Divide and Conquest (Grimm's Reapers Book 4) (14 page)

**War**

“I should be out there in the heat of battle!  This slinking around in the shadows does not befit me.”  Just out on the field behind us, the sounds of battle called to me.  “The Eden Battalion may need my skills.”

My younger brother grabbed me and pulled me back.  I was surprised Famine had that in him.  “You fool, we need you.  This mission is just as important, if not more so, than the distraction they are giving us.”

“Fine, but let us hurry.  There may be more demons to slay afterwards.”

Veronica, the senior angel with us, pulled out a hand drawn map.  “Death’s memory was hazy, but this gives us at least a place to begin.  In the center of the castle seems to be a room where magical energies converge.  That would be an excellent place for the Tree and the breach to Tartarus to be.”

The castle walls were tall, but there was an underground waterway that led in.  Seeing as how her forces were engaging the angels out front, the passage was clear.  A shame really; I was looking forward to spilling some blood.

The maze of tunnels below the castle was infuriating.  Each time we thought we were making progress, we can to another dead end.  Not known for my patience, I slammed my fist into the wall.  “These aqueducts are getting the best of us!  Surely there must be a better way.”

Our trio of angels looked on, a tad scared about my frame of mind.  “War,” Veronica tried to sooth me, “we need to remain calm.  A being like Sabrina would not make this easy, no matter how few guards are posted down here.”

“Guys, I think there is someone, or rather something, down here with us.”

The angel, Markos, was pointing to the next tunnel.  Against the stone wall was a shadow, moving slowly away from us.  The area smelled of that rotten brimstone from the amount of demons present.  There was no telling what this creature was.

The five of us decided to throw caution to the wind.  Maybe this thing would lead us to the castle, or at the very least, get us close.  Veronica wanted to stay out of sight, so I didn’t get a chance to actually see what the creature was.  Not yet anyhow.

It was so moving.  I hoped we weren’t wasting too much time, as getting the Tree and the breach to Tartarus closed was paramount to the success of the assassination team.  My companions may have been good with playing the waiting game, but I was not.  Softly, “We are wasting too much time!  We must press forward and get into the castle.”

“War, we do not know where we are going.  You need to calm down.”

The Black Rider telling me to calm down only made matters worse.  “We have no sacrificed as much as we have to watch our fellow Riders fail.  We attack this creature and we get it to reveal this castle’s secrets!”

The thing moving in the shadows stopped.  Good, it’d heard my declaration of battle.  The rest of this team didn’t hold my pleasure for a good fight.  No matter, they would deal with it.  We had to deal with it.

As the creature reversed course in the watery tunnel, we all activated our weapons.  My red armor shifted around me, providing a spectral layer of protection.  The three angels had their blazing swords at the ready and my little brother’s orbs of destruction rotated around us.  What kind of devilish fiend was coming for us?

Then it came into view.  “A slug?”  Veronica couldn’t hide her disgust.  “That is a no good dirty slug!”

I could see her shaking in her boots.  “Are you afraid of a slug?”

“No I am not!”  Her voice said one thing, but her body said something else.  “I just do not like things of that nature.”

I wanted to give her some more grief, but the disgusting creature blocking our path seemed intent on ruining my fun.  Below its two stalk-like eyes, a lopsided hole for a mouth opened.  It was from there our enemy unleashed its first attack, slimy green balls of acid.  The five of us dashed away before the three projectiles hit the ground, sizzling the water where we’d just been.

It didn’t move all that fast, but it made up for that with speedy attacks.  As we all separated, it was able to target each of us with the acid orbs in the blink of an eye.  There would be no coordinated attack this time.

Famine was best equipped to handle this, so he retaliated with his black celestial fire.  The first attack sped through the head and the second took out an eye.  The eye fell into the aqueduct, but before we could celebrate, another grew back.  Neither attack did anything to stop the slug.

“I think you only pissed it off!”  Maybe a bit of crude assessment, but accurate.  “Break off your attack!”

His orbs came back to him, returning to their orbit around the small Horseman.  “Your name is War.  Figure something out please!”

I was trying, in-between ducking those awful acid balls.  “If someone could distract it…”  And one of my distraction options took a face full of acid.  I wasn’t sure which of the two Eden Battalion members it was, but he dropped into the water, screaming in agony.  Just when it couldn’t get worse, a large tentacle shot off the slug and scooped up his body.  All of us looked away as the slug crunched away on his body.

The situation was turning ugly.  One man down and we weren’t even close to unraveling the secrets our of enemy.  There had to be a weakness, but where?  The green body offered no clues.  “Does anyone know anything about slugs?”

“In the Garden, did we not used to pour salt of them as a deterrent?”

“We did, but how does that help us now Famine?”  Another orb of acid came in my general direction, which I ducked under, splashing into the water.  I didn’t know how well my celestial fire armor would do against this unknown acid.  “We’re underground in a fresh water tunnel.”

He took one of his black orbs and shot it into the rocky sidewall.  “The minerals in the mountain, salt, or something close to it might be at our fingertips.”

Geology wasn’t anything I cared about, but if Famine thought it was worth a try, so be it.  The two angels joined in the fun, chipping away at the sidewall all the while avoiding the attacks from the slug.  Sensing we were doing something potentially harmful, he began lashing out with its tentacles at us.

Almighty, help me.  I was the Horseman War!  This giant slime ball wasn’t going to intimidate me.  “You three keep chipping away; I’ll take on big boy over here.”

Trusting my allies to find what we needed, I brought my blade up to its full height.  “You and me creature.  Topple the Horseman War if you can.”

It didn’t speak, but it took up my challenge.  Two long tentacles shot forward, going low for my legs.  I cut through the viscus appendages, using my momentum to spin out of the way of the acid attack.  Two more globs came for me, each just a bit closer to connecting than the last.

Forced to deal with those attacks, I lost track of one of the tentacles and it wrapped around my leg.  It pulled hard, sending me crashing into the water below.  It was only ankle deep, but it was enough to make it hard to regain my footing.  Another glob of acid came hurtling right at me.

It hit the celestial fire armor and hissed.  My armor held, but I instantly felt it wane in power.  Another direct hit or two, and I’d be finished.  Each time I tried to scramble to my feet, it tugged on my leg making it impossible to return to a vertical position.  Another attack came, so I rolled as best I could out of the way.  I missed most of it, but the acid clipped my shoulder and the red armor faded from view.  I was unprotected from any further attacks.

With its second tentacle, it tried to crush me, but steel met it and the blade sliced it in two.  I gave a silent prayer to the Almighty, knowing if my allies didn’t find the material we needed, my time was up.

I heard its mouth open, another volley of acid ready to fire.  I tightened my muscles, I was prepared to avoid them as best I could, but knowing my limitations made the likelihood of survival small.  Then my saving grace came – Famine’s orbs crashed into the beast, this time causing significant damage.  The tentacle unwrapped from my leg and I pushed myself away.  Each time the black orb entered the beast it shrieked and shriveled.  Under the relentless assault, it eventually melted into the water below.

My brother helped me to my feet.  “Thank you brother for saving me.”

“It was the only thing I could do.   I mean, who would ever remember the Great War fondly if he was killed by an icky slug?”

The infiltration team used the aqueducts below the castle as their point of entrance.  My guys, we were going in through the back door (five points for a well-placed innuendo!).  With the escalating battle in the front of the castle, the back was empty.  I’m sure Sabrina from her position was either waiting for us to show ourselves up front, or this was going to be one giant trap.  Either or, we were committed.

Looking at the solid castle wall, “There’s a hidden door around here somewhere.”  I started moving my hands up and down, hoping to trigger something.  “The trick is finding the right brick.”

Oz reached out and grabbed one, unveiling the secret door.  “I don’t know why, but this one just called out to me.”

Roxanne and I looked at each other.  “Could it be my mother’s influence Grimm?”

“I don’t know, but for the time being, we’ll take it.”  I motioned over to Conquest.  “Help me open this thing.  It’s pretty damn heavy.”

Getting into the castle was the easy part.  Now came the trepidation.  Would there be all sorts of fucked up traps ready to dismember us?  Would a second army of demons be around any corner, numbers that would overwhelm us?  Or would it be option three?  The place was a fucking ghost town.  No traps, no demons, nothing.

“Brother, does this not strike you as odd?”  We were roaming around the level between the main floor and the dungeons below.  Besides the smell of brimstone, which was everywhere and not a reliable indicator, the place was as empty as a drive-in movie.  “You were held hostage here, so is this normal?”

I thought back on my time.  “Yeah, it was really just me and Balrog running around.  If others were kept here, I didn’t see them.”

“Dad, it must’ve sucked to have been here.  This place is just so damn creepy.”

Truer words hadn’t been spoken.  “Before the night is over, I feel it’s going to get worse.  Prepare yourself Oz for anything and everything.”

So you’re probably thinking, ‘Oh my God, what an awful dad!’  I mean yeah, how does one justify bringing a sixteen year old on this sort of adventure.  Well when you’re half Horseman and half Lust demon, you can’t be sheltered forever.  Besides, the safest place he could be is with me, Roxanne, and his uncle.

We followed the hallway down to the stairwell, which led to the main floor.  Being on the south side of the castle, we’d have direct access to the tower where Sabrina made her home.  Hopefully War, Famine, and the angels were close to the artifact room on the north side.  That would be the source of her power.

As we got closer to the stairs, I heard footsteps coming our way.  “Prepare yourselves, we’re about to get our first catch of the day.”

Would it be Balrog?  Maybe Sabrina herself was tired of waiting.  As the figure came into view, it was the one person I’d hoped to not encounter until after her death – Jacoby.  “Hello Father.”

My son looked different.  The black samurai style armor he wore seemed darker.  His blade looked longer and it had a bandage wrapped around the top.  His hair was a bit wilder and his eyes looked strange.  They almost looked… feline.  Had he discovered his mother’s abilities within?

I put a hand towards my group and took two steps towards him.  “Jacoby, it looks like you’ve embraced your mother’s side since we last saw each other.”

“You have no idea how true that is.  The Empress showed me the path to finding my inner demon and with it, a way to kill you.”

A figure from behind me shot forward.  “You stupid asshole, don’t talk to our dad that way.”

The two boys entered a stare down.  This wasn’t how I hoped they’d meet for the first time.  Jacoby seemed to know of Oz and fired back.  “The son of the whore, yes my surrogate mother told me of you.  How does it feel to be the son of a slut?”

His laser blade fired right up.  “It feels pretty damn good.  Especially since I’m not the one dumb enough to be manipulated the way you have.”

Jacoby turned back to me.  “This is the son you favor over me?  Just when I thought the insults couldn’t get worse, I see this.”

“I don’t favor either of you over the other.  I love both of you, even if you’ve been poisoned by lies and false promises.”

He slammed his fist into the wall beside him.  “I’m tired of the way you speak of the Empress.  She’s the one who’s kept me alive all these years while you’ve been off with another whore and this sad excuse for a child.”

I think it was the insult he hurled at Roxanne that sent him over the edge.  “I don’t give a shit if you’re my brother, you won’t speak of my step-mom that way.  She’s done a kickass job, a lot better than the upbringing you’ve been given bitch.”

Before I could even stop them, the two boys launched themselves into attacks.  Oz’s unique sword hit Jacoby’s more traditional one and the fight for the family was on.  I tried to step in, but a hand grabbed me.  “This is their battle, not ours.”

“Roxanne, I can’t leave my kids like this!  One of them will kill the other!”

She placed her hand on my heart.  “Then we must find the cause of this and end her quickly.  Once she is dead, hopefully her hold over Jacoby will end too.”

Oz kicked Jacoby in the guy, sending him into a room off the main hallway.  “Don’t stand there like a couple of losers, get moving!”

I couldn’t believe my own son was giving me orders.  “Alright, but don’t kill each other, okay?”

**Oz**

Dad, Roxanne, and Conquest ran up the stairs, leaving me alone with my step-brother.  “For all your tough words, you’re no better than me.”

He spit on the ground.  “How dare you compare our lineages?!  I’m the son of the Reaper and the queen of the Nyxes.  What are you, some mistake to a Hell slut?”

He was really pissing me off.  “Funny you say I’m the mistake, seeing as you’re the one who has his make believe knights and takes orders from a complete fruitcake.  You’re even too dumb to see your burning used.”

Jacoby ran at me, his black sword a little too high for balance.  “I’ll show you who’s being used.”  He tried to chop me in half, but it was easy to avoid.  His emotions were getting the best of him.

I blocked the blow with my lightsaber.  Then I swiped at his midsection, trying to incapacitate him for the reminder of our time here.  Like me, he was pretty agile and avoided the blow.  He even cartwheeled into a kick that caught me in the chest.  There wasn’t a lot behind it, but it did create some space between us.

It was time for me to show off my moves.  I ran at the wall and took three steps up.  I kicked off and flipped behind him.  He was quick, but not quick enough to stop me from kicking him in the small of the back.  He stumbled forward, but kept himself standing.  I wanted to follow up with a kick to the knee, but missed.

“Do you think you can truly beat me?  I’ve been trained by Balrog, King of the Minotaurs and have been imbued with Tartarus energy.  What do you have that can top that?”

I didn’t really know what a Balrog was, but it didn’t sound all that impressive.  “Man, I’ve spent the last few years in South Philly.  You learn to survive and stay alive there kid.  Plus, I’ve been trained by Raphael.  Whatever this Balrog showed you, Raphael taught me how to defend it.”

I felt power start to build inside him.  “Maybe that’s true.”  He closed his eyes.  “If that’s the case, then let me show you what I learned on my own.  I doubt this Raphael has prepared you to fight a Nyx.”

Whatever was happening, it was kinda freaky.  Jacoby’s arms get really big and ripped his sleeves off.  His arms turned into weird paw things.  Then his head shifted as well.  Soon I was looking at a half man/half lion standing across from me.  “Still feeling confident brother?”

“Well shit, this makes things tougher.”