by S T Branton
“Awesome,” I said flatly. “What’s the bad news?”
The smoking man smiled. “Provided that we are able to defeat Delano, the other gods will then fear us in his stead. They will flee or be banished. We can take this nation back, and from here, the rest of the Earth.” He flicked the ash carelessly from his cigarette. “As far as strategy is concerned, I have contacts within the uncompromised sectors of the United States Military resistance. They are standing by to coordinate a strike with you and your team, should you choose to do so.”
For a moment, we simply stared at one another. “We have to confer,” I said finally.
“Of course.” The man turned his back. “I need not remind you that time is a luxury.”
Deacon, Steph, and I snapped into a quick huddle. I looked at them and wished the other two-fifths of my team had been permitted to join us. “It’s a huge risk,” I said. “We don’t have any idea how strong Delano is now, and I’m a hundred percent positive that he will expect an attack. There’s no way we’d be able to catch him by surprise.”
“Also, I’m kind of with Frank on this guy,” Steph said, her voice low. “He made us leave our brawlers at the door because he says we can’t trust them? I don’t think so. He’s the one we shouldn’t trust. We don’t know anything about him.”
“He hasn’t steered us wrong yet, Steph,” Deacon said. “It’s not like we have a folder full of fallback plans. This is now down to the wire. There’s no room to second-guess anything here.”
“The whole world is at stake,” she fired back. “Not only the free one. Everything. Second-guessing seems like the smartest thing we can do.” She turned to me. “I don’t like it, Vic.”
“And I don’t think it matters whether we like it or not,” Deacon said. “It’s this or nothing.”
It is a quandary, Marcus interjected. But I can vouch for urgency in this decision. Delano is ruthless and his power only increases. If he is not unseated, all will be as the gentleman has said. I believe the best course of action is to strike for the kill.
His voice was cut off when a soldier burst in through the entrance to the museum. “Sir!” he cried, out of breath. “We’re under attack!”
Chapter Six
Our huddle broke immediately and we barreled past the guards outside to rejoin Maya and Frank. The forces on the perimeter were already engaged with a significant number of short, brutish golems.
They weren’t fast, nor were they even very big, but they could pack a crazy wallop. A soldier was thrown back onto the steps from a single punch and grimaced in pain. The mirror-like surface of the reflecting pool churned, and more golems rose dripping from the water.
“Damn it to hell!” I cursed. My blade blazed into my hands and I raised it to meet the advancing ranks.
The golems proved to be relatively easy to hack apart, although they were sturdy and often continued to move as long as their legs remained intact. Without heads, they swung blindly as if in an attempt to land a crippling blow. I danced nimbly in and out of range, sliced them down, and launched heavy chunks of their crude limbs at those who still attacked. They staggered beneath the weight of their fallen comrades.
Frank wrenched a head off and heaved it into the water. Despite the weight he’d lost, he was still built like a brick shithouse, and he weathered punches and kicks like taps on the shoulder. Each time a golem was stalled by the impact of a bullet from Steph or one of the soldiers, the vampire seized it and tore into its dense, muddy flesh until it collapsed. Bodies sank into the depths of the pool they’d come from—those that stayed intact, anyway. Maya’s tactic was to crush them into dust against the ground. I hoped the museum guard had a front row seat to all her werewolf glory.
Choppy waves lapped at the edge of the stone we stood on. I kicked another golem into the pool. A strange, deep rumble started low in my ears. The waves in the pool grew larger, and the earth quaked enough to catch me off guard.
“Back up!” I yelled and leapt toward the stairs. The center of the shallow pool bulged upward and exploded into a shower of water and huge chunks of rock and dirt.
I ducked and cursed as a piece of concrete landed inches to my left. When I looked up again, all the water at our side of the pool had gone and left a shallow basin with a gaping hole in the center. A craggy, two-legged behemoth straddled the hole, its entire body crusted with grimy rock. It hunched over, flexed two powerful arms, and emitted a roar.
“What the fuck is that?” someone shouted.
I rolled my eyes. Questions were for amateurs. I’d become a pro long before. “Any ideas on this chump?” I asked Marcus as I brandished the Gladius Solis.
An Apprenti, for certain, Marcus said. A true god would have stronger minions. I cannot say I know this one in particular, although I would venture to guess that his strength is his most fearsome characteristic.
“Somehow, I’m not worried that it will think me to death,” I said. The behemoth’s eyes tracked instantly to the sword’s fiery glow. It smiled and exposed a mouthful of sharp black teeth.
“God-killer!” it thundered. Its deep voice resonated across the Mall. “We meet at last. Your puny weapon stands no chance against the likes of me. Prepare to be slain.”
“Wow,” I said. “Those were more words than I assumed you knew. And here I thought you wouldn’t impress me at all.”
The ugly son of a bitch laughed. “Mockery is the bastion of the weak,” he proclaimed and stepped out of the empty pool. The bare stone cracked beneath his feet. “It is useless within the arena of war. Either fight or die.” He swept one club-like arm out and the gesture caused the soldiers around me to scatter. More little golems now surged up from the hole the behemoth had made with his grand entrance.
I nodded toward them. “Take care of the small fry. I’ll handle Ben Grimm over here.” The stone hulk very obviously readied himself to deliver a serious punch, but I dashed in under his arm and drove the point of my sword toward his chest with all my might.
Sparks flew on impact, but the hard plating still melted under the intense heat of the blade. I felt his thick, clumsy hands try to grip me and lift me off my feet. If he managed to get ahold of me, I might be in trouble.
I spun away and slashed at his fingers. One blocky thumb tumbled to the ground near my feet. A burning orange gash materialized across his rough palm. The Apprenti jerked his hand back and growled in pain. He lunged forward suddenly, his good hand open for a powerful blow. The rush of wind fluttered my hair as I dodged out of the way in the nick of time.
“Float like a butterfly,” I said and hefted my sword into position. “Sting like a fucking bee.”
Once more, I leapt into range. He threw himself forward and rained sediment down on me. His fists slammed at the place where I’d stood scant seconds before but I was too damn fast. I used his bent leg as a launching point, jumped as high as I could, and anchored the sword deep in the Apprenti’s bulky shoulder. His skin began to melt into a sludgy, muddy substance.
Gravity did the rest of the work. The Gladius Solis slid downward through the behemoth’s torso and sliced into his chest and ribs. Pieces crumbled off his body, and when my feet touched the ground, his entire right side peeled away. He teetered on one foot, only to be pelted in the face by his own minion. I looked over my shoulder and Maya grinned as she stretched her throwing arm.
The stone Apprenti toppled into the drained reflecting pool and a shockwave rippled outward from his body. The basin shattered, but the ground held it in place. I turned to face my team and the other soldiers. They all stared dumbly at me, their jaws more or less on the floor. The man himself had made his way onto the marble stairs below the entrance to the Memorial’s central chamber. He was still smoking.
I strode closer through a mess of golem carnage and planted one foot on a step. “I’m tired of this shit,” I told him and raised my voice so everyone could hear. “And I guess that means I’m in. Now, I’m gonna come up there, and you’ll tell me how in hell we brin
g Delano down.”
Chapter Seven
An hour later, we were back at the trucks and preparing to leave D.C. Whatever else I could have said about the guy and his damn cigarettes, he came more prepared than most others I’d met along the way. We would return to Fort Victory with a plan, and that made our otherwise empty hands more bearable. Part of me had hoped he’d give us a secret weapon or something, but I should have known it would never be that easy.
“Vic.” His voice stopped me halfway through the truck door—passenger side this time. Frank sat behind the wheel and looked ready to simply hot-foot it out of there.
I gave him an apologetic glance. “Can you hold it for, like, one second? I’ll keep this as short as I can.”
“Take your time,” the vampire said. A drop of irony laced his next words. “It must be important.”
“It had better be.” I slammed the door and turned to face our host. We were all at least a little antagonized by him, and I was determined not to let him waste my time. Sharing his strategy against Delano had only bought him provisional amnesty as far as I was concerned.
Nobody put Maya in the corner.
He didn’t come closer than ten feet, and he lit a cigarette while I waited for him to tell me what he wanted. He must’ve smoked a whole pack of those things over the duration of our visit alone. “I think,” he said and exhaled a cloud of white smoke that wreathed around his head and shoulders, “that if this works, it will change everything.”
I eyed him evenly. “There’s no reason it won’t work,” I said. “My team and I will play our part as long as you uphold your end of the bargain.”
“Naturally,” he replied. Another drag ended in another billow of white. The smoke seemed to hang around him a little, almost like a clinging mist. He drifted into thoughtful silence. His eyes became distant for a moment or two. “Take care to choose your soldiers carefully when you go to face him.”
I chewed the inside of my lip and raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He seemed determined to irritate me beyond endurance. I could feel the ice he walked on grow thinner.
“Your friends may seem loyal to you at present, and perhaps they truly are.” He flicked the end of his cigarette. “But Delano has powers beyond compare, as you’ve no doubt seen. Can you be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that his presence will not change their minds? At heart, they are Forgotten. They always will be.”
“Who are you talking about?” I demanded. The question was unnecessary—we both knew which two he had kept in exile outside the Memorial. I merely wanted to force him to say their names and to acknowledge the way he treated individuals who professed to be his allies. He didn’t take the bait and instead, regarded me through the haze of smoke.
“Listen—” I burst out. My anger pushed through my tight control and I couldn’t help it. I wanted to punch some sense into him.
He held up a hand to cut me off. “Do not misunderstand my motives, young one. All I want you to do is think about it. I’m sure your friend in the medallion would agree.” His two cents apparently deposited, he turned to leave.
This time, I was the one to stop him. I had no idea what to say, only the insurmountable urge to say something. “Who are you?” was the question my mouth seemed determined to ask. The man halted. “Really,” I added as if that helped. “I didn’t come here to be jerked around.”
He smiled enigmatically. “Who is anyone?” he asked. “Fear not, my friend. We’ll all learn who we are before the end.”
That was not the answer I wanted. I threw the truck door open and climbed furiously into the seat. “Let’s go,” I said to Frank. “Screw this place.”
“Amen.” He drove around the curve of Lincoln Circle and out to the street. The escort stuck with us until we’d returned to the highway, at which point, they fell away. I watched the military envoy turn back toward the capital in the rearview mirror.
“Hey, Marcus,” I said and chose my words carefully because Frank was right there and I was the one he could hear. “Was he telling the truth about you?”
He didn’t reply for a while. Frank, for his part, kept his mouth shut and his eyes on the road. At last, Marcus said, It is possible, Victoria, that in the presence of an entity such as Delano, even the strongest convictions may waver. I cannot say that I wholeheartedly disagree with his assessment.
Residual anger smoldered in my veins, born of a loyalty I hadn’t truly considered until it was thrown into question. After all this time—all this distance, everything we’d been through together—who was some cigarette-huffing old man to doubt the bonds forged in our trials by fire? I rubbed my face with the heel of my hand and told myself to brush it off and clear my mind. He was a general in the war against the gods, nothing more. I didn’t have to take his word as gospel and I resolved that I wouldn’t.
He was right about one thing, though. By the end, when it mattered, we’d all know who we were. And he would know what we were made of, too.
“Are you good?” Frank asked tentatively. He hazarded a glance in my direction. “Do you want I should stop the car? You look like you might hurl. Or punch the window out.”
I forced myself to grin and some of the tension melted from my body. “Nah,” I said. “I’m good. We’ve gotta go home and get ready to kick some ass.”
“Your wish is my command,” the vampire said and returned the grin. The truck’s engine revved as he stepped on the gas.
Chapter Eight
I rummaged through a pile of clothes on my bed in search of a matching pair of socks. Even though we’d spent a lot of time traveling lately, it somehow still felt weird to pack a bag like this—as if I were going on vacation. I tossed another shirt in along with another pair of underwear. I had no idea how many I’d need, but then again, we were essentially clueless about many things.
For one, how the hell did I think this confrontation with Delano would go? By the time we hauled ass out to Indiana, it would realistically be weeks since I’d last seen him. He could have changed in a million different ways. Even the simple thought that I had to figure that mess out made me both frustrated and anxious. I pushed the half-full bag away and plopped heavily on the edge of the mattress.
“Damn it,” I said out loud and balled my hands into fists against my thighs. “I wish I’d been able to fight him back in Washington. Of course, that was the one time he bailed instead of getting down to business.”
Please do not interpret this the wrong way, Marcus said. However…
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Oh, great. Here it comes.”
I feel that perhaps it was a fortunate decision. The magnitude of Delano’s new power cannot be overstated. A battle against him would likely not have ended in your favor at that point.
I laughed grimly. “Just say it, Marcus. He would’ve kicked my ass.”
And laughed about it. Raucously.
I sighed. “I fucking hate that bastard, but you’re right. He’s swallowed gods left and right. I think he might be more than a god now if that’s even possible.”
I shudder to think that it is, and yet, he has made it so. A legion of gods inhabiting one body. I wonder. How long can he sustain an arrangement this extreme?
“Long enough,” I answered. “It barely matters anyway. I’ll drag Delano to hell or die trying.”
A hero’s death, Marcus said. He chose not to elaborate. I went back to tossing things into my bag.
The sound of the door squeaking open behind me almost didn’t register over the roar of my own thoughts. It wasn’t until Jules parked herself on the bed that I glanced up.
“Hey,” she said. “How are you?”
I made space for her. “That’s a loaded question.”
She began to pluck articles of clothing from the heap and folded them into neat piles on the bedspread. “I know. I wanted to check on you and make sure you haven’t totally lost your mind. You always have so much to deal with compared to me.”
“That’s not
true,” I said with a look of protest. “You’re like the queen of hospitality around here. People might not know it, but you’re the reason they’re so happy living at Fort Victory. You’ve made this place a home for a ton of hopeless refugees.”
She smiled slightly. “Things are never hopeless when you’re around, Vic. And I’m glad you feel that way. I simply…” She paused with a bulky sweatshirt clutched in her hands and shook her head. “I guess I’m the one going crazy here. I’m bored! Isn’t that insane?” Her laugh was as dry as bone. “Imagine being bored in your safehouse in the middle of the damned apocalypse. But that’s the situation. Lately, I feel I could climb the walls. I can’t get out of my head.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there.” I scanned my attempt to pack, decided it would have to do, and zipped the duffel bag.
“You got out of it,” Jules said.
“By shipping out to Washington and almost getting killed by Vikings,” I reminded her. “My solutions aren’t for everyone.”
She was quiet for a minute and her fingers fretted at the hem of the sweatshirt. The gears of her nimble mind worked visibly behind her eyes. “I want to go with you this time,” she declared suddenly.
I was so caught off guard that I laughed, which I immediately saw was the wrong reaction. “Sorry,” I said quickly. “But what are you talking about, Jules? You have zero combat training and no offense, but I’ve seen you shoot a gun.”
She pursed her lips. “And I’ve seen Deacon trying to teach you.”
“Hey!” I laughed and threw a shirt gently at her. “It’s different for me because I have the sword. Teaching me to shoot was all Deacon’s idea.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “When did you watch us, anyway? He always insists that we practice alone, or else I might kill someone by accident.”
