Final Apocalypse: Rise of Tamara

Battle!

Brute and Odia stood in the garage. They had made it up there, only to find that Odia had forgotten the keys to her Camaro. She fished around in her purse but came up empty. "Crud. Could you follow me to my office, love? I think I left the bloody keys in there."

"Sure thing. This place gives me the creeps too."

They walked to the elevator in silence. Not a word was spoken until they got to her office. "So. You're Charlotte's mother?"

"That's me. Why? Is there something about it that bothers you?"

"No. I'm not meaning to be offensive, I assure you. I'm just curious when that happened."

Odia smiled as she sifted through her desk. "Office mixer party in Miami. Two thousand and one. Few weeks before the twin towers went down. Lots of sin prevalent there. Perfect place for a demon to blend in. Didn't know the man I made love to was the legendary immortal warrior. When Charlotte was born, I tried to stay away from Hell. I managed that for about four years. Then, I had to return. She was left with a friend of mine. Just dumb luck that Rone and Isabelle found her and brought her to Daniel. I just wish it would have been after his fight with Armageddon. Not during that whole fiasco. Is that enough for you, or do I need to go into the awkward details?"

Brute shied away. "No. Sorry for prying, miss."

"Good. Now you'll know to mind your own business," she paused. "Do you hear that music? It sounds like a music box."

Brute listened for a second. "That's weird. Where's it coming from?"

"Probably Isabelle's office. Found them." She yanked her keys out of the pocket of her coat, which hung on her chair. "Let's check and see if we can find out where the creepy music is coming from."

They walked to Isabelle's office, but as soon as the door was opened, the music stopped. They walked around her office, looking for a music box or music player of sorts, but came up with nothing. Eventually, they gave up and went back to the garage. They noticed that someone was already sitting in the car. Odia opened the door and stepped back. "Who are you?" She asked.

No response. Brute stepped forward. "Are you lost, young lady? Do you need help?"

She stood, her hair hanging in her face. "No. I'm exactly where I want to be. It's you two that are gonna need help."

Odia stepped back and signaled discreetly for Brute to be careful. "You never answered my question. Who the hell are you?"

The girl spoke softly. "My name is Tamara Pierce. That's all you need to know." Tamara pulled her hair out of her face. That's when Odia saw her eyes. Red and merciless. Was this girl wearing contacts? Brute drew his knife and Tamara lashed a tendril around his arm. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Brute's heart started to race. This girl's tone was horrifying. She spoke as if she knew she was going to win. Like she knew they couldn't hurt her.

Odia reached for her sword but ended up with a tendril being lashed around her throat.

"You're the queen, aren't you?' Brute asked, attempting to buy themselves some time to escape.

Tamara's eyes widened. "How would you know that?" She asked, her anger obvious.

"That's none of your business. What you should know is that we know your weakness." Brute lied.

Tamara squeezed tighter. "You're a liar."

"Maybe. But there's only one thing you really need to know."

"And what is that?"

"You shouldn't watch the mouth. You should watch the hands. That's your weakness."

Brute used his other hand to draw another knife and slice her arm. She jerked back and released both of them. "Run!" Odia shouted to him as Tamara yanked her sword from her hands.

The pair took off for the stairs. Tamara laughed. "Yes, run. You won't get far." Brute stopped and picked up a nearby car. He chucked it in her direction. Tamara smiled as she caught it. "Was that your plan? To crush me with a car?"

"No. The car is just a distraction. The real party is in the passenger seat."

Tamara dropped the car and immediately spotted the grenade Brute had thrown into the car. "Shit." The car exploded, engulfing her in a cloud of fire. Brute and Odia ran for the stairs. They needed to hurry and call the others. They stopped on the third floor and realized that they had left their phones in Odia's car. Brute cursed and punched a hole through the wall. "Now what?" Odia asked.

"I don't know. All the offices are upstairs. That's the only chance we have of reaching them. We can't reach them with a normal telephone, can we?"

Odia shook her head. "No. Only with special communication devices. Sorry, Maxwell."

She adjusted her blouse, then went rigid as a black blade pierced through her chest. The wall collapsed and Tamara stood there, pulling back the tendril she'd ran Odia through with. "I'm done playing games. This ends now," She said, her voice just as soft as before. She slammed Odia headfirst against the wall then lashed a tendril through Brute's leg. "Does it hurt?" She asked.

Brute tried to stand but fell down. She smiled.

"Don't bother with it. The venom will finish you off eventually. Just like it did with your friend with the revolvers." She handed him Tom's watch and one of Colt's revolvers. "Die." She drove a tendril through his head, then retracted all of them back into her body. She shook her head in disappointment. "That was over too fast. Next time, I should find a way to prolong it. It'll be more fun that way." She took Odia's keys and walked back to the Camaro. One more item added to her inventory.