Fall of Eleazar: Withering, Book 1, page 12
I assure you it hadn’t been. The charred earth between us coughed up wisps of smoke from the intense heat, yet I hadn’t felt a thing.
Judging by the look on his face, he was just as surprised as I was at the situation.
He blinked a couple times then tried again, then a third. The results were the same save for the ground at our feet had practically turned molten.
What in the fuck was happening? This shouldn’t be a thing. No one, I mean absolutely no one, was immune to blood magic. It was theoretically impossible even to defend yourself adequately. The only person I’d ever seen take a full blast of such an attack and survive was Gavin, and one more hit would’ve killed even him. This though, was different. Nolan’s magic didn’t touch me.
Figuring out why was a problem that could be solved later.
Nolan reached for his gun. I shot forward, grabbed his hand, and flipped him over. His back hit the ground hard, making a dull thudding noise. Pain shone in his eyes, yet he shifted on the spot and swept my legs out from under me. On the ground, he wrapped one hand around my throat and smashed his fist into my visor. My head bounced inside but the cushioning kept it to a minimum.
Raising up quickly, I slammed my helmet into his face, shattering his nose. He swayed back. Pressing my advantage, I hammered my gloved fist up into his armpit, dislocating his shoulder. I sat up, clamped my hand over his mouth, rolled him over, and knocked his head against the ground hard enough to render him unconscious.
Glancing around, I scanned the area to make sure we were still alone. We were, for now. It’d be only a matter of time before someone came to find him. I searched the man, removed his gun, used his cuffs to secure him, and copied his phone onto mine. Putting him over my shoulder, I searched the broken stables for a little privacy that didn’t require a tetanus shot. The third building provided the needed refuge. While I had a clear view of the sky, it had four walls to afford me the time needed to question him further.
Thanks to his healing factor, Nolan woke up about five minutes later. He struggled against his cuffs, and I turned to take my helmet off. “Good evening, Nolan. I’m going to guess that you know my name.”
His eyes widened as he stopped moving completely. “Ms. Grant…are you okay? If I’d known…” He gave me a dismissive shake of his head. “It doesn’t matter. We need to get you back to the others. They’ll be so happy you’re okay.”
“No, that’s not what’s going to happen.” Chewing on my lip, I shook my head. “Maybe you’re not aware, but there’s a traitor within the Black Circle…maybe more than one. That’s how the vigil got a jump on the compound in New Mexico.”
A smug satisfaction came across his face. “I knew it.”
Okay, I was winging it here since the only traitor in their midst was me. “Knew what?”
“That Gavin Randall wasn’t this godlike being they make him out to be.” He snickered. “I bet it was one of the brothers…likely that know-it-all Lewis.”
Well this was a lot easier than I’d suspected. “Doubtful, since he and his brothers are dead.”
He spat on the ground. “That’s what I thought too until a few hours ago.”
Fuck, he’d confirmed my worst fears. Still, I had to be sure. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Grumbling, he glared out toward the stands. “We arrived at six this morning to find out the maintenance team meant to make the Hippodrome a functional base of operations was killed by Lazarus.” He pushed himself up against the wall into a sitting position. “Instead of letting us get into the field to track the bastard down, Ruth ordered us to finish the power grid with the three stones in her possession…they’d managed to get one into place before getting killed.” His voice turned cold. “Then a bunch of goons from C&G showed up to install the transport pods at noon. Would you like to guess what happened at four?”
A cold sweat trickled down my back and my voice came out hard. “Not really, but I need to hear it.”
“Fine.” He rolled his shoulders. “Lewis, Angus, and John come waltzing into the office then Ruth gave them full command of my unit.” Indignation burned in his tone. “They couldn’t protect you. Got their entire staff murdered and generally failed at their primary mission. Now, here they are trying to run point to regain some credibility by capturing Lazarus after their humiliating failures down south.”
That ended any hope that the files were wrong. My heart sank. “Who’s on your team and do you trust them?”
Pride shone on his face. “I picked them myself so, yes, they’re trustworthy.” He straightened up. “There’s Jami—a witch, Michell—vampire, Eiji—sorcerer, Edna—vampire, Tracie—sorcerer, Louise—sorcerer, Margarite—witch, Eldon—Stone Born, Thomas—shaman, Van—monk, Teal—lower angel, and I’m an earth elemental.”
“All of you are Onyx Mind?” He nodded, and I asked, “Which Lich Lord do you serve?”
A big grin shone on his face. “We are the Chosen.”
Oh, goddamn it.
And with those words, he sealed his fate. “I see. Then you’ve been scanned recently.”
Puffing out his chest, he said, “We all were just before we left Cairo two days ago.”
Crap. Seth and Osiris were paranoid, requiring the Chosen to be telepathically scanned every so often to ensure they hadn’t been compromised. They said it was to protect from outside forces but in reality, it was to ensure none of the other Lich Lords got one of their people into their number. While they were a collective, they didn’t trust one another. In fact, the only true alliance that’d stood the test of time was that between the two eldest and, by extension, most powerful. Even there though, Seth had an ambition that wouldn’t be contained. One day, he’d turn on his brother to take control of the council for himself.
I knelt. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to check for myself.”
He grinned. “Of course, I’ve got nothing to hide, unlike the brothers.”
For a week after every scan, a sigil carved into their right pectoral muscle would become visible. Unbuttoning his shirt, I pulled it open to find the mark.
Sighing, I fell back onto my ass. “Sorry for all the precautions here, but I can’t be too careful these days.”
Nolan nodded. “How’d you escape the Reaper?”
“He never had me.” I leaned back against a wooden post. “He came in with his team, slaughtering people left and right. They were so busy with the others, I simply slipped out the back. Until now, I had no idea who to trust or how to contact the Onyx Mind safely. Last thing I wanted to do was give myself away to the very person who betrayed us.”
He shifted on the spot. “About that, think I could get out of these cuffs?”
“Sure, give me a second.” I fished the keys out of my pocket. “Lean up.”
A female voice cut through the night. “Nolan?”
I froze. “Who is that?”
Concern crept into his voice. “Jami, she’s my second in command.”
Producing a shard of angelic light, I drove it through his throat and leaned him against the wall. Taking a deep breath, I pulled his soul out of the aether. He’d died the moment he lost consciousness. He just hadn’t realized it.
Jami’s voice rang out in the quiet. “You shouldn’t have killed him. Now, we know where you are.”
Oh hell, they’d tied their vitals to one another via blood magic. It was a high-risk procedure only the most elite went through. If one of them died, the others knew right down to their location. I grabbed my helmet and put it on before they activated the next stage of the spell. A half second later, Nolan’s dead eyes lolled open.
“Hello, Lazarus.” Jami’s voice echoed slightly as it cut through the night. “I see you.”
At least I hadn’t blown my cover.
I strode over and stomped my boot against his skull, flattening the thing. That was some creepy shit. Reaching inside my breastplate, I pulled out the detonator and flipped the switch. Multiple explosions sounded, sending a plume of fire and smoke jetting into the air behind the stands.
This was it, my only chance to escape.
Wrapping shadows around me, I shot into the air and hovered for a second to count off Nolan’s team members, Ruth, Ted, and the Grant brothers, before speeding off. I landed beside the mega mart and waited. If they’d seen me, I could expect company in the next few seconds. Two minutes passed, then I edged my way out into the parking lot where a small crowd had gathered at the far end.
I got onto the ARCH and idled off onto the highway out back. I spent the next hour riding around the city, trying to absorb everything that’d happened. The only man I’d ever known as a father was back from the dead, as were my two super creepy uncles.
Oh, and Grandma was a fucking siren…how freaky was that shit?
13
Chapter 12
October 9th
I’d gotten in slightly after eleven last night, at which point I gave Bea a rundown of the evening’s activities and the drive containing the Grant brother’s freaky science fair project. Seeing how she needed time to sift through it, and I was supremely annoyed, I’d opted to turn in shortly after midnight…or as I liked to call it, ungodly early.
Thanks to that poor decision, I was now wide awake well before noon. What in the name of God did people do this time of the day? Shifting in my bed roll, I closed my eyes, trying to will myself back to sleep. I lay there as thoughts rolled through my head. Ruth needed to be dealt with. Then again, so did her freaky sons that were back from the dead. Oh, and let’s not forget there was the rest of Nolan’s team that were still alive and probably wanting blood.
Goddamn it. My brain absolutely hated me. It was going to pick now to run through the laundry list of shit that I needed to do. Before it could switch gears to the part where it decided to criticize my every action over the last few days, I decided enough was enough and opened my eyes.
I pushed back the flap to the sleeping bag, wriggled the rest of the way out, and got to my feet. “Morning, Bea.”
“You’re up early.” She glowed to life. “Feeling all right?”
Someone was feeling cheeky this morning. I checked my watch, 10:55. Damn. “Yeah, I’m fine…physically at least.” I walked over to the counter and picked up a glass of water. “Just weirded out by last night’s events. Between the Grant’s being back and the blood magic snafu, I’m not sure what concerns me the most.”
“That’s easy, be afraid of the brothers. They’re absolutely terrifying.” Her aura changed to gold. “These new versions have been enhanced compared to the models you’re familiar with.”
My stomach churned and my breath caught in my chest. “What in the hell does that mean?”
She floated a bit higher in the air. “Might want to sit for this.”
Oh, this wasn’t a good sign at all. Grabbing a nearby stool, I wiped it off and sat.
Bea launched into a lecture about everything she’d discovered from the drive and her deep dive into the Black Circle’s servers. She’d gone so far as to prepare what amounted to a PowerPoint presentation; pictures, grafts, loads of math, and tons of other equally dry scientific formulas.
Turned out, the original versions of Lewis, Angus, and John were my caretakers. They were powerful beyond their years thanks to the tinkering Carcinus did to the DNA during the embryonic stage in the cauldron. From the time they came into their abilities, their magic was some of the most potent ever seen. Their necromancy, while not perfect, was immensely effective. In addition, they had the rare ability to summon soul weapons. Until then, only the Lich Lords and Lazarus could do so. Centuries later, I was born and became the fourteenth person capable of such a feat.
She skipped through a bunch of mundane information, stopping when she reached the notes from nineteen twenty. That was the year that Carcinus summoned the brothers to one of his labs to go through an excruciating process to extract viable samples to be used in the cloning process. According to his notes, John suffered the most due to his unique makeup with the wendigo alterations to his base code. The first several dozen trials failed miserably. These setbacks forced the Grant’s to return to the lab over and over again for the next decade. Then in nineteen thirty, they had a breakthrough with Lewis.
It had all his memories, powers, and for all intents and purposes, he was Lewis Grant. He didn’t have the memories of the recovery process from the final procedure, but everything else was totally intact. Angus’s clone followed the next year. Much to John’s dismay, it took another four years to sequence things properly for his doppelganger to become viable.
Over the next several years, Carcinus harvested thousands of samples from the brothers through a streamlined procedure. While still painful, it was manageable.
Guess I finally understood why Carcinus’s mere presence was enough to set John off. I mean, the man tortured him for nearly thirty years. That’d be enough to piss anyone off. Trust me, I should know.
Back on topic, there were only so many copies that could be made from any one sample of genetic material before the end product failed to produce a usable result. Thus, the reason why Carcinus took numerous biopsies.
This was where the presentation took a downward turn for me personally.
The three clones here were fresh out of the lab. Meaning, they’d been grown yet not tested as they were a new batch of what they considered the ultimate soldiers. Through the use of blood magic, enchanters inscribed glyphs onto their flesh, bones, and even souls. In addition, they used the perverse magic to graft in additional features onto their base DNA, enhancing their natural ability. On top of that, they used some strigoi samples prior to their passing to inject into the RNA sequence, but seeing how they hadn’t come out to play before being shipped to Montreal, no one knew how that had worked out.
Their hopes were to make this batch of Grant brothers the most durable ever, giving them enhanced stamina—physical and magical—increase their strength several times over, as if they needed that shit, and finally boost their healing to make killing them next to impossible without turning them to ash on the spot. Mind you, all this was just theory at the moment. Sadly, they’d had several successes in the past with some of the treatments that hadn’t gone into such depths, so the likelihood of this being a shit show for me personally was super high.
I needed some aspirin and a big bottle of vodka, but neither were on hand. “Please stop…I need to make sure I’ve got a handle on this.” Biting my lip, I shook my head. “Other than these new super duper versions here in town, there are at least five other copies of Lewis, Angus, and John out there right now, and they’re all significantly more potent than the original versions, which were badass to begin with, is that right?”
Bea’s essence shifted from side to side. “Yes.”
The throbbing in my temple worsened. “And they’re growing more?”
Her voice lowered a little as she repeated herself. “Yes.”
“Goddamn it.” I kicked a bit of cardboard into the oil change pit in the center. “Is there any good news…at all?”
Her aura turned white. “They don’t know you personally as all the samples being used were taken decades before you were born.”
“Not much of an upside.” I sighed. “But it beats nothing.”
Talking about the Grants made me feel like I was drowning. We needed to change the subject. Light reflected off my gear on the floor and I became curious. “Bea, remember last night when I told you about the whole blood magic not touching me thing?”
“I do.” She hesitated. “But I haven’t been able to figure out why.”
I pointed at the armor. “Could you scan my gear…and me for that matter.”
Her aura turned golden. “What are you expecting to find?”
Shrugging, I said, “No idea. Probably nothing, but I’m curious, nevertheless.”
Two wide beams of golden light shone out of the box to scan me and the armor at the same time. It faded then reactivated to repeat the process three more times.
Finally, Bea stopped. “Well, that’s odd.”
I tapped my foot. “Care to share?”
“Oh, right, sorry.” She hovered a little higher over the box. “We’ve discussed nanites prior.”
Rubbing my forehead, I nodded. “Yes, they’re subatomic biomechanical living beings that make up certain entities such as yourself.”
“Right.” She glowed purple. “What I’m picking up here doesn’t make sense.”
I downed my water and poured myself another glass. “Look, if you’re going to continue to spout random words that don’t mean anything to me, I’m going to need to find something stronger to drink in order to keep listening to your incoherent babbling.”
Bea grumbled something I couldn’t understand before clearing her throat. “Look, there’s a ton of information to process here. The short version is, it appears that you have something new running through your system and the same shit is attached to your gear.”
“Okay, but what sort of new stuff?” Leaning against the shelf, I sighed. “I need more than stuff and new…specifics, please.”
The wall in front of me glowed to life with what looked to be a live feed of my bloodstream. It pixelated then blood cells came into view. It happened several more times till a small golden light obscured its host.
Pride filled Bea’s voice. “That’s me…at least part of me, anyway.”
I blinked. “That’s one of your nanites?”
“It is.” Her voice became wistful. “When I was whole, I’d shine like the sun, but this is still nice to see.”
I’d never expected to see a nanite this close up, considering the technology of this world wasn’t capable of such a thing. Bea, however, was not of this world. “You’re beautiful.”
Pinks shaded Bea’s aura. “Thank you.”
The image zoomed in thousands of times more to reveal what looked to be a crystalline river flowing through darkness.
