Scorched Shadows (The Hellequin Chronicles Book 7)

by Steve McHugh

  One of the attackers aimed a gun in my direction, and a slither of shadow jumped out at him, knocking the gun aside and dragging him down into the shadow realm. I wasn’t sure how many the wraith could feed on at once, but I knew having the boost of two people was better than one. A few seconds later the familiar tingle of power spread through my body, followed closely by a second one. The two men were now gone forever; no traces of them would ever be discovered. I felt no horror or unpleasantness at that thought. Their fates were sealed the second they decided to come after the people I cared about.

  A blast of air magic threw another attacker into a car near where Diana stood. She grabbed him with one massive, paw-like hand and punched him in the chest so hard that I heard bones snapping. She released him, and he fell to the floor like a bag of cement. She placed a foot on his head and pushed down, the noise forcing me to look away. Death and blood were staples of my world, but seeing a man’s head crushed like a grape was a step over even my own considerably high threshold of violence.

  It didn’t take long until the last of the attackers were mopped up, but as I looked around to find Tommy I heard a roar behind me. I turned as two huge cave trolls tore through the back of one of the two trucks, flinging pieces of metal about and causing several people to dive for cover.

  “Where did they come from?” Zamek asked from beside me. He was covered in blood, and the blades of his two axes were drenched in it.

  “We’ve got the one on the left,” I shouted to Diana, and tore off toward the smaller of the two cave trolls, although “smaller” is a relative term. It was still nearly eight feet tall and about the width of a tank—which, considering the amount of metal armor that adorned its torso, wasn’t that far off.

  Cave trolls are mean and nasty, and enjoy murdering people so that they can feast on their remains. They can also take an incredible amount of punishment before going down. The day wasn’t going to be a fun one.

  “I’ve killed cave trolls before,” Zamek told me as we stopped beside a car close to the troll. “We need to get above it. They have a weak spot just behind the neck. If you can keep it occupied, I can get up there.”

  “I think I can do that.” I stepped out from behind the car and threw a ball of fire at the troll’s head. It roared in anger and took a ground-shaking step toward me. “That’s right, you big bastard. Come fight me.”

  It took another step and roared again, the stink of decay on its breath now able to reach me. I ran to the side, forcing the troll to turn its back on Zamek. I walked back, throwing the occasional ball of fire at the troll to keep the attention on me while Zamek climbed on top of a nearby van and launched himself toward the troll.

  For a second I thought that Zamek was going to make it, but the troll must have sensed the dwarf, as it moved quicker than I thought a troll could move, swatting Zamek out of the air and sending him crashing into a nearby wall. The troll turned back to me with rage in its eyes.

  Dozens of shadows tore out of the ground, wrapping themselves around the troll, who roared in defiance and continued to walk toward me. I tried wrapping the shadows tighter and tighter, but with every step he made, one of the shadows snapped, forcing me to re-create it. My magic was not an infinite source of power, and even with the boost I’d had from the wraith, I wouldn’t be able to keep up the newly re-formed shadows indefinitely.

  I removed the shadows in one go, causing the troll to stagger forward, where I hit it with a blast of air powerful enough to knock the off-balance troll to the ground with an almighty crash. I ran toward the troll, my fist wrapped in dense air, and struck the beast in the side of the head, darting aside a moment later to avoid the swipe of its arm.

  The troll climbed back to its feet, and I readied a sphere of spinning air in the palm of one hand, using my fingers to spin the ball faster and faster, until it was a blur of magical power. Only then did I pour my fire magic into the sphere, mixing it with the air and creating a ball of pure magical lightning. It crackled, and air around my hand became superheated as the sphere moved at an incredible speed.

  When the troll was up on one knee, I sprinted forward, dodging the poorly swung punch, and drove the sphere into the troll’s chest, where I released the magic it contained. The metal armor that adorned its body did nothing to stop the furious power I’d unleashed. But when it was all over and the magic had dissipated, the troll remained on its feet, albeit unsteadily.

  “What do I have to do to kill you?” I said, feeling frustrated. If I used all the magic at my disposal, I was likely to kill the troll but could possibly hurt people who were already injured and being tended to by Grayson’s team of medics.

  I cracked my knuckles and raised a hand to the heavens as the clouds above me darkened. There was a clap of thunder. I was about to call down real lightning and mix it with my own magic, creating a power so vast that it caused me physical pain to do it, when Tommy smashed into the troll, taking the creature off its feet. Tommy was still in his werebeast form, and while he was shorter and considerably less bulky than the troll, he was also faster and probably not far off in terms of strength.

  The troll tried to push Tommy away, but Tommy avoided the creature’s massive hands and launched himself up at its head, sinking his razor-sharp claws into the flesh and skin of the troll. For a second I thought that Tommy was going to try and rip the creature’s face off, but with a howl born of rage and anger, he tore the troll’s head clean off its shoulders, ripping the skull in two. Tommy breathed heavily for several seconds, and for just a moment I thought the beast had finally won. I wondered whether or not my best friend was still in control.

  “Tommy,” I said, using my air magic to carry my words. I didn’t want to get too close. If the beast inside of Tommy had indeed won out, he would try to kill me just as quickly as he’d killed the troll.

  “I’m okay,” Tommy said softly without looking back at me. He dropped the halves of the troll’s head onto the ground, and they made an awful wet sound. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen anything like what Tommy had done. I’d certainly never seen a werewolf tear a troll’s head in half before. I didn’t even know that could happen.

  I looked over at where I’d last seen the other troll and noticed the huge spikes of ice sticking out of its torso. Olivia was not a woman to piss off if you liked the idea of remaining in one piece. She looked over at me and nodded, and I made a motion toward Tommy. She looked his way and ran toward him. I took a step away and went to check on Zamek.

  I found him sitting on the ground next to a large hole in the wall. He was rubbing his head and cursing a lot in dwarven. I’m not entirely sure that any species I’d ever met was as good at cursing and swearing as dwarves were. It was as if it was an intrinsic part of who they were as a people. Zamek didn’t do it often, but he certainly made it count when he did.

  “You okay?” I asked him as he got to his feet.

  “Bastard troll.”

  “It’s dead.”

  “Good.” He looked past me. “Tommy kill it?”

  I glanced over at my friend and found Olivia beside him. “Yep.”

  “He trying to control the beast inside of him?”

  “That’s my guess, yes.”

  “Never piss off a were of any kind. That’s my mantra for getting through life. I forget that he’s not even a millennium old.”

  “He’ll be fine.”

  Zamek nodded. “I know.” He looked around at the bodies that littered the ground. “A lot of bad guys died here today.”

  It was my turn to nod, but I didn’t take my eyes off Tommy and Olivia. It wasn’t that I thought Tommy’s beast—something all weres had inside of them, ready to take control and kill with impunity—would suddenly cause Tommy to snap and kill Olivia. I knew him better than that. But I wanted to make sure he was okay. Tommy was rarely so emotional that his beast had any chance of being set free, but an attack on those he cared about—employees and friends alike—was always going to cause emotions to run high.
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  I walked toward Tommy, who changed back into his human form. His naked body was covered in the blood of those who had fought him and died. He looked down at himself and sighed.

  “I’m sorry,” he said to me as I got close enough to hear him.

  “For what?”

  “I should have guessed this would happen.”

  “Don’t be daft,” Zamek said from beside me. “You can’t guess that crazed assholes were going to try and kill us all.”

  “I don’t think that’s what happened,” I said, fully aware of the shock on people’s faces, as they waited for me to explain what I meant.

  I was about to say more when a black car came toward us. We all readied for more fighting, until I realized it was a Mercedes S-Class AMG—one of my cars. I motioned for people to stand down as the car screeched to a halt, the driver-side door opening before it had fully stopped. Selene stepped out, her clothes singed and her arms and face covered with soot. She ran around the front of the car, and then I noticed the blood.

  I ran toward the car, getting there as Selene opened the passenger-side door and brought Remy out in her arms. “Helios attacked,” she said to me. “Remy . . . Remy . . . he . . . he . . .” She looked down at the broken body of our friend. “He saved my life.”

  Remy’s chest moved slightly, and I turned back to the crowd and spotted Grayson running toward us.

  “Lay him on the ground,” the doctor demanded, and Selene did as she was told.

  “What happened?” Grayson asked. “What did Helios do?”

  “Helios arrived, and I went outside to talk to him. He attacked me, almost killed me.” Selene sounded shocked that her brother would ever do such a thing. “Remy attacked him, but Helios stabbed him in the stomach and hit him so hard I think it broke most of the bones in his chest. I heard them snap. Helios blew up your house, Nate.”

  “Will Remy live?” I asked. Remy had at last count nine lives left from the original twelve witches who had cursed him. If he died, Remy would just come back, minus one life.

  “Remy’s healing is similar to a human’s,” Grayson said. “This will take him months to heal from, if not longer.” He removed a knife from his belt and passed it to me.

  I knelt beside Remy. “You there?” I asked.

  Remy opened one eye, the other too swollen. “Hurts,” he managed, although the pain to even say one word was etched on his face.

  “You know what I have to do, yes?”

  Remy made the tiniest of nods.

  “You’re going to kill him?” Selene asked.

  “Oh, you don’t know about Remy’s power?” Diana said. “He’ll be back in a few minutes if he dies.”

  “I thought he was going to die. Like, for good. I cried over his broken body.”

  I placed the tip of the knife against Remy’s chest and pushed, puncturing his heart and killing him almost instantly. I sat back on the ground and rubbed my eyes.

  “You okay?” Tommy asked me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Thankfully someone had given him a pair of shorts to wear.

  “I know he’ll come back, but I still had to take his life. It’s not exactly a fun thing to do.”

  A few minutes later Remy coughed and rolled onto his side, spitting blood onto the floor. “That fucking hurt,” he snapped. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking, fucker, piece of goddamn shitting fuckhead.”

  “You done?” Grayson asked, getting to his feet.

  “Cock biscuit.” Remy sat up. “Now I’m done.”

  Selene hugged him. “You saved my life. Thank you for that.”

  Remy shrugged and got to his feet. “Aw shucks, I’m just a great person all round.”

  Diana laughed, placing a hand over her mouth to stop it.

  “You genuinely think Helios would have killed you?” I asked Selene.

  She nodded. “I saw nothing but hate in his eyes. He said he was going to leave you a message. And then he blew up your house.”

  “This can all wait,” Grayson said. “Right now we have people to help. I need all of you to pitch in.”

  “Okay, people,” Tommy said. “Let’s help the injured and make sure any of these assholes who aren’t dead aren’t in a position to cause more harm.”

  “If you find any of them able to talk, I’d like to have a few words,” Olivia told us all.

  “I don’t think you’re going to be that lucky,” I told her. “These people were sent here with one purpose.”

  “To kill us all?” Zamek asked.

  I shook my head. “They were sent here to die.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Nate Garrett

  It took several hours to get everyone seen to, and by the end time we’d had thirty-six injured, three dead on our side, and sixty-one dead on theirs. I knew we’d been lucky not to suffer more casualties, but I also knew that wasn’t how Tommy would see it. One death was one too many, and he would want to ensure nothing like this happened again. I also knew that he wanted me to explain how our attackers had been sent here to die, but we were too busy to talk.

  To my surprise, Mordred arrived just as it was beginning to get dark. He had Morgan with him, and they chipped in to help even though they were tired from their trip. Mordred said he had information of his own to give, but waited until after we’d helped Grayson and his staff move the injured to the medical facilities several levels below the ground floor and dispose of the corpses. Then we showered and changed into clean clothes and all gathered in an office at the rear of the reception area. Dozens of armed guards patrolled the entire compound. Tommy was going to make certain there would never be another attack against his people.

  “So, we’ve all had a pretty shit day,” Mordred began after everyone had piled into the room. Along with those who had attended the original meeting, Remy, Morgan, Mordred, Selene, and Grayson had joined the group.

  “You get out of New York okay?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes, thanks to Hades firing up the jet for me. The human authorities had shut down the airports. It’s standard procedure, so I was repeatedly told.”

  “I thought you were going straight to Scotland,” Fiona said. “To find my husband.”

  “Your husband is missing, too?” Mordred asked.

  “We’ll fill you in on the rest,” Irkalla told him. “Why come here?”

  “I tried to contact Tommy on the phone, and no one answered,” Mordred said. “Figured you might be in trouble.”

  “I think you need to explain what you meant earlier,” Tommy said to me.

  “I took one of those attackers into the shadow realm and asked a few questions. Someone had tampered with his mind so that all he could say was ‘My Liege.’”

  “Like what happened at Wolf’s Head?” Olivia asked, her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face. I wondered how far she was from losing her temper.

  “What happened in Germany?” Mordred asked.

  “A few years ago, a group of psychopaths attacked the Wolf’s Head compound. It was their goal to get the Reavers to infiltrate the compound and get into Tartarus, where they could help Cronus escape. Lots of really awful stuff. We captured one of the attackers and found that he’d been programmed to say ‘My Liege’ instead of the person who sent them. That person turned out to be Hera.”

  “So, does this guy mean Hera, too?” Morgan asked.

  I shook my head. “All I know is that whatever was done to this man was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He couldn’t say anything but those two words. Blood-magic cursed.”

  “That doesn’t mean he was sent here to die,” Remy said.

  I placed a pistol on the table. “I took this from one of the attackers. It has normal bullets in it. No one in their right mind is going to send someone with normal bullets to attack this place and expect them to win.”

  “That could just be a coincidence. Or genuinely bad planning on their part,” Mordred said. “That can’t be the only reason you thought they were sent here to do something other than kill us and teabag our
corpses.”

  Everyone looked at Mordred.

  “I’ve been playing a lot of Halo,” Mordred explained. “It’s a thing. Honestly.”

  “I don’t even want to know,” Selene said with a slight shake of her head.

  Tommy placed his head in his hands and tried not to laugh, while Diana and Remy didn’t even bother hiding it.

  “It’s not like I do it in real life,” Mordred explained. “It’s a video-game thing. I don’t go around doing it to people in actual life.”

  “You said that already,” Remy pointed out after his bout of laughter.

  “I know, I just want to reiterate. I don’t teabag people in actual life. That would be weird.”

  “But in a game it’s not weird?” Morgan asked.

  Mordred remained silent for several seconds. “So these people who tried to kill us, Nate.”

  “Right, no, I didn’t know about the bullets until I was cleaning up,” I admitted, hopefully moving the conversation away from Mordred’s pastimes. “But these people were sent here to make a statement of intent. You don’t send people with broken minds and a complete lack of proper equipment if you want them to succeed. If any of our side died at the same time, then that was one less to worry about. I assume Helios was trying to take me out of the fight, which is why he blew up my house and tried to kill Selene and Remy.”

  “He sounded like he expected you to be there,” Remy said. “He was angry you weren’t. He lost it after that. It was as if you being there was the whole point of what he was doing.”

  “Helios is going to get what’s coming to him,” I said without looking at Selene. “But these attacks are just one more in a series of them across the globe. They’re attacking humans, but they attacked here because they want us all off-balance.”

  “You think they attacked here so that Tommy and everyone get so angry they go storming after whoever was responsible?” Nabu asked.