Brace For the Wolves Read online

  Brace For the Wolves

  Challenger’s Call Book 2

  Nathan A. Thompson

  Prologue:

  Shake. Rumble. Break.

  But what was breaking? I wondered.

  I could not tell.

  Everything blurred, buzzed, numbed.

  You are, Pain said.

  You are what will break.

  No, I thought back. I am not broken now.

  I have not broken before.

  I will not break yet.

  Quake. Shudder. Shatter.

  You are what will shatter, Pain insisted, before I could even ask.

  You are human. Weak. Frail. Doomed.

  No, I thought back. I will not shatter.

  I will be whole despite my harms.

  Fracture. Rupture. Sunder.

  No. Stop, I ordered, and the blindness and numbness listened.

  Stretch. Widen. Flex.

  Grow…

  Push.

  Monitoring systems returning to online status…

  Please wait one moment....

  Monitoring is back online.

  Detecting genetic imprint on user Dr. Brogen. Granting access to said user. Proceed with current monitoring?

 

  Query accepted.

  A blonde woman in her early forties sat next to a red-haired girl in her mid-teens...

 

  Query accepted.

  Older woman is Stephanie Malcolm, mother of deceased Subject Anonymous. Younger girl is Rachel Malcolm, sister of deceased test subject.

 

  Query accepted.

  Mother and sister are currently under observation, unharmed, not marked for termination at this time.

  Stephanie and her daughter stared numbly at the two dark-skinned men sitting across from them...

 

  Query accepted.

  Younger male is Davelon Brown, friend of deceased subject, possible obstacle. Older male is Investigator Thomas Brown, monitored unwilling asset, possible obstacle.

 

  Query accepted.

  Davelon Brown is currently under observation, unharmed, not marked for termination at this time. Thomas Brown is under strict observation, unharmed, marked for termination upon first incident of noncompliance.

 

  “We still don’t have any information at this time as to where he might be, but I’ve reached out to every contact I have outside of town. The departments of every nearby city know what he looks like, and knows he’s missing. They see him, they’ll apprehend anyone he’s with and make sure he’s safe. I promise you that, Stephanie. I’m calling in every favor I’m owed to make sure that happens.”

  Algorithms triggered. Checking subject for possible non-compliance. Process complete. Subject is still within parameters.

 

  “Thank you,” Stephanie Malcolm said numbly.

  “I wish you were in charge,” her daughter muttered. Her face looked as numb as her mother’s, but she reached out and grabbed her mother’s hand.

  Thomas Brown, a tall, broad man in a suit, just shook his head.

  “So do I, but since I have a relationship with Wes, I’m not allowed to be part of the investigation. I can’t tell them how to run the case, make them follow certain leads, pick the people on the investigation. But I will share everything they tell me with you. And if I discover anything about Wes on my own, I’ll make sure we bring him home.”

  Algorithms triggered. Checking subject for possible non-compliance. Process complete. Subject is still barely within parameters.

 

  “I just wish you could do more,” Stephanie Malcolm said, shaking her head.

  “I can’t even believe it matters,” Rachel Malcolm sighed. “I mean, so what that you know my brother? Everyone in town knows my brother. But because,” the girl’s voice choked, and she stopped to inhale. “Just because he helped save your life, and because you don’t hate him like everyone else in this dumb town does…” She shook her head. “That should just make you an even better choice to find him.”

  “It should,” Davelon Brown growled before his father could speak. He had a similar build to his father’s, save that he had even greater muscle mass. “But unfortunately, that crazy therapist of his is claiming he assaulted her. Her story doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s enough—barely—to make Wes considered a suspect. Which means Dad currently has a conflict of interest if he’s part of the investigation.”

  The officer nodded.

  “My son’s right, unfortunately. I can ask questions, and I can rattle bushes, and if I see your son I can bring him in. But officially using department resources to look for your son will just get me disciplined and make them clamp down on me too much to be able to do anything at all.” The man hesitated for a moment, then swallowed. “But make no mistake. My entire family owes your family their lives. If Wes is alive, I will find a way to bring him back. And if someone has hurt him, I will find a way to make them answer for it.”

  Algorithms triggered. Checking subject for possible non-compliance. Process complete. Subject has exceeded parameters and is now non-compliant. Marking subject Thomas Brown and collateral subject Davelon Brown for termination.

 

  Confirmation accepte—

 

  Genetic imprint recognized.

  Command confirmed. Subject is no longer recommended for termination.

 

 

 

  Command confirmed. All collateral targets for deceased Subject Anonymous have been permanently removed from all surveillance. Sending notification to other systems that further monitoring of said subjects will mark the offending staff for termination themselves.

 

  Command rejected. Insufficient clearance.

 

 

 

  Command confirmed. Returning to offline mode in fifteen seconds…

 

  Command rejected. Other user has superior clearance via Draconic level gene-print. Revoking inferior level clearance upon shut-down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  System is now offline. Goodbye.

  Chapter 1: Leaving Scent

  I stopped shaking.

  My muscles tensed one more time, then relaxed to their normal state
. I sucked in an extra-large lungful of air, then exhaled it all in a leisurely sigh. My eyelids closed tightly, then slowly opened, as if I was just waking up after a long night of sleep.

  The hallway looked much like I had remembered it. Large stone tunnels that someone had tried to paint characteristics on, in spite of the fact that the numerous seams in the stone wall marred most of the images. It was as if my favorite evil corporation had acquired an actual god damn dungeon and spent a great deal of resources trying to get the site in line with the company’s ‘excellence first’ mentality.

  Then the most annoying corner of my memory stood up and reminded everyone how that was almost exactly what had happened.

  But enough of that. I had to finish taking everything in or something was going to sneak up from behind and bite me right in the ass. Stone wall. Lit torches set inside. Cracked company logos. White mist.

  Mist…

  “Avalon,” I said suddenly. “Provide a status report. How long did it take me to Rise?”

  Avalon was both the name of the world below my feet and the semi-aware intelligence that resided inside of it. Or maybe the planet itself was aware. I was never very clear on that. I had arrived on this world by accident, and discovered that this world and every other one with people on it—every world but Earth—had needed someone exactly like me. They hadn’t cared one whit about how back on Earth I was a disabled teen who had trouble walking and thinking and who was the son of a dead, alleged pedophile. They had looked at what I had done before, during, and after my injury, and decided that I was the greatest candidate they could have possibly gotten for saving over a dozen worlds. Stell, their steward, would have begged for my help if I had let her.

  I had still not gotten used to their high opinion of me. Not after being scorned and demeaned for so long on Earth.

  But more importantly, they were all in danger now.

  “Local status unchanged,” the mists on the ground whispered in a deep, robotic voice. “Challenger and Lord Wes Malcolm completed his Rise within fifteen minutes. Two foreign contaminants were detected interfering with the process. First contaminant was blood-based and previously detected during the assessment of Challenger Wes Malcolm’s Right to Rule. Contaminant was detected again once it attempted to interfere with Challenger Wes Malcolm’s most recent Rise. Attempt failed. Malus-based taint detected in foreign contaminant. Second contaminant is an unidentified piece of technology located within Wes Malcolm’s cranial region, theoretically capable of receiving data from the Challenger’s synapses as well as passing on its own signals into the Challenger’s nervous system. The Challenger directly interacted with this device and appears to have deactivated it upon his most recent Rise.”

  So that last vision about my family wasn’t a dream. Good. But I had better clarify.

  “Avalon,” I interrupted. “Just to confirm, you’re saying I have some weird computer that has been spying on me and is probably responsible for all of the health problems I have been having back home, and that it was probably helping whatever demon thingy I have in my blood talk to me and try to cripple me?”

  “Confirmed that Challenger’s statement is accurate, save for designating first foreign contaminant as ‘demon,’ as the name is too broad and inaccurate. Confirmed that contaminants appear to be capable of inhibiting a normal Unrisen human but are insufficient for restricting a Risen individual. Avalon will continue monitoring both contaminants. Returning to further updates. Location is currently clear of hostile inhabitants. Non-hostile inhabitants are still present. Detecting varying degrees of injury and trauma within each inhabitant. Medical attention is advised.

  “Location and status of Lady Breena of the Fair Folk is unchanged. The Challenger’s bonded companion is still unharmed and hiding. Hostiles still present nearby. Location of Lady Guineve of the Mists is unchanged. Avalon’s guardian is still damaged and recovering in her warded lake. Hostiles present in great number but unable to penetrate Lady Guineve’s wards for the time being.

  “Horde pits detected on and under Avalon’s surface. Their presence is restricting Avalon’s capabilities and must be destroyed before system rituals can achieve prior level of power. Avalon recommends that sites be targeted after securing non-hostile inhabitants and completing protocol In Case Of Trouble.”

  “Fine,” I sighed. “I’ll add that to my list.”

  For now though, I had people to save. I opened the door I was standing by.

  The large metal door opened with a creak. I walked in to see the same people. The three men, probably of different races, who had helped me fight off the last group of Rhodes’ men. The people who had apparently been abducted from other worlds and taken here. And the four orphan girls my family had tried to watch over for many years. Three of which had been coerced, and probably tortured, into slandering my father. All just to help cover up his murder. The fourth had been kidnapped to help cover up my own eventual murder.

  But I didn’t have time to get angry about that. There was a lot I didn’t have time to process right now, because if I did my psyche would probably break, and people would definitely die. I had to get everyone to a secure location and I had to do it before anything else went wrong.

  Karim, the dark-skinned man in robes, stepped forward.

  “Is he dead?” he asked quietly, referring to the man I had dragged out of the room earlier. The one responsible for kidnapping and probably torturing the orphan girls.

  I nodded.

  “Probably not for good, though,” I replied. “They could come back from death. Just like I used to be able to.”

  “Used to?” Karim asked. “You are a Challenger. Your kind was always able to resurrect.”

  “Not after a hundred deaths, apparently,” I answered. “I stopped creating a projected body after my last torture session. Their portals allow our original bodies through, so they took my actual body here to kill me one last time. That was when I escaped.”

  “Can they die permanently if they come here in their original bodies?” the dark man asked.

  “I don’t know,” I shook my head. “My informant said they get one more projected body if that happens. But I’m not sure how much I can trust him.”

  Chris Rhodes was another matter I was waiting on thinking about. There was just too much to do before I could allow myself to go crazy. And I would definitely go crazy if I thought about my childhood nemesis right now.

  I recited my list of things to do: Secure my fellow former captives. Get them somewhere safe. Get to Breena, my fairy companion, clear her area of hostiles, preferably on the way to our new shelter. Secure the shelter, then go rescue Guineve and see what else I could do for Stell. No bad thoughts until then.

  “Anyway,” I said after pausing too long. “I destroyed their portal, so they can’t easily come back here. But I know they have a few other guards and monsters still patrolling the area. There is a safe place I can take these people to, but it won’t be fully ready for at least twelve more hours. So we either need to see if we can hole up here for a bit, or find a way to get them back to their perspective homes. Are there any other portals you know about?”

  Karim shook his head.

  “They used some tool to travel between worlds. The three of us,” he pointed to Weylin, the blond, elf-like man behind him, and to Eadric, the brown-haired dwarf-like man behind him, “attempted to follow those men here to find out where they were going. But when we passed through their portal, we became disoriented and weakened, and so they captured us.”

  “That’s not supposed to happen when you go through a portal,” I said. “The dizziness isn’t supposed to last more than a second. And you’re not supposed to be weakened. Did that ever pass?”

  “It did,” Karim confirmed. “And they had not realized it. That was why we were able to make our escape attempt just now. They had no idea of our capabilities.”

  That reminded me of my own experiences with Rhodes’ portals. I still wasn’t sure how long I had been in tha
t coma.

  “Alright,” I said while thinking. “So even if we do find one of their portal tools, it will be dangerous to use. Wait…” I looked around at the mists on the ground. “Stell and Breena could both create portals. When we recover Breena we can probably start returning people to their homes.”

  “We have no homes,” a woman said from the group of prisoners. She was wearing a torn, ragged cloth dress. “They burned our homes. They took our possessions. They killed everyone we knew. They only kept us because we would be useful,” she hissed as she said those words, and a strong shudder went through her body. “We were going to find out how today.”