Scoundrel - The Blades Of The Rose Part 33

Chapter 19.

The Eye Unleashed No one on the steams.h.i.+p had spotted Bennett and London, only fifty yards above. The Heirs' eyes, and cannon, were turned to the caique. The only firepower on the caique consisted of Kallas and Athena, armed with rifles. Unless Athena suddenly called forth some potent magic, she and Kallas would be shot to pieces along with the boat.

Bennett strained to see the activity on the caique's deck. What he saw was grim. Athena was too busy sniping and ducking for cover to summon magic. A distraction was needed. All Bennett had was his revolver. And the Eye of the Colossus, which he couldn't use.

"We have to help them," London said urgently.

"Got an idea."

It would give away their position, but then Athena could provide a counterattack. He'd have to take the chance the witch knew what to do.

He pulled his revolver, and steadied himself, taking aim. It would be a h.e.l.l of a shot, if he made it. He had to make it.

Bennett sighted the aft cannon. Three men gathered around the heavy gun. One of the men had a sh.e.l.l in his arms, ready to load. Bennett only had a second, less than a second.

He drew in a breath, released it part way, held it again. Squeezed the revolver's trigger. The bullet whined, streaking through the air. Then it slammed into the cannon's sh.e.l.l.

With a roar, the sh.e.l.l exploded. The three men flew back from the force of the blast, their bodies already still by the time they fell onto the deck. The cannon became a heap of twisted metal, useless. Men on the steams.h.i.+p deck ran about in confusion as they shouted to each other.

"Incredible," London said, eyes wide.

"Come on." Bennett didn't wait for someone on the s.h.i.+p to figure out where the shot had come from. He waved London ahead of him, then followed as they started down the hill at a brisk jog.

Both he and London stopped their descent when a tremendous blast of wind pushed them back. A sudden storm? No, the sky was clear, a pitiless blue.

"Oh, my G.o.d," London gasped. "Athena..."

The witch rose above the caique, carried aloft by invisible currents of energy. Literally, she flew, hovering over the caique, her hair a wild tangle, her eyes ablaze with power and her face a hard mask of fury. Kallas stared up at her in reverential awe.

"She's like a G.o.ddess," London whispered.

"She's been pushed far enough," Bennett said. "She's not afraid of being overwhelmed by magic anymore."

"To protect Kallas."

One of Athena's hands stretched out to the caique. The boat rocketed backward, shoved away by the strength of the witch's power. The caique disappeared around the island's easternmost tip, safe from the cannons on the Heirs' s.h.i.+p. Truly, the G.o.ddess in her had emerged.

But Athena's triumph did not last long. The rakshasa rakshasa demon hurtled toward her, all six sets of claws brandished and hungry for blood. Bennett aimed and fired. The beast screamed when the shot tore the membrane of a wing. It dipped in its flight, giving Athena enough time to call forth another blast of energy, tossing the demon backward like a spinning leaf. demon hurtled toward her, all six sets of claws brandished and hungry for blood. Bennett aimed and fired. The beast screamed when the shot tore the membrane of a wing. It dipped in its flight, giving Athena enough time to call forth another blast of energy, tossing the demon backward like a spinning leaf.

Once it regained its balance, the demon wheeled and hurtled straight for Bennett and London. h.e.l.l.

"Take cover!" he shouted at her. "There." He waved toward an outcropping of rocks several yards away. London hurried off, then stopped.

"Bennett..."

He looked over and swore. Five of the Heirs' hired men charged up the hill, directly toward them, with rifles, Fraser at the tail of their line, also armed.

The Eye, strapped to Bennett's arm, vibrated with life. It wanted to be unleashed. He couldn't allow that. The code of the Blades was strict, even in such cases.

Bennett fired. The first man went down. His companions slowed to shoot at Bennett. He flattened himself to the ground, traded gunfire, and quickly reloaded. Hopefully, London had managed to get herself to cover. He glanced in her direction and swore again.

She had leapt forward to grab the fallen mercenary's rifle. Now she swung it at the other advancing men, cos.h.i.+ng them on the sides of their heads or walloping their shoulders and knees. d.a.m.n, he admired the h.e.l.l out of her. But she couldn't hold off the mercenaries by just swinging the rifle like a cricket bat. Fraser wouldn't be deterred.

A huge shadow fell over him. He rolled aside as the demon tried to tear him with its talons. Hot pain lanced across his chest as the beast's claws tore through his waistcoat, s.h.i.+rt, and flesh. He used the Eye as a s.h.i.+eld, forcing the demon back, but it wheeled and dove at him, jaws snapping, trying to get around the Eye. How many bullets did he have left in the revolver's chamber? Not enough to finish this creature.

He shot at it anyway, trying to do as much damage as he could. A bullet shredded one of its wrists, another hit the demon's shoulder, but it wasn't close enough to an artery-a.s.suming demons had arteries.

He didn't have time for this. London was facing off against four mercenaries and and Fraser, alone. Fraser, alone.

The demon lunged at him again, then shrieked when Athena, eyes aglow, swooped close and pummeled it with another blast of power. She used electric clouds of energy to surround the rakshasa rakshasa, then hurtle it into the rocky hillside, again and again, like a rotten plum being pulped. Bennett could hardly believe that sober, restrained Athena was capable of such wrath. The demon foundered, then collapsed-dead or unconscious, Bennett couldn't tell.

He used the reprieve to get to his feet and reload his revolver. He picked off a man trying to grab the b.u.t.t of London's rifle. The others were still coming, though.

"Shoot the d.a.m.n thing!" he bellowed at her.

"How?" She fumbled with the rifle.

"Pull the bolt counterclockwise, yes, now pull it back. Eject the sh.e.l.l. Good. d.a.m.n!" He dove aside as a mercenary's bullet nearly nicked his thigh, then returned fire. He gave London cover, shooting to keep the men back. "Grab some cartridges from the body. Just do it!" he yelled when she briefly hesitated to touch the dead man. Fortunately, her squeamishness lasted less than a second, because she raided the body's cartridge belt and came up with handfuls of bullets.

"Load it," Bennett shouted. She did. "Now push the bolt forward. Rotate the handle back down. Got it?"

"Yes!"

"Fire! And," he added, half a moment later when she stumbled back, "watch the recoil."

She'd almost tumbled over backwards as she fired, and her shot had gone wide. But it was enough of a deterrent so that the advancing mercenaries fell back.

When London loaded the rifle a second time, the process went much faster. She braced herself on the rocky hillside and fired again. A mercenary fell to the ground, clutching his wounded shoulder. That left two men, and Fraser, on the attack.

A hot wave of energy surged overhead. He glanced up to see Chernock, the tails of his black coat flapping like crows' wings, swoop down on to Athena. With an awful, fiendish grin, the sorcerer conjured a buzzing black cloud, dark as a swarm of locusts, which engulfed Athena. She tried to fight off the cloud, but it gripped her and sent her plummeting to the orchestra of the amphitheater. Chernock raced after her.

Bennett could do nothing for Athena as the witch picked herself up and squared off against Chernock. They faced each other across the expanse of the orchestra, a performance of epic proportions. Each summoned swirling eddies of magic-Athena's a kaleidoscope of gold and crimson light, Chernock's darker than black, an absence of color and life-and battered the other, until they were both panting and frenzied.

Bennett had never seen two magic users battle one another, but now was not the time for spectating. He wheeled and fired on the remaining mercenaries closing in on London, then charged. Sometimes, a fist could accomplish more than a bullet.

He swung the Eye, slamming the metal side into the face of one man reaching for London. Red spurted from a cut the Eye carved in the man's neck, and he shrieked, clutching at the wound. The remaining mercenary dove at Bennett. They grappled, grunting, swearing, throwing punches. The man was a brute, big and strong and stupid, precisely the sort the Heirs found all over the world. He might not have been smart, but he could sure land a punch. Bennett winced as he collected bruises, but gave back as hard as he got.

A woman's yelp of pain distracted him. He glanced over. And all rational thought vanished.

Everything had been going very nicely. Perhaps not nicely-she could not feel pleased to see men shot and killed, though wounding them was rather gratifying-but she'd actually loaded and fired a rifle, and the men charging up the hill toward her and Bennett were diminis.h.i.+ng.

Then the rifle was torn from her grasp and a blinding pain clouded her head. London fell back, her shoulders slamming into the rocky ground. Her vision hadn't even cleared when her head was pulled back roughly by her hair, and a heavy weight settled on her chest, pinning her to the ground. Something cold and biting pressed into the center of her chest. A knife, just nicking her skin. A corset would have given her some protection, but she'd long abandoned the restrictive garment. Now, she thought better of her decision as a warm trickle dripped between her ribs.

"This was supposed to be my my mission, d.a.m.n it," snarled Fraser in her ear. "Simple. Get the Source. Get the woman. A seat in the inner circle. Everything I wanted. Mine. Then mission, d.a.m.n it," snarled Fraser in her ear. "Simple. Get the Source. Get the woman. A seat in the inner circle. Everything I wanted. Mine. Then you you had to send it all to h.e.l.l." The fist gripping her hair shook her head. "d.a.m.ned wh.o.r.e." had to send it all to h.e.l.l." The fist gripping her hair shook her head. "d.a.m.ned wh.o.r.e."

"I'd never...marry you...." London gasped. She tried to kick him, but he held her down and her feet could only sc.r.a.pe on the ground. "You laugh...through your nose. Like a...braying donkey."

Fraser's face twisted into a sneer as he pushed his knife closer into her chest. The tip of the blade slid a quarter inch beneath her skin. "Looking forward to cutting you, b.i.t.c.h."

Before London could explain that he was already already cutting her, Fraser suddenly disappeared. She struggled to sit, then saw Fraser and Bennett locked in vicious combat. The mercenary lay forgotten on the ground, his breath rattling and then stopping, while Bennett's attention turned to a new opponent. He and Fraser were savage, beating each other without cessation. Blood coated their fists. Someone, she couldn't tell who, lost a tooth. It glinted on the ground, next to Fraser's dropped knife. cutting her, Fraser suddenly disappeared. She struggled to sit, then saw Fraser and Bennett locked in vicious combat. The mercenary lay forgotten on the ground, his breath rattling and then stopping, while Bennett's attention turned to a new opponent. He and Fraser were savage, beating each other without cessation. Blood coated their fists. Someone, she couldn't tell who, lost a tooth. It glinted on the ground, next to Fraser's dropped knife.

She picked up her rifle, but it was impossible to shoot. Not without the very real probability that she might hit Bennett.

The men rolled together, punching and kicking, far removed from genteel fisticuffs. They wanted to kill each other. Nothing else would suffice. Awful to watch and yet London could not turn away. She looked for a way to help Bennett.

He growled as Fraser, straddling a p.r.o.ne Bennett, tried to pull the Eye of the Colossus off of his arm.

"It's mine," Fraser panted. "The Source is mine."

A dark smile curled one corner of Bennett's mouth. "Take it." With a grunt, Bennett shoved the Eye toward Fraser. The Source glowed, white hot. Fraser screamed as the metal burned him.

Bennett raised up onto one knee, his other foot braced hard on the ground, and pushed Fraser with the Eye. Fraser stumbled. He rolled backward down the hill, tumbling in an unstoppable freefall, feet over head, slamming into the unyielding rocky ground. It was a long fall, but it wasn't until Fraser reached the top of the amphitheater that he truly gained momentum. He bounced from tier to tier, cracking his head on the hard stone, limbs flailing until he was limp. When he landed at the base of the amphitheater, his body lay at an unnatural angle, his neck bent, eyes open. Dead.

Bennett was beside her in a moment, his fingers running tenderly over her face. She flinched when he lightly brushed the growing bruise from Fraser's slap, and Bennett swore. He cursed further to see the thin line of blood down the front of her s.h.i.+rt. "Maybe I'll go down the hill and kill him all over again. Slower."

Her own minor injuries didn't concern her. "Are you hurt badly?" Her hands hovered over the bleeding sc.r.a.pes on his cheekbones, the drop of crimson in the corner of his mouth. He was covered in dust, clothes torn. But so beautiful, her paladin.

"Another day at the office." He grinned, then winced. "Ouch. No smiling."

London, at least, was relieved to see that the lost tooth didn't belong to him. Fraser wouldn't care about his damaged smile. Not anymore.

She thought she should feel sadness or horror at Fraser's death and was surprised to feel nothing at all.

"What did you do with the Eye?" she asked. "You made it burn him."

Bennett looked slightly abashed. "I tried not to."

"Why can't you use it?"

"Because it doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the Greek people."

"Bennett," she said, touching her fingertips to his chin, commanding his attention, "didn't you tell me you're part Greek?"

He went very still. "One eighth. On my mother's side."

They both glanced at the Eye, still strapped to his arm. She almost swore that it winked at them.

"Help Athena," London urged.

Below, in the amphitheater, the witch and the sorcerer hurled spells at one another, conjuring up clouds of magic that raked each other like storms. Athena swayed on her feet, unused to channeling such potent magic, but she remained standing, pus.h.i.+ng back against Chernock with the power of generations of Galanos women. London thought she saw, in the swirling nebulae over the amphitheater, the forms of helmeted warrior women, Amazons and witches, battling against misshapen beasts. The air was thick with the sounds of combat.

Bennett rose and helped London up. He started down the hill, toward the amphitheater, but rocks exploded near his feet. He shoved her behind him, then pulled her toward an outcropping of rock. They both hunkered in the shelter, ducking down when more debris rained down on them. He peered around the rock, then whipped back, scowling.

"d.a.m.n, they've turned the cannons on us." Rocks exploded behind them. The Heirs were adjusting their aim. The next shot would likely be on target.

A little smile curved her mouth. "You can use the Eye against them."

He grinned in response, then winced again. "Ow. I can, can't I?"

Raising into a crouch, he angled toward the Heirs' s.h.i.+p. Then muttered, "h.e.l.l. Kallas, you heroic idiot."

The captain had sailed the caique around the island and was now barreling toward the steams.h.i.+p at top speed. The men on the deck of the steams.h.i.+p didn't see him. Yet.

"He's going to ram them," London whispered. "To provide a distraction."

"And sink himself in the process." Bennett surged to his feet, his expression set and determined.

A screech rent the air. London and Bennett whirled to see the demon, bloodied but alive, hurtling toward them, maddened savagery burning in its eyes like coals. Before Bennett could raise the Eye, the demon plunged straight at them.

She scampered aside, trying to draw it away from Bennett. One of its hands swiped at her, ripping a hank of hair from her head. Her scalp burned, but she wouldn't stop moving, dodging its grasping claws and snapping teeth.

London acted instinctively. She dove for a nearby rifle. The rifle's bolt flew in her hands as she ejected the spent sh.e.l.l and reloaded. Then, steeling herself, she aimed and fired.

Another scream as she hit the rakshasa rakshasa square in its abdomen. The beast reared back, splattering black blood. Such a wound might kill or stop a man-but the demon was no man, and its directive was clear. Kill London. Kill Bennett. Do not stop until they were dead. square in its abdomen. The beast reared back, splattering black blood. Such a wound might kill or stop a man-but the demon was no man, and its directive was clear. Kill London. Kill Bennett. Do not stop until they were dead.

London flung an arm over her face as a blazing beam of light streamed from the Eye of the Colossus. Light poured from the Eye. London could barely look at it. The beam of light burned with a terrible radiance, spreading outward. It threatened to consume Bennett, and he groaned, pus.h.i.+ng back, fighting the incandescent power.

She ran to Bennett. The Source would kill him. She moved to pull the Eye from his arm, the heat surrounding man and Source stronger than anything she had ever felt before.

"Get back," he gritted. "It'll burn you."

"Don't care," she shot back. "You'll be hurt."

"No."

The demon charged once more, and Bennett turned the light of the Eye on it. The beast's howl echoed, half-finished, as it turned to ash. Charred flakes caught on the wind and blew out to sea. The air smelled of burnt carrion. All that was left of the demon were its talons, glinting points stuck into the side of the hill.

The light from the Source disappeared, and London and Bennett stared at each other, panting.

They dove apart when a shot from the cannon slammed into the ground between them. She clung to her rifle, hoping she could use it to distract the cannons.

Bennett leapt to his feet. He aimed the Eye of the Colossus at the steams.h.i.+p, then sucked in a breath. He struggled, his eyes squeezed shut, all his concentration focused inward. "I see the trick. Don't try to master the Source. Give it room to exercise its own power." Then his face grew calm, his breath easy.

At once, the light receded around him, then coalesced into a beam shooting from the Eye. The light struck the water around the steams.h.i.+p. Fire sprung up on the surface of the water, giant flames reaching higher than the smokestacks. The fire raced up the hull of the steams.h.i.+p. Within moments, the s.h.i.+p was engulfed in flames, black smoke pouring up into the perfect blue sky. An explosion rocked the s.h.i.+p, sending waves of percussion in widening circles as the bodies of mercenaries were flung into the water.

Kallas quickly adjusted his course, pulling the caique away from the blazing steams.h.i.+p.

Getting to her feet, London said, her voice trembling only a little, "Be sure to thank your Greek great-grandparent, whoever he or she is."

Shaking his head and smiling, he reached for her. His hand stopped, hovering in midair, his attention fixed at something just beyond her shoulder. London spun around, and felt herself turn to ice.