by H B Lyne
Eyes had to admit that the demon was correct.
'Yeah, but will you do the honourable thing and actually finish the job properly this time? Or is there a hidden fee for every hundred yards like there was for this road?' There was venom in Rust's voice and he stamped his foot on the tarmac. So that was the cause of the antagonism between them. Eyes couldn't help but smile slightly, though he turned his face away to hide it.
'We really need to get a move on!' Claws called down from the roof of the van.
'Quite right,' said Tar Peter. He stepped forward and cleared his throat. Then he ran forward, almost gliding up the rocky slope. In his wake, slick, wet tarmac appeared, as if spilling out from his black suit. He reached the summit and disappeared over it, the new road drying almost instantly.
'Nice,' Eyes said, nodding his head.
The shifters piled back into their vans. Eyes hesitated before closing the door and looked at Sparking Clank. 'Thank you for joining us.'
'Hmm, of course.' The construct lumbered up the hill and stopped at the top. Eyes set off after him, the headlights shining on the rear of their huge ally. He was more or less prepared for the sight that greeted them when he pulled up alongside Sparking Clank. But seeing it properly, rather than through Wind Talker's talisman, was still a mild shock. The Witches had created a dense forest in Hepethia, with large, gnarled trees packed close together.
Tar Peter stood at the foot of the hill, looking over his shoulder at the van perched at the top. His skin was sickly pale in the ghostly headlights of the van.
Eyes felt the van vibrating and he gripped the wheel tightly as something peeled itself away from the front. The construct friend of Tar Peter's that had taken up residence in the battering ram lurched forwards, separating himself from it. He was a towering humanoid of dense stone, with metal gauntlets on his huge fists and a helmet on his roughly shaped head. He set off down the hill, gathering pace. He spread his arms wide and crashed into the first line of trees. The thick trunks splintered and shattered. Eyes watched, gob-smacked, as the towering trees tottered and then began to fall.
The construct kept running, powering through the forest and dragging the trees over on either side of him. Tar Peter gave Eyes a wink, then set off after him, creating a rough road behind him through the trees. Eyes set off, the van bumped along, lurching up and down where the tarmac had been laid right over tree stumps and debris. It wasn't perfect, but it was certainly making it possible for them to traverse the terrain. He glanced at the clock on the dashboard and winced. It was getting late.
'It'll be okay,' Echoes whispered, barely audible over the noise of the crashing trees and rumble of the engine. 'Don't worry about them. They know what they're doing.'
'Thanks,' Eyes muttered under his breath. He willed the work to be completed more quickly. They lurched onwards slowly. Sparking Clank had fallen in behind Eyes' van, and his bulk was clearing some more of the foliage on either side of the road.
They didn't have far to go. The factory was only a few hundred yards inside the territory from this border in the human world. He clung to that as his eyes scanned the dark forest on either side of them. Shadows moved and the trees themselves seemed to be stirring.
After a torturous few minutes, the trees began to clear and Eyes could see lights up ahead. The stone construct at the head of their strange convoy came to a halt. Tar Peter stood still, the last drips of thick, black liquid oozing around his shoes. Eyes gently brought the van to a halt and looked up at the wooden fort before them. Smooth, sturdy logs stood tall and tightly packed, making an impenetrable wall with no windows or gaps. But Eyes could hear the humming inside; a low baritone melody was growing in volume.
'We need to get inside, right now,' Wind Talker hissed.
Eyes felt searing pain course through his veins. His head split open with blinding agony and he clamped the heels of his hands to his temples, his eyes squeezed tight. Stalker!
'Go! Now!' Eyes yelled out of the window.
Tar Peter leapt aside and the juggernaut went charging towards the fort, his head bowed. There was a sickening crunch and the sound of wood splintering. The wall lurched and swayed slightly, but didn't come down. The construct came staggering back towards the van and fixed his tiny black eyes upon it. He grabbed the battering ram and then sank down, absorbed back into the steel. Eyes slammed his foot on the gas and the van rocketed forward. Sorry Claws, he thought.
The van started to shake violently as it careered towards the fort and the sound of rapid gunfire rent the air. Shells cascaded down on the roof, like metal rain. The wooden wall grew ever closer, thousands of huge splinters flying off it as the bullets made impact. When the van struck, the wall shattered like glass, bursting into millions of chips. The van skidded and Eyes fought with the wheel for a split second, before remembering to steer into the skid.
They spun sideways, the tyres squealing on the compact earth floor. Eyes opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them until that moment. His breath was ragged and his arms ached from gripping the wheel. He looked up to see Sparking Clank crashing through the hole in the wall, making it twice as big. The Wrecking Crew screeched in behind him and skidded to a halt next to Eyes' van.
Wind Talker leaped out and clambered up onto the roof. Eyes heard both of his brothers' voices. Claws was okay, thank Luna. There was a shout and a single gunshot, not the machine gun. But it sounded so far away and his head was so foggy.
'Are you okay?' a soft voice beside him said. He looked slowly around at Last-Breath-Echoes. Her eyes shone with concern, and her slender fingers made contact with his left hand, which was still gripping the wheel. He nodded, numb with shock. 'You need to get out of the van now, bring your maul.' She spoke so softly and calmly, and yet he heard the urgency in her tone.
He could hear snarling, grunting and ripping fur somewhere in the distance. He looked at their joined hands, his gaze followed her arm up to her shoulder, and then looked into her clear eyes. He nodded solemnly and she released his hand. He snapped to his senses and reached down into the foot well for his new weapon. His fingers closed on the hilt and he lifted it out from under Echoes' feet. His door was wrenched open and Rust stood there, panting.
'You coming?' he snapped.
'Yeah,' Eyes replied, slipping to the ground. Echoes jumped out behind him, landing silently on the soft earth. He looked around. Tiny lights hung on a wire around the walls, like Christmas decorations, blinking eerily in the dark and casting their ghostly white light on the ground.
All around the fort were dozens of fae, vicious, snarling plant-based creatures with spikes and huge thorns. They swarmed towards Sparking Clank, who twisted and shuddered, his metal plates grinding as his form shifted into one with crushing fists. He opened his huge jaw and gnashed his teeth. He stomped on the smaller fae and smashed anything bigger that came within reach.
Another shot rang out and there was a thunk as the bullet lodged into the wooden wall on the far side of the fort. Eyes followed the trail of the bullet and saw the source of the sounds of fighting. Weaver was locked jaw to jaw with another Agrius, wrestling on the dirt.
'Stop firing!' he yelled up at Claws. 'You could hit Weaver!'
Claws reluctantly lowered his hand gun.
Eyes ran over to the fighting beasts, Rust close at his side. They grabbed hold of the struggling mass of tangled bodies and yanked them apart. Eyes took a fur-covered elbow to the nose and went stumbling backwards, clutching his face as blood trickled over his lips. He wiped the blood away and strode back to the beast as she lurched for the enemy. He jumped on her back and swiftly covered her throat with his hammer, gripping it tightly in both hands.
Weaver struggled in Rust's tight grip and slowly she shifted form, so that she stood panting in his arms. Her eyes were on fire.
Eyes still had the Witch by the throat and she struggled frantically to free herself. He didn't have time for mercy, or negotiation. He locked eyes with Weaver and gave her a nod. Rust released
her and she strode over to the struggling Witch, her sister, at a guess. She raised a fist and it transformed into a clawed Agrius one. Eyes waited for the perfect timing, then swiftly released the Witch. With a single, fluid thrust, Weaver drove her huge talons into her sister's throat and ripped it out.
The beast slithered to the floor at their feet, blood cascading over her chest.
'I had to drag her across the veil to get her away from the ritual,' Weaver said coldly, not looking at her body. 'Stalker's in trouble, I felt it.'
'Me too.' Eyes nodded and put his arm around Weaver's shoulder.
Last-Breath-Echoes ran across to the centre of the room and dropped to her knees. Eyes strode over to her and saw the remnants of a detailed mural of a Green Man on the ground. It had been made of leaves, grass and twigs, which had been partially scattered by their entrance.
'We're too late,' Echoes said, looking up at him with wide eyes. 'He's crossed over.'
'She's right,' Wind Talker said, his eyes out of focus. Without waiting, Wind Talker crossed the veil.
'Hey!' Eyes yelled at the empty space where he had been. He spun around to Sparking Clank, who was noisily finishing off the last of the fae. 'Can you cross the veil into the human world?'
'It takes effort, but yes,' the construct rumbled.
'Please do it,' Eyes implored. He grabbed Echoes and dragged her to her feet. 'Rust! Get the chains across the veil.'
Rust glanced down at the dead Witch, with a mingled expression of confusion and disgust. He ran back to his van and climbed inside, the rest of his pack followed. The van turned away from the other one and twisted across the veil, disappearing from sight.
Eyes had hold of Weaver and Last-Breath-Echoes. 'Burn it down,' he said softly.
Weaver nodded and pulled a new talisman from her pocket. It was a strange device, part lighter and part magnifying glass. She flicked it open and a flame burst out of the top. The little circle of glass captured the flame and projected it, sending a torrent of blazing fire out from it like a flame thrower. She directed it at the mural of dried leaves and twigs and they caught light easily. The fire spread quickly across the floor of leaves and rippled up the nearest wooden wall.
Eyes looked up at Claws, who was scrambling down from the van. They all climbed quickly inside and grasped hands to will themselves and the vehicle back across the veil.
Chapter Forty
Stalker-of-Night's-Shadow
The foot came down on her head, sending crushing pain through every fibre.
'That's what we do with insects,' Gaze-of-Purity mocked. The others laughed.
'What do you think you're doing?!' boomed a voice behind the Witches. Stalker could feel the veil blowing as if in a breeze. Something huge had just come through it. But she couldn't see anything. Black and white spots flickered in her sight and little popping noises echoed in her ears. Her trembling hands went to her face while the Witches were distracted. There was no blood, but a hard lump was forming over her left temple where Gaze-of-Purity's boot had struck.
'My Lord,' Spinner-of-Crystal said. Stalker heard her voice as if from underwater.
'Finish the ritual!' the voice roared. 'The Equinox is upon us.'
Stalker felt their hurried footfalls through the vibrations of the floor. Her head pounded, she still couldn't see. Fear gripped her, paralysing her, and she pressed her throbbing temple to the cold floor.
'Odin,' she croaked. 'Odin, send the fire, please.' Nothing happened. She felt hot tears on her cheeks. 'I can't see. Please. Help.'
A blue light entered her consciousness: Fylgia. She saw Gudra's face amid the blue haze, she was shaking her head. It wasn't time to go to Valhalla yet either.
Chanting reached her from the other side of a vast lake, the Witches resuming their ritual. But a series of alarming sounds shattered the dull, echoing sensation in her head. Screeching tyres, shouts and then the unmistakable cacophony of what was left of the roof caving in. A heavy thud shook the floor and Stalker felt the room grow a hundred times brighter through the blue haze.
There were screams, snarls and the smell of blood. Then another ripple in the veil, and more skidding tyres and the smell of smoke. Gunshots pierced the screams. Claws was here. A smile crept across Stalker's aching face.
'Up you get.' A soft voice spoke nearby. 'Come on,' it gently urged.
'Who's there?' Stalker hissed, the smile vanishing from her lips. She reached out and caught hold of a hand, she felt rings on several thin fingers. The person's other hand was heaving Stalker's shoulders off the floor. The room spun uncontrollably and Stalker swayed as she was raised into a sitting position.
'Last-Breath-Echoes,' said the quiet voice, though it was clear and right by her ear, not far away through water. Echoes withdrew her hand gently from Stalker's grasp and she felt two cool hands covering her eyes.
'What are you doing?' Stalker asked, her voice barely more than a rasp.
'Shh.'
Warmth spread from the hands on her face into her eyes, reaching right into her sinus and deep into her brain. She felt it running through her capillaries like warm water, soothing every ache and pain. Her eyelids fluttered, her lashes brushing against Echoes' palms. She could see slivers of bright light through the gaps between the palms and fingers, and the warm orange of the hands themselves. Echoes gently removed her hands and Stalker blinked in the bright light.
Unchained Lightning stood between them and the fight, shattered debris from the roof under his big feet. His tail swished back and forth and when he roared the whole factory shook. Two vans stood on the far side of the vast room, the laid out bodies illuminated by their headlights.
Facing Unchained Lightning was a tall, thin man made of green plant life. Hundreds of tendrils covered his stick-thin body and his bearded face was filled with fury. The Wrecking Crew were fumbling about at the back of their van, and Stalker's own pack, including Weaver, were taking on the Witches.
Stalker lurched to her feet, staggering sideways. Spots appeared in her vision again and Last-Breath-Echoes grabbed hold of her to steady her. The spots cleared quickly this time and she patted Echoes firmly on the back to let her know she was okay. She stomped forward, drawing both of her dha.
There was a flutter of the veil right beside her and her head snapped to see Scourging Agony stepping through. His thin lips curved into a smile.
'Such delicious pain you're in my dear.'
'Not self-inflicted,' she snapped, repulsed by his close proximity.
'True, but very tasty all the same. Thank you for inviting me to the party.'
'You're welcome. Are you going to kill any Witches?'
The demon grinned, he shook his head and his bladed fingers flashed dangerously in the glowing light from Unchained Lightning. Stalker didn't hesitate. She swung one of her dha right through his long neck. His head toppled off his shoulders and rolled across the floor. His body disintegrated into thousands of pieces and disappeared back across the veil. He was really dead this time, she was sure of it.
Coolly, she looked around for her next target. The twins who should be dead were both heading for Eyes and were mid-shift when Stalker strode up behind them. She instinctively went for the one who had originally died at her hands. She drove one sword through the shoulder of the emerging Agrius, halting the shift in a grotesque mutation of their kind. A howl rent the air from the impaled Witch. Her human legs flailed around in mid-air, while her Agrius head tossed from side to side, and clawed hands grabbed at the sword.
Her sister screeched and barrelled into Stalker, knocking the odd pairing over sideways. The impaled twin went rolling across the floor, taking Stalker's dha with her. She writhed and thrashed on the floor, unable to free herself from the blade.
Stalker felt hot breath on her face and found the other twin crawling over her body, salivating. Without hesitating, Stalker shifted form, bursting into the Agrius, and launched herself off the floor, sending the Witch flying. She gripped her remaining dha and pounced
forward. Just as she reached the other twin and was about to wrap her hand around her throat, a whip-like tendril smacked her hand away. Her head snapped around to see the Green Man descending upon them. Another tendril lashed out and caught Stalker across the face. She went flying through the air, spinning over and over. She landed heavily next to a dead body. She couldn't breathe and grasped her chest.
She had dropped her dha and as she lay there, winded, all she could think about was getting her weapons back. She turned her head and saw Last-Breath-Echoes examining the bodies, hurrying from one to the next, desperately searching for something. Her lips were moving rapidly, muttering something that Stalker couldn't hear over the din of the fight echoing around the concrete chamber.
Her pack mates were all in their Agrius forms, even Claws. Wind Talker had Spinner-of-Crystal in hand to hand combat nearby. Their fierce jaws snarling and ripping at each other's fur. Weaver was chasing Gaze-of-Purity around the factory, leaping over fallen pillars and bursting through the long grass that grew up between the cracked concrete slabs on the floor.
Eyes had grabbed the other twin and Stalker watched, open mouthed as he forced her to the floor and bludgeoned her with his hammer. She had tried to kill his daughter. He had killed her once in rage, and he was going to finish the job. He pounded her skull again and again, screaming as he did. Blood splattered all over his hands and body, and flew in arcs from the swing of his weapon.
The doors from the garage burst open and Theodore appeared, an upturned car behind him. In his arms was the unconscious guard, who he tossed to one side. Vengeance-of-Steel entered the room around him, pushing the other Witch who had been in the garage with Weaver's sister ahead of her. She was handcuffed and gagged, blood trickling down the side of her face. The rest of the Glass Wolves strode into the room, surveying the chaos.
Stalker scrambled up and crawled across the floor to where Angela Carter was thrashing around, still impaled on Stalker's sword.
