The Reborn King (Book Six) (44 page)

Ethan and Markus dropped their rifles and threw up their hands. Jonas just stood there, his face contorted in a stricken expression.

The soldier to their rear shoved them one by one against the wall. For a moment Ethan felt certain that his luck had finally run out and mentally prepared himself for the hot burn of bullets. He looked at his would-be killers. One appeared to be no older than himself; fair-haired and with a light complexion.
Hitler’s perfect man
, he thought. The other was much older, battle worn and grizzled.

“
Suchen sie
,” said the older man.

His companion nodded and began to search them. When he got to Jonas, he grabbed hold of his sword and began to laugh.

“
Dieser Mann denkt, er ist ein Ritter
,” he sniggered. The veteran did not appear to be so amused and gave no reply.

The younger soldier continued his search and soon found the small purse on Jonas’ belt. A sharp shake of it produced the jingle of coins. This brought a smile to his face. But when he reached inside his shirt and felt for the amulet, Jonas’ hand shot out to push him away.

Letting out an angry snarl, the soldier struck him on the side of his head with the butt of his rifle. Jonas grunted and slid down the wall, blood pouring over his ear.

“
Er ist ein Zivilist. Nur schießen ihm
,” said the older soldier. “
Die anderen beiden können wir verhören
.”

The young man chuckled. A malevolent grin crept over his face. He leveled his weapon at Jonas. “
Pech alten Mann
.”

Ethan closed his eyes, a wave of pity washing through him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

If the soldier had fired immediately, Jonas would have already been dead. But the young man hesitated. Enjoying the power he held over his victim, his eyes searched for any small hint of fear or pleading. Not finding what he was looking for appeared to be a considerable disappointment to him. Eventually, with a small growl of frustration, his finger tightened on the trigger.

The explosion came from almost nowhere. A ferocious blast threw the two Germans flat onto the floor, at the same time pinning Ethan, Markus and Jonas hard against the wall.

For a moment, silence followed the blast. Then, as the dust began to clear, Ethan felt Markus’ arms lifting him to his feet. His ears were ringing and he could feel a trickle of blood running out of his nose.

“Come on!” his friend shouted.

Ethan looked down at the enemy soldiers. The younger man was moaning softly, blood from shrapnel wounds soaking his back. The older man, having been closer to the far wall where the shell struck, was dead.

Jonas was coughing and gasping for air. “What was that?” he asked.

“That was our ticket out of here,” Ethan told him. “Can you stand?”

Jonas nodded and struggled to his feet. He retrieved his sword and purse from the wounded soldier.

“Looks like our boys are hitting back,” said Markus with clear satisfaction.

A bullet whined through the newly made hole in the building, striking the wall just above Jonas’ head. A glance outside was enough to reveal at least a dozen Nazi soldiers on the other side of the street. Ethan and Markus hit the floor, searching frantically for their rifles. The first shot was soon followed by a hail of bullets.

By the time they managed to locate their weapons, two enemy soldiers were running across the road, one with a grenade in his hand. Ethan fired as quickly as he could, but his shots missed. A moment later the attackers disappeared from his line of sight.

Markus was doing his best to keep the rest from advancing. He hit two men in rapid succession, then emptied his M-1, successfully forcing the remaining Germans to take cover.

“Enough of this!” shouted Jonas, ripping the amulet from its chain and placing it on the floor. “We are getting out of here now.”

Allied shells were striking with increasing frequency. One exploded only a few yards to their right, shaking the building and obscuring their vision.

Ethan knew it would only be a matter of seconds before a grenade flew in. “We need to pull back,” he told the others.

“To where?” asked Markus.

“Anywhere but here.”

At that moment, Jonas smashed the amulet with a hunk of broken brick. There was a blinding flash. When their vision returned, a swirling blue disk of light, six feet in diameter, was where the amulet had just been.

Ethan and Markus stared, dumbfounded.

“We should hurry,” said Jonas. Leaping over debris, his made his way to Ethan and took him by the arm. But he was only able to pull him along a few steps before meeting resistance.

“Let go of me!” shouted Ethan, yanking his arm free.

Jonas seized hold of him again. “There is no other way.”

Markus cautiously approached the light, transfixed. “What is it?”

“A portal that leads to Lumnia,” Jonas explained. “But it won’t last for very long, I suspect. So we need to go now. If we huddle together, we should all be able to fit.”

Ethan felt something strike against the back of his leg. He glanced on the floor directly behind him and caught the unmistakable outline of a German stick grenade. It flashed through his mind that at least it wasn't one of those fitted with a fragmentation sleeve, so the shrapnel would likely be minimal. Not that this would save him. The blast alone would be fatal when standing this close.

Markus saw the grenade too, and was much better positioned to do something about it. Reacting instantly, he flicked it as far away as possible with his boot, at the same time giving both Ethan and Jonas a violent shove, sending them further back and hard down onto the floor. There was no time for him to hit the deck as well. A split second later it went off. Even from the far side of the large room, the force of the explosion sent him flying back – back, and straight into the swirling depths of the waiting portal. Ethan watched in horror as his best friend simply vanished into thin air.

He scrambled to his feet, desperately calling out his friend's name. But it was too late. Markus was gone. Ethan made a dash toward the portal, but Jonas leapt up and tackled him hard to the floor just before he reached it.

“We
must
go in together,” the older man cried out.

Without a word, Ethan stood up, dragging Jonas with him. “What happened to Markus?” he demanded.

“I told you. This leads to Lumnia.”

Disbelief and skepticism were now set aside. Markus had always been there for him. Now it was time for him to return the favor. “Then that’s where I’m going too,” he stated emphatically.

Wrapping his arms around Jonas, he heaved them both into, what was for him, the complete unknown.