Lightfoot

by Joe Kuster

Kallista took the distraction and managed to throw one of her knives into one of the heavily armored shield bearers. It wedged inside a seam of his armor at his knee, and the magical shielding faltered as the man stumbled. That exposed the mages behind him to another barrage of her knives.

  More beasts continued to tumble out of the portal faster than Rachel and TJ could carve them down. TJ backpedaled as one began closing in while he cast wildly with his magic. A small pear tree decorated with mismatched socks appeared from nowhere as an uncontrolled spray of essence leaked from his attack.

  “Better hurry it up,” TJ shouted as he stumbled behind the summoned tree to dodge one of the beasts with several flaps of his wings.

  Abby bore down on her magic as the golden glow fought for dominance. She played furiously, and with a pop, her target’s defensive pendant exploded. Before anyone else could react, the spearman pivoted from attacking Kallista and redirected his thrust at Sven. The disciple stared at the spear’s blade embedded in his windpipe. The portal burst into motes of light, cutting one of the cursed beasts in half.

  Faith managed to use the distraction to her advantage and began carving a path of chaos. She hamstrung attacker after attacker as she wove between their feet. As they fell, TJ chewed through them with his magic. Those that had resistance or shields, he let Faith handle. In seconds, the numbers shifted in their favor.

  In the last desperate moments of his consciousness, the mage from Larton stretched out a hand toward Rachel, moving his lips as if to speak.

  She dodged a spear from one of the warriors and slipped in close enough to stare into his eyes. Her body flashed gold as she put the power of her divine talent directly into her leg and swung with everything she had into the dying man’s groin.

  The man’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. Falling to his knees, he clutched at his crushed pelvis and the ruptured flesh that used to be his manhood, a silent scream etched on his face.

  She spat, “You were never even good enough to lick your sister’s boots. I hope your god leaves you as dickless in the afterlife as you were in life.”

  Kallista appeared at her shoulder and wove her short sword over the shield to stab down into the warden’s neck seam. Her blade lifted the helmet enough that she sunk it deep into his flesh.

  She gave Rachel an appreciative look. “Damn, girl. That’s harsh.” She threw a throwing knife into the last mage’s face as he was trying to rattle off a spell. The rogue grinned, showing off her fangs. “For a noble, you’re alright.”

  A deep chuckle broke the air.

  “So desperate to feel powerful that you brutalize our lowest initiates?” A giant of a man stepped from the chaos of the channeling circle. Tall, with black hair pulled into a ponytail, he could only be described as beautiful. He had the type of chiseled good looks and symmetrical features that undoubtedly caused heads to turn when he entered a room.

  His silver-white plate mail was speckled with gems, and he shimmered with a brilliant green aura that radiated divine might. The man lazily drew a silver longsword that glittered with powerful enchantments. He reached out with the tip, causing the winds to part around him as he casually strode toward the group. “How about I show you what a real man can—”

  TJ leaped into the air and slammed three dark bolts in rapid succession into the champion’s face before he could finish his monologue. Something inside his magic had told TJ precisely who this man was, and he wasn’t about to face a god’s champion after they’d spun up a massive amount of magic he could draw from.

  Mouth agape, the shadow bolt’s dark sludge splashed and crept not just over the man’s face, but into his throat. Gagging on the spell, the man slumped to his knees, clutching at his face as his skin began to wither. Sword falling free, he began to rip the first glob of inky black free as the second barrage smashed into his face.

  Any expression of concern was short-lived, and the divine hand knelt motionless, trying to work up a spell, but unable to burble out the vocal component. He fumbled for a pouch at his side, no doubt going for some sort of item that would solve his problems. Not about ready to let this be a fair fight, TJ used his telekinesis to rip the bag free and sent it into the grass far beyond the man’s reach.

  Panicking at the sudden loss of his backup plan, the man fumbled blindly as he tore wildly at his throat. The champion’s hands continued to flail as he dug fingers into his flesh, trying to pull the inky black material free as it leached his health at an impressive rate.

  TJ walked closer as he piled on the shadow bolts, keeping them from fading away. Convulsing, the man twitched then dropped to the ground in a clatter of metal armor. The man’s body flickered with divine power as he lay unmoving in the grass.

  TJ reached out and felt the magic in the newly-minted corpse snapping and crackling as it began breaking down. Whatever was going on, he wasn’t about to touch the man. As much as he’d love to carve his head off to make sure the man would stay dead for good, his god seemed the type to have some sort of revenge curse or something like that woven into his champion’s flesh.

  “I got you, Fam!” a robed figure shouted over the torrent of wind and another barrage of lightning. He flipped back his cowl, revealing an average face with a large loop ring through his pierced lip. The escaped necromancer raised his hands, and a green flash of light began to grow around him.

  Another screamed, “Bill, what do you think you’re doing!?”

  “The cocky shit got gibbed. Relax, there’s no way I’m not bringing him back,” the first yelled over the winds.

  The other screamed, “What!? No! You’re still inside the circle, don’t cast necromancy near the ritual. It’ll…”

  Whatever came next, no one could hear over the explosion of light and pressure. TJ smashed into the mysteriously summoned pear tree after being flung backward. The world became mute pain.

  The New Order’s circle completely obliterated; body parts, clothing, and weapons began raining down. The handful that weren’t killed outright ran for their lives. A fine red mist painted the sky, whipped around in circles by the wind.

  TJ watched in wide-eyed horror as the mutilated bodies began to levitate. Demon dogs and magicians alike were slowly sucked into the growing maelstrom.

  Shaking his head, the world sang in a high-pitched ringing. Dumping healing into his body along with everyone else, the pain in his head softened. The roaring storm popped into existence as his eardrums were repaired but didn’t offer more than the ringing had over the rush of wind.

  Tugging on his bonds, TJ found his group scattered about as the winds escalated. He saw a cloaked figure he thought might be Kallista tumbling in the wind over a hundred yards away as he clung desperately to the tree. The storm shifted pitch, growing lower and more resonant. Amid that thundering noise, something horrible screamed.

  Slowly, the wind began to lessen as its howling changed pitch into a low sucking noise. TJ gripped the pear tree for dear life and fought to bring himself upright. The gale shifted, sucked toward where the summoning had been placed on the large stone paving stones.

  TJ shielded his eyes from the dirt and debris but only saw a large black glob that shimmered like a pond of fresh ink. It was roughly a hundred feet wide and fit just inside the runes chiseled into the rock. Green light still flickered and crackled over the symbols, and the air around them was nearly opaque with a magical haze.

  Someone’s lost sock tumbled through the air and was sucked into the strange void.

  Kalli approached from his right with a phalanx of her people, pulling him from his slack-jawed stupor. She shouted out orders to the soldiers around her, sending runners out to search the city. The abducted Novenary needed to be found as quickly as possible. The enslaved men and women would keep following whatever orders they’d been left with – even if those orders were to slaughter anyone in their way.

  From the other side, Rachel approached with the mercenary company he’d hired. Everyone eyed each other nervously when no one made a
ny threatening moves, they all wordlessly turned forward, watching random bits of debris being sucked into the monstrous portal.

  TJ stepped closer and felt a tug at his core. In a flicker of movement, the black goo shimmered and showed a view of a prairie. A second later, it flipped, showing a star-filled sky. A moment later, it showed a city bathed in a million motes of light. Slow-moving lines of white and red lights looped around their massive structures. The portal stuttered and flickered again to an open sky, this one with clouds tinged with the pink of sunset.

  TJ’s heart hammered in his chest as a realization hit him. Whatever had happened to the ritual they were using to collect power, their massive portal was now disconnected, and no one was driving it. His magic twisted in his chest, confident that it could navigate the void. All he’d have to do would be to step into it.

  Swallowing hard, he stared into his possible way home. To see his parents. To see Serina in the flesh. To…

  A presence stepped to his side, and Rachel squeezed his hand. A familiar press of his new home eased over his mind.

  “I’d probably get my entrails removed the moment I touched down if I went back. We’re not even close to ready yet,” TJ said with a sigh. “We’ve gotta shut this thing down. Jewels, got any ideas?”

  The gem piped up, “Finally. Something you aren’t an idiot about. Destroying the ritual circle should do it but start with that squiggly rune that looks like an upside-down house. That will cause a controlled drain. Otherwise, you risk a rather impressive explosion. You may want to hurry.”

  “What? Why?” Rachel asked.

  He shook his head, not wanting to admit his fears. “There are things in the void. If it’s anything like the one I came in through, we…”

  As if reading his worst fears only to make them real, a gigantic black tentacle erupted from the portal. Over six hundred feet long, bigger around than a wagon, the pseudopod quivered and flailed as it reached into the sky. It was covered in faceless screaming purple beaks, mutilated bodies from the circle, limbs of every shape and size, bits of shredded clothing, and even a few of the cursed hounds. Blood looped around the gigantic appendage in strange spirals as it was slowly sucked into the dark flesh of the aberration.

  Not wanting to let the beast gain a foothold, TJ slammed down a fresh batch of essence and began casting. Power built inside his chest to a near-painful level, and then he cut loose his massive fireball. The white-hot inferno shot off like a meteor and collided with the base of the tentacle. It detonated into a maelstrom of flames, then winked out of existence.

  In response, the towering thing teetered, and then came rushing toward his position. Scattering just in time to avoid the colossus, the ground splintered just behind TJ as he dove for cover. He fired off a dark bolt, but he might as well have been trying to hit a bear with a feather. He tried his kinetic blast, but it only caused the flesh to ripple from the impact, having no noticeable effect.

  Just because it didn’t injure the monster didn’t mean that his attacks had gone unnoticed. Shooting out from the pit, dozens of smaller tentacles began flailing and crashing down around him. Leaping into the air, he backed off, barely getting clear as the portal became completely packed with writhing limbs. A bulb of black flesh butted against the opening and pulsed as the leviathan tried to squeeze through the gap.

  The titan swung madly to the side, and a single nudge of a stray limb smashed into the keep, sending stonework flying. The shield that had withstood massive barrages of magic shattered with barely a brush of the thing’s touch.

  As the magical barrier fell, a massive roar of voices called out as the main doors flew open. The Duchess’ banner on full display, a military contingent came out at a sprint and began spreading out around the steps in a defensive array. Sprinkled amid the hundred or so soldiers were various other banners.

  Below, everyone in the party scrambled, trying to get free of the monster, but Rachel faltered as she watched the newcomers. She mouthed something and pointed, but TJ couldn’t make out her intent as he dodged a flailing tentacle.

  Pausing, she seemed lost in herself, then she pivoted. Holding her sword ready, she charged directly at the beast. She cleaved a smaller limb only for another to slap her aside like a toddler roughhousing with a doll. Her sword flew in a wide arc as her body was knocked thirty feet into the air.

  TJ dove, barely able to grab her by the arm and flare his wings as he attempted to cushion her fall. Her momentum was so great she jerked him along as they tumbled in the grass of the plaza.

  Scrambling to her feet, she yelled, “They are… ah… shit. Of course someone ordered a suicide attack. The fucking idiots. TJ, my father is in there.” As she looked up, the soldiers began their plunge into epic stupidity against the behemoth. Long spears held aloft, they began moving forward, shields held high, as though they would stop the enormous monster.

  The soldiers rushed in, hacking with their swords and stabbing with their spears. In response, one of the smaller tentacles flailed wildly and flattened an entire squad. Those who weren’t killed outright were caught in the tangle of snapping beaks that tore into them like sausage grinders.

  As another tentacle joined the fray, it turned into a charnel house as it made a broad sweep. Only a quarter of their forces remained as they pulled back. Rachel’s jaw quivered as the beast paused, seeming to poke and prod at the surplus of squishy remains and dismembered bodies, then began to scoop their bodies into the hole.

  Rachel groped her armor, blindly searching her scabbard but finding she’d been disarmed. Her hand found her dagger, but she disregarded it. It wouldn’t do anything to something like the beast before them.

  TJ wanted to order a retreat. The Duchess could deal with this mess. Unfortunately, TJ wasn’t blind to the panic in Rachel’s eyes. The thing had either killed her father or was going to in moments if she didn’t do something. He’d have to do whatever he could.

  TJ’s eyes scanned the ground around them and spotted the longsword from Timarat’s champion. It hummed with magical power. Lifting it from the ground, he said, “Here, take this. It cut through their storm magic, so it might be useful.”

  Spotting the soft golden shine of her sword further out in the plaza, he jerked on it with his magic and sent it soaring their way. It crackled with familiar-feeling magic as Rachel plucked it out of the air.

  Rachel turned to him, looking deep into his eyes. “TJ, I need you to get me to the right glyph to break the circle. Can you do that?”

  TJ eyed the writhing mess. They’d have to get right next to the portal without being pummeled to death as dozens of the beast’s limbs spread out along the ground, moving unpredictably as they reached and groped. There was really only one option.

  Nodding, TJ scooped his hands into the leather straps of her gear pouches. Seeing the bronze buckle deforming, she shook her head, then motioned to a leather strap that was part of her armored leggings. Rachel quickly swapped out a few of her gems, putting as many durability runes on it as possible. He gave a solid jerk to ensure it wasn’t going to come loose, then hoisted her into the air.

  Once he was aloft, he could see Kallista’s people rallying and throwing spears opportunistically as they stayed just out of reach. Likewise, his mercenary company was doing much the same with their archers. Abby and Kallista coordinated the assault from the front, occasionally lobbing their own ranged attacks. It seemed like they’d figured out the plan and were trying to keep the creature’s limbs busy.

  Seizing the distraction, the Duchess’s forces rushed in to retrieve their wounded. TJ searched for Faith but didn’t immediately find her. Her bond only showed that she was whipping about violently somewhere amid the layers of tendrils.

  Only once a tentacle toppled out of the air as it was cleaved in half did he spot her. Taking to the sky, she latched onto another limb and began hacking away with her shadow. It didn’t do much, but the damage added up. The thing shook, trying to fling her free, but she hung on tenaciously with
teeth and claws. He hadn’t given her any orders, so he wondered if she was simply trying to kill it because she wanted to eat it.

  Dodging a towering limb, he worked into a dive, aiming toward the corner where he’d seen the glyph that Jewels had pointed out. Spotting a tentacle coming from behind him, Rachel slashed out her new longsword, and it cleaved clean through her target with minimal resistance. Seeing the effect, TJ shifted, aiming for the others nearby.

  Rachel gritted her teeth, terrified at being so high up while TJ whipped her back and forth. With a bit of work, he got the hang of the additional weight as he wove through the blindly flailing monster’s reach. Coming in close, she hacked at one, then another. She pivoted, putting both blades to use as the leviathan tried to bring other arms into play.

  As she became accustomed to his motions, Rachel began using her divine talents and chopping with everything she had. The aberration shuddered as she slashed at its flesh over and over. She whittled down the number of flailing appendages bit by bit as the pair flew a loop around the courtyard.

  TJ started to think they had it, and he would have been right if it was a mindless beast. In response to losing nearly a dozen limbs, it began a coordinated scoop aimed at the flying pests. Instinctively he closed his wings as they were smashed from the air. The strange beaks tore at them, ripping chunks of flesh and their armor alike as they plummeted.

  Focusing with everything he had, he slammed his wings open enough to slow their descent. He had a gouge out of his pectoral muscle, and Rachel had a hole in her thigh that was bleeding profusely. Not wasting a moment, she staggered on shaky legs, looking for the correct symbol while he infused them in a golden glow.

  She dove under a tentacle that tried to grapple them and slashed upwards. Cleaving three different limbs at the root, she made a spot to work. She fetched up next to the beast’s body, and with a growl, she drove her usual sword into the glyph that Jewels had pointed out. Her sword bounced off in a spray of sparks. Switching weapons, she tried again with the fallen champion’s longsword. It sliced through the magic like it wasn’t there and plunged deep into the stone glyph.