Kabal - 12. Chapter 12

Landyn ducked as he jumped out of the open door of the chopper. He ran over to the rusted gate, followed quickly by his men. They had landed on the helipad of one of the abandoned estates near the Order’s property. After Ronan exited the helicopter, it took off to allow the other one to land.

Quickly, they reached the small door Sho had told them was the side entrance to the mansion where the king and Ivan were being held. When they couldn’t find Nico and Sho, Landyn sighed. "As expected." He looked at the suspiciously clean doorknob. "Sho said opening the door triggers an alarm inside. Ronan, do you think you could disable that? If it takes too long though, we just blast through it. We don’t have time to play around with door mechanisms."

“Excuse me, sir.”

Landyn instantly reached for his gun, then he recognized the man and grinned widely. “Damn, Lionel! What are you doing here?”

“Noël ordered me to wait for you here. He and Sho couldn’t wait any longer. His precog urged him on. The king and Ivan were in immediate danger.”

Ronan stepped closer. “I gather your presence here isn’t a coincidence?”

“No, I was observing the house when Noël and Sho arrived. I thought they could use my knowledge about the Order before they infiltrated the facility.”

“Nico scanned you?”

“Immediately.”

“Why didn’t you go with them, then?”

“As I said, Noël ordered me to stay and wait for you. I saw members of the Order bringing the king and Ivan into this house. He said you needed an eyewitness to prove the Order is involved in their abduction. For that I needed to stay outside, away from harm.”

“That sounds like something Nico would say.” Landyn narrowed his eyes. “I can’t sense any deceit. Ronan?”

The big man stared into Lionel’s eyes. “Me neither.” Then he smiled at Lionel and slapped him on the shoulder. “’s good to see you again, my friend.”

Landyn watched Keith’s mate warily, then sighed. “Okay. Tell me everything you know about this place.”

Lionel told him everything he had told Nico and Sho.

“We can’t recharge our energy as soon as we are underground!?” Lionel shook his head.

“That’s bad! It means the king and Ivan are utterly helpless—at the Order’s mercy for hours. No wonder Nico didn’t wait for us. And we have no chance to contact them, coordinate our approach. Our phones won’t work down there too.”

“The Order has WLAN installed down there. I gave Noël, er...Nico, the password.”

Landyn narrowed his eyes at Lionel. “How did you acquire that?”

“I worked at the bar they go to after their shift ends. A newguard forgot his phone, and they were too drunk to notice me.”

“Or it was a trap.” Ronan mumbled while he examined the lock, then pushed a thin metal plate between the latch and the doorframe. "This should disable the alarm."

“Give me the password. We’ll use it only when absolutely necessary.” Landyn turned to Lionel. You stay here.” He nodded at one of his men. “Walt here, will guard you.” Then he turned to his men. “Were you listening? As soon we are in the tunnels, we can’t recharge our energy. Use your powers sparsely.”

They carefully opened the door to the property, and Landyn immediately grinned at what he saw. Too many feet had followed the ornamented tiles early that morning and formed a visible track through the dewy, knee-high weed. “Let’s walk along that path someone kindly showed us.”

When the group reached the open space in front of the mansion, Landyn motioned to three of his men. "Look at the drag marks; one of the boards can be moved aside.” He opened his senses. “Probably three guards inside. Under no circumstances are they to warn the others; do whatever is necessary." The men scurried to the nailed-up entrance. The others went on.

Halfway down to the tool shed, their exceptional hearing caught muffled shots, and Ronan swore. "Shit, so much for not warning the others." Looking at each other, the men hurried even more, anxious somebody heard the shots.

They found the entrance to the tunnels easily. "Hopefully Nico and Sho already took care of any guards."

Nico and Sho had to pass yet another room, and they quickened their pace, hoping it would work as it had before, and nobody would identify them as intruders. Nico turned his head at the last moment, caught a glimpse into the dimly lit room to his right, and stopped so abruptly Sho was several feet ahead before he noticed Nico wasn't with him.

"What now?" he asked impatiently.

Two men were lying on stretchers, their arms, legs, and midriff secured with broad straps. Tubes were coming out of their arms, and their blood was being pumped into bags.

"They are Seraei, and one of them is council leader Cieran O'Connor," Nico whispered. That brought Sho back to his side.

The man who wasn't O'Connor turned his head, and his eyes widened when he saw Nico. "My prince! Hide...get to safety." And then even more urgently, he stated, "We have no powers here."

Nico couldn't help himself, despite the fact he could hear his mate screaming in his head in agony and fury, he stepped into the room. "What are you doing here?" He stared at the tube coming out of the man's arm.

The man shook his head vigorously. "No time...Sire...go, hide. They come back here to check the blood bags regularly. Go!" When Nico still didn't move, he croaked, "...need our blood. Seraei blood. Bleed us to death eventually...get help."

When Nico looked over at the council leader, the man shook his head. "Too late...He’s dying."

Sho stood in the doorway, watching Nico impatiently. "Come on, we can't help him right now, and that scumbag of a traitor Cieran...he deserves to die anyway. We have to get to—" He stopped, not trusting O'Connor was already gone. "You know...."

Nico nodded. Sho was right. He gently squeezed the other man's shoulder. "We’ll come back for you. Promise."

Outside he muttered, "I want to know what's going on here. I want to know why they need our blood, what this facility is." Then he remembered the smell of decay they had encountered before and felt sick. How many Seraei had already died and were rotting down here?

They passed another room, where a pregnant woman was laying on a bed, connected to several tubes and beeping machines. “The doctor's mate.”

“Do you think they’re experimenting on her too?” Sho asked, appalled.

Guns at the ready, Landyn and his men felt with their feet for each of the slippery, wet stone steps. It was dark and damp; the odor of mold and mildew coming from below was nauseating to their sensitive noses.

With his back against the roughly plastered wall, Landyn raised his hand, and one of his men turned into the room at the end of the stairs. Seconds later came the "Clear!"

They followed him, and Ronan instantly perused the room, saw the two worn overstuffed chairs, cards, and beer bottles. "Probably the guards’ room, but where are they?" When his gaze fell on the jammed door in the back, he grinned. "I bet that's where our boys put them."

"We have to check anyway, just in case that's where the guards put our boys," Landyn griped and motioned for two of his men to pry open the door. After they found the two stripped men, still unconscious, they jammed the door shut again, and Landyn felt decidedly better, not that he would admit it.

Ronan smiled grimly. "If they had been detected, by now the whole compound would be swarming with guards, so I guess our boys are still on their mission."

"Why am I thinking of Frodo and Sam right now?” One of their men asked in the back.

“I wonder how long they will stay undetected," Landyn muttered.

Simon shook his head. "Ever the optimist, love?"

"Realist. It's called realist, love."

Ronan took point, and when they found the tunnel with the holding cells, he immediately gestured for four of the men to inspect them.

They waited in silence as the men silently checked the small rooms.One of them raised his left hand and pointed at the last cell. Its door was wider, and there was no lock. He lifted his hand again, this time showing four fingers. It looked like the last room wasn't a cell, but another guardroom, and at least four guards were inside.

Ronan turned to Landyn and whispered, "What do we do? We can't fight them without betraying our presence."

"Assuming the room isn't that big, Roberts could probably stun them with a power blast."

“It would mean he’d use up some of his energy.” Thinking about it, Ronan eventually nodded. “It’s worth it.” Landyn made the appropriate sign to his man, who stood with his back pressed against the wall beside the guardroom, waiting for orders.

A brief nod, and Roberts tore the door open, released a power surge, and then his companions stormed inside, one using their rifle’s butt to knock out the guards who were still fumbling for their guns.

"They must feel very safe down here, seeing how careless they are." Landyn pointed at the scattered cards and half-empty beer bottles on the table. "Secure them and make sure they can't call for help."

When he turned around, he noticed Roberts was slumped against the wall. "Roberts, are you okay?"

"I don't know, sir. After I cast the power blast, I felt drained and dizzy, more than I should be." He lifted his hands, which were trembling slightly.

Noticing the thin sheet of sweat on the man's forehead, Landyn frowned. "Lionel was right. From now on we use our powers only if absolutely necessary."

Nico was about to round the next corner when he abruptly stopped. Sho looked at him questioningly, but then he heard it too: Two male voices talking to each other.

"Why is Jones in there with them? It's always he, who has all the fun."

"Yeah, he gets to play with them fuckers all the time, and we're just here to clean up the mess after him."

"What's the big deal with those two anyway?"

"One is supposed to be their king."

"Sweet. Maybe we can get our hands on him for a bit, after all."

Sho pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. Then he held it so he could take a picture of the men guarding the door. He retracted his hand after pushing the button several times, and together they looked at the screen.

Two men with their guns in their holsters stood before ornate double doors. They didn't look in their direction but were concentrating on what was going on in the room behind them. Perfect.

“Do you think Landyn and Ronan arrived?” Sho asked

“I believe I can feel them. Send them one of the pictures. We have to risk it, or they’ll have to search every room.”

Nico knew Diarmad was facing utter horror in that room. He could hear muffled voices, followed by a protracted keening noise, which sounded more like an animal than a Seraei. Sho gasped. “It’s Ivan.”

Diarmad was exhausted. The constant barrage of questions, only intermitted by the agonized screams of his dying friend, was taking its toll. His control was slipping. At the same time, he knew if he showed the smallest sign of weakness, their jailers would exploit it. The torturing would go on until Ivan would eventually die the most horrible death.

His hope was if he appeared unimpressed and cold, they would lose their patience with him and kill Ivan in a fit of rage, then start to torture him instead. That was all he could hope. He had no illusions they would get out of this alive, not with his powers gone and his lack of energy.

Nico. It had to be a figment of his imagination. Even if the transmitter worked, and his people knew where he was, he doubted Landyn would let Nico be part of a rescue mission. He would never risk Nico's life. Nevertheless, even the imaginary presence of his mate reinforced his resolution to stand with his plan. He smiled serenely.

This seemed to have the desired effect. The secretary’s face flushed red, and he balled his hands into fists. The man was furious. Under different circumstances, Diarmad would have laughed at his reaction. Now, he hoped it would speed up his plan.

He felt Nico again. This time his mate's distress was almost palpable, and he realized it wasn't an illusion. Nico really was close. Hope fought with anxiousness. If his mate was here, he was in grave danger. Diarmad hoped Nico had been smart enough not to come alone, but knowing his impulsive mate, anything was possible.

Covertly, he looked at the secretary and his men. Had they realized something was going on? No, they were fully concentrated on Ivan, taking perverse pleasure in torturing their prisoner. At the same time, they tried to gauge Diarmad's reaction. He schooled his expression, but knew he couldn't completely hide his agitation upon sensing Nico. He hoped they would chalk it up to the horror they were forcing him to witness.

The secretary's lips curled cruelly. "Why, my king, is it finally getting too much? Even for your cold heart?" He nodded at his men, who turned Ivan's body so Diarmad could better see the effects of their doing: unseeing, bright, green eyes stared back at him, tears running down his face. The ragged, gaping cut was only slightly bleeding.

Then the doors flew open and shots rang out. The secretary and one of the men holding Ivan immediately fell down, severely wounded. In moments, the attackers were on top of them, finishing them off with their swords. The third guard desperately fumbled with his gun, and aimed it at Diarmad. He saw it too late to react, and the bullet grazed his left shoulder. He staggered backwards and tripped, falling to the floor.

Sho kicked the gun out of the remaining guard’s hand before he ran him through with his nihontō. Looking around, his gaze fell on Ivan. He dropped his sword, and ran over to the mutilated body of his mate. After sinking down on his knees beside him, he pulled the unconscious man into his lap. Muttering in Japanese, he desperately tried to stroke bloodied strands of blond hair out of Ivan’s face. Nothing existed for him at that moment, only his battered mate.

Then Diarmad felt Nico's arms around him. His mate's unique, vibrating energy permeated his body.

"Diarmad." He felt Nico’s lips on his temple, then his mate carefully examined his shoulder wound. "The bullet only grazed your shoulder, but it's not healing. Your energy is too low."

"Ivan...." Diarmad croaked, and the last bit of strength he had clung to so hardily, left him.

"He is unconscious, and Sho is with him. Landyn and Ronan are on their way here." Nico tilted his head for a moment and a faint smile appeared on his face. "I think I can already hear them."

There was shouting in the distance, shots ringing out, and men running. Nico grabbed his discarded gun, just in case, but then saw Landyn and two of his men run into the room. They immediately headed to Diarmad and Nico.

"Nico! Sire, you're hurt!" Landyn visually examined Nico before he looked down at Diarmad's wound. "His wound isn't closing."

"No, his energy level is too low to heal himself," Nico explained.

Diarmad’s eyes fluttered open briefly. "Ivan...take care of Ivan...I am all right...look at his eyes."

"We brought a doctor. We found him in one of the other rooms."

Diarmad closed his hand around Nico’s wrist with amazing strength. “No! Don’t let him near Ivan. He made the eye drops!”

Landyn motioned to two of his men and pointed at the nearby, hovering doctor. “Take him away from here for further questioning.”

The doctor took a step back. “No! I had no choice. They have my mate! She’s pregnant. We have to look for her! She has to be here somewhere.”

Nico looked up. “I saw her in one of the rooms. Landyn, they were experimenting on her!”

“What? They promised—” The doctor struggled against his bindings.

“We will find her. The men are combing the rooms as we speak.” Impatient, Landyn waved his hand. “Get him out of here.”

Then he narrowed his eyes at Nico. "Now take care of your mate. The room is secured; feed him."

Nico nodded, then he pulled Diarmad into his arms, and positioned his mate’s mouth to his neck. When Diarmad didn't react, he tilted his head to the side so his throat was more exposed. That was all the incentive Diarmad needed. He sank his sharp canines into Nico's flesh, then shuddered in anticipation before the blood hit his tongue and he started to suck greedily.

Being close to his mate, enveloped by his scent, swallowing his blood, Diarmad could feel the strength coming back to him. When he was able to stop drinking, he rested his forehead against Nico's shoulder. He would live. Nico had come for him.

His mate poked his shoulder, then smiled. "You're healing. How do you feel?"

"Better, much better." He sat up and looked around the room. “Ivan?”

Ivan still lay with his head in Sho's lap. Sho had tears in his eyes when he looked up at Diarmad.

Diarmad turned to Nico. “Help me up, please.”

Nico quickly stood up and held his hand out. Diarmad took it and pulled himself up from the floor. His shoulder twitched, and his gait was a bit unsteady, but otherwise he seemed to be okay. “We need to get out of here, so we can replenish our energy and bring Ivan to a hospital.”

Then he looked at Landyn, who seemed to be in a heated discussion with Ronan. "Let’s see what is going on over there."

"Sire, before we leave...you have to make a decision. What we found in that room...is unbelievable."

Diarmad saw Ronan’s disturbed expression, and his irritation quickly transformed into worry. "Which room? What are you talking about?"

"It's a room further down this tunnel... n-near the entrance, to be exact. I-I'd rather you have a look at it yourself, Sire. It's-I can't describe–" Ronan’s voice broke.

The image of ornate double doors popped up in his mind, and Nico knew immediately which room Ronan meant, even without having scented the sickening smell of decay on his clothes. Unquestioned, his brain provided pictures of piles of dead, rotting bodies, bled to death by sick Order members, and his throat felt like it was closing in on itself.

"I think I know which room he means. We passed it on our way here... the one with the other two guards. Right?" Nico croaked.

Landyn nodded. "That's the room."

Seeing the ever-collected Ronan so completely beside himself made Nico expect the worst, so much so he didn't want to see for himself and have his fears confirmed.

Diarmad felt his mate's anxiety increasing, and instantly wanted to find the cause and eliminate it. He grabbed Ronan's arm. "Have only the absolutely necessary amount of men down here and rotate them on a regular schedule so they can regenerate their powers outside." He pointed at Ivan.

"You took the helicopters?”

Ronan nodded. “Landyn, take one of them and get Ivan to our hospital ASAP. Don't forget to take a sample of those eye drops so they can examine them." Then his gaze fell on the doctor. "He goes with you; do not let him out of your sight. Maybe he can be helpful."

The last sentence made the doctor look up. "I-I can't...My wife... I-I cannot leave without her," he stammered.

Already in the hallway, Diarmad tossed back, "Take her to the hospital too, as soon you find her." He nodded at Ronan. "Lead the way."

The smell grew stronger the closer they came to their destination. It became clear to Nico why when they turned into the right tunnel: The formerly tightly-closed double doors stood wide open and people walked in and out of the room at the back, most of them looking pale and sick.

Ronan and Diarmad immediately lifted their arms to shield their noses against the stench and continued on, but Nico couldn't take another step. Something utterly ugly assaulted his mind. He pressed his hands against his lips and gagged as soon as they rounded the corner. Saliva pooled in his mouth, and he had difficulty swallowing it without retching.

When Nico didn't immediately follow, Diarmad came back and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Nico, what is it? The smell?"

Nico could only nod. Then he shook his head.

Puzzled by Nico’s ambiguous gestures, Diarmad examined Nico’s pale face. He lifted his hand to the back of his head and pressed Nico’s nose against his own chest. "Do you want to go outside? You─"

"He should come," Ronan said. "We might need him in there."

Nico glanced over Diarmad's shoulder at the chief of security. "To do what? Scan dead people?"

Ronan shook his head. "They aren't quite dead. At least I don't think so."

"What's that awful stench then?" Nico asked, his voice muffled by the fabric of Diarmad's shirt.

Ronan looked helplessly at Diarmad, than back at Nico. "Come— Look for yourself."

Diarmad tightened his arm around him, and Nico closed his eyes and pressed his face into the crook between his mate's neck and shoulder. Taking in the familiar scent helped with the disgusting smell of rotting flesh, at least to some degree. He gave a small nod to signal his agreement.

The moment they entered the room, an incessant hissing and wailing started. Nico’s eyes snapped open and it felt like his blood froze at what he saw. Three bodies wrapped in loose white cloaks, littered with greenish stains, lay on something between a hospital bed and a large, overstuffed recliner. Their skulls seemed unnaturally large in comparison to their frail, emaciated bodies. Clumps of oily, white hair dotted their heads. Deep, sunken eyes of indeterminate color were narrowed at them. Black, thin lips hurled a constant flow of curses and insults at them. "Outrages! Intruders! Out! Out! We don't want those here! Guards! Remove the abominations! Murderers! Filth! Out!"

They frantically hit the buttons on the panels integrated into the armrests of their chairs. Grayish skin, covered in bruises, stretched tight over the bones of their flailing arms. The figures were hooked up to several humming and blinking machines. Tubes and wires came out from their noses, the crooks of their arms, and some places that were hidden by their gowns.

They looked like the living dead.

“What, the devil is, that?” Diarmad snarled.

Nico shuddered. "Zombies."

I know, I know. Finally. Admittedly I needed a break from Kabal. Chapter 13 is almost done too, but I need  some more time to tie some loose ends. Then on to chapter 14, which will be the last.
I need to thank @Valkyrie, for her help ideas and encouraging word. 
Thank you for reading and your patience. So, who are the zombies?