by Ramy Vance
Abby appeared behind the Scungilli Man and fired her cannon.
The barnacles on his back detached and flew at Abby. Some of them opened into flowering jellyfish that absorbed the bulk of the blast, while the others latched onto Abby's body, sprouting tentacles that wrapped around her, causing her to lose flight.
The lich stepped out of her portal onto the shoulder of the Scungilli Man, flicked her wrist, and caught the bone spear that shot out of her palm. She raised the spear and drove it into the Scungilli Man's shoulder. As Rasputina gripped the abomination of the sea's shoulder, Abby fell out of the sky only a few feet away.
Rasputina leaped off of Scungilli Man and grabbed Abby, then slashed in front of her and opened another portal, which brought her out on his other side.
Small laser canons formed across Abby's body and sliced through the barnacles’ tentacles.
Terra plowed into the behemoth's leg, driving her axe as far into its putrid flesh as she could. Once it was anchored, she crouched, still holding the handle, and leaped, dragging the blade of her other axe up the length of the sea creature's leg.
Scungilli Man roared as he leaned down to swipe at Terra.
As he attacked, Anabelle went after the other leg. She pulled whatever liquid was on the ground up and flash-froze it around his foot, causing the creature to fall forward.
Terra landed on the ground and ran toward Anabelle, who knelt and positioned her hand to boost Terra up. When her foot hit Anabelle's palm, the elf launched Terra up into the air.
The human rose at the speed of a bullet, and Abby flew around her and then upward, catching Terra's hand and flinging her higher still.
Tears eased out of Terra's eyes as she tried to see. Stars twinkled above, billions of them. Then gravity came for her. She positioned her body for the descent, trying to make out which part of the Scungilli Man’s body she was going to slice open.
The conch seemed like the appropriate spot. She’d crack the thing open and see what was on the inside.
As Terra descended, Abby flew past her once more, taking Terra's hand and swinging her to increase her momentum.
By this point Terra couldn't see anything, but she knew whatever she hit was going to have a hard time getting up.
Below, Anabelle and Rasputina were trying to pin the Scungilli Man to the ground. Annabelle had frozen the floor, making it impossible to walk on. She was skating in a circle, using her mana to keep her feet moving on the surface of the ice as Rasputina floated around, pulling bones out of the ground to cage the Scungilli Man.
The lich shot several bone spears into his thick, soft neck, then anchored them to the set of bones protruding from his torso, trapping the sea beast.
Terra let out a riotous scream as she descended, axe held out in front of her, and crashed into the conch, splitting it down the middle. When she landed, a shockwave shook the ground, and dirt and debris were kicked up by the impact.
Abby landed as well and scanned the area for Terra's vital signs. When she found them, she teleported to the Hand, grabbed her, and teleported back to her previous position. Shock absorbers formed on her heels, digging her into the ground as she pressed her wrists together, aiming her palms at the tip of the exposed conch. "Let's shuck this fucker and see what's inside."
Terra, who was safely out of the way, looked at Anabelle. "She's good at the trash talk. You might want to take lessons."
The elf’s eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Terra."
Abby screamed as she fired her plasma blast. The force of the attack had burned through her fingers as the plasma left her hands.
The plasma blast hit the conch, and there was an explosion that sent debris and shell particles everywhere.
Once the smoke settled, the contents were visible.
Terra flipped her axe. "Now let me show you guys how to shuck... Oh, wait, goddamn it, Abby already got that one. Uh-oh! I'm gonna kick this one right in the pearls!"
Anabelle crossed her arms and sneered as she walked with Terra toward the conch. "Conchs don't have pearls. Oysters do."
Terra pointed her axe at Anabelle. "Keep it up, and we're going to have a rematch," she said with a laugh.
Scungilli Man’s wheezing moan was getting louder. Terra slammed her axe's blade into the shell's crack and pulled it to the side, trying to pry it open. "Give me a hand!"
Anabelle charged her hand with pure mana and punched the crack, deepening it enough for Terra to split the conch down the middle.
A torrent of saltwater poured from the shell, washing both Terra and Anabelle away.
Thousands of crabs scuttled out of the conch as thick, green slime poured from what had to be a wound. The gondolas floated eerily around the still body of the Scungilli Man.
Abby looked at Terra and Anabelle and the lich. "It’s dead, right?"
Rasputina stared long and hard at the beached corpse in front of them. "Doubtful. Even if the Slender Man is new to the council, there's no doubt he earned it. That means this will prove to be more than a minor inconvenience."
The body of the Scungilli Man pulsated, its arms growing large and bulbous as its torso swelled. The scents of onions and rotten fish wafted from the corpse.
Terra and the rest of the DGA grabbed their noses or covered their mouths, trying to keep from vomiting. Rasputina didn't seem to mind the smell.
More sea life spewed from the shell halves, predominately crabs and other bizarre crustaceans.
Then the spine of the corpse bulged upward. The skin burst open, and a humanoid figure stood. It wore the hat of a gondolier, which cast a shadow on his face. His skin was a sickly green, covered in barnacles, and his hands were long, spindly things with no structure. His face was the head of a squid, its tentacles stretching to his chest like an oceanic beard. The tentacles lifted to show a mouth devoid of lips or jawbone, only rows and rows of jagged teeth. A whale song escaped from the gaping maw.
Terra kicked away a crab scuttling near her. "At least he isn't as big this time around."
The corpse dissolved, and his body reformed in front of Terra. The limp, stringy hands twisted and became large crab claws.
"Goddamn it," Terra muttered when he punched her. She was barely able to throw her hands up in time to block the attack.
Anabelle rushed him, her arms crackling with lightning. She swiped at the demon but he stepped back, easily blocking the attacks. His foot melded with the water and he swung it back, then brought it forward with a tidal wave attached to his heel. The wave connected with Anabelle's face.
Rasputina lunged at the Scungilli Man, thrusting her spear at him. His body split in half to avoid her attack. As he reformed, his hand came down on the bone spear, breaking it in half.
He grabbed Rasputina and bit her throat.
The lich screamed, pressed her hand to the Scungilli Man's gelatinous head, and shot a bone spear through it.
He tore away half of Rasputina's throat and shoulder and dropped her to the floor, where she lay clutching her wound, blood pouring out at an alarming rate.
Abby teleported behind the Scungilli Man, seeking to strike the back of his neck, but before her hand could connect, he sank into the water and reformed behind her. Abby teleported away from his grasp, firing her plasma cannon. She was too close. He couldn’t dodge her attack.
The blast connected and threw him backward. He skidded across the floor, caught himself with his claw, and dove into the floor with a splash.
Abby took off into the air, but she was too slow. Watery tendrils snaked up and wrapped around her legs, pulling her down into the water.
Terra slid across the floor and slashed through the tendrils, freeing Abby.
The Scungilli Man leaped out of the water, bringing both of his claws down on Terra's head as Anabelle burst into smoke and reformed behind him. She got him in a chokehold, attempting to pull him back. His skin hardened into a shell and he fell backward, sandwiching Anabelle between him and the watery surface.
Anabelle's back hit the
floor, and the water didn't release her. It began dragging her slowly below the surface.
Terra reached for Anabelle, and the Scungilli Man's claw caught her across the face.
Abby flew over and he dodged her attack by stepping to the side, grasping Abby's arm with his claw. A gurgling sound like a laugh wheezed from his mouth hole. He closed the claw, cutting straight through Abby's forearm.
Abby screamed as she hit the ground, holding her stump as Terra leaped over her, axe raised high, only to be caught by the Scungilli Man's claw.
As Terra hit the ground, the creature’s legs split apart into crab legs and he scuttled to Terra, his squid head bobbing comically as he cackled before slamming his claws down on her and vomiting rotten fish bones onto her.
Tendrils from the water reached up and grasped Terra, holding her arms, legs, and neck as he continued to vomit decayed sea detritus into her face.
Terra choked, trying to get air and not swallow the filth being dumped onto her face.
Water tendrils clung to Abby as well, pulling her down into the water.
Anabelle was gone.
The Scungilli Man's body grew more bulbous and gelatinous, and it jiggled. He coughed and wheezed, still spewing into Terra's face.
"Enough!" a voice shouted.
Rasputina stumbled to her feet, still grasping her wound. She cupped blood in her hand and tossed it onto the ground before shooting a bone dagger out of her other hand. She drove the dagger into the ground and cut it open.
Dark sludge bubbled out of the ground as the Scungilli Man tilted his head, staring at her.
The lich plunged one hand into the hole and raised the other. Thin, barely visible threads were connected to her fingertips.
Rasputina pulled her hand out of the hole, holding onto what looked to be a black vein. She yanked it upward, and the ground beneath her shifted. Then her other hand moved downward, the threads gleaming brightly as she tied them together.
The Scungilli Man dropped Terra and scuttled toward Rasputina, screaming his whale song.
Before he could get any closer, Rasputina leaped into the air, holding onto the black vein as she flipped over the sea monster. She yanked on the vein, trapping him.
The demon looked up at Rasputina, eyes filled with fear as the lich summoned a bolt of black lightning. The unnatural electrical charge squirmed and moved like the Dark Melody. She rammed it into his soft head.
The lightning bolt impaled him to the ground as his body convulsed and trembled, the blackness traveling through it, burning him alive.
Rasputina stood and picked up the bolt as his hat fell off. She tossed it up and spread her arms, sending the Dark Melody to the farthest corners of the chamber.
With the monster vanquished, Rasputina fell forward.
The Lords of Death had returned as well and were standing at the back of the room. The Slender Man crossed his arms as he returned to his seat. "Fine. Rasputina has the victory."
Chapter Fifteen
Creon sat before an array of holoscreens stretching from one side of the room to the other. They displayed the zombies locked up around the nine realms, the images shifting every few seconds as they cycled through the entire system. It was too much for regular eyes to keep up with, so Martin was helping him watch. The strain was even a bit much for Martin to deal with, stretching his computing abilities to their limits, but the two of them were managing to stay on top of the workload.
They were looking for the slightest movement, the faintest hint of life.
Other lab technicians were doing the same in their own rooms, Martin was watching all of their screens as well. There were thousands of zombie pens across the nine realms.
Blackwell had been the only person to see a zombie blink, and he had waited for an hour to see if it happened again. It did not. This didn't change or sway his and Persephone’s opinions. They knew what they had seen. The zombie had blinked, and that meant the other ones might as well.
Actively surveying the zombie pens had been Creon's idea. He understood the ramifications of what Blackwell and Persephone had seen. If even a quarter of the zombies woke up on any one planet, it could be disastrous. The number of the dead far outweighed the living.
Creon wondered if the Dark One was behind this as well. If the Omniverse was just a pleasant distraction or a double agent or any number of other things that he was glad Roy and the DGA took care of so that he didn't have to think about it.
The door to Creon's lab opened, and Cire walked into the room. "You seem busier than I expected."
Creon didn't look away from the screen. "There's been a development in the zombie issue. We haven't come up with a solution to this yet, so I can talk, but I'm afraid I can't look away from the screens in case a zombie moves."
Cire raised an eyebrow as he stroked his chin. "That does seem like a problem. You need watchers?"
"Diligent watchers."
"Give me a few minutes. I require your undivided attention. Sarah and I have need of you. I'll be back."
Cire left the room and headed toward his and Terra's room. Or at least it was when he could manage to get time away from the orc homeworld.
Their room was in one of the lower sections of HQ, where the orcs had originally been housed when they’d arrived from the Arena a few years ago. Cire could still remember the way most of the races in HQ had looked at them, and how they'd been caged away from everyone else.
Things had changed. Now there were orcs working in HQ in all departments, and that was just here. Across the nine realms, orcs had easily integrated into the different societies without any issue. Still, it always made Cire happy to return to the lower levels, away from all the noise of HQ, to spend time with his lover.
Cire stepped into Terra's room to look for one of his books, an ancient tome on constructions. He found it buried under a pile of her dirty underwear. He wondered why his books always ended up in places like that. He flipped through the book, which was full of arcane knowledge, the likes of which most had never seen.
If an alchemist wannabe ever got hold of this book, they'd be successful in any search they made for the philosopher’s stone. But that wasn't what Cire was after. For one, it didn't interest him. Since his soul had been removed from his body, he’d found there were few things he desired, and gold was low on that list. What Cire needed at the moment was infinitely more valuable than gold.
He made his way from the bottom of HQ to the gardens that were overlooked by Myrddin's office. As he walked the paths, looking for a bit of untouched dirt, he saw Myrddin poke his head out of his office's windows.
Myrddin waved, a friendly gesture from a man who looked very tired. "Fancy seeing you down here, Cire. What brings you to the garden?"
Cire pointed at a mound of dirt. "Simple alchemy. I require a member of your staff, but he is tied up with mindless work at the moment. Creon."
Myrddin nodded as he stepped out of his window, waving his wand to create stairs beneath his feet. "Yes, I believe he is running surveillance on the zombie pens. A rudimentary solution, but effective for the time being. What are you thinking?"
"Anything with eyes that can watch. A false beholder, perhaps."
Myrddin smiled faintly. "Your magical skills have grown quite impressively. It was a surprise to see the next lich be such a gentle orc."
Cire frowned. "Did you not know of the orc shaman's tradition?"
Myrddin knelt and sighed as he regarded the pile of dirt Cire stood before. "No, I did not. Contrary to what people think, there are a large number of things I do not know about the nine realms."
"You don't try to eliminate that view."
Myrddin didn't look up but continued to stare at the pile of dirt. "No, no, I do not."
Cire knelt beside Myrddin and began scratching sigils in a circle around the pile of earth. "While we're on the topic of things you do or do not know, have you ever heard of any additional Paths of the Travelers? Paths other than the three?"
Myrddin sh
ook his head as he stepped away from Cire's work. "No, I'm afraid not. My knowledge of the various elvish martial arts is unfortunately lacking, as is my knowledge of most elvish magic."
Cire raised his eyebrow in surprise. "You? I'd assume you'd be the human who knew the most."
"Hardly. That knowledge is heavily protected by the elves. Only an initiated few are privy to that kind of information. You should have seen the faces of the elvish delegates when they found out that two humans now walk one of the Traveler's Paths. Why do you ask?"
Cire touched his hand to his sigil. The pile of dirt that he had carved the sigils around shook as it shot upward, the dry earth turning soft and muddy and forming the body of a broad-shouldered man. Multiple dull eyes opened on the body of the golem.
The orc walked around the creation, admiring his work. "Sarah received some words from the Omniverse sphere that we think might be used for communicating. The Path of Pain."
Myrddin was silent while he thought. "No, I'm afraid that doesn't bring anything to mind, but I will keep an eye out for anything that pertains to it." The wizard raised his wand and conjured stairs that led up to his office's window. "By the way, your magic is coming along quite well. I'm glad to see that you've managed to hold on to your sanity."
Cire looked at the golem standing before him. "I am too."
The golem was placed in Creon's laboratory and given the simple task of alerting Martin if it saw any movement from the zombies. Creon, being uncertain about leaving the task to a golem, ran visual tests to see if it was up to the task. Once he was satisfied, he left with Cire.
Sarah was waiting for them in the training room.
Creon looked around, bemused by all the weapons hanging from the walls. "Out of curiosity, why have you brought me here? What does this have to do with speaking to the Omniverse?"
Sarah approached Creon, eyeing Cire. "You didn't tell him why we needed him?"
Cire shook his head, the briefest shadow of shame passing over his face. "I believed it would be easier if we both were present."