by Jamie Hawke
A moment later, I was staring at a hole in the ground. An item hovered there where the dirt must have been used to conceal it from most eyes. Mine happened to be special.
This item wasn’t really an item at all, but a small creature curled up in a ball, its heart area glowing bright, emitting the light. Shit, I didn’t want to kill this thing. I didn’t know what it was!
At that moment, Megha went storming by on her tank of a monster, laughing as it smashed heads and pummeled teeth out of mouths.
“That gives me an idea,” I said, and whistled.
Megha glanced up, and I said, “A little help, here.”
Her tank charged over, and halfway to me she pulled her hands from its head, then leaped and rolled out of the fall to land next to us. The monster fell, no longer having anyone to control it, and faded out of our world.
“What is it?” Megha asked.
“Can you… try your thing on this guy?” I indicated the floating creature.
Megha eyed it. “Shit!” she exclaimed, suddenly leaping toward me and grabbing me as she fell to the ground, so that I was pulled out of the way of a blast of fire.
“I let this go on for far too long,” Fatiha cried as she came at us again.
“Get it out of here, then we try,” I whispered to Megha, bracing myself. Staff held high, ready to call on the Liahona and my connection to the other worlds, I indicated the nearest building, “Get it there.”
“The bathroom?” Steph said, frowning.
“Anywhere that’s out of sight!” I shouted.
“Bathroom works,” Megha shouted back, taking off with the creature in her arms.
Fatiha let out a shout and flew after Megha. I was ready, though, my powers recharging fast. As the robes of the other worlds flowed around me and light burst forth in all directions, I pulled myself toward her by connecting us, and focused on using the magic to try and transmorph her. While I hadn’t really been sure what I was doing, it worked! Halfway to Megha, Fatiha transformed into a massive whale and plummeted into the ground below.
The effect was short-lived, though. A moment later she turned on me as she morphed into a massive crocodile, and I was reminded of Captain Hook. No thanks. I struck out with magic attacks as she turned herself back into her natural form, matching my spell with hers.
“Go!” Steph said, and thrust a barrage of fire attacks at Fatiha while three wraith knights charged the witch. Riland was there, too, pressing the attack, and I knew where I was needed.
“Be safe,” I shouted, and took off after Megha. With each step, I noticed that as the extra burst of magic from the other worlds faded, so did my otherworldly robes, leaving me as I had been.
I found Megha inside the doorway of the women’s restroom, where she indicated one of the stalls and said, “It’s hiding in there.”
“No way.” I checked, and sure enough there were little feet, along with whimpering. “Damn.”
Megha nodded, but held the creature up, hands in its head. It was almost cute, in a way—like a rounded out, furry lizard-puppy. “What do you want me to do?”
“Tell the creature to deactivate whatever magic it’s tapped into.”
“Already done,” she replied as the glow faded from the creature. “Also, I’m keeping it.”
“What?”
“Bob. That’s its name now—I’m keeping Bob.”
Confused, I realized she was talking about the strange creature. Giving her a quick nod of ‘who the fuck cares,’ I glanced back out and saw the portal still there. “Damn. And… any chance we can use this thing to figure out the counter-rune?”
She thought, then closed her eyes. “Tap me.”
“Sorry?”
“I mean, tap into me. See if you can pull out what I’m seeing.”
“Ah, right.” I put a hand on her and focused on doing exactly that. Sure enough, I was able to see the runes necessary for the portal, and even better, they made sense. The building rocked. No, not just the building, but the ground around us. Part of one of the nearby government buildings was collapsing. We had to do this, and now.
A gush of air hit and then the gargoyles were there two seconds later, all but Yenifer. She was still out there somewhere, running amok.
“What’s happening?” I asked, stepping out to see that Riland, Shisa, and Steph were sprinting toward us. Then I got my answer. Fatiha was absorbing other witches and Drow into herself, growing in power.
“We need to finish this, and finish it now,” Aerona said.
I nodded. “The runes from back at the house. I think there’s a way to adjust them, to make the counter-runes and put out a defensive shield over the city at the same time. But…”
“It’ll take the entire focus of those runes,” Ebrill said, and sucked in a breath. “Meaning Glitonea’s release.”
I nodded.
“Do it.” Aerona looked out at the chaos. “We’re running out of options.”
As much as I hated the idea of setting Glitonea free, she was right. It had to be done. We could deal with the ramifications of that decision after taking out Fatiha.
24
Using the power of the Dark Lands and Avalon, layering them over our world in a way that let me ignore distance to a degree, I was able to tap into the runes below our house. When I did, I became aware of other runes throughout the city, runes I couldn’t quite tap into yet, but certainly planned on exploring more later. Some held treasures, others kept dark secrets hidden. Intriguing, but not my goal at the moment.
For now, I needed to focus on amplifying the defensive nature of this place. Or, better yet, shutting off the magic. My gargoyle team would still be gargoyles, and as far as I knew Shisa would still work in a defensive capacity. Then again, wait! All those Drow and whatnot didn’t need magic if they had weapons and could overpower us by numbers. I didn’t stand a chance against them without my magic. Damn. The idea had been worth the thought, at least, but it just wouldn’t work.
Instead, I stuck with the original plan. Accessing the runes, my first step was to attempt a message to Glitonea, without knowing if it would get to her. To let her know what was happening, to ask for her help.
If not for us, for your sisters—for the Nine, I sent.
Then I adjusted the runes, knowing it would set her free, but feeling the protective barrier go up over the city and seeing the portal flashing out of existence was worth it. Whatever Fatiha managed here today, at least it would be contained. In fact, why not make a separate, internal barrier? Keep them concentrated in the National Mall area. Making the adjustments, I tied it to the original rune magic Fatiha had used to construct the portal and amplified it with her magic. I felt a surge of pride when it seemed to have worked.
I pulled myself out of there, back with my team, and nodded.
“Well, then,” Aerona said, “all that’s left is to do our best.”
“Kill ’em all,” I said. “Let God sort ‘em out. Or… let them simply appear back in the Dark Lands and go from there.”
Steph laughed, apparently the only one who got my Marine Corps reference. Oh, well.
Now that the portal was gone, our confidence surged. As one, we moved back out to face the enemy, this time knowing that when they were defeated, they wouldn’t come back. They were already moving on us so we formed a semi-circle, preparing for the attack. When it came, blood flew and heads rolled. We were going all out, a barrage of magic and crazy summonings on Megha’s behalf. Each time their troops fell, I’d bring them back as remnants and send them into the fray so that soon, much of the enemy was fighting other-plane versions of itself and we could turn our attention to Fatiha and the more powerful opponents.
“You’ve just locked yourself in here with us,” Fatiha said. “Big mistake.”
“Is it?” I asked, gesturing to the fighting going on. Her numbers were dropping.
With a snarl, she charged us, only to be caught by a swirling mist that then formed into Glitonea, who slammed her to the ground.<
br />
“Wha…?” Fatiha managed to croak out, Eye of Balor surging—but only slightly before Glitonea pulled the necklace free, examined it for a moment, and then carved a quick rune into Fatiha’s chest with her fingernail. Fatiha growled at the pain, hands gripping Glitonea as she tried to absorb the woman.
“Not going to happen,” Glitonea said, eyes moving to us. “Ah, I see we have mutual friends.”
“What’s next, here?” I asked, not in the mood for small talk.
Glitonea considered, then looked down at Fatiha, lifting a hand to smash her face in.
A surprise blast came from Fatiha’s bracelet, then another that sent Glitonea flying.
Glitonea was up, and the fight continued, but now Glitonea was going against Fatiha and her army. Not exactly with us, but as I saw it, a contributing party. All of the fighting and chaos, and yet my team stuck together, looking out for each other. Megha and her various summonings—a new one each time the other was killed off—needed their room, and Yenifer was out there doing her thing, but otherwise, we were one cohesive unit.
At one point, I turned from killing a hell-beast to see Glitonea ripping the head off a Drow then eyeing me.
“You set me free,” she said, considering me. “You weren’t… horrible to me. Today, I’ll let you live.”
“Thanks for that,” I replied.
“Keep her busy, if you can. I’m going to find my sisters and come back for her. I advise you to be in hiding before that day comes.”
“Unlikely.”
“You’re aware, then?” Ebrill asked. “What happened to them, I mean?”
Glitonea’s eyes narrowed as she nodded. “We are all connected, in a sense. And maybe that will be Fatiha’s downfall.”
She turned and vanished with a flash of her hand.
Fatiha, having seen this, growled. Likely pissed that her portal plan had been foiled, she gave one last shout of frustration and turned on me. All of the light and even the air around her surged, converging on her, fueling her.
“This might hurt,” Ebrill said. “Standing by to heal.”
“It won’t,” I replied, and braced myself, analyzing the runes, seeing if there was one last way I could adjust them.
Fatiha shot at me like an explosion, but I was ready, having found the necessary adjustment to the runes. In a flash, the portal reappeared directly in front of us, only this time it was going in the opposite direction. Fatiha and all of her magical power shot into it, the sound of her shouting in frustration and anger echoing even as the portal vanished.
All of the others fell away, gone to the Dark Lands. My screen popped up, showing that I had leveled up to eleven. It now read:
Level 11 MAGE
Statistics
Strength: 35
Speed: 33
Luck: 30
Charisma: 27
Mana: 980
New Spells
Gorffwys (sleep); Frost Footing; Ice Wall; Ice Claw; Frost Bite; Flurries; Freeze; Frost Remnant; Carreg (stone skin)
New Magic Type
Access to Avalon
Rune Magic: Illusion Breaking, Cloaking
It was done. For now. I had no doubt that Fatiha would find a way out of the Dark Lands, and knew Glitonea was out there working to bring the rest of the remaining Nine back. Until either of those was an immediate threat, though, we were going to get some well-earned rest.
We looked up to see Yenifer there, climbing what I was pretty sure was one of the art museums, judging by the large posters of paintings. She stood there, crouched, looking down at us. Did she recognize us at all? Was there some part of her that knew where she belonged, but for some reason wasn’t ready?
As if in answer, she turned and took off, leaping into the night and gliding off. The barrier had gone away with the portal, so she could go.
“Yenifer!” I shouted after her, but soon she was simply a dot in the sky. Gone.
“We’ll find her,” Megha said.
“And then what?” Ebrill shook her head, staring after the gargoyle. “She’s gone. Mentally.”
Kordelia took a step as if to pursue. “We’ll see about that.”
A hand on her arm, from Megha. “She’s right, partially. But so are you—we will find her, when she’s ready.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I have a connection with her. Small, not very strong, but it’s there. Why do you think she showed up to help us? I was able to call to her, but you’re right… there’s something not there right now. We’ll find her and bring her back. But not today.”
It broke my heart to see them like this, but if Megha said so, we had to listen to her. She had the connection, she knew those Dark Lands and all of this better than I.
“And Glitonea?” I asked. “The Nine?”
“Worrisome,” Aerona chimed in.
Megha nodded. “More so than Fatiha, perhaps.”
“But only if they’re able to summon the others,” I countered. “And Fatiha, I mean, couldn’t we let them fight each other, then take on the victor?”
“If that victor was Fatiha with all of their powers in one, we would really be in trouble.”
“Then we have to stop them. Save Yenifer, stop Fatiha once and for all… and maybe go up against the remaining Nine.”
“There are one or two we might be able get to join us,” Aerona pointed out. “I’d say that’s our first step.”
25
In the hours that followed the saving of D.C., and quite possibly the world, we had a lot to deal with. Somewhere out there, Yenifer was flying around or hiding in dark comers. She had, it seemed, been sleeping all these years. Now awake but confused and for some reason not recognizing her friends, she needed our help. Megha was with us, at least, but our enemy was damn strong and threatening to get stronger.
Our first step was to get off the streets since people were congregating. We still had a couple of hours of night left, I figured, but couldn’t move out in the open until the crowd died away. While we tried to figure out a plan, we ducked into a small bar with barely anyone inside.
Ebrill cast an illusion over herself and the other gargoyles, and the ladies took a booth while Shisa, Riland, and I went to order drinks for everyone. We got our beers and a couple of margaritas for them, but the ladies were all laughing and loving their company with each other, hardly noticing us.
Kordelia took a drink, then spat it out and shouted, “What is this shit? Bring me mead!”
I laughed, and quickly went back to see what we could do. To my relief, the bar had mead! Who knew? The other ladies quickly replaced their sugar-shit margaritas with mead, and I was taught a valuable lesson about badass women and their drinking habits.
I had a Guinness. Taking it with Riland, we moved back to a table in the middle of the bar. I took a gulp of beer and foam, closing my eyes to savor the moment. Fucking A, Guinness could not be matched in my book.
He was watching me, not drinking yet, and I realized maybe he was waiting for a toast or cheers.
“Thank you,” I said, and held out my glass to him.
He clanked his glass against mine, then nodded.
“You’re… doing okay?” I asked.
“I’ll find her. My princess. But, for now…” He took a swig of his beer.
“Whatever I can do to help, name it.”
“When the time comes, I will.” He eyed my group. “Not that you need any help in that department.”
“No, I don’t suppose I do.”
We cheered with our glasses, shared a look with the ladies at their table in the corner, then laughed.
“If I wasn’t so stricken…” he said.
“What, you’d go for one of them?”
He considered it, then shook his head. “No, not likely. Steph is clearly smitten with you, as are the others, really. Additionally, they are like sisters to me. As attractive as they are, I can’t see myself doing it.”
I nodded, then said, “Wait, not all the others. On
ly Ebrill, and maybe Kordelia.”
He cocked his head. “You really believe that?”
“I just met Megha, and—”
“It doesn’t matter. You’ll see.”
I excused myself for the bathroom. I’d had just finished and opened the door to leave when Steph pushed her way in. She grinned, shoved me back inside, and locked the door behind her.
“What’s up?” I asked her.
She grinned and pressed herself against me, lips to mine, tongue tasting my mouth. “I fucking want you.”
“Here?” I asked, pulling away to look at the dirty bathroom.
Her eyes roamed over the place, too, and she laughed. “It’s not optimal, but… how about I just let you have some fun?”
“In wha—” I started, but she turned me around so that I faced the mirror and she stood behind me, pulling out my cock. A moment later, her lips pressed to my neck, eyes on me, she stroked me off over the sink.
“Is this what it would feel like if I had a cock?” she whispered. “If I was jacking myself off?”
I didn’t know what to say, just reached behind me, hand down her pants, and felt the soft tissue of her folds. Finding the firm clit there, I massaged it, bringing her to climax a moment before my cum shot out into the sink. In an odd way, it was hot.
She turned me around for a deep, passionate kiss, then said, “Let’s get back out there to join the others. And on that note… I think Aerona is interested. Maybe she’s not ready yet. But… soon.”
With a bite of her lip, she left me with that thought, going out first, me a moment later.
I washed my hands, ran water on my face, and cleaned off my dick with paper towels. Joining the others, I couldn’t help but wonder about our situation. Our main ally with the Order was dead. Well, main living ally.
But we weren’t done with the Order, as I was reminded when the interns found us at the bar. They extended an invitation to the house, reminding me that Galahad was still around.