The Unbeliever by Zachary J. Kitchen

Author:Zachary J. Kitchen [Kitchen, Zachary J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ashton Publishing Group
Published: 2014-09-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

There were eight of them, standing in a semi-circle that went from the edge of the pier to the side of the condos. Max recognized three of them from the incident in the cemetery, but the five in the center were different. The first three were just punks and errand boys. The others were men: square shouldered and self-assured, with eyes like raptors. Max knew the look. He knew what they were just as surely they knew what he was. It was the eyes and it was the stance. Max knew he was facing soldiers and warriors. Combat indelibly marks those who survive it. Those who loved it and thrived upon its chaos and brutality carry a special version of that stamp. Max had made easy work of the underlings sent against him thus far, but he knew that those men before him would not make the mistakes their peons had. He inhaled deep and braced himself.

They faced each other, his two to their eight in a standoff direct from a spaghetti western. The tension was palpable. Max's hand itched to grab the pistol in his pocket, but he did not dare pull it in case they already had him covered by a shooter in the shadows. That is how he would play it and if these guys were as hardcore as they looked, he did not doubt that at least one of them had a piece ready to go and trained on him.

Elena broke the silence with a whisper. “The Dark Hand, they came in person."

“The who?” Max hissed back.

“The Hand is Almos’s five most trusted lieutenants. They were soldiers with him when they were alive and ride with him that they are dead. He knows why I am here.”

“Elena,” said the tallest of the group. "Our little hummingbird, our pretty flower has finally shown herself once more. Out from the shadows.” He spoke with a thick accent Max couldn't identify.

“The Devil take you, Lajos.” Elena spat on the ground.

Lajos smiled, showing very sharp and very long teeth. “Such spirit. The dreaming one wants you back, you know. He sent us looking for you so long ago, and we almost had you several times. But your scent grew weaker and weaker until it was gone; he gave up then. You were the only one to ever escape his grasp--until now, that is. When the winds told us where you were, he was not that interested in wasting the effort until those same whispers in the dark brought hints of what you were planning and what you were seeking. Then, he became interested, very interested. You are of no consequence. What he wants is what you have.”

“We don’t have any spare change, bud,” Max countered cheerily. “The Salvation Army is up the road. Go there if you want a handout.”

“The American human,” Lajos spat as if he had something foul tasting stuck in his back teeth. “You have been a problem. Look what you did to my little ones.” Lajos grabbed the nearest figure by the hair and pulled his head back.

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