Still veiled in the black mist, my friend seemed completely unaware as the creature dove at her. But there was no force of impact because the Grunt vanished into the mist, and half a moment later it was spewed out. The flesh had been peeled from the bones, and eyes torn from their sockets.
I stared up at Elle in terrified awe, and then I heard more Grendels break through the line of warsuits. “I’m gonna carry you,” I said to her. “Cover our retreat.”
The point clerk didn’t give me an answer, and I was hesitant to pick her up lest the mist devour me like it had the Grendel. My hands plunged into the shroud, and I grabbed Elle and lifted her. Besides feeling like they were submerged in a thick liquid, my arms were unaffected.
I looked back down the corridor and saw two Grendel Elites surge past the warsuits. The machines were failing to hold them back, so we needed to move fast. I held Elle in one arm while I activated my speed sequence on a low setting to preserve the runes.
After I bolted in the opposite direction of the lizard-men, I heard a steady stream of enemy fire coming from our previous location. I knew the warsuits were following because I could also hear their heavy feet stomp the floor. Clicking noises then drowned out everything else, and I turned to see the entire corridor packed with scaled enemies. The warsuits were in front of them by about five meters, but one machine was slowing down. It came to a halt as the Grendels climbed over it like giant ants.
Then an explosion rocked the walls.
I was almost thrown from my feet, and I stumbled for a few steps as I tried to keep Elle in my arms. White noise filled my ears, and lens flares invaded my eyes. I looked behind and saw Grendel body parts scattered around the corridor and their green blood dripping from the walls.
The claw warsuit and the whip warsuit had survived the explosion, and they moved toward me. I thought maybe we had bought a little time when more Grendels surged from the direction of the portal. While I sprinted away, I glanced back and saw the charred and mangled remnants of the cannon warsuit.
The mech had exploded, and my body trembled in fear as I looked at the mist-covered woman in my arms. “Elle?” I asked.
“I’m here,” she whispered.
“Why are you not dead?” Every warsuit I’d seen go down killed the person controlling it in the process. Somehow, Elle survived the death of the mech.
“I triggered the machine’s self-destruct,” she said. “I can speak now that I’m only controlling two of them.”
I looked behind us, and saw the warsuits sprinting to catch up. Hot on their heels were Grendel Elites firing rifles, and their plasma balls struck the rear plating of the machines. Smoke drifted from their armor, but they were sustaining the damage for now.
“We have to run again.” I triggered my speed sequence, but then my helmet barked an error message. “Shit! My Speed and Agility runes are on cooldown.” All runes were limited by their internal cooldowns, and this pair would take a good three minutes before I could use them even at a low setting.
Elle’s head swivelled toward the Grendels, and the mist around her recoiled at the sight of the enemies. They were getting much closer, and this time it wasn’t just three Grunts. I might be able to take the first wave, but how many more would come before we were overcome?
I lifted the point clerk into my arms and started running.
“I can use the other self-destructs,” she said.
The warsuits were about fifty meters away now, and the Grendels weren’t far behind them.
“Two explosions would risk the integrity of the corridor,” I said. “The knights will eventually need to kill all the enemies to close the portal, and more will continue to come. They cannot waste their time clearing rubble.”
“I think I have an idea.” There was a slight hint of hope in Elle’s tone as the two giant machines caught up to us. Suddenly, the whip warsuit grabbed the point clerk from my arms.
“What are you--” I couldn’t finish because the other warsuit lifted me off my feet with its giant claw. I dangled in its grip while the mech rushed forward, and the Grendels’ plasma balls faded behind us.
“Why are the warsuits suddenly so much faster?” I asked Elle.
“You gave me an idea,” she replied. “I didn’t realize the warsuits might actually have runes on them. I found primitive forms of Speed runes on both suits, so I activated them.” She chuckled, and the mist around her face flickered.
The machines could move even faster than my speed sequence allowed me to run. I wasn’t too pleased with being carried like a child in the arms of its mother, but it was better than having to fight a dozen Elites while more powerful Grendels were coming through the gateway.
We moved through the third ring, and I was glad we didn’t face any more enemies. They had all probably moved to the outer rings, and I hoped we would stumble upon the knights soon.
“What’s with the Medusa-link covering you?” I asked Elle.
“I don’t know,” she replied from beyond the black mist enveloping her body. “I only know that the Bloodrat’s death also enhanced my mutation.”
I didn’t recall Elle telling me the Medusa-link was a mutation before, but I wasn’t surprised. All the point clerks I’d seen or heard about hadn’t shared the peculiar ability to control machines with their minds or sprout phantom serpents from their faces. I didn’t have time to consider the point further because we arrived at what looked like the entrance to the third ring. A door had buckled inward, and the area in front of it was submerged in a dark liquid. The warsuit’s arm extended to the ground, and its claw retracted so I could get down.
Once I was back on my feet, I looked over my shoulder to ensure the Grendels chasing us hadn’t caught up. I couldn’t see any sign of the enemy, so I knelt beside the pool and dipped my fingers into it. The tactile sensors on my gauntlets allowed me to feel the substance like I could with my skin. It wasn’t sticky and had the consistency of water.
“It’s not flammable,” Elle said. The Medusa-link was no longer covering her entire body, but it still lingered above her head like an inky cloud of writhing snakes. “If that’s what you were wondering.”
“Good,” I said. Moving through it wouldn’t be smart if a single plasma ball could ignite it.
The ground sloped downward, and soon we were wading through water halfway up my thighs.
Elle lifted her arms over her head and refused to look down. “This is going to be difficult to fight in.”
I ducked my head beneath the surface and my helmet’s auto-headlight illuminated the dark water while I checked for any sign of Grendels. I knew the lizard-aliens were much better swimmers than humans, and their amphibious respiratory systems allowed them to breathe underwater. Luckily, I couldn’t spot any enemies, or see any of the shimmers from cloaked Elites.
But I did see something else.
“I saw the entrance to the third ring, and it’s not flooded,” I said after I lifted my head out of the water. Our time was running out before the Grendels found us, so I was eager to cross the room. “We can swim to the other side.”
“How long will that take?” Elle asked.
“My speed sequence runes haven’t recharged yet, so we’ll need to wait a few minutes at least. My helmet will allow me to breathe while underwater; does yours have the same capability?”
The point clerk looked back at the warsuits on the water line and then grinned at me. “How about we let these machines give us a ride?”
I grumbled under my breath, but a few minutes was too long to be completely vulnerable. I could at least throw a few forcewaves while the claw warsuit was carrying me.
We waded back to the other side of the room to the warsuits, and one of the machines held out its arm so its claw was on the ground.
“This doesn’t feel right,” I said.
“It’s better than swimming through that stuff,” Elle said as the whip warsuit picked her up.
With some hesitation, I placed my left foot on the claw. Then
I heard a chorus of clicking. The sound made my heart leap, and the mist above Elle’s head flinched.
The point clerk’s eyes widened. “The Grendels have caught up to us.”
I studied the entrance where the enemies would be coming through in only a few minutes. It was three meters wide and too large for me to hold off attackers. Then I looked at the giant warsuits. Their torsos were at least two meters across, and with their mechanical arms they could bridge the gap in the doorway. If one fell, then another would take their place.
At least they would provide a distraction.
“Can your warsuits block entry to this corridor while we swim to the other side?” I asked Elle. The runes for my speed sequence were recharged a little now, so I could probably take us both to the other side in less than twenty seconds.
“I think so,” she responded.
“You’re not certain?”
The point clerk shook her head. “They’ve already taken a substantial amount of damage.”
I didn’t like our chances of crossing the water when the warsuits could go down at any moment. Even if Elle could inform me when the Elites defeated them, we would still be neck deep in water and unable to use our weapons. As much as I hated it, we would have to fight alongside the mechs and hope few Elites would enter this room.
Even then, we barely stood a chance.
“Have the warsuits take up position in front of the doorway,” I said. “Maneuver them so they only let one Grendel in at a time. I’ll take it out as quickly as possible, then you can allow another enemy through.” I had no idea how much plasma fire the machines could weather, but I hoped they’d survive long enough for me to thin the enemy numbers a little before they all attacked at once.
“I can do that,” Elle said with a nod. Either she’d just become a lot braver, or she’d signed herself over to a fighting death.
My pulse was pounding at a hundred and fifty beats per minute as the warsuits covered the gap. The curving corridor beyond would mean the Elites wouldn’t see them until the last minute, which would save the mechs from getting hit with too much firepower too soon.
The clicking grew louder and louder until it was all I could hear. I hunched my shoulders, bounced on my feet, and licked my lips with excitement. Even though we were in a dire situation, I still loved the thrill of battle.
My fingers massaged my sword hilt as the first volley of enemy fire pounded into the warsuits. The machine with the claw clamped down on the section above the organic wall. Its metal prongs plunged into the fleshy substance, and the Grendels tried to push past it without success. The whip warsuit cracked its weapon, and I heard a squeal as it struck a lizard-man.
Then the first Grendel came through. It was visible one second before vanishing. I predicted the likely movement of the creature and then swung. At the end of the motion, I flicked my wrists upward, and a forcewave rocked the air in front of me. There was no sound of impact, no squeal from a Grendel being struck by the energy blast.
Then I knew I’d been tricked. I whirled around as an Elite flickered into view. A last second lean backward prevented its scimitar from carving my chest in half. Before it could attempt a second attack, I thrust my longsword into its stomach. It struggled on the end of my blade, but a twist of my hands made the lizard-man go limp as green ichor poured over my forearms.
“Ready for another one?” Elle yelled at me. The Medusa-link was covering her body again, and it swirled around her like the souls of the damned.
“Send it in!” I screamed back.
The clawed warsuit shifted its right leg, and a Grendel burst through the gap. This one didn’t cloak itself, and the forcewave I sent knocked it to the ground. I rushed after the fallen enemy and slammed my blade through its skull like I was chopping wood.
“That was quick,” Elle said, then the Medusa-link suddenly vanished from her face like she was looking through a black cloud. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped. “Oh no . . .”
My head snapped toward the doorway, and I saw explosions come from the two warsuits before they toppled over. Dark smoke drifted from their torsos while sparks flashed along their limbs.
Then the Elites came.
I only saw three uncloaked enemies, but I knew there were a lot more from all the shimmers in front of me. I angled my body so the lizard-men would have to go through me to get to Elle. A quick press of a few buttons, and my Shadow Self rune activated. At least the slight confusion might extend our lives by a few seconds.
I wished Elle hadn’t jumped through my teleport imprint. If only she’d remained inside the Watchtower, she might have survived the day. I was thinking like she was already dead because there was no way we could survive what was coming.
In the last second before my longsword would meet the garish Grendel weapons, all I could feel was guilt. My friend was going to die because I couldn’t control my mutation.
“For the queen!” a hearty chorus roared.
The Caledonian battle cry filled me with joy, and I grinned as the first Elite’s cloak dropped. Hard muscle bulged in the unarmored parts of the scaled monstrosity, and it made the mistake of opening its needle-toothed maw. I planted my foot on its left thigh and then plunged my sword into its mouth and out the back of its skull.
As I pulled out my blade and prepared for a second enemy, a figure rushed past me. I could barely make out the armored form because of how fast it was moving, and it slammed straight into the pack of Grendels. Green blood cascaded from all along the enemy frontline like ocean waves, and then a dozen Elites materialized only to collapse in death.
“Fancy seeing you here, Squire!” Leith Manzo shouted at me, and then Olav charged past him. The berserker spun like he was completely out of control, his axes carving the enemies into bits and pieces.
I turned to see the rest of the knights and the Dax storming out of the water. I’d been so focused on fighting the Grendel Elites I hadn’t heard them crossing the pool.
I was damned glad to see them.
“Are you hurt?” I said to Elle. The Medusa-link had vanished entirely, and now she looked frail and vulnerable even in her armor. Her face paled to a ghostly white, and her dagger trembled in her hand.
“They didn’t touch me,” she said.
“Stay behind the knights,” I advised, and she gave me a single nod before trudging backward.
A giant spear shot through the air like an energy beam and impaled an Elite. The lizard-man vibrated as the weapon electrocuted it, and a sickly smelling smoke wafted from its charred corpse. Sir Uram split the air with a deafening battle cry, and he sprinted through the enemy ranks. He palmed an Elite’s head in his right hand as he passed and then slammed the creature into a wave of lizard-men before retrieving his spear.
The Grendels’ screeching filled my ears along with the electrifying riffs from Flanagan’s axe-harp. It was amplified by the runic sigils on its fingerboard, and the heavy notes sent power surging through my muscles. All my tiredness vanished, and I felt like I had eaten a full meal and rested for hours.
Feeling replenished from the enchanted music, I leaped at the nearest Grendel and took its weapon arm off in a single slice. Green blood jetted from its shoulder, and its head fell from its neck with a wet sound.
Moses appeared next to me, and his naginata took down three Elites with a single swipe before my sword could strike the first one.
“You and the point clerk teleport here?” Moses asked me.
“Yeah,” I said. “There’s something else—” I was cut off as something whacked me in the back.
The wind was knocked out from me, and I barely got out of the way as an Elite’s scimitar flashed down. While my visor’s HUD registered critical damage to my breastplate’s rear, I blocked a second attack from the enemy. Then Moses backhanded the lizard-man with his tower shield. I heard its spine crack, and it crumpled to the floor.
The heavy sound from Flanagan’s instrument silenced, and all I could hear was my heavy breathing echoin
g inside my helmet. The floor was covered in Grendel corpses, and the only casualties we’d suffered were two Dax initiates. Sir Uram stood above the remains, and he made a motion with both hands I guessed was used to honor fallen soldiers.
The Stalwart’s knights had once again made fighting some of the toughest Grendels look easy. Each Space Knight displayed their unique fighting abilities, and I wondered how such great warriors had flown under the kingdom’s radar for so long. If anyone saw them fight, they would know the Stalwart’s crew were not vagabonds aboard a junkyard starship.
Adrenaline was still flowing through my body, and I hardly felt any pain. My armor wasn’t equipped with detailed biological monitoring systems, so I couldn’t determine whether I had any serious injuries from the Elite’s attack, but I felt fresh from the magic song playing in the air.
“Olav and Leith,” Moses called out. “You two keep watch at the entrance. We’ll get patched up and then move toward the portal zone.” The shield knight immediately walked toward me, and he helped lift my breastplate from my shoulders. He prodded my back, and I winced.
“Just bruising,” he said. “Good thing you’re wearing decent armor.”
The color had returned to Elle’s face, and she seemed as happy as I was now that the knights were here. The point clerk smiled proudly before handing the knight a medkit. “This should help.”
“Thanks,” Moses said, and then he applied the kit to my back. A tingling sensation rippled over my skin, and warmth seeped into my muscles.
“We good to go?” Olav asked.
“We found a Grendel Bloodrat and killed it,” I said. “It enhanced my abilities.”
Flanagan palmed his face. “You are such a newbie. Never kill a Bloodrat when a mutant is close by. Not unless you want to see some serious fireworks.”
“The portal is now a Level Nine,” I said.
“Yes!” Olav said as he clapped Leith on the back.
“I didn’t think this day could get any better,” the slayer said.
Sir Uram cleared his throat and gestured at his fallen initiates. Olav and Leith didn’t offer him an apology as he was probably expecting, and he scowled at them.
Space Knight Book 2 Page 19
