“I’m an old man in search of a good fight and a worthy death.” He adjusted his hat. It would be a shame to lose it after all these years. “I wonder… will I find either here?” He smiled faintly – and streaked across the roof to cut the guard in half.
The guard blocked.
Old Man’s eyes widened ever so slightly as he jerked back to avoid the guard’s reply, a perfect slash that would have parted his head from his shoulders if he’d been even an instant slower. Interesting, very interesting. More guards climbed onto the roof, and Old Man backed away. He’d deal with the other guards first. If that guard was as good as their brief exchange had suggested, then he wanted to face him without all of the others getting in the way of a proper duel.
* * *
Something was bothering Timmy. That something sounded suspiciously like a river headed their way, but that was silly. They were in the middle of the desert. There was no way so much water could possibly be headed their way. Still, it couldn’t hurt to take a quick look back. He turned around and almost tripped over. There was indeed an absolutely huge amount of water thundering toward them. It wasn’t a river pouring down the street – it was closer to a tidal wave.
“What are they doing?” he shouted. “Where did all of this water come from? Run!”
“I don’t know,” Katie shouted back. “But I think we can probably blame Avraniel for it.”
“Could Old Man have had something to do with this as well?” Gerald asked. They were running as quickly as they could. However, the wave had broken, and water was racing toward them at a remarkable speed. “I don’t think we can outrun the water, but I might have something that can help.”
The bureaucrat summoned a large canoe – Timmy would have to ask him why he even had one – and the three of them piled into it with the rats. Timmy used his shovel to slap aside bits of debris as Katie’s shadows paddled them into the middle of the street and angled them toward their destination. Some guards rushed out of the buildings, but most of them were simply swept aside by all of the water. The ninja rats used some well-placed projectiles to deal with the few who had managed to keep their footing or who had escaped to higher ground.
The building for ultra-high security prisoners loomed up ahead. There wasn’t a single guard in front of it. They must have gone to deal with Avraniel, Old Man, Spot, and the other rats. Timmy could hardly blame them. The elf alone was trouble of the highest order, and the addition of a legendary swordsman, a young dragon, and a bunch of rodents that thought explosives were the greatest things ever was bound to lead to disaster. Another explosion rang out, and a pillar of white fire rose up over the Nameless Citadel amidst a cloud of steam and rubble.
“It’s possible that Old Man had something to do with this, but I doubt it,” Timmy said. “He also tends to make less of a mess. A flood in the middle of the desert sounds like exactly the kind of thing Avraniel could pull off.”
“Good point.” Gerald summoned an oar with his magic and did his best to help Katie steer the canoe. “But don’t tell her I said that.”
The water finally began to recede as they reached their destination. They hopped out of the canoe, and it vanished back to wherever Gerald kept things with his magic. Timmy gave the bureaucrat a grateful smile. Both he and Katie could swim – and he’d been told the rats could too – but it would have been far less enjoyable than using a canoe. He walked up the steps to the massive door at the front of the building. The majority of the door’s defences had been disabled, most likely due to backlash from when the barrier had gone down. The door was still incredibly tough, but it was now something they could handle.
“Gerald, bring out the zombie hydra.”
The bureaucrat nodded, and his brows furrowed in concentration. One of Timmy’s largest and most fearsome zombie hydras appeared beside him. A low hiss came from within its coils. Good. The small – but highly venomous – zombie snake he’d hidden on the zombie hydra was still there.
“I’d stand back if I were you.”
Timmy moved aside as the zombie hydra drew its heads back and spewed acid over the door. The gleaming metal of the door bubbled and hissed for a few moments but remained stubbornly intact. His lips curled. The door wasn’t half bad, but he was far from finished. He tugged another shovel off his back – the one that he liked to use for fighting in close quarters – and channelled his magic into it. The stone stairs quivered for a second and then turned into spikes that slammed into the door. The weakened door managed to hold firm against the first attack, but the second tore it off its hinges. Dimly glowing magical crystals lit the inside of the building. He switched back to his other shovel, the one that was designed for better control over sand, and gestured sharply. Sand flooded through the doorway. He had a rough idea of what they would encounter inside, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Gerald, bring out the other zombies.”
“Ah, right.” Gerald eyed the zombie hydra and cringed. Its teeth were extremely pointy, and acid dripped from some of its jaws. “We’re going to have to fight now, aren’t we?”
“Let us worry about the fighting. All you need to do is to stay close to Katie and keep out of trouble.” Timmy squeezed Gerald’s shoulder as twenty of his finest zombie warriors appeared. Twenty should be enough to get the job done. Anymore, and they’d only get in each other’s way inside the building. “Stay sharp, Gerald. We’re almost done. Now, let’s go say hello.”
Their ‘hello’ was received with a great deal of terrified screaming as the guards who had rushed to see what had happened to the doors took one look at the zombies and retreated with even greater speed. Timmy’s zombie warriors towered over normal people, and the zombie hydra could barely fit into the corridor. Indeed, it simply smashed its way along until they reached a large hall of some kind. He glanced to the side. There was another corridor there, and unless he was mistaken, they should be able to reach the lower levels if they followed it.
“Go that way.” He tapped his shovel on the floor. He could use the sand he’d brought into the building to get a better idea of the building’s layout. “Burag said that they kept the most dangerous prisoners underground, and I can feel a lot of emergency enchantments and seals from that direction. Most of them have either failed or are failing, so there’s a good chance she’s down there.”
His attention snapped to the other end of the hall as the guards parted to let someone through. Magic filled the air. Whoever they were, they were very powerful. A man stepped through the throng of guards. He was clad in the elaborate robes of a master summoner. It was actually quite gaudy with all of the expensive fabric and pricy gemstones. Timmy wondered how much the robe had cost. One of the best things about being a necromancer was that black clothing was fairly affordable. The most expensive piece of clothing he owned was the black robe he occasionally wore for formal occasions, but even it wasn’t particularly expensive.
The man thrust his arms out to both sides, and a dozen creatures that vaguely resembled tigers made of white light shimmered into being. Timmy bit back a curse. Of course, his opponent would go straight to spirit tigers. Those damn things were holy creatures with a reputation for doing well against zombies. But this man was also in for a surprise. These zombies were some of his best, and he’d designed them to be as resistant as zombies could be to holy magic. It would take more than a few shiny tigers to take them down.
“Get a move on, you two.” Timmy stepped forward. “I’ll handle this guy.”
“You must be the one behind all of this,” the summoner said. His voice echoed through the hall, deep and powerful. “Greetings, I am Tithion, Head Warden of the Nameless Citadel. Whatever foolishness you have planned stops here.” He paused as if waiting for something before he finally gave an exasperated cry. “Will you truly not return my greeting and share your name, evildoer?”
Timmy shook his head. “Well, no. I’d rather not tell you my name. And has anyone ever told you that you talk funny? Besides, if I’
m an evildoer, what makes you think I care about social niceties?” He chuckled as Katie and Gerald ran off. “No, the only thing I care about is kicking your ass, getting what I came for, and making it out of here in one piece. Now, let’s see which are better – your summons or my zombies. Oh, wait. You’ve got some guards. I suppose they count too.”
Tithion smirked. It reminded Timmy a lot of James’s smirk, which only increased his desire to bash the other man over the head with his shovel. “I won’t even need these guards.” He nodded, and the guards rushed after Katie and Gerald. A sharp swing of Timmy’s shovel hurled a wave of sand at them. The sand carried the guards into the wall with a loud thump, and only a dozen of them were able to stumble to their feet and stagger after Katie and Gerald.
“Not bad, necromancer. But there is no question about who will be victorious. Spirit tigers are naturally good against zombies.”
“Is that so?” Timmy couldn’t believe he was indulging in this much pre-battle banter, but the name of the game was time. The best outcome would be for him to defeat Tithion. But even if he didn’t, lasting long enough for Katie and Gerald to retrieve Amada would still count as a win. “Let’s find out.”
* * *
Katie tried not to worry as she felt twin surges of powerful magic come from the hall behind her. That Tithion guy was strong. He had a lot of magic, and a summoner with a lot of magic was always dangerous. As a necromancer, the easiest way for her master to overcome most of his opponents was to simply overwhelm them with zombie after zombie after zombie. A skilled warrior could easily deal with one zombie, even a dozen zombies, but how about a hundred or a thousand? Sooner or later, enough zombies would wear anyone down. But her master didn’t have all of his zombies with him, and a powerful summoner would be able to summon enough things to keep up with – maybe even overrun – the zombies he did have. Then again, it was her master. If anyone could find a way to win, he could. And he didn’t even need to win. All he had to do was buy enough time for them to grab Amanda and get away. If they could get away with Amanda, the mission would be a success.
“Stay alert,” Katie warned as she and Gerald continued to run down the corridor. He was surprisingly quick on his feet, but then she remembered how much running he’d done since joining her and her master. No wonder he had such good cardiovascular fitness. “I don’t think there are many guards left, but there could still be some –”
It was only her grasp of the shadows ahead of them that allowed her create a shield of darkness in time to deflect the bolt of fire which rocketed down the corridor toward them. The flames exploded on contact. Her eyes narrowed. Before, flames like this might have overwhelmed her defences, but she’d spent weeks training with Avraniel. As hot as these flames were, they were nothing compared to what the elf could muster. She waited for the heat to abate slightly and flicked her wrists. Rembrandt and Rubens darted along the walls, invisible, and Katie grabbed Gerald and sprang forward. Fire mages were typically resistant to their own fire, but they were rarely completely immune. If she got close enough, her opponent might hesitate to attack. As Gerald gave a startled yelp, she formed a pair of daggers out of her shadows while the rest of her magic swirled around her, ready to form another shield if necessary.
Her opponent’s next attack – a concentrated lance of pure heat – went over her head. She laughed. He must have overestimated her height. Oh well. She could live with being short if it meant her opponents missed a lot. She lunged forward with her daggers, but he jerked away, preparing to blast her despite how close she was. A shadow lanced toward him from the side, and he stumbled back, magic dissipating as he fought to stay on his feet. At the same time, Rubens and Rembrandt jumped toward him – only to dodge as he somehow realised they were there and raised his hands, fire flaring to life around them –
WHACK.
Gerald lowered the pogo stick he’d used to hit the mage over the head as Katie, Rembrandt, and the other rats turned and stared at him as though he’d grown a second head. The fire mage was out like a light. He might even be dead. Gerald had hit him that hard. The tall man’s chest heaved, and he dragged in a few deep breaths.
“I’m sick of people throwing fire at me!” He lowered his voice and scratched the back of his head sheepishly when he realised that everyone was staring. “Uh… I mean… I wanted to help… I can’t keep letting you do all the work.”
“Okay…” Katie shook herself. Rembrandt and Rubens exchanged a few squeaks. Their invisibility wasn’t working as well as it should have been, but this building was made of the magic-disrupting black stone. Could it be getting in the way? Maybe, but they didn’t have time to test it thoroughly. There could also be other runes and seals still operating, which could be preventing things like invisibility. “Good work, Gerald. Let’s keep moving.”
They continued down the corridor. Her master had been right again. Most of the lights, which were magical crystals, had failed. Although the fact that they had worked at all made her wonder exactly how the black stone operated. It would have been great if they could steal some to study, but they had other things to worry about. The remaining illumination came from torches, which she doused with her shadows. It became almost comically easy for her and the rats to deal with the rest of the guards. As more guards rushed in from behind them – this place seemed to have an endless supply of them – Gerald waved his arms around. Moments later, cries of pain rang out.
“What did you do?” Katie asked.
Gerald grimaced and looked genuinely guilty – as if those guards wouldn’t have gladly killed the lot of them if they’d gotten the chance. “Caltrops. They were confiscated from some bandits near an outpost I worked at for a while. I… kind of hung onto them. I don’t know why.”
“I’m not complaining.” Katie smiled at him. She hadn’t expected Gerald to fight, so any contribution he made was essentially a bonus. The rats dealt with the struggling guards to make sure they wouldn’t be followed, and they continued their mad dash down the corridor.
After tearing a door off its hinges with her magic, they came to a vast, cylindrical chamber that went deep into the earth. This must where the ultra-high security prisoners were kept. One of the guards there tried to run when he saw them – he must have stayed behind to make sure none of the prisoners escaped – and Katie tripped him over with her shadows as the rats went to deal with the rest of the guards. Careful to sound as menacing as possible, she drew herself up to her full height and let her shadows spread out behind her. The flickering torch on the wall nearby lent her an even more sinister air as her shadows twisted and flexed like unnatural living blades of inky darkness moving in some unseen wind.
“Tell me where the ancient vampire is,” Katie growled.
“Who… who are you?” the guard screamed.
Katie picked him up with her shadows. The darkness in the room deepened, and she dropped her voice to as low a pitch as she could manage, careful to make her voice extra gravelly too. This would have been so much easier with Avraniel around. “I’m your worst nightmare, boy. Now, tell me where the ancient vampire is, or I’ll tear your soul from your body and devour it, damning you to an eternity of endless suffering and woe as your soul is tormented in the depths of the demon realm for all time.”
He managed to stutter out an answer before he passed out from terror.
As Katie jumped over the railing and glided down to the bottom of the chamber with her shadows, Gerald and the rats clinging onto her, the bureaucrat asked her a question with a voice that was shaking so badly she could barely understand him. “You… you wouldn’t really do something so horrible, would you?”
Katie cackled. “Gerald, I couldn’t do what I said even if I wanted to. It was something my master’s master once did. I thought it was terrifying when I first heard about it, so I decided to use it since I’m not exactly the most intimidating person from a physical standpoint.” She shrugged. “Plus, most people think my shadows have demonic powers or something, so they�
�ll believe almost anything I say when it comes to stuff like that.”
“Thank the gods.” Gerald wiped some sweat off his brow. “You had me worried there.”
Katie politely refrained from pointing out that everything – from fire-breathing dragons to poorly done paperwork – worried him. They landed and quickly dealt with another bunch of guards. The guards seemed to be more concerned about other prisoners trying to escape, so it was easy enough to simply throw all of them into a wall with her shadows. They hit the wall with a dull thump, and Katie looked around. There was screaming and shouting coming from some of the cells. The prisoners must have wanted to escape, but she wasn’t stupid enough to open any of the cells. She had no idea what these people were in here for. Although not everyone in the Nameless Citadel deserved to be imprisoned, there were still quite a few criminals who most likely deserved their fate. There wasn’t enough time to sort through the prisoners, so she needed to find Amanda, break her out, and then get back to her master.
“Where is it?” Katie’s brows furrowed. “Ah, there it is.”
The door of the cell in question was enormous – a massive slab of metal inscribed with countless runes and seals of protection. Most of those had already failed thanks to what her master had done, but she hastily cobbled together a few runes and seals of her own using her shadows – ones her master had made her memorise – and used them to weaken the few that were still active. But the door was still made of a magic-resistant metal with enormous physical toughness. Her shadows alone wouldn’t be able to cut through it, not in the time they had. Instead, it was time for the demolition rats that they’d brought along to do their thing.
“Go on.” She urged the rats forward. “It’s time to show us what you can do.”
The rodents snickered and hurried over to the door. They poked and prodded it a few times before laying long strips of a sticky, strange-smelling paste along the edges of the door, the hinges, and the lock. She had it on good authority from the leader of the demolition rats that this concoction would get the job done and eventually revolutionise siege warfare. Once the rats were done, everyone stepped back. To be extra safe, Katie covered them with her shadows. There was a brief flash as the rats sent a pulse of magic through the paste to ignite it. The paste shone as brightly as the sun, and the scent of melting metal filled the air. A few seconds later, the door simply toppled inward. The paste had melted right through it.
Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire (The Unconventional Heroes Series Book 3) Page 22