The Chimera Jar: The Aegis of Merlin Book 3

by James E. Wisher

  Lin squinted at the tip. There was something drawn on it. “Sir?”

  “Those are rune-marked bullets ordered from Chard Manufacturing: magic bullets. I understand your weapon has been less than effective in your previous outings so I made arrangements for an upgrade. The pistol is designed to handle the bullet’s power. A standard weapon would explode the moment you fired it.”

  Lin looked the bullet over again. An enchanted weapon. With this he would be able to fight and have a hope of accomplishing something instead of hiding and letting Terra handle everything. That idea pleased him a great deal. “Thank you, sir.”

  Lin swapped his old pistol for the new one then switched out the clips on the opposite side of the holster. The fit was a little tight, but not too bad. The four extra magazines went in his jacket pocket.

  “Now.” Chief Kane got to his feet. “Go find this psycho and bring her in. I’m not supposed to say this, but if she’s not still breathing when you do that’s fine.”

  They left the chief’s office and made their way down to the lobby and out to the waiting car. It was, as always lately, a bitterly cold day. Lin couldn’t remember a winter this frigid in his forty plus years of living in Sentinel City. He turned the heat all the way up and pulled out of his parking space.

  Beside him Terra held her contraption with one hand and touched one of the numerous runes covering it with the other. The lantern lit up and the blob poked up into the glass enclosure.

  He drove to the parking lot exit. “What now?”

  “Give it a minute,” Terra said.

  A minute later Lin asked, “What now?”

  She glared at him and tapped the lantern glass. The blob wobbled and leaned left. “Go left.”

  Lin obliged, not daring to go too fast lest he miss a turn. In the back seat Clair snorted. “Do you really think that little ball of snot knows where it’s going?”

  “If you have a better idea I’d like to hear it,” Terra said. “Next right.”

  Lin made the turn and tried to ignore the ladies’ bickering. He had yet to decide if they really didn’t like each other or if arguing was just a habit.

  For the next hour they drove at an agonizing pace through the crowded city streets, drawing honks and middle-fingers from annoyed drivers. Eventually they left the center of the city behind and headed into the manufacturing district on the outskirts. He drove past a cement factory, then a recycling plant before Terra said, “Stop.”

  Lin looked out the window at a rundown smelter. It looked like the place hadn’t been used in years. A thick layer of soot covered the windows so that he couldn’t see anything inside.

  “This is the place,” Clair said. “I can sense it.”

  Terra nodded and Lin pulled over and parked on the side of the road. They piled out of the car and stood looking at the huge building.

  “You think she’s here?” Lin had his doubts. He couldn’t imagine anyone living in a place like this.

  “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Terra held up the lantern and the blob strained to get to the building. “There’s definitely something here. With the right magic you could turn the inside into a comfortable residence and no one would know from the outside.”

  Lin drew his new gun and worked the slide, chambering one of the enchanted bullets. “Well, let’s check it out.”

  Terra led the group toward the only visible door on this side of the giant factory. The necroplasma struggled to escape, constantly lunging toward the deserted building. The crash of steel getting smashed into cubes at the recycling plant next door made it hard for her to concentrate, but Terra kept the words of a defensive spell on her lips. If this really was Mercia’s base then she expected a hard fight.

  Terra grabbed the doorknob, but it didn’t budge. Lin moved closer, but Clair brushed him out of the way. She chanted in the language of earth and flicked her wrist. The steel-core door ripped free of its hinges and went flying. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about anyone barring it behind them and the noise from the plant covered anything they might do.

  Clair ducked through first, followed by Terra, with Lin bringing up the rear. The inside stank of grease and burnt metal. Thin shafts of light filtered through the filthy windows. Terra was afraid to summon fire globes in case something flammable still lingering in the building. It would be a shame to blow themselves up and do Mercia’s work for her.

  Clair summoned a pair of globes using light magic, revealing a pair of massive crucibles hanging from a system of rails attached to the ceiling. Further down the smelters sat cold and black, like giant lumps of coal.

  “What now?” Lin asked.

  Terra raised her lantern and watched the blob. It wanted to go deeper into the building so she obliged, easing her way down the soot-covered path between the equipment. An occasional groan or pop echoed through the vast space as the sun heated the cold metal roof. She had to force herself not to look at every squeak and focus on the blob. If there was any threat Clair and Lin would handle it.

  The necroplasma grew more frantic the deeper she went until it was positively berserk about a third of the way to the rear of the building near a hydraulic pump that appeared to run the rail system. “We’re close. There must be something hidden nearby,” Terra said.

  Clair cast a seeing spell. The chill in the air changed from physical to psychic. Her casting must have triggered a trap. Something growled from Terra’s left followed a moment later by a snarl from her right.

  They were surrounded.

  “Back to back!” Terra dropped her lantern so she’d be free to cast.

  Lin dashed over and stood behind her, his pistol raised and ready. Clair reached them half a second later. Crystal protrusions covered her like a suit of armor.

  From the dark recesses between giant machines, glowing red eyes glared. A trio of hell hounds stepped into the light. Fire dripped from their jaws and black teeth like saliva.

  Behind her Lin said, “I have two targets. Do I shoot?”

  Terra weighed the risk of blowing them to bits with the risk of getting torn apart. It didn’t take long to make up her mind. “Yes.”

  The word had barely crossed her lips when Lin’s pistol cracked followed half a heartbeat later by an even bigger explosion.

  As if he’d fired a starting pistol, all hell broke loose. Terra chanted, “Flames of destruction incinerate my enemy, Fire Blast!” and hurled flames.

  Clair enchanted a nearby chain and used it to flail at the hell hound nearest her while Lin’s pistol cracked again and again.

  Terra’s first target was pushed back until it slammed into a support column, a huge patch of skin charred and burned away. Despite the damage the hell hound showed no sign of being out of the fight.

  The two uninjured hounds gathered themselves.

  “Flames of protection appear before me, Fire Wall!” A ten-foot-tall wall of blazing flames sprang up between them and the hounds. “Lin?”

  “I took out one, but I needed a full clip to do it. The second one decided to hide behind a pile of scrap. I can’t get a clear shot.”

  Clair shifted and chanted. A loud clatter was followed by explosions and an even louder clatter.

  “We’re clear on this side.” Lin spun to stand at her shoulder.

  “I’m lowering the fire wall in three, two, one.” She thrust her hands down and the flames vanished.

  Behind it the hell hounds were gone.

  “Shit! Clair?”

  Clair crouched down and rested her palm on the floor while muttering. “They’re circling, two left and one right.”

  “Lin, take the right.” Terra raised her hands. “Flames of destruction answer my call.”

  Blue-white fire danced around her fingers, ready to be hurled at the first sign of the monsters.

  “They’re coming.” Clair straightened and cast a spell of her own. The chain she’d used earlier stiffened into a spear that hung in the air above her.

  Lin’s pistol spoke first.
Terra didn’t even have time to glance his way before the remaining two hounds leapt at them. She threw her hands forward, focusing all her power on the nearest demon. The inferno scoured away skin and flesh and bone, leaving nothing but a charred pile of ash.

  Clair’s spear impaled the second hound and pinned it to the floor. The demon struggled but couldn’t free itself.

  Terra pointed at the spear. “Light of Heaven burn away this darkness, Lightning Blast.”

  A crackling bolt of electricity arced down the spear and into the hound, burning it from the inside out until it burst into a puff of black smoke.

  “Clear!” Lin said.

  Terra wiped the sweat from her brow. They’d survived the first test.

  “I have only three clips left,” Lin said. “I hope those bullets aren’t expensive.”

  “Only a hundred dollars apiece.” Clair bent down and touched the floor again, chanting in the language of earth.

  While she was casting Terra retrieved the lantern. Her magic had protected the glass from the drop leaving the necroplasma still trapped and growing more agitated by the second.

  “There’s a large space under the floor.” Clair straightened. “It’s three-quarters the size of the factory. I can’t get a sense of what’s in it.”

  “Are you being blocked, or is it just too hard to say for sure?” Terra asked.

  “There’s definitely some sort of ward interfering with my earth magic. All I can tell is a rough idea of size and depth.”

  “So we’re going in blind?” Lin slapped a fresh clip into his pistol.

  “Believe it or not,” Terra said. “That’s a good thing. There must be something important down there if Mercia spent time and magic to protect it.”

  “I believe it not. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years as a cop it’s that going into a situation blind is the single most likely thing to get you killed.”

  “We’ll just have to hope you’re wrong, because we’re going down there just as soon as we find the entrance.”

  “Found the release.” Clair pulled something behind the pump. A vibration ran through the whole structure as the floor slid open revealing a long staircase.

  Terra studied the path down. “I don’t see any traps from here.”

  “I jammed the lever with a piece of scrap.” Clair gestured and the light globes flew down the stairs. They’d been hacked out of the bedrock and were far too narrow for Terra’s taste. “Those almost look like someone carved them by hand, either that or they were made by an unskilled earth magic wizard. I did better work as a freshman.”

  Terra looked at Clair. “Do you want to take the lead? You have the best chance of detecting a trap underground.”

  Clair nodded and started down the steps. Terra followed, picking her way down the narrow path while holding the lantern. The stone had a slight sheen of moisture that made the steps even more treacherous. Lin brought up the rear. When Terra looked back she found him looking over his shoulder more than ahead.

  They moved ever deeper into the darkness. Soon the light from behind them vanished and they had nothing but Clair’s globes to show them the way. If they had to fight shadow beasts with no sun to weaken them they might be in trouble.

  She grit her teeth and kept going. Terra knew going into this it was risky. The three of them would deal with whatever they had to in order to keep Mercia from activating the boxes.

  “It levels out up ahead.” Clair’s voice echoed in the narrow stairway.

  Terra picked up her pace and soon she and Lin joined Clair in a wide open space. At the center rested a stone table in a spotlight. “This must be where Mercia sacrificed those unfortunate people to create the necroplasma.”

  “You were always a clever woman, Terra.” Mercia’s voice filled the chamber. An illusion of her head appeared in the air above the table. “It’s a shame I couldn’t be there to greet you in person. We could have had a reunion.”

  “We know what you’re planning and you won’t succeed,” Terra said.

  Mercia laughed. “And who’s going to stop me? You three, stuck in a hole with no way out?”

  The floor shook as the stairs collapsed, sealing them in. Clair ran back, but flinched away a few feet from the rubble. “There’s a dark magic barrier.”

  “If not us, then someone else. The Department will not let you get away with this.” Terra clenched her fists so hard her nails cut into her palm.

  “Your faith in your employer is charming, but misplaced. The government doesn’t have enough wizards to put out all the fires burning in the Alliance. Once you’re dead there will be no one to stand in my way. Have fun playing with my servants.” Mercia’s head flickered and faded away.

  The floor under Terra’s feet shook again, harder this time. Lin grabbed the neck of her robe and yanked her back. A second later a black slab shot up to the ceiling followed by another and another. Hundreds of them filled the chamber creating a maze with the table in the center.

  “Thanks.” Terra straightened her robe.

  “No problem. So how do we get out of here?” Lin eyed the imposing black structure and frowned.

  “Not the way we came in, that’s for sure.” Clair joined them near the entrance of the maze. “I couldn’t so much as crack the barrier she put up. If we can’t dispel it then I can’t clear the stairs.”

  “Our options appear quite limited,” Lin said.

  “If by that you mean we only have one then I agree.” Terra rubbed the bridge of her nose. “My guess is that table, or perhaps more accurately altar, is the key holding all the wards and constructs down here together. If we destroy it, maybe we have a chance.”

  “That’s a lot of guesses.” Clair glared at the maze as if trying to knock it down with sheer force of will.

  “Guesses are all I have at this point.” Terra set the lantern down and pointed at the necroplasma bouncing around inside. “This thing’s done enough damage. Light of Heaven burn away this darkness, Lightning Blast.”

  A pencil thin beam of electricity shot out, shattered the glass, and incinerated the blob.

  “Feel better?” Lin asked.

  “Not really. Come on.”

  This time Terra took the lead, with Lin in the center and Clair bringing up the rear. Terra claimed it was to allow him to quickly engage an enemy to the front or back, but Lin suspected she just wanted him in the safest place since he was the weakest member of the group. He couldn’t even argue. His new gun let him do some damage, but it lacked the versatility of true magic.

  All around them warped images followed along. The black stone walls were shiny and reflective, like funhouse mirrors, only without the fun. Everywhere he looked it was like something was moving. Lin didn’t know how to separate the false movement from a potentially real threat. He was really starting to regret that transfer just now.

  The first turn they came to was a left. Two paces later they reached a three-way intersection. Nothing distinguished one choice from another in his eyes. Terra took the right, looking more confident than he felt.

  Lin took one step after her. Another rumble shook the floor and a black panel shot up, separating them from Clair. The maze went pitch black as the light orb died.

  Terra hissed a spell and a reddish-orange fireball appeared, filling the air with light. Lin rapped the grip of his pistol on the wall drawing a dull thud.

  “Clair!” Terra shouted.

  Lin held his breath, but only silence filled the air. Further shouts brought identical results. He groped around where the walls intersected, but they fit so tight he couldn’t so much as slip a fingernail between them.

  “Shit.” Terra slammed her fist into the wall and her fireball flared brighter.

  “That sums up our situation beautifully. What now?”

  Terra sighed. “We keep moving forward. It’s not like we have a lot of other options.”

  With those words of reassurance they set out once more. Lin stayed as close as possible without stepping
on the heels of her shoes. Whatever else happened he didn’t want to be trapped alone in the darkness. He was the only one that couldn’t make his own light.

  “I’m never leaving the car without my flashlight again,” he muttered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Think Clair’s alright?”

  “I hope so. She’s a stronger wizard than me so if she’s defeated then we’re screwed.”

  “You’re not very good at offering reassurances are you?” They came to another intersection and Lin practically draped himself over Terra when they went through it.

  “Do you need reassuring?”

  An explosion sounded from back the way they’d come. “I do now.”

  “Fuck!” Clair slammed her fist into the black slab separating her from Lin and Terra. She made no impression on the unyielding substance. Clair didn’t know what the slabs were made of, but it wasn’t stone. If Mercia had used rock she’d have knocked the maze flat with a simple spell, as it was, her earth magic didn’t so much as touch the stuff.

  She ground her teeth and turned her back on the barrier. It wasn’t like she didn’t have options. There were two other ways to proceed. The question was, which one led her out of this maze?

  Straight seemed most likely to take her in the same general direction as her companions so she went that way. Half a dozen steps later a chill presence approached from behind. She spun as a black minotaur lumbered into view. It towered ten feet above her, with curving black horns that sprouted from its bull’s head.

  Though it was clear what the construct was supposed to be, the minotaur more closely resembled an unskilled child’s attempt to make one from clay. The basic shape was correct, but the details were either off or nonexistent. It looked like it was made of pure dark magic, but Clair had never heard of such a thing.

  The minotaur stomped the floor and lowered its head. Nothing subtle there.

  Clair held her hand palm down. “Oh mother of earth and stone form a weapon to protect your daughter, Earth Spear.”

  When the minotaur charged Clair punched out at it. The ground shifted and a two-foot-diameter spear of stone burst up through the floor and into the monster’s chest.