Kassern (Archangels Creed) (27 page)

"What do you think they're doing that's so fantastic?" she wondered, ignoring his compliment.

Troy pulled her on top of him. "You really don't know?" He smiled when the twitch in his cock registered on Devyn's face.

Troy suddenly jolted from the harsh mental knock in his head from Kassern. "Did she confess?"

"What?"

"I didn't say anything." Devyn kissed along his chest.

"Confess," Kassern growled. "Did she do it?"

"No, not yet." He moved Devyn off of him, not liking what he heard in his tone. "What's going on?"

"A hive is going on, that's what. Right now. Outside. Closing in fast."

"Oh shit," Troy gasped, hurrying to the window, ignoring Devyn's burst of questions. "What do we do?"

"We gather. Now."

Troy spun to Devyn. "Get dressed. Trouble."

"Shit," Devyn gasped, hurrying to comply. "What's going on?"

"Kassern asked if you confessed, there'
s
a
swarm
outside." He held his hand out and she hurried and took it.

They met Kassern and Karly in the kitchen where Kassern stood near the window, geared up in ruby splendor. Troy would never get used to seeing those wings or ruby swords
c
hinking lightly against one another as though preparing for a feast.

"I'm locked," Kassern said, without turning. "They've somehow secluded
us,
I have no communication abilities beyond the triumvirate. They're using Devyn's confession as a doorway, so, it would be really nice if she went ahead and took care of that, because until she does, it's just us against that entire army of devils." Kassern glanced at Troy. "Gear up brother."

Gear up? "With
what?"

****

Karly felt the power when it left Kassern's outstretched hand and entered Troy. The entire room—minus Kassern—gasped in shock at the transformation.
Troy towered
in a shimmering white hooded cloak
of
incredibly fine
chain-mail
emblazoned with a
ruby
cross that matched the one on
Kassern's
chest
. He
looked
like
a
Medieval
holy warrior
/knight
character
.
E
ven his boots were
that white chain-mail,
with what looked like shimmering ruby laces.

T
he most impressive thing about him
, in Karly's opinion,
had to be the weapons
that decorated nearly every body part, like warrior jewelry
. Various
blades, from small throwing knives
strapped to his left forearm, up to the massive broadsword in its scabbard at his left hip
.
A
ruby-studded
belt supported a pair of
…
handguns
? Wow. Troy turned slightly and
K
arly
gasped at
the cross-bow that hung on his back. T
he damn thing appeared carved right out of a hunk of ruby.
Troy’s
face
came into view from behind the hood, shocking her further
.
His skin
glow
ed white and his eyes
shimmer
ed crimson
.

Holy fucking w
ow.

Karly waited for wings to sprout from his back, but none came.

Troy held out both hands
,
then
looked down at himself, t
urning this way and that
. He drew one of the
throwing
knives,
flipped it into the air then caught and sheathed it, all in one practiced move. Only his gasp of awe betrayed his real lack of experience with the
weapon.

"Choose your weapon wisely
,
"
Kassern
muttered.

"How?"

Kassern turned to him. "Knowing your enemy is the first weapon of defense." He returned to studying the span of land outside, seeming to watch the forest just beyond. "But unfortunately, these
things
are too newly created for me to pass that information along.
Which means I'll have to go find that out.
"

"Alone?" Karly's voice cracked with terror and Kassern's ruby gaze was suddenly inches from her own, his fingers stroking her cheek.

At his touch, her body warmed and filled with a liquid courage. No drug on earth had ever felt that good and dammit, she was addicted. Pulling his face to hers, she kissed him.

He
drew
her hands
away
, winded as though he'd just run a mile. "I don't think that helps me get into battle mode," he whispered with a smile.

"Sorry,"
Karly
whispered,
barely
audible. She
strok
ed
his lower lip with her thumb. God he was too beautiful. Too good. Too everything.

"Be right back."

Karly
gasped on
the
ache
in her heart
as he
aded to
the door.

He passed a stern warning gaze around to each of them.
"Stay put. Troy, if I'm not back in thirty minutes, you
will do
what I instructed."

Karly looked at Troy, wondering what that meant. By the worried expression on his face, it wasn't anything she'd agree with.

****

Kassern flashed to the forest edge into the highest part of a tree and listened. In moments he located the swarm. Damn. They were nearly numberless. He closed his eyes and carefully made a mental connection with one. Kassern's upper lip rose in disgust at being inside the abomination
, the demented ooze of its mind surrounding him
. But he had to learn.

The first thing that Kassern discovered was its intelligence
, equal to a genius level human
. Carefully, he dug through its mind, looking for its origins
and any other need to know info
. Kassern selected a file involving a human who had been in close co
ntact with
it.

Very slowly, Kassern stepped into the memory and watched a replay of the human's last night with the thing. Entering at the end, he
observed
the creature
kill
ing
him, tearing him apart, bit by bit, after toying with the
nerves and muscles
in his neck
and preventing
the human from
making anything
but a gurgling noise.

Kassern quickly learned all he could of the human.
The man, Jason,
detested his job at the lab, the tediousness of feeding animals, cleaning cages, and entering every boring detail into the logs. He didn't believe in the
organization
that created the creature. He worked for another authority. One interested
, not
in the creature
'
s well-being, but in
ensuring it
learned
evil
.
T
he human
figured a job was a job
. While every
one else
treated the abomination like a child, Jason, taught it about cruelty. 

Kassern was drawn back to where he'd entered the memory and watched the creature make a
surgically precise incision along the sole of
Jason
's foot, using one of its scalpel sharp claws. The human tried to scream to no avail.

Kassern
search
ed
further back
in
the man’s memory
and found how he ended up
at the mercy of this creature.

T
wo hours before midnight,
Jason
had only one more task to finish. He always saved it for last because as much as he hated the rest of his job,
it
was both the worst and best part of it. The worst because he abhorred the creature he was forced to interact with.   

He had no idea what the creature in the observation room was, but he did know God had not created it. The scientist and the rest of the staff called it Annie. It was officially called The Augusta Project, though Jason
didn't know or care
what that stood for. He called it project pay
-
the
-
bills when he didn't call it an abomination. The thing simply should not be alive, and he cringed every time he looked upon it.
At times, a
ll he could think of was bringing his .30-.30 rifle to work and putting the thing down. It had no place on this earth, and even though he was not a particularly religious man, he felt that God himself should strike the creature down for the sacrilege it was. 

Once again, Kassern was pulled back to the entrance of the memory. The creature took off another of
Jason's
toes, sniffed it,
then
tossed it over his shoulder. The human's belly heaved, but he had already puked it thoroughly empty.

Kassern
took note of the creature's appearance
, looking for some physical weakness or deficiency
.
The thing stood at about f
ive foot tall, faintly
similar to
a chimp or some other species of primate in body shape, but its arms were more proportionally fit to the rest of the body. Short, dark brown fur covered its body, thinner on its unique face.
The
face resembled
that of
a monkey of some sort, but the muzzle was a bit longer and heavier than those of the higher primates, vaguely reminiscent of a short-nosed bear. Pointed ears perched upright near the top of
the head, with little tufts of hair at the tips. The skull was larger and rounder than that of primates, or other animals, more closely resembling a human skull. 

It walked upright on its hind limbs, the arms and legs immensely strong and heavily muscled, stronger than
even the
huge silverback male mountain gorillas. Kassern studied closer and found it had little sensitivity to pain. It bore ten digits on its hands and feet, all of which were tipped with retractable claws that
it
used with near surgical dexterity. 

Kassern
regarded the
fear
in the human's face. It was the creature's eyes that held him in utter terror. Kassern could see why. The irises were nearly colorless, leaving only the vertically slit pupils to impress those who met its gaze.
Jason
thought the creature’s gaze saw clearly to the core of the soul and avoided its eyes at all costs, and
in that moment
, he was transfixed.

Kassern watched as the thing
paused in what it
did
to
Jason
's foot, and brought its
f
ace close to
the
man, staring deeply into his eyes.
Jason
tried to close
them
,
but the creature
us
ed
a claw to
delicately
pry
one e
ye
lid
up. Then it waggled that claw threateningly, and drew it gently across the other eyelid, without breaking skin. Kassern realized it was warning
Jason
to
watch
, or it would take his eyelids.

Kassern needed to finish
and get the hell out
. He returned to the
memory
and watched the human
utter the command that
should send
the
thing to the security cell in the corner of its room
. 

The creature had a better living area than many people the attendant knew. A cozy nest box in one corner
of its room
held several blankets and a nice soft mattress.
A toy box that rivaled a rich human child’s
.
A TV and video game system, a comfortable chair and rugs and pillows, art on the walls.
 

All it needed was a kitchenette, and the damned thing would h
ave a better apartment than
Jason
. As it was, it ate better than he did
.

Kassern fast forwarded to the offending moment.