Chapter two is up! I've just spent almost six hours on it and I hope you like it. I'm posting it as it is - I'll correct the mistakes later. I just want to give it to you as soon as I can.
I hope that nobody's going to be offended by the portrayal of their avatar but I wanted to make the characters as authentic as I possibly could. It was all done in good faith - I assure you.
Plus - I just realised that I have misspelled Katelin's name in the first chapter. Sorry, Kate!
SPOILER! It's longer than the first part
Lupus Magnus. A Nine Swords tale - Chapter 2
They all waited in silence as Katelin was setting up the connection on her laptop. The living room in Dr Kavescu’s house was spacious and tastefully decorated, subtle shades of blue with a touch of white here and there. Varicoloured paintings dominated by vivid reds and oranges constituted an interesting contrast to the cold palette. Scarlet blossoms on one of the canvases reminded Mellified of the red flowers she herself had brought into existence the night before. She preferred to work with steel, not brush though. As opposed to the painter’s work, her creations could be admired only for a moment but they were all the more precious to her because of that. Their ephemerality was what made them unique. Death was ugly and brutal. They made delivering it slightly less grim. But only slightly.
Katelin clicked on an icon and put the laptop on the table at which the group was sitting. She turned it around so that the screen was facing them and took her place at the opposite end of the table. An animation presenting a circle of inward-pointing revolving swords continued for a few seconds and the face of their commander appeared on the screen.
“Salvete, Gladii!” Durendal greeted them solemnly. ”Salve, Magister Generalis!” they responded respectfully. “Katelin has informed me of your encounter with the Phoenicians… and not only them.” He added after a brief pause. “It seems you our dynamic duo is as indestructible as always” he smiled looking at Floryn and Aberlour. “Well, you know what they say, Boss” beamed Floryn “Friends who slay together, stay together. Although if Abe doesn't take a bath soon, I'm going to have to reconsider that last part”. “Well, it’s not like Eau de Fleurine is pushing “Chanel no 5” from the market either” retorted Aberlour. Durendal continued ignoring their typical banter. They were always teasing each other like that but each would give his life for the other.
“You all performed extremely well. As always, I might add” he cleared his throat. “However, I feel I, all of us in fact, owe a special thanks to Mel, whose composure and level-headedness proved crucial in ensuring that we could all meet here today”. Mellified bowed her head towards the screen. “You can always count on the Snow Queen not to lose her cool!” quipped Floryn but nobody laughed. Mel looked at him unamused. So did the others. “What?” he looked around in confusion.
“Moving on” Durendal continued. “The information provided by Dr Kavescu has proven to be correct, as we all know. The doctor and his wife arrived this morning and they seemed fine if slightly apprehensive. Naite and Sonno didn't report any trouble on the way. As we speak, Kiss is interrogating our guests. I’ll get back to you if we learn anything important.”
“What we need to focus on now are the Phoenicians and their operation in the region” stated Durendal sombrely. ”Unauthorised by the Council, of course” remarked Chaosetor snidely. “Of course” confirmed the commander. “Kate?” he turned to Katelin who had spread a map of the area on the table.
“Based on the intelligence we've been able to gather so far, it’s a very hush-hush operation” she started. “I don’t think you can get more hush-hush than hiding a 3-ton monster in a woodshed” commented Abe. Kate smiled slightly and went on. “Their activity seems to be concentrated in this area” she pointed at a part of the map showing a number of deserted farms. “A lot of space with a reasonably good road connection. A good place to run an inconspicuous operation. Plus, if they’re interested in werewolves, the forest is just a stone’s throw away.”
The Swords looked at the map thoughtfully. “No point in rushing in headlong. Not with only the four of us battle-ready” stated Kate. “Hey! I'm not that hurt! This morning Chaos almost had to stop me from going jogging. Couldn't you at least have said “only the four and three quarters of us?” asked Floryn jokingly. “This no time to jokes, Floryn. Almost losing you is no joke” Durendal’s voice admonished him from the computer speaker. “Neither was the beast you encountered tonight” he frowned “Let’s be frank, if it hadn't been for Mellified, you might not be here to make light of the situation. We have never encountered a werewolf impervious to our weapons, and a behemoth of a one at that!” Durendal paused for a moment. Floryn eyed Mel surreptitiously but she wasn't looking at him. Her gaze was upon a painting on the wall opposite her. The image was of a young girl in a crimson cape picking red roses in a clearing covered in snow. The long hair escaping from under her hood was the same colour as Mellified’s.
“There’s no point in discussing this now” Katelin attempted to pacify the situation “Our plan of action is simple: find out what the Phoenicians are doing here and thwart their plans, whatever they are”.
“I’ll do it” the eyes of everyone in the room turned to Mellified. Durendal stared at her intently for the screen. “As you've said, Kate, we need to learn their intentions” She continued calmly “This is a one-man mission. Or one-woman mission in this case” she smiled humourlessly. “Alone I’ll be able to infiltrate whatever base they've set up. Based on what we saw earlier, I'm not expecting any cutting-edge surveillance equipment” she looked knowingly at Aberlour. “Didn't see any CCTV in that shed” he sneered. “Not even a battery-powered one” she lightened up a bit “One person will attract less attention and will be able to move faster than a whole group. Besides, with Floryn injured somebody would have to stay with him anyway”. “I haven’t needed a nanny since I was thirteen” winked Floryn, happy that the gloomy atmosphere was beginning to dissipate. “Maybe not but Mel’s right” Chaos interjected. “If we’re aware of them, they’re most probably aware of us. If we left you alone, we would be risking you getting captured. You’d have to be baby sited.” Chaosetor looked at Abe with a self-satisfied smile. “Don’t even go there, man!” Aberlour pointed a finger at Chaos with an expression of mock terror on his face.
“Alright” Katelin silenced the group “Go in, learn what you can and go out” she told Mel. “If there’s time and opportunity, a little sabotage wouldn't go amiss but returning to us safely is your priority. Durendal?” Kate turned her head towards the computer. “Agreed” the commander nodded in approval “The rest of you will stay in the house and fortify it, just in case. As Chaos said, we have to assume they know where you are”.
Mellified passed hastily through the undergrowth. Luckily, it grew scarcely and rarely hindered her movement. Mel travelled light. She had her sword, a small submachine gun and a few surprises tucked away in her pockets just in case. For a moment she almost lost herself in the moment. She loved the way the air smelled after the storm and how the raindrops tumbled down the leaves and onto the forest floor. Mel quickened her pace. She caught a glance of a spider’s web adorned with strings of transparent droplets. Infused with the moonlight they glittered brilliantly. Like diamonds. They were so pristine, so pure. And not red at all.
“What’s up with Mel?” asked Floryn as he was nailing another board to the window frame. “Ever since we've arrived here she’s been sulking and moping and…”. “Hand me a nail” Aberlour interrupted him. Floryn did as his friend had asked, slightly surprised at Abe’s cool tone of voice. “Did I say something wrong? Did I hurt her feelings?” Floryn persisted. “You can be a heartless bastard sometimes, but that’s not it” said Abe hammering at the nail a little more intensely than was needed. “What then?” asked Floryn in confusion. Aberlour sighed and put away his hammer. He pulled up a chair and at next to Floryn.
“That thing with the werewolf yesterday. I think it brought back some pretty nasty memories” explained Abe with a sad expression. “It’s not going to be “werewolves killed her family and burned her village” kind of story, right?” muttered Floryn under his breath. Aberlour looked at him with disapproval. “Do you remember what I just said? About you being a heartless bastard?” he asked. Floryn’s eyes went wide. “You don’t mean to tell me that she… That her…” he stumbled in horror. Abe looked back at him, his previous expression of condemnation giving way to a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief.
“What? No! Floryn, you idiot!” he exclaimed. “What are you raving about!? Her… What!?” Aberlour jumped to his feet and started pacing around the room furiously. “Her family is fine! They live in Devon, you douche bag! You met them last year when Mel invited us to her folks’ house for a barbecue!” Abe raised his hands to his face in frustration. He took a few deep breaths and returned to his seat. Floryn just sat there, embarrassed and abashed.
“So…” he dared a question after a few moments. ”What is it then?” Abe looked at him with a serious face. “It happened before you were assigned to our squad” he picked up the hammer and returned to work. “We were sent on a mission to find and capture a werewolf that had gotten loose somewhere in Central Europe. South of Poland I think it was.” He hammered down another nail. “I seemed a pretty easy assignment at the time. The wolf was a pup, no more than an infant.” Another nail was driven through the wood. ”We were careless. We didn't anticipate any problems and we underestimated it. After all, we thought, what can a werewolf pup do to five fully-armed Templars, right? We were wrong.” A bang resounded in the room. “It turned out” Abe reached for another plank “there was not just the pup we had to worry about. It had its parents with it. The father gave me this” Abe pointed at his cheek, his finger followed the scar all the way to the middle of his chest “This one and three more. I would've bled to death if Katelin hadn't been there.”
“Kate was with you?” asked Floryn. “Yeah… Kate and Durendal both. It was he that practically saved us all. I’d never seen a man move so fast before. It was as if there were two… No, three guys there not just him” Abe closed his eyes for a moment. ”But before he could reach us the father was on me and the mother on Mel. And believe you me – there’s nothing fiercer than a mother protecting its child. Mel was almost eviscerated. And all of this in just a few seconds. Luckily, mom noticed others running her way and left Mel alone.”
Floryn looked at Aberlour with his eyes wide open. “I didn't know Mel had any scars”. “She doesn't. At least not physical ones. Our doctors and plastic surgeons patched her up pretty well. It helps when your M.D. stands for “Magical Doctor” he smiled humourlessly. “Physically she come out of it fine. But something like this doesn't just go away. It stays with you” Abe wiped the sweat off his forehead. ”And Mel’s strong. She won’t let it compromise her role as a member of this squad. It’s all going to be alright.”
“So I didn't make her hate me with my stupid jokes?” said Floryn visibly relieved. “No” answered Abe. “It’s all good. Just” he met Floryn’s gaze “think twice before you open that yap of yours again, OK?”
Mellified scanned the farmyard suspiciously. Something was wrong. She had seen the lights inside the barn from afar. A big truck was visible inside. But she saw only one guard on patrol. And he made his route at irregular intervals ranging from five to even ten minutes. It wasn't right. Not even the Phoenicians should be that sloppy. She quietly traversed the yard and approached the half-open barn door. A few quick glances ensured her that there was nobody around. She had at least four minutes before the guard passed by again. She slipped inside and quickly hid behind a stack of crates. The Phoenicians had built a few cages in the corner. These looked much more robust than what she had seen the day before. They also had a kind of command centre set up with a few laptops and some documents strewn around a few tables placed next to the truck.
Mel decided to go around the truck, just to be safe. She peeked outside. Clear. She passed the door and went around the truck and came out from behind it, the tables in front of her. Now she was sure that nobody was present inside the barn. She was going to turn on one of the laptops and try to get a general view of what was going on when one of the maps buried beneath a pile of printouts caught her eye. There was a house marked on the map in a red highlighter, with a few big red arrows pointing at it. Dr Kavescu’s house. The house in which they were staying.
Mellified froze, a stampede of thoughts rushing through her mind. The truck was the only vehicle she’d seen. She would have to use that. Mel quickly gathered all the computers and papers she saw on the tables and put them inside the truck’s cabin. Then she ran to the back of the truck. Perhaps the cargo could prove useful. She opened the backdoor and looked inside. A series of expressions appeared on her face. Curiosity, surprise and finally - a mischievous smile. “I've got to hand to you, my purple friends. You may be a bunch of slimy thieves and smugglers, but you do know how to party” she said.
The Phoenician guard was just about to pass the barn when he heard a sound of a revving engine. He immediately raised his gun and started to approach the building carefully. He was about 20 metres from it when the truck burst out of the barn sending a cloud of broken wood and splinters in all directions. He barely managed to discard his weapon and throw himself out of the vehicles path and into a pile of rotting straw. He got up, wiping his hands on his trousers in disgust but he quickly realised he had more important things to worry about. He took a glance at the truck speeding away and then turned his gaze to look inside the barn. The tables were empty. The truck was gone. His superiors were not going to like that.
“Hungry?” Chaosetor turned away from the window when he heard Katelin’s voice. “I've made sandwiches” she smiled girlishly. “What? No field rations this time” he reached for the plate. “Nah. I decided we should use the fact that we’re dug in somebody’s home. No point in letting the food go to waste” she nibbled on an apple. “Dat’s thu..” mumbled Chaos, his mouth full. Kate looked at him cheerfully but her face quickly hardened. Chaos halted as well. A sound of cars reached them from outside.
“Snack’s over” he murmured wolfing down another sandwich and aiming Mel’s rifle. “Licence to kill?” he asked. “Excellent choice, Mr Bond” Kate finished their inside joke and rushed towards the stairs. Chaos gazed through the rifle’s scope. Two SUVs were approaching quickly. Their windscreens were darkened but that posed no problem for him. He aimed at the driver of the car in front and pulled the trigger. He could see the sparkle of shattering glass and the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. The second car turned right and started for a small wooden building about 200 metres from the house.
“What is it with Phoenicians and woodsheds?” asked Chaosetor aloud. There was no response. “That’s what I thought” he smirked. He aimed at the moving car, calculated the distance and fired. The car’s front tire exploded and the vehicle came to a halt. “I'm just too good at this” said Chaos but his smile quickly faded. One of the passengers from the first car was crouching behind an open door and holding something. Something long and metal.
“Oh no no no no no !” shouted Chaos and sprang up running away for the window, Mellified’s sniper rifle in his hands. He had just run out of the room spewing Norwegian swearwords as if he were from Bergen, when the missile hit. Luckily for the Templar, the rocket exploded against the window frame but the shock wave threw him down the stairs nonetheless.
“Chaos!” he heard Katelin’s shout. “Alive, just dissatisfied with the overall situation!” he shouted back. “I think they had only one missile” yelled Aberlour. “They’re coming on foot. Seven… Eight… Yes, eight of them. All carrying assault rifles”
“Now I remember!” said Floryn limping towards them. “What?” snapped Kate. “The name of that movie I starred in.” His companions stared at him quizzically. “The attack of the Shed-people!” he bellowed. “Gods have mercy!” groaned Abe. “What?” Floryn’s surprise was almost genuine. Almost.
“OK, fun time’s over!” said Kate “Abe, are they trying to surround the house?” Aberlour peered through a space between two boards. “No! They’re all coming straight at us.” “Well” remarked Chaos” At least they’re not a smart enemy”. “Phoenicians don’t do smart” answered Kate and started giving orders. “Floryn, hide behind the corner when they…” she stopped. “Did you hear that?” she asked. “A… foghorn?” “Almost” said Abe. “There’s a big truck coming this way and I don’t think its theirs. They look as confused as we are”.
Chaosetor helped Floryn as the entire four looked outside. The truck made a U-turn and stopped. Somebody jumped out from the driver’s seat and ran towards the back. “Is that who I think it is?” asked Kate questioningly. “I think so… Wait” said Abe “Something’s coming out. What the..?”. “Sweet Mother of home-baked bun-buns” Floryn whistled impressed “That girl will never stop to amaze me”.
Mellified opened the back door and climbed inside. She saw the Phoenicians change direction and run towards her but she didn't want to hurry. She wanted to savour this moment. After all, she was going to save the day again. That’s two days in a row she was going to save. Nice score.
“Battle suit on!” she said decisively. A faint glow of electronic lights illuminated her face. The mech’s windscreen displayed an array of data. All the icons were green. “Battle suit ready. All systems running at full capacity.” she heard a female voice announce. “Battle mode on!” she ordered. The response came immediately “Battle mode initiated. Defensive measures activated. Weaponry activated. All battle systems running at full capacity. Vae victis!”. “Nice touch” Mellified smiled and jumped out.
The running Phoenicians stopped unsure what to do. Two missiles, each aimed at one of the SUVs, reminded them that they should probably move. Two simultaneous explosions severely limited their options. Surrounded by fire on two sides and a steel killing machine on the third they rushed towards the house. Mel went after them. The stationary mech seemed heavy and sluggish but when it started to move, it did so with surprising grace. The grace of a giant bull enclosed in iron, but grace nonetheless. “Time for a little surprise” Mel whispered. She squatted, moved her feet as if she wanted to click her heels and bluish flames surged from two nozzles at the back of the battle suit sending Mellified flying above her prey. She rotated mid-flight and landed facing her opponents. The whole eight of them clustered together in terror. “Now’s the part I like best” said Floryn inside the house.
The battle suit was equipped with a diverse selection of lethal instruments. Among them were two eight-barrelled Gatling guns. One at each arm. Slowly, they started revolving singing the unmistakable prelude of what was to come. Mel narrowed her eyes and whispered “Vae victis!” Sixteen barrels started spewing bullets with a thunderous roar. They did not hesitate or tire. They dealt death with calm consistency. The Phoenicians were ripped apart in a cloud of blood, their purple quickly turning crimson.
Katelin and the rest of the squad came outside and approached the mech. “I need to get me one of those!” laughed Floryn limping alongside Aberlour. “Mel! That was incredible! Are you alright?” Kate hugged their saviour as soon as Mel had left the suit’s cockpit. “I’m fine, Kate” she returned the embrace. “How on earth did you know how drive that thing?” asked Chaos in amazement. “It was made for Phoenicians! How hard could it be?” They all laughed.
“Most impressive” Durendal looked at them from the screen of Katelin’ laptop. “That the Phoenicians would have resources to pull that off.” “Impressive and disquieting” remarked Chaos “Even if they stole the battle suit, it still means they had the connections to know where and how to steal it.” The group nodded in silence. “I’m arranging a transport. We will discuss everything when you arrive. You can all be proud of yourselves. Especially you, Mel.””Thanks, Boss” she sent him a modest smile. “In crux veritas!” said the commander. “In gladius potestas!” they responded. The connection ended.
Their mission was a success. One that none of them had anticipated. The Swords smiled. All but Floryn. “What’s up, Flo?” asked Mellified playfully. “Didn't do enough smashing?” “It’s not that” answered Floryn solemnly. His companions looked at him concerned. “I have a feeling that Phoenicians driving big shooting robots is not going to be the worst of our concerns”. He reached for a leather-bound notebook that Mel had found at the Phoenicians’ base. Its cover was decorated with a symbol of a savage-looking wolf and the words “The Lupus Magnus Project”.
They heard a rumble of thunder somewhere far away. But it was closing in. Fast.
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