The Tome of Bill (Book 6): Half A Prayer (42 page)

Even so, I was a bit surprised. I had thought Alex wanted to keep me around for some purpose, so why send me on what was quite likely a one-way trip? If I failed, it wouldn’t exactly help his cause.

“I’ll go too,” Sheila said. “Someone has to keep you alive for our final battle.” There was enough sarcasm in that last part to bring a smile to my face, even under these circumstances, but regardless, it seemed to go over at least one person’s head.

“That is wise, Shining One,” Gan replied. “I, too, shall accompany you.”

“Afraid we’re going to run off together?” Sheila asked abruptly. Thank goodness I wasn’t drinking anything, for surely I’d have done a spit-take at that.

Gan’s response was matter of fact in tone, with no trace she’d caught the playful note in Sheila’s voice. “Not at all. Dr. Death and I are fated to be wed following your demise.”

Suddenly, the thought of a suicide mission wasn’t all that scary.

“Theodora, kindly go with them.”

I spun back toward Alex so quickly, I’m surprised I didn’t give myself whiplash.

“We’re not gonna try to escape,” Sheila said.

“I would hope not with the halls beyond full of an invading force,” Alex replied curtly. “If you did so, it would mean you were either foolish or in league with them.”

“Then I fail to see what purpose...”

Alex was ready for Theodora’s protest, though. “I wish you there as witness, dear Theodora. As one of the First, your accounting of what happens shall be key once we resume our proceedings. Your opinion is, after all, beyond reproach.” His tone suggested anything but that. However, I wasn’t about to open my mouth and suddenly find my mission made any tougher. “If you fear for your life against these creatures, though...”

“I fear nothing of the sort. I have proudly stood against far worse in my day.”

And there it was. Alex had told me earlier that his rule came down to careful planning and innovation when it mattered. He was clearly doing some of the latter right now. The only question was whether he was just sending Thea as a slap on the wrist for mouthing off earlier or if he knew she’d turned against him.

“I’ll go too,” James said, stepping up to us. “I am familiar with these...”

“The Jahabich. Yes, I know,” Alex replied. “That is why I want you leading the offensive until such time as I am able to clear this room, Wanderer. That will go a long way toward your atonement.”

Whatever Alex meant by that - although I’d have bet my left testicle he was referring to James’s defeat up in Boston - it had the desired effect. James dropped his eyes and nodded respectfully, not putting up any more fight. Goddamn, what had this bunch done to him?

“Very well then,” Alex proclaimed. “A small contingent led by me will remain behind until this room is secured. The rest will evacuate and join up with our reinforcements to begin the purge.” He turned and raised his voice to compulsion level. “
THERE IS NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE TO HIM WHO WILL TRY!! VICTORY TO THE STRONGEST!!
”

A cheer rang up amongst the assembled and our fate was thus sealed.

* * *

“Hey,” a familiar voice said to me as I was trying to figure out the best way to not die.

“Sally?” I spun back, to find her standing there.

“I just wanted to say good luck.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m...”

“Do you remember anything? Anything at all?”

“Okay, weirdo,” she said, backing up, “I just wanted to wish you good luck. That wasn’t a fucking invitation for anything else.”

Shit! Before she could turn completely away, though, I said, “Be careful.”

“Always am,” she replied, walking toward the rear exit.

Silently swearing I’d find a way to fix her, I turned and almost let out a scream. Gan stood creepily close to me, well inside my personal space.

“I believe your whore has been compelled.”

“I know.”

“We must undo it when this battle is completed.”

I was touched. For all the crazy going through her, I hadn’t assumed she would have cared at all for Sally. That she did meant a lot to me.

“I wish to have words with her over the death of Monkhbat and her lying about the witch’s survival.”

Or maybe not. “You mean Christy?”

“If that is her name.”

“She’s a friend.”

“She is not my friend.”

“Maybe, but you have to admit she’s useful in a fight. Hell, I wish those other mages hadn’t taken off.”

“Oh, you mean the one called Grand Mentor?”

“Yeah.”

“They did not leave.”

“Really? Then where...”

“The witch who named your friend traitor caused my personal assassins much shame by escaping. It was an affront in need of rectification. I deemed it necessary to kill her colleagues as well, as I have neither the time nor inclination to deal with official protests.”

“What?!”

“Yes. I will ask my retinue where their bodies are hidden if you wish to desecrate them.”

I opened my mouth to point out that her little murder spree was quite convenient, as now there was nobody left to point fingers at her, but just as quickly closed it again. From what little I’d seen, the Grand Mentor had been a total ass not unlike Harry Decker. Hopefully with that loose end cleaned up they wouldn’t bring any further grief to Christy. I just had to make sure Gan didn’t try anything stupid against her if we happened to survive this.

I glanced over and saw Alex looking my way from where he directed the offensive. I didn’t need to understand ancient Greek to know he was mentally asking if I needed an engraved invitation. Also, it wasn’t like Gan’s power would stay with me indefinitely.

It was time to go.

* * *

Being in charge of anything wasn’t really my cup of tea. I’d never considered myself management material. During my career, I’d been content to sit behind my screen, do as I was told, and then mock those in charge for their incompetence - all while doing little to change the status quo. What can I say? I like my routines.

Now, I found myself leading the charge with a group of folks all better suited to the task than me.

Hell, the first thing Thea said as we set off along the periphery of the auditorium was, “Dare to give me an order, child, and you will regret it.”

I likewise doubted Gan would follow any command from my lips other than “Marry me!” and there was no way Hell had frozen over that much yet.

As for Sheila, the only thing I wanted her to do was stay safe - not exactly a job the legendary Icon was cut out for.

Most of the Jahabich were single-minded in going after the main defense awaiting them on the auditorium floor. With the battle condensed into two main factions, they seemed to sense victory. Thus, few appeared to pay us much mind. Thank goodness for a hive mentality.

The handful that did spot us were dispatched quickly as three of our party possessed speed enough to move out, kill them, and then get back before drawing much attention.

That was going to be the key to our living through this, at least from what I could see. Forget any of the elaborate traps or schemes my D&D characters had invested in over the years - most of those had failed spectacularly anyway. This needed to be quick and uncomplicated.

We reached a corner of the room where the wall had partially collapsed, allowing us a vantage point from the rubble. The blast door was just a few dozen yards away, a straight run if there weren’t still enemies marching through, not to mention Farley and his douche-corps guarding it.

The tide had slaked somewhat since their initial assault. Either this was the bulk of their force or their attention was now turned toward scouring the complex for Ed...

No!
I couldn’t let that weigh me down right now. Any indecision in this insane quest could potentially get me, Sheila, or Gan killed. Well, okay; I was mostly worried about those first two.

I turned to my strike team, hoping Theodora didn’t tear my tongue out for speaking impertinently. “Let’s keep this nice and clean. We clear the doorway and the space beyond long enough for one of us to start closing things up. The rest then run like hell before we get locked out with a bunch of angry monsters.”

“That is your
great
plan, Freewill?” Theodora quipped. “I begin to wonder if perhaps the prophecies actually do reference Vehron the Destroyer.”

“I think it is brilliant,” Gan countered. “Simple and direct, much like my beloved.”

“Wait a second...”

“Relax, Bill,” Sheila said. “She’s right...about the plan being simple, that is. I’ll fight them back while you swing the door shut.”

“No,” I replied. “No offense, but you’re not nearly fast enough. I’ll hold them off while you take the door.”

“I shall fight them by your side, Dr. Death,” Gan added like a love-struck puppy. God, I so wanted to puke.

“That door is huge,” Sheila protested. “There’s no way I’ll be able to...”

“Yes you can, child,” Thea said dismissively. “It may be large, but it is perfectly balanced. A fly landing upon it could swing it shut. Once closed, the locks will engage automatically. There is one issue with this strategy, though. Before I offer my services, I need you to explain why I should willingly turn my back upon you.”

“It is simple,” Yehoshua said, stepping from the shadows and joining us. “She is not our enemy.”

* * *

“What are you doing here, Joshua?” Theodora asked. “Alexander decreed...”

“I am of the First,” he replied. “I need not ask permission for anything. Besides, it is very simple. If one of us is beyond reproach in our testimony, then two shall no doubt be absolutely unquestionable.”

“What do you mean?”

“I ask you to reconsider your position. Who better to further our agenda than one of the few who has a chance of felling our foe?”

One didn’t need to be a genius to figure out he wanted to use Sheila to kill Alexander. Oddly enough, I could dig that - minus the danger of attempting such an insane move, of course.

“How?”

“Now is not the time for such speculation. For the moment, it shall suffice to perform our duties and cut off our enemies. If we then speak to the Shining One’s honor in upholding her word, we can ensure her survival. Even Alexander cannot deny that if enough of our brethren can be swayed. From there, opportunity will present itself.” Before I could mention just how vague that sounded, he finished with, “We shall make certain of it.”

“And Sheila?” I asked.

“The Shining One herself testified to not being our enemy. We may be able to forge an alliance of sorts that will serve to appease our people.”

I glanced over at her and she shrugged. It was better than any other deal we’d been offered that day. I didn’t dare ask Gan anything. No doubt, she was already thinking of step three of this plan - eliminate the Draculas, take over, and marry me.

Any way you looked at it, shit was not going to get any easier. It was like at some point I’d stepped into quicksand and, no matter which way I turned, kept sinking deeper into it. Goddamn it, when did life become so complicated?

Oh well, I pushed that aside for now. It was time to do something far less complicated - like charge into the fray where our choices were simple: live or die.

* * *

As far as Theodora was concerned, I could take anything that came out of my mouth and shove it back up my ass sideways. With Yehoshua, that was a different story, though. She obviously trusted him, or however close an ancient vampire could come to the concept. Thus, they took the lead.

We waited for a momentary pause in the onrush of Jahabich and then hit them hard from the side. Thankfully, those already inside were focused on Alex’s group and continued onward, ignoring us as if we were of no consequence. Within moments, our group had cut off the charge and was busy hacking apart those trying to enter.

What Gan’s blood lacked in strength compared to James’s, it made up for in speed. I swear, I kind of had an inkling of what Spider-Man must feel like, taking apart foes who were practically standing still compared to him. If it weren’t for the fact that I was terrified of adopting her craziness, too, I’d be tempted to ask for a few extra vials.

Even so, I was practically a clumsy kid with a hammer next to Sheila. One of these days I really needed to gain access to our fabled archives and see what they said about Icons. What she could do was kind of the equivalent of that “I know kung-fu” scene from The Matrix. She expertly weaved through our foes, cutting and feinting, almost as if she knew what her opponents were doing a second before they did.

OOF!
A punch to the side of the head brought my attention back to the present. I quickly noticed the lack of my skull being split in half. That’s because the fist that had hit me had been human in shape and hadn’t struck home particularly hard.

“Hey, Farley. I see you’ve gotten a promotion to doorman.”

A part of me was sure that when he spoke, all pretense of the inexperienced grunt would be gone - that I’d find we’d all been duped by a trained killer ready to spill my blood upon the ground.

Amazingly enough, sometimes expectations fail us in ways that don’t suck.

“Shut up,” he mewled, trying to sound tough and falling a couple feet short of the mark. “I knew we should have killed you when we had the chance, but the master didn’t want it.”

“Master? Let me guess...big guy, bitchin tats, tends to speak in long-dead languages? Sound about right?”

“Mock the true Freewill all you wish, imposter. He will tear down the false coven and pave the way for the love of Ib.”

“You do realize how stupid a name that is, right?”

“The true First is beyond names. I only wish I had known about the pure one before handing you all over to these scum. I could have delivered him to the master myself and been bathed in eternal glory.”

“Wait...pure one?” The Jahabich had said the same thing about Ed. The fuckers obviously didn’t know my roommate. “Vehron wants him too?”

Unfortunately, I realized too late that having an expositional conversation in the middle of a pitched fight was probably not the brightest thing. The sounds of battle from beyond the open portal caught my ear just as two of the Jahabich charged straight at me. Fuck!