Authors: Steven Montano
Soulrazor (18 page)
“
No,” Ronan said. Kane gave him a look. Danica wasn’t sure if it was because Kane didn’t like his answer, or if he was warning the swordsman not to overstep his bounds.
No,” Ronan said. Kane gave him a look. Danica wasn’t sure if it was because Kane didn’t like his answer, or if he was warning the swordsman not to overstep his bounds.
“
Torch it,” Black said, and she nodded to Grissom.
Torch it,” Black said, and she nodded to Grissom.
Maur cursed under his breath. His hood was drawn tight, and he pulled his face-wrap up and secured a bandolier of grenades around his small chest. Black thought his dark red cloak and armor made him look like a walking drop of blood. The Gol hopped down from the open port door, turned, and briefly touched the hull. Then he shuffled off with the rest of the team as they made their way south and east, towards the distant flames.
Grissom cast a hex grenade into the Darkhawk when they were all safely away. The muffled explosion would be impossible to hear beyond a few hundred yards, but the sparks flew quickly and ignited the combustible interior of the ship. The metal wouldn’t burn, but before long the vessel would be gutted and hollow, leaving none of the ship’s weapons or other tech behind for scavengers or Ebon Cities scouts.
Dark flames curled into the thick night. Dull thuds sounded from within the ruined aircraft as small explosives detonated.
They made their way across open land, leaving the shell of their hard-earned vessel behind them.
The trek across the plains was quiet, cold, and long. Shadows peeled away from the dull blue shine of the lamps, and their feet crushed cold clumps of dust. The world around them was pitch black except for the fires of Wolftown, which were still off in the distance.
“
Is this…you know, wise?” Kane asked. “To broadcast our position like this?”
Is this…you know, wise?” Kane asked. “To broadcast our position like this?”
“
No,” Ronan said. “But I’m not a huge fan of wandering around in the dark.”
No,” Ronan said. “But I’m not a huge fan of wandering around in the dark.”
“
Pansy,” Grissom laughed.
Pansy,” Grissom laughed.
“
There isn’t much we could do to hide out here, in any case,” Ash said as they walked. She and Maur were at the center of the party, while Black, Ronan and Kane led the way. Grissom watched their tail, and carried the largest lamp.
There isn’t much we could do to hide out here, in any case,” Ash said as they walked. She and Maur were at the center of the party, while Black, Ronan and Kane led the way. Grissom watched their tail, and carried the largest lamp.
Black felt sure she heard the echo of lost voices all around them. The plains were only a few miles wide between the stretches of dark forest, but there in the frozen dark they felt as vast as an ocean.
The trees that blocked off the way into Wolftown looked more like jagged towers, and the few hills in their path were cracked and wide. Everything to the east and west was drenched in darkness. The dull flames of the burning Darkhawk had already faded to a distant haze.
“
What do you mean, Sis?” Grissom asked.
What do you mean, Sis?” Grissom asked.
“
She means Bloodwolves hunt by scent, not sight,” Black said from her position at the front. She was armed with an H&K G36C, a weapon she normally didn’t carry. She had the vaguest memory of Kane handing it to her, but she couldn’t recall when. Her katars were strapped to her back on the outside of her armored coat, and she had a thick wool scarf wound around her neck. Lara had knit it for her several years ago.
She means Bloodwolves hunt by scent, not sight,” Black said from her position at the front. She was armed with an H&K G36C, a weapon she normally didn’t carry. She had the vaguest memory of Kane handing it to her, but she couldn’t recall when. Her katars were strapped to her back on the outside of her armored coat, and she had a thick wool scarf wound around her neck. Lara had knit it for her several years ago.
And to think that all I wanted to do was run around with you and get into trouble for the rest of my life,
Danica thought.
What went wrong, Lara? What the hell did I
do
?
Danica thought.
What went wrong, Lara? What the hell did I
do
?
It had been over two years since they’d split up, and Danica had barely seen her ex-flame since. Apart from a handful of dates, she’d had nothing serious in her life in the love department, and for the moment she was prepared to leave it that way.
She considered her celibacy another bad habit she’d gotten from Cross, who admitted to having been something of a whoremonger before he’d recruited Black and Kane and formed the mercenary team. Now she knew he got about as much action as a wax statue. Kane was the same way – he’d never gotten over losing Ekko, and Black was fairly certain he’d never bothered with the multitude of whorehouses in Thornn.
Well, we are just a bunch of party animals, aren’t we?
They walked in silence for a time. The fires of Wolftown – blazes that set in massive iron braziers just outside the crude city-gates – grew larger by the minute, but the trek still seemed to take forever, and they certainly weren’t getting any warmer. Danica’s hands froze even beneath her gloves, and the wind sliced right through her armor. Her tall boots weren’t terribly well acclimated to hiking in the wilderness, but at least at the moment the team crossed relatively flat terrain. That would all change once they got deeper into the hills.
Even though her spirit did his best to keep her warm, Black felt like an icicle. She wouldn’t let him do too much – she needed him to keep his strength in case they ran into trouble.
“
I spy…with my spying eye,” Kane said, “something…dark.”
I spy…with my spying eye,” Kane said, “something…dark.”
“
Do you ever get tired of talking?” Ronan asked.
Do you ever get tired of talking?” Ronan asked.
“
Not really, no.”
Not really, no.”
“
Maur is tired,” the Gol said.
Maur is tired,” the Gol said.
“
Here,” Grissom said, and he stepped up and hoisted the little man up onto his shoulders. It was something of a comical sight – Grissom was easily eight-feet tall and as broad as a barn, and Maur was 4-foot-1 if he was lucky, now perched atop the big man like a child.
Here,” Grissom said, and he stepped up and hoisted the little man up onto his shoulders. It was something of a comical sight – Grissom was easily eight-feet tall and as broad as a barn, and Maur was 4-foot-1 if he was lucky, now perched atop the big man like a child.
“
Now Maur is cold,” he said.
Now Maur is cold,” he said.
Ronan laughed.
“
Dani?” Ash asked. “How much longer do you think it’ll be?”
Dani?” Ash asked. “How much longer do you think it’ll be?”
“
Half an hour, maybe. I don’t want to stop to rest, not out here. We’re too close to Wolfland.”
Half an hour, maybe. I don’t want to stop to rest, not out here. We’re too close to Wolfland.”
Wolfland. Black had flown over the area plenty of times when she’d transported prisoners to Black Scar, and it was one of the areas the pilots always talked about never wanting to get stuck in. Per its name, the area was dominated by Bloodwolves – massive lupines with deep red fur, fangs the size of sabers and vicious inhuman appetites, as well as a strange ability to mentally bond with vampires. Many of the wolves kept to the tundra called The Reach, but even more resided in the densely populated region of Wolfland, a series of forests and plains south of the white wastes but north of the mines and factories of Fane.
The Southern Claw had briefly flirted with the idea of domesticating Bloodwolves, but that had ended in disaster. The Revengers had attempted the same, and while they found moderate success, the Ebon Cities had the clear advantage in working with the beasts. Even though Wolfland was over a hundred-and-fifty miles outside of vampire territory, they regularly sent clandestine vessels in to gather the creatures, who served as mounts for their cavalry.
Black started to drift off as she walked. Her mind went back to Black Scar, to long nights of marching prisoners back and forth from the mines, to presiding over deathmatch races and battling beasts that emerged from the soiled dark. The screams of the past resonated in her skull, and she looked into the eyes of dying men, many of whom never deserved to have been sent to the prison in the first place. Even two years removed from her life as a Warden, Danica couldn’t leave that place behind.
She sees the sky, burning. Cyclones of ash tear the city apart. Chunks of dark stone and flailing bodies fall up into a fold of molten sunlight, a blazing portal that leads to a place of jagged darkness, a city like a black mirror, a place wreathed in shadows and dust. Her eyes melt as she gazes into the blazing air and sees into the foreign necropolis, an unplace that is so familiar. She sees into the heart of another world and knows fear, because looking there feels like going home.
Something waits on the other side. Something she knows, and cannot escape.
“
Dani?”
Dani?”
It was Kane.
“
What?”
What?”
“
Are you okay?”
Are you okay?”
“
Yeah…why?”
Yeah…why?”
“
Heads up.”
Heads up.”
A small band of riders approached them. At first she thought they rode Bloodwolves, and she motioned for everyone to stand ready. Grissom lowered Maur down to the ground, and Black let her spirit flow between her fingers. His presence brought sweat to her clammy skin, and his anger pressed against her like a smothering embrace.
Kane and Ronan spread out to either side of her, while Maur and Ash stayed close to Grissom. Black stepped forward and greeted the riders, who rode to within a few hundred yards.
Both her and Ash’s spirits moved out and returned with the truth of the rider’s identities: there were eight humans, armed with large rifles and riding Stonelizards.
There was one mage among them, a warlock, but the rest seemed to defer to the tall and dark-haired warrior who rode at the head of their pack, a mountain of a man with a thick mane of hair and a scraggly beard.
As the men came into sight, their giant mounts slowed to a walk. The stone-grey lizards were the size of horses. They were six-legged beasts with enormous black eyes and spiny ridges along the backs of their necks, and each creature wore a high-horned saddle. Their clawed feet tore into the soft earth, but with the exception of their footfalls and the slapping of their tails on the ground the creatures were nearly silent, almost ghostly.
Their riders looked like they’d been born straight out of the pale sand. The men wore mismatched wolf hides as coats, belts and hoods. Serrated blades, claw-handles, saw bows, shotguns, axes and wide-bored pistols adorned bandoliers, slings, saddle-bags, holsters and cross-sheaths. What skin was visible beneath their hide and fur clothing was ruddy and covered in ash and pale dirt. Several of the men wore goggles, and none of them looked like they’d bathed or shaved in months.
“
Well, hello there,” the dark-haired leader said. His voice was thickly accented, something from the southern coast. Whatever it was, Black had trouble understanding him. “And what might ye be doin’ out here in our neck of the woods, Missy?”
Well, hello there,” the dark-haired leader said. His voice was thickly accented, something from the southern coast. Whatever it was, Black had trouble understanding him. “And what might ye be doin’ out here in our neck of the woods, Missy?”
“‘
Missy?’” she said. “Really?”
Missy?’” she said. “Really?”
“
We’re on our way to Fane,” Kane said.
We’re on our way to Fane,” Kane said.
The riders formed a semi-circular perimeter. The lizards were large enough to easily overtake the mercenaries, provided the team’s magic and firepower allowed them to get that close. The lead lizard stamped and scraped the ground with two of its fore-feet.
“
And what would you be needing in Fane?” the lead rider smiled. Black saw where women might consider him handsome, if not for the flash of madness in his eyes, not to mention the silver-caps he wore on several of his teeth.
And what would you be needing in Fane?” the lead rider smiled. Black saw where women might consider him handsome, if not for the flash of madness in his eyes, not to mention the silver-caps he wore on several of his teeth.
“
Oh, you know, games, gambling…shopping…” Kane said.
Oh, you know, games, gambling…shopping…” Kane said.
“
A bachelor party,” Ronan growled.
A bachelor party,” Ronan growled.
“
Or, the short answer,” Black said. “None of your business.”
Or, the short answer,” Black said. “None of your business.”
She hoped they wouldn’t react badly to that. She was wrong. Hands moved towards side-arms, and the leader angrily ushered his lizard mount forward.
Black took a step back and let her spirit swirl around her. He pulled dirt into the air and whipped it against the lizards, which clawed at the ground and were held still only with considerable effort from their riders.
The warlock in the hunter’s party responded in kind. Black sensed his spirit coil and ready herself. Ash prepared her own spirit, and suddenly the air was impossibly colder than it had been just moments before. Danica smelled brimstone and charcoal. The harsh whispers of angry ghosts filled her ears like black song.
Grissom, Kane and Ronan drew their weapons. Ash pulled Maur behind her.
The lizard riders drew rifles and shotguns and ancient pistols and aimed them at the team.
“
Ho now!” the leader of the hunters called out. He might not have been able to hear the whispers of the spirits, but there was no mistaking their presence or intent. “All right, all right,” he laughed. “Let’s not get all bent out of shape.”
Ho now!” the leader of the hunters called out. He might not have been able to hear the whispers of the spirits, but there was no mistaking their presence or intent. “All right, all right,” he laughed. “Let’s not get all bent out of shape.”
“
Tell your warlock to call his spirit back,” Black said. She was aware of the alien sound of her voice, the staccato echo that made it sound like someone else spoke through her.
Tell your warlock to call his spirit back,” Black said. She was aware of the alien sound of her voice, the staccato echo that made it sound like someone else spoke through her.
Maybe he does.
The leader watched her for a moment, assessing. His expression shifted from amusement, to fear, to scheming, and then back to amusement.
“
Creasy!” he shouted. “Do it!”
Creasy!” he shouted. “Do it!”
A dark-skinned bearded man armed with a large-bored revolver quietly lowered his gun, and Black felt the shift in the air almost instantly. She never would have guessed he was the warlock.
Black pulled her own spirit back. He didn’t want to come, but he allowed her to condense his incandescent and smoky form into a razor-hard shield around her body. Ash’s spirit had already calmed and faded to a background haze.
“
We’re not here to cause any trouble,” Black said, and she lowered her gun on its strap. “Believe it or not, we really are just passing through.”
We’re not here to cause any trouble,” Black said, and she lowered her gun on its strap. “Believe it or not, we really are just passing through.”
The leader hesitated a moment, considering them.
“
Well, then…I apologize,” he finally said. “We don’t get many visitors from this direction.” He dismounted, handed the reins of his lizard to another rider, casually walked up to Black, pulled off his glove, and extended his hand. “I’m Roth. Welcome to Wolftown.”
Well, then…I apologize,” he finally said. “We don’t get many visitors from this direction.” He dismounted, handed the reins of his lizard to another rider, casually walked up to Black, pulled off his glove, and extended his hand. “I’m Roth. Welcome to Wolftown.”
TWELVE
WOLFTOWN
Protected by a series of metal walls bound together with razor wire and haphazardly set strips of concrete, steel girders and rebar, Wolftown wasn’t so much a town as it was a massive campsite that happened to be blessed with a few relatively stable structures. The blazing fires the team had spied from a distance stood at the far corners the settlement. There weren’t any real streets or roads, just crude paths, and there were only a handful of permanent landmarks. It was literally a temporary fort that had accidentally been turned into a permanent settlement.
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