Gunz

by William Stacey

  "Where did you get such a thing?"

  Ulfir snorted then did something she had never seen any male fae seelie do before—he closed his eyes and cast a spell. It was weak, barely a spell at all, but she still recognized it as a divination weave. So he can track magical items. His eyes snapped open a moment later, and he smiled, his eyes shining, before stuffing the talisman back into his pouch. Its magical aura disappeared, and she realized his pouch must be warded. Clever.

  She watched him latch the pouch closed. I must have that glove.

  "Prepare your Black Circle initiates," Ulfir said. "I know where your sister and her allies are, but when we strike, it must be with overwhelming force, else the traitor will use the Shatkur Orb to slip away again."

  "Where is she?"

  He bared his teeth in a macabre smile. "Just across the river."

  THE KELPIES, several hundred of the night-black beasts, moved about near the riverbank, ducking their black heads beneath the water to chew upon the vegetation that grew on the riverbank. One of the closest of the four-legged water fiends raised its forehead, water dripping from its muzzle, and watched Horlastia with red, hateful eyes. It hated her, she knew, as they hated females of any species. None knew why. Kelpies were dangerous in the wild, but these had been tamed … more or less. On occasion, they still bit the odd finger of the hand that fed them. She turned her attention back to Cavalry Commander Feld, the officer commanding the kelpie cavalry, a minor noble and a bit of an obsequious chattering fool. "And you will be ready this night?" she demanded. "You understand what's required of you?"

  The fae seelie warrior nodded. "We'll have the mounts saddled within the hour, my General. Thank you for this honor."

  She turned to go but paused and looked back over her shoulder. "Remember, seize the main road. Let none get past. If my prey slips the trap, you will be a long time dying."

  "None shall get past us, my General. I swear it on my life."

  "You do," she said as she walked away.

  She brushed past cavalry warriors practically bursting with excitement as they prepared to go into action for the first time. All the riders were fae seelie warriors and all male. Time to spring the trap, she mused with satisfaction.

  She picked up her pace, storming through the army's tent lines, her warriors bowing in respect. Minutes later, she entered the temporary wyvern pen erected next to the strange manling diamond-shaped field with the well-maintained lawn, high wire fence, and benches for spectators—no doubt a gladiator arena of some type. Three mail-clad mage-wardens, her fellow Black Circle initiates, knelt on one knee, their heads lowered respectfully. Behind them, jostling about with pent-up energy, were four large wyverns, including her alpha beast, much larger than the others. In fact, it was the second-largest wyvern that had ever been tamed. Tlathia's had been larger, but the same night she had betrayed them, the wyvern had broken its bonds and escaped, as if it had understood its master was gone now and with her any need to serve others.

  Pity—she would have been quite happy to set it afire.

  Ulfir trailed behind her, without his manticore. Even her wyvern wasn't strong enough to carry its weight—not that it would try. "You're sure these three are up to the task?" Ulfir asked contemptuously, tossing his head at the three mage-wardens.

  The women rose, glaring at Ulfir. Faltoria Wind-Sworn stepped forward, her hand against her armored breast. Tall and heavily muscled, with her head shaved completely bald so that even her eyelashes were gone, Faltoria was a master of both the saber and fire spells, almost the equal of Horlastia herself. "We do not fear the heretic, my General."

  Ulfir snorted. "You should."

  Next was Helandia, eldest daughter of House Forswallen, a noble-born family that could trace its roots to the beginning of the empire. Helandia was small and demure, mouselike in appearance, with her features almost completely covered by the hood of the crimson-and-gold cloak she wore. Appearances were deceiving, though, and in battle, Helandia was as bold as a Sher-Cat. She was a devoted servant of the Spider Mother, and her cruelty was legendary, as was her skill with the razor-tipped whip she held coiled against her thigh. With it, she could flay skin with a snap of her wrist.

  The final Black Circle initiate was Horlastia's closest companion, Astin the Mad. Unlike most mages, Astin wasn't noble, having been born to a farmer, but what she lacked in noble blood she made up for in raw magical power. Of the three initiates, Astin was the only one that Horlastia doubted she could best in a duel. Yet Astin was also the only one that Horlastia truly trusted. Long ago, Astin had professed her love and devotion to Horlastia, proclaiming she'd give her life for her if needed. Horlastia had laughed in her face, stating that lies twist fae seelie tongues. Instead of responding to the slight, Astin drew one of her foot-long dwarven fighting knives and cut away her own tongue—all the time gazing into Horlastia's eyes. Now, she stood separate from the others, an insipid smile on her face as she hummed a tune, swaying to music only she could hear.

  Faltoria Wind-Sworn, Helandia of House Forswallen, and Astin the Mad—no fae seelie mage could stand against them, not even her sister. Within the hour, her sister would be dead and the Shatkur Orb recovered.

  "There may be stragglers that try to flee," Ulfir said.

  "They won't get far." Horlastia fitted her winged helmet atop her head and tied the chinstraps in place. "The moment we take flight, the kelpie cavalry crosses the river. The trap is already springing shut on my beloved sister and her manling allies."

  Horlastia's wyvern hissed in greeting, lowering its serpentine head so she could run her fingers under its barbed chin and whisper soothing words into its ear canals. Then, with one smooth motion, she leaped up into the highly polished saddle. One of her saddlebags shifted slightly as its contents—a half dozen grimworms—rustled angrily. If she could take a manling mage alive, she'd do so.

  Slaves were pleasant.

  She reached a hand down to Ulfir, but he ignored it, climbing up lithely behind her, and held her waist with one hand and his spear with the other. Horlastia snorted then cast Shadow-Soul, turning herself, Ulfir, and her mount invisible. The other three mage-wardens did the same. She drew back on her mount's reins, and the handlers jumped away as the wyvern lurched forward, extending its wings as it ran drunkenly. The wings beat, sending dirt and dust flying, and a moment later, they were airborne. The wyvern's wings beat against the wind as it climbed for altitude. Horlastia began a slow circle of her encamped army. On the bridge, the fires still glowed hotly, but a quick glance at the gathering clouds seemed to confirm her sages' predictions that rain was coming this night.

  When the other three wyvern-mounted mages joined her, she directed her mount to fly south across the wide river, toward the woods where Ulfir claimed her sister hid. Below her, the dark mass of kelpie cavalry surged forward, running out onto the river, atop the water.

  She smiled, running her tongue over her teeth. "Coming, dear sister."

  33

  Elizabeth’s head jerked up as the rust bucket of a bus rumbled to life, coughing thick black smoke. Sharon and Swamp Thing gave each other a high five. Not far away, Elizabeth sat with Cassie, Leela, Paco, and Dr. Simmons in a circle, each sitting on a stump of wood they had dragged over, taking turns relating events from the night of the dragon attack. Tlathia and Kargin sat farther away by themselves, quietly conversing. They had made introductions, explaining to the soldiers that Kargin and Tlathia were on their side, but the dark elf and the dwarf were still the object of furtive glances and mistrust. It's in our nature to suspect those who are different, Elizabeth mused.

  And Tlathia and Kargin were very different.

  The plan was to head south along the Alaskan Highway and cross the Kiskatinaw River with the other refugees. They'd bring Tlathia and Kargin to the authorities to decide what to do next. Elizabeth had no idea why Tlathia needed to hide this Shatkur Orb, but if it was that important, then they'd lock it in a vault.

  No one knew if heading s
outh was safe or not, but it seemed like a better course of action than waiting for the dark elf army to cross the river. The other Task Force Devil soldiers were as lost as Elizabeth was. They had no idea what the Canadian authorities were doing about the invasion. So far, with the exception of helicopters and the occasional overflight by fighter jets, the Canadian military was missing in action.

  As Dr. Simmons spoke about recent "gamma spiking," Elizabeth's mind wrestled with the dark elf invasion. They were close, only about three kilometers away on the other side of the river. What are they up to? Why attack Fort St. John, and why go after the refugees with such cruelty? They can't possibly hope to conquer the entire country.

  Canada was the second-largest nation on the planet, second only to Russia, with a landmass of almost ten million square kilometers. Thirty-five million people lived here—albeit most lived much farther south near the shared border with the United States, but even the largely unpopulated north with its vast tracts of wilderness was beyond the grasp of the dark elf army. Paco guessed they had tens of thousands of fighters, and at best no more than a hundred thousand. And while such a force could easily brush aside police forces and slaughter unarmed civilians, the dark elves would need an army of millions and a modern logistical system to conquer the entire country. Just moving south on foot across the unforgiving northern wilderness would take months—maybe years if they got caught by winter. Even if the world left the dark elves alone, northern winters were harsh beyond imagining.

  They must know they can't conquer us, even with magic.

  Magic was a game-changer, but it could only do so much. The dark elf army had appeared, fully formed, on the outskirts of Fort St. John. In the confusion that followed, they had had free rein to slaughter and murder with wild abandon, but it couldn't last. As small as the Canadian army was, eventually, they would mobilize and fight back. Twenty-first-century firepower would overwhelm even magic, carpet-bombing the dark elf army out of existence. Whatever the dark elves were planning, they faced eventual annihilation.

  So why are they here? They're very good at spying and scouting.

  They must know they can't fight us.

  Once again, her gaze darted toward Tlathia and Kargin. The dark elf and dwarf must know more than they were telling, she was certain of it. Now that Cassie's Brace was gone—and along with it, any hope of finding Tlathia's ancient ones—taking Tlathia and Kargin to the Canadian authorities seemed the only viable option.

  This is way beyond me. I'm only—

  "Elizabeth," Cassie said, reaching out and touching Elizabeth's knee, "you in there?"

  Elizabeth startled then smiled, red-faced. "Sorry. Been a long day."

  "Tell me about it."

  "Go on," said Elizabeth. "I'm listening."

  "So I lost you in the barracks. With the dragon, the smoke, the fire, I got turned around and couldn't find my way back. I started choking on the smoke. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see where I was going. I panicked, started running. Lucky for me, I stumbled into Swamp Thing and the others. It was pretty clear the base was lost, so we made a break for it." Cassie, sitting on a log, shivered, wrapping her arms across her chest, staring at the ground. "The dragon's fire burned everything. It was…"

  "I know," said Elizabeth, reaching out and touching her hand. "If not for Clara, I'd have died, too."

  "Clara?" asked Cassie, looking up.

  Elizabeth looked away, her lip trembling. If she tried to speak now, she'd fall apart, and she couldn't do that, not yet. She had to live for Clara.

  Dr. Simmons—Helena, her name was Helena—must have seen the anguish on Elizabeth's face because she took over the tale from Cassie. "I was with them," she said. "Sergeant Tio—Swamp Thing—saved my life. We saw the bunker entrance, shielded from the flames by the side of the hill it was built into, and we ran for it. Once inside, we made our way to the reservoir, where the fires were less intense, near the water."

  "You went through the Bore Hole?" Elizabeth asked.

  "No." Helena shook her head. "We stayed in the maintenance tunnels and didn't go that far underground. The power was out, with emergency lighting only. We did, however, raid an arms locker."

  "That's where you got the heavy weapons and grenades?" Paco asked.

  "And rifles and armor," Cassie said. "I didn't even know the locker was there."

  "I did," said Helena. "With the operation … well, Colonel Collingway had the weapons stockpiled, pulled together in one location because..."

  "Because Operation Rubicon was shutting down, wasn't it?" Elizabeth asked.

  Helena nodded, looking embarrassed. "Colonel Collingway was planning on making an announcement within a month or so."

  "Swamp Thing had us take everything we could carry," continued Cassie. "I think he was hoping for something to use against the dragon, like an anti-aircraft missile, but the biggest weapons were a single Carl-G and two C6 general-purpose machine guns."

  "How long did you stay there, underground?"

  Cassie sighed. "Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes. Not sure. Long enough to gear up. We came out near the auxiliary spillway. But even there, near the water, it was almost too hot to breathe. We didn't see the dragon, but the base was … gone, nothing more than flames hundreds of feet high. It was like standing in the middle of a forest fire. I … don't think anyone else…" Cassie looked away, unable to speak anymore.

  When Elizabeth thought about the dragon-fire, her blood ran cold.

  "Sergeant Tio led us into the woods, along the riverbank, skirting the fires," said Helena. "Eventually, we made it to the highway. Later that day, we saw the first of the refugees. They told us someone was trying to hold Taylor while they escaped."

  "That you?" Cassie asked Elizabeth.

  "Mostly Paco, Corinna, and Leela here," she answered, "as well as a lot of people who didn't make it out of there."

  "Well," said Cassie, "a lot of people did. We watched thousands of people walk past, headed south for the Kiskatinaw River and Dawson Creek."

  "Sergeant Tio said we needed to protect the civilians," said Helena. She sighed wearily. "The things I saw, Elizabeth, it would break your heart. So much suffering."

  "So you set up a kill zone on the highway," said Paco.

  "Yeah," said Cassie, nodding, an angry glint in her eyes now. "We decided they needed some payback. And we gave it to them, too—until everything went to shit with that dark elf with the spear and his freaking monsters."

  "You're safe now," said Elizabeth.

  "I want my Brace back," said Cassie angrily, staring at the ground.

  "Everybody wants it back," said Elizabeth sadly. "Our new allies were hoping to use it to find the creatures that gave it to you."

  "They can do that?" Cassie sat upright. "How?"

  "I'm not sure, something to do with a divination spell."

  "Spell?"

  "That's how they refer to channeling mana—casting spells."

  "That's … different."

  "That's not the only thing that's different. They actually use hand gestures, maybe even incantations. And they can't do telekinesis at all."

  "You're sure? Maybe they just use different terminology."

  "Maybe. In other ways, they're very similar to us—fireballs, lightning, invisibility, healing."

  "Do they make shields?" asked Leela.

  "Don't know," answered Elizabeth.

  "We know they're way more powerful than we are," said Cassie.

  "Tlathia has promised to help us." Elizabeth met Leela's and Cassie's eyes. "She said she'll train us. Apparently, even among her people, the fae seelie, she's considered something really special."

  Cassie turned in her seat and watched Tlathia and Kargin. "So how does a … divination spell work?" she finally asked. "Can she use it to find my Brace?"

  "You'll have to ask her, but I think it has something to do with a magical residue that the owner leaves behind on the object. It allows those casting the spell to track them, know where they are."<
br />
  "Makes sense, I guess, but…" Cassie's eyes widened. "I've been the owner of the Brace for the last year."

  A sudden chill swept through Elizabeth, and although she couldn't describe how she knew, she understood just the same that they were in danger. "Cassie, can you sense anything?"

  Cassie closed her eyes. She had always been more adept at sensing mana use than Elizabeth and could unerringly tell whenever Elizabeth was channeling anywhere on the base. Months ago, after getting way too drunk at the all-ranks mess, Cassie had broken down in tears and confided to Elizabeth that she had sensed the magically cloaked dark-elf mage when she had snuck into the Magic Kingdom—before she had set free the captured basilisk and killed dozens. She hadn't told anyone that she had sensed something, convinced it was just her nerves. She had been carrying the guilt for the men and women killed that night ever since, and nothing Elizabeth said had convinced her otherwise. Now, Elizabeth understood that guilt. Clara was dead because she hadn't had the courage to fight the dragon. If only I had—

  Cassie's eyes flashed open, and she jumped upright, spun about, and stared up into the dark sky. "Someone's channeling—above us. I think it's an attack!"

  "Stand to!" screamed Paco, jumping upright and grasping at his carbine. "Danger close. Enemy above us!"

  The others leapt to their feet, looking for the enemy. Kargin spun about, his axes glowing red-hot once again as he placed himself in front of Tlathia. The dark elf, her face showing her sudden fear, swept both hands in arcs in front of her, as if she were swinging an object. Then, with a grunt, she threw her hands above her head. An eye-searing flash of white light lit up the sky, followed by a thunderclap that shook the leaves loose on the trees.

  Four large winged shapes just … materialized, over the treetops—wyverns, Elizabeth realized with horror, similar to the one that had attacked her on the bridge. Each wyvern carried a rider. One, the largest of the beasts, carried two.