He really hoped it would be over soon.
“Master Sergeant?â€
How the hell did she know that? “Yes?†he replied, giving her his full attention.
“We’re ready to try now.â€
“Good. What do I have to do?â€
Gabrielle shook her head. “Nothing.†She indicated Duncan. “We’re going to go inside Cade’s head and he is going to do what he can to heal the damage there, while I wall off other…less desirable, elements. He will either be strong enough or he will not.
It’s as simple as that.â€
“You ready for this?†Riley asked Duncan. The younger man looked even greyer than he had half an hour before, if that was at all possible in a place made up of a thousand shades of the same color.
“Do I have a choice?â€
Riley, Olsen, and Gabrielle all answered at the same time. “No.â€
“Well then, I guess I’m ready.†Taking a deep breath, he extended his hands and placed them on either side of Cade’s head.
Gabrielle waited for him to get comfortable and then placed her hands over his.
To his credit, Duncan barely flinched at her icy cold touch.
Bowing her head, Gabrielle began to say something in a low voice, over and over again, and after a moment a glimmering white glow could be seen flowing out from their clasped hands to surround Cade’s face and head.
It went on that way for some time until, with a sudden flash, the light winked out abruptly.
Duncan gasped and pulled away from Gabrielle, breaking the connection. On the ground before them, color slowly blossomed in Cade’s face, color here in this place that was one shade of grey after another.
Riley took that as a good sign.
Gabrielle looked over at him. “The danger’s past. He is resting normally now and should awaken soon. “
Out of the corner of his eye Riley could see Duncan staring at Gabrielle, an expression of near-awe on his face. The Master Sergeant couldn’t blame him; he was pretty impressed with the lady himself. He turned to more practical matters. “That still leaves us with the need to find a way out of here,†he said, “and figuring out how to get away from that twisted freak of an angel once we do.â€
“Cade knows the angel’s name,†Gabrielle replied, watching him closely, and Riley knew that there was something significant to that statement, but he wasn’t sure just what.
“So what are we going to do, make fun of it?â€
Was that a smirk there on her face, just for a moment? If it was, it was gone as swiftly as it had come. “Names have power,†she told him. “With the right Name you could even assault the very gates of heaven. And you’d stand a good chance of forcing your way inside.â€
“Okay. So what are we going to do with that Name?â€
Now she grinned and it wasn’t a pleasant smile. “You, Master Sergeant Matthew Cornelius Riley, are going to bind that angel with your bare hands.â€
Riley didn’t like the sound of that, but he sat down to hear her out just the same.
* * *
When they were finished, Gabrielle explained that she would open a rift between this world and the next, allowing them to return to the real world without Cade’s assistance.
As the men gathered their supplies and prepared for the passage, she moved a short distance down the hall. Facing a clear, unbroken section of wall, she raised her arms to either side of her and brought them together again sharply, much the same way the angel had done earlier.
As Riley watched, a crack of gleaming blue power appeared on the wall in front of her, running from floor to ceiling. Gabrielle plunged her hands inside that shimmering vein of energy and with another shout wrenched it open wider. A sudden howling cry filled the corridor, as if the walls of the place objected to the abuse, but the opening was considerably wider as a result. As she stepped back, Riley could see a wall of water pressing against the other side of the rift, held in place as if by some invisible barrier. The bluish-green tint of the water was shocking amidst this landscape of grey.
Riley turned to address the men standing behind him. “All right! Listen up! When you get through the portal you’re going to be disoriented, confused. You’ll also be a fair distance underwater. Do not panic. I repeat, do not panic.†He looked at the each in turn, one by one, making eye contact, letting them know without saying anything that he had complete confidence in their ability to do this. “The passage through the portal can sometimes make you forget things, slow down your thinking, but if you stay calm you’ll be all right.
Watch for your air bubbles and follow them up to the surface.†He turned to Olsen, said, “Cade’s your responsibility. As soon as you and Chen are through the rift, head for the surface as fast as you can.†Olsen nodded, neither of them mentioning the danger in keeping an unconscious man underwater for too long. Some risks they just had to take.
“We’ve got no idea what will be waiting for us on the other side, so look sharp when you reach the surface.â€
“What about our weapons?†Ortega asked.
“If you’ve got a dry bag with you, use that. Otherwise, wrap it up with whatever you might have and hope for the best.â€
Riley looked them over one last time. Satisfied with what he saw, he nodded and turned to face the rift. “Let’s move out!†he yelled and the men of Echo were swift to obey.
Olsen and Chen lifted Cade and carried him down the hall to where Gabrielle and Riley waited. Duncan helped Davis, the other man’s arm still in its sling, Ortega behind them, while Riley brought up the rear.
One by one they stepped up to the edge of the rift, took a deep breath, and plunged through the opening.
As Riley came forward to take his turn, he leaned in toward Gabrielle so that she could hear him over the howl of the passage. “He’s been searching for you, you know. He hasn’t given up on you.â€
A sad smile crossed the undamaged side of her face. “I know.†She paused, considering, and then said, “If he comes looking for me again, tell him he can find me across the Sea of Lamentations, on the Isle of Sorrow, where the earth weeps beneath the tear in the sky. But tell him that’s exactly what the Adversary wants, as well.â€
Riley was full of questions, but she cut him off before he could say anything further.
“Go now. And remember what I told you. Your life, and Cade’s, depends upon it.â€
Echo’s executive officer nodded, turned, and disappeared through the rift back into the real world.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
A WATERY REBIRTH
Duncan’s head broke the surface of the water and he sucked air into his lungs gratefully. A quick glance around let him know that he was in the middle of a swimming pool, more than likely the one in the exercise facility where they’d encountered the reaper demons, an event that seemed to have occurred weeks ago to his tired body and mind. Olsen was just now clambering out the side and nearby Chen was treading water, one arm locked around the still unconscious form of Knight Commander Williams.
Duncan sensed something coming up from below and a moment later Davis and Ortega both surfaced nearby. The expressions on their faces showed that they, too, had been shocked by how long the trip had seemed, from the moment they had left the Beyond to the point where they came up for air in their own reality. Moving from the sweltering hot air of the corridors in the Beyond to the chill waters of the pool had been tough enough, despite the fact that they’d known what was coming and had time to prepare for it, but the distance to the surface from the bottom of the pool had seemed five times its normal depth. He remembered something Cade had said to him the first time he’d found himself in the Beyond. Time and distance are
different here; they are never what you expect. Yeah, he had that right, Duncan thought.
He struck out for the side of the pool and had just reached it when out in the middle of the water Riley finally broke the surface. All seven surviving members of the Echo Team had made it back and Duncan cast a quick prayer heavenward in thanks.
A short time later they were all doing what they could to warm up in wet clothes, huddled in towels they’d found in the locker room but unwilling to strip off their combat uniforms, no matter how miserable they were because no one wanted to do without their built-in Kevlar protection. With no idea where or when the dark angel and its allies might strike again, every single member of Echo wanted as much protection as he could get.
They’d only had two dry bags among them, so they did what they could to dry off their weapons, nervously glancing around the whole time they did so. When they were finished there was still no guarantee that the guns would fire when needed, but it was better than nothing.
Riley had called a ten minute break and as he sat a short distance away in deep conversation with Olsen, no doubt planning their next move, Duncan was thankful that he was junior in rank. It kept the big responsibilities off his back, like trying to figure out a way to escape this place without having to face that hellspawn again.
“Duncan?â€
The voice was weak and tired, but also unmistakable. Duncan whirled around to see Cade trying raise himself up on one arm into a sitting position.
“Take it easy, Commander,†Duncan said, moving quickly to his side and helping him to lean back against the wall behind him. “We’re safe. For the time being at least.â€
Cade looked around slowly, taking in the sight of the pool and the exercise machines in the room beyond. “The men?â€
“They’re okay. Davis has a broken arm, but that’s the only major injury we’ve suffered. You took a nasty bump to your head during that confrontation with the angel; you’ve been out for hours.†How close to death Cade had actually been, their time spent lost in the Beyond, their encounter with the shade of Cade’s dead wife; Duncan purposely avoided mentioning any of that and he knew the others would as well. They had agreed that it would remain their secret until Sergeant Riley decided Cade was strong enough to hear it all.
“Riley’s in charge?â€
“Yeah.â€
“Good.†Cade leaned his head back against the wall and visibly relaxed. A moment later he was fast asleep.
Duncan wasn’t surprised; Cade’s body would need lots of rest to catch up on all the spent resources it had used up during the healing process. He leaned against the wall and sighed. Nice that at least one of them felt safe enough to rest.
A draft swept over him suddenly from out of nowhere, a touch of hot air that carried with it the scent of charcoaled flesh and burning tar. It was there and gone again in an instant, so swift that for a moment he wondered if he’d simply imagined it, but then it returned, this time much stronger and Duncan knew without a doubt that they were in trouble. A low rumbling started, like thunder heard from a distance, but even as Duncan was climbing to his feet it grew in volume, a train roaring toward them down the tracks, coming closer with every passing second, until it surrounded them like a shuddering clash of thunder.
There was a flash of light…and then the angel was among them.
He struck swiftly, his flaming sword slashing through Ortega’s body armor as if it didn’t exist, the charred halves of Ortega’s body falling to the floor in opposite directions. His wings beat against the superheated air surrounding his arrival, sending gale force winds throughout the room, throwing the rest of them off balance as it climbed back up toward the ceiling.
The angel swooped downward and struck again, though this time Chen managed to deflect the swinging sword with the barrel of his gun. The weapon became useless in his hands, the metal melting like wax where it came in contact with the angel’s blazing sword, but it was enough to save his life.
Echo had been trained to react quickly and this time was no exception. Even as the angel swept past Chen and headed for the higher reaches of the ceiling above once more, Olsen and Riley were responding, their firearms sending a stream of lead skyward after their quarry.
But the angel was prepared for that now, knew just what they would do, how they would react, and it jinked and jived in mid-air, putting on a display of aerial maneuverability that would have put a fighter jock to shame. Not a single round came close enough to even graze its body.
The angel sped toward the ceiling…and disappeared from view.
* * *
“We’re in serious trouble,†Olsen said, even as he tossed aside his empty magazine and shoved a fresh one into his weapon, racking a round into the chamber immediately thereafter and searching the room for a trace of their enemy.
Riley didn’t respond, his thoughts on those seconds before he’d passed through the portal back into the real world. Gabrielle had told him to remember something. “Your life, and Cade’s, depends on it.â€
He had no doubt she was talking about something that would help him face the angel.
Except he’d forgotten just what that something was!
The rumbling came again, softer at first but building swiftly.
“Here it comes!†Riley yelled, glancing around frantically, wondering just where it was going to appear this time as he wracked his brains for exactly what it was he was supposed to remember.
The rumbling built into a roar, the roar built into thunder...and the angel exploded out of the surface of the swimming pool, filling the air with superheated steam as the water boiled off around it.
The spray caught Duncan by surprise; he felt his skin flare in pain as the steam swept across the exposed skin of his hands and face. He collapsed to the ground, effectively out of the fight.
Of the seven of them who had emerged from the rift, only four of them were left in combat condition.
Four ordinary men against the might and power of a fallen angel.
There was just no way.
Davis had the barrel of his weapon braced against the doorframe and was firing it now, doing what he could to keep it on target despite his broken arm. Nearby, Chen abruptly ran out of ammunition and tossed his now-useless MP5 away. He drew his sword and stepped over to Davis, ready to defend his wounded teammate if it became necessary.
Riley practically screamed with rage and frustration. You idiot! How could you have forgotten?
As the angel turned and swooped down at them a third time, Riley’s shotgun went silent. A glance told him it was still loaded, but it just wasn’t firing properly. He jacked the slide, exchanging the bad shell for the next in line, but that too refused to fire.
A glance told him the angel was almost upon him. There was no time to draw his sidearm and getting his sword was going to take even longer. Hail Mary, full of grace…
A firearm went off practically next to his ear and suddenly Cade was there, standing tall in the face of danger, his shots hitting with deadly accuracy and causing the angel to divert its course at the last moment.
“Find some cover!†Cade ordered and as Riley moved to obey, just like that it came to him at last, the words and symbols bursting across the internal theater of his mind, blazing in vibrant gold script like literary fireworks. Rather than following Cade’s order he charged out into the center of the room, where the angel couldn’t help but see him, his hands already working in the complicated patterns that Gabrielle had planted in his mind, had in-sisted that he remember for without them he and his companions were as good as dead.
He was too late to save Ortega, and possibly Duncan. He just hoped and prayed that he had time to save the others.
Shouting to be heard over the savage shrieks of the angel, Riley called out the first portion of the bin
ding.
“By my will and my might, by my heart and soul, I call you to me, Baraquel, and bind you to my control.â€
Crippling pain washed over him before the words were completely out of his mouth, causing him to stumble and falter. A glance down at his arms showed them bent and twisted back on themselves, the fingers curled like claws, the raw energy he was summoning from the spiritual world around him too much for a man untrained in its use. Gabrielle had warned him that it would be bad, but he had never imagined anything like this. He could see the veins in his arms bulging alarmingly, could feel the blood pressure in his head as a steady pounding, like the world’s worst migraine a thousand times over, but he didn’t dare stop, not matter the damage he might cause himself.
The angel had stopped, was now hanging in mid-air, its wings pounding a steady rhythm that served to keep it aloft. It turned its head to look at him, recognizing the beginning sequence of the ritual binding, and raised its flaming weapon in challenge. As Riley watched, Baraquel flung himself toward him and his passage was so swift that the air cracked as it parted around him.
Protect us, Lord, Riley had time to think and then he was shouting the second half of the binding, completely convinced that it wouldn’t work and that in seconds there wouldn’t be anything left of him but bloody chunks of flesh strewn across the floor in the wake of the angel’s attack, but by God he was going to try anyway.
“Slave and servant, lord and master,†he gasped, the surge of power forcing him to his knees, the pain all but unbearable. He could feel his flesh rippling on his frame, felt as if a thousand cockroaches were squirming there beneath his skin. His eyes bulged and he was convinced that at any moment his skull would burst from the energy flaring out of his form, but he continued the chant nonetheless, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that to stop now would be the death of him. “With these words I take your freedom and force your service, here and now and ever after.â€
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