by Jacob Holo
Sparks sputtered out of the flyer’s rear.
“Ugoke! Ugoke! Ugoke!”
“What!”
“Move, you piece of junk!”
“I can see the bottom!” Nicole shouted. “It’s getting close!”
“I know!” Shoko shouted. More sparks leaked out, trailing above them. Something within the flyer shuttered and gurgled. The engine lit up. Nicole turned away, eyes watering.
“Ah ha!” Shoko shouted over the engine. “That’s what the other hieroglyph meant! I had to force what’s left of the fuel out of the tank!”
“How much is left?” Rüdiger shouted.
“No idea!”
“Then for God’s sake, land already!”
Shoko brought them down in a rapid corkscrew. Nicole blinked away the orange blob in front of her vision. She rubbed her eyes and took in the landscape at the borehole’s base.
Ludwigsburg Castle was quite a bit different from the air. The mansion actually formed a rectangle around a huge stone courtyard with smaller sections branching off. Nicole looked for the gardens, but they existed beyond the borehole’s crystalline edge.
“Looks like it’s not finished,” Rüdiger said.
“But awfully close,” Daniel said. “Damn, I wonder how much time we have.”
For a moment, Nicole thought she could see the courtyard from two different angles, one in the air and one from the mansion’s roof.
“Land in the courtyard,” Nicole said. “I think the Mantis is close by.”
“Are you sure?” Rüdiger asked.
“It’s the only guess I’ve got.”
“All right. Shoko?”
“I’ll do my best!” she said. The flyer’s engine glowed with power, tightening their corkscrew descent and slowing. They landed in the center of the courtyard with a heavy thud, and skidded towards an octagonal fountain in the center.
Nicole stepped off the flyer, legs feeling like jelly. The surrounding walls were still colored that ghastly pale yellow with hundreds of windows looking in. Well-trimmed shrubs lined the outer courtyard.
Behind her, Daniel and Shoko pulled out their swords. Melanie unfolded her crossbow, and Rüdiger ignited himself.
Is this all?
Nicole gasped. She turned around in a circle, taking in her surroundings and searching for the Mantis.
“The Mantis is definitely here,” she said.
“But where?” Rüdiger asked.
“Umm…” Nicole closed her eyes, trying to feel where the alien thoughts came from. Reavers hissed and clicked beyond the mansion walls, breaking her concentration.
“Oh, damn,” Daniel said. “Get ready!”
Dozens of windows burst open. Drones poured into the courtyard, some smaller than her hand, others like human-sized cockroaches. They charged in from every direction.
Rüdiger threw a rapid series of fireballs, blasting flagstones and clusters of reavers apart. Shoko and Daniel ran out into the approaching mass, their swords whisking around them in quick arcs. Nicole lifted both arms and ripped a dozen flagstones out of the ground. She picked a cluster of the larger drones and sent the flagstones scything through them.
Drones poured into the courtyard in a living wave, swarming and skittering at the tau guards. Nicole looked up at the borehole walls, surprised to see fat reaver beetles running away from the mansion. Not all the reavers in the borehole could fight, it seemed.
The courtyard ran slick with reaver gore. Daniel and Shoko backpedaled, swords blurring around them. Rüdiger held out his hands in both directions, frying the drones with twin streams of fire. The drones pushed the tau guards into a tight defensive circle.
A drone hit Nicole in the back and bit through her coat, drawing blood.
“Ah! Get it off! Get it—”
Blue fire licked across her body, sizzling the metal cockroach but leaving her unharmed. It dropped to the ground.
“Everyone crouch down!” Rüdiger shouted.
Nicole dropped to a knee just before Rüdiger sent out a ring of energy that scattered the reavers. Some flew across the courtyard with enough force to splatter them against the mansion exterior. Those that survived gathered together, but they’d already expended the bulk of their numbers.
The drones charged in, blind to their losses. They died in an onslaught of flame, speeding flagstones, and slashing swords. In the end, Nicole and the others found themselves within a ring of stinking reaver carcasses.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Nicole shouted. She stomped on a bleeding cockroach crawling towards her. “A bunch of drones?”
I do not fear you.
“Who are you talking to?” Daniel asked.
Do you believe I am unprotected?
“Show yourself!” Nicole shouted.
The workers bought me time. Now you will face my protector.
“Bring it on!”
Chosen guardian, destroy them!
“Get ready!” Nicole said. “Something nasty is coming!”
They reformed a tight circle near the courtyard fountain.
“Where?” Daniel asked. “Which direction?”
An icy finger traced its way down Nicole’s spine.
“What was that?” Daniel asked. “Did anyone else feel that?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure what it was,” Rüdiger said.
Anticipation and a sense of cold pleasure resonated in the back of Nicole’s mind. She turned around.
“There!” Nicole said, pointing. On one side of the courtyard, the mansion had a series of ornate archways and supports instead of a first floor. Something huge and eight-legged moved on the far side. It crashed through the mansion. Wooden beams and carved stone blasted out from all three stories.
The juggernaut, almost twice as large as any Nicole had seen, trotted forward and snarled. Its curved, beetle-like carapace glistened like polished obsidian. Four massive tusks extended from its lower jaw. The white-hot maw and tusks were all she could see of the juggernaut’s head, hidden underneath its thick, armored cowl. Wicked spikes extended from a central ridge along its back.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Daniel said.
The juggernaut charged, the mansion reforming behind it.
“Spread out!” Rüdiger said. “Stay away from the front!”
Daniel grabbed Nicole’s wrist and yanked her out of the way. They tumbled across the ground. She stood up in time to see the juggernaut obliterate the central fountain and almost trample the flyer. It huffed angrily, smoke and sparks exhaling from its maw.
The juggernaut turned. The creature pounded its thick front legs into the ground, shaking the courtyard.
Nicole pulled several flagstones up and sent them rocketing towards the juggernaut. Sonic booms echoed in the courtyard. The flagstones struck the juggernaut above the face and ricocheted off its armor.
Rüdiger flung a fireball at its back. The blast deafened Nicole’s already-stunned hearing. The juggernaut didn’t seem to notice. Clusters of tiny red eyes swiveled within deep recesses, locking onto Nicole.
“Oh, no!” Nicole said. She lifted another set of flagstones.
Melanie fired her crossbow. The bolt hit just below an eye and bounced off the upper jaw.
Shoko jumped onto the juggernaut’s back. She ran towards the head, stumbling when the juggernaut suddenly stopped. The juggernaut swung at her with its tusks. It clipped her shoulder and sent her flying. She hit the ground hard, rolled across the courtyard, stopped and was still.
“Shoko!” Daniel shouted.
“Rüdiger, keep it occupied!” Melanie shouted. She sprinted towards Shoko.
Rüdiger threw another fireball at the juggernaut. It exploded with a terrific boom, ripping stones out of the ground and shattering windows. The blast left a faint scorch mark on the juggernaut’s black armor. The monster turned to Nicole, let out a rumbling exhale, and charged.
Daniel wrapped an arm around her waist and leaped into the air. Nicole screamed as they back-flipped and
landed on the roof. The juggernaut smashed into the mansion beneath them. Daniel lost his footing and slid down the shingles, pulling Nicole with him. They slipped off the edge. Daniel twisted around and grabbed the rain gutter just in time.
“Ah!” Nicole gasped.
Beneath their dangling feet, the juggernaut pulled itself free. A fireball exploded behind it, but it didn’t care. Its beady eyes swiveled around independently, watching Daniel and Nicole.
“Brace yourself!” Daniel grunted before throwing a screaming Nicole back onto the roof. She hit the shingles on her side and gasped. With the wind knocked out of her, she struggled to her feet. Daniel pulled himself up. He flipped through the air and landed next to her.
The juggernaut raked its tusks upward, ripping through the mansion’s roof. One tusk burst through shingles next to Nicole. She scrambled away, climbing the slanted surface.
The juggernaut swung a front leg into the mansion. A whole section of the roof gave out. Nicole and Daniel fell through. She landed hard somewhere within the third story, dust and debris clouding her vision. Shingles and sundered wooden beams hovered over her head. With a brief shudder, they accelerated upwards, fitting together perfectly.
Nicole stood up in one of the fanciest rooms she’d ever seen. The arched roof had been painted with an angel-filled sky. Intricate chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Statues and painted vases filled alcoves in the walls. Everything about the room oozed “I am very expensive and I want you to know it.”
Daniel wasn’t in the same room.
The juggernaut roared outside. It smashed its front legs into the building, imploding the outer wall. Nicole scurried away in a crouched run, the juggernaut’s leg barely missing her. She put her back to the far wall. The juggernaut reached in further.
Daniel crashed through a door, shoulder first. He swung down between two armored plates at the first joint, his sword cutting deep. Thick yellow bile burst from the wound, drenching the floor. The juggernaut jerked its leg to the side, trying to pin Daniel to the wall, but Daniel ducked under the attack and slashed his sword through the same joint.
The front of the leg broke off. The juggernaut pulled its bleeding stump out.
Before the wall reset shut, Nicole reached out with all her strength. She grabbed every loose object in the room and sent it flying out the mansion. Statues, vases, the chandelier, pieces of the door, and parts of the outer wall shot towards the juggernaut, peppering it with high speed projectiles.
A broken piece of vase stabbed deep into one eye. The statue of a man playing the lute struck one of its tusks, bending it back and making it harder for the juggernaut to turn its head. The creature lumbered away and bellowed.
From behind, Rüdiger hit it with another fireball. This time, one of its rear legs buckled. A rejuvenated Shoko rushed in, slashing the leg between armored plates much like Daniel had. The juggernaut tried to kick her, but missed. It dragged the rear leg behind it, now crippled by Shoko’s cut.
Impressive, but futile.
The mansion walls reformed, sealing Nicole and Daniel inside.
“We need to get out there and help them!” Daniel said. He grabbed a chair and raised it to break open a window.
“Wait!” Nicole said. “The Mantis is still nearby. It’s watching us. It’s actually amused!”
“Great, so where is it?”
“Uhhh…”
“Right. Juggernaut first! Let’s go!”
Daniel threw the chair out the window. He picked Nicole up with both arms and leaped through the mist of broken glass. Nicole closed her eyes, wind rushing past her face. Daniel stuck his landing and set her down.
The juggernaut faced Melanie, Rüdiger, and Shoko on the far side of the courtyard. From behind, Nicole could see the damage Rüdiger had done. The juggernaut’s rear armor was pounded inward and scorched black by one explosion after another, though the creature seemed unaffected by the damage.
Daniel ran forward. Nicole reached out and lifted several flagstones. She launched them towards its uninjured rear leg. The debris struck so hard the juggernaut staggered and dropped to its belly. It stabbed its legs into the ground and lifted itself. Daniel arrived and swung into the healthy rear leg, cutting through it in one clean stroke.
The juggernaut kicked at him, but Daniel leaped into the air and landed on its back near the spiked ridge. He ran towards the head, only for the juggernaut to swat him off with a tusk. Daniel tumbled across the ground. He sprang to his feet, ran towards the juggernaut, and leaped onto its back.
“Go for the head!” Rüdiger shouted. “We need to kill this thing!”
Nicole sprinted around the juggernaut, circling it.
The juggernaut swung at Shoko, tearing a diagonal section out of the mansion. Debris hovered in the air. Nicole smiled grimly. She reached out, clenched her fist, and pulled all the debris onto the juggernaut. Thick wooden beams and heavy stone pounded its face, causing it to retreat further under its armored cowl.
Melanie fired her crossbow at its face. The bolt struck an eye. Its head and tusks flinched in pain. The juggernaut roared and charged Melanie. It almost crushed her under its massive bulk, but Daniel jumped off its back, picked her up, and leaped all the way to the roof.
Rüdiger threw a fireball at its face, but the juggernaut lowered its legs, closing the vulnerable window between its armor shell and the ground. The fireball exploded just above its head, leaving the creature unharmed.
Nicole crouched down and picked up every loose flagstone underneath the juggernaut. With a shout, she sent the heavy stones flying upward. Most shattered against its armored belly, but one struck its head like a cannon ball. The juggernaut rose and staggered drunkenly. Its head lolled out of cover.
“That’s it!” Daniel shouted. “Keep hitting it!”
With the head momentarily exposed, Rüdiger summoned a brilliant fireball and threw it forward with both hands. The incandescent globe struck inside the juggernaut’s open jaw and blew the lower half off. He fired again and again, pounding the juggernaut’s exposed head. Melanie shot her crossbow, and Daniel and Shoko showered it with knives and four-sided throwing stars, arms blurring as they emptied their arsenals.
Nicole hit it again from underneath, breaking its throat open. Liquid fire spewed out of its ruined neck like water from a fire hydrant. The creature struggled to its legs, but collapsed heavily. Reaver blood drained from its wounds.
Daniel jumped from the roof to the courtyard. He set Melanie on her feet next to him.
The juggernaut’s body went slack. It did not rise again.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” Nicole shouted to the surrounding mansion. “Is that your ‘chosen guardian’? Show yourself, you coward!”
My guardian performed its duty. You have been further delayed and I have summoned more defenders.
BRAAAAAUUUUUUGH!!!
The sentinel roars came from all directions.
“Oh, crap,” Daniel said. They formed a defensive circle near the fountain and the flyer.
Now face a fight you cannot win.
“One of the reavers has expanded the tau freeze!” Rüdiger said. “Look! All the reavers on the borehole shaft are moving again!”
Dozens of sentinels, creepers, hive lords, and even juggernauts dropped down from the borehole sides. They landed beyond the courtyard with heavy crashes.
“We can’t fight this many,” Shoko said. “What do we do?”
“We run!” Daniel said. “That’s what we do! Everyone back on the flyer!”
“It’s out of fuel!”
“Then fuel it up with the juggernaut’s fat carcass!”
“I need time to do that!”
“Well, how much time?”
Two sentinels crawled over the mansion roof.
“More than we have!” Shoko shouted.
Another three sentinels appeared over the mansion opposite the first two.
Die, corpse-eaters.
Hot anger rose within Nicole. It was
so unfair! They were so close! She held a hand to her chest, breathing in short gasps.
“Crap,” Daniel said. “Well, it looks like this is it.”
“Maybe so, but I’m not going down without a fight,” Rüdiger said. Flames spiraled around him, faster and faster, collecting in his palms.
“Hey, look at it this way. At least we go down fighting the right enemy.”
“Yeah. At least there’s that.”
Nicole felt almost delirious with anger. She dropped to a knee and clutched her throbbing head.
“Give it your all, people,” Daniel said.
“Damn it! It can’t end this way!”
“I’m sorry, Nicole.”
The reavers charged in.
“Damn it!” Nicole shouted, icy water surging through her spine. “No! No! No!”
Within a tau freeze, time stopped.
Chapter 19
Tau Double-Prime
Nicole looked up, the surge of pain and the strange icy chill vanishing from her mind. The attacking reavers stood like statues around the tau guards, maws wide, legs ready to stab.
“What just happened?” Nicole asked.
No one responded.
“Guys?”
Nicole bumped Daniel with her elbow. His trench coat was stone hard. She tapped him on the head. His hair was like steel wire.
“Uh oh…”
Daniel and the others stood in a rough circle, ready to face their impending deaths. Daniel and Shoko readied their swords, back to back. Rüdiger’s flames hovered motionless around his body. Melanie held a crossbow bolt between her teeth and another aimed at a sentinel.
“Did I do this?”
An icy tightness knotted the muscles at the base of Nicole’s skull. She thought if she focused, she could loosen it and the tension would melt away.
Is this what they feel when they trigger a freeze? Nicole thought. But that doesn’t make sense. This is a freeze in a freeze.
Nicole picked a random sentinel, lifted a flagstone and sent it rocketing into the reaver’s face. The flagstone blasted through, bursting the sentinel’s head. The gooey bits flew outward, slowed down, and sprang back together.
Right. Useless. All I’ve done is delay our deaths.
I admit I am mildly impressed.
