Part 29 (1/2)
”Blue Team accounted for, sir,” Ramirez answered, his low voice tight and grim.
This went on for three hours, the colonel calling out to Red Team (Julie), Green Team (Jorge's command, which had been given to newly promoted Captain Nguyen), Orange Team (Johnson for Will). And White-my team, led by Uncle Mike himself. Each of us had fifteen to twenty trucks a.s.signed to us. My nerves were stretched to the breaking point each time the radio crackled thinking about the number of souls I'd be responsible for today.
”We'll be at the park entrance in a few minutes, sir,” Lanningham said.
It took me a moment to realize he meant me. ”Okay.”
Blakeney reached out to squeeze my shoulder. ”We're gonna be right there, Archer. Ain't anything you can say to change that. Me and Lanningham won't leave you today.”
In spite of myself, I smiled. ”Never doubted it for a second.”
”Good,” Lanningham said. ”Because you're acting like a man headed to his death, and we won't let that happen. Understand?”
I did, but they couldn't control that piece of the battle. The Dark Master had something in store for me, and it likely wasn't anything we could defend against. Still, they needed hope as much as I needed purpose. ”Understood, sir. And thank you both. Outside of Will, I can't imagine anybody else I'd want with me out there.”
”We told Captain Johnson you'd want Cruessan nearby, so Orange will be with us,” Blakeney said. ”That eased the colonel's mind some. I think he was worried about splitting his time between watching you and Captain Tannen, while managing the artillery a.s.sault on top of it. Knowing Captain Johnson and Cruessan will be close seemed to settle him down.”
It was good to know I wasn't the only one wound tight. ”Good thinking.”
”We try,” Lanningham said. ”Now, get your game face on. We're at the gate.”
In the distance, the sand dunes loomed. From here, they were so tall they almost blocked the shadowed cloud behind them. Almost.
The Park's director and the head of the National Guard unit stationed there met us at the service road that ran to the foot of the dunes. In the stark afternoon sun, the sand s.h.i.+mmered a light beige in the distance. The weather was chilly, about forty degrees, but the sand made it seem warmer.
”We're making an exception,” the director was saying. ”You can take the ranger track as far in as your vehicles will go. It won't be nearly far enough because not even Humvees can take that sand, but it's the best we can offer.”
”Thank you,” Uncle Mike said. ”Any changes in temperature, wind or anything because of the ent.i.ty?”
The man shuddered. ”Ent.i.ty. It's alive, isn't it?”
Uncle Mike nodded. ”Seen anything that might help?”
”No, sir. Other than capturing the helicopter, it hasn't moved,” the National Guard major told us. ”Temperature has stayed stable, and it hasn't changed position or grown. It's sitting at the top of the dunes. Like it's waiting.”
Everyone looked at me. I rolled my eyes. You'd think they'd stop doing that at some point. ”Major, it'd be a good idea to station your men here, at the foot of the dunes. You'll be the last line of defense.”
He grimaced. ”Mr. Archer, if they pa.s.s you by, there won't be much we can do. But trust me when I say we'll try everything to stop them here.”
”Good enough.” I turned to Uncle Mike. ”I want to talk to the wielders.”
We walked back to the Humvee. It seemed impossible evil would even come here, where we were surrounded by gorgeous scenery. The Sangre de Cristo mountains, lined with fir and cedar, made a regal backdrop, at least where they weren't blotted out by the shadow. Medano Creek-where we'd cross to access the dunes-was dry, as the snow at the higher elevations wasn't melting to provide runoff. The sky, too, was a perfect autumn blue.
Perverse to have a fight on a day, and in a place, this beautiful. I kind of thought the Dark Master wanted it that way. To show that he was stronger, he'd destroy it all on live television. Fear was a powerful tool, and he knew how to wield it as well as I wielded my knife.
The others met me at the back of my Humvee. Jorge looked impa.s.sive, but his eyes glittered with power. Julie and Ramirez wore matching grim, bada.s.s expressions. Will was about as stoic as I'd ever seen. If this was a poker game, nothing would have shown on his face. I wondered how they saw me. A strange calm had filled me as soon as I got out of the vehicle. I knew it was Tink, doing her best to keep me steady, but what did the others see?
Aware of the hundreds of eyes watching this meeting, I turned so no one could read my lips. I didn't want anyone worrying that I didn't have some grand speech prepared. Instead, all I said was, ”This is it.”
Jorge stuck out his hand, and I shook it. Ramirez did the same. Aunt Julie dropped the harda.s.s bit long enough to give me a hug and kiss my cheek.
And then there was Will. He watched me close, then leaned in to whisper, ”We'll do whatever we have to. Mamie's worth it.”
I nodded and clasped his shoulder. ”She always has been. Now,” I said, raising my voice enough for the soldiers close by to hear, ”Let's go hunt some monsters!”
”Hooah!” Ramirez shouted, startling Aunt Julie, who laughed.
This was a good way to start.
The colonel came over. ”Ready?”
”Yes,” I said. ”Here's how this works. The wielders and their direct support staff go in at the vanguard. Station the rest of the team to the left or right flanks. Pump as much artillery into the cloud as you want to start with, but once we're downrange, stop.”
He c.o.c.ked his head. ”You're thinking knife work only? On a cloud the size of two city blocks?”
”A cloud that ate a helicopter and a couple of sidewinders. Unless you have spirit-bound sh.e.l.ls, I don't think anything but the knives will work-not even air support. Your team is a distraction. Showmans.h.i.+p.” I smirked-I'm sure it looked like a gravedigger's smile. ”If he can do it, so can we.”
”Then it's show time,” Uncle Mike said. ”Load up.”
”Hooah!” I shouted. Everyone in hearing distance answered in kind.
Chapter Thirty-Five.
The Humvees raced forward, throwing up clouds of sand. The pulsing darkness roiled like storm clouds up ahead. Like I'd expected, the second my Humvee crossed Medano Creek, the shadows had gathered together more tightly and started converging our direction.
Uncle Mike came over the radio. ”That's the last of it. We've stopped firing. It's your turn.”
I pressed the b.u.t.ton on my earpiece. ”Understood. Wielders, we're up.”
”May your blades cut deep,” Jorge said, from his Humvee.
”Planning on it,” Julie answered.
I unsheathed my knife, took a deep breath, then leaned my arm on the window sill. If this vision was going to come true, I was going to own it. I rose up in my seat so I could stick my head all the way out of my window and turned to face the vehicles following my own. As I did it, I let every ounce of anger I had show on my face. Will's Humvee, driven by Johnson himself, flashed its brights at us.
Screeches and cackles filled the air. I slid back into my seat. We were getting close enough to see shapes in the shadows. Deformed things, like what you'd expect living in slime beneath a moss-covered rock, monsters of every shape and size. Every so often, I saw something worse-beings that could only be described as angels. Their skin was charcoal, their wings jet black, and their faces so beautiful, my throat constricted every time I looked at them. They carried dark swords, one in each hand, and ran with preternatural grace. One in particular, a female that looked a little like Ella's photo-negative, held me in thrall until Lanningham smacked the back of my head.
”Don't stare at them too long,” he barked. ”Blakeney, put that out on the radio. Don't look directly into the cloud. Focus on the rocks behind it until we hit the staging area.”
I blinked and shuddered, and the knife sent a sharp zing up my arm, setting my teeth on edge.
We fight soon, Tink hissed. To the death.
Her magic swelled inside me until the world went crystal clear with blinding light. I shook with the power of it, hoping I could keep her contained until the right moment. ”Hold that thought. We're almost there.”