City of Twilight Part II: The Fallen (The Vanguard Chronicles Book 2)

by Donald Stephenson III

  ​James knew in an instant that he was now fighting more than just Dante. He pulled himself up from the ground, and realized he was in an office. Dante was still in the hallway on the other side of the wall. “I’m out in these pistols,” Dante said as he tossed the two pistols to the ground, “good thing I have spares.” He pulled another two pistols from a set of holsters on his back. James moved quickly to the wall, hearing and sensing Dante on the other side. They both leaned against the wall on opposite sides, listening and waiting for the other to move.

  ​James probed with his mind’s eye, and was dismayed that he couldn’t see any of the other fallen. They were hiding their presence, waiting to strike. As he leaned against the wall, James could tell that he and Dante were mirroring each other. James was leaning on his shoulder with his arms held up with blades, Dante leaning on his other shoulder holding up his pistols. They both wore a look of calm determination.

  ​There was a long pause as they both waited for the other to move. In an instant they both turned to face the wall. Dante began firing straight into the wall and James dove for the floor on one side. After only a few rounds, several feet of the top wall was blown away. There was smoke and dust everywhere, and Dante peered through it to try to find James.

  ​Dante saw a small metal blade flying towards him out of the smoke, and was able to dodge it just in time. Several more started flying towards him, which he had to move to dodge as well. One of the blades nicked his ear, tearing through his upper earlobe. He hesitated for a moment when he felt the pain, which was all the time James needed.

  ​James leaped through the large gap in the wall, pushing Dante against the opposite wall of the hallway. James held the man against the wall with his left hand, and his right hand grew a long blade out of the top of his wrist. He held the blade to Dante’s neck. There was a fierce rage in his eyes, but Dante could tell it was still James, not the other in control. James held the blade to Dante’s neck, and stood motionless.

  ​“Well, why don’t you do it? Kill me,” Dante said. James glared at him, and then slowly raised the blade.

  ​“No, not yet.” James said. “You have information I need. Besides, I’m not like you.” Anger grew in Dante’s eyes.

  ​“Like me?” There was a slight rumble in the room. Suddenly James could see all of them through his mind’s eye. Dante was now shouting, "You'll never be like me! Like us!” A telekinetic blast threw James back against the wall back into the office. He couldn’t tell if that blast came from Dante or someone else. There was another strong blast that knocked down the entire wall. Dante stood in the middle, Wolfgang was at one side and Damaine stood on the other. They all had looks fierce determination on their faces.

  ​James had quickly regained his composure, and stood ready to fight them. Wolfgang and Damaine both held up their arms, palms facing James. He knew what was coming, but before he could react, another strong blast pushed him against the back wall. His body was imbedded into the sheet rock behind him, his arms outstretched. He looked up at them and saw Dante raise his guns again, aiming at James. James quickly moved to one side as Dante fired. Dante got off three shots, and James was able to dodge all of them except the last one, which hit him in the right arm a few inches past the shoulder. The round tore his arm completely off.

  ​After that round, the top of Dante’s pistol flew off in a pop, and smoke came from it. He threw the weapon down. James was on the ground for a moment. He felt the pain for just a few moments, and then the xeno dulled it. It also stopped the bleeding, sealing the wound on his arm where the limb had been severed.

  ​“Well,” Wolfgang said, “Lucien was right. The all-powerful hunter still bleeds. Just as much as his mother.”

  ​“Now we just need to answer another question,” Damaine said, “can all the Vanguards finally die?” Their palms were held up, and James felt the force push him through the wall violently. He felt his body keep going, until he was flying into one of the bulletproof windows that led to the outside of the building. The impact didn’t break it; instead the window bowed outward slightly as he slid down it. Wolfgang and Damaine walked forward into the room from the holes in the walls they had made.

  ​“Bulletproof glass,” Damaine said as she looked over at Wolfgang.

  ​“Well, if he can break it,” Wolfgang said, “then we can too.” They both held up their hands again, and James felt himself being gripped by their telekinesis. He suddenly flew through the glass, feeling his body sear with pain as he went outward into the night. He didn’t fall downward, but the force they used to send him through the glass was so powerful that he flew straight across to the neighboring building.

  ​He flew right through the window and slid across a tiled floor which cracked as his metal form scraped over it. James crawled on the floor for a moment before pulling himself to his feet. He ignored any pain he was feeling, his instincts of survival outweighing anything else. He then turned to look at the capitol building, startled by what he could see from his mind’s eye.

  ​Both Wolfgang and Damaine had used their abilities to leap to the building he was in, a few stories above him. James thought of his options, hoping he could find some way out of this. He began moving through the rooms of this building. There were empty offices that looked like they’d been abandoned in a hurry, with all the furniture and equipment left behind. The building shook slightly from above, but he still didn’t see anyone. They were covering their presence with their abilities again, but so was he.

  ​His thoughts moved to Christina. He searched for her with his mind’s eye, and saw her and the others still in the capital. They were near the middle floor of the capital, moving down the steps as fast as they could. He was glad that she was protected. I’m sorry I can’t do more for you, to protect you. He turned and moved through the dark hallways of the offices.

  83

  ​As Christina ran down the stairwell, she was thinking about James. They all stopped suddenly and quickly when they reached the next landing to see Dante and Medea there waiting for them. Both of them had smug looks on their faces.

  ​“The elevators move quickly in this building,” Dante said as he held up one of his pistols. He walked over to them slowly, but Garrett and the other soldiers raised their own weapons at him and Medea. They then heard footsteps behind them, and saw Lucien standing at the top step above them. He was holding an assault rifle, aiming it at Garrett and Christina. He had a calm look on his face.

  ​“I always wondered, why it was so hard to read you," Dante said to Garrett. "It could be a fluke, but it might be that some people are special. It’s more difficult to read them with our mind’s eye. I think you must have somehow figured that out, and then obviously used it against us.”

  ​“It wasn’t that hard,” Garrett said, “you fools are so caught up in your own petty plans, you fail to see small details that enable someone like us, like the resistance to get by you.”

  ​Dante nodded at the man as he raised his pistol, about to fire. The other soldiers raised their own weapons at Dante when another voice could be heard coming up the stairwell from below.

  ​“You’re not going to fire, Dante,” the old man said, “neither are you, Medea, or you Lucien.” He reached the landing near Dante, who looked at him confused. It was an old man who looked to be homeless. His beard was long and dirty white, and he had brown clothes on.

  ​“Who are you, old man,” Dante said, “and how do you know any of us?” He trained his other pistol at the old man.

  ​“It’s me, William.” The old man smiled as he spoke. His voice changed, sounding intelligent.

  ​“You lie, you look nothing like him,” Medea said. The old man’s faced quivered for a moment, and then changed shape as he dropped the illusion that he’d carried for so long. He was still wearing the same clothes, but he had no beard. He was young, with shaggy brown hair and a sharp face. He had the same eyes and fangs as the other fallen, but different as well. They were green eyes, no
t blue.

  ​“People see us as we want to be seen,” William said. “The same goes for me.” Garrett and the soldiers were quiet, but Christina spoke up.

  ​“You’re the one, the old man who helped James from the beginning,” she said. “You turned against your own family?” William nodded at her.

  ​“We all made sacrifices to do the right thing,” he said as he turned to Dante. He then looked upwards at Lucien, then back to Dante, “This isn’t just about survival. What is the point of gaining all the power in the world, and the universe for what this costs all of us? For what this cost you? You know James has a chance, and you know he’s going to win. Callista knew it; remember what she said?” Dante hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered his weapon.

  ​“Yeah, I remember what she said. She said she saw her son defeat Michael. Then Ares killed her. I didn’t believe it for so long, but it feels like some sort of prophecy now.” He looked up to Lucien. "Lower your rifle. Let them go. If it’s really meant to be, if it really is fate then James will survive this encounter. If not, then it doesn’t matter if they escape.” Medea and Lucien both slowly lowered their weapons.

  ​“Come on,” William said to Garrett and Christina, “let’s go.” As they walked past Dante, William looked up at them. He stepped closer and said, “Why don’t you come with me? It doesn’t have to be this way.”

  ​“We’ve all chosen our sides, and we have to live with them. Go,” Dante said. William nodded silently, following the rest of the small group down the stairs.

  84

  ​James raced through a hallway, running as fast as he could while avoiding strewn debris that was lying all around. His left hand was holding the wounded stump where his right arm used to be. Some areas of the building looked like some sort of fire fight had taken place there not long ago. He realized it was probably due to the relocations to Old District that had occurred in the recent past. People fought against that, even though they were forced out of parts of Capitol District for security reasons.

  ​There was rumbling in the floor and ceiling, and then he could hear a voice in his mind, “it’s only a matter of time before we find you.” It was Wolfgang. He was broadcasting out his thoughts. James continued to move at a fast pace. He could feel his adrenaline pulsing through his body with the xeno. There was another loud rumble, and he felt the floor shaking. Suddenly the ceiling started to collapse on top of him.

  ​He moved to dodge the metal and concrete, his wings unfurling and forming a barrier over his head. The ceiling fell all around him, the floor of the level above him. He pushed through the rubble that had fallen over him, digging himself out. Wolfgang and Damaine stood over the rubble, watching him. They saw him climb out, and they immediately struck him, knocking him backward with their telekinesis.

  ​Wolfgang then drew a sword that was on his back. It had a slight glow, like Lucien's blades. James had seen him with that sword earlier. He pulled himself up to face them, leaning slightly on a metal beam nearby.

  ​“Do you see this sword?" Wolfgang said, "It's a modern adaptation of an ancient weapon. The actual name of the sword is a katana, and this one was built by Lucien. You remember his blades, don’t you? Made of a special metal that we can pulse our energy through, making a blade that you’re vulnerable to. Sort of like the high velocity rounds, only much slower and more precise.” He handled the sword with ease and precision, in a way James had never seen before. Of course, he’d never seen or heard of a katana before either.

  ​“Why do you fight for him?” James said. Damaine had a pulled a katana of her own as well, and they were both circling him.

  ​“We fight for Father not only because he is our father,” Wolfgang said, “but we also believe in him and what he promised.”

  ​“What did he promise you that’s worth all of this?” James asked. "All I see is corruption, violence, death. All you and your family bring is pain.” He stared at them with contempt. Wolfgang stared at him, and he smirked a little.

  ​“He promised us a place on his right hand, where we will serve him and be the strongest.”

  ​“By eliminating humanity?”

  ​“By eliminating your darker nature. Your free will. It will be lost when this is all over. All of you will be Father’s.” James stared at him in disbelief. Wolfgang shook his head, “If you’d only seen what I’ve seen. It’s too late for that now, for you anyway. When this is all over, we shall be Father’s overseers over all humanity.”

  ​“So how many people must die,” James said, “for your perfect world?"

  ​“As many as it takes,” Wolfgang said, sneering, “and tomorrow this will be all over. It will end with Father reawakening. He will take control of everyone, every mind. The entire city will become an extension of him.” James looked at him in disbelief. Wolfgang shook his head as he watched James, “You wouldn’t understand. You won’t even be around to witness it. You won’t even be alive.” James let the claws from his left hand extend, and he ignored the throbbing pain he still felt in the stub that had earlier been his right arm.

  ​James prepared to run towards Wolfgang, but Damaine hit him with a blast of telekinetic power, knocking him off to one side. He flew into a metal beam that was still standing through the rubble. He was stunned for a moment, and as he looked up he saw Wolfgang running at him with the glowing blue metal katana. James pushed away from the beam, rolling himself onto the floor. Wolfgang’s sword missed him, making blue sparks as it hit the metal beam.

  ​James looked over at him, and saw the blade had cut into the beam several inches.

  ​“What kind of metal is that?” James said as he pulled himself up.

  ​“It’s the same kind of metal that runs throughout your body, that’s attached to your spine," Wolfgang said, “the same metal that our power plants are constructed of.”

  ​“What, the xeno?” James said. “But it’s a living creature.”

  ​“It doesn’t matter to you, you’re about to die anyways,” Wolfgang said.

  James extended a long blade from the wrist of his left hand that was near the length of the katana. As Wolfgang ran at him, James met him with his own blade, deflecting the blows back. Damaine joined the fight as they both swung furiously at James. Sparks came from the blades as they met, the metal making loud clangs. Both swung their swords simultaneously at James, which he held back with his own blade. Although his metal was regenerating, it was becoming a strain to heal fast enough to deflect the blows from their powerful swords.

  ​He was holding them with as much strength as he had left in his body, and he suddenly acted in desperation, willing long sharp spikes to grow quickly all over his body. They both jerked back in response to his defenses, and held up their weapons toward him. He expected them to run at him again, but instead he was met by another telekinetic blast made from the two of them together.

  ​Again James flew backwards, and he was about to reach another beam when he caught it with his arms and feet together; landing on it. He gripped the side of the beam with his arms and legs, latching onto the side of the beam like an insect. The two were startled by the appearance. James looked up at them from the beam, and they could see the sudden change come over him. He was no longer James, but the xeno had taken over.

  ​The metal pulsed over his entire body. His face was completely visible, although it was covered in the scaly metal. It altered his facial features, making him appear more menacing. He was smiling wickedly, revealing sharp metal teeth.

  ​“I was waiting for the right time,” he said, “to take control.” He leapt off of the beam onto the ground, ignoring the rubble as he slowly walked towards them. His back was slightly crooked, and he walked in a way that it looked unnatural for him to be on two feet, and that any second he would start running at them like an animal.

  ​“I was wondering when this would happen,” Wolfgang said.

  ​“You see, the thing about James is he’s a good guy,” the xeno said, "and he t
ends to hold back to give you a chance to surrender. That and he can’t do what I can.” He grinned wickedly as the ground shook slightly beneath them. Wolfgang and Damaine immediately spread out.

  ​Xeno-James ran at Wolfgang, who started shooting telekinetic blasts at him. The floor rumbled as if it couldn’t take much more, and it finally started to fall through as xeno-James leapt at Wolfgang. He’d almost reached him when Damaine hit him with another telekinetic blast, catching him in the air. He landed on his feet, skidding on the ground and tearing the floor beneath his armored claws. The floor continued to collapse below all of them, but both Wolfgang and Damaine jumped below unharmed. Xeno-James jumped down as well, landing in front of them.

  ​“I won’t stop, until you’re all dead,” it shouted. It ran at them again, jumping to the ceiling and clawing forward to Damaine from above. They continued to shoot telekinetic blasts at him, knocking him back or barely missing him. Wolfgang had remembered from their last fight with the xeno version of the Hunter that he never used the telekinesis offensively, only in defensive or in reaction to them contacting him directly with their abilities. He and Damaine had planned to use the blasts, which were pure concussive power to prevent the creature from stopping them while avoiding direct contact. It seemed to be working.

  ​As he realized what they were doing, xeno-James began picking up pieces of metal or concrete and throwing the debris at them. Wolfgang and Damaine stood next to each other, and one worked on acting offensively while the other used the telekinesis to deflect his attacks. The floor below them once again started to rumble, and they knew it wouldn’t be long before it collapsed like the one above.

  ​“This building can’t take much more of this,” Wolfgang said.

  ​“I agree,” Damaine said, “are they ready yet?” Wolfgang stared towards the Hunter while shooting another blast at the creature.