by M. J. Sewall
The female was also dressed in black, a short sword in hand. “That’s not very nice. We’re here for the elder-killer.”
“Go back through your little hole,” said Lucas, his ancient’s voice strengthening his own, “this is our fight.”
“You sound activated, despite your scrawny frame,” the female said as she and her companion went in opposite directions and tried to flank Lucas. “Who are you really, little guy?”
“I’d be happy to show you,” said Lucas. “Let the boy behind me go. He’s a little monster, but he’s not involved with this. Then we can have our dance.”
The male said, “Sorry, no witnesses, no survivors.”
“Then you’ll need more than two,” said Lucas.
“We don’t even need our elder. She’s about to walk through that gate, by the way.”
His inner warrior sighed. Lucas realized, Now I have to protect this little shit. He turned to Billy and said, “Last chance to run.”
“Hell, no!” Billy had been in shock for a few seconds, but now he raised his club. “I’ll take all three of you down.”
Lucas shook his head and thought about releasing the blood rage. He decided he could take these two without it. A smile came to his lips as both opponents attacked.
The two attackers were so fast that Billy couldn’t follow them. But Lucas was faster. He ducked under the curved blade and came up, slamming his head under the man’s chin. The man’s head snapped back and Lucas twisted the man’s wrist, relieving him of his blade, flipping him on his back.
His opponent was surprised, and laid on the concrete. The woman disengaged, went for Billy instead.
Billy came down with his club, but the woman cut it in two with her short blade. Billy froze, but Lucas was already on his way. He rammed into the woman just before her short sword came down on Billy’s skull. The blow made the slice miss and she and her sword slammed into the wall.
Lucas yelled, “Should’ve run!”
She was back on her feet, and the man joined her. They fanned out again and the man went for Billy. Lucas knew he had to get Billy to safety. He was slowing down the fight. He dropped his newly acquired blade, and grabbed Billy by the waist. He spun around, and at the same time threw Billy like he was a plastic mannequin.
Billy went flying twelve feet in the air. He came down and landed on the roof of the one story building next to them.
The man dove for his blade, grabbed it, and sliced at Lucas. Lucas ducked and leapt into the man before he could swing again. Lucas punched the man’s wrist, and heard bones crack. The man screamed, and Lucas caught the blade. In one continual motion, he brought the blade back down, slicing along the man’s forearm.
Lucas stepped away and kicked the man in the gut. He went sprawling back.
The woman was already charging Lucas. He sunk to his haunches and her swinging blade went over his head. With one hand, he punched her shin. A loud crack resounded. With his other hand, he caught her ankle with his blade, the gash very deep. She wailed and fell to the pavement.
Before Lucas could put an end to them with his blade, the gate glowed a brighter blue and a middle-aged woman walked out. She had short grey hair, and was dressed in a dark suit. The blue lines reflected off her mirror-finished black flats.
Lucas squinted his eyes. “Elder Ordway.”
The elder cocked her head to one side, and saw the condition of the two warriors. She sighed. “The Viking, right? Been a long time. I thought you got a true death. What an unfortunately small body you got this time.”
Lucas stood. “You need to hire better fighters. Just about to kill these two.”
Elder Ordway looked at them on the ground, “So I see.” Her eyes flared blue and both warriors were pulled back into the gate as though sucked into a void. From their screams, it sounded like a painful journey.
Lucas said, “We have no issue with you, Elder Ordway. We both want the brothers dead. Help us and then we can part ways.”
She seemed to consider it for a fraction of a second, “No.” The elder’s eyes glowed blue again.
“What the hell is happening?” Billy said from the roof.
Lucas shouted, “Get off that roof, and run!”
Billy finally got the hint. He saw the middle-aged woman’s eyes turn blue. He ran for the other side of the roof. Billy made it to the ladder. Overhead, Lucas sailed into the air and over the rooftop.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO - THE TOWER
Ariana, Katie and Cody reached the tower. They couldn’t see any way up, no exterior staircase, so they tried the first door they came to. The plain door was locked. There was a rope hanging on the exterior wall, but they went around the corner, to the next side of the square building. This time, the door opened. The interior lights were all off in the concrete building, and the smell of smoke permeated.
Only by faint safety light, they saw that there was an open concrete stairwell leading up. They started to climb. There were openings like windows at regular intervals, at each landing. There was no glass, just a rectangle concrete opening. They stopped at the first one and looked out.
“Is that Lucas?” said Ariana.
They all looked out and saw him flying through the air.
“Yeah, it is.” said Katie.
The outdoor campus was lit by lampposts at regular intervals, illuminating the series of one-story buildings below them. They watched Lucas land on one roof, jump to the next building, and deftly land on the third, narrowly avoiding the large equipment sitting on the flat roof. He almost didn’t make the last building, but he tucked his head in and rolled onto the roof. The shoulder roll completed, he continued rolling until he was on his feet and running again, all in one swift motion. He ran toward the tower, flipped off the roof and hit the pavement like he was a trained acrobat.
“Did any of you know he could do that?” asked Cody.
“No. How did he get airborne in the first place?” asked Katie.
As she asked, a well-dressed middle-aged woman came into view. She casually looked around the unfamiliar academy.
Ariana asked, “Who is that?”
Cody said, “I think she might be an elder. She looks as nasty as the one I saw.”
As though the woman heard Cody, she looked at them.
Ariana let out an involuntary squeak. “Yeah, she’s glowing just like Derek.”
“One German monster and two elders to fight?” asked Katie.
Ariana shook her head, “I hope Zacke’s plan can handle another bad guy.”
“Bad girl? Bad lady…?” Cody looked at the new elder through the opening. The elder looked back.
“Let’s get higher,” said Katie.
They kept climbing. Lucas arrived, trying the locked door first. He went around and found the way in. He raced up the stairs to join them. The elder casually strolled toward the tower.
As the three climbed and rounded each landing, they peered out the opening. The elder was still in no hurry.
Ariana said, “I think I’d be less worried if she was running.”
Lucas caught up to them on the fourth landing. He’d let the warrior dive deep within him, saving him for later.
The elder was nearly to the tower entrance.
Lucas said, “She’s not kidding around. I hope Derek and that elder will kill each other, before we have to deal with her.”
“That’d be nice. Because I am freaking out right now,” Katie added.
Ariana said, “We all are.”
“Looks like the brothers made it to the party.” Cody pointed to the parking lot in the distance. They had just parked.
***
In the control room, Zacke pointed to the brothers on the security camera, aimed at the parking lot, “There they come. Should we just let the new elder take care of them? That’s what she’s here for, right, to punish the brothers?”
“Yes. But anywhere an elder goes, trouble follows,” said John.
David added, “Elders don’t like witnesses, eith
er. Secrecy is their favorite weapon. We’re in much more danger now.”
John pointed to a camera, “What is that area?”
“Concrete training tunnels. They can be flooded for different types of training.” explained Zacke.
David asked, “What about those grates above them?”
“Can be lifted for evacuation, underground rescue scenarios, other stuff.”
John nodded. “Okay. We’ll split them up. David and I will take care of big brother. You get ready to hit the controls when the other brother is in the tower.”
“Got it,” said Zacke.
David and John left the building. They headed to where the brothers and the elder would intersect.
***
The brothers both saw the middle-aged woman. The elder stopped when she saw the two.
As she changed course, Ehrhardt whispered, “I told you. We are both dead.”
Derek spoke as though he was meeting an old friend, “Elder Ordway!” He and Ehrhardt bowed to the elder. “What brings you out on this fine night?”
“To punish law breakers.” the elder said, a blue glint in her eye.
“Wait, please,” said Derek. “Before you get all judgey, you need to know something. We found the stolen Vitaeizicon. Elder Zamma told me that he was going to use a certain spell to kill both you and Elder Sorrento. He planned to take your powers.”
“That spell is a myth, and your lies are clear as glass,” her eyes flared blue, but Derek took out an envelope.
“This is the spell. A gift,” Derek handed the envelope over.
The elder’s eyes returned to normal, and she opened the envelope. Ordway read the spell that Derek had cut from the book earlier, then folded it, placing it safely in her coat pocket. “You think I won’t kill you for breaking the ancient law and taking this spell?”
“You might,” said Derek, “but I know you are the most honorable elder we’ve had in centuries. I propose a deal.”
Ordway commanded, “Speak.”
“We become your right and left hand. I have proven my loyalty by destroying the man who plotted against you...”
Ordway interrupted, “By breaking the law.”
“Yes, I broke a law! But you are the maker of laws. There are only three of you left now. Then you kill Sorrento, and we go after the last elder. With that spell, you will get their powers and rule as the single elder, as it was in the beginning. You will also have us by your side, with a right hand that is as powerful as an elder, loyal only to you.”
Ehrhardt was distracted. They all looked over to the next building. John was casually leaning on a wall, motioning for Ehrhardt to come over.
Ehrhardt fumed at the bravado, “Little brother. Can I go kill him now?”
“Sure,” Derek said, “we can handle the rest. Do we have a deal, Elder Ordway?”
Silence hung in the night. John cleared his throat for attention, to annoy Ehrhardt further. It worked. Ehrhardt seethed.
The elder ignored the scene and looked only at Derek, “Deal. If your boldness doesn’t get you killed tonight.”
Derek said, “Go. Have fun, brother.”
The elder and Derek casually walked to the tower. Ehrhardt followed John, who smiled and ran away as the German pulled his silencer-equipped pistol.
John led Ehrhardt around a series of buildings. Ehrhardt never had a clear shot, so he simply followed, looking forward to a kill he could do up close. He always kept multiple weapons hidden on his person, just in case an opportunity for fun presented itself.
John entered a concrete tunnel. Ehrhardt noticed the metal grates above the tunnel. He followed John into a maze of concrete passages, all with metal grates above, the only inlet of light. There were a few metal ladders at regular intervals. Ehrhardt assumed the tunnels were for police or fire training. Perhaps urban hostage scenarios, he thought.
He found John in a large, square section, a few steps lower than the rest of the tunnels. The shadows through the metal grates, cast John’s face in a strange light. Ehrhardt assumed it was a trap, but by the look of it, a poor one.
Ehrhardt went down on one knee and retrieved a long knife strapped to his leg. “I want to do this up close.”
John said across the room, “Come on over, and we can finish this. You and me.”
Ehrhardt walked slowly to his opponent’s side of the room, “My knife is no relic, so I must take your blade and give you a true death.”
John shook his head, “You were never that good up close, Caron. You always liked your arrows, crossbows, guns. Cowards need distance.”
“I’ve trained hard. Been a while since we tangled,” Ehrhardt paused. “Hard to believe we were ever friends.”
“Many lifetimes ago,” said John, and drew the relic sword from the sheath. “This one will be your last.”
They walked toward the middle of the room, when water started to trickle in and fill the sunken space.
Ehrhardt laughed. “This is your trick? I can kill you wet or dry.”
They engaged, Ehrhardt attacking first. The German rushed forward and slashed. John dodged, but did not attack. The water was a few inches, and slowed their footwork. John kept dodging, backed away, used his longer blade to keep distance. He blocked every slash and thrust of Ehrhardt’s knife.
Ehrhardt stopped, backed up. He bent down to get his second knife from the other leg. He stood and looked at John. “You’re not trying very hard.”
John smiled in response. Ehrhardt charged with a yell, slashing faster than John had expected. The yell bounced around the concrete room as John parried his sword to avoid both blades.
Ehrhardt feigned a lunge at John, but pulled back at the last second. He kicked John’s knee and heard a sickening crack. John screamed in pain, but didn’t go down. He hopped on his good leg as he countered the next attack.
Ehrhardt rushed in a volley of slashes. They were powerful, and John had to fight to stay upright. His fast sword parried the attacks, but just barely.
The powerful slashing attacks were wearing out Ehrhardt’s shoulders. His attacks came slower, easier to knock away with John’s sword, even on one leg.
The water was up to their shins now, slowing them both. Then the water stopped. John retreated, hopping toward a wall.
“Is this your big move?” Ehrhardt breathed hard, his arms sore. “Slow me down with water? Wear me out?”
The grate above Ehrhardt was lifted up and away.
“No. This is.” John leapt onto the wall mounted ladder, safely out of the water.
David appeared above.
“Now!” John yelled.
David said, “Witness this,” as white lightning erupted from the sky and shot down into Caron, standing in over a foot of water.
The electric shock made Ehrhardt gyrate for a few seconds. John stayed on his ladder and shielded his eyes from the bright, dancing light. After a moment, Ehrhardt lay face down in the pool, dead. The lightning faded.
David looked at his tormenter’s body. John was slowed by his injured knee, but climbed up the ladder and stood next to David.
“I could have given him a true death with this.” John put his sword back in the sheath.
David stared down at Ehrhardt’s body, knowing that he might have to face him again in another life, “It had to be me.”
John sighed. “Unfortunately, he was the easy one.”
***
“No!” Derek shouted, a flash of his brother came; lying in a concrete room filled with water.
Derek blinked wildly, hot anger flashing. Elder Ordway clamped her hand down on Derek’s shoulder. “Stop.”
“They killed my brother!” Derek raged.
“You have experienced his death many times before. Focus. With these new powers, you are unstable. Your emotions will make it harder to control them.”
“I’ll try.” Derek had no intentions of taking orders from another elder. But he would bide his time until he could kill her. He focused on getting to the vexing teens
.
Ordway changed the subject. “Why is there a tower like this, here of all places?”
“Fire and police training of some sort. I haven’t had time to soak up all the local flavor.”
They were on the second-floor landing inside the fire tower, heading upwards. Ordway said, “Well, it will be simple enough to throw them off the roof. Seems a bit too easy.”
Derek looked around, “It does, doesn’t it?” The elder was right. There would be time to mourn later. He thought of his brother. Well, there’s always a next time, brother. Sleep well.
He noticed the strange series of pipes all around. Each level was a collection of rooms. Some were bare concrete rooms; others were fully furnished. This one looked like a hotel room, that one arranged like a family living room.
The elder guessed, “These rooms must be for urban assault training? Hostage maneuvers?”
“From the smell of it, fire training as well.” It was dark, except for the safety lights. When they reached the fourth floor, the stairway ended, and they had to walk among the rooms to find the stairway on the other side of the building. They would soon reach the troublesome teens.
***
“Come on, come on,” said Zacke. His fingers were on the computerized controls. He’d programmed the whole fourth floor to fill with fire. At least, he thought he did. He chided himself for not paying more attention in the training session. He hoped John was right, that fire would do the trick.
On the camera, they were rounding the stairs up to the third floor, when Billy burst in, “Zacke?”
“Not now, Billy.”
Billy said, “You’re with them? Step away from the panel, Zacke.”
“Billy, you have no idea what’s going on.”
“I know you’re betraying your brothers in the Explorers.”
“If I don’t do this,” said Zacke, his hands still on the controls, “everyone in our town is going to die.”
Billy reached for his club, but remembered it was in pieces on the campus grounds.
The cameras showed Derek and the elder on the fourth floor, in the perfect spot. Zacke was about to press the button, when the door behind Billy opened. Zacke turned his head. As he did, Billy released his pepper spray.
