Going into battle this time felt far less daunting. With two gods and my mother joining us, I wasn’t nearly as frightened. I still wasn’t looking forward to the ordeal, but the fact was that now we were more than evenly matched. All we had to do was summon the Lykren out from hiding again. We discussed the matter on the way down the side street, heading toward the chain-link fence.
“If we all go barging in there at once, chances are he won’t come out. Maybe Yutani, Viktor, and I should go in while the three of you hide outside the door waiting. That way it will think we’re easy pickings. I’ll have my wand just in case,” I said.
“That’s actually a good idea,” Herne said.
Kipa scowled for a moment, but murmured an agreement. I could tell he didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to stop me. We wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible and I didn’t want to have to come back here again.
We came to the chain-link fence and before I could start climbing over the top, Kipa swept me up and sat me down on the other side, then leapt over the fence himself. He turned to offer my mother his hand, but she’d already skimmed the top and was standing beside me. Herne, Viktor, and Yutani joined us.
“Which building?” Herne asked, glancing around at the surrounding facilities.
I pointed to the hospital building. “That one there.” Somehow the building didn’t seem so threatening this time, most likely due to the company I was in. I had to admit, having friends in high places—the divine sphere, that was—made a difference in my courage.
I clutched my wand, trying to remember exactly how my mother had told me to use it. There was an amber gem in the center of it. If I touched that gem with my thumb and incanted the spell, it would trigger the wand. I had to make sure I was pointing it in the proper direction, though, because the resulting blast could level walls. And I had to pay attention where I was holding it. Luckily, the amber gem wasn’t in easy access while I was carrying it by the end, but it still would pay for me to be clearheaded and paying attention at all times.
Without Trinity, it took a little longer to get into the building. Kipa was able to pick the locks, though, and soon we were inside. I gave Herne directions to find the basement, and with him in the lead and my mother behind him, we headed toward the stairwell. Kipa was bringing up the rear to keep guard on us.
I noticed that the spirits were taking much more attention of what was happening. They were focused on us, staring with their mouths open. It had to be the divine energy, I thought. Plus, with my mother’s nature, the spirits would totally be onto us. Several of them actually took one look at her and sped off in the other direction. I couldn’t help but grin, thinking that I had my own Mommy Dearest, only Phasmoria could beat out Joan Crawford any day.
We reached the basement door, and I stared at the metal. There were dents in it, as though something had tried to punch through from the inside. I remembered that Trinity had locked the Lykren in, and apparently the Lykren didn’t have a key. I pointed to the bulges on the metal.
“I think the Lykren did that. Trinity locked it in with his magic, so it hasn’t been able to get out to feed. I’m pretty sure most of the spirits have avoided the basement, relieved at not having the damn thing chasing them.”
Herne arched his eyebrows as Kipa went to work on the lock. I wondered if he’d be able to break it, given Trinity’s magic, but after a few moments we heard a click and Kipa stood up, brushing his hands on his pants. He tucked away his lock picks and then gave the rest of us a long look.
“I guess this is it,” I said. “Viktor, Yutani, and I will go in. Do not let that door lock behind us. And be ready to come in the minute we give a shout.”
“Why can’t you just use the wand to level the basement?” Viktor asked.
“Because then we wouldn’t know if we killed it. Just like I don’t know if my lightning bolt did any damage. We have to see the body to make sure it’s gone.” I bit my lip, not wanting to go back in that room. Even though I had Viktor and Yutani and wasn’t going in alone, it still felt about the same thing when it came to the Lykren. The creature was crafty, fast, and deadly.
“Okay, but the minute you see it you let us know.” Kipa turned me to him, holding me by the shoulders. “I am not taking a chance on losing you.”
“Trust me, I’m not interested in offering myself up as a sacrifice. I’m not that selfless.” I reached up and kissed him on the nose, then stroked the hair back away from his face. “I love you. Remember that. And thank you for helping me through the past weeks.” With that, before he could say another word, I turned to the door and, motioning to Viktor and Yutani, opened it and slid through.
Once again the room was dark as pitch.
I turned on a flashlight and waved it around, trying to let the Lykren know we were here. This time we weren’t going for secrecy. We wanted to attract its attention. We headed toward the tunnel on the west wall, and I hoped that Kipa would remember the directions I had given him.
As we entered the tunnel, I thought I could hear something from up ahead. I waved the light harder, practically playing disco ball.
“Do you think we’ll find it?” I asked, keeping my voice loud.
Viktor picked up on what I was doing. “I don’t know, but I sure hope not. It doesn’t help that there are just the three of us down here.”
Yutani stifled a snicker. I glared at him, but he just shrugged. “I doubt if it speaks English, he said. “But that sure sounds like the fakest conversation I’ve heard in ages.”
“That’s because it is!” I said, realizing he was right. The Lykren probably didn’t understand a word of English. Which was on my side, I supposed.
We came to the back of the tunnel, where we paused for a moment. I peeked into the cavern, trying to find the crack through which it had oozed the day before. There it was, on the far wall. The crack had taken some damage from my lightning bolt—that much was apparent.
I motioned for the men to slowly follow me in. As I tried to close my eyes and send out my sensors, the energy hit me with full force. We weren’t alone in the room. The Lykren was here. Now we just had to keep it from escaping until the others could get here.
“It’s around,” I said. “I can feel it.”
“I can too,” Yutani said. “It’s old, whatever it is, and it’s old and nasty.”
At that moment, there was a noise to the side and the Lykren came darting out from behind a tall column. It was close enough to brush me with its claws and I screamed, jumping back. It barreled my way, and I tilted the wand toward it, but if I let go now, it would seal us in. Yutani and Viktor were shouting for the others, as Viktor pulled out his sword and slashed at the Lykren as it went by.
He managed to hit it, and the creature turned toward him with an angry hiss, reaching out with those long arms and serrated claws. Its frog mouth opened and its tongue lolled out, heading directly toward Viktor like a weapon.
Holy crap, we hadn’t seen that before!
“Jump,” I yelled, hoping Viktor could move fast enough.
But Viktor was too slow, and he stumbled over a rock as the Lykren’s tongue caught hold of his arm and wrapped around it. Viktor let out a shout, and we heard a sizzle as the acidic drool began to burn through Viktor’s leather jacket.
Yutani pulled out his whip, and I realized this was the first time he had had a chance to use it in battle. He hauled back and sent it cracking through the air, to slice across the Lykren’s back.
The Lykren let out a shriek, muffled by the fact that its tongue was still around Viktor’s arm, and it tried to turn to see what had hit it. There were glistening drops running down its back. I wasn’t sure if it was blood or some other sort of liquid, but Yutani had scored a direct hit on it. I could smell charred flesh and it occurred to me that it might be from the ilithiniam. The whip had a magical metal braided into it. From what I understood, the great Coyote had braided the whip himself for his son.
The Lykren was still holding onto Viktor, and I could tell now that its acidic drool had eaten through the leather sleeve, and was biting into Viktor’s arm. The half-ogre was struggling, but the Lykren was stronger than even Viktor.
Yutani took another swing, this time aiming for the Lykren’s tongue. Instinctively, I winced as the whip came whistling down across the long pinkish organ, slicing right through it. Drool splattered everywhere, sizzling as it hit the floor and as it hit Viktor and Yutani. Luckily, I was far enough back to escape it, but both men screamed as the acid burned into their skin.
At that moment Herne, Kipa, and Phasmoria burst through the tunnel. I darted out of the way, yelling, “Viktor’s hurt, and I think Yutani has been too.”
They took in the situation, and Herne immediately pulled out his bow. He nocked an arrow and let it fly. The arrow pierced the Lykren in the forehead and bit deep. The Lykren shrieked and stumbled back.
Kipa took that moment to swing in behind it, plunging his sword through its back. The Lykren shrieked again and began to waver. Phasmoria moved in at that point, and she held out her hands toward it. A gray smoke began to filter through the air, emanating from the Lykren’s eyes and mouth as she sucked it in, drinking deep.
I had never seen my mother in action before, and while her kind usually foretold death, they could easily mete it out as well. She drank deep, her laughter shaking the room as she suddenly spun into the air, half corporeal, half mist. She threw her arms wide as her head dropped back and the last of the Lykren’s life vanished down her throat. Her eyes were glowing, and she gave a long look at us before settling back down and regrouping into herself.
The Lykren was slumped on the floor, and Herne prodded it with the sword. It didn’t move.
“I think it’s dead,” he said.
“This place needs to be torn down,” Phasmoria said. She shook her head. “The Lykren is only the first of the monstrosities that will come through this area. I’ll gather the spirits and take them away from here, but the area itself is a magnet for spiritual activity. The buildings have also been acting like traps. If they are gone, it may help some in the years to come. I don’t know if that makes any sense to you, but it does on an energetic level.”
“Well, you said this wand can bring down the house. Do you think it can bring down this complex? We can create a local earthquake, so to speak.” I stared at the wand, wondering just how powerful it could be.
“I don’t know if it can bring down all three, but definitely we should destroy this one. This is the heart of the complex. And this entire complex has almost become a sentient being, given all the energy that’s run through it. Go outside. I will gather the spirits and take them out. Then, I’ll return and you can give it a try.”
My mother shooed us out. As we waited in the secret garden, she returned to the complex. I could hear a great whispering and then a host of spirits rose out of the building, following my mother who was a dark figure in a black cloak flying through the air.
“What are you looking at?” Kipa asked, shading his eyes as he looked up at the sky.
“Can’t you guys see her? And all the spirits?”
The others shook their head. None of them could see my mother, and none of them could see the parade of spirits following her.
We sat in the center of the garden for twenty minutes until my mother suddenly returned, stepping out from behind a nearby tree.
“They’re gone. I’ve released them and now they can move on. Okay, my daughter. Give the wand a try like I told you.” My mother looked as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.
I snorted, standing up. I moved to the front, where I had a clear aim at the hospital, and held out the wand. Glancing over my shoulder, I looked at my mother.
“This isn’t going to hit anybody out in the front street, is it? I don’t want to hurt anybody.”
She shook her head. “I checked. There’s nobody around there. This is a pretty dead area, so to speak. In many ways.”
I fastened my hands around the wand, holding the amber gem. Closing my eyes, I focused on the building itself. The building that I had come to hate.
Fire, fire, burning higher,
here my will, obey me still.
There was rumbling, and then the building began to shake. Bricks crumbled as the walls caved in. As we watched, the building slowly imploded, crashing into a pile of dust and rubble. It hadn’t spread out to the residences, but at least the hospital itself looked to be fully destroyed.
We stood there for a moment. I stared at the wand, trying to comprehend that I had just managed to destroy an entire building with one little incantation.
Then, before the sirens could draw near, we turned and hightailed it out of the garden, heading back to the office. The Lykren was gone, the spirits were free, and a blot on Seattle’s history had been wiped out.