Brandon released the arrow. A streak of red carved through the room, heading straight for Derek’s chest. It closed the distance like a flash of lightning. Even if Alex had wanted to try and use Funhouse, it would have been pointless.
His magic never would have been fast enough.
The arrow slammed home.
Derek grunted in pain as he was literally ripped right off his feet and launched a foot back, where he slammed to a halt as the arrow impaling him drove into the ground. He slumped, the strength vanishing from his body as he died.
“That was a shit plan,” Wess said from where he still hung on Derek’s shoulder. “You didn’t do anything at all.”
“You don’t always have to do something,” Alex replied from Derek’s other shoulder.
The large man jerked. He drew in a sharp breath and pushed down the haft and through the fletchings of the arrow, letting them carve through his body as he extracted himself from the bloody projectile.
He barely even seemed to notice the fact that there was a new hole in his chest.
“Ow,” Derek said. “That was rude.”
“And it’ll be a whole lot ruder if this goes and gets broken,” Alex said. He dropped down from Derek’s shoulder and held the compass up so everyone could see it. “I don’t imagine it’s going to survive all that well if you lot all go flinging that magic you’re holding… but that’s why Brandon aimed for my compatriot instead of me, isn’t it?”
Brandon’s eyes narrowed, but not one of the people from either family released their spells. They had little reason to. There was, as far as they were concerned, absolutely nowhere to run.
A vague sense of amusement rolled through Alex. The Great Families weren’t fighting anymore. He’d given them something to focus their attention on — at least until one of them managed to get their hands upon the compass. Then all holds would be off.
But that hadn’t happened yet. And until it did, nobody was willing to completely waste the rewards from the boss fight. Especially not when there were other Great Families within the Ancestry, doubtlessly fighting monsters of their own.
This was an advantage that nobody could afford to lose.
“You’re a fool if you think you’re going to get anywhere but the afterlife if you don’t put the compass down and step away from it right now.” Brandon said, the anger evident in his clenched jaw and stiff speech. He held another arrow against his bow, a short pull away from nocking and letting it fly.
“Hm,” Alex replied, cupping the compass between his hands and holding it right in front of his chest. “That doesn’t seem like a very smart move to me. After all, isn’t this the only thing keeping you where you are?”
“You’re hardly in a position to bargain,” Brandon said flatly. “I don’t care about the kill on the boss. We’re on a tight deadline. Give me the compass and you can live. But don’t think this offer is made from weakness. It is pure impatience. Waste my time for even a second longer and I think I’ll take my chances at killing you and taking it off your corpse.”
Alex tilted his head to the side. Then he grinned, even though his mask completely blocked anyone from seeing his facial expression. “No. I really don’t think you will. I get the feeling you — and everyone else here — is going to stand right there in hopes that I slip up and give you a chance to get the compass.”
Angry murmurs rose up from both families. Even though Alex still couldn’t get a great look at the Outworlders on the other side of the room through the smoke, they were definitely watching him.
I do have to wonder why they aren’t saying anything, though. Why are they letting Brandon take the lead? Are they waiting to try and interfere the moment I slip up or accept his offer and hand the compass over?
Alex didn’t let any of his thoughts show through in his posture. The only thing he had right now was confidence. Any amount of magic he may have been able to muster would have been completely worthless in the face of the combined anger of all the powerful adventurers surrounding them.
“And how do you think you win here?” Brandon asked coldly. “What choice do you have but to accept my offer? You aren’t leaving this room with that compass in your hands. You’ll be lucky if you even leave this room alive. Whatever family sent you… they’re not coming to help. They won’t make it in time.”
“And why’s that?” Alex asked.
“Because you’ve got exactly thirty seconds before I kill you and damn the consequences,” Brandon replied. “Time lost is lost. There are other bosses. Other paths forward. I am not one to cry over the past… but I will not allow a slight to remain in Crimson’s face. Either you cooperate — or you die, and the loss can be damned. We will not be disrespected.”
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The tone of his voice made it abundantly clear that Brandon was not bluffing. He would sooner kill everyone here than let Alex walk out of the room with his stolen prize.
“This is an interesting strategy,” Wess drawled, just as unbothered as ever. He hadn’t even bothered getting down from Derek’s shoulder. “Pissing everybody off so you can guarantee they brutalize your corpse after you hand the compass over. Points for chutzpah.”
“Thanks,” Alex said.
“Make your choice,” Brandon said. He pulled back on his arrow, this time taking aim straight at Alex. “You’re out of time.”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure I have something like twenty seconds left as per your own words,” Alex replied. In the smokey haze at the edges of the room, two black wings stretched wide open. He let the compass lower, moving it away from his chest. After all, it would have been quite the waste if it got broken after all the effort he’d just gone through to get it. Then Alex grinned. “But I don’t think I’m going to need it.”
“We giving up?” Wess asked in disappointment. “I haven’t gotten paid yet.”
“Just relax,” Alex replied. “And try not to wiggle around too much. You don’t want to get dropped.”
“Huh?” Wess glanced at him. “What are you—”
A loud crack split the room as Claire’s wings snapped down. She exploded from the shadows in the corner of the room in a blur. Alex barely even got a chance to glimpse at the pitch black veins carving across her entire body, running down her arms and up her neck. She was completely hopped up on power from the man that she’d dragged into the shadows.
Something told Alex that he wasn’t alive anymore. It took a lot of blood to get her this powerful.
That was about all the thought he had time for before Claire was upon them. She slammed into Alex and Derek, clotheslining both of them by the waist. The air was torn from Alex’s lungs in a pained grunt, and a loud crunch marked multiple ribs breaking as he was torn off the ground and into the air.
Derek — along with Wess — came with them as Claire took two running steps and launched into the air again, her wings snapping down once more. Angry yells rang out through the room.
Brandon’s arrow screamed through the air, narrowly missing them as Claire abruptly changed directions. Flashes of magic split the smokey haze. Waves of crackling lightning and balls of fire slammed into the ceiling above them with thunderous crashes.
Derek let out a pained grunt as a blast of sickly green light caught him in the shoulder. It was hard to tell whether he’d blocked it intentionally or if Claire had volunteered him into its path.
Wess let out a delighted laugh as the room streaked by them. Alex would have done the same if he wasn’t so focused on keeping his grip on the compass while Princess’ magic repaired the injuries that Claire had just given him. It would have been really embarrassing if he dropped the damn thing after all this. This text is hosted at novel[f]ire.net
Still, he couldn’t help himself.
“You’ll remember this!” Alex yelled. “As the day you almost caught—”
Claire’s wings cracked down, suddenly wrapping around all of them and casting everything into darkness. The four plummeted from the sky like a diving hawk. Wind drove into Alex with a howl, stuffing any further words he may have tried to say back into his lungs.
And then Claire’s wings snapped back out. They jerked into a sharp glide so quickly that Claire’s tight grip on Alex nearly tore the breath from his lungs a second time. She was a lot stronger than normal. The world flashed beneath them in a blur of shapes and hazy colors and magic.
Whatever blood that guy had must have been pretty full of magic.
A brilliant flash of acrid white light suddenly sliced through the room with such intensity that Alex was momentarily blinded. He let out a pained curse as one of his senses evaporated.
Princess’ magic kicked in immediately, bringing hazy shapes swimming back to life before him. The cries rising up from below them made it clear that he hadn’t been the only one to be surprised.
Through his squinted, watery eyes, Alex caught a blurry glimpse of Alyssa standing beside a small crack in the wall. A glowing pattern shimmered in the air before her, already fading, but drawn in the very same color that had just taken his sight an instant ago.
It looked like she’d managed to locate the passageway. She held her paintbrush at the ready, watching their approach through narrowed eyes.
The hole barely looked big enough for them to fit through, but Claire hadn’t slowed in the slightest. It didn’t look like she planned to. Alex gritted his teeth and braced himself.
Then Claire’s wings vanished. The four of them tumbled into the pathway in a mess of limbs, bouncing against the stone walls and each other as they skidded to a stop. Alex took several more blows from the weaponry sticking out of Derek before he managed to dart to his feet.
Alyssa had already raced into the pathway after them. She swept her brush through the air, and a wave of shimmering gray light followed in its wake. With just a few rapid strokes, she transformed the painted magic into a perfect rendition of the dried, thorny vines surrounding them.
It was as if the passageway had never existed.
“That won’t confuse them for long,” Claire said in a hissed whisper, grabbing Wess and dragging him to his feet by the back of his shirt. Her black veins were already fading. Exhaustion pulled at her features. She’d spent all the power she’d gathered in the span of a few instants. “Come on. We have to go.”
They all hurried away from the room without another word. Any noise would be liable to give their escape route away even faster.
Alex’s eyes flicked down to the compass as they slipped away from the furious Outworlders behind them. There weren’t even any directions on the bronze disk. Just an arrow — and it was pointing right in the direction they were headed. He grinned.
One more kind donation from the kind Outworlders. How thoughtful of them. But, if they’re going to insist… I can hardly say no.
I can’t wait to see what rewards this thing is leading us to.