The edge of destiny, p.25
The Edge Of Destiny, page 25
Ariana woke, the stars all around her winking out and leaving ghosts behind in her vision. The room was dark. She looked at the clock. 4:37 am. She didn't go back to sleep.
Not knowing how long she'd been out, she woke Katie.
Katie said groggily, “Oh, thank God you are okay. My mom has been coming in every hour.”
“That's nice of her,” Ariana said. “I think we have a problem.”
* * *
They all met a few hours early, at a parking lot downtown. Zacke and Deke had their dad's car. Julien's company cars had been borrowed to convey John, Julien, Nestor, and Amina. Cody's van took David, Katie, and Ariana.
John stood before them. “You all know this will be hard.”
“Pentoss, my love. Please, no speeches,” said Julien. “They never go well.”
John smiled. “We have no idea what to expect. How many Rageto? No idea. The Elders have a surprise for us if Ariana's dream is correct. We will arrive early to hide our numbers, but there is no guarantee of victory.”
“Your wife is right. You suck at this,” said Deke. They all laughed.
“Be careful. Do you best. I will fight hard for all of you,” finished John.
Julien said, “We fight for each other.”
They said nothing else and loaded into the vehicle. They drove to the dam.
Thirteen miles out of town, the road roughly followed the contours along the dry riverbed, until it finally diverged. They made a turn off the highway and took a service road to reach the dam.
No one spoke on the way, their thoughts occupied. Their solo thoughts co-mingled around the group. No one needed a flash to know worried and anxious everyone felt — about the future, themselves, each other. How strange, thought Ariana, that they were driving like families do — a road trip. But this destination was a fight. Blood. Pain. Death.
They rounded the last corner, and the dam came into view. Just as in her dream, the V shaped dam plummeted down the slope of the hill on either side, the riverbed in front of it. Behind it was the vast lake held back by the 300-foot-tall concrete V. The Bradbury-Gibraltar dam was over 600 feet long. The curved V is topped by a thick walkway for workers. Luckily, the modern equipment mostly ran itself. Maintenance was regular but not constant, no daily workers present. The curve ended in a control room, an enclosed circle of concrete with one door, like a bunker. Flanking out from there was the four spill gates. They were identical. On top of the gates was a metal walkway that ran over the gates.
They parked in a large field covered in short grass. It faced the dam and overlooked the dry riverbed. It was a large plateau overlooking the drop down to the riverbed below.
They all stared at the imposing dam.
Just then, Zacke's phone went off. All their phones did, except for David and Cody who didn't have phones.
“Zacke, is that you?” Katie said as a video popped up on her phone.
“Yes,” said Zacke, staring at John.
John grabbed the phone from his back pocket. He watched the video. “Zacke. What have you done?”
“Given us a chance,” answered Zacke.
John scanned the dam for enemies, then watched the video again.
Zacke was on all the social media platforms, racking up views everywhere. Underneath his video were the coordinates for the dam, both the physical address and GPS coordinates.
On the video, Zacke announced, “Yes, this will seem crazy. It's not. Today at 4 pm, on the central coast of California a battle with happen. If you ever thought magic was real, you were right. People with amazing abilities have existed for all time. The two sides, the Amartus and the Rageto are in an epic secret struggle. Until now.” The camera panned out and Zacke hovered off the ground. “This is not special effects. It's real. I'm Amartus, one of the good guys. The world must know. See for yourself. Everyone, be a witness.”
Zacke then lifted farther up into the air.
John couldn't tell where it was shot. “When did you do this?” demanded John.
Zacke shot back. “This morning. I timed it to hit right now. It's worldwide.”
John stomped up to Zacke. “Why?”
“Best case, the Rageto see it and chicken out. Other best case, the world sees them for what they are.”
John yelled, “This place will be flooded with victims and hostages!”
“Or an army to witness what they are,” Zacke said. “You said they are scared of the light. We pull them out of the darkness on our terms.”
John shouted, “And put a giant target on all those innocent heads! Stupid boy!”
“Stop!” said Julien getting between them. “It is done. Good or bad, it's done. Now we must deal with it. There is only this road in and out, yes?”
John said, “Good idea — stop them. Like the Greeks at Thermopylae.”
“No Pentoss,” Julien looked into his eyes. “We let them come.”
“What?”
“It's dangerous, I agree, but all moves now are danger.” Julien reasoned, “This has never been tried. Zacke is right. Rageto fear the light. This rips that away.”
John didn't answer, just changed the subject. “Let's get into place. Teams, just like we planned.” He added, “We need to clear the field before the innocent victims start showing up.”
Zacke was going to argue, but John walked away with Julien. They all knew the plan. David and Cody paired off, so did Ariana and Lucas. David and Cody left for their spot.
Across the v shape drop to the riverbed was another field, much like the field where they parked.
Zacke flew across the expanse to the other bank and faded into a stand of trees. Deke stayed behind to direct traffic when the others arrived. He didn't know what to expect, but he and his brother agreed that he would be safer in the crowd.
It was nearly an hour before the Rageto was to appear, when the first civilian car arrived. Zacke watched from the far bank as Deke directed each car. He followed the plan and directed the cars to the outer edge of the field.
Deke muttered under his breath, “I told you we should have charged admission.” He motioned and pointed. The cars dribbled in, a few at first then a steady line. He knew it was only a matter of time before some sort of authority showed up. That will be fun, thought Deke. The cars followed his directions as if he worked at a large stadium event or at a theme park.
People got out and had lots of questions. Deke kept it simple. “I just direct the cars. They didn't tell me anything. Live stream if you want.” everyone seemed confused but complied. At first, they were total strangers, then people he knew started showing up.
A car full of his friends pulled up and rolled down the window, “What kinda crazy stunt is this, Deke? That was your brother, right?”
“Yep,” said Deke, looking toward the dam. “Gonna be some show.”
Soon the crowd was large. He lost count at 30 cars, some crammed full of people. He was a little worried when he saw some small kids among the crowd.
Twenty minutes early, A blue line appeared. It was clear day, but the neon blue could be seen by all. It started as a point of light then stretched to a line ten feet wide. Then the line doubled, and one moved up and one down. The gate formed exactly where Ariana had dreamed, on the roof of the concrete control room. Filling the gate was a deep blackness outlined in the neon blue.
The crowd spotted it and soon dozens of cell phones were recording video and snapping shots. Nothing happened for several long minutes, then shapes emerged. Three Rageto warriors came out. Zacke was on his own, among thick trees on the left bank, watching. He recognized the three — Janus, Cimo and Azoria — from the theatre. Right in front of them, Janus split into two people, the smirking twins. The crowds gasped. He saw all three were holding weapons. Relics.
Elder Ordway emerged from the dark. She wore a suit so dark blue it might as well have been black. To Zacke it seemed like some strange uniform. The middle aged-looking Elder had slicked back silver hair. Her eyes stared at the crowd, scowling. Then all emotion left her face. She didn't seem worried in the least. Zacke felt a chill.
Ordway stood in front of her gate, on top of the work room. Separated by three hundred feet or more from the crowds on the right field, she spoke. Her voice boomed out like she stood right next to them. “Civilians. Stupid.”
She flicked both of her hands in either direction. Rageto warriors fanned out from the dark gate. Janus One stationed himself to her left, over the dam itself. The top of the dam was a wide concrete walkway ten feet wide. Janus One stopped, waiting. The other Janus climbed down the caged metal ladder from the work tower and stationed himself halfway over spillway gate number two. Azoria joined him there. Cimo stood next to Ordway.
Another figure emerged. A teenage boy. Ariana's blood turned to ice. The boy from my dream. He didn't look at her like in the dream, just jerked his head and hobbled over the dam on the left, past the first Janus. He moved slowly but looked determined to reach the edge of the dam.
Lucas and Ariana were waiting there. A dozen feet from them, the boy stopped. He looked up. His one good eye ignored Ariana. He stared at Lucas. The boy growled.
Ariana stood side by side with Lucas on the edge of the dam. She heard the “Shlickt” sound of Lucas' twin batons locking into place. The other boy was too fast. He raised his handgun with his left hand and fired. Ariana froze the bullet in midair. Lucas was already running at the boy. He knocked the bullet out of the air with a baton and charged. Ariana ran to keep up. She froze the boy in place. He wore a mask of frozen hate. Lucas shoved the frozen boy to the left, off the dam and into the reservoir behind. He stayed in the frozen pose, like a statue and hit the water with a splash. Ariana unfroze him out of habit. She didn't see the boy surface again. Ariana kept watching the water, ready to freeze him again.
Lucas charge Janus. He shouted, “Which one are you? The coward or the fighter?”
Janus smiled and assumed a fighting stance. Lucas smiled back. “Good.”
Lucas swung his right baton. Janus tried to block it with his left arm. It crashed into his upper arm and Janus let out a howl of pain. Janus clamped his right hand onto Lucas. Lucas hadn't seen a weapon, but Janus tore his hand away and Lucas felt the rip of the kakute ring. The iron ring had two spikes, hidden within the man's palm. It tore two rough gashes into Lucas' arm, just above his wrist. One baton flew into the reservoir.
Before Lucas could recover, Janus swung his other hand back at Lucas. This ring was pointed up, on top of the man's hand, two spikes protruding like a serpent's tongue. He'd aimed for the face, but Lucas ducked. That made Janus lose his balance, overextending his arm. From the crouch, Lucas came up, slamming his right-hand baton. It caught Janus under the chin, whipping the man's head sharply with a crack. Before he could counter, Lucas pushed the man to the right, off the dam. Janus One fell down the long, slopping concrete. He tumbled and flipped as the concrete dam curved down.
Lucas jammed his left hand, bleeding, under his right armpit. Ariana rushed to him. She ripped the bottom part of her blouse away, a thin strip about three inches. As she bound Lucas' wounded hand.
Ariana focused on the wound, but looked down where Janus had fallen. It slipped out, “You killed him.”
Lucas replied, “I… yes, we did.” They were fighting for their lives. They'd prepared for death mentally, but to see it happen was different. Ariana and Lucas heard a shout of rage. Their heads snapped to the other side of the dam, to the walkway over the spill gates. The second Janus shouted another diatribe of hatred at Lucas across the curving dam. He began to run over his walkway, toward Lucas. Ordway raised her hand and he stopped, fuming. Janus two, now half himself, held his position.
John and Julien walked across the long steel bridge toward Azoria who held a two bladed knife, the haladie. A semi-circle guard encircled her hand, a serrated spike protruding, while two curved blades extended from either side.
“Relic on relic action,” Azoria said.
John held his own blade in front of him, in both hands.
Azoria smiled. “Been a while Pentoss. I've been training hard.”
“Never seems to help. I just keep sending you back to the River.” John touched his sword to his forehead his eyes locked onto hers. “Last trip for you.”
She laughed and attacked. She jabbed with the serrated spike. John met her with sword and twisted his blade. It caught her serrated edge and twisted Azoria's wrist. His blade was in control of her weapon. That gave John the moment he needed. He kicked with his left leg and connected with her hip. She went down. She rolled away from John, her weapon still in hand. She seemed awkward with the weapon, being careful not to cut herself on the three blades of her haladie.
Azoria stood up and Julien stood in her path. She held a simple zippo lighter, lid open. Azoria almost laughed but realized who stood before her. Julien's thumb hit the strike and fire exploded from the small flame. Julien pushed the flames with his ruined hand. Azoria was engulfed. She screamed, dropped the haladie, and leapt into the water. John did not see her come back up. They turned their attention back to the elders.
Lucas and Ariana stayed on the far-left side of the dam, waiting for John and Julien to make their move on the elders.
The crowds were vocal, like they watched a performance. It was a complicated mix of gasps, groans and cheers when the mini battles unfolded. Deke watched the battles from among them and realized the crowd had no idea who the bad guys were. He looked for his brother but hadn't seen him yet. Must be holding back, he thought. That's when he heard the first siren. It was faint at first, then closer. It must be from the highway. Either Officer Jack or a bystander had called the authorities. Movement caught his eye and Deke looked back to the action.
Zacke flew at the dam. He aimed for Cimo. Zacke spotted the weapon he held, the relic axe. But Cimo didn't see him coming, busy waiting for John and Julien to attack. He slammed into Cimo. One moment he was standing next to Ordway, the next he was not. He's caught the man in the stomach with his shoulder, doubling him over and latching onto him tight. Zacke raced into the sky, now headed straight up. He had the man doubled over his shoulder, so Cimo's arms were free. Zacke knew he would try to cut him with the axe, so he simply stopped and released him. The man flew away at terrific speed, swinging his arms and legs wildly as he flailed. Cimo slashed into the water hundreds of feet away.
The crowds all cheered when Zacke appeared. He touched down next to John and Julien, on the walkway above the spill gates. Just as he touched down, Janus two erupted from the reservoir side.
“Look out” was all Julien could manage.
Janus leapt at John. He had the Madu, the fierce animal horns sticking out each side. He slashed at John hard. John ducked back and misjudged. He flew over the railing. John landed hard, suspended over the spill gate. John realized his predicament. He'd landed on a steel girder, one of many laid out like a grid above the spillway. The square openings between crisscrossing girders were easily large enough for a man to fall through. He looked around frantically, any way back up to the fight.
Zacke landed by Julien and grabbed Janus from behind. He lifted him by the back of the pants and flung the man off the dam.
Zacke looked over the edge. Janus had fallen to a girder, only a few feet from John.
A massive wave came over the reservoir edge. It washed Zacke and Julien over the edge. Zacke flew out of the path of water, looking for the source. Julien fell onto the same metal girder with John. More water splashed over the side, and the wave hit Julien.
John yelled, “No!”
Julien just caught a girder with his good hand. He dangled, gripping the slippery steel edge. John sheathed his sword and walked over the slippery girder. He bent and reached for Julien's hand. Another wave came and covered them. John grabbed Julien's hand but it was too wet.
Their hands slipped apart. Julien fell.
Then she stopped, in mid-air, sopping wet.
Katie stood on ground above the parking field, facing the dam. Zacke realized what she'd done and flew under the shield bubble, lifting Julien and depositing him back on the sidelines, next to Katie, onto solid earth again. The bubble disappeared and Julien fell to the strip of ground just above the field of spectators. The crowds cheered. Julien stood, peered down at the field of spectators. He gave a small salute. Julien stood next to Katie and quietly said, “Thanks Zhanna”
Ordway scowled. John and the second Janus were standing over their respective girders, standing over hundreds of feet of air.
John drew his sword again. “What happens when one half of you dies a true death and one doesn't? I've always wondered that.”
Katie stood next to Julien. “I can help him.” she raised her hands to throw shield balls.
Julien stayed her hand. “He can handle himself. Watch.”
Janus growled and leapt for John's girder, but John scrambled back, slipping a little, but recovered his footing. John asked, “Was he like a brother? Or a shadow? You have always puzzled me, Janus.” John looked down to when Janus one had fallen. “Guess we'll never know.”
Janus attacked. He leapt to John's girder. Stepping back, John swung his sword down. Janus' arm outstretched, it was sliced through and flipped away with his weapon. Janus' face went white and he missed the girder, smashing his head on the steel. He fell between the girders to the emptiness below. Both Janus' were gone.
At the parking field, two deputies had gotten through. By now there were hundreds of people. Cars could no longer get through the snarl of heavy traffic blocking the only service road in. The officers arrived on foot. They'd gotten through the crowd asking who was in charge. No one really knew, but a few remembered Deke telling them where to park. They waded through the dense crowd to Deke.
Deke asked, “Why you asking the black guy? I'm just watching the show.” Deke pointed to the dam.
The cops looked. They'd been called out with some crazy claims. What they saw was impossible. One officer said, “That kid is flying, right? You see that?”
