Matt Archer: Blade's Edge (31 page)

Murphy was the first to move. He pointed his assault rifle at the bundle on the floor. “What is it?”

Uncle Mike approached the bundle slowly, keeping his pistol trained on it. When he got close enough, he nudged the thing with his boot. It didn’t move. Uncle Mike took off his goggles and got out his flashlight. His shoulders slumped as he knelt down.

“They got Stewart, from Parker’s team.”

I stared at the misshapen lump that used to be Stewart. The monsters had killed him…then sent him to us. The knife-spirit howled in my head, demanding I rip, tear, kill whatever did this. I was pretty pissed myself.

Johnson bent down to examine the body. “His skin looks…melted.”

“Like what the fog did to Wynn when we lost the little girl?” Will whispered.

“Exactly like,” Uncle Mike said.

“Sir, I think we’re close,” Murphy said. “We’re being warned off. Maybe those things are trying to tell us this is what will happen to us.”

He knows you are here. We feel his hatred, his desire for our power. He is angry. All hangs in the balance. There are only two choices—go or flee.

“Um,” I said, “the knife says the enemy is waiting for us. We either need to run in hard now, or get out while we can.”

Uncle Mike stood tall next to me and his usual hard look was steelier than normal. A black hole swirled in the pit of my stomach. I could feel his confidence slipping…and I knew why.

I caught his eye. “Kate will see you again.”

A breath hissed between his teeth. “Blue team, listen up. Everyone has one job today—protect the wielder.”

Oh, to hell with that. I wasn’t going to use my family and friends as a meat shield. “Uncle Mike—”

He held up a hand, telling me to shut up. “That’s Major Tannen to you, Archer. And you know better—we’re your defensive line. It’s what we signed up for.” Uncle Mike pointed at the team and started handing out assignments. “Patterson, cook whatever comes our direction. Johnson and Murphy, shoot at anything that gets through. Bullets won’t kill the Takers, but you might slow them down long enough to buy Archer some time. For what, I don’t know, but we have to give him cover so can he finish the objective.”

I opened my mouth, but Uncle Mike talked over me again. “Cruessan, you and I are Archer’s personal guard.” For the briefest moment he closed his eyes. Then he handed Will an extra pistol. “You’re carrying one this time, no arguments. You have fifteen shots, okay? I’ve got a second magazine for you, but make sure you keep track. Go for head-shots. It’s the only way to stop the Taken.”

Will reached for the pistol, looking grim. “Yes, sir.”

“Good man,” Johnson murmured, clapping Will on the shoulder.

“Let’s go,” Uncle Mike said.

Patterson clicked the igniter on his flamethrower and took point as we continued deeper into the tunnel. Murphy and Johnson, with their assault rifles ready, came next. Finally, Mike and Will went, flanking me. Both of them kept their pistols in a firing grip so all they had to do was slide a finger onto the trigger.

For the first few minutes, all I could hear was Will breathing softly next to me and the shuffle of army boots along the sandy floor. The air was close; dust choked me. I’d never been claustrophobic, but this place would be enough to make anyone hate enclosed spaces, especially after being trapped in a cave-in by a giant scorpion.

We came to a fork in the tunnel. Patterson paused. “Which way?”

I went to the head of the group, the knife still in my hand. The handle hummed so violently my fingers hurt. Then I felt the tug. When I looked down the right-hand tunnel, I didn’t feel anything. But when I looked left, it was like biting down on aluminum foil.

Almost like they’d hung a sign: “Demons, this way.”

“Left,” I said.

“That’s what I thought,” Patterson muttered. When I looked at him with my eyebrows raised, he said, “We can all feel it, kid. Whatever’s down there wants our blood.”

The knife forced my eyes shut, sending me scattered images of Takers in a large cavern, their skin-covered eye sockets looking like holes in the dim light. Taken people lined the walls, and in the center…

“Oh, my God!” I gasped as my eyes flew open.

“What’d you see?” Johnson asked.

The less they knew the better. “Um, they’re camped out in a cavern up ahead. It looks like some kind of temple.”

“Holy ground,” Johnson muttered.

“Correction—unholy ground,” Murphy said.

“Not for much longer,” Uncle Mike said. “Move out.”

“Hooah,” Patterson said softly.

“Hooah,” the rest of us answered.

Jogging now, we made our way down the left passage. It sloped downward, and the already heavy feeling pressing on my skull gained weight. I could only hope Parker’s team would make it to the same place, if they were still alive. There were too many nasty creatures in that hall for me to handle on my own. If I was honest, both of us would likely be overrun, but together we’d stand a better chance of getting their leader first.

I shuddered. The thing I’d seen was so horrible. It stood at the center, near a cold blue fire that flickered and made weird shadows on the walls. Now I knew why it looked lumpy in the carvings: its skin was the pasty beige of a slug you’d find under a fallen log and about as slimy. But it was humanoid, like the Takers, and it had wings, too—leathery like a pterodactyl’s. Add in a heavy jaw that unhinged to reveal rows of teeth, squatty, powerful back legs and long claw-tipped arms and you had one nasty monster. I didn’t even want to think about how tall it was, towering over the Takers by a good dozen feet. Would I have the strength to kill something like that?

Focus.

Right, I couldn’t come unglued now. I closed my eyes and thought about the old Matt—the one who’d owned the Kalis on a mountaintop. The Matt who held onto a little girl even when the devil was trying to snatch her away. Calm flooded my body and my breathing slowed.

I opened my eyes and my hands were trembling. Not with fear—with purpose. With ability.

Time to kick some demon ass.

Chapter Thirty-Three

I
strode forward, passing Patterson to
lead the group. Everyone scrambled to catch up.

“Matt,” Uncle Mike growled. “You’re at the rear, kid.”

“Not today.” I stared him down. “I’m ready now.
We’re
ready now.”

His eyes widened. “You mean that in a ‘royal we’ sense, don’t you?”

“Yes, we do.”

“I have no clue what you two are talking about or why Matt suddenly has a God complex,” Will said, “But I think he’s good up front, sir.”

“I am,” I said, not even bothering to keep my voice down. Why worry about stealth? The monsters knew we were coming; they’d even made a bonfire for us.

I followed the knife’s pull, taking turns without thought. The team kept pace with me. I could feel their fear, fluttering just above the raw rage burning in my muscles. As ready as I felt, I knew we needed backup.

“Listen,” I whispered to the spirit, “can you connect to Parker, see if he’s alive? Ask his blade-spirit to show him where to go?”

Already done.

I smiled. The term “shared a brain” was an understatement. “Thanks.”

We took two more turns before I stopped to pull off my NVGs. A blue glow lit the tunnel, coming from a large archway twenty yards ahead. I was a little surprised there weren’t sentries waiting, but then again, if it wanted me alive so it could turn the knife to its will, maybe this dark god had decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to bar the door.

“Everyone stop a sec,” I said. “Here’s what we’ve got. Couple dozen Takers, maybe more. A hundred Taken people. Then there’s something that’s my business, and mine alone. All I need is for you to clear me a path. If Parker makes it in time, keep him covered, too.”

Murphy aimed his rifle down the tunnel. “Just point me in the right direction and I’ll shoot whatever I need to.”

I closed my eyes, letting the knife see ahead for me. The cavern was huge—maybe three football fields wide—with a ledge cut into the walls about five feet off the ground. Columns made from the cave’s rock rose up twenty feet, only to disappear in the darkness overhead. The Takers were gathered around their master, except for a few that floated above the crowd. The Taken people hadn’t moved from the cavern’s walls.

“Okay, get ready.” I unsheathed the knife and nodded to the team. “All together. On three. One…two…three!”

We burst through the archway shoulder to shoulder. Everything froze for a moment. Only the blue fire sparkled, flickering off the pale skin of the thing crouched next to it.

Then a Taker howled and streaked our way.

Patterson cooked it, then another and another. The gas from the flamethrower flared high, burning everything airborne.

That activated the Taken, and they stood, forming rows in front of the demon at the center. The dark god seemed to have the same idea Uncle Mike did—a meat shield. But this was worse. Most of the Taken were small…they’d been kids.

Lieutenant Johnson fired a volley at a group that looked like men. As they fell, the rest tightened their ranks, and dozens more streamed out of the shadows at the back of the cavern, loping toward us with that unnatural speed. Some had rocks. Others had crude spears.

Three spears whizzed through the air like they’d been shot by a rocket launcher, missing me by inches. I fell flat on my face to avoid being impaled.

“Where’d they get those?” Johnson yelled. He shoved Will and I behind a column next to the cavern wall and fired around the side. Murphy and Uncle Mike dove behind what looked like an altar made from the rock on the other side of the passageway.

Patterson, with his big shoulders and the bulky flamethrower, wasn’t able to wedge himself into a crevice like the rest of us.

“Ditch the canister!” Will called. “You need to get down!”

“Can’t!” Patterson shot flames at the ceiling but more Takers were always right behind their fricasseed buddies. A thin stream of black fog started leaking from the dark god’s skin, curling toward Patterson.

I gritted my teeth. The fog was going to be a problem. The only way to keep the others safe would be to offer myself as bait. “Cover me!”

As I vaulted over the rock, Will tried to grab my ankle, shouting, “No! Wait!”

He missed, though, and gunfire erupted behind me. Taken people fell in droves. Patterson came alongside, frying anything that got too close. The Takers rose higher, avoiding the fire, and the Taken backed away, crouching next to the walls.

The mist dissipated as the dark god rose on its hind legs, wings spread wide, casting a black shadow over Patterson and me. Cold, it was so cold, like the blue fire it had created. Cold and hungry. It unhinged its jaw and bellowed at us in foghorn tones. The cry rang in my ears until I was dizzy and tendrils of its power tried to find a way to latch onto my mind. I froze, stuck in place.

Patterson, looking terrified, leapt in front of me, spraying flames at the beast. It waved a hand and the fire turned to smoke. The Takers hissed with laughter over our heads. Before I even registered its movement, the creature swept Patterson’s legs out from under him, then stomped down on his chest with the force of a pile driver. Bones cracked under the dark god’s foot.

“No!”

Hands out, still screaming, I fell on my butt, and the shock woke me up, breaking the creature’s hold on me. I scrambled backward as fast as I could to avoid being smashed, too.

The monster chuckled and kicked Patterson’s broken body across the chamber. The guy who’d nearly died protecting me in the rainforest, a man with three kids, was gone. First these freaks killed Schmitz, and now Patterson, along with others I didn’t know well, and that little girl, too. Anger boiled hot in my blood. I couldn’t let that stand. No effing way.

First things first—I had to lead the dark god away from the rest of the team. I jumped up and ran across the cavern. A shadow blocked out the light of the blue fire as it flew over me. It landed in my path and I skidded to a halt. Too late though; one sweep of its wing knocked me off balance. I fell hard, banging my head against the stone floor. The world tilted.

Up, up!

On the knife’s command, I forced myself to my feet. The creature loomed over me; its breath stank of old dirt. Snatching with its claw-tipped hands, it tried to grab my arm but I jumped aside. As it crouched low and spun to follow me, I swung my knife and caught its right wing. The magic blade sliced through the leathery membrane from its arm joint to the bottom of the wing. The monster opened its gaping jaw to snap at my head but I dodged at the last second and its face slammed into the floor. I stabbed again, hoping to catch it in the neck, but it recovered much faster than I expected and butted me in the stomach with the top of its skull.

All my air whooshed out, and my lungs felt collapsed. I staggered away the best I could, unable to breathe, as the beast rose up on its hind legs again. From the gunfire, shrieks and shouts coming from the other side of the cavern, it didn’t sound like the cavalry was on its way to help. Near to blacking out, I tried to crawl into a tight crevice behind a column. Two Takers dive bombed me, coming out of nowhere. They blocked the crevice and swiped at me with their long black claws.

I skittered back, and ran right into the dark god’s knees. Its right wing hung at its side, and foam dripped from its mouth. The spirit buzzed in my head, the blade flashed green. I slashed the creature’s other wing even as it slammed me against the wall. The Takers rushed me. By now, though, I’d had enough of this game, and I stabbed them both on the fly. They cried out, then disappeared in a puff of black mist. The knife flashed green again, and a hard gladness filled my chest.

I regained my balance, not liking being cornered. The monster advanced and I ran toward the center of the cavern. It hopped in chase, dragging its broken wings behind it. With a savage growl, it launched itself in my direction and everything slowed down. I got my hands up as I fell and slashed at its throat. I’d misjudged the distance, though, and didn’t get the blade deep enough into its neck, landing a blow too shallow to kill it outright. Blood dripped black and foul from the wound, but it still managed to lunge.

The beast punctured my right forearm with one of its teeth. Pain ripped through the torn skin, burning like acid, and I struggled to keep hold of the knife. I screamed, my veins on fire with some kind of poison, as the creature rose again. It raised a foot and kicked me across the cavern. I flew through the air, the wall rushing up way too fast.

Just before impact, I saw Parker running hard; red team had found us somehow. Uncle Mike and Will were right behind him.