Book 3, Chapter 85 - The Battle Under the Mountain (1/2)

Revenant stood in the center of the hallway. He arms were extended, hands crossed, and the blades held therein pointed toward the ground.

The wraithrobe draped over his body seemed weightless, tangible as a mist, floating though there was no breeze to lift it. The hood was raised and a black mask hid his features from view. From head to toe, Revenant dripped with sinister promise, like an emotionless totem.

Was it ten years, or eight?

Revenant couldn’t remember exactly how long he’d worked for Adder.

But he would never forget his mission and purpose. He was a ghost, ever at Adder’s side. He was a weapon, swung at his master’s command, desiring only to be of use. Adder’s work was important, so Revenant had to ensure it all went right. It didn’t matter who came walking down that hallway, he would stop them.

This was the scene that greeted Cloudhawk when he arrived.

The two men confronted one another roughly twenty paces apart.

Adder’s right-hand man was no weakling. His fighting style was cunning, treacherous, and hard read. The wraithrobes made him particularly elusive, meaning that taking care of him would be difficult for Cloudhawk. It would certainly take more than the few moments he had to spare. Besides Revenant there were also another twenty men behind him, bows drawn and ready to fire. In an area this small, a volley of arrows was lethal.

Cloudhawk knew that if he took another step they would fire on him. A concentrated volley would be as deadly as a point-blank minigun.

“I mean… I guess this welcoming committee is passable.” Cloudhawk pointedly looked to his left and right, and with a distinct note of dissatisfaction in his voice, he asked, “Adder’s too important to come and say hello personally?”

As Cloudhawk stopped the Dark Atom agents behind him were forced to pause as well. Although they didn’t like to admit it, they had to accept that they couldn’t fight through these invaders alone. They had to rely on Cloudhawk’s strength to punch through the men in black.

Revenant remained unmoving with his eyes closed, as though he hadn’t heard.

“So I’m starting to get confused. Are you lot elysians, or wastelanders?” With the mask concealing his features it was impossible to read Cloudhawk’s face. But his eyes were fixed on the invaders with a hard light. “Who the fuck is Adder? What the hell are you guys planning to do?”

Revenant’s robes continued to flutter of their own accord, like he was a spirit from the nether world bound to their reality. In much the way a spirit would, he had grown tired of Cloudhawk’s inane questions. His eyes slowly opened, fixed on his foe, and then in a voice that was both raspy and youthful he responded. “How does this concern you?”

How does it concern me?

Maybe on the surface it didn’t seem to be any of Cloudhawk’s business, but that wasn’t further from the truth!

Adder was Luciasha’s ward. Cloudhawk had to know whatever vile thing the man was planning, otherwise how could he trust in Asha’s safety? But he wasn’t stupid, and the Warden knew that pressing the bastard for answers wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Knock a few out, and bring ‘em back to Barb. Her and her needles would tell him everything he needed to know.

Alright, well such was the way of things. Adder had revealed himself to be an enemy. Even though Cloudhawk had no idea what this primeval weapon was, Adder wanted it and wanted it bad. He sure as shit wasn’t going to use it to plant pretty flowers. If he wanted to kill himself trying to turn this weapon on his enemies then fuck it, but he was dragging Luciasha into it. Cloudhawk couldn’t allow that.

Cloudhawk tightened his grip on the exorcist staves in each hand. “Well it seems you thick-headed fuckwits won’t change your minds. Bring it on. First I’ll smash you all into an unrecognizable mess, then I’m gonna break that bastard Adder’s legs and leave him here. What the hell is wrong with being an honest barman, that he has to come all the way out here and start shit?”

Some people were just ungrateful, Revenant thought to himself. If Adder really wanted him dead, Cloudhawk wouldn’t be standing here running his mouth.

Adder had clearly given him an option, even spared his life, but the hateful child was willing to take off the gloves and fight for real. He even had the audacity to stand here and taunt them. Revenant slowly raised his weapons. The ungrateful would never learn their place.

Both sides stared at each other, weapons bared. Suddenly everything changed.

The floor, walls and ceiling all began to crack as a torrential gust of sand swept through. All eyes were blinded by the yellow sand as it flooded the hallway. Everything was swallowed up.

Cloudhawk felt the familiar resonance and his face fell. “Who the fuck is sneaking around?! Show yourself!”

Sand roared around him like tempestuous waves. Limbs appeared and disappeared all around him like some hideous creature lurked just out of view. These were the others from the hall, and the thought of what happened to them froze his blood. Inwardly Cloudhawk cursed his foul circumstance, but things would get worse. He reached out with his mind to engage the phase stone, only to have it snatched from his neck by a host of sandy tentacles.

Fucked! I’m totally fucked!

His phase abilities were robbed, and with no way to protect himself the tidal wave of sand carried him away. Helpless as a lamb caught in a flash flood, he was carried out of Nucleus. The others were summarily spat out of the wave as they continued while Cloudhawk struggled in vain. He was eventually flung far away from the volcano and its underground war.

Adder and the others exited the warehouse and went back the way they came. The weapon was being gingerly carried on the backs of two of his men. When he came to the sand-blasted hallway he knew instantly what had caused it. He looked around with a glance of doubt and suspicion, but there was no time for hesitation. He nodded toward Revenant, somehow spared from the deluge. “We’re leaving.”

Revenant was no normal man. He didn’t know what happened, but his place was not to ask questions. Wordlessly he followed his master away from the warehouse.

Cloudhawk found himself belched out of a nearby volcanic vent. He hit the obsidian mountainside with a grunt, and for a moment struggled to get his bearings. Scrambling to his feet, there was still a dervish of sand surrounding him, which slowly formed into a familiar outline as he watched. Finally, a towering black figure emerged from the sandstorm.

“You!”

The battle continued to rage all around them. Cloudhawk had never seen a conflict of this scale or intensity. Yet more shocking was the sudden appearance of this creature, a creature that should have been dead.

“It’s not dead...”

“I thought that the years might have made you wiser. It seems just the opposite.” Cold laughter wormed its way into Cloudhawk’s mind as Abaddon continued. “Did you really think someone like you, with all the strength of a three-legged cat, could kill a demon? [1] If the divine were so weak, then mankind would have reclaimed this world long ago.”

“So what, are you here for revenge?” Cloudhawk shot a sidelong glance at the phase stone, clutched in Abaddon’s taloned grip. “At least give me my necklace back.”