Winter's Fury - Volume Two of The Saga of the Twelves (85 page)

She wore nothing else,
nothing upon her feet or her bladed arms. From now until her death
she would wear no other garment than that of Jätung.

Go and keep watch at the
mouth of the cave
, she ordered.

Enricht was quick to
comply. She settled down away from the gruesome mess they had left
in the wake of skinning her Petling. She let her mind roam,
reaching out once more to touch the landscape about her.

Everywhere, the blizzard
blasted the Melded World. The wind howled and the snow blanketed
the never-ending forest.

There was no sense in
attempting to leave the cave.

I will wait. I will
watch.

I am Inghëldir.

I will make them all pay
for what they did to me… and to Jätung.

*****

Something horrendous was
now loosed upon the Melded World – in what context exactly was
still unknown.

*****

“…
the choice is yours to
make…”

~~~~~~~<<<
ᴥ
>>>~~~~~~~

HERE ENDS

WINTER’S FURY

VOLUME TWO

OF

THE SAGA OF

THE TWELVES

The Story of the Twelve
Continues

In

VOLUME THREE

STORM’S REVENGE

~~~~~~~<<<
ᴥ
>>>~~~~~~~

~ Epilogue ~

A Revealing
Truth

Monday, November
29
^th
,
8:15 am…

The moment they heard the
massive chain rasp against the heavy iron door, they were awake at
once. They came to their feet, side-stepping as a group a few yards
from the portal.

Alicia hugged the smaller
Marissa about the waist. She hid her face behind the other’s
shoulder, while Miller stood at her side, body stiff, twitching
with jitters he could not control.

Vanessa and J.J. held
hands.

Out of instinct rather
than conscious thought, the boys – Miles, Chum-Lee and Jeremy –
stood between the door and the girls. Their arms they spread wide,
shielding, protecting.

When she walked through
the doorway, a collective gasp ran through them like an errant
mountain wind, sudden and strong.

Jeremy’s was the loudest,
more like a humming issuing from deep in his throat.

She was tall. Her body was
athletic, as hard looking as Jeremy’s. She had long hair, reaching
to her waist. It was jet-black and as straight as an arrow. She
wore it parted in the middle, divided about black eyes and a broad
face with a wide nose and pursed, bright pink lips. They were most
illuminant Jeremy ever seen, yet what covered her teeth wasn’t the
most striking feature about her. It was the color of her skin. It
was a sort he had seen only on TV, on the Discovery Channel. They
were documentaries about Africa.

His eyes widened before he
could help himself. It was the color of night, sculpted out of
flawless obsidian, then painted to perfection.

She’s
gorgeous
, he concluded, unable to keep his
eyes under his own authority. They danced over the one-piece
leotard she wore, clinging to her body like a second skin. He could
not help but stir at the sight of the tight nylon caressing her
ample breasts and budding nipples. The leotard folded around the
crests and valleys of her vagina like a fervent lover.

She’s not wearing anything
underneath. No bra. No panties
.

The teenage girls had
noticed as well, their faces shifting between disgust and fear with
every blink of an eye.

Over the form-fitting
garment, she wore a long overcoat made of kidskin. It was something
that Doc Holiday would have worn at the O.K. Corral. Or maybe a
cow-wrangler on a cold winter morning, but this one was black, a
color not seen much in the Wild West. Upon her feet were a pair of
boots, black as well, soles made of some sort of suede.

She made no sound as she
took a few steps into the bomb shelter, a mischievous smile pulling
at one corner of her mouth.

Jeremy realized he was
standing there looking like complete moron. He picked up his chin
from his chest, closing his mouth.

“
Who are you?” asked
Marissa. Her voice sounded small, but there was a hint of command
hidden within.

The voluptuous, black
woman’s smirk became a full-blown smile. “Why, I am the one keeping
you here.” There was a glint in her eyes, not cheerful, but made of
steel – hard, lifeless.

“
Oh,” mumbled the
girl.

As she spoke, three of the
towering Loki entered the shelter, fanning out behind her. They
were all the same height. They wore the same clothing – long coats,
black, button down shirts, black jeans and heavy, steel-shod boots.
One of them was carrying a long length of rope.

Jeremy was staring at it
with growing trepidation.
What the
hell?

Behind him, the girls
cowered, coming closer together, stark fear running through the
lot. They had seen it as well.

Chum-Lee too an
involuntary step backward.

The tall woman sighed.
“Very well, I am called, Rasputna. I am here on behalf of my Lord,
Ahriman, who has requested your presence before him upon the Throne
of Jüle. To that end, we are gathering you and a few others in the
fulfillment of that request.” She gestured about them.
“Unfortunately, as we knew it would, the gathering of the Legacy
Guardians has taken some time. This is why we chose this place,
this why you are here.” She attempted a warm smile, but it only
served to make her look all the more demonic. “But now, you are
leaving.”

“
Huh?” asked Miller, his
voice was teensy in everyone’s ears.

“
Really? We can go?” asked
Miles, eager, having bristled the most at his captivity.

Rasputna chuckled,
crossing her arms below her breasts as they bounced in tune with
her laughter. “Of course not, you dullard. You are all leaving the
World of Man. In a few moments, I might add.”

“
You’re not making any
sense. What are you talking about?” asked Marissa, coming between
the boys, her expression caught between outrage and
curiosity.

Alicia hung back, each
hand clasping a forearm of the older girls to either side of her,
her orbs as big as tea cups.

“
You are leaving. It’s as
simple as that, little Kring-Häl. Unless, of course, you are as
ignorant as the fat boy standing next to you, and are as easily
confused.” She was tapping her foot, gazing at the fingernails of
her left hand.

Miles stiffened, making
fists at either side. He would have said something, but Marissa put
a few placating fingers on his arm. He settled like a roan stallion
under his master’s soothing touch.

“
Now,” began the black
woman, loud, startling a few of them, “what remains unknown is
whether we have to use the rope.”

“
I don’t want you to tie
me up,” murmured J.J., her voice rattling.

Vanessa maneuvered so she
was between her best friend, the boy with the Shag haircut and the
plump girl. She placed her arms in front of them all.

“
If you promise not to
shout or try and run from us, I promise we will not use the rope.”
Her face darkened. “But, if any of you tries anything other than
walking with your head down, I will have my Loki tie you up like so
many hogs for slaughter. Do you understand?”

Behind her the Loki with
rope was wagging it through the air.

“
Please, don't tie me up,”
squeaked J.J., being immobilized at the hands of another terrified
her.

“
It’s ok, girl. Calm
down,” mollified Vanessa.

“
We won’t be a problem for
you,” announced Marissa, her eyes unwavering upon Rasputna. “Right,
guys?”

There were a few slight
nods among them.

“
Good,” was all the ebony
beauty would say. As agile as a cat, she spun on her heel and
walked through her Loki. “Follow!”

Jeremy glanced around, his
eyes settling on Miles, who shrugged, then on Chum-Lee, who stared
back, eyes huge.

“
Move!” threatened one of
the things with an ever-liquefying visage.

“
We have no choice,” urged
Marissa. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Jeremy shared another look
with his friend. “I’ll take the lead, you come last. I don’t want
any of those things too close to the girls.” He said it loud;
making sure the other heard him.

Nearer the door, the three
Loki chortled.

“
Stupid boy,” one said to
another.

“
Indeed.”

Jeremy ignored them as he
made his way through their giant forms. He was holding Marissa’s
hand, who gestured at her two friends to follow as well.

“
Grab the lantern,” said
Marissa, turning to look back Vanessa.

The teen nodded, stooping
to get the only light source they had, her companions
following.

Miles brought up the
rear.

Two of the Loki took up
position behind him, while the third lingered back, relocking the
bomb shelter. He took none of the food they had left for them.
Their trash was just about everywhere. It would have been easy for
someone to stumble across the room and figure out someone had
inhabited for the past few days. Locking it would prevent such a
thing.

They don’t miss
anything
, thought Jeremy, resigned. He
walked down a neglected hallway lit only by the glow of the
lantern.

At the end of the hall,
some fifty feet from the door of the bomb shelter, stood Rasputna.
She was pulling items out of a box resting upon the remains of a
long dead school desk.

“
Here,” she said,
thrusting a flashlight at him.

He took it.

“
You’ll need this,” she
stared him in the eyes, “and not just down here. You will need this
where you are going as well.” She stuck a bunch out at Marissa.
“Pass them out to the others.”

The little girl followed
directions. Within seconds eight strong beams of light were
flashing about.

By then the third Loki had
caught up with them.

Rasputna peered over them
to look at him. “Good?”

“
Perfect,” was the
creature’s reply.

She nodded. “Come,”
demanded the woman in all black.

They strode through the
sub-basement of the massive structure above their heads. With
little noise, they eased their way through the host of discarded
desks and chairs. It was the detritus of every underground school
depository Jeremy had ever seen. They are always so dusty and
dirty.

Minutes later, having
traversed a few more cluttered passageways and ascending two
flights of stairs, they emerged through a small side
door.

They entered an
auditorium.

“
Oh my god!’ exclaimed
J.J.

Rasputna rounded on them
with mock-glee. “Isn’t it just perfect and so… so
ironic?”

“
You’ve been holding us
captive under our own school?!?” Vanessa reeked of
incredulity.

“
Textbook, don’t you
think?”

The Loki chuckled, getting
the play on words.

Jeremy
sniggered.

“
All this time,” muttered
Chum-Lee with reluctant awe.

Miles was glancing about,
and then stopped, his eyes bulging. “What the fuck is
that?”

They all turned to follow
the large boy’s finger.

“
Why that’s your
transportation.”

“
To where?” asked Marissa
just above a whisper as if she afraid to know the
answer.

“
To where you will live
the rest of your days, Kring-Häl,” answered the stunning, black
woman. “Which shouldn’t be all that many,” she added as an
afterthought.

In the middle of the
stage, at the front of a thousand seats was the strangest thing
Jeremy had ever seen. It was rectangular. It shimmered in the play
of their flashlights. It was about seven feet tall and just over
half that wide, coming within an inch of the wooden surface of the
platform.

What astounded him was it
appeared to have only two dimensions. Sure, he could make out its’
height and its’ width, but it had no depth that he could discern.
It was as though the air itself was sliced and shoved aside,
revealing this lifeless gray shape.

“
What is it?” asked
Jeremy.

Rasputna motioned for them
to follow.

When none of them made a
move, the Loki began herding them toward the stairs and onto the
stage proper.