A War of Shadows...Part 3

The last thing I did before making the jump myself was to re-activate the obelisk with a quick touch and a simple command. That sealed the trap, preventing any of my unwitting victims from escaping back through the Shadowland.

There was a serene moment of silence as we all landed in the middle of the snow filled shallow clearing. That silence was shattered as a very surprised looking Dragon plummeted into the place where I had been standing. Without the weaker gravity and abundant magick of the Shadowland, the Dragon found that his bulk was too great to fly. He crashed snout first into the snow-covered ice of the small lake in the center of the depression with a thunderous roar.

The Demon, who had been charging towards me in the Shadowland, gave out a snarling yelp and dove to the side to avoid being crushed by the Dragon’s bulk. Several wolves and three Reavers were not so lucky.

Before the snow and ice thrown up by the Dragon’s impact could settle back to the ground, chaos erupted as volley after volley of bullets slammed into the scene. Herne’s troops had entered the fray. Each of the hundreds of rounds being firing into the clearing had been charged with magickal energy by my daughter Jasmine.

The bullets were working as advertised, the shadow wolves, Doppelgangers and Reavers were dropping like flies from the concentrated fire from the edge of the forest.

The Banes however, each seemed to be shaking off their momentary surprise and all had their own defenses against the barrage of bullets.

The Demon’s armor plating absorbed even the larger caliber bullets that had been directed him by Herne, but it didn’t stop him from showing his rage at having been caught in our trap. He leaped up after having dodged the fallen Dragon and took off a dead run towards the far edge of the clearing where Herne and Kenny had shown themselves as they pumped round after round towards him.

Arixtocles stood stock still, seemingly in serene meditation, but that was belied by the fact that he was surrounded by a glowing dome of energy that erupted in sparks each time a bullet meant for him exploded short of its target. Meanwhile, he scanned the edges of the forest and would direct a blast of sizzling red energy at the form of any target that presented itself to him.

The Dragon, however, was where my attention was focused. Most of the bullets pelting his hide were deflected by his thick metallic scales. Some rounds were getting through, but their impact seemed miniscule. The Dragon was more concerned with pulling its face and front legs from the debris of thick ice that it had shattered with its fall. It was arching its back and unfurling its wings in an attempt to pull free.

I couldn’t take the chance that a creature that massive got free, so I bolted towards the thing, Excalibur in hand.

A stray wolf lunged at me from the side, latching onto my right calf with its jaws, but I barely broke my stride. Instead, I lashed out with Excalibur, lopping off its head in one heavy stroke.

Just as the Dragon freed its head from the ice, I leapt up towards the base of its massive throat and plunged Excalibur in with both hands as far as I could. The blade practically sang with energy and excitement as it passed through the Dragon’s scales like a hot knife through butter.

The creature reared up in instant pain, pulling me up high into the air with it. I continued to push the blade deeper even as I redoubled my grip on the hilt. Black ichor gushed from the wound, coating my face and hands as the thing continued to thrash.

Bullets continued to thud into the beast, both above and below me. It was hard to tell if they were having any direct impact though as the Dragon already seemed to be in its death throes.

Gathering my Will even as I held on from being thrown to the side by the thrashing beast, I waited for the moment that I knew from Ma Grendel would come. She had hunted all manner of creatures in her eons of existence, including more than a few Banes. I had played back one of those memory fragments in my own head during these past few weeks. I had watched as she had inflicted a mortal wound on the living body of a Bane and had lain in wait to snatch the Spirit of the creature. There would be the briefest of windows where the normally indomitable Spirit of the victimized Bane would be vulnerable. It was that moment when I had to strike at the Spirit if I had any hopes of preventing any of these Banes from snatching the bodies from my allies and beginning the transition to new physical forms.

Like a great tree struck down by age or axe, the Dragon’s body began to sway as the life force within began to slip away. Excalibur had found its mark. As the body began to fall forward, I maintained my grip long enough to glimpse that moment when the Spirit of the Bane let loose from the physical form that it had invested so much energy in developing. That time came just moments before gravity was to impose its final will upon the body of this beast.

Reaching out with a tentacle of Shadow, I snared the stunned Spirit of Malaxifer before he could gain his bearings and pulled him in. As our bodies impacted yet again with the snow and ice of the clearing, I struggled to digest Malaxifer.

I don’t know how long my body lay prone in the snow because there was a titanic struggle taking place inside. Ma Grendel had the distinct advantages of having both the full command of her power and the experience of having consumed the spirits of thousands of victims. She also rather enjoyed the endeavor. I, however, had none of those traits. But I was desperate and determined to get back into the fight before any of my friends paid a mortal price for my inexperience.

Fueled by a burning desperation, I shoved Malaxifer past that internal wall I had made between myself and that innumerable horde of small, hungry predators that spoke to me in whispers, crying out their hunger. That horde descended upon the struggling Spirit of Malaxifer and tore his essence to pieces like a pack of piranha swarming a joint of beef.

Physically, I sat up and looked around just in time to come face to face with a pair of wounded, raving Reavers. Excalibur was still lodged deep in the throat of the Dragon’s carcass so I triggered my wrist sheaths and took them on with my batons. It wasn’t long before I left them as quivering piles of bone and flesh.

I dropped my right baton and reached up to pull Excalibur from the Dragon’s throat. As I did so, I glanced back towards where I had last seen Arixtocles.

An explosion of fire and thunder announced Ravyn’s engagement with him, his own red energy adding to the intense mix. Several bodies lay sprawled between the two of them, but I was unable to see whether they were those of friends or foes. I did manage to see Jim and Alana coming down from the edge of the woods behind the Bane, apparently trying to sneak up on him.

A great roar of triumph from the Demon caused me to snap my head around to the other side of the battle. I saw Kenny’s limp form being lifted in the air by the Demon and tossed to the side like a limp rag doll as the creature lashed out with his other massive claw towards Herne. Cerrydwen darted out from behind a nearby tree to place a battered and bloodied hand on the Demon’s left wing. The Demon howled in pain as that wing exploded in a blast of bone, black flesh and smoking ichor. Cerrydwen and the Demon were tossed in opposite directions by the blast.

I wanted nothing more than to rush to Kenny’s side to see if he was alright, but a second explosive blast from the direction of Arixtocles drew my attention back to that side of the battle. As the smoke cleared, I saw Ravyn’s form crumple to the ground.

Excalibur finally slid free from the Dragon’s corpse, just as I leaped up onto the beast and began running towards Arixtocles…

A War of Shadows...Part 2

Calling upon the Shadow to speed my travel, I breezed through the last three hundred yards of my journey. I emerged in a large clearing that was more of a shallow depression. Near the center of the roughly circular depression stood the obelisk that I had known would be waiting.

The obelisk rose from the center of the depression, its brooding dark presence dominating the space. A quick glance around the far perimeter of the clearing showed the brightly-hued Spirit forms of Herne’s assault team, over twenty strong in all. Herne was waiting in the center of the depression next to the obelisk. Next to him were Cerrydwen, Ravyn, Alana and Jim.

I reached out to touch Herne’s Spirit form. He flinched before recognizing my touch. “Damn, I’m glad that’s you Rusty. Our Spirit vision is blinded by this obelisk of yours.”

“Herne, there’s not much time to get ready, they will be here soon. I need your guys to get into place quickly. Did you bring the weapons we discussed?”

He nodded. “Yes, Jasmine has been very busy. We have enough weapons for everyone.”

“Good. Remember, don’t worry about me. I’m going to be in the crossfire but don’t let that stop anyone from firing. You guys are not going to have very much time before the surprise wears off. Oh yeah, keep an eye on the sky, I’m not sure what will happen to the Dragon when I activate the trap.”

Herne nodded again, but Ravyn spoke up first. “Rusty, how many Banes should we expect?”

I touched her shoulder, enjoying the shudder of a reaction caused by touching her Spirit form directly. “Three. Malaxifer the Dragon, Arixtocles the Wise and Kosferaxtu the Demon. Leave the last one for me, he’s the one who killed you at the Coop, he’s the most powerful. Now go, quickly. I need to activate the obelisk or this trap will be sprung before it ever begins.”

I didn’t have time to watch as they scrambled back up the far slope of the depression and into their positions. I had far too much to do in a very short time.

Instead, I reached out to touch the obelisk to activate our first line of defense.

In my travels through the Shadowland over the last few weeks, I had finally begun to reach the full potential of abilities and skills that Drake and John had envisioned bringing about in one person. I had also discovered additional abilities that neither one of them had planned.

The obelisk responded to my command readily. Deep inside it a small light began to growing, pulsing stronger and brighter with a regularity that reminded me of a heartbeat. Within moments it would be glowing so brightly that not even the Banes who would soon be here would be able to see the Spirit forms of my allies. This obelisk was a powerful beacon that would serve to effectively blind anyone nearby in the Shadowland from being able to peer into the real world. There was no corresponding tower in the real world, but the corresponding depression in the real world was a small lake that was noted for the healing power of its water in the brief Alaskan summer. In the dead of winter, like now, it was frozen solid.

The howling of the pursuing pack ended as the first wolves streamed from the dark of the forest into the bright light of the obelisk. They circled me, staying close to the forest edge, almost as if they feared to come too close to the pulsing white light of the tower.

I reached up and grabbed the hilt of Excalibur. Before drawing the blade though, I gathered myself and exerted the control over it that I had developed in the last few weeks. It hadn’t been easy, but I had finally imposed my Will on this unruly, independent-minded blade. I felt the blade respond to my grip, both physically and spiritually.

Even as I drew Excalibur, I was working on the last task that needed to be completed before the enemy arrived in full force. Using every ounce of concentration I could spare from controlling my sword, I quietly called the Shadow up into me through my feet. I silently reached out with tendrils of Shadow to the ancient trees surrounding this clearing, imploring them to lend me their strength. As each individual tree acknowledged me and responded, the secret net that I was weaving grew stronger and tighter.

After the wolves, dozens of Reavers crashed out into the open, shambling forward into the light, unconcerned about their already decaying bodies. Each Reaver held a weapon of some sort, ranging from large lawn tools to actual swords and axes. A few carried rifles or shotguns, but many of those were carried more like clubs than as firearms.

I could feel the Banes drawing closer, but the only one that I could see was Malaxifer the Dragon. His massive silhouette was just barely visible over the tree line, but only because of the massive amount of light being thrown off by the obelisk. The other two Banes were coming closer, but were still hidden by the forest.

Despite their clear agitation, the wolves continued to circle the edges of the clearing. The Reavers moved in closer, but not close enough to be of any threat, at least not yet. None of these lesser creatures were willing to face me without the help or motivation of a Bane. I had slain dozens of the wolves in the last couple of weeks, slaughtering whole packs that had come too close. Reavers and Doppelgangers had also felt the bite of Excalibur of late.

I continued building the hidden web of Shadow even as I stood facing the growing crowd of enemies. ‘Damn, this plan better work or this is going to get ugly.’

Watching the numbers of wolves, Reavers and Doppelgangers build, I began to worry about whether or not Herne had brought enough firepower to have a chance at winning this battle. That concern only grew stronger as Kosferaxtu’s massive frame emerged from the forest. He stood over eight feet tall, but seemed even larger with his huge black wings sprouting from his back and his massively muscled frame. His skin was entirely black, very shiny and as hard as obsidian. His glowing yellow eyes bore down on me as soon as emerged from the shadows of the forest. He pointed on of his massive claws towards me and issued his challenge in the ancient language of the An’girasii, his voice booming throughout the clearing.

“Puny man-thing, your time is over! I will crush you and throw your broken body to my slaves.”

I saluted him with Excalibur and stood my ground. “Come Demon, if you dare! I will be glad to add your name to my tally of fallen foes!”

That challenge angered him as I hoped that it would. I needed all three Banes to get within range of the web that I had set up.

Before the Demon could do more than shake his clawed fist at me, Arixtocles followed him into the clearing. This was my first time seeing this Bane in person. He had retained a very human visage. He was at least seven feet tall, but very thin. His face resembled the image I had of Confucius in my mind—Asian eyes and complexion, long, thin white beard and white hair. He was wearing long white robes and carried an elaborately carved staff of some black material.

His voice was calm and measured when he spoke to his fellow Bane and me. “Relax dear Kosferaxtu, he cannot escape us now. We have heard of your exploits, Mr. Bones, but as impressive as they have been to date, even you shall not be able to face the combined might of three of the mightiest Banes. You should have fled while you still could.”

I could sense that Arixtocles was weaving some spell of his own as he spoke, but I was too wrapped up in my own to be able to tell what exactly he was trying to do. I needed to keep them talking long enough for the Dragon to get in range.

“So, the two of you are the mightiest Banes that serve the An’girasii?”

The Demon stomped and snorted before responding. “I am the mightiest Bane. You fled from me before, but I shall not let you escape this time, whelp!”

Both the Demon and Arixtocles continued to move closer as we spoke. The Demon’s steps thundered. Each footprint trailed tendrils of smoke as soon as his foot lifted form the ground. Arixtocles glided forward, his feet never seemingly touching the ground, his legs unmoving as he traveled inches about the dark earth of the Shadowland. As they advanced, the wolves and the Reavers made their own tentative advances on either side of the two imposing figures.

From behind the two advancing Banes, a group of figures emerged from the woods. From their very quick, intense movements, I could tell that these were Doppelgangers, but they had taken the forms of human-like warriors. Each was sheathed in shiny black armor and carried wicked looking scimitars in each hand.

The Dragon’s pride must have been tweaked by the Demon’s claim at supremacy because his voice roared from above as his massively scaled body swooped in from over the forest, smoke trailing from his mouth as he belched out his own claim.

“I, Malaxifer, am the mightiest of the Banes, puny human! It is I who shall end this battle before it ever begins!”

The Demon roared his own challenge and rushed forward as soon as he saw that the Dragon was diving towards me.

I smiled. The An’girasii apparently liked to foster competition among their chief servants, which I had been able to manipulate to my advantage. Or at least it would if my crazy plan worked.

As long as the obelisk was showering this place with its powerful light, I was not going to be able to call upon the Shadow with enough strength to make my spell worked. Holding Excalibur forth with my right hand, I reached out with my left to touch the tower. With a simple command, the light switched off like a bulb going out, plunging the area into darkness.

The Dragon continued his dive, smoke and fire trailing his open jaws and barreled toward me at the base do the tower. The Demon was brushing aside his lesser servants as thundered toward me at a dead run. Only Arixtocles hung back as he appeared to mumbling his own spell, his eyes closed.

Calling the Shadow with all of my Will, the web of Shadow sprung from the edges of the forest, coving the clearing with a dome of darkness. By calling upon the ancient trees of the surrounding forest and amplifying their power with my own, I was able to create a portal between the Shadowland and the real world that encompassed the entire clearing. With a twist of my Will, everyone and everything in the clearing, except for the obelisk, shimmered and was transported from that world of darkness into the world light and life…

A War of Shadows...Part 1

The Shadowland whizzed by in a blur of grey and black images as I slowed a move fast trot. It was proving difficult to move too quickly through this stretch of wilderness since thick, twisted and very substantial trees existed both in the Shadowland and in the real world.

John had once told me that this only happed in the oldest of forests. “As trees age, their spirits strengthen, expanding their presence beyond the world of light to the land of shadow. It is almost as if their essence transfers slowly from one world to the next once they reach the height of their majesty. In some places in the Shadowland there are majestic, towering trees where there is now nothing but fields or cement roads in the world of the living. But alas, over time, those forests fade away in the Shadowland as well once the living trees have been gone long enough.”

My guess was that this stretch of Alaskan wilds hadn’t been significantly touched by Man for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

The howling of my pursuers grew louder, likely both because they were drawing closer and because their numbers were growing. If I didn’t pick up the pace soon, they would be upon me.

I tapped my forearms for reassurance, making sure that my batons were securely in place. Excalibur was practically humming in its sheath, eager to be called upon, but I continued to ignore the blade. I didn’t want to make it that easy for my pursuers to find me.

I pushed deeper into the tangled mass of branches as I wondered how much further it was to my destination. It was going to be a close call as to whether or not I would be able to beat my pursuers to it. If I didn’t win this race, things were going to become very unpleasant.

It wasn’t the shadow wolves that concerned me, but their masters…


***


“Rusty, you got a minute?” Herne’s face was showing the strain of several weeks of stress.

“Yeah, Herne, what’s up?”

He nodded and took my left arm by the elbow. “Come walk with me.”

I allowed him to guide me deeper into the Bat Cave, through the control room and towards the privacy of the small library that had been designated for command-level meetings. It was one of the few places where people weren’t bunked down.

Once we were in the library, he closed the door. I was surprised to see that we weren’t alone in the cramped space. Ravyn, Cerrydwen, the Frau, Alan and Jim had been waiting for us.

“What’s going on?” I was extremely curious about the need for a seemingly secret command meeting.

Everyone remained silent until the door clicked shut and Herne threw the bolt into place to lock us in. He was the first to break the silence. “Rusty, we think that our enemies have found a way to track some of our away parties through the Shadowland.”

This was a new development. “What makes you think that? I didn’t think that was even possible.”

Cerrydwen answered. “No one did. But the evidence is beginning to mount that El Diablito or the An’girasii themselves have found a way.”

Herne nodded. “On the last supply run, Jordan, one of Alana’s students, heard the sounds of what seemed to be wolves of some sort as soon as they entered the Shadowland to make their way back here. Jordan was smart enough not to lead them here, but led them off towards Canada before going to ground back in the real world. Once he could, he called for help. I just got back from that mission myself. I took a few of the security team with me. We ended up hitting a pack of shadow wolves that kept hanging around where Jordan and his crew had left the Shadowland. One of the creatures only looked like a wolf when we hit them. It was really a Doppelganger. It managed to jump one of the men in all of the confusion and escape.”

“Shit. So if they can track us in the Shadowland, it may only be a matter of time before they manage to track us back to the Bat Cave here.”

The Frau nodded, her eyes showing her concern. “That’s why we wanted to have this meeting in private. We’ve suspended all travel in and out until we can figure out the danger those trips are actually posing and how seriously they are looking for us.”

Ravyn was the next to speak. “Right now, Rusty, you’re going to be the only one we allow to travel in and out. We are also wondering how willing you would be serving as a decoy? I know how much you enjoy getting yourself into trouble.” She gave her most impish grin as she finished, knowing that I would take the bait.

I could see the logic of their thinking and nodded. “Well, if they are looking for any of us more than the others, I would certainly be the main target. But I am also the one best equipped to face any kind of attack as well.”

Cerrydwen’s eyes narrowed as she stepped forward to speak. “You are most familiar with the Shadowland and its strange rules. If you were willing to go out and wreak some havoc on a couple of their strongholds and make a lot of ‘noise’, it might attract the attention of whatever forces they have looking for our away parties.”

Herne folded his arms across his chest. “And, if you found that there was some basis for our concerns about being tracked, we would like to see about setting up an ambush…”


***


I had spent the better part of a week stomping around the Shadowland and the real world, stirring up trouble in a number of places. In that week, I had doubled back and slain the wolves that had picked up my trail on at least three different occasions. But it only took a few hours after each battle for a new, larger pack to catch my scent and begin the hunt anew. The pack that both trailed and flanked me now must comprise at least twenty individuals.

This pack, though, was not only larger and better organized than the last couple, but it was smarter. This pack wasn’t comprised solely of shadow wolves. There was some thing, or a group of things, that were just behind the wolves. I could feel it, them, there driving the wolves on.

I pushed on through the forest of giant black trees knowing that my allies lay in wait ahead…


***


Once I had confirmed that the wolves were indeed able to track me in the Shadowland and that there was a concerted effort to do so, I slipped back into the real world to make a phone call.

“Yeah?” Herne’s voice was gruff.

“It’s me. I’ve been tracked twice now. I’ve eliminated the wolves each time, but a new pack takes over within hours for the ones I kill.”

He grunted. “So our worst fears have been confirmed. Are you prepared to move forward with the plan as we discussed?”

“Yes. I’ll see you at the rendezvous point in three days time.”

“Are you going to be able to stay ahead of them?” There was concern in his voice as he asked that question.

“I’ll be fine. Both Drake and John taught me well. Just be ready for the party when I get there, I intend to bring as many of to the event as I can find.”


***


My destination was only a few hundred yards ahead. My pursuers seemed to sense the coming climax as well—the howls grew louder and more insistent. The pack behind and around me had grown in the last hour as well. I could sense the presence of at least one Bane and had glimpsed a group of Reavers out of the corner of my eye. I could only presume that several Doppelgangers had joined the pack as well.

As soon as I emerged onto the trail that Herne had told me would be there, I picked up the pace and gained a few valuable seconds in my quest to beat the enemy to the rendezvous point. I just hope that Herne had been able to get everyone into place in time…