Chapter 43

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

Morana died.

I sucked in a deep breath. I glanced at Kassie. The last of the halflings were about to leave the dungeon. Just a few more groups to go. This was almost over. I concentrated and sent with all the force I could muster. “Clear them from the dungeon now! Hurry!”

We could still do this. I waited for the alarm to die. For my dungeon to be free of intruders. Then I could make this safe. Figure out how to deal with Sulanga. I needed Level 3 magic. I had an idea of where to do it, I just couldn’t do both.

I couldn’t reach my dungeon to there and here.

My stomach clenched. We were so close. So damned close.

Halia Vobria, daughter of Anguin, screamed in pain as the lightning wolf stood on her chest. Lord Leo’s command echoed through her ear. The lightning wolf’s electricity burned Halia’s arms. The paladin was sustained only by the blessing of Lady Sherida.

Terra slammed her hammering fists down on the back of the lightning wolf. Sparks flared and sizzled. Terra roared in fury. The lightning wolf turned and snapped at the golem, teeth lunging in to rip her apart.

“NO!” Terra roared and clobbered the lightning wolf in the face.

The head snapped around with a sharp blow. The sparks burst from the wolf as Terra slammed her next blown down on the bitch’s back. The beast howled in pain then burst into motes, beaten to death by the ferocity of Terra.

Patches of her body had glassy looks of fired clay.

The werewolves howled. The three of them snapped. Terra turned, a patch of pottery burst on her. She screamed and slammed her fist down on the first one that lunged on her, crushing the monster girl’s head and sending her flying back into another. The beast burst into motes.

Halia panted, “Terra! You can do this!”

Terra ignored the pain as she faced the last two werewolves.

“Get back to Lord Leo. You need to be healed, Halia!” Terra cried as she faced them. “I can handle two.”

The werewolves snarled, their hackles raised, Terra held her arms up, ready to beat them. Halia staggered to her feet, groaning from the pain, and stumbled down the hallway. Then Halia collapsed, whimpering in pain.

“Too hurt,” whimpered Halia.

“That’s okay,” Terra said and smiled. She could do this. Clear the dungeon, and this was over.

Baying echoed down the dungeon then two more werewolves appeared from the stairs and rushed to join their sisters. Terra’s stomach lurched. The nearest pair tensed, ready to spring as the reinforcements hurtled towards them.

I’m dead, Terra thought. But she would make them pay. She would beat them. Kill as many as she could.

The scrabble of claws echoed down the tunnel. The two racing in hurtled down the sides of the tunnel, their sisters in the middle, ready to join the attack. All four would lunge at Terra at once. She readied her hammering fists to strike before they tore her to pieces.

The two newcomers reached their waiting sisters. They leaped.

Someone stepped up beside Terra. Fire exploded before the golem and engulfed the four leaping werewolves. They howled in pain as they bathed in a dragon’s fury. Isatu had come to Terra’s aid, standing tall, her wings fluttering.

Motes burst out of the flames, the enemy werewolves dying. Not a single one made it out of the dragon’s fire. Terra almost whooped for joy. She lowered her fists and stared down the corridor. She could see no monster girls.

“That’s it!” Terra sent to Leo, screaming her excitement. “The dungeon’s clear!”

“We did it!” Isatu cheered, clapping her hands together.

“Get Halia back to Lord Leo,” Terra said.

“Oh, right,” gasped Isatu and darted for the injured Halia. She grabbed the wounded paladin beneath the armpits and dragged her down the hallway away from the fight.

Terra just leaned against the wall. It was over. They had done it. They had survived.

The next group of halflings stepped into the magic circle and vanished.

I stood there, so close to being done. There were only three more groups to go. A last few stragglers had appeared. My stomach twisted. I stood stock still, holding my hands behind me. We were so close to being done, but Sulanga was here.

If he found the entrance to the dungeon.

White light flared.

“Okay, next group!” Kassie shouted. “Hurry, hurry, hurry!”

They rushed into the circle, some limping. A mother carried an injured child. This was worth it. Saving these people, but now we had to end this. We had to get them clear. I had so many monster girls to bring back.

“Asud Gu!” cried Kassie.

White light exploded and swallowed the halflings.

Two more groups to go.

Leo was down to nothing. He had almost no forces left to fight that were close enough to matter. He had plenty of Level One monster girls, but getting them here would take some time. Would have to use Kassie’s teleportation circle.

“Asud Gu!”

The halflings vanished in light. One more to go.

The last of the halflings stepped into the circle. The final group of twenty. I stared at them. They had such hope in their eyes. Kassie stepped up to her people and cried the words one last time. They vanished in light.

I rushed to the circle that would take me to my Void Crystal. I stepped on it and Kassie rushed with me, her blue robes rustling about her. She stepped up beside me on the circle. She cried the word and the radiance bathed us.

When it was gone, I stared at an open door. My Void Crystal hummed just through it. I darted to it. Souleen glanced up at me, a look of hope in her eyes. I grabbed the gem. I held it in my hand and tried to interface with it.

I couldn’t.

“Feya, are the halflings still in the dungeon?” I cried, unable to change anything. Someone was in my dungeon that wasn’t mine.

“No!” Feya cried.

“Sulanga’s in the dungeon!” screamed Terra.

Fear shot through me. I turned and rushed back for the magic circle. Kassie stood there, her eyes widening. She had heard the cry from Terra. I stepped into the circle and stared at my mage. She nodded and spoke.

A flaming Sulanga Stormfury marched down the tunnel at Terra. She readied herself. She had nowhere to run. Could not flee. So the barista did the only thing she could.

She charged.

She rushed down the tunnel at the dungeon builder, her coppery hair whipping behind her. She ignored the pain from her injuries as she closed the distance. The dungeon builder stopped. A smile spread on his burning lips.

“Hands burn, let the heat of Lady Lamashtu grow!”

Sulanga’s hands burned even brighter. They blazed. Terra kept charging, confused at what he had just done. Why had he made his hands burn bright? She was almost on him, though. She raised her hammer fist to smite.

“Lightning flashes, let the passion of Lady Uttu fly!”

She swung her hand down at his head even as he vanished in a burst of electricity. She hit nothing then struck the floor. She gasped, her coppery hair spilling around her face. She gasped in shock at what had just happened.

“What?” she cried, straightening.

Then she felt the heat on her back. She whirled to find Sulanga standing behind her, his hands thrusting for her. Those burning hands struck Terra’s stomach. The heat poured into her body. It hardened her clay in moments. She screamed as it spread up her body, turning her into pottery.

“No!” she cried as she raised her arms.

But the heat spread too fast. It was over her torso and hit her shoulders. They shattered from the torquing motion of her arms. They fell off her even as the heat swallowed her head. Terra fell back and burst into shards that vanished into motes.

Sulanga watched the monster girl vanish.

She would be an interesting one to keep, Sulanga thought. He could have fun hurting her body, watching her turn to clay as she screamed in agony for displeasing him.

But no monster girl companion of his vanquished foes ever wanted to serve him. Sulanga doubted this upstart Leo’s would be any different.

He turned and marched down the dungeon. Leo’s forces were decimated. He didn’t have Level 3 monster girls or Expert Magic. The boy had a lot of forces. A lot of glyphs. All the ones that Sulanga was missing.

But now things were even. Leo must have nothing left. Sulanga had invaded the dungeon, a section that was safe. No traps because of the halflings the fool was rescuing. That made no sense to Sulanga. But it didn’t matter.

Leo would die.

Sulanga would end this today.

The tunnel led to a larger room. Leo appeared in it, dressed in gray robes, his skin looking like stone. An interesting protective spell. The boy ducked back out of sight. Sulanga smiled. His foe was afraid.

Then a halfling in blue robes trimmed in red appeared in the entrance. “Seg Ki-Se!”

Before Sulanga could understand what she had just cried, ice exploded around him, bursting off his static aura. The defensive spell shorted out. It had defended Sulanga from the surprise attack. He was stunned by how fast she had gotten the spell off.

No sentence. Just two words.

Leo grabbed the halfling and yanked her back out of sight.

“What are you doing?” I growled at Kassie.