The Last Coven (The Tome of Bill Book 8)

by Rick Gualtieri

  Speaking of which...

  “Wait a second, Bill.” Sheila approached me, then stopped and looked down at Gan, who’d stepped right in front of where I stood. “Excuse me.”

  Gan, however, did nothing of the sort. Oh yeah, the claws were definitely coming out now that we were finally reaching the endgame.

  “Fine, whatever.” Sheila stepped around her to face me. She held up a hand, hesitated, then looked embarrassed for a moment. After a beat, she kissed her own palm, then pressed it to my lips. “Here. For luck.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “Probably not a great time to accidentally set you on fire,” she said sheepishly.

  I meant to agree with her, but instead found myself saying, “I’m willing to risk it.”

  With that, I stepped in and ... bumped into Gan, who had helpfully inserted herself between us again.

  “The Shining One is correct,” she said frostily. “This would be an inopportune time to act foolishly.”

  * * *

  The moment definitely over, we prepared ourselves. Gan and I were the shock part of the plan, whereas Sheila and Ed would hopefully bring the awe.

  “Use all of the speed at your disposal, my love,” Gan said. “I will be barely a step behind you.”

  “Okay, let’s do this before anyone else steps into this tunnel and fucks it up.”

  “Good luck, man,” Ed said from behind me. “You too, Princess Cockblocker.”

  I blew out an annoyed breath and then I was off.

  Oh, how I envied James. To be able to do this at will, moving so fast the world slowed down around you. And he didn’t even have to bust out of his clothes to do so.

  The tunnel entrance rapidly grew wider as I approached, then, like a flash, I was through. There were about thirty feet of open space in front of me ... and a whole lineup of angry mages beyond, all apparently waiting for my stupid ass to come barreling out.

  Fast as we were, we weren’t nearly quick enough.

  Before I could close the distance, a purplish globe of energy surrounded me and lifted me off the ground. My feet were still moving at a pace that made them little more than a blur, but my actual forward momentum abruptly halted thanks to the magical hamster wheel I was now trapped in.

  Fuck me!

  I turned to shout a warning to Gan, hoping I provided her at least a small cover bonus, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  What the fuck? Had they vaporized her?

  Beyond, Sheila was approaching the tunnel mouth, albeit at a far more human pace than I had. One of the witches shouted a warning at her appearance.

  About half a dozen mages powered up in an angry red glow and then let loose as she set foot outside the tunnel entrance. She’d been expecting that, though, and abruptly side-stepped, revealing Ed.

  Judging by the look on my roommate’s face, he shit an industrial-sized brick. Can’t say I didn’t do the same as the torrent of power raced toward him.

  Come on!

  Yes! As we’d hoped, the blasts either fizzled out before they could hit him or were harmlessly diverted into the cavern wall. I doubted if any of the Magi present understood what Ed was or how Calibra planned to use him in the grand scheme of things. However, their Jesus-witch had deemed him untouchable and they weren’t about to risk getting on her bad side.

  The distraction caught them off guard. Sheila’s aura sputtered to life around her, not nearly as brilliant as it should have been, but hopefully enough. She drew her sword as she raced toward me and then actually sliced through the spell.

  The blade passed dangerously close to my face, but it did the job. The next thing I knew, I was back on the floor as the power of faith fizzled out the spell in its entirety.

  Ed, finally remembering he had vampiric speed, caught up to us, ruining any other shots the mages had been preparing to unleash. Indecision shone in their eyes. Oh yeah, Calibra had definitely put the fear of God into them but good. Bad for them, good for us.

  I took advantage of this and slammed into their front line before they could power up again. The idiots, secure in their power, had packed themselves in like sardines ... or more like dominos. Sadly for them, I was in no mood to be gentle with my toys.

  Cries of pain rang out as bones snapped and bodies got knocked aside. Gan, wherever the fuck she’d gotten off to, had been right. The middle of this massive group was perhaps the safest place to be. Even as I picked up one wizard and used him to bitchslap his closest buddies, I could see the confusion in their eyes. Mages, as a whole, didn’t like hurting their own kind ... some sanctity of life bullshit or such. With the kind of close up fighting going on, more a vampire’s specialty than anything, they were finding it hard to hit me with anything strong enough to stop me, at least without also killing their far more fragile brethren.

  Soon I was deep among them, punching, slapping, maybe a little hair pulling, too. I didn’t know if Calibra had set up an emergency room in between all the castle raising, but if so, it was gonna be full tonight.

  A spell slammed into my back and knocked me slightly off balance, but it had been one of those stun blasts I’d felt before. With James’s power coursing through me, it barely registered. Unfortunately, the boost was starting to wear off and I wasn’t even a third of the way toward where I wanted to get. I couldn’t even see The Source yet from my vantage point surrounded by angry sorcerers.

  I needed to use what I had while I could. My normal power level was maybe a bit beyond the very peak of what a human athlete could do. One on one, I could hand any of these mages their asses, but together they could easily take me down.

  Or maybe they didn’t need to. The crowd in front of me parted slightly and a big musclebound goon with mystical tattoos up and down his ripped arms stepped in. Guess this guy hadn’t gotten the memo that magic users were supposed to be about as physically imposing as puppies. Either that or he’d decided to multi-class.

  This guy was a beast and, considering the stance he adopted, he knew how to fight. That was a lesson I’d learned before. I was normally at the low end of the vampire spectrum, so a human at the high end could clean my clock. Pity for him, I still had a bit of badass left in me.

  He threw a punch, which I barely sidestepped in the crowded quarters. I knocked down a witch in doing so, then used her as a step stool to launch myself onto the big guy’s back. He slammed an elbow into my gut, almost driving the wind out of me.

  Yeah, I was fading fast. Too bad for muscle mage here, it wasn’t fast enough.

  * * *

  Physically overpowering opponents was definitely one way to win a battle, but never discount the advantage of psyching your foes out. I took a quick look around to ensure I had everyone’s attention, then sank my fangs into Conan’s neck.

  He screamed as I ripped his flesh open, then tried to dislodge me with a judo throw, but I’d been ready for that. I sank my claws into his skin, effectively stapling myself in place as I took a satisfying swig of the red stuff.

  Thankfully, wizard blood was pretty much the same as human when it came to being a part of this nutritious breakfast. It not only served to freak the ever-living fuck out of everyone around us, but made for a very convenient and much needed lunch break.

  Some of the big guy’s friends tried to pull me off, but I was stuck tight as I forced him to his knees.

  Savoring the rush of blood, I got to thinking that if this freaked out his buddies, just think what would happen if I snapped this fucker’s neck like a matchstick.

  For one moment, it was tempting. Hell, shredding my way through these assholes would be a lot more useful in the long run than a few concussions. I could turn most of these mages into confetti if I wanted. I could...

  Fuck! Dr. Death’s goddamned influence was working on me again. Having him a part of me was going to be even more dangerous than hearing his insults as a separate voice.

  A lot of the faces staring back at me were young, barely my age. I tried to remember that mages by themselves
weren’t a bad lot. These guys had chosen poorly in their messiah and they definitely deserved a good ass kicking, but wholesale slaughter? No. That wasn’t my way.

  I let the big guy go and he dropped to the floor, beaten but alive.

  As expected, though, I’d scored a big psychological advantage, which was what I’d been hoping for. The eyes looking my way were angry, frightened, but best of all, hesitant. That was good, because I was almost back to being just me.

  I again started forward, heading the way The Source lay. This time, the mages in front of me stepped to the side like I was a celebrity on the red carpet, one known for punching out any paparazzi who fucked with me.

  I finally caught sight of The Source’s shores again. Goddamn, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to seeing that, especially now that I knew it wasn’t just some big radioactive bukkake pool.

  Sadly, the spectacle quickly became a secondary concern to me. The Jahabich were once again marching prisoners to the edge, preparing to make more of them into Calibra’s slaves.

  I caught sight of a head of raven-colored hair near the front. Shit! We’d been right. Calibra, in a snit at having her nose-bloodied, had stepped things up.

  I didn’t know Meg very well, but she’d stood by our side when everything about her belief system told her to do otherwise. That counted for a lot in my book. Hopefully, Sheila and Ed could distract the rest of the Magi because, right then, I needed to move.

  Powerful as vamps might be, though, we don’t have eyes in the backs of our heads. I’d thought the mages in front of me had been making a path out of fear, but they were also making sure their brothers and sisters had a nice wide area to target.

  I didn’t see which backstabbing cocksucker got off the spell. All I felt was a searing flash of red-hot pain that slammed into my ass and knocked me down just as the Jahabich began to close in on the hapless witch.

  ICONIC DEFEAT

  Either I still had a residual bit of James’s power in my veins or the spell wasn’t at full strength. Otherwise, the next thing I saw would have been the Pearly Gates opening to let me in.

  Even so, it was enough to turn my backside into a charcoaled mess and send me skidding face-first across the rocky ground.

  Worse, it would embolden the rest. And with me lying there taste testing the dirt, I would make an extra easy target.

  “Bill!”

  From the sound of things, Sheila wasn’t far behind. Pity it was probably far enough that it wouldn’t matter if...

  An animalistic scream of rage sounded from far above where I lay. It was as if someone ran a mountain lion over with a lawnmower. Most importantly, I knew that cry. Barely a week went by in which I didn’t wake up in a cold sweat, listening to it fade away from a dream that, more often than not, offered horrific visions of a future wedding.

  I flipped over onto my back, my eyes turned toward the ceiling – the same as just about everyone else here – in time to see Gan dropping down. So that’s where she’d gotten off to. Letting me race in as her stooge while she climbed like a spider monkey on meth. I so needed to kick her ass for that, but maybe later.

  Her eyes flashed yellow and her claws extended as she landed among the assembled Magi and was immediately lost to my view. It was easy to tell where she was, however, from the spray of blood erupting up and outward. Gan definitely didn’t share my thoughts on being merciful.

  That darkness inside of me flared up in admiration of her handiwork, tempting me to give in to the rage and join her. Together, we could turn this place into a fucking bloodbath.

  With some effort, I pushed my inner psychopath back down and told it to go stand in a corner somewhere while I physically forced the rest of me back to my feet.

  I stood just in time to see Sheila closing the distance, her aura protecting her. She used the flat of her sword to break a mage’s nose while Ed followed right behind her, punching out any Magi she happened to miss.

  “Yeah, you like that? Oh, you want a piece, too?”

  Ah, the lame trash talk of one fighting with total impunity. Oh well, let him have his fun while he could. It wasn’t often one found themselves in a pitched supernatural battle against foes who wouldn’t fight back.

  Between them and Gan, the mages had more than enough to contend with. In fact, many of them, already unnerved by my attack, broke ranks and ran for it. Others apparently decided their own skin was worth far more than their coven buddies and began firing off spells into the crowd, seemingly heedless of who they hit.

  In short, it was utter chaos, which meant I had a shot at saving our friend.

  Reining in the desire to let loose, give in to the anger, and see how many corpses I could decorate the place with, I took off in the direction of The Source – barreling through any mages who got in my way. I finally broke from the crowd and once again caught sight of my quarry. Sadly, the stony assholes had been busy. She was now queued up while a freshly minted Jahabich emerged from the other side of the pool. Shit! “Meg!”

  She turned unseeing toward the sound of my voice, shackled and beaten all to hell. Both of her eyes had been blackened to the point of being swelled shut.

  She raised her hands in a warding gesture, but nothing happened. The manacles she was wearing were obviously of the magic dampening variety.

  “Run!” I shouted. “Toward the sound of my voice!”

  The head of the Jahabich closest to her spun nearly a hundred and eighty degrees to face me, its jack o’lantern eyes blazing with malicious intent.

  It opened its mouth and said, “Mother,” which every Jahabich in the place immediately echoed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the cavern and seeming to come from dozens of directions at once.

  The creature raised its club arms; all the while, its gaze never wavered from mine. I put on every ounce of speed I had, but it wasn’t enough.

  I had only covered maybe half the distance between us when it crushed Meg’s head with a sickening crunch, instantly snuffing out her life.

  * * *

  Three of the Jahabich disengaged from the lineup to intercept me as I closed in, intent on revenge. These fuckers were gonna wish they’d gotten jobs as garden gnomes instead.

  My anger at them was merely a displacement of the disgust I felt with myself, though. I had the means to save Meg, but had chosen not to use it ... instead waiting for some bullshit right time that’s a cliché in almost every fucking movie.

  I ducked and sidestepped, throwing a punch of my own that knocked out a few stalagmite teeth. In the background, the first Jahabich, blood still dripping down its arms, stepped up to Meg and kicked her corpse into The Source, which began to bubble and take on an angry red hue as the unholy transformation took place somewhere beneath its surface.

  I’d seen this before. Soon, Meg would surface again ... miraculously whole. However, just when you thought it was going to be okay, the true horror would begin and she would cease to be her. She’d transform into one of them, becoming another puppet under Calibra’s control. Within seconds, she’d be lost to...

  Wait! Maybe there was still a chance.

  Truth be told, I had no fucking clue what I was doing or whether it would work. Meg had proven herself a friend, though, and if there was anything that could be done to help her, then I had to try.

  But first I had to stay alive.

  The Jahabich I’d decked had staggered, but was very much still in the fight. My other friends had their hands full with the Magi. So that left four against one.

  Fighting them was an issue, but dodging was another thing entirely. I feinted one way, then took off in another, sidestepping the rest until I came to the line of prisoners waiting to be Jahabich’d.

  “Run!” I shouted. Who knows if they understood or not? I mean, shit, the first creature in the lineup appeared to be made mostly out of tongue – bet he was a hit with the ladies. My meaning, though, was apparently clear. Two of the three creatures still waiting to be clubbed like baby seals turned away from me,
obviously too broken to care. But the last, a red-skinned troll with a circle of teeth where its face should’ve been, made a break for it.

  Two of the Jahabich immediately broke off to chase it down, which evened the odds against me considerably ... at least until all their buddies elsewhere in this place got the memo.

  There! The bubbling in the pool became pronounced and concentrated. Something was moving just beneath the surface toward the shore. I kicked out and managed to trip one of the Jahabich still hounding me. That just left the asshole who’d clubbed Meg. It lowered its head and charged. That was fine by me. It went low, but I went high.

  The Jahabich weren’t particularly tall. I jumped and cleared it, striking it with the heel of my sneaker in the back of its head. That, combined with its momentum, sent it staggering away from The Source where a figure broke the surface.

  The orange goop covering it fell away as it climbed out, revealing Meg. She was naked at first, but then her skin shimmered and the clothes she’d been wearing reappeared around her. She walked up onto the shore holding her head before finally noticing me.

  “Holy shit. That was really fucking weird. It’s like...”

  “Sorry about this.” I lashed out with everything I had, driving my fist into her unsuspecting face. If there was any chance of this working, assuming it did at all, it would need to be before she first turned.

  She looked like Meg, but felt like she’d been given an adamantium skeleton. I was pretty sure I broke most of my fingers, but it worked. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went down like a ton of bricks, quite literally.

  The important thing was that she stayed her. As I said, I had no clue whether anything could be done, but I had to try. More importantly, I had to find Christy and the others so they could try ... something at least.

  I had a feeling continually knocking her out wasn’t really a sustainable plan for the long run, but for now, I kicked her in the jaw to make sure she stayed out for a while. Fuck! My poor toes. But if this worked, it would be well worth it.