Double X Hijinx
Chapter 6 of Children of Luzistor
The lower castellum was a lesser version of the greater hall above it. Still, the vast space presented a daunting arena for Picard's group, who spread out warily across brown tiles. A second level sported flags draped over the sides, a good place to spring an ambush. Each corner was menaced by a monstrous statue with the potential for being animated. Perhaps they already had been, and were waiting for the right moment. Most of the ambient light filtered from above, beyond balustrades serving as railing. From any of those unseen rooms could come trouble. A low moan of wind meant somewhere there was access to the outside.
Ardra stayed near a wall, where she could oversee the space. "If only I had my full power here. I'd turn the master of this place into a tennis ball and dribble him down the court."
"I think that's basketball," Moast offered. He kept a line abreast with Picard and Vixia, so they could concentrate their energy beams on the most high-profile target.
Picard was busy with his tricorder. "No trap doors underfoot. That's one less thing to worry about."
Some rats skittered along the opposite wall, prompting Vixia to draw her disruptor. "They don't appear to be guided," she said, but kept the gun in hand. Of Jili and Jonturi there was no sign, as was their way. It was comforting to know they were watching.
"And we're on," Moast said, drawing his impactor gun. A giant armored figure had appeared on the balcony from one of the rooms. He bore a wide blade on his back. His face was that of a boar, with tusks along the lower jaw. A short studded helm topped his sloping forehead.
It was Moast who made the call, having been tutored by Team Dan. "That's a battle lord. It gets worse, because he's also a mid-level conjurer. From what Zena tells me, they like for the other side to make the first move."
"We'll see about that," Picard said. "You up there—you're no battle lord. You're a punk nascent dilettante!"
Moast rubbed his chin. "I don't think his vocabulary is up to the task."
"He knows when he's been insulted," Picard said, offering the foe a snide grin.
It worked. The battle lord leapt over the side with a floor-shaking impact, pulling his sword and raising it high. In response to his roar, a line of archers sprang up from behind a line of flags overhead. Everyone crouched and made ready to react, but Ardra turned the arrows into a spray of flowers. The lord watched with interest as three energy beams speared into the ranks, dropping the first line of bowmen, who were quickly replaced by another.
A commotion broke out among the soldiers. One of them collapsed, a slender sword jutting through from behind. Jili came out of stealth, a homing star gathering power about her hand. She released it to smash into the ranks, hurling them off their feet. One fell over the side. Black magic flared about her other hand, and the dead soldier came back to life, immediately began to attack his fellows.
It didn't sit well with the lord, who threw a magic net of black tendrils over Picard, who went down in agony. Moast tried to pull the net off, but it sapped his strength enough to stagger him. That's when Jonturi came out of stealth and laid a hand over the spell. It dissipated like smoke. She applied a healing touch to get Picard back on his feet.
"Nicely done, Jonturi," he said, but she had already moved on, lost to view.
The lord tried a blast of raw energy, which Ardra turned to steam. Vixia's green disruptor blast speared his chest, but he shifted in and out of view, regenerating the damage. Moast tried the same with a flurry of white plasma shots, with the same result. The lord reacted by conjuring a horde of imps, who proved capable of tossing fireballs.
Queenie strode into the fray, her shield deflecting the flame. Grabbing one, she hurled it into some others.
The soldiers, meanwhile, had abandoned the half seen demoness in their midst, coming down to the main floor. One of them dodged Picard's phaser shot, darting off down a side hall, pursued by Vixia.
"Dammit, Vixia," Picard shouted. "Stay together!"
Jili reeled down on her cord to enter the fight. Her twin blades took a toll on the imps, but the conjurer kept raising more. Two of her reanimated soldiers came down to hack at the imps, until they were burned up by fireballs.
The battle lord, leery of the slashing energy beams of yellow and white, was content to let his summoned hordes do the fighting, at least for the moment. Suddenly, Jili's skeletal familiar arose in a black flash, began to manically hack at the battle lord's armor. An overhead swing of the wide blade split the skeletoid, who vanished in a cloud of black spores. These proved fatal to the imps nearby until they dissipated.
Queenie walked back toward Ardra, dealing a vicious side-arm to an imp, who slid clear across the space. "Mage girl," she said to Ardra, "enable my nanites."
"All right, Queenster—but I'm watching you!"
Queenie approached the towering battle lord, who watched curiously, seeing no weapon. She jabbed her finger probe into him and backed away from the violent reaction. The lord grabbed his helmeted head with a deafening roar. Rays of light shot out of his body in multiple places as the nanites overwhelmed his defenses. With a last gurgle, he pitched forward.
Even while this was going on, Queenie had eyed one of the rats. With cyborg precision, she sent a dart into it. The critter jumped and galloped away. Queenie smiled. Of such humble seeds came the fruits of conquest. It was true that Ardra had set her nanites unable to replicate, but they could certainly transfer to others.
Amid the carnage, Jili had re-summoned the skeletoid for mopping up operations, dispatching the injured, making sure no one was faking it. As it turned out, one of the soldiers was doing just that, but could see his turn under the skeletoid's magical cold blade was coming. He stood up, dropped his sword.
Jonturi arose out of stealth magic and lifted a hand. The skeletoid halted, turning confused looks between Jonturi and Jili. "There is no need to kill him," Jonturi said.
Jili waved an arm to dispel the familiar in a blue flash. She pranced over to grip Jonturi at the collar, nearly lifting her off her feet. "You're taking control of my familiar? Don't think I won't hurt you if there's a reason. Do I have to prove that by carving it in your head?"
Picard put a hand to block Moast. "They have to work this out between them."
Jonturi had hands defensively beneath her chin, staring into the hooded dark eyes boring into hers. "You have . . . seen the goddess."
Jili released her grip. "How did you know that?"
"I have seen her as well, as a child."
"Describe her," Jili demanded.
"She has a bluish cast, eyes of black obsidian, and clear tubes for hair, down to her waist."
"Ginmaya," Jili breathed. She paced some distance, examining the flagstones. "I must think upon this . . ." Collapsing into stealth, she appeared briefly as an aerial distortion, until her magic convinced the others she wasn't there. The soldier, seeing his chance, ran away.
Ardra strolled over to the men. "Now what? Even a group as talented as this won't stand a chance once they mass their forces. We can't stay here." She looked about. "Where's that Romulan girl?"
"With me," Picard said, and he and Moast trotted toward the side corridor.
Vixia
Having tackled her man, Vixia put her pistol to his head. "I want you to arrange a meeting. You think these people are here to rescue the shamans? You know that isn't possible. I'll get them safely away, to a place where we can all profit."
He stared at the gun barrel. "They're going to kill the shamans? That's a laugh!"
"You've seen what the stealth girl can do," Vixia reminded. "She'll turn up with no warning, and they're both dead."
The man gave her a calculating look. "I'll pass that along."
Hearing the sound of running feet, she let him get up and sprint away.
"Vixia!" Picard scolded. "That was a foolhardy thing to do! How would I explain your death to the Romulan senate?"
She holstered the gun. "Relax, Picard. I merely pressed him for information, but he doesn't know where the men are being held."
Moast gave her an appraising look. "Isn't that better left to the experts? Either Ardra or Jili could get people to talk. And let's not forget Jonturi. She never got the chance, what with Jili slicing and dicing everything in sight."
Vixia offered a patronizing grin. "My mistake. So noted."
In a deserted hallway
The infected rat didn't even try to elude the cat. The feline seized him in its jaws, immediately went rigid, its eyes taking on a brief demonic glow. Leaving the corpse behind, it made its way to the kitchen and jumped on a prep table.
A cook took hold of him. "You know you can't get up there, you dumb beast!" It clawed her arm. Her curse died in her throat as her body went rigid.
A serving maid approached. "Are you feeling well?"
"I'm fine. Who are we serving tonight?"
"One of the squadron commanders, if you're up to it."
"Of course," the cook said. "I'll serve him personally."