Chapter Sixty Seven
The Crimson Order
MELODY
"Kill them all!"
That was all Melody needed to hear as her instincts kicked in automatically, having anticipated this moment from the first moment when they'd arrived in the forest. Her hand already firmly on the bow, her off hand swung to her back and drew an arrow from her quiver like she'd done a million times before, but this time with frightful speed she'd never had before.
Like clockwork, she nocked the arrow, aimed at the nearest assassin, and let fly all within a second. The arrow zipped towards the assassin, but stopped in mid air, hovering the way Janus' dagger had done. Melody narrowed her eyes. The man under the hood grinned savagely, his hands outstretched, manipulating the arrow. It flipped about in mid air, and began to make a beeline straight for Melody. She let out a sharp gasp and dove to a side, rolling and getting up to a knee.
This Mage Slayer was the same one who'd stopped Janus' dagger from ending Magnus in a heartbeat. He was fast. Melody wrecked her brains, trying to go through all the tactics she had, but found none. How do you fight someone who can manipulate everything you throw at him?
The telekinetic Mage Slayer was moving towards her, hands outstretched. He was too focused on her, or perhaps his hood obscured his vision, but he wasn't able to stop Tracy from slamming into his flank and blasting him with her black magic. He was sent flying off his feet, momentarily thrown a short distance away.
"I guess that works," Melody muttered as Tracy ran to her side and pulled her to her feet.
"Now's no time to slack off." Tracy said, her sense of humour apparently still intact given their current predicament. She stood back to back with Melody. "So what's the play here?"
"Frankly, I don't know." Melody admitted, eyes swivelling about. Maui had gone to Elsa's side to assist her in fending off a Mage Slayer who could scream like a banshee, while Deirdre and Janus were each fighting off assassins on their own.
"Bloody hell," Tracy said. "If you've got no ideas, we're all buggered."
"Stick together." Melody said the first thing that came to her mind. "That's the only way we're going to fend them off. We're not prepared for…whatever they are. We don't even know what we're up against and we're outnumbered."
"So what, retreat?" Tracy snorted.
"I don't know." Melody said for the second time. "But we can't let Magnus get away with Jade."
"I think we've got our own problems to deal with first." Tracy said, then screeched. "DUCK!"
Melody was pulled to the ground by Tracy as the arrow that had almost skewered her surfaced again and whipped over their heads. The Mage Slayer whom Tracy had sent flying returned, incensed and ready for another round.
Instinctively, Melody put a hand to her quiver, but stopped herself. What good would that do against the assassin who had telekinesis at his fingertips? Nothing. She would have to do this the old fashioned way. Getting to her feet, she grabbed Tracy.
Come on!" She tugged at Tracy's arm and set off at a run towards the assassin. Thankfully, Tracy followed close at her heels. As she sprinted towards the Mage Slayer, she tightened her grip on the bow. There was no way the assassin was going to use her own bow against her.
Suddenly, she felt the ground splitting, like a hand was pulling the clearing's land upward into a slope. The trees distorted, and even the Mage Slayer directly in front of her seemed to bend in inhuman proportions before her very eyes.
Nausea overcame Melody and she stumbled, tripping on the bit of ground that had been pulled upwards. She fell to her knees, and she heard Tracy fall heavily, groaning. Melody felt bile at the back of her throat and her stomach lurched. Tracy retched beside her, and the acidic smell of vomit filled the air. She could feel something horrid rising up her throat, and gagged.
Her world spun, and her head swirled, vision blurring. Melody blinked, feeling her head go fuzzy as she too threw up the contents of her stomach. The bitter, acidic taste in her mouth overwhelmed her, and she struggled to see and think clearly.
"Vertigo." She tried to sputter, but her own voice rang distant in her ears. Through her distorted vision, she saw another Mage Slayer join the first.
She heard Tracy cursing beside her weakly and she tried to turn her head. Tracy was trying to get to her feet, aiming a hand at the two assassins while wiping her mouth with her off hand. Melody could vaguely make out the colour purple near the vicinity of Tracy's hand, but it died away as Tracy crumpled and fell again.
Gritting her teeth, Melody tried to reach for her bow which had fallen from her hand. The effort alone sent another bout of nausea spreading across her, and she gave a loud groan. With much effort, she put a hand on one of the bow's limbs, trying to drag it over so she could get a proper grip on it.
The first Mage Slayer stepped on her hand and even the pain seemed cloudy under the nauseating and disorienting spell the second Mage Slayer was performing. Nonetheless, she recoiled, trying to keep her balance on her knees, working hard not to throw up again.
Her effort was in vain though, as the first Mage Slayer flexed his fingers and her bow levitated off the ground. With the flick of his hand, her bow slammed across her cheek by itself with so much force that she threw up the remaining contents of her stomach and fell to the ground again. Her face against the cold snow, she felt herself fading. Her vision blurred again, and the last thought that went through her mind was…fuzzy.
JANUS
This can't be happening. Janus gritted his teeth as he watched the Mage Slayer standing before him split himself into two, and then the two split themselves into four. He'd seen sorcery at work before, but this was nothing like it. Without a doubt, this was a demonic presence at play here, far more sinister than any sorcery he'd gone up against.
He blinked as if to confirm what was happening. There were still three duplicates of the same assassin standing together with the original. The first Mage Slayer spread his hands mockingly, and his three duplicates followed suit.
In spite of being thrown off and disoriented, Janus pushed it to the back of his mind, nocking a poison tipped arrow and letting fly. The arrow embedded itself into one of the duplicates and he went down without a sound.
The original assassin seemed to tilt his head underneath the hood as if amused. Another duplicate emerged out of his own form, and once again, there were four of them and only one of Janus. They all began to advance in unison towards him, and Janus found himself unconsciously backpedaling. There was no protocol in the mercenary's handbook for dealing with something like this. With no other apparent plan, he reached for another arrow.
"You're wasting your arrows." The original Mage Slayer said.
"You're wasting your arrows."
"You're wasting your arrows."
"You're wasting your arrows."
"Shut up." Janus growled, fingering the scabbard at his hip. He wore the armour and wielded the weapons of his doppelgänger from the alternate earth, and though they were far more deadly, he had a feeling that they still wouldn't be enough to deal with the Crimson Order's assassins. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying.
Drawing his doppelgänger's falchion sword from the scabbard, Janus hefted it. It was of a good weight, just nice for him to wield efficiently with speed without compromising power. He lunged, spitting the nearest duplicate.
Ripping his sword free, he spun as the next duplicate made a grab for him. Janus pivoted on his feet, sinking the blade to the hilt into the second duplicate. The third duplicate landed a blow on his jaw, and Janus staggered back, unable to retrieve his sword. No matter.
Janus removed a poison tipped arrow from his quiver and swiped it across the throat of the duplicate. It was over in an instant. He whirled at the sound of clapping from the original Mage Slayer.
"Marvellous." The Mage Slayer said in a thick, gravelly accent. "But how long do you think you can keep this up?"
Another four Mage Slayers materialised from the original, and in turn they split into another four. Now numbering to eight, they laughed in unison.
This cannot be happening. Helplessly, Janus looked at the duplicates. He could try killing the original, but obviously the Mage Slayer would have his duplicates guard him against that outcome. So how was he supposed to kill a man who could constantly replicate himself?
Without warning, three duplicates lunged at him. Janus danced out of the way, slamming his bow into the back of one and narrowly avoided the other. The third barrelled into him together with a fourth, dragging him to the ground.
Hitting the thick snow was like falling on a comfortable bed, but the effect was quickly made unpleasant. Two duplicates pinned his arms and another one got on top of him. Janus snarled in discomfort as the duplicates began to crowd around him, laughing and enjoying every moment. One of them - probably the original Mage Slayer - ripped Janus' falchion from the dead duplicate and brandished it. Struggling, Janus was unable to repel the force of seven other men. The end was near.
Heat blew past Janus' face, but the effects were felt mostly by the duplicates and the original Mage Slayer. They were sent scurrying as fire licked out at them and set a few of them ablaze. The screams overlapped as the ones on fire tried to douse the flames, but then crumpled quickly due to the undying heat.
Drawing deep breaths, Janus sank the back of his head into the snow, feeling incredibly overwhelmed.
"Get up." Deirdre's harsh voice rang in his ears. She stood over him, hands still glowing red with intense heat. Dissipating the heat from one of her hands, she offered it to Janus.
He grunted as he was pulled to his feet. His body felt bruised and sore, but he pushed the pain aside. He'd endured worse.
"Thanks." He said, picking up his falchion sword and compound bow. Squaring his shoulders, he planted his feet as a couple of the duplicates turned and advanced towards them again.
"Down!" Deirdre screamed, and Janus threw himself to the ground.
Two tiny thin blades whizzed over their heads, and hit two of the duplicates, who slumped like rag dolls and hit the snow noiselessly.
Boots pivoting in the snow, he whirled round to where Deirdre was facing. A tall woman in a long brown cloak was advancing, two more thin blades slipping from her sleeves into her hands. Holding the blades, she crossed them to her shoulders as she closed the distance.
"Poison darts." Janus drew a dagger from one of his many holsters. From the ground where he crouched, he whipped it slightly upwards. It flew towards the woman like lightning, and Janus was sure that it would cut her down. But again, he underestimated these assassins.
The woman flipped her own two blades in intersecting paths, and they met his own dagger at the same time. Metal clanged upon metal, creating a disturbing noise throughout the night air.
"Shit." Janus muttered.
"Your friends are coming back." Deirdre warned.
He gritted his teeth. Maybe it was time to switch things up. "Trade dance partners?"
Deirdre gave him a tight nod, and moved to engage the duplicates. The edges of a new heat wave reached Janus and screams ensued, telling him that Deirdre had things well in hand. That's one less thing to worry about. He locked his focus on the woman who produced another two thin blades in her hand. Maybe she had more knives than even he had.
Janus got to his feet, drawing a trusty dagger from his belt and hefted it. Now this was just the right weight. Apparently his doppelgänger had the same preferences he had. Brandishing it in an icepick grip, he waited in anticipation for the Mage Slayer to throw her poison darts at him.
The woman came to a stop, eyes hooded. Her fingers caressed the blades. Without warning, she flung one of them at Janus, who sidestepped it easily, and dove again as the second one whipped inches away from his nose.
"Impressive reflexes." She said in a sensual, Bastrusian accent. "Name's Venom."
"I didn't ask."
Venom shrugged. "I always introduce myself to my victims. Figure they deserve to know who killed them."
"Figure away." Janus sprung at her, dagger in hand.
Two new blades slipped from her sleeves into her hands, and she parried a straight thrust from Janus. But he'd known she would see that coming. He brought his forearm up which was spiked with curved blades, and drew blood from the Mage Slayer's chin. She landed a vicious kick to his midsection, forcing him back.
As he staggered and regained his footing, the two blades in her hand zipped straight for his chest. Janus fended them off with his own dagger and examined his forearm quickly. The curved blades were still intact, though stained lightly with specks of blood.
A stray duplicate suddenly came at him from behind, and clobbered the back of his neck. Janus stumbled forward, steadied himself, and rammed his elbow back into the ribs of the duplicate. Grabbing the duplicate's arm, he hoisted him over his shoulder just in time to block off a fresh poison-tipped blade hurled in his direction. The duplicate took the poison dart in the back and he tossed the body forward, just in time to see Venom rushing him.
Another thin blade was in her hand, this time no thicker than a needle. Janus swiftly side-stepped her, grabbed her wrist and slammed his palm into the side of her thumb, forcing her to drop the needle. Venom twisted away and lashed out with her own hand. It was then that Janus realised that her nails were disturbingly long and green-tipped. So she had poison at her fingertips too. Literally.
She clicked her tongue. "You're good. Let me guess. Assassin?"
"Not anymore." He raised his gauntlets, taking a combat stance. Over his shoulder, he could hear Deirdre grunting as she shot another wave of fire that cooked another few screaming duplicates.
Suddenly, something pulled his legs from behind and he tumbled forward. His shadow grew larger as he fell forwards, and it seemed to gain a life of its own. A black fist formed out of his own shadow, meeting his jaw. Grunting in agony, he felt his teeth rattle as his head was jerked sideways. Falling on his side, he clutched at his jaw.
The fist opened into a palm and pressed the side of the snow. A figure made out of pure darkness pulled itself out of the shadow as if it was getting out of a swimming pool. A Mage Slayer who could travel through shadows. Not unlike Vonco, Janus noted as he agonisingly levered himself to his feet.
Pulling out another dagger, Janus relaxed his shoulders and faced both Venom and the shadowy Mage Slayer. It wouldn't kill him to have a little backup. His eyes darted over to Deirdre, and to his chagrin, found that she'd been overwhelmed and clubbed to the ground by a ridiculous number of duplicates. Giving a small sigh, he turned his attention back to the two Mage Slayers before him. It seemed like he was going to have to do this alone.
The two Mage Slayers stood shoulder to shoulder, a few feet away from him.
"Well?" Janus growled, feeling pain shoot through his jaw. He ignored it and dropped his shoulders, brandishing his dagger expertly. "Don't you want to finish this?"
All of a sudden, smoke clouded his vision and seeped through his mask. His eyes watered and the smoke entered his nose and mouth, causing him to choke and cough violently. Swatting desperately, Janus found that he couldn't rid the smoke that was quickly incapacitating him. He dropped to a knee, the dagger falling out of his hand as he clutched at his throat.
"So human." He heard a new voice with a Bastrusian accent similar to Venom's. Through his watery vision, he saw a third figure join the two Mage Slayer. "So weak."
Willing everything within him, Janus stood up, coughing painfully. The smoke refused to go away. If necessary, he would fight to his dying breath. Eyes squinted, he forced himself to raise his fists again and found them heavier than usual.
"But so much resolve." The shadowy assassin admitted.
"Admirable." Venom sneered. "But pointless."
One of the duplicates appeared behind Janus and threw a punch to the back of his head. He fell for what must have been the fourth or fifth time, and let out a raspy breath. There was no more fight left in him. As the third Mage Slayer stretched out a hand, Janus felt the smoke being pulled out of his body, to his relief.
He lay on the ground, eyes flicking over to the side. Deirdre lay unconscious on the ground, but breathing. He tried to heave a sigh of relief, and coughed weakly at the effort. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to succumb to the darkness.