Foreboding Skies (The Skybreaker Saga Book 1) (19 page)

Kovo and Amare entered with a group of three Vampires and a wolf as Vladimir left. They immediately zeroed in on us. The second werewolf was John, the three Vampires had a passing familiarity about them. Their faces were completely covered but I recognized their scent, what little there was. “We are the rest of strike team Alpha. I am Amare, that is Kovo, and these are the Triplets.” Amare was far too formally, I mean, we drove there together. The Triplets, this was the closest I’d ever been to them. I, of course, had heard the stories. Behind Kovo they were probably his best. Kovo continued on to the basement door. I assumed she would be doing the exploding. Like most of Vladimir’s brood she got some fragment of his enhanced blood magic, her fragment was mostly limited to the ability to smear exploding blood on stuff. It was a handy ability especially since her blood could make wards go boom as well.

              Alewyn clapped his hand giddily. “Well then kiddies, here is how we are doing this.” Kovo retuned in time for the pep talk, her shallow wrist wound was already healing.

              “Twenty Seconds.”

              Alwyn nodded. “I am going first. No objections, I get first dibs on anything we come across. I’m getting blue balls over here. I like a big strong man on my ass so Amare stay close behind me and use that nose.” He stopped to consider the Triplets. “I suppose I shouldn’t split the three of you up. Take up position behind Amare. Next come Dragomir with John taking up the rear.” The door popped. “It gives me great pleasure to be at the head of so much raw killing power. Let’s go.” He said as he popped on a pair of designer sunglasses.

              The heavy metal door guarded a short staircase that lead to a moderately sized basement. It was about fifty square feet and filled with shelving units that held what smelled like various cleaning and office supplies. Smell and hearing were my most important senses in a situation like this because my night vision is severely lacking, my vision was already failing me as we moved further away from the lights Vladimir’s people set up. As we left they were turning the lobby into an ad hoc command center. It was at times like this that I wished I bonded with the spirit of an animal with excellent night vision. My nose was on par with the best in the world but my night vision wasn’t much better than that of a human. I imagined that I would be spending the majority of the mission mostly blind. That thought only terrified me a little because everyone else here could see far better than I could. Alewyn with his enchanted sunglasses could probably see like it was broad daylight.

We fanned out and moved toward the back when I picked up a strange scent hanging in the stale basement air, freshly dug dirt. I went to tap my headset only to remember that all comms were down, instead I whistled softly to draw the other’s attention. I tapped my nose to indicate that I smelled something then made the ASL sign for earth and pointed to where it was coming from. Alewyn glided over to the stack of crates where the scent originated. After several seconds of close inspection while the rest of us stood back he signaled Amare to move the crates. Alewyn clicked his tongue then pulled an incredibly slim dagger out of his pocket. At first I thought he was holding a bladeless hilt, but I could see that the blade was about five inches long and completely straight. He knelt down and proceeded to slice through concrete with laughable ease using his oh so thin knife. He pulled back a three by three slab of concrete about two inches thick to reveal the entrance to a tunnel. Alewyn crawled in first then whistled for us to follow. After a few yards the ceiling rose to about five feet and the beginning of a staircase was right in front of us.

The winding medieval staircase had not been included in the building plans. Neither was the narrow tunnel it led to. It was about six feet high and five wide. It was damp, dark and recently excavated. I continuously pulled air to my enhanced nose but all I could smell was the heavy scent of recently excavated earth. Hugging the left wall we moved quietly through the nigh impenetrable darkness.  

It was strange to be placed by Kovo, I knew she was there but the talisman that she still wore meant there was a blank spot between John and me. It didn’t help my peace of mind that I needed to be concerned about her state of mind. I knew at least some of her attention would be with Vladimir. I hoped her distraction didn’t get me killed. Or her for that matter. I trusted John well enough to watch our back, especially in his wolf from, and I couldn’t knock the Triplets, Amare, or Alewyn. The one I was truly concerned about was me. I felt like everyone was overestimating my capabilities. Much like Luke I endangered the mission by coming along.

              The power of the ritual was palpable in the air. It reminded me that despite whatever I wished I was there and lives far more innocent than mine were at stake. We moved fifty feet down the tunnel when I heard John cry out and the smell of blood hit my nostrils. In the second that followed Alewyn gave a sharp whistle that indicated we had company and threw several flash bangs around us while Kovo zipped back to help John. I threw out a mass of air to my right and was rewarded with the crunching of flesh against stone. The customized flash bangs had two phases, a blinding burst of light followed by a much less intense sustained light to ensure we could actually see. The light burst stabbed at my eyes even behind their protective covering, it also caused our attackers to cry out in shock and pain.

              I opened my eyes to some of the most repugnant and savage Fae in existence, Redcaps. My master drilled some of the nastier Fae into me and redcaps were near top of the list. Their name came from their habit of dying their hats red with the blood of their victims. Redcaps loved dank places and were probably the ones to dig the tunnel. They wielded crude melee weapons with surprising strength that didn’t fit their small stature and were armored with mismatched sheets of metal. My blind attack crushed two of them against the wall but they were still alive. Around their necks hung the same talismans that had been popping up all over. In front of me one of the triplets took a spear in the chest but it didn’t look fatal. The other two were returning the favor to the offending redcaps with interest. I couldn’t past the Triplet’s melee and I didn’t have the time to worry as two more redcaps emerged from a concealed tunnel. A third sank a jagged dagger into my calf from behind me. They were coming from both sides. 

                  The third redcap popped up directly beneath me and was still trying to work his way out of his hole, using his dagger in my calf as leverage. The other two flew across the narrow distance between us, their powerful legs launching them to eye level. Seeing a golden opportunity that no one else would ever witness I avoided the oncoming spears by slamming my full weight down onto the little shit beneath me. The flying redcaps sailed into the wall above me before falling into the range of my claws. Two quick swipes took chunks out of their skulls causing redcap brains and blood to rain down on me. The one beneath me suddenly broke out of its daze and began flailing and screaming wildly. I hopped to my feet ready to kill it only to see its dead eyes staring back at me, a spear point protruding from its chest. His corpse was thrown from the hole by the next redcap in line who I promptly shot twice in the head with my Beretta.

The rotten smell of redcaps filled the tunnel as foes without cloaking filtered in and valiantly spilled their foul blood. I noted that the redcaps wearing the talisman gave off no scent even after death. With no immediate enemies threatening me I was free to help my companions. The wounded triplet was up and fighting and I could hear Alewyn laughing with delight over the sound of combat. I wasn’t needed on that end. I turned to the rear to find a pissed John mauling a foe while Kovo killed three at a time with her two handed bastard sword. Then the sounds of battle stopped.

The fight lasted mere seconds. Redcaps were cowards who hid in the dark and ambushed travelers unfortunate enough to have stumbled into their domain. Once they lost the element of surprise and realized they were up against predators far higher in the food chain they should have scurried away. But they didn’t, they kept coming until they were wiped out, pushed on by rage. A Shaman used rage spirits enhanced the bloodlust of the Fae we were fighting to the point that they could overcome their basic instinct to flee. Another heavy stone of worry settled in my gut. It would have taken me hours to undo what he or she did. Whoever manipulated the Fae possessed impeccable skill. I doubted they were in the only obstacles we would have to contend with. At Alewyn’s low whistle we began moving forward again after we took the talisman off the dead redcaps and recollected the flash bangs, they could be used three times before needing to be recharged. Alewyn had been testing them for the past two weeks and we only had four functioning prototypes.

I put as much power as I dared into my beast spirit to sharpen my nose and ears. The scent of redcaps was nauseating and the stench of the ritual wasn’t any better, but I kept pulling in air from both directions. I would rather gag a little than miss an important scent. The distinctive odor of cave troll shit passed through my nostrils, an acidic stench that was akin to burning rubber, but I couldn’t smell any trolls. The others could smell it as well as I could and we all stopped in our tracks. Fighting two cave trolls and whatever else was ahead in such a tight space was a daunting prospect. Cave trolls always moved in pairs and were as stupid as they were strong, and they could give an ogre a run for their money in terms of brute strength. I could feel the barrier protecting our world being grinded away with each passing second, and we did not have a lot of seconds to spare. I was about to try to get Alewyn’s attention when he suddenly walked past the Triplets and stood in the center of us. Amare and John kept watch but were close enough to fall under the cloak of silence.

“The airflow changes about fifty feet, I think there is a large chamber up ahead.” Alewyn nodded and thought briefly before speaking again.

“A cavern and cave troll shit. It looks like we have another ambush ahead. How much time do we have left Dragomir before the ritual pops?”

“Less than five minutes.”

“I love working under a tight deadline. It’s going to be fast and hard.” He made that sound like a dirty innuendo. “We’ll snuggle up real close to them before throwing two flash bangs in. I’ll go left, Amare goes right, and the Triplets go up the middle to clear the way for you Kovo and Johnny boy to sprint through. We will follow once the enemy is neutralized.” I didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone behind to fight an unknown number of enemies. Before I could raise any objections Alewyn pinned me with a dead serious look. “No time to argue my friend.” Then we were moving again with John now in front of me and Kovo behind. It wasn’t lost on me that Alewyn kept me right in the middle of the group since the beginning. I wasn’t any more important than anyone else in the group, I was probably less important owing to my ragged state. Any one of us could disrupt the ritual easily enough and if the ritual succeeded in creating a breach it would take a far more powerful Shaman than me to contain it. There I went being pitiful again, if I could have weaponized my insecurity the entire mission would have been a cakewalk.

Then Alewyn was throwing two flash bangs and my team was sprinting through the middle of two furious roaring cave trolls too busy shielding their eyes to shred us. Their think fur was stone grey and covered every part of its body, save for its claws and jaws. The chamber was large enough to hold more than the Kodiak bear sized trolls. I wondered why there weren’t more guards until I saw the shredded remains of what I assumed was a small army of redcaps, cave trolls were violently opposed to sharing space with anyone other than their designated buddy under the best of circumstances. I was thankful that at least one thing ended up working in our favor.

Before the trolls could recover we were past them and our comrades were cutting into them. We ran down the final stretch chased by the sounds of our friends fighting for their lives. A metal door leaking a nauseating green vapor blocked our path. The natural barrier that enveloped our world entered its death throes. John accelerated before hurling himself claws first into the door. There was a silent explosion that engulfed John as his momentum took the door out of its frame. I created an air shield to stop the racing shrapnel and barreled through the smoking door frame into the ritual chamber. John was staggering to his feet with a few burns and cuts but seemed mostly unharmed, even for a wolf that was an impressive level of durability. Beyond him were thirteen Wiccans holed up inside a circular barrier. In the center laid a familiar elderly black man and above him stood Jessica Stewart with a long black knife in her hand. 

They were sacrificing the old man from the neighborhood, an unquestionably righteous man whose blood would fuel the final stage of the ritual. I thought of all those children that depended on that man and cursed Justice for not being there when it was truly needed. I formed and threw several air lances that dissipated harmlessly against the barrier. Two red orbs from Kovo caused ripples when they impacted but didn’t break through. I slashed away with my claws but barely scratched the surface.

The breach was ready to be formed. The Wiccans’ magic oversaturated the area and the last thing Jessica Stewart needed to do to bring hell to earth was murder an innocent man. We locked eyes and I immeasurably yearned for the ability to kill with a look. I wanted nothing more than to snuff out the wild joy I saw in her eyes. We were wailing away at the barrier with no effect, she brought the dagger down. My vision narrowed to a pinpoint focused on her. The moment the fatal blow was struck, the moment I watched a good man die seemed to drag on for eternity. The cruel dagger pierced the old man’s heart and he shuddered as the life was ripped out of him. A black dot the size of a quarter appeared above the witch’s head and slowly began to expand.

I thought that I reached the epitome of my rage when I fought the parasite. I was wrong. My head slammed against the barrier until I was blinded by the blood. I couldn’t hear a thing over the blood pounding in my ears. My blood was acid in my veins and it was all rushing to my head. I needed to relive the pressure and bludgeoning my head seemed the best way to accomplish that. I could only see a little out of my left eye but it appeared that Jessica Stewart was having a laugh at my expense. She stopped laughing when my skull shattered her barrier. She started screaming when I pulled myself through, it felt like dragging myself across a field of salt and broken glass.

The twelve Wiccans kneeling inside their circles were helpless while the breach was still being formed. Any serious interruption now would cause the breach to collapse with catastrophic effect. The resulting energy discharge would likely collapse the chamber and kill most if not all of us. It was the best case scenario, far better than letting the breach fully form. But I wasn’t thinking about that. I couldn’t have formed a coherent thought to save a life. The higher functioning part of my mind was violently severed from my body leaving the basic instincts of a savage in charge. I was in pain and I needed to lash out.

The women holding the knife              dripping with blood held all of my attention and the way she was starring in horror at me suggested that I held all of hers. I sprinted forward with the intent of slicing her in half but she was ready for a frontal assault. With a quickly muttered spell she lashed out with a bolt of green energy that I didn’t bother to dodge. It struck me on my right shoulder and I felt the pain through my rage. I built the power of a gale force wind in my lungs and unleashed a deafening roar that knocked my prey off her feet. I couldn’t see any visible damage but my right arm hung useless by my side. I looked down at the stunned witch beneath me. Blood dripped from her ears and nose as she shuddered quietly. She may have been trying to cast a spell or plead for mercy but I still couldn’t hear anything.