Dragon claws and dragon scales couldn’t be forged by mortal means. They weren’t metal or bone or stone; they were a creation of the Awakened itself, flesh and keratin forged of magic, not organic cells.
The power of eight Mages was not “mortal means”. The claw leapt into the air, flying toward David with blinding speed, and then embedded itself in the ground in front of him.
Except it was no longer a claw.
Now it was a sword.
David pulled the blade from the ground as time seemed to slow around him. Forged by magic of dragon claw, it fit his hand perfectly. Like it was made for his hand. Because it had been made for his hand.
To forge it, though, they’d released the hold on the Herald’s power, and now the demon demigod unleashed his full power. Instead of restraining him, it was suddenly taking all of the Mages’ strength to protect themselves.
He was on his own, struggling to maintain his feet as waves of power rolled off the Herald.
The sword bought him time. It cut through the demon’s power in a way that even Memoria hadn’t, but he’d only get one shot now. If he failed, the Herald would turn all of his power on the man who might be able to kill him.
There had to be a key, something they’d missed. The flaming blade of Buckley’s power should have at least hurt the Herald—Young’s elf-blade had hurt it. Tatton’s depleted-uranium rounds had hurt it. What had he done wrong?
…Human, Awakened and Pure. Human.
At the heart of everything the Herald was, there was the poor damned child they’d used as a host for his essence. Everything else was ichor and stone given shape by the Pure who used the child as an anchor. Everything they could see of the Herald was glorified armor.
And his Sight could show him the truth. He pushed forward through the hurricane of power the Herald was unleashing, cutting and struggling his way, one step after another. Specific attacks were hurled at him, but he sidestepped them with ease. What strike could hit a man who could See the future?
He reached the Herald and ignored the shell, focusing his Sight on the true being within. It was a gnarled thing, as ugly as the exterior had been shining and beautiful, twisted and warped by the speed of its growth and the nature of the essence bound to it.
David White met the Herald’s true eyes, and for one seemingly eternal moment, the demon realized his vulnerability.
And the dragon-blade stabbed through the Herald’s true heart.
Everything froze. The world froze. The miserable creature at the heart of the glorious ivory giant writhed for a moment while everything was still…and then was still itself.
Dirt and stone sloughed away from it. The magic failed, and the body the Herald had forged for himself disintegrated into the common materials it was made from.
The stadium around them remained…but David felt the portal collapse. A moment later, he heard it, a stunning thunderclap as the air rushed into the void its failure created.
And then everything was silent.
46
David White turned to face the only remaining enemies, the dragon-blade still in his hands as he looked at the double row of golden demons still barring the way out of the court the Herald had built to be his final colosseum.
The animal heads focused on him. There were still a dozen Mages and other supernaturals there, but there was no question who the focus for the immense creatures was. Their eyes burnt into him as he walked toward them, passing between the exhausted Mages as he put himself between his people and the last of the enemy.
He raised the sword and pointed it at them, a wordless challenge to see if they would come to him.
Instead, they moved, splitting once again into a double file—and then knelt as one.
“The hell?” he asked aloud, eyeing the motionless creatures.
WE SERVE.
The pounding words in his head hurt, and he stared at the golden warriors.
“Who are you?”
WE DO NOT REMEMBER. WE SERVE THE VICTOR.
“Can you stop the rest of the demons from overrunning this city?” he asked.
WE SERVE. BUT WE ARE FEW.
“What can you do?”
WE HEAL.
Heal? That didn’t fit with what he was expecting from massive golden demons. Just what had the Herald brought into the world as his personal bodyguards?
“Can you heal the people whose minds the Herald took?”
WE CAN.
A near-deafening silence.
WE HEAL. WE REBUILD. WE WILL REMEMBER.
“Remember what?”
WHO WE WERE. IF THE VICTOR ALLOWS.
“If you heal those the Herald broke, I will allow,” David said carefully. “So long as you do not threaten anyone else.”
WE SERVE.
He shook his head as the gold giants broke their ranks, turning to march out into the city. He checked his radio headset.
To his complete lack of surprise, it was wrecked, and he turned back to his Mages, who were staring at him.
“Anyone got a radio?” he asked helplessly—and then suddenly found Kate wrapped around him.
“You did it,” she whispered. “I…Charles dumped the knowledge of what to do with his claw into my head, but I wasn’t sure if it could do it.”
“I don’t know if he was, either,” David admitted. “Radio? I think the big gold guys are on our side now, so I’d rather they not get shot.”
She passed him her headset and he put it on.
“All forces on this channel,” he began. “The Herald is dead. The big gold guys appear to be on our side, and they’ve promised to heal the folks the Herald mind-wiped… The portal should be closed, but I suspect we still have a fight on our hands.”
There was a delicate cough.
“Not as much as you might think,” Ix told them. “It appears I have inherited the authority of the Servant of the High Court I defeated. With the Herald dead, I now command the demons in this city.” He paused. “The golems and manticores are less tractable,” he admitted. “We will still need to destroy them, but the demons have now surrendered to me.”
David considered that.
“What did you do, Ix?” he asked.
“The closest approximation I can manage in your language is that I ate him,” the demon admitted. “I will move the host out of the city. Their final fate will need to be decided—but may I request that it be a political decision rather than an immediate one? I think I can convince them to be helpful.”
“What about the dragon?” Purcell’s voice added.
“Dealt with,” Charles suddenly interjected. “With the Mage she made her pact with dead, she is no longer bound to the service of the Herald. She…would like to make amends, if we will let her.”
“Wait…is that it?” Riley suddenly asked. “The Herald is dead. The portal closed. The demons surrendered. The dragon freed… Did we win?”
David exhaled suddenly, reaching out to test the future. There was no violence in it. The half-Awakened would fail on their own or be destroyed. The gold giants would heal, and help rebuild the city. It was…
“It’s over,” he agreed. “I think we won.”
47
None of them gathered on the lawn in front of the White House were the type to be comfortable with public acclaim. Most had worked in secrecy for years.
Certainly, for Michael O’Brien and David White to be publicly there as supernaturals was strange for them—but not nearly as strange as the presence of the two dragons curled up on the north end of the lawn had to be for everyone else.
David carried the dragon-blade on his left hip. He wouldn’t be able to reach it easily, mostly because Kate Mason had his right hand trapped in her left—while she gleefully allowed the diamond on her ring finger to glitter light in all directions.
Lord Riley waited with them as well—as did Lady Brianna Young, the Mage having finally forged her own sword to replace the elf-blade the Herald had shattered.
Many of the key
members of the Echelon had survived. Others hadn’t. Landon Tatton hadn’t survived the battle in the Herald’s Court. Half of Echelon Four’s Mages had fallen with him, while Nukilik and Kendall had died in the desperate battle to hold back the demonic host before Ix had…absorbed its leader.
Lieutenant General Purcell stood with them as well, the Special Forces general stiff-backed and uncomfortable, surrounded by the people who’d saved his people’s lives—despite his earlier attempts to kill them.
Other officers surrounded them. A wheelchair-bound General McGill represented the survivors of Fifth Army itself, and several naval officers from Harry Truman and her battle group were present as well.
A thousand cameras were focused on them. The world watched the rescuers of Portland walk up the lawn to meet the President of the United States of America.
“He’s sticking a medal on you,” Purcell muttered. “But we all know this isn’t over.”
“What’s your point?” David asked, squeezing Kate’s hand gently. Black Echelon had served its purpose and dissolved. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with his life yet, but he at least knew who he’d be doing it with!
“We’re going to rebuild ONSET,” the General told him. “I’m being pulled out of SOCOM to take over the project. I could use some good people—the best people.”
David shared a glance with his fiancée.
“You’re not exactly in our best books, you know.”
“I know,” Purcell agreed. “But I need you, David White. The people you swore to protect need you.”
Kate chuckled.
“That’s a dirty blow, General,” she pointed out.
“I know,” he said again. “But it’s true. I need you. I need all of you.” He gestured around the former Echelon leaders and ONSET officers.
“Because all we bought was a stay of execution. The Masters are still coming.”
David looked across the lawn at Charles. He suspected the dragon could hear the entire conversation—he was still learning how badly they’d misestimated their wyrm friend.
“This was their Sunday punch,” he noted. “It will be years before they can pull anything equivalent. We’ll be waiting for them. We’ll be ready.”
“We can be,” Purcell agreed. “If you’re with me.”
David glanced back at Kate. She was smiling at him.
“To serve and protect,” she quoted at him, and he laughed.
“All right, General. We’re in.”
Other Books by Glynn Stewart
For release announcements join the mailing list or visit GlynnStewart.com
ONSET
ONSET: To Serve and Protect
ONSET: My Enemy’s Enemy
ONSET: Blood of the Innocent
ONSET: Stay of Execution
Changeling Blood
Changeling’s Fealty
Hunter’s Oath (upcoming)
Starship’s Mage
Starship’s Mage: Omnibus
Hand of Mars
Voice of Mars
Alien Arcana
Judgment of Mars
Starship’s Mage: UnArcana Wars
UnArcana Stars (upcoming)
Starship’s Mage: Red Falcon
Interstellar Mage
Mage Provocateur (upcoming)
Agent of Mars (upcoming)
Castle Federation
Space Carrier Avalon
Stellar Fox
Battle Group Avalon
Q-Ship Chameleon
Rimward Stars
Operation Medusa
Duchy of Terra
The Terran Privateer
Duchess of Terra
Terra and Imperium
Vigilante (With Terry Mixon)
Heart of Vengeance
Oath of Vengeance
Science Fiction Stand Alone Novels
Exile (upcoming)
Fantasy Stand Alone Novels
Children of Prophecy
City in the Sky
ONSET: Stay of Execution Page 28
