9
Joshua
Sweat was pouring from me, and I could feel someone’s arms under my shoulders. I was being dragged away, but from where, by who? The horrible ringing sound wasn’t helping matters. Was it in my head or actually ringing out loud? I started shaking my head to clear it, and tried to break away from the person dragging me.
“For God’s sake, put me down!” I shouted. The hands released me, and I fell to the floor with a thump.
I looked up into Adam’s frazzled face. “You’re finally awake.”
“Can you hear that horrible ringing sound, too? Is there any way to stop it?”
Adam shook his head, “Not until we get out of here.”
I slowly rose to my feet, silently praying that my legs wouldn’t give out and send me sprawling to the floor again. Once I knew they were stable, I signaled to Adam. “Lead the way.”
He moved down a hallway, I assumed still in the prison, and I followed. As we continued walking, I started to take note of my surroundings. Something was off with the prison. Large gouges of concrete had been ripped out of the walls, and water was starting to seep in. Each step we took seemed to fill my shoes with more water than before.
We continued to move down the corridor. Adam was picking up the pace now that he saw I could match it. I shouted to him over the alarm, “How are we going to get out of here?”
“You are not going to like what I have to tell you. I am going to need you to trust me.”
We were running now, and I shouted again, “What other choice do I have?”
When we reached the end of the corridor, Adam turned to me and said, “None if you want to live. Whatever you do now, don’t move.”
I watched in terror as it started to dawn on me what he was going to do. The air around us shimmered, and I could make out the edges of his magical shield surrounding us. With one last look over his shoulder to make sure I understood, he turned and blew the wall in front of us out into the ocean.
It still took a moment for it to sink in as we were sucked into the dark water. We tumbled against each other inside of the shield as the water spun us violently around. I was surprised to find I could still breathe. Adam seemed to be bent over in concentration, holding the shield against the entire weight of the ocean could not be easy. The water around us started to move, and we rushed toward the surface. His shield popped as we seemed to fly out of the water. I fell back in, spluttering as my head came back above the surface. Adam was treading water next to me.
He looked over and said, “Can you send up a flare? It seems I have exhausted myself.”
Reaching above my head, I called on my gift and sent a streak of bright orange flame out into the night sky. Where had the time gone? The last thing I remembered was entering the prison with Adam. It could not have been past midday at that point. I tried to pull the pieces back together, but nothing was falling into place.
I could hear the sounds of an engine approaching and turned to see the boat had circled closer to us, and two floating rings appeared in the water. Grabbing on to one made floating in the turbulent water of the ocean much easier. We were both being hauled toward the boat. As we approached the edge, a rope ladder was tossed over the side. Once Adam had made it onto the deck of the boat, I quickly followed. The cold water had taken its toll on my muscles, and my strength was fading fast. I had never been so happy as when I reached the deck and felt the hard surface underneath me.
The captain ushered us inside the cabin. The warm air started to breathe some life back into my limbs. He poured us each a cup of coffee with copious amounts of sugar, hoping to get our blood flowing again. I felt a blanket get draped over my shoulders, and one of the men moved a space heater next to us. It felt good to be alive. Now if I could only figure out what happened. Trying to turn my thoughts inward, I felt the boat shift and start moving again.
10
John
Our disappointing trip to capture Dimitre was over, and I was happy to return to our base. Both of us were tired from the battle with the Berserkers, but more than that, our continued failure to kill Dimitre was wearing us down. He kept finding ways to slip through our fingers, and each time, it grew more frustrating than the last. Sarah must have noticed my body language; I let out a sigh as she wrapped her arms around me. As we walked into our rooms, the gentle pressure of her touch reassured me, and the warmth of her body pressed against me eased some of the tension from my shoulders.
She looked up into my face and said, “Don’t worry, John, we will find him even if it takes us a hundred years. When we finally catch him, you can grant him the death he so greatly deserves.”
Warm food and a shower would probably do a lot to start setting things right. Sarah continued to hold me, nestling her head against my chest. When she looked up at me, I tilted her mouth up toward mine, a finger under her chin. When our lips met, I knew that everything would be okay as long as I always had her. Our clothes fell away as we continued to kiss. We entered the shower, and the hot water fell around us like rain, washing away the failures of the day. Sarah turned away from me, and as she pulled me tight against her, I lost all sense of self. Now there was only us.
We could have spent hours together in the shower, but our passions consumed us quickly. We found quiet solace in each other, even as our bodies slid against each other with increasing intensity. Just as soon as we had started, it was over, and Sarah turned back to me for a kiss. We stayed like that for a moment, the warm water cascading down around us, and then we broke apart, feeling reinvigorated.
Life quickly returned to normal as I headed to the kitchen to make dinner and Sarah readied our report for Adam. I had no doubt that when he returned, he would want to hear from both of us. Sarah read me the report while we ate. I asked her to add a few notes to it to show a little of my take on what had happened. With our bellies full and our report prepared, we headed to the bedroom for a quick nap. You never know when you will be called upon to go out into the field, so long ago we had grown used to sleeping when we could. I pulled Sarah into my arms and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
Someone aggressively pounding at our door stirred me from sleep. What could possibly be so important that they couldn’t have knocked normally? Sarah was already out of bed by the time my feet hit the floor. She opened the door, and I was thankful that the noise had stopped. I was surprised to see who was standing there, though; it was Adam’s assistant, Henry. It wasn’t too often we saw Henry outside of Adam’s office, if ever.
I heard Henry tell Sarah, “Adam has requested your presence in his office immediately.”
His message delivered, Henry turned around and jogged off back toward the office. It must truly be something important if Henry was here…and he was jogging. Sarah met my eyes, and we both smiled as if having the same thought, Henry was running. If the noise from outside was any indication, something big was happening. Taking a quick peek, I could see multiple cars lined up in the drive, and horses were saddled and ready to go. We had been asleep longer than I had thought. It wouldn’t be long until the sun poked its head above the horizon. Sarah had already moved back into the house and was dressing in her battle gear. I followed her example, and together, we headed toward Adam’s office.
When we got there, the door was open and Henry was nowhere to be seen. We walked in and took our normal chairs; Adam was sitting behind his desk with a panicked expression on his face. I had never seen him like this before. He was always our rock. Joshua slid into the room behind us, closing the door on his way in. Before sitting, he made himself a drink at the bar. He looked a little paler than normal, but otherwise, no worse for wear. The atmosphere in the office was tense, and it was time to get answers.
“Adam, tell us what is going on,” I said.
He leaned forward in his chair. “Edward has escaped.”
I gave Sarah a quick look and then stared back at Adam. “What in the hell do you mean Edward has escaped?”
With a sigh he
replied, “I mean he escaped. That damn serpent broke him out of the prison! We almost didn’t make it out.”
I looked over at Joshua. That explained why he looked so pale. “Okay, back up for a second and start at the beginning for us.”
I could tell Adam was in a hurry, but he understood our need for information. We had to piece this puzzle together and find a way to track him down.
Adam started to speak, his voice sounding weak and tired. “While I sent you to deal with Dimitre, Joshua and I went to pay Edward a little visit. I had a feeling he might know something about what was going on. I’ve had my suspicions for some time that he has found a way to make contact with people outside of the prison. Somehow, he cast a spell on Joshua, which should have been damned near impossible with the runed cuffs he wore. I dragged Joshua away and flooded the prison. The fail-safes should have worked. He should have drowned, but multiple guards witnessed him riding away on the back of a large serpent.”
I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was like something out of a Jules Verne novel. Except this time, the sea monster was real. The most secure location that we had was destroyed, and our only prisoner had escaped. Last time he had been free in our city, it had almost been destroyed. We had to find him, and we had to do it quickly. “So tell me, what is our plan? What do you need us to do?”
“That is easier said than done,” Adam replied. “First, we need to find him, and this time, we can show no mercy. I have the pack out searching for him now, but that could take hours, and that’s time we do not have. The Gifted have been called back to the base in case he sends the Demons against us here. Once we have a location, you and Sarah will be sent to dispatch him. Right now, we are just stuck playing the waiting game. For now, Edward holds all the cards.”
The thought of waiting around while a madman ran loose through our city did not sit well with me. The city and its people needed us; we had to be out there to protect them from whatever was coming. The damage he caused to San Francisco on his last visit was still fresh in my mind; the scars of it still littered our city. Over eighty percent of the city had been burned down following his previous attack; we couldn’t let that happen again. All of that destruction to satisfy one man’s vengeance.
Henry ripped open the door to the office startling all of us. He held a note in his hand. Winded to the point of doubling over, he handed it to Adam. Apparently, Edward did not want to wait for a fight. The note simply read, “Meet me at the Mission.”
We all looked around at each other, not exactly sure what to do. Sarah made the decision for us when she stood up and started to leave. Joshua grew even paler if that was possible, and Adam wore a grim expression on his face.
He stood and walked us out of the office. “Good luck and be careful. I will send the rest of the Gifted after you to surround the area. We will make sure that you receive no nasty surprises while you deal with Edward.”
I thought about taking the horses, but the city had no idea what was happening, and two people galloping through the streets would raise more than a few eyebrows. We tossed our weapons in the back seat of the car and took off. Driving was a new experience for me, and I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I missed the bond with the animal; cars were all cold metal and lacked the finesse that I was used to. As we drove through the city, no one even glanced in our direction.
The Mission was an interesting choice for a place to meet. Edward’s earthquake had destroyed the brick church on the property, but the original adobe structure still stood. Great lengths had been taken by the locals to make sure the fires raging through the city never reached it. Construction on a new church had started in 1913 and was completed just five years later.
I found it odd that he would pick this place, where the destruction he so relished had not entirely come to fruition. I pushed the car a little faster than I should have as we drove through the city. Looming above the other buildings, the church towers were guiding my course. Fear for what would happen if I didn’t get there soon enough controlled our speed.
Edward walked out of the old adobe building as our car came to a stop. He still cut an impressive figure even after all these years. Short brown hair and the faintest line of stubble graced his face. He was still the perfect picture of a soldier at arms, back straight, chin out, and a walk that would make a normal man step to the side. He had clearly donned a new set of clothes before we arrived. Soft, black leather pants and an open, white cotton shirt. The kind of clothes you would have found any noble wearing after a hard day of training in the yard. Adding a large broadsword to his back completed the look of a time long in our past. A time when kings were born instead of made.
Edward shouted at us as we exited the car. “I thought Adam would have come for me himself! No matter. Once I have dealt with you, he will be forced to show his face.”
I motioned for Sarah to stay back. This was a man that I instinctually understood. It would be easier for me to confront him alone. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t need her help soon. I had a plan, and I hoped to suck Edward into it. “Adam doesn’t come out of his office to clean up the trash,” I taunted.
With a scream of rage, Edward sent a lance of pure magical energy at me. I used my gift to shield me from the blow. The ground around me was ripped apart from the pure ferocity of his attack; I gathered the loose dirt and sent it back toward its creator. While he was busy deflecting the dirt, I sent two small fireballs screaming in his direction. One I angled high and had it sweeping in from his right, and the other low to the ground from his left. I felt Sarah shift and just caught her out of the corner of my eye disappearing around the corner of the Mission. With any luck, she knew exactly what I was planning and would come at Edward from behind.
Edward’s shield easily deflected the earth I had tossed at him, and he countered my fireball coming in low with a wall of ice. He was distracted enough to miss the fireball coming in from his right, and it sent him staggering sideways when it hit his shield. He regained solid footing and a smile played out across his face. My guess was that it had been a long time since he had battled anyone with skill. For a man of death and destruction, this was his element; this was where he felt at home. His smile grew, even as his eyes turned colder.
Edward stared at me, recalculating the risk I posed. “Not bad, boy. What is it they call you?”
I dove to the right as the ground below me started to shake. A pillar of earth erupted where I had just been standing. While it may not have seriously injured me, it would have left me vulnerable to whatever attack he launched next. I dropped to the ground, erecting a wall of ice around me, and the pillar of earth exploded outward. I stood up and called on my gift to shatter the ice in front of me. I sent it flying toward Edward and shouted, “The name is Blackthorn!”
The ice bought me a few seconds of distraction, and I used that time to charge at him, pulling my twin swords from over my shoulders. The light from the morning’s sun reflected off the blade with a slightly golden glow. Edward hadn’t tried to dodge the ice, trusting his shield to deflect it. My hope was that it was weakened enough that my sword could break through it. I leapt into the air, both blades above my head, hoping to end this with one blow. To my surprise, Edward had unsheathed his own sword and was able to get it raised in time to block the blow.
When I landed, I rolled to the left, letting my momentum carry me away from the reach of his sword. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the clash of metal on metal. Where was Sarah? She should have been poised to strike behind him by now.
Edward watched me coolly as the realization that Sarah might be in trouble dashed through my mind. This time, his grin reached his eyes when he spoke. “So your friend has met my lovers, the sisters three. I hope she is as strong as she seemed; she will need every ounce of it not to fall to their wrath.”
I slammed him with a wall of pure force, knocking him from his feet. Rushing past him, I blocked a blow from his sword with one of my blades and landed a blow to his sh
oulder with the other. I gave him a quick glance as I sprinted away. His sword was lying in the grass, and he was gripping his wounded shoulder tightly. I didn’t have time to finish him; my only thought was for Sarah. The sounds of battle were growing louder as I ran. I only hoped I wasn’t too late.
If Sarah was fighting the three serpent women, then she was, indeed, in a fight for her very life. Demons gained strength as they aged, and by all accounts, these three were old enough to cause her problems. Before I rounded the corner, I spared one last look at Edward to make sure that he hadn’t followed. All that was left of him was a trail of blood and his sword lying in the grass.
Coming to a stop, I noticed Sarah was already bleeding from several small wounds to her arms and legs. The three women encircled her, moving around her almost constantly, slashing at her as she deflected one or two of the attacks; the third one always found a way to hit her. Each of the women wielded an obsidian black scimitar. Thankfully, none of Sarah’s wounds looked to be life-threatening, and I had the distinct impression they were just toying with her, reveling in her pain. Something inside of me snapped, and I started running again.
A scream of rage escaped me as I jumped at one of the women; I swatted her strike away from Sarah and dealt a minor slash to her thigh with my other blade. All three of their heads turned toward me at once, as if all of them had felt the cut of my sword. They launched themselves at me with unrestrained fury, Sarah forgotten in their haste to bring me down.
With the three of them rushing at me, it would give Sarah a few moments to heal. I called on my gift to even the odds. I shifted the ground under the left foot of my nearest attacker; her blade missed me six inches to the right. It gave me the smallest of windows to attack, and I landed another blow. This time, my sword bit deeper into her flesh, and all three women screamed in unison. A smile broke out on my face as Sarah landed her first strike to the unprotected back of one of her attackers. Even then, the Demon found a way to turn the blow so it only left a nasty cut. The three of them backed away from us, sizing us up for a new way to attack.
Ascendancy Origins Trilogy Page 20
