Free Tome of Bill (Companion): Shining Fury by Rick Gualtieri

sorts made up of normal people who were forced to step up under extraordinary circumstances. That didn’t seem too far-fetched to me. Throughout history such things were common whenever a land was occupied by a hostile force.
    I had no way of knowing if these people could be trusted, nor did I know the extent of their knowledge of the situation. Realizing things were somehow off wasn’t the same as accepting that your city was currently enslaved by a two-thousand year old warlord and his undead minions.
    If they could help us reestablish contact with our friends as well as point out a safe route through the city, then that would be great. However, I wouldn’t ask any more than that. The Templar knew what they were getting into. That didn’t make a single one of their deaths any more acceptable, but at least their eyes were open. They knew the choice they were making.
    Whether or not this underground could help us, it needed to be done quickly. Time was ticking away and soon we wouldn’t have the cover of darkness to rely on. Despite Jacob’s musings on things being more normal in the daylight, I had no way of confirming that. There was only one thing I was certain of – come the sunrise, our chances of another encounter with the undead would be greatly reduced.
    I rolled back the sleeve on my sweater and glanced down at my wrist.
    “That one of them new smart watches people were crowing about?” Jacob asked. “Didn’t realize folks still cared about those. Seems a needless luxury in these times.”
    “Huh?” I asked and then realized what he was talking about. My watch had started glowing ever so slightly as my hand brushed against it, plainly visible in the dim light of the room. It was one of the reasons why I’d stopped wearing jewelry, aside from the fact that it got in the way during a fight. Items I was in contact with regularly, especially those of a conductive nature, seemed to pick up a bit of a residual charge of faith magic from me. It was kind of like how a piece of metal could become magnetized by touching another magnet, although I had no real way of knowing if it remotely worked the same way.
    “It was a gift.” Then, remembering the distinctly not normal glow about it, I added, “Silly, I know, but I try to charge it when I can.” At least that first part was true. Though the watch was a simple analog model, it had been a gift from my mother a few years back. I quickly rolled my sleeve back down. I’d need to be more careful in the future. “Anyway, it’s about time for us to see if we can reach our friends.”
    “My daughter will be back any minute, then you can all go look together.” Jacob got up and began to shuffle back to the kitchen. “In the meantime, I’ll see if maybe I can fix up some snacks for the road for you all.”
    “You’ve done more than enough already,” I said.
    “Although, we’ll be happy to accept any help we can get,” Kelly added.
    I glanced at her and she mouthed, “What?” I couldn’t help but grin in return before turning to Vincent and nodding.
    He stood, unclipped the radio from his belt, and raised it to his lips. That’s as far as he got before he paused, his eyes opening wide. “What are you doing?”
    I turned to follow his gaze and saw Jacob standing in the doorway, once more holding his gun on us. “Sorry to say, but I can’t let you do that.”
    Before any of us could do much more than gape, he squeezed the trigger.
     

CHAPTER 14
    I didn’t think. No, thinking would have been bad. With thought came memories, ones that would have frozen me in place had I been given another second to ponder our situation.
    Thankfully, becoming an Icon meant becoming a creature of instinct. My powers flared to life in the moment that Jacob fired the weapon. A roar of deafening sound filled the room, but a brilliant white light rose up in defiance to meet its challenge.
    Fast as my power was, though, it wasn’t the deciding factor in determining