The minute I hit the dirt, my energy spikes. The fog is thick at the wall and shrouding us as if it was night. I pretend to turn on my goggles and power my sight. The instant relief from letting my abilities loose doesn’t wash over me this time. If anything, I’m charged and jittery.
“Move out.” Kane orders us from the transport.
I carry one end of the weapons crate and Luce leads with the other end. This region is nothing like Hallow Point. Where we lived in lush green forests, Mount Keep’s academy is sparse, cold, and rocky. It’s set high in the mountainside.
“About damn time.” The academy commander bites under his breath, but it rings clear to my over amped senses.
This commander is the exact opposite of the one at my academy. His tan fatigues barely contain his dense muscles. The white of his sharp, high crew cut is the only clue to his age. His eyes are hidden by a stern squint and heavy brow. The smelly cigar he’s chewing is all he has in common with my old commander.
“God, I hate that man,” Fletcher mutters as he pushes Addy closer to the gate.
“Iva and Luce will join the new squads and set up the gear. First order is to secure a barrier at least twenty feet from the wall. We’ll set up traps in front of the gate and move outward on either side.” The captain slides a duffle onto her shoulder. “Oren, deliver the crate with Luce and return to your squad. True strike, Elites!”
I stay rooted as the captain and Kane draw their weapons. They will push the demons back twenty feet. While Addy and Fletcher set the barrier traps. It doesn’t feel right to separate, but I shake it off. It’s not like we’re deep in the Mist this time. Luce tugs on the crate and I move to keep pace.
We weave through the new squads lined up and ready to pass through the gate. My shoulder slams into a granite wall and I grunt on impact. Only it’s not a wall, it’s Holden.
His eyes are bloodshot, making his brown stare dark and unnatural. And with the thin harsh slant of his mouth, I expect a flash of sharpened teeth to complete the effect.
“You should stay alert.” His nostrils flare and the toe of his boot knocks into mine. “With the reduced visibility, there’s no telling what could happen out there. It’ll be hard to determine where a warrior’s weapon will strike. We wouldn't want anyone to lose their head."
I drop the end of my crate and snap into a salute. “Yes, captain.”
I know this game and I don’t have time to play. I plaster my eyes to Luce’s angry snarl behind him and wait for him to back up. He’ll have to step away to return my salute. And with the other officers nearby, he has no choice.
But his message is loud and clear. He knows I had something to do with the warrior’s death on our last mission. His brother’s death. And he’s right, but why is he so sure?
I wait to catch his salute from my peripheral. Luce bends over to set her end of the crate down. But he finally beats his fist over his heart in a salute and dismisses me with a hiss. I pick up my end of the crate and push Luce to walk faster.
“What the hell is his problem?” She grumbles once we get to Cole’s squad.
“Who?” He asks and pops open the crate with Luce’s help.
“Holden. He was all up in Oren’s face telling him to be careful out there.” Luce pulls out the barrier traps and Cole’s squad comes over, ready to assist.
Cole chuckles. “Remember when I told you that, before your trial?”
I deadpan back and his smirk drops. “So, watch your back. He’s got something planned for you.”
“But why?” I breathe through the shoulder of my uniform.
The putrid stench of demon and sulfur is thickening. Cole coughs out, raises the black cowl from around his neck, and secures it over his mouth. Why don’t I have one of those?
“Who wouldn’t want to take a hit at you?” Cole digs through the gear and Luce elbows him. “What?”
His edges soften for her. And she rolls her eyes upward then tilts her head in my direction. He’s clueless in his callous.
“Oh. Well, no one has been given the truth about your family.” He shrugs.
“He said with the loss of visibility, someone could lose their head. He knows.” I say.
“A bit on point. Right now, it doesn’t matter how he knows. What matters is staying away from him. Captain said no combat for you. And I won’t be there to save your ass if you start to sparkle this time.”
“I don’t…sparkle." Why am I even talking to him? "Worry about saving your own ass.”
I turn and weave through the new Elites ready to pass through the gate. I steer clear of Holden's squad, who will be positioned on our left outside the wall.
“Oren.” The captain whispers in my comm. “We’re through the gate.”
I run back and close the distance to her. I can’t let Holden distract me. I follow the swirl and dance of the captain’s whip, pushing the horde back from the gate entrance. Kane’s scythe spins and arcs through the fog and soon they’re swallowed by the Mist. I race through the gateway.
The guard holds the line about five feet ahead, covered in gore. Some duck behind fallen demons as a Blaze roars a stream of molten fire. My legs vibrate from the demon herd trampling in and the barrage of iron bolts pelting the horde from above.
Fletcher and Addy fire the new tech rounds into the demons. A shot pierces the chest of a Blaze. It’s not enough to take it down. But the electric pulse flares green on impact and the Blaze’s protective flames die out. It stumbles back a few steps with the others, dazed.
I draw mine and check the magazine. The veins in my hand bulge a pulsing blue. No. I give a roaring internal command and envision my energy racing into my muscles and senses instead.
The thin casing of the new side arm creaks in my grip. Then my senses explode with the chaos around me and my hands stop glowing. It worked. Instead of fighting it, pushing my energy back, I directed it's path. I controlled it again.
I raise my weapon, and my sight is almost telescopic. The hum of a Rex comes in clear now. It's beyond the horde, far enough away that I’m not affected.
I aim for the back line of demons. The tech rounds travel up to fifty yards. I’m not sure it’ll pierce through a demon’s hide at that range, but I’m about to find out.
I release a round, and it travels with a trail of green to my enhanced vision. It ricochets off the armored carapace of a Grunt. The round flashes green on impact and I lose it in the masses. But the Grunt’s legs give and it crashes to the ground.
It’s enough to draw the Rex’s attention. The high pitched hum increases and a ten foot tall fog bank heads right for us. Shit. I thought I’d draw the Rex out and end this with a blade to its head.
“Captain Elmar, set your traps,” Buckler commands through the comm.
The captain transfers her weapon to her left hand, slashing a Flick demon in half. She presses a finger to her ear. “We’re still ten feet from the target zone.”
I unload my magazine into the wall of demons before her and she pushes harder.
“Now, captain. Before the fog bank hits and we have zero visibility.”
“Sir, yes, sir.” The captain stops her advance and taps the comm. “Fletcher, Addy, set the traps. Oren, cover them.”
I reload as the twins place the barrier traps on the ground in front of Kane and the captain.
“Ready, captain.” Addy says.
The captain and Kane step back, and an electric green wall shoots upward from the bases on the ground.
“Oren with Fletcher. Kane with Addy.” The captain presses a finger to her comm. “Traps set and moving outward, colonel.”
“Roger that.” Buckler is in the guard station with the other officers observing from the monitors.
Kane and Addy take the right side to join Julian and Nix’s squad where Iva is. Fletcher and I move left, toward Holden and Cole’s squad, where Luce stayed. The captain moves between us to hold the line and give the twins time to line up more traps.
“Iva, Luce, set up at twelve feet. We won’t make it to you before that bank hits. Set your traps and work inward.” The captain steps in front of a line of guards and orders them to fall back.
“Roger that.” Luce and Iva reply and cut out.
The captain’s whip lashes out and severs the horn off a Grunt. I fire into the demons to cover the guards’ retreat. The barrier wall hums to life and the guards gasp at the crackling green shield.
“Warriors, stay behind the barrier and clear the line. We have a perimeter to secure.” The captain orders and the guards rush in to help her push back the horde for Fletcher.
We reach Holden’s squad, holding the front line. They’re drenched in black ichor and surrounded by demon carcasses. They tear through the enemy in a frenzy and the gate guards give them a wide berth.
“Captain Holden.” The captain’s call goes unanswered. She steps up to him and uses her officer’s voice. “Holden, we’re setting the traps. Have your squad fall back.”
He turns his attention down to her, and I sprint to her side. His eyes have a green rim, and it's as if he’s staring through her.
“Cover Fletcher, Oren.” She orders me back.
But I have no intention of leaving her here to face him alone. Holden snaps his head up at her command, and his lips curl when he locks on me. My warrior marks ignite and my side arm drops to the ground. I take a few steps back and pull the captain with me.
The scrape of Holden’s broad sword against the jagged rocky terrain zips up my spine as he advances on us. He takes thunderous steps and the swirling gray fog bank blankets his back in a looming cloak.
