by Chris Fox
“I was not,” Elia admitted. There was no point in dithering. “We attacked the Ark Lord, but his defenses were potent. In time we could have overcome him, but the city chose to reveal itself. The portal was no more than a few hundred meters away, and I thought it best we not be discovered tampering with the Ark Lord.”
“Very wise,” the matron murmured. She still hadn’t looked up, and her pen continued to scratch across the page. “If the council learned that you had interfered with a seeking, they would have no choice but to intervene. Part of your mission was stealth, was it not? The threat was to be eliminated quietly.”
“Yes, but—”
“No but,” the matron roared. Her head snapped up; her dark eyes fixed on Elia. “You told me you could do this thing. You gave me your word. You have failed. What will we do if the Ark Lord tells the council? How will you respond to that allegation? They will delve into your mind, and when they do they will see what you have done.”
“Matron, I…” Elia licked her lips. She’d been about to make another excuse. Excuses would not help them. Excuses could not fix anything. “What would you have me do?”
“You will go to the rest of the council, immediately,” the matron instructed. “You will tell them what you have done, and why you have done it. We see the ancient enemy as invaders, and were doing what we must to keep them from the city.” She bent back to her journal, and the scratching began again. “I will not be able to intercede, nor will I admit to having met with you. The council may choose to punish you; if they do, that punishment will be far less if you are the one to bring the situation to their attention. You must get ahead of this if we are to have any chance of regaining control.”
“As you say, Matron.” Elia bobbed a curtsy and backed from the chamber. She had a feeling she wouldn’t enjoy the interrogation the council would give her, but it was still possible they could salvage something from this.
Leti and her Ark Lord master were leading the ancient enemy into the city. Couldn’t Elia be forgiven for zealously defending their most sacred place?
Chapter 53- Picked Off
Windigo reveled in the strength his new body afforded. And it was well and truly his. The Bear had been vanquished, trapped in the recesses of his own mind.
Windigo had worn countless forms over a near-infinite lifetime, but none had been as powerful as Yosemite. The Great Bear brimmed with power, one of Isis’s most potent creations. Yet, for all his power, the Bear’s mind had been shockingly easy to overcome. The Bear had been naive to the extreme, and it had been a simple matter to manipulate him.
Now, the Bear’s consciousness had retreated to the dim recesses of his mind. He’d given up, recoiling from the carnage he knew Windigo had planned, the carnage he was even now about to execute.
Windigo gave a ghastly, skeletal grin and walked silently toward the row of cars the locals had fashioned into a crude wall. He could smell the dogs prowling in the darkness on either side, could hear their hearts beating.
They smelled something on the wind, something they couldn’t recognize. A few began to bark, while others sprinted across the darkened field. They’d alert their alpha, one of the Ka-Dun who protected this place. That Ka-Dun would come to investigate, and when he did, Windigo could finally sate his endless hunger. Every meal increased his strength, his knowledge.
It had been so for countless years, long ages before humans had first arrived on this continent—before their ancestors found the courage to leave the trees. Windigo was older than they could comprehend, and in all that time he’d longed for the ability to control an Ark.
At long last, that possibility danced within his grasp.
Tonight, he’d send the first message that would draw inexorably toward the Ark Lord’s death. Windigo walked in shadow, approaching the wall silently. Several dogs lounged atop it, staring out at the darkness. They were alert, ears cocked and noses twitching. He gave them nothing, walking boldly to the wall of rusting automobiles. They didn’t react.
Windigo extended both arms, then he slashed. Once, twice, a third time. There was a single yelp, then the rest died silently. Windigo bent and began to feed. He ate swiftly, knowing that the alpha would soon be upon him. Ka-Dun were easily manipulated. Kill one of their pack, and it sent them into a rage. That rage blinded them, making it a simple matter to overcome their mental defenses.
Windigo finished his meal, wiping at his fanged mouth with a gore-soaked claw. Any time now.
A few heartbeats later there was a rush of wind as a Ka-Dun blurred into a crouch perhaps forty paces distant. He knew he’d been seen, but the fire in his eyes made it clear that he didn’t care. Excellent.
Strangely, the Ka-Dun was an old man. He had a long grey braid and hard eyes. He burned with fire, and was likely a talented shaper. As recently as two moons past Windigo would have leapt to possess this Ka-Dun.
The Ka-Dun tensed, and Windigo realized he was about to flee. His survival instinct was overpowering the rage. Windigo could not allow that.
He cackled, hefting the remains of one of the dogs into the air and flinging it at the Ka-Dun. Even as the ghastly remains left his claws, he shaped, sending a probing tendril of energy at the Ka-Dun. The Ka-Dun was distracted by the flung remains, his rage at the desecration overpowering all other emotion for a split second.
It was long enough. Windigo slipped his tendril into the Ka-Dun’s mind, fueling the rage.
“Know that I am John Rivers,” the Ka-Dun roared, “and I protect these lands. I’ll rip out your spine, you monster.” He charged forward, shifting to warform as he blurred toward Windigo.
The force of his charge knocked Windigo into the row of cars, crumpling one. The Ka-Dun savaged Windigo’s throat with an impressive set of jaws, but his host’s body was simply too tough. The thick hide he’d inherited from the Great Bear turned away the Ka-Dun’s attacks.
Windigo lunged, wrapping his long arms around the Ka-Dun. He crushed the wolf to his chest, funneling more rage into the Ka-Dun’s mind.
“Kill—you,” the Ka-Dun choked out, all rational thought driven away by the madness. Then Windigo lunged again, wrapping enormous jaws around the Ka-Dun’s head and shoulders. He ripped loose half the man’s body, and began to feed. He’d save enough to taunt the Ark Lord, but he would savor the rest.
The flurry of barking dogs became a mournful howling, one that echoed over the fields into the hills. The pack rushed to save their master, but by the time they arrived Windigo would be long gone.
Chapter 54- Under Seige
Blair trotted down the ramp to the stage. The seats were filling up quickly, and the nervous rustle was growing. They needed to get in front of this, but he didn’t see how it was possible. He hopped up on stage and joined Liz and Alicia at the podium. The teen looked lost, with dark red circles under her eyes. No one could blame her for that. Blair knew that in many ways John Rivers had been her father.
Liz wrapped an arm around Alicia’s shoulders, looking pointedly at Blair. He nodded. Liz led Alicia to the back of the stage, and Blair stepped in front of the podium. Hundreds of eyes were on him, and every face wore a mixture of grief and fear. These people had been shaken to their core, and somehow Blair had to find the words to make that better.
“I know that many of you don’t know me very well,” Blair began. “I’ve only just come to Santa Rosa, and I’m still a stranger to a lot of you. I’ve got some dark news to report, news that most of you already know.” He licked his lips, watching the expectant faces. “John Rivers was attacked and killed tonight. He was working the Petaluma border, and his surviving pack tells us that he battled an antlered monster. We all know exactly who that is. Windigo has finally returned, and he started with a victim we all knew well.”
He watched them, waiting for a reaction. No one spoke.
“John was a leader here,” Blair continued, “and Windigo chose him for a reason. He wants to shake us to our very core, to spread fear and anger. If we allow him to do th
at, he’ll pick us off one by one.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” called a blond Ka-Ken whom Blair didn’t recognize. “We can’t hunt him down. We can’t hide. I don’t care how strong the Ark makes you, you can’t kill Windigo if you can’t find him. You can’t protect us all the time, and Windigo will just wait until we’re alone.”
“You tell him, Eleanor,” called an older man. “Alicia, this place ain’t safe any more. Do you really want this to end like Angel Island? We need to get out now, cut our losses. Some of us aren’t gonna make it, but the survivors can rebuild somewhere safe.”
“Somewhere safe?” Blair interrupted. He thumped the podium with a fist, glaring hard at the old man. “Where might that be exactly? Where is it you think you can go that Windigo can’t follow? If you leave, he’ll finish those who stay here. Then he’ll hunt you down, and feed on you wherever you end up.”
“So what the hell can we do about it?” called Zee. He folded his arms, eyeing Blair balefully. “You’ve done a lot of talking about protecting us. If you’ve got some plan, tell us.”
Liz walked proudly to the podium, standing next to Blair. “Hey, I get it,” she said. “People are lashing out. You’re angry, we all are. Right now we’re all wrestling with grief. We’re scared. That’s normal, and no one can blame us for that. But making decisions when scared and angry is never a good idea. That plays right into Windigo’s hands. We need to consider our next moves carefully. We can fight Windigo, but we need to be smart about it.”
“She’s right,” Alicia said. She stalked to the edge of the stage, stabbing a finger at the old man. “Pat, you have no right to bring up Angel Island. This is different. We’ve built a home here, and I’m not going to just abandon it. We’ll fight Windigo, and the Ark Lord will find a way to stop him once and for all. We’ll ensure that he never does to anyone else what he’s done here. We’re going to avenge John Rivers, aren’t we?”
Alicia turned to Blair, and all eyes moved to him. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to stop Windigo, but right now that didn’t matter. “Damned straight, Alicia. For starters, no one goes anywhere alone. You always travel with a pack. Those with territories out in West County will stay here for the time being. Windigo will strike again, we know that. We can’t make it easy for him. We need to be ready to fight back, and that means staying together. Meanwhile, I’m going to get some answers. The Ark has a massive database. I’ll see what I can learn about Windigo’s origins. Maybe he has a weakness.”
No one looked happy, but people were nodding. Most looked mollified. Liz leaned in to the mic. “Alicia and I will start pairing people. Line up along the left wall, and we’ll get started.” She covered the mic with her hand, whispering to Blair out of the corner of her mouth. “Do something flashy. These people are scared. They need to see a god.”
Blair nodded. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Then he light-walked. He lingered in the brilliant white light, letting it flood the room. When it faded, he stood in the Ark’s central repository.
Hopefully that had been impressive enough.
Chapter 55- Outmaneuvered
“Moment of truth,” Jordan muttered. He stepped through the portal, into the golden city. One moment he was standing in a humid jungle, the next he was in a warm, dry city. The transition was instant, and he could feel the sweat all over his body beginning to dry.
Trevor was the next through, then Anput. Leti was the last to enter, and despite her soiled white skirt she wore a beatific smile. Jordan knew this meant everything to her, finally reaching the city she believed to be the holy land prepared by the Mother. Hell, she might even be right about that.
Jordan offered her his hand. “Congratulations, Leti.”
She ignored the hand, gathering him into a hug.
Jordan laughed. “I can’t speak for your people, but the city has clearly accepted you or we’d never have made it this far.”
“I thought that if I ever saw this day it would be centuries away,” Leti said. She stared around in wonder, giving a delighted laugh when a massive butterfly launched itself from a basketball-sized scarlet flower. The garden was a riot of colors, each flower giving off a soft, pleasing fragrance. None of the vegetation looked at all familiar—from the jungle, or anywhere else. It was all contained in small gardens and parks between the clusters of golden pyramids.
“So what now?” Trevor asked. There was an edge to his voice that brought Jordan back to the present.
Two groups were approaching from opposite directions. At first glance Jordan couldn’t discern any differences in the two groups. Each wore the same white clothing he’d seen Leti and Elia wear, though nearly every one had at least one piece of golden jewelry. Many wore bracelets, though a few had necklaces or a belt—scavenged when they’d found this place, probably.
“Oh, shit,” Jordan said. His heart sank. “Looks like Elia got here first. She’s at the head of that second group.”
“These are the interlopers I warned you of,” Elia called, loudly enough for her voice to carry to the second group. “As you can see, two are the ancient enemy the texts speak of, the horrible deathless. Their hearts no longer beat, and they survive by devouring the flesh of the living. The Mother’s command toward such creatures is clear.”
A hard-eyed old woman with snowy hair and a dark, pockmarked face led the second group. Her eyes studied Elia sharply, and she raised a hand. Her followers halted, and the old woman approached Elia alone. “What are you going on about, Elia? Who are these people, and how did they reach the city?”
“A renegade from the Temple of the Ark has betrayed our kind,” Elia said. She pointed accusingly at Leti. “One of our most trusted sisters has forsaken our ways. Leticia serves the usurper, and it is he we must be most wary of. Wherever he goes he brings corruption, and his unclean companions are the proof of it.”
“You twist words like a snake, Elia,” Leti snapped. Her eyes blazed. “Ark Lord Jordan is the direct progeny of the Mother.” She stepped forward protectively in front of Jordan. “He has fought at her side. Learned shaping from her. She entrusted him with control of her Ark.”
“Did she?” Elia countered. She gave a cruel smile. “If I recall, he took the key from a defeated foe, not from her hand. She did not bequeath it to him. He took it. Isn’t that the truth, Ark Lord?”
“Yeah, it’s the truth,” Jordan admitted. He removed his sunglasses and his hat, so they could see his face. “I claimed the key from a guy named Steve, a guy that Isis asked my pack to eliminate. She didn’t specifically say she wanted me to have the key, but I was the only option at the time. Like Leti said, I am the Mother’s direct progeny. I’ve fought at her side. She’s also kicked my ass several times, and I don’t mind admitting that she scares the piss out of me.”
“I notice you’re no longer so quick to spout your blasphemies,” Elia said. The cruel smile intensified. “Why don’t you tell them about the Mother’s death. She is dead, isn’t she, Ark Lord? That’s what you told us.”
Horrified gasps went up from both groups. The wizened woman’s face hardened. Elia had just scored a significant blow, one that Jordan didn’t have an easy way to counter. Jordan had no idea who the white-haired woman was, but the strength in her was impressive.
“I don’t see how she could be alive,” Jordan admitted, reluctantly. “She was in the First Ark when it blew. Her, Osiris, and Ra battled together for the first time in millennia. They united to stop Set, who I think is talked about in your scriptures. They succeeded, but the cost was high.”
“Why have you come to this city?” the snowy hair woman asked. “That is the real question, the only one that matters at this instant.” She’d remained calm during the conversation, but studied everything like a bird of prey.
“It’s complicated, but I’ll do my best to uncomplicate it,” Jordan said. He gave a heavy sigh. “Set worked for a group called the Builders. They’re the ones that originally created the Ark
s, and this city. Those Builders left this world long before humanity had even come down from the trees. Those Builders are about to come back, and they consider us squatters. They plan to wipe us out, though we don’t know how exactly. Just that they do. Isis fought against the Builders, and I’m carrying on the fight. This city is critical to that war, and the grey men know it. They’re after something here called the Proto Ark.”
“Grey men?” the snowy-haired woman asked.
“Like I said, it’s complicated.” Jordan scanned the crowd. There was still a good deal of hostility on most faces. “The grey men were created by the Builders. Think of them as shock troops. Listen, I know that this is a lot to accept. I know you’re not really sure what to make of me. Trust me when I say we’re allies.”
“How do you explain these two?” the woman asked, her tone accusing. He gestured at Trevor and Anput. “They are clearly the ancient enemy, the ones we are sworn to protect against. Their kind ravaged this land for thousands of years—and for just as long, the champions have pushed them back. Our goal was to keep them from this city, yet you’ve willingly brought them here. Why? And how can you expect us to trust you after doing such a thing?”
“You have to understand that things aren’t black and white,” Jordan countered. His best chance was in being honest. “I’ve fought against Trevor more than once, but if Isis could put aside her differences to work with Ra and Osiris, then I can learn to work with deathless. They share the same goal we do: stopping the Builders. We need each other, or we’re all going to be wiped out.”
“Again he blasphemes,” Elia said. “The idea that the Mother would work with the ancient enemy is madness.” She glided forward, stopping near Jordan. “We can debate this in council, but I am not comfortable having these people loose in our city. I think they should be imprisoned with the other interloper until we decide what to do with them.”
