Head Over Tentacles

by K. L. Hiers

  Sloane didn’t think what they were about to do even compared to some godly shenanigans, and he stepped into the elevator with a heavy feeling in his stomach still nibbling away.

  “Going down.” Alexander waved his hand over the panel and pushed a button marked B7.

  As the elevator descended, Loch suddenly swept Sloane into a tight embrace and kissed him firmly.

  “Loch!” Sloane mumbled, his cheeks flushing from such a passionate kiss in front of an audience. He kissed back nonetheless, losing himself in Loch’s lips. “Mmm, Loch….”

  “I love you,” Loch said. “Fear not.”

  “I love you too.” Sloane tried to smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alexander staring at them.

  At first he thought it was disgust for such a blatant public display of affection. A closer look showed something else.

  The pain in Alexander’s eyes, the draw of his mouth, it was the pain of longing.

  One day, Rota’s voice promised, I’ll kiss you like that.

  Alexander looked away, a sad smile appearing and draining his young face. Keep telling me your beautiful lies…. They’re all I have.

  The elevator lurched to a stop, and an alarm went off.

  “Shit,” Alexander hissed.

  “What is it?” Sloane demanded.

  “Time to get off.” Alexander moved in front of the doors and raised his hands. With a loud groan of metal, Rota’s tentacles came up from the floor to follow his lead and pry the doors open.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Hazel has cameras,” Alexander replied. “They saw us coming and decided we don’t look friendly.”

  “Okay.” Sloane’s thoughts raced as he stepped forward. “We can put up shields, maybe a few not-so-legal sleeping spells—”

  “Too late,” Alexander said when a troop of armed men appeared to line the hallway before them.

  They were wearing tactical gear, and some had rifles. However primitive, ballistic weapons could still be quite effective. Sloane quickly noticed the men who didn’t have guns were weaving spells with their hands.

  There were at least a dozen of them, and again Sloane pleaded, “We can find another way to do this! No one has to get hurt—”

  No sooner did he speak that the guards opened fire and a chilling wind full of hail rained down on them.

  Sloane hurled up a quick shield to combat the icy chunks and bullets, but it was Loch who froze them all in midair with a thought.

  “Now,” Loch called out, “that’s not very nice.”

  Though clearly stunned, the guards kept moving. A few continued to fire, and a large grenade sailed over to clatter at their feet.

  Galgareth grabbed the grenade and closed her eyes, the device thunking harmlessly to the ground a moment later. She winked at Sloane, explaining, “Goddess of Serendipity. Happy accident that the one grenade they threw at us was a dud!”

  Five more grenades joined the first.

  “Well, shit.”

  Loch opened up a portal on the floor, a window into another world, and frantically kicked the grenades into it as he hissed, “Couldn’t just have them all miss? Maybe throw them at each other?”

  “You know my magic doesn’t work that way!” Galgareth growled.

  Sloane expanded his shield to block the entire hallway to keep them safe, the magical barrier fending off another volley of grenades. They exploded promptly and shook the entire hallway, forcing Sloane to take a knee to keep his balance.

  “They’re not going to stop!” Alexander barked, glaring at Sloane. “Not until we’re dead!”

  “Please!” Sloane shouted at the guards. “You have to stop!”

  The hail increased, and a spear of starlight thunked into the center of Sloane’s shield. The shield began to crack, and Loch raised his hand to heal it.

  “Persistent, aren’t they?” Loch grumbled.

  From behind them in the broken elevator, there was an innocent clinking sound. They turned around to see another cluster of grenades dropping down from the roof of the elevator.

  “Loch!” Sloane yelled.

  Loch turned to block the new explosions from them with a shimmering white barrier of his own, but more were still coming.

  Sloane’s ears were ringing, and he watched as another spear hit his shield. It cracked again, splintering rapidly down the sides. He struggled to hold it, but he couldn’t concentrate, and everyone was yelling so angrily.

  Galgareth’s foot had somehow gotten caught in one of Loch’s portals, and now the two of them were cursing at each other as she struggled to break free.

  Sloane’s pulse became a pounding drum inside his head, and his hands ached from the strain of maintaining the shield. More spears of starlight were striking his wall, and the cracks were growing.

  “Enough!” Alexander screamed, his eyes glowing brightly as he stormed through the disintegrating shield toward the guards.

  “Alexander!” Sloane shouted. “No!”

  As Alexander stalked forward, all the gunfire and magic was directed right at him. Rota’s ghostly bulk rose up from the floor where he had been hiding to defend him. Bullets and hail bounced off his invisible flesh, and an errant chunk of ice ricocheted as well, striking the first guard in the chest. It pierced through his armor, and he teetered backward with a desperate cry.

  As he fell, Alexander raised his hand to direct Rota’s tentacles to deflect a bullet into the second guard’s neck right in between his helmet and the edge of his armor. The man collapsed with a spray of blood, Alexander sidestepping his corpse as he pushed onward. One of Rota’s tentacles swept sharply to the right and smashed the next guard into the ceiling with a gut-wrenching crunch.

  The gunfire was staggered now, the hail vanishing almost completely, and the sounds of weapons and magic spells were replaced by frantic screams of pain and death.

  Alexander was relentless, and it was all happening in mere seconds. He stretched out his hands in a fierce push, Rota’s tentacles moving with him to strike the last group of guards and shove them backward.

  Sloane dropped his shield and struggled to chase after him, but Loch grabbed his arm. “Hey!”

  Loch’s expression was dark, watching Alexander and Rota tear the guards to pieces. “No.”

  Alexander lifted the last guard, growling frantically, and the man’s head crushed inward like a grape. Rota’s tentacles kept squeezing and twisting until there was nothing left. Alexander was panting, his chest heaving and his arms trembling as Rota dropped the remains on the floor.

  The guards were all certainly dead, and Sloane’s anger had reached boiling. This was exactly the kind of mindless slaughter he’d wanted to avoid. He jerked away from Loch, stomping up to Alexander, and reached for his shoulder, snapping, “Hey! We had it under control! We—”

  As soon as he touched Alexander, he was struck by a wave of violent pain. He saw Alexander strapped down to a bed, screaming and sobbing as the guards beat him. The guard he’d crushed against the ceiling was holding him down, and the one who’d died by deflected ice was hitting him and laughing.

  There was another flash, and he was naked in a shower while the guards cranked the water up to scalding and laughed cruelly as he was burned. The last guard whose head he’d smashed was leading the torture, shouting disgusting insults and vulgar insinuations….

  If only you’d be a good boy for us, L-X-I-X! Come on, we just wanna play!

  Alexander was writhing in agony, all of his bonding circles fresh from being cut into his skin and burning beneath the hot water. He wanted to die, anything to end the pain….

  And then there was Rota….

  No more pain… no more….

  Alexander shoved Sloane away to sever the connection, hissing, “It’s done. Let’s go before more come.”

  Sloane watched Alexander sprint away with Rota right behind him, at a total loss for words. He could still feel Alexander’s pain as if it was his own, and he whispered urgently, “What they did
to him… they….”

  “I’m sorry, my love,” Loch urged, arriving at his side to cradle him close. “I’m so sorry… he needed it.”

  “How, how did you know?” Sloane stammered.

  “I didn’t, not exactly,” Loch replied. “But I’m a god of divine retribution. I know an act of revenge when I see it.”

  “We need to keep moving,” Galgareth said. “If Gronoch didn’t know about us coming before, he definitely knows now.”

  “Right.” Sloane struggled to focus. “We’ve got to get into the lower floors of the lab to find the Silenced people. We just have to keep moving.”

  There was a loud crash up ahead, and they all rushed toward the sound. They passed by another dead guard and around the corner found Alexander waiting for them by another elevator.

  He was holding the door open and waved for them to step inside. “They’ve locked the elevators. We have two more levels before we’re at the bottom. We have to climb up on top of the elevator and drop down the shaft.”

  “Oh, goody,” Sloane grumbled.

  Rota’s tentacles had already opened up the hatch in the ceiling and grabbed Alexander, effortlessly lifting him up and out of sight.

  Galgareth followed, her tentacles reaching up to grab the edge of the opening and pull herself up.

  “I’ve got you, my love.” Loch hugged Sloane around his waist and went up after the others. His tentacles lifted them through the hatch and over the top of the elevator, squeezing the two of them down the sides.

  Alexander and Rota were already at the bottom, fighting with the doors. Rota was tirelessly pounding into the metal, and when an opening finally appeared, he seized upon it to pull the doors apart.

  Sloane’s stomach still felt sick as he and Loch landed safely on the floor behind the others. He stayed close, magic brimming on the tips of his fingers, and followed everyone through the twisted opening Rota made.

  The final floor was a cavernous space. It was easily the size of a football field, and Sloane couldn’t believe all of this was hidden beneath Hazel. Several metal tables were covered in laboratory equipment, but it looked like someone had been interrupted packing it into boxes. There was a long walkway lined with large cages leading away from the tables, and beyond that was nothing but empty space.

  It was like looking at the inside of a giant metal egg, and Sloane couldn’t begin to imagine what it was all for.

  “What is this…?” Galgareth asked quietly.

  “This is where I brought them,” Alexander replied, Rota rising up to his full size beside him. He stopped midstep when Rota swept a tentacle in front of him.

  “What’s wrong?” Sloane frowned.

  Alexander bowed his head. “It’s already too late.”

  “We just got here!” Sloane stomped forward to check the cages. The first few he came to were empty, but he stopped in his tracks when the next one was filled with blood.

  There was no sign of a human being, only a large splatter where one used to be. It appeared fresh, still dripping, and Sloane thought he might throw up.

  He ran to another and found more blood, panting erratically as he searched for any sign of life. As he reached the last cage and saw it was empty, he dropped to his knees with a miserable groan. “Fuck….”

  “I’m sorry.” Loch kneeled beside him and hugged him close.

  “But… but why?” Sloane demanded, his heart sinking. “Why would they do this?”

  “Because we’re going to be closing down this operation,” a voice called out from the mangled elevator.

  “Gronoch,” Alexander hissed, his eyes flashing brightly.

  Sloane jumped to his feet to face the man approaching them, his hands curling into tight fists by his sides. Starlight was making his fingers glow and shake, and he fought to keep himself under control.

  No, this wasn’t a man. It was a god.

  Gronoch appeared as a mortal in an expensive suit, strolling toward them with a sharp smile. He was carrying a large trunk that he set down on one of the metal tables and then dusted off his hands. “Ah, L-X-I-X! Mm, I see you’ve failed to bring the new conduit. Now, I wonder who your friends are.” He grinned at Galgareth. “Is that you, little sister?”

  “You recognize us, brother?” Galgareth scoffed. “How?”

  “You do look so very different in your funny little meat suits,” Gronoch laughed, “but who else would you be? No one else is awake that I wouldn’t be expecting.” He eyed Loch. “Except you, little brother.”

  “Don’t suppose there’s any way to end this peacefully?” Loch drawled.

  “End what?” Gronoch looked surprised. “The conduit program will continue in another location, since this one has been compromised. L-X-I-X will come with me, of course. Nothing changes.”

  “Never,” Alexander growled and slowly backed away. “Never again.”

  “We’re going to stop you,” Sloane snapped. “All of those poor people? You just killed them! Why?”

  “Ah, so this is the mighty Starkiller.” Gronoch ignored the furious questioning. “Hmm. Thought you’d be taller or something. You do sort of look like that Vulcan guy.”

  “Hey!” Sloane snarled, his hands sparking erratically. “Are you listening to me? I want to know why you killed these people!”

  “Best to start over with a new crop.” Gronoch shrugged. “They weren’t showing much progress, and I like to travel light. We’ll be opening a new facility soon—”

  “No! No more!” Sloane shouted. “You’re not going to hurt anyone else ever again!”

  “And who’s gonna stop me?” Gronoch laughed. “You, little Starkiller?”

  “I killed Tollmathan,” Sloane warned. “I’ll do what I have to do.”

  “I think you’ll find I’m much more clever than Toll was,” Gronoch cautioned.

  “Mm, that’s what Mother used to say,” Loch chimed in casually. “You know how much she loves you.”

  “Of course, she—”

  “And you know how this is breaking her heart,” Loch went on. “I don’t think she’s really mad at you for torturing innocents and trying to wake up our father. I think….” He sighed dramatically. “I think she’s just disappointed.”

  “Oh, shut up, Azaethoth.” Gronoch groaned. “She won’t be upset for long once we’ve remade the world. She’ll understand. You all will!”

  “You already know what Father will do if he wakes up.” Galgareth shook her head in disgust. “You just don’t care at all, do you?”

  “Sacrifices must be made, little sister,” Gronoch said firmly. “Starting with you.”

  “What?”

  A long blue tentacle lurched out from Gronoch’s body, and it slapped the ground beneath Galgareth’s feet. Her human body dropped to the floor, Toby regaining control and scrambling away with a scream.

  In the vast space behind them appeared a large tentacled beast. It had a full beard of writhing tentacles and giant wings like a bat. It rose up on its clawed feet and charged forward, running smack into an invisible wall.

  It was Galgareth’s true godly body, and she couldn’t break through the barrier surrounding her.

  “No!” Loch roared, diving toward Gronoch in a violent rage.

  “Wait! Loch!” Sloane tried to warn him.

  Gronoch’s tentacles lashed out again, and Loch’s body dropped lifelessly to the floor. His forward momentum carried it onward, skidding to a stop at Gronoch’s feet.

  Sloane watched in horror as Loch’s magnificent dragon form appeared behind the invisible wall alongside Galgareth, both of the gods now equally trapped. “Loch!”

  “Sloane!” Loch roared, frantically slamming himself against the wall. It did nothing. Whatever the barrier was, it wouldn’t budge.

  “Now we have two more gods to create new conduits,” Gronoch said gleefully as he clapped. “L-X-I-X has been our only success, and I’ve been so desperate to prove to the others that my operation is viable. Mmm… what’s your blood type?”

>   “Let them go!” Sloane barked. “There’s not going to be any more experiments! This is going to end, right now!”

  “Ah.” Gronoch gazed up at his siblings. “Isn’t this wonderful? All of us together… one big happy family.”

  “Sloane,” Alexander hissed. “He’s not going to stop. He won’t let any of us go now. You know what you have to do, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” Sloane said, raising his hands out in front of him as starlight burned between his palms. “I have to kill a god.”

  Chapter 13.

  GALGARETH AND Loch were still fighting to escape the barrier, Toby was hiding over by the elevator, and Sloane quickly advanced toward Gronoch with starlight glowing in his hands. Alexander was a few steps behind him, and Rota’s tentacles were lashing like whips across the floor all around them.

  Gronoch did not look impressed. “You really think your little puny sword of starlight is going to be enough to kill me?”

  “Good enough to kill your brother,” Sloane reminded him. “It’s good enough to kill you.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Gronoch kneeled down, and behind his human host appeared a staggering reptilian behemoth with dark scales and sharp teeth. The human host then calmly stepped aside as the real Gronoch bellowed, “I am the great and mighty Gronoch! Brother of Tollmathan, Xhorlas, and—”

  “Oh, shut the fuck up!” Sloane glared up at the monstrous god. “Let Azaethoth and Galgareth go! Right now!” He took a deep breath, a hilt forming between his palms. “Last chance.”

  “No, I’m afraid it’s your last chance,” Gronoch said, the tentacles on his back whipping about. “You can either join the cause or die. Be a shame to waste a Starkiller, but without your godly mate? You’re just another sack of meat.”

  “That’s not true!” Sloane argued. “I’m a fuckin’ witch of starlight, the proud son of Daniel and Pandora Beaumont, and I swear to Great Azaethoth himself that I am going to kill you if you don’t stop!”

  “You’re welcome to try.” Gronoch chuckled cruelly. “Come along… let’s see what you’re made of.”

  “Hey, Gronoch!” Alexander suddenly called out.