There was something in there, something big and drawing near.
“Ifrit,” I called out, “I need you.”
Without warning, he hurled an arc of fire at the space between the buildings up ahead, sending a shower of flames bursting all over the walls and into the alley itself. But whatever was hiding inside didn’t retreat from the fire—instead, it came charging out; a six-legged beast that looked like nothing I’d ever seen before, except here.
All six of its eyes were bulging and red, its mouth was huge and filled with row upon row of sharp teeth, and from its back, hard spines dripping with slimy ichor jutted out.
It was coming right at me, murder burning in its eyes like fire, and it wasn’t alone.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sporadic gunshots and flashes of magic filled the night air with sound and light. Each clap of a gun rattled the teeth, making Axel duck—even if only slightly. The constant stream of magic energy being flung around caused the hairs on his arms to stand on their ends, but he kept his cool and pushed toward the compound building itself.
His father knew they were coming. He could feel it, that awareness. Even as Axel did his best to mask his group’s approach with magic, he knew, there would be no tricking his father; no making him look one way while the real threat comes from another direction. But that had been the crux of Becket’s intentions.
It wasn’t to trick Asmodius, it was all to force a choice; deal with Becket, or deal with Axel?
Not both.
A backdoor to the dull, grey building opened, spilling a square of light out onto the yard. Axel and the others took cover behind a large van, pressing their backs against it to avoid being spotted by the wandering flashlight.
Axel peeked around the corner and spotted two men, both holding guns, one of them making a quick search of the area. “Alright,” he whispered, “I think we can take them—we just need to use the darkness as cover.” No sooner had the words left his mouth that floodlights came online, bathing the area with light.
“Or not,” Karim said.
“Screw that,” RJ said, “I’ll take ‘em.”
“RJ, wait!” Danvers hissed, but RJ was quick to step out of cover and move around the van. He rushed toward the guys holding the guns, who were quick to spot him and open fire. Some of the bullets went wide of the charging Vivimancer, others hit him in the chest, the shoulder. The floodlights illuminated the spray of blood and even the bullets as they brutally entered and exited his body, but they weren’t enough to slow him down.
He fell hard on one of the guards, dropping him with a single right hook. Grabbing the first guard’s gun as he went down, he spun around and smashed it into the second guard’s face. There was a loud crack, and the guard hit the ground with a thud. He turned his head to the side and beckoned the group to follow him, despite smoke still issuing from the wounds on his body.
“Holy shit,” Neeve said, a little breathless.
“He’s impressive, isn’t he?” Karim asked.
“Keep it in your pants, both of you,” Danvers growled, before rolling out of cover and rushing over toward RJ.
Axel followed, meeting them both by the door to the compound. Blood covered RJ’s shirt, but the holes in the skin underneath had already healed. “Here’s the plan,” RJ said, “I’m gonna charge in there and cause all kinds of shit. You guys follow when I give the all clear.”
“You mean you’ll do all the work?” Karim asked. “Brilliant. I’ll wait here in case any ghosts show up.”
“We’re not doing that,” Axel said. “We don’t even know what this place looks like on the inside or where Izzy is, exactly.”
“But we could,” Neeve said.
“I’ve tried,” Axel said, “My father is blocking me from reaching her.”
“But I bet he’s not blocking me from reaching the demon. We’d need to join forces, but I think I can find the demon from here.”
“You wanna join spells on the fly?” Danvers asked, “That’s dangerous.”
“Maybe, but we need to know where she is,” Neeve said, “This might be the only way.”
Axel nodded. “Yeah, alright. Let’s do it.”
Neeve extended her hand, and Axel took it. The others, meanwhile, formed a defensive perimeter around the two, keeping an eye out for more guards while RJ put his weight against the door to keep it from opening all of a sudden.
Axel placed his other hand against the wall and shut his eyes. Neeve followed suit, giving him her full concentration. Reaching into the compound was easy. The walls themselves weren’t protected from Axel’s Psyonic intrusion, but Izzy was.
He could feel the conscious minds of the people inside. Each one of them was anxious, but ready for a fight—and a fight to the death, if it came to it. They were sycophants, ready to die to protect their master. He pitied them, but not as much as if they’d been mentally dominated into protecting his father at all costs.
They knew what they were doing, and they deserved what they got.
Trying to find Izzy proved impossible, though. Asmodius was keeping her hidden from him, which meant he was probably near her. Maybe not in the same room, but possibly in an adjoining room, watching her from behind a two-way mirror. It was the only way he would be able to keep her constantly hidden from his magic.
“I can’t find her,” he said.
“Then let me use your mind,” Neeve said.
Axel nodded. He wasn’t used to this kind of ritualized magic, to sharing powers. It was possible, sure. Danvers did it all the time, mixing and joining spells from different Mages into her concoctions. But two Mages joining their powers to create a single spell in the moment was different, especially when they were Mages of different Practices.
There was a spark, a moment of connection, and Axel found his own mind suddenly open to demonic energies. He could feel Neeve working through him, his Psionic magic enhancing her senses. He glimpsed Phades in his mind, the dark, smoky specter creating a shield around his soul to prevent it from being touched by things that shouldn’t touch it.
A tense moment passed, and then Neeve’s eyes shot wide open. “I found her,” she said, sucking in a deep breath of air.
“Where is she?” Axel asked, letting go of Neeve’s hand.
“We can get to her from here, she’s about sixty yards down, but we need to move fast.”
RJ opened the door and peeked inside. The corridor behind it seemed quiet enough—quiet compared to the ruckus going on outside, at any rate—but Axel didn’t trust the quiet. “We’re gonna need another distraction,” Axel said. “The place is swarming with guards. Did you sense anyone else in the room with her?”
“The Mage and two guys with guns.”
“We can take them. The rest of you are gonna have to make a whole bunch of noise. Are you ready to fight?”
Danvers grinned. “After watching this guy get shot and not go down? I’m ready.”
“Speak for yourself,” Karim said. Then he paused to take in the audience of frowning faces around him. “But alright. if I absolutely must.”
Axel looked down the corridor again. “Do you know what door we’re looking for?”
Neeve peered inside. “I’m not sure, but I’ll be able to sense it on my own once we get close enough.”
“Okay. We’re going in. RJ, Danvers, Karim, create a distraction—and make it a big one. Buy us all the time you can.”
“Oh, please, like that’s going to be difficult,” Karim said, pushing past Axel and walking inside.
With a snap of his fingers, he triggered a gust of icy cold air to push past him and into the building. Wherever the wind went, the lights flickered wildly and died, leaving a trail of darkness in their wake. Axel’s insides were so cold it was starting to hurt. He shuddered and shivered as his breath started forming in little puffs in front of his lips.
“What the hell did you do?” Danvers asked, stuttering.
“Created a distraction,” Karim said, turning his head t
o the side. His eyes were glowing, like Becket’s, only his were pale blue and smoking slightly. “Are we doing this or what?”
Axel nodded and moved into the building, following the path of the wind. Already he could hear the sounds of confusion moving through the building, and it was only going to get worse. This had happened before, he recalled. Or, at least, something like this had happened before. It still amazed him just how effortlessly Karim had been able to kill the electronics in the area.
It was a testament to just how powerful Necromancers were, and a stark reminder of exactly why they were so rare.
A door swung open off to the right, and a man in tactical armor holding a gun spilled out into the corridor. By the time he caught sight of the group, Axel’s stunning spell was already hurtling toward him. The man’s hand seized around the grip of his gun, his finger squeezed the trigger, and the gun started firing as he toppled and fell, sending a hail of bullets into the walls and ceiling.
Axel threw his hands over his head to protect himself from falling debris, and quickly pressed himself against one of the walls. Another guard came rushing out after the first, this one with his gun aimed and ready to fire. It was Neeve who stunned him this time, sending the guard crashing to the floor, gripping his head and screaming.
“Woah,” Danvers said, “What did you do to him?”
“Just a mild stun.”
“That was mild?”
“Get it together,” Axel said, “RJ, take point and start hunting guards. Take down anyone that moves that isn’t us. Karim, Danvers, fan out and do the same. We’re gonna make a run for it and try and get to Izzy.”
“You go,” RJ said, “I’ve got these punks.”
He rushed toward the room from which the guards had emerged. Someone yelped, gunfire erupted, and then it stopped. A second later, RJ hurled the guard through the door and sent him smashing into the wall in the corridor.
“Who the fuck is next?” he roared from inside the room.
“Save some fun for me!” Danvers yelled, rushing in after him.
Karim followed too, leaving the corridor open for Axel and Neeve to head deeper into.
Axel started moving, keeping his head low and his psychic senses peeled. He had no idea what the internal landscape of the compound was, and without being able to sense Izzy directly, he didn’t know exactly how far or exactly in what direction she was. He only had a vague idea based on what Neeve had said.
He concentrated again hoping that, from inside the compound, he’d be able to get a sense of where she was.
Instead, he found something else.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” came Asmodius’ voice beamed directly into his head.
“I’m not coming to dinner, that’s for sure,” Axel thought.
“You’re starting to sound like her. It’s pathetic. This entire attack is pathetic, and it will fail.”
“I’m going to give you one chance. Surrender Izzy, unharmed, and I’ll make sure you don’t get executed for your actions.”
“And why would you do a thing like that?”
“Because you’re my father, and as much as I hate you, I can’t escape that fact.”
“No. I think you’re trying desperately to cling to the notion that you’re one of the good guys; that you have the higher ground. You have everything you needed growing up because of me. I gave you your childhood, your life, every luxury you ever enjoyed. You can play pretend all you want, but you are just as stained with the blood I have spilled in the name of our family as I am.”
“Maybe, and I’ll never be able to repay that debt, but we’re defined by our choices.”
Silence. A door opened, and two guards moved through it accompanied by a bald man with a goatee. He was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and a red tie, and he had a knife in one hand and crackling magic in the other. He whipped his hand out and sent a bolt of magic sailing through the air, but Neeve deflected the magic away.
The Mage grinned and cracked his neck.
“Last chance,” Axel thought. “Give up, or else whatever happens, happens.”
“You and I both know I’ve made up my mind,” Asmodius said. “Do your worst.”
Axel stepped up beside Neeve and stared at the Mage standing across from them. “You recognize him?” she asked.
“Even if I did, I wouldn’t care,” he said. “Let’s kick his ass.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I spun around on my heel and made a mad dash away from the creature. Already Oktos had taken to the skies on his massive, black wings. Ifrit sprang into action, growing in size in an instant and, with a mighty roar, he breathed a circle of fire around the three of us.
The flames gave the creatures pause, now. They circled us like hyenas, four of them in total. I could see them through the flames, watching us, searching for an opening. Long, purple, serpentine tongues flicked in and out of their mouths.
“What are those things?”
“They’re called Murklings,” Ifrit said, “And they’re more dangerous than they look. They share a telepathic bond, they’re incredibly agile, and strong enough to break bones with a single bite of their jaws.”
“Oh, awesome,” I said, “For a moment there I thought you were going to give me some bad news.”
“They do have a weakness, however—” one of the creatures leapt through the fire wall before Ifrit could finish his sentence and started charging toward me, its mouth slack and open, saliva dripping from its massive tongue.
I leapt to the side to avoid its bite, spun around, and fired a blast of telekinetic magic into its ribcage. The Murkling staggered, whimpering, but after shaking its head, it was good to go again. I rolled my eyes. That blast should’ve been enough to break it in half, but I’d only managed to knock the wind out of it.
“You’re a tough bastard, aren’t you?” I yelled, as the Murkling came for me again.
This time, I leapt into a backflip just as its jaws came down on the spot where I’d been standing. Using a little magic, I was able to get enough air to clear the creature completely, sending it rushing through underneath me. Still in the air, I drew the power of the Tempest into my right hand and charged a bolt of lightning, snapping my hand at the creature and sending the magic hurtling toward it.
Contact.
The lightning struck the Murkling all along its spiny back, burning its flesh and causing it to stumble and fall on its side. I landed on the ground with my hands outstretched, but by the time I’d turned around to face the creature again, it was already getting back up, growling, even though half of its face had been burned off.
“Ifrit!” I yelled, “What’s this thing’s weakness?”
But Ifrit couldn’t answer me. I caught him grabbing one of the Murklings by the throat with one hand and smashing a fiery fist into its face with the other, over, and over, and over again, completely ignoring me. That wasn’t like him. I’d never known Ifrit to ignore me, but I could only deal with one thing at a time.
“Okay, fine,” I said to the Murkling. “I’ll deal with you by myself. C’mon big boy.”
The Murkling growled and charged again, only this time he didn’t come for me on his own. Another one leapt through the flames and fell into step beside it, only that one wasn’t already half burned.
The burned Murkling pounced first, its jaw opened wide. I was able to step out of its path, but only just, and only with the help of my magic. Cupping my hand again and filling it with lightning, I was about to strike, when a tentacle wrapped itself around my arm and yanked me to the side. The new Murkling grinned at me, as if to say gotcha, and it had.
I tried to break free, but it threw another tentacle around my other arm, and then another toward my neck. Each limb worked on its own, striking at different parts of my body while the Murkling stood its ground, pulling me toward it with its six, powerful legs. I couldn’t use my hands, and my legs were starting to burn from the effort of keeping myself upright.
The M
urkling yanked hard, and I fell forward, landing on the side of my face. My head started ringing, and the tentacle around my neck tightened its grip, squeezing my windpipe shut. I tried kicking out with my legs, but this thing had my arms and my neck.
It flipped me onto my back and started dragging me toward it. Turning my head up, I could see its mouth, its teeth, its long, viscous, purple tongue. I couldn’t breathe, I could barely think, and the world around me was starting to darken at the edges when a shape darted across the sky faster than I could keep track of it.
Oktos descended on the Murkling like a massive bird of prey, his giant wings beating hard, his fingers and feet splayed. He grabbed one of the Murkling’s tentacles and tore into it with his massive beak, splitting it in two and freeing one of my arms. The tentacle, now limp, slid off my wrist and fell to the floor, giving me an opportunity.
I snapped a stunning spell at the creature, striking it square in the shoulder. The Murkling’s whole body seized up, putting even more pressure on my throat, but Oktos was on it. He landed beside me, grabbed the tentacle constricting my throat, and drove his beak into it, tearing it in half.
I had never been happier or more relieved to draw a breath in my entire life, but I couldn’t celebrate the occasion because the Murkling had turned its focus on Oktos. It lunged at the Psychopomp, snapping at him with its jaws. Oktos was quick, but not quick enough to avoid getting bitten in the leg.
The bone snapped, shin separating from thigh, and Oktos fell to one knee.
“Oktos!” I screamed. I rushed at the Murkling and drove my boot into the side of its head, but only succeeded in pissing it off even more than it already was. Its massive ears twitched, its eyes narrowed, and it snapped at me with its powerful jaws. I jumped back once, twice, avoiding getting bitten but only by a hair.
It came in for a third bite, but this time when I jumped back, I used magic to propel me even higher than normal. Then, as I hung in the air, I charged a lightning bolt into my right hand and sent it streaking into the Murkling. The lightning roared, tearing through the air, arcs of light exploding in all directions.
Heir to the Throne (The Wardbreaker Book 4) Page 12
