He came back a step and she reached out to place it tightly in his blood-soaked hands, speaking quickly. "This is the only thing that can kill him! If you inject Cain with this he'll die in seconds! Do you understand?"
"Yes," he whispered, carefully placing the steel-gray syringe in his coat. "I ... I understand." Then he turned again and descended toward the darkness of the dungeon.
When he was gone Maggie looked at the warlocks, now halfway across the inner ward, approaching without fear.
Mary Francis knelt and lifted her, ensuring that Amy was tight in her arms. "Go now!" she said. "I will make sure that you and your child live! But you must go now!"
The warlocks closed in.
"But how can you—"
"Go now!"
Maggie stumbled through the wide granite gateway, holding her child tightly to her breast as they went together and alone into a frightening night, leaving all they'd ever loved behind.
Marcelle stumbled down the stairs, reaching the base to discover two massive warlocks dead in a blackened pool that darkly reflected distant torchlight. He staggered over them and collapsed heavily on the cobblestone floor, groaning in pain.
He was dying quickly, he knew. The wound was deep, piercing, severing his soul from his flesh inch by inch. Then from somewhere far away he heard a series of explosions that thundered through stone like a beast awakened, and he knew the battle had begun.
Struggling in pain, he tried to gain his feet, failed, found himself crawling with a long, slow moan through a subterranean underworld, slowly passing glistening red fangs . . .
With a startled shout Marcelle rolled away to see the horrific blue-red face staring blankly at him, and even in his pain he felt a sudden adrenaline rush before he realized that the beast was dead.
He knew what it was: a mandrill, its chest and neck so deeply clotted with blood that it cloaked the depth of savage wounds. With fading strength Marcelle shook his head, leaning down a moment as he gathered himself. Then he rose and continued forward, knowing only a cryptic haunting silence that had suddenly struck from far above.
As if the battle were already lost.
***
Defiant, Mother Superior Mary Francis turned.
From within her cloak, hidden under the secret cover of darkness, she clutched the grenade that she'd recovered after Soloman's battle with the mandrill. Moving carefully, she hooked a finger through the ring, staring at them without fear. Waiting.
The warlocks advanced, coldly committed.
She stood in the gate.
Said nothing.
They closed in on her but when they were ten feet away they suddenly separated, seeming to suspect something in her defiance. They hovered on the edge of attack and exchanged cautious glances, as if fear had crossed from one to the other.
Mary Francis bowed her head. And it took only a moment more for them to decide before they moved over her, slashing.
She pulled the pin as they converged, severing pain there as the scarlet blades tore through her body and then a roaring bright white rose from within, raising her to something she had never known and never imagined, pain lost to a magnificent light ...
*
CHAPTER 26
Soloman spun, not knowing if he was about to be attacked from the front or behind. Even with his superior night vision he could see little in the maze of tunnels that he'd found in the darkness.
It was a catacomb, a grave, and he could feel nothing, sense nothing in the air. There was only the stench of ancient bone, death, and defeat. He froze, sweating, listening.
He knew Cain had pursued him into this darkness that quickly disintegrated into a maddening maze of halls buried far beneath the castle where Soloman had immediately lost his way, threading a frantic trail through the corridors, becoming increasingly confused.
Grave niches cut into the walls contained the remains of all those sacrificed in this cursed place for hundreds of years. Long white ribs, bleached arms and legs lying sadly beneath eyeless skulls flickered in trembling torches, and Soloman felt a new measure of fear and hate.
Other torches lit distant sections of the wildly connecting tunnels and he cursed in frustration, whirling left and right to find a point of reference. He searched frantically but everything seemed the same; he had no idea how to get back to the surface.
No ...
No good ...
He knew Cain would have a phenomenal advantage in this arena because he could see in the dark. But with savage pleasure he also knew that the Grizzly had severely wounded the giant, and it gave him hope. Bending his head, Soloman fixed on everything around him to— Air stirring.
Soloman tilted his head. Sweat fell from his brow and his finger curled around the trigger of the shotgun.
It was something Soloman never truly identified but he was already moving with unnatural skill as he felt the distant darkening of a connecting corridor before actually seeing it, and then he'd found a narrow, bone-littered niche where he melted flat to the wall, the shotgun tight against his chest.
He closed his eyes tight in panic.
Knew that Cain was beside him.
Soloman's heart was pounding so hard that he feared it would reveal his position. Nor did he doubt what he had glimpsed, for at the last moment he had clearly seen the shadow and knew Cain had closed on him in this labyrinth, this infernal maze.
No good ...
Before they went head-to-head again, Soloman wanted to give the Grizzly time to do some real damage. He had to tear Cain down piece by piece, he knew, in order to defeat him.
The hallway darkened and Soloman stopped breathing, staring emptily at a near section of tunnel. Then he knew that the black presence was approaching, and Cain came forward haltingly.
The beast now stood on the far side of the niche.
Soloman closed his eyes, knowing he and Cain were less than six feet apart. He tried to make himself disappear, willing himself not to be where he was so that Cain couldn't somehow feel his aura. For he knew from experience that some senses were more dependable than sight and smell—senses not easily understood but which rose vividly to life in mortal combat—and he didn't want to give Cain any advantage.
The corridor was darkened for so long a time that Soloman finally opened his eyes to stare away from it, not daring to focus his gaze lest Cain sense his presence. Then, after an almost infinite moment, the presence moved away, down a connecting corridor.
Soloman waited, counting the seconds and mentally visualizing Cain's distance of travel. Then, making no sound at all, he carefully leaned his head, risking a narrow glance at the hallway.
Standing less than twenty feet away, Cain's back was to Soloman and he stood utterly still, the dark head bent. But, even turned away, Cain's concentration was evident, as if he were trying to discern Soloman's position by sheer force of will. And at the sight Soloman again felt the rage. He hesitated a single moment before he decided.
Stepped into the hall.
"I'm right here, Cain."
Cain spun with a roar to—
Soloman fired.
The M-3 hit hard and drew a savage howl and Soloman dove away rolling, coming up with perfect balance to vengefully jack another round into the chamber. He moved instantly into a tunnel—it didn't matter which—and spun fast to find a tactical line of retreat, quick-sighting another corridor devoid of light.
No!
Darkness gives him an advantage!
Keep him in the light!
Soloman saw another corridor lit with scattered torches and moved into it as he heard the rush of approaching footsteps, knowing instantly what he had to do. He dropped a grenade in the intersection and ran full-out, gaining twenty steps and turning a corner before it detonated in a blinding white blast that sent the section behind him fully ablaze.
Brutally stunned by the concussion, Soloman turned back and leveled, searching frantically. But the corridor was empty and he knew Cain had heard the grenade hit the stone, had
maneuvered to avoid the blast.
Good; now I know you're hurting ...
But he was lost almost as soon as he turned, coming to an intersection where any tunnel of this labyrinth could have led anywhere else. A moment of panic descended and Soloman ran breathlessly, frantically through the tunnels until he realized there was no way to win this game, not here.
He's got me trapped down here ...
Panic, panic ...
Seconds ... seconds ...
Control it!
Seconds!
Control it!
Control it!
Get it together!
Only the most extreme effort of will allowed Soloman to slow his pace and force himself to think clearly. He knew he had no advantages in this dark, knew he had to ... had to ...
Change the game!
By reflex he'd already measured the thinness of the walls and mentally counted the grenades strapped to his belt. It was a decision made instantly, and with a fierceness he hadn't known in seven years he removed an incendiary and placed it in a corner, setting it to destroy the section. Then he moved away, running fast to clear the blast before— Detonation!
Soloman was sent sprawling on his face.
Recovering ...
Rolling ...
Finding balance.
Soloman rose stunned, staggering between walls, lost in the roaring mushrooming blast that met the ceiling, but he still didn't know where he was so he did it again and again, pulling pins and strategically setting grenades to decimate walls, to bring them down, destroying the labyrinth.
No more chaos.
Surviving, surviving ...
Surviving!
Burning and ravaged, Soloman threw another grenade and spun, finding a single avenue of escape and barely turning a corner before the devastating explosion took down all the walls behind him. The concussion knocked him down hard, and then he was up again, stumbling.
Reoriented from sheer determination he recovered and suicidally placed one grenade after another, destroying Cain's advantage of chaos, decimating what was once a maze to leave nothing but a vast white burning wasteland of shattered bone and stone.
Stunned, the surreal ordeal flooding over him in deafening pain and rage and scorched skin, Soloman rose to his feet in smoldering rubble, searching. He knew that Cain had probably survived and wearily leveled the shotgun as he gained a knee. He scanned a long moment before— Cain emerged from the wreckage, angrily throwing off a wall of broken stone. Instantly the monstrosity sighted him, glaring balefully. But beyond the shattered walls Soloman saw the exit from the labyrinth, far on the other side of the beast.
Frowning, Cain stared coldly over the defeated maze. "Deusne eritfortitudo vestra coram inimico?" he raged. "Nein!"
Whirling, Soloman saw an exiting corridor and took it. There was no time to find out where it led but he saw a distant flight of stairs as the darkness behind him thundered with a voice of cosmic rage, a roaring black howl of frustration and pain.
"Soloman! I'll kill you for this!"
***
Maggie fled the Castle as quickly as she could.
She had covered less than fifty feet when the gateway exploded and she whirled at the blast to see enveloping flame, a holocaust in the place where Mary Francis had stood.
She cried out, knew what had happened.
Staring a long moment, shocked, she realized that the old nun had sacrificed herself to save them both, using something she'd taken from Soloman in order to kill the two warlocks.
Blood flowed heavily from Maggie's arm as she bowed her head and moaned in pain. Then she clutched Amy tighter in her arms. She turned slowly beneath the smoke-filled sky, amazed that she could even move. As she began to cross the cold earth, she saw it rise before her: a dark, forbidding silhouette in even deeper darkness. It stood in her path and she knew.
At least one more warlock remained.
Silent, he came for her.
Seeing it at the same time, Amy screamed.
"Oh, God," Maggie whispered, whirling to glare at the castle, smoldering from the explosion that had killed Mary Francis and the two attacking warlocks. Deciding instantly, knowing there was nothing else she could do, she ran back, holding Amy tight in her arms.
"God help us, Amy," she whispered desperately, feeling a last faint measure of strength fading with each step. "God help us ..."
***
Crouching at the top of the stone stairwell, a long slate-gray tunnel lit by flickering white torches, Soloman spoke …
"Come on, Cain. Let's finish it. It's just you and me."
Cain answered from darkness.
"Perhaps I will kill you another day, Soloman." There was a trace of exhaustion in the voice. "Perhaps I will wait years before I taste your blood." A laugh. "It will be sweeter with time."
Soloman was unaffected.
"Come after me or I'm coming after you," he said.
Silence.
Soloman waited a long time.
"You've always been a coward," he added.
Cain released a heavy breath.
Yeah ... Yu're wounded.
A pause.
"You know nothing ... of me."
Soloman smiled. "Yeah? Well, I know you're afraid."
"Of you?" Cain laughed, still hidden from view. "I will never fear a mortal. You are finite. You know nothing of what I once—"
"I know you're afraid to come up these stairs," Soloman said. "I know you've realized you're not unkillable. But don't bother answering. You're too much of a coward to answer ... You've always been a coward."
A shadow neared the lower level.
"You dare to mock me?" Cain growled. He stood narrowly outside range. "You dare to taunt me when even Michael would not? When we disputed face-to-face over the body of Moses even Michael dared only to say, 'The Lord rebukes you!'" An approach. "You are a fool, Soloman! You have no knowledge of what I was! And yet you have the pride to scorn celestial might? Even the Almighty would curse you for this!"
Calculating coldly, Soloman carefully aimed the shotgun into the stairway. He didn't move. "All I know is that you're too scared to come up these stairs, Cain. It's like I said: You're a coward. You were scared of David and you’re scared of me."
Stillness, and the moment held.
Soloman's finger tightened on the trigger as hot sweat dripped from his lips and chin and he tasted the saltiness, blinking it from his eyes. He focused on the darkness, waiting.
And it came.
In a red rush Cain hit the steps and Soloman was shocked despite himself as the beast ascended. Cain's massive cloaked body was horrific in strength with clawed hands stretched to kill beneath a blazing red glare.
So fast did he move that he was almost on top of Soloman before he could track and fire. But the blast stalled the giant in midair for a split-second, hurling him against a wall. Then Soloman quick-drew the Grizzly—the only thing that could shred the internal armor—and fired a full clip, hitting with half as Cain twisted and roared at each impact.
The slide locked.
Soloman hurled the shotgun aside, tearing out the spent magazine of the Grizzly and slamming in another as Cain recovered with terrifying speed and came forward, his face ablaze with a wrath that had no earthly measure.
Moving furiously Soloman dropped the slide to chamber another round as the monstrosity erupted fully from the stairs to hit him hard in the chest and send him back into the room.
Soloman fell on his back and rolled over, using the momentum to hit Cain again and again. Cain scattered blood with a roar as he viciously struck the pistol from Soloman's hand and Soloman head-butted, stunned by the brutal impact. He expected Cain to recover far faster and the giant did, grasping him by the shirt to twist violently, hurling him over rotten timber.
Even before Soloman landed he tactically planned his reaction and when he rolled to the floor he came up hard, a grenade tight in his hand. He pulled the ring before Cain could close the gap, tossing
it on the far side of the beam, immediately throwing himself prone.
The blast went over him like a wave of fire and Soloman didn't even take time to find out if he'd been hit. He was instantly on his feet, running for the stairway and snatching up the shotgun as he heard the thunderous approach. He spun, falling to his back to fire the massive .10-gauge round that carried Cain over his head, thrown by the brutal force of the blast.
Cain hit the wall with a roar and fell to the floor as Soloman leaped for the tunnel, knowing that gravity alone wouldn't allow Cain to pursue any faster than he could fall.
He descended for almost the full flight and then Force Recon training took over as he hit and rolled to gain his feet, alive with fighting reflex. He didn't even look to see if he was being pursued because he was out of options.
Running full-out through the corridors, hearing with every step the horrifying and horrific approach, Soloman found a path through the shattered maze and angled instantly toward the dungeon.
Speed, speed, speed was his only hope and Soloman ran with all his strength, hurling himself low and close over shattered stone with the shotgun tight as he saw a distant circle of torches approaching.
And a fanged roar overcame him.
***
Maggie spun frantically in the gate, seeing the warlock.
Leaping, the black shape struck, the blade flickering white through starlight as Maggie twisted away. But Amy screamed at the impact and Maggie knew her daughter had been hit.
Together they fell to the smoldering stones, the remains of burned bones and devastated flesh, and Maggie struggled to fight, to concentrate. She roughly pushed Amy away as she staggered to her feet, glaring at the cryptic form.
"Come on!" she screamed, backing.
The warlock advanced, laughing.
Maggie backed up, not even looking at Amy until the warlock had passed her, and then she saw that her child had staggered to her feet and was bleeding blackly from her arm in the moonlight. Step by step Maggie retreated into the inner ward and searched for a weapon, any weapon at all that would give her a faint fighting chance against this ... this ...
Cain Page 43
