and we headed down the hallway to the back door.
I heard the click behind us and instinct took over.
“Impadda!” I said as I pushed myself in front of Mike. The shield’s glassy surface sprang to life between us and our would-be assassin. A hail of bullets shredded the walls around us. Puffs of ancient dust clouded the air and choked us as the walls took the brunt of the attack. Explosions of electric blue lightning sprang from the shield when some of the bullets found their targets. I could see our attacker plainly as he continued firing. Each round sent a yellow-orange burst of flame into the night. As soon as the clip ran out, I dropped the shield and blew his fucking head off.
I slammed an extra round into the pepperbox. “Don’t know what the hell I was thinking, Sam. Almost forgot who we were dealing with.” The kah-chunk of a shotgun pump whispered through the wall.
“Step aside please,” Mike said as he ushered Sam away from the door. He took one small hop and kicked the top of the door. Hard. The heavy steel door clanged as the hinges snapped out of the wall and flattened whoever was behind it. The end of a shotgun barrel was sticking out the side of the fallen metal along with an unattractive mush.
Mike drew the hammer from his belt. “These are pawns. They’re fishing for our positions. Let’s move.”
A flash of lightning burst through the trees to the southwest along the river. Branches shattered and burned as a focused spiral of flame blossomed in response. The ring of steel on steel echoed through the thunder and fire.
I felt a shift in the ley lines before I saw the necromancer. He appeared in a burst of black smoke near a clearing to the southwest, arm extended and a snarl on his lips. Zachariah.
“Tyranno Eversiotto!” Lightning stormed from his hand, burrowing into the ground in arcing blasts. It cast debris up between us and obscured our view.
“Impadda!” The incantation sprang up and Zachariah’s spell landed a glancing blow. It knocked me back a few steps and my shield flickered as a burst of ozone filled my nostrils, joining the heavy scent of burnt gunpowder.
I caught movement in my peripheral vision. Something weaved slowly through a copse of trees near Zachariah, but my eyes were all for the necromancer.
“Zombies!” Sam shouted as she blurred into motion. She took two down before I could even respond. I focused my Sight and could see the lines of power leading back up to Zachariah. Christ, he’d cast a spell that strong while animating twelve zombies?
No hesitation. Mike moved toward the necromancer. I pulled the hilt of the focus out of my belt and channeled an aural blade through it. My vision dimmed for a moment as my aura was ripped through the focus and blazed into a pulsing red blade, but all I needed was momentum. The slash cut through Zachariah’s necromancy.
He stumbled backwards as Mike leapt into the air. The Smith’s Hammer exploded in his hands, coming to life as an enormous war hammer. Flames licked the dual-headed weapon and Mike brought it down hard.
Zachariah threw himself backwards with a shout and vanished in another burst of black smoke. Mike’s hammer was embedded a foot into the ground. He jerked it out of the dirt and slipped back inside the guest house as his eyes scanned the shadows around us.
The far-off crack of gunfire echoed in the darkness. Then nothing.
CHAPTER TEN
“T here’s no way this is over,” I said.
Mike nodded his agreement. “Give it time. Wait for a message, or an attack.”
We stayed there in the edge of the shadows, Sam barely breathing behind my right shoulder. I wiped the sweat from my palm and squeezed the trigger guard on the pepperbox.
Minutes passed before I spotted one of the fairies moving in the trees to the south. As the figure swooped down toward us a moment later, I could see it was Foster. Blood saturated his face and the front of his armor. It was starting to dry, but still shone in the
I heard the click behind us and instinct took over.
“Impadda!” I said as I pushed myself in front of Mike. The shield’s glassy surface sprang to life between us and our would-be assassin. A hail of bullets shredded the walls around us. Puffs of ancient dust clouded the air and choked us as the walls took the brunt of the attack. Explosions of electric blue lightning sprang from the shield when some of the bullets found their targets. I could see our attacker plainly as he continued firing. Each round sent a yellow-orange burst of flame into the night. As soon as the clip ran out, I dropped the shield and blew his fucking head off.
I slammed an extra round into the pepperbox. “Don’t know what the hell I was thinking, Sam. Almost forgot who we were dealing with.” The kah-chunk of a shotgun pump whispered through the wall.
“Step aside please,” Mike said as he ushered Sam away from the door. He took one small hop and kicked the top of the door. Hard. The heavy steel door clanged as the hinges snapped out of the wall and flattened whoever was behind it. The end of a shotgun barrel was sticking out the side of the fallen metal along with an unattractive mush.
Mike drew the hammer from his belt. “These are pawns. They’re fishing for our positions. Let’s move.”
A flash of lightning burst through the trees to the southwest along the river. Branches shattered and burned as a focused spiral of flame blossomed in response. The ring of steel on steel echoed through the thunder and fire.
I felt a shift in the ley lines before I saw the necromancer. He appeared in a burst of black smoke near a clearing to the southwest, arm extended and a snarl on his lips. Zachariah.
“Tyranno Eversiotto!” Lightning stormed from his hand, burrowing into the ground in arcing blasts. It cast debris up between us and obscured our view.
“Impadda!” The incantation sprang up and Zachariah’s spell landed a glancing blow. It knocked me back a few steps and my shield flickered as a burst of ozone filled my nostrils, joining the heavy scent of burnt gunpowder.
I caught movement in my peripheral vision. Something weaved slowly through a copse of trees near Zachariah, but my eyes were all for the necromancer.
“Zombies!” Sam shouted as she blurred into motion. She took two down before I could even respond. I focused my Sight and could see the lines of power leading back up to Zachariah. Christ, he’d cast a spell that strong while animating twelve zombies?
No hesitation. Mike moved toward the necromancer. I pulled the hilt of the focus out of my belt and channeled an aural blade through it. My vision dimmed for a moment as my aura was ripped through the focus and blazed into a pulsing red blade, but all I needed was momentum. The slash cut through Zachariah’s necromancy.
He stumbled backwards as Mike leapt into the air. The Smith’s Hammer exploded in his hands, coming to life as an enormous war hammer. Flames licked the dual-headed weapon and Mike brought it down hard.
Zachariah threw himself backwards with a shout and vanished in another burst of black smoke. Mike’s hammer was embedded a foot into the ground. He jerked it out of the dirt and slipped back inside the guest house as his eyes scanned the shadows around us.
The far-off crack of gunfire echoed in the darkness. Then nothing.
CHAPTER TEN
“T here’s no way this is over,” I said.
Mike nodded his agreement. “Give it time. Wait for a message, or an attack.”
We stayed there in the edge of the shadows, Sam barely breathing behind my right shoulder. I wiped the sweat from my palm and squeezed the trigger guard on the pepperbox.
Minutes passed before I spotted one of the fairies moving in the trees to the south. As the figure swooped down toward us a moment later, I could see it was Foster. Blood saturated his face and the front of his armor. It was starting to dry, but still shone in the
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