Stone Soldiers 5: Black Knight Down (12 page)

Kenslir crossed to the large doors of the barn and kicked one. Wood splintered- a cross beam that had held them closed snapping in two. The doors flew open.

"Do we go after them? Do have any more men?"

"I think I hear them now," Kenslir said, stepping out of the barn, holstering his knives.

Father Schuler strained and finally was able to make out the sound of approaching helicopters. He turned and looked around at the sky, straining to see into the night. Finally he made out two helicopters approaching from the west.

The helicopters passed over head at speed- seven forms dropping from them- three from one aircraft, four from another.

Small parachutes immediately snapped open, nylon cracking loudly in the wind. The seven forms plummeted rapidly to the ground, dropping away from the braking parachutes when they were still thirty feet up.

Like heavy weights, the seven soldiers landed in a semi-circle, quickly raising their rifles to their shoulders. All wore black camouflage and were made of living stone.

"Colonel Kenslir!" Captain Daniel Smith said, stepping forward and lowering his rifle. "Sir- we've been ordered to arrest you."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Captain Daniel Smith examined the three bodies his Stone Soldiers had drug out of the barn and laid in a neat row. All three women had been killed with brutal knife strikes to their backs- parting their ribs and bursting their hearts.

"And you're sure they're witches?" Smith asked nervously.

"Do they look like normal women?" Josie Winters demanded. She'd been giving Smith the evil eye for several minutes now.

“
They look pretty damn good to me," Dean Johnson said, grinning widely.

"This isn't what witches normally look like," Smith said.

"An autopsy will show they've got some kind of armor plate under their breast implants," Kenslir said. "That's why I had to stab them in the back."

Smith shook his head. "Command? You getting all this?"

In Miami, Major Campbell and the Command Center were indeed watching the entire scene through the real time uplink from each Stone Soldier's tactical goggles.

"I'm going to have to clear this with higher up," Campbell said. "But for now- assume the Colonel is right and assume a defensive posture."

Smith shook his head affirmatively. "Roger that." He turned to Wayne Stevens and nodded.

Stevens stepped over and offered Kenslir his two handguns back. The Colonel took them and stowed them away in their holsters.

"By my count we shouldn't have more than three more out there," Kenslir said. "They've probably retreated to the obj-"

"Contact!" Isaac Jacobson shouted. He swung his M60 rifle around just in time for a hail of bullets to hit him.

Bullets were raining down on the whole area now- many slamming harmlessly against the stone soldiers, some hitting Jimmy and Mark Kenslir. The Colonel quickly grabbed Josie and pulled her in close, turning so his back was toward the approaching gunmen.

Now that Command was aware of the situation and he was momentarily out of hot water, Kenslir had reconnected his tactical goggles to the team uplink. He quickly pulled up feeds from Jacobson and saw an approaching force of at least forty men, all firing their rifles as they marched toward the barn in a wide skirmish line.

Jacobson and the last stone soldier, Paul Briones, began returning fire with their M60s. Oddly, none of the approaching force were dropping.

"Get to cover!" Kenslir shouted, pushing Josie toward the barn. Father Schuler and Jimmy were already sprinting that way, while the seven stone soldiers had turned, dropping to one knee and begun returning fire.

"They aren't stopping!" Victor Hornbeck called out, a little panicked. Like the others, he was firing short, controlled bursts from his M60. Unlike the other soldiers, Victor didn't have years of experience- he'd been an FBI consultant before petrification- a psychic, not a fighter. For all he knew he was missing his targets.

>>>LIGHT THE AREA UP, ZEUS<<< Kenslir transmitted over the tactical goggles.

Colonel Chad Phillips lowered his rifle and extended his right hand. A blue-white streak of lightning flashed from his stone fingertips, arcing up and over and slamming down into one of the approaching private security men.

The blast flung the guard off his feet, and provided a snapshot like view of the approaching army. There were at least forty, and all were wounded- gaping wounds, pouring out blood, riddled the bodies of the witches' men. Some had legs barely able to support them, others had arms dangling uselessly by their sides, the bones shattered by the fire from the 7.62mm bullets of the M60s.

"Stay with Schuler!" Kenslir told Josie, pushing her back. He turned and stepped out of the barn.

"They're zombies!" he yelled to the stone soldiers. "Aim for the legs- slow them down!"

"Zombies?" Josie asked, surprised. "Like the undead?" She peeked around the corner of the open barn doors to see, but Father Schuler pulled her quickly back.

"They're not
undead
," the priest said over the loud gunfire going on outside. "They've been drugged or put under a spell. They feel no pain, no emotion, no free will. They do just what the witches tell them to."

Outside, the Colonel had his Desert Eagle out, his left arm extended, carefully sighting. He began slowly picking targets and firing. Now the approaching forces were falling- toppled by shots to their knees and shins.

"What if they bite us?" Jimmy asked, a little scared.

"They're not contagious," Father Schuler said. "Just bewitched."

"That's a rel-" Jimmy started to say. He froze in mid-sentence, his body going rigid.

"Jimmy?" Josie asked, looking at him oddly.

Jimmy's skin was starting to sprout hair and his muscles were bulging outwards again.

"The witches!" Josie exclaimed, standing and looking around.

Josie was suddenly lifted up into the air- hoisted by a long-nailed hand grabbing her hair. She was pulled off her feet and yanked up into the darkness before Father Schuler could grab her.

"Colonel!" the priest shouted, leaping to his feet. He was about to sprint out the open doors of the barn when a large figure tackled him- a man in a gray chauffeur's suit.

Father Schuler and his attacker smashed into a pallet of rotting fruit, exploding the boxes and sending bits of strawberries in all directions. The priest struggled against his attacker, surprised at the strength of the man. Finally he got the leverage he needed to lift the witches' man, Thor, off his feet. He hurled him out the open doors of the barn.

Kenslir heard the noise of Thor landing and turned around, ignoring the occasional bullet tugging at his clothes or ripping into his flesh. By now he was covered with nearly a dozen minor wounds- each turned to gray stone, slowly pushing out chunks of lead and then healing.

Kenslir sighted his Desert Eagle at the fallen man in the gray suit and snapped off two quick shots- striking the man in the side. He knew the stranger wasn't with his team- therefore he was hostile.

Thor rolled onto his side, grimacing in pain, then kicked and thrashed. His clothes exploded off of him like torn paper as his body almost instantaneously expanded into a new form- that of a half-man, half-horse centaur.

The centaur got back on his four feet- hooves kicking up clouds of dust- as Kenslir dropped a spent magazine and reached for a fresh one. The horse-man hesitated, unsure of who to attack.

A witch streaked down from out of the barn, tackling Kenslir in a brilliant flash of green light. They rolled on the ground, the naked blonde slashing at the Colonel with her long nails, driving her knees into his groin repeatedly and even biting at him. She was like a wild beast thrashing around on the Colonel.

Meanwhile, Father Schuler charged forward, heedless of the gunfire riddling the front of the barn as the witches' small army continued their approach. He swung a mighty roundhouse at the centaur's chin, turning his head and almost knocking the man-beast off his feet.

Father Schuler was about to follow up with another blow when he was grabbed from behind. Powerful arms encircled him, long claws tearing through his black clothes and cutting into his flesh. Then sharp, slavering jaws clamped down on his neck. The werewolf had him.

Mark Kenslir had no choice as the witch clawed, kicked and bit at him. He jammed the silenced barrel of the Desert Eagle into her mouth, shattering her front teeth then fired the pistol. Bleached blonde hair was blown off the back of the witch's head- still attached to bits of skull and scalp. The witch ceased her thrashing and collapsed onto Kenslir.

The Colonel kicked the witch off his body and started to rise back to his feet- just in time to see the last witch drop from the roof of the barn, holding onto Josie tightly. The witch and her captive landed perfectly on the back of the centaur- Josie held between the witch's chest and the centaur's human torso.

Kenslir started forward, but a black form swept past him- a shadowy figure darker than the night itself. The black form moved swiftly, engulfing Josie and sinking into her body as though she were a sponge absorbing water.

Josie Winters threw back her head and cackled. "See you later, grandfather!" then kicked her heels into the sides of the centaur.

The beast charged forward, leaping over Kenslir and charging headlong past the stone soldiers. It bounded through the tall grass of the field the witches' army now crawled through, still trying to return fire at the men of stone.

In just seconds, the centaur had sprinted away, leaving behind a very stunned Mark Kenslir.

A crash sounded from the barn, and Kenslir turned to see the werewolf hurtled through a wooden wall. Father Schuler followed him out and began to rain terrific punches on the stunned beast. Bones could be heard breaking with each blow and the werewolf could barely stand. At last, it dropped to one knee, and the priest reared back his fist for one final blow.

Mark Kenslir caught the fist and held it. "Tha
t’
s enough, priest."

Father Schuler looked at Kenslir, slowly shaking off the fury he had been feeling. He relaxed and stepped back. At his feet, the werewolf was again transforming. In just a few seconds, a naked, battered Jimmy Kane was kneeling on the ground.

"I feel like I got run over by a truck," he said.

Father Schuler held out a hand to the young man and helped him up. "Sorry, son."

The stone soldiers had stopped firing now. Most were standing, straining to see any further movement in the field.

"Sir, I think we got them all," Captain Smith said, walking over. "Orders?"

"Ms. Winters has been taken hostage," Kenslir said.

"Was that a centaur?" Dean Johnson asked as he reloaded his M60. "I mean, an honest-to-god centaur? Those things are real?"

"We're going after her, right?" Chad Phillips asked, walking over.

"We can't just run in there- we need a plan," Kenslir said. "But first... Father? How about you tell us exactly what the anomaly is? Why is it so important you've come back?"

Father Schuler nodded. "I suppose it won't hurt now. It's not important- it's dangerous. More dangerous than you can possibly imagine."

"How do you know that?" Phillips asked. "Who are you? Really?"

The priest frowned and took in a deep breath. "Lee Schuler is not my birth name- i
t’
s just another in a long line of aliases the Church established for me. I've had many such names, but the one you would most recognize in this modern era is Hercules."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Simone Schuster felt her body seething with rage. She trembled with a fury that she had no one to unleash against.

They were dead- three of her sisters. Slain by these strange supersoldiers she had been warned about. And the priest. Worse, Louise had nearly died herself- forced to shed her body and possess the young girl accompanying the soldiers.

"Explain to me how one man manages to kill four of you!" Simone hissed through clenched teeth.

Georgina McMillan trembled in fear and knelt at her Mistress' feet. She wished she had her trophy belt of human hair to comfort her- but she had used it to bind the young girl Louise now possessed. "He was not just a man, Mistress!"

"Magic had no effect on him!" Louise added. "He is a seventh son!"

Louise was still trying to process the many memories of the young girl fighting against her even now for control of the body of Josie Winters.

"A seventh son of a seventh son?" Simone asked. A chill was creeping up her spine.

"Yes!" Louise said in Josie's voice. She leapt to her feet. "And this body- it is his granddaughter!"

That eased Simone's troubled mind considerably. She stepped forward, holding Josie's chin, turning her head from side to side. "Is she powerful?"

Louise smiled. "Yes." She extended her hand, palm out. She concentrated intently on the pal. Ice crystals began to form in her hand- condensing into a round marble of ice.

Simone picked up the ice and examined it, then popped it into her mouth.

"There is something else!" Georgina said, rising from the ground. She touched Simone's arm lightly, still afraid of the head witch's wrath. "The priest!"

"What do I care of a priest?" Simone said, crunching the ice between her teeth and swallowing. She was still looking at the body of Josie Winters. Even dressed in her baggy, black sweats- she still seemed fit and beautiful. Perhaps this new body would serve them well.

"He is not human!" Georgina declared.

Simone turned away from Louise. "What do you mean?"

"He is far too powerful."

"Spawn? Like the others?"

"No," Georgina said stepping closer, her body pressing against Simone's. She dropped her voice to almost a whisper. "Much, much older. A Child of Darkness."

Simone shook her head. "Impossible. No Nephilim could be a priest."

"I think she is right, Mistress," Louise declared.

"We may be able to use him then," Simone said, turning away from the two witches and looking at the Black Knight. "Perhaps he contains the power necessary to free our guests."

She considered for a moment, then turned back to the witches. "We must prepare carefully- these men of stone and their leader in black will have to be eliminated."

"How Mistress?" Georgina asked. Beside her Louise was smiling and ran a hand through Josie's long black hair. The hair changed color from black to blonde where it was touched.

Simone turned back to Louise. "How attached is this man in black to his granddaughter?"

***

The Son of Zeus had wandered the earth for two millennia. He had witnessed firsthand the cruelty of man and the so-called Gods of Olympus. After many years, he grew tired of both and secluded himself from the world.

Then, a miracle had happened. The Earth had shaken and the heavens parted when the self-proclaimed Son of God sacrificed himself in a far away land ruled by the Roman Empire.

Hercules had not been present in that land at the time. But he had felt the disturbance across the Mediterranean, in Africa, where he wandered. Stories of the Lamb of God had reached him there- stories he could not believe and had assumed had merely been more lies of the Fallen to trick man.

But when the one called Christ died, Hercules knew they were no mere stories.

The Son of Zeus journeyed to the Holy Land, and witnessed the miracles of the Apostles of Christ with his own eyes. He saw the kindness of a new religion- one bent on salvation and not sacrifice or slavery. He saw hope.

Lurking in the shadows of the Council of Nicea centuries later as the followers of Christ formalized their religion, Hercules finally made his decision. His father and the other children of the Fallen were far worse than mankind. Their powers should have been used to help man, their wisdom to guide man. But they were a petty breed of half-mortal beings consumed with all the greed and avarice that were the worst parts of humanity.

Hercules converted.

"And I have served our Lord and Savior ever since," Father Lee Schuler, Hercules, said.

Mark Kenslir considered the priest carefully, wondering if he was not merely an insane Fellish being- or another First Born trying to trick him. A two-thousand year old priest? Who worshipped God, instead of seeking worshippers? Unlikely.

"The Church has done some pretty despicable things in the past two thousand years," Dean Johnson said. "You just stood by and let them?"

Wayne Stevens shook his stone head in agreement. "Yeah- what about the Inquisition?"

"Or the Salem Witch Trials?" Jacobson added.

"I am not proud of everything the Church has done." Hercules said. "But they are men- the same as you and I- fallible and tempted by sin."

"So, what now?" Jimmy asked. He was now wearing a burlap bag that he had found in the barn, wrapped around his waist like a loincloth. "What about Josie?"

"Command is waiting for a go order from Washington," Kenslir said. "Our rules of engagement are to secure a perimeter around the crash site and await further instruction."

"Josie's in there," Captain Smith said.

"You can't just leave her," Chad Phillips added. "She's your granddaughter!"

"I know," Kenslir said. He cybernetically took his tactical goggles offline, then pushed them up on his forehead. "Captain, you're in command. I'd suggest arranging the men around the site and bringing the choppers back to provide an aerial patrol. "

"Where are you going, sir?" Smith asked.

"Jimmy, Father Schuler- Hercules... I need to go look for my granddaughter. Care to join me?"

"Sir?" Dean Johnson whispered, leaning in close to Smith. "Can we let him do that?"

"Do what?" Smith said. "I believe our orders don't prevent any looking."

***

"Thanks for letting me come along," Jimmy whispered. He was crouched beside Mark Kenslir, cradling an M60 Colonel Phillips had given him. He imagined he looked like a rebel fighter from a bad action movie- black grease smeared over his mostly naked body, wearing only the makeshift burlap loin cloth and a combat harness with spare ammo Phillips had also given him.

The two men and the priest claiming to be Hercules were crouched behind a large cargo container- one of many arranged around the perimeter of the huge, circus-like tent erected over the Black Knight.

Kenslir nodded to the priest, then dashed out from behind the container- quickly sprinting across an open area. He ran up to the side of the large tent and knelt beside an entrance flap, his silenced magnum in one hand, his back up .45 caliber HK USP in the other.

Satisfied the area was clear, Kenslir waved with one pistol and Jimmy dashed forward. The barefooted teen slid to a stop on the other side of the tent flap, immediately followed by the priest.

"Did we get them all?" Jimmy whispered.

"Counting the ones by the house and barn, we may have," the Colonel whispered back.

"I'm going in," Father Schuler said.

Kenslir extended his Desert Eagle's silenced barrel lightly against the priest's chest, stopping him. "You bulletproof? I am."

The priest frowned and pushed the gun barrel away. "After you, then."

"Watch our six, Jimmy," Kenslir said. Then he slipped through the tent flap.

The impact site had been thoroughly cleaned up since Kenslir had last arrived. Bulldozers had scraped and packed the earth. No loose soil remained and the footing was very stable. The sides of the crater sloped gently now, leading down to an area half the size of a football field- the Black Knight resting on the only churned soil around. Desks, lights and crates were everywhere- evidence of a prolonged study of the Black Knight. The satellite itself sat quietly under the concentrated glare of several halogen worklights, while the outer edges of the tent hung in deep shadow.

Colonel Kenslir looked around the area, senses straining, pistols at the ready. He saw no one.

"So what is that thing?" Jimmy asked, standing between Father Schuler and Kenslir.

In answer to his question, an arrow sped out of the darkness- punching straight into Jimmy's heart. He staggered backwards, dropping his M60 and grimacing in pain. As he fell to the ground, Father Schuler and Colonel Kenslir looked all around for some sign of their attackers.

Another arrow lanced out of the darkness- slamming into Kenslir's chest as well. The broad tip of the arrow easily passed between his ribs and sliced through his heart.

The Colonel returned fire with both pistols.

The sound of clattering hooves could be heard, and a centaur staggered out of the shadows at one end of the Black Knight. He dropped his bow from his left hand and clutched at his chest were four gunshots had torn into his flesh.

"Enough!" a woman bellowed.

From the other end of the Black Knight, Simone, Georgina and Josie emerged from the shadows. Georgina stood partly behind Josie- a knife held to her throat. The gir
l’
s hands were bound behind her back and she again wore a gag across her mouth.

"There is no need for this," Simone Schuster purred. "We can negotiate like civilized beings."

Father Schuler pulled the arrow from Jimmy's chest and held the tip up. "Silver? That is how you negotiate?"

"No, that is how we stop werewolves," Simone said, casting an angry glance at the wounded centaur to her far right
.“
Usually
.
”

Colonel Kenslir holstered his weapons, carefully studying Josie's face. Despite being tied up and gagged again, she seemed calm. Strangest of all, her hair had been turned blonde.

"Keep your silver," Kenslir said, reaching up and calmly pulling the arrow from his chest. He threw it down on the ground. "It won't work on me."

A quick glance to his right showed that Jimmy was somehow still alive, but in great pain where he lay on the ground- clutching a chest wound that would not stop bleeding.

"You're playing with unimaginable forces, witch," Father Schuler said. "What can you possibly hope to achieve with the Black Knight?"

Simone laughed. "I assure you- I know how to control demons, Father."

"That's your goal? To harness demons for your own ends?"

"Is that so hard to understand?" Simone asked. "My kind have done so for centuries."

"You are tempting forces beyond your ability to control."

"Have a little faith, priest," Simone taunted.

"We can't let you do that," Colonel Kenslir said.

"Can't let me?" Simone laughed again. "I hold all the cards... grandpa."

Kenslir bristled. "Is that your play? If I don't back off, you'll kill the girl?"

"Not quite," Simone said. She turned to Josie and ran a hand down her cheek. "I had something better in mind than this little fish. I want the priest."

Father Schuler was genuinely surprised. "For what?"

"Well, Father, the Black Knight has been very stubborn about releasing its passengers. I need more power than anything this little girl could provide."

"My life for the girl's?"

"That's the idea."

"How do we know you'll keep your end of the bargain?" Kenslir asked.

"How about a show of good faith?" Simone asked.

She turned to Josie and nodded. A black form came up out of the girl, her body going slack as it emerged. The form drifted across the impact crater, slowly toward Father Schuler and Kenslir.

"There- the girl has her own body all to herself again."

The black form came closer, cautiously. It hovered in front of Father Schuler for a moment, then dove to the ground- and right into Jimmy.

"Of course- my friend will need another one!" Simone laughed.

Father Schuler and Kenslir stepped back as Jimmy's body convulsed for several seconds. The priest looked down at the arrow still clutched in his hand, briefly considering using it on Jimmy.

The Colonel took a step forward.

"Ah-ah!" Simone said. Beside her, the second witch moved her nails- cutting a small incision in the side of Josie's neck.

Jimmy was transforming now- hair erupting from his pores, his body once more assuming the half-man, half-wolf form of the werewolf. Kenslir and Schuler stepped back.

"I hold all the cards, gentlemen," Simone said. "I will have you, priest- one way or another."

"Let's try another," Kenslir said. Almost immediately a loud explosion could be heard outside and the tent was plunged into darkness. The generators powering the lights and equipment inside the tent had just been destroyed- remotely detonated via a cybernetic command to Kenslir's tactical goggles.