Circle of Death, page 21
I hear footsteps and a struggle in the corridor. “Leave me alone, you goddamn assholes!” Maddy’s voice! My heart drops. I look toward the entryway. Two guards walk in, shoving Maddy forward. Then four more guards—two holding Jessica, two holding Margo.
“Lamont!” Margo cries out. “I’m sorry! They said they’d kill you if we fought back!”
I start toward them, but suddenly Khan is blocking my way, his gold robe twirling. “See that, Lamont? See how vulnerable love makes you? How it paralyzes you? How it reduces great power to nothing?”
I’m crazed with fear and rage, but I try to keep my voice under control. “Let them go, Khan. You’ve already killed enough people for one day. Keep me, but let them go!”
Khan steps over to my family. “Which one do you think is your biggest weakness, Lamont?” He points to Jessica. “Not this one. Her time is almost up anyway. She’s served her purpose, don’t you think?” He rests his hand on Jessica’s narrow shoulder. She bats it away. “You want to kill an old lady?” she says. “Go ahead. I’m ready. But let the others be!”
Khan ignores her and turns to Maddy. The guards hold her back as Khan runs his long fingers down her cheek. “Or this one. You wouldn’t be here without her, would you, Lamont? She’s the one who found you. Brought you back to life after your long sleep. She’s your heir now.” He pauses for a second. “With her skills, she really should be mine.”
“Don’t touch her!” I shout.
I can see Maddy trembling with fury, but afraid to act on it. She knows that the wrong move right now will get us all killed. So do I.
Khan steps up to Margo. She pulls her head back in disgust. He leans in as if he’s about to kiss her, then stops and taps her forehead. “When are you going to stop trying to control my mind, Margo Lane?”
I can see my wife seething.
“Or should I say Mrs. Cranston?” says Khan. “The blushing bride. The truth is, I’ve been jealous of you for a long time—envious of your connection with Lamont. Once, Lamont and I were close. Best friends. Isn’t that right, Lamont? Long before the Shadow existed.”
I ball my hands into fists, biding my time, trying to gather my strength. “We were never friends. We were training partners—rivals for our teacher’s approval. But that was ten thousand years ago!”
Khan takes a step back toward me. “Aren’t you curious about why I wanted to try out a female form, Lamont?” He thrusts his finger toward Margo. “Because of her! Because I was curious. I wanted to feel what she felt toward you. Just once. It’s powerful, isn’t it? Love. Desire. But in the end, not stronger than hate. Hate is pure. No complications. Hate can survive on its own.”
Suddenly, there’s a blast of white light from the center of the room. Khan whips around to face it. The glow intensifies and a figure starts to take shape inside it.
“Dache!” Maddy shouts. “Thank God!”
The brightness dissipates and there he is. In the midst of the smoke and carnage, my old teacher looks as serene as ever, dressed in scarlet robes. I can feel energy radiating from him like a physical force.
“Dache!” Maddy shouts again. “Do something!”
But Dache just stands there. “Not my place, Madeline.” He looks at Khan, then at me. “This is their moment, not mine. Everything has been leading to this. These two were once my most accomplished students, miles above the others. But now they are opposite poles in the same universe, with powers that keep escalating. You can see how destructive it is to life on earth—to the whole order of things. So now they must battle alone, as men. And only one can survive.”
“That’s insane!” Maddy shouts, straining against her guards.
“No, Madeline,” says Dache. “It’s fate. Not even I can control it.”
Khan turns to face me. I see a shift in his eyes and feel the same change happening to me. My energy is draining. The Shadow is gone. I’m just a man with no weapons, terrified of losing my family—and my life.
For the first time in thousands of years, I feel totally powerless. I blink and sense a blur in the air.
The punch knocks me on my ass.
CHAPTER 100
FOR A SPLIT second, all I see is a shower of sparks. Then my vision goes black. I’m on my knees, gasping. My eyes are watering and I can taste blood in my mouth.
I lift my head as my eyesight clears. Khan sheds his robe. Over his gold sirwal pants, his bare torso is muscled like a prizefighter’s. Nothing like mine. I should have known this day would come. I should have trained for it.
“Look how soft you are,” says Khan. “You should be ashamed.”
He’s right. I’ve been leaning on my powers—and on other people. And now it’s too late. What have I got now? Nothing! I struggle to my feet and raise my fists like a schoolboy. For a few seconds, Khan and I circle each other in the middle of the room.
I can see Dache out of the corner of my eye, arms folded, just watching.
I glance around for something I can grab. Some way to defend myself. Something to even the odds. But there’s nothing in reach.
I lunge forward and take a swing. Khan darts away and my momentum throws me off-center. His leg whips around and catches me in the shoulder, knocking me down again. I flash back to our battles in the sand pit in Mongolia. Back then, whoever lost the fight had to go three days without food.
Now I could lose everything.
Khan moves forward and lands two quick punches to the side of my head. I back off, dazed. He just keeps coming. I spin around and land a hard kick in his solar plexus. For a second, his diaphragm is paralyzed. I see his eyes go wide as he gasps for breath. While he’s reeling, I throw a jab to his jaw, but it’s like hitting a brick. He rushes me and grabs me around the waist, flipping me onto my back. I hit the floor hard.
The pain spikes from my tailbone to my skull. I turn toward my family. I can see them shouting, but my brain is numb. All I hear is a loud hum.
I feel myself being lifted by my neck. My hearing clears. My eardrums throb. I feel Khan’s hands around my throat. I kick against him, but he just shakes me and squeezes harder. I see Maddy wrest one hand loose and thrust it forward. I pray for a fireball or lightning bolt—even if it blasts Khan and me both.
“Do it!” I grunt.
But nothing comes. The guard pulls Maddy back again. And Dache still doesn’t move.
Khan’s face is an inch from mine, his teeth bared like a crazed animal. His thumbs are compressing my carotid arteries. I feel myself blacking out. In the fog, I hear Maddy scream. “Why can’t I help him?”
“Not the time,” says Dache firmly.
Time! That’s it! My external powers are gone. But I have one last chance. One final forbidden skill. Nothing physical. Just my brain. With my last spark of consciousness—in a single instant—I throw myself into the past.
But this time I’m not just an observer, seeing through somebody else’s eyes.
It’s me. I’m physically here. Hundreds of years ago.
Along with the man who’s trying to kill me.
CHAPTER 101
WE FALL TO the ground—on bare earth. The mansion is gone. Everybody else is gone. It’s just the two of us, long before the mansion was built, or even thought of. We’re near the top of the cliff, surrounded by raw dirt and boulders. Khan looks around. For a second, I see the confusion in his eyes—then the cold realization. He gets to his feet and regains his balance.
“I salute you, Lamont. You’ve learned to manipulate time.”
I pick myself up slowly. “It’s just you and me now. Do you miss the audience?”
“There’s a reason this was a forbidden skill,” says Khan. “You do realize that when you die here—and you will—everybody you love dies with you. Margo will never conceive your child. Your descendants will never be born. The girl will never exist.” He moves in closer, eyes flashing. “Too bad. I think she showed real promise.”
I shut him up with a punch to the gut. It doubles him over for a second. It’s about all the strength I have left. Before I can reset, Khan launches himself into a spinning kick. I feel a crack in my ribs, like a stick snapping. The pain brings me to my knees.
“This is how I remember you, Lamont. On the ground. My foot on your neck.”
I remember it, too. The taste of sand in my mouth. But that was before I had other people to fight for. “Times change,” I gasp, holding my side.
Khan moves in and takes a hard swing. I duck, then ram my fist up under his jaw. He staggers back, grinning like a madman, his teeth coated in blood. I move in for another strike, then another, backing Khan toward the edge. He ducks into a crouch and whips around. My reflexes aren’t fast enough. His foot catches me on the side of my leg and I hit the ground again, panting for air.
My leg feels numb, maybe broken. I watch as Khan picks up a boulder nearly as wide as his shoulders. He lifts it over his head and holds it there, sighting my skull, looking to crush it. There’s one thing I’ve known about Shiwan Khan since the day we first met. Winning is never enough. He always goes for overkill.
This is my last chance. My only chance.
I have no powers left—just the strength in my one good leg. I lunge at Khan, forcing him off-balance. With a furious grunt, he heaves the rock. It grazes my back and lands in the dirt behind me. The cliff is only a few feet away now. With my final burst, I ram my shoulder into his chest. He grabs me as he topples backward. There’s nothing I can do. His grip is too strong and the momentum is too much.
We go over the cliff together. A hundred-foot drop.
CHAPTER 102
I SEE THE ripples glitter for an instant before we hit. My head glances off something hard underwater. I’m dazed. Sinking. I try to kick, but I can’t. Helpless. No fight left. The water is cold and black. All I can see is my pale arms suspended in front of my face, weak and useless. Then the darkness closes in from behind my eyes—a rapid fade. My breath is gone. My lungs are burning. My mouth opens. I suck in water, cold and gritty. My throat spasms, trying to keep the water out. But it doesn’t work. I’m drowning and choking at the same time.
My bad leg hits the bottom and I barely feel it. I’m limp now… just suspended in the flow… drifting…
Suddenly, a shaft of moonlight pierces the water. Through cloudy green ripples, I see figures heading toward me. Dozens of them. Getting closer. I can see what they are now. Bloodsucking murderers! The Voodoo Master’s mind slaves! The same ones I faced all those years ago. They’re moving along the river bottom like a phantom army. Pale, expressionless faces. Scaly arms. They’re coming for me! Reaching for me! Then, in an instant, they’re gone—dissolving in a cloud of bloody bubbles.
Peace washes over me.
The monsters aren’t real.
Nothing can hurt me now.
I’m dead already.
CHAPTER 103
“LAMONT!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The pain comes in shocking bursts. Someone is pounding on my chest—like hammer blows. My back arches. I feel water frothing out of my mouth.
I cough. I spit. I gasp.
“Lamont! Breathe, dammit!”
My eyes blink open. Maddy is leaning over me. She’s soaking wet, her hair dripping onto my face. I feel hard ground underneath me, and see the cliff looming above. I’m lying on a narrow strip at the river’s edge. I roll to my side and vomit on the sand. I can hear the water lapping against the rocks a few feet away. My guts convulse. I take in a gulp of air. Then another. I turn and look back at Maddy. My God! She’s real! I grab her arm. “Where’s Margo? Where’s Jessica?”
“They’re all right!” Maddy says. “They’re alive. Margo and Grandma. They’re safe. The guards took off the second you and Khan vanished. They just ran.”
“But how did you…?”
She lifts my head and rests it against her leg. “Dache told me where to find you.”
I wipe the water and snot from my face. My memory starts to come back in small flashes. “Dache? He said he wouldn’t interfere.”
“He didn’t,” says Maddy. “Lamont—the fight’s over. It’s done.”
I’m trying to make sense of what happened. I must look as confused as I feel.
“Wherever you went,” says Maddy, “you’re back.”
The shock is wearing off and the pain starts shooting through every part of my body. My head. My ribs. My leg. I stare into Maddy’s face and squeeze her hand. “If I’m alive, and you’re alive… then Khan is…”
Maddy nods toward a shelf of granite peeking above the water near my feet. “He must’ve hit the rocks. Then the current carried him off.”
ONLY ONE CAN SURVIVE, Dache said.
It was me.
It is me.
I pull Maddy close and feel her heart beating against my aching chest. My whole body is trembling. “Are you ready?” she says. “I’ll help you up. Let’s go home.”
As soon as I put weight on my right leg, sparks shoot up my spine. I start to crumple. I reach for Maddy’s shoulder for support. “Wait. Stop,” she says. “You can’t even walk!”
I ease myself back down to the ground and tip my head back to look at the beautiful night sky, open and welcoming. “No,” I tell her, “but I bet I can fly.”
CHAPTER 104
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER, I’m feeling almost totally back to life.
My bad leg is stretched out under the dining room table in a homemade splint and I’ve got a bandage on my head. I’m sore and achy, but happy. It’s one of those times when even the hurt feels good. For our celebration dinner, Jessica is serving up her famous lasagna, paired with a few special bottles of wine from the cellar.
Margo shifts her chair closer to mine and squeezes my hand under the table. “Just letting you know,” she whispers, “I’m not letting go.”
“Joined at the hip,” I whisper back. “Forever.” Maddy is sitting on my other side, with Bando on her lap. She looks more at peace than I’ve seen her in a long time. Our wise teacher is sitting at the opposite end. It’s a rare honor to have Dache break bread with the family.
But that’s not the most amazing part of the guest list tonight.
Because sitting across from me are four people I thought I’d never see again.
“Nice to be back—right, boss?” says Tapper.
Hawkeye stands up to propose a toast. “To the man of the hour!”
He doesn’t mean me.
Everybody turns—to Burbank.
Hawkeye raises his glass. “Here’s to the only man I know who could divert a killer drone at the very last second—with a jammer built from spare parts.”
Burbank almost smiles. “I told you you never know what you’ll need,” he says.
Jericho raises his glass even higher. “I’ll never knock you for overpacking again!”
I pick up my glass and stand up halfway. Best I can do. “To Burbank!” I call out.
Everybody clinks and drinks. I can tell that Burbank is still uncomfortable being the center of attention, even when he’s more than earned it.
Jessica is at the other end of the table, spooning another helping of lasagna onto Dache’s plate. “Eat up,” she says. “I made it vegetarian just for you.”
Jericho turns toward Maddy with a booming voice. He’s already on his second glass of cabernet, or maybe his third. “So—Shadow Girl—how did all this craziness compare to the stories in your book collection?”
The table quiets down. Everybody waits for Maddy’s reply. She probably remembers more about the Shadow’s adventures than any of us, including me.
“It was right up there,” she says. “Pretty satisfying ending.” A little pause. “Except for one thing.”
I see Dache raise an eyebrow.
Maddy leans forward in her seat. “I have a lingering question,” she says. “And it’s a big one—mind-blowing, in fact. I’ve been thinking about it since yesterday.”
We all lean in.
Maddy rests her palms on the table and clears her throat. “Okay. The Shadow traveled back in time to kill Shiwan Khan, right? Hundreds of years in the past.” I shift my sore leg. I already know where this is headed. “So if Khan died back then,” Maddy continues, “how the hell was he still alive, ready to kill all of us, just last night? Why didn’t dying in his past negate his future? Is there some piece of the time–space continuum that I’m missing?”
Tapper thinks about it for a second, then goes back to his lasagna. “Way over my head,” he says.
“If he’s gone now, does it really matter?” asks Hawkeye.
“Actually, it’s a very good question,” says Margo. She looks down to the end of the table. “Maybe Dache can answer it for us.”
We all look in his direction. Dache takes a slow sip of his wine.
“How about it, Dache?” asks Maddy. “Does it mean Khan isn’t really gone? Is he lingering in some other dimension?”
Dache stays silent for a few seconds, as if he’s thinking it over. Then he smiles.
“Sorry, Madeline,” he says. “No lessons tonight. Only lasagna.”
“Good enough for me!” booms Jericho.
And that’s it. Everybody goes back to eating and drinking. Margo leans over to whisper in my ear. “I know what you’re thinking.”
She usually does.
What I’m thinking is that Dache knows the answer to Maddy’s question. He just doesn’t want to spoil the evening. Just like I know there’s still a supply of deadly bioagent out there in the world, waiting to be found and unleashed. Not to mention a crop of evil schemers angling to fill the shoes of Toor Bayani and Lucian Diaz.
“Let it go for tonight,” whispers Margo. “Enjoy this.” She plants a kiss on my cheek.
My wife is right, as usual. I’ll take a few sweet hours to celebrate life with my family and my friends, and give thanks that we’ve all survived this far. Tomorrow, it starts all over again.
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that when one evil dies, another rises up to replace it. It’s been that way for as long as I’ve been alive—which is a very long time.
