City of the Dead

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “She’s a useless worker nobody could care less about,” Valanil said, stepping over to the boy. “No one will remember that there was once an Eighty-Five living in the world. And if we don’t toss her out, nobody will remember that we were here, either! It’s her or us. And that’s a choice I’ve already made.”

  “I said no.” Tailyn was all in, holding a card up to his mouth. “Just try it, and I’ll shoot. The lion will have two bodies to play with.”

  Something about the boy’s face made Valanil take a step back. And while it wasn’t far, it was enough for her to trip over the girl’s body and hit the floor.

  “Idiot!” the herbalist shrieked. “You’re a fool, Tailyn Vlashich. A stupid little idiot!”

  “Look who’s talking,” Tailyn muttered angrily as he opened the door again. The Nemean lion had already made it halfway up. It saw the boy, perked up, and even picked up its pace, though Tailyn didn’t care. Pulling out a card, he took aim and fired off round after round.

  Ka-Li… Ka-Li… Ka-Li…

  The boy knew the animal was immune to magic, making his fireballs nothing more than a tasty little snack for it. And that’s why they were aimed elsewhere. Every one of them slammed home right where the shaman’s icicles had already hit—Tailyn remembered how the plaster had shattered, which meant the roof wasn’t as sturdy as it looked. And perhaps the architect hadn’t gone for the heftiest of rods when they’d been looking for something to hold up the cable.

  The fireballs hit the roof one after another. Heated plaster and bits of fire fell past, and the air in the shaft began to quickly heat up. Ten fireballs… Twenty fireballs… Fifty… Tailyn’s head began to spin as he tried to keep breathing while blowing on the card.

  The lion’s paw slammed against the open door, smashing the stone and tearing the door itself off its hinges, but that was when the support gave way. The ceiling cracked. An enormous piece of stone crashed into the lion. Not expecting that turn of events, the animal growled as its paws slipped. The cable no longer held up its enormous hulk, and it plummeted downward. Then, it was Tailyn’s turn, as he felt a painful blow to the back and dropped to the floor. His shield still hadn’t recovered, and so the cable that had ripped out of the terminal and slashed at him drew blood.

  “Tailyn!” Valia threw herself at the fallen boy, and that was when the animal reached the bottom of the shaft. The blow was so heavy that it was heard all the way at the top. Pulling his eyes open with an effort, Tailyn stared up at the girl’s tearful blue eyes. Somehow, he’d never noticed vivid they were. How bright.

  A message popped up between them, and Valia’s gaze turned glassy as she read what was visible only to her.

  You destroyed a legendary creature.

  Level +1.

  Note! Since you haven’t completed the initiation, you cannot level-up.

  Character modification ongoing.

  Enhancement +1 (10).

  From somewhere off in the distance, there was a howl of rage and pain echoed by dozens of tinny voices. The lixes were angry.

  “Minus one charge,” Valanil gloated as she stood up. “You can’t recharge legendary cards—that’s the downside. That one has five charges, and it sounds like there aren’t that many left. And I’m not going to heal you, Tailyn Vlashich. You can restore yourself and next time think twice about getting in my way.”

  “But he was right!” Valia exclaimed. “We all leveled-up!”

  “Nobody asked you, little brat,” Valanil barked. The girl hung her head, not expecting that reaction. The herbalist had changed drastically—it was almost as if she’d gotten a boost to her anger along with the new level. Actually, that wasn’t far off. The herbalist was thirty-seven, with twenty-four of her years spent in exile. In that time, she’d only been able to get up to level thirteen, something that drove her crazy, while the little twit who showed up at level seven had just hit level ten. And while Valanil had herself gotten to level fifteen in their time in the City of the Dead, she was still bitterly remembering all those lost years. She wasn’t getting them back. And that was why she’d snapped at the girl. But where was Dort?

  “Well, bunch of useless humans, not doing well without me, huh? Oh, hey, leveled-up! All right, let’s do this. Get over here, you—you’re going first.”

  Eighty-Five, who had just woken up, meekly followed orders as she tried to stay as far away from the healer as possible.

  Dort went over to the posts, held up the card, whispered something, and blew. A shimmering field popped up to look exactly like the stationary portal.

  “The central square,” the boy announced as he pointed the numerical toward the shimmering surface. “Get in there! Unless I made a mistake, you’ll be fine. Maybe, I’ll even keep you for myself. I kind of like that pretty face of yours.”

  The girl twitched, though she stepped obediently through the portal.

  “She’s alive!” Valanil exclaimed happily as she watched the frames. Wherever the portal led, the girl’s shield hadn’t dropped, meaning it was safer there. “Valia, help Tailyn. See you in the city!”

  Her piece said, the herbalist literally dove between the posts and disappeared.

  “How did the lix shamans keep the portals open in town? There weren’t any posts there,” Tailyn whispered to Valia, figuring she’d definitely know the answer.

  “Synchronized cards tuned to each other,” she whispered back as she helped the boy up. “They had to get to your town on foot and hide somewhere so they could activate the portals at the agreed-upon time. That’s the only way.”

  “You know, Tailyn, I never have liked you,” Dort said suddenly. “You’re always getting in the way, you distract father, and you barely bring in any money. You can bet I won’t be giving you back the amulet or the outfit—I think they’re great. It’s just a shame I can’t take your cards, too. But whatever, the important thing is that you’re going to die today. And you, too, bitch! Shouldn’t have touched me, otherwise you wouldn’t be about to be eaten, and I hope they do it nice and slow, too. There isn’t much I wouldn’t give to watch.”

  Flashing an obscene gesture, Dort stepped into the portal, taking the card with him. The shimmering film flashed and disappeared as though it had never even been there, and that was when the familiar roar of a Nemean lion broke out. Halas had summoned his companion again.

  Tailyn realized he had two enemies in life. There was the one the god had assigned him for whatever reason, and then there was Dort. And it was hard to say which was worse.

  Chapter 21

  Mission partially complete: Save a Life. Dort Bark was delivered to Culmart. Return to the city and await Forian Tarn’s arrival. Your mentor has been informed of your success and returns your ring as a sign of his satisfaction.

  ***

  Partners group disbanded.

  ***

  Item received

  Intellect-I ring. Description: ordinary item with no special characteristics. Intellect +1.

  THE GOD DIDN’T give a reward for partially completing the mission, presumably only writing the message in the first place because the boy’s mentor decided to give back the ring. Tailyn looked down at the piece of jewelry and sighed. With the OGM-III, it was almost embarrassing to wear it, though what were the green lixes who attacked Culmart going to have? The blacks presumably took everything of value and left the greens with a bunch of trash. Still, the boy wasn’t going to turn down even that slight bump. The additional fifty mana didn’t hurt anyone, especially not then, when Dort had his amulet and he needed to find a way to get home and grind the other boy into the dust. Until then, Tailyn hadn’t known if he was capable of killing another human. It had happened accidentally the previous time, more the work of the ancient weapon than something he’d planned. But in that moment, the boy knew for certain that if he was presented with the opportunity, he was going to be only too happy to send a wave of fire the bastard’s way. Maybe, two. And if he survived those, one more to the head.

  “
We need to go,” Tailyn said to the girl, taking a step toward the terminal and grimacing from the pain in his back. He’d taken a hard hit to the back, and the recovery timer told him he had another hour left to suffer.

  “Go where?” the girl asked through her tears. Everything she’d ever been taught had evaporated. She was supposed to be strong, capable of withstanding any hardship, an example for the rest… Yeah, right. She was terrified, and there was nothing she could do about that. All she wanted to do was howl and bang her head against the wall in frustration at Dort’s betrayal. Really, it was the first time she’d ever felt such strong negative emotions.

  “I’m not sure,” Tailyn replied frankly. “But what I do know is that if we stay here, they’ll find us. Hey, why is half the palace missing from the projection?”

  The bottom of the three-dimensional map had been lopped off. All it showed was one big red dot—the Nemean lion. The creature was sitting in the room below them presumably trying to figure out a way up.

  “The cable’s gone, so it doesn’t have access to the lower terminal,” the girl choked out.

  “And what are these blue lines?” There weren’t many of them, though one led directly to the portal. And Tailyn was positive it hadn’t been there before.

  “Who cares?” Valia exclaimed, taking her frustration out on Tailyn. “They’re going to eat us, and here you are trying to squeeze in an education! It transfers energy, okay? Energy! The generator is underground, which is why you can’t see it.”

  “Oh, is that what you meant when you mentioned the portal being powered? Getting energy?”

  “Congratulations on leveling your brain up!” Valia’s heated sarcasm was giving vent to anger, which was all the tears had left her with.

  “And what’s that?” Tailyn asked, pointing at a thick blue line stretching to the very top of the palace.

  “You think I know? What, are you trying to get me angry? Congratulations—it worked!”

  “You didn’t answer me.” Tailyn himself was surprised at how calm he was. The events of the preceding few days had apparently left their mark.

  “Idiot…” Valia said, though she still answered the question. “I already told you. There’s a hub on top of the palace that transfers energy to the barrier holding back the river. If it disappears, then… Oh, sweet mother…”

  It occurred to Valia what the boy was getting at, and she clapped her hand over her mouth in fright, almost as if she were trying to stop the thoughts from flying past. If the city was flooded, the army of black lixes would be buried there forever. She and the boy would be, too, but even her beloved father would have approved of that kind of sacrifice. The girl had seen for herself how easily the Nemean lion had dispatched an enormous detachment of high-level mages. If Halas drowned, his companion would be lost, too. And was that worth the lives of two children yet to even start their studies at the academy? It was a silly question. Of course, it was.

  “Forgive me,” the girl said. Once again, her eyes flooded with tears, and she threw her arms around Tailyn. She was ashamed for how she’d been acting, ashamed for doubting such a hero. Unlike her, he was thinking only about everyone else right up until the end.

  Tailyn was taken aback. If Valia could have read his thoughts, she would have been even more surprised—drowning along with the army of lixes was the last thing on his mind. The only reason he’d been asking all his questions was to keep from sitting in a silence broken only by the Nemean lion’s heavy breathing. He much preferred listening to Valia than that creature.

  “No worries, it happens,” Tailyn replied neutrally without even trying to get out of the girl’s embrace. He was enjoying it. But Valia quickly pulled herself together, sniffed, and wiped her nose with her sleeve.

  “Are you ready?”

  The girl’s voice was filled with such inexplicable decisiveness and strength that Tailyn wanted to bend the knee in front of her. But he held his ground.

  “You don’t think we should talk about it first?” The boy really had no clue what was going on, but he was afraid to ask and put his ignorance on display.

  “Is there really anything to talk about? The only option is to cut off the energy, let the barrier fall, and flood the city.” Valia slowed down and paused before adding, “with us in it.”

  To say that Tailyn was shocked would have been to say nothing at all. He opened his mouth a couple times to tell the girl she was crazy, only each time he just closed it again, unable to beat back the agitation. Who would come up with something as absurd as flooding the city? Not only that, but she thought it was his idea. What, was she able to breathe under water? He definitely wasn’t. No, Tailyn was anything but a fish.

  But then he stopped.

  Breathe under water?

  “Don’t do anything—I need a minute!” he yelled as he ran over to the terminal. He needed a trip to the store, having figured out how they were going to survive.

  The first query was for the OHM-III (outdoor mage’s headgear). It would have integrated with their costumes to form a hermetic seal with a deep reserve of oxygen, only one look at the price tag staggered the boy. It cost 36,000 coins. The only way to get it would have been to sell his legendary card, and that was something Tailyn was definitely not prepared to do. Not right then, anyway.

  The next query was for the OHM-II. It still cost 12,000 coins just for one, and buying it meant buying the outfit that went with it, too—it didn’t integrate with the third generation. And since the outfits cost 4,500 coins, even if he and Valia had sold everything they had on them, they still wouldn’t have had enough.

  And that just left the OHM-I, which cost 6,000 coins. The first-generation outfit cost 750, and that was doable. Throwing in a Booster-III for 4,500 coins, since buying them cost three times as much as you got for selling them, meant enough oxygen for almost an hour. That was the move.

  “Get undressed!” Tailyn pulled himself away from the terminal and got to work slipping out of his OGM-III—there was no time for propriety. With the red dot marking the Nemean lion already on the third floor and in the next room over, a second later they felt a blow land home. The monster hadn’t been able to get up the shaft and was going to try battering through the wall. It was happening exactly as the girl had predicted.

  “Are you crazy? What do you mean, get undressed?”

  “We need to sell our level threes and buy level ones, only with the hats. That’ll let us breathe under water. We aren’t going to drown! The duration depends on our magic attack, so I’ll buy us each a booster. We have enough money for level threes. That’ll give us an hour to wait for the water to go down—the monsters will die, but we won’t. Valia, please, trust me!”

  She wanted to ask why she was supposed to trust him, but recent events told her that was something she absolutely could do. A hand felt for her zipper and pulled it down only to stop a second later. But while she was going to ask Tailyn to turn around, a crushing blow against the wall made her jump. The lion was rampaging. Small cracks began to appear, and that marked the end of all sense of decency Valia previously had.

  “Here you go,” she said, holding her suit out to Tailyn and mentally adding him to her trusted list. Only her parents and a couple nannies had seen her in the underwear the god had made for her. Until she turned eighteen, the people around her would see it instead of her body.

  Switching out costumes took a matter of seconds. After selling the OGM-IIIs for 16,000, Tailyn bought the OGM-Is for 1,500, the OHM-Is for 12,000, and the amulets for 9,000. That left him with just 384 coins in his account. What had seemed like a veritable fortune a week before was nothing now that he’d gotten used to the good things in life.

  The OGM-I smelled funny, and it was awkward and uncomfortable inside. While the third- and even second-generation versions felt like a second skin you barely noticed, the first-generation model was more like stiff leather armor someone quickly threw together in the next workshop over. It looked the part, too—ghastly, gray, and ri
veted all over.

  OGM-I outfit. Description: rare item. Outdoor garb for mages that lets them survive the hardships of life outside their tower. Adjustable slots and pockets can change their size depending on the height of the wearer. Waterproof boots. Can regenerate when less than 10% of the surface area is damaged. Does not include OHM (outdoor headgear for mages). Shield level: +10 * (level + Enhancement); mana level: +10 * (level + Enhancement); magic attack: +2 * (level + Enhancement).

  ***

  OHM-I. Description: rare item. Outdoor headgear for mages that lets them survive the hardships of life outside their tower. Integrates with the owner’s cards (no need to blow directly on them). Along with OGM-I, forms a hermetic seal with an oxygen supply that lasts magic attack / 2 minutes. Can regenerate when less than 10% of the surface area is damaged. Shield level: +10 * (level + Enhancement); mana level: +30 * (level + Enhancement); magic attack: +5 * (level + Enhancement).