Fists of Iron: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Clans of Shadow Book 3)

by J. A. Cipriano

  “I know how you feel about Max,” John butted in, “but you know there are things more important than our son. We’re talking cross-dimensional disaster here and this man is the cause.”

  Time for me to throw a log on the fire. “That’s sad, man. A father who doesn’t put his children as top priority!” I let out a laugh, throwing my diplomatic intentions to the wind. “Even sadder because if you had paid a lick of attention, you might have figured out that Max might actually be a help in stopping this whole mess.”

  It was a hunch, one I’d been nursing ever since we’d left Olympus. Some little bits and pieces made me gnaw on it even harder once we’d all gotten back together again. The strange deference that both the angels and God were giving Max made me believe it more. I didn’t know how yet or even if I was entirely right, but I had made up my mind that Max was the lynchpin in all of this.

  “Shut it, Butcher.” The twitch in John’s eye was getting worse, the veins in his forehead were becoming pronounced. “You don’t know what you’re talking about and frankly you’ve been sticking your nose into business that doesn’t concern you.”

  “He has every right, John,” Gabby fired back. “I asked him to help me and our son. He’s been by my side every step of the way, when you couldn’t be there and then when you refused to be there. By the Diamond Winds, you owe him your life!”

  It looked like we were about to hit full-on marital nuclear war as both husband and wife started to rise, but both God and Krishna, at almost the same time, said, “SILENCE!”

  The word rumbled through the air with enough force to practically knock me off my feet, while having the added bonus of shutting down the quarrel before it even started.

  “We will not have fighting at My table.” The One put it in such a way that it sounded like fact, fact you didn’t want to argue about. “Now, to assuage your concerns, My mortal children, know I do indeed possess the power to quell the chaotic hordes. Even now, I gather My strength through the open pathways of faith. I will return balance to the universe.”

  He glanced at John. “You shall have the peace your kind craves. In addition, you know I, no matter my guise, be it God, Yahweh, Allah, Ahura Mazda, Mithras, or any other, follow the pacts I have made with My children. Thus I will honor mine with your people.” He turned away. “You will have your fugitive after the battle has been concluded.”

  Krishna and I both laughed for entirely different reasons. Blue Man Group talked first, saying to God, “If only you kept your pacts with your brothers and sisters, Solitary One. We wouldn’t be in this position at all.”

  My laugh was directed more towards Rabbi Joe. “Sounds like God’s sending you up the river.”

  God didn’t even acknowledge Krishna’s jab, but Joseph looked at me with a surprising smile. “Oh, it’s not so bad, Frank. There’s worse ways for things to end than as a martyr.” His eyes looked old then, very old. “I know I don’t deserve to ask this of you, but if you find my Abner after they haul me off, could you look after him? I know he thinks rather highly of you.”

  That did take me off guard. Yeah, Joe had pulled some shit, I couldn’t deny it, but he at least cared about his son, even if he had sculpted him out of Play-Doh. “I, well, sure. I’ll make sure he makes out okay. I promise.” It felt good to make that promise. It’s what Bobby would have done.

  Gabriela held Max’s hand as she looked between me, Krishna, and God. “What about the rest of us? Frank seems to think my son is important to all this and … I can’t say I think he’s wrong.” Her hard green eyes were focused on the Big Guy now. “But you seem so confident you can fix this by yourself. Are you sure about that? I mean no offense, but from everything we’ve been told about the powers involved here… ”

  Tabitha, maybe looking to mend fences with her friend, nodded and picked up where the doc trailed off. “The Great Old Ones are vast and unfathomable, with powers gathered since before man gained sentience. I know You are a vast and nigh-omnipotent being but there’s no such thing as true omnipotence.”

  The One didn’t quite acknowledge either of the women’s stares, instead focusing on Krishna. “The divinities you have encountered before, even those with flourishing faiths on the Earth, are but fragments of a whole entity, sharing power with their entire pantheon. There is no faith as far reaching as the many that look to Me and no other divinity to share this power with. Even those who know no one religion yet still feel the faith in Me in their hearts gives Me the strength to bring peace and light to the universe.”

  Krishna leaned back in his chair and kicked his boots up on the table. “That’s true, but at the same time, all humans, all sentients, know fear, know insanity, know the dark depths of the unknown. The depth of the ancient evils that assail your Pearly Gates is near-infinite. We never conquered it alone before and even the human solution was a temporary one at best. Nothing has changed since then.”

  I took a deep breath and did the stupid thing: interjected myself into the dealings of gods. “Look, God, or your oneness or whatever You prefer, I respect what You want to do here, but what if You’re wrong?” God gave me a bemused smile instead of smiting me where I sat. While not quite what I hoped for, it was a lot better than getting smote for questioning the literal will of God, so I decided to continue. “Now this isn’t something You can fuck with, right? This is all of creation that’s at stake. What’s the harm in getting the band back together, get the rest of the gods to do this one thing, then work out the nitty-gritty details later?”

  Joseph frowned and shook his head. “My Lord, there’s really no need for any outside help. We’ve studied this long and hard and–”

  God raised a hand to the rabbi. “It’s all right, good Joseph. I know what work you have done and what the scrolls say of this day.” He smiled softly at the young holy man. “Trust in Me, for I do know all and see all.

  “As for your concerns, Franklin, I understand them. You are, for all your crudeness, a man of courage and honor. But you misunderstand the source of My own actions. What you must see as arrogance, I know to be inevitability in action. These things were meant to be, meant to pass.

  “Know My great secret, My children, that even I, the One God, am subject to the winds of fate. All things operate in accordance to this greater plan.”

  Krishna pushed away from the table and was on his feet in a blink of the eye, his hands planted on the wood. “We may follow the threads, Solitary One, but the weave bends, patterns can change, and shears applied. There is choice in our paths, even if they end in the same points!”

  God smiled softly as He slowly stood himself. Unlike the spirit in Krishna’s stance, the One’s posture was passive. “If only time ticked by slower, but the hour has come.”

  At that very moment, God’s Garden vibrated and rumbled. The shockwave rattled my teeth and my bones, but it was only the predecessor to the loudest horn note I had ever heard. That horn struck in an instinctual chord deep in my soul and all I could think was Bing Crosby.

  “He’s gotta have a horn to play, to make us all awaken on Judgment Day,” I sang like a fool.

  “Yes, Franklin Butcher,” God acknowledged with a sad nod. “We are out of time.”

  21

  The only one of us that recovered from the chilling sound with any speed was Krishna, who held out an open hand to the One. “It looks as if you will have at least one other god by your side, Solitary One. Give me my mace.”

  God’s attention was focused off in the distance, but he absently drew the golden rod from under the table, tossing it effortlessly to the Hindu god. “Garuda waits for you in the courtyard. Know that while I do not ask for Your aid, I will not turn it aside. You are free to do as you will, avatar of Vishnu.”

  I managed to find my voice as Krishna caught the weapon and swung it through the air. “Okay, so this is bad, I get that. We can still whip up some magic, call for help, get people here, right?”

  John seemed to have regained some of his stoic composure an
d he shook his head. “Traveling the dimensions might seem easy, but that’s through established portals. The One here tore all those down save for the Pearly Gates. The other way to get here will take hours, if not days, to prepare, god or not.”

  Tabitha nodded slowly in agreement, “He’s right for once.”

  Gabriela stood up, still grasping Max’s hand. The kid was taking longer to process the whole “possible end of the world” thing than anyone else. She shook her head and said, “There has to be a way, if not to bring the other divinities, then to do something more concrete than adding meat to the grinder.”

  God’s smile changed from sad to confident. “There is no need for your concern, My children. I go to stand with the angelic hosts and the battle will be won. Paradise has been challenged before and abides still.” He looked around at us mere mortals. “You need not worry and you need not come to the field of war. Feel free to wait. Rest your minds and your worries here, but if you wish to follow, do so of the free will you have been granted.”

  As if that said it all, He stepped away from the table, His form shimmering before coming back into focus into what I could best describe as Old Testament God. His height doubled and his form filled out. The simple work clothes were replaced with flowing, white robes, frayed and tattered at the ends as if worn by trial and conflict. God’s hair went gray and grew out as his face turned wrathful.

  Then, with a brief flash of light, God was gone.

  There was silence for a moment, broken as Krishna planted his mace head-first on the table. “So who’s coming with me?” His lips curved into a smirk even I was impressed by. “The end of the universe doesn’t happen every day, you know.”

  Rabbi Joseph certainly didn’t hop up. “I have put my faith in Yahweh’s majesty. I’ll stay here, pray, and prepare myself for my future incarceration.” He smiled sadly at John. “Never fear, Peacekeeper, I won’t run.”

  But John wasn’t paying attention to his collar for once. That twitching seemed to have subsided for now and his veins weren’t about to burst. “It’s my duty to help. This is why we did what we did in the first place, to keep the world safe from the horrors of the divinities.” He stood up, glancing at Gabby and Max. “To keep our families safe.”

  I laughed despite the fear pooling in my gut. This was the end of the universe, after all. “Well, shit. Earth is where I keep all my stuff. It’s not like I’ll get another set of original edition Star Wars tapes if there’s no universe.”

  Tabitha rolled her eyes. “I’ll never understand you, Frank, but you are, in essence, correct. My people are in danger and even if my magic is a mere raindrop against an inferno, I have to do what I can.”

  Gabriela looked down at her son, bit her lip, then turned to Joseph. “Rabbi, I want you to keep an eye on my son.”

  Didn’t see that one coming, but I saw where she was going with this. It was John that understandably jumped in, “Gabriela, what are you thinking? You should stay here and keep our son safe!”

  Gabriela’s eyes flashed as she turned her eyes on her husband. “If you are going to make a final stand, I’m coming with you. If the Old Ones win, our son dies. If I come with you, there’s more of a chance we’ll win than if I sit here and twiddle my thumbs.” She used that voice, the voice that meant nothing was going to change her mind, not even a god. Trust me, I knew that voice. “I’ve walked every step of this quest and I sure as hell am going to walk to the end of it.”

  The Peacekeeper looked properly chastised, maybe the first wise thing I had seen him do so far. I still had that niggling feeling that Max could be a real key to this, but I wasn’t his parents. I couldn’t make that call.

  Max, well, he had his own thoughts about that. He stood up as the rest of us were getting to our feet and collecting ourselves. “I’m coming too.”

  Gabby spoke up first, “Max, I know you want to help but–”

  John was right there with her this time. “Yes, Max, listen to your mother. There’s nothing–”

  The kid was game for this argument, interrupting them both with, “I know some magic and this is too important to just sit back for. I’m sick of being passed around and kidnapped and used! Even if I can’t do much, it’s more than anything else I’ve had a chance to do!”

  I had never really given that much thought. Imagine how bad it must have sucked for him to be passed around like a MacGuffin since this insanity started, with no agency and no control over his life? As much as I felt his parents should have the final say, I had to show him some support. “The kid’s right. I know you don’t want to think about it, but this really is it. We’re all in this, so he deserves to make the choice to help if he wants to.”

  Neither of them looked swayed, but Krishna pushed things along. “There is no more time to debate. The battle is joined and we must go.” He settled the issue by specifically beckoning to Max as he began to walk off. Flustered, his parents followed after while Tabitha took up the rear. I started to join in, but Rabbi Joseph jogged up and grabbed my arm right before I stepped out the door.

  “Frank,” he said, “there’s one important thing you need to know.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “I thought you said Yahweh had this in the bag. What’s so important to tell me when He’s got this?”

  Joseph chuckled. “I’m a young man, Frank, and I want to ensure I do live a long life. It doesn’t hurt to hedge the bets, eh?”

  I stopped and turned to face him. “Okay, make it quick.”

  “Young master Maximillian might be of more help than his parents think.”

  22

  I had to run to catch up to the others after Joe’s information. Yeah, he was right. If I could trust what he said about Max and properly understood it, it could change everything. Oh, and I could feel awfully smug for figuring it out first. The only worrying thing left about that prophecy was the whole sacrifice thing. I wasn’t a fan of sacrifices. They were always bum deals.

  Unlike when we were led to the dormitory or the meeting room, the path to the front gates of the Garden was a short, straight-line shot. By the time I had caught up, we were going out into the courtyard.

  The Angel Gate stood as resplendent as it had been, but parked next to it was Garuda, looking as if he hadn’t bounced off a building and crashed into the middle of a street.

  As we walked briskly across the yard, Gabriela glanced back at me curiously. “What did the rabbi have to say? Hopefully something actually important.”

  I frowned thoughtfully. “Oh yeah, you could say that. You could really say that.” She gave me a prompting glance and I raised a finger to my lips. “I’ll explain once we’re loaded up.”

  Krishna patted the hood of the Thunderbird affectionately and Garuda’s engine fired up with an appreciative shriek. “Before you hop in, check the trunk. I believe Tyrone left a few things back there you all may find useful.” Garuda obligingly popped the trunk open as the god hopped into the driver’s seat.

  Krishna wasn’t wrong. Tyrone had left his duffel bag there and that duffel bag was definitely magical, because it had a lot more in it than it could have ever contained sans magic. There were a collection of firearms that would make Neo blush, most of them enchanted with runes and sigils, but a couple untouched, no doubt picked out with me in mind. Namely there was a Colt Navy revolver with an old fashioned gunfighter’s belt and my favorite make of Mossberg shotgun.

  It might not do much against primordial chaos, but it sure made me feel better to have a gun at my hip and a shotgun in my hands. John took one of those advanced EnderTech assault rifles, a variety of pistols, and enough ammo to drown an army.

  As we geared up, the ladies and Max found room in the bird-car. For once, I allowed someone else to take shotgun, ceding it to John, namely to make it easier to share what I had learned during our flight.

  Krishna glanced around as we finished piling it. “I’m sorry conditions are cramped. Such is the downside of such an excellent frame.” He gunned the engine. “I’ll
set down at the edge of the battlefield for you and your son, Doctor. I’m assuming you’ll want to set up triage for the wounded there?”

  Before Gabby could answer, I said, “That might change. Get in the air, I’ve got some new info so we need to figure things out in the air.”

  That was all that was needed to be said. Krishna caressed the gas pedal and Garuda obligingly sprang to life, stretching his broad metal wings as we roared off. A short acceleration and a mighty beat of wings later, we were soaring up into the skies of Paradise.

  John craned his head back as soon as we had a little altitude. “Okay, Butcher, spill it.”

  I arched an eyebrow and resisted the temptation to snark off. I just didn’t like John’s vibe, even now when we were on the same side. I’d like to say it was jealousy talking, because that would be easy to write-off or understand, but this was something else.

  Either way, I carried on. “Right. So Joe said he actually knows what makes Maxie here such a big deal in the universe and it might just be something that could save our asses here.” I raised a finger. “Which, might I add, let’s me say ‘I told you so.’ So … I told you so.”

  Gabriela smacked me in the back of my head. “Get on with it, Frank!”

  I rubbed said back of head. “Okay, well, if you take him at face value and this kind of makes sense from what we know, our boy Max here is magically connected to every dimension everywhere. The way he put it was that Max was a ‘convergence point.’”

  That seemed to perk folks’ attention. Tabitha let out a little gasp. “Of course, spirits, why didn’t I realize it myself from the Ender ritual?” Gabriela seemed to have gotten it too, but John, Max, and I both looked a little ignorant on this one, so she continued on. “You know about the tapestry of magic and the fact that Maximillian is so connected into this tapestry? Well, dimensional space is also ‘woven’ together by threads. Some dimensions, such as parallel worlds close to another or ones with many mutual portals, have many connecting threads while others, such as Heaven, have almost no connecting threads.”