Triptych

by S. C. Mitchell

  Chapter 18

  The deadline came quicker than anyone could have prepared for. Maggie’s training was far from where she or Paul wanted. Morgana had learned only half of the hand-to-hand moves Paul had set out to teach her. Morgan had a few new spells she could cast, courtesy of El Brujo’s tutelage. And Morgause and Olivia had successfully gotten the alien ship up into the air and maneuvered it about, but had yet to figure out its weaponry systems.

  She’d slept in shifts and eaten sparsely on the run, combining when she needed the refreshment, then splitting into her three aspects again. Three times the work and still there seemed so much more to do.

  At one week, almost to the minute of Guinevere’s ultimatum, doors on the alien craft opened and ships emerged like a swarm of hornets.

  Xi Force was assembled in the ready room, awaiting last minute instructions.

  “Okay, people, everyone to the Xi-1,” Aaron announced. “Maggie, put Morgause in the pilot’s seat. Birdy will co-pilot. Swap out if you see a need for your healing powers.”

  Maggie shifted.

  ~ ~ ~

  Pilot. That works for me. Morgause swept her gaze around the room as people waited to discover where the attack would come. They won’t need healing. Everyone would be fine.

  Yeah, right.

  “Sixty-four craft just launched from that mothership,” Kirk announced from his command center. “Four are on a trajectory to land in Megopolis.”

  The others were probably headed for points across the globe.

  A split invasion. What would Aaron do?

  “Megopolis then,” Aaron said. “Hit ‘em hard there, and hopefully they’ll fall back.”

  John Wylde stood with his wife, Dove Locklear, Quantum. Dove hadn’t even bothered to suit up.

  She held her hand to her extended stomach. Her face pale, she pleaded with Wylde. “Go, I’ll be fine. We’ll be—”

  She lurched, stumbling into him. “Ugh!”

  Wylde gritted his teeth. “Not if the author decides to throw in a plot twist.”

  Marry Cullen came up beside her. “You’re in labor, aren’t you?”

  Dove nodded. “I think so.”

  Dr. Logan rushed in the doorway, pushing a wheelchair. “Chris messaged me. Is it really happening?”

  Z-Bot had a direct link between the computer in his brain and Dr. Logan’s messenger.

  Dr. Logan took one look at Dove and nodded. “Yeah, it’s happening. Aaron, I need Morgause.”

  Aaron nodded. “Change in plan. Morgause, you stay here to look after Dove. The baby is your number-one priority. Morgana, you are piloting the Xi-1, so Morgan and El Brujo can concentrate on Guinevere, if she shows. Wylde?”

  All eyes shifted to Wylde, who was helping Dove into the wheelchair. “A man should be with his—”

  Dove cut him off. “The world needs you more than me right now. I’ve got Heather, Mary, and Morgause. Go kick some alien butt, then get back here to me. And don’t you dare die.”

  He paused long enough to kiss her, then placed his hand on her stomach. “Take care of Emily.”

  Morgause followed Dr. Logan, Dove, and Mary toward the medical facility.

  ~ ~ ~

  Morgana landed the Xi-1 in the same mall parking lot where they’d encountered Guinevere and the aliens the week before. They’d arrived with only minutes to spare before the four alien craft touched down.

  Morgan, Z-Bot, Phaze, Shade, and El Brujo led Paul and twenty of his rangers toward a rapidly assembling military force. Morgana had entrusted Fragarach to Morgan as it didn’t appear she’d be able to employ the sword from the cockpit of the Xi-1 anyway.

  Morgan wasn’t good with a sword, but they’d discovered she could use it to focus some of her spells, increasing their power.

  Morgana was torn. To be at the battlefront or here in the cockpit of her beloved Xi-1. Her aspect pulled for the first, but the part of Maggie inside still wanted to be right here. The array of guns, bombs, and missiles had to at least equal the firepower of that ancient sword.

  Wylde had elected to stay on board as well, planning to drop out of the sky into the largest group of Aliens he could find. Only John Wylde would be so bold. His healing powers virtually assured he’d emerge unscathed, at least in the long run, and his urgency to return to Dove and the delivery of his baby daughter made him more reckless than usual.

  “You’re sure about this?” Morgana asked as they took to the skies.

  Wylde stood grim-faced in the door of the cockpit. “Never surer.”

  As they hovered above the assembled troops, the alien ships landed. There wasn’t even a pretext of treaty. Blue-armored aliens streamed from the four ships, firing their blaster weapons at Earth’s defenders.

  “Okay, see ya.” Wylde jumped.

  Seconds later, the camera mounted under the fuselage captured his image plummeting toward the ground. As he fell, he extended the flight webbing built into his suit and glided toward a large group of the aliens.

  “How about there?” Birdy pointed to one of the alien vessels on the tactical overlay map. The display noted the position of friendly units, and this ship was the furthest away from any of the fighting.

  “Yeah, that’s perfect.” Morgana pushed the button that sent two Viper Strike glide bombs toward the craft.

  The resulting explosions tore holes in the alien ship and sent a plume of black smoke billowing into the air. Hopefully she’d taken it out of action and some of the aliens as well.

  Blaster beams erupted from the other three ships, striking tanks and armored vehicles on the ground. A few also targeted the Xi-1, but she easily evaded the beams. Nothing shot out of the craft she’d hit, so it appeared she’d taken out its weaponry.

  “One down, three to go.” She banked the Xi-1 to bring her into position for another strike run.

  ~ ~ ~

  Morgan’s magical shielding dropped after three hits by the alien blasters. El Brujo, standing beside her blocked a fourth blast with a shield that covered them both.

  She drew Fragarach from its scabbard. The weapon had hung awkwardly at her side, unbalancing her. Even though she had memories of Maggie and Morgana being quite comfortable with the sword’s weight, it felt unwieldy hanging from her belt and in her hand.

  Still, as a wand or staff replacement, the sword was superior to either, enhancing any spell cast through it.

  A surge of mystic energy rippled down her arm to feed the sword. Uttering an incantation, she released the spell force while aiming the blade point toward a group of Sha’Xari. An orange ball of energy blasted from the tip of the sword. The resulting explosion sent bodies flying, decimating the enemy’s front ranks.

  Yeah, more intensity and focus. Maybe she’d have to wrestle this sword away from Morgana more often.

  “I need to get some height,” she said to El Brujo, sheathing the weapon. Then she transformed into her raven form.

  She hadn’t been sure the sword would go with her, and had El Brujo on the lookout to pick the weapon up if it fell to the ground, but the sword transformed and became a part of her.

  As she soared upward, El Brujo joined her, floating up into the air.

  “It appears to have worked.” His gaze scanned the massed enemy troops below. “Now, let’s find Guinevere, if she’s here.”

  Finding Guinevere wasn’t as difficult as they’d feared it would be. She wore the same blue armor as the aliens, but hers was embellished with gold trim, and she sported a flowing, blue, high-collared cape. In place of the alien’s helmet, she wore a large, golden crown.

  Morgan spotted her because of the light winking off all the gold. “Yeah, real subtle.”

  “I’ll clear some space,” El Brujo said as he soared beside Morgan.

  He fired a bea
m of purple energy that surrounded Guinevere in a soft glow. The radiance grew and widened to form a dome of energy over her, spreading out and pushing the aliens near her away until she stood alone in a hemisphere of pulsing energy, nearly one-hundred feet across.

  Morgan and El Brujo had no problem flying through the glowing barrier. They landed in front of Guinevere. It was the three of them alone in the midst of battle.

  Time to take this bitch down.

  Chapter 19

  A tang of antiseptic hung in the air of the birthing room. The chamber had been prepped and ready for Dove’s delivery for the past month. The newest and most sophisticated medical devices available ringed the chamber. No expense was spared. Dove held in her womb the first offspring of two enhanced humans and the world hungered for news.

  Well, at least it had before the alien invasion.

  Morgause wondered what help she could offer two of the highest skilled medical doctors on the planet under these circumstances.

  As Mary Cullen began hooking Dove up to monitors while making her as comfortable as possible, Dr. Logan pulled Morgause aside. “I’m not worried about the baby. The child appears to have inherited her father’s healing powers, and is very healthy. I need you to keep an eye, and those healing hands, on Dove. I believe the child has been covering the effects of her mother’s trauma from a few months back. I’m not sure what will happen when they separate.”

  John Wylde’s father had critically injured Dove in the attack by Red Guard on Megopolis eight months ago. He’d pierced her heart, and everyone had thought her dead, but the embryo somehow brought her back to life and health. The pregnancy had advanced well from that point on.

  At least that’s what it had looked like from the outside. “How much danger do you think Dove is in? She’s looked healthy as a horse the past few weeks.”

  Dr. Logan shook her head. “That kind of trauma . . . I don’t know. That’s why I requested you be here with us. I know it’s bad timing. I pray the others don’t need you. But I’m really worried for Dove.”

  Morgause had received a few updates from Morgana and Morgan in the field. “There is combat, but the army has a field hospital set up in one of the schools and triage stations close to the fighting. Morgana’s flying the Xi-1. So it looks like all bases are covered. Here is where I need to be.”

  And here was where she wanted to be. Dove was not only a valuable member of Xi Force, she was also Maggie’s friend.

  Morgause took up a position behind the delivery bed and placed her hands on Dove’s shoulders. “Breathe, Dove.”

  She sent a wave of healing energy into her as Dove reached the pinnacle of another hard contraction.

  “Don’t push yet,” Mary added. “We’ll tell you when. The baby’s doing fine.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Morgan pulled energy from the pool of power within her, concentrating the force in her hand as she prepared to cast an arcane blast spell, aiming it along the blade of Fragarach. She felt El Brujo pulling from her energy as well.

  She’d opened up her mystic reserves to him. He could better utilize her energy and it saved him having to connect to some other entity for his magic. She didn’t require any gesture or sacrifice from him. The essence of the original Morrigan and Manannan mac Lir pulsed inside her, at least the parts Guinevere hadn’t stolen, and that essence contained an incredible amount of power.

  “Give it up, Guinevere, and let me send you back to the Fae Realm where you belong.” Was there any chance she could be persuaded?

  “You would have been dead years ago if that stupid assassin hadn’t gone soft at the last minute.” Guinevere stood, arms crossed, looking confident in the midst of chaos. Still, she weaved a red-tinged energy shield around herself. “Today I correct the mistakes of the past. I only need to kill you to assure my place here is permanent.”

  Yeah, okay, not going to win this with words. Could combined strikes from Morgan and El Brujo break through her shields? They both fired their blasts at the same instant. The two beams struck Guinevere’s force dome, and cracks formed at the blast site.

  Morgan had the sword pointed at Guinevere’s throat. The Fae Queen couldn’t lie. “So you set this whole thing up when you were here before?”

  “Of course.” A sneer spread across her lips. “Your grandmother was too powerful for me, I knew she would eventually find me, but if I killed your mother and you . . . well, your grandmother couldn’t live forever. If only that little rat had done what I paid him for.”

  The assassin. The one who’d killed her mother and father. He’d pointed his gun at Maggie, but then he’d run away.

  I was supposed to die that day.

  And Guinevere was the reason her parents had died.

  Morgan intensified her energy beam, pulling more power and focusing it through Fragarach. The cracks on Guinevere’s shield widened, spreading around her body.

  With a blinding flash, the shield shattered, and Guinevere was forced to her knees. “No. Not again. You aren’t ready. You don’t have this power.”

  Had El Brujo been the winning factor?

  It didn’t matter, they’d won this round. Morgan pulled Donovan’s golden binding from her belt. “You’re going back to the Fae Realm.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Paul led a charge against one of the enemy flanks. His rangers and a platoon of Marines sprayed fire into the ranks of the attacking aliens. Most of the bullets bounced off the creatures’ blue battle armor, but a few found soft spots to penetrate. Heavy ordnance and concussion grenades also proved effective.

  The aliens returned fire. Blasts of energy shot from their weapons. An acrid stench filled the air as the beams sizzled into the ranks of his soldiers. A blast caught Dan Beckman in the shoulder, throwing him to the ground. A marine to Paul’s left took a direct hit to the chest, his body armor exploding as the man dropped.

  Paul moved, aimed, and fired, again and again. “Damn these bastards. They are not taking Earth. Not today.”

  A flash of bright purple to his left drew Paul’s attention. An arrow arced toward a mass of aliens, exploding on impact and sending the creatures flying.

  On the back of one of the tanks, Paul spotted Norm Loftus in his bright purple Arrow of Justice costume raining explosive arrows on the aliens and augmenting the blasts from the tank.

  Paul had to give the man credit, the little guy had guts. And his arrows were finding strategic targets and taking out masses of aliens. His aim was as true as he’d boasted. I may have to reconsider his application.

  A blast took out the tank, and Arrow of Justice disappeared into the chaos of the battle.

  Overhead, Paul caught sight of the Xi-1 coming across his field of vision on a strafing run. Bullets pelted the massed aliens, taking them down by the dozens. Morgana sent two missiles into another one of the alien’s ships, blasting chunks out of it.

  “Way to go, Morgana.” One-third of Maggie still had more moxie in the air than any three other pilots.

  The maneuver broke the alien offensive and the creatures in that area withdrew behind the ship wreckage for cover.

  ~ ~ ~

  As baby Emily came into this world, she let out a healthy cry.

  Morgause smiled. Such a cute little thing. Yeah, I want one of those someday.

  Dove shuddered, and Morgause intensified her healing stream. The last few contractions had been really hard on her.

  The peal of an alarm from one of the instruments indicated trouble. Dr. Logan handed the baby to Mary and came around the side of the bed. “Dove?”

  The heart monitor beeped erratically. Dove gasped. “I . . . c-can’t breathe.”

  Dr. Logan checked the readout. “Heart failure.”

  She grabbed a hypodermic from an instrument tray, and shot the contents into Dove’s arm. “Sta
y with me, Dove. Do it for Emily. You’ve got to stay.”

  Morgause felt the push-back against her healing. A malignancy she hadn’t detected before. The baby has been keeping her alive.

  Without the child within her, did Dove even have a chance?

  Across the room, Mary hurried to check out, clean, and swaddle Emily. The baby let out a strong cry.

  Dove drew in a shuddering breath. “Emily.”

  But the malignancy grew. A dark, mass of internal damage that resisted Morgause’s efforts. She threw everything she had into the healing.

  Was this how it had been for Gran? Pushing every last ounce of her healing into a dying mother. She’d often wondered how her grandmother could have gone over the line, given too much of herself trying to help that mother and baby in the hospital.

  Now she understood.

  “Come on, Dove. You can do this.” In desperation, she reversed the polarity of her healing, pulling the malignancy into herself. What Dove couldn’t heal, she could. At least she’d have a better chance.

  For the first time since she’d received the power, her healing hurt. Every cell in Morgause’s body cried out for her to stop. The room swam, stars exploded in her vision.

  And then darkness enfolded her as the malignancy pushed back and engulfed her.

  ~ ~ ~

  The vast pool of magical energy within Morgan suddenly drained away. There was nothing, no power. With no energy to maintain it, El Brujo’s connection to her snapped.

  ~ ~ ~

  El Brujo’s mystic bands binding Guinevere flickered. “I’ll have to tap my other sources.”

  Spreading her arms wide, Guinevere burst the restraints. In one swift motion, she stood and snatched the magical cord from Morgan’s hand.