Elven Accord Read online

  Apocalypse Gates

  Book Four:

  Elven Accord

  Author’s Cut

  Daniel Schinhofen

  Copyright © 2019 Daniel J. Schinhofen

  No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form by an electronic or mechanical means – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews – without the written permission from the publisher.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright © 2019 Daniel J. Schinhofen

  All rights reserved.

  Table of contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Chapter Fifty-two

  Chapter Fifty-three

  Chapter Fifty-four

  Chapter Fifty-five

  Chapter Fifty-six

  Chapter Fifty-seven

  Chapter One

  The battle being fought a couple hundred yards away was a bloody, chaotic affair, just as Alvin always thought medieval battles would be. The bright flashes of light and the blue glow of barriers punctuated the swirling, chaotic mess. Alvin stopped the Humvee as a small detachment of people came toward them, riding animals that had six legs.

  “Well fuck,” Alvin cursed. “Jarvis, be ready with the M240, in case they get froggy.”

  “I will do my best, sir,” Jarvis replied.

  Putting the vehicle in neutral and applying the parking brake, he slipped into the back seat. Getting the gunner’s hatch open, he stood up behind the gun and waited for the light-skinned Elven men, all wearing heraldry depicting the sun, to get close enough to speak.

  “You are not one of my men… you don’t even appear to be Elven,” the lead rider said as they came to a halt a dozen feet away.

  Alvin eyed him for a moment, taking in the leather, chain, and bits of plate with intricate scrollwork. The steeds the Elves rode were basically horses, but larger and with clawed feet instead of hooves.

  “I’m a native from the other side of the Gate,” Alvin said.

  “Did my men send you to me?”

  “All your men are dead. They ended up in a battle with some dark-skinned Elves,” Alvin said. He looked toward the fight and saw it was dying down. “Kind of like the ones over there.”

  “The Queen’s Guard,” the Elf said flatly, his lips turning up in a smirk. “This group will be dealt with today. I’m feeling generous, stranger. I will let you flee back to your world. Know that the King has decreed it shall be spared until we finish subjugating our rebellious kin.”

  Alvin’s mouth dropped open at the sheer audacity of the Elf’s words and he snapped it shut. Looking at the remnants of the battle, he could see that the light-skinned Elves had won the day and were rounding up the dark-skinned Elves who had surrendered.

  “I just want to be clear,” Alvin said, staring at the rude Elf, “after you finish beating those other Elves, you’re going to invade the Gate?”

  “Of course. All lands belong to the King,” he replied.

  “Well, this is easier than I thought it was going to be,” Alvin said as he leaned on the M240B, aiming it toward them nonchalantly. “I had thought this side of the Gate was neutral ground, and that both sides would be holding it. As you’ve obviously broken the truce, I bet I’ll be rewarded handsomely for this.”

  The Elf’s gaze sharpened when Alvin spoke, but before he could reply, the first burst caught him in the chest and threw him from his mount. The others with him reacted instantly, one rushing to grab the downed Elf while another brought a shimmering blue barrier into being.

  The roar of the Mustang’s engine almost pulled Alvin’s attention away from the Elves in front of him, but he stayed focused as he peppered the barrier with more rounds. Catching sight of the car as it looped to the side around the edge of the barrier, Alvin chuckled. “Jarvis, take the wheel of the Mustang; Gothy needs to be able to shoot. Take me around the side of this fucking barrier, too.”

  “As you wish, sir,” Jarvis said. The Humvee lurched as it slipped into gear and backed away from the barrier a few feet, then started forward.

  Alvin caught sight of Becky’s smile as she leveled her Tommy gun out the window. She opened fire on the leader, who was being helped back onto his mount. As the Humvee moved toward the edge of the barrier, the Elf who had summoned it turned with the vehicle, keeping it between Alvin and the group. The Elves behind the blue barrier were now pulling bows, while one began to wave his arms in a wide circle.

  “Jarvis, tell Gothy to shoot that fucker who’s grandstanding,” Alvin said, suddenly having a bad feeling about the guy.

  While the M240B reloaded, Alvin summoned his Type and continued firing at the barrier, which was finally starting to crack. The first arrow just missed Alvin’s face, making him hunker down as best he could while emptying the rifle. Putting the now empty Type back into his glove, the UMP came out next; its damage was low, but it would still help in breaking the barrier.

  The next arrow hit him in the shoulder, bouncing off his duster. The third one grazed his cheek, cutting a line across it. Alvin put the UMP back in his glove when the M240B finished reloading. Growling as blood welled from the cut and more arrows flew around him, Alvin put more rounds from the mounted gun into the barrier.

  Becky hadn’t been idle, and when Jarvis passed along Alvin’s orders about the Elf grandstanding, she easily spotted the one he was talking about. The Tommy gun was empty, so she swapped out her MP5 and took aim.

  “Matriarch, that is one of their mages,” Kuro said, seeing where she was aiming. “If he finishes—”

  The crack of the gun being fired cut Kuro’s statement off. Becky had taken the time to aim, and put round after round into the mage’s head. Before the gun ran out of bullets, the mage slumped off his steed, dead, his head disintegrated by the sheer amount of damage it had taken.

  “We need to teach you to shoot,” Becky grumbled as she finished emptying her gun at the closest target. “Where did the peacock go?”

  Alvin watched as the leader, now mounted behind one of his m
en, took off behind the Mustang and out of Becky’s line of fire. “God damn it, I hate it when they get away,” Alvin grumbled, putting another fifty rounds into the barrier and finally shattering it.

  When the barrier went down, all the other mounted men turned tail and sped after their leader, still shooting back at Alvin. “Jarvis, chase the leader. Clip the others as you go by,” Alvin said, finishing emptying the gun at the closest targets. He was lucky enough to catch one of the Elves with a few rounds to the head, which pulped it.

  Becky saw the men break and run, only to be followed by Alvin. She went to reach for the wheel, but the car was already turning to follow the Humvee. “Jarvis, what’s his plan?”

  “A hit and run, miss,” Jarvis said. “I’m to clip the riders we pass while chasing down the leader. We are heading right toward their army. This is going to get very messy.”

  Becky’s smile became manic. “You mean we’re going to have a party.” Turning her gaze to Kuro, who seemed upset that she wasn’t able to help, Becky chuckled. “Well, nothing like live fire to learn fast. Mousie, take this gun.”

  Becky gave Kuro a quick rundown on how the pump shotgun worked as the Mustang began to catch the Humvee, which was gaining on the six-legged steeds. “When you run out of ammo, hit the safety, wait three seconds, take the safety off, then go back to shooting. Got it?”

  “Yes, Matriarch,” Kuro said, holding the shotgun with all the confidence she could muster. “My targets are those we pass, then anyone who looks like a mage.”

  “That’s right,” Becky said as she waited for the Tommy gun to reload. “Where are you going?” Becky murmured, watching Alvin drop back into the Humvee.

  Alvin closed the hatch and got in the driver’s seat. “You’re on fire control, Jarvis. Leader whenever possible, then anyone waving their arms around like the one guy, followed by anyone who seems to be in charge. If none of those are available, hit the closest hostile you can shoot. I got the wheel,” Alvin’s smile was just as manic as Becky’s. “Time to accrue some body count.” Those words were swiftly followed by the first thump as Alvin jerked the wheel, bumping into the last steed in the line and sending it and its rider tumbling. “These things are way faster than horses,” he mumbled, angling toward the next one as the M240B began to fire.

  Arrows rained off the Humvee as it chased down the next rider. Alvin watched the leader get swallowed up by the thousand men who had turned to face the new threat. “Oooh, party time,” Alvin murmured, the arrows coming in faster as the other Elves joined the conflict. “Jarvis, take Gothy wide. I think the leader is going to run for it, and I want her to cut him off.”

  “Am I allowed to tell her first?” Jarvis asked.

  “Yes,” Alvin said as he clipped the next rider. “I hope this isn’t fucking up my paint job too much.”

  Catching sight of the Mustang peeling off to the side, Alvin nodded as he braced for what was coming. “Jarvis, how bad is this going to be?”

  “The Humvee will be fine, but will lose a chunk of durability, sir. The people it’s about to hit… they won’t survive,” Jarvis replied. “Sir, I take it you’ve decided to side with the Queen?”

  “No idea, but I’m not about to let that pompous ass think he’s going to take Earth, even a virtual Earth,” Alvin said, his eyes widening as he saw the army scatter, far too late. “Incoming.”

  The sound of bodies being smashed by the Humvee would have horrified anybody sane. Alvin only laughed as he came out the far side, his hood covered in blood and bits of flesh. He spun the wheel hard to put the Humvee into a sharp turn. “Round two, fight!” Gunning the engine as he came around, Alvin charged back at another part of the army, which started to break and run. “You can’t escape death,” Alvin laughed as he heard the M240B open up again.

  While Alvin went back and forth through the army of King’s Guard, Becky was grumbling that she had been sent after the leader. “He’s probably somewhere with his men,” she growled as the Mustang went wide around the army.

  “Matriarch, there,” Kuro pointed. “His sevra is fast.”

  Becky squinted and saw the mount with a single rider speeding away from them. “Oh, you poor idiot. No one outruns Ruffian,” Becky grinned as she took control of the vehicle from Jarvis. “This one is mine, Jarvis.”

  “As you wish, miss. Good hunting,” Jarvis said as he let her have control of the Mustang.

  Ruffian picked up speed, the speedometer climbing toward triple digits. “Run, Ruffian, run,” Becky murmured, focusing on the fleeing beast and rider.

  “I push the button to make it safe again, right?” Kuro asked, unable to find any targets to fire at.

  “Yeah. We’ll get you proficient soon,” Becky replied as she watched them slowly gaining on the steed. “How fucking fast is that thing?”

  “Sevras can run like the wind, Matriarch,” Kuro replied.

  Becky frowned, the title Kuro had been using just now sinking in. “Matriarch?”

  “We are on my world, and you said that once we made it here, I could use the title,” Kuro said softly.

  Snorting, Becky nodded. “I did.”

  Kuro seemed to relax a little. “Matriarch, what are we going to do once we catch him? I believe that is Ilbryen Sunlight, one of the King’s Champions. I’m not sure I can match him.”

  “Match him?” Becky laughed. “We’re not going to fight him. We’re going to kill him.”

  Kuro blinked. “You’re going to do what… Hero… was doing to the other riders?”

  “Yup. If he survives that, then I’ll come back the other way and run over him until he stops moving.”

  As the Mustang got closer, Ilbryen glanced back. His eyes narrowed as he leaned over his mount, trying to spur it on faster, but even with the extra encouragement, the sevra was being overtaken. Snarling, Ilbryen threw something at the Mustang as it got closer.

  Becky tried to dodge, but the blue barrier sprang up in front of them before she could do more than turn the wheel a fraction of an inch. The Mustang hit the barrier, the sound of glass shattering and metal crunching all but deafening inside the vehicle.

  Ruffian spun as it shattered through the barrier. Becky panted, numerous small cuts littering her face. Getting the car pointed the right way as she came out of the spin, she gunned the engine while the window repaired itself. “Mousie, are you okay?”

  “I’m injured, but not severely,” Kuro replied. Blood welled from the numerous small cuts she had taken from the broken glass.

  “Fucker is going to pay for hurting my baby,” Becky hissed, refocusing on the still fleeing Elf.

  “I’m not overly hurt,” Kuro said softly, her cheeks dark.

  Becky giggled, her lips twisting up at the corners. “Slap a medkit on both of us, Mousie.” She shifted into a higher gear, pissed over Ruffian being hurt, but she wasn’t about to break Kuro’s heart by correcting the Elven woman. A small sigh of thanks escaped Becky when the medkit touched her cheek. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome, Matriarch Gothy,” Kuro said softly. “That was his glyph barrier. I’ve heard tales of Champions being able to have more than one attached to them at a time, but I’ve never seen anyone who did. You might want to be careful, just in case.”

  “Noted,” Becky said as she got them back up to speed.

  After the fourth pass, most of the army had dropped their weapons, surrendering to the beast that was slaughtering them, or trying to at any rate. Alvin aimed for the ones who didn’t surrender, but occasionally clipped a weaponless Elf. After chasing down some who had fled, Alvin slowly came back toward the Elves who were holding their hands up.

  “Jarvis, take over driving for me,” Alvin said as he slipped into the back seat and up through the gunner’s hatch. “Bring me over to the fancy looking one,” he advised the AI.

  “We surrender under the terms of the Frozta Accord,” the richly robed man said when the Humvee came to a stop near him.

  “Never heard of it,” Alvin said as h
e looked at the few hundred Elves who had surrendered. “Free the Queen’s followers, and turn yourselves over to them.”

  The mage glared at Alvin. “You’re not with them. Why would you turn us over to them?”

  “Because I’m an asshole,” Alvin said as he aimed the hot machine gun at the man. “Your choice is do exactly as I say, or die. You have five seconds to comply.”

  “The Frozta—”

  “Five,” Alvin said over the speaking Elf.

  “—Accord states—”

  “Four.”

  “—that all prisoners—”

  “Three.”

  “—are to be treated—”

  “Two,” Alvin said as he aimed the gun at the mage’s unprotected head.

  “—fairly. You wouldn’t—”

  “One,” Alvin hissed and squeezed the trigger, sending a handful of rounds into the Elf.

  As the shredded body was flung away, Alvin turned the gun to the next most important looking Elf. “You have five seconds,” Alvin told the terrified looking Elf.