A Flicker of Steel (The Avalon Chronicles Book 2)

by Steve McHugh

  The drive through Thunder Bay had been fine. She’d been stopped several times by Nergal’s people and had to have the same conversation about who she was and why she was there. Most of them had heard of her and turned pale when she identified herself.

  She saw more than a few of the residents killed as she drove; some were executed in the street, their bodies dumped in the back of huge trucks, while others were marched away to be executed in the forest surrounding the city.

  As magical battles broke out around Thunder Bay, Kristin had taken more than one detour to avoid the worst of the fighting, but she’d left the town soon enough and had gotten on the main road up to Red Rock. She was exactly one mile out of Thunder Bay when she saw the large truck barreling up behind her Audi. At first, she assumed that they were working for Nergal, shipping troops to Red Rock. She started to pull over when the truck smashed into the back of the Audi, spinning the car off the road and slamming the passenger side into a large tree.

  Kristin blinked. Her head had struck the driver’s side window hard enough to cause the glass to spiderweb. She shoved open the door and almost fell out onto the cold, hard earth as the truck stopped and two men got out. Both held AR15s in gloved hands, and when they opened fire on the car, tearing it to shreds in moments, Kristin threw herself behind the nearest large tree.

  In her dazed state, she created a clone, which made her momentarily weaker as her body adjusted to the loss of power. Kristin sent the clone around to the far side of the car to run into the forest. The two men shouted after her, and the gunfire erupted once again; a few seconds later Kristin felt the loss of her clone. She moved to the side of the tree and came face to face with one of the assailants.

  “Nergal says you’re a disappointment,” the man said. “You screwed up when you went after your sister. The second you did that, your life was forfeit.”

  A car screeched to a halt nearby and the man turned to aim his gun at it, but the masked woman from the diner opened the car door and shot him through the head before he could fire a single bullet. She climbed out of the car, crossed the road, and put two more in the man’s skull before walking into the forest, where Kristin heard more gunshots.

  The woman returned a short time later, carrying the decapitated head of one of the attackers by the hair. She tossed the head toward Kristin. “You’re welcome,” she said. “Get in the car.”

  Kristin’s body had begun to heal the damage done to it by the impact with the tree and her head felt less fuzzy. She crossed the road and got into the black BMW.

  “You know they work for Nergal, yes?” the woman asked as she slid into the driver’s seat, put the car into drive, and set off at high speed.

  “Yes,” Kristin said, not daring to say more in case her temper overrode her mouth.

  “Did you know the two men?”

  Kristin shook her head. “No idea who they were.”

  “They were umbra,” the woman continued.

  “Who are you?” Kristin asked, feeling less than happy about her current predicament.

  The woman said, “Either you’ll find out or you won’t, but my identity is not important. We need to get you to Abaddon—she’ll want to talk to you.”

  The rest of the drive was done in silence, and it took less than an hour’s travel along the Trans-Canada highway to Nipigon.

  The woman stopped the car outside of a school. “The town is empty,” she said. “We evacuated it. See those soldiers there?” The woman pointed.

  Kristin followed her finger to look across the school field at the dozens of armed men and women standing outside several large tents.

  “They’re using the school and its grounds as a command center,” the woman continued. “Avalon sent them to help Nergal. Nergal has refused their assistance until this moment. Abaddon will explain more. She’ll want you to do something, too.”

  Kristin said nothing and exited the car. She closed the door behind her and ran up the steps to the school. A woman in combat fatigues told her to follow the yellow line on the corridor floor to the school gym, where she’d find Abaddon. Kristin did as she was told and a few minutes later arrived at the gym, which was empty except for Abaddon, who was throwing basketballs into a hoop.

  “This is a weird sport,” she said without looking back. She threw three balls, one after the other, taking a step back after each throw. Each ball went through the hoop without touching the sides. Abaddon turned to Kristin. “It’s too easy.”

  “Humans aren’t capable of throwing a ball halfway across a basketball court with the ease you do it,” Kristin said. Basketball had been her father’s favorite sport, and he’d once taken Kristin and her sisters to a game. It was one of the few memories she had of a time when her family wasn’t trying to screw her over.

  Abaddon held the final basketball in her hand and looked back at the basket. “Dull,” she said. She squeezed the ball and popped it before turning back to Kristin. “Nergal tried to have you killed.”

  Kristin nodded. “He sent umbra after me.”

  “Nergal ordered your death not because you went after your sister, but because you failed, and could have brought on unnecessary interest in you. No matter his reasons, I thought that maybe you’d like some payback for that.”

  “You could have warned me,” Kristin said, angry that Abaddon would keep that information to herself. Her desire to hit the woman was great, but it would also be the last thing Kristin ever did. She dug her nails into the palms of her hands until the rage passed.

  “Could have, but didn’t,” Abaddon said. “I’m here to give you a second chance. I’m not here to wipe your nose and keep you safe.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “You’re going to do three things,” Abaddon said. “If you complete those three things, I will consider you one of my most useful allies. Fail, and you’ll be dead, so it won’t matter.”

  “What three things?”

  “You’re going to kill Nergal. And when you’re done, you’re going to come with me to Texas and we’re going to take Nergal’s compound for Avalon. I want the spirit scrolls he keeps there. I want them in my possession, and any umbra he created that are loyal to him, I want dead.”

  “Why would you want to waste the power they possess?”

  Abaddon smiled. “I note that you’re not opposed to killing him.”

  “He tried to kill me,” Kristin said. “I think it’s only fair that I get a turn.” Killing Nergal and moving on to work with Abaddon was just the next step to her destination. And if Abaddon ever betrayed her, then Kristin planned to do exactly the same to her. Hopefully, Abaddon would allow her the time for personal projects. And if not, then she’d just be much more careful about what she did and where she did it.

  Abaddon laughed. “I like you. And to answer your question, they made their bed. I will kill them, and anyone else who is unable to control the spirits. They should be given to those who deserve them, who will use the power to do great things. Nergal gave that power to transients and anyone who needed a warm bed and meal. You destroyed the thousands that were in the cave, yes?”

  Kristin nodded. “Nergal was less than happy about their discovery.”

  “Well, Nergal will be unhappy about me taking his compound and everyone in it.”

  “What about Caleb Cassidy?”

  “We’ll find him, don’t you worry. I have something he will want very much.”

  “You have Layla?”

  Abaddon shook her head. “Something much more important to him. I’ll explain all once you return after killing Nergal. Come walk with me.”

  Kristin followed Abaddon out of the gym and onto the school field behind the main building. “The third task is the most dangerous, and the most important. I will tell you about it if you kill Nergal. Obviously, if you betray me, your life will be forfeit.”

  “Obviously,” Kristin said, angry that Abaddon was manipulating her, but glad to get the chance to gain justice for what Nergal had tried to
do. “Where is Nergal?”

  “Thunder Bay. My assistant who saved your life will give you all you need to get the job done. Kill him and come back to me. There is no room for error on this.”

  Kristin’s flesh tingled at the thought of killing Nergal, the thought of getting revenge on him for trying to murder her. She left Abaddon alone and walked to the front of the school where the masked woman was still beside the BMW.

  “There’s a SIG Sauer SIG516 rifle on the passenger seat,” the masked woman said. “It’s fitted with a magazine of specially designed, explosive, silver-tipped ammo. There are runes on the bullets that will allow them to bypass the armor runes. If they hit a non-armored part of the body, they will enter and then explode.”

  “What’s the handgun for?” Kristin asked as she looked through the driver’s side window.

  “In case you screw up,” the woman said. “Glock 30. It’s fitted with the same modified ammo as the rifle, except this is .45 ACP. Either way, you’ll kill him.”

  “And he’s in Thunder Bay? Any idea where in Thunder Bay?”

  The woman removed a small device from her pocket and passed it over to Kristin. “Abaddon put a tracker in Nergal’s pocket the last time they spoke. Do you need anything else, or will this be sufficient?”

  Kristin got into the car and drove away without saying anything. She didn’t like the masked woman; there was something about her that made Kristin’s skin crawl, and that wasn’t a feeling she was used to.

  She emptied her mind with regards to the masked woman and Abaddon and focused on the task ahead: killing Nergal. Nergal had given her the spirit scroll that had created her, he had given her freedom and power, and had then tried to snatch it all away because of a personal issue that had nothing to do with him.

  She passed hundreds of troops on her journey and was slightly concerned that one of them might realize who she was and kill her for Nergal, but no one stopped.

  By the time she’d reached Thunder Bay, Kristin had convinced herself that Nergal’s death was necessary for her to move forward with her life. She stopped the car and used the tracker that the masked woman had given her to find Nergal. His signal was strong, and she slowly drove the car down ruined streets. Only a few hours had passed since she’d watched the destruction of the city. To see it now, after most of the troops had left, filled her with an odd feeling.

  She ignored whatever emotions stirred inside of her as she slowly turned a corner and stopped the car. The sounds of battle could be easily heard. Kristin kept the vehicle out of sight and switched off the engine before grabbing the rifle and making her way into an abandoned house nearby. She set up a vantage point in what had once been someone’s front room and watched Nergal as he fought a group of people several hundred feet down the road.

  She looked down the scope at the battle before her, and the second she spotted Layla, a cold rage filled her. Layla had been responsible for the death of one of her clones and the suicide of another. Kristin’s finger caressed the trigger. She paused and spotted Chloe, who had also killed a clone. She wondered if she had time to deal with both them and Nergal.

  Nergal was fighting Irkalla, a woman that he had mentioned hundreds of times during Kristin’s employment with him. He mostly hated her because she had left him, and the thousands of years since their divorce had done nothing to reduce his anger. Sometimes Kristin wondered if everything Nergal did was to get revenge on Irkalla and those who had stood beside her.

  Kristin aimed the rifle at Layla and pulled the trigger, but Irkalla was kicked into the path of the bullet and it struck her armor.

  “Damn it,” Kristin snapped, firing off another bullet at Layla, who dragged an injured Irkalla behind a large pile of rubble. “Damn it, damn it.”

  She fired at Chloe, who was already moving behind the debris, then swung the rifle back toward Nergal, who was running her way.

  She kept her rifle on him until he was only thirty feet away. He called out something, but Kristin wasn’t listening. She fired twice and caught him in the head and throat, sending him to the ground. Vaulting over the remains of the front room window, she drew her Glock. She ran toward Nergal and stood over his dying body before putting another round in his skull. She spat on him, ran back to her car, got inside, and sped off.

  Kristin’s elation was intense. She’d never felt anything like it. To kill a god. Okay, not a real god, but someone who had once been considered a god. She would have to find more of this ammo; god killer ammo, it had a nice ring to it.

  She drove back to Nipigon at high speed, completely ignoring anyone else on the road, and pulled up outside the school. She climbed out as Abaddon exited the reception and descended the dozen steps toward her.

  “It’s done,” Kristin said.

  Abaddon smiled. “Excellent. I want you to come with me to Texas once we have Red Rock.”

  Kristin nodded. She hadn’t felt happier than this in a long time. “So, what do you need me to do as the third thing?”

  Abaddon led Kristin across the street and into a small cafe with wooden tables and chairs. The masked woman sat in a booth, a Glock resting on the table. She’d removed her mask, and Kristin thought she looked familiar.

  “I think it’s time you learned a few things,” Abaddon said, motioning for Kristin to sit at the table next to the masked woman.

  Apart from the three of them, the cafe was empty. A small counter lay at the far end of the shop and dozens of cakes sat inside a glass display dotted with small colored stars showing their prices.

  “You can take one if you like,” Abaddon said. “No one will mind.”

  “I’m not a thief,” Kristin said.

  Abaddon laughed. “Murder is okay, but stealing isn’t?”

  “Yes,” Kristin said as if anything else was unthinkable.

  “So you will come with me to Texas, yes?”

  Kristin nodded. “You already mentioned Texas.”

  “I want you to send one of your clones to Red Rock. Unfortunately, they are giving us quite the fight, despite the damage we’re doing to the town. We will be unable to take the city before they destroy the realm gate, which I’ve been reliably informed is their plan. They have a Norse dwarf with them, and since the little bastards were the ones to create the gates in the first place, it’s perfectly plausible to assume they can destroy them. Also, there’s no way I can push my entire army through that gate when I don’t know who or what is on the other side. So we’re not going to try to take the gate—we’re going to make it look like we are, but we’re actually going to get your clone into the city. Once there, the clone is going to join the refugees who are being sent through it.”

  “I’ll lose contact with my clone once it’s through the gate,” Kristin said.

  “Then you’d better make sure it understands what needs to be done once it’s out of command range.”

  “And what needs to be done?”

  Abaddon leaned back in her chair. “My brother is in that realm. Mammon. You will find out where he is being held and report the location back to me. That is all.”

  “Your brother?”

  “Not literally my brother,” Abaddon said with a wave of her hand. “A brother-in-arms is more appropriate. We were born at the same time, although to different parents. He was imprisoned in another realm thousands of years ago, and all the evidence I’ve gathered points to Norumbega as being the place where Mammon is kept. I believe that Hades will destroy the gate before I can get inside, so I need someone to do it for me, and your clone is the perfect choice.”

  “How will they get out again if there’s no gate?” Kristin asked.

  “There is a second gate. Evidence suggests the people who live there know of its location, but no one in the Earth realm seems to. I’ve checked and asked a lot of people who were unfortunately unhelpful. Your clone will find Mammon, get out of Norumbega, and relay the information it discovers. If Mammon is not there, then this is a moot point.”

  “Finding him c
ould take a long time,” Kristin said, being careful with her words. She got the feeling that failure in this job was not something Abaddon would accept or tolerate.

  “It will take as long as it takes,” Abaddon said. “He’s been waiting for thousands of years—a little more time is unimportant. But I cannot have the realm lost to me. Do you understand?”

  Kristin nodded. With five dead, and one made to go through the realm, it would mean that she only had access to one more clone to create, but it would have to do. Sometimes she wished she could just create the clones and kill them herself, but she’d tried that in the past and found it impossible to accomplish. The clones could not harm her or each other, and she could not harm them. It was, frankly, infuriating.

  “Everything is working out how I foresaw it,” Abaddon continued. “Nergal left a lot of his people back in his Texas compound, and used Avalon’s forces and my own blood elves to carry out this war. Thankfully, with his death, that now means I am in full control of this army. With Hades’ territory under Avalon’s control, we will be one step closer to stopping Hades and his people from being a thorn in our side.”

  “I have a question in return,” Kristin asked.

  Abaddon raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You think you are allowed to question me?”

  Kristin shrugged. “Allowed is not exactly a term I’m concerned about. You either answer me or you don’t.”

  Abaddon smiled and looked over at the woman in the corner. “It’s about her, isn’t it?”

  Kristin shook her head. “I want to know what it is you have on Caleb that you think will make him come to you.”

  “Caleb believes that Nergal killed his wife, and until he discovers that Nergal is dead, he will continue to do so. My people tell me that his escape is being arranged. He will head toward Red Rock as they made suggestions to him that Nergal is there. He will go there to get revenge.”

  The masked woman walked over to Abaddon and Kristin. “He will find me,” she said.

  Kristin paused for a second. “You’re his wife? You’re supposed to be dead.”