Number of the Beast (Paladin Cycle, Book One) (17 page)

“
The vehicle runs on
electricity. It reaches speeds up to one hundred and eighty-five
MPH and can go five hundred miles on a single charge. Is it not
splendid!”

Atticus’ mouth fell open.

“
You are without word,”
Elder Cai said. “I am delighted.”

“
I am to hunt the most
feared cosmic being in existence—a beast of which we know little
about,” He thumbed, “driving that?” He threw his hands up.
“Screaming locusts! Has the Court no Corvettes, or Ferrari’s. I
will even settle for a DeLorean.”

Elder Cai frowned. “You
should be so fortunate that gratitude was not a subject of study.
For you would not rank well.”

“
My sincerest apologies.”
Atticus bowed at the waist. “Facing a demon of such caliber as the
Geminus, does not excuse my desire to do so with such little regard
of Mother Earth. If the Order is to have me save the world in a
souped up scooter, I shall endeavor to do so.” Strolling around the
compact automobile, Atticus mumbled, “Basket weaving is looking
better.”

“
Decades have weathered my
hearing, boy. What was it you said?”

“
I said...casket thieving
ghouls are drinking my liquor.”

“
Yes, indeed. Pesky them
ghouls can be.” Elder Cai said with a wink. “There is one more
thing.” He fished a key from his cloak and unlocked a compartment
built into the wall. “Prefect Cauldrick wanted to present this to
you at the ceremony tonight, but I wanted to give it to you in
person. Considering how the ceremony went that was a wise
decision.”

Atticus approached the hood of the car
as Elder Cai laid a long scabbard down.

“
A Selector’s Silver long
sword!” Atticus said. The lavish silver cross guard that tapered
toward the sheathed blade jutted from the scabbard. The hilt was
cast in gleaming shades of silver and intricately etched patterns,
the pommel set with a Paladin emblem featuring a four-point star
with two circles cut around it. Each point represented Mind, Body,
Heart and Soul—the Glorious seal. Circlets represented Heaven and
Earth. Tiny emerald stones were embedded amongst the iron
grip.

Atticus lifted the blade.
The tip of the blade featured an etching of an artistic
star.

“
Now this is a spectacular
gift!” Atticus raised the blade high overhead. “By this blade
alone, the Beast shall know death!”

# # #

A whelp.
Unbelievable.
Isaac licked his
lips.

She walked toward him. The whites of
her eyes flashed yellow then faded back to white.

Isaac's
breathing deepened.
Feel me, my mate. Come
to me.

Her head tilted and her eyes narrowed.
When he stopped before her, she dropped the plastic sacks from her
arms. A package of juice boxes toppled from a bag along with a
bottle of Strawberry Shortcake bubble bath.

A sweet moan slipped from her mouth.
She leaned inward and tucked her face into the nape of his neck.
Deeply she inhaled and sighed. Then, pulling away, she circled him
before pressing her nose into the center of his back. She dropped
to her knees, slid his slacks up and pushed her face against his
ankle. She performed the ritual of memorizing and revering in his
scent with instinctive perfection.

When she stood and faced
him, the pungent fragrance of sulfur and ammonia—combined with the
tangy aroma of her sex—consumed the last of his resolve. A primal
lust compounded in his groin.

His arms encircled her waist. Barbs
protruded from his tongue, barbs he used to lash her cheek. Blood
poured down her face.

She wrapped herself around
him and nuzzled the side of her face against his chest. A crimson
tribute of blood stained his yellow shirt.

“
I don’t know how, but I
know what you are.”

Geminus blood and essence surged
through her aura, but she knew not what she was other than the
carnal instincts she possessed. A perfectly hidden cub.

She will require my
unwavering protection until her instincts are fully
awakened.

Isaac lashed kisses down
the bridge of her nose. At the base of her neck, his barbed tongue
branded her slick-with-sweat skin, carving the numeral two in their
archaic language. He pulled her against him. Their separate auras
swirled from their bodies and merged, fusing him and her as a
one-soul being. The whites of her eyes morphed yellow as a warmth
touched his own.

Isaac growled, “For every
breath I expound, you shall devour.”

In a strained whisper, she
said, “For every breath I release, you shall ingest.”

“
I’ve grown weary of
stalking worlds for centuries without you, my eternal mistress.”
Isaac sealed his lips over hers. Tongues tangled. Teeth scraped. He
tasted her lower lip. Blood trailed down her chin. His tongue
savored the metallic liquid pooled on her salty skin. “My Geminus.
My love. My twin.”

Face flushed, breath
coming in pants, she tore at the waistband of his slacks but he
stayed her hand. “What do the mortals here call you?”

“
Lynn.”

He palmed her cheek where
he’d scraped her skin with his tongue. “You have much to learn
Lynn, and I, Isaac, your eternal master, will teach you everything
you need to survive, but you must be patient. Now is not the time
to seal our destinies with a mating. We need the blessing of our
Mother and now that we’ve begun the Fusing our predators will sense
our presence. They will hunt us.”

When Lynn tore Isaac’s
dress shirt open and nibbled on his chest, he pushed her to arm’s
length. “Nothing will stop me from protecting you, but you must
follow my direction without question or hesitation.”

She let out a shaky breath and held
his stare, the conflict within her evident in her rapid breaths. He
felt her frustration and lust as if it was his own, because now
they were fused and shared everything, pain and joy
alike.

She hung her head.
“Command me, my master.”

Isaac put a finger under
her chin and lifted her head until their eyes met. From the ground,
he retrieved a juice box and crushed it in his fist. Red liquid
trailed down his forearm. “Your existence as a mortal is no
more.”

From behind, Scooter
loomed over Amy as she unlocked the trailer door. She threw a look
of impatience over her shoulder but Scooter just grinned, shifting
his weight. He had harassed her, begging to get a better look at
the dagger, but she insisted he wait until they got
home.

In the kitchen, Amy placed the carton
of worms on the counter next to a portable FM radio playing a local
country station. She heaved a sigh as Scooter peered over her
shoulder and inside her purse. She removed the strange
weapon.

A fish chomping at bait,
Scooter snatched the dagger. He let the cloth fall and stared,
mesmerized at the archaic weapon and lifted the blade like a
scrawny, young Conan. “Incredible.” He turned it, running his
fingers along a rope of gold intertwined on the handle. “Strange
lettering.”

Amy leaned closer to get a
better look. “What do you mean?”

“
It seems to be a runic
alphabet popular in the 7th century. And I don’t think it’s a
replica either.” He turned the dagger again. Written in modern day
English, with a crude flair, was the name TOBIAS. Scooter glared at
her. “A friend of yours?”

Amy tucked a lock of hair
behind her ears. She grabbed a pitcher from the refrigerator and
gave a nervous huff. “Nobody I know.” She poured a glass of tea. As
she sipped, she eyed Scooter over the rim of the glass. He quirked
his brows in question. Coughing, she spilled tea from her mouth and
wiped spittle from her chin.

She took the strange
artifact from Scooter’s grasp, whirled and strode toward the living
room. “You know Abe. He’s always messing with me.”

Scooter followed her. “But
where on earth would he have gotten something like
that?”

“
Where does Abe get half
the junk he collects? Probably an auction or the scrapyard.” If
only she believed that.

Amy plopped on the couch.
The dagger balanced on her lap. With shaky fingers she gripped the
sofa cushion.

Scooter sat beside her.
“You okay?”

My God,
Tobias. You are real.
She palmed her
forehead.

Scooter grasped her hand.
“Are you about to faint?”

She shook her head and
pulled her hand from his grasp. “I’m fine.”

So she
wasn’t losing her mind. The thought should be comforting, but the
alternative meant a
Beast
might really be coming for her.

Tobias? You
there?

But her mind remained quiet. Her hands
trembled.

Scooter turned and grabbed
a vial from the end table. “Here.”

She took
it from him and sipped, grateful she had more in the house. She
leaned back against the cushion and closed her eyes. The black
herbal mash scratched at her throat, she swallowed several more
times.
I need to know. Who are you? What
is a Dark Trinity?

A distant crackling sound filled her
head, like paper being crinkled, or perhaps crackling of a
campfire.

A
gift.
The voice was abrupt, but
clear.

Amy
smiled at the sound of Tobias’ deep voice. His random visits to her
mind were becoming familiar and she got worried when he didn’t
respond right away.
Thank you. It’s
remarkable.

“
Can I keep it?” Scooter
asked, reaching out and patting the hilt.

Amy shook her head. “I
think I should hold onto it.”

Give the dagger to the
boy.

You said
it was a gift.
Amy sent the telepathic
message to Tobias.

Never said the gift was
yours to keep. The boy must have the blade.

Amy nodded.

Scooter carefully took the
weapon. “Zack will have a nerdgasm when he sees this!”

Are you sure about this,
Tobias?

The crackling fire faded and her mind
fell quiet.

Scooter waved Amy on,
pointing the dagger like an officer of the cavalry. “Come and play
a session of my new war game.” he ordered.

She locked all the windows and the
front door.

Harsh
laughter sounded in her mind.
Locks will
not keep you safe from the Beasts.

I don’t see you doing
anything about it except giving Scooter a sharp, pointy
knife.

In my world the boy would
have fathered three offspring and killed a dozen men at his
age.

Kids here do that too...if
they’re in the Aryan or Tango Blast gang!

If you do not trust me
then all the nightmares you attributed to vengeful rats will become
your world’s reality.

What do you know about
those nightmares?

They were not nightmares.
They were visions of mine. Visions of possible futures that may
still become.

“
Are you coming?” Scooter
called.

Amy reluctantly followed him down the
hall.

The easy-going sound of
classic rock filtered from his bedroom. She stopped at the
doorway.

Do you know how much
stress those nightmares...visions caused me?

Your days of stress are
inconsequential to my greater goals.

You’re a jerk sometimes,
you know that?

Scooter laid the dagger on
his bed. He began placing small pewter soldiers on a wooden table
decorated with a tiny scaled-down forest, actual rocks taken from
their driveway and plastic highways. “I’m setting up the armies for
combat now. Some have swords and magic, and others have assault
rifles and SMGs.”

Amy leaned against the
door jamb. Once again her mind had gone quiet, signaling that
Tobias had left the building. “Aren’t you a little old to be
playing with action figures?”

“
Action figures?” Scooter
scowled. “These are genuine metal miniatures that I diligently
painted myself.”

Amy palmed her heart,
feigning interest. “Pardon me. My mistake.”

He grabbed a figurine.
“This knight has 10d Confidence and is equipped with a 2d8 Valiant
Scythe that can obliterate an army of dread goblins in one roll.
Hardly a children’s game.”

Amy pushed from the doorway and picked
up a tiny knight. She examined it quickly before placing it beside
the figurine Scooter had just held.

Scooter shook his head.
“No. That’s an Imperial Gunsmith. He can’t move that many squares
away from his original formation. This is more complicated than you
realize. Allow me to explain the—”

Amy's phone rang. “Hello,
sweetheart,” she answered while leaving Scooter’s bedroom. She
poked her head back into the room. “As intriguing as this sounds, I
have to take this call.”