by Peter Glenn
The next room spilled out into another corridor. I surprised another Iceni guard in this hallway, whose life ended much like the last few: quickly. I left him lying face down on the ground, trying desperately to shout for help through the gurgling blood in his throat and kept going. Another three doors greeted me this time, but only one had light coming from it.
Part of me wondered if I should be setting some sort of trail for Sheila and Rick to follow after through all the halls and doorways, but I tossed that idea out pretty quickly. They could just follow the trail of dead bodies. It would work better than breadcrumbs, if a tad more icky.
Of course, if you think about it, breadcrumbs in dirt were kind of icky, too. Like, whose grand idea was that anyway? But I digress.
Several different voices emanated from the next open doorway, so I slowed to a crawl and tightened my grip on my katana as I made my way over. I could barely make out one of them talking about how the guards at the gate were so touchy and would spout off over a mouse or a bird flying in. It made me feel a little safer knowing that the guards up ahead weren’t taking all the noise and warnings seriously.
That would make them easier targets.
I bounded around the next corner, letting loose a battle cry. Four shocked faces greeted me.
Before anyone could act, I skewered the first guy in the face, then kicked him in the chest to simultaneously free my blade and send him careening into the girl next to him.
Those two fell to the ground in a hail of limbs and screams, slamming into the dirt with a loud crunch.
The third guard came at me then. He side-stepped the two mewling bodies and swung at me with a rather large club.
Club Guy swung with all his might. The crude implement sang through the air with a speed I would have thought impossible, and it was all I could do to back out of the way in time before it crushed my ribcage.
His club smacked into the metal wall instead, leaving a nasty dent and almost toppling it over in the process.
I used his momentum against him and slammed into his back with my blade. The katana cut through his tender flesh, and the force of the blow sent him flying into the wall. I heard a loud crack of bones breaking as his head met the metal of the wall, finally breaking through, then he sputtered for a moment and finally stopped moving.
Fourth Guard looked at me, then, brandishing a sword as long as my arm.
“It’s just me and you, now,” I told him.
He huffed and advanced, lunging low to get under my guard.
I was forced backward once again, but it worked to my advantage. Fourth Guard tried to right himself and lunge again, but he ended up tripping over Club Guy’s body and falling on his face.
I jammed my blade into his neck and twisted it to partially decapitate the guy, then proceeded to put the first two guards out of their misery in a similar fashion. It was hard work, but it was the only way I could be sure they wouldn’t rise again.
Up ahead, I heard a fresh cacophony of voices and noises that signaled movement. I was getting close to the main knot of Iceni, I could tell. Plus, all that noise from my last encounter had probably set them on edge, too. It was one thing to hear a guard shout a warning, but quite another to hear bodies smashing into metal and screams of death.
Well, the time for stealth was over. I’d wasted enough time skulking about. It was time to bring the battle to their main force and clear the way for Sheila and Rick to free Mei.
Once Mei was clear, I was positive we could win this thing, no matter the odds. Dragons were scary tough, remember? And something told me Mei would be right smack dab in the middle of their army next to good old Boudicca.
I took a moment to steady my hands and calm my breathing, then headed for the only doorway left open to me.
A moment later, I rounded the corner, head held high. I gotta say, I’d been prepared for a lot, but what I found after rounding that bend surprised me more than I’d thought it would.
The room was stuffed with so many bodies I thought the seams might just burst under their combined weight. I was right. There were at least a hundred Iceni in there. Maybe more. And right in the middle was some sort of old lumber sawing table that had been turned into a makeshift altar with Mei tied down on top of it.
She was covered in so many chains it was a wonder they weren’t suffocating her, and to top it off, she had a gag in her mouth, as well. Next to her was some sort of shadowy figure. I could barely make out the shape of a woman’s face in the cloud, complete with glowing red eyes and a wicked smile. The shadowy figure was chanting something in a language I didn’t recognize, and wisps of magical energy were flowing all around her.
That, I figured, was Boudicca. Arlan was standing next to her, barking commands at his troops.
My heart sank seeing Mei tied up like that. Her face was strained, and even from this distance, I could see that she was in a lot of pain. Whatever the queen was doing to her, it wasn’t going to end well.
And it was all my fault.
“Mei!” I shouted like a fool. “I’m coming!”
Her head turned, and I saw the faintest hint of recognition in her eyes, along with something else - hope, maybe. It was enough to lift my spirits for a moment.
Then, of course, everyone else in the room turned to face me, too.
Note to self - making your presence known to a room full of scary enemies hell bent on your death wasn’t my greatest idea. Oh well. Nothing I could do now but take down as many as I could along the way. Who knew? Maybe I wouldn’t make it. After I saved Mei, of course.
Man, my therapist would be so proud of all my positive thoughts of late. I’d have to call her when this was over. If this was over, I reminded myself. Gotta keep that streak up.
The only thing missing was an epic soundtrack, and I was all out of earbuds. Oh well. I could hum a good tune in my head with the best of them. But what to choose?
Who was I fooling, there was only one choice. Duran Duran.
Katana in hand and one too many “do do dos” in my head, I advanced on the band of warriors right about the same time they came for me.
I swung my blade in wide, bloody arcs like an angel of death. There was precious little maneuvering room for the Iceni as packed as they were, so I had an innate advantage, and I took full use of it.
My blade raked the chest of one guy and buried itself in another’s neck. Both fell to the ground clutching their wounds, only to be trampled by the next set of Iceni to take their place.
With practiced ease, I cut deep into a woman’s leg, almost severing it at the knee. Then I kicked her into the combatant behind her, and they both fell over in a heap.
I kept swinging and swinging, sending a hail of blood droplets flying through the air and slicking the ground with enemy guts, but no matter how much I cut or how many Iceni I mowed down, more kept advancing.
Even I could see that this was fast becoming hopeless. With a groan, I gave up just a little bit of ground as an enemy club swiped for my head, threatening to end me right then and there. I backed into the doorway and my spine smacked into the metal frame.
I’d miscalculated my retreat. I was stuck.
There was nothing more I could do. I’d have to try to wade my way through their bodies instead.
I sliced upward, cleaving my current opponent’s chin in two and driving the blade deep into his skull, then threw my weight onto his rapidly falling body.
We both tumbled through the air, the ground coming up to meet me. Several hands and blunt instruments reached for me. A club managed to land a glancing blow, and pain shot up my side. Then it was done. I landed with a thud and immediately went into a roll to dodge a low sword blow that was aimed square at my back.
My head rammed into another guy’s legs, and I toppled him over as well, as a fresh wave of stars swam in my head from the impact.
I rolled again, and finally I was free enough to make a new stand. I pushed myself up onto my feet with my free hand and spun in a circle, trying to fend off a
fresh wave of assailants.
The blade of my katana hit something soft, and I heard a sickening slurping noise as I disemboweled another attacker that fell to his feet behind me, screaming something in Gaelic I would never understand.
I was still winning, but it was becoming a bit much.
My eyes quickly darted about as I tried to figure out where I’d ended up. I was about five feet from the entryway and near one of the large outer walls. The enemy ranks had thinned a bit. I figured I’d taken out a good dozen or so Iceni by this point, but there were still so many left. It was starting to feel a bit hopeless.
A lanky woman in front of me lunged, and I danced to the side. She careened into another club-wielding man behind me and they both fell into a pair of sword-wielding Iceni behind them. Weapons clanged and went clattering to the floor as a tangled mess of Iceni warriors scrambled to keep their footing, giving me a momentary respite.
I used their confusion to dispatch the other guy in front of me. He had two rather nasty-looking daggers in his hands, but stunned as he was, it was easy enough to swipe high and bite into his neck without getting hit by either of them.
He slumped to the ground, his eyes still holding that shocked expression, and I scrambled to take up a stance near the wall behind him.
By my estimate, I still had about twenty feet of space before I got to the makeshift altar, and way too many enemy bodies in between here and there. But I’d made a good dent. Sheila and Rick would be safe if they followed my orders. They could take it from here. I just had to hold out for another few minutes.
I stared down the next wave of attackers. I could make out two more guys with maces, and a pair of women with longswords, along with a couple other blokes that looked to have some sort of hook weapon in their hands - likely some sort of scrap metal from the lumber yard.
“Don’t suppose we can just forgive and forget, eh?” I asked them, throwing one of the women a wink.
The men growled, and the women readied their blades. So much for that famous Asian charm of mine, I guess.
Just then, the chanting stopped, and the room went deathly quiet. All the warriors stopped their movements like they were waiting for something to happen.
“Who dares interrupt my ritual?” a chilly voice broke through the stillness. It was coming from the center of the room.
All the Iceni heads turned to face their leader. I could see her more clearly now. She definitely looked female, and rather young for a queen. But she had died a tragic death, so maybe that had something to do with it.
I could have sworn her figure looked more defined and less shadowy than before. Was it just my imagination, or was the ritual strengthening her hold on her physical form?
“Me, Queen Bitchface!” I yelled. It was stupid of me, but no one had ever told me I was particularly smart.
Boudicca’s face turned in my direction, and I saw her eyes darken several shades. She let out a hiss and a wave of dark energy flew out of her mouth in my direction.
I let out a yelp and ducked just in time. The dark energy wave smacked into the attackers closest to me, but it missed me by several inches. I watched in equal parts shock and revulsion at what happened next.
The Iceni who’d been hit by the spell started to convulse. Their shaking got stronger and stronger until they fell to the ground, screaming and covering their heads with their hands. But it was too late. Their heads exploded a moment later, sending a wave of blood, bone, and brains flying through the air, coating everything for several feet in each direction.
“Huh,” I muttered. “Glad that didn’t hit me.”
Boudicca scowled and shouted something I didn’t understand. “Warriors!” she said next, in English. “Bring me this fool’s head!”
Well, just like that, playtime was over. And just when I’d gotten to the chorus of the song in my head, too.
One of the blokes on my left side lunged at me, brandishing his piece of misshapen steel. I turned my blade and made a wide swipe, severing his arm at the wrist.
The enclosed hand, still gripping the odd weapon, flew upward for a second. I snatched it out of the air with my free hand and used it to impale one of the women while fending off an attack from one of the mace guys at the same time.
It would have been really cool to look at, if I hadn’t been fighting for my very life.
The other guy with the misshapen weapon came at me then with a high swipe. I dodged to the side, but not quite in time, and his weapon grazed my head, leaving a nasty gash that dripped and burned.
I grabbed his free arm and pulled him to me, then headbutted him and sent him flying. My vision went dark for a half second, then I was fine again.
The other woman came at me then. She had more luck than the others, and her sword sliced into my side. I felt a wave of pain radiate from the wound and the hot blood oozing down my skin. I stumbled backward just a bit and batted her weapon away with my katana, then redoubled the assault.
I slid my blade down and forward, lunging for her midsection. My katana sliced through her belly with ease, and I turned the blade as I pulled it out to make the wound that much worse, sending guts flying everywhere.
Sword Chick fell to the ground clutching what was left of her stomach. Now it was just me and one more mace guy. And another eighty or so Iceni behind him, but who’s counting?
Mace Guy made a wicked swipe for my injured side, which I wasn’t able to dodge completely, since I was starting to fade. The blow hit me right in the kidney, and I doubled over in pain, unable to see or think for a few seconds.
Briefly, I wondered if this was finally it. I’d taken out at least twenty of them, but there were far too many left.
I raised my head as best I could and snarled at Mace Guy, who was holding his weapon above my head, poised to strike.
“Make it quick!” I spat. He just grinned at me and grunted.
I waited for the mace to fall and crush my skull, but the blow never came. Instead, I heard Mace Guy howl, and the smell of burning skin assaulted my nostrils as he burst into flames.
With a great shove, I pushed myself back up to my feet and looked around for my savior. Over near the doorway, I saw Sheila standing there, a small trickle of blood trailing down one finger and a fireball in her other hand.
She gave me a wink, then she was gone just as fast.
“Moron!” I shouted in her direction. “You were supposed to wait for the signal!” What was the world coming when you couldn’t even count on your friends to follow your orders? Even if those orders would have gotten you killed.
I flashed the spot where Sheila had been a moment before a quick grin, and then I tightened my grip on my katana. I still had a battle to finish.
Sweat mixed with blood was pouring down my face, and the corners of my vision were cloudy, but a fresh wave of attackers was waiting for me, looking completely new and full of vigor.
“All right, let’s all take five and come at this fresh,” I said to them.
Either they weren’t good listeners, or they didn’t like my suggestion, for only greedy, bloodthirsty glares greeted me in response. Oh well, it had been worth a shot.
“Fine.” I groaned. “We’ll do it your way. I’ll kill you all now.”
Three of the Iceni encroached on me, then, with even more pushing behind them, seemingly eager to spill my blood, too.
“Die!” I shouted. Then I swung my blade in a wide arc.
My katana sliced through one Iceni’s chest and buried itself in another. I wrenched the blade free with some effort and jammed it into another guy’s eye socket.
Something blunt smacked the side of my head, then, and I spun as the ground came up to meet me once more.
“Ow!” I shouted, cradling the new bruise, but my assailant didn’t seem to care.
Another club came at me, this one aimed at my abdomen. I brought my free arm up to try and block it and heard a loud crunch as another wave of pain shot up the arm.
I glanced at the batt
ered appendage. My hand was hanging at an odd angle, and I was pretty sure something was broken. This was not going well at all.
“Aah!” I shouted as I waved my sword around again.
I heard it sink into another opponent’s leg and maybe something else, but my strength was failing fast.
My head spun again as another heavy blow smacked into my other side, and I thought I was going to lose the cookies from earlier all over the floor. Now that would have been embarrassing.
I saw two blades swim in my clouded vision, poised just over my head. I raised my arms to wave them off, but they hung there like they were waiting for something.
One of the attackers raised their weapon to finish me off.
“Wait!” that same chilly voice from before called out. “Don’t kill him yet.” It was Boudicca of all people, who was somehow saving me from certain doom this time.
“Humph,” I muttered. “It’s about time someone realized this whole thing was pointless.”
The area around me cooled down several degrees, and the wave of bad guys pushed themselves out of the way. I glanced upward with my failing vision to see Boudicca walking toward me.
She crouched down in front of me and placed one shadowy hand underneath my chin and jerked it upward. Her pale skin was icy cold to the touch. The freezing temperatures actually served to pull my consciousness back from the brink just a little bit.
Helpless as I was, I stared into her dark, glowing red eyes, wondering what kind of fresh hell she had in store for me now. Boudicca’s lips curled into a wicked grin, and her eyes narrowed as they bore into my head.
“Not so tough now, are you little rat?” she spat at me.
“Tough enough to get your notice,” I fired back, grinning slightly.
Without warning, she backhanded me with her other hand. My head spun again, and I coughed, bile rising to my throat, her icy touch lingering on my cheek.
“Tie him up next to the dragon,” Boudicca said as my consciousness started to fade. “I want him to watch her die.”
Well hell. Looked like I was going to need rescuing, too.
16
