The elevator doors whispered closed as they headed off in the direction of the vehicle. Their footsteps echoed in the vast cavern of the garage as they walked.
“Reed, something is off. I’m feeling a surge of power around us,” Jas said as the lights of the garage shut off and plunged them into darkness.
“I would say that’s off,” Reed whispered as he drew his gun. Jas followed his lead and grabbed her weapon.
“Seems like you’re in a rush to go somewhere, Agent Reed,” a voice said from the darkness.
“How did you know?” Reed asked. “Who sent you?”
“I’m sorry,” the voice answered, “I can’t share that information.”
“Davis? I told you I’d get it myself,” he said. “Thanks, but we got it.”
“Idiot, neither of you is leaving this garage…alive.”
“That’s not Davis,” Jas whispered as they ducked behind a car. “She feels like Unholy.”
“You could feel that?” Reed asked.
“I’m a Sister,” Jas answered. “Part of the training.”
“Any more with her?” he asked.
Jas didn’t answer for a few seconds.
“Well?”
“She’s alone,” Jas said.
Reed exhaled. “That’s good,” he said. “It’s two against one.”
“No, that’s not good,” she said. “If they sent only one it means she’s a badass.”
“Correct,” the Unholy said. “I am a certified badass.”
“Damn, she has good hearing,” Reed said. “What do you want?”
“This isn’t a negotiation, Reed. I’m here to finish what we started on the roof—without the healing this time.”
“We have to stop her and get to Gan before it’s too late,” he said to Jas.
The Unholy shifted and revealed itself—a Shadow. It gave a short laugh as a short blade formed in its hand.
“It’s already too late—for him and you.”
EIGHTEEN
Gan looked down at the crater and then up into the medical facility. In an hour, the Gray forensic team would arrive and canvas the site. In the meantime, the Hunters had left the area to pursue any remaining Unholy. A figure emerged in the ragged hole left by the golem and dropped down to the ground in front of Gan. Gan let his power flow and violet light covered his hands.
“How did you survive the blast?” he said as he stepped around the crater. “That explosion should have destroyed you.”
“I’m not without resources of my own, Ganriel,” Onyx said.
“You used the golem to shield yourself from the brunt of the blast,” Gan said. “How did you get a golem anyway? I thought they were impossible to control after the last war?”
“How do you want to do this?” Onyx asked. “Hard, or harder?”
“I’m not going to let you or your lord have her,” Gan said. “Or the artifact.”
Onyx smiled. “That’s not your choice, now is it?” he said. “Chimera has returned and he wants the artifact. The Hunter is just an inconvenience.”
Gan flexed his jaw and returned the smile.
“He must not consider this much of a priority if he’s not here,” Gan said, looking around. “Or is he still too weak? I seem to remember there being a recovery period after a transformation like his. Which is it? Too weak, or can’t be bothered?”
“I think you have more important things to worry about,” Onyx said as he closed the distance. “We will take you and she will come, giving me the sword and the artifact.”
“‘Me’?” Gan asked. “Planning a hostile takeover? Does Chimera know?”
“My lord will rule over the Unholy and I will be at his right hand,” Onyx said. “I live to serve him.”
“Why be at the right hand when you can be the fist that controls it all?” Gan asked. “This all makes sense now. If you control the artifact, he doesn’t get the power he needs. He stays weak long enough for you to retire him and then Unholy are yours.”
“The Unholy are mine,” Onyx said as anger pierced his words. “This is merely the formality, starting with your death.”
Onyx vanished from sight and appeared behind Gan. Gan shifted to the right and avoided the strike aimed at his left collarbone. Using the momentum of the turn, he delivered a punishing elbow into Onyx’s ribs. Grimacing, Onyx stepped back, out of range.
“Did you really think that would work?” Gan asked. “I can anticipate your every move.”
“Actually yes, I did,” Onyx said. “I don’t think you anticipated this.”
Onyx flicked his wrist and the air around Gan transformed as millions of micro particles blazed to life. Gan began coughing as he gasped for air.
“Dragon…?” Gan managed as he fell to his knees. In seconds, he was unconscious.
*******
“Do you like it?” Onyx said as he stepped over to Gan’s prone form and turned him over with a foot. “They call it dragondust. Quite deadly. Gets in the lungs and prevents them from expanding. Think of it as instant advanced COPD.”
With another flick of his wrist, the particles extinguished. Gan started breathing. Shadows appeared next to Onyx as he removed a small filter from his nose.
“Shall we kill him now?” they asked. “He is vulnerable.”
“Take him to the bunker,” Onyx said. “She will come for him and bring me the artifact and the dark blade.”
“Are you certain?” the Shadow asked. “Alive or dead she will still come.”
Onyx grabbed the Shadow by the throat. He let the power run through his body. It exploded out of his hand. The Shadow disintegrated with a scream.
“Any of the rest of you want to share an opinion?” he asked.
The remaining Shadows lifted Gan from the floor and headed to the park. Onyx turned as another figure emerged. She was small and wiry. A dark hood covered her face as she silently stood next to him and watched the Shadows take Gan.
Onyx gave her a short nod. “Belu,” he said.
“Killing him would be the wisest course of action,” she said. “He is a dangerous enemy. My master would say you are planting the seeds of your own destruction with this act.”
“Your master is very wise,” Onyx said. “But he’s a blunt instrument in this, nothing more, and he has information I need.”
“Even a wooden sword can kill in the right hands,” Belu said.
“I need him alive…for now,” Onyx answered. “He’ll bring me the artifact and the dark blade. Once he’s no longer useful—he belongs to you.”
“No, not me, to the Akitsu,” she said. “He will pay for his crimes.
NINETEEN
Calisto traced a ward and they fell unceremoniously in a large cavern. The cavern extended on into the distance, the end disappearing in darkness. Faint wards lined the floor and walls, giving off a subdued light, keeping the darkness at bay. The brightest wards pulsed around them. The rest diminished in intensity the farther away they were. Tunnels led away from the central depression like spokes on a wheel. In the center, a pink column of stone covered in wards rose into the ceiling. The power coming from it caused the floor of the cavern to vibrate with a constant rumble.
“That could have gone better,” Calisto said as she stood and dusted herself off.
“Where are we?” Sepia asked. “Is that the obelisk?”
“If it were, we wouldn’t be here to talk about it,” Calisto said. “No, this column looks like a hub.”
She placed a hand on the smooth stone, tracing the wards with her fingers. They came to life under her touch and she removed her hand immediately.
She looked at Sepia briefly. “Don’t touch the column.”
“What does this thing do?” Sepia said. “It looks like the ward stones that were destroyed in the park. Why did you bring us here?”
“Without Ursa, traveling ward paths is uncertain at best,” Calisto said. “There must have been interference in the ward I traced.”
“What?” Sepia said. �
��You don’t know where we are?”
“Without a gate, like Ursa, taking a ward path is like driving a car, reading a book, and trying to tie your shoes—all at the same time,” Calisto answered. “It usually ends with a horrific mess.”
“That sounds impossible,” Sepia said. “How did you do it?”
“I’ve had many decades of practice and I’m still a novice,” Calisto said. “The good news is that we’re not scattered across the paths like dust.”
“And the bad news?”
“We shouldn’t— you shouldn’t—be this close to this column,” Calisto said and starting walking away. “Follow me.”
“Where?” Sepia asked. “All these tunnels look the same.” What do these wards around us mean?”
“How could it bring us here?” Calisto said to herself as she examined one of the lit wards on the tunnel closest to her. “I was certain I had the correct ward.”
Sepia walked to one of the tunnel entrances and the wards around her increased in brightness until it became difficult to look at them directly.
“They react to us,” Sepia said, looking at the wards behind her, which had gone dim. “How?”
“Not us, you,” Calisto replied as she stepped away from the tunnel, but the ward remained at the same level of brightness. “They react to your power or the artifact, probably both.”
“What is this place?”
“You need to get away from the walls,” Calisto answered. “We’re under the park on the same level as the obelisks.”
“In the bedrock?” Sepia asked as the wards around her pulsed with power.
“Deeper than that,” Calisto said. “This place is a power hub, an adjunct to the reservoirs. They link the obelisks together and amplify the power between them. They power the wards around the park.
“Then we just need to follow the link and it will lead us to an obelisk?” Sepia said.
“The problem is which tunnel to pick,” Calisto answered. “I’ve never navigated the hubs.”
Sepia gasped as the mask on her face cracked and green light spilled into the cavern. She put her hand to her face. The mask was warm to the touch. “It’s getting hot.”
“It’s your proximity to the column. They’re designed to receive power and then redirect it back to the source magnified,” Calisto said. “Right now it’s acting like that source is you.”
“I can feel it drawing power from me,” Sepia said. “I can’t stop it.”
“At some point the flow will reverse, and that means—”
“We need to put distance between us and this hub.”
Calisto nodded. “Can you sense the power link between the hub and the obelisk?” Calisto asked, looking around at the tunnel entrances. “Any of these tunnels could lead to the obelisk. I can’t sense it.”
Sepia closed her eyes and let her power flow from her. She kept it under tight control. In moments, she felt the connection of power flow from the column and travel down the far tunnel on her right.
“That one,” she said and pointed. “That’s where the power is going.”
“Let’s go, now,” Calisto said and began running.
Sepia looked back. The wards around the column were increasing in brightness. She headed into the tunnel behind Calisto.
“How far to the obelisk?” Calisto asked. “We need to get there before the hub redirects the power at you. If you are close enough to the obelisk it should be safe.”
“It’s not far,” Sepia said as the rumble behind them transformed into the sound of a lightning strike. “That sounds bad.”
“Keep going,” Calisto said as she stopped and raised a wall of energy behind them. “That will only slow it down. Keep going!”
Calisto stopped once more as they ran through the tunnel to place an energy wall as the surge of power gained speed.
“Up ahead!” Sepia yelled as the obelisk came into view. “That’s it.”
The ebony obelisk stood seventy feet high and ten feet across on each side. Its surface, covered in wards, coruscated with power. Arcs of electrical energy crackled around it and sent tendrils throughout the room.
The surge of power rushed through the tunnel. It destroyed Calisto’s barriers and crashed into them near the entrance to the obelisk chamber. Calisto was thrown to the side. Sepia screamed as she was catapulted into the obelisk. She remained hovering before it as energy washed over her. Several of the electrical tendrils reached out and made contact, sending electrical charges through her body. Half of the mask shattered and fell away as green light flared from her body. The light filled the chamber for a few seconds before being suctioned into the obelisk and disappearing. Sepia fell to the ground, unconscious.
TWENTY
Cade lay on the floor of the roof in a prone position. His rifle sat by his side as one of the Regional Guard straddled him with a gun pointed at his back. Another of the Regional Guard stood by his head, pointing a second gun. The third man stood farther back with his gun in a position sul. Brios stood near the edge of the roof and looked through the scope he had removed from Cade’s rifle.
“Your Hunter is dead,” Brios said and turned to Cade. “She actually put up a fight, maybe even made Velos sweat a bit, but I doubt it.”
The men around him laughed.
“I’ll remember to tell your man how much of a fight you put up after I kill you,” Cade said, the menace clear in his voice. “Hell, I may even break a sweat doing it.”
The men laughed again.
“Old man still has fight in him,” the guard said, straddling him.
“Time to die, gunman,” Brios said as the guard closest to his head put the muzzle to Cade’s temple. “Any pearls of wisdom before I send you to meet your Hunter?”
“Just one,” Cade said. “You don’t talk when it’s time to kill.”
Brios smiled. “Kill him.”
“I got this,” the guard near Cade’s temple said as he chambered a round.
Cade pushed up on one hand, delivered a groin kick to the guard straddling him while stripping the gun from the guard next to his temple and putting a bullet in his brain. He turned and dropped Brios with a shot to the leg. He rolled to the guard writhing on the floor holding his groin and pulled him up as a shield while the third guard fired and killed his teammate. Cade put a bullet between his eyes and walked over Brios. A puddle of blood had pooled underneath him. He removed the holstered weapons and crouched down as he rolled up his sleeve. Brios opened his eyes in recognition of the emblem tattooed on Cade’s arm.
“You’re Regional?”
“Was, a lifetime ago,” Cade answered. “Why’re you here and what are your orders?”
Brios laughed. “I’m not telling you anything, you old bastard,” he said and spat. “May as well finish me.”
“I did,” Cade said. “I hit your femoral artery. You have minutes and then you’ll bleed out.”
“Shit,” Brios said. “I didn’t want to go out this way.”
“None of us do,” Cade said. “What are the orders?”
“E and E,” Brios said as his face became pale. “Regional wants an artifact. Velos wants revenge—going to take out…going to take out the Hunters. I think that dark blade is changing him.”
Dark blade? Cade thought. Someone at Regional is desperate and losing their mind.
“Extraction and elimination,” Cade said. “Who’s the primary target?”
“Hunter,” Brios said. “Something with a color—something blue. Stupid name.”
“Sepia? Sepia Blue?” Cade asked.
Brios nodded and bled out. His lifeless eyes stared past Cade into the night sky. Cade removed the com from Brios’s ear and placed it in his.
“I’m going to kill you for taking Jen,” Cade said, his voice calm.
“Gunman?” Velos answered with surprise. “Your Hunter did give me a challenge right up to the point where I erased her.”
“Can’t say the same thing about your men,” Cade answered. “They died bad
ly, like cowards. I really hope you didn’t train them.”
Velos’s breathing came over the com for several seconds.
“I’m going to make sure you suffer before I kill you,” Velos answered after the pause. “What’s your name, Gunman?”
“Cade, you Regional piece of filth,” he said. “Make sure you remember who’s going to end you.”
“I never forget a face—or name.”
“Must be difficult to take, having your whole team wiped out by an old man.”
“Well done. I underestimated you, Cade. I won’t do that again.”
“I’m going to stop you.”
“No, once we meet, you’re going to die trying,” Velos answered. “But don’t worry, I’ll write your name on your body so it can be identified. It’ll be the only way they’ll know it’s you.”
The com went dead.
Cade pulled the com from his ear, looked at it and cursed as he tossed it over the roof.
“I need to find Sepia—before he does,” Cade said to himself as he grabbed his rifle and jumped off the roof.
TWENTY-ONE
“Can’t you go ninja or something?” Reed said. “That’s what you Sisters do, isn’t it?”
“I’m not exactly a full Sister yet,” Jas said. “I still haven’t passed the gauntlet.”
“You’re serious?” Reed said. “What can you do?”
“I can do plenty,” Jas said and moved off to the side, disappearing in the darkness.
“Where are you going?” Reed asked. “She’ll kill you.”
“You have no idea what you’re getting involved in,” the Shadow said. “Doesn’t matter, I can’t let you leave here now.”
Reed moved off to the side and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Jas tapped him on the shoulder and he shifted, pointing the gun at her face.
“Do you want to die?” he asked. “I almost shot you!” he hissed.
Jas closed her eyes and signaled to Reed, pointing to her left. “She’s over there,” she said as she opened her eyes. “I can create a distraction. Are we taking her down, or escaping?”
“She was there when they ambushed me on the roof,” Reed answered after a moment. “She may know if there’s more than one mole in the Gray. We fight.”
Sepia Blue- Nightmare: A Sepia Blue Novel- Book 3 Page 7
