Desolace Omnibus Edition

by Lucian Barnes

  In almost the same instant, Brian finished his unintelligible chant, bathing the area in a shroud of brilliant yellow flames. Apparently Edward's spell had been slightly off target because Katie could see a sizeable number of shapes running away. At this distance they looked human, but it was impossible to tell for sure.

  Glancing to her left, Katie saw Brian slump to the ground. She hadn't noticed anything near him, so she assumed he had merely collapsed from exhaustion. Turning her head to the right, she saw Edward sitting on his horse in dumbfounded silence. "Aren't you going to go after the stragglers?" she shouted, hoping to break his trance-like state.

  His mind in a fog as he surveyed the state of his group, Edward didn't hear Katie yelling at him. He saw Brian, lying on the ground about a hundred feet away, and hoped he hadn't been injured. The brief battle had demanded his full concentration and he hadn't been able to keep track of everyone during the most intense part. Katie was huddled on the ground near Jack, who he knew was hurt but not the extent of his injuries. He could see her mouth moving but could not hear her words, almost as if he'd suddenly gone deaf. The glow of the fire allowed him to see the desperate look in her eyes. Slowly, Edward shook his head as if trying to clear a bad memory.

  "Edward!" she screamed.

  Snapping his head up, he locked eyes with her.

  "They're getting away," she yelled again, pointing toward the fleeing attackers.

  Turning his head he caught sight of them; a group of perhaps twenty people darting away from their frozen and flash fried friends. Firmly planting his boots in the horse's flanks, he yelled, "Yah!" The animal immediately complied, tearing across the open field at a full gallop.

  As Edward veered around the magical flames Brian had created, he soon realized it was a lost cause. The fleeing attackers had taken cover in the forest nearby and disappeared from sight.

  "Whoa," he urged the horse in a commanding voice, bringing the animal to a stop at the edge of the woods. Gently he pulled the reins to the left, turning the horse back toward his comrades, and made a clicking noise to get the horse to trot.

  "They got away," Edward announced when he returned to where Katie was nursing Jack's wounds. "How bad is he?"

  "I've managed to stop the bleeding," she told him, looking up with tears rolling down her cheeks, "but I'm afraid his leg is beyond repair. The horse broke Jack's leg when it stomped on it, severing it just above his knee. He'll never walk normally again," she cried.

  Hopping down, Edward walked over to inspect the wound. He was hoping he could somehow magically reattach the limb so Jack could use it again, but saw that Katie was right. "I'm sorry, my friend," he said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder and gazing into eyes he expected to be moist with tears. On the contrary, Jack's eyes glowed with a fury Edward had never seen, especially from someone as gentle as Jack had always been around them.

  "You've done all you can for me," Jack groaned as he shifted his weight to one side to prop himself into a sitting position. "Go check on Brian."

  "You're a lot tougher than I ever imagined." Edward grinned, patting him on the back and helping Katie to her feet.

  As the two of them strode over to where Brian lay, crumpled in the tall grass, an audible cracking sound erupted in the silence behind them. Turning her head, Katie now understood why Jack had shooed them away. He was changing back into a wolf.

  ***

  Once Brian regained consciousness, everyone who was able mounted their steeds. Slowly they plodded toward the fire burning in the center of the field with Jack hobbling along after them. No one mentioned anything about how it would impede their progress, their respect for the noble werewolf was too great. As long as Jack wished to remain by their sides they would welcome him.

  "I still find this very odd," Katie murmured, dismounting a few feet from the blazing inferno.

  "What do you think is so strange?" Edward hopped down from his horse, raising a brow curiously.

  "The fact I can do this," she replied, holding out her hands to the flames as if to warm them, her fingertips inches away. "As big as this blaze is, I should have third degree burns from standing this close."

  "Well, don't try doing that with a flame I've created," he smirked. "Fortunately, Brian here seems to be the master of the heat-less fire."

  Before he could take credit for the compliment, a hissing noise captured their attention. As they turned toward the inferno it was followed by several rapid popping sounds. Some of the bodies encased in Edward's magical ice were beginning to spark and sizzle. The air around the group became acrid, filled with a scent only Katie and Brian recognized, the smell of burnt wiring.

  "That must be what the elder was talking about," Katie remarked, pointing at one of the cyborgs as its skin began to slough off and fall to the ground revealing the robotic creature beneath.

  Chapter 34

  Not daring to risk exposure in the open field, George remained at the edge of the forest, silently watching as the small group of people approached the conflagration in the center. "Weren't there four of them a while ago?" he muttered softly to himself. When the inflection he heard was not his own, but the old woman's cracked and aged voice, George glanced around as if expecting to see another person nearby.

  It took a few seconds for him to realize the decrepit sound had come from the vocal cords of the body he possessed, but as he scanned the surrounding shadows of the forest George couldn't help feeling like someone was watching him. Squinting into the darkness a few moments longer, he finally dismissed it as paranoia and turned his attention back to the open field.

  Briefly he contemplated the possibility that the fourth member of the small group had died during the course of the fight, but then saw another darkened shape walking toward the enormous fire. It can't be, he thought, shaking his head as if he were seeing a mirage or hallucinating. The shape he saw was not human, but an animal of some sort. I don't remember them having ...

  As George watched the beast hobble close enough to the flames to distinguish what it was, a light bulb flickered in his mind. The memory of killing a woman in the recent past. A woman who was not what she seemed. When he'd killed her he had originally thought her to be an animal, a wolf to be precise, but a short time after her death the fur had receded, leaving a human head dangling from his saddle. The memory faded from his mind as he watched the animal approach the three individuals beside the blaze as if it were the family dog.

  ***

  Keeping herself as dim as she could, Amber hid behind a dense cluster of saplings, studying the old woman twenty feet from her. There was something off about the crone that she couldn't place and she was determined to find out what it was. Having not seen George in quite some time now, she was forced to wonder. Could he be hiding inside this woman like he'd done a short time ago with the man who turned out to be a machine? Were her senses muddled because he was inside of a live host or had he fled to somewhere she could not pick up on him? Since Amber didn't really have any other way to find out, she resolved to follow the woman until she could get answers.

  ***

  Once the fleeing minions reached the relative safety and cover of the forest they began to regroup. "Just goes to show that having balls will only get you so far," one of them muttered, clearly depicting the formless one who had been their leader as an imbecile.

  "How was he to know the puny group of mortals would be so powerful?" another asked, defending the decision of his superior.

  "Perhaps you'd like to go back into the field and join the others, roasting like marshmallows," the disgruntled minion hissed.

  "Will you two stop bickering? He led us into a fight we could not win, get over it! We need to pick someone else to be in charge and decide what we will do next," the reanimated corpse of a young, brunette woman stated bluntly, silencing most of the murmurs of dissent.

  "Maybe we should have a contest," the first formless one muttered sarcastically, "and let the one with the most battle prowess take charge."
>
  The brunette woman stomped over to the minion, smacking him in the forehead with the palm of her rotting hand, rocking his head backward. "Idiot! Fighting amongst ourselves will only draw the attention of the humans!"

  "I say we let her lead the way," the minion who'd defended their former leader stated, pointing toward the woman who had been acting as a referee. Murmurs of agreement swept through the rest, except for the formless one who's suggestion it had been for them to fight it out. Waving his hand at them in disgust, he left without another word.

  "Good riddance," she grumbled, turning her back on the troublemaker. Issuing orders to the remainder of them, she began leading them north, sticking to the trees and out of sight.

  Chapter 35

  It was well past first light before the four of them felt safe leaving the clearing. Much of the night had been spent stamping out small fires; not the magical kind which Brian had produced, but real ones created by the sparks coming from the machines Edward had encased in ice. Every now and then an errant spark would touch the tall grass surrounding the conflagration and ignite it. Once the magical flames began to dwindle as they consumed the evil held captive within them, the group began to contemplate heading into the nearby forest.

  Brian and Katie rode the metallic steeds into the trees ahead of Edward, who was walking beside his horse and leading it by the reins so as not to leave Jack fighting to keep up.

  Just inside the trees, Katie impatiently waited for Edward. She had an idea she wanted to run by him and was also thinking of taking a short break to hunt. Sure they had food stashed away in the saddlebags, but she was really craving something fresher.

  When he finally stepped into the shade provided by the foliage overhead, Edward saw Katie anxiously looking at him. "I suppose you are wanting to rest?"

  "No," she laughed nervously, knowing she probably deserved the sarcastic question after badgering him so much about traveling in such a hurried fashion. "I had an idea that I wanted to run past you."

  Cocking an eyebrow curiously at her, he motioned for her to continue. "Go on." He twirled his hand again when she didn't immediately tell him.

  "I know we have plenty of food in the saddlebags to keep us for a while, but I was wondering if you would object to my hunting for fresh meat?"

  "Well, I did say that we were going to travel at a more casual pace, but something like that seems a frivolous waste of time, not to mention an impossible task in your condition." He frowned.

  "You didn't let me finish." She sighed. "I thought that maybe while I was hunting, with either yours or Brian's help, I could look for something to help Jack."

  "What do you hope to find while hunting that would help him?" he asked, looking as if he were already growing impatient with the conversation.

  "Hell, I don't know," she snapped. "A branch or something to lash onto him, so he could use it as a leg and not have to hobble around everywhere."

  Scratching his chin for a moment, he considered the idea. "That actually sounds like something worth taking the time and effort to do," he finally replied, offering her an apologetic smile.

  Having already strapped Jack's sword around her waist, with her bow in one hand she walked over to where he stood and threw her free arm around him in a hug. "I'm glad you listened to the voice of reason," she whispered while inwardly she thought, I would have done it without your blessing.

  Before Katie darted deeper into the woods with Brian, Edward turned to him. "What do your senses say? Are we safe for the time being?"

  "We should be fine for a while." Brian smiled. "I still feel something, but it seems more distant and much less of a threat."

  "That's a relief," Edward sighed, more worried about Katie's safety than the rest of theirs, even though she would have Brian with her. Edward had never seen him use a weapon in battle though, so he was unsure about his ability to keep her from harm. Sure, if something were to attack them while she was off hunting it would be more difficult to repel. Especially considering the fact that Jack was injured, making him less effective in battle.

  Edward surveyed the sparsely wooded area for a suitable place to build the campfire, picking up small sticks along the way, but noticed he was too slow in the endeavor. Jack had already begun pawing at the ground awkwardly. Balancing himself on two legs, Edward was amazed that Jack didn't tip over from the force of his scratching. "Let me help you," he called to the wolf, quickly walking over, dropping the branches he had gathered, and bending down to scoop handfuls of damp, rotten leaves away from the spot Jack had begun to clear.

  ***

  By the time Katie returned there was a small fire going. With a big, proud grin on her face, she held up two large rabbits in one hand. "Look what Brian helped me to get, you guys!"

  "Is that all?" Edward joked.

  "If you want, I will take them back and find a deer," she replied playfully, acting as if she were about to turn around, then grinning and walking over to where they sat. She tossed them onto the ground by Edward's feet then reached into the quiver of arrows on her back, drawing a thick, shortened branch from it that had a strange notch cut into.

  Walking over to Edward's horse, Katie rummaged through the saddlebag on its back and pulled out the spool of twine. "I know this might seem weird and take some getting used to, Jack," she softly stated, kneeling down beside him. "Roll over on your side," she urged.

  Edward shifted his position so he could more clearly see what she was doing, amazed by how deftly she worked. Within a couple of minutes Katie had placed the stump of Jack's leg into the notch she had carved out of the branch and, as Brian held the branch in place for her, secured the homemade crutch to his leg with the twine, wrapping it around his midsection to hold it more tightly in place.

  When she was done Katie sat back. "Go ahead and give it a try," she coaxed. As he got to his feet Katie saw that she had misjudged the overall length of the branch. The repaired leg was an inch or two shorter than his real one, but despite that Jack seemed to move around much better. However, the sight of the slight hobble combined with the wooden leg reminded her of a pirate, tempting her to utter the word Arrrrr and give him an eye patch. In the end she kept those thoughts and actions to herself, not wanting to make light of Jack's condition.

  "I never would have considered doing something like that," Edward remarked, beaming with pride about Katie's ingenuity as Jack sauntered over and licked her hand.

  "You're welcome." She smiled, ruffling the fur on his head. "Are those rabbits cooked yet?" Turning to face Edward she gave him a playful smirk to let him know she was only joking around.

  He grinned back. "Not yet, but I'll get right on it."

  Chapter 36

  Returning to the dumping ground two days after he'd departed the company of his peers, the formless one, who preferred to be addressed as Verin, shed the skin of the body he inhabited and left it crumpled on the ground behind one of the structures.

  Free of the restrictive shell, Verin floated through the air toward the railroad tracks, which terminated abruptly behind what was at one time the inn. "What are you doing back here?" Turning his head toward the sound of the voice, he saw the cyborg—whom the Black Knight had ordered to stay behind—propped up and leaning against the outer wall of the inn.

  "We ran into trouble before we reached Elysia. The idiot that our master left in charge got himself killed," Verin snapped.

  "Are you the only one who survived?"

  "No. The ones who did decided to elect a new leader, but I thought it would be better to inform our Lord of the events which significantly reduced our numbers. He's going to need a lot more than us to keep the intruders at bay; they are more powerful than our master knows," Verin replied.

  "Are you going back to his chamber to tell him? Take me with you if you are," the minion pleaded.

  "Yes, but I'm going alone. It would be best if you stay here as he commanded lest you have a desire to incur his wrath."

  The formless one sighed deeply. "I sup
pose you're right. I'm just bored out of my mind sitting here waiting. I think if George was coming back he would have arrived by now."

  Growing tired of the debate with the sniveling minion, Verin turned away and began following the tracks, which he knew would eventually lead back to Cemetery Hill.

  ***

  When Verin reached the other end of the railway he glided into the expansive chamber, dimly lit with blood red lights overhead. Surveying the room he noticed the number of slaves had dwindled considerably since his last visit. There didn't look to be more than fifty individuals chained to the floor in all of the rows combined, a tiny fraction when you considered the massive chamber could hold close to a thousand.

  As he prepared to return to the Black Knight's sanctuary he noticed a large black oval shape in the far corner. Walking over to investigate, he recognized the void as a portal. The only one capable of creating something like this within Cemetery Hill was his master, but Verin's curiosity got the better of him.

  Not willing to go completely through the portal, he stuck his head into the blackness to see what was on the other side. All he could see was a forest, much like any other, though the trees somehow seemed smaller in stature. Before he pulled his head back Verin heard an odd honking sound, as if there were a mutated creature just out of sight with the voice of a duck, but the lungs of a dragon.

  Unable to comprehend what he'd just seen and heard, Verin pulled his head back to his side of the portal. Though he didn't expect to find his master there, he floated back to the sanctuary. Upon his arrival he found the chamber completely deserted, even the impish minor demons were gone.

  Gliding over to the Black Knight's bank of monitors he studied them one at a time, trying to figure out where everyone had disappeared to. After ten minutes of searching their screens, Verin finally located the impish creatures, busily working in the Factory.