Book 2: Chapter 17
Retreat to the room upstairs.
The mental command came as a welcome order to Obe, and he obeyed right away, grabbing Abbius by the back of his leather armor and dashing up the stairs three at a time. Even as he was dragged along, Abbius never let go of his crossbow, loading another bolt into it, his eyes fixed on the monstrosity that had just bit his arm. Pinned to the opposite wall, the woman pretending to be Mrs. Esteven writhed and twisted, trying to free herself from the bolt that had punched through her sternum. The head of the metal bolt was sunk deep in the wooden wall, and it was only with a horrible ripping sound that the monster tore herself free.
A large chunk of flesh, flecked with bone, was left behind, but the monster didnt seem to care, opening her abnormally large jaw and showing her razor sharp teeth as she roared at Obe and Abbius who were about to enter the hall at the top of the stairs. For her efforts, she got another metal bolt, this one in her eye, pinning her head to the wall.
Dashing down the hall, Obe let out a shout as the doors started to open and undead began to leap out of the rooms, throwing themselves at Obe and Abbius. Wielding his mace with one hand and continuing to drag Abbius with the other, Obe smashed the attacking monsters aside, battering them this way and that as he made his way to the room. He could hear the sound of fighting from the room, and his soul spark exploded into action, adding a powerful crushing force to each of his blows. Bone cracked and gore splattered across the corridor, coating the walls and floor in the toxic black fluid that passed for zombie blood.
Inside the room, Maximus had already been warned that something was going on by the strange conversation that Garrett was having with the necromancer, and he had been staring at the window nervously, holding his shield and sword ready, Garretts warning ringing in his head. When he heard the necromancers shriek, he had been tempted to turn around, but his professionalism kept him in place, his eyes glued to the covered window.
A dozen seconds passed and the window suddenly started to buckle, pressed in by some outside force. Letting out a shout, Maximus charged forward, his shield slamming forward as he roused his soul spark. Though he couldnt see what was happening, he knew that it was his job to keep whatever it was that had been moving in the alleyway across the street from coming inside, and the best way to do that was before the window had been completely smashed. Accompanied by the breaking of glass, his shield hit a large figure, bouncing it back out of the window.
The curtain covering the window fell to the side in a heap, revealing the twisted and broken window frame, shards of glass hanging from it like crooked teeth. Down in the street below, a hulking figure that appeared to be stitched together from a dozen corpses clambered up to its feet, letting out a terrible roar that shook Maximus mind. He would have turned and run in that moment if not for the ethereal flower that surged in his eyes, lending him resistance against the mental effect of the undead monsters bellow.
Once again the monster launched itself up toward the window, intending to smash its way in, but it was met in the air by Maximus whose shield released a wall of pressure, sending it tumbling back to the street. It was at that moment that Obe and Abbius finally made it into the room and slammed the door shut, holding it closed as it splintered under the sharp nails of their attackers.
This place is crawling with zombies! Obe yelled, tossing Abbius into the center of the room to stand next to Garrett. Abbius, take Garrett and get back to the inn!
Cancel that order, Garrett said, his voice calm as a frozen lake. We all retreat or none of us retreat.
Boss, there are too many of them!
Just hold the door and the window, Garrett said, Im working on a solution.
Though it was clear that Obes instinct was screaming at him to do otherwise, he nodded grimly and readied himself to fight against the zombies that were trying to claw their way into the room. Glancing over, Garrett caught sight of the zombies through one of the cracks they had torn in the door. They were pressed together in the hallway, their sharp teeth and their long, jagged nails glinting in the dim light. Unlike the slow, methodical, mindless creatures that came to mind when he thought of a zombie, these undead creatures were supernaturally quick, at least twice as strong as a mortal, and clever. The only thing they seemed to have in common with the stories of zombies of earth was that they were immune to pain.
Racking another bolt, Abbius sniffed and lifted his crossbow, unleashing a shot that passed over Maximus shoulder with less than an inch to spare and landed in the joint of the stitched monsters shoulder, cutting apart the tightly bound sinew that kept its flesh together. A shower of black blood accompanied the tearing as the stitching ripped open, creating a large wound. Maximus, not wanting to miss the opportunity, followed it up with a slash from his sword, managing to open the wound even further, even as he used his shield to block a heavy punch from the monsters other arm.
The blow sent him staggering back with a groan, but he dug his feet in, causing the floorboards to crack as he threw himself forward again, trying to drive the stitched monster back out into the street. On the other side of the room, the zombies had finally created a hole in the door large enough for one of them to crawl through, and with a slithering motion, the zombie lunged into the room, only to be met by Obes mace. His soul spark flared, and the air around the head of his mace compressed and then blasted outward, creating a shock wave that turned the zombies head into mush.
There was nothing ancient about the gleaming flowers that covered his wheelchair, however, and one by one, they began to peel themselves from the chair and march toward the two entrances, their petals swaying as they released a powerful hypnotic scent. It smelled sweet and just a bit sharp to Garrett and the other awakened who carried flowers, but to the undead, it had a completely different effect. They started to slow down as the enthralling effect kicked in, distracting them as their normally single-minded attention began to drift, causing many of the zombies to slowly stop pressing forward.
This bought Obe some much needed rest and allowed him to step back to gain a breather. He didnt know how Garrett was doing it, but he didnt care as he breathed in huge gulps of air, trying to shake out his tired arms. He could sense that if he attacked the zombies, they would turn violent again, so instead he took another step back.
Obe, help Maximus.
Nodding, he turned and dashed across the room, his mace coming down with a vicious slam on the massive stitched undead. In the moment that he observed the monster before he struck, he saw the weakened arm and the head of his mace fell accurately into the gaping wound that Abbius and Maximus had created, tearing through the Stitcheds shoulder completely, shattering its bones and ripping its arm clean off. At the same time, Maximus let out a shout and slammed his shield forward, blasting the hulking monster out of the large hole in the side of the building that had once been a window.
Dont let it escape, Garrett said, his voice cold.
Sharing a glance, both Obe and Maximus gave chase, jumping down from the second story to land next to the undead monster that was struggling to rise. Upstairs, Garrett turned his attention to Abbius, who was staring at the enthralled zombies with undisguised confusion.
Abbius. There is no going back from this.
Grimacing, Abbius held up his wounded hand.
No going back from this, either. And my choice will always be the same. Just promise me that Ill be able to put a bolt in the scum that set up this ambush.
Nodding, Garrett held up his left hand, as if he was swearing.
Deal.
Closing his eyes, Garrett re-entered the dream and focused his attention on the dream flower in Abbiuss mind. Mental energy began to seep out of him, filling the room. He couldnt pull Abbius into his dream without the awakened man falling asleep, so instead he spoke softly into his mind.
Drop your defenses, and concentrate your energy on the flower you see.
To his credit, Abbiuss hesitation didnt last more than a brief second, and when he mustered his soul spark, it was as completely as he could. Of all the awakened that the Klein Family had recruited, Abbius was the weakest, and his soul spark was the smallest, but still, he gave it everything he had, pouring all of his available energy into the brilliant rainbow flowers that appeared in front of him. Garretts thick energy wrapped around the thin energy that came from Abbiuss soul spark and sank into the dream flower, nourishing it rapidly.
The flower already held four blooms, which was enough to ensure loyalty to the family, but Garrett was going for something more. Another bud started to bloom as the flower soaked up the mental energy rushing into it, but at the same time, the corruption from the zombies attack began to move faster, no longer blocked by the flowers strength. It crept up to Abbiuss shoulder in a moment and began to spread into his chest, aiming to corrupt his heart. Garrett felt a flash of curiosity about the interconnection between spirit and flesh as he watched the corruption spread, but he knew it wasnt time for experiments.
Half a heartbeat later, Garretts overpowering energy drove the bud to completion and a fifth flower opened up, causing a qualitative change in both the dream flower and in Abbius. Thick roots exploded in growth, sinking deep into Abbiuss body and running through his limbs, quickly running into the corruption. Like it had found a delicious treat, the rainbow petals shook and began to absorb it, sucking it up like water. It all happened in a single moment, and Garrett felt a slight pang in his heart as he knew that Abbius, as he had been, was gone forever.
