Sacrifice: The Demontouched Saga (Book 5) Read online

  Contents

  Sacrifice

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Join the List

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

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  Review

  Read More

  My Other Books

  Help Me Out

  Author's Note

  About the Author

  SACRIFICE

  The Demontouched Saga

  Book 5

  Douglas Wayne

  SACRIFICE

  THE DEMONTOUCHED SAGA

  BOOK 5

  Douglas Wayne

  Copyright © 2015 by Douglas Wayne. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental. Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited.

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  douglaswayne.com

  This book is dedicated to my wife and kids. Without your sacrifice these books would have not been possible.

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  - 1 -

  “We’re going to need more men,” I say, walking back to our makeshift command shack thankful that Nancy also had the gift of healing. I wouldn’t have been much use here if I had to limp around like I had to a few days ago.

  Part of me feels guilty she wasn’t completely able to heal Ralph though. Not that she didn’t try.

  She was able to heal his shattered hip and legs though his lower body paralysis had set in for far too long for her to be of much use.

  I’ll say one thing about the man, he has a wonderful wife. With a woman like that on his side I’m sure he will be well taken care of.

  “The defenses weren’t this built up like this the last time I was out here,” Nal says pacing alongside the cars.

  As of now, we’re sitting about four hundred yards away from a ten foot tall brick wall that surrounds what used to be an eighty home subdivision at one point. Inside those walls are a group of people that Nal believes are allied with the demons planning on opening the rift. How he got the information is beyond me, but I suspect they crossed him somewhere down the road. He may be a good person deep down, but he has worked with his fair share of shady people in his past.

  According to Nal, this group has a history of murder, rape, kidnapping, and pretty much every other nasty crime they could do against humanity. Their rap sheet is enough motivation for me to want to take them down, but only if the cost is right.

  “How many of those do they have?” I say, pointing to a guard tower on the edge of the compound. Up above I can make out two figures holding weapons scanning the area for intruders. Thankfully, they are blind to us due to both our position in the surrounding tree line, and the cover of darkness.

  The remnants of the surrounding houses litter the area around the wall, some of the piles still smoldering. Add to the removal of any plant life for about two blocks and you have a group of people who wants to know when people approach. I can’t say I argue with that as a defense.

  “I see four on this side,” he says. “Hard to say how many more there are without light.”

  “Light is one thing we don’t need,” I say watching the movements above. “It’s going to be bloody enough in the dark.”

  “You not feeling it?” Nal asks, looking at me with a concerned look on his face.

  “I’m not in charge here,” I say, hand on his shoulder. “You are. I’m with you whatever you choose. But, I think we will lose too many people taking this group down as things stand.”

  “I’m with you,” he says. “Let’s spread the word to pack it up and head back to the compound.”

  I jump out of my skin when I notice Nancy walks out from around the side of the house. Even today she looks the same as the last time I saw her. Without the bullet wound, of course. Part of me is having a hard time believing she is with us at the moment. And as Malachi’s vessel, nonetheless.

  It feels like only yesterday when I left her in the hospital after saving her from Duncan’s men on the north side of town. I feel bad knowing she got shot trying to save us, but apparently things are working out pretty well for her.

  “If we can coordinate an attack on the towers using silent weaponry, we should be able to overrun the camp without many casualties.” Nancy says approaching the shack.

  “They will see us long before they could get a shot off,” I say.

  Nal nods his head. “The best we can hope for with a bow or crossbow is about fifty yards in one direction. In our case we will be aiming at moving targets another five yards in the air to make it worse. If we are going to do this, we should get men stationed to kill the sentries at the same time. Yeah, the camp will know something is going on, but we can be on our way in long before then.”

  “There is another option,” she says, looking over at me.

  I shrug my shoulders. “My range is worse than that with the knife.”

  “You have a powerful asset in your command,” she says, smiling. “I can create a diversion to get us close.” She points out two towers next to each other protecting what looks like the main gate. “Once we are there, we take out the first tower from the ground while their attention is diverted. Then we climb up the ladder to the one next to it and take them down.”

  Commander Stevens rubs his hands together and stands up. “I’ll put four archers in place for your diversion. They will take out the men in the corner towers.”

  “With the sentries on this side down, we should be able to storm in the front gate with part of our force,” Nal says turning to Stevens. “If you would, lead a unit to cover the other gate. If we can cut off their chance to escape we will be in business.”

  “Consider it done,” Stevens says, marching away.

  Situations like this is what makes Nal such a great leader of people. In this world there are no shortage of people looking to hog all the glory, but he isn’t one of them. He is content sitting quietly in the background making sure the cogs are turning while the rest of his people get all the praise. He knows deep down he is the reason things work out as he puts the right people on the right jobs.

  I look at my watch in the moonlight to get the time. “We need to get this show on the road in the next thirty minutes or we are going to lose the cover of darkness.”

  Nal nods. “Then we move in fifteen. Stevens should be in place by then.”

  “You ready?” Nancy asks, stepping into the open. Part of me wants to yank her back into the tree line, but I know she needs to be in the open to create her diversion. I only wish I thought to ask her what she had in mind. Thankfully she doesn’t leave me in the dark for long.

  She stops about teen feet in front of me and lifts her arms in the air. I hang back behind her so I don’t interrupt whatever she is doing. From my position I can hear her saying something, but I can’t make out the words.

  Then she breaks into something that sounds like a chant.

  Then I see it.

  A green streak of light fills the sky on the south side of the compound. It almost looks like a meteor though it is lasting much longer and flying much more slowly than they
usually do.

  “Let’s move,” she says when the light from the green streak finally goes dark.

  With my knife in hand, I follow close behind Nancy who is running at a full sprint. I’ve never been the fastest runner, but with my freshly healed leg I’m able to keep her pace.

  As we get closer I notice the men in the towers watching the sky to the south. From this angle is is hard to make out, but they almost look to be relaxing their weapons. The two sentries in the right tower point ahead, obviously still noticing the effects of the flaming meteor from their higher viewpoint.

  Ahead of me, Nancy pulls the bow off her back and notches an arrow in record speed. She pulls the bow to her ear, taking aim at a man on the left tower, bringing him down with a single arrow. Without hesitation I throw my knife in the air, using my power to thrust it into the other target.

  With the first two men down and us at the tower, she stops at the bottom just out view of the other two men.

  “They still look distracted,” I say.

  “It won’t last much longer,” she says. “We need to hurry.”

  Nancy sprints around the corner of the tower wall and jumps onto the ladder on the inside of the gate. Without hesitation I follow close behind. As we climb up the ladder it creaks slightly, putting me on edge. All it would take to end this whole charade is for one of the men in the other tower to hear us now. While they might struggle to kill Nancy, they could easily have me on the ground in a heap with one well placed bullet. I press the thought to the back of my mind, however, and focus on my climb.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Nancy reaches the top of the platform. With my path to the top clear I double my speed wanting to hurry things up, a mistake I want to have back.

  I let out a loud grunt when my body crashes into the ladder when my rear foot slips off the rung. Behind me, I hear the two men in the nearby tower pointing me out as a target. Before I’m able to get both feet on the ladder I hear the sound of Nancy’s bow as she looses one arrow at the men, followed by another.

  “Thanks for that,” I say, taking her hand.

  “Don’t be in such a rush,” she says. “You must learn patience if you hope to get Sara back.”

  I nod.

  I want to get her back more than anything, but Nancy swears now is not the time. Considering I’m in a tower attacking an enemy camp, I’m inclined to agree.

  - 2 -

  After retrieving my knife, I use my powers to pull the two nearest machine guns to my hand. In a normal fight, I would be inclined to use my ability to manipulate metal. In what will likely be a full scale assault however, it just isn’t safe. It can be difficult enough to stop bullets when you know where they are coming from. When you combine the close confines of the camp with the added darkness, relying on it for safety is out of the question.

  From my position on the gate tower, I watch as the men from the other two towers are dropped in rapid fashion. Shortly after, I smile when I notice the influx of bodies rushing towards the front gate.

  To my side, Nancy turns a crank on the wall allowing the gates to swing open to the outside. With the path clear, our men rush inside splitting up into smaller raid groups as they pass through the gates.

  The gunfire starts shortly after. Sporadically which is a good sign. It means we caught them flat footed and that they are neutralizing any threats quickly.

  “See you when this is over,” Nancy says, leaping off of the tower and into the fray. Times like this make me with I was an angel that could survive the jump. Not wanting to risk another broken leg I figure it’s best if I stick to the ladder.

  “Nice work,” Nal says, stepping onto the tower’s platform from below.

  “Thank Nancy,” I say handing him a gun. “She saved the day again.”

  “She’s always been an amazing person, but I don’t think I’ll get used to her being a badass again.”

  I nod, checking the magazine. “Calling the shots from up here?”

  He shakes his head at me, pulling out his dead cell phone. “The boys are on their own from this point. I figured I could grab one of the weapons up here and take out any stragglers that try to escape.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I say.

  Scanning the area, I can make out packets of resistance towards the back side of the camp thanks to sun peeking over the horizon. While we wanted the cover of darkness to start our assault, it is essential to have daylight for the majority of it. Casualties from friendly fire in conflicts like this are bad enough without adding virtual blindness to it.

  On this side of the camp, the groups of soldiers are starting with the outer ring of houses before slowly making their way to the middle. Most of the gunfire at this point has been located on the north side of the compound though nothing steady. Almost like short concentrated bursts into groups of the enemy.

  “Do you see that?” Nal asks, pointing to a blue house about two blocks away.

  “Another orb?” I ask. Out in front of the house, almost set up like a lawn ornament is the distinct yellow glow of an orb of souls.

  “Why would they set one up there?” he says, scratching his chin.

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to grab it.”

  Nal nods as I make the slow decent down the ladder. The moment my feet touch the ground I run for the relative cover of the nearby houses. They won’t do much to protect me if someone runs up in front or behind me, but it will keep me from being caught out in the open.

  I take a route that keeps the outer wall on my left side since the outer ring of houses should be clear by this point. Up above in the first tower I pass, the bodies of the two sentries are slumped over the guardrail surrounding the platform, weapons slung on their backs obviously killed before they could react.

  Once I’m through the backyard of the first house I notice activity on the other side of the wooden privacy fence. To my left I see a group of our soldiers exiting a house walking next door unaware of the threat they are about to walk into.

  Between the houses a small group of three men are tucked back behind some decorative bushes alongside the neighboring house, ready to strike. Why they haven’t already is beyond me, but maybe they hoped to be able to take them out quietly so they could attack another group. With that in mind I jump the fence with the machine gun at the ready, hoping to save the day.

  I fire my weapon before my feet even touch the ground. While I’m capable with a pistol, firing the machine gun is another matter entirely, emptying the magazine in a matter of seconds without scoring a single hit. My efforts were at least successful at sending the enemy out of the cover of the bushes and toward the safety of the two vehicles in the driveway.

  The men approaching the house hesitate for a moment, lifting their weapons at me in reaction, but quickly turn their attention to the men running away once they see who I am.

  I drop the empty gun, opting instead for the relative familiarity of my bladed weapons. Behind the cars I can almost make out laughter from a blond guy with an amazingly festive mohawk as he looks at me, a small handgun aimed in my direction. With a flick of my wrist, I decide to end his fun.

  He lets out scream that gets muffled the moment my blade enters his tender throat. He collapses back into the two men behind him, squirting blood over both of them. I can almost make out the final death twitches of his boots when I reach the rear bumper of the car.

  The second man, wearing a blue tee shirt and a black Yankee’s cap is the next to go when I send the knife into his chest. When he stands up in the open to pull out the blade the soldiers open fire, sending him to the ground in a heap, sending a spray of blood over the cars behind them.

  I almost laugh when I notice the last, an older man easily in his fifties with a body full of wrinkled tattoos playing dead under the body of the first man. To anyone else, seeing the man covered with blood would be a sign he was definitely gone. This one, however, obviously wasn’t aware that I was the one that killed his friend.

  W
ithout a hint of hesitation I take my angel blade and shove it through the chest of the top man. The older man lets out a blood curdling scream as the sword penetrates the flesh of his abdomen. With one hand he reaches for the blade in his gut, but opts to grab his switchblade with the other, sending it twisting in the air at me. I turn my head at the last second, sending the blade whizzing past my ear and clanging into the street behind me.

  “Almost,” I say, pulling the sword out of his gut before sticking it into his throat. He looks at me mouthing something that looks like an insult before passing out from the blood loss. I bend over and retrieve his soul, making a mental note on where it needs to go.

  “You good?” one of the soldiers, Mark, says checking the bodies.

  “I’m fine.” I retrieve my blades, wiping them off on the tattooed guy’s pants.

  They thank me for the save before moving into the house. With the coast clear I dart between the houses, crossing the back yards with little effort.

  Entering the front I make out two groups of four soldiers about four houses down making their sweeps with precision. Two enter the house to make the sweep while the other two remain outside to cover each direction in the front.

  As I cross the street, the two covering my direction jerk their weapons at me, quickly reverting them to a neutral position once I’m in the open.

  I slow down to a crawl once I’m across the street and into the front yard of the blue house I saw from the tower. It is one of the larger houses in the area, a two story split foyer with three sets of windows on each side. Even more impressive is the attached three-car garage. Whoever owned this house before the Rising had to be proud of himself as it much bigger than the others.

  In front of the house, attached to a polished marble bird feeder is the orb. Around the sides I make out metal bars holding it in place with a steel plate on top to hold it in. I’m not sure why they put it here, but it really isn’t important. From here I don’t want to give them a chance to retrieve it.