Redemption (Ascendancy Legacy 6)

by Bates, Bradford

  The creature turned toward me and hissed. Its long arms lashed out, and it sunk its claws into the ground. As it pulled them back toward itself, huge rents were left in the hard-packed dirt floor. There would be no distracting this creature. It had one purpose on this planet, to kill. And right now, it had me set to be its next victim.

  The announcer screamed again, and the creature leaped for me. Its long arms shot up above its head. If those claws caught me on the way down, I had no doubt that they would tear through my shield. I rushed forward, hoping to get under the creature before it landed. One of the long arms came down as I rolled underneath it. The damn thing’s claws glanced off my blade as I completed my roll. This thing could think on its feet, and its range gave it a huge advantage.

  The demon used its other claw to slow itself as it landed, and in a flash, it was facing me again. All those times Jackson encouraged me to work on my offensive magic, and here I was finally wishing I had taken him more seriously. I couldn’t do much, but I had worked on a few small tricks. I gathered the earth from where the creature shredded the ground and formed it into a spike with my mind. I kept it hidden behind me.

  The demon knew I was doing something, but it wasn’t sure what. With every movement I made, its large eyes followed me. The demon screamed in frustration; it was tired of waiting for me to attack it. The creature didn’t know what caution was, or it wouldn’t have charged me so readily. The toad loped forward on its large arms, covering the distance toward me quickly. My gift enhanced my speed, and I reinforced my shield as I darted to the side of the creature. Its claws glanced off of my shield, and I sent the spike of hardened earth at the demon while it was distracted.

  The spike did the job I needed it to. It tore through the demon’s body and came out the other side. Oily black liquid poured from the wound my spike left. The dirty and smelly liquid covered the ground around the demon. The goo bubbled as it made contact with the earth. Maybe it had some kind of acid built into it. I sent the spike back at the creature, but this time, it was ready for it, and the beast’s claws shredded it before it made contact. Darting forward, I slashed out with my sword, cutting deep into the toad’s hind leg before retreating.

  I paid for the aggressive move as one of the demon’s claws tore through my shield. My back felt like it was on fire, but I could still move. Three steps later, I started to feel light-headed. I called on my gift to heal me, but the magic was slow in responding to my call. What was with these demons they paired me against? It seemed like all of them were designed to repress my gift. The demon moved forward; at least, I think it was just one of them. I was seeing three of them in front of me now. I had to reinforce my shield again, but I couldn’t do that until the poison was out of my system.

  The demon was moving slowly. The strike I had landed on his leg must have been deeper than I thought. That was going to buy me some time, but maybe not enough to get the job done. The gobs of blood rushing out of the creature’s chest probably weren’t doing it any favors either. I could see the wound in its chest starting to heal around the edges. I needed to be able to end this, but I still couldn’t see straight.

  The demon lunged, and I moved to the side. It missed me, but that was all luck. I wasn’t even sure which one of the creatures I should be dodging. Finally, my magic clicked, and a wave of relief washed over me. The poison left my system, and three demons became one again. Now that my head wasn’t swimming, I had a chance to end this. I launched my attack. Reinforcing my shields as I ran, I circled around the creature’s bad leg and then slashed at its healing chest as I went by. The wound reopened as the creature spun to try and deflect the blow. It missed the mark, and my blade found purchase.

  The beast bellowed as I pulled out the sword. The giant toad fell onto its belly, as the wounds it suffered were starting to catch up with it. I pivoted and flipped over the creature’s back, bringing both blades down on its arm. The demon screamed again as the blades bounced off its thick bones. I had done more than cut it to the bone. I’d severed something important, and the arm now hung uselessly at its side. There was nothing to do now but end it. I dodged the beast’s last wild flail and sunk one of my blades into its eye. The demon started to shake, and then its whole body went limp. I kicked it off of my sword, and the crowd went wild.

  The door leading back to my cell swung open as the announcer was screaming something at the top of his lungs. The crowd was in such a frenzy, there was no hope of making out the words. My two guards walked into the arena to collect me. I didn’t think I was going to go quietly this time. I dropped into a crouch, ready to fight, and the entire room started to shake. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the demons started to rush out of the room.

  The asshole guard started to charge toward me, but his buddy tripped him. I didn’t ask questions; there was no time. Racing for the edge of the arena, I called on my magic. The swords in my hands found their way back into the sheaths on my back just as I hit the wall. Three steps up the wall, I leapt upwards with everything I had. My hands found purchase on one of the spikes angling down into the pit. They were made to keep bigger targets than me inside of the fighting area. I used them almost as a ladder to climb out. I almost couldn’t believe that I made the leap and somehow managed to climb to freedom.

  Now to get out of here, all I had to do was follow the demons who were fleeing. It wouldn’t be too long now. If there was a chance that I could escape, this was it. Whatever was happening topside must have been epic. I had told Marcus to come in loud so I could hear him. He hadn’t let me down.

  Chapter Seven

  John

  Adam and Henry climbed into the back of Sarah’s jeep. I looked over at the two men. I had never seen Adam this angry except for the time he faced off against the Butcher of the Bay. This was an event so large, that even Henry was dressed for battle. Despite his limp, he still looked fearsome with his staff in hand. Adam’s eyes were glowing with the prospect of violence. Sarah looked cool and determined. I felt ready to lay down my life to save April. As much as I wanted more time with my wife, there was no way I was leaving my son without the love of his life.

  Sarah gunned the jeep, and we rolled to the portal. As we passed each row of cars, they filed in behind us. This was it, all of the Ascendancy on the warpath together. This hadn’t happened in a thousand years. Today, the demons would get a taste of what the full force of our organization could bring. Today was the day all of them would die.

  We came out of the other side of the portal, and the away team moved us forward. It had been risky to send them ahead to create a portal so close to where the demons were stationed, but we needed to be able to move in quickly. Adam pointed out the road leading to the giant house on the hill, and Sarah turned the jeep toward our destination.

  We were about three miles into our drive when Adam screamed out. “Stop!”

  Without hesitation, Sarah hit the brakes. I was about to ask Adam why he was stopping us here when I finally saw it. There was a haze to the air about fifteen feet in front of us. Adam might have saved our lives by noticing it so quickly. Who said old people weren’t useful? Only someone who hadn’t needed to count on their experience to save their ass. He stood in the back of the jeep and cast a ball of fire into the night. It hit the hazy outline and exploded. Flames rushed up the sides of what could only be a dome made out of demonic energy.

  Something or someone powerful had to be out there. It would take a magnificent amount of mojo to hold a barrier like this in place. I had my doubts that one demon could do it alone. Just how many demons had found their way here after the portal had been closed? Adam jumped out of the vehicle and started to shout instructions to the cars behind us.

  The cars moved around us like the parting of the ocean. They drove around the outside of the dome and then lined up with the front of their cars facing the barrier. We had them surrounded, but that didn’t really help us. We needed to find a way in. The demons would either use April as a bargaining chip or kill her o
utright if they thought the outcome was inevitable. There wasn’t time to waste.

  “Adam, we need to find a way inside.”

  “I’m working on it,” he grunted, beads of perspiration rolling down his face.

  “It doesn’t have to be large enough for everyone. Just get Sarah and me inside. We will get April out while you bring this thing down.”

  Henry looked at me, his eyes full of concern. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? You’ve only been back a day.”

  “I’ve spent the last eighteen years killing demons. No one is more prepared for this than me.”

  Sarah moved up to stand by my side. “If you can get us in, we can do this.”

  Marcus came running up. “Whatever you two are planning, I want in.”

  Adam looked at Marcus and shook his head. “I’ll need you here. With your help, we can bring this entire barrier down. Once we can do that, the demons won’t be able to stand against us.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “Help, Adam. We will get her out. I promise.”

  “I told her I would come in loud,” Marcus said in almost a whisper.

  “Then we will make sure that she hears us,” Sarah said.

  “I found a crack in the barrier. I won’t be able to hold it open for long. Once you’re inside, we won’t be able to get to you if anything goes wrong,” Adam said as he pointed to a spot along the dome.

  We moved to stand in front of it. I turned and gave Adam a nod.

  “Godspeed,” Adam whispered, and then threw both of his arms out.

  As soon as he made the movement, the barrier into the dome breached. Sarah and I leaped through the opening, and it sealed almost instantly behind us. “He wasn’t kidding about not being able to hold it open for long,” I said, pulling out my swords.

  Sarah smiled. “No, he wasn’t.”

  She dropped to her knees, and the change was on her in a heartbeat. It had been a long time since I had witnessed it firsthand. Every time one of her bones broke, I winced. Thankfully it didn’t take long. My short little wife was replaced with almost nine feet of pure furry muscle. The entire time she shifted, she hadn’t made a sound.

  “There is a pack of demons heading this way,” she growled.

  She took off at a slow run, and I followed behind her. We would be counting on her nose and hearing to get us to the demons’ house without incident. We would be able to take out a small group of demons quietly, but anything larger than that, and we risked one of them breaking free to raise the alarm. Thankfully, even though it had been daylight outside the dome, in here we were bathed in darkness. Sarah led us through a twisting route until we were a hundred yards away from the front entrance.

  There was nothing to hide us once we decided to run forward. It was open ground all the way to the door. The good news was only two demons were outside of the massive front doors. The bad news was each of them was ten feet tall and built like they threw two-hundred-foot pine trees for fun.

  Something happened to the dome of darkness that surrounded us. It was being hit with something so hard, it made the ground shake. The two giants started looking around for whatever was causing the disruption. All I could think of was that April would know this was her sign and start her bid for escape. We had to get inside if we were going to be able to help her.

  “We should take the one on the right together, and then his partner.”

  A snarl was all I heard in response. Breaking cover, I ran straight for the giant on the right. A silver streak rushed past me and slammed into the giant, knocking him off of his feet. I could see Sarah’s claws slashing at the demon’s chest. Just as I reached them, the demon tossed her away like she weighed almost nothing. Before he could struggle to his feet, I rushed in, slashing his stomach and bicep before spinning around behind him. Both of my swords slammed into his back at about the height of where a kidney would have been in a human.

  I moved away as a giant fist came down where I had been standing, and Sarah jumped back onto the demon's chest. This time, her massive jaws closed around his throat. The other giant was charging toward us now. Casting a quick spell caused the ground under the giant’s feet to shift, sending him stumbling forward. A wet ripping sound came from behind me, and I knew that Sarah had succeeded in ripping out the first giant’s throat. He wouldn’t be coming back from that kind of injury. The one remaining giant was getting to his feet as Sarah moved to stand beside me. With a thought, I lit the dying demon behind us on fire. There was no reason not to make sure that he stayed dead.

  The demon in front of us let out a bellow of rage, not unlike what I would have expected from an angry bull. I could almost imagine steam coming out from his massive nose. He pulled a wooden club from his hip and started running toward us. Sarah started forward to meet his charge. The club reared back, making it ready to swing. If it connected, there was a strong possibility she would die. The club started to come down, and she never changed course. She was counting on me.

  I used the same fire spell I had on the demon behind us, but with much more force. As the club rushed down to kill the woman I loved, it was engulfed in bright blue flames. I cringed as the club was about to hit her, and then the spell did its work. The club turned to ash, passing through her body and sending the demon sprawling sideways.

  Sarah’s claws dug into the driveway as she turned on a dime. Rushing back toward the demon, she took a bite out of one of his ankles. The demon roared in pain, turning to strike her. In his anger, he had forgotten about me. I ran forward and jumped, swords held high above me. I brought them down on either side of the giant’s neck. He roared again and tried to stand, falling back to the ground when his torn ankle couldn’t support him.

  I yanked the blades free, and black blood sprayed into the air. The demon’s hand went up to cover the wounds just as Sarah leaped forward. She lashed out with one of her claws, cutting open the demon’s throat. That was it; the fight was over. I started walking toward the front door, and a moment later, the love of my life was by my side. She gave me a wolfish grin. It was hard not to laugh when she was dripping black demon ichor from her muzzle.

  I snapped my fingers, and the giant behind us was covered in flames. “You know, that look is very attractive on you.” Sarah bumped her shoulder into mine, and I almost fell to the ground. “Just remind me to invest in a really good toothbrush for you, something industrial-sized. Maybe one of those electrical ones?”

  This time, she responded with laughter. “Never mind the flesh in my teeth. It’s their blood that tastes like shit.”

  “Oh, the sweet things you say to me when you’re trying to get me in the bedroom.”

  She laughed again. It was deep and from her belly. It sounded funny coming from a giant lycan’s mouth, but I loved the sound all the same. She reached out and pulled open one of the massive front doors. The inside of the building was empty. At least, what we could see from the entry was. There had been a battle here recently. All of the furniture had been repaired, but some of the walls were still damaged.

  “Can you pick up any trace of her?”

  “It’s faint. Too many people have passed this way to be sure.”

  I let Sarah take the lead, hoping that her nose would be able to pick up enough of a trail to point us in the right direction. We moved down the white marble-tiled entrance and further into the building. It was quiet, too quiet. The demons must have another exit they were using to leave. It made sense. If I owned this house, the last thing I would want was a bunch of grubby demons dirtying the place up. Hopefully, we would be able to access wherever they were hiding from here.

  We made slow progress through the rooms as Sarah continued to track April’s scent. No other demons made an appearance as we moved through the house. The ground shook a few more times, but other than that, it was eerily quiet. The sound of a door opening froze us in place.

  A woman stepped out into the hallway. Her black hair stood out against her white suit and pale skin. She smiled when she saw
us, as if she had been expecting us to be there all along. She moved forward until a low growl issued from Sarah.

  “We don’t need any of that, little wolf. I’m happy to see you both here. Will you step into my office so we can have a chat?”

  “I think we are fine right here.” I looked over at Sarah, and she nodded. “We are only here for one thing, so unless you have her with you, we are done talking.”

  “My, my, you Ascended are all fire and brimstone.” She laughed and then snapped her fingers.

  A man came out of the room. He had his massive fingers wrapped around April’s neck. Sarah growled again, but this growl was deeper and more menacing. I ran my hand through her fur, hoping to calm her. My eyes flicked briefly over to April. She looked unhurt. In fact, she looked pissed off and ready to fight. That was good. If we could just separate her from the man holding her, we could get the hell out of here.

  We didn’t have to wait long. The man strode forward and threw her down at my feet. She got up, looking slightly embarrassed. When our eyes met, I tossed her one of my blades. That seemed to perk her up a little bit. She stood at my shoulder, ready for a fight.

  “Now that you have her, are you ready to talk?”

  “Now that April is with us, I don’t see what we have to talk about.”

  “We need to talk about Jackson and how to bring him back home. I’ve been instructed to offer terms for his return to you.”

  April looked slightly shocked, and Sarah let out another low growl. I had to agree with Sarah. Demons didn’t offer deals; at least, not deals that benefited anyone but them. Something was wrong here, but we wouldn’t find out what without talking to her. “Tell me what you are offering.”

  “We will return Jackson to you, and every demon who is here under my control will go back to hell. I believe we have over ninety percent of the demons in this world on site now. It should be easy enough for you to round up the rest. We don’t care what you do with them after that.” She paused, almost looking disgusted with what she was saying. “Then you have the word of my master that we will never come back to this world.”