City of the Dead Page 16

  Finally, the world around him filled with sound. It wasn’t the kind of sound a ten-year-old boy would want to hear, however, as someone was screaming in unbelievable agony a little way off.

  “No-o-o! Ah-h-h! Please don’t!”

  You’re the first free person to enter the City of the Dead.

  Level +1.

  ***

  Note! Since you haven’t completed the initiation, you cannot level-up.

  Character modification ongoing.

  Enhancement +1 (5).

  The lix appeared next to him bathed in a wave of light. Ka-Do-Gir had just gotten to level five.

  The scream was heard again. That time, it seemed somehow familiar to Tailyn. If he ignored the squeals…

  “My father can pay! Stop! Father will pay!”

  It was Dort, the city elder’s son. The boy the lixes had kidnapped during the attack on Culmart.

  “Get your cards ready, little mage,” the lix said with a nasty snarl as he stepped closer to the door. “Let’s see what the blacks are like when they don’t have their chief to back them up.”

  The door opened, and Ka-Do-Gir leaped in. And while Tailyn held slightly back, he ended up heading in after him—he couldn’t let his partner kill the humans.

  Status change. Current status: combat.

  You cannot modify your active deck.

  Opponents remaining: 3.

  Chapter 11

  TAILYN DASHED through the door, his electric strike clutched in his hand—he’d already hit the card activation button. But what he saw when he entered the room stopped him in his tracks despite how ready he was to attack. They were in an enormous space with several others already there, a few in cages, others lying along a wall as dried-out as old man Bardun. Dort was lying on a strange table tilted almost upright. His hands and feet were tied with thick belts, his body was stripped open, and a thick trickle of blood was running off the table into a groove that led to a tall dark rock in the very center of the room. And when Tailyn saw how the blood was soaking into the rock like some kind of wet rag, his stomach practically turned inside out.

  “Tailyn, run! Save yourself!” screamed a familiar voice, and the boy felt like he’d been struck by lightning. Mistress Valanil was alive. But instead of following her good advice, he gathered himself and focused his attention on their adversaries.

  There were indeed three of them, all tall, white creatures that looked very much like inferior minions. Whirling around them, the lix slashed away with his steel claws, only the boy didn’t see much of a result. Sure, the monsters were thrown to the side by the powerful blows, though they jumped right back up to meet their attacker with…

  Magic.

  All three were suddenly holding cards, and it was only a feat of extreme agility that kept the lix from getting fried by the fireballs as he continued to deal damage.

  Alchemist Tailyn Vlashich.

  You used Enhanced Shield-I 10 times.

  Lix Ka-Do-Gir’s shield was enhanced by 760.

  Charges remaining: 10 of 50.

  The first thing Tailyn was worried about was making sure his partner had enough of a shield. The lix was all the way up at level five, but that still might not have been enough against beasts like the ones they were up against. And it hit Tailyn right then that he’d made a mistake—when he’d leveled-up and his mana had been boosted, he should have used it to recharge his cards. They were going to pay for his lack of thinking ahead.

  One of the whites noticed the boy, turned toward him, held a card up to its mouth, and blew. While Tailyn wasn’t a veteran of magic battles, watching the lix was enough to tell him that he had to keep moving. Without a second thought, he dove to the side, waited for the fireball to whistle past, and delivered his counterattack.

  You used Electric Strike-I.

  You did 76 damage to level 18 One’s Minion.

  Charges remaining: 49 of 50.

  Tailyn’s jaw dropped open when he saw the creatures were at level eighteen. How was that possible? Even if they didn’t have additional protection, they each had a 900 shield. How was he supposed to break through that?

  Just that little pause was enough for him to take a hit—a fireball slammed into his chest. Everything suddenly felt incredibly hot. There was a chorus of terrified screams, and his vision suddenly darkened, but the important part was that he stood tall. He was staggered but not knocked down. When the darkness receded, the boy stared at the message in surprise.

  158 damage received.

  Shield reduced. Remaining: 452.

  That was all the damage they did even at level eighteen? Why? Out of the corner of his eye, Tailyn noticed another fireball heading his way and threw himself on the ground. It sizzled by overhead.

  Alchemist Tailyn Vlashich.

  Tailyn wasn’t a fan of the fact that he couldn’t fire off multiple electric strikes at the same time the way he could with his wave of fire and enhanced shield. No matter how hard he blew on the card, it still just got him one regular hit. But he still had an advantage—his electric strikes appeared right above his target, unlike the fireballs, which appeared next to his opponents’ cards. And no matter how fast they flew, it was still possible to dodge them.

  Alchemist Tailyn Vlashich.

  Ka-Do-Gir had never faced such powerful opponents capable of using both magic and their own strength. If it hadn’t been for the god’s gift, the lix would have long since been a goner. The steel claws didn’t do much damage, but they were great for squeezing, choking, and knocking the will to fight out of his foes. When the lix was grabbed for the first time, he panicked, unsure of what to do. But even as the armor kept the minions from crushing him to death, his steel claws whipped into action. A couple strikes, and his opponent dropped him to fire off another fireball.

  The boy jumped right in, too, sending him some extra shield. And what he added made up almost perfectly for the few shots the lix took. Still, as the seconds ticked by, Ka-Do-Gir realized he was spending more time dodging than he was attacking. Messages flashed by. With his life on the line, and maybe more, he was forced to ignore them, however.

  Tailyn cut loose another bolt of lightning before rolling to the side and avoiding a fireball. He barely had time to blow on his card—by the time he’d said the key phrase and held the card up to his mouth, it was time to duck yet again. The worst part was that he had to wait five seconds before saying the code phrase and breathing on the card. There was no way, for example, to say the phrase once and then use the card however you wanted to. Regardless, when the first attacker was joined by a second, the boy no longer had any time at all for his cards. All he could do was avoid getting hit. Happily, the lix kept darting in to knock the minions down with his six limbs.

  And Tailyn couldn’t even use his wave of fire. The room was small, and the fire would have bounced off the wall and torched them all. If he could have cornered their opponents in a separate room…

  It dawned on him.

  In his excitement, Tailyn forgot to dodge and caught yet another fireball. The next one was going to do him in, so he had to rectify the situation.

  158 damage received.

  Shield reduced. Remaining: 136.

  ***

  You used Enhanced Shield-I 10 times.

  Your shield was enhanced by 760 (896).

  Charges remaining: 0 of 50.

  That left him out of shields, so the clock was ticking.

  “Lix, let’s go!” Tailyn yelled as loud as he could, dashing back out into the room they’d come in through. Suddenly, the boy noticed that the entrance wasn’t there—from that side, it looked just like part of the wall. That was apparently why it hadn’t been discovered earlier.

  Ka-Do-Gir was barely hanging on. His strength was running out, his movements were growing sluggish, and he was just keeping up. The lix gave himself another minute before he was going to run out of energy altogether. He needed food, time to recharge, water. Sleep. Something he hadn’t had in a long time. The b
easts weren’t dying despite his best efforts, and the fact that the mage occupied another one of them just meant he was able to catch his breath slightly as he focused on one and occasionally knocked down the other two. But even that didn’t help. Despite everything he did, the lix just couldn’t break through their shields. The difference in levels was too much, their shields too powerful.

  Tailyn’s shouted instructions struck Ka-Do-Gir as a great idea. He didn’t want to die right then—they needed to make a break for it, recover, and come back for a second try. Turning and sweeping all three white minions off their feet in one smooth motion, the lix dashed off after the boy. But instead of crawling into the narrow tunnel, the latter was standing by the door with a card in his hand. Tailyn even grabbed the lix and yanked him over before he could crawl in himself.

  “Knock them down as soon as they get in here,” the boy barked, and all thoughts of escaping immediately left Ka-Do-Gir’s head. The lix got ready to do just that, only just fleetingly noticing that the mage had taken control of their little group. But that was fine. The important thing in that moment was to survive—they could figure out the chain of command later.

  The whites didn’t make them wait long. Showing up in the room all together, they were there to finish off their targets and therefore weren’t expecting those same targets to be waiting for them right by the door. And they paid dearly for their mistake. Ka-Do-Gir was fast and precise, toppling all three of the creatures to the ground.

  “Follow me!” Tailyn yelled, jumping back through the opening. “Close the door!”

  What really surprised the lix was how unquestioningly he followed the human’s orders. But while he threw his weight against the door, one of their slippery opponents was already up and able to stick a limb out through it. The lix pushed hard in an effort to crush the bastard, but its shield held up.

  Alchemist Tailyn Vlashich.

  Tailyn leaped over to the door and blew with all his might. One of the minions grabbed him by the chest and squeezed in an effort to cut off his air supply, but the job was done. An enormous wave of fire swept into the closed space. Some exploded back out through the cracked door to singe Tailyn and Ka-Do-Gir both. But the lix held up, holding his body against the door.

  Then, there was a yell. Not even a yell—it was more of a blood-curdling scream that pierced the boy’s ears. Clutching them tightly, he dropped to the ground, no longer being held by anyone. There was a click as the door slid shut. The monsters’ personal shields had run out, and the lix had been able to close it. Soon, the screaming died away. Tailyn was even able to check the messages the god had sent.

  You used Wave of Fire-I 23 times.

  You destroyed One’s 14th, 15th, and 16th minions, level 18 creatures.

  Charges remaining: 26 of 50.

  Status change: combat complete.

  Unlike the previous time, there was no attribute boost, but that didn’t even cross Tailyn’s mind. All he wanted to do was sleep. His body ached relentlessly—the fire that had burst out hadn’t been enough to take out his shield, though it had still done a number on his face and hands. They were covered in ugly blisters. Even the lix had taken damage, one of his arms having turned completely black. It had been in the opening and taken the brunt of the fire. The boy collapsed onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, a vacant expression on his face. He needed rest.

  “Tailyn, wake up!” The shout shook him out of his trance. A shiver ran down his body—he’d never heard Mistress Valanil raise her voice like that.

  “Tailyn Vlashich, you have to stand up! Get up, you obnoxious kid!”

  He couldn’t disobey. Not the herbalist.

  “Are you okay?” he asked the lix as he pulled himself heavily to his feet.

  “I need food to recover,” Ka-Do-Gir roared. “How much do we have left?”

  “Not much.” Tailyn checked his supplies. Not much was right.

  “Can I eat one of those wimps?” the lix asked, pointing at the cages. Tailyn’s whole body went cold when he heard that, and he instantly forgot the pain as he gesticulated wildly.

  “No, don’t eat them! Just not them!”

  “In that case, I won’t have the strength to recover, and they’re going to kill us. Are you prepared to die?”

  The boy wasn’t a fan of that idea, either.

  “Tailyn, find the keys!” Mistress Valanil called over. “You have to open the cages! The minions had them.”

  The boy stared at the herbalist in surprise as she pressed up against the bars. How did she know what the white creatures were called? Had she attacked them, too?

  “Come on, kid, let’s go!” A plea appeared in Valanil’s voice. “You have to get us out of these cages!”

  “Yes, okay,” Tailyn mumbled as he pulled open the door. The lix, who’d collapsed against it, muttered in annoyance but moved. Once it was open, Ka-Do-Gir peered into the room and growled in a fit of helpless rage—Tailyn’s fire had destroyed the tunnel. The shimmering film had fallen; layers of earth had filled in the space. They weren’t going to be getting out of the city of the dead that way.

  Tailyn had also noticed the hole, though he didn’t pay it any attention. He was too busy heading over to the three piles of black ash with shimmering boxes sitting next to them. One’s minions had left that world, their loot remaining behind them. And as soon as the boy placed a hand on one of the boxes, the god got to work divvying up the loot.

  You found the final resting place of One’s 14th, 15th, and 16th minions, level 18 creatures.

  Dividing loot…

  Ka-Do-Gir receives Fireball-I card.

  Tailyn Vlashich receives Fireball-I card.

  Tailyn Vlashich receives Cage Key.

  ***

  Fireball-I card. Description: a simple magic card that creates a clump of fire moving toward the target at a speed of Magic Attack / 10 meters per second. Explodes with a thermal charge that does Magic Attack damage and raises the temperature of the area around the target by 1 degree. Range: from 0 to Magic Attack * 2, though no more than 100 meters. Includes 50 charges. Charges remaining: 2. Can be recharged.

  Ka-Do-Gir read over with interest the card that had appeared in his paws. That time, the god had been kind, gifting him something he could use immediately. He was just going to have to ask the mage how it was activated and, most importantly, how he was supposed to recharge it—the card only had one charge left. A new timer appeared in front of him telling him he had twelve hours left until his paw was once again whole and intact. That was his regeneration kicking in, the only problem being that he had to find a way to survive those twelve hours.

  Tailyn made his way slowly over to the cages. His body ached, every step sending new pains through him. There were only five left alive, six with Dort, who was tied to the table. With shaking fingers, the boy held the key up to the lock. Before he could do anything, Mistress Valanil grabbed his wrist, took the key, and opened the cage herself.

  “Good boy.” The herbalist placed a hand on Tailyn’s shoulder. There was so much love and warmth in her voice that the boy couldn’t help bursting into tears, throwing himself into the woman’s arms. “Not now, Tailyn. Not now. You have to be strong, otherwise you won’t be able to save anyone. Is the lix with you?”

  “Y-yes,” the boy mumbled through his tears. “We’re p-partners.”

  “Excellent. Hopefully, he won’t eat us. By the way, do you have any food with you? If I’m going to heal everything, I need energy. A lot of energy.”

  “Heal everyone? Are you a healer?” Tailyn asked, even forgetting his tears in his surprise.

  “A little. I finished one course at the magic academy, and they taught me a little something there. If you have food, let’s see it. We have to save everyone else.”

  Tailyn quickly materialized everything he had, berating himself for the fact that he and the lix had eaten so much of it.

  “Not great.” Mistress Valanil didn’t bat an eye when she saw how easily the boy used
his virtual inventory, too busy shoveling meat into her mouth. “How are you? Can you wait while I take care of the rest?”

  The boy nodded, and the herbalist quickly ran around to the other cages. Each was holding a girl Tailyn had never seen before. Judging by how they staggered and clung to Mistress Valanil, they were on their last legs, though it was then that Tailyn saw for the first time how healing magic worked. Valanil’s hands were bathed in white light as she placed them over the most serious wounds. Each closed up as the group watched.