by Riley Storm
“There’s no need to be scared. I told you, I have a plan.” He reached down and brushed aside some of the gravel.
“I’m aware of that,” she ground out. “But this is the part where you tell your partner what it is. Because that’s called being polite.”
Khove glanced back over his shoulder and grinned widely. “My plan is called misdirection.” Then he stood and lifted a chunk of the ground with him.
Rachel stared open-mouthed as he lifted some sort of door, revealing a square hole in the ground.
“Ladies first,” he chuckled, gesturing for her to enter.
“What the hell is that?” she asked, pointing at the dark opening.
“The entryway to a tunnel that leads us over to the motel. One that doesn’t have security cameras or any other visual way of us being seen entering or exiting. More importantly, it’s one Korred doesn’t know exists.”
She tapped her foot in thought. “So, in other words, he arrives, sees the cruiser, comes looking for us over here, and we—”
“Hit him from behind when he least expects it. Exactly.”
“There are holes big enough to fly the moon through that logic. Starting with how do you “hit” him if you aren’t a mage yourself?”
“Get in. I’ll explain on the way over.”
Rachel shuddered, pulling her flashlight and pointing it at the hole to reveal a grimy ladder leading down into the depths.
“Do I even want to know what this was used for?” she asked, trying not to cringe.
“Probably not,” Khove admitted. “Now get climbing.”
Putting her flashlight away, Rachel got into the hole and started climbing down. Above her, Khove watched.
“Stay close to the ladder,” he called.
Rachel pulled in tight before asking why, but she didn’t have time to get the word out before Khove plummeted past her. She braced herself for a loud clang from above as the hatch fell shut, but it slowly lowered itself with a hiss of pneumatic shocks.
Khove, meanwhile, landed with nary a noise in the darkness below.
“I hate you,” she grumbled, climbing the rest of the way down. “Can I take out my flashlight?”
“Yes. This way,” he rumbled.
She flicked on her light and followed, noting the way he had both bags slung over a shoulder like oversized knapsacks.
“What did you even bring?”
“What I need to fight Korred on fair ground. Weapons specially designed to attack mages.”
“There are weapons for that? Why haven’t you told me? I could have gotten some!” she yelped, then shut her mouth as her voice echoed down the tunnel.
Khove didn’t seem to care. He ignored the outburst and kept walking forward. “You don’t possess them. But I brought some extras for you.”
“What sort of weapon?”
“Radiation,” he said softly.
“Say what?”
“Radiation,” Khove repeated. “It plays havoc with anything in the paranormal world. I’m not supposed to tell you that, but you need to know. It destroys the bonds of magic, making it lethal to anyone or anything. Even I can’t carry it unless it’s in a lead-lined sheath or container.”
“What would happen if it wasn’t?” she asked cautiously.
“My skin would wither, turn black and die in seconds. A wound inflicted with such a weapon won’t close.” Khove spoke quietly.
“That’s a very powerful bit of information to have.”
“Never say I don’t trust you,” he rumbled, and picked up the pace.
Rachel stood rooted to the spot as she tried to process everything she’d just been told. If Khove wasn’t lying to her, he’d just revealed a major weakness if humans ever needed to go up against his kind—a fatal flaw worse than an exposed exhaust shaft someone could drop a space torpedo into.
Well, maybe not worse. But on a par.
And he had entrusted her with that knowledge, even after the threats she’d made to arrest him if he tried to kill Korred. And somehow, Khove had still trusted her with that information. Rachel felt sick. He clearly thought much higher of her than she did of him, but maybe it was time she rethought that idea.
“You don’t have to come with,” Khove said from ahead. “I’m prepared. I can handle this. When he shows, and he will, I can do it without you. This isn’t your fight, Rachel. Nobody would hold it against you if you backed out.”
She shook her head and started off. “I would hold it against me, Khove. I’m scared, I won’t lie, but my job is to put myself between bad guys like this ass Korred, and the innocents of Plymouth Falls. So give me a dagger or something and let me help, because I’m not going anywhere.”
He shook his head, muttering to himself in the darkness ahead. “Why are you so stubborn?” he asked at last. “You’re strong and feisty, but—and I don’t mean this condescendingly—but you’re a human. We’re not. You would hold no shame for sitting out this fight.”
Rachel looked away as he paused in his walking and turned. Her flashlight lit up his entire face.
“I can’t,” she said softly, hoping he would let it drop. “You’re not going to do this alone.”
“You could die.”
“Then I’ll die!” she snapped angrily, eyes blazing as she stared him down, challenging Khove to do something about it.
“What happened to you?” he asked softly. “In your past. Something drives you, I can see it. You hide it well, and you’ve learned not to let it affect you day to day, but it’s there. Deep down inside, I can tell. What is it, Rach?”
She shook her head, hating the way she relaxed every time he called her that. It just felt so right rolling off his lips. Like it was meant to be said the way he said it.
“My last partner,” she said quietly, pointing the beam of light down. “I told you he died.”
“Yes.” Khove said nothing more.
“I didn’t tell you how he died. Or whose fault it was.”
Khove looked at her sharply.
“It was mine,” she admitted. “It was my fault.”
“What happened?” Khove asked, taking a small step closer to her.
Rachel didn’t back away, she was too busy wrapped up in her memories to even notice.
“We went to arrest a suspect. The rich kid I told you about. He had the entire place under surveillance. Knew we were coming and where we were the moment we set foot inside. We cleared the rooms, us and two other pairs of officers. One by one, we eliminated his hiding spots.”
Khove came closer, but she was just reliving that fateful afternoon, seeing it flash by behind her eyes. “We were down to one last set of rooms. I went in second. We cleared it out, and I left the room. Vince stayed, and that’s when the kid opened fire through the wall. Automatic assault rifle. Full blast.”
Khove’s eyes closed in understanding. Even a police officer in tactical gear wouldn’t stand a chance against such an attack.
“I should have been in there,” she whispered. “I should have seen the signs of a hidden door. I’d pronounced that room clear, Khove. He died because I didn’t do my job.”
Strong arms closed around her. Rachel tried to beat them off, to push him away, but Khove was stronger than her. He ignored it and held her tight, saying nothing, just holding her. Rachel eventually gave up. A few tears fell, but she’d done her crying already. Now all that weighed upon her was the guilt.
“Don’t you see?” she whispered eventually. “That’s why I can’t let you do this on your own. You’re the first partner I’ve had since then. If you don’t…if something bad happens to you? Khove, I’d…” Rachel couldn’t finish the sentence.
“I’m not Vince,” he said quietly. “This isn’t the city. I understand your fears, but Rach, you have to understand, this is different. Very different. I’m not even completely human.”
“I know,” she said. “I know. But I can’t let you go alone. Okay? I just…I can’t.”
Khove squeezed her tight. �
�Alright. But if I tell you to get out, you get out, okay? No hesitations, no protests, nothing. Got it?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, let’s get going then. We wouldn’t want to miss our appointment.”
They split apart and Rachel followed Khove along the tunnel, until they reached another ladder. They went up, until they reached a blank wall. Khove pushed with one massive arm and the wall slid to the right, revealing some sort of storage locker.
“I’d expected this to lead into a room,” she admitted. “If it’s for smuggling prostitutes or drugs.”
Khove looked at her, wounded. “It’s not for that at all. We’re not criminals, Rach.”
“You have a secret tunnel leading from an animal clinic to a hotel. What else am I supposed to think it’s for?”
“I don’t know. But consider maybe it goes from the hotel to the animal clinic instead.” He closed the hidden door behind them and gestured for her to follow, clearly not interested in elaborating any further.
They went up the stairs until Khove stopped at a specific room, pulling a card from his pocket and swiping it through the reader. The door beeped and opened, and they crept inside.
“You already rented a room?”
“We own the room,” he admitted. “It doesn’t get rented out.”
“Right.” She was beyond confused now, and decided it was easier to just drop the subject entirely. They could be smuggling exotic animals perhaps. That would make sense.
She walked toward the window to pull the heavy curtains aside and check out the view.
“Did you have to get us a room right near the signpost?” she complained, pointing at the green glow coming through the edges of the curtain.
“What sign?” Expecting Khove to smile when he looked up, Rachel paused at the frown on his face.
“Get down!” he hollered, moving faster than she’d believed possible.
The nearer of the two beds went up on its end as he flung it at the window before wrapping himself around her like a protective cocoon.
“What the—”
She never finished her question. The window blew inward in a shower of glass. Something hit them. Khove grunted even as she heard metal shrieking and a strange howl filled the air.
“I know you’re in there!” a voice boomed outside the window. “Show yourself, Khove!’
Rachel exchanged looks with Khove.
“It’s him,” the bear shifter said heavily. “It’s Korred.”
34
He uncurled himself from around Rachel, feeling the impact of the bed frame on his back. It hurt like the devil, but it was still better than being peppered with shards of glass from the shattered windows. Rachel was safe, and that was all that mattered at the moment. Now he had to keep it that way. Facing the blown-out window, he stared at the figure hovering outside.
It was the first time he’d seen Korred since the attack on the Manor, and time hadn’t aged him well.
His face had been graced by age before then, but in a rugged, handsome way. Now it was pocked and marred with scars that hadn’t healed. Part of his left cheek was caved in, and one eye was permanently gone.
“Yes, yes, my face bears the fruits of your treachery and resistance to my rule. See how your unwillingness to accept me as your rightful ruler has hurt my ability to heal,” Korred spat, his sole remaining eye glowering at them, a faint reddish tinge doing nothing to assure anyone of his sanity.
“Really?” Khove called back. “I think it was probably several tons of stone falling on your face that hurt its ability to heal. I’m no doctor, but it seems more likely to be the case.”
“Bah. I should kill you for your insolence.”
“Yet you haven’t, have you? Because you know as well as I do, if you kill everyone who resists you, you’ll have no one left. Just like you have no lackeys left.”
“Are you sure taunting him is the best idea?” Rachel hissed from behind him. “It might backfire, don’t you think? After all, he’s flying.”
Khove waved her silent. Right now, he needed to keep Korred talking. If he could keep his attention, then perhaps he could find the bag he’d dropped in a rush to protect Rachel. In it were his weapons, weapons that would allow him to fight Korred on a slightly more even basis.
“You think because you arrested those humans that my position is weakened?” Korred chortled. “Do you believe you’ve won because of that? They were nothing. Pawns. They had mostly fulfilled their purpose anyway, I was ready to discard them myself!”
“Of course, you did. Of course,” Khove said, patronizing the Traitor. Clearly, he had gone insane, though whether that was because of too many blows to the head, or something that had happened long ago, he wasn’t sure. Nor did he care.
Khove rolled his neck from side to side, like he was getting loose, letting his vision scan the room behind him as best he could. Where was that bag!
“It’s under the other bed,” Rachel whispered. “If you’re looking for what I think you’re looking for.”
“Shit.”
“My plan is coming together perfectly!” Korred all but shrieked, desperate for attention.
Why was it all megalomaniacs needed that? They loved an audience.
“How did you find us?” Khove called, stalling for time. The Traitor had caught them unawares, and he was unhappy with it. With another ten minutes of preparation, he could have laid his trap, brought the maniac down with enough radiation to stop one of the Faerie Queens herself.
Instead, not only was he weaponless, but Rachel was exposed, and in the direct line of fire. He needed to fix that as soon as possible, before things devolved into violence.
“I was waiting for you. Well, not you, but whoever that bitch sent after me. I’m hurt you were the best she could spare. I should have liked to give that upstart claiming my title a true test of my might.”
The warped and mangled bedframe that had been embedded into the wall creaked and started to come loose, rolling back into the center of the room. Khove was forced to step forward, and it came to settle between him and Rachel.
“Move that!” Korred shrieked. “Move it now. Where did she go!”
Blue light started to form in his palm, and Khove leapt to obey, knowing full well both of them were dead if the mage unleashed magic that powerful in a combined space like the hotel room. He grabbed the bedframe, planted one foot and with a mighty heave tossed the frame clear out the bedroom window. Right at Korred.
He didn’t wait to see what was happening, because Rachel hadn’t been idle. The second she’d been blocked from view, she’d gone under the bed, ripping open the green duffel bag. Now she tossed Khove a pistol.
Clearing the safety, he whipped it around just as Korred settled back into position after dodging the projectile.
“What the—” he started to scream, but the first bullet filled with uranium dust was already flying at him. A red oval shimmered into existence in the sky, shattering the bullet, but it didn’t matter.
The dust went right through the magic shield, collapsing the energy bonds even as it fell to earth. Khove smiled as his enemy shouted and dropped out of sight. The dust had gone right through the cloud of energy he was using to float.
He snatched up his ammo belt, tossing it over one shoulder. Into his back pocket went what appeared to be glow sticks. He stuffed a jade figurine and two large marbles into his front pockets and then took up his sword.
“Take that red grenade and throw it on the floor at the window!” he shouted to Rachel and dove out the opening, flipping midair as he reoriented to land in a crouch.
Glancing behind him, he grunted in satisfaction as a red field blocked out the room from his view as Rachel used the shield grenade just as he’d instructed. It wouldn’t hold up for long, but should last long enough to let her get out of the way.
Grabbing a small jade figurine from the handful of items he’d snatched up, Khove smashed it against his own chest. Green energy limed the
edges of his skin as the personal shield cackled into existence, and not a moment too soon.
A red lightning bolt thundered out from his left and sent Khove tumbling away. He smashed through several tables before coming to a hard stop thanks to a low cinderblock retaining wall.
He was in the courtyard out back of the hotel. Two pincers of the building blocked the left and the right sides, as well as the rear where the room was that he and Rachel had entered. Tables were scattered around the center, while half a dozen trees ran up either side.
Khove scrambled behind one now, each surrounded by a three-foot-high cinderblock wall like the one he’d just slammed into. The interiors were filled with dirt and grass. They would stop any magic.
Crouching low, he pulled out the glowsticks, breaking them until he was forced to recoil in pain. One by one, he hurled them toward the open edge of the courtyard, forming a fourth wall as radiation spewed out from within, the lead shield now broken, no longer containing the particles.
Black marks and blisters dotted his palms, radiation burn from the sticks, thanks to his lack of gloves. Just one more thing he could thank Korred for.
“You can’t win!”
The taunt bounced off the walls of the courtyard, preventing him from figuring out where it was coming from. There were only so many hiding spots, however, and Khove wasn’t about to sit still and wait for the Traitor to show himself. It was time to hunt.
Gun in hand, he crept out from cover, scanning the upturned tables and shadows, looking for movement.
There!
Khove fired twice, and was rewarded with a shriek of pain as his enemy rolled back behind a table and then one of the cinderblock walls.
A standup fight with the mage was a quick ticket to death, which meant he would have to hunt him down and surprise him. The various weapons and trinkets he’d packed would help even the fight, but there was a reason Khove had hoped to sneak up on the Traitor instead of confronting him like this.
Moving quietly, he darted from one circular piece of cover to another, crouching low as a blue spike whipped at his head from an unexpected direction. Khove put his back to the cinderblock wall, looking up as the thick leafless tree absorbed the blast. The bark blackened and died as the magic robbed it of life, spreading up and down the trunk, eating it almost before it could fall.
