Tyranny of Coins (The Judas Chronicles) (Volume 5) Paperback (20 page)

As Krontos began his new existence as an eternal fire, the blue sheen covering the shekels in my hands faded to where it was barely detectable. I slipped the coins into separate pockets, fearful of inadvertently bringing the Silver Trinity of Death to life if they came in close contact with the Dragon Coin in my wallet.

My strength fully restored, I needed to find the others. Find them before Viktor Kaslow showed up. During the latest battle with Krontos, I glimpsed one of Bochicha’s Emissaries in the room’s doorway. The demon brought its immense body and wingspan into the room for only a moment before disappearing. Surely by now it had reported my present location to Kaslow, or perhaps the Russian already knew. It wasn’t like Krontos and I pantomimed our contest.

The biggest challenge in locating my companions was where to begin the search. I didn’t sense anyone near the relic room, and yet I had the distinct feeling I’d find them on the third floor. Krontos’ pitiful screams echoed behind me as I stepped into the darkened hallway. Despite the valid fear of an unseen attack, I focused on Beatrice, since she came to mind first. I pictured her laughing merrily in an attempt to cheer up Amy and Alistair, and I prayed the impression would soon be confirmed.

I crept quietly, pulled to explore the rooms to my left instead of those along the right. Powerful wings fluttering near the gallery to my left briefly distracted me, though it remained virtually impossible to make out anything in the darkness beyond the relic room, where the blue glow from Krontos writhing body seeped into the hallway. The scrutiny from encroaching watchful eyes from beyond that point grew strong, and I prepared myself for the bloodcurdling screeches I remembered from Bolivia.

Meanwhile, I diligently traced my fingers along the walls, trying to remember the contours of the marble and dormant torch holders, hoping to find the door that called to me. Since my intuitions were sometimes flawed, I prayed I wasn’t wasting precious time exploring a dead end path. Strangely, this felt different than the hit-miss hunches I usually fell into.

Not this time. They’re here, Judas…. Somewhere close.

More fluttering sounds behind me indicated a small crowd was forming near the gallery. I tried not to think of the feeding frenzy that might start at any moment. Immortal or not, I would be just an appetizer for the bigger prize of human flesh presently hidden nearby.

The wall gave way to a doorframe, and my pulse quickened. But the latch was securely locked with what felt like a skeleton keyhole. I stooped to see if I could make out anything through the tiny hole, and whispered my wife’s name.

No response from beyond the door. But claws scraped against the hall’s marble floor, sending a warning my way. Bochicha’s fallen angels were getting antsy.

I didn’t have long, and began to doubt my gut instincts when the next door I encountered was just like the first one. Very soon I might be faced with plowing through a demon horde to get to the other side and continue my search there. Nearing the last room on this side of the hall, I prepared to investigate the keyhole.

As I stooped, I heard voices coming from the room directly across from me. I paused to listen, and heard them again.

Roderick? Saying something to Cedric… I heard his name. Shit! Better hurry!

I scurried across the floor, for a moment forgetting my brooding observers down the hall. Unlike the other doors, this one was unlocked. The room was dark and the voices immediately stopped when I pushed the door ajar. Was this a lingering trick from Krontos? A possible trap in the event I gained the upper hand against him?

I would soon find out.

The sound of flapping wings approached. I pushed the door fully open and slipped inside, unprepared to face whatever waited in the frigid blackness. A complete act of faith—or foolishness, depending on the perspective—I set the iron latch behind me and stood… listening.

All was still, deathly quiet. I detected something else.

Breathing. Air taken in and released in uneven bursts. Without time to better brace myself for whatever shared the room with me, I used the flashlight from my cell phone to illuminate my surroundings.

I gasped.

Roderick and Cedric were bound to wooden chairs to my right, and to my left sat Beatrice, Amy, and Alistair. All were gagged and disheveled. But at least they were alive and appeared relatively uninjured.

Once Beatrice recognized me, she squealed through the gag over her mouth. Everyone followed her excited reaction except Roderick, who appeared exhausted, though he eyed me gratefully.

“We don’t have much time,” I whispered, tearing the bonds from Cedric and Roderick, so they could take care of Amy and Alistair while I attended to Beatrice.

My love wrapped her arms around my neck as I lifted her from the chair. Trembling, she fought admirably to control her tears. I held her tightly, comforting her with soothing whispered promises of protection while affirming my undying love for her. But as this was not the time to celebrate anything, I led everyone to the doorway, which suddenly splintered.

Holy shit—I’m too late!

“Not yet, my brother,” said Roderick, answering my panicked thoughts and taking my phone to shine a light across the room. A thick windowsill peered out from a heavy tapestry. “Most of the castle’s rooms have windows.”

He smiled weakly, hardly enjoying the joke at my expense, as we urged the others to make a dash for the window.

“Alistair, help me tear this sucker down!” shouted Cedric, pulling on one end of the thick, ornate tapestry that had successfully camouflaged the window’s presence. “We’ll have to get Beatrice and Amy out of here first, then the rest of us. William, you’ll have to be last, since you heal the quickest between you and Roderick.”

I was about to concur, but a heavier crash behind us tore open a sizeable gash in the door. The restraint wouldn’t last much longer.

“Can you grip the fabric while we lower you down?” I asked Beatrice, after throwing a chair through the window, destroying stained glass panes several centuries old. Krontos would be most unhappy, I’m sure, if he didn’t have much bigger fish to fry at the moment. “I’m sorry I can’t make this any easier.”

Roderick and Alistair were rolling up the tapestry while Alistair prepared to secure the edge with the window’s splintered frame. Fortunately, this ancient tapestry from what appeared to be the Ottoman Empire period was roughly a dozen feet longer than the window’s twenty-foot width. Still, considering the forty-foot drop from the window to the front courtyard below, everyone would have to drop the last ten feet to reach the unforgiving cobblestones below.

Provided we got everyone out in time.

“William, this ain’t the time for lovey-dovey shit!” warned Cedric, as the first demon talon successfully made it through the door’s wound, clawing at the iron restraint bar. “Get your wife’s ass over here, now!”

He and Roderick tossed the tapestry through the window, where gusts of wind added additional peril to getting down. Not to mention, once the tapestry’s surface was exposed to the deepening chill outside the castle, it would be much more difficult to cling to. Without a moment to lose, I kissed my wife and lifted her onto the tapestry while the other guys held the top of it to give additional support.

Beatrice slid down to the bottom, uttering a startled yelp as she instinctively clung to the fraying tassels before dropping to the ground. I braced myself for the sound of breaking bones, but she landed with a slight thud on her butt. Still, I worried until she stood up and waved she was okay.

Next came Amy, who seemed to draw confidence from watching Beatrice. If not for the sound of the iron restraint falling to the floor below us, I might’ve drawn encouragement from Amy’s quick descent to the ground.

But it was too late to wait on anyone else to go down the safe way.

“Rod, we’re out of time, and you know what we have to do, right?”

“Indeed. I hate it when things work out like this.” He grimaced.

“What in the hell are you two talking about? Quit jacking around—
Huh?!”

Cedric’s surprise was matched by Alistair’s. As a horde of demons flew toward us, I grabbed Alistair and Roderick grabbed Cedric. We dove out the window, careful to twist our bodies to land with the least damage to our passengers. I sent a silent prayer heavenward that Alistair and Cedric would join Beatrice and Amy unscathed, and Roderick’s injuries wouldn’t prevent him from hobbling to the car. As for me, by now most everyone knows it takes a much more severe fall to bring me anymore than a few minutes of discomfort. Although, snapping bones back into place to aid the healing process is not usually a pretty sight.

I landed on the edge of my feet and rolled. Alistair received a few scrapes from the cobblestones. Despite momentary agonizing pain from shattered legs, feet, and several vertebrae in my lower back, by the time I stumbled to where Amy and Beatrice waited I had mostly healed.

As I feared, Roderick got the worst of it. A broken femur and ankle in one leg, along with two ruptured disks in his lower back. Injuries that might take several hours to heal, and a day or two before he walked pain free again. It’s the only time I feel guilty about my body’s ability to heal in a matter of minutes. But if he ever tired of his long existence on Earth, Roderick would be free to leave on his own accord. Unlike me.

My druid buddy limped gingerly as far as he could make it, just beyond the entrance steps. Alistair and Cedric lifted him on to their shoulders, and I gathered our ladies, with the intent of reaching the car before we encountered any other trouble. However, Bochicha’s Emissaries circled above us, and their numbers had increased tenfold. There would be no way to outrun them to Krontos’ Mercedes, parked roughly a football field’s distance away.

“What do we do now?!” Amy cried.
“Oh my God—here they come!”

In the fading moonlight, the demons’ hideousness became clearly defined. Their deep ebony skin was translucent, with a putrid pink substance pulsing like blood between powerful muscles. Their eyes morphed from green to red, and their wide mouths were filled with long razor-like teeth. All were at least ten feet in height, and several feet wide, with bat-like wings.

Beyond ugly and, unfortunately, immortal as the Lord’s angels. Once angels themselves long ago, they fell from grace when The Children of Elohim were cast off the earth. But that’s a story for another day.

Did I mention they have an insatiable craving for human flesh? The Essenes in Bolivia told us last year they had witnessed men devoured whole by these merciless creatures.

Despite such endearing qualities, I briefly considered making a dash on my own to reach the car and bring it back to pick everyone else up. But any escape was futile. Besides, Roderick had the keys to the Mercedes, last I checked.

I gathered Beatrice and Amy close to me, pushing them behind my legs while I prepared to fight to the death—certainly a quicker one compared to what Krontos had in mind. Roderick tried to do the same thing for Alistair and Cedric, but he couldn’t stand, crying out in agony when he attempted to balance himself without anyone’s help.

Oddly, the demons’ notorious screeches had been silent until then. But as if making up for lost time, their eerie and physically painful calls filled the air above.

“I guess it’s meal time, and we’re it,” lamented Cedric. “I don’t suppose you’ve got a trusty old spell you can throw on ‘em, Roderick?”

“I wish I did have something,” said Roderick, sadly. “I have nothing. I have….”

We all heard what drew Roderick’s gaze back to the castle, and it quieted the demons’ cries. The menacing horde turned their gazes toward the castle as well, toward one of the spires atop the structure. A large human being stood at the edge of the sloping roof, wearing a dark green trench coat and carrying what looked like a cache of military-grade weapons strapped to his back.

The figure laughed, and though it started out sounding diabolical it became almost jolly in timbre.

“Well, hello, William Barrow! Have you missed me?”

Normally, this would be where something relatively clever flowed out of my mouth. But after dealing with a steady emotional assault over the past few months, from ominous roses to Holocaust tragedies to finally besting the sorcerer who aided two of my deaths and prepared to deliver another, all I could do was shake my head in response.

Not to mention Viktor Kaslow’s release from Bochicha’s version of hell, and the fact I could almost see his smirk from where we were gathered below his present perch. Knowing his penchant for wickedness that rivaled Krontos, my night couldn’t get much worse.

“Oh, William, William….”

The Russian sounded compassionate… almost. Whatever ability had allowed me to find my family a short while earlier also made it possible to clearly see the diabolical wheels turning inside this evil brute’s head. I would’ve given most anything to not see what lurked in Kaslow’s wicked heart and the schemes planned for me and my family.

An immortal unmatched by any that Roderick or I had ever encountered during our two-millennium stay on Earth, I expected him to jump down and join us. Instead, he preferred to climb down the walls, using the dormant vines and gutters to reach the ground in a matter of seconds. He stood to face us, and we all huddled closer to one another.

The Tree of Life’s crystal buried in his chest pulsed unnaturally, as always. Up close, the blonde Russian’s enormous ripped muscles and chiseled features looked more unreal than the last time we squared off in Bolivia. His intense steel blue eyes were colder than the air around us. Rocket launchers and the miniature version of an FGR peered out from the weapon sack on his back. Like a comic book super villain. The biggest differences from the last time we faced off were a number of long shark-bite scars along his face, neck, and arms—as if he had fallen into predatory Amazon waters—and the presence of his newfound army.