by SGD Singh
A white horse appeared at the back of the swarm and tore through the Underworlders, its hooves like thunder, its thick mane flowing majestically. It trampled Goblins with savage accuracy, and the three warriors raised their weapons, yelling in triumph. Rearing, the horse kicked out with vicious elegance, and then Uma stood, sword in one hand, stake gun in the other, moving through Underworlders in a blur of white hair.
“Mom!” Ursala screamed. “It's about fucking time already!”
Kelakha and Aquila screamed in victory as a giant eagle owl and white hawk appeared through the smoky flames, and the dark figures of Chakori and Barindra joined the fight a moment later, slashing through a group of Underworlders in smooth, practiced movements.
The towering figure of Garud approached them through the smoke, grinning, his hair like a dark flag waving triumphantly in the darkness of the dying flames. “Done sitting on those delicate hands of yours?” he said. “The fun's not over yet!”
“We were saving some for your geriatric ass!” said Aquila.
“Any Zombies?” Kelakha said.
“Nah,” said Garud, spinning to slice through a Goblin. “The whole thing was bullshit, just like Asha said.” The Goblin growled as it jumped back, lashing out with its claws before sprinting for the bridge, and with a maniacal shout, Garud ran after it.
Chapter 54
“Throw your key rings in the lake!” Lexi yelled at Nidhan, Wei Feng, Mia, and Karan, hurling her own into the turquoise water.
They were standing in the bright glow of the burning banyan tree, trying to catch their breaths as Underworlders evaporated in heaps around them. Nidhan let out a startled yell, and Lexi spun, kicking at a Goblin's chest as it rushed through the smoke, slicing downward with her khanda as the Underworlder reached for her, severing its hands. Jumping aside and spinning, Lexi brought her sword onto its neck from behind.
The Goblin's white-haired head rolled along the blackened dirt, and Nidhan shuddered.
“I will never get used to that, yaar. It looked like you just killed your grandpa.”
“I thought those things were supposed to be fast.” Lexi sounded disappointed.
“They are,” Nidhan said, grinning at the sight of Garud sprinting toward them. “That one was already injured.”
Garud looked from the dead Goblin up at Lexi. “Everyone okay?”
They looked around, and Karan mumbled, “Haven't seen Himat in awhile. Or Asha.”
Lexi and Nidhan looked at each other. “She can take care of herself,” Lexi told him.
He nodded once, then told Garud, “We lost Ibha and Arupa…”
Anger, disgust, and grief played across the Trainer's features.
Nidhan continued. “Right before you guys showed up, there were suddenly, like, fifty thousand of those fu—, uh, there were a lot…”
“We got separated in the smoke,” Lexi said. “And then—”
“Oh, shit!”
Underworlders in every form surged toward them. The Revenants and Wraiths were taking whatever form came to their twisted minds, and the Goblins had abandoned all pretext of gentlemanly poise, snarling sharp teeth and claws beneath messy white hair, their expensive suits torn and burned.
There were no Vampires.
“I guess we can thank Asha for that,” said Nidhan.
“Yeah,” said Lexi. “The Vampires live to fight another day. Thanks a lot, Asha.”
Garud put one massive arm out, holding them back. “Get in the water, all of you. Let us handle this.”
Lexi snorted. “Yeah. That'll happen.” The Underworlders, as if sensing Lexi's attack, rushed to meet it, and she screamed, tearing through them in a blur, her clothes and skin burning with their foul blood. The others rushed forward in a clash of steel and claws. Garud waded into the creatures with a deafening bellow as Underworlders fell around him in evaporating heaps.
Nidhan spun, his talwar a blurred shield around him as he cut through a line of Revenants posing as horrifyingly giant bats. Leaping, he faced the line of possessed convicts, beheading three before they knew what happened. Karan, behind him, shot ever-changing Wraiths with quick accuracy. Nidhan jumped again, kicking two oversized man-lizards—Revenants again—in the chests even as their claws raked his legs, chopping down at their necks as they stumbled.
Five Revenants shimmered, becoming terrifyingly beautiful Vampires, closing in on Nidhan. He feigned right, swinging at the nearest “Vampire.” With a laugh, it jumped aside, grabbing at his talwar and yanking it from his grasp with a vicious twist. It smiled with sharp teeth as cold blood welled between its fingers.
Something wrenched his arm from behind, and Nidhan's hands were empty.
Spinning, he ducked as his own sword sang over his back, and he stumbled on a burned root. Falling, he rolled onto his back, reached for his stake gun, but the Revenant was on him. It raised the talwar to Nidhan's neck—
And staggered backward with the force of one of Mia's knives, its sparkling hilt protruding out of one eye. The Revenant dropped the talwar with a shriek. Nidhan scrambled to his sword, swinging it once, and froze.
Every Underworlder just—died. At the same instant, as if their plugs were pulled. Nidhan stood gaping at the bodies of the Revenants as they evaporated in black smoke.
Looking across the flames at Mia, he shrugged. “That was close, yaar!”
Lexi was at his side, pale and wide-eyed. “Jesus, Nidhan!” She smacked the back of his head and he cursed, laughing. “If Mia hadn't—”
Mia blinked her brown eyes once, and then her legs buckled beneath her.
With a simultaneous cry, Lexi and Nidhan rushed to her, leaping over the remains of Underworlders. Dark blood spurted from her neck as Mia's head pitched sideways, her blonde curls falling against the charred ground in slowly pooling crimson.
† † †
Aquila stood next to Kelakha at the edge of the lake and fired his revolver into a crowd of Underworlders. A wave of giant Revenant centipedes scattered, screeching against holy water bullets. “Okay, that one was a little creepy.”
“What did she do?” said Kelakha. “Mobilize every Underworlder on the planet?”
Aquila looked at the army of Underworlders, and his shoulders sagged.
“Shit. I'll take the—” he started to say, but then dropped his revolver and staggered backwards, splashing into the lake. Lurching sideways, he fell to his knees, panting.
Asha!
Kelakha fired into the crowd of Underworlders as he rushed to Aquila's side. “Aquila! Are you… ?”
Aquila tried to get up and staggered sideways again, hands flying to his head.
Kelakha turned to the Underworlders and screamed. “Just fuck off, you filthy—Aquila! What is it? Are you—what can I do?”
Aquila reached a shaking hand to Kelakha's shoulder, and pulled himself up. “I'm okay… Just—” Aquila froze. “What the—?”
Following Aquila's gaze, Kelakha straightened. “Are they—How—”
“Ranya,” Aquila said, staggering again. “She consumed them. All of them.”
“Shit. Are you okay, man? You look… not okay.”
“I'm fine, 'Lakha,” Aquila was already moving. “I'll catch up with you.”
He jogged along the water's edge, and Kelakha called after him, “They're all dead, man! Where are you going?”
Aquila crouched to Shift.
And a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
“I hope you don't think you're going to find her without us,” Lexi said icily.
Nidhan towered next to her, his massive arms crossed, a determined look that promised pain fixed on his soot-and-blood-covered face.
“Oh, hell,” Aquila said.
“You'll have to open the bridge for us,” said Lexi, her tone commanding. “We threw our rings in the lake.”
Chapter 55
Ranya was singing.
Asha tried unsuccessfully to block out the creepy, high-pitched chant as it echoed like trapped
memories of tortured souls against the carved pillars, filling the room to the ceiling.
Ranya's hair shone as she swayed. Her white dress looked green in the firelight, shimmering in the slowly spreading flames. Asha's mind flooded with panic.
Concentrate, Asha! There has to be someth—
“What's the password, bee-atch?” Lexi's voice hissed behind her, and Asha jumped, wrenching her arms.
Her eyes never leaving Ranya's back, Asha kept her voice low, “Jimmy Page, perra loca.”
Ranya was completely immersed in her incantation. Her arms were outstretched, her voice growing louder.
“Okay, I'm gonna try holy water on your, uh, restraints,” Lexi whispered. “So if you don't want singing-psycho over there to notice, get ready…”
Asha tightened her aching arms around the pillar and felt the stone around her hands loosen. She wiggled her tingling fingers as feeling rushed back to them.
With one quick glance at Ranya, Asha slipped behind the pillar, jogging into the darkness beyond the firelight, and grabbed Lexi into a tight embrace.
“Now what?” said Lexi. “What do you need us to do while you stop this cu—”
“Us? Wait. Lexi, who is us? You didn't—”
“Nidhan and Aquila. How do you think I found you?”
“Lexi!” Asha hissed, shoving her. “Nidhan? What the hell were you—”
“What the hell was she what?” whispered Nidhan, looming over Asha in the darkness. “As a matter of fact, I have been training for the last six months.”
Asha waved it off. “Okay, look, Ranya killed every Asura down here. She's—”
“Yeah, she killed about two million Underworlders up there,” Nidhan said. “Not soon enough.”
Asha read the sorrow in their eyes and sucked in a breath.
“Mia's dead,” said Lexi, her eyes filling with tears. “She saved Nidhan's life… and then…” She shrugged, hands flopping at her sides in a helpless gesture.
“Himat's gone too,” Asha told them. “Li Tsia and Jiao Wan… they… tried to stop the Asura.” She saw Nidhan flinch.
They looked at each other, grief passing across their features, replaced with determination. Glancing over her shoulder at Ranya, Asha shook her head. “We'll all be dead, or worse, if she opens that portal. Ranya doesn't want to rule the world. She wants to destroy it.”
“Wonderful,” said Nidhan. “Can't you just… suck the life out of her?”
“Doesn't work on her,” Asha told him. “It only pisses her off worse.”
“Worse? How much more pissed off can you be if you want to destroy the world?”
Asha looked down at the ground with a sigh. “And if you guys get killed, it will be my fault.”
“Wasting time!” Lexi whisper-sang. “You just said we'll all be dead anyway—”
“All right.” Asha studied Ranya's back, shaking her head. “Distract her while I destroy the portal.”
Lexi grinned, twirling her sword. “I was hoping you'd say that.”
“There's one more thing,” Asha said, pointing at her grandfather. “She has BapuJi. And Afzal. They're icebound in some sort of Witch statue-spell.”
Lexi froze, sword in mid-twirl, paling. She looked at the two unmoving figures silhouetted against the flames, her eyes filling with a rage that made Asha wince. “Oh, that demonic bitch will be sorry she was ever born before I'm through with her, I promise you that.”
“She's fast,” said Asha, ignoring Lexi's raised eyebrow. “Even before all those Underworlders… Just—wait for Aquila, that's all I'm saying.”
Asha.
Aquila stood next to her in the gloom, his hand around hers. “No matter what happens, you focus on closing that portal.”
“Aquila—”
Aquila took Asha's face in his hands and kissed her, strong and urgent. Then he leaned his forehead against hers, his hands smoothing her hair. “No matter what happens.”
Asha nodded, blinking back tears.
With one silent movement of Aquila's hand, the three of them disappeared silently into the darkness, and Asha moved into the light. Ranya stood with her arms raised, golden claws shining on her fingers, her haunting chant making Asha's skin crawl.
As Asha began taking the power of the flames into herself, Nidhan and Lexi leapt at Ranya from opposite sides of the circle. For an instant, Asha thought it would be over that easily. But Ranya jumped back with elegant, effortless speed and Nidhan stumbled, losing his balance to avoid cutting Lexi, who spun after Ranya, her khanda singing through the air as Ranya leaned back, twisting. She sliced at Lexi's leg with a long knife that seemed to just appear in her hand.
Aquila was behind her, hacking at the Witch's neck with his gurkha blade, but Ranya crouched, cutting his shoulder with her knife, kicking out at his knee with a vicious growl as Aquila stepped back, matching her speed.
Leaping over the dying flames, Ranya faced the three of them, raising her arms with a smile. She pointed a single finger, and Nidhan flew backward, hitting the nearest pillar with a sickening thud. His legs crumpled under him, and he remained still as the carvings came to life, wrapping around his wrists like vines.
With an animal snarl, Lexi lunged forward, and Ranya turned to her, hungry amusement filling her glowing eyes. Lexi roared in rage as pain slowed her movement across the floor, shooting every bullet her revolver held at Ranya, who danced aside, laughing as Lexi screamed curses.
Asha blinked, struggling to keep her focus on the portal.
Aquila lunged at Ranya, kicking her legs out from under her, his gurkha blade chopping down with brutal efficiency, and Ranya wasn't fast enough. The thick blade sliced into her slim shoulder with so much force the sound of the steel against the stone floor echoed across the room, followed by the Witch's deafening shriek of pain.
But then Ranya was on her feet again, backing away from Lexi and Aquila as they ran toward her. One sleeve was torn nearly off, drenched black with blood, but the flow was already slowing from her quickly healing wound.
With a hoarse scream, the Witch threw her arms and head forward, reminding Asha of someone kicked in the stomach, and Lexi and Aquila fell back against the stone. Asha gasped, gritting her teeth, pushing aside the searing pain that filled her like an electric shock. She risked a glance at Aquila, and then had to use every ounce of self-control not to run to him as he lay, still and pale, his weapon dropped next to his hand.
“Interesting…” she heard Ranya say, and her eyes snapped to the Witch, whose face lit with a slow grin. She realized with a wave of nausea that Ranya had seen how hurting Aquila affected her.
Ranya turned her full attention to Aquila, and Lexi stirred, opening her eyes. Cursing, she struggled to reach her khanda.
Ignoring Lexi's screaming protests, Asha pulled out her revolver and fired silver bullets at Ranya, hitting her high in the chest and side.
With a snarl, Ranya brought her hands down to her sides, pure hate filling her eyes as she glared at Asha. Sparks flashed between her nail guards, and Ranya straightened her arms down with a quick and deadly snap of her curved hands, like a weapon being cocked. “Say goodbye to your little friends, Ash—”
“Don't!” Asha screamed. “He's your brother!”
Ranya straightened as if hit, and blinked, her expression almost comical with confusion.
Pointing at Aquila, Asha tried not to sound like she was begging. “He is your broth—”
Ranya's high-pitched cackle filled the room as she moved to stand over Aquila, tilting her head, studying him with renewed interest.
Asha. That'll only make her want to kill me more, so if you have a plan, now would be the—
Shaan lunged from out of the darkness, fluid and silent as a Revenant, throwing his whole weight and wrapping his arms around Ranya, throwing her off balance. The Collector bit into the Witch's face as Ranya shrieked, falling to the floor.
The three Trainees could do nothing but stare in open-mouthed surprise as Ranya kicked and flai
led at Shaan, her shrill cries muffled by his weight.
Asha!
“Asha!” Lexi shouted, retrieving her sword. “The portal!”
Aquila scrambled across the floor for Nidhan, blood caked on his arm, and Asha turned all of her concentration back to the fire, taking its power and feeding it to all three of them, trying to block out the horrible sounds coming from beneath Shaan as Ranya's feet kicked the floor uselessly, like dying fish.
But the fire was still growing. The more Asha took from it, the more it grew, as though… as though…
Aquila! The fire… it's—
Shaan flew through the air, landing with the sickening sound at Asha's feet. And even with his throat ripped out, Asha thought a smile played across his face as his eyes met hers, and then he raised two fingers in victory before his eyes lost focus, his arm falling to the floor.
The green fire flared to the ceiling, and Asha stumbled back. She looked at Ranya, and cringed. The Witch's left eye was gone, leaving only a gaping hole; Shaan had chewed the skin away to the bone. As blood flowed down her chin and into her mouth, she grinned bright red teeth at Asha, a Witch of nightmares.
Ranya screamed with insane, hoarse laughter. “You're too late, Infernal Guard scum!”
In a blinding flash of green-white light, the portal began to open.
Chapter 56
The sound of fluttering wings echoed across the stone, building to a terrifying roar. Pitch darkness gaped at the center of the pillared circle, and in a sudden blur of wings, a swarm of Underworlders streamed out of the portal in a violent, vomitus wave.
Asha ducked reflexively, hitting her knee hard against the floor, raising her katar as burning hot liquid gushed over her hand. A clicking hiss gnawed along her spine, and Asha opened her eyes to see an Underworlder evaporating at the end of her blade. It resembled a nightmarish version of a Gila monster with clawed, black wings, and a severe underbite of very pointy, clear teeth. Its eyes poured orange flames as it disappeared in a cloud of noxious fumes. There was nothing like it in the books. Asha shuddered and the burning in her hand intensified. Two thousand of those things just flew past us…
