Whispers in the Woods (Firemountain Chronicles Book 1)

by Victoria Lynn Osborne

  The rain beat down on the cars as they drove to Lasher’s Station. The windshield wipers whipped back and forth, barely able to keep up with the rain. The forest around them was black, the gray skies washing out all color in the trees. Red eyes flashed in the woods, watching them drive down the highway.

  Rain pooled on the highways but quickly drained off into underground culverts or ditches that led off of the road to the woods beyond. The few streets that left the highway were dirt, and the tracks were covered with muddy puddles. A lone bicyclist pedaled his way to Firemountain, his head bowed and covered with a bright yellow slicker; other than that no one was on the road.

  Lasher’s Station was hidden in the fog that surrounded the roads, but the police found it with little difficulty. When they pulled into the lot, Dinah noticed that the storefront had been boarded up, and a Closed sign dangled at an angle on the inside of the door; a rattle of something slamming against the building in the wind was all the sound Dinah could hear.

  The deputies swarmed over the building, their guns drawn. One of them knocked on the front door. “Police! We have a search warrant.” When no one answered, they kicked in the door, shattering the glass as they did so. They swarmed through the store while Dinah snapped pictures with the camera. Finally, one of the deputies came out. “There’s no one here, Sheriff.” Laya motioned for them to search the woods.

  One of the deputies spotted the track. He signaled to the sheriff, and they stalked down it. Dinah took more pictures of the station and brought up the rear of the line with Jake.

  The path meandered for a hundred and twenty yards. Water dripped from moss-covered branches that grasped at the men and women. Finally the track opened into a clearing. At the end of the clearing, the ramshackle shed teetered in the driving rain. Outside the shed, two black-robed figures guarded the entrance. Their hoods were pulled down low over their eyes and they hunched in the questionable shelter of the eaves.

  The police fanned out; faint chanting rose from the shed. The guards looked up just as the police were in position and one of them blew a whistle. The sound pierced the air, clear and sharp, followed closely by the sound of rain pounding in the trees. The chanting continued, but several more robed figures poured out of the shed.

  “This is the police, you are under arrest!” Laya shouted, her pistol drawn.

  Dinah crouched in the brush at the edge of the woods, snapping pictures. Jake knelt beside her, his gun drawn. He slid in a clip with regular ammo. Several other officers had done so right before the alarm.

  One of the robed figures fired at Laya, and the police returned fire. Cult members dove for cover along with the police officers. Dinah continued to take pictures of the firefight while, next to her, Jake returned fire with the deputies.

  The robed figures on guard duty fell under the first volley of bullets, while the others scattered. A deputy was hit; his arms flew in the air, and he soared backward, landing in a puddle. His partner dragged him out of the mud, leaving a trail of blood mixed with the water. Dinah snapped a picture of the scene.

  The growl behind her startled her, and she spun, camera in hand. Jake spun at the sound, dropping the current clip and slamming another clip into the magazine before firing, all in one smooth motion. With a howl, a creature leaped at them. It was a badger, over four feet tall, with long fangs and cruel, curved talons. The bullet caught it mid-chest, and Dinah snapped a picture of it just before the bullet tore a hole into its hairy body.

  The shack began to glow electric blue. Dinah remembered Jake telling her that the chant notes were blue. She also recalled how the dancers’ eyes had seemed to be focused on something when they were forced to dance, and a lot of them said it was a bad trip, and that the sounds had appeared blue. Even the poor staff members at the mental hospital had claimed to have seen the sound. Now, the shed glowed dark electric blue, and lightning crackled from it as the chanting grew louder, though she couldn’t make out the words.

  Muzzle flashes split the darkness of the woods as deputies fired at mutant beasts. The cultists were taking their time and aiming at the sheriff’s men. Several more deputies fell under gunfire, and one of them screamed as Dinah heard the sound of rent flesh, and an arm flew out from the woods and landed, with a splash, in the clearing.

  Dinah kept her head down as she continued to take pictures. Next to her, Jake fired at the cultists and occasionally fired at mutated animals that pounced on them. One of them, a three-foot-long skunk with mutated scent glands, was twisted and glared at Dinah with hate-filled, glowing eyes. It must be proximity to the gate, she thought as she snapped a picture of the horrible creature at her feet.

  Suddenly, the shack blew apart, and a swirling mass of electric blue energy created a vortex in mid-air. Standing on a platform before the vortex was Esmae, or at least Dinah thought it must be Esmae. Her red hair flew about her like a living flame, whipped about by the winds. Her ornate black robe was open, and she was naked underneath, her body covered by twisting tattoos that moved with her. She threw back her head and laughed as the men with her surged out into the clearing, firing their weapons.

  Dinah took pictures as Esmae flung off her robes and four snake-like appendages erupted from her back. They writhed around, snapping at the air as one of the deputies, wide-eyed, walked into the clearing. One of the snakes latched onto him, and he screamed. His skin turned black around the bite and dark streaks spread out as the venom crept through his veins, until he fell over with convulsions, foaming at the mouth. He was entirely black by the time he stopped screaming, and his eyes were frozen wide with fear.

  “Jake,” Esmae whispered. “I know you’re out there. Come to me, come to my embrace.”

  Jake lowered his gun and Dinah grabbed his arm, forcing him down. He blinked at Dinah. She motioned for him to watch her as she peeked over the brush and took several more shots of Esmae before stopping to reload her camera.

  “I know you’re out there, Jake. I can feel you. The way I felt Caedon when I cut out his heart. The way I felt you when I drugged you and forced you to have sex with me. Do you know that I’m pregnant with your child, Jake? The joining of a founder and a chosen of Gleebelix will herald a new era. It will be a powerful child, Jake. I want you to join me, and we can raise it together.”

  Jake blanched.

  Dinah stared at him. “This child can’t come to being,” she whispered to him. “Don’t listen to her. We have to kill her.”

  Suddenly Esmae stood over them. Dinah hadn’t even seen her move. “Would you kill me, Jake?” she whispered, running her fingers through his hair. “Would you kill the mother of your child?”

  “No,” Jake whispered, standing up. Dinah shrank back from the snakes that hissed at her, snapping their fangs, dripping venom on the forest floor.

  “But I would, you unholy creature!” Felix said suddenly from behind Esmae. With a scream, she whipped about and lunged at him. The snakes shot out at him, their mouths gaping, and hit a wall of silver light. Felix calmly stood in front of her and fired a single shot into her head.

  Black blood spewed from the wound, and with a shriek she fell. With her cry, the cultists redoubled their efforts. The swirling vortex pulsed, and from its swirling depths stepped a new creature. First came a black tentacle with chartreuse markings, then another, then another, until twelve tentacles writhed in the air. It clasped the sides of the vortex, forcing it open further.

  “Behold the gate opener,” the cultist with chevron tattoos cried, dropping to his knees and prostrating himself in the mud. Several other cultists followed his example. Those few that didn’t continued to fire, but the deputies soon dispatched them.

  The thing pulled itself out of the vortex and drew itself up to its full height. With a thrash of one tentacle, it wrapped it around the tattooed man and lifted him into its gaping beak-like maw. Dinah started shooting pictures of it while Jake fired into it.

  Felix dropped to one knee, his lips moving in silent prayer as he clutched his r
osary and started to fire. Several deputies shot at it, and a few threw their vials of holy water.

  The bullets bounced off its armor hide, but the holy water caused it to sizzle.

  “Holy water!” Jake screamed.

  The remaining deputies and Laya started to heave the holy water.

  The creature advanced into the clearing, tentacles waving, and one of them touched the fallen body of Esmae. Felix heaved the holy water right into its beaked maw, while Jake charged forward, his blessed cross flaring with silver light and his iron sword raised high.

  A tentacle whipped at him, and he sliced it off. Electric blue blood dripped from the wound, causing the puddles of rainwater to boil. Three more tentacles whipped forward as Jake whirled, slicing them all off. Felix closed ranks with the creature, and Dinah shot several more pictures of the two of them fighting.

  Felix threw vials of holy water, and Jake spun about lightning fast with his sword. Finally, Jake and Felix closed in. The thing’s tentacles were severed, and it was bleeding from dozens of holy water wounds. With a final thrust, Jake rammed the iron sword into the creature’s single black eye, while Felix threw three vials of holy water down its throat.

  With a scream, the thing thrashed its death throes. Jake and Felix dove behind the brush where Dinah crouched, still snapping pictures. It howled, and the trees shook, dropping pine needles and leaves on the crouching witnesses. With one final shriek of pain, it exploded in a barrage of black and chartreuse scales and electric blue blood.

  Chapter 9

  The vortex whirled a sickly green and electric blue color. Jake stood before it, studying the whirls. Next to him was the calm presence of Dinah and the soothing presence of Felix.

  "We have to close it," Dinah whispered, reaching for the swirling light.

  Jake pursed his lips and glanced at Felix. "The sword is in there."

  The portal swirled and flashed. Something was coming through. Jake raised his pistol; the barrel was hot to the touch, the iron bullets taking their toll.

  A fish-headed creature peered through the portal, razor-like teeth glistening in the shifting colors of the portal. Jake suppressed a shiver as the inhuman creature howled its triumph. He poked the barrel of his Glock into the shrieking maw and pulled the trigger. The head blew apart, spattering Jake with electric blue blood.

  "You watch the portal, kill anything that comes out that isn't us," he hollered to the officers that had gathered to look at the vortex.

  He grasped Dinah's hand in a strong grip and dove through the vortex, dragging her along with him.

  Janelle, Mahogny and Declan followedm their faces reflecting looks of grim determination. Mahogny gripped her rifle, as the other deputies gripped their pistols.

  Jake saw his own world on the other side of the gate. Felix crossed himself and dove through the gate. The officer shone in the twilight world they stood in. Massive jagged mountains thrust high into the sky. Before him spread an unearthly plane, where rose-colored lichen clung to jagged rocks. This was the plane of his dreams. He could still feel the scars that had manifested themselves upon his back.

  “We must find the sword.” Felix studied the plane that spread out before him.

  In the distance, an obsidian structure jutted into the green sky from the jagged rocks. Beings swarmed along the hostile landscape, blocking Jake and his companions from marching to the temple.

  Jake took the magazine from his weapon and counted the remaining iron bullets. He groped in his pack and discovered three more magazines. He slapped a fresh one in, and it slid home with a satisfying click.

  Felix had sunk to his knees on the hard rocky surface, his lips moving in prayer. The silver nimbus that glowed around him grew brighter. Shadows hovered at the edges, repelled by the light.

  The gate shimmered, and the clearing next to the shack was reflected in the silvery pool of the gate. Through the gate, Jake could see the men and women of the police force securing the crime scene.

  “Come on, that temple isn’t going to get any closer.” Jake grabbed Dinah’s hand and stumbled down toward the temple.

  A demon dropped down from above them. Janelle drew her wand and howled a blessing of the goddess. Emerald green light streaked from the wand and drilled into the demon.

  The beast rose on its hind legs, howling into the cacophony of Occipitone. It streaked for the witch, malevolent eyes blinking in the dim light of the plane.

  Janelle tried her pistol. The iron bullet flashed from the gun and pierced a wing, not doing enough damage to slow it. She called on her magic again.

  She was surrounded by a nimbus of green light, but the shield of light crackled under the assault of the demon.

  Jake fired at the demon. Dinah snapped another picture. The other deputies fired point blank at the demon.

  Finally, with Janelle’s shield still weakening, Felix launched himself at the beast. He pierced the creature with his iron sword surrounded by white light.

  With a howl, the demon exploded. Other demons turned their attention to Jake and his companions, and moved to block their way to the obsidian building.

  They ran toward the temple. Dinah balked, remembering her dream when her feet had been sliced by the rocks. She tugged on Jake’s arm.

  “I remember this place. I dreamed of it,” Dinah screamed over the cacophony of sound. “This is Occipitone.”

  “Felix, are you feeling the connection?” Jake called.

  When the man didn’t respond, Mahogny put her hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  The wind ripped away Felix’s voice. His eyes turned skyward, and his silver tie tack flared with a bright light that added to the nimbus that surrounded him.

  “I will be. We need to get the sword from the temple.”

  As they ran along the jagged rocks that threatened to burst through the souls of their shoes at any moment, Dinah checked her own weapon and put another magazine into the chamber. The rate they were going, the barreling on all of Jake’s pistols would need to be rebored.

  Jake fired into the mass of shadows that swiveled great orange eyes to follow them. The shadows burst apart in electric blue ichor. Where it splashed upon the rocks, the ground in this fiendish place sizzled.

  An eight-legged beast with maroon fur and purple scales dove out of the shadows, leaping onto Janelle’s back. Dinah sprinted forward and swung her iron sword. It sliced through the neck of the beast and blue blood poured from the wound. Janelle screamed.

  “Holy water!” Jake cried, sprinting up to the wounded girl. “I’ll douse her you go and fend off the attackers. We have got to get to that temple.” He upended a flask of water and washed away the acidic blood.

  Felix drew upon his faith and prayed. The silver light that surrounded him kept even the biggest demons at bay.

  Finally, Janelle’s wounds were tended to, and the blood was washed away. “Would you look at that?” she whispered.

  Stretched out between them and the temple was a writhing mass of shadows. Tentacled horrors reached out from black pools, waving their appendages in the perpetually twilit sky. Luminescent souls were trapped, losing life forces to eight-legged demons and four-legged gnothops.

  The temple didn’t look any closer.

  “We have to keep moving, before reinforcements come.” Felix strode forward ahead of his companions.

  Janelle limped behind them, clinging to Jake’s arm.

  “Well, do you want to live forever?” Jake asked.

  “I certainly don’t want to die here.” Dinah picked her way down the hill, knowing if she tripped the rocks would rip her knees open.

  Jake fired into the roiling mass, and they backed off, hissing. Dinah took out a flask of holy water and sprinkled it in front of her. The things backed off, their eyes and ears bubbling wherever the sacred elixir splattered.

  The temple loomed over them, but between them and the building lay a great beast. It must have been where the legends of Cerebus had come from, as it was canine in shap
e and had six heads. It growled and snapped at them.

  Jake took out his pistol and fired at the thing. Iron bullets pierced its flesh and where they pierced, blue blood oozed.

  From behind him, a rifle roared. Mahogny recocked her thirty-aught-six and fired again. A canine head exploded in a spray of gray and black.

  The canine leaped over the group, snapping at Mahogny.

  Felix yelled and launched himself forward. He brought his sword to bear and sliced open the side of the dog.

  Three of the heads turned toward the threat. The power of a true believer radiated through Felix’s arm. The creature growled, sensing a greater threat in the cop.

  Dinah emptied another magazine into the body of the beast. Though her bullets penetrated the flesh, the blood didn’t flow as it did from Felix’s sword.

  Jake holstered his gun and drew his own sword to slice at the beast.

  He aimed for the base of the skull of one of its heads. The head separated from the neck and fresh blood poured onto the ground.

  Dinah turned to the advancing mob of demons. “Mahogny, behind you!” She fired at a snail-like demon with great black tentacles peeping from beneath its shell. The thing exploded, but three more took its place.

  “You’d better hurry up,” Dinah called to Jake. “It’s getting a bit dodgy up here.”

  Jake and Felix charged in a pincer attack. The remaining four heads of the dog-beast oriented on Felix, ignoring Jake. Jake’s sword snaked in and sliced off another head, while Felix slashed at its underbelly, slicing through the soft tissue.

  Gray intestines snaked out of the creature and fell to the ground. Felix sliced again, and finally the dog fell over onto its side.

  “Come on!” yelled Jake. “We don’t know how much time we have until it awakens.”

  The four of them charged into the temple. The huge building soared into the poisonous green sky. A black altar made of no stone ever seen on Earth was lit up by a bright silver light. A sword hovered there, slowly rotating. The temple was deserted; no demons, no souls, just the presence of the sacred artifact.