Forging Day (Crucible of Change Book 1) (10 page)

My arm was throbbing, but thanks to Berto’s happy juice, I still managed to doze, off and on, until my phone jolted me unpleasantly awake. It was Berto again. “Let Kat know we’re going to try and stop for gas in Lyons. Oaken called Korembi. Their group is getting low. We’re going to hope that we find a place that’s open.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her. And Berto, you don’t happen to have any more pain pills in your bag, do you?”

“Sorry, my sweet, but we’re down to over-the-counter until we get home.”

“Okay. I’ll just grit my teeth. I can’t cry, that would give the Dark Elves a bad name.”

“Cry if you want, lovey. I won’t tell.”

“Kat, we’re going to try and stop for gas. I wish Oaken’s crew had filled up before they hit camp. I hate stopping anywhere. I just want to go home.”

Mikah’s van abruptly stopped in the road in front of us. Kat swore and slammed on the brakes, stopping just short of the little trailer. I forgot my arm was in a sling and tried to catch myself. Instead, I got up close and personal with the back of Kat’s seat. No, I wasn’t wearing my seat belt. The pain knifed through me, and I nearly blacked out again. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. I couldn’t help it, and now, to top it all off, I was stuck on the floor.

Kat said, “I’m so sorry, Olivia. Are you okay? Take deep breaths. Let’s get you up and then I’ll call Mikah and see what’s going on.”

No sign of the town yet. The road was narrow, and there was a high red sandstone bluff just to our north. I couldn’t see past Mikah’s van, but something must have been blocking the road.

Kat hadn’t even gotten her seatbelt off yet when there was a sharp rap on the window. There was a man standing there, and he looked like bad news all over—mirror shades and a camo vest over a farmer’s tan. It was the short barrel shotgun he used to tap on the window that had my undivided attention. “Out of the car. Now!”

He stared at the shotgun in the front seat and pointed his own gun at Kat. “Don’t even think of it, bitch,” he snarled at Tessa. “You touch that gun and your friend’s furry brains are going to be splattered all over this car. Rick, come over here. These ones are actually packing.” Tessa looked at him, back at the shotgun, and slowly eased her way out of the car.

An older man ran up. He was armed too. “Good catch, Jerry.” He grabbed the shotgun out of my car. “I’ll just take this. We wouldn’t want any accidents to happen, and you all won’t be needing it.” He stared at me then. “Why isn’t this one out of the car?”

In a tight voice, Tessa said, “She’s injured and she’s stuck. I’ll have to help her.”

“You stand right here, whatever you are. Jerry, get this one out of the car and put her over with the others.”

Thug number one, Jerry, opened the back door and roughly dragged me out of the car. I tried to stand, but my knees buckled from the pain. He pulled me along to the shoulder of the road where most everyone else was already standing and dropped me near Berto’s feet.

I counted at least eight men in camo gear. The two younger ones looked both anxious and excited, but the rest were grim and determined. They were all Human, all white guys, and all armed. There was a large rusty pickup truck blocking the road. The rest of their trucks were pulled off the road onto the shoulder. That certainly explained why we’d stopped—that, and the guns. None of them were wearing masks and they weren’t trying to hide their names. I’d seen enough television shows to know this wasn’t intended to end well for us.

One of the girls from Oaken’s group, Aspen, was crying. Briar, their priestess, tried to calm her down. “Aspen, shhh. It’s going to be okay. You’re not helping.”

The older guy near Mikah said, “Shut her up, old woman, or I will.”

Tessa growled low in her throat and Rick swung the shotgun around to point at her. Her eyes glowed crimson, but she didn’t move.

“I’ll quiet her down,” said one of the men, and I really didn’t like how he was looking at her. Aspen didn’t either, and started crying even harder.

“Just tell us what you want,” said Mikah, “and we’ll be on our way. We just need to get gas in town. There doesn’t have to be any trouble.”

“You’re funny, boy. You already have trouble. We don’t want any freaks in our town, or people that travel with them.”

Mikah was an attorney back in the real world. He was convinced he could talk his way through anything. He needed to get over that. “Fine. Let us go and we’ll go back the other way. This doesn’t have to go any further.”

Aspen screamed as the one man grabbed her from behind. He squeezed her breast hard as he pulled her back against him. “This one’s still Human, Mel. At least she feels Human.”

Mel said, “Kurt, goddammit, let her go!”

Tessa screamed, “Back off!”

One of the men pointed his gun at her, but other than that, they ignored her.

“Get your hands off of her!” yelled one of the younger men from Oaken’s group. He charged at the man mauling Aspen. “Leave her alone!”

A shot half deafened me, and a red blossom quickly spread on the druid’s tunic.

“Matt, no!” Aspen jerked loose from Kurt and dropped to the ground, trying to cover Matt’s wound with her hands.

The teenager with the smoking gun shook his head. He dropped the gun and stepped back, as if he could deny he’d been the one that pulled the trigger.

“Damn it, Peter! No one told you to fire,” said Mel.

Berto tried to get to Matt, but Mel hit him with the butt of his rifle, knocking him to the ground.

Tessa gave a shake and it was like the air bent around her. The not-there-ness hurt my eyes and I had to look away.

Korembi gave a sharp whistle, and everyone turned as the back door of the van clicked open. Mel pointed his gun at Mikah. “You said everyone was out here.”

Mikah stared back at him, cold fury in his eyes. “You didn’t ask about pets.”

A prehistoric roar came from the back of Mikah’s van and the guns instantly swiveled in that direction. Everyone was frozen for one agonizing second, and then all hell broke loose. The doors flew open and Stella jumped out, teeth bared and claws extended. The compys flooded out around her legs, charging toward us. As one, the Trolls bellowed, “For Chaos!” and the battle was on.

Shots rang out, over my head toward Stella and the compys. Jerry was closest, and the wave of angry dinosaurs struck him first. He went down, three compys slashing and biting at the soft flesh of his neck and face. Horrified, I saw everything as they savaged him, only inches from where I lay watching. Shots rang out again and one compy fell dead, then another, splattering me with their ichor. Frank was picking them off with Tessa’s shotgun.

Stella bounded over my head, charging toward where I last saw Korembi. Trolls were shouting but it was impossible to see. More shots and a roar of pain from Stella, followed by a wet scream from their direction.

Mikah grappled with Mel for his rifle. A bullet hit the ground, spraying me with gravel, and Rick shouted as a compy clawed its way up his body, digging at his soft belly. He went down, gurgling. I saw Kat pick up a rock and bring it down on his head, again and again, long after he’d gone silent.

Peter didn’t even fight the compy that leapt on him. He was still staring at Matt’s lifeless body when the compy shredded his leg, bringing him down.

Another shot, this time into the air, and a man yelled, “Stop!” I half pushed myself up and saw Kurt, the one that started this mess, holding his gun to Aspen’s head. “Everyone back off, or I blow her pretty brains out—and wouldn’t that be a waste.”

Mikah let go of Mel’s gun, and took a step back with his hands up. We could hear groans of pain from the direction of the Trolls, and the sound of Stella noisily feasting on something. I was glad I couldn’t see that far.

Mel swung his gun around to cover us, and started moving toward Kurt, the only one of his men still standing. “You’ll pay for this,” he snarled at Mikah.

“And she’ll pay with interest,” said Kurt, grabbing Aspen’s breasts and thrusting himself suggestively against her while she wept.

There was a rustle of leathery wings, and Tessa said in a booming voice, “That’s enough. Nobody move!” The command in her voice rolled over me, stopping my breath. She was naked and terrible and glorious. Her horns were ivory, spiraling to wicked points. Her wings arched above her, darkening the sky, and red flames danced in her eyes.

Everyone froze. The only sounds were harsh breathing, sobs, the hissing of the dinosaurs, and the sounds of Stella feeding. Tessa glided over to Mel with one beat of her powerful wings. Her tail lashed back and forth as she fixed him in her gaze. “You’re their leader. Is that right?”

He nodded his head, eyes wide and locked to hers.

“Here’s what you’re going to do for me, Mel. See that man over there?” She pointed to Kurt. “That man is scum. He’s a rapist bastard, and he needs to pay. Kurt, you let go of that girl and take two big steps back.” Shaking, he did. She turned back to Mel. “Shoot him. Make it count.”

There was a flicker of horror in Mel’s eyes, but his body didn’t hesitate as his gun swung to bear. His head shook in a silent
no
as he pulled the trigger and Kurt’s head disappeared in a spray of gore.

Kurt’s body dropped to the ground without ever making a sound.

“Good job, Mel. Nice shot. There are just one or two more things. Give me your car keys.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key chain and handed it to her. “Good boy. Now put the barrel in your mouth, nice and deep, and pull the trigger.”

Mel put the gun in his mouth, gagging on the smoking barrel. Sweat poured down his face. His arms shook and he pissed himself with his failed effort to resist her command. He closed his eyes and one final muffled shot rang out.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Mikah said thickly.

“Yes I did, sweetie, and you know it.” She trailed her fingers over Mel’s body and breathed deeply. There was a faint shimmer in the air as she inhaled his dissipating life force. She repeated the process with Kurt, this time giving a pout of disappointment. I’ve known roadkill with more soul.”

Her compulsion slowly left us and we were able to move again. Kat helped me up and Mikah helped Berto. Korembi and Razaini were bleeding, but moving around. Sonya was on the ground, too still.

Two of the thugs were on the ground, groaning. They were covered with blood. It looked like the work of the compys. One was an older man, but the other looked like a frightened teenager.

Tessa stalked toward the older man first. “You have sinned,” she told him. “What’s your name?”

“Hans,” he said, nearly inaudible.

“Hans. You believe yourself to be a Christian man, yet you came out here with your companions to murder, steal, and rape. Sonya’s lifeblood is on your hands. You’ll find no forgiveness from us this day. You have sinned. It’s time for you to confess.”

He started to babble an apology, and she put her finger to his lips. “Not to me, old man. It’s time to confess to God.” She put her hand over his heart and a murky shimmer rippled in the air. His eyes got impossibly wide, and he forgot to take his next breath.

The teenage boy watched it all, so broken and still trying to scramble backward in the gravel. She flew over to him, her feet barely skimming the ground. “Tell me your name.”

He stopped moving. “Jonah.”

“You’ve made some bad life choices, Jonah.” She leaned toward him and inhaled deeply. “You didn’t know this would happen here, but you are not without sin. Forcing yourself on a young woman who made the mistake of being young and intoxicated is wrong, isn’t it Jonah?”

He nodded his head, his gaze locked with hers.

“You took her trust and her innocence, and then told all of her friends she was a slut, didn’t you?”

Again, he nodded.

“It’s time to pay your penance, Jonah. May God have mercy on your soul, because I certainly won’t.” She pressed her hand over the boy’s heart. A brighter shimmer burst forth, and she smiled as she inhaled, licking her lips. “Give my regards to God.”

Tessa glided back over to me and Kat, coming to rest on the ground next to us. She stretched and shook out her hair, folding in on herself until she was only about my height again. Looking down at her naked self, she gave me a wicked smile. “Guess I better put something on. Wouldn’t want to sunburn something important.” She sauntered over to the car.

Mikah brought Berto’s depleted first aid kit from the car. Three of the Trolls gathered guns, ammo, and anything else that looked useful before dragging the camo-covered bodies off the road into the brush. I noticed idly that Peter, the boy that shot Matt, had blue eyes.

Berto shook his head sadly and closed Matt’s eyes. Tessa was right about Sonya, too. It was impossible to tell how many bullets hit her, the one that hit her in the throat is probably what killed her. She’d drowned in her own blood. Frank knelt next to her, cradling her broken remains while tears rolled down his cheeks.

May put her arm around him and spoke to him softly for a long time. He kissed Sonya one last time, and finally allowed the others to take her body and wrap it in one of the sleeping bags. Aspen had to be pulled away from Matt’s body so he could be similarly tended. The two little compys made small, sad additions to the fallen.

Oaken and Lilith were both bleeding. Oaken had a bullet graze across the top of his head and Lilith held a wad of her skirt to her leg. John looked like he had road rash, and his wrist was at a funny angle. Korembi was a pale shade of green, his shoulder covered in blood. Razaini was bleeding heavily from her scalp, but she ignored it as she put pressure on Korembi’s shoulder.

I felt so damn useless. It all looked so easy when it was your avatar on the computer screen. Your avatar doesn’t sob with pain, or die because of a bunch of idiot racists. And even if she does, she just comes back to life and gets right back up to fight another day. Your avatar doesn’t have to try and wipe dinosaur guts off of her face with one arm in a sling.

I didn’t even realize I was crying until Kat hugged me. “It’s not okay, Olivia, but it’s going to be. We’ll figure it out.”

Tessa, now dressed in jeans and a cut-off T-shirt, brought over water and a towel and started wordlessly cleaning my face.