by Skyler Grant
"I thought they'd give you more of a fight," Alex said.
"They were trying to draw on the death energy down there, energy rightfully mine, I took it back," Sabrina said, and waved her hand. An image appeared of the dome from above. The fog on the surrounding streets showed a lot of movement, Glitch surrounded the shield on all sides.
"You're watching it as it happens?" Jess asked.
"I hadn't wanted to. I wasn't going to, originally. This would have already been done and ended, if the Tower hadn't interfered."
"You know why they are helping? What happened to your parents is going to happen to you, Sabrina. No matter how confident you are of what is about to happen, please, stop this," Alex said.
"I've shed too much blood for it to be for all for nothing, Alex. I'm not going to stay here, although I'll leave the projection for you to watch. Thank you again, for dealing with my father. I'll visit after the transformation," Sabrina said, and her illusion flickered out.
"Not happening," Alex said, and activated Analysis Mode. At once his vision turned into a blurry mess. Sabrina must be blocking the bracer communication, that made her already effective trap even more effective.
"Ryn, you're the expert at getting in and out of places you're not supposed to be," Alex said.
"I'm already on it," Ryn said, and withdrew a vial from the bag around her waist. Popping the cap she applied a little of the substance to a small metal rod before tracing an outline of the stones in the wall.
"If we can't go through the door, we make our own?" Alex guessed.
"People spend a fortune on door locks and have weak walls. I don't see why that shouldn't apply to mages too. I'll burn through the mortar and get one stone out. Then with the wall weakened you can put all that Glitch muscle into it," Ryn said.
"You're so smart," Jess said, as she plopped down on one of the divans, grabbing a bottle of wine.
Alex asked Jess, "Can your apparently not so impressive spellcraft do anything to help?"
"This time she wasn't taking any chances. The spell is like a door without a keyhole on this side and backed with quintessence. I could maybe try to force it open, but the energy could bounce back on us and probably kill you both," Jess said.
"You say you're not a mage, but you talk a lot like a mage," Ryn said.
"We're just way more advanced back home than you are here. I'm not a mage, not really. A real mage back home would be able to chant a few words and melt through that spell. I'm just a hobbyist who wasn't paying very good attention to her tutors," Jess said.
"You had tutors?" Ryn asked, applying another coating of acid to the mortar. Violent hissing filled the air and white smoke puffed out.
"Not amazing ones or anything. I mean, not like the best. Just, you know, average tutors," Jess said. "Do I get my own vials of acid and stuff when you teach me to be a thief?"
"If you promise to stop having your clothes melted off," Ryn said.
"It isn't like I plan on it," Jess sighed.
Pushing on the stone had no result and instead Ryn worked it back and forth, using a cloth to protect her hand as she took it out of the wall and set it to the side. On the other side was the shimmering blue wall of force.
"Girl may be crazy, but she's not stupid," Ryn said.
"We're not going out that way," Alex said, and went to the open window. Outside was a sharp drop onto jagged rocks below. Still, there was some ornamental stonework as a window ledge.
Ryn joined him and Alex pointed at the stone.
"Think that will hold my weight?" Alex asked.
"I don't think it will hold my weight, but we can try it. Hold my arm and I mean really hold it. I'll test if it can support my weight," Ryn said.
Alex gripped Ryn's arm and made sure he was braced as she slipped outside the window to rest her feet on the ledge. It held for several seconds before abruptly collapsing beneath her.
Alex strained, pulling her back inside the room.
"Told you so," Ryn panted.
"That was bold and stupid," Alex said.
"You're one to talk. Got any other bright ideas?"
"Something is happening," Jess said, pointing towards the projection.
The dome of magical energy protecting the remaining townsfolk was shrinking rapidly, jagged bolts of red lightning leaping out from the fog to strike it and crackling over the surface. Then, with a flicker the shield was gone.
The fog billowed in and with it Glitch, hundreds of Glitch, perhaps thousands. The detail wasn't fine enough to see the people on the barricades, but if Cassandra had carried through with her plan they'd be defenders there, dying, all to make a point. All to make it believable.
Alex wondered if it was even necessary. Sabrina was throwing everything she had at what remained of the town and with the forces at her disposal it was no contest.
It wasn't more than a minute when the district exploded in flames, a massive pillar of fire reaching skyward and a second later Alex felt the keep tremble with the force of the blast. Cassandra had said he'd know when she blew the district, she wasn't lying.
The force of the blast and the heat drove the fog back, dissipating it. An entire city that had been fog-enshrouded moments before was suddenly clear.
The magic over the doorway flickered for an instant before returning to a solid blue barrier. The lack of fog weakened Sabrina's magic. The barrier might be holding on, but the map had returned in the corner of Alex's sight. He had communication again.
"Bracer, emergency communication to Yasmine Cinquedea and Kationa Vess of the House of Towers. I am trapped in a room bordering the ocean with a magical barrier barring the door. I require destruction of a rune on the other side," Alex said.
Message Acknowledged
Mission in critical phase protocols in place
Contacting Yasmine Cinquedea and relaying message to Tower network
Sabrina's projection reappeared. She looked exhausted.
"They won't be in time, Alex. That was good, that was very good, but those weren't all the Glitch in the city and I have them moving through the sewers even now."
"Cass really punched you in the gut," Ryn said.
"That was the Windicott girl’s doing? I wish I knew her better. If I had known she was so formidable we might have been friends. I could have used her help," Sabrina said, wiping at her eyes.
"I don't think you'd have gotten along. At every point she's tried to see the city doesn't have to relive the tragedies of the past," Alex said.
"Yet she burned down half the city herself. A great pair of city protectors we are," Sabrina said.
"You're having regrets," Alex said.
Sabrina gave a wry smile. "It sounds horrible, it is horrible, but it would have been easier if they hadn't fought back. I expected this to be clean and quick, and instead it is a slaughter. Of course I'm having regrets."
The visual being presented to them shifted from the overhead battle to a surprisingly up close view in the sewers. Cavelings bounded along the walls as they rushed Yasmine, who held a tunnel alone. Yasmine's blade caught one mid-leap cleaving it in half as her hammer caught the skull of another caveling, bouncing it off the sewer's wall.
"I'm going to have to kill your friends. I'm sorry about that. They're too good and they are in my way," Sabrina said.
"If you cared about him, perhaps you'd realize he'd rather not see that," Ryn said.
Sabrina paused and cleared her throat. "Of course. You remain safe here. I'll make it as fast for them as I can."
With a wave both projections vanished and they were left alone in the room.
"I really don't like her," Ryn said.
"I still do. I mean, she is kind of ruthless, but so are you. I like friends who stand for something," Jess said.
The doorway shimmered, the blue barrier dropping.
"Kationa?" Alex called out.
"Try again," said a voice from the hall, Malia.
Alex and the others made their way out. Malia looked
utterly spent with dark circles under her eyes and she barely seemed to be keeping herself upright.
"You've looked better," Alex said.
"Try again, flirtatiously. I've had a horrible day," Malia said.
"You look like you could use a long massage and someone to wash your back," Alex said.
"So I'm tired and smelly. Right, if we do go on a date you just shed blood, look pretty, and don't talk," Malia said. "The whole place is warded against Kationa. Your girl is up on the roof and I'm all out of power."
"The only part of that he'd be any good at is shedding blood," Jess said.
"Part I'm most interested in. It will work out," Malia said with a tired smile. "Go, survive, or don't and I'll make a dashing zombie out of you and you will be good at all three."
"You get no less creepy with time," Alex said.
"Part of my charm. Go," Malia said.
54
“All Glitch variations of the Vampyra family gain power by the consumption of blood, but despite popular misconception the drinking of blood is a poor way to be corrupted into this manner of Glitch. If it works at all the new Glitch is usually of one the feral lower orders.” A study of the Vampyra
The fog might have vanished from the city streets, but inside the keep remained in a thin mist. Expressionless guards flanked the doorway to the rooftop. They made no move to bar Alex and the others from passing.
Alex saw Sabrina on the battlements, wind ruffling her hair as she looked out over the city. Much of it was in flames, the fires spreading and the air filling with smoke.
Sabrina was wearing her best dress as if she were expecting to be introduced to a conquered city. In a way this was all her coming-out party. A dozen guards were behind her, forming a defensive circle with their hands resting on their swords.
"You just won't stay put, Alex. I think I'd admire that, in other situations. How did you get out?" Sabrina called.
"You might have shielded the keep against Kationa, but not all mages," Alex said.
Sabrina turned, amused. "If our relationship has been good for anything, it is teaching me better trap design.
"That last one was really good," Ryn said. "I'm talking as an expert here."
Sabrina looked back out over the city and let out a sigh. "Not good enough. Are you going to make me kill you, Alex?"
Alex shook his head and set the scroll on the ground, kicking it so that it rolled to come to a stop at Sabrina’s feet. "Sabrina Lafele, as a representative of the Olean Commonwealth, I inform you that you are stripped of your ranks and titles."
A few long seconds passed.
"Well, that was anti-climatic," Sabrina said.
It wasn't, not really. Alex could feel the change of dissonance in the air. Power that had been widely distributed around the town was closing in, concentrating in the area around the keep. A crackle of red lightning leapt from nowhere to strike Sabrina.
"Shouldn't that be stopping the flow of power?" Alex asked Jess.
"Still not a Magess," Jess said, and she shrugged.
Sabrina laughed, rather oddly delighted. "Of course. I had to kill the majority of my people to ascend. I didn't like it, but there it was. Now I no longer have a people apart from perhaps these guards and those I’ve already killed."
Another blast of red lightning came followed by one that was black. Alex could hear it, dissonance growing with each lightning strike. The power was forcing Sabrina out of tune with reality, nudging her into a new state of being.
"It hurts rather more than I expected," Sabrina said, resting against the battlement, unsteady on her feet. A burst of white lightning caught her in the chest nearly flinging her over the edge.
"Whatever vengeance you seek, do it as a human being. You are powerful, you've proved that," Alex said.
"I couldn't stop this if I wanted, Alex, and obviously I don't," Sabrina said, before being struck by another three blasts of lightning. Her skin was growing pale as ivory, eyes red as she looked at them.
Sabrina LaFele
The Red Queen
Legendary
Alignment: Red, White, Black
Level: 27
Hitpoints 274/274
Quest Update
Destruction of Falkirk
The ruler of Falkirk, Sarina LaFele, has ascended to take on the mantle of the Red Queen. A means was found to avert the complete destruction of the city.
Optional Objectives
Kill Sabrina LaFele
The Red Queen is a Glitch of enormous power and she will never be weaker than when freshly transcended. Killing her will avenge the lives taken and establish you as a Glitch Hunter who prioritizes hunting monsters above personal or political concerns.
Let Sabrina LaFele Live
The primary mission was to save Falkirk and Falkirk has been saved. The Red Queen's mission will cause her to wage war on the Kingdom of Youlash, recently known to be hostile towards Glitch Hunters.
Your choices have consequences
Choose wisely, Glitch Hunter
"Well, your way completely screwed up," Ryn said, reaching for one of her daggers.
"Alex, Ryn, there will be no hostilities. Remove your weapons and throw them off the edge of the castle," Sabrina said. There was a new power in her voice.
Alex found he couldn't resist the command, walking over to battlement. He tossed his Songblade and Songhammer over the side, hearing a distant clatter as they hit the ground. Ryn's belt of throwing knives and her daggers joined them a moment later.
"Bossing me around won't work," Jess said.
"I know, that is why I'm not trying," Sabrina said. There was something incredibly regal about her now, the way the light caught her hair and her gown fluttered when she moved. Sabrina was no longer a creature of this world.
"Nice trick," Alex said. Even trying to think of doing any violence to Sabrina was difficult, his mind refusing to accept the concept.
Sabrina faced Alex. "I could do more, Alex. With the power I hold over you I could make you love me forever. I could make you my private killing machine. I could tear that bracer from your arm."
"I wouldn't like you, if you did all that," Jess said. There was a quiet threat to the words.
Sabrina gave Jess a sad smile. "It is okay. I wouldn't much like me either. I won't, unless Alex asks it of me. Alex, you fear your lack of emotions, I know that, I can fix that. If not me, I can let you love the Djinn, or the thief, or anyone else you might desire. You deserve that."
For every frequency there was a counter frequency. These were what Alex struck on his blade when he wanted to attack a Glitch. The harmonic that weakened them, that hurt their powers. Alex wrapped his mind around Sabrina's and let it fill him, finding her harmonic, and he could feel her grip on him lessen.
"It’s a kind offer, I mean that, but I'd rather find my own way back to being human," Alex said.
The grip on Alex's mind loosened enough to allow violence—movement. Self-control was slowly returning.
Sabrina said, "Ryn, I hear the rage in you. Do you want to join me? I promise you they'll bleed for all they did to us.”
Alex willed his body into motion. With Sabrina so close it was a matter of focusing on the right words—or just one.
"Fetch," Alex said, invoking the spell. With a swirl of magical energy his weapons appeared in his hands. Before Sabrina could utter a word the hammer struck the blade resonating with her frequency and he lunged forward to press the tip of the sword against Sabrina's throat.
Everyone went still.
"Not a word, Sabrina. I do not want to harm you, but I promise you I will. You're strong, but this blade is attuned to you and is at your throat. I think I've got a fair chance of killing you," Alex said.
Sabrina kept her silence.
Alex told her, "What’s done is done and killing you won't bring the dead back to life. Maybe they deserve justice, but I wasn't sent here for that. You'll leave Falkirk in peace and do what you can to get rid of the Glitch you brought
. That’s my offer."
Sabrina answered with a tiny nod, the blade nicking her throat and a bright spot of red blood dripping down her ivory flesh.
"You sure about this, Alex?" Ryn asked.
"No, can't say I am. If you want to speak up in favor of killing her you'd better do it now," Alex said.
Ryn turned her attention to the burning city and sighed. "Killing her, letting her go. I don't see where we're the good guys either way. Unless somebody stops Youlash they're going to keep killing and keep raping, and I don't see anyone else stepping up."
Alex knew that Yasmine wouldn't approve, he was less certain about the House of Bats as a whole. The prompt he'd gotten had given him two options for a reason. This decision might anger some, but not everyone.
Alex pulled his sword away from Sabrina's throat.
"Overconfidence is going to get you killed one day," Alex said.
"I don't intend on letting any other Glitch Hunters get this close to me," Sabrina said, quickly leaning in and pressing a kiss against his lips. It was a familiar raw hunger, raw passion, what had once seemed mysterious now understood with the quintessence that flowed inside her.
Alex could only wish that he could meet it with passion of his own that was so intense.
Sabrina broke the kiss and pulled back. "There is a fort on the northern border of Youlash. The town’s Glitch will be heading there. If you change your mind, come find me."
"I will," Alex said.
Sabrina chanted a few words. A glowing fissure opened and a moment later she was gone.
Quest Completed
Your report is being compiled
"I'm going to go rob the place blind before Yasmine shows up to lay the law down," Ryn said.
"Not more than you stuff in your pockets," Alex said.