by R. J. Wolf
“No, not at all. I don’t ask questions.”
“So, I’ve been told. Yet, you still find yourself here. Why do you think that is?”
“Um…I’d like to think it was a mistake.”
“There are no mistakes my friend. Only our truest desires manifested. You always knew where this would end, Noll,” Langston seethed as he rubbed his hands together and stepped closer.
“Wait a minute, I…we don’t have to do anything rash. I’m on your side, I’m a friend.”
“That you are, Noll. But you know we can’t keep loose ends dangling around. Best to close your eyes now. You shouldn’t have to witness such horrible things.
“No!” Noll squealed.
Suddenly a phone rang and Langston groaned then dug his hands into his pocket. He pulled out his cell and brought it to his ear. “This better be good, I’m busy.”
Noll swallowed then took a deep breath. Langston turned and started arguing with whoever was on the other line. During his short reprieve, Noll mumbled an incantation under his breath but nothing happened.
“Damn it,” he growled.
He tried again, mumbling the dwarfish command for fire. But nothing worked and he suspected it had something to do with the room.
“Langston!” a voice suddenly boomed out of nowhere. It was so loud Noll could feel it rattling through his bones as the room shook.
Langston jumped in shock and dropped his phone. It hit the ground and slid across the floor, stopping at Noll’s feet.
“Langston!” the voice continued.
“Rabelial,” Langston replied feebly.
Noll felt an icy chill fall over the room as a shadow crawled across the ceiling. A ring of fire sprung to life in the corner and a specter of a figure rose to its feet inside of it.
“Langston, you promised that you could accomplish this task,” the figure oozed as it floated just over the concrete floor.
“I will, Rabelial,” Langston replied and swallowed back fear. “The order has no greater priority.”
Rabelial moved closer, passing right by Noll’s chair. Noll froze in horror as the misty figure glided past him. It was nothing more than smoke loosely shaped into a man. But something about it was terrifying and mysterious.
“No greater priority,” Rabelial echoed. “Then why am I like this? Why has my will not been made flesh? Why do I continue to let you breathe, Langston?”
“We have done as you asked. The order only exists to serve you. When the shade opens, we will be ready.”
“And what of my army? The fallen must be freed, they must clear the way for my return to power.”
“I’m leaving for California tonight. Everything is in order, I promise you.”
“Then why haven’t you procured my vessel?”
“Eric? We know exactly where he is. We’ve had him under watch for weeks now. He is ready.”
Rabelial smiled. “Do not disappoint me, Langston. Hell is full of those who did.” With that he turned around and vanished.
Langston marched the length of the room and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He had a distressed look on his face and his hands trembled as he brought them up to eye level. “Pongo is a dead man!” he growled then rushed up the steps two at a time.
“The fallen! The fallen!” Noll said hysterically as soon as he was alone. He scrambled to untie the ropes around his leg then stood up and kicked the chair over. He wanted to run but the only way out was the same way Langston had just gone. He spun around in a nervous dance then saw the phone lying on the floor.
Nearly in tears, he grabbed it and punched in a string of numbers. Gasping, he waited as it rang and rang then rolled over to voicemail.
“They’re coming, Eric,” Noll stammered. “Langston is raising the fallen and coming to California. He’s working from some, some demon or something named Rabelial. I didn’t know what they were doing, I swear. I would’ve never got the diamonds if I knew. You have to believe me. Tell Zoey, tell her, tell her I didn’t know. But you’ve gotta get out, Eric. Leave now, he’s on his way, they’re all on their way.”
A footfall sounded behind Noll and he paused. He turned around just as a flash of silver flickered past his field of vision. He blinked, then his head fell from his shoulders and rolled across the floor.
CHAPTER 21
BLOOD ON THE HORIZON
Eric stepped inside of Molly’s Place and headed toward the back. Castillo was standing in front of a row of tables where everyone else was sitting. He cut Eric off and pulled him to the side.
“Shanna is outside, in the back. Let’s keep things civil. Um, I don’t know if she’ll even listen to you but we need to get out there and locate Richard. I’m really worried about him, Eric.”
“I understand. I’ll be quick.”
Castillo nodded and hurried Eric toward the exit door. The room watched them suspiciously but no one said a word. Stepping to the side, Castillo let Eric in front of him then turned back to the room and gestured for them to wait.
Eric took one last look at the sea of faces then pushed open the gray door and let out a nervous sigh. As soon as he crossed the threshold a fist slammed into his nose and stars burst to life in front of his eyes. Eric stumbled and threw a hand to his face as he fell back into the wall.
“What the hell, Castillo?” Eric roared. “This is your idea of keeping things civil?”
“I had no idea she was gonna do that,” Castillo replied. “Jesus, Shanna. You picked one hell of a time to go psycho.”
“Screw him, he deserved it. He’s said plenty of words, a weak apology is not gonna make a difference. But that, that made me feel better.”
Eric wiped a trickle of blood from beneath his nose then grinned. “You still hit like a girl.”
“Oh, yeah?” Shanna lunged at him but Castillo quickly stepped in between them.
“Come on. We don’t have time for this.”
“You’re right,” Eric apologized. “Look, Shanna, that wasn’t me the other night. Well, it was me but I’ve got something inside me.”
“A tapeworm?”
“No. It just makes it --”
“A parasite,” Shanna guessed again.
“No! Damn it. What I’m trying to say is I’m sorry and it won’t happen again. All that stuff I said, it wasn’t me. That’s not what I think about you.”
“You sure as hell sounded pretty convincing the other day.”
“Shanna, I’m sorry. I can’t go into details now because I don’t even understand it myself, but that wasn’t me. I really am sorry.”
Shanna bit her lip then glanced at Castillo. She stewed for a few seconds then shrugged. “Fine, apology accepted. But I can’t promise I won’t punch you in the face again.”
“Fair enough. I’ll probably deserve it anyway.”
“We good here?” Castillo asked impatiently. “Great, now let’s go.”
They followed Castillo back inside where the rest of the group was growing anxious. They’d ordered food and drinks and all stared toward Eric with skeptical guises.
“Where’s Gary?” Chuck asked as he tore into a raw steak, sending a stream of blood into his beard. He’d brought most of his pack with him.
Eric cleared his throat. “He’s back at the hotel. Something is wrong with him but we have more important issues. Richard is missing.”
“Who?” one of the lycans in Chuck’s pack asked.
“It’s not important,” Chuck replied then turned back to Eric. “Why should we care? Richard wanted nothing to do with us.”
“I care!” Castillo shouted.
Eric placed his hand on Castillo’s shoulder. “Look, you’ve seen what the commission is capable of. We either stick together or they’re going to pick us off one by one. And I don’t know about you, but I think we’re a lot stronger with Richard’s coven on our side. Something is coming guys. I don’t know what it is, and I don’t know when it’s coming, but I do know we can’t stop it alone.”
Chuck lo
wered his head and looked away. Castillo glared at him but before he could add anything, Julie stood up and spoke.
“Well, you’ve got us all here. What do you need?”
Eric looked back to Castillo and shrugged. “Where do we start?”
“Someone’s outside,” a lycan announced as he burst into the backroom.
Chuck stood up and sniffed the air then let out a low growl. The rest of his pack made similar gestures. “Agents,” he grumbled. “Lots of them.”
“Good, I’ve been ready for a fight,” Shanna said as she spun a blade in her hands.
Dennis fixed his glasses and looked toward the front with beady, trembling eyes. “We…we, we need to go,” he stammered. “It’s more than we can handle.”
“Speak for yourself,” Julie spat as she stood up and moved toward the front.
Barbara, a green haired witch, slowly pushed her chair back and mumbled under her breath. There was a slight vibration in the air and the doors slammed shut. She glided across the room and placed her hand on the wall. With a whoosh, the windows turned to black. “That should hold them for some time,” she said confidently.
Suddenly, a spell hit the outer wall and it blasted apart where Barbara was standing. She was sent sailing through the air and smashed into the opposite wall. Concrete and plaster exploded like bits of lethal confetti. Julie was knocked back by the blast while a few of the lycan were peppered with the shrapnel.
Rubble littered the dining area and as another spell sailed through the air, Castillo spun around and screamed for everyone to run. He was too late. Agents began to apparate from everywhere and without warning Eric and the others found themselves in the middle of a fight.
“Get to the back door!” Chuck screamed as he shoved a table out of his way and began to shift.
A series of gunshots exploded and two lycan hit the ground dead before their bodies even fell. Smoke swirled from their wounds as liquid metal oozed onto the floor. Chuck gasped then rushed the agents, ripping out their throats before they could get off another shot.
“Silver!” another lycan yelled. “They’ve got silver bullets.”
More gunshots thundered and the pack ducked behind tables as the projectiles sliced through everything they hit. Eric and Shanna slid across the floor as Castillo jumped to his feet in time to get hit in the face by a hex. Julie caught him and made a run for the back.
“Get everyone out of here,” Chuck growled. “These idiots are mine!”
“We’re not leaving you,” Eric replied. “This is our fight too.” He waved his hand and sent a pile of rubble flying toward the agents as more of them they stormed inside. Twisted chairs and splintered boards collided with flesh and invisible fields as the commission spellcasters worked their magic. It provided the group enough time to make it out into an alley.
“We have to go,” Castillo gasped as he hid behind the wall. “I counted at least forty agents.”
“Are you okay?” Eric asked. “That spell hit you full force.”
Castillo’s face was burnt but even as he sat there the charred skin was healing. Snarling, he wiped blood from his mouth and glared at Eric. “I’m fine. Where’s Aranel and Ellania?”
Suddenly, an agent burst through the door and stumbled into the alley. He hurled a spell through the air and Eric could feel the heat from the magic as it sailed past his face and dissipated into the night. Eric charged him just as another agent came out and was impaled by one of Shanna’s blades.
Burn him. The voice in Eric’s head came to life. Without thinking, he flexed his fingers and flames shot from his hands like ropes. They wrapped around the agent’s arms and legs, spreading fire across his body. It took seconds for him to fall to a pile of ash.
“What the hell are you?” Shanna mumbled under her breath as she watched.
Before Eric could reply a swarm of more than a dozen agents thundered into the alley and all hell broke loose. Spells crackled like lightning, claws clashed with magical daggers and bullets whizzed through the air like they had minds of their own.
“Kill them all!” Chuck yelled as the remainder of his pack charged to the front.
Shanna unleashed a hail of knives, impaling agents to the wall before they could raise their guns. But for every agent that dropped two more squeezed through the door to take their place and the group was quickly outnumbered four to one.
“This way!” Castillo screamed. Moving like a flash of light, he tore apart a redheaded witch, clearing a path down the alley. “Hurry up!”
Julie ran after him but was cut off by a pale-skinned warlock with a narrow mustache and a fae with golden hair and glowing white eyes. She paused as they stepped in front of her like they’d been waiting there the entire time. Cracking a smile, she put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.
“Conroy and Anastasia. I should’ve known you two would throw your hats in with this lot. Never had much of a spine, did you?”
“You’re one to talk,” Anastasia replied, her tone dripping with contempt. “I don’t know why the mothers blessed your wretched race with such power. You should’ve been stillborn.” She pulled two daggers from her waistband and smiled.
“Where are you and your friends headed, Julie?” Conroy asked with a half-grin and rubbed his emaciated fingers across his bare scalp. “The fun’s just starting.”
Julie sneered then lunged forward as she shifted into an enormous, brown bear. Conroy raised his hand and unleashed a jolt of dark magic that bounced off Julie’s dense fur. He dove to the side as she rushed past him, raking him across the face with her claws.
Conroy howled in pain and fell back into the wall. Snarling, Julie turned her attention to Anastasia. She reared up onto her hind legs and roared.
“You don’t scare me, halfling,” Anastasia heckled and raised her arms into the air. Vines erupted from the ground snaring Julie by her legs. She struggled against them but every move she made they tightened until they’d crawled up her neck and started strangling her.
“Hey!” Theo yelled as he pulled his sword from the belly of another agent. “Does no one believe in a fair fight?”
Conroy rushed him but Theo swung the blade over his head like a lasso. The enchanted metal sliced him across the face and he crumbled to the ground. Blood swirled from his head and with a tortured breath he fell silent.
Theo grinned then turned back to Anastasia. She glared at him, trembling with anger and rage. She spared a glance at Conroy’s corpse then without a word lunged at Theo. The two of them clashed, sending sparks through the alley as Theo’s blade met her daggers.
Anastasia parried his blow then buried her shoulder into Theo’s chest. Nearly collapsing, he stumbled backward and composed himself.
“Help,” Julie managed to croak.
Theo glanced over his shoulder and that was all the time Anastasia needed. She hurled one of her daggers like a baseball. The golden blade stabbed into Theo’s leg and he fell over, dropping his sword.
“Give it up, hunter,” Anastasia heckled. “You chose the wrong side.”
Julie yelped again and Anastasia laughed then slowly walked toward Theo. She stopped at his feet and stood over him, pointing the dagger at his head. “You’ll watch her die first. Then I’ll repay you for what you did to Conroy.”
Theo turned his head and spat onto the concrete. Seething, Anastasia stepped on the blade buried in his leg and pressed down. Theo hollered in pain.
Across from them, Dennis nervously made his way toward Julie and managed to rip the vines from around her neck. “Be still,” he whispered as Julie turned back to her human form. Dennis freed her hands and she tried to cover herself but he laughed. “You’re not my type, honey.”
Julie giggled. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. It was the least heroic thing I could do.”
“I’ll carve you up slowly,” Anastasia said as she continued to torture Theo. “You’ll beg for me to kill you.”
Grinning, Theo stare
d past her and felt a rush of relief. “You sure about that?” he asked with a laugh.
Anastasia turned back to Julie and gasped. Dennis had almost completely freed her. He looked up and locked eyes with Anastasia then ripped the last vine apart as Julie shifted into an enormous tiger.
“You fool!” Anastasia yelled. She threw her last dagger at Julie but Dennis dove in front of it. The blade slammed into his forehead and he burst into a cloud of dust.
Julie wrenched her head back and let out a viscous roar. Saliva dripped down her six-inch canines and her eyes swelled with murder. She clawed at the ground then roared again and charged Anastasia like a bull.
Anastasia tried to run. She spun on her heels and bolted but Theo grabbed her leg. “I thought the party was just starting?” he jabbed.
Anastasia looked down at him with all the contempt in the world and smashed her heel into his face. Theo belted and as Anastasia lifted her leg again Julie leapt into the air and drove her claws into Anastasia’s torso. She fell back and let out a feeble scream that was swallowed by Julie’s gaping jaws.
Across the alley, Eric had joined Castillo and they were both locked in battle with two towering men that moved like shadows. They were pale and thin, their frailty disguising how dangerous they were. Every time Castillo attacked, they turned into a cloud of black vapor, reappearing several feet away. Eric was busy throwing any object he could find at the ghastly figures but nothing hit them.
“Spectrals,” Castillo hissed then clawed at the air once more.
Let me help you. Eric’s dark side begged. He wanted to but he wasn’t fully convinced that they were one in the same. He feared that if he let that power out, he’d lose control completely. So for the time being, he continued to fight with his hands tied behind his back.
“They’re too fast,” Castillo groaned as he missed them again.
“Too fast for you?” Eric replied. Suddenly, one of the spectrals appeared in front of him. Using all of his will power, Eric tried to grab him and could feel the faintest of connections, like fingers brushing against the wind. “Kill it now!” he screamed to Castillo.
