I paused, stiffening as my eyes widened. Rocke jerked and slammed his pistol around, but I grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back around as an idea lit up my mind.
“It’s an opposite,” I said, my momentary excitement enough to help me ignore how terrible I felt. “And I’m reacting to it.” Rocke nodded and I held up my staff. “Which means it reacts to me.”
“I don’t think spellrunes can get nauseous, Hawke,” Rocke said, shaking his head. “And the Wraiths don’t have organs.”
“No.” I shook my head, trying not to let the dizziness that came with it make me look any worse than I already did. “When my staff hits the runes, what happens?”
At first Rocke just looked at me, but then his eyebrows rose and he started to nod. Slowly, but a nod all the same. “All right, you’ve got a point.” He glanced back over the wall, and I followed suit, shaking my head as I saw how dark the cavern had become. It was almost all but black now, only a dim glow coming from the ziggurat’s peak.
“So,” Rocke asked as he turned back. “What’s the plan?”
I held out my staff. “I go down there and see exactly what kind of flash I get out of those runes. I hit the right one, this whole place shuts down, and we go home.”
“And if the runes don’t work like that?”
I shrugged. “Take down as many Wraiths as I can before they get to me?” I couldn’t see any other option.
Rocke gave me another nod, his face almost invisible in the nearly black cavern. “All right, here’s what we’ll do: There’s a ramp or staircase down to the next level not too far from here. We’ll sneak over to it and—” Something red flashed behind him, and I whipped my staff up, shouting as the Wraith leapt forward.
My hand shook, pain shooting up my wrist as something collided with my staff. Rocke fired, a thunderous boom filling the cavern, and by the light of the muzzle flash I saw the heavy paddle slash down between us, wrenching my wrist down as it twisted my staff. Rocke fired again, and the grinning skull that had been right next to us vanished in a spray of bone.
“Go!” Rocke yelled, his voice almost as deafening as the shots had been. I heard a faint hiss followed by a pop, and a flare shot out across the cavern, a beacon of brilliant pink light that illuminated everything—including the dozens of Wraiths standing on the rooftops all around us.
“Go!” Rocke shouted, his gun roaring out twice more in quick succession, two Wraiths dropping as their chests blew apart. I didn’t wait to be told again. Ripping my staff free of the paddle, I leaped over the barrier with a prayer that the roof on the other side would hold my weight. I stumbled as I hit the heavy stone but managed to turn it into a sort of roll, bringing myself up onto my knees and then to a running start. Another flare arched by overhead, and then I was at the edge of the building, an eight foot drop down to the next roadway or rooftop or whatever it was. I gritted my teeth and jumped, landing hard but managing to cushion most of the impact with my legs. I heard more roars behind me as Rocke fired again and again.
A howl echoed to my left, and I raised my pistol as a Wraith leapt down from a nearby building, a paddle clutched in one skeletal hand. It let out another howl as it began to run for me and I pulled the trigger back, almost panicking as my finger caught the trigger-guard. I snapped my finger back, checked my shot, and fired.
The gun barked, and the Wraith stumbled as the rune-etched bullet flew through its chest cavity. I lunged forward, bringing my staff around in a low arc that brought it crashing into the side of the Wraith’s head. There was a bright flash of light as my staff touched the spellrune etched there, and the Wraith went flying over the side of the building, its skull falling away in three separate pieces.
Two more Wraiths landed on the rooftop, their lightweight forms bending in crouches as they hit. My pistol barked twice more, and one of the Wraiths fell back spasming as the bullet clipped its side. The other let loose another howl and rushed towards me.
I fired once more, hitting it only through luck, then turned and ran to the edge of the building, dropping off the side and slamming into the roadway below. The drop had been a little longer this time, and I winced as my knees slammed into my chest with enough to force to knock most of the breath out of me. I pushed myself to my feet, hobbling across the roadway as best I could as booms continued to echo behind me. I rolled myself over the rail, dropping the few feet to the next rooftop with grateful ease and checking to see how far I had to go. I was already halfway down; only two more drops to go. But now there was a new problem in my way. Several Wraiths were crawling over the rooftops below me, blocking my path to the ziggurat, and I could see more coming from all directions, even climbing down the massive dirt and stone wall at the back of the cavern, their red runes glowing brightly.
A quick check behind me showed that there were still plenty of Wraiths heading for Rocke, who seemed to be attracting quite a crowd with the amount of firepower he was putting out. But that still left a lot coming for me, and I had two more levels to get down before I could start climbing the pyramid.
Time to make that one more level, I thought as I ran for the edge, the first of the Wraiths rising over the side just as I got there. I took the offensive, batting its weapon aside with my staff before sticking my gun almost to its head and pulling the trigger. A brass casing arced through the air past my face as the Wraith tumbled backwards, a jagged hole right through its head where the rune had been.
I followed it off the side of the building, dropping straight down to the next roadway and landing far better than my previous jump. A Wraith rushed at me as I landed, a glittering, black knife in its hands. I fired twice, the first shot passing by its arm, the second chipping a rib. It went down, its arms still twitching as I ran past. One last level to get down. But first …
Three Wraiths were waiting for me on the next roof down, two with clubs and another with one of the obsidian knives. I saw more closing in on me from the corners of my eyes and made the rapid-fire choice to stick with moving forward. I rolled over the side, firing four quick, poorly aimed shots as I fell. Two of them were close misses, and despite not actually hitting anything I saw the runes on two Wraiths dim, setting them both stumbling as their energy processes were weakened. The third Wraith charged ahead, and I met its attack with my staff, batting its paddle aside and firing two quick shots. Both struck home in the Wraith’s chest, and I brought my staff sweeping across its side, multiple flashes sparking on the wraith as rune after rune burned out.
A sharp pain sliced across my back, and I spun around, my staff batting aside the bloody knife that had just cut across my back. The disarmed Wraith opened its mouth just as I brought the staff back across, snapping its jaw off and sending its bones tumbling as it broke apart. The third Wraith raised one arm, and I felt a painful pulling sensation across the cut on my back, a wave of nausea sweeping through me.
“No!” I snapped the gun up and fired, the bullet blowing out the back of its skull behind the right eye. The pulling sensation vanished as the Wraith broke apart, but the damage was done. I could feel blood running down my back, hot and sticky. I whipped my hand back as I turned, probing the wound with my finger and letting out a faint sigh of relief as it turned out to be a shallow cut.
Another eerie hiss echoed nearby as a Wraith hopped down onto the rooftop, and I jumped, landing on the open roadway and letting out a curse of annoyance as I saw one more drop between me and the edge of the ziggurat. I ran across the road as quickly as I could, aware that the clicking behind me was getting closer.
I jumped blindly, launching myself over the rail and rolling as the ground met me far earlier than I’d planned. I tumbled to a halt, my staff above my head just as another paddle came crashing down, the unnatural strength behind it biting into the wood and pushing my arms down against the dirt. I let go of my staff, the Wraith’s blow pushing it to one side. It yanked its weapon back, lifting it over its head, and I put two shots into its head.
Two more Wraiths vaulted ove
r the wall, and I fired a bullet at each of them, the close range making it almost impossible to miss. How many bullets had I fired now? I grabbed my staff and began to run across the ground towards the base of the ziggurat. All I had to do was make it to the top.
Another Wraith closed on me from the side, and I fired at it, the skeleton tripping and sliding to a stop as the bullet went through its chest. My feet slammed into the bottom steps of the pyramid, and I looked up at the peak, having just enough presence of mind to aim my pistol at another Wraith as it bounded down the steps towards me. I squeezed the trigger once, twice, but the pistol just clicked.
Great. I tossed the gun aside and started up the steps, pausing just long enough to sweep the legs out from beneath the Wraith running towards me. I didn’t even bother to hit it a second time as it tumbled past me, its bones splintering against the stone steps. The peak was closer now, almost within reach. Just another thirty feet.
The taint of unnatural, inhuman magic was impossible to ignore now. The damp, oily blanket was gone, replaced by a howling ocean, drowning me beneath its churning sickness. I stumbled as the top grew closer, my vision wavering as every part of my body seemed to constrict and twist. My staff rattled across the stone steps as I pushed myself back up, body trembling. My chest heaved for breath as I pushed myself up, hand-over-hand, towards the top. I couldn’t even waste the energy to look back, and I wouldn’t have trusted myself to keep from curling up in a ball if I did, anyway. The world rolled around me, my vision blurring and twisting as my breath came faster and faster. I put my hand out for the next step and fell forward as it didn’t appear.
I had reached the top. There was a strange buzzing in my ears, a droning roar that made my wavering vision all the worse. I pushed myself up on my elbows, my staff still clutched in my hand as I crawled towards the glowing circle of runes. I … just had … to find … one …
Something slammed into my back and I rolled over, letting out a howl of pain as my back touched one of the spellrunes. My flesh burned and a white flash filled my eyes, my scream echoing all around me as my back seized up, muscles firing in all directions. The flash faded from my eyes, and all I could feel was pain and sickness so strong that my head seemed to be swimming. A robe-clad Wraith stood over me, clutching a long, thin, obsidian knife in one hand. The other hand slammed into my chest, and I let out a grunt of pain as it pushed me back against the stone. I swung my staff up, but the Wraith batted it aside with ease. It cocked its head to one side, dank, limp remains of feathers hanging around its face as it grinned down at me. Some part of me recognized it from the security footage at the museum.
The knife rose, lining itself up with my throat, and I twisted my head, glancing at the runes on either side of me. I could hit either one with my staff, but I wouldn’t get a chance to try both. I had to pick right the first time.
Or do I? I brought my knee up and slammed the Wraith in the back of the leg. It dropped to one knee, its hand leaving my chest, and I pushed back, ignoring the searing pain as my raw, burnt flesh scraped over the stone. The Wraith’s hand snapped back down onto my chest, and I twisted my head back, taking one last, desperate look behind me. Close enough.
The Wraith seemed to pause, the knife inches from my throat as I swung my staff over the pool of blood, white arcs of energy sparking off its surface as I pushed every bit of myself into it. I turned back to the Wraith, giving it one last, defiant look.
“Go back to Hell.”
I let go of my staff, and the tip touched the surface.
For a moment everything seemed to stop, a faint spark of pure life energy jumping from the tip of the staff to the blood and back again. Then my world lit up in an explosion of pure, blinding white light. I squeezed my eyes shut as a titanic blast rushed over me, and then I was tumbling, spinning, my ears filled with a constant roar as I was pummeled from every side. I tried to curl myself into a ball, to shield my face as pieces of rock pounded and cut me from every side, tried to—
A faint sense of impact, brilliant colors mixing with the white—
And then, mercifully, everything went black.
Finale
Consciousness returned slowly, fluttering close and then darting back like a skittish animal. The first thing I was aware of was a faint beeping that seemed to cut through the haze of black around me, a pulse of rhythmic, sharp sound that made my mind pulse with color. Along with it came a faint sense of pain, dulled and weak, hard to focus on, but there all the same, and it grew as the beeps strengthened.
The blackness around me grew brighter, and other vague sensations began to come to me. The pain was more distinct now, and I started to place locations and feelings on it. Back and shoulder: Definitely in pain. Burning sensation. Legs, arms: Dull aches. Head … Ow. There were other sensations, too, pains and pressures I couldn’t identify. And there was an internal sense that something was amiss, and I realized that I couldn’t tell for certain if I was lying on my back or on my side. Down felt off, somehow.
My eyelids fluttered open for a brief moment, then clamped shut again as brilliant light overwhelmed them. I made out other noises past the beeps now, not as sharp or as jarring, but there all the same. A faint rustling sound that my beleaguered mind took a moment to identify as cloth rubbing against cloth. An ebbing, chattering noise puzzled me for a moment until I heard the pauses, the differing tones. Voices.
I opened my eyes again, a little slower this time to protect against the light. I found myself looking up at a ceiling of white tile and bright, fluorescent lights that triggered some sort of violent reaction with my insides. The lines of the tile seemed to move, shifting as my sense of pain began to be replaced by something much more urgent. The rasp I was hearing stopped with a gasp.
“Hawke?” Someone stepped up to the side of my bed and bent over me. I blinked, trying to get my vision to focus. “Are you awake?” Ellera’s face swam into focus, looking down at me with wide eyes and a half-happy, half-concerned expression. She smiled as my eyes met hers, and I was forced once again to acknowledge that it was a really beautiful smile. I could feel something inside me react, roiling as the room seemed to swim …
And then I threw up on her.
* * *
“Again, I’m really sorry about that,” I said, risking only a quick glance at Ellera before refocusing on the horizon outside the window.
“No, it’s fine,” she said with a laugh. There was a faint splash as the mop she was using to clean up the last of my awakening moments dropped back into the bucket. “It’s not the first time I’ve been puked on, and it probably won’t be the last.”
“Well, I still feel lousy about it,” I said, shifting the stainless steel bowl I’d been given in my arms as another wave of disorientation swept through me. “That wasn’t exactly the kind of impression I was hoping to give you the next time I said hello.”
“Hey, if it helps, I’ve had worse things said to me.”
“Yeah, but usually you don’t end up wearing those things,” I said with a chuckle. Ellera laughed in agreement, and the noise made me smile even as the world swam around me. I liked that sound.
“I guess you’ve got me there,” she said, another wet slap punctuating her words as the mop hit the floor again. “That is the first time I’ve worn a greeting.”
“Still not the one I wanted to make,” I said, narrowing my eyes readying my bowl as the room tilted again, in case my stomach decided it still had something to give. “Personally, I would have settled for ‘nice to see you again.’”
Ellera laughed again, and I was tempted to check if she’d tilted her head back the way she had when she’d laughed at the museum. But with the world still rolling around me, I didn’t dare. I kept my eyes on the dusty horizon, a fixed point I could focus on. I’d already had the hospital staff move the bed so I could look out the window, promising them that the horizon was the best thing to keep my body happy. I couldn’t let myself throw up again because I wasn’t taking advantage of the vi
ew, even if it was for a better one.
“Well, that’s cleaned up.” There was a final splash as the mop went back into its bucket. “I’ve got to go check on some other patients now, but I’ll be back to see you in a little while. There’s a button there that’ll ring us up if you need anything, all right?” She stepped up to the side of my bed, flashing me a bright smile.
“Thanks,” I said, giving her a quick smile. “I’ll use that time to think up a better greeting.” She laughed again.
“Good, glad to hear it. See you later.” She left the room, the faint squeaks of the mop-bucket’s wheels following her out into the hall.
For a moment I just sat there, mulling everything over in my mind as I watched the horizon. Fortunately, the hospital was one of the taller structures in the city—if only by a few stories—so I could see for a pretty good distance. Had I been on ground level, I would have been out of luck.
One of the other nurses had given me the rundown on my injuries while Ellera had cleaned herself up. In addition to the heavy burns on my back and shoulder where I’d shorted out the spellrune I’d landed on, I had cuts and contusions all over my body. The gash on my back had been stitched up, and the only reason I hadn’t wound up with a severe concussion was that my hardhat had done its job. Of course, since I’d woken up puking, the staff had made a show of checking my eyes and head again until they were satisfied that my nausea was actually a result of losing my staff and not from some severe injury. Fortunately, the NSAU appeared to be footing my bills, so there was a bit of authoritative presence to back up my words.
A knock stirred me from my thoughts, and heavy soles thumped across the floor as someone walked into my room. “Hey, I heard you were up.”
“Hey, Rocke,” I said as the spook walked around the bed and leaned up against the window frame, one arm in sling. “How’s it going?”
Dead Silver Page 41
