“Can you… can you get it off?” Alex asked.
“Me? How?”
“Please… please,” McKnight begged.
She stared in horror at the insect. Its multiple legs tightened where they punctured McKnight’s skin, sending fresh blood running down his spine. Does it somehow understand that we want to remove it? What can I do? Fire? Air? What if I just make it angry and make things worse? They heard gunfire in the fortress above, followed by the explosions of hand grenades. The assault team was inside.
“Cassie, if you’re going to do something, you’d better do it quickly.”
“Shit!” She thrust her hands forward and grabbed the furry, disgusting sides of the giant centipede thing with both hands. Immediately, it wriggled violently. McKnight screamed in agony, his back arching as if it were going to snap in two. Cassie channeled electricity, something she had never done before without the Brace. She generated just a fraction—hardly any lightning—but sent it right into the insect, cooking the thing’s internal organs in an instant. She yanked, grateful when its disgusting bloody head came free. She had been half-afraid she’d tear its head off inside the man, like a tick. Revulsion gripping her, she threw it as far away from her as she could.
McKnight was still screaming, still thrashing. Alex leaned on top of him, holding him down. Cassie channeled again, this time healing him, trying to repair the damage. Mercifully, McKnight’s screams petered out, and he began panting heavily instead.
Alex sat back, letting go of the older man. “You all right, soldier?”
McKnight gasped but nodded. “Thank… thank you.”
Alex helped him to a seated position, and McKnight looked at Cassie. “Who?” He stared at her, obviously not recognizing her in camouflage paint and body armor. “Cassie?”
“We’ll explain later.” Alex helped McKnight up. “Can you walk?”
“I’ll damn well walk out of here.”
With Alex supporting McKnight, they retraced their steps out of the dungeon and up into the fort. This time, Cassie led the way. She still held her M4, but she wasn’t sure she could use it, not anymore. She did, however, turn on its powerful flashlight, using it to light their way. They had to get to the others and get the hell out of here, back to the LZ, and activate the keying device.
Chapter 56
Elizabeth followed Clara and the assault force past what looked like a barracks, now destroyed and smoking. Beds and tables lay haphazardly strewn about, disheveled by the force of numerous hand grenades. Several bodies of alien guards lay in pools of blood. She ignored the horror, focusing on staying behind Clara. Later, once it was safe, she’d pray for what she had seen, what she had done.
The soldiers paused. Over their shoulders, she saw what she thought was an intersection.
Clara reached back and held her hand out against Elizabeth’s chest. “Wait,” she said curtly, staring ahead of her. “Gus,” Clara called loudly to the soldiers who were bunching ahead of her, preparing to rush the intersection. “Use the flashbangs before you—”
Figures darted out from where they had been hiding around the corners of the intersection, with crossbows in their hands. Elizabeth heard something whiz past her head and felt the air of its passage. Two of the soldiers who had been preparing to rush forward fell down. Someone opened fire, lighting the tunnel up with gunfire. More of the four-armed defenders rushed around the corner from only feet away, screaming and swinging axes and swords.
Somehow, one of the creatures had gotten past the others and was rushing right at Elizabeth. Only paces away, its face was a bestial mask of rage and hate. It raised a massive two-handed sword above its head, clearly intent on cutting her down. Elizabeth lifted her brace-enclosed hand but then froze.
In the enclosed space, the lightning bolt might hurt the others.
Clara, kneeling just to her side, fired a short burst into the attacking creature from point-blank range, spinning it about and putting it down. Then, without pausing, she rushed forward down the corridor, where the soldiers were now fighting hand to hand with the attackers. Clara moved among them, like the angel of death, calmly shooting several in the face from only inches away. The last one went down, and the tunnel was silent again except for the moans of the wounded.
Elizabeth stared about herself, wide-eyed, her heart hammering against her ribcage, unable to catch her breath. At least a half dozen of the four-armed defenders were down—and so were some of the task-force members. Elizabeth reached for her first-aid kit in her load-bearing vest, but Clara came back and gripped her arm. Shaking her head, she pulled Elizabeth along with her down the corridor.
“Keep going. Move, move, move,” Clara yelled to the other soldiers. “Win the firefight!”
The wounded, Elizabeth noted sadly, were going to have to fend for themselves.
Forcing herself to breathe, she concentrated on keeping up. Now, the assault force began to pick up speed. Every room and every corridor they came to, they led the way with grenades and gunfire. The smell of blood and cordite was soon overpowering. Twice more, they fought their way past defenders, carving them up with grenades before moving forward.
They moved out of the narrow, confining tunnels, through an archway, and out into a massive covered courtyard, which could only be the heart of the fort. Giant alien trees grew wild, and huge mushrooms glowed with brilliant incandescence under the optics of the GPNVG. Had the jungle somehow burst through the walls of the fortress?
But when Elizabeth looked closer, she saw that there was order to the vegetation. Each plant and tree must have been individually groomed and cared for. It was a garden, a covered garden. And in the very center of the garden stood a dark stone tower. Standing at least twenty feet high, it reached all the way to the covered roof and then passed right through it.
Is that where the flying beast landed, up there?
Now, only five soldiers remained, including Clara. Baby-faced Gus and three others had gone down in the ambush at the intersection.
Cassie can probably heal them. If we can find her.
She stepped over the bodies of guards killed at the stone archway to the garden where they had tried to hold back the assault force. The five remaining soldiers spread out in front of Elizabeth, seeking new targets, new threats.
“Enemy front, enemy front!” Clara yelled.
At the base of the tower, at least a score of defenders had formed ranks, perhaps intending to make a last stand. All they accomplished was to present a massed target for the soldiers, who opened up on them. There was a whooshing sound, and a fiery comet flew through the air as one of the soldiers fired a missile. A moment later, the missile detonated in a brilliant fireball, scattering the defenders. The flare of the explosion washed out her GPNVGs, so she flipped them up, relieved to see that there was more than enough light from the glowing mushrooms. Those guards not killed outright by the explosion were cut down by the advancing soldiers, most at nearly point-blank range. Their four-armed bodies flew back under the impact of 5.56mm rounds.
And through it all, Clara kept giving orders, calling targets, and keeping the assault moving.
She keeps winning the firefight.
“Push through, push through,” Clara yelled as she changed magazines, letting the empty one clatter to the ground.
This is going to work, Elizabeth realized. We’re unstoppable. We can—
The basilisk burst out of the trees on their left, charging right at them from only paces away.
It waited till we were distracted by the guards. Clever.
Several of the soldiers tried to turn and fire, but it was right on them, and their fire was erratic. The basilisk smashed through them, crushing some. In horror, Elizabeth watched its tail sweep right past her face, whistling through the air as it hit two soldiers, sending them flying like bowling pins. The basilisk stood between Elizabeth and the others. She saw a brief glimpse of Clara, on the other side of the monster, standing her ground with the two remaining soldiers, firing up at the basilis
k. It reared up, and even from behind, Elizabeth saw the blue flash of its glowing eyes and felt it using its petrification gaze.
She needed to act now! Raising the Brace, she drew in mana. She’d hit with the biggest lightning bolt she had ever cast. Mana rushed through her central nervous system, supercharging her senses. But before she could release the bolt, something struck her—literally picking her up and throwing her back through the air. She smashed hard against something—a tree—and collapsed. As intense pain flared through her back, she knew she had broken something. But even through her pain, she realized that someone else had just channeled mana.
The dark-elf woman!
She shook her head, trying to focus. She had to act, had to move. To lie still was to die. As her vision cleared, she saw one of the soldiers, Clara, judging by her diminutive size, throw herself out of the basilisk’s path as it charged into the remaining soldiers, smashing their petrified bodies into bloody shards. Scrambling back on hands and knees, Clara pulled a pistol from her shoulder holster and started firing point-blank at the basilisk.
Why wasn’t Clara turned to stone?
And then Elizabeth understood: Clara had been the only one still wearing her GPNVGs. The other two soldiers—just like Elizabeth—had flipped them up to see better after the missile exploded.
Somehow, the optics of the GPNVGs negate the basilisk’s gaze.
Elizabeth staggered to her feet, her back a torrent of agony, and lowered her GPNVGs back over her face. The basilisk was about to leap upon Clara and crush her, but Elizabeth let loose with a bolt of lightning—a tad wildly perhaps, but she still hit its rear legs. The monster roared in pain, jumping into the air, and spun about, enraged.
What if I’m wrong about the GPNVGs?
The basilisk’s eyes pulsed with blue light, washing out her optics
Chapter 57
Still hidden within Shadow-Soul, Maelhrandia’s fear was replaced by excitement as the battle turned in her favor. There were only two manlings left on their feet. But what truly excited her was that the dark-haired manling mage had brought the Ancient One’s talisman, was even now wearing it as she battled Gazekiller. Its power would do the fool no good, however; this battle was almost over.
The manlings’ attack had failed. Maelhrandia had survived. She hadn’t even been engaged. When she had first seen the dark-haired mage amongst the attacking manling warriors, she had been about to burn her with Drake’s-Gift, but she had stopped herself—just in time recognizing the talisman. Instead, she had cast air at her, knocking her back. A talisman as powerful as the Ancient One’s weapon would probably have been impervious to fire, but she couldn’t take that chance. It was far too valuable.
Besides, victory was almost hers. That victory had come at a cost, though. Incredibly, her boggart guardsmen were all dead, and Gazekiller was badly injured and in need of healing once again.
Those damned fire-weapons! They were far more powerful than Maelhrandia had realized. When the Old World belonged to the fae seelie once more, Maelhrandia would acquire some of their weapons and arm her guards with them. Warfare, it seemed, was changing, even here.
Gazekiller reared up before the dark-haired mage; his eyes glowed with an occult fire as he prepared to use his death gaze once more and finish that sad creature. Maelhrandia would take the talisman from her petrified flesh—breaking the arm off at the elbow if she had to, but it would be hers. After that, she’d deal with her traitorous sister.
But then the impossible happened: the manling mage didn’t turn to stone. Instead, from only paces away, she raised the talisman and cast a massive bolt of lightning, striking Gazekiller between his glowing blue eyes.
“No!” Maelhrandia screamed, shielding her eyes from the intensity of the attack and rushing forward.
But it was too late. Gazekiller fell back, his head a bloody, smoking ruin. The ground shook under the impact as the basilisk’s carcass landed.
Despair flashed through Maelhrandia. This isn’t possible! Gazekiller lay upon his back, dead.
* * *
Cassie stumbled along with Alex and McKnight toward the sounds of battle, out into the bizarre courtyard. The corpses of the four-armed guards lay strewn about, and the air stank of gun smoke. Near the tower, two soldiers remained fighting, one on his knees, another standing, confronting the basilisk.
It was Elizabeth. Lightning flared from the Brace on her arm, chasing away the darkness. The basilisk, struck in the head from only paces away, fell back and smashed into the ground, its head a charred ruin. The monster that had killed Alice was dead.
* * *
Cold rage swept through Maelhrandia. Gazekiller, her only true friend, was dead—slaughtered by that foul manling monster. Hate twisted her features, and she stepped forward, still concealed by Shadow-Soul. This time, she’d burn her—even if the spell did destroy the talisman. She filled herself with magical energy.
* * *
Cassie staggered to a stop as Alex and McKnight rushed to help Elizabeth. Even from a distance, Cassie could see she was staggering and holding her back, clearly hurt.
The basilisk was dead, but someone was still channeling.
Someone is about to cast magic. Once again, she felt that strange sense of emptiness, that feeling that she now recognized had to be the dark-elf mage, cloaked in an invisibility shield.
But where? There! Near the dark tower at the center of the garden, something felt… off.
Trusting her feelings, she raised her M4 and emptied it in one long, wild burst that lit up the garden. Spent casings flew everywhere, and Cassie heard bullets ricocheting off the stones of the tower wall, vaguely aware that she might accidentally hit herself or one of her companions with her erratic fire. Then the dark-elf woman appeared suddenly, out of nothing, clutching her side and glaring in fear. Cassie dropped her sight onto the woman and pulled the trigger.
Nothing. Canting the weapon, she saw the bolt was only partially forward, an empty brass casing stuck half-out between the moving parts. As she cocked the weapon to clear the obstruction, the dark elf turned and released her spell at Elizabeth: a huge fireball that grew in size and intensity as it rushed forward. Cassie threw the M4 down and desperately channeled air, trying to knock the fireball aside.
The fireball erupted, sending heat and flames cascading over Elizabeth.
The dark elf turned and bolted for the entrance to the tower. Cassie pulled her pistol from her shoulder holster. But the dark elf disappeared through her tower doorway. Cassie, her heart sinking, turned away.
Elizabeth was screaming.
Chapter 58
Maelhrandia ran up the curving stairs of her tower. She was hurt, bleeding. Pain throbbed in her side where she had been struck by the fire-weapon. They were going to come for her, she knew, and hunt her down like a wounded Meredaal. The humiliation was enough to make her scream.
A princess of the fae seelie has just run from manlings!
She dashed into the chamber at the top of the circling stairwell, her private sanctum—the chamber that held the Seeing Stone. Trembling before the stone, her skin drenched in sweat, she fell to her knees before it, reaching out to place a bloody hand against its cold surface, activating its magic. “Mother, save me.”
A moment later, she found herself before the Bane Throne, her mother seated on it, watching her with unbridled contempt. What is this, daughter? Why do you disturb me?
“They come for me, Mother. They come to kill me. Please help.”
Her mother’s cruel eyes narrowed in suspicion, and she leaned forward, her crown gleaming in the glow around her. Behind the Bane Throne, Maelhrandia saw something large, cloaked in darkness. She couldn’t make it out but saw one of its massive pincerlike legs, small hairs bristling on it. Rizleoghin, her mother’s infamous pet.
Maelhrandia shivered.
What have you done, daughter?
“The manlings have attacked me.”
Her mother’s head rose, her face now unreadab
le. She then tilted her head to the side, considering Maelhrandia as if she were some sort of interesting… thing, and not her own child. And your sister Horlastia? Does she bring me the manling warlord?
“No. She failed you, Mother. She ran away.”
Her mother looked away, shaking her head. How could such as you come from my womb? The Spider Mother must laugh at my suffering, my shame. Now, we’ll have to find another prisoner. And after all that effort. How tiresome.
“Mother, please!”
Sighing, her mother raised her hand, and the throne room went dark. Maelhrandia found herself back in her tower, the Seeing Stone now cold to her touch. She was abandoned. The humiliation was almost worse than her fear.
There was no escape. Maelhrandia kept no wyverns herself. Gazekiller had hated them too much to tolerate them. Soon, the manlings would come for her. Almost certainly, they’d be led by that foul golden-haired manling mage—armed with the talisman.
What could Maelhrandia do? Hide. Use my strength. I am the knife in the shadows.
* * *
Cassie rushed to help Elizabeth, as did Alex. The other woman spun about on fire, flames trailing. Alex tackled her, knocking her down and beating at the flames with his bare hands. Elizabeth kept screaming, loud inhuman cries that tore at Cassie’s soul. Cassie couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate. Everything was happening so fast. She dropped to her knees beside Alex, who had managed to put out the flames. Elizabeth struggled, senseless, mad with pain.
How is she even still alive? Her air spell must have moved the fireball just enough. Cassie tried to examine Elizabeth, but she was thrashing about too much. “Hold her still,” she pleaded.
Alex leaned into the other woman, pushing her down, holding her in place. But when Cassie saw the extent of Elizabeth’s injuries, a wave of sickness swept through her: Elizabeth’s face was charred black and raw. Her eyes had been melted and were now only wet holes. Her screams were wet with fluid. She thrashed about so hard even Alex could barely hold on to her.
Starlight (The Dark Elf War Book 1) Page 43
