The Cainite Order

CHAPTER 30

VADE RETRO

CHAPTER 30

"Get thee behind me."

Volkov was unsure how to feel. A squad of five Reapers had found their way down the escape tunnel he and Natsumi were guarding. They were glad for the reinforcements but he knew something was wrong. They had informed him that they were the second half of a full squad of Reapers sent in by the Trust to assess the situation. Even so he knew the main reason they were sent here was to neutralize a massive threat to the balance and to kill anyone who opposed their orders. Volkov had been a Reaper for the better part of a century and a member of the Order for most of his exceedingly long life. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen that would shake his faith, and the Order to its foundation.

He tried to shake the thoughts from his mind and focus on keeping Natsumi safe. They had joined the strike team in their push into the abandoned Chapter house hoping to rescue any survivors. Volkov knew the likelihood of anyone being alive was slim, even for Order members, but this group had earned his respect and at least earned the right to a proper burial. They passed many bodies of fallen creatures along the way; Djinn, Fae, Púca, Yakshas, all laid sprawled across their path. The CLACK of a silenced pistol round splashed wall fragment across Volkov's eyes. Before Natsumi could spot where the shot came from two of the Reapers were kneeling next to Leo.

"Sorry, can't see too well right now. Lost a lot of blood." he apologized as he coughed out blood.

The first Reaper pulled out a cigar-sized cylinder. "This will hold you in suspended animation for one hour. We should be able to clear the building by then." she said, injecting it into his neck.

"You might want to take this then." Leo said, holding up a live grenade.

The second Reaper took the grenade making sure to hold the safety lever tightly against the frame.

"What happened? Where is everyone else?" asked Volkov.

"He can't answer you. This serum acts quick. We need to get moving." answered the female Reaper.

...

Beathen heard the clicking of the pistol's hammer moving into firing position. He took a deep breath trying to think of a way to survive. He blinked trying to get sweat out of his eyes. Then he had an epiphany. "I thought Kitsune helped mankind. What made you turn against all your sisters?"

Wakahisa stood there in shock for a moment, wondering how much he truly knew.

"The world is never what it seems Mr. Faulkner."

Coughing hard Beathen replied, "Then why not make it better?"

"Even now, stapled to the wall an inch off the ground you try to make the world a better place?" she laughed.

"No, I'm just trying to stall you." he laughed and spit out blood.

Ash jumped forward kicking Wakahisa's pistol away from her. One round was sent screaming from the barrel less than an inch from Beathen's head. This was his moment. He grabbed the handle of the sword with both hands and pulled with all the strength he had left. Thanks to the charms he had active the blade pulled free from the wall and drug its way through his chest. He had the physical might to remove the blade but the damage to his body was more than he knew. He tasted blood in his throat and saw it leaking out of his chest thru the hole in his armor. He knew he only had thirty seconds or so left of consciousness.

Ash was fighting a losing battle against Wakahisa. Her age gave her more combat experience than the Fae could hope to possess. She landed a few good shots from the initial surprise but the tide quickly changed. With a practiced hand Ash was methodically deconstructed with every strike. Within seconds she was kneeling, beaten, in front the Kitsune. Wakahisa's back was to Beathen. That's when he saw the answer. She had a tattoo on her back of eight and a half tails. He half remembered a story about controlling a Kitsune by possessing one of their tails. He knew she could never yield, she was being controlled to do otherwise.

Horror swept over him as he started to see more creatures begin to walk through the working Arch way. They had lost. All the training, the sacrifice and pain he had endured felt like it was for nothing. All the hope he had felt only minutes ago seemed like a fool's dream now. For the first time since he was a child he felt broken, beaten. Then he heard the gunshot. A fresh surge of adrenaline rushed through him. He looked over to Ash, expecting to see her dead on the floor. What he saw was Wakahisa clutching her arm in pain. Another surge of adrenalin gave him enough clarity to look at the door and see Gott burst in flanked by a dozen reinforcements.

"We're not done yet!" he choked.

The Order charged forward cutting down the creatures pouring out of the Arch way. Wakahisa used the new confusion to duck through the crowd and pass through the Arch. Even with this small victory Beathen knew they would never win against the army gushing through the stone gateway, and he was seconds from death. Spying the key stone sparked a thought in his oxygen-deprived brain. If that's been "tuned" to work with another gate maybe the magic can be scrambled.

Throwing his dying body forward he stumbled his way to the Key stone. Even in his current state he could feel the magikal energy radiating from it. Grabbing either side of the sphere he felt pain erupt from his hands as the energy tried to force its way through his skin. Using all the magikal energy he had left in his soul Beathen began to slowly turn the key stone. Only a few microns at first but enough to cause the portal to destabilize, cutting a were-bear in half. Just before he felt the blackness of death creep in he heard a familiar voice say, "Da, I was right about you."