DEATH (The Justice Cycle Book 1) J Kiefer (ebook reader .txt) 📖

head on this, and you are the best officer I currently have in the field. Handley and Winder are still finishing up their earlier homicide investigation, and I notified Agent Johansson about our new possible Stalker victim. I am waiting for him to call me back.”

“Is Agent Johansson on his way?” Dana asked.

“As far as I know, he left about two hours ago. Said he would call when he got into town. You call me as soon as you get to the location and let me know what the hell is going on.”

“Will do, Captain.”

Neither officer spoke as they continued to drive down the now awakening streets. All that could be heard was the wail of their siren and the occasional screeching of Dana’s tires as the city flew by. Both of them found it hard to believe that a sword-wielding warrior was roving around the city blowing things up with lasers.

Dana had a thought and she reached for the icons on the dashboard. A phone rang through the car speakers. It only rang twice before a male voice answered. “Dana? What the hell is going on up there?”

“Tom. I am not really sure,” she managed as they took a particularly hard turn. “That’s why I’m calling. All hell seems to have broken loose. We have multiple explosions and possible—and I hesitate to say this—sword-wielding aliens or something like that.”

“Okay… is there more than one of them? Be specific. What exactly are the reports saying?”

Dana was surprised by Johansson’s tone, which seemed apprehensive. “Well, all I know is that the reports stated that two men were fighting. We are heading in that direction now and I thought I’d call you to see if there was any rumored terrorist activity that you knew of.”

Johansson sighed heavily on the other end of the call. Dana could tell he was losing his patience. “All I can say is that this is not a terrorist attack. At least, not as far as I can tell. But what I need to know from you, is how many of the reported assailants have swords?”

Dana was stunned into silence. She had just told him about multiple explosions and medieval weapon-wielding combatants in the streets and he was concerned with how many of them had swords.

“Dana. How many of them have swords? This is important.”

“I don’t know for sure, but the captain only mentioned one.”

“Okay, I want you to do me a favor,” he said, sounding relieved. “Do not under any circumstances go near them. Do you hear me? Do not go near them.”

Dana and Lee shared a look of incredulity at Johansson’s warning. They were police officers and unknown assailants were endangering the people of their city. Getting involved was their job.

“What exactly do you know, Tom?” she asked him. “Because from where we sit, it sounds like you know more about what’s happening here than you are willing to divulge.”

“Dana, I’ll be there in about an hour. Please don’t do anything until I get there. You have to trust me on this, okay? I honestly don’t know what’s going on, but I do know things that you don’t, and I am asking you as a friend not to engage any of the suspects until I get there, okay?”

“Well, we can’t do that, Agent Johansson,” she said and pushed a button to cut him off before he had a chance to protest.

Forty-One

Steve had no idea how it had happened, but he had somehow managed to evade the blast from Jared’s sword. He found himself about ten feet away from where the power had traveled, crouching in front of a split and burning pine tree. A sinister shroud of shadowy energy flowed all around him, protecting him like a shield.

The voice inside spoke again, instructing him to permit the dark energy to flow into his hands. Just like when he had conjured the daggers, the shadows coalesced into something of form and substance. This time, however, instead of a thin dagger, two large scythes manifested around his hands.

“My power is yours,” an eerie voice rasped in his mind. “Take it.”

Steve shook violently as wave after wave of demonic power coursed through his body. Before his body had stopped trembling, some sort of sixth sense warned him that danger was upon him. Faster than human eyes could track, Jared dashed at him with his sword poised for a killing blow.

Steve grinned as he easily maneuvered out of the way and swung a shadow scythe to parry the strike. He punched out with the other scythe, slamming Jared in the gut, throwing him backward.

Jared spun through the air like an acrobat and landed on his feet. Without even a second’s hesitation, he regained his footing and attacked Steve again. This time, however, Steve was ready for the assault and he met him blow for blow. To mortal eyes, the two brothers appeared as nothing more than indistinguishable blurs of movement as they clashed.

After a few minutes of intense action that ended in a stalemate, the two brothers separated. Jared waited with his free hand in front of his body and his sword arm extended out to his side. Tzedakah burned blue flame, mirroring the fierce expression on his face. Steve’s expression was one of absolute bliss. He tightened his grip on his weapons and flexed his muscles, reveling in the boundless strength he felt.

“This is absolutely unreal!” he shouted gleefully like a child opening a Christmas present. “Such unlimited power! Such might! Oh, how I wish I had known of this power sooner. I’d wondered if I had allowed something in all those years ago. I’d always suspected that it had been working for my benefit. But this—this is beyond anything I ever could have possibly imagined.”

His words were lost on Jared who only saw all the foul things his brother had done. Murder after gruesome murder flashed before his eyes in a cruel montage. Sadly, evil had entered Steve when he was very