Chapter 41

Brant

 

 

Brant rolled his shoulders to exercise the stiffness out of them. It had been six hours since the army he led pushed through the breach in the wall. The fighting had been bloody and exhausting, seemingly never-ending.

While the initial forces they’d faced had buckled and run without putting up much of a fight, the same could not be said for the reinforcements that came after. The second wave of Brotherhood warriors had attacked relentlessly with uncommon fervour. They refused to back down or break and had to be killed or incapacitated to the last man.

The few prisoners from this second wave he’d had a chance to interrogate had been fanatically loyal to Luca. A complete one-eighty to the attitude of the men and women guarding the walls who capitulated with ease. Those people had acknowledged Luca as their leader and would follow his orders, but there was no true devotion. Not the kind of dedication the subsequent troops had shown. Gladly willing to give up their lives.

Brant had never seen anything like it in his life. Well, not in these numbers or amongst general fighters. The Islamist groups managed to attract a few willing martyrs, but these people throwing their lives away had personalities about as far away from that mindset as you could get. It was almost as if they were being mind-controlled and he suspected something must have changed. That is what worried him the most. But all he could do was keep his eyes open and stick to the plan.

His spearhead had just finished taking the enemy positions at the second major crossroads in the southern half of the city. He could see the wall that had been built on the other side of the city at the end of 28^th Street. His militia had worked their way down, from one side of the encircling wall to the other, cutting off the southern half of the city from the northern part where Torin and his crew of pirates wreaked havoc.

Amber and three of her squad mates, Peter, Rory, and Michelle took a break from the battle not far from him. The four of them had formed a formidable association.

“Damn, but my leg still aches,” Rory complained and shook the offending plate-armoured limb to make his point.

“You shouldn’t let a croc chomp on it then,” Michelle quipped back.

“Or let it heal naturally if you will insist on endangering yourself,” Peter chuckled.

Brant turned away to hide his smile. To be young and still capable of that kind of banter when danger is all around you was a blessing.

“Cut the chatter,” Amber barked with sudden wariness. “We have incoming. From the mall up ahead.”

All eyes turned northward. The light was fading, and a vehicle, not a car, but something being pulled or carried by twenty people in slave collars rushed through the parking lot of the mall towards the road they held. An imperious figure with flowing tawny hair sat on a throne-like chair in the centre of the palanquin-cum-parade float.

The moment Brant’s eyes landed on the figure his guts churned with wrongness. Instinctively, he understood something truly awful had just happened and he hadn’t been strong enough to stop it.

This man before him could be none other than Luca Gattosi. A hateful and despicable individual they had come to overthrow and kill. He represented everything Brant loathed. But none of that mattered because in that moment, he felt a deep desire to serve and please that magnificently atrocious man.

 

***

Luca Gattosi

 

 

Luca was not happy, and when he was unhappy other people paid the price.

The freak in his head was gone and had taken that traitor Maurice with him which was good.

With them gone, he satisfied his violent desires and knocked the teeth from the mouths of the vile turncoats left behind. Afterwards, he gave them their orders and got the restoration of his authority back under way.

With that done and his current position secure, he had a chance to visit his Framework liaison and finish his levelling. Luca was now a level 100 Crime Kingpin and the legit most powerful man in the world.

Luca knew that for a fact because the bored-sounding Framework fucker had been forced to congratulate him on his achievement. Screw that piece of shit, he’d pay along with everyone else. Michigan was just the start for Luca, he was going places, and nobody would dare show disrespect to him ever again.

Something else the Framework drone had confirmed was that he was indeed free of his sister, without any backlash, and in full control of his empire.

But that’s when things started to go sour. He’d barely got back to his townhouse HQ when news of the full-scale attack on the city reached him.

The blasted walls that he’d spent millions in gold and worked thirty-thousand slaves to death building seemed to offer no fucking help and Carter’s raiders penetrated the western defences seemingly at will. The bastions had been overrun or reduced to rubble.

Most of the fucking losers that made up the Brotherhood had wanted to surrender or run. Luca had put a stop to that. He issued orders to have all of them and the reserves witness his glory in person. The improvements in his class stiffened their backbones and enforced their unconditional devotion to him as Kingpin. They were sent back to win everything back or die in the attempt.

The problem was that dying was precisely what most of them did.

Even with an inability to retreat and overwhelming numbers, they were pushed back, time and time again. As a result, the north quadrant of the city had fallen and so had the southern. All Luca had left was the centre of Grand Rapids and that would collapse before long. He had no choice but to take to the field himself and unleash the power of his class.

The reports from the front indicated that the pirate and his ships were in the north and working their way south. Luca headed there first. His plan had been simple. These fuckers were criminals, their faction was lawless, and they should be sitting ducks for his enslavement power. He’d take that bastard’s people and turn them against him.

One of the improvements to his Accumulate Minions ability meant he had a better idea of how effective it would be on a group. Unfortunately, every time he got near a platoon of the pirate’s crew, the feedback he received only highlighted the abilities lack of efficacy on the group. Too many of them were bound to the pirate directly by one manner or another and that snake Carter was apparently too strong for Accumulate Minions to overcome that bond. Even with Luca’s level boost.

His subordinates tried to console him and fluff his ego, but Luca didn’t care. He rushed to the southern front instead, whipping the bearers for more speed. They reached the Woodland Mall at the intersection of 28^th and Beltline and finally he found what he’d been searching for.

Vulnerability.

His instincts had been right, of course. Carter had kept his most devoted closest to him. Those attacking from the south, on the other hand, could be coerced.

There was a large force not far from his position. They were not all susceptible to Accumulate Minions, but the majority were.

He straightened his posture in his seat of power. The swirls of smoke from the conflict cleared in the breeze and he laid eyes on the enemy. In particular, a large imposing man who looked like a Viking warrior.

The leader here. Luca was certain of it.

Luca stood as the palanquin came to a halt just out of range of arrow fire.

“Kneel!” he bellowed and unleashed the full weight of Accumulate Minions on the watching crowd.

Everywhere he looked, armed men and women fell to their knees in obedience. There were a few who did not and looked at their fellows curiously, but they would be dealt with quickly.

“Kill all of those who haven’t knelt to me,” he ordered imperiously.

Weapons were drawn and fighting broke out. Those who hadn’t knelt in deference to Luca were quickly cut down where they stood or they fled southwards when it became obvious too many of their comrades had been impelled to switch sides.

Luca clapped his hands together and beckoned for the big man to come forward. It was time to turn the tables on that bastard pirate once and for all.

 

***

Amber

 

 

Amber snorted and rolled her eyes when the grandiose lion-man who had to be compensating for something came into view atop his parade float carried by several dozen men and women in collars.

The ass was even seated on a tacky-looking golden throne.

Captain Carter might like to lord it over people from time to time but he had enough humility not to have people carry him around like a pampered fucking lordling.

“Will you get a load of him,” Rory chuckled and stood up to get a better view. Which caused him to wince because of his sore thigh wound.

“What kind of moron makes such an easy target of himself?” Michelle asked.

Who indeed? Amber thought. Was this foolishness or confidence? Even confidence could turn out to be overconfidence and prove to be a man’s undoing. Or a lion-man in this case.

Amber felt a shudder run down her spine when the lion-man rose from his throne and glared at the army before him with a sneering expression. A feeling she had felt only once before.

A memory hidden deep inside from many months ago rose unbidden to dominate her thoughts. Amber had done everything she could to purge her mind of any recollection of the days she spent as a prisoner of the capronids. The fear, the pain, the gruesome sights she witnessed and smelled. Any therapist would have an absolute field day with that kind of trauma.

Amber had tried to suppress them all, but there was one that especially haunted her. One that had caused her to wake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night more than once since. Nightmares ravaging her nighttime peace.

Her cousin Florence.

Nobody had known that her cheerleading coach Flo was also her cousin. Flo was twenty years older than Amber and they had different surnames. They’d agreed to keep their familial relationship on the down low from the school. Flo had never shown her any favouritism, if anything, she was harder on Amber than any of the other girls on the squad. But their squad had been one of the best in the country and competition to participate was fierce. You could never be sure someone wouldn’t cry nepotism to get their child onto the team in Amber’s place.

The trip to Beaver Island had meant a lot to them both. Amber would be moving on to college and it was no longer a secret they had to keep. Which is why it hurt Amber more than anyone when Florence betrayed them all.

She remembered that moment. The same spine-tingling shudder had run through her when that blood-covered maniac Dougie had crooned for volunteers to join him in his worship of the goat-fuckers god.

The first to accept had been a man named Mark. That hadn’t surprised Amber. Mark had watched mutely when his wife had been dragged over to the sacrificial altar the first day and hadn’t made a single move to save her. She’d cried and screamed for his help and all he did was look away.

But when a few seconds later, Flo agreed too, it was like a punch to the gut.

Her cousin wouldn’t look her in the eyes, but Amber had been determined she wouldn’t be like Mark and look away.

She watched as Florence dedicated herself to Carnax. Watched when she rubbed blood and excrement all over her body. Watched when she helped Dougie or a capronid drag one of the squad or the other prisoners to the altar. Watched as Florence abandoned her humanity and ate the discarded parts of the sacrificial victims. Watched as Captain Carter burst from the woodland unexpectedly and the whip of a miniaturised Ana wrapped around the throat of her cousin and ended her life.

She’d watched, but not understood.

And that is what haunted her. How could her cousin Florence choose to become a cultist of that monstrous god. Choose to follow that pipsqueak Dougie and commit such abominable and perverse acts.

“Kneel!” The lion-man roared from his platform.

Rory, despite his constant complaints about his bad leg, fell to his knees almost immediately. Up ahead, Amber saw Brant drop to one knee in obeisance and like a row of dominoes everything clicked into place. That shudder hadn’t been a premonition of horror to come, it was a Darkwyrlds ability being used upon them. Florence hadn’t chosen to become a ghastly cultist; she had been compelled.

“What the…” Michelle gasped as her query was cut short by Amber’s hand on the back of her neck and forced her to stumble into a crouch.

Peter looked at them quizzically and turned around to see most of the other militia and soldiers had taken a knee.

“Peter, get down,” Amber whispered to him.

Peter either didn’t hear her or failed to understand. Instead, he stepped over to Rory. “What are you doing, dude? Are you alright?”

“Kill all of those who haven’t knelt to me,” the lion-man ordered loudly from the bier he commanded from.

Amber pulled Michelle up onto her knees and hoped none of those nearby cottoned on to the fact she had fallen on her butt and not knelt. The others around her rose from their kneeling positions, drew weapons, and attacked those still standing.

Peter was doomed. He had his hand on Rory’s shoulder while he checked on him. And his helm was off because he found the strap uncomfortable. Amber had warned him about that a thousand times, and he kept taking it off to readjust the strap anyway. It had become a habit he kept promising to break.

Peter would never get the chance. The tip of Rory’s blade punched through the bottom of his jaw and didn’t stop until it hit skull.

Amber could see the shock and horror in Rory’s eyes as he killed one of his closest friends. But that hadn’t prevented him from following the lion-man’s order.

It had to be Luca Gattosi. Amber had heard about his class and what it could do. She hadn’t thought he would be powerful enough to affect this many or to this degree.

“We need to play along,” she whispered in Michelle’s ear who was shaking enough that Amber had to steady her.

“Understood,” she stammered back.

Amber looked around at the infighting. Thankfully, there was not as much as she had feared. Part of that was a bad thing. The majority of those around her had fallen under the sway of Luca’s power. Those who hadn’t, and were surrounded, were finished off quite quickly. She had to suppress a sigh of relief when she saw several of the stronger newcomers and those on the periphery force a way out and get away.

The downside was that they were fleeing southerly, while she and Michelle were currently in the opposite direction. About as far from safety as they could get.

However, while Amber scoured the scene around her certain factors began to add up. She, Peter, and Michelle were all contracted members of the militia. That was something of a rarity and part of what bonded them together. Rory was not. He had come to Stormblade Harbour from Ionia at the same time as Chief Brant.

Most of those Amber could see escaping had been off-world slaves who had signed contracts to serve the Shattered Storm. Amber was more than smart enough to figure out the contract was what had protected her and Michelle from Luca.

They’d also been fortunate that Luca hadn’t been more specific in the orders he gave.

Speaking of Luca, he had beckoned to Chief Brant to come over to him and the big man started to walk towards him. This would be their best chance.

“Come on Michelle,” she said loud enough that those around could hear her. “The Chief’s orders were for us to watch his six.”

She pulled the hesitant woman along with her and led her forward.

Rory didn’t seem to hear her which was for the best. His gaze remained rivetted on the body of his best friend whom he’d just killed.

“Michelle, we need to project confidence and look for an opportunity to make a break for it,” Amber whispered to the other woman.

“You’re right,” she whispered back. “I was shocked, but I can pull it together. I’m with you.”

Amber didn’t answer but patted her on the back as they followed in Chief Brant’s wake until he stopped in front of Luca who sneered down at him.

“Name,” Luca barked his demand.

“Brant,” the big man replied.

“Are you important, Brant? You look important to me. Tell me the truth.”

“Yes, I’m important.”

Luca clucked his tongue impatiently and his entire demeanour shifted from convivial to aggravated. Brant was answering Luca’s questions, but there was a clear reluctance in his tone, and he’d proffered as little information as possible with his answers.

“You will tell me everything I need to know, Brant. Not just the bare fucking minimum. Do you understand me?”

“I do, sir, but if I may ask a question, how am I supposed to know what you need to know?”

Amber caught the hint of disrespect and so did Luca and his leonid feature scowled down on the big man.

“You will inform me of anything operationally important to your attempted invasion. Do you lead these men?”

“Yes, I’m in command of the army that attacked the southern half of the city. Captain Carter is leading the soldiers who continued further upriver and launched their assault there. The plan is to bombard the bastions with the Dungeon Ship’s artillery and then launch the invasion.”

“I know that,” Luca snapped with impatience.

Chief Brant had to follow this shit-heel’s orders, but he continued to be as obstructive as he could be given the circumstances.

“Enjoy your defiance while you can, Brant. Should you survive today, it is only a matter of time before your new loyalty to the Brotherhood of the Lion’s Claw comes as naturally as breathing. Tell me the disposition of your people in this part of the city. They all need to learn to serve a new master.”

Brant spent the next couple of minutes relaying what he knew of the troop’s current compositions and locations.

Luca nodded his head in satisfaction. “It is good so many of those here are not bound by the Framework to the pirate. It makes them easier to bend to my will. Lastly, does Carter trust you?”

“He does, sir.”

“Good. Then you can get close to him without being suspected. Take your people here, find him without delay, and do not give that scum any reason to believe you are anything other than a loyal follower. Once you get close, kill him or die trying.”

Michelle squeaked with surprise at the orders Luca had given and that drew his attention. He looked over Brant’s head and spotted the pair of them for the first time.

“Who are these two?” he asked with amusement. “Why did they follow you over? They’re a pair of pretty ones for sure. Have you been dipping your wick in the company ink, Brant? If they can be trusted, perhaps I’ll take them for a ride myself.”

Chief Brant turned at Luca’s words and laid eyes on them. Amber could see the conflict in his face, his face flushed red, and his lips quivered as he tried to keep his mouth shut. Brant knew they were both contracted and thanks to Luca, now knew that would have protected them from turning traitor. Neither she nor Michelle could be trusted, and he knew it. Luca’s phrasing might have doomed them both.

Michelle drew her sword at the same moment Brant lost his battle against Luca’s influence and started to rat them out. “The captain has to be warned. You’re faster than me, Amber. Don’t waste this chance.”

Before Amber could stop her, Michelle launched forward and put herself between Amber and Brant. “Go!” she screamed and raised her blade to block Brant’s first attack.

Fighting back tears, Amber had little choice but to take advantage of Michelle’s selfless act and she started to sprint as fast as she could. She bolted up Beltline Avenue, past a stupefied Luca who had been taken by surprise. But he didn’t stay stunned for long.

“What are you waiting for? Get the bitch!” he roared.

Amber risked a glance over her shoulder. Michelle was already on the ground with Chief Brant standing over her ready to land a killing blow. He stopped mid-swing at the sound of Luca’s counter-order which offered him the opportunity to avoid killing Michelle. Perhaps she would have a chance to survive this after all. Stay down and play dead, Amber implored in her head.

A magic missile struck Amber in the shoulder and almost knocked her to the ground, but she managed to keep her balance. Up ahead of her, past the mall area, genuine members of the Brotherhood started to emerge from the buildings following the strident cry from their unquestioned leader. Amber started to run in a slight zigzag pattern to avoid the ranged attacks that were falling all around her.

The net was closing in, and she had one chance remaining.

Fortunately, the road ahead of her was largely unobstructed and straight. She could see all the way down. There was another crossroads half a kilometre away with a few workers or slaves pottering around, trying to build barriers to slow the invaders. It was just in range of her Duellist Charge ability.

Amber picked one of the slaves up ahead as the target and activated the ability. Her limbs, already swift, were filled with an unnatural level of power and strength and she zoomed up the road. Outpacing all her pursuers and the ranged attacks aimed at her.

Not wanting to actually attack the poor bastard she’d used to extricate herself from the pursuers, Amber deactivated the charge after covering three-quarters of the distance and turned left off the road into a parking lot. She kept running and was soon in the urban housing sprawl.

She couldn’t let up on her pace, though. Brant had said that Carter was attacking the bastions on the other side of the city. Luca had essentially confirmed this and that was where she was most likely to find him. That was two or three miles away and all through enemy territory. Speed would be her friend and slowing down would be what got her killed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 42

 

 

“We’ve got another incoming fast! Down from the overpass. I’ve spotted one, but there could be more,” one of the lookouts called back to us.

Quickly we readied ourselves for another fight and I hurried over to that side of our position.

“Belay that,” I yelled out recognising the approaching figure. “It’s one of ours.”

It was Amber running raggedly towards us, weaving through the bollards and barriers that had been left in the way to slow our progress. She collided with more than one in her haste but didn’t let it slow her down. It was as if the hounds of hell were on her trail and hunting her down.

When she got a bit closer, I could see thick patches of blood staining her militia uniform. It was fresh. Any hope that Brant’s southern army was nearby, and she had been sent to hurry over and tell us vanished instantly. She had been in the wars very recently and it had not gone well. With Shana, Fang Mei, and Ana at my side we hurried over to intercept her. Even from a distance, you could see how heavily she was breathing, gasping for air.

When we reached Amber, she practically collapsed into my arms completely exhausted. The moment she stopped running, her legs turned to jelly and refused to support her weight. I had to cradle the woman while her chest heaved sucking in oxygen.

“What’s going on?” Shana asked worriedly.

Amber tried to answer but was too breathless for us to understand what she was saying.

“Anastasia, is there anything you can do to help her?” Fang Mei asked the blonde.

Anastasia put her hand on Amber’s sweaty brow, brushing her curly black hair out of the way. “She’s lost a lot of Hit Points and I’ve replenished some. We’ll still have to wait for her to get her breath back. I can’t do anything for that.”

“Gray!” I shouted back to one of the squad commanders back in our lines. “Get your squad up that road and scout the area thoroughly. We need to know if anything is following her.”

By the time Gray’s squad trotted past us, one of the Shattered Storm’s overworked clerics by the name of Gibbs had wearily reached our side. He had no mana left, but his mere presence helped all forms of recovery, and it didn’t take long before Amber could kind of talk again.

“Luca…” she gasped. “Southern…forces…mind-whammy…”

It took her longer than normal but within a couple of minutes, Amber had related the gist of what had happened in the south. Luca had used his class to seize control of anybody not part of my crew or contracted to the Shattered Storm and planned to send them against us.

“God damn, but this is bad,” I muttered. “Quixbix, how is this even possible?”

<The Shattered Storm is a lawless faction, and it does technically make our members vulnerable to classes like Crime Kingpin. There is a hefty dose of ‘buts’ involved in that equation, though. Luca tried to use his influence on you once before and it failed miserably because you were much stronger than him. With you as faction leader that should have protected the free militia unless they wanted to jump ship to the Brotherhood.>

“What are you saying, Quixie?” Anastasia asked. “That Brant and his militia were plotting to turn traitor?”

<While we can’t rule that out, unfortunately, there is another likelier explanation.>

Quixbix didn’t need to verbalise the situation any further for me. Brant wore his heart on his sleeve. If he wanted to rebel, he wouldn’t be able to hide it. The big man wasn’t capable of that level of deception. “Luca is significantly stronger than me.”

“What?” Shana snapped in surprise. “How can that be possible? Claudia confirmed her brother had only reached the late teens. With their twin-soul link, she received the level-up notifications. He’s a cowardly slug that has barely fought a single creature himself.”

“Did we miscalculate?” Fang Mei queried.

“No, we didn’t,” I answered. “Something happened during the spiritual contest. Something unexpected that I’ve not had the chance to tell you about yet.”

I pulled the three of them away from where Amber rested with Gibbs for some privacy. I quickly laid out what I knew about Ashli. How it was still alive and how it had managed to interfere with the contest, got Luca out with the fragment of itself and rewarded him for the task.

But I did keep the existence of Devantus Drakonis a secret for now. It’s not that I didn’t trust the girls, but I couldn’t tell them without Quixbix being privy to the conversation. And it wasn’t that I didn’t trust the imp, but he was a program of the Framework. The Framework which Ashli created. I couldn’t fully rule out the possibility that Ashli or his fragment might be able to access or influence the imp in some way either now or in the future. What he didn’t know, he couldn’t reveal.

After I finished, Shana was the first to ask a question. “What do we do? It sounds like it won’t be long before we’re forced to fight our own people. I can’t think of a way that this could be worse, to be honest.”

I didn’t answer her right away. In the back of my mind, I’d been mulling that over while filling in the necessary gaps. There were two options and neither of them filled me with enthusiasm. Which I opted for depended on a couple of things that needed to be checked.

I pulled a map of Grand Rapids from my back pocket and wandered back over to Amber who was sitting up, and while she was still a little winded, she had mostly recovered. “Amber, where did Luca confront Brant’s legion?”

She took the map from me and studied it for a moment. “Here.” She pointed at a large mall situated at a crossroads on the other side of town. “Our legion was the furthest east pushing for the inner side of the far wall. The other legions were spread out across the rest of the southern part of the town. It should take Luca time to find them, and the prick was riding on what looked like a parade float being carried by dozens of slaves. They weren’t moving very fast or with a lot of coordination. The whole getup was beyond unnecessary.”

“Thanks, Amber. That’s some good news. We might be able to salvage this. You did well and might just have saved the faction.”

“It wasn’t just me. I wouldn’t have made it without Michelle, and Brant did his best to resist. But if you’re feeling the spirit of gratitude fill you, you could let me out of my contract early?” she sassed.

“We’ll talk about that if we make it out of this in one piece. Gibbs get her back on the ship.”

Marena’s Mercy and Storm Raider had moored up behind the bastion while I relayed recent events to the girls.

With Amber’s information on the probable location of Luca, I returned to the huddle.

“I recognise that look,” Anastasia sighed. “That’s the ‘Mighty Captain Carter’ is going to do something recklessly dangerous look.”

I started to object but stopped after inhaling a breath and changed tack. “Ana, you are correct. The safe play would be to dig in with the troops we have in the north and weather the storm until Luca runs out of manpower. His and ours. But that would be too costly a victory. With events elsewhere, a pyrrhic victory does us no good.

“Withdrawing and returning later is not an option for the same reason. We now know where Luca was not too long ago and have a solid idea of where he will be headed. That’s information we didn’t have when we started the assault. It’s time to cut the head off the snake and I’m not going to be able to do that alone.”

“Of course, you won’t be doing it alone. The three of us and as many squads as necessary will come with you to guard your back.” Shana said forcefully.

I shook my head. “Not this time. There are several miles of enemy territory to navigate. Look at the condition Amber was in, and she didn’t stop running full pelt the whole way. This needs to be an infiltration, not an invasion.”

“Okay, then the four of us…”

“No, Shana. We would still draw too much attention. I need you to stay here and command the defence of the bastion. There is a chance that Brant and his legion will get here before I can reach Luca and take him out. Ana, I need you to top me and Fang Mei up to full strength. Fang Mei, it’s time for the piggyback manoeuvre.”

The piggyback move involved Fang Mei hopping onto my back, hugging me close and then activating her warp field. We’d discovered that provided we had significant skin-to-skin contact she could extend the field to cover me as well as her. We’d even crafted a custom harness to help with the process.

Fang Mei’s eyes widened with concern. “Torin, are you sure about this? The last time we practised, it did not go very well. Maybe it should just be me that goes and finds Luca to kill him?”

I understood Fang Mei’s concerns. There were some hefty drawbacks we’d discovered when playing around with this in our downtime. Extending the field to include me was incredibly taxing on Fang Mei. The weakness she suffered once the field was dropped was even more debilitating than normal. Mainly because very little of that backlash was transferred to me. She also struggled to hold the field for long and it was much easier to pierce.

“It must be me. If Luca hadn’t received a power-up, then it would be a different story. But he has. If we’re quick, I can cover most of the ground before you must drop the field and then I’ll have to go it alone the rest of the way. Technically, our contest isn’t over. My Preternatural Insight skill is telling me I can use that to my advantage. If I’m the one who gets close to him, he won’t have a choice but to fight me.”

“Torin, you can’t know that…” Shana started to argue, but I cut her off with a look.

She was correct. I didn’t know that. But my skill did tell me that there was a lingering link between us, though it was fading away as time passed. Whether I’d be able to use it in that manner was unclear and a big reason I hadn’t factored it into the initial plan. That and my Divine Retribution quest called for me to take everything that was his and not just kill him like a thief in the night.

However, we were on the brink of a slow-motion disaster with the Ashli fragment on the loose. If that meant losing some of my advancement, it was a price I’d have to pay.

“This is the plan. I’m not withdrawing and I’m not losing more than half my people to whittle him down. Not while there is another viable option.”

 

***

 

Time was of the essence, so Fang Mei and I didn’t waste any. She had the harness in her inventory and quickly stripped down while I stowed my shirt and chest armour. While Shana helped the cambion strap herself to my back, I studied the most up-to-date version of the city map we had and planned a maximised route.

Thankfully, the route seemed pretty self-evident. About half a kilometre southeast of our current position was a large cemetery. According to Carla, since integration, the citizens of Grand Rapids were petrified of the graveyards, and therefore, they were avoided. The people were afraid the dead would come back to life. Which given what we knew was not an unreasonable fear, and it was something I could use to my advantage.

We set off in that direction. The buildings in the surrounding area were unoccupied. The slaves and the free citizens had fled away from the fighting. Once we were out of sight of my forces Fang Mei activated her warp cloak.

She audibly groaned and I felt the field settle over us.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes,” she gasped back in a strained voice. “But this is difficult. I’m stronger than before but there is a great deal more external pressure because we’re out in the open than during any of our practice runs. I’m not sure how long I can hold the field.”

“Understood. Hold on tight, I won’t be slowing down for anything.”

And I started to sprint down the road.

Amber had been forced to detour a couple of times because of armed barricades blocking her way, but I had Dragon’s Leap and could risk a more direct route.

Weaving from block to block, I moved us steadily southeast jumping over any barricades. There were a few Brotherhood defenders at each. Individuals who hadn’t come within range of Luca’s recently buffed influence and been forced into slavish adherence to his wishes. Fang Mei tensed and gripped me harder whenever we got into visual range of one of these groups and the strain on her warp field markedly increased.

But it held.

The only thing the guards sensed was the whoosh of wind as we sailed over the top of them. Once back on the ground, I kept the frenetic pace up and we were out of their sight in a few seconds. But my swift movement meant we were quickly in the sights of the next small group and Fang Mei didn’t get much respite between groups.

It took two minutes until I bounded into the unfenced cemetery and the relative seclusion of the evergreen trees and gravestones that dotted the open space. Fang Mei’s grasp around my waist eased up as the pressure on her was relieved and I slowed my running pace just a touch so we could both get a small breather.

“Are you good?” I whispered when we reached the centre of the cemetery and had maximum seclusion.

Fang Mei gave me a non-verbal thumbs up. However, her head rested on my shoulder and her breathing had grown considerably more ragged than mine and she had been carried the whole way.

I knew without having to ask that she would not be able to get me the full distance. It was simply too much, but we had to risk the next section and then I would go for it alone from there.

We got to the southern edge of the cemetery and ran back into the urban area of the city and Fang Mei whimpered as the strain of additional eyes threatened to overwhelm her again. I sprinted directly south from the corner of the cemetery through the housing and then reached the next stage of my planned route. The railway tracks that ran through the city.

We could have started on the tracks from the beginning. The line crossed over the river into downtown not far from the bastion where the ships were moored, but the line ran directly south, closer to the sections of the wall we hadn’t taken yet and then turned ninety degrees to the left in an L shape until it intersected with the cemetery. We’d saved time by going as the crow flies and had the short breather the cemetery offered. But from here the tracks turned diagonally southeast in the precise direction we wanted to go, so sprinting along the gravel between the tracks was the way to go.

The tracks ran that way for half a mile until they ran through a second much smaller cemetery that was just north of a golf course. The first quarter of a mile was relatively easy on Fang Mei. The tracks were tree-lined and that helped conceal us, but the last stretch was all in the open. I sprinted for all I was worth and covered the distance in record time.

Just before we reached a small triangle of land with a lot of trees, we passed a large warehouse on our left. It had to be some kind of storage or staging area for the Brotherhood as there were a large number of slaves and workers out in the open carrying various items or working away on tasks. Fang Mei shuddered and jerked reflexively from the sudden increase of attention and then flopped bonelessly against my back.

My ears popped when the warp field broke and there were sounds of shock and surprise from a few of the workers when they suddenly saw a tall man carrying a half-naked demoness on his back appear out of nowhere.

That surprise worked in our favour, and I was able to keep sprinting down the tracks until we were out of sight once more before taking a sharp turn southwards onto the greens of the golf club. The guards or armed individuals who belatedly gave chase kept going down the tracks while we hid in a sand bunker until I couldn’t hear them any longer.

With the danger of discovery past, I quickly located an equipment shack on the golf course and broke in. Fang Mei was unconscious and weak as a newborn kitten. I unhooked the harness and gently laid her on a makeshift bed I cobbled together with bags of lawn fertiliser. I didn’t have time to make sure she was comfortable but covered her up with a blanket and shifted some of the useless equipment around her to help hide her from any curious snoopers. Although to be honest, it didn’t look like anybody had been in the shack for several months.

I hated to leave Fang Mei in such a precarious situation, but if I did my job, she would be safe enough soon. She had been a real trooper and got us most of the way that I needed to go. More, she had absorbed almost the full weight of the backlash. I barely felt any of the debuff and could tell that the small amount which had come my way would pass in a few minutes.

At the bottom of the golf course was 28^th Street and roughly a mile directly east of where we were was the Woodland Mall where Luca had encountered Brant’s legion. If Amber’s information and our assumptions of what Luca would do were accurate, he ought to have been working his way in this direction since Amber escaped them.

When I reached 28^th Street Quixbix piped up. <Your Divine Retribution quest just pinged. Luca is nearby. No more than a couple of hundred metres to your southwest. We’ve overshot his position a little bit.>

Kneeling in the snow behind some shrubbery, I pulled my map out and re-familiarised myself with the area. There was an elementary school that had been turned into a Brotherhood outpost right where Quixbix said the quest had pinged my target.

That is where I would find Luca Gattosi. It was time to end this.