Wizard Gigantic (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 9)

by Rodney Hartman

  Telsa did see. She fired four more rounds from the blaster in quick succession into the left side of the vampire’s chest. It fell back, grabbing at its heart. She stepped forward and rammed the end of her phase rod into one of the holes left by the phase rounds. She sensed the creallium tip of the rod touch the vampire’s heart as miniature explosions of phase energy tore the organ’s muscles to shreds.

  The point of life force that marked the vampire’s location on Telsa’s heads-up display disappeared.

  “One down, two hundred and seventy-three to go,” said Raj. “I calculate things are not looking good for our side.”

  Glancing around, Telsa saw Queen Emerald locked in hand-to-hand combat with the lich as Chancee covered the dwarf’s back, keeping vampires and zombies at bay. Shandria and Carndador were trading spells with half-a-dozen vampires dressed in ragged black robes. General Fenmar and Major Nekash were attempting to rally their soldiers into a defensive ring. Surprisingly, the dwarves’ in their Holy Metal armor and weapons seemed to be holding their own against the vampires. Even so, Telsa noticed a half-score of the dwarves either on the floor with blood flowing from their necks or on their feet attacking their former friends with newly formed fangs.

  Firing her modified M12, Telsa sent a burst of plasma rounds at some zombies on the verge of overwhelming Chancee. When the zombies fell at the blonde ranger’s feet, she flashed Telsa a grin before turning back to cut the head off a vampire attempting to take Emerald from behind.

  “Your plasma rounds will not do any good against the vampires in the void,” said Raj. “I recommend you stick with your phase rod and Deloris blaster.”

  “I’ve only got three magazines for my blaster,” Telsa said. “I thought you told me to save it for an emergency.”

  “Uh, I calculate a ninety-nine-point-nine percent probability that this qualifies as an emergency, Wizard Scout. Fire away.”

  Seeing her battle computer’s point, Telsa let her M12 hang from its shoulder strap and fired her Deloris blaster at vampire hearts until the clip was empty. Reloading, she continued firing until that magazine was also empty. Slapping the last magazine into the blaster, she looked for fresh targets. There were plenty, but she hesitated before firing.

  “We can’t win this way,” Telsa told her battle computer. “Check for another way out. What else is in this time-bubble? Give me a schematic.”

  “Compliance.”

  An outline of the three time-bubbles resembling the illusion Shandria had created in Emerald’s tent appeared on Telsa’s heads-up display. Looking at the part of the schematic that was the purple time-bubble, she picked out the cavern that was their current location.

  “Add life forms,” Telsa ordered using command voice.

  Thousands of yellow, orange, and red dots denoting life forms appeared not only in the purple time-bubble but the green and orange as well. White dots indicated the positions of her allies. She could see the white dots of Emerald and Chancee next to the red dot that marked the location of the lich. A blue dot not far from Emerald and Chancee’s location drew Telsa’s attention.

  “What’s the blue dot?” Telsa asked.

  “Oh, that is the location of High Priestess Shandria,” said Raj. “She has a stealth shield up, so I cannot detect her, but my sensors are picking up the Power frequency of the blue gem at the top of her staff. It is too powerful to hide when she’s using it in battle.”

  Telsa looked at the schematic on her heads-up display again. Blue dots were also located in the green and orange time-bubbles. White dots surrounded by hundreds of colored dots surrounded the three blue dots.

  After firing two phase rounds into the heart of a vampire that was rising from the floor in front of her, Telsa looked back at her heads-up display. “What are those other blue dots?”

  “Uh,” said Raj. “Actually, they are anomalies. The Power frequencies are the same as the frequency from Shandria’s staff. My calculations indicate they are one and the same as Shandria’s staff.”

  One of the white dots near the blue dot in the green time-bubble had a frequency that seemed all too familiar. Forming an active scan, she sent it toward the white dot, unsure if her scan could even make it through the walls of the time-bubbles. Somehow it did. When the scan returned, Telsa laughed.

  “It’s Rick!” she shouted setting the external speakers of her battle computer at max. “Fight on! We’ve still got a chance!”

  Chapter 49 – Battle of the Stairs

  ____________________

  As Richard and the elves closed on the stairs leading to the upper levels of the green time-bubble, a virtual avalanche of decaying creatures came half-running, half-tumbling down the stone steps.

  Raising his Deloris blaster, Richard aimed at the lead zombie’s head. The trigger finger of his battle suit refused to move.

  “No,” said Nickelo. “You cannot get a resupply of ammo. Use your phase rod or that Holy Metal sword of yours. Save your ammo for when you really need it. Uh, that’s just my opinion. Take it or leave it.”

  Since he couldn’t pull the trigger anyway, Richard thumbed the switch for his phase rod to full destructive mode. Miniature red lightning bolts ran up and down the length of the already extended brerellium steel rod with its creallium core. When the first zombie drew close, Richard thrust the tip of the phase rod into the creature’s left eye. Miniature explosions of phase energy in the decaying monster’s head built up pressure in the brain pan. The zombie’s skull exploded, sending bits of rotten flesh and shattered bone in all directions.

  The monk Meshanahl ran past Richard on the right and executed a jumping roundhouse kick at a second zombie. The monk’s foot made contact with the side of the creature’s head, sending rotten teeth and pieces of decayed flesh flying. Unfortunately, the zombie was a large orc. The monk’s blow did little to slow the creature down.

  Still gripping the Deloris blaster, Richard struck out with his right hand at the zombie’s forehead. The end of the barrel shattered the monster’s skull. It fell to the ground, only to be replaced by another of the undead.

  Two balls of blue energy flashed by on either side of Richard’s head, streaking up the stairs and out of sight. Richard sensed the frequencies of Mia and Derander.

  Boom! Boom!

  “Fireballs,” said Nickelo. “That ought to take some of the pressure off.”

  Gouts of flames came streaming down the stairway, turning several of the zombies into walking torches. The burning zombies bumped into their neighbors, catching their dry-rotted clothing on fire. Soon a score of the undead on the stairs were aflame. Even on fire as they were, the zombies still came on, stretching out their burning arms and hands before them.

  Half a dozen fast-moving black creatures came running down the stairs, leaping over the burning zombies milling about at the foot of the landing.

  “Ghouls,” said Nickelo. “Their teeth and claws will not be able to penetrate your battle suit’s armor. Amir and the elves are not so lucky.”

  Richard remembered being attacked by ghouls at the foot of the stairs once before. One of the undead monsters had bitten Shandria and paralyzed her. I won’t let that happen to Mia, he swore. Raising his Deloris blaster, he took aim at the fast moving ghouls. This time he was able to pull the trigger. His first shot missed. “Nick, some assistance please.”

  The right glove of his battle suit shifted slightly as the finger pulled the trigger, sending three rounds of red phase energy at the charging ghouls. Two of the rounds caught a pair of ghouls between the eyes, knocking them back into the burning zombies. The third round should’ve hit another of the ghouls, but one of the fiery zombies got in the way, taking the phase energy in its chest instead. The ghoul jumped past the falling zombie and leaped straight at Richard, wrapping its arms around him as it bit at his armored neck.

  Richard was knocked back but remained on his feet. Bracing his right leg on the stone floor, he got his hand against the ghoul’s chest and shoved. The strength of th
e undead creature was no match for the battle suit’s assisters. As the ghoul released its grip and fell to the floor, Richard brought his phase rod down in an overhead blow on the creature’s shoulder. Microscopic explosions of phase energy tore muscles to shreds and shattered its bones. The ghoul went to its knees, but quickly stood back up. Richard smashed his phase rod into the monster’s face with all the strength of his battle suit’s assisters behind the blow. Blood and shattered teeth sprayed across the floor. Raising his phase rod for another blow, Richard caught movement out the corner of his eye. Two zombies trailing smoke but no longer on fire were heading straight toward him.

  I don’t have time for this, Richard thought. Their teeth can’t penetrate my armor, but they’re keeping me off balance. I’ve got to kill those other ghouls before they take out the elves.

  Help came in the form of Amir. The big man met the two zombies head on with his sledgehammer, shattering one’s head. He pushed the other back with his shield, giving Richard the time he needed to try and locate the other ghouls.

  Spinning around, Richard saw Mia pulling a wicked-looking dagger out of the throat of a ghoul. Commander Astradis and Tracer had another ghoul on the floor, stabbing at it with dagger and sword. Richard caught sight of a dark body clawing at one of the elf lancer’s shield. A second lancer lay on the floor with blood pouring out of his neck onto the stone. Prepared to use another one of his precious phase rounds to save the elf, Richard took aim. Before he could pull the blaster’s trigger, Master Freestrod came running from the rear of the elves’ formation waving his right hand. The old mage shouted a word Richard heard but quickly forgot. A bright, blue glow surrounded Freestrod’s hand as he reached over the lancer’s shoulder and grabbed hold of the ghoul by the neck. The glow spread from Freestrod’s hand and encompassed the ghoul. The blue glow brightened, then blinked out. When it did, the ghoul’s body expanded slightly before turning to dust and falling to the floor.

  “Demons!” shouted Nickelo over the ring’s external speaker.

  Two sets of life energy coming down the stairs appeared on Richard’s passive scan. Turning to face the new threat, Richard saw two monstrosities half again as tall as a man taking the stairs three at a time and knocking zombies out of the way as they came. Each of the massive demons carried a flaming sword in one hand and a shield of fire in the other. A wave of fear swept out from the demons, washing over the elves.

  “It is demon aura,” said Nickelo in Richard’s shared space. “It can freeze even the strongest heart with fear. My databanks indicate you have fought demons before. You should be unaffected.”

  Whether he’d fought them before or not, a shiver still ran up Richard’s spine, but he didn’t freeze. Running at the demon on the left, he dodged a swing from the monster’s flaming sword and fired the Deloris blaster as fast as his finger could pull the trigger. Round after round of phase energy tore chunks out of the demon’s face. At the same time, Richard struck out with his phase rod, catching the demon in the throat with its tip. The demon fell back screaming. Whether the scream was from pain or anger, Richard didn’t know, and he didn’t have time to figure it out. He stayed close to the demon while swinging his phase rod as fast as he could pull his arm back. The nightmare creature was caught off balance. It tripped on the first step of the stairs and fell onto its back.

  Richard fired two more rounds of phase energy into the demon’s forehead. On the third pull of the trigger, the Deloris blaster clicked.

  “Empty,” said Nickelo. “I told you not to waste rounds unless it was an emergency.”

  Wondering what his battle computer considered an emergency, Richard closed the distance to the demon and shoved the end of his phase rod down the roaring monster’s throat. Releasing his grip on his pistol, Richard grabbed the handle of the phase rod with both hands and started rocking the shaft of the rod back and forth. The demon’s chest rippled as miniature lightning bolts came out of its skin. Richard forced the tip of the phase rod to the demon’s heart. The demon struggled to rise but fell back on the stairs. Releasing the phase rod with his right hand, Richard pulled the short sword of Holy Metal he’d taken from the dwarves’ treasure room out of its scabbard and drove the point into the demon’s right eye. He shoved until the blade would go no more. The monster shuddered before growing still. Richard continued jerking both sword and phase rod back and forth until the creature’s life energy completely disappeared from his passive scan.

  Pulling his weapons free, Richard turned to seek out the second demon. Why it hadn’t attacked him, he didn’t know. He had a momentary image in his mind of the demon tearing fear-struck elves to shreds. An image of Mia flashed in his mind.

  I won’t let her die. I won’t.

  Chapter 50 – Demon Two

  ____________________

  After taking out the two smoldering zombies that had been threatening his teammate, Amir heard a strange sounding voice shout, “Demons!” The voice seemed to come out of Richard’s black helmet. Although he’d never heard the voice before, Amir heeded the warning call. It was well he did. Coming down the stairs were two monstrosities from his worst nightmare. Half again as tall as an elf, the two demons, if that’s what they were, were running down the stairs, knocking burning zombies to the side as they came. Each of the demons held swords of fire in one of their clawed hands and a flaming shield in the other.

  A wave of fear swept over Amir. His legs grew weak, but he managed to remain on his feet by sheer force of will. Out the corner of his eye, he saw two elf lancers drop their swords and fall to the stone floor before curling into fetal positions.

  The pouch beneath Amir’s chainmail grew warm. The heat spread outward through his body, driving away the icy fear threatening to make him give up all hope. Renewing his grip on Glory’s hammer, he drew his right arm back and swung at a zombie clawing at his shield. The creature’s head shattered like a melon, spraying black blood and goo in the air. Pulling his weapon free, he shoved the zombie out of the way and stepped forward to meet the charging demons.

  I can’t let them reach the elves. They’ll be slaughtered.

  A black blur to Amir’s left beat him to the punch. The human leaped in the air, firing the weapon he called a pistol at the demon on the left.

  Trusting his teammate to handle the leftmost demon, Amir shifted directions to intercept the one on the right. The nightmare creature roared and swung its fiery sword in a wide arc. Amir caught the blow on his shield of Holy Metal. The strength of the demon was more than he’d expected, throwing him back and forcing him to one knee. The shield flew out of his hand and skittered across the stone floor leaving a trail of sparks as it went.

  The demon drew back his sword for a second blow. Before the strike could land, Commander Astradis and Meshanahl came rushing in, striking the demon in a flurry of blows with dagger and short sword. The demon knocked Meshanahl off to the side with its shield of fire. The monk’s cloth tunic caught ablaze. Undaunted, the young monk thrust his short sword over the demon’s shield, plunging the blade into the creature’s throat.

  The demon roared. Twisting its head, it succeeded in pulling the sword out of Meshanahl’s grip. Before the demon could act further, Commander Astradis struck out with his dagger at the demon’s eyes. The monster gave a roar of rage rather than pain. The demon struck out with its sword of fire. Astradis managed to duck below the swing, but the flaming blade caught Meshanahl at the waist, cutting the young monk in half. He didn’t even have time to scream.

  Giant-fury took over Amir. He rose to both feet and swung his hammer at the demon’s exposed head. The blue gem in the handle of the sledgehammer glowed bright. At the same time, Amir felt the pouch underneath his chainmail grow hot to the point of burning. Power came from within the pouch and poured into the hammer, turning its blue glow to a shade of yellow.

  It’s not coming from the gem, Amir thought. The Power’s coming from Glory’s flower.

  The image of his beloved Glory drove the blind fury f
rom Amir’s mind. It gave him a strength all its own. Amir rammed the head of the sledgehammer into the front of the demon’s skull with all his might. The demon was driven back and to its knees.

  Before the monster could rise, Commander Astradis stepped in and shoved the blade of his dagger into the demon’s right eye. The demon swung its fiery shield, forcing the monk to the side, but the dagger remained lodged in the monster.

  The handle of the dagger protruding from the eye gave Amir a target. He swung his hammer, striking the dagger’s pommel as if it were the head of a nail. The weight of the sledge drove the Holy Metal blade deep into the demon’s brain. The yellow glow surrounding the sledgehammer flowed onto the dagger and into the demon’s wound. The monster stiffened before falling onto its back on the stone steps and moving no more.

  Spinning left, Amir raised his hammer in preparation for helping the human with the other demon. The second demon lay unmoving on the steps.

  Richard caught his eye through the red visor and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

  The strange voice Amir had heard from the human’s helmet spoke again. “Do not let down your guard, any of you. More undead are waiting at the top of the stairs. You’ve got to hurry. Something is happening in the other time-bubbles.”

  Distant explosions echoed down the stairs and throughout the tunnels. Amir didn’t know what they were or where they came from, but he was sure the sound did not bode well.

  “Medic,” shouted one of the lancers. “We got wounded.”

  Amir turned to his rear as Commander Astradis knelt beside the two halves of what had once been Meshanahl. Saving his grief for later, Amir looked farther, noticing four lancers on the stone floor. One was holding his neck as blood flowed between his fingers. Another was paralyzed stiff on the floor with blood spurting out of a tear in the chainmail on his arm. The body of one of the fast moving undead lay nearby. A word the older giants used when they told their scary stories around campfires at night flashed in Amir’s mind: ghoul. A third lancer had his chest ripped open while a fourth was missing a head.