“Everything is dead,” Molly whispered in horror, her voice breaking slightly as she refused to look away. “The grass has turned grey and died. The trees look like they have been petrified. There are leaves everywhere…”
She turned her head towards Smiling Jade, who was gazing forward stoically, completely silent. “Is this what will happen to Eberia?”
“Yes,” Smiling Jade replied simply. “If not worse.”
It was at that moment that Eris poked free of the clouds above for the very last time, the final clouds of the nighttime sky finally passing over the city as they continued on their journey over the ocean. The crimson light of the burning moon made it appear as if the Phineas grounds had been showered in blood, easily drowning out the mage lamps that lit the path before us.
We barely had a moment to take in the new sight before a flash of crimson in the distance caught our attention and a pillar of light rose up into the air, reaching out for the moon above. No sooner did the light touch Eris than did we feel something pulse far ahead of us, a heartbeat before a familiar wave of wrongness swept into us, causing a handful of screams and moans to erupt from the thieves around us, the strange energy causing many to fall to their knees.
“Shit,” I cursed, feeling my head spin from the magic as a wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm me. “That was even worse than the last time.”
“Yeah,” Molly agreed as she leaned into me, her hands visibly shaking.
“Much worse,” Sawyer panted as he kneeled down to the ground, his balance swaying precariously.
“Look at the house,” Quinn cut in with a strained voice, pointing straight ahead at a crimson glow in the distance that was rapidly growing in intensity. “It’s burning with magic. I shouldn’t be able to see it from this far away…but even from here, it’s painful to even look at.”
“You can see magic?” I asked Quinn, realizing how little I knew about mages as I followed his hand and spotted the Phineas mansion for the first time.
“It’s an ability spellcasters can get,” Quinn explained, shielding his eyes for a moment as the intensity of the glow increased. “Normally, it has a limited range, but the house is bleeding so much magic into the air…”
“What does that mean, exactly?” Sawyer asked as he forced himself back up onto his feet with a grunt. “Explain it to me like the idiot warrior I am.”
“It means Dorian’s ritual is gaining strength,” Smiling Jade interjected, the orange-robed Thief Lord standing completely still as she stared ahead. “And that we are running out of time.”
“Then let’s get moving,” I said while staring at the mansion in the distance, seeing vague shapes silhouetted in the glow. “On second thought, I think I see movement up ahead.”
There was a short pause as everyone squinted in the direction of the house, trying to pick out signs of movement.
“Me too,” Molly said, using her hand to block the moon’s light from her eyes. “It must be the rest of The Damned.”
“I agree,” Stroud declared in his typical toneless voice. “With the garden ravaged by Dorian’s magic, there is no other place for them to hide. They would all have to rally in front of the house to repel a frontal assault.”
“And are we going to give them a frontal assault to repel?” Sawyer asked hesitantly. “Is that even a good idea?”
“I don’t see any other choice,” Stroud replied. “We do not have the option for subterfuge, and time is of the essence. The only option I see is to hit them with all our might in hopes of shattering them.”
“But it will still take time to fight through them all and break into the mansion,” Sable countered, doubt filling her voice.
“I am open to better strategies,” the large man grunted, looking down at the black-furred Tul’Shar with a hint of frustration seeping into his voice.
“What if we tried both a frontal attack and a bit of subterfuge?” I asked, causing everyone to look in my direction as I waved a hand at Stroud. “You said it yourself, sneaking past them isn’t really an option; there isn’t anywhere to take cover and they would spot us easily. But, if all of you were to assault them head on…”
“They would be distracted and unable to intercept the four of you as you infiltrated the house,” Stroud replied as he considered the idea. “Assuming you were even spotted in the chaos.”
“Exactly.” Molly nodded, catching on to my plan. “Once we get into the house, we can try to find a way to delay or disrupt the ritual until you all make it inside.”
“What if there are more of The Damned inside the building?” Sable queried, silently accepting the prospect that we wouldn’t find any survivors. “We have no way of knowing how many could be lying in wait; you could all be walking yourselves into a trap.”
“It would make little sense for them to split their forces at this point,” Sawyer answered with a shrug. “And if they do for some reason, then we’ll deal with it ourselves. We are more than capable to do so.”
“That is true,” Sable admitted with a nod. “Very well, I am in favor.”
“It gives us more options than we had before and will allow us for a less risky assault on our part,” Stroud said in agreement, looking towards Smiling Jade and Isabella. “I am in favor as well.”
“As am I,” Smiling Jade stated.
“Then we should stop wasting our time standing here,” Isabella finished, her expression one of pride as she smiled at us.
“Indeed,” Stroud said as he waved a hand forward, motioning for the other Thief Lords to follow him to the frontline. “Come, it’s about time we led this army from the front, to show The Damned that the other Eberian Thieves Guilds stand united before them and that utter destruction awaits them.”
“A bit melodramatic, but…apt,” Smiling Jade replied with amusement, turning her head towards us and giving us a nod before moving to follow Stroud. “Good luck, Adventurers. I have an idea that may aid you in getting to the house. You will know it when you see it.”
“See you all soon.” Sable gave us a brief wave before vanishing into the crowd.
We were left with Isabella as the three other Thief Lords made their way to the front. The blonde-haired spymistress gave us each a nod. “It goes without saying that I wish the four of you luck. But there is one thing I wanted to impress on you all.
“If you have the opportunity to kill Dorian, take it,” she told us forcefully. “Do not hesitate, do not attempt to take him alive, and do not stop until you are sure he is dead, preferably with his head or heart in your hand.
“Based on what we’ve seen today, he has singlehandedly massacred an entire Noble House, arranged the deaths of two noble heirs, and has unleashed magic that is in danger of blighting the entire city,” Isabella continued, her head indicating the ravaged gardens and buildings behind us. “A purge at this point is inevitable, but being able to present proof of his death may deflect the worse of it from us, or at least cause them to stop once they’ve taken their pound of flesh.”
“We understand, Isabella,” Molly replied, her face serious. “We’ll do whatever we have to do.”
“Good.” Isabella nodded as she made to follow the other Thief Lords. “We’ll do our best to fight through The Damned as fast as possible and come help you…but there is a chance we might not arrive in time…or at all.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” I told Isabella, silently wondering what we would do if all of the Thief Lords were killed tonight. “But we’ll do our best.”
“Then it should be enough.” Isabella gave us one last crooked smile before she stepped forward and vanished between the press of bodies.
Within seconds of her disappearing, the thieves ahead of us began to surge forward, their earlier fears and hesitation banished by their leaders taking point and striding forward with confidence. Shuffling awkwardly to the side through the press of bodies, the four of us slowly extricated ourselves from the crowd, watching all of them move quickly down the road before us.
Following at a distance, the four of us kept pace with the guilds, waiting for our moment to step off the road and sprint through the desolate grounds in an attempt to get to the house unnoticed.
“This is a good spot,” I whispered to the party behind me as we came to a gap in the carefully manicured garden that flanked the road. “We should have a clear path running through here and around to the side of the house.”
“Sounds good to me,” Quinn replied, speaking softly. “Just lead the way and we’ll follow.”
“Be sure to stay low and move fast,” I ordered needlessly, feeling slightly skittish as I waited for the Thief Lords to begin their attack. We only had one shot at making this work, and the price for failure in this case was higher than I cared to think about.
Calm down, I told myself, letting out a sigh before a loud shout caused me to look towards the house.
“Here we go!” I heard Sawyer exclaim as several thunderclaps of magic filled the air, followed by a bright, almost blinding light that flared into existence at the head of the army we had just left before narrowing itself into a cone, pointing directly at The Damned. “Shit, that’s bright!”
“That has to be Smiling Jade’s signal!” I exclaimed, motioning for everyone to follow me off the road as I launched myself into a sprint. “That light will ruin everyone’s night vision and blind anyone looking this way!”
Rushing through the gardens, I couldn’t help but marvel at Smiling Jade’s maneuver; the crafty Thief Lord had blinded everyone with her spell, effectively drowning them in an ocean of light. Any movement or sign of our passage would be nearly impossible to spot from those caught in its effect.
Now it’s up to you to make the most of it and get to the house in one piece! I told myself while leading the party through the dead garden, feeling the dead grass turn to dust under my feet. Whatever Dorian’s magic had done to kill the plants surrounding the estate, it had also made them extremely brittle and weak to the touch. Is this what will happen to all of Eberia’s food and crops? They’ll just waste away to nothing the moment someone touches them?
Gritting my teeth at the thought of abandoning the city, I spurred myself onwards and picked up my pace as I ran, my goal being to run past the house and out of sight from The Damned arrayed out front before circling back and finding an entrance. With how big the house was, I had no doubt that we would the able to find a side entrance without any problem.
Continuing our sprint across the grounds at a blinding pace, we crossed the length of the gardens, trailing a stream of dust as we ran. Surprised at how easily the foliage was crumbling to our touch, I swiped out at the twisted remains of what was once a massive hedge, only to have it burst into dust as my hand passed through it, the same way the grass did under my feet.
If everything gives way so easily, we might as well take a more direct route, I thought to myself, angling my approach to take us straight towards the house and plowing through a row of desiccated shrubbery.
My direct approach brought us closer to the house, the four of us shielding our eyes as we briefly passed through the blinding light that Smiling Jade had cast.
“Slow down!” Molly hissed from behind me as I felt the ground under me change, her magical vision recovering the fastest out of the three of us. “We’re coming up on a patio!”
Blinking furiously to restore my night vision, I slowed down as my eyes rapidly readjusted themselves to the nighttime gloom, causing the blurry shapes before me to resolve themselves as tables and chairs that had been carelessly knocked over and strewn about. Reacting instinctively, the four of us spread out as we came to a stop, scanning the area for threats.
Glancing behind us, I reflexively checked to see if we had been spotted during our run across the Phineas grounds, feeling a sense of relief wash through me when I saw the brightly lit but empty grounds behind us.
No one saw us. I breathed out a sigh in silent relief.
“Oh shit,” I heard Molly curse, followed by the sound of her sword pulling free from her sheath.
“What did you find?” I asked while spinning towards the sound of her voice and reaching for my sword that I had slung over one shoulder during our sprint.
“Bodies,” Molly stated while trying to suppress a gag.
Gritting my teeth as I completed my turn, I spotted Molly standing at the edge of a nearly overflowing pool, staring at several shapes floating in the water. Walking over to her side, I couldn’t help but curse in sympathy.
“They just killed them,” I grunted as I looked down at five ravaged bodies that gently bobbed in the pool’s crimson water, each of them bearing a combination of jagged wounds and wicked burns. “They weren’t even a threat…”
“Why would they bother killing everyone?” Molly asked aloud. “Even if they wanted to kill the nobles…that’s fine. But the servants too?”
“That is a good question,” I replied, shaking my head as I continued to scan the area, noticing that there were several other bloodstains and claw marks around the patio. “Judging from the amount of spilled blood everywhere, it was probably chaos.”
“Explains how Dorian managed to invade the place so easily,” Quinn said thoughtfully. “If they brought a handful of devils with them as shock troops…it would have sent everyone into a panic.”
“Hey, I’m not so great at this sneaking thing,” Sawyer cut in softly. “But we probably shouldn’t be talking this much, right?”
“You’re right,” Molly stated, tearing her eyes away from the pool. “Let’s keep moving.”
Passing by the bloody pool, the four of us continued to explore the patio as it flanked the side of the mansion, searching for an entrance inside. Signs of battle were evident everywhere as we wove our way through countless shattered tables and chairs before finally spotting a side door that had been completely ripped off its hinges leading into the house.
At least we don’t have to start fumbling with picking locks or needing to break a window to get inside, I thought to myself quietly as the four of us entered the house, keeping our ears open for any noise.
Gliding through what once used to be an immaculately decorated waiting room that had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of a Thieves Guild’s wrath, we followed a trail of destruction and carnage as we made our way deeper into the Phineas mansion. Several times we were forced to step over bodies of fallen nobles or servants, some having clearly being torn to shreds by rampaging devils, while others had been clearly stabbed or beaten to death by the invading cutthroats.
“You hear that?” Quinn’s voice was barely audible as he tapped me on the shoulder, then pointed to his ears. “Something’s humming.”
Cocking my head to the side, I picked up on the noise that Quinn had mentioned. It was as if there were a distant vibration somewhere in the house.
“Magic?” I asked Quinn, keeping my voice as low as possible while Molly and Sawyer watched us silently.
“Think so,” he whispered back with a shrug.
With no better lead at the moment, we resumed our exploration of the seemingly abandoned mansion, trying to find the source of the eerie hum. Thankfully, the noise grew in intensity the further that we traveled into the mansion, gradually increasing until it became an audible drone. I had no idea where we were in relation to the rest of the mansion, but given the sprawling size of the manor, I had to assume that we were nearing its center.
And we still hadn’t seen anyone, either belonging to The Damned or the Phineas Nobles that lived here.
“—obeyed all of your orders and I am on the verge of success!” We all flinched as a familiar voice boomed from the hallway ahead of us, the angry words causing us to stop in our tracks. “I demand that you send some sort of help; the other guilds are in danger of breaking through what remains of my followers!”
We all stared at one another in shock, immediately recognizing who the voice belonged to.
“Dorian,” Molly hissed through her teeth as she urgently
motioned for me to continue moving forward.
Not needing to be prompted a second time, I practically sprinted down the hallway, choosing to sacrifice a bit of stealth in favor of speed. All the while, a single question kept repeating itself in my head.
Who is Dorian talking to?
“Your success or failure at this point no longer concerns me,” a man’s voice replied. “While your service has been impressive thus far, I see no reason for me to intervene. As it is, I have already loaned Edith into your service and you have damaged her.”
“Are you insane?!” Dorian shouted, his voice burning with rage. “After all I have done and risked for you, you will not raise a single hand in assistance?!”
“You speak of your actions like you had a choice in the matter,” the mysterious voice rebuffed. “With the Geas I hold over you and your guild, you are all nothing more than glorified puppets under my control. Your only choice was to do my bidding or die like the other Thief Lord did.”
“I am starting to wish I had!” Dorian barked, the humming noise intensifying in tone until it nearly drowned out all hearing.
He was the one that killed Fairfax?! The twin revelations of Dorian and the rest of The Damned being subject to a Geas, in addition to the news about Fairfax’s death, caused all of us to stop dead in our tracks and glance back at one another, exchanging looks of pure shock. Could that be the king?! Did he somehow renew the Geas and only have it affect Dorian?
Feeling the shock wash over me, I forced myself to focus on the task at hand as I motioned for everyone to keep moving, seeing a three-way intersection at the end of the hall before us. Rushing forward, I crossed the length of the hallway and glanced around the corner, reflexively squinting my eyes at bright crimson light that poured through shattered floor-to-ceiling windows, leading to what appeared to be outside.
Crouching down low, I picked a direction at random and took cover against the opposite wall before me, careful not to step on the broken glass that littered the ground, the rest of the party following closely behind. Using the angle to my advantage, I peered through the open gap, seeing that it led to an interior courtyard set in the very center of the Phineas mansion, providing a soothing and relaxing view outside.
Hell to Pay (Ascend Online Book 2) Page 30