by Gabi Moore
“Ma’am’s,” he began respectfully, although Dion thought this was an odd title to use, “those things have broken down the door to the sauna. They’re on the move down to our level.” As soon as he finished another clap of thunder rocked the great hall.
“We have to do something now,” Kiley said as she leaped up from the table. “Have the men get our armor out of the warehouse and have it brought up here. This is about to get bloody.”
“They’ve stopped them for the time being,” the servant explained. “The guard I talked with said the creatures halted at the stairwell to the kitchen. I don’t know how they did it, but it’s worked for the moment.”
“Go up and check on the situation,” she instructed him. “I’ll have the rest of the men bring out our armor and weapons.”
Loris stood up from the table as well and Dion could sense the mood change inside the hall. All three women went from bored aristocrats to responsible guardians of the tower. It hadn’t occurred to him they might have martial training as part of their background. It would make sense, as only their particular group of people would have the time to engage in the training needed to use edged weapons. The tower might not have any military value, but the family who leased it was still expected to defend it, and the people under them, whenever they had to do it.
And right now, they were needed.
Chapter 17
“I’ll go upstairs with him,” Dion volunteered. “I still have two sets of elementals I can use. I’d hate to deploy them right now, but I will if the Azuroth break through again.” He didn’t think the fire salamanders would have much trouble pushing them back to the top of the tower if he had to use them.
As Dion hurried away from the concerned looks of his parents, he ran after the steward who was headed up the stair well. The man was much older than Dion, definitely in his forties, although age patterns were something else he knew nothing about in this world.
“Right behind you!” Dion called to the man as he followed him up the stairs. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Miles,” he told him. “You’re the one they call Dion?”
“Correct. You’ve been around this tower for a long time?”
“All my life. It might not be the best job in the world, but the family treated me fairly and the pay is good. I’m worried the sisters are up against something they can’t handle.”
Dion could hear the air wheeze through the man’s mouth. He was a little over-weight and the stairs were hard on them both. It was a good thing they didn’t have to up the top of the tower.
They were about to step out on the sixth level, the kitchen, when they heard a clanging sound behind them. Since he had no idea what caused it, Dion started to summon one of the elementals. In this enclosed space, the fire salamanders would not be a good idea. This left the water nymphs, although there might be a problem in using them too. Dion reached out and found the location of the elementals he needed in the other world. Suddenly, the source of the noise became visible to Miles and himself.
It was Kiley Mahen in a full suit of body armor. It had to be her because the armor was coated in black.
She walked past them, a short spear in one hand a small round shield slung from the other arm. Dion noted the shield had a slight curve in it to deflect any weapons used against it. They stopped to allow her the opportunity to walk past in her full metal plate.
“They got me ready just in time,” she told them as she lumbered past. “Time to do a little demon hunting. I hope their blood cleans up better than the last bunch did.”
The armor was fitted to her and allowed Kiley to move in any direction she wanted without fear of a gap. She had a helm strapped to her head, which rotated inside a bevor. It protected her neck from any thrusts or slashes. Dion didn’t see the least bit of chainmail on her. Kiley moved with the armor in place as if it was a second layer of skin. It was obvious to Dion she’s spent plenty of time training inside the armor.
They stepped out from behind her to see a scene of complete abandon.
The guards were not as in control of this floor as they had pretended to be. The door on the other side was closed, but the Azuroth on the other side of it were busy. Dion watched as the guards attempted to reinforce the door, with hammers and nails busy pounding more boards in place. Most of the guards were from his uncle’s former mall security officers, but there were plenty of men with them attached to the tower.
“Give me a report,” Kiley, her voice muffled by the helm. “I need to know what is happening.”
They broke through a few minutes ago,” one of the guards said. “We heard them start up on the door, but knew it was better prepared by those little men Dion brought in to help. When it started to go, we grabbed what we could and ran down here. We started securing the doors leading down on the levels above us even before they broke through. But I don’t know how much longer we can hold them. Is that a real suit of armor?”
“It was the last time I checked,” Kiley Mahen responded. “And this is a real sharp spear. What happened to the pikes you were supposed to have on standby?”
“Left them two levels up. When they broke through, we had to make a run for it.”
Kiley moved to the center of the room with her shield now in the fist of her left hand. She cocked the spear under her right arm and stood ready at the door. The guards began to move away to give her some clearance.
“I don’t see how you’re going to take all of them out, ma’am,” one of the guards said to her. “Even if you skewer the first one out of the stairwell, they’ll be plenty more behind it.”
“I start turning them into targets and they’ll reconsider coming through,” she explained. “Once they see the first few go down, the rest will reconsider.”
“What happens if they decide to gang up on you?” another one of the guards asked. By now, all of them were gathered to the stairwell, which led downward. Since the warehouse took up levels one and two and the great hall the next two levels, it means a mad rush to the kitchen and laundry area.
“I doubt they have enough brainpower to consider it,” she told them.
Dion watched the lighting from the outside reflect of the black sheen on the armor. Good thing Kiley wasn’t outside right now or she would turn into a human lightening rod.
“I think we are about to find out one way or another,” Dion commented as the door began to heave open.
Once again, the large door pushed toward them, the hasty barricades breaking under the combined thrusts from the other side. This time the door separated from its hinges and fell forward as it was burst loose from the frame. When it hit the floor, the forms of a packed group of Azuroth were seen from the stairwell entrance.
It was at that moment Dion remembered the tower was built to defend itself against a force from the outside. Not only did Queen Lilith have the high ground, but she and her minions had an advantage in the way the tower was built.
The furry demoniod creatures stopped when they saw the figure in armor that faced them in the middle of the floor. Kiley Mahen thrusted at them with her spear. She wanted to show the creatures she knew how to use it. The stood there and looked at her in confusion until one of them figured out what to do.
One of the furry, clawed Azuroth reached down to the floor and picked up a section of a chair leg. It flung it at her and the section of wood connected with her helm. Kiley wobbled a bit, but managed to keep her ground. She was still a credible threat to her opponents and they knew it.
One of the other Azuroths picked up a chunk of wood from the floor and through it at Kiley. She neatly skewered it with her spear, and then chucked it to the floor. Kiley, her armor shined to a mirror finish, returned to her offensive pose and pointed the spear tip at the mob of furry creatures that faced her. Her opponents seem to hesitate and think about what they were up against.
Dion could feel the tension in the room. The guards didn’t seem to know if they should back her up or run down the stairs behind them.
There didn’t seem to be too many options on what to do at that very minute. So long as Kiley stood there with the spear, none of the demoniods would try to run past her. But this could change at any minute.
They were inside a kitchen. The door to the stairwell which had fallen to the floor, opened to a food preparation area with large table and racks next to it. Dion saw an entire board full of knives they could use if the creatures tried to charge them at once. Right now, they were held back by one woman in armor who wielded a spear and shield.
The next object thrown at her was a pot from the floor. The pot had fallen from the wall while the Azuroth were in the process of breaking down the door. One of the creatures picked it up and sent it at Kiley, who neatly deflected it back at them with her shield.
Dion became concerned when he noticed one of the stoves, which vented to the outside. It still had a fire burning inside it. He couldn’t tell from this range what provided the fuel. It might be gas or wood. His main concern was the stove fire could spread if this conflict got out of control. Right now, that was a very real possibility.
The air filled with flying objects as the Azuroth decided no single one of them had the ability to take out the armored figure that faced them. Kiley blocked masonry, pots, wood, ceramic and anything else the demons could hurl in her direction. If not for the armor, she would have been pulverized by the objects they sent across the room. The guards were forced to retreat far back the stairwell as the missiles bounced off everything in the kitchen.
Dion thought she had created a stalemate until a large block slammed into the side of her helmet. Kiley wobbled again, but managed to hold her composure. The demons sent more chunks of stone at her, each one pulled from what came loose from the doorframe. Two more blocks struck her at the same time and she began to go over.
At the same time, a chunk of wood smashed into a lit stove, causing it to burst into flames. The demons stopped when they saw the flames and retreated when the fire began to spread across the floor. In addition to heights, they didn’t like fire either.
“We need to get her out of there!” Miles yelled to the right of Dion.
Kiley was down on her knees. She’s dropped the small round shield, but stayed erect with the spear as a support. From the other side of the fire, more rocks were tossed at her by the creatures. They might not like the flames, but were determined to take control of the tower. Above the flames, they were doomed, should the fire spread upward. The only way to safety was through the armored woman who carried the spear. It wouldn’t take long for them to charge.
Miles lunged out to the figure of Kiley Mahen in the middle of the kitchen floor. Blood was flowing from her helmet down to the armor that protected her shoulders. The only thing that stopped him from running to her side was Dion’s hand. He grabbed Miles by the collar and pulled him back to the where they stood.
“Don’t!” Dion barked at him. “You’ll be killed for sure. The only thing keeping her alive out there is the armor.”
The fire began to spill smoke into the kitchen. This level of the tower had some ventilation, but not enough to allow the black smoke to leave the room they were inside. Dion knew there was only one thing he could do, even if it meant using another one of his elemental reserves.
There was a swirling in the room and six of the water nymphs appeared in front of them. They seemed surprised and were still in their swim team tracksuits. Dion saw Cynae from the days before turn to his direction. He could tell she didn’t like relocating to a burning tower, but he desperately needed her and the other water nymph elementals help.
“What is it this time?” she sighed to him.
“Protect the woman in the armor,” he told her. “Put out the fire. And get those things back up to the stairs. All the way to the top if you can manage it.”
“Can we return after that’s done or will you need more help?” Cynae asked him, her blond hair shimmering in the light.
“Just do it and go!” he ordered her.
There was a loud concussion as the windows of the kitchen level blew open. Most of the tower windows were small, since a window was a possible target for an arrow launched from the ground when the tower was built a thousand years ago. However, the family who leased it from the kingdom rebuilt the kitchen level to make it function better. This included larger windows near the stoves. The sound Dion heard was the glass blowing inside from a vast wave of water, which appeared inside the tower.
When the windows blew inside, more water, all generated from the storm, flowed into the tower and extinguished the fires. The nymphs had the water under control and used it to push the Azuroth back to the door. Huge waves battered against them as they howled in pain. Kiley Mahen was still on the floor, her armor soaked by the rain that poured into the kitchen level.
This time when Miles ran out to her, Dion didn’t stop him. The Azuroth were under assault by one wave of water after another which materialized out of the center of the room. He pulled her back, even though she was protesting all the way.
“I haven’t gacked a single one of them!” she yelled. “Let go of me, Miles! As regent of the tower I order you to release me right now.”
“As your trusted employee,” Miles told her while her armor rang across the floor, “I don’t have to listen to you. You can fire me later, but I won’t stand here and watch you bleed to death.” The blood flowed freely from the inside of her helmet. The Azuroth had struck her with combined force the last time.
Two more guards helped Miles with her when she reached the stairs. They helped him take Kiley down to the great hall. Rudy was down there and had enough medical training to take care of her until they could get Kiley better help.
Dion saw the spear in the middle of the floor and ran to grab it. He didn’t have a clue on how to use one, but it would give the Azuroth second thoughts if they tried to get through the waterfalls, which pounded them.
He looked up once the spear was in his hands and saw no signs of the furry creatures. The intense pressure of the water from the nymphs, which had equaled a combination of fire hoses, sent them back up into the tower. For the moment, they were gone.
However, this allowed their queen to emerge from the shadows and into the fray.
She had chalk white skin, black hair and eyes to match. Queen Lilith stood at the doorframe vacated by the Azuroth and filled it. She was a big woman, if woman could be used for her. In each hand was a weapon and she wore a leather scale armor on her body. She looked starved, more of a walking dead person than anything else. Dion knew it was this time circle’s approximation of her true form. The real appearance of Queen Lilith could not be shown on in this world without changing the fundamental state of matter, so what he saw was the sum of his, and everyone else’s, fear.
He didn’t want to use the fire elementals. They were hard to control and could cremate anything in range. He didn’t know how she would respond to fire salamanders, but he doubted they alone could stop her. Queen Lilith flexed her arms and starred down at Dion. She didn’t say a word because she didn’t have to say anything.
A rock from behind him sailed across the room and struck her. Dion turned around and saw one of the guards holding some blocks of masonry. He tried to warn him, but he sent two more stones at her, which struck seconds later.
For a few seconds they appeared to do nothing. The stones bounced away and landed to the sides of the walls of the tower. Queen Lilith smiled, which was terrifying enough. Dion knew something was about to happen.
“Put that down!” Dion yelled as another guard raised a stone. “We don’t know if it does anything and you’ll just make her mad.”
Queen Lilith took one of her weapons she carried, a scythe, and cut a chunk out of what remained of the doorframe. He folded her arms around herself and concentrated.
The next second she increased in size. Dion watched in horror as she grew another six inches. And then he realized something which had he should have known from the beginning.
“D
on’t throw anything at her!” he yelled to the guards. “It only makes her stronger. She absorbs the energy from any strike and uses it grow bigger.”
“What do we do?” one of the other guards asked him, the fear visible in his eyes.
“Get out of here,” Dion said as he began to push everyone to the stairs. “Now!”
Chapter 18
Almost a minute later, Dion and all the guards were on the other side of the door to the stairwell. They shut and locked it, although it probably wouldn’t slow down what was on the other side. Queen Lilith stood and watched them in their retreat as they managed to get out of the kitchen level. Why did she have to hurry? There was no place else for them to go.
Minutes later, they tumbled into the great hall. The guest room level was still between the great hall and the kitchen, but it wouldn’t slow Queen Lilith and her horde down much. The poured into the hall, Dion still holding the spear he’d retrieved.
“What happened?” his mother asked as she ran up to him. “Did you have to summon more elementals?”
“Yes I did,” Dion responded, panting from the run down the tower. “I had to use the water nymphs and this means I only have one set of elementals left. Fire. Or at least until the Aether Elemental Grandmaster finally shows up. But what is worse, I saw Queen Lilith up there.”
“What’s she like?” his mother asked.
Dion described her while the guards tried to recover. He briefly described their encounter with her.
“She absorbs blows,” he told his mother. “Every time you try and strike her, it only makes her stronger. I saw her grow six inches just from three rocks that struck her.”
“What are you going to do about her?”
“Not much I can do until the grandmaster arrives. We have to wait until then.”
“Why would she get taller every time she’s struck by something?” his mother asked him.