christian twitched at the comment, but he didn’t respond otherwise. That was just Sif being Sif. She had always been the practical sort.

  “But can we take them out while protecting Leon and Tristin?”

  Sif’s eyes flickered toward Leon. The man still looked brain dead. His eyes were the only thing that moved, and all they did was flicker from one girl to the next, as if he did not know who to look at.

  Being around this many succubi was clearly affecting him.

  Christian noticed that he only looked at certain succubus. Given what he now knew, he took that to mean those succubi were ones who hadn’t found a mate. That also meant they weren’t 21 years old yet, which was the age a succubus died if they didn’t find a mate.

  Sif hesitated for a moment before her shoulders slumped in noticeable defeat. “Very well. I suppose we don’t have much choice.”

  After Samantha had agreed upon the terms, the group moved out. Tristin was left with a practically brain-dead Leon. He complained loudly when Samantha informed him that he and Leon would be going back to Grant Lodge to wait. A glare from Samantha herself shut him up good.

  There was only one real point of contention. Kaylee had categorically refused to let either of the Executioners into the enclave carrying weapons and demanded they be confiscated. This had almost led to another fight that, fortunately, never happened. Samantha had probably reasoned that if they were going to be killed, it would have already happened.

  Weapons now confiscated and the two female Executioners no doubt feeling as naked as Christian did without his weapons, everyone began moving out.

  Christian ended up getting his own four-wheeler this time, because he had to carry Lilith with him. He sat down on the seat, positioning Lilith so that she was sitting what amounted to side saddle across his lap. Her head rested in the crook of his neck, and he could feel her hot breath on his skin. It made concentrating hard, especially because her small, tight little bottom was rubbing against him. A slight sweat broke out on his forehead, and his mind hazed over slightly, vision blurring as he realized driving with his beautiful mate on his lap was much harder than it looked.

  Fortunately for all things that were good and holy, the bouncing, shaking, and jostling of the quad as it drove over rough, uneven terrain had the effect of waking Lilith. The girl moaned, low and deep, her body shifting against him. Christian sucked in a breath, which invariably drew Lilith’s attention to him. She looked up, sleepy eyes, unfocused and blinking, stared at him from underneath blond strands of hair.

  “Christian.”

  Her smile was all dazzling white teeth and gorgeous, full lips. He returned her smile but was soon forced to concentrate on the road, metaphorically speaking because there wasn’t actually a road to concentrate on, which was more reason to focus on his driving He had no desire to run into a tree.

  Lilith, thank God, seemed to realize that he couldn’t afford to be distracted. She remained side saddle, or what amount to side saddle when riding on a quad and not a horse. She set her head onto his shoulder, and slender arms wrapped around his waist.

  “I really missed this,” she said, her voice quiet enough that the only reason Christian picked it up over the roar of the many vehicles around them was because her mouth was so close to his ear.

  Christian felt a strong urge to hug her. He refrained from doing so, barely, by reminding himself that he couldn’t hug someone and drive at the same time.

  “Me too.”

  The rest of the trip was done in silence. They arrived at the southern entrance to the enclave shortly, easily distinguishable by the large cave mouth that reared up just a yard or two from the lake.

  Everyone immediately knew that something was wrong. The once pristine cave entrance had become a war zone. Gouges and craters in the ground were easily visible in the midday sun. Supplies lay everywhere, a number of weapons were strewn about on the ground. Several dozen trees lay on their sides, looking like they’d been ripped out straight from the roots, the bark splintered.

  A dune buggy, the vehicle that had been responsible for taking the injured Heather back to the enclave, lay on its side. The slim bars of its all metal skeleton were twisted and contorted, broken in some areas and just bent out of place in others. Engine parts lay scattered around the clearing, and two dead Valkyrie lay on the ground, their throats ripped open.

  “Shit!”

  The curse came from Kaylee, who hopped off her quad before it even finished stopping. She rushed toward her downed comrades, kneeling and looking at them. Christian stopped several feet away, disembarking along with the rest of the Valkyries who ran forward as well. Andrew, Sif, and Samantha all stopped just several feet shy of the group.

  “Christian,” Lilith said, tugging at his sleeve. “Christian, look.” She pointed at the ground, indicating something that everyone else, in their haste and panic, seemed to have missed. “Footprints.”

  There were indeed footprints. Indented into the dirt, slightly clawed, four toes. Goblin footprints. A lot of goblin footprints.

  “Kaylee,” Christian called out.

  The woman looked up, glaring at him with a frustrated expression and teary eyes. “What?!”

  “Look at this.” He indicated the footprints.

  Kaylee’s eyes widened. “Are these what I think they are?”

  “I imagine so.”

  “Then that would mean...!”

  “That we need to hurry and get to the enclave,” Christian concluded. Those footprints had not b
een there before, which meant they were new, brand new, as in the goblins had arrived at the enclave entrance sometime after they left.

  And that meant nothing good.

  Before they could move too far, however, a low, pained, rasping moan sounded out from behind the buggy. Everyone rushed over to the other side to see Heather, lying on her back, her eyes partway open and blinking.

  She wasn’t in the best of shape, and that became abundantly clear to everyone there as they closed in on her prone form. Starting from the bicep and moving into her sleeve, her left arm was bruised, a deep, ugly purple mark that also crawled up her neck. Dark crimson liquid, illuminated by the sun, dribbled down her lips.

  “Heather!” Kaylee cried in shock. She knelt, lifting Heather’s torso up and letting it rest against her. “Are you okay?”

  Heather blinked. Her eyes, slightly dazed, looked at the dark-eyed woman. “Kaylee? Where am I?”

  “Outside the enclave.”

  “Oh? What happened? Where’d the troll go?”

  Kaylee looked up at Christian, who slid a finger across his throat. “Dead.” She turned back to Heather. “We were taking you back to the enclave when I guess you got attacked.”

  “You’re lucky you were unconscious,” Christian added. “Goblins aren’t that smart. They probably assumed you were dead and just left you.”

  “Yes, I suppose I am,” Heather whispered.

  “We can’t get you medical aid like this. Not while the enclave might be under attack.” Kaylee bit her lip, then turned to two of the Valkyries with her. “You two, take Heather and hide yourselves in the supply depot. There should be some basic medical supplies there that you can use to patch her up. The rest of us will go to the enclave and help drive the goblins out.”

  The planned formed, everyone began breaking off to do as ordered. Kaylee turned to Samantha and Sif, hesitating for a moment before plunging on. “I will give you both two options. You can help us drive off the goblins, or you can go back to wherever it is you came from.”

  Sif looked over at Samantha, who bit her lip as she contemplated the two offers, trying to decide which one was better. Her eyes flickered over to Christian, who paid careful attention to her, then to Lilith standing right next to him. She frowned, sighed, and then looked back at Kaylee.

  “We’ll help.”

  While Sif made a distinctly unpleasant sound, Kaylee nodded and had the two Valkyries carrying their weapons come over and return them. Samantha smiled as she held Zaphkiel again, and Christian understood her relief. To an Executioner, especially a member of the XIII, their weapons were a part of them, much like an arm or a leg.

  While Sif put her clawed gauntlets on and began adjusting them and Samantha mentally prepared herself for the coming fight, Christian turned to the young woman beside him. Her blond hair looked a tad frazzled from the ride, her eyes, once dreary with exhaustion were, while still tired, now wide open. She looked dead on her feet, yet at the same time too restless from fear to sleep.

  “Lilith,” Christian started, then stopped. Lilith tilted her head toward him. Blue eyes, lighter than the sky and more brilliant than a pair of sapphires, peered up at him. His speech became momentarily halted by her beauty, but also by his own ambivalence. Still, he plundered on, getting the words out, no matter how much the idea he presented made him ill with worry. “Do you want to go with Heather and the two Valkyrie, or do you want to come with me?”

  He didn’t want her to come with him. He didn’t want to put her in danger. There were few things in this world that Christian despised. Of those things, the idea of Lilith getting hurt because of him stood at the top of that list. If she went with him, the chances of her getting injured increased.

  Yet he asked her anyway because he had been in her shoes. He now understood what she went through when he’d gone off without her to fight those goblins. He knew why she had followed him back then, regardless of the danger she had endured because of it.

  Christian never wanted to feel the worry he’d felt after finding out that Lilith had gone missing. And he didn’t want her to feel the same way when he went off to fight.

  Lilith regarded him with a steady gaze, and then pearly white teeth revealed themselves in a full smile, dazzling in their brilliance. “Do you really have to ask that question?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I suppose not. Alright.” He sighed. The leather of his gloves creaking as he tightened his hands into fists, Christian penetrated Lilith with his gaze, hoping to convey how serious the next words he was about to speak were. “In that case, promise me that you will stay by my side, and that no matter what, you will do exactly as I tell you.”

  Lilith nodded. “I promise.”

  Christian tried to rid himself of the nerves he felt, the unpleasant squiggling in his stomach, the shaking of his arms and legs, the fear. It wasn’t fear for himself but for Lilith. He didn’t mind death. Having walked alongside it for so long, the concept didn’t scare him, but the idea of Lilith possibly dying did. It terrified him. It scared him so much that he feared indecision and hesitation would set in when the situation became dangerous.

  He couldn’t afford that. Hesitation led to death. Indecision led to death. Anything that could stop him from thinking, stop him from acting, would lead to death. And this time, it might not be his.

  There was no room for indecision and fear here.

  “Okay.” He breathed in, then out. “Stick behind me then.”

  “Right.” Lilith nodded with a serious look on her face.

  The pair were joined up by Andrew, who had returned to being a werewolf. Samantha and Sif were also near, though not too near. They probably didn’t want to come to close to a werewolf.

  Christian found himself strangely alright with that. He no longer knew how to act around them anyways, especially Samantha.

  While the tunnels had not undergone any massive changes, the difference between Christian’s departure with the Valkyries and now was like night and day. Bodies lay strewn about the ground. They were mostly goblin bodies, but a few succubi could be seen lying amongst the corpses. Each one they saw brought anger to the women walking alongside him.

  The scent of blood hung heavily in the air, metallic, sweet, and repugnant. It pervaded the nose, all coppery, clinging and cloying, like how that old mildew scent found on worn fabric sometimes refused to come out no matter how many times it got washed.

  Vermilion covered the walls and floor, glistening as light from glow sticks and flashlights swept across the passage. The floor was so wet that finding a dry path to walk through became mission impossible. Puddles had formed everywhere, pooling together and expanding from underneath the bodies of those who died.

  Lilith shivered as they walked, causing Christian to place his hand in hers. The girl squeezed his hand tightly, almost painfully, as they walked through the sea of corpses.

  Upon getting closer to the enclave entrance, the sounds of battle became apparent. Gunfire sang. Screams rang out. Shouts and cries and roars and the clap of thunder all combined into a single massive orgy, an amalgamation of sounds that created a symphony of death, which rolled through the passage louder than any war drum.

  Christian was forced to let go of Lilith’s hand. He grabbed his swords, unsheathing the blades with a hiss. Beside him, Andrew howled and rushed forward alongside Kaylee and the other Valkyries. Samantha and Sif hung back, neither in any hurry to assist.

  “Follow me,” Christian shouted to Lilith. She nodded, and together, they picked up the pace into a light jog.

  By the time he and Lilith arrived at the entrance, the Valkyries had already joined the battle. Andrew had gotten in on the action, too, using his werewolf given speed to rush from goblin to goblin, swinging his claws with blinding speed and tearing into green flesh with ease.

  Christian moved in front of Lilith and attacked. His first victim never saw him coming. The goblin was turned away from him, its left hand raised to swing a pick ax. It would never get
the chance as Christian, moving like quick silver, sliced apart its back with an upwards swing of Michael. The goblin yowled, stumbling, its weapon dropping to the floor. Christian took another step forward, then swung Rafael downwards and in the opposite direction. A large “X” formed on the goblin’s back as blood spurt from the gashes. It stumbled some more before crumpling to the ground, where it lay still.

  Moving with slow, careful, meticulous intent, Christian waded into the battle. Unlike the previous time battle was upon him, he did not lose himself to anger, did not let worry and fear cloud his judgment. He instead dropped into an almost meditative state and expanded his spatial awareness.

  Spatial awareness. It was simply the name he had given the ability to “detect” what was happening around him within a limited frame of space, sort of like a bubble in which he could sense everything. Some people also called it the sphere of influence.

  There was another name for it, however: Sixth Sense. Many stories had been perpetuated about warriors of such legendary skill and battle prowess that they had developed a Sixth Sense that allowed them to feel out when someone was attacking them. Tales of these warriors, who were so capable, so talented, that they could literally feel out any attack coming their way and counter it in such a way that it almost seemed like they were predicting the moves of their enemies before it even happened. Most people who told these stories, these tall tales, often likened the Sixth Sense to some kind of magical or mystical ability that these legendary warriors had.

  These tales were, generally speaking, a lie. However, they also had a grain of truth to them.

  When a person has been through more battles than they can count, when they have experienced the flow of life and death struggles in which two or more forces clash, they gain a heightened awareness of the world around them. They perceive the world with more than just their eyes. Hearing. Smell. Touch. The more familiar a person becomes with combat, the more the body begins to unconsciously recognize these other senses and responds accordingly. Eventually, after a certain amount of time has passed, after a certain amount of experienced has been gained, the body will react to these senses on nothing more than impulse.