Gloom Rising (The Book Wielder Saga 1) (30 page)

Gregory, Kavarne, and Lynette walked through the trees with six others from the local gang. The others had been left behind to guard the club just in case the Trinity decided to get brave that night.

When the rectangular forms of the Inquisition trucks came into view, Greg signalled for them to stop. The vehicles were discharging bright blue lances of plasma fire wildly from all their guns at their assailants, and the sounds of panic and shouting could be heard clearly over the carnage. “Watch this...” he said, beginning to move his hands around.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Lynette said in a hushed tone. “Me and Kavarne don’t have a change of clothes!”

“Okay, go undress behind a big tree quick or something...” Greg cut off as Lynette and Kavarne casually stripped off in front of the others and placed their clothes in a messy pile beside a big thick tree. “Or not... you ready now?”

Lynette gave a thumbs up and quickly transformed into her Swiftpaw form, then poised herself on all fours, ready to spring off into the action. Kavarne followed suit and became his hulking Brutebeast self, his legs tense and ready for the charge. Another gang member burst through his clothing and became another hulking black furred Brutebeast, and stood next to Kavarne.

Gregory once again waved his hands around mystically. Chaotic pink and purple energy formed in front of him and swirled around in long wisps, growing in size and intensity until he sucked them back into an orb in between his hands. He twitched out his fingers and released the energy, and a swarm of magical wisps coloured purple, pink, and red snaked and spiralled through the trees in random flight paths. They cut through the foliage, setting it ablaze until they shot vertically upwards and darted back down into the Inquisition’s trucks. They went up in a purple and blue inferno of energy. Fire of both natural and magical nature spread through the trees and camp quickly, and Inquisitors raced into the trees in all directions to escape the brutal attack, but the Supernaturals were on them shortly after.

Kavarne and the other Brutebeast tore into any Inquisitors in power armour, using their brute strength between them to tear them limb from limb, and their powerful jaws to mangle their heads and faces.

Lynette sprung from tree to tree, and quickly slashed at those without armour with her razor sharp claws or tore out their necks with her fangs, before darting off to hunt more prey.

A Werewolf Shaman from the gang used her magic to control the undergrowth, and many Inquisitors were tripped and then strangled with rapidly growing vines and thorns that night.

Up in the trees, a Vampire Nightclaw and Bloodmage drained their victims dry before throwing them back down to the ground again with a thud.

All the while, Gregory and another Mage used the overt opportunity for carnage to practise their most destructive spells on their fleeing foes.

By the time the sun was rising, all that was left of the Inquisition camp was some cindering wrecks, many burnt down trees and blackened forest, and a lot of corpses. No Supernaturals had died or even been injured in the attack, but the MPK’s engaged in the diversion had suffered badly. The Werewolf Shaman and Vampire Bloodmage used their abilities openly to restore the wounded back to full health, and Greg invited the survivors back to his club for a big after battle celebration. He promised that the drinks, drugs, and women would be on the house for the next few days.

- - -

Alexander slumped lazily on his couch as the morning sun shone into his and Brooke’s room at the Hotel Noir. He was in his light and dark brown chequered dressing gown and sipping on a cup of coffee as he flicked through the television channels. He was surprised that the media services were still working as normal after what Lucius and Winston had pulled, but there had been a few positively spun reports on the Governor’s actions in between the usual shows.

The message from Lucius regarding Winston’s promotion and the Archmage’s plan had been received at a very poor time. Both his and Brooke’s phones had chimed in the middle of them fucking. He had her bent over and was fucking her hard from behind, and she was just about to climax when they stopped to check if it was an emergency or not.

Alexander started rumbling on about the fascinating possibilities until Brooke forcefully plunged his head in between her large, slightly drooping breasts and squeezed them in his face. He broke free and immediately began sucking hard on her pierced big black nipples. She forced him down onto the bed and rode his cock like an animal, furiously rubbing her clit with her hand until she came hard and squirted cum over his cock and chest. Brooke recovered for a few seconds to catch her breath, and then began sucking his dick all the way down to the back of her throat. It wasn’t long before he could feel his juices on the way out, and he quickly got onto his knees and tossed himself off all over her face and bald head. It was his favourite, as he loved the look of his white cum running down her dark skin. Brooke knew how much it turned him on, and she made a point of scooping as much as possible into her mouth with her fingers before swallowing it up for him.

They had both showered sleepily afterwards before collapsing into bed together, and they were both so exhausted that they fell into a deep sleep soon after their heads hit the pillow.

Brooke woke up grouchily. She was not a morning person anyway, but she had forgotten to take a Tranquillity potion which made matters worse. Overnight, she had grown a short crop of thick curls on her head. Her usually smooth pubic region was a mad tangle of hair, and her legs and armpits were wild too.

“I’m going to the bathroom with the clippers,” she grumbled to Alexander.

“Do you need any help?” he asked, half asleep.

“No thanks, but I’ll take a coffee and some toast please, babe,” Brooke replied.

Alexander had gotten the breakfast ready and waited patiently on the sofa while Brooke frantically buzzed the hair from her body and scalp with her clippers, and then begun shaving everything silky smooth with a disposable razor.

A news story flashed up on the television while Alexander was looking for something that wasn’t kid’s cartoons or propaganda. A picture of Marissa Aluniana was in the corner of the screen, and a female news reporter was talking in a grave tone. Alexander ramped up the volume to hear what was going on.

“...to confirm, Marissa Aluniana and two of her bodyguards were killed last night...”

“Brooke, come in here quick!” Alexander shouted towards the bathroom.

Brooke quickly walked into the living room naked, half of her head still covered in shaving foam. “What is it?”

“Marissa Aluniana is dead!” Alexander said shocked.

“No way – I loved her stuff!” Brooke said disappointed.

“...Military Peace Keeping forces have released the following information,” the reporter continued. “Both bodyguards died of injuries to the head from what appeared to be extremely long needles. Marissa herself was stabbed multiple times in the chest, and her face and scalp were surgically removed. They have no leads at the moment, but are doing everything they can to find the culprit in this terrible and horrific murder and bring them to justice...”

“Oh my goodness, you don’t think...” Brooke gasped.

“Mortissa,” Alexander concluded. “Looks like she’s found herself a new face.”

Chapter 12:

The Chaos before the Storm – Part 2

Lucius poured Xavier a glass of fine red wine and topped it up with a bottle of blood from his fridge.

“Thank you, Lucius,” Xavier said, taking a big sip.

“So tell me honestly: what do you think?” Lucius asked his old friend.

“Well, it is an extremely radical and dangerous plan, but you ruled in the open once before. It could work again after Winston’s power play. The only things that worry me are the Trinity and the Archmage,” Xavier replied.

Lucius nodded. “The Trinity were bound to attack us sooner or later anyway. We were always too ambitious and powerful, even before. The quicker Winston does his thing, the better. They shouldn’t be an issue when we’ve got an army of Alts to throw their way. There is some good news on that front though.”

“Oh, really? What good news is that?” Xavier asked.

“The whispers from our sources are that their prime Book Wielder, Joan, went crazy and attacked the Trinity leaders in their sleep. One of them is definitely dead. By the sounds of it, it was old Svorn that got whacked, and Cherriesa was almost next.”

Xavier was startled. “What happened to her? She’d been working for them for centuries.”

“No one knows. Silvario had her torn limb from limb by the accounts we’ve heard. It’s a blessing in disguise. Just think: one down and two to go, and we didn’t even have to lift a finger.” Lucius smiled.

“But they’ll most likely blame us for the incident,” Xavier warned.

“Yes, they probably will, but it looks like the merger is ready to go ahead tomorrow. Like I said before, we won’t have anything to worry about once we’ve got an army of Alternatives from the Gloom backing us up.” Lucius hesitated. “The Archmage, on the other hand, does worry me. I have a nasty feeling he’s going to get what he wants and then forget the people that helped him get it. We’ll go along with it for now – it’s too good an opportunity to miss out on – but we’ll keep a close eye on things. If we feel this Archmage is taking us for a ride then we’ll have to deal with him before he gets his old powers back.”

“What if Winston and Lewis don’t like it?”

“If it comes to it then I’m sure they’ll side with me,” Lucius said confidently. “I can’t imagine that they’re swallowing all this business without the slightest bit of doubt. This Omniosis is new on the scene, and I’m the one that put them where they are today. They’ll remember that if push comes to shove.”

“I hope you’re right,” Xavier said, taking another sip of wine and blood.

“You’re not convinced?” Lucius asked curiously.

“Winston won’t be a problem. He’s a bit of a risk taker when he feels like it, but he usually thinks things through clearly. He’s loyal to you and knows that you’ve got his best interests in mind. However, Lewis is a hard one to read. I can’t put my finger on it but there’s definitely something odd about him...”

- - -

Alice was stressed, tired, and completely flummoxed. Overnight, the world had gone even madder than it was before. Military Peace Keepers were in open rebellion on Imperia, the Governor had popped back up from wherever he was hiding and was spouting anti-Inquisition slander across the world’s airwaves, and on a personal note her favourite singer had been brutally murdered. Now General Wallace had informed her that Supernaturals were causing havoc openly on Industria, and General Azalea was having trouble on Tropica with both renegade MPK’s and a new human resistance movement that they were all sure had been stirred up by the Supernaturals.

She had just got off the radio with them both. They had called to request back up on their respective continents, but had ended up losing a big part of their forces for Alice’s current plan to retake the Capital and take Winston into custody. Suffice to say they were not happy with her, but she had assured them that if they dealt with the main cause of the problem, which was sourced in the Capital City, then things across the rest of the world would become far easier. They had begrudgingly agreed, but then they had to do as she said, and being popular wasn’t even close to being on Alice’s list of priorities.

Alice was working on highest floor of Central Tower that hadn’t sustained damage. The repairs were on the way but they still had a lot of work to do before the top floor was habitable. She’d had the office tables and computers cleared out, a sturdy security door installed on the stairwell and elevator for when it was working again, and had a bunk, desk, and a few personal effects brought up to make the place feel slightly homely. Since the attack on the Isle and her meeting with the Twin Goddesses, she liked having a few comforts around to help her feel at ease.

The stairwell door buzzed. “Ma’am?”

Alice walked over to it and pressed the touch screen interface beside the door. She held the hammer in her spare hand just to be on the safe side, and an image of the other side of the door came up on the screen. A female Inquisition trooper was standing patiently to attention by the door.

Alice let her in. “What is it, trooper?”

“Our patrols have caught an intruder on the Isle, ma’am. Surveillance shows him slinking around the old ruins, but we can’t tell where he came from. He says he wants to talk to you,” the trooper replied.

“Me?” Alice was flummoxed. “What does he look like?”

The trooper gave her a strange look. Nothing had been formally announced about the existence of Supernaturals yet, but some of the Inquisition had figured it out. Others were still a bit naive or in denial. “Well, he looks like a man? And yes, he even asked for you by name. We have him in guarded detention. Do you want to see him or should we try a harsher interrogation?”

Alice thought about it for a moment and then decided to go along to see who this man was, taking the hammer and a plasma pistol with her. The trooper drove her in a troop truck with half a dozen other Inquisitors, to the grim dark concrete detention centre that was still being constructed. Alice had decided to convert one of the half-ruined buildings into the facility after the puppet attack, and after the recent events, she definitely wanted any captives held and interrogated on the Isles rather than on the continents. They entered the section of the detention centre that was actually built and went underground, down to the first of what would be many floors of cells.

The cell was a small rectangle cut into the concrete, and was furnished only by a wooden bench, a small toilet, and a sink in an alcove in the wall. Behind a translucent blue wall of plasma energy, a man in a fine brown robe lined with gold sat patiently on the bench with his hands in his lap. His hair was black and spiky, he had a finely trimmed dark brown beard, and he wore a pair of old fashioned gold rimmed spectacles. Behind them, Alice could see that his eyes were purple. If her book was correct then that would make him a Mage.