by Jamel Cato
“By whom?”
“The mate of the soulcrafter your mother dispatched for giving you the song of my blood.”
“Does this soulcrafter have a name?”
“She is called Karnak.”
“How can I travel to the Plane of Souls?”
“For mortals, it must come to you.”
“When will that happen?”
“At the battle for this realm, a doorway shall open when the leviathan roars. Thaddeus Hill will await you there.”
“Can you be a little more specific?”
“I cannot, but I wish you to know that in this we shall be as brethren.”
This was the first time Enieda had heard Soul Bringer speak without the emotional mask that concealed his true state of mind.
He mourned.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
Bethesda, Maryland
Rahn hooked his truck keys on the ring by the garage door. He unbuttoned his shirt collar with a sigh of relief and headed for the kitchen.
Then he found his teenage daughter in the family room laughing with Zina. His mind immediately jumped to the magical wards that were supposed to protect his home.
“Dad!” Caitlin Rahn said excitedly. “She saw my post. We’re doing a live stream!”
Rahn drew his service pistol and pointed it at Zina. “Come over here with Daddy, Caitlin.”
“Dad? Are you okay?”
“Get. Over. Here. Now.”
“Daddy you’re scaring me,” she said as she tiptoed over to his side of the room.
“What the hell are you doing in my house?” Rahn asked Zina.
“Daddy, who are you talking to?”
Zina smiled.
“Oh, you think this is funny? Well you picked the wrong house, sea whore.”
He fired four shots.
The three-dimensional glamour of Zina that was only visible to someone wearing an ElectriShield ring dissipated. Marlene Rahn, who had been given chloroform and bound with restrains covered in her husband’s fingerprints, toppled over backward with four bullet wounds.
Caitlin started screaming.
Rahn’s mouth fell open.
Over one hundred thousand fans who had been watching the live stream of Caitlin’s video call with the missing celebrity gasped in horror.
Yefet and Tu’Lok silently fled into the woods behind Rahn’s home.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Zildan kicked open the door of Michelle’s motel room and waved his rifle at every corner. “Where is it?”
She pointed.
He lowered his weapon and clicked on the safety.
“What is that?” Michelle asked from the corner she had backed into.
“An enchanted mirror.”
“A what?”
“An enchanted mirror. You know, like Mirror Mirror on the Wall.”
“Why did it just appear in thin air like that?”
“Somebody’s called a parlay. They use these when we can’t meet in person. One just like it just appeared in my room.”
She relaxed a little and checked on Zina’s mother, who continued to sleep.
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m still a little jumpy.”
“Forget about it,” Zildan said as he checked the hallway to see if anyone had noticed the commotion. Satisfied, he closed the door. “At some point, I’ll have to go out to find a hardware store to replace this lock though.”
“Okay,” she said. “Just give me a heads up before you go.”
“Will do.”
Michelle stepped over to the levitating mirror. It was oval shaped with complex geometric engravings carved throughout the brushed nickel frame surrounding its glass center. “How do they know where we are?”
“Dang if I know.”
“How does it work?”
“The mirror or the voting?”
“Both I guess.”
“Well, there will be a few updates in the beginning. Then there will be speakers arguing both sides of an issue. When it’s your turn to vote, this mirror will start blinking red. You’ll have to speak your vote aloud before it stops blinking. The mirror will disappear after that.”
“How long does the voting take?”
“A few minutes.”
“That’s it? How many votes need to be cast?”
“This is a war vote, so everybody.”
“Everybody?”
“All the regional collectives on all seven continents plus the sea-based collectives.”
“You mean all the supernatural entities in the world?”
“Yep.”
“How many is that?”
“That’s a closely guarded secret.”
She could see he was growing uncomfortable with this line of questioning. “Okay, thanks for the info. I’ll wait for the red light.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“You could have fooled me.”
“If Xavier trusts you that’s good enough for me. It’s just that we don’t normally discuss these kinds of things.”
“Well, I’m new to all of this.”
“Guess you were on the wrong team.”
She thought back to how quickly the DSO had turned on her. “I guess so.”
The mirror chimed softly.
“They’re about to get started,” Zildan said. “I’m going to head back to my room. Holler if you need me.”
* * *
A chimera dressed in a purple silk robe appeared in the mirror and called the parlay to order. Its goat head did the talking while its lion head rested in its lap and its snake head hissed and writhed behind its chair.
Michelle assumed the mirror was also some kind of translation device since the movements of the creature’s mouth did not correspond to the crisp and grammatically correct English she was hearing.
As Zildan predicted, there were several preliminary reports, most of which were grizzly accountings of the supernatural communities that had been decimated in the DSO’s recent offensive. The victims had included fourteen sea women.
The presentations for and against war followed. Although there had been solid arguments from both sides, those urging for war had a clear emotional advantage. Whole species were being exterminated. The Earth herself was being poisoned. Specialized concentration camps like the one in Florida were being constructed to steal and counteract their magic. Isabella presented a copy of a cooperative agreement between the DSO and twenty-four sister agencies around the world that outlined a violent plan to eradicate all supernatural life within three years.
Baynin was the final speaker. “For those who believe we may coexist with humans, I challenge you to walk into the capital of your nation and proclaim your belief. For those who dwell in the water, I ask where you will flee when humanity decides that the land is not enough? To all I say cast your vote as you would if your children had been snatched from your arms and slaughtered because this is your future if it is not already your past. Turn away from your enchanted mirror to gaze into one made of glass. Bask in the glory of your reflection. Then turn the mirror face down to see yourselves as humans do. Stop deluding yourselves. Humankind declared war on you long ago. Defend yourselves while you have the means, or weep as they dance upon your bones.”
A motion was made to begin the voting.
Eight minutes later Michelle’s mirror began blinking red.
“Peace,” she said. Despite everything she had heard and experienced, she felt a moral imperative to cast a vote for the many innocent people in Saint Lucia who would lose their lives in an all-out war.
The mirror vibrated and then returned to its original color, but it did not disappear.
She was reorganizing the contents of her travel bag when the mirror began to blink red again. She wondered if there had been a glitch. “Peace,” she said in a louder voice than before.
The mirror continued blinking.
“War,” Charlene Daniels whispered from the bed. Her voi
ce was still weak from the partial cordectomy that Amy Gargac had performed on her.
The mirror vibrated and stopped blinking.
Michelle was still processing this when the mirror started blinking again.
“War,” Proto said from the nightstand.
The mirror vibrated.
Michelle gazed down at the device. “I thought you said you needed a moral justification to kill.”
“Genocide is a moral justification for self-defense,” it explained.
She was preparing to respond when she was startled by the sound of Zildan bellowing “War!” from the next room.
* * *
It took less than an hour to tally the votes. Before disappearing, all the enchanted mirrors that had been sent forth turned matte black to indicate the outcome.
Inside a volcano on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific, the avatars of nine supernatural beings appeared around a virtual meeting table.
The War Council had been convened.
CHAPTER SEVENTY
Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado, One Month Later
Everyone was weary, scared and irritable.
The President was participating in the daily briefing by video from his command center aboard Air Force One, which had not landed in eight days thanks to continuous in-flight refueling. Today’s briefing had involved another round of depressing reports about water shortages, civil unrest and power outages around the globe.
Secretary of Homeland Security Javier Silva was speaking. “We’re having a problem with the California National Guard. They’re still keeping order, but yesterday the 2nd Battalion informed us they’re evaluating how to respond to the secession vote.”
“I know General Whelan personally,” Bob Landon said. “Let me know if you need help keeping him in line.”
Javier glared at his counterpart. “How about you focus on finding a target to shoot.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. This is all your fault. You and that wife-killer. Your so-called crackdown has turned into one big clusterf—”
“That’s enough Javier,” the President said. “I’ll get the rest of your report from my briefing packet. Go ahead, Bob. Let’s hear it.”
“Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday we lost another satellite, the Overwatch 932. We’re now effectively blind over the Middle East and Northern Africa. We’re doing everything we can to get a replacement launched, but Kennedy is still rebuilding from the attack and the Europeans and the Guyanese have denied all our requests to use Guyana.”
“What’s the status of the nuclear arsenal?”
Landon shifted uncomfortably. “Our warhead recovery operations are still ongoing, Sir.”
“Recovery of the warheads that just vanished into thin air?”
“That’s correct, Sir. According to our intelligence, all the nuclear powers have experienced a similar loss.”
“When do we get to the good news?”
“We neutralized six groups of supernaturals that were attempting to join the buildup in Ajirastan.”
“And tell me again why we haven’t hit Ajirastan?”
“Operational difficulties. Both the Nimitz and the Washington carrier groups are being held in place by an artificial sea wall we cannot penetrate or navigate around. And our air-to-surface capabilities have been nullified by artificial wind gusts that blow our planes and missiles around like confetti.”
“By artificial you mean magical?”
“That is a high probability, Sir.”
The President rubbed his temples. “Good Lord. Seven years ago I would’ve had you committed to Belview if you tried to tell me magic was real. Now they’re going to wipe us out.”
“With all due respect, Sir,” Landon said, “I assure you that will not happen.”
“It won’t? For weeks you’ve been telling us that our military can’t find anyone to fight except small groups of unarmed refugees trying to make it to Ajirastan. Six states are almost out of potable water and California has voted to form its own country. In the meantime, they’ve taken out our nukes and our satellites and poisoned our food chain. What’s going to change the tide? Aliens? Are those real too?”
“As I’ve indicated previously, there is a massive multinational infantry force forming outside Ajirastan. The enemy cannot stop boots on the ground without blocking their own population. We’re just waiting for the ACUs to arrive by train before we strike.”
“When will that be?”
“They’ll get to our staging area in Israel tomorrow.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
Mount Tamalu, Ajirastan
From Baynin’s vantage point on the plateau, the war camp resembled a gigantic scorpion. More than fifty thousand warriors had answered his call, either of their own volition or by order of the War Council. With its wide array of magical abilities and superhuman physicality, it was the single deadliest force that ever been gathered on the mortal plane.
“The spotters have counted approximately two hundred thousand troops, five thousand tanks and four hundred helicopters inside their staging area, not including the war and supply ships that are being held back at sea,” the liaison to the War Council said to him.
“What of their artificial beasts?” he asked the Valkyrie shieldmaiden.
“The steel snake carrying their autonomous combat units arrived last evening.”
She followed Baynin’s gaze across the plateau to where Yefet was reviewing plans with a Fomorasi warrior.
“I doubt that a tryst with a betrothed female would be a wise way to prepare for battle,” the Valkyrie warned, having heard rumors of Baynin’s power over Yefet’s kind.
He began walking toward the command tent. “Are our forces prepared?”
“They are. Five legions deployed as you requested, save the Orcs, who insisted on leading the initial charge.”
“Have you witnessed Orcs in battle?”
“Not with my own eyes.”
“If you had, you would know it is wise to allow them to deploy as they wish.”
“I will happily leave tactics to the tacticians.”
“I assure you that your sword shall swing today, Valkyrie. Your duty to coddle the generals shall end before the battle does.”
She bowed, her lips spreading into a feral smile.
* * *
Kiryat Shmona, Israel
Landon could not remember the last time he had been in a command center without being the one in charge.
Although the United States had furnished the lion’s share of the troops and weaponry for this operation, the majority of the countries who had signed the Cooperative Agreement blamed America for the worldwide humanitarian crisis that had resulted from this conflict. They had insisted on the multinational force being overseen by a non-American commander. Israel, which had suffered extensive damage in a golem uprising after the war vote, had required a litany of additional concessions before making this sparsely populated city available as a forward operating base.
Ulrike Sabovich, an Israeli general who had been appointed the Supreme Military Commander of the Coalition forces, came over to greet Landon. “Great to see you, Bob.” As they shook hands, he leaned in and whispered, “You are an observer here. If you so much as raise an eyebrow at one of my orders, I’ll have you on a chopper back to Tel Aviv before the stains in your underwear realize they don’t have an ass to stick to. Clear?”
“Understood,” Landon said.
“Wonderful, wonderful. Come, we have a seat reserved for you.”
Landon had no choice but to accept this treatment. Without satellite coverage or airborne AWACS, being physically present was the only way to gather the real-time battlefield intelligence his country required. It was a major breach of protocol to have the Secretary of Defense personally lead the team collecting that intelligence, but he knew it was part of his political punishment for authorizing Rahn to spark this war. He was also aware that a growing number of people in Colorado would n
ot be heartbroken if he never made it back.
* * *
The War Camp
A gypsy priestess snapped a metallic clamp on Isabella’s battle gown.
“Don’t you think you should be with the rest of the War Council?” Xavier asked her.
“Shall I serve tea and bake cookies when I get there?” Isabella asked.
“You know I didn’t mean it that way.”
“A war master who never wages war is as valuable as a tailor who never sews.”
“I don’t want to lose you,” he said bluntly.
She placed a palm on his cheek. “Then make every enemy who approaches me on the battlefield aware of that.”
“It’ll be the last thing any of them ever do.”
“I have no doubt.”
“I heard they have like a million soldiers and every tank in the world coming for us.”
“And I heard,” she said as she raised her arms to allow an enchanted breastplate to be locked under her armpits, “that we have Mother Earth herself behind us. Which side do you think has better odds?”
Zina came through the flaps trailed by the two Sasquatch bodyguards Baynin had assigned to her.
Isabella and her attendant moved to the opposite side of the tent.
Zina tried to squeeze all the air from Xavier’s lungs. “Hey.”
“Hey to you,” he said. “What are you doing down here?”
“I wanted to see you one last time and tell you how much I missed you last night.”
“How’s your mom?”
“Getting better. Her voice is almost back to normal. They put her in the same ward where you had them move Ronnie. By the way, he told me to tell you to get your Jordans back today, whatever that means.”
Xavier smiled. “I’m glad they’re both doing better.”
“You should see him. You would never know he was just in a coma. It’s like a miracle.”
“Are you ready for today?” he asked her.
“I’m always ready, Bae. Are you?”
“Does chicken go with waffles?”
“You asking me out on a date?”
