by Tao Wong
Lily smiled sadly at me at my words but said nothing further. I knew—as she probably did—I had a naïve hope. But surviving when I hit level one hundred was a naïve hope. I already had two major groups gunning for me, and obviously more to come. But hope, naïve and hopeless as it may be, was all I had.
The drive to the drug house the next morning was quiet, tense. I found myself patting my coat repeatedly, a nervous motion as I tried to assess what the hell I was missing. It was stupid, since I had literally created a long list of everything I would need and ticked them off earlier this morning. Then I wiped down and burned anything that might be incriminating.
“Stop it. Nothing has changed since the last minute,” Alexa said grumpily.
“Sorry.” I put my hands down. “Right. In five minutes, I’ll throw the glamour and illusion on us to hide who we are. I’ll do the same with the car too, so they can’t track the vehicle. Then—”
“Henry. We’ve gone over this a hundred times. We’ll be fine,” Alexa said, making me slowly fall silent. I knew she was right, but I felt the urge to snap at her, a feeling I pushed down with a surge of willpower that I was quite proud of. Truth be told, I knew I was being irrational.
“Right. Right.” I fell silent, and a few moments later, I started going over the list of items I had brought with me.
“Five minutes,” Alexa said, interrupting me as I mentally went over what I had brought for the umpteenth time.
I drew a deep breath and exhaled while channeling an illusion over the car. It wasn’t a complex illusion, just minor changes like shifting the color of the car itself and the license plate along with removing any dents, scratches, and other, potentially identifiable material. After I sent a surge of mana into the car and completed the spell, I turned toward Alexa and nodded. Together, we tapped the small wooden enchantment I had created last night to store a simple glamour and illusion. In both cases, I went for boring and generic, making Alexa look older, brunette, and less striking while I made myself Caucasian, brunette, and older too.
As the car drew closer to the house, I took a moment to connect to the mirrors one last time to check that the three within were at their usual spots. Thankfully, they were, allowing us to carry on our nefarious task immediately.
Step one: Park the car and approach the house directly and cleanly, without acting suspicious and shifty. I made sure to grab my backpack and slung it over one shoulder, while Alexa carried her broken-down spear in a simple sports bag. When we approached the house, I moved to block Alexa from the view of any neighbors while casting a simple illusion spell over the house’s video surveillance camera. A moment later, Alexa had the door open with her lockpicks.
I actually felt bad about my boast. Once I actually thought about the requirements to pick a lock magically, I realized I had neither the spells, the knowledge, nor the time to perfect an enchantable tool. Online videos showing how to move pins and tumblers were one thing, but having a force spell that could not only adjust the degree, angle, and speed of force applied to tiny little metal pieces was beyond me. Alexa had had a good laugh late last night when I started grumbling about the matter before she informed me about her skillset.
Step two was simple. Once inside, a quick scry verified our targets were still in the same location. While I did that, Alexa put together her spear, getting ready for the violence about to occur. At the same time, I ran through the spell formulas I’d created just for this moment before releasing the Scry spell. If all went well, no one was going to die.
Step three required actual action. I snuck up first, doing my best Sneaky Pete impression. Of course, I wasn’t exactly trained to sneak, but I’d been a kid. Recalling the rules we’d used while playing ninja at home, I made sure not to walk in the middle of the staircase while crouching low as we ascended. When I reached the second floor, I poked my head around the corner of the staircase to see the three sprawled in the open living room, still staring at the TV.
Once again, I started a spell formula in my mind. This time I was prepping a Force Bolt, but instead of a single spherical container, I was going for a longer, cylindrical container, one that was slightly flexible. I called it my Force Rope, and in theory, the replication of the spell three times would let me wrap the three humans up without a problem.
The first two spells formed in my mind, then I began the third. Since these were all the same spell, it was difficult but not impossible, unlike triple casting three different spells. Here, at least, I just needed to concentrate on keeping the threads of mana and the spell formulas in mind.
Loud, incessant blaring of the horn from outside broke my concentration, forcing the third spell to come apart. I almost lost the other two as well, the feedback from the broken spell making me clench my teeth and let out a huff. Luckily, the noise I made was hidden by the continual honking.
“Shit. Is it delivery day?” a voice growled from above. Chairs creaked as our targets stood. I shared a wide-eyed, shocked look with Alexa as our plans came apart in moments. For a second, we both stood there in shock, footsteps coming closer before Alexa acted and rushed upward, jostling me aside gently and forcing me to struggle to hold the spells again.
“Wha—Urkk,” the voice screamed, the squark and gurgled ending an auditory clue of what happened. I had no more time, no gap to consider our bad luck. It was time to act.
I strode upward, looking for and finding my targets. One was reaching for a shotgun down by his chair, the second was attempting to ward off Alexa’s spear with his free hand while he vainly grasped for a handgun in his pants, and the other lay on the ground, his throat slashed. I dismissed the second, focusing on the first as I adjusted the range coordinates of my spell.
“Force Chain!” I called, releasing the spell with an auditory component. I held back the second spell, already weaving the spell formula to adjust the range to something a lot closer. Not that it was necessary. Alexa had cut the man’s hand open, then swept in and kicked his bladder region, right on top of the gun which the gangster was vainly attempting to draw.
My Force Chain flew outward, wrapping the first gangster’s arms and body around the lounge chair he had been sitting upon. He screamed as the chain yanked tight, plush and wooden components of the chair creaking as my hastily reconstructed spell formulas restricted his motion a little too much. He shouted in pain and surprise, a noise that set my teeth on edge. A Force Ball, located right in his mouth, worked as a useful if somewhat transparent ball gag.
As I turned toward Alexa and her opponents, I noticed she had thrust the spear into the second man’s neck, this time nicking open veins and arteries. Gripping his throat, the man gurgled as his blood flowed out, unable to make much more noise than Alexa’s first victim.
“Secure him!” Alexa snapped at me as I stared at the growing pool of blood. I twisted around and saw my own target had tipped his chair to the side and fallen to the ground, still bound tight as he futilely struggled toward his shotgun.
I rushed toward him and kicked the weapon away before I secured the man’s feet together using a series of zip ties. I frowned, realizing I could either release him and then attempt to forcefully yank his arms together to secure them again or I could leave him as he was, tied to the chair by magic. I knew it wasn’t the most secure method either. The chair was too large and plush, too pliant for there to be a truly secure binding. With a grimace, I made note to look into a sleeping spell before I recast a second Force Rope, sliding this one over both his shoulders and between his legs like a weird five-point harness.
“Come on!” Alexa snarled from downstairs. I refocused, listening to the garage doors sliding open downstairs, and hurried to the first floor, my feet making squelching sounds in the blood when I rushed past. My stomach roiled for a second, reminding me there were now two men who were dying, who I was leaving behind, but—
“I’ll close the garage doors first. Have a Force Ball ready. I’ll take the first person to come out. You deal with the second!” A
lexa ordered me as she crouched beside the door to the garage, the garage remote still held tight in her hand. Almost immediately after it stopped grinding, she tapped the button, forcing it closed again. “Get ready.”
I nodded, focusing within as I readied a Force Spear, rounding the tip to ensure it didn’t kill the individual immediately. A part of me wondered if I should cast Scry to check out how many people we would be expecting, but we had only seconds left and no mirror in easy access. I discarded the idea and forced myself to draw a deep breath once again, the thrum of a readied spell riding in my mind.
“Mario!” a surprisingly high-pitched voice called from inside the garage. A moment later, the doorknob shook and the door swung open, revealing a surprised-looking human. Except, on second look, I noticed the creature had no philtrum beneath its nose, and its skin glowed slightly with a faint golden radiance. Before I could take in the creature, Alexa swung her spear at it. Only, a reflexive block with the sports bag he held in hand saved the creature from being skewered.
“Who are you!” The creature snarled, falling backward as he blocked Alexa’s attacks with his bag. That golden radiance seemed to concentrate around its forehead, growing in intensity. With a snarl, I raised my hand and released the Force Spear before whatever spell, curse, or other ability was engaged.
Diwata (Level 38)
HP 138/138
The diwata jerked its head sideways in a vain attempt to dodge the Force Bolt at the last second. The Force Bolt clipped the side of its head, making the monster stumble backward, at which point Alexa’s thrust tore into its shoulder. The initiate pushed forward as she attempted to keep the creature off balance, the pair entering the garage where she was shoulder-checked by a larger humanoid.
Immediately, I scrambled to the door to see Alexa pinned against wooden shelves of the garage and being punched repeatedly by a linebacker-sized orc, his polyurethane sports jacket sporting the logo of a familiar football team. But I had little time to watch, for the diwata had turned its attention toward me, the glow returning to its forehead.
“Shield!” I snarled, my hand rising and fingers splaying, and my shield took the blast of magical energy straight on. I staggered as the creature pressed its advantage and continually pummeled my spell’s screen with its own magic. Over the brilliance of the attack, I squinted in a desperate attempt to see what was happening within.
Unable to see past my now-opaque shield, I raised my other hand and began to cast a Force Bolt, using the simpler version of my spell to allow me to multiply the number of Force Bolts in it. I then launched them blindly through the garage door, hoping Alexa was still in her corner. For a moment, the pressure on my Shield relented but then returned twofold. Cracks appeared all across it as my concentration wavered, my mana draining rapidly.
“Damn it!” I growled and held both hands up, flooding mana through them to reinforce the Shield. It held again, but a short, strangled scream from within let me know my friend needed my help. Fast. I swallowed, warm iron-tasting liquid sliding down my throat from a bit tongue as I forced myself to focus.
I couldn’t see within to cast a spell. I couldn’t even divert mana to do so. There was no guarantee my Shield and mana would last longer than the diwata within, but I had to act. I had to push in.
Push.
Oh. I kicked myself mentally and focused on the spell formula, searching quickly within my mind for the appropriate section. It was strange, how the channeled spell seemed to have a physical presence within my mind, like a glowing text twisted and wrapped together that mana flowed through. A channel I only needed to locate and adjust. In this case, the positioning portion of the spell.
I tied off other parts of the spell, fixing the sections dictating the shield’s size and orientation. Using my body as the initial point for the coordinates, I pushed my now-tied-off shield forward, changing its location quickly. I basically turned the entire Force Shield into a moving projectile, one I constantly fed with mana. A loud intake of breath and a sudden pressure informed me my actions had been noticed, but too late. The impact of the Shield on the diwata’s body rocked me mentally, but thankfully, the creature’s attack cut off soon after impact.
I didn’t relent even then. Drawing on my mana further, I shoved the Shield forward, pinning the creature onto the hood of the parked vehicle in the garage. I felt the sudden loss of pressure on the top, even as my Shield refused to move farther as its legs were crushed and trapped. The diwata let out a strangled scream even as the spell slowly dissipated. I had no time for the monster as I rushed into the garage from the house and spotted Alexa.
The initiate was doing less than well, her shoulder pinned to the wall via her own spear. The pair struggled over the shaft of it, the larger orc looming over the initiate as it dragged the spear relentlessly from Alexa’s grasp.
“DIE!” I shouted as I flung my hand up and called forth an Iceball. I mentally adjusted the spell, making the container slightly sharper and more pointed, and I launched the attack into the back of the orc’s head. Unfortunately, my scream alerted the creature, and he ducked even lower, letting the Iceball impact right above Alexa’s wide eyes.
“Not me!” Alexa screamed but took the momentary lapse in concentration by the orc to launch a knee between its legs. The orc folded even farther, his grip loosening on the spear which allowed Alexa a chance to rip it from her shoulder properly. Even as she readied to stab the spear downward, I launched a Force Spear into the orc’s lower back, the attack digging through his body and entering the bent-over creature’s chest cavity from behind.
As the orc tumbled away from Alexa after a forceful push, she looked up with gratitude at me and then threw the spear. I twisted to the side, only to see the diwata stagger backward, its legs healed again with the spear in its chest.
“What?” My jaw dropped open, knowing I had seen and felt its legs being crushed by my Shield. With a shake of my head, I stumbled toward it and ripped the spear out of its body, then slammed it into the monster’s chest again, piercing its heart. The creature spasmed once more and stopped, and I found myself exhaling with relief. Unlike the diwata, the orc lay on the ground, bleeding out while Alexa held a glowing white hand up to her shoulder.
“You okay?”
“No!” Alexa snapped. I nodded dumbly, staggering toward her and raising my hand to cast Heal. “Don’t bother. The chainmail vest kept most of it from going in. My healing will have it fixed in a few minutes. You keep your mana.”
I nodded dumbly again, grateful I didn’t have to tap my already low reserves of mana.
“I’ll…” I paused, considering what to do and then pointed up the stairs. Alexa’s jerky nod made me smile grimly as I strode up the stairs, my heart still pounding and my hands trembling. Only when I got upstairs and ascertained the last remaining, living member of the criminal group was still tied up did I slump to the ground, my hands trembling.
Oh gods. She had nearly died. I had nearly died.
Chapter 12
It took me a few minutes to get over the sudden violence, the death we had brought upon these living, breathing, sentient humans and supernaturals. Once the initial shock wore off and the adrenaline had reduced, I stood and looked out the window. Thankfully, there seemed to be no movement from the other houses, no twitching curtains or busybody neighbors. It seemed that while our little fight had seemed intensely noisy to me, it had not drawn undue attention. Either that or someone was on the phone already making calls to the police.
In the time I took to settle, I noticed I was not the only one who had calmed—our prisoner was lying on the ground quietly, staring at me. Occasionally, I glimpsed him straining against the Force Chain before relaxing having gotten nowhere. With a grim smile, I stepped past him to collect the weapons. I unloaded the shotgun and the pistols gingerly, pocketed the bullets, and tossed the weapons into a shopping bag I had located.
“Henry?” Alexa called up to me as she ascended the stairs. “Oh, good idea. Did you f
ind the money yet?”
“Not yet,” I said. “I was, uhh, not yet.” I flushed slightly, deciding not to inform her about my momentary loss of control. I’m sure she would understand. She had the previous few times I’d had a “blind moment.” But still, my pride had taken sufficient battering today. “I’ll take a look.”
“Sure. But mind dismissing his ball gag first?”
I gestured toward the man, dismissing the simple woven ball of power that had been affixed to his mouth. The man spat and wiped his face against his shoulder once again, clearing the drool from his mouth as Alexa yanked the chair up. Only a slight hiss from the initiate gave any indication she had been injured earlier. Well, other than the bloody shirt she wore.
“Now, let’s talk.”
“You think I’m scared of you, girlie?”
The loud crack of the spear haft when it struck the man followed me into the bedroom as I walked in. I shut the door, blocking out the sounds from the questioning, and I began to inspect the room. Well, ransack it was perhaps a better word. Of course, I made sure to put on a new pair of gloves first, the original pair looking somewhat worse for wear after our earlier battles.
Unfortunately, the room itself held little of interest unless you had an ardent desire for smelly male socks and underwear. Which, I guess, might be a kink, but I would also guess it was an unprofitable one to cater to. For a second, I almost pulled out my phone to check, but using the greater level of self-control that studying magic had provided me, I focused on my search.