Kassern (Archangels Creed) (28 page)

Jason
entered the little room and took the thing’s favorite toy - its teddy bear.  The very concept was laughable to
him
. But it treasured the stuffed animal, and would rail in fury when he took it. 

This was what paid his bills. And honestly, he relished this part. Absolutely loved to watch the creature screeching in frustration, tearing at its fur, shredding the blankets and other toys, clawing at the walls, until it collapsed with great heaving sobs onto the floor. Finally, when it was exhausted, he would open the door just enough to toss the teddy bear back inside. It would look up at him then, through the observation window, with those odd colorless eyes, and its pupils would narrow to the tiniest of slits, as it pulled the toy close under its chin.
Jason
finished his job by laughing at
it,
turning out the lights and leaving.

Except that night.

After taking the teddy bear,
Jason
watched through the observation window while the creature looked around and went to the table where it had left the toy. It searched
the
floor,
then
glanced up at
him
as understanding dawned.
Jason
grinned at it, and waited for it to launch into its tantrum. 

To his surprise, it simply looked to the door.
Jason
's grin faded as the door to the special room began to shudder, gently at first, then violently. When the door flew open, his expression changed to one of abject terror.

Fascinating, Kassern mused.
It had some telekinetic ability.

T
here was no running,
only becoming the monster's test subject with the
beast
making an odd laughing growling sound deep in its chest. 

The attendee had no clue he’d just completed his job
,
nor
that his
secret
employer had planned for him to serve as
the t
est
subject of his own success.

Kassern
watched emotionless as the creature made another incision, this one on the calf of
Jason
's leg after slowly destroying the foot.
It
removed muscles and tendons, looked at them curiously before tossing them haphazardly away. Kassern grimaced as it casually dropped its mouth to the incision and
licked
.

The first taste of human blood.

T
he
addictive
craving
set up immediately a
s
it lapped noisily at the wound.

Kassern
froze
,
realizing another disturbing fact about the creature. Its ability to adapt. During the time Kassern had spent learning all he could, the creature had been learning Kassern's coordinates.
He could feel it, poking around in his mind, curious, dissecting,
looking
for weaknesses.
Shit.

Before
Kassern
could kill
it
, he realized the damn things were networked together, like one unit with many parts. Killing one wouldn't do a damn thing at this point.
Whatever the one knew, all of them knew.
As Kassern exited the creature
'
s odd spirit, he
became aware that an entire pack of them surrounded him
.
All watching him with that hungry grin from
Jason
's memory.

Chapter Twenty
Seven

Troy waited, eying the open field for signs of Kassern. Twelve minutes. Come on, come on. "He's coming," Troy whispered, feeling him close.

The girl's screamed at Kassern's explosive materialization in red fire. "There must be five thousand of them," he began, wasting no time. "They're strong, smart, fearless, cruel, and have a perversion for torturing humans and eating their parts."

"Oh my God," Devyn whimpered.

"Troy." Kassern hurried to him and put his hand on his shoulder, passing all the information in real time into his head. Ten seconds later, Troy shuddered with the details, drawing several weapons and looking out the window. "They're coming."

Kassern nodded. "They found me snooping."

"How do we kill them?" Troy hadn't gotten that information from Kassern and sincerely wanted it now.

"They're moving slow," Karly whispered. "That's a good thing, right?"

"I wish,"
Kassern
muttered
.
"
T
hey're in no hurry because they savor the hunt
. T
hey want their prey to know they're coming, and to be very afraid
. Unfortunately, I didn't get a clear idea of how to kill them. Seems they're networked together somehow, and I'm not sure to what extent."

"Well, let's go find out, I don't want them getting any closer than that right there." They were halfway across the open land and so numerous, they looked like a black wave slowly rolling toward them. The land sloped,
making
them
visible as they
c
ame
down out of the forest
.
Troy
couldn't
see an end to them.

He jerked to Devyn. "Baby? You and Karly need to have a heart to heart about a certain confession that will get us the hell out of here."

Devyn nodded rapidly, but the look on her face screamed
I have no
clue
what I'm supposed to confess!

"Giddy up, brother, this could be a long fight," Kassern muttered.
"
Ladies,
do not
leave this cabin. It's the only thing I can shield at this point."

"Then why don't you stay in it?" Karly demanded.

"Because I don't know enough about the damn things and I'm not going to wait in here to find out."

"What will happen if…" Karly couldn't finish.

"They can't kill me. But they could get to either of you if we're not driving them back."

"Wouldn't it be better to just kill them?" Devyn asked.

Kassern tossed her a grin. "That is definitely plan A."

****

Devyn watched in horror as two lone men walked out of that rickety cabin to face the numberless mass of nightmares.

Confess
. C
onfess
!
She spun to Karly. "You have to help me, I-I-I don't know what to confess, I've tried to think of everything, I've confessed everything I can think of since I was two years old!"

Karly hurried over and embraced her,
trying to soothe wordlessly
.

"This is so stupid
! H
ow hard can this be?" Devyn sobbed into her friend's shoulder.

"Oh
,
God
!
"
Karly
push
ed
Devyn
aside and hurr
ied
to the window.
Devyn
followed
,
her blood freezing in terror.

Kassern and Troy ran toward the mass and Devyn's terror turned to awe
. Troy used the crossbow, the
red
bolts
of energy
leaving
gaping holes in the target and returning to his hand for rapid load and fire. Extremely rapid. She held her breath when he
reached the pack and the crossbow transformed
into a long staff with curved ruby
scythes
on
both ends. 

Devyn noticed Kassern then. The angel was a slow
-
walking tank of kick-ass, wings firing bloody bolts of power as he too swung his staff
.

The creatures
dropped
like puppets with their strings cut
, but dread filled
Devyn
when the things became more and
more aggressive
, moving in faster
.
Eerie howls and screams carried in the air, audible in the cabin, and sending chills of dread down
Devyn's
spine.
"Oh God, oh God, I can't see them."

Body parts
covered
the ground in the wake of
Troy and
Kassern's
slow moving massacre. "What…what's that?"
Karly
whispered.

"What?"
Devyn
stared out.

Karly
pointed. "Am I seeing things, or are those body pieces
moving?
"

Devyn's
heart skipped a beat as she watched.
"Oh hell.
Yes. They are."

"What the fuck are they doing?"

"They're…oh my God, they
'
re coming this way."

"
Devyn
, dammit,"
Karly
begged, holding her by her shoulders. "What are you hiding girl
? J
ust spill it, nobody cares anymore, please, just confess it."

Horror immobilized her. "Fuck
Karly
!" she gasped. "I don't
know!
Don't you think I'd confess if I fucking did?
"

A thud on the roof startled them, followed by a skittering noise, like claws on metal, accompanied by thumps.

Karly
and
Devyn
huddled together.
"Oh shit,"
Karly
whispered. "What the fuck is that?"

Glass
shattered,
somewhere above and they screamed.

"Oh shit
,
oh shit,"
Karly
cried
.
"
W
hat the fuck do we do?"

"I thought
Kassern
said he had this place shielded
,
"
Devyn
scann
ed
the ceiling
for  where
the  threat might be
.

Clutching each other, t
hey crept toward the stairs. "Think
Devyn
, there's something in that head of yours you
missed
."

"We need to hide,"
Devyn
whispered, pulling
Karly
to the kitchen
with a vague idea of cramming into a broom closet or a cupboard
.
A quick glance around revealed a small opening in the wall next to the fridge.
Access to a crawl-space?

She
crouched and worked her nails into the crack and pried the cover to the little
hatchway  down
.

"Come play."

They screamed and spun to
ward
the gurgling voice behind them. Oh God. They backed up
simultaneously until
the
ir shoulders
hit the wall.

The five foot sasquatch
-looking thing
grinned
at them
from a snout of crowded sharp teeth. The heaving of his massive body increase
d
as his colorless eyes scanned the
m like rare treasure,
trying to decide which one he wanted first. 

Devyn
carefully nudged
Karly
toward
the back door just to her left. Her gaze darted around the kitchen, seeking anything she might be able to use for defense.
  Her hand sought along the wall for something, anything. "Run,"
Devyn
barely breathed.
"To the car."

They both bolted
then skidded to a screaming halt. T
he thing blocked their path, shaking its head in a wobbly fashion, grinning, approaching
, slow and deliberate
.

Karly
screamed and launched
herself
at him,
transforming mid-leap into a
she
-
wolverine with red dagger length claws bared.

The thing caught her by the throat and
Karly
g
rowled
and swung her
right
hand, slicing
the grotesque
face open
from eyebrow to snout
.

Roaring its pain,
it snarled and shook its head
before throwing her like a rag doll across the room.
Karly
hit the wall
hard, cracking plaster with her head, shoulder and hip
before crumpling
limp and soundless
to the floor.