Mystery's Choice (Vengeance Of The Fallen Book 1)

by Tanya Simon

  “They are coming; it begins.” She yelled in competition with the wind.

  “I know I can feel them.” Ryan reached for Lily’s hand. “You can still ask for God’s forgiveness, Lily.”

  “It’s too late.” She whispered. And somehow he heard and felt the sorrow in the words.

  “It’s only too late, when you are dead.” He turned and continued up the mountain.

  Mary Kate picked up her pace to keep up with him. Felicity widened her stride and easily kept up with her short friend. Lily let them pass and waited for Sam. They kissed and he moved on up the narrow path. Ryan rounded a bend and stopped in his tracks. A tall, foul-smelling demon blocked the path.

  “Move or die.” Ryan said without emotion.

  “It is you who shall die, human.” The demon answered in a bile-soaked voice.

  “Shall we?” Ryan answered back. He rested his fingers on his temples. “Die now.” The demon shrieked and flapped his huge scab-covered wings, choking the air with a heavy putrid scent. Ryan smiled humorlessly and the demon erupted in flames. Ryan felt nothing but resolve as screams came from the burning mass. He watched for a moment, and then kicked the flaming demon off the ledge. He continued up the mountain.

  Felicity followed. Mary Kate clutched her necklace and prayed. Lily gently nudged her forward. Sam gripped her hand tightly and they continued. Lily could hear the voices of Legion calling her name. It was hard to imagine the time when their voices sounded like sweet music and signified her return home. Now she heard death in their chant, hers, Sam’s, Mary Kate’s, and Felicity’s.

  “Oh! If only….” Lily stopped herself. If only was for those who did not know their fate. Not only did she know it, she had chosen it, and so had the terrified man walking in front of her. The time for “if onlys” had come and gone while she looked into her lover’s eyes. Hell awaited them both, but they were not going alone; Satan’s pup was coming with them. Lily smiled at Sam and he squeezed her hand.

  Sam tried to return Lily’s smile, but somehow smiling made him want to scream. Even when he thought his decision over, which he had plenty of times, he still loved her; and he was still willing to die to save Jeremiah.

  Mary Kate fought her fear. She knew God was with her and His will would be done. She hoped it didn’t hurt too much. She prayed His will would include her being able to blow the tunnels. Please, just let her live long enough to make sure the Roodmasi would perish.

  Felicity chanted. “I am Earth. I am Air. I am Fire. I am Water. I am power infinite and strong.” She focused on hoarding her energy until it was needed for the fight. She wasted none of it being afraid. She sought her death with eyes wide open, and she would take as many of them with her as she could.

  “Lord, God in Heaven!” Ryan said as he reached the top of the mountain and saw down into the valley below.

  “This has always been here? We used to camp up here when I was little.” Mary Kate stared in awe.

  “I can feel the evil. It’s so strong it almost has a life of its own.” Felicity rubbed her damp palms on her jeans.

  “Shit!” Sam exclaimed, causing the others to laugh.

  “The aerie is magnificent. It has been here for 300 years. And everything in there is evil except for Jeremiah and Mystery.” Lilith ran toward the cluster of boulders in front of them.

  They all crouched down and Sam spread out the map. Nothing had changed, but Cain had to know they were here; he’d sent Seth.

  “Well, we’re walking into a trap.” Mary Kate shrugged her shoulders. “We’ve got no choice. There’s just no time.”

  “She’s right.” Sam scowled.

  “So we strategize.” Felicity squatted by the map. “Mary Kate do you have extra C4?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. We blow the front gate. Ryan and I go in the front. Mary Kate and Sam go in the back. Lily, can you take out the rear guards?”

  “Yes, but that will leave the tunnel patrols.”

  “Can bullets kill them?” Sam asked.

  “In human form, it can send them back to Hell. They can’t be killed by any man-made weapon.”

  “Lily, you get Sam and Mary Kate in the back. Afterwards, go to Mystery and help her fight Cain and Raevanne. Sam, you find Jeremiah. Mary Kate will rig the tunnels. And Ryan, you take on Cain and only Cain; I will deal with any other problems.” Felicity looked around for assents. Everybody nodded.

  “You’ll have 45 minutes, once I start the timers.” Mary Kate stood and opened her pack. She broke off a small amount of C4 and handed it to Felicity. “Make sure you’re far enough away.”

  Felicity stood and hugged her best friend. “I will. I love you, my sister.”

  “I love you too. Be careful.”

  Felicity hugged Sam. “Blessed Be.”

  “Same to you. Give’em heck!”

  “I will.”

  She turned and hugged Lily. “You are my patron goddess and I am not evil, so, neither are you. Blessed Be.”

  Lily hugged her tighter. “Thank you. Blessed Be.”

  Mary Kate hugged Ryan. “You and Mystery live a full life.”

  “We will. God bless you and keep you.” He kissed her forehead.

  “Be careful, Sam. There’s no need to hurry death; it will find you soon enough.” Ryan shook Sam’s hand and was surprised when Sam pulled him into a hug.

  “Lily, go with God.” He hugged her.

  “You too, Ryan. Be safe.” She hugged him back.

  They all turned around to give Sam and Lily a little privacy. Sam and Lily stared into each other’s eyes. A tear slid down Lily’s cheek and Sam kissed it away.

  “I will be waiting for you, Lily.”

  “I will find you.”

  He pulled her in and kissed her with everything in him. She held onto him. Sam put his forehead against Lily’s.

  “I love you, Lily.” Sam pulled away.

  “I have always loved you. I will always love you.” She pushed him back to cover. “When the screaming stops, it’s safe to come. Watch for the perimeter and tunnel patrols.” She blew Sam a kiss, and disappeared.

  28

  Felicity and Ryan began the treacherous journey down the side of the mountain. Stones kept sliding from under their feet, making keeping their balance hard. About a fourth of the way down, Felicity yanked Ryan to a halt. She picked up some dirt and tossed it at the path in front of them; a thin, blue laser line showed as the sand landed. Felicity picked up a stick and threw it through the line. There was a loud swooshing noise, and a metal grid with serrated lines slammed to a halt at the line.

  “Thanks.” Ryan mouthed.

  “No problem.” Felicity mouthed back.

  She squeezed between the mountain wall and the grid, Ryan following her. They came to a place where the ledge disappeared. Felicity leaned over the side and could see another ledge about 10 feet below them.

  “Hang me slowly over the edge, so I can check for booby traps.” She took off her pack; and with Ryan holding on to her feet, she went headfirst over the edge. Felicity looked closely for any laser signals; seeing none, she yelled for Ryan to finish lowering her. She tentatively put her hands on the narrow ledge; and when nothing happened, she yelled for Ryan to let go. She did a handstand for a moment and then she gently put her feet down. She bounced a couple of times, to make sure it was safe, and she called for Ryan. He tossed down her pack and started lowering himself down. Out of nowhere, there was a loud explosion and Ryan almost lost his grip. He grunted as he took on Felicity’s weight; looking down he saw the ledge had disappeared.

  “I thought we were both gone for a second there.” Ryan struggled not to let go of her.

  “Swing me to the left if you can.” Felicity yelled; she was beginning to slip.

  “Okay. Here it goes.” Ryan tightened his grip and swung his legs a little to the left.

  “More.”

  “I’ll try.” Ryan swung a little harder and Felicity let go. He gasped and looked down. Relief flooded th
rough him when he saw her hanging off the remainder of the ledge left behind by the explosion. She pulled herself up and scrambled back from the edge, to give Ryan room. He swung his legs and let go. He caught the ledge with one hand and was slipping, when Felicity grabbed him by his coat and helped him up. They both sat there breathing hard. When their breathing slowed, they continued on. They didn’t encounter any more traps, so they made good time down the mountain. At the bottom they crouched at the opening of a cave so they could study the perimeter guards and the guardhouse.

  “What is that smell?” Ryan asked as he covered his nose. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and then tried to run away. Slowly, he turned around, what he saw made him stand Felicity up and push her behind him. She drew her gun and stepped away. She froze, standing there in front of them, its yellow eyes glowing in the moonlight was a huge chimera. They backed out of the cave slowly, praying the bushes would hide them and the chimera followed, stepping out into the moonlight. It growled and switched its serpent’s tail. The goat body was taller on all fours than Ryan. It blinked its lion’s eyes and growled again. The smell of wet cat and blood flooded their noses and made them gag. Felicity pointed her silenced gun at it and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit it in the chest, where its heart should have been. It hissed in pain. Ryan recalled his Greek mythology and yanked Felicity behind a boulder just as flames roared through the air.

  “They breathe fire.” Ryan calmly informed Felicity.

  “I’m glad you remembered. Now what?”

  “Grenade?”

  “They’ll know we’re here. I mean they’ll know exactly where we are.”

  “Additional gunfire will cause the same result and probably get us roasted.” Ryan peaked around the rock; the chimera was calmly waiting for them to come out.

  “Grenade it is.” Felicity dug in her pack until she found one of the two grenades Mary Kate had given her. “Ready?”

  Ryan scrunched down and covered his ears. “Ready.”

  Felicity pulled the pin, stood up, and tossed the grenade. The explosion caused the cave to collapse, filling the air with dust, debris, and chimera parts. They wiped off as best they could and took cover, in the bushes, making themselves flat. They heard footsteps, Felicity looked up at the guard standing right over her. She slid out her boline. When he turned the other way, she sprung up and slit his throat, gently lowering him to the ground. When his partner came back, she shot him in the head. He jerked and let go of the leash in his hand. The huge hellhound growled and charged. Felicity scrambled back until her back hit the boulders. The dog lunged for her and she took its head off, the force of the body hit her and knocked her head into the boulder. Felicity saw stars and darkness descended.

  Ryan pulled Felicity back into the bushes. He felt for her pulse and closed his eyes with relief when he felt it strong and steady. He tapped her face and sprinkled water from his canteen on her. She stirred, and moaned, her eyes opened and slowly focused on him.

  “I hate dogs.” Felicity murmured as she sat up.

  “Yeah, and the cat was so much better.”

  “That was not a cat.” She stood and put her pack on.

  “Whatever you say.” Ryan smiled.

  Felicity smiled back. “Let’s go.”

  They slowly made their way to the perimeter fence, careful not to get close enough for the booby traps to activate. Twice they had to hide in the underbrush when patrols came by. Finally, they made it to the front gate. Ryan waited in the trees while Felicity made her way to the front of the guardhouse. The guards had split; five were standing in the road blocking it. The other four were doing a perimeter check. Felicity slid quietly along the front of the guardhouse. She carefully placed the C4 on the wall, gently pressing in the trigger. When Felicity turned to slip back into the brush, someone grabbed her hair, wrenching her to her feet. She twisted herself enough to see the face of a sneering guard. He flung her away from him and she just managed to keep her feet. The guard put down his gun and pulled out a long, serrated knife. He waited while Felicity got out her boline. He told the other guards as they gathered to just watch, she was all his, and urged Felicity forward. The other guards were intently watching them and so far no one had noticed the C4. Felicity backed up and grinning the guard followed her. When she was a good distance away from the guardhouse, she threw her boline and pushed the trigger. Felicity dove for the ground as the guard fell gurgling and the guardhouse blew. Burning debris rained down on her and she patted the flames out. Ryan appeared at her side and helped her up. She walked to the gurgling guard and moved her boline in a quick side-to-side motion. Then she pulled it out and cleaned it on the guard’s pants.

  “We’ve got to get to the aerie entrance.” Ryan said.

  “How? The explosion brought company.”

  Ryan centered himself and let his mind search out the perimeter guards and the remaining 4 Red Guards from the gate. He imagined their throats closing off, suffocating them. The closest guard grabbed his throat and fell, writhing to the ground.

  Felicity hit Ryan in the shoulder. “Why didn’t you just do that in the first place?”

  “I needed to be closer to be sure it would work.”

  Felicity shook her head and they left the cover of the trees and jogged silently through the ruin of the front gate to the aerie opening. Once there they took cover in the boulders at the entrance. Felicity watched their tail and Ryan counted guards.

  “Nine demon guards.” He looked at his watch. “And in five minutes the perimeter guards will be missed.

  “Damn.” Felicity reloaded and then holstered her weapon. “We will have to use magick. Quiet magick.”

  “Okay.” He looked back at her. “What quiet magick?”

  Felicity sat down and cast a circle, making sure Ryan was in it. She called the elements. The wind howled even more fiercely. It began to rain. The Earth shook under them. Fire danced from Felicity’s fingertips. She stood and flung fire at the guards, they were engulfed in flames. The ground split open and they were swallowed by it. She released the circle and she and Ryan stumbled over the still shaking ground. Just as they got through the passageway the opening collapsed, sealing them in. Felicity and Ryan stood looking at their surroundings.

  “I’ll go this way and try to work my way around to the others.” Felicity adjusted her pack. “When you find Cain get in a couple of licks for me.”

  “Will do. God Bless you, Felicity.”

  “And you.” Felicity smiled one of her somber smiles at him and jogged away.

  Ryan walked in the other direction as the first demon screams rent the air.

  Lily had quickly dispatched the guards. She rubbed her bloody hands on her jeans. When she saw that Sam and Mary Kate had made it into the tunnel entrance, she disappeared.

  “I’ll start setting the charges. Figure twenty-five minutes to set and rig, then 45 until it blows. Good Luck.” Mary Kate said as she hunkered down over her bag.

  “Okay.” Sam turned her to face him. “It was nice knowing you Mary Kate.”

  She smiled her pixyish smile and said, “Ditto. Now go.”

  Sam turned to go, “Good Luck.” He jogged down the corridor.

  Mary Kate got to work. She had to pause and hide as the patrols passed. But she worked steadily and she was about halfway through when she heard several voices headed her way. She took her bag and pulled back into the shadows. She slid her hand into her bag and pulled out her mini-Uzi, she slid the safety off and waited until they were in range. She walked out of the shadows and fired, mowing down all six of the guards and their dogs. She grabbed her bag and hurried to the next charge point. She could hear more guards coming; so she kept to the shadows, working her way through the maze. Mary Kate evaded the guards and made her way back out. She took cover in the bushes across from the tunnel entrance, and placing the Uzi back in her bag pulled out the sniper’s rifle with a silencer and took out each patrol when they came by, shooting both the guards and their massiv
e dogs.

  Lily walked down the hall to the guest rooms, she knew her quarry would probably be in his rooms, pruning. After all, human affairs did not concern him. She turned the corner and was surprised to see him in the hall. He was equally surprised to see her and paused for a moment.

  “Samael.” Lily greeted him and shielded herself as he flung a fireball her way.

  “Lily.” He smiled and Lily smiled back.

  Lily used her mind and flung him against the wall, he shielded, reducing the impact.