“It will come clear soon enough,” he sneered, green flashes of light bursting around the mall. “How about I tell you a story? One that involves a bomb and a doorway. And my way out of that hole of a prison.”
The zombie he controlled fell into his tale, blathering on about what we already knew. The surrounding soldiers must have thought him madman as he spoke of a world and monsters through a portal. Our minds whirred away, each member of the IET assessing our surroundings, trying to come up with a plan. Nothing stuck as Dreven droned on about Immigration Control. And how he made sure the bomb ignited to kill those waiting at the border. But then the lights danced around my vision, and I inhaled sharply. The walls spun, and a vision itched at my skull. I gripped on to Kaleb’s arm, my head swimming.
“You okay?”
I nodded and held on, grateful when he kept me upright. Images, too fast to determine, hit my mind. One after the other, after the other. I tried to focus but couldn’t grasp on to anything in particular. The vision had hold of me and refused to let go.
Walls crumbled. The floor shook beneath our feet. Laughter echoed all around us—one of satisfaction—and part of Dreven’s plan came into fruition.
Something hit me; a flash of green. Everyone fell and crashed to the ground. The soldiers. Me. My friends. The zombies and their hostages. We all fell, crushed beneath the fallen stone against the lower floor. Pain seared my head, and the darkness cloaked my vision.
Dead soldiers rose from the ground. Some patted down their bodies, evil grins creeping on their faces. They touched themselves, flexing their muscles, jumping up and down and laughing. They checked their weapons and stood to attention. Some of them chatted, but death and evil haunted their eyes. Then someone ordered them still.
The soldiers saluted, marching to their leader beneath the open sky. Once the death song sang, they assaulted all who got in their path, a roar of pleasure echoing across the buildings of Seattle and beyond.
More soldiers came. More soldiers died. Marching in sync, a reel of places spun before me. Every state they reached, every General who gathered their forces, became bigger chunks of the US army who joined Dreven’s cause in their deceased state.
Places burned. People screamed. And carnage followed.
Dreven.
The soldiers.
He wanted an army. And he didn’t want a decaying one to do his bidding. He also didn’t want to control them through magic. He planned to bring dead spirits from the negative Astral Plane—or Hell some knew it be—drawing them into the bodies of the soldiers who fought at our side.
Dreven wanted the spirits to take over our shells. He’d risen whatever dead he could to call in the army to Seattle, and we were to be collateral damage. Taking us—the threat—out at the same time.
Reality crashed hard. Nausea rolled in my stomach. When I blinked my eyes open, I returned to us all standing there, Dreven still laughing at us through his zombie puppet. I staggered. My brain needing a second to understand what time had passed by. The vision. The crumbling floor. Us falling beneath the wreckage, and the crushed soldiers’ bodies used by evil spirts. None of that had happened yet.
But it would.
“Terra?” said Kaleb. “Are you okay?”
“What?” I replied, my words slurred.
Something rumbled beneath us. It was a subtle movement. Something I wouldn’t have noticed if not for the vision. But it kicked me into gear. “Grab your weapons and run,” I ordered, fighting out of the disorientation. “Do it now!”
People looked confused, but my team didn’t question it. They grabbed their weapons and ran. “Move, move, move!” I yelled to the others.
Looking around, I noticed a department store not far away. I ordered everyone toward that, and this time the ground shook harder.
We made it to the store and ran inside, and I hoped my hunch it had two floors rang true. Turning back to see the others, only some soldiers had scattered alongside us. Many remained, their weapons raised, confused at the threat. The Bodyguard six stayed on our tail.
“Move!” I roared again, over the deafening sound. But it was too late. The upper level crumbled beneath their feet, the zombies, the soldiers, the hostages, all suddenly swallowed up in the crashing debris. My heart broke for the sacrifice I’d made in that split decision. I’d left the hostages to die to save us all.
I’d made my choice.
The bordering floor cracked toward us. The walls shook. We all jumped down the worn stairs of the escalator belt, and into a space away from the flying wreckage.
Debris flew toward us when the windows smashed from the impact. Kaleb wrapped his arms around me and turned his back toward the flying glass missiles. The thought of him getting hurt made me struggle to be free, but he refused to let me go.
My ears rang with the explosion of sound as the top floor of the mall crashed to the ground.
“Terra.” The voice sounded off in the distance, so I rubbed my ears and blinked against the dust.
Kaleb turned me to face him. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, casting an urgent glance around those who’d followed.
The IET were all with me, shocked and confused. Most of The Bodyguard Six had made it apart from Private Rye. At my count, another seven soldiers had followed us. But aside from those, I saw no one else. No other soldiers had made it.
I closed my eyes tight against the pain of it. Not only for them and the lost hostages. But also for the plans Dreven had for them. We had to move fast, and head toward the multiplex.
Kaleb brushed the dust from my hair, wiping my face. “What did you see?”
“How did you know?” I whispered.
“I felt something. But I couldn’t see anything. I sensed your panic. Your fear.”
I gripped his vest. “I had a vision. Kaleb, we need to stop Dreven. Those soldiers who have fallen. He’ll use them to build another army. One where he’s raising spirits from the negative astral plane to possess the bodies—to work for him.” I let him feel my worry, sense my fear. “We need to take Dreven down.”
“Then we don’t stop until we do.” He scooped my hands in his. “We end him today.”
28
Kaleb took the other members of the IET aside to explain what I’d seen.
The Bodyguard Six began arguing with one another as Young tried to hold Clarke back. “We need to go find them!” he roared. “To find Rye!”
Lopez joined in to keep him at bay, but Clarke wouldn’t stop trying to get free. “They ran in the other direction! They might need help!”
“You wait for your orders!” Lopez bellowed, his words falling on deaf ears.
“They’re already dead!” I snapped, nearing the end of my tether with it all. My head hurt. My heart had taken residence up in my throat. And the intensity of what had happened since we’d headed into the mall had almost sucked me dry. “We have to take them out. To stop them from becoming the things we’ve fought. And to finish this before it gets any worse!”
“Worse?” Clarke laughed without humor, storming toward me. “We’re already smack bang in the middle of a horror show. And now you want us to kill our brothers!”
He got in my face. Lopez hurried up beside him, pulling him back, and trying to calm the situation. Lopez snapped in my direction, “You want to kill my men because of your bullshit parasite story?”
“Yes,” I replied, focusing on him. “Either leave or prepare to face off with your dead troops consumed by the will and urgings of another. Be ready to shoot your brothers, your friends, because they’re gone.”
Clarke looked ready to blow. He took another step toward me. His nostrils flared, his eyes wide, filled with rage. I faced off with him; the tension building around us.
Kaleb headed in my direction. ‘Terra. Step back.’
‘No.’
‘He hits you once and you’re down for the count.’
‘He won’t hit me.’
‘And I won’t risk you. Step back.’
I re
fused to break eye contact with Clarke. I refused to show any weakness—no matter how damn protective Kaleb’s wolf was. The tension grew, but I held my ground. “You make one move toward me, and my team will take you down without thought. If you think I’m spouting bullshit, then try me. We’re a special force for a reason. They’re holding back out of courtesy, and because we need you. The soldiers, your friends, standing here with us, need you. Understand?”
“If you think for one second, I will let you harm anyone of my brothers, then you have a screw loose!” He turned to Lopez. “Tell her! Tell her we’ll go save our own. Fuck them!”
“Lopez,” I pleaded. “You saw what we’ve fought. And they’re nothing compared to what he’s doing to your soldiers right now. What they will come back as is…” How did I tell them? I did I explain that the souls of their comrades had gone, and evil spirits had taken their place?
“Is what, Agent Vane?”
“Evil,” was all I said, and Clarke took another step toward me. But this time Kaleb wasn’t taking any chances. He stepped in the middle of us, forcing Clarke back. The huge soldier pushed against him, but against a wolf shifter like Kaleb, he stood no chance. The others IET members stood at my rear.
“Get out of here,” I ordered Lopez, unable to demand he kill his men. “Go back to Hanley and buy us another few hours. You needn’t go any further.”
“We’re not going anywhere!” Clarke shouted. “We won’t let you kill our own!”
“I’m ordering you to get the hell out. Now.”
“Or what?” Private Young asked, stepping forward. “There are more of us than you.”
“Stand down,” Lopez growled.
“No. I won’t,” Young replied. “None of us will. We won’t stand by why they murder our friends!”
“They’re not your friends any longer!” I told him. “And if we isolate them and take them out, then the world is in danger. Do you hear me? Not a city. Not a state. Not even a country. This is a global threat, soldier. And you abide by my orders.” I looked at Lopez. “Leave. Now.”
“Rye?” Clarke questioned, his eyes narrowing, looking over Kaleb’s shoulder. He snatched his arm from Kaleb’s hold, and staggered away. I spun around to see Private Rye and the other soldiers entering the department store, climbing over rubble and coming closer.
“Fall back!” I shouted, running for cover. Kaleb grabbed Clarke to drag him away, but he raged and gave him the slip, staggering with relief toward his friend. Jackson and Stevens looked at us in doubt.
“Fall back!” I ordered again. Lopez shook from his indecision and demanded they follow instruction. A few of them did. But the others raced forward to their dead buddies with Private Clarke in the lead.
Ducking behind a column, I checked Mayra was safe. Libby had got her. And the others found cover. I aimed my weapon, ready to take down the soldiers who’d entered the store. But everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
Clarke halted when he saw Rye lift his weapon. “Hey buddy,” he said in confusion. But all too late he noticed Rye’s red eyes.
Rye fired five rounds into Clarke’s chest. The last one ending in his head. And the soldier crashed against the floor.
The others spun around to make their escape as we covered them with fire. Gun fire rang over our heads, chipping away at the columns we hid behind. The rest of the dead zombie soldiers piled in, one after the other.
We shot each one, aiming for their heads. But the soldier’s with the spirits inside were different. They felt pain, and they fell back from the hits, dropping to the floor as the life left them.
“Take cover!” one of them yelled when he realized they weren’t invincible. And the newly turned zombies followed orders. But it also gave us an advantage.
I scoured the area for my vampire friend. “We need to get to Bernard,” I said to Kaleb, raising my voice so he could hear me above the gun shots. “You guys are the fastest. You need to get closer and take them out so we can move in.”
He nodded. “You know we’ll have to destroy the bodies, right?”
Grimly, I nodded back. “Yes. Make it fast.” We had to eliminate the shells Dreven had risen so he couldn’t use them again.
We made it toward Bernard, falling down beside one counter where he was positioned with Grady and Zax. Kaleb explained the plan, and Grady’s face paled. His gaze found mine.
“Vane?”
“I’m sorry.” I rose from my hiding position and fired, aiming for one of the soldier zombies who got close. Libby joined me and together we took him out. We ducked back down again. “We don’t have any other choice. Their souls have gone remember? What’s inside them now…”
“You’re prepared for such sacrifices,” Bernard reminded him. “Out in the battlefield they make tough decisions every day. This is one of them. That’s all. Contain the threat.”
With his lips pressed together, Grady nodded, and mumbled something, before finding his position to continue firing at the enemy.
“We’ll cover you,” I told Kaleb and Bernard.
“Me too, Terra,” said Zax. “The odd bullet can’t hurt me much. Not in human form anyway. It would take a few shots to put me down.”
I put my hand on his arm. “Then make sure you get none. Get in fast. Take them down, and either decapitate or burn. Got it?” I rummaged for the lighter in my pocket I always carry around with me. An old habit from living in the Victorian Quarter. It had also got me out of a few precarious situations—including one with a sadistic wendigo. I handed it to Zax. “My lucky lighter. Take good care of it.”
He smiled. “If there’s one thing a dragon can respect, it’s fire. I’ll bring it back to you.”
Waiting for my count, the three of them took off when I hit five, and we fired shots at the zombies to give them cover.
Libby got into position, ready to take out any who got close while they moved in for the stealth attack. And I took the other side.
Grady watched our backs as we did so, and Mayra watched his.
Screams erupted from both sides, and I hoped the majority came from those on Dreven’s side. We kept our ammo refilled, taking down any of the soldiers we could.
Bernard was a blur, coming up behind them, snapping their necks, then taking off their heads with his sword. Zax came in behind him and set them alight, his weapon in his other hand to take out any who shot their way.
Kaleb didn’t turn furry, keeping our cover. But he moved fast, hiding out of sight and snatching the zombie soldiers one by one into a recess to take them out.
There wasn’t time to take a breath, let alone assess the situation. We held ground, taking them out one by one between us all.
When we were down to the last few, Lopez roared, “They’ve taken Young!”
“What?”
I turned from my post, confident Bernard, Kaleb and Zax had things under control.
Lopez kneeled next to a bleeding Jackson who held on to Private Steven’s hand. The young officer’s glassy-eyed stare looked up at the ceiling as Jackson sobbed for him. “That way!” Lopez pointed toward the fire exit.
The remaining soldiers on our side ran toward them to provide cover as The Bodyguard Six became three. Two if we didn’t rescue Young.
“Stay with her.” I instructed. “Stay with them. And watch your damn back.”
I raced toward the fire exit with Libby and Mayra at my heels. I’d meant for Mayra to stay back too, but from the look on her face she’d refuse.
Bernard and Kaleb caught up with us, and we followed the blood trail on the floor.
Covering our backs in the hallway, we moved fast, our weapons hailed, ready to fight. The trail stooped outside another fire exit. We pushed our way inside and found ourselves in the arcade part of the multiplex.
A pinging from one machine had us looking around. I’d expected darkness, but Dreven had lit up every machine that remained. Many had gone, ripped out of the walls and sold off no doubt. Others taken. But an old ping ball machine di
nged its high score. A racing game revved its engine. The scoreboard of a basketball ring sounded off to drown out someone’s screams.
None of these things should have worked, but Dreven used his magic to create his version of fireworks.
Forming a line, Kaleb took the lead, and Bernard stayed at the rear. Those in the center assessed the right, then the left, for oncoming threats. Kaleb led us toward a lit up partition.
A loud, booming voice bellowed, “You’ve scored!” Lights flashed, and celebratory music made our ears ring.
Rounding the barrier, we stopped in our tracks.
We found Young all right.
In the arms of a big ass zombie, with five others the same size flanking him.
One of zombies had long hair to his shoulders, his shirt ripped over a buff chest. He licked Officer Young’s neck; the others chuckling at the act.
Young was dead or unconscious. He flopped in the zombie’s hold. And I took a step forward before my brain even decided on the idea.
“Naughty, naughty,” Buff Man said, owning the words that came out of his mouth. Not like the zombie before, it was the spirit in charge here, brought forth by the magic. But other than tethering it to the body, the magic didn’t puppeteer him like the others. I frowned. “And she gets it!” He laughed. “We’ve heard all about you, you sexy bitch. And our Master promised us a taste of your luscious curves and those of the other women with you.” He looked at Libby. “I like big titties.”
“And I like shooting off dicks,” she retorted, aiming her weapon lower.
He roared with laughter. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m gonna save you for last.”
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“Our Master promised us a new life for helping him,” he sneered. “Brought us from Hell itself to rage a new war. We feel everything in this body,” he cackled, “so I can’t wait to thrust inside you.”
“Then you’ll feel it when I chop off your head,” Kaleb growled.
“Do your worst.” He threw Private Young to the ground.
A six foot bundle of muscle flew at me, hitting hard and taking me down. My head smashed against the floor, and I bit down hard on my teeth.
Death Be Rising (The Terra Vane Series Book 7) Page 18
