by Jason Cheek
Seeing the branch of the river to Trapper Nelson’s covered in a thick fog, John throttled down the engine to a crawl as he steered the airboat by memory alone. Normally, his first thought would have been they had a forest fire on their hands, but approaching the docks. He suddenly swore.
The temperature must have dropped by at least sixty degrees!
This was certainly not any forest fire conditions he’d ever heard of before. During all of the years he’d spent as a Ranger, this was the first time he’d seen anything like this period. Seeing the worried looks Bill kept throwing over his shoulder, John figured Bill must be thinking the same thing.
Coming to a stop, John killed the engine as Bill jumped out, tying the bow to the moorings. Looking up the stairs that lead to the top of the high bank, he couldn’t see anything, except for the thick fog lit up from the full moon somewhere overhead.
“You ever heard of anything like this before Bill?”
Hitching up his belt, Bill scanned the upper edge of the bank before replying.
“Nope, can’t say that I have.”
Getting down from the pilot’s seat, John climbed up onto the dock next to his partner.
“How do you want to handle this Bill?”
“I’d feel better if you came up and watched my back, while I run a quick patrol around the perimeter.”
John nodded his head in agreement. “Sounds like a plan.”
Taking the stairs up to the bank, both Rangers looked around warily, shining their flashlights ahead in the thick fog. Visibility was maybe twelve feet at best. The sudden crunching sound under their feet brought both men to a sudden stop. Bill bent down to inspect the ground as John kept watch.
“Look at this John. The grass is frozen solid!”
John’s face was suddenly serious. The creep-o-meter had just shot through the roof!
Resting his hand on the pommel of his automatic ready to draw, Bill headed out into the fog calling back to John. “You’d better call this in.”
John pulled out the radio at his hip as Bill disappeared into the fog.
“Charlie three to COM.”
John’s voice broke the silence he hadn’t even realized was there. Usually, the Florida Everglades were alive from the many sounds of its various inhabitants, but tonight it was oddly silent.
Not getting an instant reply, John nervously broadcasted once more.
“Charlie three to COM.”
“Go ahead Charlie three.”
Hearing the dispatcher’s response calmed his nerves somewhat.
“COM, show us ten ninety-seven for a signal thirty-seven at Nelson’s Place.”
The dispatcher answered bored, “ten four, I’ll change you’re status to ten ninety-seven.”
A sudden loud thump caught John’s attention as something hit the ground in front of him a short distance away. Putting his radio away, John pulled his out his automatic. Pointing it at the ground, he slowly swept his flashlight from side to side.
“Is that you Bill?” Walking forward, he tripped suddenly as his foot slammed into something hard on the ground. Catching his balance, he felt the automatic kicked in his hand.
BOOM
The forty-five roared deafeningly into the night as John swore loudly. Shining the flashlight behind him, he looked to see what he’d tripped over. Unless he could find something decent to blame it on, like a gator, Bill would be riding him hard all the way back to base about discharging his weapon.
Shining the light on the ground, John saw the mutilated creature that he must have tripped over. Seeing the dead animal, he frowned thoughtfully.
That was weird for April.
Normally, it wasn't until closer to Halloween when they had to deal with the crazies sacrificing animals.
Walking over to the dead creature, John used the bottom of his boot to get a better look at the animal, when suddenly he retched on the ground. Looking back up at him was the bloody half of Bill’s face!
Suddenly, loud screeching calls rang out in the darkness surrounding him. Bringing his colt forty-five up before him, he crossed his wrists, so the flashlight shined out over the weapon’s barrel. Swinging the heavy weapon back and forth, John saw dozens of red eyes reflecting back at him from out of the darkness.
“I am a Florida Ranger. Stay back or I will use deadly force.”
He heard the crunch of grass as the creatures began to slowly advancing on him. Screaming, John targeted on the closest set of eyes, squeezing the trigger to his automatic.
BOOM …. BOOM … BOOM … BOOM
The forty-five kicked again and again in his hands as he swung around in a circle, aiming for the center of each set of eyes. The eyes darted away as John heard the familiar meaty smacks of the bullets slamming home. Seeing the creatures hesitate, he turned and ran, heading for the dock as the forty-five continued to roar in his hand.
Hitting the stairs leading down to the airboat, John jumped. Taking the steps three at a time, he heard claws rake on wood a second later behind him.
Turning around he, sank to one knee swinging his forty-five back up with both hands, when suddenly he was flying through the air.
Crashing to a stop against the side of the airboat, John rolled difficultly to his knees. Trying to catch his breath, he suddenly realized there were only bloody stumps where his hands used to be.
Looking up, he screamed as a gray blur leaped on top of him, ripping his head from his shoulders!
* * *
Sister Dyniessus bent over the dead body of the strange creature, pulling out the unusual device still strapped to its waist. Commanding the nearest Scourge to her side, she pointed the opening of the device at the Scourge chest as she’d seen the creature do. For a second, nothing happened as she fiddled with the device, until she found the odd lever.
BOOM
The device jumped in her hands, making her grip the thing quickly, so as not to drop it on the ground. The Scourge in front of her grunted in surprise as something slammed into its chest. Searching in the dirt at the Scourges feet, Dyniessus found an oddly shaped soft hunk of metal still warm to the touch. Prepared this time for the kick, she pointed the device once more at the Scourge, triggering the lever again just as her sisters came to see what she was doing.
This time, she saw a bright flash as the metal shot out of the small hole, before slamming to a stop.
Once again, the piece of metal bounced off the Scourge’s chest as Leenara, this time, picked up the warm piece of metal. Turning the piece of metal over in her clawed hands, she looked questioningly at Dyniessus who was busy inspecting the shiny piece of metal that had shot out the other side of the device.
“What does the thing do?”
Thoughtfully, Torenundra took the piece of metal from Leenara as she squeezed the soft metal in her clawed fingers, before pointing at the corpse by their feet. “Try using it on that.”
Following her sisters suggestion, Dyniessus pointed the opening of the device at the dead body, triggering the lever twice more. This time, the results were much more dramatic indeed as globs of the flesh exploded into the air.
Kneeling excitedly next to the corpse, the sisters inspected the large holes the pieces of metal had blasted through the corpse. It was obviously a weapon of some sort. Leenara commanded the Scourge to bring the other body to them as Dyniessus found the same smashed metal in the ground beneath the creature.
The other creature’s body was quickly laid at the acolytes’ feet. This time, Leenara used the device on the second corpse with the same dramatic results. Licking up the bloody chunks of meat that splashed onto her face, Torenundra grinned wickedly.
“They taste so much better than Werewolf.”
Looking over her shoulder, Leenara looked at her sister in disgust. “Anything is better than Werewolf. Didn’t you eat before we left Tuonela?”
“I did, but being on the road always makes me so hungry.” Torenundra complained melodramatically.
Turning to the Scourge, L
eenara placed the weapon next to its head, once again triggering the lever. The Scourge’s head jerked to the side as the small piece of metal slammed into the side of its head. The Scourge began turning a lighter shade of gray, signaling its anger, but obediently kept its head bowed as the priestess went about her tests. Dark Sisters were known for eating Scourge that annoyed them.
Wanting to try too, Torenundra jumped up taking the device from Leenara. Placing the device against the Scourge’s head, she flicked the lever, but nothing happened. Angrily, she fiddled with the thing for several minutes, before Leenara took the weapon back to try it herself. Again nothing happened.
“What did you do to it, Torenundra?”
“I didn’t do anything. It just stopped working.”
Watching her sisters argue, Dyniessus looked at the shining metal objects lying on the ground. More likely, the device was just empty. Either way, it was time to stop playing around and get to work. Standing up, she looked at her Sisters.
“Enough!”
The command silenced her Sisters immediately as they rose to their feet in front of her waiting.
“It is time to begin preparing your spells!”
Bowing in respect, Leenara and Torenundra went to work on their tracking spells. Carefully, they each drew a circle of power out onto the ground with a triangle in the center. Using her knife, Dyniessus deftly removed the dead puppy’s front legs, before attaching a golden chain to each paw. Placing one paw in the center of each circle, Leenara next set a piece of rock taken from the Winter Fang Heart, in each of the circles.
Lastly, Torenundra placed the hairs given to her by Priestess Lytolna for her last component. The hairs had been removed from the corpse of the boy’s dead mother. Even death could not save Novastar from serving the Dark Goddess’s will.
For Leenara, Dyniessus gave her the female pup’s pierced heart to use as her last component. Placing the heart into the circle, Leenara rose with Torenundra at her side. Together, they began chanting. Drawing in their Will, they sealed the circles with their power. Focusing individually on their intent, they cast their spells.
“INVENIRE!”
The power flared as the acolytes broke the circles with their feet, releasing the tracking spell. Picking up the chains, the sisters wrapped one end around the middle of each paw. Holding the dangling paws before them, the acolytes watched as the claws pointed roughly southeast.
Observing the slightly different angles, Dyniessus questioned her Sisters.
“How close are we to the prey?”
Concentrating on her tracking spell, Sister Leenara answered first, “around twelve lat to the Pack Leader.”
“Seventeen to the whelp”, Sister Torenundra hissed a moment later.
Frowning thoughtfully, Dyniessus continued. “Then we will need to split our forces.” Seeing the look of surprise from her sisters, she explained her reasoning.
“We do not know what kind of resistance to expect in this world. We cannot count on all of these creature’s weapons being useless against us.”
Seeing her sister’s nods of agreement, she paced laying out their strategy.
“Except for the fifty of the Scourge that will remain here with me, the two of you will divide the rest our forces into two groups. Between the Scourge and the Barbed Antitheus, you should have no problem smashing any resistance.
Remember, this is a quick raid. You are to move fast, hit hard and return with your prey. By then, I should have the spell prepared for our return.”
Looking back to her sisters once again, she smiled in anticipation.
“Now go!”
Bowing their heads, Leenara and Torenundra turned at once issuing their own orders. In minutes, they were heading out on their grongors with their Scourge and Barbed Antitheus following close behind.
Watching them go, Dyniessus expected no issues. Even on Irlendria, the Scourge were breed to be unusually tough, and were a match for any but the strongest beasts.
Barbed Antitheus were another story altogether.
They were creatures from another plane of existence, whose bodies were all but indestructible magical constructs. Between them and her Sisters there should be nothing prepared to stop them.
Offering a prayer to Loviatar, Dyniessus began constructing the portal that would transport them back to Irlendria.
Chapter 7
Location Earth / Florida present day / Startüm:
“Obviously I just don’t get it!”
Angela screamed in frustration, exasperated at the lesson as she flounced onto the meditation mat. I still didn’t understand why Angela had joined the healing class first of all things. Typically, the ex-military types weren’t interested in these types of lessons in the beginning, and she definitively had that look about her. Between her tightly toned body and precise movements, she was unmistakably a practitioner of the open hand art of fighting.
Calling over my shoulder, I answered her outburst in a calm voice. “Just a moment Angela, let me finish up with Susan, and I’ll give you a hand.”
Focusing once more on Susan, I wordlessly watched her work as she breathed hard from the strain of focusing her Will. I could feel her intense concentration as the skin of the wound began knitting together on its own accord. Her healing touch was slow and steady. As I watched, the injury fused together until not even a scar was visible.
“You did that perfectly Susan.” Leaping to her feet, she hugged me excitedly as her knees suddenly buckled, giving out on her completely.
Unsurprised, I was ready for her. Slipping my arm around her, I caught her before she could fall flat on her face. Holding her tightly, I had her lean on me as she wobbled unsteadily on her feet from exhaustion.
“Easy there, you know how rough healing is on the body.”
“You’re telling me! I could tell you didn’t help me at all this time either.”
“Nope, that was all you.” Smiling, I patted her shoulder once more, before letting her go.
“I think that’s enough for tonight. Just make sure you get something to eat, before heading out.”
I liked Susan a lot. Even in her late thirties, she was still an attractive woman with fiery red hair and a natural bubbly personality. Although she’d lived in Florida for most of her life, she was originally from Savannah, Georgia. Whenever she got excited that strong Southern Belle accent would always come out.
For some reason, she always made me think about the family I’d never had while growing up, like a favorite aunt. From what I could tell, I wasn’t the only one to feel that way about her. All the women in the advanced class looked to her as a surrogate Mother. I think that was mostly because she just genuinely liked taking care of people.
“There are more than just sandwiches upstairs. Shirley, Lora and I brought in potluck for everyone tonight.”
My questioning look brought a slight blush to her cheeks. “Well, we know you don’t cook much, and those sandwiches from the local deli were getting a bit old after every class.”
No argument there! The deli sandwiches were high in protein, but certainly lacking in the more relevant areas of ‘variety and taste’. Especially since, I’d been living off of them for the past several months now.
“So… Michelle told you I was low on cash, huh?”
Susan’s cheeks brightened even more as she wagged her finger at me in mock severity.
“Startüm Ironwolf! Most of the women who come to your class don’t have much in the way of extra cash, and you don’t charge enough for what you’re teaching us anyway! Not to mention, Terra and Cindy haven’t had enough money to pay for their classes, and yet you teach them anyway.”
“Well, they are both trying to save up enough money to move out of the shelter, and ...” Looking into her now serious eyes, I held up my hands in mock surrender. “Okay… okay, I know when to give it a rest.” Facing her fully, I gave her a slight bow.
“Thank you, Milady.”
“No need to thank me.” I smiled se
eing her suddenly flustered. She turned to go, but stopped for a second, looking back over her shoulder.
“By the way, we set the crock pots up in your kitchen.”
Seeing my worried look, she made a shooing motion with her hands.
“Please, don’t worry about that old wolf of yours. He didn’t give us any problems at all. I put a full plate of food in your bedroom, and he settled down happily before falling back to sleep.”
Switching to Mentem-loqui speech, I broadcasted to Grandsire.
I shook my head, feeling the mental connection break at my last words. He must be mellowing in his old age.
Focusing once more in front of me, I gave Susan an impish grin, before turning serious.
“Thank you for the food. You know as well as I do that, for some of the women, this will be their only meal they have for the whole day.”
“I know, which is why I help out where I can. Not to mention, it’s gratifying to cook for people who truly appreciate it.”
Like I said, she just had a generous heart. “Go ahead and start without us. We will be up soon enough. I just want to try something to help Angela over her hump, before calling it a night.”
Heading up the stairs to the second floor that I used as my apartment, Susan called out over her shoulder. “Just don’t take too much time, or there won’t be anything left over!”
I held a laugh back at Susan’s empty threat. She loved to exaggerate, and between the three of them. I was sure they’d cooked enough for a small army. Seeing Angela holding her head in frustration, I sat in front of her, Indian style, looking into her emerald green eyes. I could smell how worked up she was as she stared back at me pissed off.
“So, you want to talk about it.”
“Talk about what?” She said surly.
“The whatever, that has you so conflicted inside?”
Sitting back, Angela crossed her arms looking at me warily. “What do you mean?”
