Soulguard Page 23

  “You got it, Boss.”

  “I just have a very bad feeling about how they’ve stepped up their game. We have to get some information.”

  ***

  I eased into the cave a bit behind the forty Guards, well actually thirty eight. I kept Jacobs, Lewis, and Holsey back with me as rear guard.

  “Do I even want to know why you’re bald and he has pink hair?” I asked Jacobs while pointing at Holsey. The two of them had been playing practical jokes on each other for nearly two years now.

  “Probably not,” He answered through clinched teeth.

  I chuckled, “All right, I won’t ask.”

  I was scanning the area in front of us and I could feel a good sized piece of that evil darkness off to the right behind the other guards.

  “To the right,” I said, “it’s a Wraith and some soldiers or its one of those damn Mages. You guys take the soldiers I’ll handle the Wraith.”

  Suddenly the Demons sprang from the alcove they were hiding in to ambush the group ahead of us. I opened my portal a tiny bit on the Wraith trap and moved it in front of the thing. It ran into the target area and I opened the portal all the way.

  The Wraith slammed into the inside of my shield and halted. There were ten soldiers with it and they turned immediately toward us and my three Guards went to meet them.

  I had left a hole where the Demon’s stream led to the portal so I wouldn’t kill it. I wasn’t sure whether a shield would sever its Soulstream or not, but we needed it alive.

  I looked forward and every Demon in the whole cavern seemed to be looking at me. They tried to charge toward me but there were two stacks of Guards in our formation and they couldn’t get through.

  Were they telepathic? It’s possible, that would explain how every Demon in Little Rock had known the moment I killed the Demonmage.

  The Wraith kept pounding on my shield and I shrank it tight around it, immobilizing it.

  “You be still.”

  It stared at me with hate and rage rolling through its aura.

  “You,” It hissed as it seemed to realize who I was, “You are the reason we are here.”

  Its voice was a mix of hiss and growl, but the words could be made out.

  I looked into its hate filled eyes, “And you are the reason I’m here.”

  It just stared at me as my Guards killed the rest of the Demons in the cavern.

  “I want some answers, and I think you’ll give them to me,” I said standing inches from the thing.

  It began laughing, or I think it was laughing. It sounded much like a growl and a cough.

  “Not Kresh. Not to do your bidding.”

  “What’s Kresh?”

  It looked and motioned with it’s head toward a corpse of a lesser demon. It nodded toward a soldier, “Kresh’far.”

  “I Kresh’sor’an, I Master. No fear of you, Man-thing.”

  I Pulled and sent Soulfire coursing through the shield that was tight against the Demon. It screamed.

  When I stopped it looked back at me and bared its teeth, maybe it was smiling, “Like pain. Do it again.”

  There was no fear in its aura and I didn’t see a lie there either. Maybe the bastard really likes pain. The way it had said Kresh gave me an idea. It had said it with disgust or something like it anyway. I’m working with best guess as to what they feel. It looked like disgust would have in a human.

  The lesser Demons have a Soulstream of about three inches, a soldier has a five or six inch stream and this Wraith had close to a ten inch stream. Where the Stream passed through the hole in my shield, I began pressing closed. Its Stream was shrinking on the inside of the shield and I was watching the intelligence fade from its eyes.

  It screamed in pure fury but it couldn’t budge. As I expanded the hole back up I could see fear in its aura, now.

  I pointed at its chest, “Talk or you remain Kresh.”

  I actually saw the resignation pass across its aura. If there was one thing it was afraid of, it was being reduced to that.

  “I talk if you kill me. No Kresh, death.”

  “That I can do," I said.

  “You kill Kresh’ma’nar four cycles ago. Whole world in uproar. Only one hundred fifty-seven Kresh’ma’nar in whole world. Now five hundred clans, as you Man-things say, come here to destroy all Man-things and start over. Each Kresh’ma’nar have five hundred clans. Now one has one thousand, he come here with five hundred.”

  My stomach felt ill. There had been thousands of Demons in the clan my father had destroyed so long ago and now five hundred of those clans were coming here.

  “When?”

  “Two of your days from now first wave come.”

  “Dear God,” Ramirez mumbled from behind me.

  “Where?”

  “Only seven gates can take many at same time. Coming in place Man-things call Kansas, first. Only one gate can be open at time.”

  “Why do you come and kill us?”

  “Always done, Makers create, we slaves. Makers defeated and we eat. Never be slaves again to Makers, now Makers slaves to us. Now time for you to do what promised. Kill me.”

  I looked at it for a moment and my sword flamed. My shield trap left its head uncovered and my blade severed its head cleanly.

  “We have to go,” I turned to see all three Guards behind me with pale faces. They had heard exactly what I had, “Now.”

  “Damn right we do, we gotta warn everyone,” Jacobs answered.

  “Friggin Kansas,” Holsey muttered, “Right in the middle of the US. How the hell do we stop five hundred thousand Demons?”

  “We kill em all,” I answered, “There are close to a thousand Guards in the US and nearly a hundred Mages. We all go to Kansas and we kill every Demon that sets foot on our planet. It’s the only thing we can do.”

  ***

  “I know you don’t have any use for me, Price,” I said into the phone, “But this goes way beyond us. We didn’t have time to send this up the chain of command. In two days time there is going to be a massive invasion. The Demons have decided that we’ve hurt them too much and they’re going to clean house.”

  “Just how would you know this?” He asked without emotion in his voice.

  “We just captured and interrogated a Wraith. They plan to destroy the human race and start again with a select few humans as breeding stock. We’re just cattle to them.”

  “And you believed this Wraith?”

  “I was very persuasive in getting it to talk. We need to mobilize everyone, I’m getting the Knoxville post geared and ready for transport to Kansas.”

  “They’re invading Kansas?”

  “It said there are only seven of their gateways big enough for armies. It said the first wave was hitting Kansas in two days. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of Demons.”

  “I’ll place the calls and get everything moving,” Archmage Price said and hung up the phone.

  I turned to Rictor, “Looks like things are underway, let’s get our boys geared up and ready for action.”

  We spent the next few hours getting our armor and swords set and calling in all the off duty Guards who were scattered across Knoxville.

  I tried to call in to Greg and see how things were going but the lines must have been busy, I didn’t get any answer. The switchboard must have been swamped, as the Guard began a full mobilization. I’d get Greg later.

  Chapter 55

  “Hello, Greg.” I answered the phone.

  “What’s the deal with this nest in Kansas?” he asked, “The Arch mage said you were the one to report it.”

  “Nest?!” I felt a pit open in my stomach, “It’s a full on invasion, Greg.”

  “What?” he asked, “We’re already on the plane and headed that way.”

  “Who is on the plane?”

  “The Elite Guards, me, Nora and a few more Mages.”

  “Didn’t he mobilize the Guard?” I asked, “He was supposed to mobilize everyone. We’re talking hundreds of thou
sands of frigging Demons.”

  “Dear God, you can’t be serious.”

  “As serious as it gets Greg.”

  “We’re bound for Wichita. You know if they’re already here we’ll have to go after them. We can’t just let people die.”

  “I’ll call in and see if we can’t get help. I’ll call back in a few.”

  As I hung up I had a sinking feeling. Price had finally played his cards. He was targeting my parents and the Elite Guards at the same time. I just knew this was the retribution I’d been waiting for over the last eight years. Maybe I was wrong, but I didn’t feel like I was wrong. But what sort of endgame was he after? This could destroy the world, it couldn’t just be vengeance on me. There had to be something else.

  I dialed in to the Academy. No one answered. I tried again and still no answer. I tried another number and got a response.

  “Colin?” Daphne Cavanaugh answered, “What the hell is going on? The Mages say the whole Knoxville base has gone rogue. What are you doing out there?”

  “Daph, we’re in some serious shit here,” I said, “We captured a Wraith and interrogated it. The Demons have decided we’re too dangerous to live and are massing a full out invasion. Their first force will hit Kansas in less than twelve hours.”

  “Why are they saying you’re rogue then?”

  “It’s Price, he sent the Elites alone to face hundreds of thousands of Demons. He plans to cull the Guard down by getting rid of the ones who defy him. I think he has more than that in mind but I may be seeing more than there is. He is also targeting me because of his son I think.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “How many Guards can you muster to send to Kansas?”

  “I have a hundred Guards but some of them are out of communication at the moment. I can bring probably seventy or so. I can’t guarantee it. We are defying orders to do it but I think my Guards will follow my lead. But we don’t have transport.”

  “I’ll get transport and call you back.”

  “You got it, I’ll get the troops ready. Good luck Colin.”

  I hung up the phone and called another number.

  “Hello,” a familiar voice answered, “What the hell have you done this time?”

  “Sam, I know you don’t know me all that well but we’re in some deep shit.”

  I told Sam Keller the whole story and he was silent for a whole minute.

  “That sorry rat bastard!” He cursed, “He’s using this to weaken the Guard, but if that many Demons run loose in Kansas, we’ll never be able to hunt em all down. He’s signing the death warrant for half of the US. I can’t guarantee the Mage support but the Guard will follow me in this for you.”

  “For me?”

  “You still don’t understand the support the Guard is willing to give you, boy. What’s the plan?”

  “I’ll call back in a moment. Start getting the troops ready and I’ll see about transport.”

  “You got it.”

  I hung up and called one more number.

  “Hello Colin, what can I do for you, Young Man?”

  “Senator Deacons, we have a serious situation and I need your help...”

  ***

  “I need you to get to Kirtland Air Force Base, you’ll meet a C-130 there for the flight to Wichita. We’ll meet you there and I got us some more help from Pittsburgh.”

  “Great, but we don’t have the vehicles for that.”

  “There won’t be any secrecy after today, Daph.”

  “I guess not,” She sighed, “We’ll be there.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “We’re Soulguard, Colin, it’s what we do.”

  I hung up the phone and dialed Sam, “I need you at the Pittsburgh international airport in an hour and a half. They’re flying a C-17 in from Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York. We’re meeting in Wichita and I hope they aren’t already here.”

  “We’ll be there,” Keller answered, “If we survive this, you know we’ll have to do something about Price, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, Price has gone too far, He’ll have to be dealt with. Lord knows how we’ll do it,” I said, “Good luck Sam and we’ll see you in Wichita.”

  I put the phone away and turned to the Guards gathered in the parking lot.

  “Men, you all know what’s happening in Kansas and we’ve been preparing to move the whole contingent out to join the battle. Some things have changed. The Archmage has chosen to send only fifty Guards and a few Mages to face this and everyone has been ordered to pay no attention to me. Word has gone out that we’ve gone rogue.”

  There were exclamations and the whole group seemed to erupt in fury. I saw the red of rage rolling across the crowd.

  “I think you all know as well as I do why he targets us with these accusations. But I am going to Kansas anyway. I kill Demons and that’s where the Demons are. Damn the Archmage and his Council of boot lickers. Hundreds of thousands of lives will be lost if we can’t stop what’s coming there. I won’t order anyone to join me but you all are welcome. There will be no repercussions or hard feelings if you choose to follow orders and stay out of it.”

  “I think I speak for all of us, Sir,” Jacobs stepped forward, “We’ll follow wherever you lead and if you want to go to Kansas then by God, we go to Kansas!”

  A hundred voices roared approval and I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in my Guards. Not one chose to stay behind.

  “Then get your gear, we’re heading for the airport. A National Guard C-130 will meet us in less than an hour.”

  “Sir, we don’t have enough vehicles to take everyone,” Ramirez said.

  “We’ll take it at a run. There’s not gonna be any more secrecy after this. Hundreds of thousands of frigging Demons are gonna be hard to hide. Today we go public.”

  It only took a few minutes to ready everyone. I turned to find Sandy and Randy Quincy standing behind me. Body armor looked completely wrong on the two.

  “I need you here guys,” I said, “I need you to contact anyone you can and get more reinforcements down there if it’s possible. You both look ridiculous in all that body armor anyway.”

  “We’re ready to fight, Sir.” Randy answered. I could see the fear in his aura, he was terrified, as was his sister. But they would both join me if I let them. I felt a large lump in my throat as I looked at them. Why do they have so much loyalty to me? I’ll never understand how people can be so dedicated to me, and I know it was dedication to me. I’m a frigging Soullord, I can see it inside them.

  “You two are amazing. Now go find me some more reinforcements.”

  “Yes Sir,” They both headed back inside.

  “You bring out the crazy in everyone, boss,” Rictor said from right behind me.

  “It seems so, Ric,” I said softly. Then I turned to the Guards.

  “All right!” I yelled, “Fall in! We’re heading straight to the interstate and to the Airport at high speed! Let’s go!”

  I leaped forward as the world slowed, my Guards right on my tail. We sprang over cars and anything else that got in our way. In moments we were on I-40 and we picked up speed. I’m not sure how many wrecks we caused. It’s not every day you see a hundred men and women running down the interstate at ninety miles per hour. Luckily it was rush hour and the cars weren’t moving very fast. We leaped over the lines of cars entering from the side ramps and in minutes we were turning down Alcoa highway.

  Several minutes later, I enhanced my vision as the Airport came into view. I picked out the Military craft and pointed. We slowed a bit, veered to the right and off of the road and shot straight for the aircraft. There were several National Guardsmen at the rear of the plane. Two were completely surprised by our arrival at seventy miles per hour. One, a young man wasn’t surprised but awe rolled through his aura.

  I stopped in front of him, “You must be the General’s kid. Tell him we really appreciate his help. A lot of lives are depending on us.”

  I saw
a little bit of frustration from the comment and a memory of several people calling him the General’s kid and laughed.

  “Big shoes to fill, eh?,” I turned and Ric was already loading everyone up, “Try being the son of Kelvin Demonkiller. And tell your father that there’ll be more groups needing transport if things go right.”

  “Yes Sir,” he said, “My father told me what you’re doing and good luck.”

  “Thanks, we’ll need all the luck we can get.”

  As I stepped on the ramp I heard the small blonde woman’s voice, “Is that a freaking sword on his back, Brisco?”

  “I believe it was,” the other National Guardsman answered, “Did you see their eyes? Those guys have been in some serious shit.”

  The ramp closed and I didn’t hear any more from them. I headed forward toward the cockpit. As I passed the guy at the controls for the door I saw he was nervous and confused. Our equipment probably looks strange to guys who use guns as primary weapons.

  “They told us you would give a destination when you got here,” the pilot said as I entered the cockpit.

  “Wichita, Kansas. How long a flight will that be you think?”

  “About five hours, man.”

  “Thanks,” I said and headed back to where Ric was sitting.

  “Five hours or so,” I said, “Daphne should be there by then but Keller will be a bit later. He’s a couple of hundred miles or so farther away than we are. He’s got a faster plane though, I may be wrong.”

  “That will give us some time to go over your open ground tactics with Daph. You sure you can make a shield that big?”

  “I won’t be carrying it by myself,” I said, “I’m pretty sure it’ll work, I just don’t know how far we’ll actually get into em with it. We’ll just have to see.”

  “I just love your experiments, Boss.”

  “Don’t we all,” I heard Prada’s voice.

  Then Jacobs started singing Rocketman and I shook my head, “I’ll never live that down.”