by Gary Jonas
Rayna started to turn toward me, but something crashed through her bedroom window. And when I say something, I mean some thing. It was large, covered in brown and white fur, and had a long snout with huge fangs. It moved on all fours and had massive claws that made me think of the comic book character Wolverine. It was one of the destroyers.
Rayna screamed.
Before she finished her scream, I darted into the room, grabbed her, and threw her behind me. I raised my sword as the beast got its bearings and scrambled toward me. It rose onto its hind legs, let out an inhuman howl, and took a swipe at me with those claws.
I moved to parry them with the sword, but its claws slashed right through the steel. I stared at my broken blade.
“Shit.” I liked that sword.
I threw the handle at the beast’s face.
“Run!” I said.
Rayna raced out of the room, and I heard a crash downstairs.
“Oh no!” she said.
The destroyer jumped forward and took another swipe at me, but I dodged and leaped backward out the door. I tried to pull the door closed behind myself, but the beast clawed through it, sending chunks and splinters of wood flying. A few splinters hit me, while others speared the wall, and the larger pieces bounced off and clattered to the floor.
I had to get Rayna to safety.
I darted in quickly and kicked the destroyer in the gonads. It hit me hard, and I found myself flying. I crashed into the wall, breaking the plaster and drywall. The destroyer charged at me and rammed into me headfirst. It drove me through the wall and pinned me to the floor.
“Get out of here, Rayna!” I yelled.
The monster slashed my arm so deeply, I worried it would tear completely off. If my arm came off, I wasn’t sure it could be reattached, and I didn’t want to learn the hard way.
I tried to push the beast away, but it was too heavy, and I had no leverage. It clawed my stomach open, and I saw my intestines flying against the wall. It bit into my shoulder. If I’d been a normal person, I’d have been dead. I’d never been damaged so severely, though. I found that I couldn’t use my left arm. My right arm was pinned beneath me, and I couldn’t use my legs because the monster, weighing in at nearly eight hundred pounds, was on top of them.
The beast clawed my chest open. Then it reared up to slash my head off, but that gave me the release I needed to get my right arm free. When the beast came down, I stabbed my fingers into its left eye. It howled in pain and scrambled off me.
I tried to get up, but I couldn’t move. I was too badly damaged. I opened my mouth to call out to Rayna, but my lungs didn’t work. I tried to breathe. Couldn’t get enough air.
My eyes blurred and everything faded away.
RAYNA NOBLE
Rayna knew the first destroyer had killed Kelly. Even a Sekutar stood no chance against one of these animals. But Kelly kept it occupied. Rayna raced toward the stairs, but a second destroyer crashed through the door. The doors flew off their hinges and clattered across the floor, coming to rest near the second staircase. The doors were three inches thick, but the destroyer knocked them aside as though they were made of balsa wood.
“Oh no!” she said.
The destroyer entered the house at a gallop, skidded on the parquet floor, righted itself, and started up the stairs toward Rayna. The beast moved quickly, but Rayna didn’t wait for it. She turned and ran down the hall. As she ran, she dropped her journal. She didn’t notice. In her peripheral vision, she saw the first destroyer ripping Kelly apart.
The first beast turned toward her as she ran past. It left Kelly and burst into the hallway as the second monster reached the top of the stairs.
They snapped at each other, which gave Rayna time to run down the hall to her brother’s room. She bolted into the walk-in closet and hit the panel on the back wall, and the panic room door slid open. She rushed inside and hit the button on the left. The door slid closed right as one of the destroyers raced into the closet.
It slammed against the door, but the entrance to the panic room was constructed of steel beams and bullet-resistant Kevlar, and it had top-of-the-line electromagnetic locks. On the outside, it looked like the simple wall of the closet, but from the inside, it was purely functional. The Nobles spared no expense in their construction. The floor was made of concrete. The entire second level of the house had reinforced floors. An identical security room was in Rayna’s closet, but as the destroyer was by her room, she couldn’t have gotten to that one.
She heard the beasts growling and scratching at the door. Their claws were incredibly powerful, and she worried that the door wouldn’t hold, but the reinforced steel was three inches thick on all sides, with the center even thicker. The vents were designed to keep air flowing but also to prevent poison gases from being pumped into the room. She clicked on the monitors and watched the destroyers pound and scratch the door. They gouged the metal a bit, but so far, it was holding.
She knew she couldn’t get a cell signal from inside the room, but they had landlines inside, so she picked up the phone. She looked up Jonathan’s number in her cell and placed the call.
“Shade Investigations,” he said.
“Jonathan! This is Rayna! Kelly is dead and there are two destroyers trying to get me and I’m scared! Please help me!”
“Slow down,” he said. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the house, in my brother’s security room. They’re trying to claw through the door!”
“I’m on my way. Stay on the line. Talk to me and calm down. You’re safe for now, right?”
“For now but the door won’t hold for long.”
“I’m coming to get you.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
JONATHAN SHADE
“Esther!” I called as I stepped out of the hotel room. I had my cell in one hand. Rayna was still on the line with me.
Esther popped into view beside me. “You don’t have to yell,” she said. “I was just in Graham’s room with Brand.”
“I need you to check on Kelly, then pop right back to me.”
My tone of voice made her eyes go wide and she disappeared. I pounded on Brand’s door. “Brand, get out here. We have to go!”
The door opened and Brand gave me a smile. “Do we get to kill anyone yet?”
“Rayna’s in trouble, so yes.”
“I’ll grab my shoes.”
Into the phone, I said, “How’s that door holding?”
“They’re still scratching at it. I can’t get a good view from the camera angle. The destroyers are too big.”
To Brand I said, “You have weapons in the truck?”
He looked at me as if I were an idiot. “Duh.”
“Rayna, have you called nine-one-one?”
“These things will eat any policemen. I can’t get more people killed. Kelly is too much already.”
Graham came to the door as Brand stepped into the hall. “What’s going on?” Graham asked.
“You stay here,” I said. “Don’t open the door for anyone until we get back.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes,” I said. “Come on, Brand, we’re wasting time. Graham, stay put!”
“Is it Rayna?”
“We’re handling it, now get back in there. Close and lock the door.”
For once, he did as he was told.
“I’m scared,” Rayna said.
Brand and I raced to the elevator. I was worried for Rayna, and my thoughts kept going back to Kelly. Rayna said she was dead. I wanted to scream at the world, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good, so I kept my voice calm. “I know but it’s going to be all right. We’re getting on the elevator now, so if we lose signal, I’ll call you right back. Do you have any weapons in the room with you?”
“I’ll look.”
Esther popped into the elevator with Brand and me. She looked beyond pale, even for her. “Oh my God, Jonathan. Kelly is torn open, and her insides are all over the place!”
“Wha
t?” Brand said. He looked like someone had jammed a dagger into his heart and he’d actually felt it.
“Is she alive?” I asked.
“How could she be?”
“She’s a Sekutar.”
“What happened?” Brand asked, his voice breaking.
“There’s so much blood.” Esther shook her head.
I looked at Brand. “She was attacked. How much trauma can you guys take?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. What could possibly have done this to her?” I’d never seen him so pale.
“We’re going to find out. Esther, go to Rayna. I want you to go through the door and then come back to us and describe what’s after her.”
“Whatever it is killed Kelly. You can’t go there, Jonathan.”
“Go now, Esther!”
She gave me a pleading look then popped away.
The elevator doors opened, and Brand and I darted through the lobby to the parking lot. My car was still at the Nobles’ house, so we ran to Brand’s truck.
“I don’t see anything that’s going to help me here,” Rayna said.
“No guns?”
“We don’t own any guns.”
I heard something banging in the background. “What’s happening?”
“The destroyers are charging the door, trying to break it down.”
Brand stomped on the accelerator, and we were on our way, but it was taking too long.
Esther returned. “You’re not going to be able to stop them,” she said. “They’re huge!”
“We’ll stop them,” Brand said.
“The door is shaking every time they ram it,” Rayna said. “I don’t know how much longer it can hold!”
“Is there anything you can brace it with? Furniture? Anything?”
“It’s a panic room, Jonathan. There’s a fold-up chair. Everything else is built into the walls. The few cabinets have some snacks, bottled water, and a first-aid kit. No weapons, nothing useful for this kind of attack. I don’t know what to do!”
“You’re doing fine, Rayna. Brand, can’t this truck go any faster?” I was worried about Kelly. Could she really be dead? I had to force those thoughts away. I couldn’t help her if I lost control. I was also worried about Rayna. Could we get there in time to save her? Could we save her? I was worried about the animals we’d find. Could we kill them? I told myself to stop thinking. Handle one thing at a time. First, we had to get to the mansion.
“They’re massive,” Esther said. “They have claws like this!” She held her hands about a foot apart.
“Okay, Esther. I need you to go back to Rayna. Stay with her and if the destroyers start breaking through, I want you to come back and tell me.”
“Oh, if they break through, I’m definitely coming back here. I don’t want to watch Rayna get torn to shreds. I can’t believe how they ripped Kelly apart.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and I wondered if ghosts could cry. She shook her head and disappeared.
“Rayna, you still with me?” I asked.
“I’m here. I’m really scared.”
The light at the intersection in front of us turned red. Brand slowed down.
“Dude, just run the light,” I said.
“I will,” Brand said, “but I’m not just barreling through. I want us to get there in one piece.”
I knew he was right, but that didn’t make it any easier. “You’re going to be fine, Rayna. We’re almost there.”
“The door is buckling!”
I could hear the thudding as the beasts threw themselves against the door. They really wanted to get in there.
“Tell me more about these animals, Rayna. Why are they working so hard to get to you?”
“They’re incredible trackers, and they’re nearly indestructible. Once they get your scent, they will hunt you to the ends of the earth to kill you and eat you.”
I wondered if they’d eaten Kelly at all. Esther said she was torn apart, but I refused to think about that. Kelly had to be fine. She had to be.
“So you think the Marshalls stole something of yours and put these bastards on your trail? Or did they just sic them on you and trust that they’d get your scent once they were inside?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes. It does. If they gave them your scent, that means the Marshalls have some semblance of control over them.”
“Thomas raises them, Jonathan. He trains them from the time they’re cubs. He sells them to the king and the royal guard as protectors of the realm.”
“What weaknesses do they have?”
“None that I know about,” she said. “The door is starting to give. Oh, God! I don’t want to die! Not like this!”
“You’re not going to die. Try to calm down. Tell me anything you can about them.” I had to keep her talking.
Esther popped back into the truck.
Shit.
“There’s a gap between the door and the jamb now, Jonathan. I can’t stay there. I can’t watch her get shredded with those claws. I just can’t do it.”
I nodded to Esther, glad that Rayna couldn’t hear her.
Brand took the next corner at fifty. The tires screeched and I was thankful for my seat belt. The truck went up onto two wheels for a moment but then came down. The last thing we needed was to have a rollover.
Rayna sobbed into the phone. “They’re going to get me.”
“Rayna! Tell me more about the animals. If they breathe, they can die. Give me something.”
“I don’t know! One of them is gripping the door, trying to claw through!”
As long as they weren’t ramming the door, I wasn’t too worried. I didn’t think their claws could slice through metal as thick as what must be on a panic room.
“We’re just about there, Rayna. We’re going to save you. I will not allow them to kill you. Do you hear me?”
“There’s nothing you can do. They killed Kelly and now they’re going to kill me.”
Brand skidded the truck around another corner, bounced over the curb, and plowed through a bush on his way back to the street.
“We’re on your street now, Rayna. We’ll be there in no time. Hold on!”
Brand crashed through the security gate, raced down the long drive, spun the wheel, and screeched to a halt by the front door.
I bolted from the truck before it stopped moving and pulled my Beretta from its holster. I thumbed off the safety as I hurried to the entrance.
The doors lay on the floor by the stairs.
“We’re here,” I said. “I’m on my way upstairs.”
I took the stairs two at a time and ran down the hallway. As I passed Rayna’s room, I saw Kelly lying in a puddle of blood. Her insides were strewn against the wall. My heart dropped, and I thought, no, not again! It was like the universe was telling me she was supposed to die on that bridge, but the second floor of a mansion would work just as well. I thought my heart was going to stop beating. I wanted to trade places with her. I should be the one to die. Not Kelly. Those thoughts all hit me in an instant, but my body didn’t slow down.
I didn’t have time to stop. I had to get to Rayna.
I could hear the beasts huffing, growling, scratching. I also heard the sound of metal tearing.
“Hurry!” Rayna said.
I burst into Graham’s room, hoping Brand wasn’t far behind.
“Hey, you ugly motherfuckers!” I yelled.
The door to the panic room clanged open as I reached the closet, but the animals spun to face me. Holy shit. They were gigantic. Their eyes blazed with malevolence. As soon as they turned, I fired three shots at the first destroyer. I aimed for the eyes.
The beast howled in pain then dropped to the floor.
The other destroyer charged me, rising up with those massive claws. I kept pulling the trigger over and over and over as if that could change what had happened to Kelly, could erase the burden I’d been carrying for the five years only I had lived. The gun held fifteen rounds in the magazine, plus one
in the chamber, and three went into the first guy, so I know I fired thirteen rounds at the second destroyer.
The beast plowed into me, but it was mostly momentum and inertia. It drove me to the floor, but as it landed on top of me, it expelled its final breath. I wrinkled my nose at the horrific aroma. Life had given me another Get Out of Jail Free card even though I knew I didn’t deserve it. I tried to push the beast off, but it was too heavy.
“Rayna? Are you all right?” I called.
“I think so.”
Brand rushed into the room.
“Fuck me sideways,” he said. “You alive, Shade?”
“Yeah, can you get this thing off me?”
He rolled the beast to the side. I looked down at my shirt. It was stained with destroyer blood. At least it wasn’t mine.
As soon as I pushed myself to my feet, Rayna threw herself into my arms. She held me tightly. Her whole body was trembling.
“Check on Kelly,” I said to Brand, but he was already on his way to her.
I held Rayna. “You’re okay,” I said, and because repeating it might make it true, “You’re okay.”
She didn’t speak. She just clutched me and sobbed into my shoulder.
“I need to check on Kelly,” I whispered. I rubbed her upper arms and held her tighter for a moment.
“I know,” Rayna said. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“If I hadn’t insisted on coming back here, she’d still be alive.”
“Kelly knew the risks,” I said, but the words felt hollow.
Rayna and I moved down the hall.
Brand knelt by Kelly, his fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse. Esther stood near him, shaking her head. From the look on her face, I knew that ghosts can’t cry, but I also knew Esther still felt the emotions.
Brand looked up at me, tears in his eyes. “She’s alive,” he said. “Barely.”
I knelt beside him and brushed Kelly’s hair out of her face. “Hold on, Kelly. You can’t leave us.” I pulled out my phone, scrolled through to Lina, and placed a call.
Lina was a healer. She lived in Five Points, which was too far away. There was no way Kelly would survive long enough for Lina to get here.
“Hello?” Lina said.
“Lina, it’s Jonathan.”
