by Eden Redd
“Take your familiar and go.” Jenny nearly growled as her short heels clicked on the stone floor.
Trystan let his hand drop to his side. Shoulders deflating, the mage began walking toward the main entrance hall. Bella followed quietly behind him. Glancing up, Trystan saw no sign of his boss as she disappeared in the many rows of bookshelves. Gloomy thoughts bloomed as he felt this day couldn’t have gotten any worse.
Trystan entered the main hall and walked to the employee’s locker room. Gathering his back pack and jacket, he slammed the locker closed and made for the main doors.
Outside, the mage took a few steps before sitting on the stone steps in between the silent statues. Bella flowed down the steps and sat be her master’s side. The night had a small chill as the mage and his familiar sat in awkward silence.
“Today is just not a good day.” Trystan said while staring at nothing in particular.
“I wouldn’t say that master. Mistress Jenny was just trying to show her feelings to you. I’m sure with some time she will realize her mistake.”
Trystan sighed. “I’m not too worried about Jenny. I’m worried about Nia, you and Sylk.”
Bella slid closer and leaned her head on her master’s shoulder. “We are worried about you too. But I feel better since we talked.”
Trystan turned his head slightly to Bella. “Yea?”
“Oh yes master. It was nice to get some of my past off my chest. I’m having a wonderful date.”
Trystan chuckled. “You really think of this as a date? I didn’t get you flowers or dinner.”
“I don’t need those things. I just enjoy spending time with you, alone.” Bella smiled.
“Well we have the rest of the evening. Is there anything you want to do? Maybe walk around and talk?”
Bella’s gelatin arms entwined her master’s arm and held him close. “That sounds like the best date ever.”
Trystan couldn’t help a cheery smile. He kept forgetting that Bella spent so much time in the ruins that the act of walking around was nearly alien to her. The night air had a calming effect on both mage and familiar and the day’s events began to melt away with each cleansing breath.
The mage stood up and Bella flowed up with him. The two started to walk to the street, turned and began walking to nowhere. Bella held onto her master, leaning on him as they stepped on cobbled streets. Street lights cast spot lights to the ground to light their way and a small breeze caressed their necks. They were barely a block away when Bella held even tighter.
“I don’t want this night to end.” Bella said shyly.
“There is a nice diner not too far from here. We could stop by and get something to eat?”
“Sounds lovely my master.” Bella smiled.
Master and familiar continued to walk. Passing an alley, Trystan glanced in. A strange sound caught his attention and the young mage stopped and peered into the dark alley. Stopping, Bella looked to her master. Stranger sounds echoed off the stone walls and shapes moved in the distance.
“Master?” Bella asked.
Trystan’s eyes narrowed as he tried to penetrate the inky darkness. A cold chill flowed over his skin and his breath started to show as a fine mist. A creepy shadow shambled forward, a disfigured foot appearing in the small amount of light bleeding into the alleyway. Trystan’s hand touched Bella’s arm and sank in an inch. Taking a step back, the mage pulled his familiar with him. Fear sprouted like tentacles and the mage felt his heart quickened. Bella could sense the waves coming off her master. She turned her attention to the dark alleyway and another foot stepped into the light.
Horrid moans bounced off the walls as more black shapes moved. Trystan looked around, taking in his surroundings. Bella untangled her arm from her master and stood ready. The moans grew louder and louder. Trystan mentally called up his incantations and spells. A single thought flashed to a tattoo on his right arm. Mist flowing immediately, the scantily clad siren appeared next to her master.
“Master?” Sylk asked with her knees bent and hands out.
Before Trystan could utter a word, the stench of decay blanketed the area. Decomposed bodies shuddered and shambled out of the dark alleyway. Skeletal hands reached out while mouths hung open. The horrific moans caused the mage and his familiars to back up. Hollow eyes pointed in their direction and hatred for their living energy caused them to go mad with rage.
Trystan glanced at a large puddle of water in the stony gutter. Fingers moved, turning into hand signals and mana started to flow. The water leaped into the air and formed a stream. The mage led the streaming water to circle himself and his familiars. The dead hissed and moaned, breaking into a clumsy run.
“Stay by me!” Trystan shouted, concentrating on making his hand signals perfect.
One of the shambling dead charged. The mage flicked a finger and mana flared. The stream of water turned serpent shaped. The head shifted to a point and struck like a snake. The dead took a number of steps; not caring for the pointed stream of water aiming for its head. Skull shattering, the single charging dead collapsed headless to the street. Three more took its place, charging with outstretched and decayed fingers. Trystan moved calmly as his hands directed the stream of water. A ballet of magic commenced as the stream smashed into the sides of skulls while the tail whipped around, shattering ribcages and thigh bones.
Bella shape shifted her hands into points and gasped. For every one dead that fell, three more took its place. The mouth of the alleyway erupted in foulness as moaning dead charged, shambled and crawled out into the street. The stream of water was quickly overwhelmed as dead fingers grabbed it. Trystan grunted as he felt cold fingers drain mana from the stream of water, disrupting the connection. The mage missed a hand signal and the spell fizzled. The stream of water burst into a small shower and the dead horde moved in their direction.
“Get to the library!” Trystan shouted as he started a new spell.
“We are not leaving you!” Sylk shouted as walking dead reached out to grab her.
A blue point sliced through dead flesh and bone before it could touch the siren. Bella moved to the front of Trystan, arms extending and whipping out. Several more dead fell without heads but more surged toward them.
“I have to slow them down. Get to the door and wait for me or they will overrun us.” Trystan shouted as water leaped from the street and formed a pulsating orb. The mage could see how fast they were coming. If they all turned and ran, one or all of them could have been taken down. He had to keep them at bay long enough so Sylk and Bella could be at the main doors of the library and ready. Then maybe they would have a chance to barricade themselves in and hold them off until helped arrived.
“No master!” Sylk shouted back defiantly.
Trystan grunted as his spell fizzled and the orb fell to the street with a splash. Bella had turned into a spinning whirlwind. Arms out, she spun over and over to keep the dead at bay. Trystan didn’t have time to argue, he performed the hand signals again and water streamed up into a ball. Thinking back to his class earlier today, the mage poured mana into the orb of water, ice beginning to form. The dead had formed a semi-circle around Bella, Sylk and Trystan. The blue slime was barely keeping the horde at bay, slicing at them with blurring speed. One of the dead held out an open hand and grabbed Bella’s arm mid swing. The undead touch against the slime caused a small flash. Bella screamed as some of her mana was drained into the decaying creature. Pulling away, she cried out again as the hungry dead pulled at her mana. Sylk darted forward, a blue webbed foot striking outward and her heel smashing the dead man’s face. Skull caving in, it let go and Bella cried out a whimper.
Trystan remained calm as he felt Bella’s mana drain. He knew this was a losing fight but he had to keep the dead back and buy themselves some time. The orb was nearly frozen solid. Trystan whispered two more arcane words and white electricity arced along the orb’s surface. Sylk pulled Bella back as the slime clutched the siren’s shoulder.
“Get down!
” Trystan shouted as mana flared.
Sylk pulled Bella down to the street and Trystan roared. Magical energy pulsed like a living entity. The ice orb shot forth, crashing into the wall of dead. Large round holes appeared as the orb went through them with no resistance. The surging horde lumbered forward as the orb reached the middle of the undead congregation. The orb stopped in midair, glowed white hot and exploded.
Ice shards scattered in all directions. The speed and density of each shard punched and ripped through everything. Bone shattered and decayed flesh was shredded. The horde collapsed as ice blasted through the ranks. Trystan was already throwing himself to the cobbled street when a thick ice shard struck him in the shoulder and another sliced at his calf. Grunting, the mage fell to the street and clutched at the shard imbedded in his shoulder.
The siren scrambled to her fallen master. Kneeling down, Trystan pulled the bloody ice shard from his shoulder and let it fall to the ground. Looking pass the siren’s concerned eyes, the mage cursed. Some of the fallen dead began crawling toward them and from the dark alley, more dead spilled out, charging the mage and his two familiars.
“Bella, help me carry master.” Sylk said with wide eyes.
Looking over, the siren could see the slime was having difficulty getting to her feet. Sylk knew she couldn’t lift master by herself but blue webbed hands grabbed the fallen mage. Heaving, the siren tried to help her master up. Trystan grunted through the pain, eyes filling with fear. Bella moved and leaned on Silk for support. The siren, mage and slime stumbled forward as the dead closed in.
“We’re not going to make it.” Trystan grunted as pain pulsed.
Bella pulled away and barely stood on two blue transparent legs. “Get master to the library. I will hold them off.”
“No Bella!” Trystan shouted.
“Come on Bella! We need you!” Sylk shouted as her arms began to shake.
“No.” Bella said with a calm flowing over her form. “Take master to safety. He can live without us but we cannot live without him.”
Adrenalin surged as Trystan stood on his feet. Turning, the undead horde was nearly upon the lone slime. Bella glanced back with a playful smile as her hands turned into sharp points. Undead hands reached out to claw at her body.
Trystan and Sylk raced back to Bella just as she raised her blades, ready to strike. Trystan ignored the pain as his hands moved. Falling to the ground, he finished the spell with a word. Water swirled around the mage and his familiars. Bella was about to strike and pulled back as water streamed up. Sylk and Bella watched as their master fell onto his back with a fist up. Water thinned and formed a bubble over the three of them. Undead hands pounded at the water shield. Trystan stared upward, hand raised with invisible strands of mana flowing into the water shield.
“I don’t know how long I can hold this. They are sapping a lot of mana.” Trystan said while not breaking his concentration.
Bella sank to her knees. “I can feel it draining from us.”
“Can we move with the shield still up?” Sylk asked as her own mana started to drain.
“Not in my condition. You move me and the spell breaks, they will…..” Trystan trailed off.
The water bubble was surrounded by the dead. They continued their relentless assault at the magic shield, their hunger for living energy driving them on. Bella sank lower, feeling all her mana drain. Sylk fell to her own knees, weakness seeping into her small frame. Trystan pushed away everything to keep the shield up but he knew it wouldn’t last. It was only a matter of time before the dead fell on them. Trystan’s thoughts went to Nia.
Some of the dead streamed off the bubble, shambling toward the library, their moans and groans echoing off the buildings. Lights turned on and windows opened as people peered out to see what was happening. Gasps and screams filled the night air as the dead surged along the street toward the library. Several dead bodies moved to the stairs and climbed up step by step. Trystan felt the shield waver as the flow of mana thinned.
One of the dead was halfway up the stairs, passing the stone statues toward the main doors of the library. A flash of heat flooded the area and stone shifted. The four stone elemental knights began to move, heads turning, weapons moving and mana pouring into the area. One knight exploded into burning flames. Another kept their basic form as stone turned to water. A knight took flight, spinning in the air with a spear in hand. A stone knight’s armor shifted into rocky spikes and stepped off the pedestal with a thundering ground shake. The dead continued to move up as the four knights picked their targets. The fire knight blazed hotter and shot forward like a fireball. Dead muscle and bone disintegrated as the fire knight blazed through their ranks with terrifying power. The water knight stepped forward with tentacles of water coiling around undead and hurtling them at the fire knight where they burned to ash. The rock knight took hold of undead bodies and smashed them with mana fueled strength. The air knight spun his spear and dived into the horde, each blow separating heads from necks. The air knight shifted in the horde and lightning arced from the spear, blasting holes into anything undead.
Bystanders watched as the knights carefully destroyed every piece of invading undead filth. Each attack was measured and exploited to its fullest extent. There were no misfires and a sigh of relief from collective lips. The elemental knights destroyed each dead body with perfect accuracy. The fire knight sliced and moved to the next target before the undead even started to fall apart. The air knight floated above, lightning zapping and exploding undead skulls with indifference. The stone knight crashed through to the water bubble in the street as the water knight sent streams of water to cover the weakening bubble.
Trystan felt mana pour into his water shield. Bella and Sylk looked up to see elemental guardians smashing and slicing the dead away. Trystan let out a sigh as he stopped the spell. The bubble stayed as the water knight continued to protect them from the remaining undead. Long moments passed until the final sword strike from the fire knight sliced an undead body in two.
The water shield fell away. Trystan, Sylk and Bella looked to the library. The elemental knights took their places on each of the four pedestals. Elements extinguished in a muted flash. The four statues returned to their former poses and no longer moved. Sylk and Bella held their master in the middle of the street, broken bodies surrounding them in the cool night air.
Six
Trystan grimaced as the nurse pressed her hand to his shoulder wound. Mana flowed as muscle, veins and skin closed and knitted together. The pain faded and the mage was feeling much better. The nurse smiled and bent down to address the wound on his leg. The room was filled with thick conversation. Professors crowded the room, talking and speculating what had happened this very night in a city that has known peace for many decades.
Trystan could feel Sylk and Bella on each arm, listening in their tattooed state. The mage was thankful they were going to be alright but it seemed tonight’s events caused enough of a stir to throw the entire city into a panic. Trystan thought back to the magistrates flooding the city streets. Radios turned on to inform the public to stay inside and alert the magistrates if they notice anything suspicious. The hospital room Trystan sat in was pure bedlam as professors and teachers continued on speculating, almost to the point of arguing.
The crowd calmed down as soon as professor Hart walked through the main doors. Trystan looked up to the professor’s smiling face as he bypassed everyone and knelt down sitting next to the young mage.
“Are you alright?” Professor Hart asked with concern.
“I’m better. The nurse has healed my wounds.”
“Excellent. I know this may sound strange but you’re going to have to brace yourself for what comes next. There hasn’t been an undead attack of this scale in a long time. The headmaster and headmistress are on their way and they will have many questions as will everyone else. If you need an advocate to help you, I’m offering my services.”
Trystan nodded his head. The young mage c
ouldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. It was nice to know someone was in his corner. Several other professors crowded around, eyes eager for any information.
Professor stood up and turned to the small crowd. “Trystan Song has just been through an ordeal. We will calmly ask him what he knows as soon as the headmaster and headmistress arrive and not a moment before.”
Heads nodded in agreement. Trystan sat, nearly slouching. He never expected a night quite like this one. The mage reached for his phone so he could text Nia, letting her know he was okay. Just as he was about to type, professors moved aside as the headmaster and headmistress walked in.
“Thank the good graces you are safe.” Headmaster Loomis said.
“We came as soon as we heard.” Headmistress Vela finished.
“I don’t know how much help I will be. I feel like I barely managed to survive.” Trystan said as his eyes looked down.
“Don’t be hard on yourself, Trystan. You did survive a harrowing experience. Now we will need the details so we can put a stop to this before it gets out of control.” Professor Hart smiled.
“It is out of control.” said a professor off to the side. “The city is in a panic!”
“There hasn’t been such a large undead attack on Stukarr in decades, not since the college wars.” Another professor spoke up.
“We have grown soft and now we are paying for our mistakes.” said another professor as he crossed his arms.
Headmaster Loomis raised a hand “Calm your selves. The city’s defenses neutralized the threat and this dear student helped by placing his life in danger to stop them.”
Trystan tilted his head forward a little as he looked down at his knees. “I wasn’t trying to take them on. I was trying to buy time for my familiars to get to safety. We were scared. I was scared.”
Headmaster Loomis, Headmistress Vela and Professor Hart looked down at Trystan with kind eyes. The other professors quieted down. The nurse stepped away as a somber feeling filled the room.
