“Time to even the odds,” said Kai, walking past Balfruss directly towards the brood mother. The creature’s writhing tentacles were constantly in motion but now they paused, half a dozen hanging motionless in the air above Tammy and the rest poised above the plague priest. Balfruss let out an explosive breath as the weight of its mind moved away from him. “Kill it while I keep it distracted,” said Kai, slipping off his robe and walking naked towards the monster. Balfruss saw the brood mother’s eyes shift, but otherwise it remained motionless, watching and waiting.
Kai’s face and body began to change. His nose shrank and disappeared as something orange under the skin began to push forward in its place. Balfruss realised he was about to see in full what he’d only glimpsed in Kai’s room.
With a tearing sound the skin across the priest’s back split open and a pulsating mass of dark blue tentacles erupted, swelling in length and growing thicker by the second.
Kai’s whole body began to ripple as if it were merely an illusion and popping sounds echoed around the cave as his joints shifted and came apart. The priest’s skull split in two like an egg and a host of red eyes emerged, four, then eight, then more, all blinking in unison and growing in size. The remnants of Kai’s human body vanished as the thing living within swelled and continued growing every second.
In less than a minute the brood mother was facing off against a monster of equal size. This one had a large orange beak, a hundred glowing red eyes and dozens of twitching blue arms. With inhuman screeches the two creatures slammed together and began wrestling around the cavern.
The brood mother was attempting to withdraw into the lake, perhaps where it would have the advantage, while Kai was trying to drag it onto dry land. They were thrashing about so much that the whole cavern shook, knocking Balfruss off his feet. Above his head several spikes of rock fell from the ceiling, crashing into the water.
Balfruss turned his attention to the brood mother while drawing power from the Source. Fire or lightning would be too imprecise, he might also hit Kai, and if it normally lived underwater it would be used to extreme cold. Its skin looked incredibly tough making it difficult to penetrate with anything sharp. Tammy had injured its tentacles with Maligne, but it was a special blade forged from the heart of a dying star. That left him with a few alternatives, but in such a fight where precision was required, there was only one choice.
After everything he’d learned and all of his lessons with subtle magic, once more a fight required the use of raw willpower. In honour of an old friend, Balfruss forged a massive hammer that only he could see, made of pure willpower.
The brood mother raised two tentacles, preparing to strike at Kai, and he lashed out, using the physical manifestation of his will. It hit the brood mother across both limbs, catching one full on and the other a glancing blow. One of the tentacles hit the wall of the cave and the bones within were crushed. The other arm was knocked aside, and the creature howled in pain so loudly it set his teeth on edge. Grinning fiercely at the monster, Balfruss watched and waited for another opening to strike again.
Fennetaris had no choice but to retreat from the intensity of Zannah’s onslaught. Every breath he took was another reminder of what she had lost. It was because of him that Alyssa was dead. Without their war leaders the Forsaken had been in disarray, but he had organised their second attack on the winery.
Fennetaris stumbled back and was slow to dodge out of the way of her sword. The tip caught him across the top of his left thigh, making him bare his teeth in pain. He started talking but Zannah couldn’t hear him and she just didn’t care. It was another distraction. To make her angry or feel guilt. None of that mattered and nothing would stop her.
Alyssa had asked her if she felt guilty for what Fennetaris had done, and she’d said no. Until this moment that had been true, but now she thought about how many lives, including Alyssa’s, could have been saved if she’d killed him sooner.
Realising his words were having no effect he tried to use his weight to shove her backwards. Zannah side-stepped and riposted with a series of sharp cuts towards his head and arms. Fennetaris was forced to block and had no time to go on the offensive. She kept up her momentum and pace, never once slowing down or being turned aside from her purpose.
Despite the cool temperature in the cave sweat was running down his face. He wasn’t used to such intensive exercise and for too long had let others fight in his stead. Zannah knew he was cunning, but there was nothing left for him to use against her. No traps, no other people, no hidden weapons. He was finished.
He retreated again, dodging around some of the stone spikes, and she followed at a steady pace. As she came around a spike Fennetaris threw some grit into her face and attacked. Zannah stumbled back, spitting and coughing as she swung her sword to keep him at arm’s length. She saw him coming and whipped her sword in a series of tight slashes. One hit stone, jarring her sword, and the rest hit only air, but she sensed he was nearby, watching and waiting.
Wiping a hand across her face Zannah was forced to shuffle backwards. Her left eye was completely useless and the other watering badly, forcing her to rely on her other senses. Closing both eyes and letting her tears wash them clean, she stood perfectly still and waited. In the distance she could hear the fight with the brood mother. The sounds echoed around the cave, occasionally shaking the ground, but in this part of the cave it was quiet. Nothing moved or crawled. It was just her and Fennetaris.
She heard him approaching slowly on her left, his breathing rapid and hissing through clenched teeth. A rock crunched beneath his weight and a whistle of air announced his attack. Zannah blocked and riposted before stepping back, sliding her foot backwards to avoid any obstacles.
Blinking rapidly, Zannah realised her right eye was clear and she even had partial vision again in her left. A few steps away she could see Fennetaris creeping closer. Hiding a smile she kept her eyes open but continued to feign blindness, turning left and right at imagined sounds and swinging wildly with her sword. He grinned like the fool he was and picked up a few rocks, which he threw to one side. Zannah obligingly turned in that direction as if his ruse had worked.
Moving one careful step at a time he came forward while she watched and waited. When he was within her reach she struck, slicing him across his left arm and then the ribs before he could react. She pressed forward, thinking Fennetaris was beaten, but once again he surprised her. Snarling, he met her halfway, anger fuelling him as their swords came together.
Zannah started to channel energy from within to make her reflexes faster. It would be the easiest way to beat him. She reached towards the well inside and then stopped. She had promised Alyssa that she would live, and stealing time to win this fight would break her vow.
Pushing herself as hard as her muscles allowed naturally, Zannah took the fight to her opponent. Her sword slipped through his defence twice, cutting him across a cheek, narrowly missing an eye, and then slashing a second time across his chest. Even though he was bleeding in several places he didn’t seem to care. His eyes were burning and his jaw clenched so tight that the muscles stood out in his neck and jaw. Blow for blow he tried to match her, but his skill and speed were no match for Zannah’s. When he overstretched himself, she merely nudged him with her hip, sending him off balance. He stumbled off to one side and she laughed, knowing that she could have finished it. He knew it too and flew into a rage, attacking her with such ferocity that Zannah barely kept his sword at bay.
Ultimately it was Fennetaris’s anger that proved to be his undoing. When he tried to take off her head his balance was off and momentum carried him forward. Zannah dropped to one knee and thrust up with her blade. Her sword entered the centre of his chest and burst out of his back. As he fell it drove the blade deeper into his body until it was buried up to the hilt. Fennetaris slumped forward until they were knelt facing one another.
Surprise and pain warred for dominance on his face. He simply could not believe this was his fate. Even
though his body was dying his arrogance refused to accept what was happening. Zannah held him upright with her sword as he choked his last few breaths. Towards the end he tried to say something but his throat was too full of blood to make out the words.
Finally the light faded behind Fennetaris’s eyes and Zannah released him, sitting down beside the corpse. With his death she had avenged her friend. Now all she had to do was work out what to do with the rest of her life.
Tammy ducked one black tentacle only to be gripped around the waist by another, which attempted to hoist her into the air. She switched her sword to a two-handed grip and hacked at the offending limb, managing to gouge a chunk out of it. The arm released her and quickly snaked away but more loomed above her, threatening to strike. The brood mother’s skin was incredibly tough and so far all she’d done was inflict minor wounds.
With another loud crack like a thunderclap Balfruss hit the monster with his magic, rocking its whole body to one side. Meanwhile the many-eyed monster that was once Kai dug its beak into the brood mother’s side, tearing off a chunk of black flesh. The resulting scream hurt Tammy’s head but she grimly pressed forward, pinning one tentacle to the floor and then stabbing down with both hands. The blade slid into the flesh with greater ease but as she yanked it out the wound started to close up. Like its offspring, the brood mother had a regenerative ability, but she doubted it had ever been attacked by three such opponents.
As the flexing tentacles came at her again Tammy spotted a few white blotches on the creature’s skin. At first she thought they were merely where the skin was still healing, but then she noticed each was still seeping blood. They also matched the wounds she had inflicted. Staring again at Maligne she saw a range of colours swirl across the face of the blade, reminding her of its unique origin.
When the next attack came she swung as hard as she could in a downwards slash. Her sword cut straight through the tentacle, slicing six foot off the end. As it withdrew she noticed it didn’t heal immediately and although the wound started to close it was much slower than before.
Working in partnership with Kai, Balfruss timed his attacks to when the brood mother was most distracted. The two huge creatures had a dozen tentacles wrapped around each other and Kai was trying to take out one of the brood mother’s eyes with his beak. As the vast serrated maw of the brood mother opened wide Balfruss hit it again in the roof of its mouth. Tammy heard the crunch of bone and saw a hole as big as a horse punch through its upper jaw.
The creature gave up on the idea of escaping into the water and shuffled completely into the cave. Tammy thought this a good thing until she saw its massive tail and more tentacles on its rear half. Flipping around, it struck Kai with its tail, sending the monster back, giving it a moment to focus on Balfruss.
Tammy raced forward, dodging under tentacles and then scrambling up the monster’s side onto its back. As it turned, she felt huge muscles under her feet begin to flex. Tammy stabbed downwards with her sword, deep into the brood mother’s body. The blade sank right up to the hilt and then she was desperately holding on as it thrashed about in pain, trying to dislodge her. Several tentacles reached for her and Tammy knew she had to move before they tore her apart.
A blast of force from Balfruss ripped off several of the creature’s arms, which splashed into the water and then disappeared from view. Torn between fighting the Sorcerer and getting rid of her, the brood mother focused its efforts on what it perceived was the bigger threat. The magic user. Meanwhile Tammy held on grimly but she was aware that sooner or later it would flip over and attempt to crush her. As it started to turn she braced her knees against its body and held on to her sword with both hands. Riding the monster’s back as though it were a bucking horse, she tried to maintain her balance as it rocked from side to side.
With a scream it reared up and then came down, slamming the ground hard enough to knock Balfruss off his feet. Kai was starting to recover but wasn’t ready to attack, leaving the Sorcerer unprotected. Instead of sliding off its side Tammy ran forward, towards the brood mother’s mouth.
The brood mother hesitated, tilting its head to one side and glaring at her with one massive eye. Tammy’s sword went straight through it, bursting the eyeball and spraying jelly everywhere. As it thrashed about she yanked her sword clear and jumped from its back.
She landed badly on one ankle but scrambled to her feet and kept running as the monster’s shadow fell over her. Just as she reached Balfruss’s side it reared up, getting ready to crush them both.
Kai rammed into the brood mother with enough force to punch a hole in its side with his beak. Strangling tentacles wrapped around the creature’s head while his beak frantically started ripping the hole wider, snapping bones and tearing out the innards. Balfruss seemed dazed but he gestured with one hand towards the brood mother.
The creature’s head snapped to one side before colliding with the cave wall. It was briefly stunned but Kai didn’t stop ripping at it with his beak and tentacles. Seeing an opening Tammy ran forward and hacked off several arms before it recovered. This time the wounds were much slower to heal and the dismembered limbs decomposed in seconds until they resembled bits of old leather.
The brood mother’s tail slapped at Kai but he wouldn’t be dislodged and all of his tentacles were now tight against its body. His head and beak were buried inside the creature’s side, ripping away and spraying blood and bits of organs into the air. When it opened its mouth to try and bite, Balfruss hit it again, snapping its bottom jaw and shattering several of its blade-like teeth.
With a keening howl the monstrous parasite fell forward onto the ground but they continued their assault. Kai ripping and gobbling down huge lumps of meat and Balfruss hammering it with blunt force, crushing bone and stunning it into submission. Tammy leapt on top of its head and started chopping away with her sword as she searched for its brain, but all she found was more of its spine. Working backwards she eventually came to a massive bony plate that not even her sword would penetrate. She cut the flesh around it and then whistled to draw Balfruss’s attention.
He gestured for her to step back and then brought both of his fists down as if striking with an unseen warhammer. The air rushed directly in front of Tammy’s face as a huge invisible force cracked the bone plate and drove down into the brood mother’s body. Lifting the thick armoured pieces aside she saw a purple pulsing mass that was either its heart or brain. Wasting no time Tammy hacked away at it. The remaining tentacles tried to reach for her but Kai held them back and ripped them off one at a time. The brood mother didn’t have enough energy to scream and its pulsating heart slowed and then stopped. Tammy stabbed it a few more times, waiting for it to heal, but nothing happened. There was one final long exhalation and then silence.
She slid down its body and went around to the front. The brood mother’s remaining eye was lifeless and empty. Tammy realised she was covered with dark sticky blood and that her breathing sounded very loud in the silent cave. Balfruss looked exhausted, but otherwise seemed unhurt. They both sat down and took a moment to catch their breath while Kai continued feasting on the corpse of the brood mother.
“What is that?” she asked.
“I do not want to know and I think the answer would only give me fresh nightmares,” he said, grimacing as Kai pulled apart the carcass and continued eating.
Turning away from the grisly feast they retraced their steps along the path to where Roake had died. They found Zannah sat beside the two pieces that remained of him.
“Fenne?” asked Tammy, and Zannah just pointed to a bloodstained body not far away.
“Then it’s over,” said Balfruss. “The Forsaken are gone and the brood mother is dead. Voechenka is free.”
Tammy was so exhausted she was tempted to just lie down on the ground and go to sleep. The others didn’t look much better but the problem was they were at the heart of the maze and their guide was dead.
“So, how do we get out?” she asked.
; “I can show you,” said Kai, coming up behind them. He looked like a man again but he was much taller than Tammy remembered and he seemed to be glowing with health. “I memorised the route. It’s time to go home.”
The idea of following him anywhere felt like a bad idea but there was little choice. So the three of them followed the plague priest out of the maze and back into the dawn light of a new day.
CHAPTER 47
Kai was alone in the banqueting hall for only a short time before the others arrived. Nethun appeared first. As ever he felt awed and intimidated by the old sailor’s presence but did his best not to show it. He stood and made a small bow as a sign of respect for his elder. Normally he wouldn’t have bothered, but it didn’t hurt to be polite. Nethun inclined his head and looked at him critically with one beady eye.
“You’re looking well,” he said.
“I had a big meal,” said Kai, patting his full stomach.
“Then it’s over?” asked Vargus, appearing and quickly taking his seat at the table.
“The city is clean. The original parasite was summoned by Polganna Naral, from beyond the Veil.”
“That name is familiar,” said Nethun.
“She was one of the Grey Council,” said Vargus. “I thought she was dead.”
“Well, she is now,” said Kai with a smirk, before filling them in on what had happened and how she had met her fate.
“Are you sure the parasites are all gone?” asked Vargus. “If even one remains—”
“I was very thorough,” said Kai, licking his lips. “Every scrap is gone. The shadow that hung over the city has vanished.”
“Did any of the people survive?” asked Nethun.
“And what of Balfruss?” asked Vargus.
Kai nodded. “Our friends are alive, plus some of the local people and a few mercenaries. Even so, I doubt Voechenka will ever be anything more than a graveyard. The source of all that terror is gone but the memories remain. In time that may change, but everyone just wants to leave. It’s too painful for them to try to rebuild.”
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