Leviathan (Fist of Light Series) (27 page)

Unconsciousness threatened to enfold me in its dark embrace. More howls filled the air and I stubbornly shook my head, trying to clear it of those ever-present black spots. Jeeves appeared in all his splendor, the wickedly sharp katana in one of my trembling hands. Stubbornly, I fought to bring my eyes up to the pack, my friends. Monique had fallen, Xavier's wounded form standing protectively above her. Zack, Simon, and Mary were attempting to keep the Leviathan’s attention, but it was only a matter of time before they got a piece of the Leviathan's mind too.

The world blurred as I fought to keep it together. The eddying currents of Air and Water were threatening to consume me, but an inner strength fought the elements with willful stubbornness. I hadn't managed to gather much power, but then I didn't need a whole lot for what Jeeves had in mind. A bloody grin matched the dark being's before me as I latched onto the sword and forced the combined energy into the weapon before I lost control. A frigid aura of power crawled up the gleaming blade, soaking it in the deadly substance. Jeeves withstood the lethal combination, but I didn't expect he'd hold up well over any extended period. Fighting through the pain and my human frailty, I loosed a cry as the katana flew from my fingers towards my prey.

The construct held together long enough to slice into the monstrosity and lop off an arm before it lost inertia. Then the katana began flickering uncertainly as Jeeves was forced to confront the side effects of being exposed to the cold energy of absolute zero.

“
Go,”
I told him, and he vanished into the depths of my psyche without pause.

One hand snaked down to clutch the dagger, but I was fearful of checking the damage. Warm blood trickled down between my legs as I gained a painful standing position. The only consolation was that a sea of dopamine was flooding through me, combating a portion of the pain. The Leviathan loosed a blood curdling scream, promising retribution. Then it bolted off, not once looking back over its shoulder at its lost appendage.

The pack shifted back into their human visages. Zack and Simon immediately checked over Xavier and Monique, making sure they were okay. Meanwhile, I moved forward in a daze with the others. Each step was like someone was digging around in my guts with a length of steel, which wasn't far from the truth. I left bloody footprints in my wake as I stared down at the lost appendage, skin falling off it as energy was no longer expended to holding it on. We were going to have a hard time finding this thing, considering it seemed to be able to change into an entirely different person at will. Kathryne and Jas moved on either side of me. I winced as they braced me on their shoulders. I could feel the skin of my stomach stretching as they took my weight.

“You stupid oaf.” Kathryne hit me on the chest. “Why didn't you get out of the way?”

“Ow!” I played hurt, which wasn't hard.

“Oh God! Sorry.” She stared down at the length of steel protruding from my lower abdomen.

“Holy shit,” Jas cried. “You've gotta stop doing this, man. You're gonna drive me into an early grave.”

My head slanted to one side as a horde of black gnats swarmed my vision. “From the looks of it, that's where we're all headed.”

Razor nudged the dark appendage before us with one dirty boot. “That thing is brimming with power.”

The arm vibrated in response to the touch. Its midnight surface was sheathed in ice, which split and cracked audibly. Zack and Simon crowded around, with Monique and Xavier lagging behind.

Zack's eyes widened. “What the
hell
.”

We all took a precautionary step back as ice began breaking off and a flash of shadow exploded into being. Where an instant before there had been only a slimy appendage, a black hound stood in its place. It
woofed
excitedly, tripping gracelessly on little legs.

Herk finally decided he'd contribute. “I've got this one.” He grinned, preparing to squash the pup.

A sharp pang went through me, and not because I was losing a lot of blood. I didn't think that it meant us any harm. Sure, it had sprouted from a damn
arm
, but I couldn't shake the feeling. A tail wagged playfully and the pup padded towards me. My eyes fluttered between Herk and this black enigma. It was easier than I thought to put myself between them. I called a blast of Air to support my block, redirecting the Herculean blow to the side.

“No,” I said firmly.

“What?” sounded out as a chorus from around me.

Herk's eyes blazed with anger. “We have to kill it. We don't, and it’s going to turn on you.”

“I don't think so.” The hound had melted into the shadows. “We know that thing feeds on souls. Don't you think it’s possible that some might have survived in there and can help us? Shadow here can lead us to the Leviathan, I'm sure of it.”

“Shadow?” Jas groaned. “Don't start naming it!”

Shadow wagged his tail in approval and began sniffing around. He nudged my foot, then bit down and tugged firmly.

“I'll be damned,” Zack said.

“That's no dog,” Simon said. “No dog could have understood that. Souls… It might be possible. Maybe the Leviathan has to process them before turning them into usable energy. It's possible that in separating a group of souls from the whole, they were able to take control.”

“That sounds like an awful lot of
ifs
,” Razor rumbled.

“I still say we get rid of it. Just in case.” Herk's eyes were still afire.

“Beats me.” Jas threw up his hands. “I'm with giving the little guy a chance. Not like we have any other leads.”

“But where'd he go?” Mary wondered aloud.

“He was there a second ago,” Kathryne said.

An array of images entered my mind. It took my brain a few long moments to sort through the collection from the foreign entity. Shadow had vanished from sight. He could lead us, I was sure. I shook my head, clearing it.

“We've got more important things to worry about,” I insisted. “Monique and Xavier need help. Preferably someplace they won't get jumped by bloodsuckers.”

“And you should probably take care of that before you bleed out.” Kathryne jiggled the throwing knife in my stomach.

The pain returned in a rush. “Oh,
shit
.”

M
onique and Xavier were in no condition to come with us. We dropped them off as quick as we could, leaving them in the hands of the Order. I'd had to use the darker side of my talents to steal a car, because I wasn't walking anywhere. Thankfully, Kathryne had prevailed upon the Paladins for medical supplies and gotten to disinfecting and wrapping my side with a healthy helping of gauze after she’d stitched me up. I could hardly even feel the prick of the needle over the fire in my stomach. Although, I suspected my angry medic had applied more force than necessary as a reminder to not be so stupid in the future.

“We need to get you to a hospital,” Jas said for possibly the thousandth time. Somewhere along the way there’d been a role reversal.

“No,” I'd said it more than twice that. “We need to go after the Leviathan before the trail goes cold. If we wait any longer, it'll be able to regenerate that limb and start chowing down on the general public. Then we'll be back at square one with even less firepower.”

“Dude! You had a knife in your guts. You're
not
fine!” he yelled.

Razor was driving at my direction. Herk was silent and brooding in the back row of seats. A tense silence enshrouded the group. Things were getting more and more complicated by the second. The stakes had been doubled, tripled. If we weren't able to catch up soon, we'd be following a trail of bodies. Shadow was able to provide a set of directions, communicated mentally. I felt like I was riding along with a bloodhound as he sniffed out the Leviathan’s whereabouts.

I was the only one who could combine Air and Water with even minimal success, and that had taken months of practice. Razor definitely wouldn't be able to fill that position on my behalf, if he ever could, considering his talents were in another direction. Anyways, I wasn't inclined to being left behind while my friends walked into danger. Whether or not everyone liked it, I was coming along, bloody bandages and all. Once I'd impressed that upon everyone, things got a little more manageable.

“Here.” Kathryne slapped a few pain meds into my hand. “If you're going to be a stubborn mule, then you can't be slowing us down.”

I crunched and swallowed the bitter tasting granules with a puckered face. “All right then. Jas, look up the nearest power plants in the area.”

He got to it. “There's one not too far from here. What makes you think it'll go there?”

“A hunch and an informant.” I grinned. “Who else do you think's been sacking them? If it really is a group of eco-terrorists, I’ll be very surprised. That's where it’s headed. I'm sure of it.”

“Then that's where we need to be,” Razor said, the Earth of his pseudo-flesh grinding.

I let my head fall against the cool window, waiting for the medication to do its work. Worries about infection surfaced and mounted, but I dismissed them as irrelevant. Feeding my anxiety would only make matters worse. I needed to focus on keeping the pain under wraps and refining my plans. The Leviathan couldn't be allowed to escape unchecked. Discovered, I had no doubt the little games it'd been playing would transition into a full-scale reaping. With the ample population of San Francisco, there wouldn't be any way to challenge power on that scale. It would roll over us without missing a beat. And if I couldn't stop it, I had serious doubts anyone else would stumble across its weakness before it was too late.

There wasn't much traffic to contend with, thankfully. If we'd been moving towards the heart of the city it would have been a different story. The plant was located on the periphery of SF, not that I was drinking in the scenery. Pain was something I was able to deal with, I told myself. Ages later, the painkillers kicked in, spreading out into my body in a numbing wave. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, I brought my eyes back into focus. I was still feeling queasy, though, possibly going to throw up at any moment. That was something easily dealt with, so long as it was over quickly. Queasiness was probably an unavoidable side effect when getting stabbed through the stomach with a length of steel.

I swiveled my head. “How long have those same tail lights been behind us?”

“Not sure,” Razor grunted. “They're probably in a hurry and I'm driving slow to keep from rocking the boat.”

“Plus, there have to be another ten cars behind it,” Jas said.

“I doubt all of them are following us. How would anyone know where to look?” Simon said.

“Yeah, I'm probably just jumpy,” I said, lightly tapping on my wound.

The Call was tolling, informing me that we were on the right path. Whatever awaited us, we had to press on. This was the way it had to be, I sensed. If only there was a way I'd be able to face down the Leviathan without an extra hole bored through me. I dozed for a bit, trying to ration my strength.

I woke reluctantly.

“…sleeping like the dead,” Kathryne finished.

“Get up, Caleb,” Jas shook me violently.

“I'm up, I'm
up
.” I pushed his hands away groggily, wiping drool from the corner of my mouth.

“How attractive,” Mary said.

“Give the man a break,” Jas said.

“Thanks—” I began.

“He's not someone you want to hold up as a shining example of men,” he finished.

“Those are fighting words.” I grinned.

“Which you aren't in any condition for.” Jas snorted in amusement.

“Well then. We can settle our differences after we rid ourselves of this little problem.” I tried for a glare, but it fell short and my emerging smile ruined it.

“Deal.” We shook on it as the car ground to a stop, brakes screeching in protest.

The stab wound was bothering me less than before. Hopefully the painkillers would hold up for as long as this little excursion took. But I didn't fool myself. We were all walking into a situation that could get us all killed. Hell, if this Leviathan could suck the souls out of us, we could be looking at something even worse than that.