Chapter 19

I looked at the women beside me in horror as we took in the large mob of undead filling the courtyard. Most of the animated corpses were only minutes old, and they all still wore armor and carried the weapons they wielded in life. I looked to Shalyndria as we stepped forward and gathered fire in our hands.

I closed my eyes and thought about the heat from a plasma cutter I’d used briefly helping a friend. Compressing it down to a baseball only intensified the heat. As I picked a target, I notice Shalyndria studying my spell. I sent her my memories and mental pictures through our bond, and in moments she had copied my plasma ball. I counted to three in my head before we began our attack. Our spells exploded in the middle of the crowd, destroying dozens and setting countless others ablaze.

With the opening moves completed, I pulled my swords and set the blades alight with blue fire. Nadine stepped aside and cast spells of protection on the guards as they passed, following my lovers and me into the yard. The next few minutes were a blur of fire and blood. When the area was clear of zombies, we stopped and got a headcount and realized we had lost five men. I paused to say a prayer for the men when load roars came from around the building’s corner.

We watched in disgust as four mammoth flesh golems charged us from the side. Nadine managed to erect a wall of flames to slow the disgusting monsters. When they finally pushed through the construct, the golems were burnt but very much functioning. While the guards surrounded and began to attack three of them, one of the atrocities veered off and headed toward us.

Petra and I took the initiative as we charged forward at matching speeds. I jumped, aiming for its head while Petra slipped around, trying to attack its legs. While I slammed one blade through its forehead and deep into whatever existed where a brain should be, I slid the other blue blade into the side of its thick neck. I pushed off of the shoulder, ripping my blades free and doing as much damage as possible while falling to the ground. I landed behind Petra, who was just slicing through a knee, severing the leg.

It roared in annoyance as it toppled to the left. We stared in disbelief as the severed leg started to slide back into place, and the flesh knitted back together. Once the appendage was reattached, the beast stood and stared at us. I turned to my partner, a plan forming in my head. “I need an opening deep into its body, preferably near the center,” I told the graceful woman. Petra graced me with the feral smile I loved before rushing forward. I readied another plasma ball while she worked.

I took a moment while the plasma heated and formed to check on the others. Nadine and Shalyndria were using fire magic to help the guards. Two of the undead were destroyed, and the third was soon to follow. I turned back to see a broad gash right in the center being kept open by water. Knowing it was my turn, I ran forward. I shoved my spell as deep as I could into the massive torso, then leaped free just as it detonated.

Looking around as chunks of burnt flesh rained around us, I saw that all the golems had been destroyed without any more casualties. The others joined me as we approached the front doors of the mansion. Nadine slithered in front and used a blade of wind to cut the wood to splinters. As we searched the ground floor, something felt off. Terrance voiced our concerns, “Where are all the servants? Records show the Baron had a dozen legal slaves working here.” None of us had an answer.

Shalyndria sent Terrance and the guards to search the rest of the building. Using our magical senses, Nadine and I explored the ground floor. In an out of the way closet, I found what we had been looking for. Stairs were hidden behind an illusion that leads beneath the house. Before going down, Nadine shifted from her snake form to make movement in the tight space easier. I sheathed my kukris and pulled my sidearm from its holster as I started down the stairs.