by Lee Roland
Herschel growled again.
“Etienne? You have any ideas?”
He shrugged as if I’d asked him the meaning of the universe or some other useless unanswerable question. “Let’s get this over with, witch.”
I started into the building. I picked a path between piles of debris, then took note of the fact that there actually was a path. A path used by whatever lived here.
A slow rumbling growl came from the back of the building. It filled the air with warning. Etienne pointed his flashlight in the direction of the sound.
Something moved under the circle beam of Etienne’s light. It rose to stand on four legs. As near as I could see, it looked like a giant black bear—until it raised a face that could only be described as a monkey’s. Traveling as I had through some more exotic parts of the world, I’d seen a lot of strange animals. They were all a part of the world. This thing felt far different. It had an air of something alien, something that didn’t belong.
Herschel barked. Once, a single sharp sound that echoed in a virtually empty building. How incredibly uncomfortable. Should we kill this animal? Did it really offer us harm? I wouldn’t kill any man or creature simply because it appeared fearsome.
“Should I shoot it?” Etienne asked. He seemed to be taking it in stride. I appreciated the fact that he wasn’t so quick to pull the trigger. I also appreciated the fact that his gun, while massive by human standards, probably would not stop something the size of a small elephant. As I stood contemplating the situation, the creature opened a large mouth full of sharp teeth and charged.
Chapter 27
The air exploded in massive sound as Etienne pulled the trigger. The rapid blasts came like a single long explosion as they hammered my eardrums. Ten feet from us, the thing stopped and staggered. It swayed. That gave Etienne time to reload. Not necessary. It moaned, then toppled over, stiff legged like a statue.
Etienne and I stood there and waited for it to rise, but it did not. Black fluid drained from its mouth. The air hummed, still vibrating from the shots. Hearing returned slowly, but Etienne’s voice sounded tinny as he spoke. “What was that?” He gestured at the creature with his gun.
“I don’t know.” I toned it down a bit when I realized I was shouting. “I never saw one before.”
“The thing from the Bog.” Etienne raised his voice, too. “You knew what it was.”
“Yes. A water dragon, yes. But dragons of all kinds have been depicted through history. They’re part of this world. They belong to the Mother. This thing doesn’t. It feels . . . wrong.”
“It came through the Zombie, then.” He holstered his gun.
I grabbed his arm. “What the hell? You mean things from other worlds just wander in?”
“Indeed.” The deep soft voice spoke from behind us.
We whirled and Aiakós stood there, smiling. Sunlight illuminated his form from behind, giving his magnificent crimson hair a glow. He walked toward us.
“The Zombie is a trap, actually.” His voice was rich and compelling. “A one-way door. Most of the time. Any intelligent being on another world would recognize and avoid it. Any intelligent being on this world should avoid it, too. Simple creatures like this one occasionally wander in and can’t get home. There is no place for them here. I usually put them out of their misery. Or I have Etienne and his most excellent troops take care of it.”
I glanced at Etienne. He said nothing. His face, as usual, betrayed no emotion.
Aiakós came closer. “I’ve watched you all day. You are looking for your sister in some unusual places. And you have a map of sorts. May I see it?”
Now what did I do? I didn’t want to show him the map. I would not show him the map. “I can’t show it to you. It has a heavy spell on it. It’s a spell directed solely to me. Marisol drew it. She is one megapowerful witch. Unintended consequences, but it might bite you.”
Aiakós cocked his head and smiled, but those gold eyes went narrow and cold. Obviously he wasn’t used to being denied anything he requested. “Well, thank you for your consideration of my well-being, Nyx. Please, continue your search.” He inclined his head, regal as a king. But his voice had carried a menacing note. He turned and walked away, back into the sunlight.
“He’ll just follow us,” Etienne said. “Maybe he was all along. He’s curious now. That’s not good.”
“Yeah.” I walked farther into the building, carefully skirting the creature lying dead on the floor. I studied it a moment. “How did you kill it? I know about firepower. You got a big gun, but not that big.”
“Bronze bullets. Everything that comes through the Zombie seems to be abnormally susceptible to bronze. Except maybe him.” The him had to be Aiakós. “Bronze hurts him, even if it doesn’t kill him.”
“And they, these things, come here? All the time?”
“Not all the time. Usually just on certain moon cycles. They come in, they’re starving. There’s nothing here for them to eat. And nothing to keep the carnivores among them from snacking on the general population of the Barrows. Some just come through and die. We find them lying on the plaza. I don’t think they can breathe the air.”
“It’s a one-way door. They can’t leave.”
“Not without help.” His voice had been neutral, but now it thickened with anger.
I figured he meant the artifacts, those objects imbued with earth magic. They would work—if a being knew how to use them.
“And you kill them?”
“Yes, Nyx, we kill them. A hole to the greater universe has been poked in your Earth Mother’s world. Somehow, I got appointed to defend this little corner of hell.”
“Rocky said he hasn’t seen much action yet.”
“No, but there’s a major dark moon coming in a few months. Let’s find your next clue, Sherlock.”
The symbols left on the floor in the back of the building sent me on to the place marked three. It also added to the cumulative spell I was gathering for my sister. Next was an abandoned school.
The place of the fifth symbol was a six-story building. Another building had crumbled into the street and we had to park a block away. The sun fell behind a cloud bank in the west as we climbed the thankfully solid steel and concrete stairs and searched the rooms. There was nothing there.
“What about the roof?” I asked as we finished searching the fifth floor.
“Dangerous.” He hadn’t talked much since Aiakós had left us. He merely followed me as I followed my path.
“I have to get up there.” I was adamant about that. I wouldn’t leave until I found it.
All of the windows were gone and a strong wind blowing through the openings cut a fierce path at times. It whistled and moaned as it pushed against us, battled us as if it wanted to keep us away.
I started searching for a way and found a locked door with a plate on it.
“See.” I pointed at it. “Roof.”
“I suppose you want me to shoot the locks off.”
I laid my hand on it and the locks popped loose. Not quietly, since they had long since rusted shut. “No. I got it.” I gave him a smug smile. “I’m good with locks.”
“So was Oonagh.”
So, he wanted to compare me to . . . her. I glared at him. I hadn’t expected an instant metamorphosis, but it would be nice to see a gradual change in his attitude. Instead I got erratic attitude bouncing between all witches are evil and you’re okay even if you are a witch.
The roof was a scary place. The wind glided unhindered by walls and threatened to push us off. At least it was clean and not like the stink that sometimes came off the Bog. The roof dipped in places as if the foundation had deteriorated from underneath. The symbol left there was nothing but a small spiked wheel. When I touched it, the last of the cumulative spells locked into place. All it did was make me blink a couple of times. That was it? There were no further directions.
We carefully eased our way down the stairs and outside. A fruitful day was apparently not going to happen.
The need to find Marisol sat like a knot in my stomach. It coincided with the knowledge that I might not ever find her. My shoulders slumped in defeat.
“We’re doing the best we can, Nyx.”
I’m sure Etienne meant to comfort me. He’d suddenly morphed back to his you’re okay for a witch attitude. At the same time he was scouring the area around us. The SUV sat a little more than a block away.
“Let’s go,” he said. Sudden tension filled his voice. So much tension that I wasn’t inclined to dawdle.
He set a pace. A really fast walk. He had his handgun drawn.
“Ah, we could run,” I offered. I stumbled in a hole, but I caught myself in time.
“No. Not yet.”
“Are we power walking toward something or away from something?”
“Both.”
A scrabbling noise came from behind us.
“Don’t turn around.” He picked up the pace.
“Okay.” I quickly drew a little magic, making sure I kept it away from him.
Ahead, the SUV seemed farther than ever. The scrabbling came closer.
“Shit,” Etienne cursed. He whirled and started shooting.
I turned, too.
Chasing us were . . . crabs? Spiders? My first thought was that the aliens had landed in force. More than I could count, the size of a large dog, the sick gray creatures scrabbled toward us. They made the sound of rustling leaves as multiple legs propelled them easily over the rubble in the streets. Antennae bristled above each head, a head that sat directly on a flat oval body.
Etienne picked them off. Each bullet brought another one down. More came like an invasion of killer crabs. Creatures from another world via the Zombie. No spaceship required.
Okay, I could fight. And here I would be limited by only my strength. Given the number, though, it would be best to escape. I threw a line of fire between us and them. The first twenty feet of them flashed and burned. Oh, goody. They were flammable.
“What the . . .” Etienne stopped shooting.
I just grinned. Unfortunately, it didn’t last. Others came scrambling out of the ruins around us. Thousands of them—or at least hundreds. I exaggerate when filled with utter terror. I could surround us with a ring of fire, but we’d be trapped.
Fire is an excellent weapon. Unfortunately, it’s capricious, horrifying, and often goes in unintended directions. At least here, almost everything that could burn had long since rotted. And were my sister and others not here, I would be ecstatic to burn these empty ruins. I hated to kill anything. But in defense, to avoid becoming lunch, I would.
They had moved closer. I threw a sheet of flames directly at a group of the creatures. The fire covered them—and burned. They screamed—I think. The sound was more like a high-pitched whistle, like a lobster dropped in a boiling pot of water. Mother help me, I was going to be sick—and I’d probably never eat lobster or crab again.
Another group was almost on us. Another sheet of fire and the street filled with shrill cries of agony tearing at my eardrums. The bracelet on my arm, the Dragon’s Tears, suddenly turned white-hot but did not burn me. It gave me strength.
Etienne grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the SUV. My stomach twisted in terror—my mind roared with fire. In it I could see a circle with markings like the Dragon’s Tears. Through it was a deep, wide searing canyon of fire. With every inch of my being I understood. Those massive flames would come racing toward me at my call—and I wanted to call. May the Earth Mother help and forgive me, but at that moment I felt as if I could joyfully set her wonderful world ablaze.
Next thing I knew, Etienne threw me—literally threw me—into the SUV’s backseat. My poor abused head hit the far door and the other door slammed behind me. Just once, couldn’t I land on my ass? I heard the engine start. Light faded. The hideous creatures scrabbled up and over the SUV. They blocked the light. Their crustacean faces pressed against the window like a mad jigsaw puzzle. Multiple eyes gazed at me, eyes filled with hunger, stupid mindless hunger, and purest pain.
The fire came again.
Oh, Great Mother, how was this happening? I couldn’t control it. I’d played with fire, used fire, but nothing like this. It seared, scoured, and burned everything around us. I’d lost control and I would burn us alive along with our assailants.
Fire surrounded me. It shifted, warm and caressing. I shaped it. Balls of fire, streaks of fire, red, gold, white, and blue, it swirled into insane tornadoes that roared and shrieked of destruction. I controlled it. I was made of flame, glorious flame. I wanted it, grabbed at it desperately as it suddenly began to fade away.
“Nyx!”
Someone called me.
“Nyx!”
I didn’t want to go, but the voice refused to leave me alone.
I came to in semidarkness, cradled in Etienne’s arms. He’d crawled from the front seat.
My throat, my mouth, rasped, parchment dry. Finally, I worked up a bit of saliva. “What happened?” I coughed out the words.
He helped me sit up. “I don’t know. You burned them.”
Was that actual wonder I heard in his voice? Of course it was. I had stunned myself with something incomprehensible—how could he not be shocked?
I realized then that the windows were covered with oily soot, hence the darkness. The SUV’s engine was still running, so apparently I hadn’t damaged that part. Maybe some sense of survival and control had kicked in and I’d unconsciously protected us. Good to know I actually could look out for myself when I totally lost control of magic. I didn’t know if I could make a repeat performance of what just happened, though. I didn’t want to try—at least not in the next hundred years.
Etienne left me and crawled back into the front of the vehicle. I didn’t move, trying to regain my strength. He used the wipers to clean a patch of windshield and started slowly forward.
“Herschel?” I screamed. “What about Herschel?”
I opened the door of the moving vehicle and started to jump out—just as Herschel jumped in. We collided, him on top. The door closed behind him and we were moving again. His toenails punched through my clothes like spikes and his face was smack in mine. Not drooling this time. His arid mouth smelled of smoke and ashes. I wasn’t ready for a repeat performance of my great burning, but maybe I could figure out a way to stop his excess saliva.
After a rough struggle, I managed to get from under him. Exhaustion overwhelmed me, and my head throbbed. During a few days I’d seriously abused the fine body the Mother had given me. I laid my head on Herschel’s back as Etienne slowly made our way through the rubble-filled streets.
I couldn’t see much at first. Some of the soot had peeled off as he drove, making twists and turns through the ruins. The Barrows became visible in small places. I saw it then, the spiked wheel. The last symbol Marisol had left me at the top of the building. It glowed on a high wall, between two buildings, a faint glimpse and it was gone.
“Etienne, stop!”
“What? No. Are you crazy? Never mind. I know the answer to that.” His usually deep, voice resonated with emotion. Anger and fear twined in the few words he spoke. My magical display had a profound effect on him, just as it had me. How could it not?
“Please. I saw it. The spiked wheel. On a building.”
“Later. Not now.”
I fumbled with the door handle to jump out again. This time they locked. I realized that I was too weak to tug at the locks or even conjure a spell to release them. It would have to wait.
Chapter 28
True darkness had descended when we arrived back at the compound. Darrow greeted us. He studied the soot-covered SUV with a flashlight. It didn’t get away completely unscathed. Paint bubbled in great scaly patches and the tires had peculiar bulges in places. It carried a distinct odor of burnt carrion.
Darrow simply said, “Another one.”
“It was fun, Darrow.” I linked my arm in his. He grabbed me when I collapsed and steadied me while I regained my footing. I
felt drunk, as if I’d consumed a couple of bottles of hard liquor. I giggled. Now, this was new. A true magical high.
Darrow glared at Etienne. “You still aren’t taking good care of her. I told you . . .” Anger rumbled in his voice. He tightened his hold on me. Oh, my. Had Darrow threatened Etienne? Charged him with my safety?
“No.” I patted Darrow on the chest. I knew he wanted to protect me. He’d always done that. And I’d fought the same battle for independence. “No one has to take care of me. I built a big, massive, gigantic, humongous fire. You should have been there, buddy. It was magnificent.” I waved my arm wildly, narrowly missing his face. “It was sooo bright, brilliant, shining, dazzling . . . and bright. Oh, the colors I made.”
“I wasn’t invited.” Darrow’s gaze remained on Etienne.
“You are now,” Etienne said. “Get a couple of teams together—with flamethrowers. We have work. If there are any left.”
Any left as in Nyx slaughtered all.
I giggled. What in the Mother’s name . . . ? I’m a soldier witch. I don’t giggle.
Darrow grinned. The warrior was happy to fight. “You coming with us, Nyx?”
“No.” Etienne spoke before I could draw a breath. “She’d done enough. She doesn’t look too stable right now.”
He was right. But I’d seen the marking on that building and I needed to find my way back. Being able to see in the dark was an asset, but no way could I take on the creatures that attacked us alone. Not without food and rest. And I really needed food and rest—and to come off this fire-induced high.
Darrow led me and got started on the stairs, but I could feel his impatience. He wanted to go fight. I pushed him away, assuring him I’d be okay. I trudged up the stairs to the apartment and clung tightly to the handrail the whole way. Once there, I knew I needed food, which thankfully came from a gallon of milk, a package of cookies, and a loaf of bread. It was all I could find. I ate and drank everything. Taste wasn’t the objective. I needed calories.
Pure fire, and it was pure, was so new to me. I’d never thought it existed, never called upon it in the manner and to the degree I had hours ago. I’d never had it give me a drunken high. I didn’t know I could do more than small fires that got out of hand and grew to be monster blazes. Gran had worried when she couldn’t find a witch to teach me about fire. Apparently her worry was justified. The lack of control I displayed earlier may have saved our lives, but it could just as easily have made Etienne a barbecue crisp. No fire had ever burned me.
