by M. R. Forbes
"You said the Nicht Creidem are mortal."
"Mostly, yeah."
"They fight back against the Divine."
"They spend more time hiding from them. Guerrilla warfare. Anyway, they've had thousands of years to learn."
"And you're worried after two days?"
I stared at her. She shifted her eyes between me and the road. I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment.
"Seriously, Landon. You're too intense. I mean, I know this job has pretty strict performance requirements, but you need to show a little patience. You're immortal. If it takes you thousands of years to get us on the right track, then it takes thousands of years. If you break a few sexy little eggs like me along the way, then that's what you need to do."
"You're okay with that?" I asked. "Being a broken egg?"
"I'd rather stay in one piece. I know what you're trying to do. I've already seen some of the sacrifices you've had to make. I've already had to make a few myself." She motioned back towards Gervais. "Second guessing yourself isn't going to get you anywhere. Worrying about my lifespan isn't going to get you anywhere. Us humans have free will, right? I decided to seek you out. I decided to sign on the dotted line, metaphorically speaking. I believe in your cause. I know Anita would have, too. I'm willing to die for it. I'm willing to die for you."
"I can't ask-"
"You aren't asking anything. My decision. Calling you 'Master', that's Alyx's decision. Being an asshole... well, I don't think Gervais can help himself. Do what you need to do. Let your allies be your allies. I might die, and you better be sad if I do. You have to go on. You have to keep fighting. Your dream will never be real if you try to force it. Work for it. Have patience."
"I don't want to be doing this forever. I don't want to end up like the Beast. I don't want this universe to end up like his universe."
"Forever is a long time. You need to know what you want and figure out how to get it, not pin it all on hope and get yourself all worked up for it to happen right this minute. It wasn't easy to spend two years searching for Anita's killer. It's even harder sitting in the same car with him. If I can do that, you can do this."
"Wow. Good pep talk," I said. In that moment, I really wanted to make up for missing that first kiss. Her words and attitude were inspiring.
Even if we were driving to our doom.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
We made great time, reaching the center of the city a little over an hour after we'd arrived through the rift. Between the strong words and the heavy foot, I found myself getting more impressed and enamored of Rose by the minute.
Beautiful? Check. Confident? Check. Smart? Check. Courageous? Two checks for that. Good with guns and knives? I'd never considered that as part of what made someone attractive before, but she nailed that one, too. All things considered, I was struggling to find something about her that wouldn't hit every mark on the attractiveness scale.
There was one thing.
She was mortal.
No matter what happened to us here and now, and no matter what happened to us in the future, if she lived she would age, and then she would die. If I fell for her, if I let myself fall for her, I was only setting myself up for heartbreak sooner or later. I'd just gone through it, and it had taken me two years to work through those emotions.
Of course, that was assuming she was even interested in me like that. Yes, she'd expressed a willingness to have sex, but her views on that were a lot more open than mine. She saw it as simple fun. I saw it as something a little more. Maybe too much more? Either way, there was a big chasm between friends with benefits and a committed relationship. I didn't believe in the first. She might not believe in the second, at least not with me.
Those were the thoughts that occupied me while we cruised through downtown Shenzhen, headed towards the industrial area near Deep Bay where the Taylor Heavy Industries factory was located. If we survived, if we stopped the Fists and the angels, Adam and Matthias Zheng, maybe then I would ask her what she thought. One thing I was glad to know is that she would be bluntly honest with me.
"Any sign of angels?" I said, turning back towards Alyx.
She raised her nose and took a few deep breaths. "Lingering scent, Master. They have been here, but not recently."
"Demons?"
"In a city this dense? For certain."
I expected as much. I also trusted they would stay far away from the hot aura that the Great Were was spilling out into our surroundings.
"How far to the factory?"
Rose glanced at my phone, resting on the dash. "Two miles."
"Let's ditch here, before the police wonder why a Kowloon Hospital ambulance is so far away from Kowloon."
Rose nodded and began searching for an open spot to leave our ride. She pulled to a stop a minute later, and we abandoned the vehicle.
"Alyx, stay alert. Tell me right away if anything Divine starts heading for us."
"Of course."
I was glad she dropped the 'Master' for once.
"Do you have a plan?" Rose asked.
I thought I did, until she had suggested that we might be walking into another trap. The angels weren't anywhere near as conniving and manipulative as the demons. That didn't mean they couldn't plan ahead.
"There's no way to know if Adam got out of the hole I left him in, or if it matters whether he did or not. We could be taking them completely by surprise, or they may have been planning for us to show up. That means we have a fifty-fifty shot at catching them off-guard. So, I think we should hedge our bets, and hit them from both directions."
"How would you suggest we do that?" Gervais said.
"Two teams. Gervais, you and Rose will do your best to sneak into the factory. If you need to kill people to take their form and get in, do it. Alyx and I will go straight for the front door. Hopefully we'll draw out whatever kind of defense they have, Fist or otherwise, and give you a chance to get in and find Zheng."
"What about the factory workers?" Rose asked.
"Try not to kill them. Don't let them stop you," I said. "I know you don't want to. This is bigger than they are." I looked at Gervais. "If you find Zheng, capture him. Do you understand?"
Gervais grinned. "Of course."
"I mean it. I'll kill you if you hurt him."
"I shall do my best, diuscrucis."
It wasn't much of a promise. I had to trust Rose would try to stop him if he decided not to listen to me.
"Remember, whatever shit we have on each other, whatever we think of one another, this is about stopping the angels from causing the Rapture. Everyone here has their own reasons for wanting to stop it, but the common thread is that we do want to stop it. We're one team right now, with one goal, agreed?"
Alyx moved up next to me and put her arm around my waist. "As you command."
"I'm with you," Rose said.
Gervais shrugged. "Eh. Why not?"
"I did this with Obi once. It worked out pretty well. Put your hand in." I put my right hand out. Rose put hers on top of mine. Then Gervais. Then Alyx. She seemed confused by the action. "When I count to three, say 'break', and pull your hand away," I told her.
"As you say, Master."
I cringed at the word.
"Ready? One... two... three... BREAK!"
We pulled back our hands. Alyx smiled at the activity. So did Rose. Gervais looked nonplussed, and the people dividing around us in their subconscious desire to avoid the Great Were tilted their heads as if they heard our shout in a whisper on the air.
"Let's move out."
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
My heart was pounding as I leaned against the side of a nearby building, and looked across a long, mostly empty parking lot and a few islands of trees to the front of the Taylor Heavy Industries factory. It was a long, wide, squat construct, made of dark stone with mirrored windows to hide whatever was happening inside. A stack near the center bellowed white smoke, while a number of trailers carrying shipping containers both
came and went while I waited with Alyx for Gervais and Rose to make it around to the back.
"Master, why do you keep that human with you?"
I turned my head back to where Alyx was leaning against the wall, staying out of sight. "You mean Rose?"
"Yes. Is she your conquest?"
I almost laughed at the thought, except she was serious. "No. She's my friend."
"You are very powerful. Why do you want humans for friends?"
"You know I was born a human, don't you?"
She considered me for a minute. "When you were human, you were weak. Now, you're strong. How does one so strong find anything of interest in something so weak? Espanto was once human, too. He said the strong devour the weak. The strong use the weak. That is the way the universe was made. Ulnyx once said these things, too. I remember when all the pups in the pack would be gathered, and he would tell us of our duty, and our power."
"The strong need to protect the weak, because they can't protect themselves. Ulnyx figured that out in the end."
"I should protect humans?" She made a face, disgusted by the thought. "Protect my food?"
"It's a little more complicated than that. I know Espanto looked down on mortals, to the point that he barely saw them. People are capable of a lot more than he gave them credit for. Rose is a good example. She put a knife to your throat, after all."
"I could have killed her. I would have, if Espanto had Commanded."
"Exactly. She risked her life to help me. And because of that, you're free from Espanto."
She was silent for a moment.
"You don't want her for your conquest? I wouldn't be jealous. It is expected of the alpha, and Espanto had many such prizes. Even the archfiend Valerix shared our bed."
She caught me off-guard a second time. "What? No. Humans aren't a prize. They have feelings, desires, needs. Just like you do."
"Their feelings are inferior."
"That's Espanto talking. I'm telling you that isn't true. People deserve your respect."
She wasn't convinced. "I will try, Master. The idea is very strange to me." She lifted her head, her nostrils flaring.
"Angels?" I asked.
She leaned up to whisper in my ear, her warm breath tickling me. "The building is protected. I can't smell anything inside, or sense any Divine. I was smelling your sweat. You're nervous."
"This is very important to me." I glanced down at my phone, checking the time. They should be in position soon. "Are you ready to run?"
She smiled. "Yes, Master."
"You really don't have to call me 'Master'," I said again.
"You don't want me for a mate?" she asked.
I paused. The last thing I needed was to upset her when I needed her the most. "I didn't say that."
"Then why don't you want me to speak to you as a mate speaks to her alpha?"
Somehow, I doubted that Ulnyx's mate, Lylyx, had ever called him 'Master'. The way he had been smitten with her, I could picture the massive Great Were calling her 'Mistress'. Or maybe 'Boss'. I had to remind myself that Alyx's experience was that of a child in the pack. Her understanding of gender dynamics was bound to be a little skewed.
"Never mind," I said. I kept my eyes trained to the rear of the building. We'd picked up a prepaid phone on the way over, and Rose was going to send me a text when they were ready.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, focusing my energy, and trying to calm my nerves.
"Landon," Alyx said beside me.
I opened my eyes and turned towards her again. "Angels?" I asked for a second time.
She smiled. "No, Master. I... I wanted to thank you, for getting me away from Espanto. And I wanted to wish you good hunting."
At first, I wasn't sure what she meant. Then I noticed the look in her eyes, and the softness of her face. There were a lot of different sacrifices people made. When I leaned in and put my lips to hers, when I allowed her mouth to explore mine, it was to ensure her morale, and her ferocity. The closer to me she felt, the more intense she would be to protect me.
Not every sacrifice was difficult. Or painful.
She pulled away from me, her lips spreading in a wide smile. "I will not disappoint you."
"I know," I replied, returning her smile and trying to calm my heart again.
My phone vibrated against my leg.
"It's time."
She was shifting into her demon form before I said it. Once more, she took a moment to nuzzle my face, and then we both started running.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
We were halfway across the parking lot when it started.
"The roof," Alyx growled next to me. I looked up, not seeing anything, trusting in her senses.
A moment later the bullets began digging into the pavement around us, the muzzles of rifles and the protected heads of a dozen Touched guards taking position to fire down on us.
They had been so quick to respond to our charge. Had my fears been realized? I scanned the sky for Adam, even as a bullet hit me in the leg and I tumbled to the ground, coming to rest behind a car
The bullets peppered it, shattering the glass and filling my ears with a sound like heavy rain. I pushed the bullet out and healed my leg, getting back to my feet at the same time Alyx reached me, changed back into her human form to fit behind the cover.
"Master?"
"I'm fine." Except, why were they using bullets? They couldn't kill us, only slow us down.
Something about that didn't sit right.
"We need to make a break for it, now," I said. "Don't wait for me." They wouldn't be able to fire down at us once we got to the entrance.
Alyx shifted again, bounding over the car in one pounce. I used my energy to push myself away, diving over the pounded metal towards the glass front of the factory.
I heard a scream, and saw the rocket launch from the rooftop. It exploded behind me, behind the car where we had been hiding only seconds before. The force pushed me forward even faster. I could see the explosion in the mirrored facade of the building. Red and blue flames. Holy flames.
They had missiles?
I hit the ground, rolling on my shoulder to my feet. Alyx was already near the entrance, waiting for me to catch up.
We were the diversion. Our part wasn't to go inside, not yet. It was to draw the defense out.
"Up," I shouted to her, pushing with the power, throwing myself towards the rooftop. I found the stone and brought the spatha to me.
The gunfire started again, a hail of slugs that whizzed past my ears and burned my scalp, that bit into my arms and torso and left me in burning pain, even as I landed in the midst of the shooters. My hamstring had been cut by one of the shots, and I hit the ground and stumbled, rolling away from the Touched towards the center of the building.
The gunfire didn't stop, it just changed directions. I threw my power out around me and curled into a ball, using it to stop most of the bullets, unable to get them all. I covered my head with my hands to protect it, and gritted through the assault.
A sharp growl told me Alyx had arrived. The Touched began to scream, the din of gunfire reduced with each wet smack and thud that reached my ears. I started to heal, the silver bullets dropping to the bloody ground around me.
Silence.
I felt her hot breath against my face, and then she was nuzzling me again. I got up and patted her head. "Thank you."
She responded with a soft whine.
The angels landed on the rooftop. They didn't need to wait for us to attack. By killing the Touched, we already had.
They were dressed in golden breastplates and helms above leather jerkins. They held blessed swords and shields. They looked out of place in the modern world. They looked even more out of place now that I had seen a blessed explosive decimate an entire demon army. They didn't speak, instead landing in a diamond formation and making a direct charge.
Alyx rose on her hinds beside me, spreading her arms and roaring at them. An angry Great Were was one of the
most intimidating things I knew of, and it was no different for the seraphim. The charge slowed at her challenge, the less experienced soldiers losing some of their nerve at the sight and sound.
I brought the obsidian blade to bear and pushed myself forward, slamming into one of the angels, knocking him down and making a light cut along his cheek, which immediately began sprouting black lines of demonic poison. I wrenched his shield from his grip and used it to block an incoming attack, hopping to my feet and taking a defensive crouch.
When Ulnyx had fought, it was with pure brute power and rage, with a large measure of experience thrown in. The technique was all his own, all chaos and anger. Alyx had said Espanto trained her to be a bodyguard, and an assassin. She had the power of a Great Were. She had the form of a dancer.
It was an incredible thing to watch something that large move with such fluid efficiency. I had felt fortunate when I thought I had stolen her from Espanto, and could force her into the fight. Seeing her now, I wondered about the balance. It wasn't just about Heaven and Hell and Earth. The balance was in everything. It was everywhere, from this universe, to all universes.
Had it thrown me a bone?
She did a neat pirouette, catching one of the angels in her claw and using the momentum to throw him into the HVAC unit behind her, at the same time she swiveled down, deflected a sword stroke with her thick hide, and ran her claws through the breastplate like it was butter. She knocked a third seraph down and dove in, ripping her throat out with her massive jaws.
I was elated and crying at the same time, thankful to be winning the fight, horrified to be doing this to the angels. What would Josette have thought of me for this?
She would have told me to follow the path that God set out for me, even if it seemed contrary to His will. Even if I couldn't possibly understand how it was what He intended.
I deflected another sword, turned and sank the spatha into angel flesh. Another replaced him, her brown dreadlocks swinging wildly as she made a clumsy attack. I pushed it aside and cut off her head, feeling the wetness on my cheeks as she fell.
