Kenzie stepped forward with economy of movement, a shuffle of her feet at a time, using the table’s width and dancing from left to right. The katana swished and curved and diced the air, chopping through a creeping body or catching one in mid-air.
Alicia ran down the side of the table to help, picking off a few stragglers at the back with the last of her bullets. Kenzie painted new and skillful shapes of blood in the air, stepping among the showers, dripping red, and starting to attract the attention of more than just the spider creatures.
Drake saw nostrils flaring and jaws widening as they aimed toward her. Taking stock, he quickly evaluated their position. The villagers were knotted in one corner of the room, Mai before them, taking their fair share of attackers away from the main battle. Drake saw to his dismay that two had already fallen. Dahl was in front, softening the onslaught. Up ahead, he watched as Dantanion studied the fight, the enigmatic leader saying nothing and moving little, but seeing everything. A shrug of a shoulder sent the last of his spider creatures into the fray, all bounding creepily toward Dahl and Alicia. And still he watched, both hands holding a ghastly chain of finger bones that hung around his neck.
From behind Dantanion came the feast that had been prepared, only now it was being propelled by two huge men dressed in chef’s uniforms. The strangeness and creepiness of it all staggered Drake, but he rushed forward anyway, barging two cannibals aside and punching a third in the head. The huge lead chef confronted him, cleaver in hand.
“You ruin it alllll!”
Drake staggered back as the chef upended the huge platter onto him. The prepared dead body looked whole, but had been quartered, so the arms and legs fell separately to the main cadaver. Drake warded off an arm but was struck by a falling leg, the bone hitting his forehead like a fist. It was only by luck that he then saw the descending cleaver — its blade flashing and catching his eye.
Thrusting both hands up, he caught the wrist as it came down, halting the blade a hair’s breadth from his face. The chef jumped upon him, weight bearing down, face a snarl and teeth bared. Coming around him now, Drake saw the legs of the second chef.
No way was he going to be able to move the big bastard atop him. The edge of the cleaver was already parting the tiniest hairs on his face. Every ounce of muscle, of concentration, was being poured into stopping that cleaver.
Chef number two dropped down to one knee beside his left ear. This man held a steak knife in one hand and proceeded to slowly level it up with Drake’s ear. He then placed a hand behind the shaft.
“Say when you’re ready,” he said to the first chef.
“Skewer its brain,” came the grunt of a reply.
Drake tried to twist away but there was nowhere to go. The second chef pushed the steak knife hard into his ear, but then the momentum stopped. The hand holding the knife fell to the floor and the bloody stump that was left flew up, spraying as its owner screamed.
“Let’s see how you like it.” Kenzie had swept the table clear and jumped to his aid. Her sword sliced and diced the second chef and then impaled the first. The man kept pushing despite the pain, seeing the end but trying to take Drake with him. The ex-SAS man pushed back with everything he had, holding the weapon at bay just long enough.
Kenzie pushed harder and all the strength fled from the chef. His face creased, his will all but sapped. Drake rolled him off and took the hand Kenzie proffered.
“Cheers, love,” he said.
“Just proving a point.” She waved the katana in his face to emphasize the wit.
“Always fancied the chef’s special,” Drake said. “Never thought I’d become it.”
“You will never take us alive!” Dantanion screamed above it all. “It will all come crashing down before we die!” He ripped the finger bone necklace from around his neck and threw it into the air — the chain broken and the digits dropping down all around him.
Ah, the quiet man finds his voice and his anger. At last.
“Sounds desperate,” Kenzie said.
“My job is almost done,” Drake said grimly. “Let’s push the bastard over the edge.”
Only three men separated them from Dantanion. To their right Dahl slipped in blood, fell to one knee and saw a knife thrust at his shoulder. Unable to twist to evade the attack he kicked the assailant’s legs away, felling him, and then stared right into the man’s eyes.
“Stab me whilst I’m down would you?”
The blade slashed at him. Dahl caught it, turned it, and planted it in his attacker. Another spider creature landed on his back, striking with elbows and knees, face mask lifted so the teeth could come into play. Dahl put a heavy boot into them and watched the black-clad man shrink away. Above, there were no more archers and the hall was becoming much less crowded. Mai managed to close the gap between them and the villagers, bringing the entire group closer together.
Dantanion screamed something about his family, his vision. The world he had built. As he finished, his self-imposed fangs glinted, a savage promise.
Standing alone, he did not run away.
Drake and Kenzie cleared the path before him.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
Hayden fought her way to the cave door as the living quarters rapidly filled up. The crush worked against them; made up of attackers, defenders and those that wanted no part of it. They had nowhere to go. Some were being stabbed or crushed just to make space for more. Dantanion’s guards surged into and around the place, hunting out the insurgents.
Struggling, she tried to get the key into the lock. An arm swiped at her, making her lurch. She pushed the attacker in the chest, forcing him back. Aimed the key again and forced it into the lock. Yorgi kicked out at her side, forcing another away, doubling up a woman. When she looked up again her eyes were glowing, her face rabid. Hayden knew she’d ingested a ton of cannibal juice.
Cannibal juice?
Well, what the hell else would you call it? She twisted the lock, heard a click, and flung open the doors. Just in time. Another surge forced her down the narrow passage that was revealed and into a blast of cold air. Yorgi stumbled after her, then Fay. She’d already lost Smyth and Kinimaka, but assumed they were just trying to cope with the crush. She’d already checked and knew the Glock had six bullets remaining. Now, she pressed on, seeking out a niche or a junction where she might be able to stop and help her friends.
Above, she could only see rock and knew they were below the foundations of the house, its lower edge probably jutting out into space over them. Built as it had been against the mountain she knew it had to be anchored further up, and the concealed caves delved below. Two guards caught her first, and she beat them hard, rendering both unconscious in less than a minute. Fay stared in amazement.
“Why didn’t you do that before? At the feast?”
“Because I didn’t have backup then. And I thought I could find the keys alone. And—”
“All right, I get it. Jeez.”
Yorgi used the rock wall to gain forward momentum, running a few steps up at full speed and coming down hard onto another guard. Hayden backed further away. The cave entrance began to fill and then the passage. All manner of people followed her.
And attacked without conscience. Anything went in the caves. Men came low and she beat them down. Another slashed with a sharpened stick and she perforated his lungs with it. A spider creature crawled along the side of the tunnel where the wall met the ground, black and chilling. Hayden decided it was worth a bullet and saw it bleed red blood.