Chapter Twenty-Three
The dead drunk sat on a bench in the park. Dawn was breaking on a new day in this dreary world. He should move on, but there was something he was waiting for. So he’d wandered the streets for endless hours, trying to find it. Then he decided that maybe it would come to him if he stood still long enough.
The park was in the middle of Manhattan and sported a dog run. People were walking their dogs by him, wary of everyone and everything. A dog on a leash skirted him, skittish with the fear he felt from his master. The ghosts of darkness chased them, feeding them lies. They were all afraid of what they didn’t understand. He felt bad for them, anchored in their lives and unable to see beyond.
Across the street, church doors opened wide and a minister stepped out to face the world. There was a welcoming, bright light coming from inside, but no one entered.
Fear gripped this city. A darkness that the dead man witnessed without filters. It had been his home for more than sixty years. He’d seen the best and worst of humanity during that time.
Without knowing why, he got off the bench and walked to the church. The minister gazed up the street apprehensively. Even he, a man of God, was nervous.
It just wasn’t right. It wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.
The dead man looked up at the beautiful stained-glass window above the door, and love swelled in his heart. He loved this world, despite its ugliness and pain. There had been love, too. Joy and hope. He couldn’t leave it like this.
The song slipped into his mind from a memory long past. He opened his mouth and began to sing.
“Amazing grace.”
His voice cracked and warbled but he kept going because it felt good. “How sweet the sound.”
To his surprise, the minister next to him started to move his lips. The dead man sang, “That saved a wretch like me.”
“I once was lost,” the minister sang softly. He stared up into the sky and smiled. “But now am found.”
The dead man stepped back, surprised. Could people hear his song? Filled with excitement, he ran into the middle of the park and raised his voice. “Was blind, but now, I see.”
Dogs stopped in their tracks around him and woofed softly. Their owners slowed as if hearing his song.
“T’was grace that taught my heart to fear,” he sang strong, and watched in amazement as the living listened. More of them slowed and looked up to the heavens. “And grace, my fears relieved.”
On the final word, they joined in one by one. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.”
The dead man laughed in joy and ran into the street where people had frozen in place. Taxis stopped for him. Horns silenced. Light swept over him as he lifted his hands to the sky. “That saved a wretch like me.”
Voices merged with his, their song rising in unison. “I once was lost.”
He spun around in a whirl of hope and elation. It wasn’t the words, it was the love that buoyed him. It swelled inside him, expanding him with pure compassion. There was so much of it, he couldn’t contain himself. It was all that mattered. It was all that ever mattered.
“But now am found,” he boomed, his voice carrying across the city—stopping traffic and capturing souls. In every corner, in every room, on every street they paused—not knowing why—and started humming it. Big voices and small. Old souls and new. The children and the elderly, male and female, stopped to join him.
Light filled the streets and there was no more fear, no more hiding. He saw them, leaving their homes and going into churches and synagogues and mosques. It didn’t matter what the denomination was, didn’t matter if they were part of that religion or not. They streamed in, filling every seat and standing in the aisles.
Every one of them was singing his song—on their lips or in their hearts. The color of his city changed from gray to gold, rays of light pulsing from the masses ringing out in love.
He felt himself lifting off the ground, and his song reach out and touch every soul. “Was blind, but now, I see!”
And just before he burst into pure light, he knew he’d finished what he’d come here for.
* * *
Surt’s power surged as they descended deeper into the earth. It buzzed through his fingers with every touch of the bedrock, and energized the DNA in his body. He drew it in like a deep breath, and let it settle into the cells that made up this human form. He felt it transforming him, empowering him.
It wasn’t easy to do with his minion swearing all the time.
Garth led but was having difficulty squeezing through the narrow passageways and had fallen several times on his ass. His shirt was soaked with sweat, and slime covered his pants.
Surt, however, had had no trouble navigating the tunnel. His senses were more acute than they had ever been. His footing was sure, his body working like an athlete’s.
He ran his fingers over the stone walls, hewn out ages ago. This was exactly what he had expected. They would have placed the vortex underground in an ancient quartz power point.
Ahead of him, Garth slid forward and managed to catch himself by bracing both hands against the walls, nearly losing his flashlight in the process. Surt shook his head from behind him. Clumsy idiot. They were all dispensable. The only reason Surt had him along was for added protection. Surt was powerful. He could manipulate this body as needed, but it could take only so much abuse before he’d have to abandon it.
When he was in control of this world, he’d gather around him the best and the brightest little soldiers. No more morons.
“There’s something ahead,” Garth said and rounded the stairs out of sight. Surt stopped on the landing in the cavern beside him, and their flashlights zigzagged across the interior. They located several openings, any of which Reya and Thane could have gone into.
“Which way?” Garth asked and stepped into the water, sending ripples everywhere.
Idiot.
Surt grabbed his shoulder. “Stay here and don’t move.”
Garth froze in place as Surt walked by him, moving carefully in the water. He checked the water patterns on the rocks at each of the openings, one by one. It would be the tunnel with the most water sloshed up on the nearby rocks.
Time ticked by slowly, but he wasn’t worried. They weren’t getting past him. After a few minutes, he found it and motioned Garth to take the lead. He was, after all, Surt’s human shield.
* * *
“Now that’s a pyramid,” Chu said as he stood in the blue light in awe.
Thane had to agree since he’d never seen anything like it before. The second tunnel had ended in a chamber, fifty feet high and twice as wide. In the center was a stone pyramid, ten feet across and made of quartz crystal that glowed blue from the inside. Above it, a ribbonlike vortex of energy undulated gracefully, sending tendrils of cobalt light spiraling upward before vanishing at the ceiling.
The entire chamber was electrified with a steady, low-frequency hum. He felt the effects in his body and the way he moved. He was stronger and faster, as though he were no longer bound to the ground. As if gravity was weaker here, or the laws of the physics no longer applied.
Dust floated just above the flat tiles on the floor. Rocks rolled farther than they should when kicked. Their voices sounded hollow and distorted. Everything had a dreamlike quality to it.
It was as if they’d walked into a whole other world. In fact, it felt a lot like the fourth dimension, except without all the pain and physical destruction.
So far.
Reya circled the pyramid, studying it as if waiting for it to speak to her. The crystal glowed an unearthly white in her hand. Her hair flowed around her face as though it were underwater, but she didn’t seem to notice.
Chu was standing in front of the pyramid trying to take a photo with his cell phone. Probably be on Facebook before they got out of here. If they got out of here at all.
Thane had no delusions that would happen, at least not for him. He’d waited most of his life for this moment. After scanning the layout, he opted to position himself so he could cover the only entrance and still watch Reya. The minute Surt showed himself, he planned to kill him. If he could catch him off guard, perhaps he could damage the human body and send him back to the spirit world.
He pulled out and checked the ancient Roman dagger. He gripped the handle and blade carefully and watched it start to glow with his legacy energy.
Reya frowned at him. “Where did you get that?”
“Chu,” he said, fascinated as it glowed in his hands.
Reya turned to Chu, who raised his hands. “He said he needed a weapon. It was the only thing I had.”
Reya closed her eyes for a moment. “It won’t work on Surt. He’s too powerful.”
She was such a buzz killer sometimes. “He’s in human form right now. Doesn’t that count?”
“He can change in a heartbeat.”
Thane moved to the tunnel opening and pressed himself against the wall. “Then all I need is a heartbeat.”
“You’ll only piss him off, and that’ll make my job harder,” she said.
Thane didn’t respond to her. He’d promised her that he’d have her back, but if he could end this quickly, it would be worth it for all of them. Based on the way she was looking at him though, she wasn’t seeing it that way. She didn’t try to stop or sway him. There was resignation in her eyes that cut through him. And yet he couldn’t change what he needed to do.
Finally, Reya turned away from him and joined Chu in front of the pyramid. “Have you touched it yet?”
Chu shook his head. “No way. I need these fingers.”
She reached out and tapped it with the crystal. A wave of energy rippled out from the spot and dissipated across the surface. It was solid, and Reya touched it with her fingertips.
Thane almost said, “Be careful,” and then remembered that she could slay pretty much anything she wanted. Hopefully, that included Surt. Because if Thane failed, it was all up to her. So he couldn’t fail.
Her fingers pressed against the pyramid. “It’s safe.” Then she stepped back and looked at the blue vortex spinning above it. “That part up there, I don’t know. What do you think, Chu?”
The older man stepped back and scanned the sides. “No writing anywhere. Your guess is going to be as good as mine. What’s your crystal tell you?”
She held it up to the spinning vortex and looked through it. Her eyes widened. “It looks like a portal to another dimension.”
Chu blinked. “Which one?”
She shook her head. “I can’t tell.”
As she spoke, Thane caught a movement inside the tunnel. A rush of adrenaline gripped him as he saw the shape of a man emerge. This would end here and now. Surt wouldn’t control this planet, and wouldn’t kill any more innocent fathers.
Timing his move perfectly, Thane stepped out and drove the glowing dagger into the man’s heart.
* * *
Reya watched the man drop like a stone. Behind him, Surt stood waiting. Before Thane could strike again, Surt swung his staff and Thane was thrown back against the cavern rocks. He slid down the rock into a heap and didn’t move.
That man was as stubborn as they came. She told him not to bother. Now he’d have the concussion to prove it. But that might just save his life.
Chu high-tailed it for cover, and Surt summarily dismissed him as a threat. He was totally focused on her as he stepped on the other side of the pyramid.
“Hello, Reya. It’s been a long time,” he said smoothly.
A chill ran through her at the sound of his voice. There was such darkness in his soul. No light shown through. He was like a black hole, taking all and giving nothing back.
“Sadly, not long enough,” she said, holding her ground. As long as she had the crystal, she knew she could defeat him. She hoped.
“Miss me?” she asked, stalling to assess his strength.
He grinned. “You are always welcome back, Reya.”
Over my dead f*cking soul, she thought. “I like it on this side. Fewer a*sholes.”
“I could use you,” he said as he started walking around the pyramid.
“The thing is, I don’t need you,” she told him and rounded the pyramid to keep him out of reach. She cast a quick look at Thane, who was still down. She knew he wasn’t dead, because his spirit hadn’t showed yet. Stay down, Thane.
“But you will,” Surt said, continuing to circle. “There won’t be any other place for you once Earth is off-limits.”
“Going to call in a few friends?” she asked, summoning all her concentration. She tucked the crystal in her waistband right next to her skin and pulled out her staff. The crystal’s energy flowed through her body, hands, and staff. An immense amount of power lay in waiting.
He kept grinning. “Your skills still impress me.”
Every dark energy being from every corner of this universe would be here to help him destroy any chance this planet had. She activated her staff. “Good. Because you’ll have to go through me first.”
“As you wish,” Surt said.
* * *
She moved faster than Surt had ever seen before, but he was ready when she came around the pyramid and attacked. He deflected her blow, spun, and nearly took her head off.
Reya ducked and sent a ball of energy at him that he destroyed easily with a swing of his staff. From there, it became a battle of wills. They clashed, jabbed, and swung in a dance to the death around the blue light of the energy grid.
If she wouldn’t join him, he would destroy her. It was as simple as that. And he knew of the sure way to do that. If he could throw her into the vortex, her body would instantly disintegrate, and her soul would be ejected into another dimension.
But first, he needed that crystal.
One of his volleys hit her in the shoulder and knocked her backward on the ground. He heard a gunshot behind him and turned to find Thane up and shooting at him.
The bullets didn’t affect him, but they did distract him, and Reya almost put her staff right through him. He ran to the pyramid, hit the angle with his foot, and flipped backward over her. Before she could twist around, he pierced her in the center of her back with the end of his staff.
She cried out and hit him in the side of the head with her weapon. He spun out of the way as Reya stumbled to the pyramid. He’d injured her badly, and she grimaced in pain.
“Join me,” he said, feeling victory at his fingertips.
She glared at him. “F*ck you.”
He smirked. “How about you, Thane?”
* * *
Reya was in agony, but she was aware enough to see Thane walking toward her. He tossed the gun aside.
“Leave,” she hissed at him. “Get Chu out!”
“I’m not leaving,” Thane said and checked her back. The look on his face told her it was bad. “Can you fight?”
“Yes,” she said, lying. She could barely move.
Thane turned to Surt. “I think Reya spoke for both of us. Now get the f*ck off our planet.”
Surt smiled at him. “Not even to save your mother?”
Reya closed her eyes for a moment. No.
As she feared, that got Thane’s full attention. He stared at Surt.
“I heard she’s having a hard time breathing. Such a shame,” Surt said.
“You did that to her?” Thane said, his fists clenched tightly.
“No, it is simply her time,” Surt said. “But I can give you the power to save her. You could keep her alive, forever, if you wished.”
“He’s lying,” Reya said, but Thane didn’t seem to hear her.
“How?” he asked Surt.
Surt stepped closer to Thane, and Reya felt the wave of darkness flow out of him and into Thane. “If you join me, you share my power.”
Thane said, “You killed my father.”
“And you will be able to bring him back, too,” Surt said. “In fact, you can change the world into you want it to be, Thane. That’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? To make it right?”
Reya watched Thane’s soul flush black, and her hope dissolved. She’d lost him. It hurt more than her injuries, and unlike a flesh wound, it would hurt for all eternity. She played her last card.
“You’re going to die,” she told Thane, choking out the words.
He didn’t even look at her.
“Surt is going to kill you after this,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’ve seen it.”
Surt continued unaffected, “You won’t have to answer anyone. No more supervision, no more reprimands, no more idiots telling you what to do. You can make your own rules. Everything you ever wanted will be at your fingertips.”
Thane stood still, and she felt darkness consume him, saw his aura blacken. Surt had won. She would curse her lot later. Right now, she had no choice but to incapacitate him. She wouldn’t be able to fight them both. Tears burned her eyes as she prepared to stop the man she loved.
She activated her staff, stood up, and swung it at Thane. Pain tore through her back, forcing her to miss him. His face was dark as he knocked the staff out of her hand and swiftly grabbed her by the throat.
His cold fingers squeezed tightly, cutting off her airway. She tried to break free but he was wielding Surt’s fourth dimensional power now. His face was consumed with anger and voracity and his eyes looked right through her.
There was nothing recognizable. It wasn’t even Thane anymore.