Aegis Rising (50 page)

He looked down for Tegan and found her staring up at him in dismay. “You could have told me about your plan!”

“Plan? What plan? I just found a hole in the ceiling!”

The sound of the beast scrabbling over the broken wall doubled the friends’ anxiety. Aari reached his hand down for her. “Come on! I’ll pull you up!”

Tegan jumped onto the counter and reached up to grab his hand. He managed to grab hold of her fingers but she slipped and fell onto the floor. Just as she sat back up she saw the enormous paws of the beast reach over the wall. Its razor-sharp claws raked into the drywall, gouging the plaster like a hot knife through butter. She shuddered and looked up at Aari, realizing she was out of time.

Ashack stood with his feet planted firmly on the ground, focusing all his attention to bend the light around Tikina. The beast that had stayed behind while its comrade went after Tegan and Aari sniffed around where the fallen Elder had been. It was confounded. It could clearly scent Tikina, but she was not where the beast’s nose told it she should be.

Abandoning the puzzling search, the beast slowly turned around to look at Ashack. The Elder’s back went rigid. He needed to cover for Tikina but that required a line of sight between them. He backed up little by little, all the while keeping Tikina’s position in his sight. The beast bared its gore-soaked fangs at him and quickened its pace until it was racing toward him.

Ashack, rooted to the ground, did not know what to do. As he watched the terrifying beast make a bound at him, something black and furry rocketed out of nowhere and smashed into the beast, throwing the animal off its course. The Elder exhaled the shaky breath he had been holding.

Chayton stood in front of Ashack, fur bristling and fangs exposed as he fanatically shielded the Elder from the beast. The wolf was nowhere near the size of the muscle-bound opponent but was prepared to fight as if it were his own life that he was defending. The beast, outweighing Chayton, jumped and drove the wolf to the ground, hooking its three-inch claws into his chest. Chayton let out an agonized howl and shoved his paws against the beast as his adversary gazed downward. Clawing away, Chayton pushed himself up, his limbs shaking from the shock of the deep wounds. He looked back at the beast, ears straight and forward, the fur on his spine bristling. The beast slowly licked its black lips and began to circle around with the wolf.

Ashack, careful to not attract any attention to himself, edged toward Tikina. When he drew close enough to her, he ceased bending the light and she became visible again. He crouched beside her, taking stock of the bullet wound, then gently lifted his friend. The door to the barracks was just twenty feet away and he reached it without incident. The door was unlocked and he pushed it open. The workers were all outside battling the villagers so the building was vacant. There were cubicles after cubicles of bunk beds past a common washroom. Ashack carried Tikina toward the far corner of the building away from the door and set her down on one of the lower bunks. Pulling a leather pouch from his belt, he tended to her as best he could.

Outside, Chayton had managed to scratch both sides of the beast’s face and nicked its ear, but the beast was hardly bothered by the lesions. It lunged and grabbed the scruff of the wolf’s neck and shook its head vigorously, ripping several clumps of fur out. Chayton snarled and pounced onto the beast’s back, biting and piercing its flesh. The creature twisted around and the wolf fell backward. Seizing its chance, the beast reared up and came down on Chayton with its full weight, crushing the ribs of the smaller animal. The wolf struggled to breathe but was rapidly weakening. He tried to push the beast away but all he could manage to do was feebly cycle his front paws above him.

The beast peered down at the wolf, cropped tail up in dominance. It rose on its hind legs once more, letting out a triumphant bray, before crashing down again and digging its jaws into Chayton’s neck. His vertebrae crushed, the valiant animal went limp instantly.

Kody witnessed everything from the top of the mountain. No amount of training could have prepared him for this scene and he was revolted by the brutal slaying. This was flat-out murder. Chayton was dead, being ripped apart like all the beasts’ other victims.

Sickened by the carnage around the demonic animals, Kody turned away with a cold shiver running down his spine. He looked toward the mess hall he’d seen Tegan and Aari run into with one of the creatures following. He itched to run into the destroyed building after his friends to make sure they were alright, but there was no way he could get down to the site both safely and quickly.

Beside him, Nageau was calling on his crossbowmen to aim their fire at the beasts. Both he and Kody watched as the arrows with the more powerful immobilizing compound struck the animals, two arrows each to the three beasts that were in open view. They expected the animals to drop like a basket of rocks from the doubled dosage but instead the beasts halted, reached for the arrows protruding from their bodies, and yanked them out with their teeth before continuing to oppress the villagers.

The crossbowmen let fly several more arrows, all hitting their targets precisely, but again the beasts simply wrenched the projectiles off. “This is not working!” one of the men shouted.

“I will warn the others!” Nageau shouted back. “Do not let your arrows go to waste! Fire at the workers!”

As the bowmen signaled their understanding, Nageau sent a telepathic blast to the Elders.
The beasts are impervious to the darts! Inform the others!

Within moments, he could hear the message being relayed through the chaos at the site as the villagers shouted the warning to one another. He gazed down worriedly, then turned toward the miners’ barracks where his mate was and he probed for Ashack’s mind.
Do you have her?

Yes.

Is she alright?

She . . . she is unconscious, but I have administered to her wound. Unfortunately I am unable to extract the projectile on my own.

Nageau rested his fingers against his forehead, eyes closed, praying for his mate. After a moment of silence he said,
Please inform me if she gets better or worse.

I will.

Nageau opened his eyes and scowled down at the beasts. Kody followed his gaze and said, “There has to be some way to kill them. They’re able to withstand the darts, but a direct strike to their chest or heart might take them down.”

“That is probable, but it will be quite a task to get close enough to do that.”

“Then what else can we do?”

Nageau didn’t answer as he stared down at the beasts, trying to find a solution that would minimize injury and death. Without intending to, he watched as one of the creatures broke away from the others and tore toward the two joint buildings where the sniper was located . . . and where Saiyu and Mariah were positioned.

The one-eyed villager in Saiyu’s group peeked around the edge of the building, staying out of the sniper’s line of sight, and made eye contact with the Elder. As they nodded to each other, he picked up a galloping sound. He looked to his left and upon seeing the oncoming threat instantly nocked an arrow to his bow and faced the beast. He let the projectile fly and rapidly nocked another, firing several shots on target but the creature was not deterred at all as it drew closer and closer.

With one last look at the Elder, the man dropped his bow and quiver, unsheathed his glistening ten-inch knife from his belt and charged at the beast, letting out a manic war cry. The villager threw himself at the animal as the beast lunged at him and wrapped its massive paws around his head. The man let out a yell of pain but plunged his knife into the beast’s side. The beast let out a rippling growl and thrust the villager to the ground, teeth and claws tearing away.

Saiyu hastily blocked the sight from Mariah. She reached behind her to shake her pupil’s arm and pointed to the door of the building. With every sense heightened from the adrenaline rushing through her body, Mariah followed the Elder toward the door. Saiyu quietly tried to turn the knob but it was locked. Taking a step back, she aimed her foot just under the doorknob and kicked with all her might. The door cracked and flew off its hinges. Rushing into the office to catch the sniper by surprise, they stopped cold when they saw a man standing with his weapon pointed at them. He was shorter than the Elder but had a mesomorphic body. His wavy hair was tousled, and he had a prominent jaw line. His square face was set in a menacing expression as he stared the woman and the girl down with his hazel eyes. In a deep baritone, he said, “What, you thought you could just sneak up on me?”

55

A
ari looked down at Tegan through the broken trap door in the ceiling as she stared at the beast clawing its way over the wall. “Tegan,” he hissed. “Tegan!” She sprang to her feet and looked up, terror in her eyes. “Don’t move! I’ll cover you.”

She said nothing in return, keeping her eyes on the looming threat. Aari took a few breaths to slow the pounding of his heart and then focused. His friend shimmered, disappearing just as the beast pulled itself over the wall and landed in the kitchen.

Tegan watched, stiff with fear, as the creature prowled around. Its claws sounded like nails on a chalkboard as they dug into the broken concrete. Its dark yellow eyes were slits under a heavily creased brow and its elongated jaws were parted, revealing two rows of teeth that looked capable of slicing flesh like scissors cutting paper.

Struggling not to break down, Tegan clenched her shaking hands into fists and stood still. The beast raised its head to sniff the air. It could smell the girl but could not see her. It whined in frustration and stepped closer to Tegan, puzzled. She found it difficult to stand her ground with the beast’s head nearly at her height and its snout mere inches from her. She held her breath and tried to stop herself from breaking into a run.

She heard Aari frantically yelling at the animal to divert its attention. The beast whipped its head up, muzzle wrinkling as it growled when it spotted the boy’s head poking through the ceiling.

Aari found the animal’s gaze intimidating but his focus didn’t waver. Relinquishing its search for Tegan, the beast stalked past her and leapt up onto the counter behind her. The beast looked up once more and Aari could have sworn it was giving him a baneful, murderous smile. Fear seeped through his body, chilling him.
Worse than Slenderman
, he concluded.
Way worse.

He watched as the creature bunched its muscles and leapt toward him. Aari let out a gasp. The beast scratched the ceiling beside him but wasn’t able to make it through the trap door and fell. It was back on its paws in a split second and growled at Aari challengingly before hopping onto the counter again.

Aari knew the beast wouldn’t give up until it got a kill. “Tegan, I can’t keep this up,” he called out, his voice trembling. “This freak’s going to eat my face if I don’t pull back. You need to hide somewhere—
quickly!
”

Still shielded from view, she hurried toward a stainless steel storage cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. She eased the cabinet’s door open and a mountain of canned food crashed to the ground around her. The racket caused both Tegan and Aari to cringe.

The creature twisted around, taking in the opened door and spilled cans, its head tilted to one side. For a minute neither the humans nor the beast made a move. Then the animal sniffed the air once more and scented Tegan. It lost interest in Aari and crept along the counter toward the cabinet. As it prepared to jump down from the counter, the cabinet door slammed shut.

Provoked by the noise, the beast lunged at the cabinet and brought it crashing to the floor. The seven-foot tall steel container lay flat on the ground with Tegan trapped inside, screaming. Hearing her, the animal went into overdrive. It jumped onto the cabinet and assaulted it savagely, looking for a way to get in. It scraped its claws over the material, leaving deep gouges in the metal.

Tegan could hear the grating and shouted for help. Aari wracked his brain for a solution, and, though he knew he wasn’t fully trained, wanted to attempt something. He eyed the cabinet. The long steel box pulsated for a few seconds before it vanished—leaving Tegan completely visible.

Tegan, on her stomach, could see the floor practically under her nose and the whole kitchen around her, yet when she reached out, her hand hit an invisible barrier. Realizing she was still in the cabinet, she muttered, “This is so weird.”

Above her, the beast was going berserk trying to reach its prey. It didn’t understand. It could see the girl clearly, but every time it tried to pounce or bite her, it hit an invisible obstruction. It seemed to be standing on thin air even though it could feel a solid object under its paw pads. Enraged, it hopped up and down along the cabinet, ravenous for a kill.

Tegan could hear the beast above her and turned her head to look over her shoulder. She saw the creature staring down at her with its lips curled threateningly, drooling. She shrieked. “What are you
doing
, Aari?!”

“I’m sorry,” he yelled. “I tried, but I can’t cover both inanimate and animate objects at the same time. Would you like me to let go?”

“Yes please!”

As soon as the cabinet reappeared, the beast went into a frenzy and started ramming the cabinet violently with its head. Inside, Tegan let loose a barrage of screams, begging for divine intervention. The beast tried to bite through the cabinet but its teeth slid off the smooth surface. Confused, it jumped off the cabinet and searched for an angle to chomp down. It found a corner and crunched it with its jaws.

Tegan heard the noise and turned her head to look. Two curved fangs had pierced through the corner of the cabinet. They quickly disappeared, leaving behind two holes. Light from the kitchen shone through them.

Knowing that Tegan would be close to panic, Aari quickly took stock of their options and called out to her. “Tegan, I want you to listen carefully. I think I figured a way out, but I need you to calm down. Focus, alright? You need to make a mind-link for support. We can’t do this on our own.”