“For crying out loud.” She retreated behind Blue Scales and tugged off one of her gauntlets long enough to run her palm along the edge of the blade before using a Word to heal the injury. “There.”
Well aware that the others were staring at him, Jonathan focused on the sword. The Blood Emperor’s presence thickened around him like a cloak, an almost tangible force that added steel to his spine. Yet at the same time, he could sense another presence, one on the edges of his awareness. It was getting closer too. “What now?” he whispered. They were about to be cut off. He could see it.
We still have a chance. Channel your blood magic. Weak as it is, it should still be enough.
Like any vampire noble, Jonathan was capable of blood magic. His was weak – far too weak to even really be considered proper blood magic at all – but the blade nevertheless responded. The weapon thrummed in his hands, and its edge took on an eerie crimson light.
This sword was made for the rage and fury of battle. It can sense your enemies are nearby. It thirsts for blood and slaughter. The Blood Emperor bared his fangs. It is unbelievably sharp. Worry not about the strength of your blows. The blade itself can do the work.
“All right.” Jonathan frowned. “Wait… do you hear that?”
“The spirit lantern,” Aria hissed. “It’s glowing.”
“Huh?” Jonathan tugged the lantern off his back. It was indeed glowing, and the crimson light pouring out of it matched the light coming from the sword. “What in the world?”
They must have shared the same maker. The spirit lantern is a beacon, of sorts, and it seems to have amplified its call using the magic of the sword. I wouldn’t have thought such resonance was possible, but if they did have the same maker…
The sound of boots tromping on stone floors grew louder, and Jonathan’s eyes widened in disbelief. From one of the passageways came rank after rank of spectral dwarves, eerie ghosts garbed in the same fashion as the long-dead dwarf soldiers they’d passed. And at their head, glorious and proud, eyes ablaze with wrathful determination was the dwarf king. Atop his head, his metal crown shone, as solid as the sword in Jonathan’s hands.
“Glory!” the dwarves thundered in their rough tongue as weapons banged on shields and boots stomped the ground. “Glory to Mordrath and our great and noble king!”
“The Unconquered Dead,” Aria whispered reverently. “I never thought I would see their like.”
“What?” Eric asked. “They’re ghost people, right?”
“It is a rare phenomenon. A necromancer can not only animate zombies and skeletons but also bind spirits. However, there are some spirits whose willpower is so great they cannot be pressed into the services of a necromancer. Such spirits are called the Unconquered Dead. However, they rarely last long since they don’t have a necromancer to supply them with energy. But this place is cursed. It’s full of necromantic energy. If they lay dormant and waited…”
The spirit lantern awakened them. The Blood Emperor’s voice was filled with savage glee. They remember their old enemy, and they see someone at long last wielding the blade they forged for one of their trusted allies. No wonder they have come. Attack! I doubt they will be able to linger long, but they can aid you while they are here. Look, already the crabs with magic are preparing to attack them.
“We need to attack,” Jonathan said. “They’ll help us.”
Aria bit her lip and then nodded sharply. “We haven’t got a choice. Attack! Make for the passageway that’ll take us back up!”
As they charged forward, the dwarf king lifted his war hammer and pointed it right into the middle of the horde of crabs. His voice, speaking in the rough but beautiful tongue of the ancient dwarves, spoke but three words. “Kill every crab.”
The ranks of dwarves surged forward. Jonathan’s heart swelled to see it. It was like something out of the stories of old, the myths and legends he loved so much. These were warriors with spirits so strong even necromancers could not bind them. They were resplendent in their untarnished armour and flawless in their coordination, and their battle cry shook the fallen kingdom to its foundations. They smashed into the crabs with all the force and weight of an avalanche, and the air was filled with the furious cries of the dwarves and the hideous chittering of the crabs.
Jonathan was glad for the sword lessons he’d taken because the sword in his hands was incredible. It sliced through crab after crab with ease, and each life it took only fuelled the power Jonathan could feel trying to burst out of his body. It was like gorging on blood of the very finest quality.
“No wonder the duke wants that sword,” Aria shouted. She was fighting at his side, and she was using her magic to protect him, so he could deal as much damage as possible. Behind him, he heard an explosion. Roger had abandoned any attempt at subtlety and was busy lobbing bolts of lightning, fire, and ash at the crabs.
“I know.” If someone like him could do this much with the sword, what could an expert accomplish? It was incredible to think about. Next to him, Miles whacked a crab in the side with his war hammer, and Jonathan lurched forward to cut it in two.
Stay focused. The Blood Emperor’s calm voice cut through the growing haze of battle. Even with the sword boosting your endurance, you will tire if you begin to swing recklessly. Stay composed. Your attacks should be compact and controlled. The sword can cut through them with ease, so there is no point in swinging with all your strength.
Jonathan nodded and tried to swing the sword more intelligently. He could feel the stamina he expended being replenished as the blade struck again and again. Around him, the others were fighting hard. Roger was firing away from atop Eileen’s back as the shape-shifter fought to clear a path through the crowd of crabs. Susannah was helping Blue Scales and Eric as the pair fought to keep the group from being surrounded. As for the dwarves, the spectral soldiers were locked in a bitter struggle against the crustaceans. The brutal battle saw spirits vanishing into motes of light and crabs being ripped to pieces. At the centre of their formation, like a great hammer pounding an anvil, was the king. Even the crabs were reluctant to face him, and the dark magic that felled his fellows seemed to have little effect on him.
A brief lull in the battle found him next to Susannah. With casual ease, she dropped a trio of crabs with one shot of her bow. “You could have told me about the ancient vampire you’ve got hanging around. It’s not like I’d judge. He’s clearly been helping us, and my best friend is a raccoon. I’m part werewolf too.”
“About that…” Jonathan grimaced. “It’s kind of a long story, and I’m not sure now is the best time.”
“Fair enough.” She grinned. “I just wanted to let you know it wouldn’t be a problem. Whoever he is, he’s absurdly powerful. But since I worked out one of your secrets, would you like to know one of mine? It’ll make us even.”
“Uh… sure.”
“Let me borrow that.” She plucked the spare sword off his back and tested its weight. “Not bad. The dwarves really know their swords. It’s not as good as yours, but it’ll do. I just hope it lasts long enough.”
“What do you mean?”
Susannah twirled the blade with a flourish and took up a stance. “You know how I said I was an archer? Yeah. I might have lied about that. I’m actually better with a sword.”
That stance… The Blood Emperor radiated surprise. The last people I saw use that…
“Were your mother and her clan?” Jonathan whispered. “But wasn’t she a huntress from that famous clan?”
Yes. The Blood Emperor paused. She was.
“But that would mean…”
As if to answer his unspoken question, the grey cloak Susannah wore changed. Instead of dull grey, it became a resplendent garment of red, silver, and gold. The deeds she’d done were clearly depicted on the crimson fabric in gleaming thread. Jonathan gaped. He knew about that cloak. Every vampire did. Only those who belonged to the oldest and most storied of the hunting clans could wear it – and only those who had achieved
a certain level of mastery. They were the bane of monsters everywhere, the stuff of nightmares for vampires the world over.
“I hope you don’t need this later.” Susannah grinned impishly. “Because I’m going to break it.”
Still grinning, Susannah twirled the sword one last time and then leapt into the oncoming horde of crabs. [Slice] and [Pierce] – the two Words echoed through the air as loud and clear as bells. And then she began to kill. It was unbelievable. She was like a ghost, flitting through the storm of blows from the crabs only to strike, and each strike she delivered was a marvel to behold. Not only did she slice and pierce through the crabs with ease despite their hardened shells but each of her strikes was also perfectly placed and executed. One moment she cut a crab in half, the next she sliced the legs off another and then flipped through the air, twirling and cutting more crabs down before she landed. Despite the crabs bearing down on her, she was the one pushing them back, their numbers somehow making no difference at all.
But already, Jonathan could see signs of strain in the blade she was using. He’d held that sword. He knew it was good, quality steel that had been forged by a skilled dwarf smith, yet it was already on the verge of breaking. No wonder she relied more on a bow. Any sword she used would be lucky to last more than a battle or two once she used her Words on it. A crab lunged at her from behind, and Susannah dodged, raised one fist, and punched it.
[Pulverise].
The Word essentially turned the crab to mush.
His brows furrowed. So far, she hadn’t used a single Word unrelated to destruction, and all of them were incredibly powerful. She must have a strong affinity for certain Words, just as he did.
Now that is what I call a woman. The Blood Emperor was grinning from ear to ear. My mother was a huntress from the same clan. It’s been so long that I’d almost forgotten how impressive they are in combat. He sighed wistfully. I wish she’d lived long enough for me to face her in my prime. What a battle that would have been…
Jonathan decided to keep his thoughts about the Blood Emperor’s taste in women to himself. Women who could eviscerate giant crabs were not normally the ones he thought about pursuing. Instead, he simply said, “I’m glad she’s on our side.” Susannah and Aria were now fighting side by side, and it looked as though they’d spent their lives fighting together. Actually, now that he looked closer, that wasn’t quite the case. Aria was leading, but Susannah was skilled enough to follow her lead seamlessly.
Throughout the area, the spectral dwarves had begun to chant and sing, and the hall shook with the force of their bloodthirsty voices and their steel-shod boots. Many of them had dissipated, but the remainder fought on undaunted. Jonathan couldn’t help but wonder how many times they’d fought this battle.
“Pressure the necromancers,” Aria ordered over the din of combat. “I’ll deal with the zombies.”
As the others hastened to obey, Aria retreated behind them and began to pray. The words grated on Jonathan’s nerves, a testament to the holy power she wielded. Eileen had abandoned her bear form to turn into a young, two-headed hydra, a form she could maintain longer than her larger, more powerful three-headed form. Her acid was doing a decent job of forcing the nearest crabs back, so Roger could continue to blast them. A bone creature loomed ahead of them, a mass of bleached white in the shape of a giant, multi-headed sea lion. Susannah laughed and ran forward. She leapt into the air and struck the bone creature in mid leap before she landed behind it. The dwarf sword she’d taken shattered in her hands, and the bone creature exploded. Susannah threw the hilt of the broken weapon through the shell of the nearest crab and drew her daggers. A distinctly wolfish smile crossed her lips, and her smile only widened when Eric let loose an ear-splitting howl.
Jonathan didn’t know how effective [Howl of Terror] would be against the zombies and bone creatures, but the living crabs certainly felt the effect. Those closest to the werewolf stumbled back, and those further away seemed hesitant to press forward. Behind them, Aria finally completed her prayer. A blinding flash of light rippled outward. The god that Aria served was a noted foe of the undead, and although her prayer only managed to stun and weaken the living crabs, its effect on the zombies and bone creatures was devastating. The lesser creatures began to disintegrate, and the greater ones were thrown back, light spilling out of cracks in their bodies like smoke. The others hurried to take advantage, and the former paladin sagged. Jonathan managed to get there in time to steady her, and she gulped down a potion, so they could press on. Prayers like hers channelled the powers of the gods themselves, and no mortal could serve as a conduit for long.
They were still charging forward when they screeched to a halt.
It was Blue Scales who stopped them, one arm flung out to bar their path. Jonathan opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but then he saw it. Rising out of the depths of the water that filled the shattered mining area in front of them was a crab – a really, really, really big crab. Magical power rolled off the monster, and its shell was covered in gleaming geometric patterns of blues, greens, and blacks. Blue Scales tensed, every muscle in his body taut.
“This is a champion amongst their kind,” the merman growled. “It will be no easy foe.” He nodded at Roger and Susannah before continuing. “Unlike the crabs we’ve faced so far, it can regenerate. Only overwhelming damage to multiple critical areas will defeat it, and even then, it will likely heal given time unless its body is completely destroyed.”
Aria took stock of the situation. It was clear from her scowl that she did not like this at all. They were on the run with hordes of enemies behind them and a powerful foe in front of them. Worse, they had already used a lot of their strength just to get this far. However, they didn’t have a choice. They could either win here or die. Her lips firmed into a thin line, and she nodded almost to herself before beginning to give out orders.
“We don’t need to kill it to win. If we can put it down long enough to escape, that’ll do. Roger, Susannah, and Eileen, you’re our strike team. Eileen, use your acid. Hydra acid is known to hinder or even outright prevent regeneration. Roger, hit it with something big. As long as you don’t bring this place down around us, it’s fine. Susannah, I don’t know how your Words work exactly, but if you can crack its shell open or land a critical blow, that would be great.” She glanced at Blue Scales. “Keep it from using water against us, and bind it if you can. If it floods this place, we’re finished.”
“And the rest of us?” Jonathan asked, knowing he probably wouldn’t like the answer.
“We hit it with whatever we can. Most of all, we keep it occupied.”
Jonathan eyed the crab’s claws warily. They were large enough to cut through a wagon with ease. A single glancing hit could easily be fatal, even to him. “Okay.”
“All right.” Aria pointed. “Look away. [Blinding Flash]!”
The flash of light had the massive crab covering its eyes with its claws as the group burst into motion. Roger leapt onto a ledge and immediately fired off [Ash Blast]. The attack would have instantly killed a group of the lesser crabs, but the champion merely gave a short, huffing sound before expelling a tightly focused beam of water. The raccoon squawked and scrambled to get clear as the ledge all but disintegrated. Susannah swooped in to grab him, and the ranger used the line on her fishing rod to swing her and Roger up onto a half-fallen walkway that circled the upper part of the chamber. The crab fired off another beam, but Blue Scales drove his trident forward. The beam went awry, and Roger cackled and unleashed a brilliant barrage of lightning.
“This thing… it’s control over water is comparable to my own.” The merman growled. “I cannot halt its use of water, merely divert it or slow it down.” His eyes widened as the crab rounded on him and swung one of its enormous claws. He managed to dodge, but the blow still smashed through a pillar and ripped a section of the wall to pieces. “And it is no less formidable in melee combat either.”
[Annihilating Pressure].
&nbs
p; “Move!” Aria barked.
Jonathan hurried to get clear as a great weight fell over the area they had occupied. The stone floor cracked as though pulverised by an immense boulder. That… that was not a Word he wanted to get hit by. Vampires could regenerate, but being turned into a puddle of goo would definitely be fatal.
Only Blue Scales remained unaffected by the crab’s Word. He stood proudly amidst the wreckage, and he unleashed a withering blast of lightning that shook the chamber to its foundations. The crab flinched, and its claws flailed, sending water and broken stone flying everywhere.
“You face a son of the Deep,” Blue Scales bellowed as he took one step forward and then another and another, shrugging off the crushing pressure of the Word. “These scales of mine have survived greater pressures before.”
Our foe has access to powerful Words. The Blood Emperor frowned as Susannah launched one of her exploding arrows only for the projectile to disintegrate before it could even reach the crab. Her Words won’t do any good if the crab can destroy her projectiles before they can hit. It must have some defence against projectile attacks.
“What do we do?” Jonathan asked.
Aria gestured. A glowing barrier sprang to life as another beam of water lanced out, this time at Blue Scales. The merman’s trident rose to intercept the attack, and the beam lost most of its coherence. Even so, Blue Scales was pushed back, the sheer volume of water threatening to sweep him away. A flick of the crab’s immense legs sent water and rubble hurtling toward them, and Aria’s barrier shuddered as several chunks of rock half the size of a grown man pelted into it.
On the other side of the chamber, Eileen spat a volley of acid. The spray of corrosive fluid turned into hazy mist before it could reach the crab, but some of it still managed to reach the titanic crustacean. The acid did some superficial damage to its shell. However, too little was getting through to do any real damage. With greater speed than it had shown so far, the crab turned. Eileen managed to avoid being caught in its claws, but the crab still managed to hit her with a backhanded swipe. Despite her size, the blow tossed Eileen back into the wall of the chamber. Had she been anything but a hydra, the blow might have killed her. As it was, Eric was forced to leap in to draw the crab’s attention while Eileen regenerated.
Attempted Adventuring (The Attempted Vampirism Series Book 2) Page 24