by Steve McHugh
“Let’s ask,” Remy said. “Hey, numbnuts,” he shouted to the nearest guard.
The woman looked confused for a moment, before her expression became irritated and she walked over. “You shout out again and I’ll have your tongue,” she told Remy.
“Sure. Hey, Abaddon said you guys were all going to do something awful here, and you have to wear those bracelets so it doesn’t affect you, but you do know that the runes on them are wrong, yes?”
“What?” the woman asked, slightly concerned.
“Yeah, that’s not a dwarven rune,” Harry said. “It’s just a squiggle. I’ve noticed it on some but not on others.”
The woman looked genuinely concerned and walked over to talk to another soldier. Layla watched the pair look at each other’s bracelets. They in turn went on to another one.
“They don’t trust Abaddon,” Mordred said.
“She’s not exactly shy about wasting lives,” Chloe said.
Over by the prison, Abaddon had returned from the forest and was giving orders for the remaining hostages to be taken away.
The soldier walked over to Layla’s group and hit Remy in the side of the jaw, knocking him to the ground. “Next time you think to sow dissent between us, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Why don’t you trust Abaddon?” Layla asked.
The soldier stepped toward Layla, who got to her feet.
“You punch me, I’ll take your hand, and then your life,” Layla told her, her voice utterly calm and devoid of anything that suggested she was lying. “Your leverage just walked away, so what are you going to do, exactly?”
The soldier considered her options. Layla was pretty sure that her reputation as a fighter had drifted to Abaddon’s soldiers. The last six months had been hard on Layla, and she in turn had become harder. She knew she was still capable of laughing and joking with her friends—when she saw them—but in a fight, she no longer second-guessed herself. She’d had excellent teachers, and she knew without hesitation that she would take the soldier’s hand off. There were nearly thirty soldiers in the clearing, and Layla wasn’t certain that her group would be able to take them all, but the woman in front of her would die. She would make sure of it.
The soldier took a step back, then turned and walked away, allowing Layla to sit down again.
“You okay?” Layla asked Remy who rubbed his jaw.
“Yeah, you?”
“It’s been a long day,” Layla said.
“It’s about to get longer,” Harry said, pointing to the entrance of the prison as Zamek emerged with Irkalla followed by two soldiers carrying an unconscious Mammon.
Mammon was a huge man. At nearly seven feet tall with a short, black beard and long, dark hair that fell freely over his shoulders, he cut an imposing figure. He wore red robes that were emblazoned with dozens of runes.
“I don’t think they can remove the robes,” Harry said.
Abaddon and Zamek argued, and she motioned for her soldiers to retrieve Layla and the rest of the team.
Zamek walked out in front of them, striding across the clearing toward the group. “Abaddon wants us all together.”
“When it all goes to shit, get inside the prison,” Mordred said. “Move fast, don’t stop.”
“What about the prisoners in the realm?” Harry asked.
“They’re dead,” Zamek said softly. “Drako was bragging about how we’ll get to see some new weapon they have. Apparently the death of everyone in this realm is just the start. Those bracelets protect them from the effect, or something like that. I’ve seen similar runes before.”
“Hurry the hell up,” Drako shouted.
Zamek made a big deal about helping Harry to his feet. “He’s only human,” he said.
They walked over to Abaddon, where they were forced back to the ground at sword-point.
“My brother,” Abaddon said in a loving tone. “Once the others are reunited, we will kill Lucifer for betraying us, and then Asmodeus will be without equal.”
“You mean Arthur?” Mordred asked. “I know you used Asmodeus’s spirit and power to ensure Arthur was conceived, but you don’t really think Arthur and Asmodeus are one and the same, do you?”
Abaddon went to strike Mordred, but stopped. “We will crush you all,” she whispered, lips curling in anger. “Arthur and Avalon are, at this exact moment in time, on their way to Greenland to destroy your little rebellion. They’ll break your leaders and kill everyone else. You’re all done.”
Fear filled Layla. Her friends, people she loved and cared for, were still in Greenland. They had to warn them somehow, had to get out of the realm. She forced herself to be calm. Hopefully Avalon hadn’t started their attack yet and they still had time. The fact that time moved slower in Norumbega than it did on the Earth realm might work in their favor.
“So, this whole thing was a setup?” Layla asked.
Abaddon nodded. “I was advised not to open the prison while there were dwarven runes on it. No one was sure what they did since it’s ancient dwarven we’re talking about. I knew that eventually you’d send your expert here to get Mammon out—he’s too dangerous to let loose, although I didn’t expect him to be so placid.”
Layla knew that Zamek had managed to inject Mammon with the syringe she’d given him. It had been made by Persephone and Hades to ensure that Mammon stayed quiet for long enough to get him out of the realm.
“And Felicia?” Mordred asked.
“Felicia’s people have worked for me for some time now, so it wasn’t hard to make them realize that I am the person they need to back. Felicia is dead, by the way.”
The news caused anger to bubble up inside Layla. She’d liked Felicia. Abaddon and her people would pay for what they’d done.
“No one wants to be on the losing side,” Remy said. “Especially not people who sell their allegiances.”
Drako tried to kick Remy, but he leapt on him and drew one of the blades out of his belt as he scrambled up his torso. Drako screamed as Remy drove the sword into his throat. With one hand still on the hilt of the sword, he vaulted up onto his head, dragging the sword out as he went. Remy dropped to the ground and removed the second blade from Drako’s belt.
Blood poured from Drako’s wound as Remy kept moving. He ducked Kim’s blade and got close enough to drag Zamek’s ax free and toss it to the dwarf, who was already running toward them. Zamek caught the ax in midair and changed direction at the last moment, driving it toward Abaddon, who blasted him in the chest with her necromancy power.
Dozens of soldiers attacked the group, and blood magic poured out of Kim’s hands, smashing into Harry before he could avoid it. Chloe dragged him away toward the prison entrance as he screamed in pain. Irkalla tackled Kim to the ground, punching her in the face, before rolling off her and running up the steps to the doors.
Mordred blasted Abaddon in the chest with a torrent of air before she could do anything to aid her soldiers. Layla was blocked from getting to the prison by the soldier who had threatened to hit her. The soldier drew a curved knife, and Layla’s metal arm instantly changed shape into a broadsword. She drove the blade up toward the soldier’s chest, causing the woman to dodge back briefly before darting forward with her dagger. Layla moved to the side and grabbed the silver blade, absorbing the metal into her limb. The silver content in the blade caused her a modicum of irritation as it merged with the titanium and steel of her arm; it felt as though she were holding hot rocks. She swiped her arm-blade across the soldier’s chest, bypassing the runes on the armor, cutting through the leather as if it wasn’t even there, and killing her.
Layla avoided a blade-swipe from a second soldier as Mordred shouted at her to hurry. He’d created a shield of dense air that he was using to keep people back, but it wouldn’t last forever. Magical power was being flung around the clearing with reckless aplomb by those few soldiers who were sorcerers, and while Mordred was one of the strongest sorcerers the world had ever seen, his power was not infinite.
<
br /> Layla ran up the stairs with Irkalla behind her, and a few seconds later Zamek and Chloe shut the doors. Killing Drako and getting everyone into the prison had taken moments, but to Layla it had felt like a lifetime. And yet they still weren’t safe.
2
LAYLA CASSIDY
“You know when I said earlier that this hadn’t gone to plan?” Layla said. “Well, this isn’t much better.”
“Can they get in here?” Mordred asked Zamek.
Zamek was busy placing dwarven runes onto the doors and took a few seconds to answer. “No, but we can’t leave this way, either. And not just because of the number of people who want us dead.”
There were loud thuds against the door as those outside tried to get at the group, but they didn’t last long.
“All of those people in this realm,” Harry said. “What’ll happen to them?”
“They’re due to die,” Irkalla said. “I took Drako’s spirit as he died. I wanted some information on their plan. Don’t know it all, but they have a weapon. Abaddon calls it a realm-killer. Anyone not wearing those bracelet devices loses their abilities. It’s why they didn’t put any sorcerer’s bands on us. The normal band is too close in nature to the new one they’ve designed. It does funny things to people who wear it while the weapon is active.”
“And what does the weapon do?” Chloe asked.
“Drako wasn’t really sure. Just that it kills everyone inside the markings, and their deaths create some kind of power-killing mist. I think Elizabeth’s job was to round up everyone in the nearby city and use them to create it.”
“They’re going to kill everyone here as a weapon test?” Chloe asked.
Irkalla nodded.
“We can’t help them, can we?” Harry asked.
“No,” Layla said. “Right now we can’t even help ourselves.”
“So, Zamek,” Remy said. “Any reason why you had us run in here?”
“When Abaddon’s people brought me in, I managed to convince them that they should let me go down toward Mammon first, just in case something exploded and killed them all. I had a quick search around and found a realm gate.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“Why do I sense there’s a but coming?” Mordred asked.
“It’s not working,” Zamek said. “It’s not even completed. There are pieces missing, and the dwarven writing doesn’t go all the way around.”
“Meaning what?” Chloe asked.
“There’s no final destination on it,” Zamek said.
“So it doesn’t work?” Mordred asked.
“No idea,” Zamek said. “We need to go take a look.”
An almighty boom echoed around the large, empty chamber as something hard hit the doors of the prison.
“You sure those runes will hold?” Irkalla asked.
Zamek looked over at the door. “The last time we were here, Kristin managed to open the door by destroying one of the runes. She’d been told exactly which rune to break, and how to do it, but not how to do it so she could get inside without waking up a flame giant. I’ve made some modifications. Eventually, with enough power thrown at it, the rune will break and incinerate anyone within a hundred feet of it.”
“Even so, let’s not be here,” Mordred said.
“Can you hear me?” Abaddon’s voice asked.
“How is she doing that?” Layla asked, not really aiming the question at anyone in particular.
“The doors have a slight gap between them at the top and bottom. It was hastily done work,” Zamek said. “The runes will stop them getting in, but not stop the sound of their voices.”
“I’m sorry, we don’t want any,” Remy shouted. “We rent.”
“What?” Abaddon replied.
“Whatever you’re selling,” Remy said. “Our landlord won’t let us renovate the place.”
“Do you know who this is?” Abaddon shouted again, seemingly confused by the topic of conversation.
“You’re not the loft insulation people?” Remy replied.
“Do you think this is funny?” Abaddon shouted, following up with a noise that sounded like her striking the door.
“Little bit, yes,” Remy told her.
“I’m going to head to Greenland and help butcher your friends,” Abaddon shouted. “Each of them will die knowing your cleverness is what ensured that their deaths were long and painful. You can’t leave, and we can’t get in. You’re trapped. Enjoy a slow death.”
“We need to warn everyone,” Chloe said, giving words to Layla’s thoughts.
“You all alive in there?” Abaddon called out.
“Are you still there?” Mordred asked. “Do you not have a home to go to?”
“Enjoy the next few thousand years,” Abaddon continued as if Mordred hadn’t spoken. “Maybe I’ll let you all out then, and show you the new world we’ve created.”
“Just piss off and die already,” Remy shouted. “You hoofwanking cockwomble.”
There was one final bang against the doors and everything went quiet.
“Hoofwanking cockwomble?” Mordred asked. “I like that.”
“It’s certainly inventive,” Irkalla said.
“Dwarves don’t have swear words like that,” Zamek said. “I’ve learned so much since being here.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Mordred said, and no one disagreed.
The group headed toward a large archway at the far end of the room. When they reached it, dozens of torches in the room beyond immediately sparked to life. A spiral staircase led up into the glass-domed ceiling and down into the ground, although everyone was watching the giant asleep at the far end of the room. Its skin flickered orange and red.
“That’s the giant, yes?” Mordred asked.
“What do you think?” Remy asked, incredulous.
“Just checking,” Mordred said. “He’s smaller than I expected.”
“The eldjötnar, like all Norse giants, can change size,” Zamek said. The eight-foot-tall giant looked almost peaceful, and he was considerably smaller than the twenty-foot-tall behemoth that Layla and co. had fought only a few months earlier.
“I’ve never met one before,” Mordred said. “He has runes painted on him.” He pointed to the black marks on the giant’s arms.
“I didn’t notice them last time,” Layla said.
“We were a bit busy trying not to be killed by it,” Remy pointed out.
“Why hasn’t it woken up yet?” Chloe asked.
“Seriously?” Harry asked. “Are you trying to jinx us?”
Chloe shrugged.
Zamek took a step forward and stopped. “The runes in this place, they’re made to keep the occupants asleep.” He crouched and placed his hand on the smooth floor. “That umbra clone who came here before, she had no regard for the runes and broke them when she entered the prison. I kept them intact. He will not wake. I already looked for runes that might nullify our powers, and there don’t appear to be any. I don’t think it was designed to nullify anything, because everyone was meant to be essentially in stasis.”
“Like Mammon?”
Zamek nodded.
No one asked Zamek if he was sure—no one needed to.
“Okay, so where to now?” Irkalla asked.
“Down below,” Zamek said, pointing to the staircase.
Layla took a step forward, and the giant groaned.
Everyone froze. No one made any sound.
The giant groaned again and rolled over, revealing its straw bed. It was facing away from the team, but no one dared do anything that would make a noise. A second later the giant coughed, spluttered, and said something in a language that Layla didn’t understand. The group tiptoed behind the archway, making as little sound as possible.
Layla peered around the archway, watching as the giant sat up and scratched its head.
“I don’t want to fight that,” Mordred whispered. “Giants aren’t an easy kill at the best of times.”
“Norse giants
are immune to magic,” Zamek whispered.
Remy put his thumbs up and smiled in the most sarcastic way he could possibly manage.
The giant said something and grew in size until he was over twenty feet tall. He looked over to where the group was hiding and spoke in a voice that echoed around the chamber.
“I think we’ve been found,” Irkalla said, stepping out from behind the archway with Remy, who drew his swords.
The fire giant’s body glowed orange and yellow, before he roared a challenge.
The whole team stared as the giant picked up a detached column to use as a club, testing its weight in his massive hands.
“This isn’t going to be fun,” Mordred said.
“Nothing about today has been fun,” Layla pointed out. “But I’ve got some aggression I wouldn’t mind working out.”
Chloe cracked her knuckles. “Me too.”
A voice echoed from the staircase as someone ran up it. Layla was about to warn them about the danger when a robed figure appeared at the top of the stairs, shouting something unrecognizable to the giant. The giant appeared to understand: its skin stopped glowing, and he placed the column on the ground, before taking a seat.
The newcomer removed a face-covering hood to reveal light-purple skin and a short, black beard.
“Blood elf,” Chloe said, her tone a mixture of shock and anger.
“No,” Mordred snapped. “Not a blood elf.”
The newcomer said something to the group, but Layla didn’t understand.
“Shadow elf,” Irkalla almost whispered in disbelief.
Remy looked between everyone in the group. “They’re extinct,” he said. “Right?”
“And yet there one stands,” Mordred replied, as the shadow elf stared at them.
The shadow elf said something else in a language that Layla couldn’t understand, but the tone was pleasant, almost musical. It was at odds with the elf’s walk-into-a bar-and-start-a-fight-with-the-biggest-guy-there appearance.
“Anyone get that?” Remy asked.
“It’s shadow elven,” Irkalla said. “The elven languages were always weird. I don’t know anyone who can speak them.” She said something in ancient Mesopotamian.
