Unhidden (The Gatekeeper Chronicles Book 1) (33 page)

That snapped Connor back to attention, anger flashing in his eyes. “Did you really think you could change the course of tonight by trying to scare me? We are here to secure the future of this country, to protect its citizens, and to ensure we remain the undisputed superpower of this world. There is no greater cause to fight for than that.”

“The only way to protect this country and all the others is to keep that rift closed,” I said, even though I knew it was a fruitless argument at that point.

“Restrain her,” Connor ordered the big man who had brought him the case.

I broke into a run, but I didn’t get more than three steps when iron hands clasped my arms, stopping me mid-stride and pulling me back to Connor.

“We can’t have you leaving us so soon,” he mocked. “After all, you may still have a part to play.” He reached under his tailored white dress shirt and pulled out my amulet on a chain around his neck.

“You’re bat shit crazy if you think I’m going to help you do anything.”

“I’m hoping you won’t need to, but since this is my first time opening a portal to another world, I’m not entirely sure how it’s going to work. So, just in case it requires you in some way, I am inviting you to stay. I’m actually hoping it requires a human sacrifice,” he said with a wink.

Hope flared within me once again when he revealed he didn’t know how to open the rift. “You’ll never be able to open the rift on your own. Just walk away before you kill yourself trying.”

“Oh, I know my limitations, but I also know how to make up for them, that’s why I brought some help.”

As if on cue, one of dark shadows broke away from the Mets’ dugout and moved across the field toward us. With the field lights shining in my eyes, I couldn’t make out the stranger until they came within ten feet of me, and then I realized it was no stranger at all.

“Zane,” I breathed with equal parts terror and desire at his overwhelming presence. Then it hit me that Zane was working with the government. “What …? Why …?”

Connor laughed at my confusion. “This doesn’t mean we’re besties or anything. Zane wants that rift open as much as we do, so call it a temporary alliance based on mutual interests.”

“Zane,” I said urgently, straining against my captor in an attempt to get closer to the mage. “You have to listen to me. I know the man that I was with two nights ago is still in there somewhere. You have to stop this. Please.” My vision blurred as I searched Zane’s face, looking for some sign that he still knew me, cared for me.

His expression remained icy and contemptuous. “You are nothing but a worthless harlot, trying to seduce me into betraying my cause. Your trickery won’t work on me again. I now see you for what you really are—a vile, evil liar and a murderer of innocents. You disgust me.”

It felt as if my heart had stopped beating in that moment. I couldn’t take a breath, my mouth opened, trying to gulp air, but my lungs wouldn’t work. I felt lightheaded, and the stadium began to spin around me. I heard a distant choking and gasping. Trying to focus on where it was coming from, I realized it was me. I was still being held by the arms, but I was bent over at the waist, gulping oxygen in short breaths with wetness on my cheeks.

He is right
, I thought. I was a murderer of innocents. Thousands of people on Urusilim had died because of me, because of my anger, my desperation to save Zane. And how many more had died at my hands on Earth? Even when I had been given a chance for a new life, I had chosen to be a killer. What’s more, if I failed the task at hand, I could add thousands more victims to my ledger.

I forced myself to take deep breaths and looked back up at Zane. “You’re right. I am evil, and I am a murderer, but I’m not a liar. I loved you once, and if you ever felt the same for me, you will help me stop this so we can save the lives of thousands of innocent people.” His eyes softened almost imperceptibly, until I had to open my stupid mouth again. “We can’t let those monsters through the rift.”

At that, the rage came pouring forth once again. “You would call them monsters? They are my brothers and sisters, and they deserve life more than these scheming, power-hungry cowards,” he spat, gesturing around the stadium. “I want these
monsters
to come forth and purge this world so we can remake Urusilim out of its ashes.”

“Now, Jason,” I said into the radio earpiece that was discreetly hidden under my hair. The crack of a high-powered sniper rifle echoed off every square inch of concrete. Jason was perched at the top of the stadium with a clear view of the entire field. The bullet slammed into the forehead of the giant holding me. I heard the wet
thunk
as the bullet penetrated its skull and sunk into the brain. The big guy convulsed once, then his hands went slack, and he fell hard to the ground.

In response, guns slid free of holsters, rifles were slung forward, and soon, every person on the field had a weapon drawn, trying to find the source of the shot. Zane, taking advantage of the distraction, lunged toward Connor, but instead of attacking Connor, Zane scooped up Sharur. With a graceful twist, he spun around, swinging the weapon through the air to slice open my throat.

I leaned back as I saw the axe blade coming at me, felt the swish of air rush past. Warm liquid dripped down my neck, and the biting sting of a thin cut blossomed at my throat. It wasn’t deep, though it was a clear sign the negotiations were over. The battle was about to begin.

I
gave a sharp whistle. At my signal, dozens of arrows were released into the air, arcing gracefully before raining hell down on the field. The arrows were aimed at the soldiers on the perimeter as well as Connor. A few soldiers were dropped by lucky shafts that found the soft flesh of necks or eyes, but most of the arrows bounced harmlessly off their body armor. The arrows had the desired effect, though—chaos erupted.

The workers in lab coats were running and screaming, sprinting toward exits, trying to escape the barrage. As those sharp points came flying toward me, aimed at Connor standing nearby, I held my ground, unflinching, hoping my trust hadn’t been misplaced.

It wasn’t. Arrows fell at my feet harmlessly, bouncing off the protective shield erected over my head like an impenetrable umbrella. I looked up at the press box and gave Alex a wave of thanks.

As expected, Zane had done the same thing. Connor tried to duck behind Zane to use him as a shield, but Zane unceremoniously shoved him away, leaving him exposed. Connor, cockroach that he was, grabbed a nearby scientist who was running past him, headed for the exit. He swung the poor man around roughly, holding the man to his chest in a vice grip. In seconds, the scientist was a pin cushion, his white coat soaked crimson. Connor then tossed him aside roughly, used and forgotten.

The soldiers turned around and opened fire into the stadium seating. Even with their rifles, they weren’t able to target the elves that were scattered throughout the stadium, ducked down behind the seats and cement barriers. The General commanded them into the seating areas to flush out the enemy.
So predictable
, I thought.

As the soldiers closed in, the elves dropped the useless bows and sprung from their hiding places, opening fire with handguns and rifles. Since the elves were pretty crappy at handling high powered weapons, getting the soldiers into close range was our only hope. Jason also stayed in position to provide some extra firepower. I could see both soldiers and elves falling as the battle continued.

Suddenly, Connor screamed a command over the din of the fighting. “Attack!”

Dark shapes moved out of the shadowed dugouts and promenades, bounding into the seats and onto the field. From this distance, I could see they moved on four legs with powerfully muscled bodies and curled tails. They had a cat-like grace. I would have guessed them to be lions except for their small heads.

They moved swiftly toward the elves. One elf that had been positioned on top of the visitor’s dugout didn’t even see the creature coming until it was too late. It slunk out of the dugout and spread black leathery wings. One powerful down stroke lifted it silently into the air where it dropped onto the unsuspecting elf, lashing out with what I now recognized to be a scorpion tale, impaling the elf in the stomach with its venomous stinger.

The elf stopped struggling, paralyzed by poison yet gurgling in an effort to scream for help. The creature opened its jaws wide and literally bit the elf’s head off. The creature proceeded to crunch and swallow the bloody skull, and then gulped down the rest of the elf’s body until nothing was left—no clothes, no blood, no bones. I thought I was going to vomit as the beast moved into the seats, looking for its next meal.

An elf that had been hiding in the higher mezzanine level saw the attack and began shooting. Most of the bullets went far afield, but those that did hit home barely nicked its tough hide. Then I heard the familiar crack of a rifle, and Jason’s bullet found its way through an eye socket into the creature’s brain, dropping it where it stood.

“Nice shot,” I said into my earpiece.

“Thank ye kindly, ma’am,” Jason responded.

“Start making your way down here. I need you on the field.” It was probably more beneficial to keep him where he was, but if things went bad, I wanted him to have quicker access out of the stadium. He was too far from an exit for my comfort.

“I won’t have your back for a few minutes. Try to stay alive,” he said, teasing me.

“I plan to. Over and out,” I said.

I spun in a circle, taking in the mayhem in the stands as the beasts went after elves and soldiers alike, either not able to or not caring enough to differentiate ally from enemy. That was when I saw Zane land a right hook across Connor’s face. It felt good to watch Connor impact with the ground hard. I only wished I had been the one to hit him. When Zane reached down and tore a chain from Connor’s neck, a chill ran through me. He had my amulet.

I pulled my Glock and shot the entire clip at Zane. He threw up a shield the moment he heard the first shot, though. It wasn’t fast enough to block that first bullet, but the rest were. The one that made it through ricocheted off the blade of the battle axe that Zane was holding and put a small hole in the nearby General’s head.

I sprinted toward Zane yet wasn’t fast enough to stop him from slamming the amulet into the circular depression in the center of the axe head. The amulet began to glow with that deep indigo light I had seen in Mexico and again in the alley with the shadow demons. The light poured like liquid along the scroll work etched into the double blades.

Then Alex was at my side, ice cold vapor pouring from his outstretched palms toward Zane. The fog flowed over the grass until it reached Zane. Tendrils climbed up his legs, torso, and arms. Zane struggled against it, unable to move as his body was encased in ice. He became a beautiful, glittering statue, and I had the odd desire to run my fingers across the smooth surface.

“Grab the axe,” Alex said, weaving on his feet. I took his arm to steady him.

“But it’s frozen.”

“Not for long.”

Looking back at Zane, I saw the ice weeping, droplets sliding down his chest and arms, dripping steadily to the ground. The fingers of his free hand twitched, his palm glowing orange with the beginnings of a flame.

I closed the distance, grabbing onto the axe shaft with both hands and pulling. It didn’t budge.

“Look out!” Alex yelled.

A massive force slammed into my side, throwing me several feet. The soft grass cushioned my landing a bit, but I fell on the shoulder that had been dislocated only two weeks earlier, and it screamed in pain. A dark shape leapt on me. I instinctively raised my arms to protect my head and neck, stopping a vicious mouth from tearing into me. Right about then I was regretting having sent Jason away from his sniper position.

One of the beasts that Connor had called forth towered over me. I could see it clearly, and it wasn’t the face of an animal. Staring back at me was Lockien, with those same green eyes, tan hair and angular face that looked so much like Lilly’s. However, his mouth had been torn wide to make room for triple rows of pointed teeth. Wicked scars and stitches were apparent where he had been torn open and sewn back up. The stitches were also at his neck where his head had been attached the body of a lion-like creature. All I could think was that I had seen him die. What had they done to him, and how had they brought him back to life, if you could even call it a life?

Tail raised high over his head, he prepared to strike.

“Lockien! It’s me, Emma. Your father is here. These are your people. You don’t want to hurt them. Do you understand me?”

Lockien didn’t strike. Instead, he looked around in confusion at the chaos in the stadium. Then he looked down at his body as if trying to remember what had happened to him. Blinking rapidly, tears sprung to his eyes as he looked at me. That hideous mouth opened and closed, keening noises bubbling up from his damaged throat until he managed two raspy words, “Kill … me.”

My own vocal chords clenched as a lump formed in my throat. I pulled my gun and placed it gently against his temple. He didn’t move, only continued to plead silently with his eyes. Then those eyes darkened, and Lockien was gone again. The creature recognized its predicament immediately and struck out with its tail.