Dragon Over Washington (The Third War Of The Bir Nibaru Gods) (27 page)

“Joanna! Aim at his legs! Joanna! At the legs! Legs!” Ellis shouted. The NSA agent’s aim was moving all over the place.

“Joanna, take a deep breath. Aim, fire!” Ellis threw herself down again as the flashes of the firing submachine gun filled the night again. Ellis jumped up the moment the magazine had emptied. The man was mainly hit in his legs. He wobbled unsteadily, but was straightening up even as Ellis watched. She lunged for him and struck with her makeshift staff, putting every ounce of strength she possessed into the blow. It was like hitting a wall. The staff rebounded, but Ellis, in a practiced move, turned it around and struck another blow, aiming for the man’s legs.

It worked. The man staggered, lost his balance and stepped sideways; but there wasn’t any place to put his foot and he slid into the Susquehanna River, emitting a shriek that pierced Ellis’s ears. Ellis watched the waters, the staff clutched in her hands. She didn’t think anything human could make a shriek like that. The thick yellow smoke was gone, leaving a faint sulfurous smell.

Ellis waited, staff in hands, eyes darting all over, ears alert for any sound. But it seemed that the thing was gone. Ellis threw down the branch and headed towards the prone NSA agent. Benny was lying on the earth with his eyes open. They were dark, almost completely black. Ellis has never seen anything like it.

“Guardian!”

“Alpha, what’s that shooting? What’s going on?”

“Benny’s down. You’ve got to get him to a hospital. I’m heading back to town.”

“The hell you are!”

“My cover is still intact, Guardian. We were attacked by something - a man on drugs or something. He didn’t even feel bullets hitting him. I’m going back to town. Alert Endicott, you need to get Benny medical help as fast as possible.” Ellis passed a hand in front of the prone agent. His strange, lightless eyes didn’t follow it. She heard footsteps in the dark. Guardian was finally coming.

***

“Alpha.”

“Guardian.”

“How is Benny?”

“Benny is being evacuated from Endicott airport. They aren’t sure what to do with him, yet.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Alpha, your report wasn’t too clear.”

“I’m sorry.”    

“Joanna wasn’t able to tell a whole lot. By the time she got up from the blow she received Benny was already down.”

There was a short silence.

“There’s nothing more I can say, Guardian.”

“Alpha, this is not like you. It’s not professional.”

There was another pause, longer this time.

“I’ve turned off the recorder. Alpha, what really happened?”

Silence.

“Alpha, if you can’t trust me, who can you trust?”

“Guardian, what happened - what I
think
happened - that is the reason I’m returning to the town. There was - I saw something, Guardian. Whatever it was, it’s new. Something new. Something that can make a man more than a man. I don’t even - maybe I saw something that wasn’t human. I just don’t know.”

There was silence, this time coming from Guardian.

“I know how this sounds, but I’ve got to get to the bottom of this. Rodell knows something about it. The winged hunger - I can’t stop thinking about it after seeing it - I will find out what this means.”

“Alpha, this is crazy. You were just attacked. Coming back to town is madness. We can try inserting another agent, or using long-range surveillance now that we know what to look for. You can’t return to -”

“Guardian, there’s no other way. I’m not sure the attack came from the cult- there were lots of occasions to attack me earlier in town, when they were strong. Anyway, this is important and I’m already in. I’m going to see this through.”

“Alpha, don’t be stubborn. There are other ways.”

“Maybe. But I think it’s too important. Look, I’ve been here for five days. I made contact with the cult’s leader. I know something of the ways of the cult and I know what they are planning. The townsfolk have come to know me. I’ve got the best chance to get the information we need. The attack just demonstrated that there are things we must find out. They are talking about a war. They are recruiting new members, branding their sign into human flesh.”

“There’s not much chance of convincing you, is there?”

“You know me. And I think we barely scratched the surface here.”

“Unfortunately, I do know you. Very well. We’re still watching you from outside town and we’re placing two vans ready to extract you at a moment’s notice.”

“You worry too much.”

“Alpha, like you said, I know you. I need to extract you before you cause too much damage. Eventually The Man will deduct the damage payments from my salary.”

“Ha! I think you just took a fancy to Susie. When this is over, I’ll make sure the two of you get together.”

“Keep to the regular check-in schedule. We’ll come to get you even for a five-minute delay.”

“Roger. Alpha, out.”

Ellis Christensen moved crossed the bridge leading into Owego. She stopped in front of the restored sign of the Stormgod, the horned head watching over the entrance into town with its large round eyes. Ellis had a nagging sensation she was being watched. She looked up, making a pointless effort of trying to read the figure’s expression.

“I first set foot in town less than a week ago. Your followers talk about war, enslave people and take over towns. You’ve hurt an agent, a friend of mine. I’m going to bring a stop to this,” Ellis said, calmly, her dark eyes on the metallic eyes of the horned form. For an instant she thought she saw tiny electric sparks in the bull’s eyes.

Ellis turned her back on the sign and entered Owego.          

Day 14 after Earth Barrier Breach.

Under the Village of Avebury, North Wiltshire, England. Sunday, 15:23.

They walked in darkness: the large demonic monster followed by the smaller black figure of the witch. The demon cast a wavering light in front of it as sinister green flames in its jaws drove some of the gloom away. It shuffled ahead, its elongated head thrust forward, tusks gleaming wetly. It walked on all four, the claws on its too-long arms scratching the hard stone beneath them. Its irregular body produced strange reflections, a spark of light returning now and then from a piece of metal or glass sticking out of its body. Metal screeched frequently as the movement of the demon caused its misshapen body to scream in protest.

As they moved deeper into the earth, the daylight vanished almost completely, swallowed by the distance. The witch looked around, scanning the tunnel they were in. It was huge, as if built for giants. The walls and ceiling were made of an endless amount of huge, roughly rectangular boulders. The tunnel seemed endless, a shaft leading into the bowels of the earth, the faint echoes of the pair’s march echoing infinitely down the stairway.

“The stones in the circles above were probably those discarded by the builders,” the witch said, his voice the only human-like thing echoing down the tunnel. He touched the stone wall tenderly, and then hit it with his gloved fist. A large cloud of dust rose out of the boulder.

“What did they have to contend with if they needed to incorporate this amount of protection?”

The metallic monster walking in front brushed away spider webs spun over thousands of years of uninterrupted work. Dust rose from every footstep as the huge tunnel saw its first intruders in a very long time. There seemed to be an age and majesty to the place, a dignity bestowed by the enormous effort that had been needed to build this thing. The demon and the witch walked in the darkness, descending down an infinite stairway. Their footsteps kept echoing in the stone corridor even when they paused.

The iron mask of the witch swiveled up. There was a sense of widening, a subtle change in the echoes surrounding them. They finally stopped descending when a wall loomed in front of them. The witch looked left and right. There were passages on both sides, each continuing into the darkness. The dark green illumination cast by the demon did not reveal any differences in the apparently identical passages. The witch walked forward and touched the wall blocking their progress. The huge boulders appeared to be the very personification of solidness. The witch shrugged his shoulders and motioned to the right, indicating to the demon to lead in that direction.

They walked for a long time. The only noises echoing into the darkness were the metallic screeching from the demon and the clanging from the pipe in the demonic monster’s left foot each time it hit the solid stone floor. The power the demon still held hummed occasionally, an arcane engine idling, waiting patiently to unleash its destructive energies.

They reached the second turning, to the left, at an angle of less than forty-five degrees. The witch stopped for a moment, searching, but found nothing. They went on, continuing through the tunnel that seemed to be unchanged. Darkness was behind them, the dark green glow of the demon’s maw illuminating only a short distance in front and the rectangular edges of the tunnel’s walls above them. After another eternity of walking, they reached another turn to the left, at the same angle as the last one.

They continued on, but the witch slowed down, glancing back. Finally, it stopped and looked back for a long time, its black silk glove rubbing its throat.

“I am afraid I am starting to see a pattern here.” His metallic voice was weak in the huge and dusty expanse of the tunnels, but its echoes lived, resounding almost endlessly. The metal demon, its huge tusks projecting out of its jaws, its dark green eyes flickering, its posture stooped, looked at the witch.

“I am walking inside the conjuration that protects this place, the frame nonagon. No doubt, I am supposed to demonstrate my understanding of magic by obediently following it, entering and following the conjuration’s body, walking inside the Directives, and finally reaching the Primal Names. I believe a shortcut is in order.” The witch walked back to the last turn in the tunnel, the demon shuffling after him. He looked at the turn carefully and then faced the wall. He lifted his black-gloved hand. It was pointing towards what would be the center of the huge nonagon they were walking in.

“
Saawantaa
! Here!” the black-robed man snapped. The big demon shuffled over and the witch made way for it. The humming noise from the demon intensified, creating a vibration that shook the tunnel. The demon opened its fanged mouth wider and the dark green light held inside sprang out, a thin flame directed at the wall. The stones melted under the impact of the fire, flowing away from it. An oval opening began to form and the demon stepped in, a great steaming cloud rising all around it. There was neither heat nor warmth coming from the demonic fire. The stones groaned under the impact of the power directed against them. They changed, acquiring misshapen, tortured forms as the fire pummeled them.

The witch followed the demon inside, casting a quick glance at the strange stalagmites and stalactites that were hardening on the walls and roof of the oval passage that the demon was creating into the heart of the structure they were in. Stone hardened in the form of frozen waves, as if the granite stone had been liquefied, blown away and then hardened again in an instant.

The demon and witch continued their way inside, cutting through the stone. Occasionally, they reached other tunnels, but the witch directed the demon to continue forward, straight towards the heart of the complex they were in.

“Halt!” the witch snapped, tensing. A huge paw came into view, illuminated by the faint light emanating from the burning jaws of the demon. The demon growled and the light intensified, revealing a large statue, a winged bull with a human face, guarding the entrance to a chamber. Another winged bull stood alongside, the pair having been standing vigil for thousand of years. The witch glanced once at the huge figures and motioned the demon to continue onwards.

They reached a huge chamber, its walls and ceiling lost in the dusty darkness, echoes from eons past still reverberating softly in the huge expanse. Statues lined the walls of the chamber, huge men and women with severe expressions, holding parchments and implements of power and looking down the centuries at the intruders. There was an inscription over every one, sharp, elongated sigils carved into the wall above their heads. There was a heavy coat of dust on every one.

“Idiots. Sentimental fools! Hounded by forces among the greatest in the Skyriver, they still had time to pose to leave their images for prosperity,” the witch sneered in his metallic voice.

A large nonagon in the middle of the floor of the chamber surrounded a deep pit in the center. The pit was sparkling clear, in contrast to the dust of ages accumulating on the statues lining the walls. The rough stone was polished to perfection near it, sparkling in the dark green light cast by the demon as though it was lined by diamonds. The witch approached it carefully, making sure he and the demon kept well away from the nonagon. The witch’s arms rose, palms towards the pit, fingers opened.

A humming vibration filled the air and permeated everything, dwarfing into inconsequence the power the demon held. The witch's black silk robes swam, fluttering in powerful winds. There was a subtle waver in the air; things tended to change in the corner of one’s eye, returning to normal immediately if viewed directly. The air was heavy, ozone-filled and charged with power.

“I was supposed to follow the conjuration in the tunnels, a conjuration that has lasted millennia. If only I had the time to study it.” Even though the witch was careful not to approach the pit, the hum of power flowing out reached and flowed into it through its feet as the witch walked around it. Demon and witch walked onwards, heading towards a passage opening on the far side of the chamber. They proceeded along a tunnel, about three hundred feet long, that separated this chamber from the next.

They entered this smaller chamber, which was filled with stone tablets resting on huge rocky shelves. The silk-gloved hand was raised, stopping the demon. The witch walked alone, the demon’s gaze following him, casting its weak light over him. A pedestal stood in the center of the chamber, a single stone tablet on it. The witch approached it warily, the black iron mask constantly moving, searching, and sensing its way.

“Not even a warding “ The witch looked at the tablet closely. There was a single nonagon on the top, like a mountain rising out of the bowels of the earth and reaching for the sky. Smaller nonagons were below it, filled with various symbols. The witch extended its hand carefully, fingers spread open, walking around it. Finally, he grasped the tablet and paused. Nothing happened. The witch picked up the tablet.

“I should have known better than to expect a trap. The wizards would have no need for traps. The Bir Nibaru Gods would have no need for man’s petty powers and the wizards would welcome any who would rise to power to continue their foolhardy war.” The witch searched around and then focused on the stone tablet. Even though the sigils on the tablet were carved in stone they seemed to be moving and with every heartbeat their positions altered slightly, rotating around themselves and changing their places on the tablet, traveling slowly in intricate patters.

“Well, the old wizards did try to guard their secrets. It’s a good thing I have no real need to try to decipher it. However, it poses a great risk. I must walk the path that has opened before me.” The tablet disappeared into the robes and the black-robed figure signaled for the demon to move onwards, towards another passage on the far side of the chamber.

“There is one last thing that remains to be discovered here”,” said the witch on the way out, casting a last look at the other tablets lining the walls of the chamber.

The demon led the way into the third chamber and then moved several steps away, its metallic claws screeching on the stone floor, the pipe in its left foot clanging. The witch followed it in and stopped, the iron mask swiveling as it scanned the chamber.

This chamber was filled with carefully sculptured mountain ranges, towering twice the height of a man, each miniature mountain resting on a huge pedestal. The huge chamber was crisscrossed with narrow passages between the miniature mountains.

“Why make things simple when you can complicate them, old wizards?” the witch sighed. He moved into the chamber, looking at the mountain scenes around him. The demon cast just enough illumination to enable the witch to see snow, trees and grassy slopes on the mountains; the ancient makers had obviously put a lot of effort into rendering the mountains as accurately as they could. The witch entered the chamber, walking aimlessly by the huge sculptures, glancing around him. There were hundreds of mountains. The demon shuffled behind the witch, having trouble passing through the rocky sculptures without damaging them.

“A simple written message as to the location of the second Kernel Conjuration would have been too simple. You had to complicate this.” The black-robed man turned around, the iron mask looking all around. Suddenly, he stopped. A red glare erupted above him, as if a dark red lamp lit up. There was a sound from above like a heavy intake of breath into inhumanly large lungs.

“When the old wizards complicate things, they do it with style,” the witch said, sighing again. Then it looked up.

A fire, the angry red of molten metal, burnt on the high stone ceiling. A being was emerging from the flames, its black and white fur rippling as huge muscles underneath stretched lazily. Massive jaws gaped open in a yawn, and fangs longer than a man’s forearm reflected the red glare of the dying fire. The jaws closed and the creature opened its eyes. It had a massive, humanoid body with a monstrous canine head. Behind long ears, thick, sharp horns jutted out of the skull, curled up and tips pointing forwards. A dark-red steel breastplate, made out of overlapping steel bands bound together, protected the creature’s midsection. It was holding on to the ceiling with massive paws as it stretched its neck and turned its eyes and long ears towards the witch standing beneath.

“A horned Dog-God minion, a hound of war. Nice doggy? Doggy want a bone?” the witch said and then took a step back as the eyes of the monster narrowed, the black pupils swimming in rotating pools of dark-red molten metal. The fur on its massive shoulders bristled. The thing growled, sending a deep sound echoing in the dark chamber, and bared its incisors, great blades of bone at the front of its jaws.

“By the authority of Baal Morkalev, God of Bir Nibaru, Wargod. This chamber is forbidden to mortals. All who step within it forfeit their lives.” Its voice, deep and guttural, resonated powerfully within the chamber.

“How convenient. The warning is delivered after one enters the room. Maybe doggie wants a metal toy?
Saawantaa
!”

At that, the metallic demon growled, a sound dripping with menace. The dog monster’s head turned in the direction of the shuffling, ape-like, metal demon. The massive monster on the ceiling snarled, its lips drawn back and its huge canines bared. Its ears drew back and the fur along its back stood on end. Red molten metal dripped out of its mouth, falling near the witch.

The metallic demon rose from its stooped position and stepped forward. One ton of bent and twisted car braced itself, accompanied by a cacophony of metallic and plastic screeching. The ape-like demon raised its arms high. As it opened its jaws wide, a line of dark green flame sprouted up, hitting the dog monster and the rocks around it.