The Ancient Breed (51 page)

“Well, old buddy, what’s your take on this prairie fire we’ve gotten ourselves into?” he asked Geronimo.

“The facts indicate that your conflict is not winnable. The shape-shifter you described is an unknown factor, with no listed weaknesses except for a reluctance to approach meteors from our parallel dimension. The Cumalodin is a mythical beast with superior strength and a protective force field that repels all weapons,” it replied. “From the data input of your experiences at the White House, I conclude that the creatures you confronted were young Cumalodins. They could possibly grow much larger, and that might exponentially increase the strength of their protective shield. This is all theoretical at this point.”

“I agree,” he said pensively. “Go on.”

“An army of these monsters could defeat all human armies, including nuclear strikes against them, within two years.”

Crow whistled. “Are you certain about that?”

“There are, of course, many variables that could affect the timing of the outcome, but not the ultimate outcome.”

“Shit! There’s got to be some way to kill the bastards. After all, Glenna Guttentag’s ancestors managed it thousands of years ago.”

“There are written chronicles that suggest those people utilized magic to defeat the Cumalodin, but since no specific course of action is identified, I have disregarded that data as a nonfactor. As an aside, if it were possible to determine an effective method for exterminating the Cumalodin, you would still possess no way of killing the shape-shifter.”

“Could the shape-shifter be a destroyer like Hollis Danforth from the
Mortal Eclipse
project?”

Geronimo processed the request. “The fact that it is repelled by a meteor from its own dimension, when a known destroyer like the creator of the
Mortal Eclipse
project, Hollis Danforth, was not, implies that the black mass is not a destroyer.”

Crow sighed. “Thanks for nothing.”

“You’re welcome.”

Crow drummed his fingers on the armrest.

“I have noticed your trepidation. What is on your mind, Great Red Hunter?” Geronimo asked.

“I was just thinking about Neo.”

“What about him?”

“Forget it.”

“I cannot forget data once you have input it,” Geronimo reasoned.

Crow exhaled sharply. “Okay, you literal bucket of bolts, I’ll tell you. I was just wondering why Neo was kidnapped.”

“Neo Doss is a powerful man with an above average intelligence.”

“So?”

“The facts would seem to indicate that the shape-shifter needs such a man if it is to succeed.”

Crow sat erect. “I’m still not following you. Could you be a little less vague?”

“Yes, I can. From my previous input, a reasonable deduction would be that the shape-shifter plans to transform Neo Doss into the most powerful Cumalodin of all,” it replied, “one so powerful that it cannot be defeated by any kind of magic.”

Crow smacked his forehead. “Leapin’ lizards!” he exclaimed and immediately ordered Geronimo to connect him to Nick’s sat phone.

Nick and the Guttentags would have to bump up their timetable if they were to have any chance at rescuing Neo before . . .

Crow squeezed his eyelids shut and attempted to block the horrific consequences of another mission failure from his mind.

63

A

fter speaking with Crow and hearing Geronimo’s theory about Neo being transformed into a Cumalodin, Nick hung up thoughtfully. The idea wasn’t exactly news to Nick. Ever since his contact with the meteor in the grotto, he seemed to know a lot of strange facts. However, hearing the speculation from someone other than himself made him even more determined to rescue his friend, no matter what the personal sacrifice.

Nick’s sat phone rang again; this time it was a perturbed Rance Osborne.

“I’m at my wit’s end!” Rance exploded. “With Hanover missing, the damned congressional leaders are breathing hard down my neck every hour on the hour about the status of our investigation. Of course, I have nothing to report. Our agents are stymied, and on top of that, I had to explain why one of
Orion Sector’s
people was inside the locked-down White House when all that went down. And now I hear Neo’s missing.”

“Whoaaaa, Rance. We’re doing the best we can to locate him.”

“Best you can? I need results . . .now!” Rance exploded. “What kind of
Orion Sector
director are you?”

Nick bristled at the finger-pointing. “I’m the kind of director who has identified the people behind the worldwide assassinations and who has been face-to-face with their leader, an unidentified life-form. My guys are putting their lives on the line for their country, Rance, and all you can do is assign blame? I certainly believe they deserve a helluva lot of respect for what they’re doing.”

Silence.

“I have no idea how Crow and Lisa Anders got into the White House, and neither do they. I sent them to New York to help Neo. Now Lisa and Neo are missing, presumably kidnapped like Hanover. And Rance, from what I’ve heard, we’re not dealing with ordinary people in this investigation. We’re dealing with aliens and destroyers, and nothing in
any
armed forces arsenal could possibly bring them down,” Nick explained angrily. “But don’t worry, you can tell your political attack dogs that I have a plan to eliminate the worldwide threat to our existence, but whether I survive it or not,
Orion Sector
is not in my future. One way or the other, Rance, this is my last case for
Orion Sector
.”

Nick disconnected the call without waiting for Rance’s response and strode outside onto the back porch. The birds sang beneath the sinking, late afternoon sun, and a light breeze carried the pleasant fragrance of freshly mown hay. But Nick didn’t much notice. His mind was focused elsewhere. He had a bad feeling about tonight. His friends’ lives were at stake, and he felt accountable for their safety. After all, he
was
the head of
Orion Sector
. To make matters worse, Glenna had thrown the responsibility of killing the unkillable on his shoulders, and the weight was wearing on his psyche. His usually staunch confidence waned. What could he possibly do to stop the shape-shifter if they didn’t even know
what
it was? It had already proven its superior power in the grotto.

“Gabriella,” he said softly, “where are you? I need your help here. I’m a little out of my league with all this magic, and you of all people know how uncomfortable I am with magic to begin with.”

He descended the steps and hiked into the woods toward Lake Griffin, kicking twigs aside as he went. “Gabriella, I’m afraid of never seeing you again after tonight. I’m afraid of losing our love after I spent an entire lifetime searching for it. I want a chance to grow old together, even if it means being married to a two-hundred-year-old wife.” A slight grin curled his lips. “If you can hear me, I want you to know that I love you more than mere words could ever express. At least any words that I could put together.”

The path opened to a clearing on the lakeshore, revealing a weathered wooden dock; Nick walked to the end and watched the sun sink toward the cloudless, cobalt horizon. “When you return to this dimension, Gabriella, there’s a good chance that the shape-shifter will be running things around here. I’m asking you to just leave it alone; don’t try to destroy it. Please, enjoy what life you have and think of me once in a while, but leave that strange life-form alone. You can’t destroy it. Nobody can.”

Suddenly, Nick heard a hauntingly familiar, sinister voice in his head. At least that’s where he hoped it was. Panicked, he searched the lake and woods for any sign of
him
, but he came up empty. That hated voice spoke again. Despite the oppressive heat, goose bumps prickled his flesh.

“Just use your
special gifts
, brother,” it advised him in a deep, rumbling voice. “Wipe that son-of-a-bitch from the face of the Earth.”

“Where are you?” Nick shouted, but there was no reply.

Silence returned, and Nick was grateful. His nerves were already jangled, but an unexpected revelation that the
Creeper
was still alive would have sent them over the edge.

Where had
his
voice come from? Could Nick have imagined it? The more Nick brooded over it, the more convinced he was that the mysterious message had come from somewhere else. Was it the
Creeper’s
ghost? A message from the grave? Ridiculous! Then he wondered if it could have been someone else’s voice. No,
that
voice was unmistakable.

If it really had been the
Creeper
speaking to him and Nick wasn’t willing to admit that just yet, the message must have been important. The words were practically identical to Gabriella’s before she faded into the next dimension.

“Just use your
special gifts
.” What special gifts were they all referring to? Perhaps later, before it was too late, he would understand exactly what they were trying to tell him.

“Nick!” Glenna called from the back porch. “Time to get ready!”

Nick took a long last look at the lake, sighed, and made his way along the path to the mansion. It was showtime.

64

“T

his sure beats flying on a broomstick,” Nick grimly commented as he, Glenna, Hugo, and Fritz materialized beside the blackened remnants of the Warnke Construction trailer. They stood three hundred yards west of Alick Tobhor’s fortress.

The setting sun blistered the Gulf of Mexico, igniting the serene surface into an inferno of tangerine, violet, and coral. Two dozen National Guardsmen sat beneath reflective canopies encircling the fortress that had protected Alick Tobhor from his three kidnappers for over four thousand years. Nick scanned the landscape for signs of the shape-shifter, and seeing none, called Crow on the sat phone.

“Anything new?” Nick asked, as soon as he heard Crow’s voice.

“Nothing yet, but Geronimo and I are still working on your plan. I’m still not in favor of it,” Crow responded bleakly.

“You and me both, but it’ll probably be our last hope.”

“I hope the hell not.”

“At least I think we’re on the right track,” Nick said, and then hurriedly described the
Creeper’s
eerie message.

“Holy wampum! If it wasn’t your imagination, and if the
Creeper
isn’t still hanging around this ole planet, where did that voice come from?” Crow asked, as baffled as Nick on the subject. “Anyway, how could the
Creeper
possibly know what in buffalo blazes Gabriella told you last year? The son-of-a-bitch had already checked into the Hell Hotel.”

“Yeah, he was dead all right,” Nick agreed, stumped.

“Maybe it was a warning,” Crow offered.

Nick brightened. “Or maybe it was a clue for us.”

“Fat chance,” Crow replied skeptically. “Why would the
Creeper
, dead or alive, want to help
us
?”

“Maybe it wasn’t the
Creeper
at all. Maybe . . . ,” Nick’s voice trailed off.

“Hey, Nick, you still there?” Crow prodded.

A stiff blast of air stirred the surrounding palms and live oaks and rustled the thick undergrowth of briars, tall grass, and cabbage palms. He felt the shape-shifter’s presence. Not beside the trailer, but close. Glenna urgently signaled for him to end the call.

“Listen, do me a favor, Crow. Phone Rance and have him call off the National Guardsmen here.”

“Your arm broken?”

“Let’s just say that he and I had a little falling-out and leave it at that,” Nick replied evasively.

“All right, I’ll do it, but what was it you were saying about the
Creeper’s
voice not being the
Creeper’s
voice?”

“If I’m right, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Friend’s don’t leave friends hanging like that,” Crow grumbled. There was no reply. Their connection was terminated. He swore, and dialed Rance.

Once the sun set, night closed fast. An hour after Nick’s conversation with Crow, the National Guardsmen finally abandoned their posts. The fleet of Hummer H1s rumbled past the Warnke trailer’s burned-out shell with their halogen lights turning the area into noon. When their taillights were out of sight, Nick and the others stepped from behind the trailer, and Glenna pointed past Tobhor’s fortress to what was now becoming a black jungle silhouette.

“There,” she said, “beyond the trees.”

“The lake?” Nick asked.

Glenna simply nodded. “We’ve got to hurry if we’re to follow the shape-shifter into its lair. I don’t know the way in,” she confessed.

“I think I know someone who does,” Nick said and quickly ran ahead of the others. “Meet me at Alick’s,” he shouted back over his shoulder.

Alick Tobhor’s ominous fortress loomed ahead in the deepening twilight. The eastern gray sky came alive with winking stars and a rising, full moon. Despite his brave facade, Nick was apprehensive about visiting the site again, being all too aware that the savage demon guardian lurked below. Even though it had saved Nick’s life at the asylum, he was uncertain whether their unspoken truce remained intact.