by Andy Nadir
She popped out of bed. “Free food!”
She hurried out of the room. “Where are we going to eat?”
“French restaurant. Since the phones work, we figured we might have magic food too.”
Abby emerged from her room as well. “La bruschetta!” She crowed.
Logan and Connor came out of their rooms. “I heard someone say La bruschetta.” Connor said.
Logan licked his lips. “French food!”
“Is Alyosha coming?” Leah asked.
Chuck shrugged. He knocked on room 1’s door again.
“No answer. I hope a zombie illusion didn’t get to him.” Leah joked.
Chuck slammed his hand on the door. “Wake up!” He roared.
There was still no response. Connor opened a water bottle and some water flowed out of it. It formed into a key, and Connor placed it in the lock.
He turned it, and the door popped open.
Alyosha was lying in bed, breathing steadily. LK was nowhere to be seen.
“He looks exhausted. Where is LK?” Chuck asked.
LK Flew out of a hole in the wall, a mouse speared on his lance.
He rode on the back of a shiny little dragon. It roared quietly.
“I have vanquished a foe!” LK said proudly.
He mouse slid off his lance and fell on the floor. Connor grimaced and picked the thing up by its tail. He tossed it out of the room.
“Try to keep the enemy bodies out of the castle. So they…uh… don’t spread disease.”
LK nodded. “Of course!” He and his dragon rushed to dispose of the mouse.
“I guess he made him a mount.” Chris said.
Leah nodded. “It’s probably a self-sustaining one as well. Making LK took all the energy out of him. Since this dragon is like double the size, I bet he’s going to sleep all the way to lunch.”
Chuck sighed. “Well, we may end up eating the last of the crackers you brought from home. Don’t forget that we don’t have money.”
“Maybe they’ll let us have some for free? Or we can give them some enchanted goodie?”
Abby nodded. “Yeah. I could make them a self-cooking pot or something.”
They headed out of Alyosha’s room and towards the French restaurant.
The second the left the room, Alyosha snapped into a sitting position. “This hotel has good taste.” He said to LK, holding up a bottle of Vodka.
He jumped out of bed and sat down in a desk.
“LK, I have a mission for you. I need paper. And pencil.” He said.
The little knight nodded, and sped away on his dragon.
He returned a few minutes later with a sketchbook and a jar of pencils in his dragons claws.
Alyosha thanked him, and took them from the dragon’s claws.
He placed them on the table and tore a piece out of the pad.
“I never thought I would be making little warriors to kill demons that look like zombies.” Alyosha said dryly.
LK chuckled. “You got nothing. I never thought I would make a pact with a demon that sent my soul to be summoned by sorcerers only to end up back on Earth one thousand years later in the body of a knight the size of a hand.”
“Touché.” Alyosha tipped an imaginary hat to him.
He summoned up a ball of Malice, and began to mold it.
He was snapped out of his work by a knock on the door. He glanced at the still unfinished figure. He opened the desk, and slipped it in. “Yes?”
“Are you awake?” Chuck called.
Alyosha rolled his eyes. “What do you think? Americans…”
Chuck pushed the door open. “I was thinking. It doesn’t feel right to just set up shop while zombies are killing everyone left alive on earth. I’m not a fighter, but you are. I’m not asking my daughter or her boyfriend, and Abby has been recruited by them. Logan isn’t a fighter either.”
Alyosha nodded. “I am ahead of you.”
He opened the desk, and pulled the figurine he was working on out.
“Can you enchant my creations?”
Chuck scratched his head. “I might be able to. I need to try first.”
Alyosha waved at LK. “Enchant his lance.”
Chuck took the miniature lance from the knight, and rolled it between his fingers.
A slight spark leapt into it, and he handed it back to LK.
LK jabbed experimentally with it, and a puny bolt of lightning shot out from it and made a slight burn mark on a wall.
Alyosha groaned. “I will smell burnt mouse for days.”
Chuck laughed. “That settles it then.”
Alyosha nodded. “Then, we will fight the zombies. And we will kill them. Come back here at midnight.”
Chuck nodded. “Do you want anything to eat?”
“LK will handle anything like that for me.”
Chuck left the room, and shut the door behind him.
Alyosha turned back to his construct, and continued working on it.
Chapter Sixteen
“Alyosha. It is midnight.”
Alyosha looked up from his finished product, and opened the door.
Chuck walked into the room. “What are we going to do?”
Alyosha closed the door behind him, and they walked to his desk.
The little figurine on it stood in a wide stance, its hands holding a massive rapid-fire gun.
He tossed the figure to Chuck. “Enchant that with three things. Make it expand, make it draw ammunition from inside itself, and allow someone to control it from far off. Can you do so?”
Chuck thought for a moment. “Those are some powerful enchantments. I won’t be able to make the figure expand to any larger than a human. I can do the rest.”
Alyosha nodded. “Do it, and then I will have another ready for you when you finish.”
Chuck nodded, and left the room with the figure.
**********
Leah walked up to Logan and Connor. “Do you know how we’re going to decorate the shop yet?” She asked.
Logan looked at her. “Well, not really. I know where we’ll put the shelves, and the desk. I’ll leave the decorating to you. Just don’t make it all girly.”
“Hey!”
Logan shrugged. “Had to make sure you wouldn’t.”
Connor rolled his eyes. “Let’s go put the shelves in. I already got the wood and nails for them from a carpenter. It only cost two demon claws. I wonder why people value those claws so much. It isn’t that hard to get them. Leah’s claws appear when she’s asleep. Easy to take them.”
Leah frowned. “You’re walking into my room at night?”
Connor grinned. “Nope. LK does.”
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s put the shelves in.”
Abby walked into the store with a sack over her shoulder.
“I made the shelves.”
“Hey! What do we get to do if you do everything?”
“You can put them in where Logan tells you to.”
Logan grinned. “Yes, you can. Have you made the counter yet?”
Abby shook her head. “Not yet. I came to give you these first. I have the wood to make it though. I’ll bring it here.”
She walked out of the shop.
Logan pointed to a spot on the wall. “Connor, grab the largest shelf. Put the far left end on right here…a little to the left. There!”
Connor held the shelf against the wall as Logan hammered nails into it.
“How are you putting nails through brick?”
“Chuck enchanted the nails.”
They put all the wood shelves into place just as Abby walked back into the shop with two more sacks.
One clinked to the floor.
“Hinges.” She explained.
She pulled out several pieces of wood longer than her body from the sack.
“How did you lug that over here?”
“Animated the sack.”
Leah rolled her eyes. “We should try to do things without our abilities to
o. We’re getting spoiled.”
Abby shrugged. “Connor, come hold the wood for me.”
When they finished the counter, Abby’s sword jumped off her back. It carefully positioned itself and sawed off part of the bench.
Abby pulled out two hinges and attached them to the board and the other side of the bench.
“Hey, it’s one of those things you lift up and walk past. Meant to tell people not to come in, but nobody listens!” Leah said.
Abby sighed. “You could say that.”
“Ok. Someone has to go to main base and get paint and two doors.”
“Why two?” Connor asked.
“One entrance behind the counter, and one in the front of the building.”
“Oh, is THAT why we had two spaces left open for doors?” Logan asked sarcastically.
Connor made a face at him.
Abby stood up and clapped, disappearing.
“Now look what you did! You scared her away!” Leah cried.
“Whatever. But honestly guys, don’t you think we should do something about the zombies?” Connor asked.
Logan shrugged. “Like what?”
“I don’t know… but there has to be some way we can fight them!”
Leah frowned. “Not without going out there and fighting them. The Guardians told us not to. They already have men out there.”
Logan nodded. “Still. We should try to find a way to fight them.”
His face lit up. “I have an idea! Let’s put bounties on the plague demons! One demon dagger is worth twenty dead zombies!”
Leah grinned. “That’s a great idea!”
“What will we do with the bodies?” Connor asked.
“Dead demon bodies return to hell, leaving all things they owned behind after twenty four hours. That means if they have anything on earth, it will appear where their dead body was!”
“Didn’t Thaddeus say only a few demons escaped?”
Logan nodded. “Yes, but when the bite a mortal, the mortal turns into one of them. There are probably about ten, twenty thousand running around right now. More every day.”
Abby reappeared with two doors and a box of paints.
“Abby! Can you start making some random goods? Maybe enchant a knife to carve the demon claws?” Leah asked.
She nodded. “I’ll go do that. But, I’m going to sleep after. You can do the rest on your own.”
She headed out of the shop.
“I’ll put the doors in with Leah. Logan, you can start painting.” Connor said.
Logan nodded, and walked over to the box of paints while Connor and Leah began to put the doors in.
An hour later, both doors were firmly in place. Leah opened and closed one.
“We made this! Sorta cool.”
Logan nodded absently as he painted the counter. “Come help me paint.”
Leah and Connor went over to him and grabbed brushes from the box. They went to one of the unpainted shelves.
“How long will this take to dry?” Leah asked.
“Eh. We’ll leave it until tomorrow. I’ll contact the council tomorrow morning. We should have some goods by then.”
Abby opened the door, and handed Logan a kitchen knife. “That’ll carve the demon claws into knives. Just give it one.”
Logan pulled a claw from his pocket and the knife instantly started on it the second he put it down.
“It’ll probably take a few hours.” Abby said.
LK flew through the open doorway. “Claw harvesting!” He crowed.
Leah sighed. “I’m going to harvest your head off with a claw.”
“Bring it on, vile demon!”
Leah’s claws appeared, and she playfully batted at LK.
He pointed his lance at her, and a bolt of lightning zapped her hand, numbing it.
“Hey! What the heck was that?”
His dragon bucked him off, and he flew through the air. He slammed his lance into a claw, snapping it off. He landed back on the dragons back, and tossed the claw to the ground next to the knife. He repeated it another time before Leah moved her hand out of the way. Her claws had already regrown. She turned the shift off, and glared at LK
“Two claws! High score!” He crowed.
Leah rolled her eyes. “I’m going to smack you out of the air one of these days.”
“The day when pigs learn to fly and the moon turns purple.” LK responded, and flew out of the shop.
**********
Alyosha finished another small figurine. Chuck picked it up, and began to enchant it.
A few minutes later, he looked up from it. “Why are you making so many?”
Alyosha grinned. “You will see. Is it just me, or are we doing this faster? I have made ten figurines today, and it is not even lunchtime yet.”
Chuck nodded. “You are growing more powerful with your powers. The mage on the council can make a golem within a minute.”
Alyosha raised his eyebrows. “You have any idea how hard it is to make these?”
Chuck nodded. “He makes them from rock and Skyfire.”
Alyosha grunted. “Maybe I will be that good. Maybe not.”
Chuck handed the blacksmith figurine back to Alyosha who put it down in his draw.
“How many more are you going to make?” Chuck asked.
“I will make another blacksmith and then two more after that. Those two will be special.”
Chuck nodded. “Ok. Leah the others have finished the shop. They’re going to ask you to make some stuff for them soon.”
Alyosha nodded. “Yes. I feel like I should spend more time with them. I am spending more time with lifeless statues.”
Chuck nodded. “It would do you well to spend time with people your age.”
“Abby and Logan are not my age.” Alyosha pointed out.
“Close enough.” Chuck replied.
An hour later, Alyosha handed him another blacksmith figure.
“Come back tomorrow. I will have my special ones done by then.” He said.
Chuck nodded, and finished the enchantment on the blacksmith. He handed it to Alyosha and headed out of the room.
When the door closed, Alyosha reached into the desk and rummaged around. He pulled out a small workshop complete with small pieces of useless Malice, an anvil, a miniature oven, a bucket to cool metal in, and everything a blacksmith would need. He went to the hole he had LK take from the mouse, and pressed his hand against it. The broken wall fell backwards, revealing a small seven foot room. Alyosha slid the blacksmith into it.
“Ignite.” He whispered, and the smith bulged outwards.
It filled the whole room. Alyosha summoned up a few balls of Skyfire. He put one into the bucket, and it liquidated. He tossed one into the furnace, and it began to burn merrily. He put the other two in the blacksmiths he had made, and blew on them.
Energy left him, but he had come a ways since he had made LK. He panted for a few minutes, and then recovered.
The blacksmiths bowed to him. “Master.” They said.
“I have an important task for you. Make me many more of these.” Alyosha said, giving them several of the lifeless constructs. There was one of each type. An archer, a gunman, a bazooka man, a knight, and an assassin.
“I need an army. When you finish one, place it in the drawer.” He said.
The blacksmiths nodded, and turned to the scraps of Malice. They picked on up, and a new piece replaced it. Alyosha felt a slight amount of power leave him as the enchantment drew on him to summon a piece of Malice.
He placed the wall back in place, and turned back to his desk.
He began to form another figure.
This one had more armor than any of the others, and a roman helmet.
Hours later, when he had finished, he held it up. “Yes. I think this will do.”
He grabbed his staff, and concentrated on duplicating it. Malice flowed from the figure and formed into a little duplication the staff, but it was missing the gem on top. He g
ently pressed the miniature extrusion on the small staff, but nothing happened. “Must need Skyfire. It will have some tomorrow.” He muttered to himself.
He set it on his desk and went to work on the second special one.
**********
“I talked to the council! The portal is in the shop now!” Logan said.
They were standing behind the counter in the shop, while the kitchen knife carved a blade from one of the demon claws.
The shelves were covered in them, along with a few random animated items.
“One of us has to stay here permanently. Maybe we can get Alyosha to make something to watch the shop. I don’t think we’ll have too many people coming…” Logan stopped talking as a man suddenly appeared in the shop.
He looked around briefly, and his eyes landed on them.
“I wish to speak to the owners of this shop.” He said.
“We’re some of them. The other two are busy.” Leah stated.
The man placed his hands on the counter and squinted at her.
“Are my eyes failing me? I could have sworn you couldn’t be past eighteen.”
Connor stepped forward. “We’re fifteen.”
“And you’re running this shop?”
“Yes. What do you want?” Alyosha asked as he walked through the front door of the shop.
His staff still sounded like thunder, but it seemed muted.
“Ah, you look much older than them. They are just children!” He said.
“I’m just a year older than them.” Alyosha replied.
The man stared at him for a while, and fell silent.
“No matter. I would like to browse your wares. I make a point to check out every shop selling unique items right after it opens.”
Alyosha waved his hand around himself. “Go ahead.”
The man walked to one of the shelves, and picked up a knife. The light glinted off of it, revealing a small phrase scratched into it.
“What is this?” He asked.
“The carver writes those in.” Leah explained.
“Ah, the weapons are named.”
LK flew into the shop on his dragon.
“Chuck finished the final enchantments.”
Alyosha nodded. “I will be with him soon.”
LK turned around and flew out of the shop.
“What was that?” The man asked.
“A construction of mine.” Alyosha replied.
“That was made of Malice. What powered it?”
“Skyfire.”
“Ah. You must be the mage that controls them both, yes?”
“That I am. Our group are each…unique in our own right.”
“How much for this blade?” The man spun the weapon around in his palm.
Connor looked at it. “What is its name?”