Chapter 7

A couple hours later, I was somewhat less enthusiastic.

The truck I was sitting in bounced over a rough patch of road, and I did my best to not fall out.

The first thing we'd done was procure a second vehicle. With six of us barely fitting into the SUV, there wasn't going to be room for Argondian and Sidorenko if we found them. Since we were remaining optimistic, we were working under the assumption that we'd do just that, while also not losing any more people.

A local had been willing to rent us his truck for a nominal fee. Our worries over cash were resolved with the discovery of an ATM, which Anya was kind enough to use, drawing on the infinite funds of the White Court to pay the man enough for three new trucks.

After that, we'd set out to find the missing wizards using the vial of paint.

Apparently Penny had wanted to use it from the get-go, but the others overruled her, electing instead to track the team using the communication stone. There were some concerns that the thermo… thermos… thaumaturgic link between the paint and Argondian would be too weak for a proper tracking spell.

Those concerns proved to be accurate, as we came to a halt for the fourth time since setting out.

"Ugh," Simon groaned from the driver's seat of the truck, his head dropping to bang lightly on the steering wheel. His long hair fell to either side of his face, masking him from view. "Not again."

"Wizards," Anya said from beside him, a smirk on her lips. She rubbed her thumb against her index and middle fingers, in the universal gesture for money.

"You haven't won yet," Simon mumbled, staring forward as Penny climbed out of the SUV in front of us to recast the tracking spell with more of the paint.

"It seems inevitable," Anya said smugly, turning her head enough to wink at me through the rear window when Simon wasn't looking.

I just shook my head and shifted, trying to get comfortable in the bed of the truck.

Moretti was driving the other vehicle, with Penny navigating for him. Nelson was with them, along with one of their own communication stones. Simon was with us so that, should we get separated, he could reach out to the others with his black stone.

The cab of the truck wasn't very large, so one of us had to be sacrificed to the rear. With Simon holding the door open for Anya like a proper gentleman, that left me carefully trying to avoid the feathers and chicken shit scattered across the back.

"I feel like this one is going to work," Simon said somewhat nervously, shooting a glance at the beautiful vampire.

The young wizard had made the mistake of betting with the succubus after the second spell failed. If Penny managed to find Argondian in five spells or less, Anya would submit to a mild Q&A session with the guy. Simon would get to ask all sorts of questions about what it was like being a Wamp, along with any non-classified information on how the White Court worked.

If we stopped one more time, Anya would win. Which would mean Simon would have to submit to a mild T&A session with the hot girl, where she would get to find out what a wizard's power tasted like.

Back when we'd started, I'm sure Simon had thought the odds of him losing had been remote; and even if he lost, he'd still get to make out with someone as beautiful as Anya. But that was before she'd started staring at him with a slack expression and solid chrome eyes.

It'd taken everything I could to prevent myself from laughing when she'd leaned over after the third stop and inhaled along his neck, as if she were planning on taking a bite.

"Alright, here we go!" the wizard shouted as Penny climbed back in the first vehicle. "You've got this!

"Oh come on!"

Simon's exasperated shout overrode my attempts at remaining neutral, and a laugh escaped my lips as the vehicle in front of us stopped for the second time since Anya had won the bet.

Personally I didn't know what he was so upset about. There were worse ways to go weak in the knees than kissing Anya, and she'd promised not to feed too much.

The wizard was now sweating, knowing that at some point Anya would claim her prize. The fact that she was still occasionally sending him silver-eyed glances wasn't helping.

"No, this is different," I said as I watched the front vehicle. Rather than just Penny exiting to refresh her spell, I saw that they were all sliding out. I hopped over the side of the truck and opened Anya's door for her as Simon exited from the other side.

Nelson jogged back to us. "She thinks we're close. It's leading over there, and the map doesn't show any more roads heading that way."

The rest of us gathered our gear, with Simon retrieving his backpack while Anya and I got ready. "Any clue as to how far?" I asked, looking into the sparse scattering of trees.

"Not far," Nelson said, before turning back to the other vehicle.

We were further north, and the dense forest near Avgonima had quickly faded into a sparsely covered landscape of hills and valleys. Our route had kept us west of the main mountain range that split the large island into east and west.

The direction the tracking spell was leading us was toward one of the rougher sets of hills, one that had no obvious path for the vehicles to take. The SUV might make it up one side, but there wasn't much point in risking it.

I took a few items, but didn't want to be overly burdened if we were taking a cross-country hike. I kept it simple, and left most of my gear in the bed of the truck. Once everyone had every they needed, we set out for the hills, with Moretti in the lead. He'd added a gray cloak similar to what I'd seen Peña wearing back in the graveyard. Simon had informed us that it was a warden cloak.

Nelson wore one as well, but the others didn't. Simon said he preferred using his own jacket. I'd looked over the strangely dark coat with interest. When I'd asked him about it, he'd just shrugged with a sly grin, and left it at that.

I'd also wondered at their armament. Nelson bore only a staff weapon, while Moretti carried his sword. Penny had a few items, including the copper wand I'd seen before, and a twisted rod of various woods, atop which sat a clear crystal. And then there was Simon, with his gloves and hard-shell backpack.

In comparison, Anya and I were sporting four guns, two swords, two magical maces, my spear, nearly a dozen smaller blades, the spells on my leather bracelet, and the bola and net weapons I frequently used.

But I guess when you're a wizard, you are the weapon.

We made our way over the hills, until Penny's spell finally brought us to a low valley. There was nothing in sight in any direction, save for a small stone cottage in the middle of a field. A low stone wall surrounded it, enclosing a moderately sized yard. There were the remnants of a wooden fence further out, and some small paddocks that had worn down over time.

Penny pointed to the cottage. "He's there," she said, her voice laced with hope and worry.

Our party quickly headed down the slope and across the field. I found myself looking around, suddenly self-conscious about traversing the valley in plain sight. It didn't make sense, because there was no-one out there.

But the uneasy feeling had returned to my gut, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched.

When we reached the low stone wall, Moretti held a hand up, bringing everyone to a halt.

"There's something here…" he said, looking into the yard. I looked as well, and frowned as I saw odd colors strewn about.

There wasn't much to the space; the turf was mostly wild grass and weeds, with stones jutting up unevenly here and there. The cottage looked like it hadn't been used in decades, if not longer. It definitely predated electricity, or whoever had built it hadn't seen the need to run lines out across the hills. The windows were hollow, and the front door was missing. The tile roof had collapsed several times; some holes were patches with different colored tiles, while others were covered with simple thatch-work. A few were open to the elements.

But despite the appearance of being abandoned, someone had been busy in the yard.

Thin lines of varying hues spider-webbed out from the cottage, extending all the way to the stone wall. As I looked at the interior of the wall to one side of the yard, I could see where some sort of graffiti had been painted onto the stones. The lines of color trailed back to the cottage from those, and I saw where they all disappeared into the the building, through the open windows and door.

"What is all this?" Simon asked, voicing my own question.

"It's paint!" Penny said excitedly. She stepped up to the opening in the stone wall, but didn't step through. "Master! Master, we've come for you!"

Her voice echoed in the hills, before a brief silence descended. After a long breath, a voice replied. "Penny? Is that you?" The voice originated from the cottage.

"Yes! I'm here with some others! We've been looking for you!"

"Don't enter the yard!" the other voice shouted in return. It was an older voice, one that sounded weary and pained, but hopeful at the same time. "Give me a moment, dear!"

We waited, a short period of time passing while nothing happened. But apparently Argondian did whatever needed doing, because he eventually called out, "Alright, come in! But don't step on any of the lines!"

The six of us made our way across the yard, carefully avoiding the paint. It grew difficult the further we went, as the dozens of lines that had been spread about all condensed near the entrance of the cottage. One by one we hopped over the threshold, avoiding the paint that curved around to one side of the room.

When I entered, I looked about. There wasn't much to it. The cottage was nothing more than a single room of moderate size. Everything had been stripped from it a long time ago, leaving it bare.

Bare, save for more paint on the walls, floor, and ceiling. The place was a gallery of graffiti, although the words and symbols marked everywhere made little sense to me.

"Come in, come in!" the man in the corner said excitedly. The wrinkles in his face were hard to tell apart from the laugh lines he'd earned over the years. He smiled as he saw us, a familiar expression by the looks of it. His eyes practically glowed with pride when he looked at Penny, who was busy trying to hold back tears of joy.

I looked around, but saw no trace of the other missing wizard, who the others had called Sidorenko.

"Is that everyone?" he asked, looking us over. When we nodded, he touched one of the lines of paint near his left hand, and mumbled a word beneath his breath. I waited for something to happen, but as far as I could tell, it never did.

"Right, then," he said, sitting up as he held one hand to his gut. "Let's see who came to help old Reon Argondian." Penny crouched by his side while the wizard glanced at each of us. It gave me a chance to study him as well.

He looked to be in his sixties, perhaps even older than that. From what I knew of wizard aging, though, he could have been anywhere from a hundred years old to five hundred. His hair was long and gray, a wild mane about his head that was only somewhat reigned in by the flat artist cap he wore. His beard matched his hair, both in color and style, and hung down to the top of his chest.

Unlike the others, who were all dressed in contemporary clothing, the old wizard had chosen an eclectic wardrobe. A bright lilac dress shirt with a massive collar and loud pattern was partially covered by a blue satin dinner jacket. His pants were matching, and comfortable brown leather shoes that came to a point completed his ensemble. He wouldn't have been out of place in a Parisian cafe, although his accent might have been leading me in that direction to begin with.

"Well, well," the man said with delight in his voice as he spotted Anya. "Excellent. You have brought me someone to make my passing pleasant!"

"What?" Anya said, stunned, even as Penny slapped Argondian's arm. "Master, stop!"

"I am old, my dear," the man said to Anya, a defeated smile spreading across his lips. "But should I be so fortunate as to have such a beauty shepherd me from this world, I shall spend my days in the great beyond feeling no regret for the life un-lived."

"Did he just proposition me?" Anya whispered to me out of the corner of her mouth.

"Master, please," Penny said as she removed his palm from the wound in his gut. His had was covered in dried blood, and his shirt was stuck fast to his skin. "Let me look at you."

"Oh, thank you, sweet Penelope," the geezer said, a soft and caring smile replacing the former. "You have always looked out for me." I saw his hand pat at the young girl's leg, stroking her thigh fondly, if not quite grandfatherly.

"Hold still," the girl said as she peeled his shirt back from the wound. A sickly sound carried across the room as the dried blood tried to hold fast to him, and the old man winced as Penny went about her work. When she'd exposed the wound, she gave a tutting sound and held her wooden staff to his stomach.

When the crystal was pressed to the wound, the girl's mouth started moving silently. A glow emanated forth as power passed through it. Green leaves sprung from the different woods of the staff, before each crumpled and fell away, as if going through the seasons in but a moment.

The old man howled in pain, his face taking on a fierce grimace. All of us flinched in sympathy, until he motioned toward Anya. "Come, dear enchantress. If you would be willing, I would have you kiss away this pain with your sweet embrace."

"Ugh," Anya said, her shoulders shivering. "I can't believe we came to rescue some lecherous old man."

The bushy gray eyebrows over said lecherous man's bright blue eyes waggled suggestively. "Don't underestimate the experienced, my white dove of passion. I think I could show you a thing or two."

In response, Anya tugged the zipper of her leather jacket all the way up.

"Master, please stop," Penny said softly, her voice strained. "Your injuries are bad."

"Ah, well," he said, the hand not still stroking her leg raising to drape across his forehead. "Farewell, fair cruelty! Methinks I feel this youth's perfections with an invisible and subtle stealth, to creep in at mine eyes," the man said, his gaze drifting up and down Anya.

"Oh, there's creep alright," the punky vampire muttered.

"You're quoting out of context," Penny huffed at the old lecher.

"Master Argondian," Nelson finally said, kneeling before the man. "We've come to find you. Can you tell us what happened?"

The man frowned, as if the bald wizard had ruined his fun. Or maybe it was just because he was impeding his view of Anya. "Well met, young Nelson. I will tell you what I know, if you would but slide to your right a pace…" He licked his lips, the act not entirely as creepy as it sounds. "If I am to take my last breath on this earth, I shall wish it to accompany such a sight, rather than your own," he said, looking up adoringly at Anya's scowling face.

Nelson sighed, but did as the man asked. Anya just growled.

"Ah, thank you young man," Argondian said, settling back. The grimace returned briefly, genuine this time, as Penny worked her magic. Part of me realized that the man's behavior was an act, meant to disarm and distract us from his condition. He really did look to be in rough shape, and there was a significant amount of blood on the floor to one side.

"Now, as to how I found myself in such circumstances," the man said, smiling wanly through the pain. "Good Andrés received orders to assemble a team to find Warden Salvago."

"We know that much," Nelson said, cutting off what was sure to be a grand tale of Peña's team selection. "We know the four of you found him, and there was a battle. We know he escaped, and then came at you again."

"Yes, yes," Argondian said, his eyes going distant. "We met him… what? Two days ago? Three? I can't recall." He grunted as the crystal atop Penny's staff flashed for a moment. "He refused to come with us, and we were forced to try and take him."

"I thought your orders were to kill him on sight?" Moretti asked, frowning.

"Ah, someone has been talking to dear Vaccaro," the old wizard said with a slight smile. "Yes, our orders were to kill Yannis. But some of us have known him for many years. Too many years to not try our hand at resolving things peacefully."

"But the order came from Captain Luccio herself," Moretti said with a scowl.

"Ah, the dear Captain," the lecher said, the glint returning to his eyes. "I must say, the loss of the swords might well be worth seeing such a mind in such a body again."

"Focus, Master," Penny muttered as she worked.

"Right, of course," the man said, clearing his throat. "Well, perhaps you don't know, but Katya and Andrés worked with Yannis for years. All three hunted Kemmler and his disciples together. You don't give up on such a friend for marching orders alone. Even if they come from the delectable Captain Luccio." His eyebrows waggled suggestively, and I wondered who he was talking about, and what it had to do with swords.

"So you tried to take him alive," Nelson said, bringing the man back on track.

"Yes, well, Somboon had no such conflict of interest. I don't think he ever liked Yannis. When the man refused to come, Somboon did not hesitate."

"He attacked him?" I asked. The wizard frowned at me, as if noticing my presence for the first time, despite the fact I'd been standing beside Anya since we'd entered. "Was Somboon the one that wounded him?"

"Here now, who was there?" the man said smartly. "Was it you? Or myself?"

I snapped my lips shut and clenched my jaw.

"Yes, Somboon attacked Yannis," Argondian confirmed with a nod. "But no, he did not injure him. That was later. Andrés got close enough to stab him with that sword of his."

"What happened next?" Nelson pressed.

"Yannis got away," the old wizard said, smiling sheepishly. "He knew the terrain, and Katya and Andrés' hearts weren't really in it. Even after what happened with Somboon."

I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but Nelson spoke first. "We know that a Hound of Hades was sent to… shepherd him." Argondian's eyes narrowed at that. "We know that he somehow turned the Hound into his servant."

"That explains it," Argondian said, nodding. "A Hound of Hades, yes?" Nelson nodded. "Of course, of course. That explains what I saw."

"And what was that?" Simon asked.

Argondian looked to him, and then continued. "We had found him late in the day. I thought perhaps Andrés' attack might have finished him, but he surprised us later that evening when he returned, with the Hound at his side.

"We weren't expecting it," he said softly. "Andrés fell to the beast, and I to Yannis' spear," he added, looking pointedly at his gut. "He left me for dead, and went after Katya. I barely escaped the Hound when it came for me, and made it to this cottage. I've been here ever since."

"What about Somboon?" Nelson asked.

Argondian gave him a queer look. "What about him?"

"Wasn't he with you?"

"No, dear boy," the gray-haired wizard said. "Somboon was killed in our first encounter with Yannis."

I opened my mouth, confused. The others had similar reactions.

"That can't be right," Nelson said. "We saw Somboon this morning."

"You must be mistaken," Argondian said, frowning. "Yannis snapped his neck, using that old wind trick of his."

The rest of us looked amongst ourselves. "No, master, he's right," Penny said. "Somboon ambushed Rai and I when we went to check on Woody and Anya," she said, shooting a glance at us. "Rai stayed to fight him while I reached them, but he… Somboon…"

"Somboon defeated Rai, and took him to Salvago and Peña," Nelson finished softly.

Argondian was shaking his head slowly. "Impossible."

"Master, we saw him."

"No," Argondian said, almost apologetic. "I don't mean just Somboon. I mean what you say is impossible, because I saw the Hound kill Andrés as well." He shook his head slowly. "I saw it take his spirit right from his body."

The hairs on my neck stood up at his words.

"But we saw him," Simon insisted, looking around. "We fought him. Hell, he almost killed me."

"Shit," I said, causing everyone to look to me. "Don't you see? It's the Hound. Using the Hound has given him control over life and death." I took a step forward as I looked down at Nelson. "We saw him raising all of those zombies. He's clearly got power over them. He's probably done the same to—"

My words cut off when something hit my chest, flinging me backward.

I hit the wall, even as my world spun. My vision wavered, as the forms of the others blurred with the paints surrounding us. I fell, twisting around as pain blossomed in my left shoulder.

My ears were ringing with the sound of my pulse, but I could make out the sound of the others shouting.

"Katya!" Argondian said. "Everyone away from the windows!"

"Where is she?!" Simon shouted as he dove down. The others were all likewise crawling across the floor, taking shelter where they could.

Anya scrambled over to me, her face twisted with worry. "Woody! Woody, stay with me!"

"S'fine," I slurred, as my forehead broke out into a sweat. "Balaur… leather…" I tapped my shoulder where the round had hit me, to indicate the spellworked leather made from the durable hide of a dragon. The leather that had stopped teeth and blade countless times in the few years I'd had it, saving my life Gods knows how many times.

I winced in pain when I tapped the jacket, and as I drew it away, saw my fingers covered in blood.

"Oh shit," I managed to say, as my blood began to pool beneath me.

Before I could gather my thoughts, a whistling sound cut through everything else, and then the cottage seemed to explode around us.