“Don’t humor him,” said Cyser.
“Hey, fuck you!”
“Fellas please! Can we focus on the task at hand?” I yelled, gesturing to the encroaching silhouettes.
Alexis flew around the corner. “Hi, Cherry,” she chirped. “Run, Cherry,” she called, as she spirited past us. She used her magic to push open the doors, only to see the screams and havoc of the Kiboon Bees. “Nope,” she said, closing the door.
“Alexis? What’s going on?”
The sword swayed back and forth in the air. “Um… long story, and trust me, I’d love to tell ya. You know I love spinning a good yarn. But first, you’re going to need to figure out that zap thing. Right now.”
“What, why?”
She pointed behind us.
A horde of guards shambled into the hallway. Blood leaked from a gash on the side of one’s head. The guard next to him had a face that looked half eaten, with his left arm gnawed off at the elbow. Those behind them didn’t look any better off. Mr Half Face noticed us first. His mouth fell open into a horrid groan before he flung himself forward, the rest of the horde following suit.
“Alexis, what the fuck?” I screamed.
“Less screaming, more shocking!”
Cyser turned around and shot a stream of golden thread at our attackers. Those in front went down in a sticky mess, but the guards behind them wasted no time in clambering over their fallen comrades.
Yala charged forward, only to skitter to a halt when Alexis flew in front of him. “Wait, don’t let them bite you!” The sword stabbed herself through the eye of the closest guard. Then pulled free to plunge into the next.
Cyser yanked Yala back and shoved the spear into his hands. “Here, make yourself useful.”
Yala recovered quickly and impaled a guard through the chest. He didn’t go down. The half-eaten man paid no mind to the spear in his chest, and grabbed Yala by the hair, trying to bite at his face. “What the hell are these things?” he screamed. He planted a foot on the guard’s chest and shoved him off his spear.
Another golden thread shot out, trapping several guards against the bars of a cage. A man with a large gash on his stomach leaped over the thread and lunged for me. Without thinking, I jabbed him with the trident. Blue sparks radiated against the tip until a blast of lightning shot his head clean off. Its harsh recoil sent me flying back with a scream. I crashed into Cyser, taking us both to the ground.
Dazed, I stared up at the ceiling unmoving. Yala yanked me to my feet and pulled me in front of him. “Do it again!”
“Ah, fuck!” I thrust the trident out in front of me waiting for the sparks. When none came forward, panic raced through my veins. “Oh, come on you son of a bitch!”
Alexis shot out and stabbed the guard in front before he could reach us. “Try again! Put your back into it!”
Sweat nearly made the trident slip through my grasp and I fumbled to keep hold. “I don’t think it works like that!”
“Try it anyway,” Yala said.
Heart pounding in my chest, I tried focusing my breathing and called upon Dante’s magic. The trident thrust forward and… nothing.
Snarling in frustration, I jabbed the trident into the neck of the nearest guard. “Oh you picky ass-end of an anaconda, just FUCKING LIGHT!” A blast of lightning shot forth, decimating the man and those behind him, leaving only two remaining. My back hit Yala’s chest. The orc grunted and dug his heels in, ensuring I didn’t fly back again.
The three of us stood there, wide-eyed. Alexis doesn’t have eyes, but I’m sure if we had asked her, she would have said she was also surprised. “Well damn,” Cyser whispered.
A wave of exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks. I slumped forward, using the end of the trident to keep myself upright. “Snapping gators, that took a lot out of me. I’m not sure how many of those I have left, y’all.”
Alexis and Yala charged forward, making quick work of the remaining two. The half-dead guards stuck in Cyser’s web groaned and snapped their teeth. But none possessed the strength to pull themselves out of the sticky mess.
“You want to tell me what the hell’s going on now, Alexis?” I asked, panting.
Unearthly moans sounded off in the distance.
“Umm… long story short, Rebekah did it. But we should really walk and talk,” she replied. Alexis darted down the hall and veered to the left, away from the groaning. The rest of us followed suit, Yala half dragging my tired ass.
“What do you mean, ‘Rebekah did it?’” I stared at Alexis in abject horror.
