Once it reached the Earth, it destroyed an entire continent of the old Pre-Babylon Lemurian civilization. The Necronomicon contained several spells for controlling and dismissing such creatures. Unfortunately, I was fresh out of the bone dust and human sacrifices necessary to do either.
“Shit,” I hissed. “Incoming!”
“No kidding!” Jessica’s accent dropped for a second, watching as I armed the weapons systems. “Do we have the kind of ammunition to kill this thing?”
“We’re about to find out,” I said, reaching over to the dashboard and engaging combat mode on the computers.
A holographic display listed the vital stats of the Matriarch, the Arcanothology sensors designed to record the makeup and weaknesses of nearly every E.B.E. found in the Wasteland. For the most part, the vitals read off of the Matriarch were listed as Unknown. The meters simply could not measure the strength, durability, and M-Rads radiating off the thing.
Dammit.
Taking aim with the Hunter-13’s rockets, I was about to fire when the byakhee matriarch spat out a torrent of fireballs. The sensor readouts told me they were traveling as fast as missiles and were half as hot as the sun.
“Twelve o’clock!” Jessica shouted.
The number of flaming balls shooting forth at us was tremendous; they took up whole portions of the sky and it took every bit of my skill to avoid them. Mercury and Katryn bounced in the back but there was one advantage to the creature’s size. It was damn near impossible to miss the gigantic thing.
Pressing down on the flight stick’s missile controls, I shot forward two arcane-energy rockets. Ironically, designed by Doctor Ward, these missiles supposedly possessed the power to kill anything up to and including Great Cthulhu himself.
“Will those do any good?” Jessica asked.
“Probably not,” I admitted, not even bothering to see if they’d worked. “Contact the Red Wolves and tell them to veer off.”
The rockets exploded against the matriarch’s chest, blue energy spheres exploding as the energy detonation washed over the massive byakhee’s flesh. It was almost upon us now and I saw it wasn’t the size of a passenger jet; it was much bigger and moving at incredible speeds.
We were also headed right at it.
“John, it’s coming right at us!” Mercury warned me.
“That’s the plan!” I shouted back.
As the rockets’ energy seemed to pass harmlessly across the monster’s chest, I swooped the Hunter-13 between its claws, exiting underneath its legs. The matriarch was not one of the most maneuverable of creatures, for which I was terminally grateful. It was about the only advantage we had right now.
Spinning the Hunter-13 around in mid-air, I gauged just how much damage was inflicted by the previous rockets. As the matriarch threw back its mouth and let forth an ear-splitting roar which threatened to detonate my eardrums, I saw it appeared completely unharmed.
“Oh, that’s not good!” Jessica said, watching the visual feed from behind us. “Got any other ideas, Captain?”
“A few,” I said.
“Are you lying?” Jessica asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.”
The pain in my shoulder exploded, causing me to temporarily lose control of the helicopter. Tightening my hands around the pilot stick, I struggled to stay out of the way of the creature that was descending on it. The matriarch’s massive claws could easily reach around our transport and crush it to pieces.
Accelerating the Hunter-13 as fast as possible, the byakhee matriarch kept speed with us and even gained ground. Pulling sharply to the side, the matriarch passed over us while I felt nauseated. Falling back behind it as its momentum pulled it forth, I emptied every remaining rocket into the back of the monster. A process that only took seconds, but included every bit of hope I had for winning this contest.
The explosions detonated one after the other, burning harmlessly against the creature’s sides before it let loose a shattering unholy scream that shook the metal carriage around us. I felt nauseous just being in its presence, the creature turning around like a great dragon. I was about to try and dodge under it when another series of rockets collided against the side of the matriarch, equally useless against its seemingly indestructible skin.
The Red Wolves had decided to join the fight. Under any other circumstances, I would have been ecstatic. Unfortunately, I knew it could only lead to ruin.
“We’ve got your back, Captain Booth,” I heard the voice of its pilot proclaim. I regretted not knowing the name of the brave but suicidal soldier talking to me.
“Negative,” I told him as I struggled to bring the chopper around. “This thing is after us. Proceed to the Black Cathedral. We’ll distract it.”
No sooner did I speak these words than the byakhee matriarch grabbed the other helicopter within its claws and crushed it to pieces. In an instant, all of the armored infantry on board and its brave pilots died horrifically. There was no triumphant explosion or glorious final battle, only tragic waste.
“Shit,” I whispered, shaking my head.
Knowing we were outmatched, I pulled the chopper away and resumed our passage towards the Black Cathedral at top speed. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction afforded us by the Red Wolves’ sacrifice felt cowardly but there was no other choice. We had no hope of killing this thing with mortal weapons.
I wasn’t going to allow my squadron to die for senseless heroics. Not again.
The byakhee matriarch was soon upon us again, however. It was determined to destroy us and resumed its attacks with a brutal fury. Sweat poured off my brow as the air around us exploded in more fireballs and the creature’s claws swooped down on us again and again. Each time, we barely managed to avoid certain death, maneuvering away by a dozen or more yards at most.
“It’s toying with us,” Katryn said. “It wants to savor its kill.”
“Let it,” I said, as I felt the agony in my shoulder grow to tremendous heights. Worse, it was now spreading across my left arm and chest. “The longer it chooses to toy with us, the longer we live.”
Katryn began muttering prayers to the Awakened Gods, making invocations to ward against evil. I wondered how effective any of them would be against a being as terrible as a byakhee matriarch. Certainly, it didn’t seem to be any less effective in its pursuit. We’d need something a little stronger than prayers tonight.
“How much time do we have, John?” Mercury asked with a weak voice. It was foolish of her to interrupt my concentration, but I could understand her fear.
I just wished I knew whether she meant until we died or reached our destination. Unfortunately, the answer was probably the same. “Just a few minutes more.”
Moments later, we came into view of the Black Cathedral. That magnificent bastion rose out of the Great Barrier Desert with the same twisted glory that I remembered from earlier. Battling on the ground in an almost Napoleonic fashion were the cultists of Cthulhu and the Dunwych. On both sides, terrible nameless monsters tore into one another and the troops, brought forth by the sorcerers to do war on their enemies.
The helicopter shook as the entire battlefield was covered by the matriarch’s shadow. Zooming out from underneath its claws one last time, I proceeded to aim the chopper directly for the cathedral’s tallest tower. We were going as fast as the vehicle was capable of moving and I had no intention of slowing down.
“John, what are you doing?” Mercury asked.
Tapping several buttons on the dashboard caused a series of alarms to start blaring across the Hunter-13’s interior. “Secure your weapons, Jessica. We have eight seconds.”
“Eight seconds until what?” Mercury shouted.
“John, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Jessica stared, realizing what I was doing.
“Not in the slightest,” I said as I hit the EJECT button, causing the bottom of the cockpit to fall down along with the passenger seats.
A parachute po
pped out almost immediately as the Hunter-13 collided against the walls of the cathedral above us. The helicopter’s engines and remaining arsenal simultaneously detonated as the matriarch slammed into the side of the building, impaling itself on the building’s flying fragments and the tower it struck at full force.
Whereas rockets and flame did nothing against the creature, the extra-dimensional matter of the Black Cathedral’s mortar tore through the byakhee matriarch’s flesh like a knife through butter, shredding dozens of its redundant organs. Massive amounts of black ichor poured from its chest and arm wounds, while its wings were thoroughly shredded.
Despite this, the creature was not dead. In its agony, it smashed other towers and the building’s upper levels. This only further widened its wounds and tossed up more fragments into its chest. Its apparent death throes would likely last for several minutes but the creature’s defeat was now inevitable.
I, of course, had bigger worries at that moment. Hitting the ground at a fast speed and short distance, the parachute did little. Yet, Remnant efficiency was not to be denied. Instead of being flattened against the desert sands, we merely skidded across it and bounced several times. Had we not been thoroughly strapped in, we’d still have been killed instantly. Even so, it was a miracle none of us suffered broken necks or paralysis.
“Congratulations, John, you killed a second dragon!” Jessica shouted, staring up at the impaled monster.
I was too busy throwing up to respond. Mercury, meanwhile, held my head as my stomach emptied itself. Looking over at Katryn afterward, I saw even she looked queasy. I suppose even the invincible Dunwych had their weaknesses.
“John, that was beautiful. How did you know it would impale itself like that?” Jessica asked.
“I didn’t,” I admitted. “We’re just lucky I guess.”
“Is it possible to love and hate someone at the same time?” Mercury asked, stunned.
Katryn started un-strapping herself. “Yes.”
“Good,” Mercury said, giving me a few helpful pats on the back.
Looking to Katryn, she handed me my R’lyehian knife and I used it to cut myself free. We were behind enemy lines, within running distance of the Black Cathedral. Unfortunately, if we managed to draw too much attention to ourselves, we’d soon be overrun by cultists. Given the spectacle we’d made over the battlefield, I was anxious to get a move on.
Pulling out the heavy assault rifle I’d stowed underneath the front seat, I threw myself over the edge of the cockpit and waited for Jessica to join me. Katryn helped Mercury out of her seat and threw a knife hidden inside her leather attire into the heart of a Cthulhu cultist raising a rifle to shoot us.
“What now, Captain?” Jessica asked.
“We end this, or are ended.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Infiltrating the Black Cathedral proved to be surprisingly easy. The vast majority of the cultists had already poured out to engage the Dunwych, leaving the place largely unguarded. It was a seemingly foolish tactical choice but one I understood. The Necromancer’s servants were nothing more than a liability once his new human race finished germinating. If the cultists suffered high casualties, it would make it easier for Ward to dispose of them later.
Still, there was a small garrison within and even with stealth there were a number of patrols we had to deal with. Thankfully, the Cthulhu cultists had become no more immune to bullets since the previous occasion Jessica, Katryn, and I had engaged them. This time, I made sure to shoot them in the head afterward. Hopefully, Mister Death had passed along that suggestion to the army outside. It would save them a lot of trouble.
The four of us were currently walking through one of the upper levels not crushed by the byakhee matriarch. The hallways around us were dimly lit by the Elder Thing free-floating illumination orbs and we were surrounded by a dozen deceased Cthulhu cultists. They were the latest victims of our increasingly bloody ascent through the temple. So far, we’d found no trace of Ward or his inner circle, but he was nearby.
I could feel it.
My shoulder pain had gotten to the point of being crippling, yet I was able to push it to the back of my mind. Somehow, I knew we were almost to the room containing this evil place’s master. Using the Hand of Nyarlathotep as a sort of Geiger counter for evil was probably stupid, but it was the only lead we had. We could spend months exploring the temple and never find the insane sorcerer.
“He’s close,” I said, feeling the wound on my shoulder throb and ache with every step. “We just have to figure out where exactly.”
I wasn’t sure I’d be leaving this place alive. If so, I didn’t care, as long as I managed to put down Ward. He’d become a living symbol of everything wrong with this world. Unable to strike at the Old Ones, I wanted to make him pay for the horrors my race had endured.
“I feel it as well, John.” Katryn nodded, using a confiscated machete to decapitate the corpses of those she’d killed. On her back was an old-style M16 she’d used with deadly accuracy.
“We must be cautious,” I said, trying to give a weak smile, but failing. The pain was simply too great.
Mercury, clutching a pistol close, looked up at me. “Are you going to be able to make it? Your left hand has red veins running all over it.”
“I’ll be fine.” I took several breaths, not looking at my hand to confirm her words. “Really.”
“Liar,” Mercury whispered under her breath.
“In your next life, I hope you are a small god of the Earth,” Katryn said to me, placing her hand on my shoulder. I suspected that was her way of saying goodbye.
Jessica just looked away, holding her heavy assault rifle close to her. She didn’t want to confront the issue that I was probably not going to be making it out of here.
I couldn’t blame her.
“Do you want me to pass along any messages to your children if you do not make it out?” Katryn said.
I thought about it for a long moment before saying, “No.”
Stepping down the hall, I felt a particularly strong outpouring of otherworldly energy coming from behind an open doorway leading into a grand, pyramid-shaped hallway. The architecture of the Black Cathedral was different than I remembered, seemingly larger on the inside than it was on the outside. At this point, nothing surprised me, but I couldn’t help but wonder just how much could really be relied upon in this world anymore.
The Dreamlands were a dimension where thought became reality and the Great Old Ones were linked to it somehow. Was it possible they were sucking the Earth into it, somehow? Was it possible they’d already done so? It would explain why the laws of physics were so damned screwy. If so, I wasn’t sure there was anything to actually be done for humanity. We were already dead, effectively, and wandering around an afterlife we had just failed to realize we inhabited.
“So, do we have a plan for when we actually meet Ward?” Mercury asked.
“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as we approached an octagonal door. The sense of power was growing all-consuming now. It was more than just Ward behind it. I really, really hoped it wasn’t another shoggoth.
“Well, he’s like a wizard, right?” Mercury asked.
“He’s exactly like a wizard,” Jessica said, looking over at her. “Mostly because he casts spells and shit.”
“I used to not believe in magic, used to believe there was some rational explanation for everything, like psychic powers or ancient technology used by the Old Ones,” Mercury said, her voice low. “I’ve seen enough since then to know even if there is an explanation, it’s not one more scientific than ‘they made it happen with their minds.’ That kind of power is tearing up the Dunwych forces outside. If you’re going to face down someone who has that kind of strength, then maybe we should have a plan.”
“I’m not very good at plans,” I said, keeping my fingers wrapped tightly around my heavy assault rifle. “I mostly play it by ear.”
“And we�
��ve seen how that works,” Mercury said.
“Maybe you’d like it back with the fish-men, Doc,” Jessica said, frowning. “Who the hell gets kidnapped their first day out from New Arkham?”
Mercury stared at Jessica. “You were slowly suffocating under the ghoul’s care. Your lungs were all but closed off thanks to whatever spell was cast on you. You’d have been brain dead if I hadn’t done something, magic or no magic.”
Jessica started to speak again before I raised my hand. We’d arrived at the iris door at the end of the hall. It was unlike any other door I’d seen in this place but very similar to the ones I’d encountered in the Elder Things’ home. There was a kind of crystal growth on the wall I suspected was some kind of opening mechanism.
I didn’t want to use it.
“Ward is a man,” Katryn said, stepping up behind me. “What methods used to kill a man will be used upon him.”
“He’s less than a man now,” Jessica said, a disgusted look on her face. “You didn’t see what he looked like without his shirt. There’s something living inside him now which has eaten him inside and out but left his still-walking-around corpse.”
“Sometimes wizards invite other-dimensional creatures to share their flesh,” Katryn said, looking down the empty hall from where we’d come. We were far from the fighting now and it seemed any remaining cultists had moved to join in. It disturbed me, though, because in a palace like this there had to be servants. I had seen neither hide nor hair of them, though. I’d also seen no sign of children or families despite the fact the Cthulhu cultists were an army larger than any outside of New Arkham or the Dunwych.
“What does that do?” Mercury asked.
“Allows them a bit more life and power,” Katryn said, frowning. “The costs, though, are severe.”
“No shit,” Jessica said.
I lifted my right hand reluctantly to the crystal. “We’ll cut off his head and burn his body to ashes. We’ll also make whatever spells, blessings, or invocations to Katryn’s gods necessary to keep him dead.”
Cthulhu Armageddon Page 26
