Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) (37 page)

“
My side
is
on fire,
”
he spat.

“It’s nothing. A scratch.
Use the pain. Use it to focus.
”

Ken slowed his breathing, allowing the pain to gather
and then
forced it slowly away. H
e hefted his sword with a grunt and
then started to slice it through the air. He watched as Ryan moved in and out of Dementia
’
s range, striking warily,
aiming to do no more than t
o kee
p her busy. But Ryan was
weary, and the blood on his face and arms attested to the accuracy of Dementia
’
s aim.

Ken
gathered his wits
and found
the power that Eleanor and Jade had nurtured and moulded and sharpened. The zone snapped into being. He stepped to one side of Ryan just as Dementia
’
s sword came up and flicked out at the Englishman.

The blade pierced Ryan
’
s neck, sliding straight through.

Ryan folded, his body hitting the asphalt with a sickening smack at the same instant that he died.

“
NO!
”

Ken charged with all the ferocity of the damned, of a man who
realizes
he must live or die right now, at this very moment. It was his time of reckoning.

Dementia staggered back. Ken saw his sword slice through her
shoulder;
he saw it take a chunk from her hip. He ignored the st
icky ichors that spurted
from both wounds.

He sidestepped Ryan
’
s body, ignored the grief that threatened to snap him out of the zone, and assailed Dementia so powerfully that she was forced to climb onto the guardrail. Her dirty white hair flowed behind her in the sea breeze. She teetered, trying to keep her balance.

Ken didn’t stand on ceremony. He slammed his sword through her chest, twisted it i
n the wound and wrenched it
out at a different angle
to inflict maximum damage. He danced aside to avoid the sticky black substance that poured out.

Dementia looked down at her wound and giggled.
“
The Hierarchy issss comingg,
”
she hissed between manic snorts of laughter and pain.
“You have noooo idea.
And after them-
”

“
Gorgoroth will be stopped!
”
Cheyne
rushed
forward. The witches face was a mask of sorrow and pain.

Dementia laughed wildly as her life-blood drained from her.
“Who is
s
Gorgoro
th? He isss of no consssequenc
e to usss-
”
she
whispered
.
“
For after the Hierarchy comes
…
comesssss-, comessssssssssssss-
”

Ken star
ed as the maniac
al
demon finally fell off the bridge, free
-
falling to the churning waters below. After a long moment he tore his gaze away and turned in utter confusion towards Cheyne.

They had both heard Dementia
’
s last, low, sibilant gasp of breath as she plummeted towards the calm waters.

“
Luccccciferrrrrrrrrrr-
”

4
8

NEW BABYLON- THE BEACH

I climbed out of the car halfway along Ocean Drive, one man amidst hundreds, and turned to stare, along with everyone else, at the
beach and the
rolling seas that that would soon become our battleground. The beach looked pretty tonight, lit by a silver moon that rose by tiny degrees above the ocean, throwing everything into stark relief.

Lucy stood by my shoulder, pressed so close I could feel her shivering. Despite the danger, I figured she was better off with us than alone.

Belinda stood next to my other shoulder.
“
Ten years,
”
she pondered.
“
Ten years of training and trying. Does it really all come down to this?
”

I looked further along the line. Beyond Belinda stood Eliza, hair caught by the breeze, her face a study in tension. A glint of pure white fangs showed between her full red lips. Devon Summers and the
Trevochet
’s
were next, Natalie rubbing Johnny’s shoulders as he sat rigid in his wheelchair, and past them I saw the Elves- Eldritch, and Jade with her green
-
tipped hair. I turned my head in the other direction. Tanya Jordan was beside Lucy, her blonde-grey hair falling over her eyes. Lysette and Giles were next, close enough to be
touching
and I could only wonder if they had let themselves fall in love yet, or if they were waiting to see what tomorrow would bring.

I hoped all would go well for Lysette. Earlier, she had told me how surplus she felt. Who needed a mind reader in a battle, right? But I had shared with her a smidgen of my own fears, and she had been gracious enough not to let on that she already knew.

What a team,
I thought. How could we lose?

Belinda spoke softly in my ear.
“
Just so you know, Logan, fighting makes me horny.
”

I pulled a face at her. “Is there anything that
doesn’t?”

“
Not the
act
of fighting,
”
she
amended.
“
More- the
heat.
”

“
I
’
ll be here.
”
I shook my head in mock disgust at today’s laugh-out-loud t-shirt. It read:
Bite Me!
Obviously picked for the occasion. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
“
No one
’
s going to die young today, Belinda. Least of all, you.
”

Our ranks started to move into formation. Devon and the
Trevochet
’s
, Lysette, Giles and an honour-
guard of
marines stepped back to a place
where those three
chosen could bring their powers to bear in relevant safety. Holly was there too, and she gave me a last look that said everything.

“
Dad,
”
Lucy
nudged me and pointed to a spot
on the beach where the sand met the sea.
“
I see shadows.
”

I squinted. Her eyes were younger than mine, and sharper. But, amidst a dense patch of palm trees I thought I saw an insinuation of shadow. Several people, moving slowly. When the next gust of wind reached us it carried the sound of chanting.

“
GO!
”

Belinda
’
s shout, taut with tension and commitment, almost gave me heart failure. I leapt out of my skin, panting as the rest of the line shot forward and left me behind. A thought struck me:
typical.

Lucy looked up at me, her eyes wide.
“
We going
, Grandad
?
”

I
decided it was time
to face
my fears. And maybe kick the shit out of them.

Cries rang out from the charging throng. Ranks of vampires shot ahead, fleet of foot. Lycans, changing into wolf form in mid-flight, came next, their rapidly readjusting bone-structure crackling and popping as they ran. The Ubers snarled as they smelled blood. The humans among us slowed a little, perhaps
realizing
our place was not at the head of this primeval charge.

From out of the shadows appeared Ashka and Jondal. I saw both Destroyers fling their arms in the air.

Visions hit us like a blade-filled hurricane. I fell to my knees, my momentum sending me crashing face first into the sand. Lucy writhed at my side, her gasps of fear driving white-hot spears of pain into my heart.

But then the visions withered away into nothing. I sensed another strike aimed towards us dissipate ineffectually. Devo
n, it seemed, had taken a
longer than expected to cast her healer’s net, but now her power had come into pla
y
.

I struggled to my feet and
put an
arm around Lucy
.
Several divisions of cops were mo
ving past us
, looking scared behind their face masks and shields.

I walked forward, only now noticing that Tanya had stayed by ou
r side. She nodded at me, and I
remembered that I
ought to
be gather
ing
my power. The battle was on. What the hell was I doing?

By the moon’s glow I began to make out the scene
ahead.
A broad, hard-faced man with skin
like
old parchment stood in the centre of a grisly circle, the circle’s boundaries being made up of row
s
of headless and limbless bodies, placed trunk against neck against trunk. Standing just outside that circle were
Ashka and Jondal.

The lead vamps and lycans were now only twenty feet away from the Destroyers.

Ashka drew her sword. Jondal took out a pair of deadly
-
looking tridents. Both Destroyers
stood ready. It struck me as
wrong. Two
people
waiting patiently for so
many
and no sign of them backing down. No matter how skilful they were, they weren
’
t
that
skilful.

“
It
’
s
wrong-
”
Tanya began, then
gasped
as the hard-faced man at the centre of the cir
cle
cried out
.

“
Crack the Earth and Open! Crack the Seals and Open! Break the Lock of the Netherworld and the emptiness between, and Open! I, Loki, beseech you!
”

I walked up to Eldritch.
“
What the hell
’
s going on?
”

There was a deafening crash like a terrible traffic
accident. I looked in terror at
the ground, saw nothing, but up ahead, near the water line, the
very
air was starting to liquefy.
M
y heart began to hammer. It seemed the air was
melting,
dripping
like a chunk of metal being subjected to intense heat. Even the darkness recoiled in disgust, and a keening, otherworldly wind started to howl.

The hard-faced man was shouting at the top of his voice.
“
Crack the Air and o
pen! O, Charon, Gatekeeper of All Worlds, hear me!
Heed me! Crack the Gates, and o
pen!
”

“
That is Loki,
”
Eldritch answered me at last.
“
And he has just opened the Gates of Hell.
”

“
My God,
”
I breathed, falling to
my knees in the sand. Any idea of summoning my power
fled from my mind. The significance of that statement stunned me. How could we ever close the Gates of Hell?

“
Attack!
”
Eldritch c
ried
.
“
Be quick! Before-
”

Vampires lurched forward. Lycans leapt on four feet and two. I saw Eliza lunge at Ashka, and the two mighty opponents went down brawling. I saw Jade strike a
t Jondal and force him
back to the very edge of the circle of bodies, his skill no match for the
dexterous
elf.

Then, from out of the newly-formed dripping darkness
, straight out of its oozing
maw,
burst a horde of
demons. Some had tusks, others horns, some had horrific
-
looking claws, whilst still others clacked away with huge improbable mandibles. Many had wide slanted eyes that shone furnace bright whilst others had eyes that waved on thick, bristly stalks.

The demons
caused havoc in our ranks
, their sudden appearance stunning the
Ubers
.
I heard cops
and marines screaming in
terror. This was the stuff of human nightmare, never before revealed. In a few seconds the demons had surrounded the circle where Loki continued his invocations.