A Knight's Charge

by Gerard A Whitfield

New Sevilla

  Kayn had responded to his Master’s imperious call. His fear had been replaced with his usual arrogance, as he shoved deformed servants from his path. They were a necessary evil, but his disdain for them was palpable. Cannon-fodder. That was all they really were. He and his men were the true might of the Tauran Empire here.

  “Kayn. My trembling sycophant. Do come in.”

  The Tauran Elite winced. Akem knew. He should not have been surprised. Angry, he stomped into his Master’s presence.

  “Tell me,” Akem said, his voice a discordant meld of the suffering souls he had bound to him, “what it was that made you whimper inside like a mewling babe.”

  “I know not, Master,” Kayn knew it was pointless to deny his moment of weakness, “it looked inoffensive, but its eyes… evil lurks within that decrepit shell.”

  “Evil?” Akem roared, “And what am I?”

  “You, my Master,” said Kayn meekly, “are Chaos, Destruction and Dismay. This though, was something else. A bone-withering promise. Cold as death, yet burning. Oblivion would be no joyous torment. There was only an eternity of nothingness in its eyes.”

  “My eloquent child,” sneered Akem, “Pain is something I too can offer.”

  “Not like this…” began Kayn, but his Master’s hand struck him on the face, spinning him with awful force into a nearby wall. He saw the following blow, but did nothing to avoid it. Yes, he had sinned in his spoken word, but now Akem held no fear for him. Kayn had tasted of real terror and he just hoped that he was never called on to face it again.

  Colon’s Moon

  New Sevilla

  Buried within a deep canyon on the dark side of New Sevilla’s second moon was a small, sleek ship. There were no indications of life to the external gaze, but in the control room sat a slight figure, wrapped within his robes of deep azure blue. He was studying a data sheet and trying hard to ignore the deliberate attempts to attract his attention.

  At last with a sigh of molestation, he spoke.

  “What?” he snapped at the hovering figure.

  “We’ve found him.”

  Interest sparked on the aquiline face and he stood quickly, “Tell me!”

  “He was seen on New Sevilla, just before the invasion. Farlon lost him in the furore of the initial assault, but she assures me he can be found again. One other thing, he is not alone.”

  “Prepare the shuttle. Tell your boys to check their weapons. Contact Farlon to arrange a secure landing site.”

  Juan Mata nodded. The soldier spoke little. That was how his Lord liked it. Inspector Stefan Darling watched his hulking figure leave and smiled. Lector, my traitorous friend, he thought, I have you now!

  Temple Mount

  New Sevilla

  One of Lector’s metallic arms lashed forward. A saw blade whirled madly at its end. There was a meaty thunk as it bit into the door, screeching and then an awful scream. The doors closed again, a dark smear all that remained of the pallid fingers.

  “It’s gone now,” said Lector reassuringly.

  “Are you sure?” Vincent asked, unable to rid himself of an awful feeling of premonition.

  “As sure…”

  The door slammed open. A blur of white passed through, knocking Lector back. He span and smashed into the coffin, dazed. Vincent looked into the dark pits that stopped before him. They were all-consuming. Soulless.

  “Vi-i-nc-e-e-nt!”

  Sibilant, it hissed at him. He backed further away. Lector struggled to his feet, eyes now blazing red.

  “Leave him alone!” he shouted. It laughed.

  “You are mine, kindred…”

  Vincent recoiled. He could feel it, there was a link. His body rebelled. Shudders wracked his frame.

  “Don’t fight it,” whispered the creature silkily, “it is no use.”

  “It killed your father!” shouted Lector as he rushed to Vincent’s aid.

  It span, leaping and striking. There was the shriek of metal as its claws slashed and again Lector crashed to the floor. That momentary break of contact, was enough. Genetics took over.

  Vincent’s shaking became more pronounced. He tore at his shirt and trousers and now the creature took a step backward. Clutching his stomach in pain, Vincent doubled over. His neck stretched taut and he screamed before falling to his knees. Skin writhed, muscles stretched and bones popped. The Wildwose stood.

  *****

  Farlon drew heavily on her smoke stick. Her nerves had caused her to break her usually tight protocol. The Inspector was late.

  She had followed Lector’s trail but had been unprepared for the thing that had in turn followed him. It was only now that she had moved slightly away from the shadows, her fear abating as it had smashed its way into the tomb.

  As a city girl, one who ran with the drug gangs before the Inspector had picked her out, she feared little. Her sociopathic tendencies sat well with her role within Darling’s band. There was no-one capable of matching her tracking skills, particularly within the city’s limits. This, though, was different.

  A heavy footfall announced Mata’s arrival and she grinned. The big Church Guard was capable of much, but silence was not one of his many skills.

  “Here,” she whispered and she felt the Inspector’s touch on her arm as he joined them.

  “Is he inside?” he asked excitedly.

  “That he is, with a young man… and something else.”

  Inspector Darling used his Night Vision Aid, then staggered.

  “Juan!” he cried, “Destroy that building!”

  There was a moment’s surprise before the big man started firing. Farlon joined in.

  “No!” roared Darling, “I mean, totally!”

  Juan dropped his autorifle and unslung his grenade launcher. He had never before seen the Inspector frightened, and it terrified him. Mata sent incendiary rounds screaming into the tomb in a continuous stream.

  *****

  Stone boiled beneath the intensity of the weapon. Those inside the tomb were oblivious to the destruction to its fabric. Two wild animals fought for domination and a mechanical man watched on in awe. Flesh shredded from bone in their feral savagery. First one was flung to crash against a wall which crumbled beneath the force of the impact. The second leapt across to slam into an empty space.

  That which had been Vincent hooked its claws into the pale chest in front of him. Claws caught and held, drawing the thing close and fangs snapped to close on a bony forehead.

  “You cannot kill me,” it laughed, even as Vincent crushed bone, “no-one can...”

  The voice trailed away as wizened flesh and bone was ground into non-existence. Vincent raised his muzzle and howled. Outside the tomb, the Inspector fell to his knees and began to pray. Lector looked more closely at the once-human; he had heard of The Wildwose, and this was something else.

  With a shudder, the boy returned and Lector grasped him roughly.

  “We need to go,” he insisted, dragging him towards the rear of the chamber.

  The boy resisted, “Why could none of you leave well enough alone?”

  Lector looked closer; the pain in Vincent’s voice was raw, yet tinged with sadness.

  “Even my father did not know it all. This is the tomb of my mother’s people, of their secret and undying shame. The Church hid the story in myth and excommunication, yet I knew it. That thing was a relative, one best left to sleep in endless torment. It wants me now and will not rest until it gets its own way.”

  “And you?” Lector was unsure of the boy yet worried as stone crashed around them.

  “I, am my father’s son and will fight. “

  Chapter Three

  Chavez City

  New Sevilla

  “There.”

  Kayn leaned forward. The screen showed heavy activity and the thermal scanner was off the scale.

  “What is it?”

  “Someone is determined to wipe that area out. Those are incendiary rounds.”

  “Get me my
shuttle,” said Kayn, “I’m intrigued.”

  Temple Mount

  New Sevilla

  “We need to go, right now!”

  Lector watched Vincent as he vaulted the remains of the tomb, kicked his way through a plaster mosaic and dragged a cloth wrapped bundle clear.

  “How did...?”

  “My relative left an imprint. I knew that there was something there, something he didn’t want me to find.”

  As he spoke, he unwrapped the parcel, the clink of metal obvious as he roughly pulled it open. With a crash a helmet bounced to the floor, whilst a red-stained blade remained in Victor’s hand. Both pieces were old, very old. The helm’s design was archaic, a strange whorled pattern etched across its front.

  Vincent ignored the helm, twisting the broken weapon round to see it better. Lector screamed as the boy stabbed the metal into his thigh. An evil light burned for a moment in Vincent’s eyes as the man squirmed.

  “You still bleed then?” He laughed as he dragged the weapon clear, smiling as Lector’s blood steamed away.

  “Ah, yes-s-s,” he hissed, “just as I thought.”

  With a grunt, Vincent bent to retrieve the helm, cramming it onto his head. Light flashed across its silvered surface and Lector took a step backwards. Something writhed beneath Victor’s skin, impatient to be released.

  “What are you waiting for?”

  Lector was pushed roughly towards the door, then shoved to one side as Vincent released his impatient beast.

  *****

  “Inspector!”

  Farlon slapped her superior’s face, jerking him back to reality as the tomb’s entrance exploded apart. Something blurred outwards, highlighted by the flames which danced across the stone building. She raised her rifle and began firing, as a second body followed the first out.

  Mata ignored his companions and dropped his grenade launcher, swinging his rifle from his shoulders.

  “Give them...”

  Auto cannon rounds hammered down, as the unheard shuttle made its presence felt.

  Farlon hugged the earth, pride in her skills forgotten as the shuttle sprayed rounds in an indiscriminate fashion. She risked one eye, recognising the Tauran symbols emblazoned on the vehicle’s side, and screamed in agony as metal tore through her skin.

  Kayn laughed in glorious abandonment; the thrill of destruction raged through his system, causing his blood to boil with the released energy. This was the only reason to live. Blood, Chaos and Death. He watched the Inspector and his minions struggle to find cover and took aim on the soldier writhing beneath him. It was just so easy.

  *****

  Lector’s hand shook. No metallic arm or automated system could compensate for the terror which gripped him. He had fought, and bested, Tauran Elite, demons and uncounted numbers of their soldiers, but this was different. Vincent Kombel was in no way human. His father had at least retained a semblance of humanity, struggling with the beast within all through his short life. Not so the son. Whatever meld of genetics slithered within Vincent, it was more closely linked to the demonic antecedents of the Taurans, than those of the Protectorate. Decision taken, he struck. Laughter and empty space were all that resulted from his traitorous attack.

  “How easily loyalty disappears in the face of overwhelming might...”

  The mechanical man span, searching for the disembodied voice.

  “You should have waited to see the outcome...”

  Brute force tossed Lector like a windblown seed in a gale, his hat fluttering insanely behind him as he smashed into a stunted tree. Groaning, he tried to stand but a clawed hand raised him on high, fingers intertwined in Lector’s mechanical appendages.

  “As you seem to like them so much...”

  He was wrenched back and thrown violently into the air, “...say hi for me!”

  *****

  Inspector Darling saw Lector on his collision course, but could not rejoice. He had seen what had impelled him skywards. There was no fluid left for his body to expel, so he huddled, shivering and waiting his fate.

  “Farlon!”

  It was a cry of surprise as he saw the soldier lurch to her feet, skin and cloth flapping. Autocannon rounds do not paint a pretty picture.

  “Kindred...” she hissed and Darling saw Kombel appear once more.

  “Ah, yes,” Vincent said, as he swung one hand, claws flashing.

  The head which landed with a meaty thunk next to the Inspector still held life within its eyes, but such life that Darling lost himself to madness. With a cackle, Vincent picked up the woman’s head and threw it violently at Kayn striking him full in the face.

  “Tell your Master that I’m coming,” he roared, “it is time for a reckoning!”

  Chapter Four

  Chavez City

  New Sevilla

  Akem felt the terror of his disciple and wondered. Kayn was his best creation, ruthless and unforgiving. Doubt of Kayn’s inherent cruelty never crossed his mind, yet his hunting beast trembled. Something interfered with his control and Akem did an unusual thing, he entered the battlefield himself. He had no need for mechanical conveyance, instead holding onto Kayn’s mental signature as he opened the portal, using the distinctive mind of his minion to drag himself into the fray, appearing in the air close to the shuttle. He spread his wings, hovering by the shuttle and glaring in anger at the scene below.

  Laughter pealed, clashing with destruction of the building and the eviscerated corpses. Inspector Darling’s mindless wailing excited him for a moment, until he tasted that which awaited him. Angry, he pulled the sword from the sheath by his side, its serrated blade keening in anticipation. Akem was old, steeped in evil and disdainful of his foes. With a scream he folded his wings and plummeted towards the barely visible shape of the creature below.

  Temple Mount

  New Sevilla

  Vincent felt the portal close, smiling as he understood instantly how the rift had been created and wondering why he had never thought of doing the same thing himself. Darkness enfolded him, blurring his outline and causing his foe to back-wing in consternation. Giggling to himself, Vincent leapt, hooking one clawed hand into a wing membrane and pulling the demon towards him. He hit the ground hard, slamming Akem into the earth before him and dropped one knee onto the demon’s chest.

  “Ah, yes,” he said to himself, “at last a worthy foe.”

  “No!” screamed Akem, writhing in agony beneath the overwhelming weight pinioning him to the churned earth.

  “Yes,” hissed Kombel, “it has been so long...”

  Kayn heard the words, his hands trembling on the handle of the autocannon. The voice called to him, demanding obedience and he answered. He left the shuttle as it landed, crawling on all fours towards his new Master. Vincent did not bother to acknowledge him, instead revelling in the pain of his victim.

  Unnoticed, Darling crawled away. His visit to this planet had been to deliver the Protectorate’s vengeance to a heretical soul, one who had cast insult upon the very belief which underpinned the Church. Instead he had been party to the awakening of an ancient evil, and almost lost his very own soul.

  “Aagh!”

  The Inspector screamed as pain coursed through his body. He span, struggling to avoid the nerve wrenching agony, but only succeeded in causing white hot fire to lance through his nerves.

  “Dear Inspector,” said Vincent, “please don’t leave before I have finished.”

  Darling gagged as he saw his own blood seeping through his clothes, pooling beneath his outstretched legs. Looking up, he stared deep into the cold abyss of Vincent’s eyes.

  “Take a message to your Masters,” Vincent chided, “let them know that my family’s suffering is over and their’s only just beginning.”

  A rush of cold air, dank and foetid as that of the grave caused him to shudder and his screams joined those of Akem’s as Vincent Kombel strode away. Behind him followed his new minion, bowing and scraping in sheer terror. Kayn had been right, the exquisit
e pain visited upon him by Akem was as nothing compared to the bowel-loosening agony radiating from the monster that was Vincent Kombel. The beast had been woken, now all would pay.

  END

  Englishman, traveller, who was captivated by Spain and stayed. Proud husband and father. Work took me around the globe, taught me a new language and opened my eyes.

  Other Works:

  The Wildwose

  The Gift

  Sudden Dearth

  A Guiding Light (Sudden Dearth Book Two)

  A Leap Of Faith (Sudden Dearth Book Three)

  Urion’s Belt

  A Cold Dish

  Euthan Palace

  26-S

  SALIGIA

  Find out more by visiting www.sudderndearth.blogspot.com