Then there was Lilith, succubus, mother of Veronica, and all around snake in the grass. I could take a shit in the woods and hit one of her lies. The problem was, though I knew she wasn’t telling me everything, there didn’t seem to be any logical reason for her to want Longinus reanimated. As a zombie, she’d have no control over him, no influence. He’d be nothing to her. It didn’t make sense.
As I crept around the creosote, my head kept circling back to the body I’d found in Old Town. Baalth had told me it was Reven’s ghouls who’d kidnapped his men, but I hadn’t seen any ghouls around Reven. There’d only been the ones at Calvary, but I couldn’t say for certain who was controlling them. Besides, the crispy critter I’d looked at didn’t seem to be a ghoul. It didn’t look like a zombie either, way too much fresh blood and brain bits. If I had to guess, I’d say it looked a lot more like a gaunt, a human victim of a succubus’s feeding.
If that were the case, then the stakes were much higher than I’d been led to believe. If Lilith were willing to risk Baalth’s wrath by tricking him into going after Reven personally, the payout had to be tremendous. Were he to find out, there’s no place in Heaven or Hell where she’d be safe from his retribution.
If she were willing to play Baalth so boldly, what was she willing to do to little old me?
In position to shoot Reven, I found myself hesitating. He stood there, directing his zombies, oblivious to my presence as I’d camped out just beyond what I believed to be the range of his senses. My gun was pointed at him, but I couldn’t get my finger to pull the trigger. What was the price of Reven’s death? The question ricocheted inside my head, always missing the answer. My hand shook, my heart trusting Katon, but my body wouldn’t obey.
A second later, it no longer mattered.
“Down,” Karra screeched, her blades drawn in a silver blur as she raced toward Reven. Even masked, I could see the grim determination on her face. The necromancer whirled and dove in her direction, his zombies forming a defensive wall.
About twenty yards from her, I saw Katon spring from the bushes, his own blade out. At first I’d thought he or I had spooked Karra, giving ourselves away, but when I saw the glistening shimmer lighting up the desert sky, I realized it hadn’t been us.
From behind Katon, a growing glow whistled toward us like furious storm winds. Clouds of dirt swirled around it. Seeing it, Reven scrambled into the darkness, his zombies jumbled up behind him. Karra stood her ground, alternating her glare between Katon and the lightshow that sped ever closer, her swords at the ready.
Having given up all pretense of surprise, I stepped out of hiding, moving around toward Katon. I held my gun on Karra and kept my distance, knowing damn well how quick she was. It didn’t take but a second before she knew I was there.
“Damn it, Triggaltheron.” Her voice was a wolf’s growl. “I was trying to protect you.” She motioned toward the light. “There’s nothing I can do now.”
Katon edged forward, looking for an opening, when Reven called out, “Come, Karra. Their fate is not ours.”
She hesitated a second, her eyes meeting mine, yet never letting her guard down. “If you’re lucky, there’ll be enough of you left for Reven to raise after all this is over.”
She backed away, the zombie line broke apart for her to pass. Behind them, Reven stood in a shallow grave, his hand extended to her, his yellow glowing eyes sputtering. Once she was passed, the zombies reformed, blocking Katon from following. No real threat to him, it was clear their job was only to slow him down. It worked.
As soon as Karra reached Reven, their palms interlocking, an ebon mist boiled up beneath them, smoky tendrils encircling the grave. Karra dropped into the hole beside her master and gave me one last glance as the blackness engulfed them.
I thought I saw pity in her eyes before they disappeared.
A frigid tremor ran up my spine as the mist cleared. The grave was empty, tiny wisps of dark drifting up to fade away. Karra and Reven were gone.
Katon, fury tattooed on his face, turned to face the incoming lights, keeping the remaining zombies in sight. They stood their ground, but did nothing.
Unsure of what their final orders were, I didn’t turn my back to the zombies, but my focus was on the rapidly approaching lights. Something told me the resident corpses were the least of my concerns.
I hate when I’m right.
Nearer, the mass of shimmering lights resolved into a dozen singular, brilliant glows. A moment later, they drifted to a stop in front of us, each glow taking on a humanoid form. I felt a sudden chill as the temperature dropped drastically. My heart skipped a beat as I realized what they were.
Revenants. These were Michael’s non-shadow shadows.
Made of pure, magical energy, there was little to distinguish them from each other, save for the superficial attempts at mimicking what I imagined was their original appearances. Most seemed male, though a couple had decidedly more feminine characteristics. One was even hot enough to warrant a second look.
I’m not biased.
In flowing robes of glistening white, their whirling yellow eyes casting severe glances our direction, they fanned out into a half-circle. The one at the center, an older looking man whose face was far more defined than the rest, took a step forward and addressed us.
“Where is Reven?” His voice was like dry ice. Whispers of frost wafted out of his mouth as he spoke.
I started to answer, but Katon waved me to silence. “He isn’t here.” He gestured to the shallow grave. “We came here looking for him as well, but he fled when he saw you approaching.”
The old revenant glanced about, a crooked smile on his ethereal lips. “Enemies of this necromancer, are you?” His smile turned into a smirk. “Seems a bit strange to find you amongst the soldiers of your supposed foe yet see no signs of battle, no inkling of hostility. It makes one think you are not entirely truthful.”
Angered by his attitude, my mouth ran amok. “I don’t know who you are, or what your business with Reven is, but you can kiss my ass if you think we’re buddies with corpse boy.”
His face stretched with the glory of his smile. “I am Daartan, leader of the White Knights. I have been charged by the Almighty Himself to the care of the lost souls of the conquered Anti-Christs. God help those who stand in my way.”
The air got even colder, my balls drawn in tight. I’d never met Daartan, but Lucifer had spoken of him, and not in anything resembling polite terms. Freed from eternal imprisonment in Limbo by God, it was the White Knights’ job to ensure the fallen souls of Satan’s Anti-Christs stayed fallen.
He was one bad dude.
Katon must have seen my face, because he jumped in again. “Regardless of how it may seem, we are not allied with Reven. We’ve come here to stop him before he returns Longinus to life.” He sheathed his sword in a show of peace.
Daartan watched him, his eyes narrowing to pinpricks of light. “You’ve no ties to the necromancer yet you wield a blade once belonging to Longinus?”
Katon’s face went white, well, closer to gray. It didn’t take a genius to realize what the knight was getting at. With the zombies sitting peacefully by like we were pals, it didn’t look good. This wasn’t a fight we wanted.
“Appearances can be deceiving.” Though he didn’t reach for his sword, I could tell Katon was ready for action.
“Perhaps, but in the end, it matters little.” The wall of revenants edged closer. “I find it best to secure the weapon, ensuring it can do no harm to me or mine.” Something in his tone made me think that was what he planned all along. The clarion sounded, Katon didn’t wait to be attacked. He sprung at Daartan, his sword in his hand in a blur. Unsurprised, the knight backpedaled, raising a shield of sparking energy to deflect Katon’s blow. Undeterred, Katon pressed forward. The rest of the revenants laid into the zombie horde.
Have you ever been in a fight where you just know you’re outclassed? When you feel deep down, you haven’t got a chance? Everything you do, your opponent does better? That’s how I felt right then.
It didn’t stop me, though.
While revenants weren’t exactly angels or demons, having become something entirely different after death, there was still some part of their original essence in the mix. At least, I’d hoped there was. If not, I was in for one hell of an ass-whippin’.
I drew my gun and snapped off a couple of shots. The first ripped through the nearest revenant, a wispy trail of light shooting out its back. The second struck home, piercing its eye, gold-yellow flecks exploding like a glitter factory. It wavered and its glow flickered, like a bulb about to go out.
