Lycan Fallout 5 Page 28

  “I’ll take first watch.” I told everyone to get some sleep, which they wasted no time in doing. I walked about fifty feet from our impromptu campsite.

  “Your words were truthful, but you did not reveal your entire meaning.” Linnick was grasping the lip of my pocket and looking out.

  “I did mean I would keep watch, but Azile has a concealment and protective spell running; almost no real reason for me to stay awake.”

  “But?” Linnick asked.

  “I should have maybe left you back there. Stop looking at me with those big eyes. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Kalandar was an anime fan, by the way he made your body.”

  “You are avoiding the truth.”

  “I just wanted some time to study this trap Halifax has set.”

  “Getting closer…keep talking.”

  “You’re worse than my probation officer.”

  “You wish to test her strength?” Linnick guessed astutely. “Is that wise?”

  “Not at all.”

  “You know this; yet you wish to try anyway?”

  “Linnick, my wife is going to do her absolute best to ensure our safety as we try to get to Talboton. I am concerned for her–no, concerned isn’t strong enough. Afraid. Yeah, I’m afraid. She used damn near everything she had at the battle of Denarth; she’s wiped out. Even that little spell she put on the campsite was enough to exhaust her to the point where I had to help her lie down before she fell down. If she could get a week’s rest or even a few days, I’d say there’s not many who could stand toe to toe with her, even if, like Halifax, they were artificially enhanced. But we don’t have that time.”

  “Who is going to come to the rescue when you find yourself ensnared in this trap you are all too aware of?”

  “I was hoping I wasn’t going to get caught up in it.”

  “The hope is there, but your confidence is not.”

  She was right; I was choosing not to listen to her. Already had enough doubt, didn’t need for her to point it out to me, even if I was the source of it to begin with. I tossed a large rock in to test the waters. I could see, (use air quotes around see) the spell ripple from the impact, but it was clever enough to know this was an inanimate object, perhaps a tree branch falling, an acorn, a pinecone. However, if it could tell it was a rock, would Halifax send some foot soldiers to check? Not many rocks fall from trees.

  “Not smart, Talbot.” I moved my foot closer to the edge, even as I said the words.

  “May I speak before you proceed?” Linnick asked.

  “Not sure why you’re bothering to ask, but go ahead.”

  “You just a moment ago spoke of how tired your wife is, is that not correct?”

  “It is.”

  “Reason this out, Tallboat, don’t make me do all the hard work.”

  I stopped the tip of my boot just from the edge. “I trip the alarm and get caught, we’re in the thick of it, and even if I somehow get out of whatever happens, Halifax is alerted. Either way, we are moving or fighting.”

  “Are you not lucky to have me?”

  “Like a second conscience…just what I needed,” I told her, yet I was smiling. “Maybe we should just do a small patrol.”

  “Your wisdom today exceeds my expectations.”

  “You thought I was going in?”

  “Honestly?” She cocked her head with the question. “I’m surprised you listened to me.”

  I must have stared at or turned my attention to that barrier most of my entire watch. I wanted to poke that bear so bad. It was Kalandar that likely prevented an intermagicianal incident. If that’s not a word, it should be, especially these days. I’ll talk to Webster if they ever get up and running again. It was hard to even remember the world I grew up in, it was so completely foreign from what I was living now. Would the man I had been even recognize this version of me? I wasn’t convinced.

  “You didn’t touch it?” Kalandar asked.

  “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

  “That’s a lie,” Linnick spoke up.

  “Don’t you have some lint to choke on?” I asked her.

  “He threw a rock in and kicked a branch through when he thought I had fallen asleep.”

  “You don’t need to tell everyone everything.”

  “Get some sleep. These are the dark hours and I am more suited to them than you,” the big demon said.

  “I don’t think so, my friend, but I could use some rest.”

  It was moments from dawn when Kalandar’s doormat-sized hand draped across my mouth, head and upper chest.

  “Shhh,” he grumbled. “There are men in the woods.”

  I sat up and looked over to Azile, who was still resting.

  There were seven men and women, Landians. A pit formed in my stomach when I realized that they were approaching the place where I had tossed the rock in. I had hoped it was some cosmic coincidence until the leader, a smallish woman, bent over and picked up the roughly baseball-sized offender. She reached to her throat where she pulled a silver chain free from her tunic; attached was a blue stone. She held the stone like one might a flashlight. She turned the rock over and over in her hand while “shining” the stone upon the surface. I couldn’t be sure from here, but I would bet money that it was my palm and fingerprints that were glowing a dull blue. Kalandar gave me a stern looking over.

  “Well, no shit. I realize it wasn’t a good idea now,” I whispered.

  “We should get Azile up,” Linnick said.

  “Not yet,” Kalandar said. “Her spell will keep us concealed as long as we stay within the perimeter she set.”

  “That may be,” I replied. “Unless that search party uses that stone and can see it.”

  We watched as two of the scouts crossed over and the five behind them fanned out and then hid. If I hadn’t seen exactly where they melted back into the woods, I would have completely lost them. The woman with the stone was looking down on the ground.

  “She appears to be tracking you with the stone she carries,” Kalandar said.

  “I don’t think so. I wasn’t being stealthy; I left a clear path for her to follow.”

  I had my axe out; she was coming closer, oblivious to the danger right in front of her.

  “She’s just a kid,” I muttered. She couldn’t have been much older than Lana. If I sprung out now, I could be upon her and kill her before she could register surprise. I didn’t want to. Even though I was convinced if the roles were reversed, I’d already have a quiver-full of arrows through my heart.

  “When she gets close enough, pull her in and I’ll disarm her.”

  “You want me to kill her first?” Kalandar asked.

  “No killing if we can help it.”

  She was five feet from us when she stopped. She was wary; how could she not be? She was once again reaching for her stone.

  “Now,” I told Kalandar. It had to be terrifying from her perspective: a giant red hand and arm striking out from seemingly nowhere. He dragged her in, one handedly pinning her arms to her sides. The one that had crossed over the threshold with her whistled to alert the others before he got down on one knee, his bow drawn, an arrow ready to loose. He fired; Kalandar flinched at the incoming missile. The tip shattered and the shaft careened off to the side as it came into contact with Azile’s shell.

  “What trouble have you three gotten into?” Azile asked, looking over at our new prisoner.

  “Kalandar went bar hopping, Linnick was his wing breatine. He brought a girl home, but it seems she has a jealous ex, and now he’s trying to kill the big demon. I think that about sums it up.”

  “Kalandar?” she asked when she realized my version was only wasting her time.

  “Your husband tripped the alarm and they came to investigate.”

  “Dude!” I said, truly astonished. “That’s not how we cover for each other.”

  “Couldn’t leave it alone?” Azile had come over. The woman under Kalandar’s grasp had been twisting to get away
until she saw the Red Witch, then she calmed down. “You can let her go; they will not be able to hear her.”

  The woman stood. “Am I supposed to be scared, Red Witch? I am one with the most powerful god, Halifax,” she said with reverence.

  “She’s calling herself a god now?” I asked.

  “She is one!” the woman shouted.

  I could see the hint of a blue glow from beneath the woman’s clothing. I reached over and ripped the chain free from her. She launched at me. If not for Kalandar, she would have landed a few blows.

  “Moonstone,” Azile said, holding her hand out. I passed it over. “It would appear this can detect magic and also protect the wearer from it, as well.”

  “It’s her way back in,” I said.

  “A key.” Kalandar was looking at it now. “That would mean that the man has one as well. We will need it.”

  “She will kill all of you,” the woman spat.

  “What is your name?” Azile asked kindly enough.

  “Florissa.” I was more than a little shocked that she had replied.

  “Florissa, where is Inuktuk?”

  “The one that would lead the Landians to their deaths? She is gone, she is no more, replaced by she who knows the one true path.”

  “Exiled?” I asked, hoping.

  “She hangs upside down from the center tree. She was cut in thirteen different spots and left to bleed her life to the ground, as a tribute.”

  “A tribute to whom? Who would want that?” I asked. Florissa was quiet, not defiantly, but rather she didn’t appear to have an answer.

  The man with the bow was coming closer, though now he had a long knife at the ready. The five others in the woods were walking parallel to him.

  “We have to do something fast. I’m thinking one of them has sent off a message to their god,” I said.

  Kalandar handed the woman off to me before striding out of the enclosure. Don’t care who you are, bringing a knife to a demon fight is never a good idea. Could about see the frost on the man’s face form as he froze in fear. Kalandar cracked him on the top of the head hard enough the man hit the ground; my hope was he was merely unconscious, but that neck did bulge out at an unnatural angle. He reached down and ripped the necklace free, then hunched over as a large arrow struck his thigh.

  I was reaching for my rifle as Azile sent a shower of sparks into the face of the man who had shot the arrow. His eyes lit up a moment before he began to scream; blood flowed down his cheeks from where he’d been burned. A sound like an avalanche gaining speed broke through the air–my guess it was from the contact between the magic of Halifax and Azile. Kalandar dragged himself back to us as I unloaded a dozen rounds where the Landians had been. Killed at least two; the remaining uninjured had pulled back and were no longer in sight. I was sure they would keep an eye on us until their god came to smite us.

  “Push it through,” Kalandar hissed to me.

  The arrow had sunk deep, about halfway in. It was high up on his thigh and off to the side. There was a good seven inches of meat to go through before it was out.

  “Don’t reflexively kill me,” I warned him as I cupped the end of the arrow.

  “I will do my best.” I didn’t particularly like that he had said it so seriously.

  “This is going to suck,” I told him.

  “None of this has been a wonderful experience.”

  “Fair enough,” I told him as I snapped the feathered part of the shaft off.

  Kalandar’s fists opened and closed. As I pushed, he made sure to look down on me and our eyes locked onto each other. His mouth was closed in a grimace and he looked like I had personally pissed on his Cheerios while he was actively eating them. I more than expected a solid thumping to the top of my head. I watched the arrowhead begin to distort his skin as I pushed it farther. He shifted his gaze and growled, thankfully directing his scrutiny to Florissa, his large teeth on display. You can feign that you aren’t scared all day long, right up until you’re looking at the foot-long canines of a pissed off demon. I was doing my best to pretend I was doing anything but watch Kalandar’s leg bulge as the pointed edge protruded through his flesh like an unwanted alien invader. Blood flowed freely as the head popped out.

  “Faster!” he growled as the razor-sharp edge sliced through. Once I had enough arrow to grip I yanked it through.

  “This is madness.” Azile was pacing around while I field dressed Kalandar. “We are fighting the wrong enemy.”

  “Any enemy is an enemy,” I said, not considering her frustration, just reacting to her words. Something to take note of: you should actively listen to the words coming out of your significant other’s mouth, especially before spewing an answer. She looked like she could chew through nails. “Just saying,” I ended up uttering weakly.

  “You have done a remarkable job,” Kalandar said as he stood and flexed his leg.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “Why are you whispering? Or thanking me, for that matter?”

  “He thinks you spoke to distract his mate from the anger she is directing at him.”

  “Gee, thanks, Linnick.”

  “Why would I do such a thing? It does not make a difference to me if the Red Witch is mad at him. In fact, I would prefer her attention is not settled on me.”

  “You two are awesome.”

  Kalandar’s head tilted. Cute in a ten-pound puppy, not so much in a half-ton demon.

  “Many are coming and swiftly,” he said.

  “Can you move?” Azile asked him.

  “Well enough,” he replied.

  “What do we do with her?” I asked. Florissa was looking at us angrily. I have no doubt if she could have killed us she would have, gladly.

  “I am hungry,” Kalandar said.

  “You are not eating her,” I told him.

  “I say we find out what is in store for us with Halifax’s magic. Get up.” Azile pushed the woman with the toe of her boot. She stood reluctantly. “Go back. Go tell your god we’re coming for her.”

  “Azile?” I asked as Florissa moved away from us and toward the barrier.

  “I do not intend for her to go through, only whether she will attempt to cross over the barrier.”

  “I do not fear death. Halifax tells us it is a wondrous place where angels cater to our every whim,” Florissa said, defiantly.

  “Eh, you might want to rethink that philosophy. Every angel I’ve had the displeasure of meeting has wanted to kill me, in fact, kill all humans. I guess I’m not special in that regard.”

  “LIES!” Florissa shouted. “I will prove it to you!” She bolted for the barrier. I don’t think I could have caught her with my speed or Azile could have done so by magic. Didn’t matter either way. Halifax’s spell was indeed lethal; Florissa made it two strides through before she collapsed to the ground, a deep, angry red light burned from her mouth, nose, and then eyes; whatever it was had torched through the important parts of what made Florissa herself. Once the fire had extinguished, it was replaced by a blue-brown smoke, and I’m here to tell you–baked brain smells suspiciously like liver. It was positively stomach turning.

  “She died for a false set of beliefs,” Linnick said.

  “Ah, my little friend, she’s far from a minority in that respect,” I said. I was still looking at Florissa’s body; she hadn’t appeared to suffer. It had happened so fast. In fact, I was pretty sure her spirit might still be running toward her base camp to let them know we were out here. She’d be yelling at her tribe mates, trying to figure out why no one would listen to her. Soon she’d figure it out and come back to her body, then shock was sure to register. She might be stuck wandering the earth, lonely for a while before she worked out how to move on, if that was still a possibility. That would all depend on how this war shook out. Would the angels shut the gate? Was Florissa even now realizing she’d been duped? Seemed Halifax was multi-dangerous; she had power in and of itself, and she had power over people. There are enough examples
throughout history that prove just how dangerous the latter is.

  Azile ushered me along as I was stuck in a thought loop. We hadn’t gone more than a quarter mile when there was a thunderous clap that rolled on for more than a minute. It would have been incredibly impressive if it wasn’t so overtly terrifying. I think I was more freaked-out over the fact that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, rather than if a massive storm had produced it.

  “She sending something after us?” I was keeping an eye on the path behind us.

  “Polions have made it onto Landian territory,” she replied.

  We were moving horizontally to their border, and after a few more miles, we began to head toward it.

  “Stay back,” Azile warned us.

  “What are you doing?” I moved closer.

  “Mike, I’ve got to see if I can get us through.”

  “Absolutely not!” I yelled at her.

  “You know I have to, right?”

  “And what happens if you can’t stop whatever she has going on? You realize the moment you’re in distress I’m coming in.”

  “You don’t have the market cornered on stupid actions.”

  “Maybe not cornered, but I’ve got a vested interest. So you admit this is stupid.”

  “Not exactly stupid…uninformed, perhaps.”

  “We go in together or neither of us does.”

  She furrowed her eyebrows; she looked fairly stern before she softened. “Fine,” she relented. “We’ll do this your way.” She leaned in for a kiss.

  “No!” Linnick yelled just as we made contact.

  “I’m sorry, my love. I am,” Azile said.

  “That was truthful,” Linnick told me.

  What did you do? Was what I asked in my mind, came out something like, “Wha id yooroo?” I was frozen, like I’d been dipped in a vat of quick-drying cement. It was a strange sensation; my muscles wanted to move and I could control them, but it was like I had on an entirely too-tight Catwoman leather suit, and that was just highly improbable. I know, I know–right now all of you reading this journal are wondering why Catwoman…although, in reality, you don’t know any of the superheroes. So, well, um, Michelle Pfeifer and/or Halle Berry, take your pick.