Seal of Solomon (Journeyman Book 2) (31 page)

The rifle boomed, firing a powerful, glowing shot at the approaching horde. It struck the foremost demon he had targeted, blowing him to pieces, a resulting cloud of iron dust slowing a couple more of them.

He fired again and the demons scattered, spreading out their advance to minimize the effects of Marcus’ ammo. That’s when he saw her in the middle, strutting confidently like some stuck-up model on a catwalk. He stopped firing for moment, setting her in his sights.

“What do you see?” asked Joey, noticing Marcus’ shift.

“I see a dead she-demon bitch,” Marcus said, pulling the trigger. “See you in Hell.”

She ducked just as the rifle thundered, the round barreling toward where she once stood. It struck one of the lessers that had been running behind her, bursting him into a gory display of blood and smoke.

“Fuck!” Marcus spat, “I waited too long; she’s fast.” He searched again, but didn’t see her. Not wanting to let them advance any further he fired, joined by Joey. Reaching into his coat he, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and smashed the button. “Om, it’s getting a damn sight smokey down here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!”

The
Odyssey
responded almost immediately, rising higher and turning slightly to port. There was a high pitched whine emanating from the vessel, as if something were spooling up. A strip of hull then receded from stem to stern, leaving a dark line in its place.

“Let’s see if this works,” said Om energetically over the speaker. “Engaging Omega.”

“Oh my,” said Marcus, shooting up to his feet. He grabbed Joey by the collar and rushed them away toward the portal. “We should go this way!”

A powerful beam emerged from the line in the hull, striking the ground with a dazzling display of cerulean light. The glow encircled the crowd and in the bright chaos they were disoriented. Some ran away, only to topple off the mountainside into the valley far below while most just cowered in place, unable to see their way out even if their own panic would allow it.

The whines continued to grow louder as more beams joined in, tracing out an intricate pattern across the land like an enormous sigil. Motes of energy rose from the earth, dancing amongst the mob before all went silent. A bolt of energy came surging to the ground, igniting the symbol and engulfing the demons in a painful, life-ending flare.

“Well,” Om’s voice crackled over the speaker while Marcus looked back over the pile of dead demons, astonished. “It seems to have worked.”

GAGE STARED ANXIOUSLY
as the tendrils continued to grow in size, the doorway before him widening even more. It had become broad enough to bodily enter and he was so tempted to rush in to her, but the energy pouring out of the gash was intense and sadly, one way.

The view became clearer as time ticked on. He could make out countless hands, withered and dying, grasping for the two of them as they ran. They were endless it seemed, grabbing hold and slamming one of them to the ground. Gage's heart sank at his inability to do something… anything, but the attackers were knocked away with a flash of light from a staff. The roars that followed were full of anger, sending a chill right down Gage's spine.

Desperate to get out of there, Adrienne pressed on. Her head and her heart worked together to propel her faster than she had ever ran before. Now, mere feet from the threshold with freedom and home just steps away, she could make out that black mop she loved so much. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision the rest of the way before finally, there at the boundary between realms, she stood before Gage. They gazed at each other, so close and yet universes apart.

Gage tried but he couldn’t reach inside, the energy snapping at his hands. Ady tried from her end, pushing that slender arm against the barrier… and through! It felt unexpectedly comfortable, like a pool of lukewarm water. Gage’s burly hand wasted no time wrapping around hers and with a tug, she was all the way through and safe in his large arms. Looking at each other as if parted for an eternity, yet with a freshness like the day they first met, they kissed.

“I’ve missed you,” she said as the tears just flowed.

“Darlin’,
nowhere
near as much as me.”

Joey approached them, Adrienne catching him out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t contain herself, leaping into his arms while smiling profusely. He hugged her tightly and didn't want to stop, but proceeded to usher her a safe distance away from the portal. They met Marcus, to whom she handed the glass disc from the Astral Plane. Marcus took it and looked it over with great interest, his brow sinking deeper when he noticed the odd, rusty ring on her finger.

Gage watched the three of them from the brink as they talked, smiled, and laughed; this was how the world was supposed to be and the end goal of all of their hard work. Cheerful himself, he turned his attention back to the man that had made all this possible. Ever so thankful for his help, words could not express his feelings…

…nor the shock of what he saw in front of him.

Gage's jaw fell as a vagrant hand passed by his face, clenching the air with its long and bony fingers. He was forced to take a step back, nearly falling on a wayward chunk of rock, though he regained his balance quickly. A few more hands came clawing across the barrier, molesting the great stone monument with their depravity. The threshold grew dimmer, numerous more lining up behind those to make their way through.

In the center of the swirling mass was Silver, the enigmatic man shrouded in his robes, standing proud and firm. Those repulsive fingers had clasped all over around him, felt of him, invaded him. He had outstretched his own arm through the portal, fist wrapped tightly around something.

“Take… it,” he said amidst the most tormented of breaths.

Gage didn’t delay and reached out to him. As he settled his hand beneath Silver’s, a toy truck dropped into it. Before it even hit his skin, Gage recognized it as one of his own and with overpowering emotions, looked up.

The man had retracted his arm, taking a second to fling back the hood that had been covering his face, robbing Gage of words again.

It was Charles.

“Dad?”

“Your mother was successful I see,” he said, constraints tightening. “You’ve done well, son. I’m so proud and I love –”

The arms drew back powerfully, taking Charles with them and in less time than a blink, he was gone. Nothing in their way now, the monsters in the Astral Plan surged forth to –

“Qaylla!”
shouted Marcus from afar. The word of command slammed the portal closed with a booming crash and Gage saw the gorgeous valley in front of him once more. Nothing else, good nor evil, had made it through and yet the view had lost some of its majesty.

Solemnly, he placed the toy in his front jeans pocket, turning away. He traipsed by himself down the long and grassy plaza until he reached his friends, moving to Adrienne first, bringing her close for another kiss.

His grip grew tighter as the ring chittered softly, disintegrating off Ady’s finger. The flakes of rust twirled over to his left hand and the ring reformed, bound to him. He found himself easing his grip on her as a speck of rage formed from far below his feet to the very depths of Hell itself. It gnawed at him and wanted to ignite, feeling as if it would do so at any time.

Joey shifted eyes away from them, still a bit pained from the emotional roller coaster and unable to handle seeing him with her just yet, but Marcus was soon beside him with that shoulder he promised. As they hugged, Marcus shot an admiring glance over to Gage and Adrienne, happy to be a part of this new family – part of something greater.

Another thing about being around this crew was that developing a proficiency in raising one’s eyebrows came with the territory, Marcus observing a red glow emerging from under Gage’s shirt.

That was about the same time the amulet became hot. Gage had to push himself away from Adrienne, yanking the amulet and chain out from under his shirt. The silver disc glowed like chunk of coal.

Clap
.

Slow-rolling applause studded the silence. “So, you are the mighty…”

Clap

“Gage…”

Clap

“Crosse,” a gentle female voice concluded, stained with detest.

The team looked to the southeast and there she was, her blonde hair dancing in the mountain air. The host was very attractive, the creature inside just as dangerous. Like a cockroach, Onoskelis had survived the mopping up done by the
Odyssey
and she still had a small throng of her lessers with her. They spread out to each side as she stepped down a small set of stone stairs onto the grass.

“I must admit, you are
impressive
in person. Quite the man, aren’t you Gage?” Keli asked, her look of admiration soon dipping to a scowl. “You’ve caused me a
lot
of trouble.”

“Have I now?” he probed, lowering his arms while advancing toward the demonic group. The amulet was hot against his skin but he didn’t care, focused like a laser on the demons ahead. As he watched her self-satisfied face, he could feel his own temperature rising, especially behind the ears. “From the looks of it, a decent challenge would do ya good.”

“Oh it’s certainly been challenging!” she snapped back. “Many have placed crosshairs across on my back because of you…”

“That shit needed to happen much sooner,” Gage cut in, equally crass, scanning the crowd before his eyes locked back on her. “Maybe then you wouldn’t have been able to order the deaths of my parents.”

She was getting herself worked up.

“Lack of leadership, they say. Letting him lead us, they say.” She paused, taking a breath while brushing the side of one of the temples with the back of her hand. “Well, like this wall I’m stronger than they think, here to stand the test of time. Today, I will prove them all wrong; humanity does
not
lead demons
anywhere
. It’s time to collect, Gage. Hand over the relics, now.”

She jutted out an arm, waiting.

None of the team moved, except for Gage who took a couple more steps forward. However, the look on his face was not one of compliance.

“Do you really think you stand a chance against the thirteen of us?” she asked, fully aware of his intentions. Her eyes flipped from blue to monstrous and she began laughing. The crowd around her primed themselves for attack.

Joey took that as good a reason as any to raise his pistol, Marcus charging his rifle.

With a loud
boom
the demon standing closest to her exploded, sending a cloud of blood and iron dust across the gathering. They ended up scattering, but she stood her ground.

“Twelve now,” said Marcus brazenly, smoke rising off the end of his barrel, “and I’m so ready to continue this countdown.”

Keli coughed amidst the dust, wafting it away like the nuisance it was. “Still more than enough to handle you.”

“Really now?” Gage asked her, stopping with about twenty feet between them.

Her response was icy. “I managed to have your father gutted and your worthless mother, too. I think I have a pretty good idea of how to deal with a Crosse. My only regret: that Camio had the pleasure of hearing their pathetic cries and not myself.”

That was the final straw.

“Well, I personally took care of him,” Gage growled in a voice that rivaled a Hell Knight’s. His vision became red, eyes aflame. “Just like I'll take care of you!”

“Finish him!” she ordered.

The attack was brutal as eleven demons bore down on Gage from the tops of the low buildings and from the ground. They came at him with obsidian daggers and runes of lightning and ice, yet it was not the damage inflicted by them that was devastating, it was what happened to them.

Gage had unleashed hellfire again and hungry for fuel, the blazing tendrils lashed out of the amulet at them with a vengeance.

Marcus recoiled as the demons were smote, like they were nothing more than lumber tossed casually onto a hearth. Joey watched some scramble for their runes, unable to activate them in time, though he wasn't sure how long they'd last in this kind of infernal tempest.

Adrienne dipped her head, praying he could snap out of it like in Denver, that it wouldn't consume him or change him into something terrible. God, she had crossed the fucking universe for him and didn't want to lose him already.

The demons in her entourage were now gone, nothing more than whorls of char and Keli was alone, powerless against this tide. She ran toward the Inca trail, where their transports were hitched, but Gage made sure she didn't get too far.

He raised his left hand and there was a loud
crack
as it bent in painful, unnatural ways. Smoke poured out of the lacerations crisscrossed on his skin and they peeled away to reveal the bone underneath.

Keli was sprinting at full speed when her legs seized, suddenly dropping her to the hard ground. It was as if some force was pinching them together, preventing movement no matter how hard she tried – and she tried harder than she ever had before. That force was walking her way, painstakingly slow and wreathed in fire.

Joey was following close behind Marcus, leading Adrienne underneath the
Odyssey
. As they reached the transport area, they were drawn by the sounds of Gage's voice resounding off the buildings.