by Chris Fox
“Officer Jerek lives.” Kemet gave a broad grin, and delivered a pair of staff sparkles. “I will know the moment of his death. However, I can tell you little of his whereabouts.”
If Jerek lived then perhaps Div did too. She stifled that hope. It could break her if she let it take root.
“Can we survive a similar blast to the one that hit the trade moon?” Irala began pacing once more, the instant she became aware she’d stopped.
“Unknown,” Kemet admitted. The Guardian shook his scaly head. “Our limited defenses might block the primary beam, but the residual spirits would be loose on our ship.”
Irala offered a reluctant nod. She stilled her pacing, and considered the problem. How did they survive? Firing first might be an option.
Then the answer presented itself. A cloud of dots on the holoscreen rose from the Inuran moon like flies from a corpse, startled into the air by the presence of a predator.
Most of the dots fled in the opposite direction, clearly making for deeper in the system where they could open a Fissure, or hide until the menace left. A good number stayed, however.
Tens of thousands of drones twisted into the air with one will like a mighty tendril extending from the moon. They flowed toward the necrotech ship, but the vessel answered before they could close.
Hundreds of menacing white fighters rose to oppose the drones, and the two fleets met midway between Great Ship and trade moon, littering the system with debris and explosions.
From the start the necrotech ships had the advantage. Each possessed pale wards that shunted away Inuran spells, while the Inuran drones lacked similar defenses. Irala knew it would only end one way, though the Inurans were certainly getting their spells in.
“It was a delaying tactic,” she realized aloud when she saw the moon had begun to spin. A port on one side opened, and she realized it must be a cannon, easily a dozen kilometers across. “Guardian, monitor their attack. If they damage the necrotech ship, can we follow up with our own cannon?”
“Negative, Captain. We lack the magic for a fully powered spell, and firing one would leave us defenseless in any case.” Kemet’s tail lashed behind him, as a cat’s might. “We will be unable to resist if that vessel attacks us. It might be wise to flee.”
Indecision paralyzed Irala as the trade moon fired its cannon. A spear of golden light, the heart of stars and gods both, slammed into a pale aura of wards that became visible when struck.
The wards crumbled, and the beam slammed into the side of the Great Ship, searing deep into the hull. Atmo, internals, and crew were flung into space, though the wound appeared superficial.
“Captain?” Kemet raised an eyebrow. “We’re being hailed by the enemy vessel. It’s identifying itself as the Maker’s Wrath, and the captain gives her name as Necrotis.”
“Accept the missive,” Irala commanded in her most authoritative tone. She rose to her full height, which wasn’t terribly impressive, but she drew upon the commanding air she’d perfected during her brief tenure as the headmistress of the academy.
A pale-faced beauty of Inuran lineage stared out at her, save that a simple ivory mask covered everything above the high cheekbones. Her garb was a simple black uniform, not unlike the blue ones they’d found aboard the Word in old officer’s quarters. Long pale hair cascaded down her shoulders, delicate and fine in the way only an Inuran’s could be.
“Ah, the mother.” The woman inclined her head a fraction of a degree, regal and perfect in every way. “I see you’ve been given command. Tell me, mortal, do you wish to keep it? I could end your pathetic vessel right now.”
“Whoever you are,” Irala gave back firmly, “you certainly lack manners. If you have hostile intentions we will resist, and I think you’ll find that we are stronger than you bargained for. Guardian, locate Headmistress Visala and teleport her to the bridge.”
The air shimmered and warped before her, and a moment later a very irate old woman appeared, the woman whose job Irala had done when Visala had gone haring off for three years. They still had no idea why she’d left, or what the destination of her sabbatical had been.
Visala adjusted quickly, and sized up the situation before speaking, thankfully. She studied the holoscreen, and gave a start when she saw the woman standing there.
“Who are you, blasphemer?” Visala’s eyes narrowed, and the ancient Wyrm’s terrifying power coiled within her. “And why are you aboard my grandfather’s vessel?”
“Oh, my word…is that little Visala?” The woman the Guardian had identified as Necrotis leaned toward the screen and delivered a cruel smile. “One of Inura’s favored brats. A dreamer, just as he was. I still cannot believe you had the temerity to keep your own name. History might have forgotten you, but I have not. You can hide in plain sight no longer, coward.”
Irala stifled the urge to ask how the headmistress knew this woman, but removed herself from their exchange, instead choosing to observe and learn what she could about both parties.
“I don’t know who you are,” Visala growled, “but you’ve soiled my grandfather’s legacy. We will not stand for it. You will find that this is very much a warship, and we are very much prepared for battle.”
“Your threats are feeble,” the woman thundered. “Witness the Maker’s Wrath in all her glory, and then prepare yourselves. When the last Inuran breathes their final breath I will come for you.”
Irala waved a hand and willed the connection to end. “Are you mad, Visala? We can’t afford to antagonize them.”
The screen shifted back to show the battle between the Great Ship and the trade moon. The sight of it left Irala bereft of all feeling. All hope.
The Inuran drones had all been destroyed, and the Maker’s Wrath appeared untroubled by the minor damage from the trade moon’s cannon.
6
As you’ve no doubt gathered I have played a lot of video games in my life. I mean, haven’t you? Some of those games involved me sneaking or sniping, and I wasn’t a bad shot…with a rifle and plenty of time to aim.
There was none of that, just a pistol and seconds to act.
A tide of undeath flowed down the stairwell after Seket, and in the middle of the pack towered possibly the most terrifying cyborg in the sector.
I’m not sure ‘cyborg’ was the right word. From the waist up it appeared to be a pale-skinned Inuran man, and when I say pale I mean pallor of death. From the waist down a harness with eight grisly legs clanked its way down the stairs. Each “foot” was a dragon’s claw, and the joint connecting the legs to the body was some sort of femur.
The buzzing sharpened in my head, and my HUD updated to tag the cyborg with more data. Outlawed necrotech? That sounded bad.
Anyway, I was talking about video games, remember? Well, sniper I am not. I sighted down my pistol’s short barrel, and poured a mixture of fire and void into the weapon. She hummed with pleasure as the spell discharged, and a moment later a ball of voidflame detonated in the first rank of spirits.
Two wights near the blast were destroyed, and some shrieked in anger, but the spell had little effect on the tide. Wights flowed around the blast and surged toward the gift shop.
Seket huddled protectively outside, with a cluster of civilians behind him. As impressive a figure he cut in that golden armor, I knew he didn’t stand a chance.
“Vee, get your aura up. Lead the survivors to the access hatch,” I roared, and sprinted to join Seket. “We’re fighting a delaying action to the hatch. Hold the rear with Vee as long as you can. I’m going to get the minister down into the tunnel, and make sure they’re not walking into an even worse situation.”
“Captain,” Seket snarled. He stabbed a gauntlet at the gift shop. “Those men and women cannot survive without our aid.”
I risked a glance at the horde, who’d slowed outside Vee’s aura, a handful of meters away. The necromancer merely waited, and watched as the golden aura shrank when Vee made for hatch, as I’d ordered. I followed her. “I’m sorry, Seke
t. We can’t save them. Come on.”
“You’re sacrificing these people to buy time.” Seket’s voice had gone frigid. “Pawns in a game.”
“No, they sacrificed themselves. We are not responsible for them, and we can’t protect everyone,” I snapped back as I hurried after Vee. Most of the civilians had followed her, and I tried not to focus on the elderly couple lurking behind the gift shop who’d refused to budge. “We can’t save anyone who won’t come with us. Staying here is death, and you know it as well as I do.”
Seket’s armored form hesitated…then he trotted after me. The paladin said nothing, and I didn’t force the issue.
Tense faces glanced over shoulders as we made for the hatch, but while the tide of wights prowled at the edge of Vee’s protective aura, the necromancer lingered outside the gift shop nearly fifty meters away. He was clearly waiting for us to leave, so he could pick the soldiers off.
“Damn it.” I hated morals almost as much as I hated feelings. “Vee, stop when you reach the tunnel, and don’t go inside. We’re sending the refugees in blind, so don’t let them go any further than your aura. Seket, you’ve got a rifle in that pocket, right? Let’s make a dead necromancer, assuming that’s what our buddy over there is.”
“Yes, sir!” Seket’s tone soared even as he snapped open his void pocket and fished out a rifle that could have come from an Inuran forge…millennia ago. The paladin snapped the ancient weapon to his shoulder and had already begun firing before I raised my own.
A spear of brilliant radiance streaked from the paladin’s rifle. The beam incinerated several wights in its path before slamming into the true target. The necromancer watched calmly, but made no move to dodge.
The golden energy exploded brilliantly against a wall of pale wards that became visible upon impact. At first the necromancer’s confidence seemed well placed. At first.
A rolling wall of nuclear flame washed through the sigils, and burned into the necromancer. He staggered backwards, and one of his legs sheered off in the blast. The others compensated though, and prevented him from falling as he skittered away.
The time it took to stabilize gave Seket an opening to line up a second shot, even as I was still taking aim. Another golden beam streaked out, and this one punched through the wards with little resistance, and cooked away everything above the grisly harness, what my suit had labeled necrotech.
“Are you serious?” I called as I shifted my aim and incinerated the closest wight with a void bolt. “All this drama about we need to run away and you just basically one-shot that guy?”
The paladin hadn’t continued firing. He stood there frozen in his golden armor, his faceplate aimed at his rifle as if studying it. “I…Captain, my rifle is not capable of inflicting that level of destruction. There’s no way I could have laid that menace low on my own. The Maker…aided me somehow.”
Judge Aruni cleared his throat, and tapped a foot on the ground near the hatch. “Captain, it was my understanding that we were evacuating. Do we really have time to debate the source of your companion’s power? There are still thousands of wights.”
I nodded wearily. Dozens of wights swirled angrily outside the salt lines the Inurans had erected. More swirled around Vee’s shield, their wordless hatred terrifying in both purity and intensity.
“He’s right. Seket, hold the rear. I’m heading down to step on any traps.” I turned to the hatch and dove through.
Old me would have laboriously climbed down the ladder. New me jumped blindly, and used void magic to catch myself. Flying might be the most awesome part of magic—I won’t lie.
My enhanced vision buzzed as I scanned the pregnant darkness. Eww, not a good analogy. The swelling darkness? The lurking darkness? Can darkness lurk? Turns out it can.
A thick pool of shadow rose up to block the musty corridor about ten meters ahead, and then the shadow pile grew malevolent green eyes. It wasn’t a shadow at all. It was a Wyrm.
I noted an immediate and critical difference between Wyrms I’d encountered and this thing, though. “Uh, Vee? You’re going want to get down here with that aura.”
The Wyrm had jagged wounds down the side. Lethal wounds. The eyes weren’t the only glow. Bits of spectral light leaked from the corpse’s wounds.
My HUD flashed, and a tag appeared around the creature along with the same outlawed necrotech tag I’d seen before.
“What is that thing?” Vee landed below me in a crouch.
“My suit is calling it a soulshackled Wyrm. I’m going to keep it busy until Captain Inura can get here and one shot it.”
A pleasant laugh bubbled out of Vee, and somehow made an insane situation a little more bearable.
Time slowed and the light flashed above us as Miri suddenly dropped down next to us, her armor aglow with gold and green sigils as she lithely drew her pistol. She even did the hair flip.
“You never paid me.” She gave me a smile that said it wasn’t credits she was interested in. Or maybe it was. I’m bad at that whole reading people thing. “In any case, if that dragon kills you, then I won’t get a tip.”
“Where did you go, Miri?” Vee interrupted suspiciously. “You disappeared in the courtroom, and I haven’t seen you since.”
“Ladies? Dragon?” I hissed. And waved the barrel of my pistol at the creature looming before us, though it hadn’t attacked yet. “Can we compare notes after it’s dead?”
“It’s already dead,” Vee pointed out helpfully. So helpfully.
“How long can you hold that aura?” I asked, changing the subject to something relevant to our immediate survival.
Behind us more and more people were filing down the ladder, and up above I could hear the whine of Seket’s rifle-of-death. The minister began talking to the people in low tones, and guiding civilians as far from the looming battle as they could get. One less concern.
I didn’t see Aruni, and hoped he was still up there with Seket. Maybe he was a mage. If not, hopefully he kept himself from getting underfoot. The very last thing we needed was to lose Seket, because the paladin had to go haring off after another civilian.
Heh, civilian. Like I was some badass merc.
“Light it up,” I called once my aim had settled over the dragon.
It lurked well away from Vee’s aura, maybe thirty meters off in the darkness.
“Yes,” answered a cultured voice from the shadows, not far from the dragon. “Do go ahead and…light it up.”
An intense spectral glow rose from the dragon, and from the necromancer next to him. The one Seket had incinerated could have been his twin, right down the eight scuttling legs with their disquieting bone and claws.
So we lit them up. Vee’s bracelet came up, and Miri’s pistol, and we emptied a fair number of spells into the dragon. Or tried to. A swirling wall of wards met our assault.
I blinked when I realized the necromancer had begun to hum. He sketched spirit and water sigils as he repaired the ward even as we struggled to take it down. His work eclipsed our damage. We couldn’t get through.
“Are you quite finished?” The cheeky bastard called. “I can do this as long as you wish.”
“I doubt that.” I glanced through the hatch and smiled as Seket’s armored form rolled through.
The paladin landed in a graceful crouch, then rose to his feet as he caught up on tactical.
“Can you wipe the smile off that guy’s face, please?” I relaxed my grip on the pistol since the necromancer wasn’t attacking.
“Oh, please,” the necromancer called. “You think I fear a spell from that puppy? Let him do his best, and then I’ll give my little speech, and I’ll let you get back to your day.”
Seket roared as the rifle whined, and the same spear of light stabbed into the necromancer, in the same place. Layer after layer of wards were peeled away, but the necromancer’s hands spun like a spider, and sigils swirled into place to repair the damage.
Seket fired again, and while he made it through a few more layers, t
hey were repaired almost as quickly.
“Now then,” the necromancer gloated. “I’ll be on my way. I just wanted to leave you with this little fact. You already carry the seed of your own destruction with you. And I will enjoy watching it unfold.”
Both dragon and necromancer faded into the darkness as they retreated up the tunnel just as suddenly as they’d appeared.
7
No one moved for long moments, and I suddenly realized they were waiting for me to say something. Even the minister was just standing in the corner with the shaken civilians, and Judge Aruni didn’t seem in a hurry to take charge of anything but the corner he was standing in.
I did notice him eyeing me though. I glanced at my HUD, but the armor hadn’t provided any additional tags beyond standard biometrics for an Inuran. Nothing about what kind of magic he might possess, if any. Either he was magically barren, or somehow he was hiding it. That didn’t seem possible.
“Jerek?” Vee whispered over a private channel. “We need you.”
She was right.
“Miri,” I called loudly, through my suit’s speakers. “You know this place better than the rest of us. We need to get to wherever your reactor is, and then find a lift to the surface. Or, if you know a better place where we can get to an uninhabited part of the surface we need you to take us there.”
Miri tossed her hair over her shoulder like she’d been about to do it anyway, and held out a datapad to me. “I can do that, and I’ll do it for free. But I do need to eat when this is all over. Would you mind taking care of the bill?”
“I thought your contract was with the minister?” I blinked at her. “You said she’d left you to wait for me.”
“No, I said that she wanted you to follow her.” Miri’s smile softened the deception a hair, but only a hair. “I never said she’d hired me.”
Vee raised her bracelet, and for a moment I feared she would cast a spell, but she settled for a harsh glare, then stalked up the tunnel, taking her aura with her.