Nylotte scowled. “Ushev, is that you?”
He laughed. “Yes, my old friend. It is so sad to see you in such dire straits.” His voice suggested that it wasn’t actually sad but rather a cause for celebration.
“When I get out of here, know that I will not stop until you are dead unless you release those gates immediately.”
He snapped his fingers loudly. “You’re a merchant, right?” The growl that came from deep in Nylotte’s throat indicated that she didn’t approve of that description. “How about we make a deal? You kill the annoying human accompanying you, and we will open the door to allow you to depart.”
“And the weapons?”
Another laugh from their foe. “Those belong to us, I’m afraid. After all, we are the ones preserving the ideals of Rhazdon.” Diana thought she heard sarcasm in the words.
Her teacher sounded smug. “So, you are Remembrance. Thank you for confirming that for me, Ushev. With instincts like that, I imagine you’re on the bottom level of the hierarchy.”
He snarled. “Very well, witch. Enjoy the rest of your short life.”
The Dark Elf shook her head and returned her eyes to the mutated monster in front of them. “He’s an underground gnome and likes to pretend he has power. Our paths have crossed once or twice.”
The golem took a step toward them, and the vibrations echoed throughout the space. Diana moved away instinctively and was encouraged to see that her companion did as well. At least I’m not the only scared one in the room. “Okay, so, back to the question at hand. How do we destroy that?”
Nylotte’s smile held the anticipation of a predator about the strike. “We deal with it the same way that humans and Oricerans have done since the earliest days. We burn it to cinders.”
The agent raised her hands and discharged a wash of flame at the monster. Nylotte did the same, and the creature shrieked in response, perhaps from pain or perhaps from anger. It threw the bone club at the Drow, and her attack faltered as she ducked to safety and barely evaded the sharpened teeth that encircled it. Diana frowned. It’s strange that he discarded his only weapon. He reached down and she noticed the giant link hooked onto a spike in the floor for the first time. The monster grasped it and yanked with a bellow, and the rest of the chain appeared over his shoulder and streaked toward her position. She dove to the left and narrowly avoided decapitation.
Her teacher had begun her attack again but this time, she hurled individual fireballs instead of a sustained blast so she could stay on the move. Her pattern was simple—fire, reposition, and repeat. Diana raised her rifle and sprayed rounds at the abomination. They appeared to penetrate and stitched a line from his chest to his forehead. The creature looked less concerned with the bullets than he was with his determination to destroy the Drow with the chain.
The Dark Elf shouted, “Anything vital is so deep in there that the gun won’t reach it. Think, my student.”
She sighed and let the rifle drop. The fire attacks seemed to bother it, but they didn’t do much damage. Eventually, she and Nylotte would tire, and if they hadn’t killed the atrocity, he’d have an overwhelming advantage. She scanned her surroundings for options and studied the objects in the room—coffins, candelabra, and a heavy table. Nothing useful, dammit. When he swung the chain at her partner again, she released fire toward him in a thin stream and channeled her strength with it to try to push it deeper into him. She saw the wound penetrate and the cauterizing effect of the flame kept it from closing or healing. Most of the bullet wounds had already vanished.
“I have an idea,” she yelled. “It’s a terrible one. But be ready to shoot something with your fire.” She couldn’t use the timer, because getting it in position would require adaptation based on how he moved. And it wouldn’t work unless it was all the way in the channel. She withdrew the fragmentation grenade from the holder in her hip and held it up, then used a force blast to direct it at the monster.
“You’re an idiot,” her teacher yelled, but she also sent a distracting wash of flame at the golem to give her room to work. She remained still, focused on the projectile, and nudged it telekinetically to keep it on target while she pushed it forward with her force magic. He shifted and she adjusted the trajectory as she noticed as if from a distance that the chain arced over his head in a determined effort to obliterate her.
She shoved the grenade into place, hurled herself aside with her telekinesis, and narrowly avoided the blow from the metal whip as she sprawled in the middle of the room. “Now!”
Nylotte’s timing was perfect, and she detonated the grenade buried in the golem’s flesh. The fragments erupted from his body in every direction, and he fell to his knees, then collapsed with an uncomprehending look on his face. Diana lay still and simply took a moment to rest. Her teacher hadn’t spent much time training her in precision magic, and she’d now discovered that it was entirely exhausting. She must have lost focus for a moment because suddenly, the Drow’s boot tapped the ground right in front of her eyes. “Get up.”
“No. Can’t. Tired.”
The other woman gave an exasperated sigh. Magic wrapped around her and hauled her into a seated position, and she felt the metal edge of a vial on her lips. Her teacher allowed her several sips of the energy potion—maybe half—but removed it before she could finish it. Relief flooded through her and she bounced to her feet. The world swirled for a minute, and her companion had to support her until she returned to normal.
“Damn. I do love that stuff.”
The Drow sounded amused, maybe even fondly amused. “Try not to fall asleep before we return to Earth. Do not doubt that I’ll leave you here.”
With a screeching sound, all three portcullises raised at the same time. From the front left corner of the room, Cara and Rath appeared. They looked at the fallen golem and then at the two women. Her second-in-command shook her head. “I’m glad we missed this. Rath and I have had fun knocking out skeletons and necromancers.”
The troll added, “And zombies.”
“Right, and zombies. Slow zombies, though, not fast zombies. Fast zombies are terrifying, leading to a significant reduction in fun.”
Diana gestured at the fallen monstrosity. “Well, you had the better end of the deal.”
Cara nodded. “I can see that. I’m glad we missed it. Is that…a skeleton sticking out of its arm?”
Nylotte’s condescending tone was back. “It’s an undead golem. What do you think they’d make it out of?” She strode toward where the gnome had been. “We must push onward. Ushev and his people are ahead of us. We mustn’t let them retrieve the weapons.” She walked out of the room, doubtless assuming they would obey and follow without objection.
The others intercepted Diana as they all moved toward the door. Cara asked, “What’s an Ushev?”
“Gnome.”
Rath asked, “Which kind?”
Diana blinked. “There are kinds?”
He laughed and busied himself with retracting and holstering his batons as they followed the Drow. The tunnel curved and turned, and more than once, she used force magic to activate traps ahead of them. When they reached the end of the passage, it opened into a chamber at least four times as large as any they’d seen in the crypt thus far. The ceiling climbed to several stories above them, with large black metal chandeliers hanging from it. Pillars dotted the space and reached up to support the roof. It all appeared to be carved from the natural stone, not constructed.
Cara commented on that fact, and Nylotte nodded. “Most of these were. Magic has always been used for actions both spectacular and ordinary here, as it is constantly being replenished, unlike on Earth where we must conserve our fuel.”
Diana shook her head. “The things we could accomplish with that kind of power. It boggles the mind.”
Her teacher sounded wistful, the first time she’d ever heard such a tone from her. “If only people could focus on building up instead of tearing down, it could be a utopia. But, as history shows us repe
atedly, that is never the way. Not on the two planets we know about, and doubtless not on any others, either.”
The lead agent peered ahead to a double set of stairs on the far side of the room, both of which curved inward toward an altar. She triggered the magnification in her glasses and the twin silver daggers wavered into focus. “The blades are on the altar.” She tensed in preparation to move, but Nylotte laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Beware. Our enemies reached this place first but are not up there yet. Either it’s an ambush, or there are traps that they cannot overcome. Or possibly both.”
She nodded. “Rath, how about a bird’s-eye view?”
He grinned and crouched. She lifted him gently and used a mixture of force and telekinesis to raise him up a dozen feet before she positioned him alongside the nearest pillar so that he would have protection. After a quarter of a minute or so, she lowered him. He knelt and drew in the dust on the floor. The area quickly took shape, and he marked three places with an X. The first was immediately to their left, the second was halfway up the room on that side, and the third was ahead of them at the base of the steps. He pointed at them in that order. “Kilomea. Witch. Gnome.”
The Drow added, “And that doesn’t mean there aren’t traps waiting.”
Diana frowned, then sighed. “It’s time for something stupid again, I think.” She turned to her teacher. “Can you drop Cara on top of the Kilomea?” When the elf nodded, she looked at Rath. “Wait for a moment while I clear any traps, then go after the gnome.”
The Dark Elf added, “I will also take the gnome.”
She nodded. “I assumed so. That leaves the witch for me.” To Cara, she said, “I hesitate to say this since it’s not the most efficient way to deal with it, but you probably want to preserve your magic power if you can. There’s no way to tell what we’ll face after we deal with these three.”
Her second-in-command grinned. “You’re telling me to defeat a Kilomea hand-to-hand? Hell, I’d pay for that opportunity.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Cara rocketed toward the Kilomea, her Bowie knife held reversed along her right forearm. He reacted when she was about three feet away and flinched to the side in a dodge that took him out of her path. Instead of the anticipated collision, she landed cleanly, spun quickly, and held the blade up in a block.
The impact of the ax blade with her knife launched tremors up her arm. She ducked and the creature’s other ax whipped over her head. Using her momentum to her advantage, she turned the duck into a roll and moved out of the corner to make space in which to move. When she found her feet, the giant stalked toward her and the axes swayed gently at the end of his long arms. His voice was as growly as she’d expected it would be. “It’s about time you arrived. Waiting was boring.”
“Aww, you were waiting for little old me? How flattering.” She feinted a front kick, and his axes twitched in the direction of a block. The minimalism of his reaction and the look on his face communicated that he was still bored and clearly didn’t respect her as an opponent.
“Waiting for someone. Was hoping for a challenge. But you’ll have to do.”
“Cruel, cruel words. You hurt my heart. Allow me to return the favor.” She stepped in and swept the blade across in a slash. He brought the ax up to block, and she twisted to deliver a side kick, whipped around, and planted her heel into his chest. He didn’t move, and she dropped and rolled away before he could counter. Shit, it’s like kicking a boulder.
He advanced without replying and slashed with his axes, a fluid combination that she struggled to mostly evade and block when necessary. She failed to catch the last blow in the flurry cleanly and blood trickled down her right arm. He pushed forward and now aimed at her head with every second or third blow. She managed to evade them all and finally dashed behind a column and kept it between them.
Wait a minute. No one said anything about conserving bullets. In her reactivated enthusiasm for hand to hand combat—thanks to Hank’s nocturnal entertainment of choice—she’d immediately thought it would be fun to go up against a Kilomea when the opportunity presented itself. And, on another day, with less on the line, maybe it would be. She backed up to give him an angle to attack, and when he emerged from behind the column at a run, it was to find her with her pistol drawn.
She feared his chest might be resistant after her kick had failed so spectacularly, so she aimed for his legs, emptied the magazine, and achieved several successful strikes. He groaned where he had fallen as she reloaded, then she stepped closer and delivered a ringing shot to his head. She knew the one blow wouldn’t have been adequate on its own, but the shock surge put him out. Cara holstered her gun and raised her rifle, then stalked forward along the left-hand side of the room.
Rath and Nylotte took different paths toward the gnome. The Drow had warned him not to underestimate the creature and that he was a formidable opponent, and he had taken the advice to heart. He held one of his throwing knives in his right hand, ready to throw, and had the other ready for a swift transfer and throw. He moved around the pillar in a crouch and took a quick look around, but the gnome was still focused on the noise coming from the far corner of the room, which allowed the troll to creep forward.
When he finally judged that he couldn’t get closer without revealing himself, he stepped out and threw the knife at his opponent, grasped the other, and tossed it a moment later. His form was much improved from his first effort with the grape, and the blade flew true. His accuracy still wasn’t perfect, though, and what was intended to be a strike to his chest instead hit the gnome in the leg.
A shield snapped up immediately to deflect the second knife, and Rath hurtled around the corner. Ushev growled a curse and pointed a finger, and a huge piece of rock detached from the wall nearby and careened toward the troll’s head. He yelped when he saw it, threw himself to the side, and managed to avoid most of it. What did strike him hit hard, though, and he scrambled dazedly toward cover.
Nylotte intervened before the gnome could press his advantage. She had circled while he took the direct route and blasted their enemy from that side while his shield faced Rath. Ushev staggered as her tiny fireballs battered him, a continuous flow of small impacts that nonetheless prevented him from being able to counter. When she had him pressed against the wall of the cavern, she extended tentacles of shadow and wound them around him to immobilize the gnome. One covered his mouth as a gag, which also prevented him from using verbal magic.
She looked at the troll. “Are you okay, Rath?” He nodded and staggered to his feet, his head ringing. She beckoned for him to join her, and when he got there, she reached into the satchel and handed him two potions, one red and one blue. “Red is healing. It’s customized for a troll. You probably only need about a third of it.” He drank without hesitation, and his head cleared immediately. He grinned.
“Thank you.”
She nodded. “It’s good to make sure one’s…” She paused before she continued, “Partners are at full strength. We still don’t know what we might face before we’re safe.”
Diana had made a furious initial attack on the witch and hoped to overwhelm her, but that effort had failed. The first salvo of bullets, fired before she’d revealed herself, should have succeeded, but the woman in the tight black dress with the plunging neckline had reacted quicker than she would have thought possible to simply redirect each bullet past her with twitches of her wand. Which is really damn impressive. That kind of precision is—no, I’m not jealous. Shut up. Her inner voice chose to remain silent.
The agent stepped out with her rifle raised. A new magazine now replaced the one that hadn’t brought the desired results. “Hi, there…uh, Elvira. Love your show. How about you put the wand down and no one gets hurt?”
The witch grinned, her obvious beauty another annoyance. I would give a lot for her skin.
Now, her mental voice did chime in. “Phrasing.”
Diana rolled her
eyes, then turned her attention to the woman, who finally spoke. “You must be Agent Diana Sheen. Dreven has described you before. Congratulations on avoiding his clumsy trap.”
She blinked in surprise. “Yeah, sure. Okay. Thanks. Drop the wand.”
Her adversary laughed, and her appeal doubled. “I’m afraid not, Diana. I will leave with those blades. If you wish to live, you’ll leave now.”
“So, the hard way.” She pulled the trigger and again, the bullets failed to reach their target. The witch countered with a blast of force, but she conjured her buckler and the attack rebounded to its source. Again, a small gesture with the wand protected her. She tried lightning next, and Diana relied on her vest to protect her as she lunged forward. Magic crackled around her as she moved into range and channeled all her energy into a front kick at the woman. Her foot passed through the illusory figure and she fell heavily.
The real witch stepped out of an alcove behind the image—which explained how the attacks seemed to authenticate the illusion—with her wand extended and she covered Diana in shadow. She summoned a shield but knew immediately that she wouldn’t be able to hold it for long under the brutally powerful attack. Despite the drain on her energy, she tried to focus and investigate the woman’s power, but it was too strong for her to tease out any part to try to separate from the rest. The pressure increased as her anti-magic deflectors were consumed, and she groaned in pain. She forced her eyes open and saw that the portion of the floor the woman stood on was cracked.
Encouraged, she siphoned off the tiniest amount of energy and let it build for a few moments, then launched it in an assault on that damaged area. The floor crumbled, and the witch was thrown off balance. The assault fell away briefly, and Diana shouted with relief. She levitated two slabs of rock in front of her in time to block the next shadow assault. The witch tried again, but a slight adjustment of the rocky barrier deflected the onslaught. The agent saw Cara out of the corner of her eye and grinned, then yelled, “I can do this all day, witch. Is that all you have?”
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