Stone Soldiers 5: Black Knight Down (17 page)

B'Ashmayaw strode through the door into the vast cavern beyond. B'Yabshaw smiled to his wife and motioned for her to precede him. B'Yamaw passed through the opening last.

The chamber beyond was just as they had remembered. As large as the one they had flown into, but carved in straight angles, its every surface lined with white marble. On the far side of the chamber, massive white columns held a classic Greek beam in place- the facade of a temple that overlooked a wide pool of water twenty feet across.

"Oh, my God!" Laura Olson loudly declared. "They're Smurfs!"

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The descent down the side of the mountain had been easy enough, leading the team to a wide ledge carved from the cliff face. Large enough to hold twenty people, it was ample room for the whole team to gather round.

Hercules felt along the wall of the cliff, walking along the edge, until he finally found what he sought.

"Remember- these are just monks. No combat skills whatsoever. Even though they worship Zeus, they will not try and fight us."

"Just open it already," Laura Olson said impatiently.

Hercules pushed against the cliff face and a seam appeared. A large section of the wall, a door maybe seven feet high, swung slowly inward, grit and dust scraping beneath it.

The priest went through the opening first, pausing inside and holding it in place so Jimmy, Josie, Laura and the Colonel could pass through. Beyond the door was a wide hallway that seemed to be sloping down at a gentle angle.

Hercules released the door and it swung slowly closed.

Josie and Jimmy cracked glowsticks, shaking them and passing them out. They hung theirs on their front of their combat vests. Kenslir and Laura declined the offer and Hercules ended up with three of the sticks- stuffing two into his pockets.

"So why is there a door in the side of a mountain anyway?" Laura asked.

"Zeus and many of his children could fly," Hercules said, squeezing past the others to lead the way down the tunnel. He spoke in a low voice, just above a whisper.

"This tunnel leads right into the back of the portal chamber. We'll come out under a massive colonnade."

"How will we know if we beat them here?" Josie asked.

"The portal requires magic to be opened. It will remain that way for several hours after activated."

"And it's a wormhole?" Jimmy asked. "Like on TV?"

"That's the best way I can describe it," Hercules said.

"Shhh!" Colonel Kenslir said behind the priest. "Let's try and keep some semblance of surprise here."

The team continued on down the long tunnel, at last reaching an ornately carved marble door.

Hercules pressed his ear against the door and listened.

"All clear," he finally said. "I think."

He pushed on the door and despite it being closer to a ton in weight, it swung open easily and quietly. The priest led the way through the opening.

The chamber beyond seemed to have been carved from white marble. Light was everywhere, yet seemed to come from nowhere. The chamber was larger than an aircraft hangar and sure enough, the colonnade they had emerged from was enormous, with columns six feet in diameter and nearly ten times as high. They formed a classical Greek facade- like the front of a temple.

"That it?" Laura asked, pointing to a wide pool of water in the middle of the chamber.

The pool was surrounded by a low, marble block wall, barely two feet high. The surface of the water was absolutely still and black.

"We did it," Hercules said.

His enthusiasm was short lived however, as a massive stone door on the other side of the pool suddenly shifted and began swinging into the chamber.

Kenslir gestured quickly, swinging his rifle around and pressing it to his shoulder.

Jimmy and Josie nodded, unlimbering their own M4s and taking up positions behind two columns on the Colonel's left. Laura moved to the right, grabbing Hercules' shoulder and pulling him behind another column to Kenslir's right.

The Colonel dropped to one knee, aiming down the barrel of his USAS-12 autoshotgun.

At last the door to the chamber stopped and the leader of the Titans, B'Ashyamaw walked through. He was immediately followed by Ah-moowatt, then B'Yabshaw and finally the red-robed B'Yamaw.

The four titans walked into the chamber looking around. Smiles spread over their faces- even on the normally dour-faced Ah-moowatt.

"Oh, my God" Laura Olson said loudly. "They're smurfs!"

The four titans bristled at the remark. Ah-moowatt quickly drew her four swords and braced her feet wide. B'Yamaw held his staff in front of him, the gems glowing brightly.

B'Ashyamaw and B'Yabshaw took a more aggressive response- they shapeshifted.

The leader of the titans swelled in size, his crown tumbling off his head, his tunic splitting and parting. His blue skin faded to yellow as fur erupted from his pores. His black hair seemed to expand as well.

B'Yabshaw also shredded his clothes, his limbs doubling in girth as fire erupted from his pores.

In less than a second, each of the two brothers were completely transformed- one into a towering, seven-foot tall, half-man, half-lion- complete with thick mane- and the other into a flaming brute made of cracked stone.

In response, Kenslir and his team opened fire.

The M4s Josie and Jimmy aimed erupted loudly, firing off short, three round bursts that ripped into the man-lion. Kenslir's own autoshotgun began a slow, semi-automatic volley of shots- each releasing a tight packet of six flechettes- tiny steel darts designed to penetrate the toughest of armor. Laura Olson had her own shotgun out, and unleashed both barrels of buckshot- tearing six holes through Ah-Moowatt's abdomen.

Only Hercules stood by without a firearm. Despite their supernatural enemies, the priest had been adamant he would not carry one.

The volley of fire ended quickly, Josie, Jimmy and Kenslir ejecting spent magazines from their rifles. But even as they grabbed fresh ones from their vests, the Titans were on the move.

Ignoring the wounds in her body, Ah-moowatt took a single step forward and leapt into the air. She moved impossibly fast- as though she were flying. She landed directly in front of Laura Olson as the vampire was slamming the breechloading shotgun she carried shut again.

Ah-moowatt sliced down with two swords- but Laura was no longer there. A multicam blur, she had moved around behind the blue woman, placing her shotgun barrels against the back of Ah-moowatt's head.

"Smurf this!" Laura said, firing both barrels.

But Ah-moowatt was fast as well. She easily spun in place, dodging the blast. A sword sliced through the air and chopped six inches of barrel off the sawed off shotgun.

B'Yabshaw and B'Ashmayaw were on the move as well. They charged forward, moving with incredible speed across the chamber.

Colonel Kenslir dropped his rifle and sprinted forward to meet the charge, fists at the ready. At the same time, Jimmy pitched his own weapon aside and ran down the steps of the colonnade, turning once more into a werewolf. His shoes split and fell away from his feet as he ran, but his elastic shirt and pants remained intact as his arms and legs swelled in size.

Man-lion and werewolf collided by the fountain, a flurry of claws and teeth- snapping and slashing at each other.

Colonel Kenslir waited for the last possible moment, then leapt into the air, somersaulting over B'Yabshaw. The confused Titan skidded to a halt, turning as his momentum carried him on. As he completed his turn, a fist punched through the sheath of flames around his stone body, green light flaring as the Colonel smashed into the living stone the Titan had transformed his body into.

The blow cartwheeled B'Yabshaw head over heels, so that he landed at the bottom of the steps leading up to the colonnade.

Through all this, Josie concentrated on the red-robed Titan, desperately trying to freeze the sorcerer. Instead, like the bullets fired earlier from the team volley moments ago, her cryokinetic attack simply could not penetrate the dome of pure force the Titan projected around him.

His eyes began to glow and the waters of the fountain began to bubble.

As B'Yabshaw arose from the marble floor of the chamber, Hercules closed with him. Ignoring the searing flames, the priest grabbed the stone Titan, lifting him into the air by one arm and an ankle.

Hercules spun in place then hurled the Titan with all his might.

Ah-moowatt was spinning as well- her swords flashing and slashing as she desperately tried to kill the impossibly fast redhead laughing at her. For her part, Laura Olson ducked and weaved, using her long nails to occasionally bat away the swords of her four-armed opponent.

From the corner of her eye, Ah-moowatt saw her husband smash into a marble wall of the chamber. Even as he started to rise, she could see the man in black, leader of the mortals, charge in. He leapt and dived down on B'Yabshaw, a fist cracking loudly against the Titan's left leg.

Kenslir recoiled after the blow, quickly patting out the flames on his sleeve. At his feet, B'Yabshaw rolled over in surprise- his leg broken off at the knee.

The Titan opened his mouth and unleashed a primal scream of fury and flame, engulfing the Colonel.

Seeing their enemy on fire, Ah-moowatt broke off her fight with Laura and leapt across the chamber again. She landed behind Kenslir and prepared to deliver a decapitating strike. Instead, the Colonel dropped to the ground and spun in place, legsweeping the naked Titan and bringing her painfully to the floor.

Almost at once, the flames around the Colonel died out- green light flaring. All around him frost appeared in the air- a mist that fell to the marble floor, melting on the way. Josie had shifted her concentration, snuffing out the flames with her cryokinesis.

Jimmy and Vishnu were hard at it on the other side of the chamber.

Sensing the power of the girl by the colonnade, B'Yamaw aimed his staff at her and unleashed a bolt of yellow lightning. The blast flickered across the chamber, slamming into Josie and crushing her back against a column. She fell to the ground, unmoving.

Ah-moowatt leapt onto her feet as Kenslir drew his Bowie knives. She slashed and sliced at the Colonel, but despite her unearthly speed, he managed to parry the swords with his oversized knives.

Laura Olson sudden slammed into Ah-moowatt, shoulder first, like a linebacker. The Titan dropped a sword and was sent flying.

Hercules slid to a stop near Olson, grabbing B'Yabshaw, who was no longer flaming.

"I got this!" Laura yelled. "Help Jimmy!"

Kenslir nodded and sprinted away, toward the ferocious battle between the werewolf and lion-man. Both were bleeding from dozens of injuries as they slashed and cut at each other. A wheeling brawl of teeth and fur.

"Don't be getting fresh with my man, Smurfette!" Laura Olson hissed as Ah-moowatt leapt to her feet.

The Titan lunged with two sword thrusts, but Laura was faster, spinning to her right and coming in close. She slashed both hands across Ah-moowatt's stomach, up over her breast and across her shoulder. The blue skin of the Titan split open in long lines, blood spraying out.

"I do face lifts as well!" Laura taunted, spinning around behind Ah-moowatt.

On the other side of the chamber, Jimmy was faltering. The man-lion was a head taller than him and considerably stronger. The werewolf was losing his fight.

Colonel Kenslir charged up behind B'Yabshaw and leapt up, driving his knives deep into the Titan's back. Kenslir' hung there for a moment as B'Yabshaw grimaced in pain, then he pulled his knives apart, tearing open B'Yabshaw's back.

Jimmy saw his opening and rushed in, slashing with his right hand, tearing out the Titan's throat and nearly removing his head. Immediately afterward, the Titan's chest erupted- a Bowie knife emerging from inside him- still clutched in Kenslir's right hand.

The Titan shuddered and fell to the ground, his head barely attached to his body. Kenslir pulled his arm free, covered in blood and gore to his elbow.

Across the chamber, Hercules and B'Yabshaw were desperately wrestling against each other. The Titan had turned back to flesh, his left leg almost instantly regrowing and replacing the broken-off half of his limb.

Ah-moowatt and Laura were still fighting, the vampire now showing cuts and slashes where the Titan had managed to just connect with her swords.

And in the middle of the chamber, something was rising from the pool of water.

A disk, made of silver and gold metals, spinning in place, as wide across as the fountain. It was covered with symbols and lines, that blurred as the rotation began to speed up. It rose slowly, pivoting as it did so, so that it was perpendicular to the floor. Electrical sparks flashed around its edge- some sparking across the disk's middle.

Kenslir and Jimmy watched the disk for a moment, bewildered.

Then Ah-moowatt leapt through it.

The naked Titan had crossed the chamber like a bullet, leaping away from Laura and diving through the spinning disk. She landed feet first on Jimmy, knocking him to the floor. Then she drove all four of her swords into his chest.

Ah-moowatt grinned with maniacal glee and turned toward Colonel Kenslir- just in time to see his Bowie knife coming at her. The slashing attack was too fast to dodge, and the Titan felt the foot-long blade slice through her upper right arm, bone and all. The limb flew off her body, clattering loudly on the floor.

"Ah-moowatt!" B'Yabshaw screamed. He suddenly dissolved away in Hercules' grip, turning into a swirling column of air. Like a mini tornado, he swept across the room, crashing into the Colonel as Ah-moowatt leapt clear of Jimmy, who still lay impaled on the floor.