Masked

by G S Michaelson

  “Oh no.”

  “Now feel what Juniper felt!” Tyrone roared.

  Wind Ball!

  The attack struck him dead centre, the shockwave freeing Tyrone and blowing Jack away simultaneously, as he flew away, the Tiger finally understood. The other man had taken the gamble of his life and eaten three regeneration pills at once. As they had taken effect, his body was healing his injuries even as he was getting new ones — but only up to a point. That was why he had refused assistance earlier. A sacrifice play.

  Tyrone collapsed to his knees. The Wind Ball exploded with the force of a hurricane, blowing Jack through the wall, shattering his mask, and painting the ground with his blood.

  Damn. I lost.

  Jack lay on the ground dribbling blood. His lungs had been blown out. He would never speak again, and in a few minutes, he would never breathe again.

  Tyrone stood, hands on his knees, teeth gritted as his body pulled itself back together again. His eyes were fixed on Jack, a mixture of disgust, understanding and…pity.

  Don’t look at me like that, you fool. I don’t deserve your pity, the only one in danger here…is you. You don’t understand Caine. He is something else.

  Jack tried to speak again, but all that came out was bubbles. Tyrone — his healing completed — just shook his head.

  “Borrowed power, a borrowed life, borrowed ambition.” He muttered, “See where that all got you. Dying unloved and alone. The perfect end for a beast like you.”

  If Jack could have spoken, he would have explained how this was his ideal death. Being beaten in a fair contest of strength, not dying old and decrepit. Sure, he had died a little earlier than usual, but it was a good death. It was Tyrone who was still in danger.

  Chapter 36 - A Pyrrhic Victory

  “So, everyone else has been beaten. ” Caine said to himself. The last of the masks slipped through the doorway, whisking them far away and out of reach. The noise of battle had subsided, but he could still sense the industria of the Sabres - and none of this men.

  It didn’t matter, they had bought him enough time to teleport all of the masks and the accumulated industria stored away. He gripped his arm as fatigue hit him slightly. Using his portal esoterica like this was draining, even for him. He would be out for two or three days after this, but it would be all worth it in the end. He knew that for sure.

  His shadow lengthened and he tensed, turning around in a flash as a bolt of lightning burned past him.

  Lionel glared down at him from the next building, his rage affecting the weather unconsciously. He would grow to be one to be wary of, Caine noted to himself. He would tell Trevor that when he returned.

  Lightning Arrow Rain!

  The air around him burned and several lightning bolts flashed all around him, pulverising the rest of the wall.

  Lionel stood, illuminated by the moon, his hands coated with lightning, held in a gesture approximating that of a bow and arrow.

  “Go to hell, you bastard,” He fired again, more lightning arced out, lancing through the air and slicing the ground up.

  Caine didn’t move, Lionel noted, it was somewhat alarming he was somehow not hit by any of his attacks. Through his mask, Lionel could sense pity.

  Eva leapt up behind Lionel, ignoring her own wounds. She dashed on energy discs and held out her hands, gesturing towards Caine.

  Art of Restraint: Triple Binding Rings!

  Three industria rings formed around Caine, strapping his arms to his body. He could no longer move around freely. She clasped her hands together, and the rings tightened around his body. Caine shifted his gaze towards her, his eyes meeting hers.

  Eva collapsed to the ground. Pressure was building on her throat, she couldn’t breathe. It increased as what felt like another hand joined in. She was being choked from both sides. Lionel’s head snapped around to look at her in disbelief, then back towards Caine. Disembodied hands grabbed at her throat, choking her. Caine’s hands? Nowhere to be seen.

  Lionel made to form another lightning bow, but a spike pierced his thigh from behind. He collapsed to one knee.

  Eva’s energy rings dissipated as she passed out, Caine’s hands released her, disappearing back into the small portals they had emerged from.

  “Good,” Caine said, “I don’t want to kill any of you here. You’ve caught me, exposed my scheme, beaten my men, and destroyed some of my masks. That’s quite some impressive work. Why won’t you just consider it a win and go home?”

  A second spike emerged from another portal, impaling Lionel’s shoulder, he grunted in pain and fell to the floor as well beside Eva. Blood oozed from his wound as he slipped into unconsciousness.

  Caine was satisfied that they couldn’t interfere with him anymore. He just needed two minutes to recharge, and then he could jump away from here. If he hadn’t been thinking about his escape, he would have noticed the creeping shadows that had snuck into Warehouse Whiskey a few seconds ago.

  Deidre and Bart leapt out from where they had been hiding. Both of them lashed out, the former with her glasstana, the latter with his forearm blade. Caine had no chance of dodging, but he didn’t have to. Deidre let out a small gasp, Bart, gritted his teeth as blood trickled down his lips.

  “I told you, I don’t want to kill you.” Caine said, “But you seem to do a good job of killing yourselves.”

  Bart’s bone spike had pierced his own stomach, Deidre’s slash had cut her on her chest. They saw it now, four small portals had opened. Two to absorb their attack, two more to send it back at them. They had been stabbed by their own blades.

  Caine grabbed them both by their heads and tossed them aside, his underutilised physical strength coming into play. Bart grasped his wound, he had burned out his healing ability earlier, but he’d be damned if he let this monster get away.

  “Are you really going to fight me?” Caine asked. A spike slid through another portal into his hand. He wielded it like a sword. “Alright then.”

  Bart popped twin bone blades in one breath. In the next, he had already crossed the distance between the two.

  Ossein Slicer!

  Caine countered the blow, sending Bart spinning away, unbalanced.

  At the same time, the ground under Caine gave away. Glass shards erupted from it.

  Deidre had her sword hilt buried in the ground.

  “You won’t get away this time.”

  Caine danced and evaded the barrage of glass shards and bone spears

  Deidre and Bart both felt a rush of air behind them at the same time. The telltale signature of the portals. Before they could move to defend themselves, they were both impaled by three spikes each. Deidre passed out immediately from the pain. Bart clung to consciousness but remained too consumed by pain to move.

  As they lay incapacitated, Caine began to look around for another intruder. He would not be taken unawares again, or so he thought. It was then he realised he could no longer move.

  Aiden emerged from the shadows, a dark line from his shadow and every other shadow cast in the warehouse running towards Caine.

  Absolute Shadow Bind!

  “it’s over for you, Caine.” Aiden said coldly, “This time, you won’t be able to move so much as a finger. My shadow bind can restrain anyone unlucky enough to be caught by it, and with the amplification provided by the shadows in this building, you won’t be going anywhere.”

  The shadows around him began to extend off the ground, taking physical form and forming into tendrils.

  “We can’t take any chances,” Aiden said, “So I’ll stab your arms and legs. We’ll fix you up lat-”

  He stopped abruptly. A soft thud knocking him forward.

  Aiden began breathing heavily. Three more thuds and he fell to his knees. Spikes ran him through penetrating his lungs and stomach.

  “That’s a pretty interesting ability.” Caine said matter-of-factly,“Now that I’m bound by that, it occurs to me that it’s I who really shouldn’t be too careless.” He chuckled.
>
  “It’s the same for me,” Aiden said. From the other side of the room. Caine was only able to turn his head and catch a glimpse of his opponent before the shadow bind strengthened again.

  The Aiden that had been impaled began to melt. It was a shadow clone.

  “We are not underestimating you. Head of Masquerade, the former Mayor Avel, and the infamous terrorist Caine. Allow me to repeat yourself, it is over for you.”

  The shadowy tendrils slammed into flesh, impaling limbs. It was then that Aiden felt the cold tentacle of despair sneaking down his spine. Everyone had seen the tendrils slam into Caine, yet it was Aiden who had been hit. At the last second, he had opened a barely visible portal over his skin. The tendrils had travelled through them and slammed into Aiden instead, sending him to the ground in pain. Still, he retained consciousness, holding the shadow binding to keep Caine in place.

  “You really shouldn’t have let me see you,” Malice dripped through every word, “I’ll throw your words back at you. It’s over for you if you don’t release me…now.”

  Five spikes protruded from Aiden’s back as he knelt on the ground, fighting to remain conscious and keep his ability active. They had pierced his internal organs, though narrowly avoiding his heart. Small comfort, he thought, as his lungs filled up. He began rifling in his pocket for a regen pill. He just needed to stay alive long enough for the Centurions to arrive, they would be here any time soon.

  * * *

  “There’s no shame in running away Aiden,” His mother had told him. She had lost a family friend recently, and her concern over Aiden’s choice of job had been amplified.

  “Don’t worry mom.” He replied, “I’m the one who’s got everyone’s back. I never enter a situation I can’t control.”

  “Everyone says that. It wouldn’t be a situation if you could control it,” His mom pointed out.

  “Like I said, don’t worry,” He laughed, “I’m not like everyone else.”

  * * *

  “I’m sorry.” Aiden replied. “I won’t be letting you go.”

  He poured the rest of his industria into the shadow. Caine would not be able to as much as twitch.

  " I still can’t move,” Caine continued. “It would be really irritating if we had something like that become a thorn in our sides later down the line. It’s simple logic.”

  “Our? So there are more of you.” Aiden probed.

  “What does a dead man need to know about all that?” Caine replied.

  Aiden’s fingers closed around a pill, but his hands were shaking. The rush of air behind him let him know what was coming. He considered swallowing the pill now but knew it was futile. With a glance towards his teammates, he sent a wave of tentacles towards Caine, hoping to kill or at least severely injure him. He would never know the outcome. A sixth spike ripped through his heart, killing him instantly, dispelling his shadows at the same time.

  Bart stood up just in time to see Aiden’s impalement. A silent scream began as his eyes glazed over with rage. He ran towards Caine.

  “I’ll kill you, you bastard! I’ll kill you.”

  “You’re persistent.” Caine shook his head. The boy too would have to die. As Bart dashed, a portal began to open, another spike shot out from it.

  Bart noticed it just too late. He began to dodge, but it was moving too fast. Fortunately for him, that wasn’t the only thing he hadn’t noticed.

  Tobi tackled him, pushing him out of the way. The spike ran him through instead. The other Centurion took stock of the room, then made his choice.

  Avery launched himself towards Caine. His arm was lit up with flame and molten rock.

  Volcania Crash!

  Once more, Caine opened a portal, and Avery was hit with his own attack, blowing himself into the ground as fire exploded through his body.

  Tyrone held up Eva and Lionel, having arrived with the other two Centurions. He could only gape with shock as two entire teams of Legionnaires, including their captains, lay decimated before him. He wanted to fight, but something told him he would do no better. For a moment, he could have sworn Caine was looking directly at him, but when he looked, the man had was looking away.

  “Once more Sabres, take your win and leave. I know I will.” Caine had opened a portal large enough to walk in. Tyrone couldn’t tell where what was on the other side from where he knelt, but it felt like there was cold air blowing from it.

  “Good luck.” Caine stepped into the portal, closing it after himself and disappearing.

  “Dammit…” Tyrone whispered as Bart began to scream, cradling Aiden’s body, “What the hell just happened.”

  Chapter 37 - The Essence of the Matter

  Draekeor Case.

  Day 14.

  “Rocky is dead.” Tyrone said. Juniper sat on the sofa of his house, facing his friend. There were plates in the sink, overflowing because no one had bothered to wash them. Sheila was sleeping upstairs, she was tired — too tired.

  “Right. Sure.” He replied. His expression did not change. It was as if the soul had been ripped out of him and mangled. The past few hours had been tough for him.

  “Did you kill him?”

  “No.” Tyrone replied, “He died in a fight with Lionel.”

  “I always knew he was going to get himself killed,” Juniper laughed, a harsh, mirthless laugh. “My sister is gone. My mother is torn up, I don’t care about him anymore.”

  “Beth will be treated humanely.” Tyrone wasn’t as sure as he hoped he sounded. She had helped engineer a massacre and had almost carried out another one. Not to mention countless other crimes, Juniper would probably learn about that in the news. He would have to move. Change his name. Sheila too.

  “I miss him.” Juniper said, “it’s not fair. It’s not fair that everyone in my life turns out like this.”

  “No, it’s not.” Tyrone stood up then, walking to the window. He needed fresh air. The room suddenly felt too stifling, too suffocating.

  “I want to be angry at you, but I can’t.”

  “I understand.” Tyrone’s shoulders shook now, Juniper placed a hand on them, steadying him. He had winced a little. His wounds hadn’t healed completely, not yet.

  “I know it’s not your fault.” Juniper’s voice was soft. “Are you ok?”

  “No, I am not,” Tyrone’s shoulders continued shaking, tears ran down his face. “My friend also died.”

  * * *

  It had to come down. The Town Hall in Draekeor had been scheduled for demolition. It wasn’t merely the damage to the Mayor’s office at the top of the building. It was the damage to the Central Libray as well. Both areas were uninhabitable for now. In a way, it was symbolic of what had occurred. The leadership and his two aides had been revealed as monsters preying upon the town. The system could not stand, and a council had emerged to work on the fine details of succession. Who would be the new mayor? Where would their office be? Confidence had to be restored to the system; no one from the old guard would be trusted by the people ever again.

  Bart and Deidre stood there in Avel’s former office — or what remained of it. Scorch marks and claw marks marked the wallpaper. The windows had been blown out. The odd shingle still fluttered around. A bird had begun to make its nest in a corner, it would have to move soon.

  Deidre perked up. Someone else was in the room.

  “Looks like I’m out of a job now.” Edward approached. When Deidre raised an eyebrow, he continued, “The guards let us in one last time, I know them. From before.”

  As if in response to the unasked question — us? — George emerged through the door, having trailed a little bit behind Edward. Both were dressed such that they would blend into the crowd, having no desire to attract attention to themselves.

  “I see.” Deidre said, “Yeah, I’d start looking for work elsewhere too. It’s too bad, but no one in this administration is going to get work in this city again”.

  “I would have quit anyway.” Edward admitted, “I had already decided t
o. Just after Aiden saved me from being eaten by Matthew.”

  “Yeah, that sounds like something he would do.” Bart piped up for the first time.

  “We didn’t see through Matthew, but Aiden did. Just minutes before. Or maybe before that,” Edward said, “When he shared a drink with us. I felt like I connected with him then. Or was that just a mask?”

  “Aiden was complicated. In the end, we couldn’t do anything for him,” Bart confessed, “We aren’t worth a damn sight better than you.”

  “You all did well regardless. We had no idea Caine was right under our noses the whole time.” George said.

  “With the intel you’ve gotten, the Legion here moved fast. They’ve caught most of the people who messed with the water supplies — you’d be surprised how many of them did the job without knowing what they were doing,” Edward explained, “The rest are working on an inoculant, and they helped dismantle the Sigil.”

  “Bart, Deidre. Aiden may have died. But he helped save a lot of people. All of you did.”

  “Yeah. I guess he’s a hero now.” Deidre turned to them with a smile. She put her hand on Bart’s shoulder. “He’d be pleased to hear this.”

  Edward and George returned her smile, and then the four watched, as the evening sun began to set over Draekeor.

  * * *

  “How did it go?” Eva asked. She was leaning on the white fence outside Juniper’s house. Lionel stood beside her. He took a drag on the cigarette he had been smoking before extinguishing it on his finger, briefly watching it sizzle. “You were in there for hours.”

  “You should have come. Both of you.” Tyrone’s eyes were red. It was obvious to all that the man had been crying.

  “I killed his friend. ” Lionel shrugged, “Even if he was a criminal, Juniper won’t forgive me for that. It’s human nature.”

  “That’s not what happened and you know it. Rocky chose to die.” Eva had said.

  “Does it matter how it went down?” Lionel glanced at his feet, then he looked Eva straight in the eyes as he delivered his next line. “I killed his friend. Anything else I say will be salt on the wound. It’s better this way.”