He was three miles out, overlooking nothing but nighttime and trees, when he hit the animal.
The car shook as it collided with the hood and a sharp yelp and a pained whimper followed. Xander rolled his eyes; he’d hit a damn dog and dented the hood of the car!
So much for the integrity of The Crimson Shadow’s ride!
Still listening to the creature carry on behind the car, he reached into the case and drew out Yang. Then, still cursing, he pulled himself from the driver’s seat, slamming the door behind him. As he rounded the car he began to search for the dog he’d hit, keeping the white revolver ready in case he had to protect himself from whatever fight the injured creature might still have in it. He figured it was better to shoot it, since it was a miracle that it had lived through the impact of a floating car doing over two-hundred. He stopped in his tracks…
Not even a miracle could save a dog from that sort of collision!
His mind’s eye alerted him of the danger a split second before the first attack caught him in the back and he hit the ground. Face buried in the snow, he gave thanks that he was still clutching the revolver. Before he had a chance to turn around and face his attacker, however, there was a pair of strong hands pressing on the back of his head. They pushed, forcing his face further into the frozen mound and held him there—suffocating him. Desperation filled his mind as his lungs screamed for oxygen and his aura flailed about.
He had to relax! His auric abilities were useless if he was reaching out in blind panic.
Unless…
Concentrating on the snow beneath him, he imagined a cup of cold water that he needed to boil; he imagined a cigarette that needed to be lit. He imagined anything and everything hot and burning and pushed more and more of the growing energy into the mound that was robbing him of breath and didn’t stop until his face touched the cold, wet grass below and he got a breath of earth-laced air.
Denied the ability to drown him in the snow, the hands that still gripped the back of his head began to pound his face into the turf over and over. Xander screamed in rage and expanded his aura into a protective orb that forced his attacker off of him and he jumped to his feet.
There was an inhuman growl as Xander turned to face his attacker and recoiled when he saw the therion. The thing’s forehead was large and flat, caving the eyes in and making them look narrowed and fierce. The jaw was stretched and jutted out in a quivering maw that was filled with fierce teeth. Staring at it, he realized that it looked like a strange cross between a monkey and a starved wild-cat. It roared at him and Xander, desperate for energy, reached out and siphoned the rage from its earth-colored aura.
As the moon emerged from behind a patch of passing clouds and bathed the therion in light, he noticed the shredded remains of a button-up shirt that billowed in a passing breeze and the shredded remains of what had once been a pair of jeans.
Xander glared as the therion hunched down, preparing to pounce, and aimed Yang at its head. After playing around with The Gamers’ rounds the day before he couldn’t remember what he had in the ivory revolver’s chambers, though he was certain that whatever it was would have no problem taking the beast’s head off. The creature roared again at the sight of the weapon and swiped a long arm at it; its hooked claws whistling through the air. It bared its teeth at him when it came up short and he felt compelled to do the same and drew back his lips and, extending his fangs at it, hissed like a basket of shaken cobras.
The therion dropped to all fours and took a long, loping step forward and Xander regained his composure in time to pull the trigger and fire a round that hit a mound of snow in the distance and blew up, sending cold rain down on him and only him.
But where was the—
Clawed hands at his neck answered the question too early and in all the wrong ways and he felt himself hurled towards—and then into—the surrounding woods. Not wanting to see how a vampire’s body would hold up against crashing head-first into an oak, Xander reached out and stopped himself with his aura before hurling himself back at the menace like a slingshot.
The therion tilted its head in confusion as he rocketed back in its direction and, at the last moment, it dodged the attack and grabbed Xander by the jacket, spinning him around and slamming him into the side of the Firebird. An immense pain shot through his body and he cried out in agony and gripped Yang tighter, preparing for another shot.
The therion circled like a wolf coming down on injured prey and Xander scowled at the creature as he pulled himself from the twisted metal of the Firebird and aimed at it before he squeezed the trigger three times.
The monster sidestepped then, dodging the first two shots and letting the enchanted rounds explode within the depths of the forest. The third shot, however, found its mark and tore into the beast’s forearm, tearing the limb off at the elbow. There was a bright flash of light then and the rest of the creature’s arm singed away to its shoulder like a cigarette turning to ash.
The Gamers’ magic, Xander thought to himself, pleased with the results.
The therion howled in agony as it stared in shock at the wound; its jaw hanging open and panting in pain. Though the rest of it was still monstrous and menacing, its eyes suddenly looked hurt and scared. Xander, seeing the human expression on the monster’s face, lowered his gun.
The therion whimpered again, clutching at its stump of a shoulder and turned its all-too-human eyes towards Xander, moving its jaws but only producing pained barks.
Xander frowned and stepped forward, allowing his aura to reach out and wrap around the creature’s head as he entered its mind. Inside, he came face to face with a teenage boy; brown hair that was unkempt yet stylish waved about from non-existing winds and the same terrified eyes looked at him with desperation as his lips moved; though no discernable sound or words emerged.
Xander frowned and focused harder on digging deeper into the therion’s mind.
STOP-OP HIM-IM! It was the same voice—the same request—but shouted from what sounded like a dozen mouths at once. It was the only thought in the creature’s head!
Xander turned back towards the boy and tightened his hold on the mind, being careful not to rupture the entire system and leave him brain-damaged. The boy, realizing what was happening, stepped forward and looked at Xander.
Please! The boy pleaded again, You have to stop him!
Xander blinked and when his eyes opened again he was back in the snow-capped woods with the one-armed therion—its breaths coming in ragged—in front of him. Its hot breath condensed in the air and made foul-smelling clouds and though Xander was free of the therion-boy’s mind, he could still hear his plea. As he listened he could hear Kyle’s voice as it jack-hammered inside the poor boy’s mind.
He was overwhelmed by the realization that this was his old stepfather’s most recent victim; his newest stepchild. Entering the mind again, he began searching his memories, seeing Kyle’s manipulative entrance into his life and various degrading and humiliating acts against the boy—Tyler.
It was the exact same torture that he had experienced so many years ago.
Please! Tyler’s voice continued to beg, There’s nothing I can do to stop him; to help her… Xander frowned as he saw who Tyler meant and shuddered at the “sight.” The bastard hadn’t changed one bit! In the back of Tyler’s head, Xander could sense Kyle’s auric manipulations, “hearing” the command that he’d been given and was continuing to fight: the command to kill him, no matter what the cost, Please… there will be no peace for any of us until he’s dead!
“Peace…” Xander looked down at Yang, lingering on his thoughts. Finally, he stepped forward and pressed the barrel to the creature’s forehead.
The therion looked at him with sad eyes and let out a heavy sigh, No more pain?
Xander shook his head. “No more pain,” he recited as he pulled the trigger.
The blast echoed through the night, and the fluttering of birds taking flight sounded in the distance. There was a moment of sile
nce and then the thunder of an approaching army; coming at him from the woods. He turned away from Tyler—facing towards the new threat—as the magic from the bullet consumed his body and sent embers flying into the night sky.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Fodder in the Fog
As the sound of his enemy’s army drew closer, Xander hurried to the battered Firebird, fetching the spare ammo and beginning the process of reloading Yang with explosive rounds.
When he’d finished with the white revolver, he set it on the car’s roof and grabbed Yin, repeating the process, this time with the magical hollow points. With both of the twins fully loaded, he grabbed the rest of the enchanted rounds and stuffed them into an old backpack. Finally, positive that he was ready, he thumbed back the hammers on both the guns and turned to face the onslaught.
The distance grew luminescent then as a mass number of auras—all shining a dull, bloody-grey—came at him. Xander scowled, the shared shade giving away what he had already guessed: they were all slaves of Kyle’s mind control.
Just as Stan had predicted!
As he contemplated his next move he was startled by the roars of engines and lifted both revolvers, aiming into the forest and waiting for a target to present itself. Though his vampire eyes were sharp and the darkness meant little, something seemed to be clouding the army’s approach.
All at once the clamor stopped, leaving the roars of several engines. Before Xander could figure out what had happened three snowmobiles came charging over the snow bank on the edge of the road and flew at him. Diving to avoid being struck, he caught himself with his aura before crashing to the road as the machines and their riders landed and sprayed sparks across the concrete.
Still suspended in midair, he twisted to face the slave-rider that had landed closest to him and fired a round from Yang. The rider swerved out of its path and the bullet exploded in the street, leaving a small, fiery crater.
Xander growled and touched down to the street before jumping into the air and landing on the roof of the Firebird, putting himself out of the vehicles’ range. Crouched on the dented metal surface, he glared down at the mind-slaves as they all skidded to a stop and stared up at him with dull, mindless eyes.
A winter gust picked up, taking a hold of the stilled combatants and tugging at the hoods of the riders’ parkas and kicking Xander’s hair into a frenzy about his head. Blinded for a moment by his shifting bangs, he hurried to clear his vision with his forearm and was shocked to see that the three had taken the opportunity to draw their own weapons: hunting rifles.
Before he had a chance to raise his revolvers in retaliation the first shot was fired, piercing through his left shoulder and throwing him off the roof of the car and knocking Yin and Yang from his grip.
“SHIT!” he landed onto the road, clutching the wound and hissing in rage.
The riders dismounted their snowmobiles and circled the car. Snarling at them, he rolled to his feet, cringing at the pain in his shoulder. Though he was sure being shot hurt a lot more for a human, the sensation was still a painful one and he cursed again for being injured so early in the fight. Ignoring the burning sting, he crouched down in anticipation of the three as they charged at him. The leading attacker—a tall, balding man—turned his rifle in his grip and swung the gun at him like a club, catching Xander in the chest.
Doing his best to ignore the pain, he snarled, baring his fangs at the men despite their emotionless faces and grabbing the next swing of the rifle in his right hand, releasing his grip on his still-bleeding shoulder in the process. As the mind-slave struggled to regain his weapon, one of the other riders came around and repeated his comrade’s attack: swinging the rifle in a wide arc and connecting with the young vampire’s wound. A fiery inferno of agony wracked him and he dropped to his knees, cursing and sucking in frozen air in an attempt to numb the pain. As he did this, he became aware of the three rifles as they were cocked and leveled at his head.
Despite the threat of being shot, he couldn’t avert his attention from the weapons’ owners; especially their drumming heartbeats and the smell of the blood as it grew more and more pungent in their veins.
Forgetting the roaring pain in his shoulder he cried out in fury, a brief static crackling in the air as his aura shot from his chest and became a protective orb that surrounded him and forced the rifles from his attackers’ hands, twisting and bending the barrels until they were nothing more than balls of metal.
The thirst was unbelievable! For the first time since his awakening he felt the uncontrollable drive to feed and he rose to his feet and glared at the mind-slaves.
Kyle thought he was buying himself a chance by putting humans—potential energy—in his path? He thought they would slow down or even stop him?
He was just providing him with a meal!
Without their weapons the three drones were left with no other option but to charge forward empty-handed. Xander grinned, welcoming the advance, and drove his foot down with all his vampiric strength on the closest attacker’s kneecap, his nostrils flaring as the force drove bone through flesh and filled the air with the scent of blood. The man gave a pained grunt and collapsed, unable to go on any further. Uncaring, the other two jumped over the injured obstruction that was their fallen comrade.
The man to Xander’s left was cast aside with a swift backhand that drove him face-first into the street, further saturating the air with the sweet aroma. Down to the last of the riders, Xander turned to the third man as he pulled a serrated hunting knife from a sheath at his belt and swung his arm around, plunging the weapon into Xander’s left side. Overcome by thirst, Xander ignored the pain and hissed again.
The man frowned—though his eyes remained lifeless—and began to twist the submerged blade in an attempt to get the upper hand. Before much progress could be made, however, Xander lunged forward, grabbing the mind-slave’s head and ripping it from his shoulders. The resulting eruption from the neck-stump covered the surroundings in blood and Xander, overwhelmed by the scent, shot forward at the two survivors.
Broken-kneecap was unaware of the attack until after the fangs had torn into his neck, and as Xander fed, he sensed the other as he pulled himself up. This one stumbled towards him, reaching for the knife that was still embedded in his side. Sensing the mind-slave’s motives but not wanting to turn away from his meal, Xander lashed out with his aura and ensnared him, digging through his mind for any sort of psychic energy but finding nothing of substance. Not wanting to let the blood go to waste, he held him in his auric binds as he finished his first course.
****
With his thirst subsided and his foggy mind cleared, Xander turned back and fetched his guns. Lifting his left arm, he cringed at the remaining pain from the still-healing gunshot wound. Though the knife-wound was already healed, his shoulder still gaped; the bleeding, however, had stopped as the healing process took its effect. Xander growled, the wound was an aching reminder that he was no longer at his peak fighting condition. He frowned at this realization, willing his body to heal faster as he rubbed the wound and moved forward.
He wasn’t about to be swayed.
The eerie silence continued as he went into his backpack and refilled the empty chambers of his guns. He frowned as he finished up, realizing that Kyle was playing games with him. Shaking his head, he turned towards the thick haze that waited ahead of him—no doubt one of the bastard’s mind-tricks—and extended his aura into the depths. He reached as far as he could, finding that his mind’s eye was limited as well.
For ten minutes he trudged forward towards the auric mass; the army seeming to be close but never showing with each advancing step. Unsure as to why Kyle was tormenting him with the suspense of holding his drones at bay, Xander was at least glad for the opportunity to heal further. Just as this thought was done forming in his mind the sound of the army picked up again.
Xander rolled his eyes. “Figures!” he growled.
As he looked ahead, a line of ghostly faces em
erged from the haze. Wasting no time on the spectacle, he fired an explosive round into the group, watching as the night lit up with The Gamer’s magic and the faces disappeared into the inferno, leaving behind sizzling embers and red-stained snow. With the lingering powder and mist dying down the auric haze that had haunted him began to recede and Xander found himself staring at the massive army.
The people, all void of any sort of expression, stood shoulder-to-shoulder, each armed with whatever weapon or potentially dangerous tool had been at hand. Many wielded a firearm of some sort while others carried axes and other farming equipment and one, he noticed, armed with nothing more than a steak knife.
All at once, like a single being, they charged.
Xander lifted both guns, firing a round from each into the approaching crowd. The explosive round went off—filling the woods once again with its mystical light—and incinerated over a dozen mind-slaves in the process while the hollow point caught an advancing man in the chest and sent him rocketing back with bone-crushing force into the mind-slaves behind him, shattering their bones and leaving them unable to move.
Though many were taken down by the two rounds alone others clamored forward in their place; climbing over the dead and wounded in an attempt to reach their target. Xander, holding his focus, mentally recited applicable lessons from his training as he braced himself.
“‘Fluid, never rigid,’” he fired another round. “‘Trust your instincts!’”
Two men wearing leather hooked around and came at him from either side—one wielding a tire-iron while the other swung a length of chain over his head—as a pimple-faced teen charged at him from the front with a fallen branch brandished like a spear. Xander rolled his eyes at the sight, raising his arm to get off a shot only to be caught off guard as the drone to his right brought the chain down onto his hand. Though nothing was broken, the force was enough to knock Yang from his grip and he cursed as the length of metal came around again and connected with his forehead. Swooning from the impact, he dropped to a knee as a wave of dizziness overcame him. He heard the jingle of the chain and sensed another attack coming and rolled forward, deciding to take his chances with the kid and his branch instead. The rattle of the links coupled with a wet crack and he scanned the scene behind him with his mind’s eye, “seeing” that his dodge had been effective and the chain had just crushed the other man’s skull. His scanning mind picked up on branch-boy then as he swung downward for a head-shot and Xander caught it with an auric tendril, jumping to his feet and turning to the chain-wielder as he tried for another swing. Xander frowned, listening to the commotion from the rest of Kyle’s drones, and jumped into overdrive.
Noir: A Crimson Shadow Novel Page 30
