The nurse fixed Lyric with her penetrating gaze and he felt very much like a child being scolded for lying. Abruptly understanding dawned on her face.
"You're the Demon Singer." She said quietly, "you poor child," sadness softened her severe expression. "Wait three minutes after I leave the room then go." She turned and left without another word.
Three minutes later, Lyric and Cadence made their way out of the room and headed to the elevator. They reached the lobby with no incident and were a handful of steps away from the door when four uniformed officers entered the lobby from another hallway. Trying to remain nonchalant, Lyric led Cadence to the doors, avoiding direct eye contact. They'd almost reached their goal when Lyric saw one of the officers turn toward them and sniff the air. The sinking feeling in his stomach was validated when the cop called for them to stop. Lyric considered stopping for half a second, but the decision was made for him. Cadence grabbed him by the hand and bolted out the door making for the car. The sudden abrupt movement sent a lance of pain through his wound. Gritting his teeth, he forced the pain aside and relentlessly forced his legs to keep pace with the small warrior.
As soon as they reached the parking lot, they ducked behind a brown pickup. Peering through the windows Lyric saw the cops heading straight for them, all four with their noses in the air. Suddenly the police officers were bowled over by Lyric's nurse as she threw herself into them from behind.
"Go!" She yelled as she broke an arm on one of the officers as if it was a dead tree branch. The man howled in pain and his three companions turned on the nurse, snarling their rage.
Lyric watched the guardian angel throw the men around as if they weighed nothing. Cadence pulled his arm and he let himself be hustled to his car. Jumping in he started the engine and was surprised the familiar whine and rumble from under the hood were gone. Hitting the gas they took off with shocking speed, almost crashing into several parked cars before Lyric compensated for the improved and more delicate response of the machine. Apparently, the Keylac did more than tune up his vehicle.
As they sped out of the hospital parking lot Lyric looked in his rear view mirror and would have laughed at the sight of four more police officers chasing them on foot, had it not been for the fact they were keeping up. Shaking his head, he despaired at his inability to go for any extended period without having someone want to see his insides become his outsides.
Lyric stomped on the gas pedal and his car shot forward. Careful steering and blind luck saw them avoiding slower moving cars and hurtling through red lights without crashing. Lyric spared a brief glance in his rear view mirror and saw his pursuers had fallen behind but continued their dogged chase.
The soul singer improvised a brief melody that caused cars he passed to stop and skid sideways in the road, forming blockades. Though the police continued to fall behind, another glance saw them leaping over the obstacles without difficulty. Eventually, excessive speed and careful steering left their pursuers behind and found them several miles away parking on the far side of town in the shadow of a large, abandoned looking factory of some kind.
Acheron, what are the chances of you pushing past that stopper?
I won't be able to do it for long, came the faint reply. Let me know when it's time.
Lyric turned to Cadence.
"Those cops weren't human. Based on what I saw back there I think they're probably werewolves. If that's the case we won't be able to escape them, we have to stop them. I'd rather get it over with, are you ready?"
Cadence nodded, two silver raptor blades suddenly in her hands, she offered one to Lyric.
"No thanks, I wouldn't know how to use it." The Singer wondered again at the mystery of his protector. Once again, it would have to wait. "Let's go in here and find a defensible position."
They entered the factory and discovered a huge metal maze of broken down machines, stairs and catwalks. Cadence put a hand on Lyric's arm and gestured for him to head up a flight of stairs down the aisle. Before he could comply, she pulled his shirt up and over his head. He blinked in surprise as she took off at a dead run, waving his shirt in the air. He wondered if she was infected too and maybe going a little crazy. Once she began rubbing his shirt on stair rails and metal struts, he realized she was spreading their scent to make it harder for the weres to track them.
The Singer made his way up the stairs and located a narrow hall on the top floor that led to an office with a fire escape out the window. Half a minute later Cadence joined him a few feet into the hall and they waited. It didn't take long. They heard cars pull up outside and booted feet running into the building.
The wolves had arrived.
18 WERES
It's weird how stories and legends change and grow over time. For example, vampires are not pretty and they're not magic. They started out as an ancient disease, transmitted through saliva, extremely hardy and highly contagious. They drink blood and are stronger than your average human is. However, they are often sickly and they have terrible breath. They are smart and sneaky and are a major presence in the supernatural black market. Most humans are nothing more than a walking snack bar to them, but typically, they're opportunistic bullies; cowardly, selfish and more than happy to eat their own mothers if there's a profit to be made.
Weres, on the other hand, are magic. Their origin is a mystery shrouded in time. Unlike shifters who are mortal and whose magic is learned or given, weres' magic is intrinsic. No one knows why they change, and contrary to popular belief their bite will not cause you to become a were. It might get infected and cause you to get sick and die, but it won't turn you into one of them. Unlike vampires, weres are very healthy and immune to disease. They're also extremely hard to kill; their only real weakness is a high sensitivity to silver. They suffer an allergic reaction resulting in anaphylactic shock that leads to a quick but painful death. The only protection they have against silver is the presence of the moon. For some reason, moonlight protects them from their allergy.
For centuries, the largest clan of weres, the wolves, has served as police, private investigators, bodyguards and mercenaries. The wolf clan is famous among the supernatural and second sighted as tenacious and loyal. They never hire out singly or in pairs, but always in groups of at least three or four. The nature of their magic while mysterious is extremely potent. They are fearless, strong, fast and resistant to all but the most powerful magics.
Standing next to Cadence, Lyric began his song. As soon as he began singing the sound of the weres moving below stopped for a second, then began again in earnest. A moment later, the first one appeared around the corner. He was big and obviously very strong. While this registered on a superficial level with Lyric, it didn't really matter. He narrowed his focus and sent his song to wrap around the giant were as he stalked forward slowly, cautiously. A howl of agony erupted from the poor creature as his clothing turned to silver at the command of Lyric's song. The Singer was already thinking ahead to other songs, as the were's throat seized up and he fell to his knees, gasping for air and tearing at the clothing that had become his death.
Lyric's next song was in mind and he shifted to it as two more weres came around the corner. Flame erupted in a sheet across the hallway, peeling paint from the walls. To Lyric's surprise and disappointment it didn't even slow down the weres approach. They walked through the flames as if they didn't exist. As Lyric shifted songs again he made a mental note to inform Master Storn that weres were unaffected by fire.
The next song tagged on the first, ripping the silver clothing from the barely wheezing were on the floor. The uniform stood up and approached the advancing weres. This gave them pause. Snarling angrily they stopped walking and glared at Lyric. The Singer's sense of satisfaction was short lived however as his opponents unholstered their firearms and took aim at his head. Cadence yanked him out of the way and sped down the hallway to engage the enemy.
In a flash, she was before them, spinning and slicing with her wicked raptor blades. The first wolf droppe
d silently, spouting blood from his newly ventilated neck. The second was considerably louder as he managed to block her first attack and took the poisonous blow on his forearm. He swung with the other arm as he shrieked in pain. Cadence evaded the strike easily and inserted a curved blade between his ribs, putting a stop to his beating heart.
As one, four more weres came charging around the corner and Cadence dove into them without hesitation. Lyric prepared to assist his bodyguard when he heard the sound of breaking glass come from the office at the end of the hallway behind him. Turning to face this new threat he saw five more weres emerge from the office. So much for a defensible position.
Acheron, now's good.
With an ear-shattering shriek, Acheron appeared out of the dark that split the air in the hall. She tore into the five weres, with a fury that was savage and shocking. Lyric had seen her fight before but never had he seen her so vicious. She brutally rent limbs from bodies, swinging them like baseball bats at the others, sending them flying. The startled weres slowed their attack and those remaining looked for a way to overwhelm the demoness. Acheron stood before them defiantly and filled the air with expletives that cut off midstream as she toppled to the ground and vanished.
Lyric reeled from the sense of weakness that overwhelmed him as Acheron disappeared. Staring at the spot she had occupied seconds ago, he reached wildly for the tie and came up with numbness. The tie was still there but it felt dead. Returning his attention to four more wolves approaching from the office he felt the familiar personal terror that accompanies facing one's death and seeing it smile.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a bloody Cadence shred the last of the weres approaching from the hallway. Turning toward him, she wiped blood from her forehead and stepped resolutely between him and the four remaining weres advancing from the office.
Lyric began to hum, using a simple tune from early in his training taught clandestinely by older students to younger to give them an extra edge during some of the physically arduous exercises they were put through. Immediately a surge of refreshing energy flooded through him and Cadence as they faced the remaining weres. Not wanting to wait for them to press the attack, Cadence leapt at them and cut one down before they could react. As one, the other three leapt on the small warrior, seeking to bring her down together.
Lyric surged into the fray, pulling one of the attackers off her and hurling him into the wall. Unfazed, the were attacked the Singer viciously. Lyric, well trained in unarmed combat, held his own with rapidly decreasing effectiveness, giving way before the fury of the were's attack.
He heard a grunt, a wet pop and an angry snarl behind him. A heavy weight hit the back of his knees and he sprawled over the werewolf Cadence had just killed. The were he was fighting lunged forward to press the advantage when he was stopped abruptly by Cadence's boot as it broke his nose, sending him reeling backward. The extremely lethal woman stood over Lyric with Silver raptor blades in each hand pointing at the two remaining weres. The one with the broken nose spoke as Lyric rolled to the side and stood up.
"Get back to the master and tell him we failed."
The other were took off as broken nose jumped at Cadence. She plunged one of her blades into his throat and ripped sideways, nearly severing his head. Lyric watched the life leave the were's eyes before he hit the ground, hoping he never became comfortable with the horror of bloody combat.
Cadence closed the eyes of her recent enemies and smiled wearily at Lyric. The Singer nodded heavily and the two of them began the depressing and unpleasant chore of cleaning up the bodies.
* * *
Melody listened quietly to her general's report. Finally some good news. The Singer and his strange companion lived, but one of the elves in the diner had managed to banish to demoness back to hell. According to her Mistress that was about as ideal a situation as could be. She couldn't wait to report. Her attention came back to the general who was still speaking.
"... as you ordered your majesty. Even if they didn't believe in our cause, they'd give their lives for your glory. I've sent the bulk of the forces to the coast to prepare for the western approach. All seems to be going well."
"Thank you, Rondeaux, you've made your goddess very happy. One more batch from Falspoh won't hurt. I have business to attend to; I'll meet you at the training ground in a few days." Melody favored her general with a bright smile. "The time we've dreamt of fast approaches. Our agent will get us into Markhato and we'll extinguish the Light. Then the veil will fall. All because of my beloved followers. These are important times we live in, general."
General Rondeaux saluted smartly and turned to leave. Melody waved a hand over her body to return to her natural state and headed to Markhato.
19 MUTE
Lacking the tools to dig a proper hole, and unwilling to give the last were an opportunity to return with reinforcements, Lyric and Cadence laid the bodies out in a careful line. Adding some dried wood from the tree line and gas siphoned from their tank, they lit it up, Lyric prayed over it and they took off.
A few miles down the road, Lyric found a side street with several cars parallel parked. Pulling into a space between two white sedans, Lyric killed the engine, closed his eyes and began exploring the tie.
Acheron, are you there?
Hello, Lover.
Acheron's exhausted thoughts floated up from the quiet darkness of their tie.
Can I help?
Have you found a mute yet?
No.
That'll help.
Okay, I'll get it done.
Lyric got out of the car and considered Acheron's advice about remembering the event that took him to aunt Bea's the first time. Cadence joined him on the street and he stifled a shudder as he began to explore the painful memory. This was gonna suck.
Humming a sorrowful tune that gave voice to the pain and anger in his heart, he remembered the first time he went to Aunt Bea's house.
In no time, he was back in front of the high school, preparing to head home. He looked across the street, just off school property and saw the Cinteer brothers. Once again, they refused to hassle him alone, but brought their goons with them. He wasn't sure what made them hate him so much, but it was enough that he feared for his life. He'd dealt with it since first grade and it got worse every year. His stomach churned in terror as he hung around the school doors, dreading what awaited him if he left. He tenderly touched the enormous lump behind his left ear. Brandon had given it to him the previous day by hitting golf ball sized rocks at him with his new tennis racket. The one that hit his head had actually almost knocked him out. Brandon's brother Jared came over to where he lay in the dirt and said.
"Nope, not quite out yet. Let me help, bro." Jared pulled his foot back and kicked Lyric full in the face, breaking his nose and shredding his lips against his teeth.
His broken ribs had just healed up from their run in a few weeks earlier. They lived to torture him. Emma wanted to put a stop to it but Niq refused to let her
"You want it to stop?" His father asked him as he prepared to set his son's nose. Lyric nodded slightly, holding one ice pack on his mouth, another on his head and fighting down the wave of nausea that hit as his father put a thumb on either side of his son's nose and drew down firmly. Lyric refused to pass out and endured the pain by clinging to his hatred of the Cinteer brothers. "Then put a stop to it, dammit."
As the long buried feelings surfaced, the anger came, flushing through his body and speeding up his heart. He began walking purposefully. He ignored Cadence, used the pain from his freshly opened wound to heighten the memory and started to run. He could taste the fear and his throat constricted as his heart raced. He could hear Brandon Cinteer and his brother Jared taunting him across the road. Their usual group of cronies with them him. Nate Puckey, Joe Stoosh, Erin Linament and Paul Shates.
He waited forever, his nose and fat lips throbbing to the rhythm of his terrified heart. They finally got bored and headed through the weeds to Jared and Br
andon's house. He gave them a few extra minutes before he took off for home.
Lyric was the biggest kid in sixth grade, and extremely fast. But what do you do when the guys chasing you jump out of the bushes on mopeds?
There was no way he'd outrun three mopeds in foot, even with them doubled up. His heart sank when he saw each passenger was carrying a hockey stick.
Leaving the road he tried to take advantage of the trees, but all of them had grown up playing in these woods. The Cinteers knew them as well as he did
"We're gonna kill you!" Jared Cinteer shrieked, far closer than Lyric wanted him.
Fire lanced across his back as Brandon slashed him with his hockey stick. He ran faster, terror lending him speed. Up ahead he saw a bunch of apple trees, he remembered some old lady lived back there. If he could get to her house, they wouldn't dare hurt him.
Lyric ran full out, as memories he'd buried overwhelmed him. He reached the trees; he was going to make it! He leapt for the safety of the orchard and every inch of his body screamed in pain as he hit what felt like an electrified fence and was flung back.
Disoriented, he looked up from the ground, registering an unfamiliar street and Cadence running up to kneel beside him. Looking straight ahead, he saw a beautiful garden with enormous plants. Fruit trees bordered the property, which - from where he sat - looked to cover the length of a city block at least. Standing at the entrance was an old man, who was staring at Lyric with an expression of disbelief.
Scrambling to his feet, Lyric tried to shake off painful memories. Cautiously, he approached the open gate. The man had recovered his poise and was smiling at Lyric. He had a kind face with deep crow's feet and an expression that looked close to dissolving into laughter.
"Quite a spill you took there, fella." The man's voice was deep and smooth, and for some reason Lyric thought he'd probably be very good at telling fairy tales.
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