Neko-laus 2 : Toy Tiger

To serve in Hell

I was pissed. There was no other way to describe it. There was talk of support teams and backup but when it came down to it, Mags was tossed out of one of these metal flying monstrosities with his flavour Latent of the Day and left there alone. It could be Mage versus warlord. I could be Mage versus city. It could be Mage versus half the entire army of the home world the Empire was invading but in it the end, King Tiger stood alone. Gaw, even Mom had archers protecting her at the minimum. This was wrong on so many levels.

My vocalized concerns were duly noted and my demerit points were now in the twenties. Fine. Fine, just fucking, fine. There were tossing King Tiger and his little Neko-laus off into the middle of a military stronghold out in a forest only God knows where. We didn’t need them anyway. I armoured and clawed up. Mags fought me on this but he ended up putting a chest protector and helmet on in return for bedroom concessions at a later date. I didn’t want to imagine the depravity he would want to get into if we both came back from this mission. It was only twenty minutes from briefing to landfall and I had him practise moving in them as I practised throwing him lines of power. He humoured me the whole twenty minutes. I think that was worse than ignoring me all together.

So now we hung in the belly of the metal beast waiting for the order to go in and start killing. All the joking that was going on when we board was over. I sat beside Mags with my bucket in my hands that the flight crew had shoved at me. I couldn’t blame them, I threw up all over the last couple of transports. I doubt that it was an easy clean up.

Orders were simple. Destroy the town’s government building. I think bringing in a high level mage to swat a building was overkill. But then, this was more about intimidation and a show of power than really worrying about a wooden structure. I don’t even know where we are. What world we were going to set foot on? I just knew that all negotiation had failed and Mags was, we were the last resort. The time for talking was done. Once more I could hear Mom’s voice in my head, “It’s you or them, Nicholas. I would much rather it be them.”

The game plan. I find a natural source of power and tap into it. Mags sets up a magical barrier around himself until I’m ready to throw him a power line and then takes down the government building. I range outside the barrier and keep physical resistance at bay until Mags was done. Easy. Simple. Fool proof.

Things rarely went according to plan.

When the transport dropped down into the sky of this world we were rocked hard. It was fucking raining. A little part of me shrivelled in on itself. I hate the rain. I started as a hand cupped the side of my head and then I was pulled sideways against the deadliest force in the universe. King Tiger Magnus laid his cheek on top of my head and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Just think of it as a big shower stall, Nicky.”

He raped me in a shower stall.

Mags began to hum that tune that so entranced me before. Unbidden I leaned in a little closer. I was lost in his offer of comfort until the squawk of the radio broke the silence. Silence? I opened my eyes and saw everyone who wasn’t flying this monstrosity staring back at us. Mags had his eyes open and was watching everyone as he continued to hum as if it didn’t bother him. I closed my eyes and rested against him. We were side by side but I felt like I could feel his heartbeat.

He was used to being the center of attention. It had always been my goal to fly under everyone’s radar. I didn’t have to be the flash. I didn’t want to be the sparkle. I sure as hell didn’t want to be the crown jewel that everyone coveted. I didn’t want to be a leader like Grim, the focal point, and learning more and more about Mags I was finding parallels between us that were disturbing. He didn’t do anything to stand out of a crowd, he just did. I didn’t want to be a leader but others just flocked around me. I took over the Skulls only because standing alone in a hellhole like the Shambles was a death sentence. Mags did what they told him because that was all he knew.

“Kitten?” He purred it low enough that no one else could here it. Mmmm. The annoying endearment didn’t bother me right at this moment.

“How the hell can you be so calm?”

There was a slight smile in his voice. “I look calm?”

“Well, yah.”

“So do you, Nicky. I think that is what is setting everyone on edge. Most Latents would be weepy messes right now.”

“I think we’ve come to an agreement that I’m not most Latents.”

“Well, yah.” I blinked as Mags mocked me.

/Landfall in three minutes./

I set my bucket aside. I hung onto it because I didn’t know if this thing they shoved into my ear was going to take care of it. I guess it did.

/You know the game plan, King Tiger. Do it by the numbers. No deviations especially with you breaking in a new Latent./

“Acknowledged, Newmarket.” I didn’t have to be looking up into his face to know that he had rolled his eyes.

I sat up. “By the numbers?”

Mags covered the right side of his collar tags with his hand. “The brass called the strategy meeting and they said that they want a surgical strike. If that was what they wanted, they wouldn’t have assigned me the job. They want everything flattened.”

“What?”

“You already know that I am not the most stable of Mages. I no doubt that they hope to hell that I lose it and leave a scorched earth policy down there.”

“Are you?”

“No, Nicky. You’re going to stop me.” My face must have held something strange because Mags turned and caught my chin with the crook of his finger. “Catch and Release.”

“It’s never been battle tested.”

“Well in one minute, it will be.”

“How the hell can you be so fucking calm?”

“I’m not but me freaking out wouldn’t do in this little confined space with people who are scared to death of me at normal times. You would do well to get a stoic look with the medical staff. ”

/Site has been targeted. Dropping down in.../

He was lecturing me right now? My stomach jumped up into my throat as the transport dived towards the surface.

Battle, skirmish, raid or war or whatever else you want to call it is hell while it’s happening and your mind wants to forget the details. Or maybe it’s your soul that want to forget. That needs desperately to forget because a man shouldn’t be able to do this type of horror to another living being. We did it by the numbers. Not the Empire’s number but by mine and Maggie’s. We delivered a non-technological society a numbing blow to the skull, stunning it into inaction and now the rest of the Empire was descending to rip the carcass to shreds. These people were already dead. They just didn’t know it yet.

And I help killed them.

More than the twenty or so I cut down with my blades but everyone who fell on that battlefield could be counted as my coup. I was the battery that supplied the destruction. The theory of catch and release was proven with amazing success.

When my boots hit the muddy ground my long curves blades were out and flashing in the overcast cloud induced twilight. I knew that there wasn’t a power grid to pull from so I high tailed it away from the transport searching for a natural source to draw on. I didn’t look back at Mags. He was the combat veteran and he had told me were he was going to take up position so I knew where he was going to be. He had to be because when I did find that source, I would be throwing it back to him blind. I fully expected to be attacked long before I actually found something.

Lightening flashed and the ground rumbled as if protesting our foreign presence on this soil. Even though I might now have a chip in the back of my head and a thing wielded into my ear, I knew where these people were coming from. This was their home. This was where their families lived. The men raced out of the wooden houses brandishing whatever they could get there hands on. Hoes, axes, a few swords and even wooden clubs were piling out toward the square. I shook my arms and snapped my wrists to prepare for what was about to come.

I scanned to the east. The rain began to pour harder almost making it a cold grey sheet. There were faint glimmers to the east but nothing strong enough, bright enough and therefore draw-able to warrant me running in that direction I had did a quick scan from the transport as it hovered to the west, behind our position, and there was nothing but it seemed like it was miles off. Too little too, late for that one.
Nada to west. Nothing to south. Oh shit. If they had attacked as one I would have been over run but as they ran out of their house who they saw was Mags. He was there waiting for me using his own innate natural ability. It was making the hairs on my neck stand up on end. A burly man swung a shovel wildly at me. I ducked and double bladed him to the midsection as I ran passed.

I could feel something. Somewhere. I couldn’t see it but I could feel it. It made my insides quiver as if I was synchronizing with it. The footing was unstable with the amount of rain coming down. It levelled the playing field for the village more than I liked. I dodged an overhand axe blow only to slip and fall to one knee. I hacked at the man in sheer desperation. He fell backwards with a sharp cry. I have never been so sloppy but then I was still on my feet and he wasn’t.

I couldn’t see any lines so I let my insides tell me where to go. Not towards the east of the village, the sensation faded as I danced and killed my way to the north. As I made my way more westward, the feeling intensified. Nothing. I couldn’t see anything and it just wasn’t the rain. My insides were jumping. I was dead on target. I twisted my torso to the left as a pitchfork was thrust at me. Gaw. He came at me again stabbing at me with short sharp and well placed thrusts. This guy knew how to fight and he knew how to handle his weapon. The wet was making the hilts of my blades slippery. The ground was sucking at my strength as I tried to keep my footwork fast. If I didn’t I was going to get pitched like so much hay.

Damn it! The tines ripped into my coat and felt like he pierced the flesh of my upper arm. He took advantage and dragged the metal spike down and out leaving a jagged tear and hot blood pouring down my wrist. Where the hell was it? He changed holds and swung the handle hard into my upper arm. Pain exploded in my head and I stumbled sideways almost falling in the mud again only this time I slammed into the stones surrounding the community well.

Power reached up from the water below and blindsided me fore a moment. I didn’t even reach for it. It just leapt up of its own accord. Instinct made me fall backwards. The scrape of rake tines on stone was just as sharp as any rifle fire. I had lost my grip on my one blade. The man changed momentum and raked those three inch spikes back towards my throat. The back of my blade hit my forehead as his attach was deflected high. Sharp agony exploded from my broken nose and I blindly jabbed my sword forward up the metal crotch of the rake. The end buried itself in something heavy. I forced my blade deeper trying to ignore the pain rattling around my skull as I called on the power at the bottom of the well.

It was akin to getting hit with a gully wash. It was pure and fast and it threatened to rip control from me so easily. I pulled back searching for a way to just get a sliver, a single thread. The rake shoved back down at me until it clanged against the hilt. My arm buckled slightly as the man jerked himself off my blade. I was not dying out here in this foreign land in the fucking rain. I wasn’t. I took the power that I could handle and slammed it hard into my attacker. He flew backwards in the air almost as if he had been hit by a military carrier. Something hot ran into my right eye.

Reaching up I touched the insignia at my collar activating the communication system. “CATCH!”

I was disoriented but Mags was this red glowing ball at the far end of the town. The natural energy from the water was vast. I had to focus hard to get my own latent ability to narrow and confine it. I turned myself into a funnel constricting the flow making it narrow but more forceful and giving it a direction. I laid a hand over my tattoo willing it to life. I felt the answer, an echo if you will come from the direction of the red glow. I threw the power line toward the skull tattoo that adorned King Tiger’s chest. I knew when he got it because he yanked on it hard and it felt like an invisible chain tried to rip my chest open. He was drawing hard. I ended up on my hands and knees breathing hard. It was no wonder his Latents died if he normally pulled that hard on them. I could feel the power moving through me. I was raw and ragged. It didn’t hurt but it felt strange.

“What are you doing to our goddess?” I peered through my water soaked bangs as the pitchfork man rolled over to his knees.

Damn it. Shouldn’t he be dead? I gave him enough of a shock to...shit. I rolled in the mud back towards my other fallen blade. Trying to fight this guy with anything less than my long blades would get me skewered.

“Why is the Goddess responding to you when she won’t help her own people?” Pitchfork could see the power stream. My hand closed around my hilt and I scrambled to get to my feet.

Holy crap! Pitchfork rammed his weapon down as I slipped in the mud landing hard on my ass. My ankle was pinned between the tines and now I was stuck in to the ground much like a moth in a glass frame. I watched as he reached out trying to close his hand on the power stream that was rising out of the well and flowing to me. His momentary inaction was my salvation. I reached to my bandoliers and pulled free two throwing knives. When Pitchfork turned his attention back to me I threw the smaller blades. On caught him high in the chest landing between his ribs and puncturing a lung. The second cut the side of his throat, opening his carotid artery in a violent spray of blood.

It takes a while to bleed out. Some men stare in wonder and puzzlement as their life drains away. Some men let their hate and deserve for vengeance drive them forward to take as many of the enemy as they can with them into the dark cold bowels of death. Pitchfork was the latter. Internally I was horrified to see him rip the blade from his chest as blood mixed with the rain and sprayed down over me. I couldn’t move my leg and every time I jerked on it my ankle was rubbed raw.

I stared up into his cold grey eyes and I knew that he knew that death was coming on swift wings and he was going to try as hard as he could that I would be his escort to the other side. Fuck that. I swung my blade and hacked into his arm. The dagger went flying. Pitchfork dropped to his knees and huge calloused hands reached out for me.

I got my hand back around the muddy hilt of my long blade and brought them up from the ground to cross before me like a pair of shears. My wounded arm didn’t leave me the strength to make it a clean cut. My leading edge got caught on his vertebrae. His eyes were open and still staring into mine as he fell forward landing hard on my chest. Blood poured out of his severed neck in a wash than soaked into my chest and neck. Pitchfork was heavy. As deadweight he was more effective than the damned pitchfork that still had my ankle pinned and useless.

I had to wriggle and squirm to get out from under him. My arm was still pinned but I started kicking at the handle of the pitchfork working it out of the ground. I was practically defenceless like this. Kick. Kick. Kick. Sonofabitch. The tines finally worked their way out of the ground and I pulled my leg back, using my knee to shove the still bleeding man off me. I was covered in his blood.

The ground began to rumble.
“Fire in the hole!” Mags voice came through the intercom.

What? I didn’t know if it was from the insignia or the chip or the ear thing that was now a part of me. I got to my knees and was getting ready to stand when the whole of the sky erupted in a blinding brilliant white light then came the noise of destruction and then wind ripping debris all around me. I ducked huddling between the body and the stones of the well.

Mags was impressive...and scary. Holy shit. There was nothing left of the main building. It wasn’t even a smoking crater it was just gone. The chunks still falling wood and stone could not even be identified as once being a two storey building. Thunk. A head sized piece of stone foundation landed close to me. If that connected I would be following pitchfork to the afterlife.

Okay, so now I know what “fire in the hole” means. I could still see Mags glowing red shield across the town. All resistance was over now. The people were just standing in shock. Only two men had jumped out of the metal beast from the sky and look at what one did.

/Objective achieved prepare for extraction./

Where the hell was that coming from?

I staggered as I felt Mags pull hard on the water power stream again. What the hell?

/King Tiger your power monitor indicates.../

Okay. I concentrated and pulled back on the feed I was giving him. He resisted. I yanked hard. Nothing.
I touched the insignia. “Release.”

I yanked again. Nothing.

“RELEASE!”

/King Tiger stand down./

Damn, damn. I started running or I tried to run. My ankle gave out and I sprawled in the mud. I scrambled back up and limp jogged toward Maggie’s shield. He told me to stop him. I didn’t believe him at the time. Mom had always said that it was possible to get lost in the magic that it could take over and make the witch a puppet to it’s whims and desires. That was why all those who studied the art were taught methods to prevent this. Mantras, chants and strengthening of mind, body and soul so that when the forces of destruction were given a target they were held tightly in check. It seemed that just like the Latents in the care of the Empire, there was no training given to keep their Mages long. Mags was just as disposable as I was in their eyes.

I got used to the pain in my ankle and broke out into a full run. “RELEASE YOU STUPID FUCKING...!”

/Neko-laus off the channel./

I barrelled into the crowd of stunned villagers knocking them out of the way as I forced my way up to Mags shield. My blades forestalled any protest but I think it was amount of blood still clinging to despite the pouring ran than made them take a few steps back.

The hair of the back of my neck stood on end as I approached the red barrier. “Mags.”

There was a red radiance to his eyes and he really wasn’t looking at me. I don’t think that the Mags I knew was there. This was bad. The magic had him and it was gearing up for another strike. Glyphs were beginning to glow on his skin that was still exposed above his uniform. I gave a hard yank on the power. He turned his head towards me but there was no recognition in his eyes.

“Maggie, release.”

/King Tiger.../ I ignored the annoying voice.

“Maggie...let me in.” I put my blades in one hand and brought my good arm up my fingertips barely brushing the shield.

I didn’t expect him to have the presence of mind to allow me inside. He reached forward grabbed my shirt front and dragged me inside his shield. It was warm and dry here and the distractions of the villagers outcries and the ship’s communication were silenced. He brought his hand up to his face and looked at the blood staining it. The red glow his eyes didn’t fade but he reached out and brushed my bangs from my forehead.

“Mags, release.”

A frown furrowed his forehead.

“Our mission is done. I need to take the power back now.”

“They... hurt...you.” His words sounded so forced.

“Just flesh wounds.”

“Must...pay.” His fingertips skimmed the side of my jaw.

“I’ve survived worse.”

“Blood.” He pulled his hand back to find it covered with red stickiness.

“Most of it isn’t mine. Mags, the ship is calling and they are coming to get us. I need you to release the power.”

“Must...pay...hurt...my...kitten.”

He was going to kill everyone. The draw was strong and steady as his power glyphs began to glow stronger. What would happen to him if I cut him off mid-draw? Right now, he was powering up for full annihilation. Shit.
I dropped my blades and plastered myself across his back my hands snaking around his sides to rest directly over his tattoo. If he wouldn’t drop the draw, I had to distract him. At first I couldn’t get anything started because my mind was going a mile a minute. I caught his scent at the base of his neck. There it was...I felt the skull flare to life on his chest. I let the random memories of how my Mags looked as I showed him how receive – the terrified look to changed to wanton hunger; the erotic smile on his lips as I found and exploited his pleasure spots.

“Nicky...” The tattoo flared hotter. Mags tossed his head back.

The glyph that was burning close to my cheek began to fade and the need to kill was being superseded by the need to fuck. Sorry, Mags but this is going to hurt but you asked me to do this. Since he wouldn’t let go of the power, I cut him off at the source. He shuddered at the sudden loss of that powerful stream. He still had so much stored in those magic glyphs to do some serious damage. I didn’t know how long I had before he recovered so I panicked and stripped the lingering power from without a plan of how to get rid out it. I might be called a battery but I never tried to store energy like this.

Too much. So fucking much. Mags collapsed in my arms then dropped to his knees. The shield dropped and we were hit with noise and weather.

“FIRE IN THE HOLE!” The villagers had learned this phrase as well and they scattered off the hillock. I threw the energy stream back toward the well, back to the source. I blew the well to hell. Rocks rained down but we were far enough away that they weren’t of a any consequence. Mags was slumped on his knees, head hanging forward under the onslaught of rain.

I gathered my blades and took up position at his side as the villagers began to emerge from their cover. We were out numbered and if I didn’t see Mags chest rise and fall he could have been dead. I might have done something worse by breaking his connection like that but I think the damage to his psyche would have been worse if he levelled this village and killed everyone in it.

/Transport in transit./

The villagers began to pick up their dropped weapons. We were going to be bloody pulps by the time the transit gets here.

“Anyone to takes a fucking step up this hill will find it to be the last step that he takes.” The kept advancing.

“Your Goddess has forsaken you! She has allowed strangers to use her bounty against you.” I felt like my tongue should burst into flame as I spouted this blasphemy. If I was healthy and by myself, I might have been able to fight them off but Mags was down and I could feel my blood still slipping off my knuckles.

“Whatever you have done to anger her, you have brought this on yourselves! Drop your weapons and beg for her forgiveness. We are just two men and look at what destruction we caused.”

I fully expected to get skewered by another rake instead I was shocked to see the village men drop their weapons and move away from us back towards the well I accidently blew up. What was more surprising was that women and children came out of their homes and joined their menfolk.
My legs began to shake. I started as Mags shifted his weight and sort of braced me up. “I’m going to burn in hell for this.”

“Kitten, you ever think we already are?”

Two Empire soldiers took on a village of two hundred and fifty and lived to tell about it. Mags was credited with fifty kills. I was given thirty in total. The sad part was I could only remember fighting Pitchfork. In the end, I think Mags hit the nail on the head. We served in Hell.

_________________________

Damn this was hard to write but once I finally did, it flowed like molasses. I forgot how much I enjoy fight scenes. Booyah! As usual, READ, REVIEW AND ENJOY! Later Loyal.