It was cloudy today. Chilly too. Calli breathed out and watched the resulting mist vanish. She didn't hate weather like this, but she would have preferred to have the sun out to take some of the frigidity out of the air.
She took out a map of Holiv and crossed off another location. They were making tremendous progress. With five people they were able to split into two groups and double the number of hideouts they could raid. Even Ina had been helping a fair bit, though she wasn't quite used to the book's power yet.
At the pace they were keeping, they'd be able to gut the order's presence in the city in just a couple of weeks. That was . . . a relief? Calli groaned. Their speed had increased a great deal, but the task at hand still seemed monumental. She almost wished she had put her foot down and insisted that they go straight to the head of the organization. But she'd already agreed to this strategy.
Oh well. She'd have to make the best of the situation at hand.
She turned and looked up at their latest conquest. It had been an above ground shrine. An elaborate one, too. Whoever had been in charge here had a flair for the gaudy as the walls had been lined with large modern art pieces in mismatched ornate frames. The ritual chamber had been draped in what had to have been thousands of feet of fine silks, and the shrine itself had been covered top to bottom in gold plated baubles. It was probably the first hideout to make Calli feel physically ill from exposure alone.
It was all a pile of garbage now, though. She and Gura had seen to that. Well, mostly Gura this time around. The shark girl sauntered out the back door, leaving a trail of crumbling wreckage. She looked up at Calli and cocked an eyebrow. The hideout had made her queasy, but the smugness from Gura's smirk made her want to vomit.
Gura dusted herself off. "What is that for me now? Six? Seven?"
"Six," Calli said, trying not to snap. "And that's only if we count the first one, which is kind of pointless." She hadn't intended for this to become a competition, but one way or another it had. At each hideout they visited, they would compete to see who could cause the most mayhem. It was dumb.
Gura snorted, "Fine by me. I'm in the lead either way." She reached up and patted Calli on the back in a patronizing way. She had to stand on her toes to get a view of the map, too. Calli definitely wasn't holding it higher on purpose. She wouldn't do something so petty. "So, where are we headed next?"
Calli sniffed. "Not sure yet. The closest one is only a few blocks over."
"That one? Are you sure you don't want to hit a smaller one? It might be easier for you." Gura snickered, but Calli ignored her. She wouldn't rise to such childish prodding . . .
Yet.
"Any of them work for me. Here, pick one." She handed the shorter woman the map. If she wanted to be a smart aleck, then she could pick where they went next.
Gura squinted at the ink-soaked paper. "These ones are a little far. Let's keep it within a few miles."
Calli agreed. Pushing out too far would just waste energy. Though, in Gura's case, Calli wasn't sure that would be a problem. She was the spitting image of an Atlantean, but to Calli's knowledge they weren't exactly a race of super beings. If they were, they might not have died off as suddenly as they did. They were just regular people.
But Gura . . . If there ever came a time when Calli had to fight the diminutive ocean dweller, she'd be hard pressed to come out on top. For such a powerful mortal to exist was actually a little scary.
"Alright! Let's do this one!" Gura tapped on one of the locations circled on the map and shoved it back into Calli's hands. "How bout we race? First one there gets a head start in wrecking the hideout?"
Calli eyed her partner and rolled up the map. A race was a childish suggestion. Gura was having way too much fun with this whole venture. "Deal," she said. Gura pumped her fist and bounded off to set the starting line.
Calli sighed. She had her fair share of concerns regarding Gura, but for now, she was just thankful that the smug little powerhouse was on their side. And besides, a short race wasn't going to hurt anything.
She lined up next to Gura on the curb. "Just so we're clear," the shark said, pointing, "the goal's the front door of the cannery seven blocks that way."
"Sounds good. You can count us down."
"Oh? Confident, are we? I'm starting then. Ready . . . Set . . ." Gura bent her knees, curling up into a ball. "Go!" She exploded off the curb, throwing chunks of concrete into the air. She was across the street before Calli could take her first step.
But she wasn't about to be shown up like that.
Throwing up her own concrete spray, Calli leapt to pursue. In an instant she matched Gura's pace and they sailed through alleyways and over buildings. Three blocks in, Calli realized that although she was catching up, she was gaining too slowly. She'd never overtake Gura before they reached the goal. As the fourth block came and went, she made a decision.
She entered limbo space. The precipice between life and death didn't give her a speed boost, but it did eliminate all of the forces acting on her physical body. Without having to worry about wind resistance, she blew past Gura at the start of the sixth block.
When Calli arrived at the cannery she dropped out of limbo space and leaned against the building, looking as casual as she could. Gura slammed down seconds later. She looked up at Calli with pursed lips.
"You cheated," she said.
"I won," Calli said, emulating Gura's smug aura. She stared down her partner until Gura finally clicked her tongue and waved Calli on.
Triumphant, Calli strode to the big double doors at the front of the broad factory building. Her scythe materialized in her hand, she sliced the doors from their hinges, and she entered the cannery without breaking stride. Maybe she was a little too proud of herself, but she was in way too good a mood to care.
Almost immediately monsters began coming out of the woodwork. They tumbled out of doors in piles and even dropped from the ceiling tiles. It was par for the course recently. The first few days after they met Ina and Gura, things had gone as they always had. A few hideouts had a handful of monsters, most had a couple. Now, though, every single hideout they raided was full to bursting with gross, wriggling monstrosities. Not that that was a problem.
Calli ripped through droves of tentacled things, cutting them down to the exact right size to keep them from moving. The hideouts had never held any information worth gathering–save for the very first handful–but raiding them was not a waste. After all, Calli wouldn't know the best way to kill these things if she hadn't worked it out over time. They were barely an obstacle anymore.
The cannery was another above ground hideout, giving Calli a near straight shot to the ritual chamber. She carved a hole through the usual maze and stepped out into the wide open space surrounding the shrine at the center. What she saw as she entered gave her pause, however.
There were people. Not people transforming into monsters or monsters that used to be people, but regular old human beings. She saw them clear as day as they dashed out a door on the opposite end of the chamber. She almost gave chase, eager for the opportunity to interrogate them, but then she remembered the competition.
They hadn't seen regular people in a hideout in ages, but odds were they wouldn't know anything useful anyways. Destroying the shrine and disrupting the cultists' ability to use this location was the ultimate goal. Gura's lead didn't factor in at all. Not one bit.
Gripping her scythe in both hands, Calli cleaved the shrine in two with a single heavy swipe. She scanned the room for more decorations to destroy, but found the chamber to be mostly unfurnished. There were no paintings on the walls, no banners hanging from the rafters, and no random marble statues to wreck. She shrugged. It didn't matter how much there was to destroy, just that she had done the most damage. If the shrine was all that was here, then she could claim a point for this hideout. That made the score five to six in Gura's favor.
Calli glanced at the door at the far end of the chamber. Could she get some bonus points for capturing untransformed cultists? Only one way to find out.
She took a step and the ground beneath her feet rumbled violently. An earthquake? The rumbling stopped right away, leaving Calli to wonder if she'd imagined it. Then another rumble came, more violent than the last. The pieces of the shrine bounced into the air and Calli herself nearly went tumbling.
Not just the ground, the whole building was shaking. Small windows near the ceiling rattled and shattered in their frames and plaster and dust fell from above. And then something crashed through the roof, landing by the door out of the chamber.
No, not something. Someone.
Gura rose from the pile of debris surrounding her. Her lip was bloody. Before Calli could ask her what was going on, something else fell down. And this time it took the whole roof with it. A massive bundle of tentacles crashed down, cracking the floor tiles under its girth. The thing unfurled, revealing itself to be the same sort of monster they'd been fighting all along, only big. Really, really big. The top-most tentacle that might have been its head nearly scraped what remained of the tall ceiling and its arms almost reached from one end of the chamber to the other.
A deep, guttural screech escaped from its sucker-like mouth, shaking the building to its foundations. More intense were the unsavory energies emanating from its rubbery flesh. Goosebumps poked up along Calli's arms just being in the proximity.
The monster swung one of its giant limbs, sweeping the chamber and shattering what remained of the shrine. The hefty tentacle slammed into Calli, throwing her across the room towards the door out of the chamber. She rolled to a stop and immediately readied her scythe. Gura, now beside her, wiped the blood from her lip and cracked her knuckles. As the thing finished its swing, they both rushed towards it.
These monsters didn't have anything resembling a face, but Calli was almost certain that she and Gura were throwing it for a loop with how quickly they bounced around it. Suddenly, Gura snatched the end of one of the creature's tentacles and, pulling it along with her, dove into the thing's body with enough force to throw its bulk back. As it lurched, Gura landed, holding the limb in place. Calli took aim at the taut tentacle and spun, dragging her blade through it.
Partway through, though, her blade stuck and she had to force it the rest of the way through. The limb came off clean, but that amount of resistance gave Calli pause. She didn't consider herself a full-fledged reaper, but even still her scythe was imbued with the power of death itself. A hot knife would have more trouble cutting through butter than her scythe should have with this thing, no matter how thick the flesh or hard the bone.
The monster bellowed and lashed out with its remaining limbs. Several tentacles the size of semi trucks shot down at Calli, but she was fast enough to avoid such a straightforward attack easily, the initial strike notwithstanding. She slipped in close and swung her scythe with a great deal more strength than usual. She dragged the blade across the length of the thing's body, opening a massive gash. As if in response to its failed attack, the monster went on the defensive, curling up around its newly opened wound.
That was probably the biggest mistake it could have made.
Gura jumped on top of the mound of a monster and raised a delicate fist. Then she slammed it down. A vibration ran through the rubbery flesh and shattered the floor beneath it. Again and again she pummeled it until finally its skin slackened. She jumped off its body and it unfurled, falling completely limp.
Calli took a deep, slow breath. She focused her mind and body on the task at hand. She spun her scythe and braced herself. Becoming one with the weapon that symbolized her trade, she tore through the massive abomination. In a flash of pink, it fell to pieces. Despite its size it still had the same vulnerabilities as the smaller monsters, thankfully.
"Boy oh boy, am I glad you're on my side," Gura said. She held out a fist, one so tiny yet so incredibly devastating.
Calli stared at those diminutive knuckles, marveling at the power held within. Then she chuckled. "Likewise," she said, tapping Gura's fist with her own.
Once they'd caught their breath, Calli took out her phone. A deep crack ran across its screen thanks to that giant piece of garbage, but at least it still worked. She needed to let the others know what they'd just dealt with.
+ Break +
Kiara hung up the phone and just stared at the screen for a while. After seeing the number of monsters increase over time, she assumed that was all they had to worry about. The emergence of a giant monster wasn't just a concerning shift in itself, it was a clear sign that the monsters they'd been fighting were just the tip of the iceberg.
"I'd say our efforts are having an effect, then," Amelia said. "If the order is scaling up their creatures then they probably feel threatened by our raids."
Ina wrung her hands. "Is that really a good thing, though? Won't they become more dangerous if they end up backed into a corner?"
Amelia tapped her chin. "It's a double-edged sword, for sure, but you have to think about this practically. The more resources they have to mobilize to stop us, the faster they burn themselves out."
"Will it really work out that way?" Ina clutched her book to her chest. It almost looked like she was shrinking whenever she did that.
"I hope so," Amelia said, deflating a little herself.
Kiara clapped her hands, giving the others a jolt. She couldn't let them fall into themselves right now. "Things are developing, yes, but we still have a job to do." She eyed both Amelia and Ina and smiled. "We can worry about all that other stuff once we're done."
She took a deep breath and the other two followed her lead. Their backs straightened, their shoulders relaxed, and their chests expanded. In all of the various lives Kiara had lived, she had seldom come across a better remedy for poor spirits than a good, clean breath. It couldn't fill the hole the others were trying to fall into, but it could give them a platform to stand on for the time being.
"Alright!" she said. "Onwards to the next hideout! I'll lead the charge this time!" She marched in place until Amelia stepped up beside her. Ina followed shortly after, and the three of them set out.
Their destination this time was a mall, of all things. They crossed a vast, mostly empty parking lot to reach the hulking structure. The entrance they chose led into the food court, filling their nostrils with the tantalizing scents of various ethnic cuisines. Kiara caught the faint sound of generic pop music being pumped through the speakers in the ceiling high overhead. It was so nostalgic!
Kiara had adored malls during their heyday. They were the truest one-stop-shop she'd ever encountered, and their liveliness was refreshing. That was a long time ago, though.
This mall shared the same fate as most others. It was open to the public and businesses still kept shop within, but the glory days were far gone. Half of the available stalls in the food court were empty, leaving only the most inexpensive options available. They were still tempting–Kiara had to drag Ina and Amelia away from their tempting aromas–but not enough to draw a decent crowd.
The rest of the mall was much the same. Some areas, where small specialty brands still occupied storefronts, were well lit and clean. Where the storefronts stood empty, however, the space was dim and unfurnished. The semi-abandoned atmosphere gave Kiara the creeps, but there were some familiar havens still standing.
Some of the flagship clothing and department stores still stood. Passing through the entrance of one such store sent Kiara back to those fashionable glory days. The shampooed scent of the carpet dominated the space. Leathery tones wafted over from the shoe section and a sickly sweet cocktail of perfumes hung like a cloud over the sales floor.
Bliss.
"Are you coming, Kiara?" Amelia called from beyond the flashy autumn coats.
Regrettably, Kiara had more important things to do than bask in bygone glory. She quickly caught up to Amelia and Ina as they snuck through a door marked "employees only." The back rooms they found themselves in were surprisingly normal. So many of the hideouts they'd raided recently were entirely shallow facades, but this looked like a functional employee space.
That illusion fell away as soon as they found the staircase leading underground. Kiara took point as they descended. Her weapons clinked together on her wrist, bringing her mind back to her conversation with Calli.
A sword and a shield . . . there were so many stories of mythical heroes felling monstrous creatures with just those two things. She had confidence in her strength–in the skills she'd cultivated over the course of countless lifetimes–but she could barely even imagine squaring up against a literal giant.
As they reached the bottom of the staircase, Kiara held out her hand, stopping the group. Something was off.
Aesthetically, the hallway they were about to enter was familiar. She'd seen its like dozens of times at this point. The ceiling was lower, though, and the walls closer together. She took her weapons in hand and encouraged Amelia to do the same. Ina held her book tightly, but it was still unclear what her actual capabilities were. It was probably still too early for her to join the fighting in earnest.
Slow and extra careful they made their way through the narrow corridor. They passed all the familiar landmarks and features found in every hideout. Except one. Before they knew it, they stood before the doors leading into the main chamber. There was no maze.
Kiara's heart beat loudly in her ears. Something wasn't just off. This whole place was designed differently. Was it a new construction? Under a run-down mall? That didn't seem right. Either way, it was definitely meant to make people passing through uneasy.
The ritual chamber itself continued that trend. Gone was the high domed ceiling and its accompanying spacious floor plan. This chamber was a box, tight and suffocating. It resembled an office, stripped of its cubicles, with pitted ceiling tiles and tightly woven carpet. Fluorescent lights lit the room but were spaced far enough apart to leave pockets of shadow, amplifying the sense of unease. There was a shrine in the middle, but it was the smallest Kiara had seen so far.
"Hey, Amelia," Kiara said, "Do you think we should check this shrine? This place is different enough that there might actually be something."
Amelia's eyes swept the mostly empty space, then she nodded. "I'm guessing this place had a more administrative function than the other hideouts, so it's worth looking into. Can you lend me a hand, Ina?"
"I can try, sure." Ina followed Amelia to the center of the chamber and together they scrutinized the dinky little shrine.
Kiara moved to follow them, but an ominous shiver ran up her back, stopping her in her tracks. She spun, scanning the bare chamber more thoroughly. It felt like they were being watched, but no matter how closely Kiara inspected their surroundings, she could find no traces of cameras or microphones. That didn't mean they weren't there, though.
If they were being watched through some hidden means, then the only solution would be to tear the whole place down. That wasn't really practical at the moment, however. She could set the chamber ablaze, burn the entire hideout down, but that damage would certainly spread to the surface. The mall contained a front for the order's operations, but that didn't mean everything and everyone in it was involved. She wouldn't accept that sort of collateral damage.
Eventually, her unease subsided somewhat. She would do what she could within the scope of her principles. That was that. As she approached the shrine, Amelia groaned.
"Really? Not a thing?" She kicked the cart the shrine was placed on and it drifted a short distance on squeaky little wheels.
Ina grimaced, "I'm afraid not. The writing is similar to the tome's, but there's no pattern to it. I don't get the feeling of language from it. I'm sorry."
"No, no. It's my fault for getting my hopes up." Amelia turned from the shrine, shrugging. "Alright, Kiara, we're done here. Would you do the honors?"
Kiara's grip tightened around the hilt of her sword. "It would be my pleasure," she said, raising the blade. She just about cut the miniature shrine to pieces, but something caught her eye. A mote of light, barely visible–like it wasn't really there–bobbed between her and the shrine.
She blinked a few times, but the near imperceptible light didn't vanish. She focused on it as it drifted past, lazily circling her. It wasn't a floater in her eye, that much was certain, but neither Ina nor Amelia seemed to notice it. Part of her wanted to ignore it and get this raid over with, but another part of her was enraptured by the dancing little glint.
As she watched it spiral around the chamber a warmth washed over her. It spread from her chest out to her extremities. The unease from before didn't quite vanish completely, but it felt so inconsequential now.
"Kiara? Are you okay?" Ina touched Kiara's arm and she jumped. She pulled her attention away from the bouncing mote and noticed the others watching her, eyebrows knit.
Her face and ears felt hot. "Oh! I'm fine! Totally, cool. There's just something here with us. I was watching it."
Amelia tensed immediately. She brought her gun to the ready. "I had a feeling we were being watched. Is it the order?"
"Maybe," Kiara said, picking the dim light out from the background again. "Whatever it is, I don't think we need to worry about it. It seems nice." It was familiar too, though she couldn't place why. Had she seen something like this at any of the other hideouts? If she had, where exactly . . .
The mote drifted around the walls of the chamber, drawing Kiara's attention to an opening door. Someone walked through, seemingly unbothered by the presence of intruders. They were wrapped in dark, ornate robes so completely that Kiara couldn't tell if they were a man or a woman. They were carrying something as well.
Ina gasped. "Those robes . . . a herald?!" She seemed genuinely frightened.
Kiara raised her sword against the newcomer. She still didn't sense any hostility from this person, but if their mere appearance could frighten her friend like that, they could only be a threat. But the herald stopped well short of their group. They placed what they were carrying on the floor–it looked like a projector–and retreated back through the door.
"That . . . was a herald? One of the order's leaders?" Amelia said, mirroring Kiara's confusion. Why would someone important like that expose themself so casually?
"It was. I'm sure," Ina said. Her face was white as a sheet. Her gaze was fixed on the projector the herald left behind. "A menial task like that . . . they wouldn't do something they considered beneath them. Unless . . ."
The projector clicked and started dispensing gray fog. It shot a bright light into the cloud that formed above it. The light fizzled and shook with the movement of the fog, but the projected image was clear enough. A man looked down his nose at them. Ina whimpered.
Both Kiara and Amelia put themselves between the projection and Ina. The man didn't seem to mind, though. "It is good to see you in good health, priestess." He spoke past them.
Ina's presence seemed to shrink from his words. Kiara nearly destroyed the projector right then, but Amelia spoke before she could move.
"Who are you? One of the heralds?" Amelia said. Her voice was steady, but there was a clear edge to her tone.
The man's gaze darkened as it slid over Kiara and Amelia. "I am Castor Kaygill, leader of the Heraldic Order of the Ancient Ones" he said, voice booming. He sneered as he spoke. "You must be the ones responsible for destroying our assets in Holiv."
Amelia smirked, "You could say that. I would apologize for throwing a wrench into your plans, but I'm really not sorry."
Kaygill snorted. "I will admit, your interference is annoying, but you'd be a fool to assume that there is only one set of gears driving our operation."
"Oh? Care to share where we might find those other gears? Or better yet, you could just tell us what you're planning. That way we could stop it directly and save everyone some time."
"Interesting," Kaygill said, cocking an eyebrow. "I would have thought that Ninomae would have told you the goals of our order. Was I wrong to assume you were working together?" He shook his head, "No, no, that's ridiculous. She must have explained. It is far more likely that you are too closed-minded to grasp what we are doing."
"She told us," Kiara said, "that you are trying to bring color to the world. What does that mean?"
The leader of the order rolled his eyes. "As expected, dull people cannot even begin to comprehend. The answer to your question is simple. This world and its people are so washed out as to be gray and indistinct. Thus, we will bring color to the world, saving it from its own lack of vibrancy."
"Save it?"Amelia shouted. She snarled at the projection. "Whatever you're trying to do is going to destroy the world!"
"You don't listen very well. The state of the world is not our concern. Whether it be a thriving utopia or a bombed out pile of rubble, this gray world is little more than a canvas onto which we will impart color."
"But what does that mean?!" Amelia took aim at the projector as if to threaten the man directly.
"The Ancient Ones . . ." Ina's voice was quiet and shaky, but it cut through the tension easily. Kaygill smiled. "The Ancient Ones are the vibrant colors, aren't they? You've been telling the acolytes that the world will become vibrant, but that isn't true."
The herald's smile grew. Kiara wasn't sure she'd ever seen a more repulsive expression. "I hope you aren't calling me a liar," he said with what sounded like glee. "A bright slash of red will make any painting vibrant, even if the background is entirely desaturated. So you see, the world will become vibrant by virtue of hosting the Ancient Ones. Simple, no?."
Ina slid to the floor. Kiara still wasn't sure she fully understood, but Ina clearly did, and she was panicking. They needed to get her out before she became too overwhelmed.
"Before I go," Kaygill said, "I will deliver one final revelation from on high. Consider it a gift. These satellite locations were to be the foundation for the Ancient Ones' genesis. A way to set the stage for their arrival that asked little of the order's leadership. Be proud of yourselves, for you have forced us to take on the burden ourselves."
Amelia's eyes widened, "These aren't the only set of gears . . ."
The projection flickered as the fog began to disperse. Kaygill's disturbing smile was distorted further by the rippling. "I look forward to seeing you again, priestess."
The projector clicked. The fog dissipated and the image vanished entirely. At the same time, the door on the far end of the chamber slid open. People in pale robes flooded through the opening, marching at a steady pace like they were part of some sort of procession.
As the crowd grew, Kiara tightened her grip on her weapons, "More heralds?"
"I . . . I don't know. I don't recognize those robes," Ina said. She sounded so tired, and she looked it too. Kiara just about rushed to her side–she'd carry her out of here if she had to–but something stopped her.
She spotted that faint light again, hovering around Ina. It hung in the air, bobbing slightly just above the book. Ina didn't seem to notice it.
It left them then. Rising up into the air over their heads it drifted across the chamber towards the approaching cultists. It didn't become more visible, nor did it dim, but the character of the faint light changed. It became darker. The warm, calming glow changed to an insidious aura.
Looking at it now filled Kiara with dread.
When the light passed over the cultists' heads they fell to the ground as if their bones had vanished from their bodies from their feet up. The encroaching crowd toppled like dominoes. The light, pastel colors of their robes made for a startling beautiful wave of fabric. Until their heads hit the ground.
Like striking snakes the cultists sprung forward, soaring towards the center of the chamber. Kiara breathed in sharply and her blade flashed. She struck at the initial wave of attackers, rebuffing them. The next wave crashed into her immediately after. The impact sent her rolling, and when she recovered her footing she noticed that her shield arm felt stiff. And the assault was far from over.
The parade of snake-like cultists broke, sending individuals sailing off in all different directions. Amelia fired her gun into the swarm, even going so far as to pull out a second firearm that she had cobbled together. The bullets didn't seem to have much of an effect, though. As soon as a cultist dropped, they'd spring back up again.
Kiara ran into a similar issue. If she cut one of the deformed bodies in two, the half with the head would spring up again. Even if she decapitated them, the disembodied hoods would launch into the air as if kicked. These new monsters weren't as powerful as the writhing tentacle creatures they'd been fighting up until now, but their endurance was on a whole other level.
Clearly, they wouldn't be able to defeat all of the monsters before moving on. "We need to fight our way out!" Kiara called to the others. Amelia gradually blasted her way to Kiara's side. "We'll carve a path back to where we entered, then make a break for it! Sound good?"
"Good enough!" Amelia spun, missing more shots than she hit. With how quickly these things were moving, it was a wonder she was hitting anything at all. Little by little, though, the area before her cleared.
Kiara followed her lead, gradually carving out a safe zone through which they could travel. She took her fair share of hits and she was starting to feel it. Her sword felt heavier and her swings became more sluggish. She wanted to burn the monsters away, but Amelia was too close, and Ina . . .
"Ina?!" Kiara jerked back, searching for Ina in the storm of pale robes. How could she not have realized they were missing someone?! She cut her way back the way she came, sustaining still more injuries along the way. Amelia shouted at her, but she ignored the call. "Ina!"
There. Amidst the swarm, Ina sat curled up beside the shrine. She hadn't moved.
Kiara checked her distance from Amelia, and judged it far enough to safely burn. Only a little, though. She breathed in, one sharp breath, and felt herself ignite. The burst of heat forced away the cultists harassing her, burning away their robes and revealing the tightly coiled tentacles that comprised their bodies.
A flaming swipe of her sword cleared out another small area, bringing her closer to the shrine. The flames died down as she pushed through. She couldn't keep the burn going if she intended to get close to Ina. That meant she'd have to brute force her way through the last bit.
She took a beating, but she made it through. There was a small bubble around Ina that the cultists didn't enter. Were they avoiding her? Kiara knelt down beside her friend, "Ina! We need to go. Come on!" She shook her gently, but Ina didn't move. She was trembling, curled tightly around the book held close to her chest. She wasn't going anywhere under her own power.
Kiara returned her shield to its charm form. That arm wasn't much good for defending at this point, but it could still support Ina's weight. She'd have to carry her through the swarm. "Ina? I need you to grab onto me, okay? Let me hold onto the book for now." She tried loosening Ina's grip on the tome as she spoke–which was easier said than done–but as she rested her hand on Ina's, she remembered the light.
Before it had become that dreadful speck, the faint light had been lingering around the book. Kiara wasn't sure the light was as benevolent as she initially thought, but she remembered the calming glow. It was risky, but she wanted to bet on that warmth.
"Ina? I know you're scared, but I need you to do something for me, okay?" She cupped Ina's face in her hands and looked her in the eye. "I think you should use the book. I know you don't have a handle on it yet, but it might be the only way we can all make it out of this."
Ina looked back at her, eyes wide with fear and confusion. She shook her head, "I . . . I don't–" She swallowed, searching Kiara's face for something. She shut her eyes tight, "Alright. I'll try." Whatever it was she was looking for, it seemed that she'd found it.
She opened the book and flipped through a few pages. A cluster of tentacles sprouted from the portal at her back. She flipped through a few more, but nothing else changed.
Amelia dove through the swarm, rolling to a stop within the safe zone. Fighting her way back took just as big a toll on her as it did Kiara, as one of her arms hung limp at her side. She looked from Ina to Kiara, nothing but questions in her gaze. So Kiara looked to Ina for answers.
Ina flipped through a few more pages and shook her head. "I'm sorry! I don't know what to do with this, it's . . . jumbled, or something. But I'll keep trying!" She buried her head in the book.
Kiara looked at Amelia and shrugged. They'd have to bide their time until Ina figured something out. Or so they thought.
The swarm started to encroach on the supposed safe zone. A creature sprang straight through the middle of the area, flying over Ina's head and slamming into Kiara. Other transformed cultists followed its example, and soon enough the little bubble around Ina popped.
The creatures flooded to fill the empty space, leaping this way and that, attacking as they flew. Kiara swung her sword, cutting down the monsters that she could, but without her shield she was taking more hits than she was dishing out. Amelia was in a similarly poor state. With only one gun, there were only so many shots she could take. She couldn't reload with one arm while also being struck at random by passing creatures.
Kiara ducked a lunging creature and instantly regretted doing so. The thing soared past her and rammed into Ina, knocking her down. She cried out, but kept flipping through the book. She still looked scared, but the confusion and uncertainty was gone from her expression. Her eyes didn't move from the text even after another monster hit her.
Kiara rushed to protect her from more incoming creatures, batting away the ones she could, and Amelia joined her. Unfortunately, as ill equipped as they were to defend themselves with their injuries, they were just as incapable of protecting someone else.
Several creatures tore past them at once. Whereas the previous attacks on Ina had seemed accidental, this felt like a coordinated effort to target her specifically. "Look out!" Kiara tried to warn her, but she was too engrossed in the book to notice the threat or the warning.
As the monsters reached Ina she erupted in a crystalline, violet light. The monsters were repelled and Ina rose, floating a few feet off the ground. She raised her head and stared up at the ceiling, her eyes glowing just as brightly as the initial eruption. The tome floated with her and she rested a hand on the open page as if in a trance. A broad halo emerged from the glow around her head.
The monsters scurried around on the ground, no longer leaping through the air. Their attacks stopped as well. Whatever Ina was doing, it was working.
Probably.
Kiara held her breath as Ina's mouth opened ever so slightly. Her lips moved, forming a sound that no human being could possibly make. A powerful pulse of eldritch power ripped through the chamber. It knocked Amelia to the ground and nearly toppled Kiara as well.
The monsters stopped and stood as straight as they could, stretched out so that their heads–or whatever they had in place of heads–nearly touched the ceiling. As the last of them stood they all collapsed simultaneously. This time, they did not spring back. Piles of ash spilled out of the now empty robes that littered the floor.
The chamber fell silent aside from a thrumming ring in Kiara's ears. The sound was faint as she looked around the room, marveling at the sudden stillness. It grew louder, more insistent, as she looked up at Ina. She still floated near the ceiling.
She couldn't take her eyes off the woman's slight frame as wisps of violet light drifted off of her. Even as the halo faded and the glow dimmed, Kiara was stunned by the power that could be drawn from a book. All it had taken was a single utterance.
Ina started to descend and the tentacles disappeared back through their little portal. She touched down gently and closed her eyes.
Questions flooded Kiara's mind like water bursting through a dam. What was drawing that power out of the book like? What was it that she said? How did it destroy all of the monsters so thoroughly? Kiara was no stranger to the supernatural, but this kind of magic was entirely new to her. She couldn't help but get excited.
She spun towards Amelia. Surely, the time traveler could ask more illuminating questions. She marched right up to her, ready to help her to feet and gush about the incredible magic that Ina had just performed.
And then she noticed how badly Amelia was trembling.
Her eyes were wide and staring, unfocused, at the ground. She didn't react at all when Kiara bounded up to her.
Cold guilt shot through Kiara's veins. She'd gotten ahead of herself. Monsters and magic? Time travel? These were new, exciting things to her. But that wasn't the case for Amelia. Ina would be the priestess that destroyed the world. The power she just used was probably all too familiar to someone from that ruined future.
Kiara reached down and gently placed her hand on Amelia's. She rested it there until Amelia looked up. Then she wrapped her fingers around that trembling hand and helped her stand. She held her hand firmly and led her to where Ina now sat. The poor girl looked almost as traumatized as Amelia. With her other hand, Kiara took one of Ina's.
The experience of an undying soul was vast, but she couldn't possibly understand what these two had experienced in their lifetimes. The things they were going through would be unique to them. The best Kiara could do was remind them that they were not alone. They had each other, and they had friends who would help them through whatever horrors they might encounter down the road.
She squeezed their hands, imparting heat not from her mystical flames, but from her flesh and blood. They squeezed back and Kiara felt their warmth. She smiled at both of them in turn. She was there. They could rely on her. They could rely on each other.
And they smiled back. Neither expression was particularly joyous, but they made the effort to return her sentiment. Haggard as they were, they shared it with each other as well.
Kiara had seen enough movies to know what a fickle business changing the future was, but she had faith. As long as she could help cultivate the friendship between Amelia and Ina things would turn out alright.
+ Break +
Calli crossed her arms and sat back. Today's raids had been successful, but overall they were a disaster. There were too many sudden developments in the situation for her liking. She watched Kiara and Amelia tend to their wounds. That was going to slow things down. Could they really afford that?
"So, on top of new kinds of monsters, we have the order's leadership shifting gears? That's just great." Calli got out of her chair. She needed to move around.
Amelia winced as Ina applied antiseptic to one of her wounds. She had her arm in a sling and there were cuts all over her, but that didn't stop her from grumbling. "I know. It sucks, but it isn't all bad. They're definitely running low on options thanks to our raids."
"Yeah, we've cut off their least destructive options. Great. Now we just have to deal with giants and speedy monsters on top of everything else." Calli sighed, "We can't take our time anymore."
"Agreed," Amelia said. She didn't look upset that her plan backfired. If anything, she looked pleased. "You and Gura encountered a giant monster. We ran into monsters with enhanced speed. Why didn't we run into the same issues?"
That . . . was a good question. When she and Kiara first encountered a monster in a hideout, there had only been one. Then, as they'd raided more and more hideouts, the number of monsters increased.
Gura raised her hand, "Were there not enough to go around?"
Amelia snapped her fingers, "Exactly! Why not?"
"They haven't had enough time to make more?" Kiara suggested.
Amelia shook her head. "They've had more than enough time. We've been at this for weeks and all they've done is send the regular monsters at us. Until today."
Understanding hit Calli like a lightning bolt. "It's the heralds. The order's leaders haven't been directly involved until now. It isn't that they can't make more of those upgraded monsters . . ."
"If they did, they'd start hemorrhaging leadership."Amelia flashed a smirk. Calli's ears burned, but she smiled as well. "The heralds getting involved is an alternate path for them, but it increases their burden. It isn't just another set of gears to keep the machine moving, it's a failsafe!"
"The heraldry consists of a large group, but compared to the rest of the order they might as well be tiny," Ina said. She seemed astonished and more than a little relieved.
"So then," Kiara leaned forward and shared an excited look with the others, "if we keep forcing them to send those stronger monsters . . ."
"They'll run out of resources and their operation will collapse." It was a triumphant declaration, but it was premature. "If we keep raiding the hideouts, we can–"
"That isn't going to work, Amelia," Calli said. She didn't want to bring everyone down, but someone had to think things through to the end. "If they have to rely on their failsafe, that means they really are desperate. But that also means they've changed tactics.
"If we keep raiding their hideouts, they'll start sending more of those stronger monsters. But won't that just be a distraction? If they've given up on the hideouts, then why defend them at all?" Calli stood in front of Amelia and looked her in the eye. The time traveler had no shortage of resolve, but she was deluding herself if she thought they could keep going as they had been. "They'll be pulling back. There isn't a doubt in my mind that the only way to stop them now is to strike at the source."
Amelia glared at her, but she was wavering. "You think we should have had Ina and Gura lead us to their base from the start, don't you?"
"Yes and no," Calli sighed. "You were right, before. If we had gone straight for the head, they might have had the resources to stop us. But I don't think that's the case anymore. I'm saying that if they've changed tactics, then we need to as well."
"I see . . ." Amelia chewed on that.
While she did, Calli turned to Ina and Gura. "Do you think you could do it? Bite back at the order?" Gura flashed rows of razor sharp teeth and nodded. Calli knew she'd be easy to convince, but Ina was still hard to read. She'd been raised in the cult. There was programming there that wouldn't be easy to undermine.
But she nodded, her expression resolute. "Castor Kaygill and the other heralds have been deceiving the acolytes of the order. They've been taking advantage of the faith they themselves instilled. I can't accept that. Not anymore."
Calli was happy to accept that. She looked to Kiara next and . . . well, she didn't even have to ask. Kiara smiled and said, "I'm with you all the way!" before Calli could open her mouth.
Finally, she turned back to Amelia. This time, everyone else joined her. Kiara placed a supportive hand on her shoulder and Ina and Gura offered encouragement. Calli wasn't always great with words, but she'd heard about what happened at the hideout from Kiara.
She knew exactly what to say.
"The forces that destroyed your future aren't theirs to command. They're here, and they're on your side. We can do this, Amelia."
Amelia took a deep breath, "Alright, I give. We'll do things your way this time, Calli. But I want to say something first." She cleared her throat and her face flushed ever so slightly. "I've been fighting all this time to save the future. That's still the most important thing to me, but there are things here and now that I want to save as well." Her face was almost entirely red now. She tried to keep talking, but all she did was mumble.
Kiara jumped in to interpret. "What Amelia is trying to say, I think, is that we'll take down the order, not just to save the future, but to protect our friends as well! Right?" She nudged Amelia and the time traveler's ears started to steam. That was it all right.
Calli held out her hand, "That sounds good to me."
Gura's tail wagged side to side as she leapt to throw her hand out too. Kiara giggled and joined them. Ina followed, still bearing a hint of the timidity from when she first joined the group, but overcoming it with sheer resolve. Still blushing, Amelia held her hand out.
The entire group was in agreement. They'd take out the order's main compound next.
After Amelia and Kiara were back in peak condition, of course.
