China

by Scott M. Baker

  Jason rode his horse up alongside Qiang. “Are we taking a break?”

  “No. We’re here.”

  “Where the portal is?”

  Qiang pointed west. “The gate is two miles in that direction. You said you wanted to attack during daylight, and this as close as we can get to it without too much of a risk of being discovered. The patrols are going to stay posted so nothing stumbles upon us and will join us at sunrise.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I can take you to it if you want. It might help us plan our attack.”

  “Of course.” Jason turned to his team. “Haneef, Ustagov, Father Belsario, Sasha. You’re with me. Sook-kyoung, please take care of Lucifer and Lilith until I get back.”

  Qiang ordered Min to gather up five horsemen. When they were ready, the Xiongnu led the way off the G1 toward the portal.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Zhen had a tough time picking up Xiu’s trail. After passing her intelligence on to Qiang, she had backtracked to the location where they had found the Sataners and proceeded in the same direction the caravan had gone. At first, she easily spotted the large white X marks that Xiu had chalked onto the trees. However, after crossing a particularly large expanse of abandoned agricultural land, she found nothing. Zhen had been careful when crossing the field not to stray off course; however, when she reached the woods on the opposite side, she could not see any markings. She rode several hundred feet to the left and right in case her bearings had been off, yet still could find no indication as in what direction to go. Zhen was about to turn around when she stumbled across a white X scrawled on the wall of a dilapidated wooden shed inside the woods. She followed the path.

  Unfortunately, Zhen came across no other markings for the next hour. The lack of information frustrated her and slowed her efforts to catch up with the others. She considered backtracking through the woods when she broke through the tree line.

  A quarter of a mile away, a small hill rose in front of her. A large fire burned on the reverse slope, illuminating the dark and sending embers churning into the sky. Zhen stopped her horse and listened for the sounds associated with a camp, but she only heard the crackling of the flames. Zhen made her way to the base of the hill, unslung her QBZ-95B carbine, and spurred her horse up the slope. As she reached the crest, she raised her weapon into the high ready position, prepared for anything.

  Zhen expected to find a Sataners camp site. Instead, two wooden posts ten feet high had been planted in the soil with a large piece of cloth draped between them. The campfire, or more accurately a bonfire, stood on the opposite side of the makeshift structure. She scanned the area for signs of life and detected none. Using the heels of her boots to nudge her horse in the side, she urged the animal down the slope. When Zhen circled around to the other side of the structure, she leaned forward and vomited.

  The wooden posts were the vertical boards of inverted crosses mounted into the ground. Xiu and Lihua had been stripped naked and crucified upside down, with rusted railroad ties hammered through their feet, wrists, and mouths to hold them in place. Each woman had her throat slit so deeply their spines were visible, and their abdomens had been sliced from pelvis to ribcage, allowing the internal organs to fall out and drape onto the dirt. The piece of cloth stretched between the two crucifixes bore four words written in blood.

  You can’t stop us

  Book Three

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “There it is.” Qiang pointed down the hill.

  Jason did not need to have the portal pointed out to him. By now, he had become all too familiar with them. It sat in an open field that once had been farmland. This one was slightly larger than the others. From this distance, he estimated its diameter at eighty to ninety feet. A rolling black cloud formed the circumference and its surface shimmered like a mirage. A mile to the south stood the camp for the Sataners comprised of larger, more permanent tents. Only a handful of people tended to the site; the main body of the cult had not arrived yet, as Jason had counted on. Except for this hillock, a half mile distant and to the right of the portal, the surrounding land lay flat for several miles. They would not be able to sneak up on this one undetected as they had in Paris and Moscow. On the plus side, so much open space provided them with plenty of room to maneuver. They were going to need it.

  An army of Demon Spawn guarded this portal. Five Golem formed a circle around the portal, one behind, two in front, and one on either side, standing close enough together to prevent anyone from getting near the opening. A horde of flesh eaters wandered aimlessly. Naked, emaciated, and with leathery gray skin dried out from the fires of Hell, these were the bodies of those condemned to the Underworld. These demons were slow and uncoordinated, so dealing with one or two was easy. However, a horde of flesh eaters this size could strip a man to the bones in minutes. Much more dangerous were the demons wandering amongst them. Jason recognized the gray, bat-like bodies and bulbous, eyeless heads of soul vampires, the creatures that fed off the souls of humans and spewed acid slime. He had been battling them since the early days of the apocalypse. Even more disturbing was the presence of ravagers, which they first ran across in Siberia. Human in form, with blood red eyes and talons for fingers, these were by far the most dangerous demons yet encountered. They could tear apart a person in seconds and, despite the severity of any wound inflicted upon them, could regenerate in minutes.

  The two decimators that had butchered the villagers sat on their haunches on either flank of the demons. When a flesh eater strayed too far from the group, one of the decimators bolted from its position and rushed it. A two-second blur of activity blocked the view and then the decimator returned to its position, leaving behind a pile of severed body parts. The show of force had the desired effect, and the rest of the Demon Spawn closed ranks.

  Min shook his head. “How many demons do you think are down there?”

  “It’s hard to tell,” Ustagov answered. “I count eight ravagers and eleven soul vampires.”

  “How many flesh eaters?” Haneef asked.

  Father Belsario lowered his binoculars. “At least three hundred.”

  Sasha reached out and placed her hand on Jason’s shoulder. “This is the toughest we’ve faced so far.”

  “This is nothing,” said Qiang. “Check out what’s on the other side of the gate.”

  Jason shifted his attention toward the portal. His spirits sank. The familiar blood red sky and gray, barren landscape was covered by scores of Demon Spawn, mostly Golem, ravagers, and soul vampires, which stretched to the horizon. They were not interested in crossing over into this realm. Their presence and numbers bothered Jason.

  As the group watched, a sixth Golem approached from the south, the one created in the decimation field several days previous. It lumbered past the Sataners’ camp and made its way through the Demon Spawn. The ravagers and soul vampires moved aside for the behemoth, as did most of the flesh eaters. A few of the latter did not move fast enough to get out its way and were either swatted aside by its meaty hands, their bodies emitting blue eddies of energy as their lifeless forms crashed into the dirt, or were crushed beneath its massive feet. The demon made its way to the portal and joined the other Golem.

  “Have there always been this many Demon Spawn here?” Ustagov asked.

  Qiang shook his head. “Demons have always hovered around the gate, just never this many. Those on the other side weren’t there before.”

  The doctor chuckled. “It seems our reputation proceeds us.”

  Sasha leaned closer to Jason so as not to be heard. “You know I’m with you a hundred percent, but there’s no way we’ll get past all those Demon Spawn.”

  “I hate to be pessimistic,” added Father Belsario. “I agree with Sasha. We’re not going to close that portal unless you have one Hell of an ingenious plan.”

  Jason lowered his binoculars. “It just so happens I do.”

  * * *

  Three hours later back at the Xiongnu campsite, the
group stood around Jason who knelt on the ground and outlined the details of the plan he had formulated, using a makeshift map of the portal site drawn in the sand. For the upcoming battle, they would be divided into four sections. Qiang would lead most of the Xiongnu into battle against the Demon Spawn and distract them while the Demon Hunters attempted to close the portal. To accomplish that, the latter would divide themselves into two groups; Jason, Haneef, Sasha, and Sook-kyoung would carry one of the antimatter devices and Father Belsario, Gabriel, and Matthew the second. Ustagov would stay back with the remaining device under the protection of five Xiongnu horsemen. As Jason laid out his plan, he could tell by their facial expressions and arms crossed over their chests that the others were highly skeptical. When he finished, he stood and brushed the dirt off his knees.

  “What do you think?”

  No one responded.

  “If someone has a better idea, now’s the time to speak up.”

  Father Belsario spoke first. “It’s risky.”

  “It’s the only option we have.”

  The others nodded in reluctant agreement.

  “It’s the same rules as always,” continued Jason. “If the person carrying the device gets taken down, someone else grabs and deploys it. The same goes for the Xiongnu. If something happens to us, one of your horsemen will have to finish the job.”

  “None of us know how to use them,” said Qiang.

  “They work automatically. All you need to do is throw it into the portal. Once it touches the surface, the device will blast it shut.”

  “Make certain none of your people touch the portal while deploying the device,” said Ustagov.

  “Why?”

  “It’s a one-way portal. Demons can exit Hell into our realm. If anything tries to go in the other direction, it’ll instantly be destroyed.”

  “I’ll let them know.”

  “Then it’s settled.” Jason paused to give anyone a final chance to weigh in. No one did. “Qiang, brief your people on the plan. The rest of you make any last-minute preparations. I want to be back at the portal shortly after sunrise, so we leave in ten minutes.”

  As everyone went off to get ready, Jason headed for the tent the Xiongnu had set up for him. Lucifer and Lilith waited inside, cuddled together on a blanket that someone had spread out. The werehounds jumped up at the sight of their master and rushed him. Jason crouched in front of them and received a double face bath.

  Less than two minutes later, the flap to his tent opened, and Sasha stepped in. Jason scratched the two werehounds behind the ears and stood. “Was there something about the plan—”

  Sasha slid her hands across Jason’s cheeks, cupped them around the back of his head, and pulled him toward her. Her lips pressed against his in a kiss filled with as much passion as affection. She broke away after several seconds, keeping her hands behind his head and running her fingers through his hair.

  “I love you. I’ve loved you since we first met at Mont St. Michel, only then I was too stupid to admit it to myself, and I lost you. I’m not trying to take you away from Jeanette and, even if I could, I’m not supposed to become involved with you. There’s a good chance you might not make it through this morning, and I can’t bear the thought of not telling you how I feel.”

  “Don’t worry. Everyth—”

  Sasha kissed him again, her lips warmer and more inviting this time. When she broke the embrace, she placed her forehead against his and whispered, “Don’t say anything. Just accept that I love you.”

  Sasha rushed out of the tent, leaving Jason alone with his emotions and two werehounds who tilted their heads and stared at him in confusion.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Mei had made her group travel through the night with only two brief rest stops. The sparsity of breaks did not affect Jeanette much because Mei had not allowed them to eat or drink anything since the forced march began. Thankfully, they did not have to walk tied up as they had in the earlier part of the trip; otherwise they would have collapsed hours ago. After riding in a saddle for so long, her legs, lower back, and butt ached. Jeanette did not let the discomfort bother her. She knew what Mei had in store would be infinitely more painful.

  The sun crested the eastern horizon. Its rays stretched across the landscape, creating long shadows from those objects in its path. Jeanette lowered her head to one side to avoid the intense light shining in her eyes.

  On her right, Antoine whispered, “Hey.”

  “What?”

  “I think we’ve arrived at wherever these lunatics are taking us.”

  Jeanette shaded the sun with her right hand. A quarter of a mile ahead of them stood a more permanent camp, the tents larger and better constructed than those used while traveling the countryside, especially one in the center three times the size of the others. Fire pits and cooking stations had been set up and toilet facilities built along the western perimeter. She figured this was Mei’s home base. Her suspicions were confirmed when Ian called out, “There she is, mates.”

  Jeanette leaned to one side. A mile beyond the camp was the portal. Hundreds of demons stood between them and the portal, too many for her to count, although even at this distance she could detect several Golem standing guard.

  “What have we gotten ourselves into?” Vicky muttered.

  Ian chuckled. “A bloody fine mess.”

  Antoine maneuvered his horse closer to Jeanette, although not enough to bring attention onto him. He whispered, “Let me know when you want to make a break for it.”

  She lifted her tied hands in front of her. “How?”

  Antoine raised his a few inches out of his lap. He pulled his wrists aside, showing that the knot had been loosened. “I’ve been working on them all night. Just say when.”

  Jeanette nodded.

  As they approached the camp, the flaps on the large tent in the center opened. Bai exited and made her way through the compound. The decimators left their spot on either side of the horde and joined her. Mei ordered the caravan to stop. She dismounted and stood by her horse. As Bai approached, Mei bowed deeply.

  “You arrived sooner than I anticipated, my child.”

  “I’m afraid there are more travelers trying to close the Gate to Salvation.”

  A sinister expression spread across Bai’s face. “I’m sure there are.”

  “You’re not concerned?”

  “Why should I be?” Bai stretched her arms wide toward the portal, reminding Jeanette of Christ on the crucifix. “I have a legion of the Blessed protecting us. What do I have to fear from mortals such as these?”

  Mei lowered her head, an expression of dejection twisting her features. Bai ran a talon down the woman’s cheek, a twisted gesture of affection.

  “Don’t despair, my child. You are mortal, too. You have seen the Darkness and have accepted it, and as such you are saved.”

  “Thank you, my Mistress.” Mei motioned toward Jeanette. “Should I prepare them for the ritual?”

  “There’s been a change in plans. Satan wants to talk to them personally.”

  “Of course, my Mistress.” Mei bowed and waited for Bai to wander off. “Get the travelers ready.”

  Several of Mei’s people approached. Antoine quietly asked, “Now?”

  “Not yet.”

  Jeanette and the others were helped off their horses and herded to an open area in front of the camp with a direct line of sight to the portal. Mei stood in front of Jeanette. “Please kneel before our Dark Lord and Master.”

  When Jeanette refused, Mei nodded. One of the guards moved up behind Jeanette. He pushed down on her left shoulder with one hand while shoving his foot against the back of her lower left calf. Jeanette dropped onto the dirt, grimacing when her knees hit the ground. Mei stepped toward the others. For a moment, Jeanette thought Antoine might lunge. Instead, he sought guidance from Jeanette. She motioned with her head for him to kneel, and he obliged. Ian and Vicky did the same.

  Mei and the rest of the Sataners steppe
d away, congregating a hundred yards ahead. Two of the group stayed behind to guard the Demon Hunters, taking up position a few feet to their rear. Mei’s people gathered around Bai and prostrated themselves around her, bowing toward the portal. Ahead of them, the Demon Spawn grew agitated.

  “What’s going on?” Vicky asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Jeanette, trying to conceal the rising fear in her voice.

  “Whatever it is, mate,” said Ian, “it can’t be anything good.”

  Chapter Forty

  The Demon Hunters and Xiongnu arrived at the portal, using the opposite slope of the hillock to shield their presence. Jason, Sasha, Ustagov, Father Belsario, and Qiang climbed to the top to survey the situation one final time before launching their attack. A frenetic level of activity took place below, especially among the Demon Spawn.

  “That can’t be good,” said Qiang.

  “It doesn’t change anything,” Father Belsario responded.

  Jason scanned the area between the portal and the Sataners’ camp with his binoculars. The mass of cultists prostrating themselves around the Seamstress drew his attention. Behind them, four figures knelt in the dirt. Two men with Type 63 automatic rifles guarded them. Jason recognized Jeanette and the others. “Damn it.”

  “What’s wrong?” asked Father Belsario.

  “The Sataners are already here. And the Seamstress and our missing people are with them.”

  “How many?” Sasha shifted her binoculars to the left.

  “All of them.”

  Sasha zoomed in, checking to make sure their people were all right, and then focused on the Sataners. “I wonder what has them and the Demon Spawn all worked up.”

  Ustagov pointed to the portal. “I guess it’s that.”