Babel Found (6 page)

“Not now, Todd,” Ben said, connecting the call as he concentrated on his route. The wind behind him began to swirl, howling like a funnel cloud was forming right behind him. He peeked into his rearview mirror, seeing exactly what he didn’t want to.

“Oh, God…”

Marriott Stanton Hotel

South Beach, Miami, Florida

We continue our retreat and turn right, heading around the northern end of the hotel. Nicole and I flinch in time with one another when the sound of a gunshot echoes off the buildings around us. I hurriedly check us both but see no wounds. It’s only when we stop and turn back towards the water that we see the tree I slammed the waiter into begin to fall.

“No way,” I say a little awestruck, Nicole tugging on my arm.

“Yes way,” she says, getting in front of me. “We need to get to the car and get back to D.C.”

“And then call in the army…” I add. I meet her serious gaze and understand what she means, shaking my head in disbelief. Best case scenario, we get away unscathed. If this goes poorly—a likelihood that’s becoming more and more of a possibility with every second—the people of South Beach are going to get a magic show of a lifetime.

The two differences are A) it’s starring me, and B) the
magic
is quite real and not some cheap illusion or slight-of-hand trick.

“Rargh!”

The angry shout reverberates around us like the tree snapping, pushing us forward even faster. We round the northeastern corner of the hotel and continue into the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Ocean Beach Park. We enter, cutting through some of the decorative shrubs and flowers, completely ignoring the marked pathways. It sits directly between our hotel and the next one to the north. Looking around, I see stunned expressions turn our way. I guess seeing two people only dressed in bathing suits, pushing through the hotel’s hedges is an odd sight.

If only they’d seen what I have.

A rumbling sound starts shaking the grounds around us, drawing our attention back to the beach. Voices of shock and panic erupt from the other people in the small park, sending them into a frenzy—and for good reason.

Nicole sees it first, gripping my arm hard, digging her nails into my flesh. I ignore the pinch in my bicep, seeing what she did a second later. While she’s holding onto me, all I have to hold onto is a false sense of hope.

A wave, easily thirty feet high, is coming straight for us, racing across the surf like it was just summoned by…

Damn.

I’ve seen this before, but it was in a dream—a vision really. Nannot—The End—did the same thing to his homeland, just before he wiped it off the face of the earth. The only positive is that this wave is considerably smaller than the one that helped flatten Atlantis. It’s not directed at the coast as a whole either. It’s heading directly for the park.

“Damn.”

It’s as wide as the area around us, aligned with our exact location.

Nicole turns to run, but I stop her and pull her in close.

“What are you doing?” she asks, not understanding my motives for staying. “We need to go!”

“Trust me,” I say, motioning to the people around us. “We need to get them out of here first. I having a feeling that if we run the wave will just follow us and even more people will die.”

She bites her lip, but agrees and starts yelling for people to run, as I do the same to the other part of the park. Thankfully, the wave is easily seen and everyone—minus us—starts to scatter. I watch as the hotel patrons head into various buildings, or instead just sprint north or south down Ocean Drive.

“So,” she says, standing beside me, fists clenched, “what’s the plan.”

I just smile and pull her in close, kissing her hard on the lips. She kisses me back, sharing the odd moment. It’s not exactly the most romantic of settings, but it’ll have to do with what I’m about to attempt.

“If this doesn’t work—”

“I love you too, Hank,” she says, cutting me off. “Just don’t get us killed.”

I shrug and raise my right hand above my head, eyeing one of my newest additions. It’s what is allowing me to conjure my powers so easily. I then pull Nicole in tight with my left. “I kind of thought after the show you just put on, you’d want to die, or at the very least, disappear forever beneath a maelstrom of water.”

Her face pales. “Did that many people see me?”

I nod. “Every man is jealous of me and every woman on the beach hates your guts.”

Under the circumstances, her cheeks actually flush a little with a hint of rare humiliation.

“Don’t worry,
Marion
,” I say, closing my fist, watching her eyes roll. “I got this.”

I hope….

I breathe in deep and push.

*

“Report,”
the voice spoke, echoing through their shared consciousness.

A pressure built up in his head, warning him of three incoming communications. When he was young, a
single
pulse almost killed him. It was the first time he experienced the mental intrusion, but now taking as many as he was now was second nature, like feeling a phone softly vibrating in your pocket.

“Underway in Orlando, Susanoo,”
a feminine voice said.

“And in the desert,”
added a deep masculine voice.

He waited for a third confirmation. But it didn’t come.

So instead, he sent a stronger pulse to her, hearing a squeak as it hit, causing her a small amount of…discomfort.

“And you?”
he thought.

“Yes, Susanoo… My apologies. Everything is underway in Washington as well.”

Susanoo smiled, projecting his emotion into the thoughts of the others. They would see to their own duties and eliminate their targets. It’s the only way they could all take the next step unhindered.

He had confidence in the others, even
her.
Over the years, she had softened her stance on things, but in the end, she always completed her tasks.
No matter how reluctant.
They were his equal in countless ways. Their targets were also the most exposed and the weakest of the quarry they sought.

But mine
, he thought, this time only to himself,
this one is different. He holds the power of the Ancients.

Susanoo laughed.
If only he knew the true potential of his abilities… The Chosen and the Source together.
He smiled at the thought.

He completely disconnected from the realm within and forced his consciousness back into the physical world. A tree lay by his feet. It was the first time in
years
that he lost his temper like that.

He forgot how good anger felt.

As he practiced countless times, he quickly composed himself and cleared his mind, facing the ocean. Susanoo reveled in the salty breeze wafting off of it. He simply raised his hands out to the side, like he was saying a prayer. But he wasn’t… He was calling to the elements. He was calling to
his
element.

A pull on his stomach threatened to pitch him forward, but he fought through it, concentrating on the task at hand. It had also been years since he used this part of his gift. The talents were handed down to him and the others at birth from their parents. Then when they were still young, their training began.

Young…

How long was it now? He couldn’t fully recall honestly. When you’d been alive as long as the
Judges
, time really meant very little. Their bodies and minds never aged—never slowed. They’d live among the scourge of the world, or sometimes they’d stay in hiding for just as long, bored with it all.

It sickens me that we’ve had to wait this long.

While their physical looks never changed, their accents did depending on the region they lived in. Like a human, you eventually adopted the language—English or not—of those around you. Not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves when they did surface, they stayed within the parts of the world they
looked
like they belonged in.

Susanoo remained in Asia, his features allowing him to pass as one of them. Phoenix stayed mostly around the islands between the Americas, currently posing as a Puerto Rican lifeguard. Terra stayed in Europe, becoming an Italian real-estate saleswoman. She had really taken to Rome, spending almost her entire life in Italy, following their homeland’s exodus. Even the bearish Anu loved the Cajun culture, so he naturally preferred southern Louisiana after arriving during the Civil War-era slave trade. He
allowed
them to take him from Africa, stating that it was easier for traders to cross the oceans then he. Once he did come ashore, he slaughtered his
captors
.

But now, they were fulfilling an agenda that had spanned millennia, spurred by the arrival of Hank Boyd, the
Chosen One
. Once they captured him and killed the rest, they, the
Judges of An’tala,
would finally be able to truly show themselves—their proper forms. They’d have the power to finish what was started the night their birthplace was destroyed. Their master had promised them as much.

But first, we need ‘him’ to enter the Citadel.

Then, they, along with their master, would be unstoppable.

Susanoo lifted his hands violently, reaching for the heavens, commanding the seas to obey him. They did, coming to life, flowing over the sand and whatever unfortunate beachgoers that didn’t have the sense to flee in time. He laughed and invoked his will on frothing waves, even more than before, growing them to the height of a three-story building.

He swiped at the air, right-to-left, directing the miniature tsunami west, towards his targets. He had no ill-will in killing the attractive blonde, but Boyd must live. His master deemed it necessary. If it came to it, Susanoo himself would save the man.

Grinning ear-to-ear, he slammed his fists down like a sledgehammer, making the waves dive straight into the small tree-lined square. Then, he relaxed and watched the wall of water fall, admiring his talents.

That is, until a sparking inferno of electric-green erupted under the arching tidal wave, burning so hot that it consumed his creation, turning into a fine steaming mist. Susanoo stumbled at what he’d just witnessed. He wasn’t aware that Boyd had such control and strength. Summoning the fires of An’tala wasn’t usually that easy.

No matter
, he thought, sloshing forward through the knee-deep water. He was intent on finding out exactly how it was done either way.

Typhoon Lagoon

Orlando, Florida

The small blade unfurled from within the lifeguard’s hairclip, as she slashed across Kane’s exposed throat. His left hand shot up and blocked the attack, just as the tip poked into his skin, drawing a small amount of blood.

Breathing a quick sigh of relief, Kane countered, thrusting his right palm into the much smaller woman’s wrist sending the weapon flying. It shot into the air, passing directly between the heads of two stunned boys. As one of them fainted, the razor-sharp knife stuck into one of the large wooden support posts behind them. The conscious one squealed like a baby potbelly, sending everyone else around them into a flurry of movement.

Kane’s small victory was short-lived, though. Instead of the Olivia-sized Phoenix just turning tail and running, she did the exact opposite and pressed the attack further. Half-surprised by her decision, Kane did what he could to brace himself as she launched her lesser frame at him, driving him backwards down the enclosed tube slide with incredible strength and ferocity.

Entangled together, Kane kneed and elbowed his assailant in the tight confines of the twisting tunnel, unable to see much of anything in the process. As the last bit of daylight disappeared, he cringed as he heard the echoing screams of the others along with that of Olivia.

Grunting and growling, Kane landed sharp blow after sharp blow, using every close-quarters fighting technique he could think of. Unable to land a heavy-fisted knockout punch, he had to rely on quick and apparently ineffective jabs.

None of them are doing a lick of anything.

Changing tactics, Kane snapped out his fist, aiming for her throat, trying to deliver a shot to her windpipe. It was the easiest way to defeat an enemy who didn’t have a pair of balls to kick. You can’t fight if you can’t breathe. Throat chop or ball knock…they both had the same effect at the end of the day.

But she caught the strike with her chin, pinning his hand in place between her lower jaw and her chest. His disbelief over the creative move didn’t last, however, going from shocked to terrified in less than a second as her eyes started to glow. They quickly changed from the previously bright white-blue to a smoldering red-orange.

“Aw, shit,” he said, trying to push away from the petite girl. Kane didn’t know if she was going to go supernova or anything, but he being dressed in only a pair of board shorts wasn’t going to help against this kind of heat.

Neither would SPF one million.

Finally, he wriggled out of their entanglement, planted his feet into her chest and shoved, launching himself forward while still facing the wrong way. The increased velocity shot him headfirst faster—and that’s saying something since they were already traveling over 30mph to begin with.

As he was propelled, she was thrown back, widening their distance enough for him to catch his breath and regroup. Their ride was about to end after all, and he needed to think of a way to snuff out this little firecracker. Whereas Olivia melted him passionately from the inside out, this
Phoenix
girl would do it physically—and quite literally.

I wonder if she can burn underwater.

He was about to find out as the tube ended, throwing him into a small pool of water at its base. The stairs were straight ahead, but the going would be slow. Wading through the water would be a rough go, so instead, he stayed under and waited for the phoenix to come to him. He’d have to time it right, but there’s no way she’d see it coming.

From under the overly chlorinated water, Kane saw a glow emanate from somewhere in the tunnel, watching it grow brighter and brighter as the lifeguard grew closer. Then, he saw her as she appeared, following the tunnel’s only exit. He made his move, his lungs just starting to burn from the lack of oxygen.

Kane planted his feet and shoved, leaping from the normally waist-deep water like a dolphin-seal hybrid. He ducked his head and in midair drove his thick shoulder into the airborne killer, hearing an audible
‘oof’
from her as the air was forced from her lungs.

He continued his forward momentum, gulping a deep breath for himself, and grabbed her tank top, laying as much of his weight into her as the buoyant water would allow. She struggled as they both went under, and Kane watched as her eyes dulled just a pinch. He held on and locked his arms as she kicked and pounded on his face and chest, but thankfully the attacks were basically reduced to slow motion and easier to dodge. While annoying, the ones that did land did no real damage, except making him close his eyes or turn his head.

She suddenly stopped struggling, giving Kane the impression that she passed out. He cracked his eyes open, hoping she wasn’t about to poke one of them out.

Boy, was he dead wrong.

Phoenix was very awake and massively pissed off. He watched as her eyes brightened ten-fold, making Kane let go and shield his face. Then, the world turned white and he was hurled from the tide pool, landing hard on the dry land up and behind the stairs.

His skin itched and burned and he hurriedly checked to see what type of damage was dealt. Lucky for him, it didn’t look any worse than a bad sunburn. He could only guess the water lessened the impact of her going off like a flashbang.

Kane sat up only to see his attacker stand, hands outstretched and on fire. They blazed like Hank’s did but were a blistering white hot instead of Hank’s electric green. While hers was most definitely fire, Hank’s was a weird type of energy that resembled it.

A bang from behind, got both their attentions, making Phoenix turn slightly. Kane watched as the smaller woman’s expression switched from pure rage to confusion as Olivia shot out of the slide’s exit. In one swift move, his girlfriend snapped her strong leg across the witch’s right temple, connecting her hard shin bone with a much softer target, knocking the fight right out their attacker.

Leaping back into the water, Kane helped a now hobbling Olivia to her feet, quickly dragging her to the stairs. Together they scaled them, she leaning on him for balance.

“Hot damn, Belle!” Kane yelled, eyes wide in amazement. “That was friggin awesome!”

But the look on Olivia’s face said she regretted every second of her part. “Say that to my shin. Feels like I kicked a brick wall.”

“You know how that feels?”

She watched as Kane’s boyish grin turned into a frown as a glow grew from behind her. Olivia turned and saw it. The lifeguard’s body was glowing from the inside, almost completely revealing her skeletal structure. It was like looking at an x-ray in reverse. The darker part was the bone, instead of the tissue.

“We need to go,” Kane said, hauling Olivia away.

“Where are we going to hide?” she asked, constantly taking peeks behind them as they moved away.

“Hide?” Kane asked. “We ain’t hiding anywhere. We’re getting the hell outta’ Dodge—I mean, Disney—back to D.C.”

“Kane! You read me?”

He flinched, forgetting his sunglasses somehow stayed on his face during the underwater excursion. He slowed and let go of Olivia as the pair simultaneously answer their NVS4’s.

“I’m here, Hank. What’s up?”

“Oh, not much. Just getting chased down Ocean Drive by a miniature tidal wave of doom… You?”

Shit,
Kane thought,
them too.

“About the same here, except ours is a five-foot-zip pyro from hell. She’s basically a pierced up Smurf-witch. Nearly incinerated me, but Olivia got the jump on her and gave us some breathing room.”

He paused, listening to Hank curse, hearing him sounding out of breath, no doubt running for their lives. He could picture Hank and Nicole sprinting barefoot through the crammed South Beach streets like a damn Hollywood movie set. Only it’s not a green screen behind them simulating the water.

Ours isn’t CGI either.

“Stay alive and—” Hank started to yell before his comms went silent.

A roar erupted behind them and they slid to a stop almost falling on the slick ground. They watched in awe as the tidal pool glowed in a fireball, setting the surrounding trees and structures ablaze. The slide’s exit tunnel then melted into a pile of noxious goo, looking like silly putty.

“Oh, God,” Olivia quietly said among the screaming masses around them. Reflexively, she squeezed Kane’s arm tighter. “What are we going to do?”

Kane shrugged. “Only one thing to do…”

Olivia looked up at him, her eyes desperate for good news.

“We run like the devil herself is chasing us.”

He didn’t voice the next part, but he thought it to himself.

And hope the others survive too…

*

“Wake up!”
she yelled. Her inner presence was alive and well, awake and ready for another round with the impressive duo. Phoenix hadn’t seen a real battle in some time. It was actually a pleasing feeling to see them fight back with such brutality. She expected it from the large man, but the woman was what caught her attention the most.

“She’ll die first.”

Phoenix was getting agitated by the weakness her immortal, yet, still fragile body was showing. While she could expedite the fractured skull’s healing, it would take much longer than she wanted to wait.

“Grrr!”

Her hand twitched showing the first sign of life in the last few seconds. She burned hotter and hotter on the inside, scorching the land around her with her primal rage. The water around her was nonexistent, turned to steam. If she needed to breathe like a normal human, her still functioning lungs would be able to, but it wasn’t necessary now. Once maybe, but not anymore. The pain she endured to become what she was now was something even she wouldn’t wish upon anyone. It was the only thing she ever regretted.

She truly loved the thrill of being an all-powerful being, but the cost of everyone she knew and loved, killed by Father Time… That was something she lamented to this day. She left behind her friends and those she cared about to outlive them.

“Have I truly lived?”

She shook the question away, furious at the sadness she was feeling build up inside of her. She would burn these two alive and make herself feel better. First the woman…then the man. She would make him watch as she cooked his little friend…slowly.

Susanoo may be the most powerful of them all, but Phoenix knew she was truly the most dangerous. She was the living embodiment of lethality—as angry as a blazing inferno looked. There was no one she would spare. She hated what the human race had become more than anyone. It was her passion now. Her reason for still being here after all this time. Her rage kept her
alive.

It was truly the only way for the Judges to perish. They would have to freely surrender, like the original Priests of An’tala did all those years ago. They trapped Nannot’s very soul in an obsidian flame. It was sealed with their physical power, never to be released until someone willingly did.

It happened, but Nannot chose a less-than-worthy host.

“We need Hank Boyd.”