Dreamer's Throne -
Book 2: Chapter 17
Retreat to the room upstairs.
The mental command came as a welcome order to Obe, and he obeyed right away, grabbing Abbius by the back of his leather armor and dashing up the stairs three at a time. Even as he was dragged along, Abbius never let go of his crossbow, loading another bolt into it, his eyes fixed on the monstrosity that had just bit his arm. Pinned to the opposite wall, the woman pretending to be Mrs. Esteven writhed and twisted, trying to free herself from the bolt that had punched through her sternum. The head of the metal bolt was sunk deep in the wooden wall, and it was only with a horrible ripping sound that the monster tore herself free.
A large chunk of flesh, flecked with bone, was left behind, but the monster didn’t seem to care, opening her abnormally large jaw and showing her razor sharp teeth as she roared at Obe and Abbius who were about to enter the hall at the top of the stairs. For her efforts, she got another metal bolt, this one in her eye, pinning her head to the wall.
Dashing down the hall, Obe let out a shout as the doors started to open and undead began to leap out of the rooms, throwing themselves at Obe and Abbius. Wielding his mace with one hand and continuing to drag Abbius with the other, Obe smashed the attacking monsters aside, battering them this way and that as he made his way to the room. He could hear the sound of fighting from the room, and his soul spark exploded into action, adding a powerful crushing force to each of his blows. Bone cracked and gore splattered across the corridor, coating the walls and floor in the toxic black fluid that passed for zombie blood.
Inside the room, Maximus had already been warned that something was going on by the strange conversation that Garrett was having with the necromancer, and he had been staring at the window nervously, holding his shield and sword ready, Garrett’s warning ringing in his head. When he heard the necromancer’s shriek, he had been tempted to turn around, but his professionalism kept him in place, his eyes glued to the covered window.
A dozen seconds passed and the window suddenly started to buckle, pressed in by some outside force. Letting out a shout, Maximus charged forward, his shield slamming forward as he roused his soul spark. Though he couldn’t see what was happening, he knew that it was his job to keep whatever it was that had been moving in the alleyway across the street from coming inside, and the best way to do that was before the window had been completely smashed. Accompanied by the breaking of glass, his shield hit a large figure, bouncing it back out of the window.
The curtain covering the window fell to the side in a heap, revealing the twisted and broken window frame, shards of glass hanging from it like crooked teeth. Down in the street below, a hulking figure that appeared to be stitched together from a dozen corpses clambered up to its feet, letting out a terrible roar that shook Maximus’ mind. He would have turned and run in that moment if not for the ethereal flower that surged in his eyes, lending him resistance against the mental effect of the undead monster’s bellow.
Once again the monster launched itself up toward the window, intending to smash its way in, but it was met in the air by Maximus whose shield released a wall of pressure, sending it tumbling back to the street. It was at that moment that Obe and Abbius finally made it into the room and slammed the door shut, holding it closed as it splintered under the sharp nails of their attackers.
“This place is crawling with zombies!” Obe yelled, tossing Abbius into the center of the room to stand next to Garrett. “Abbius, take Garrett and get back to the inn!”
“Cancel that order,” Garrett said, his voice calm as a frozen lake. “We all retreat or none of us retreat.”
“Boss, there are too many of them!”
“Just hold the door and the window,” Garrett said, “I’m working on a solution.”
Though it was clear that Obe’s instinct was screaming at him to do otherwise, he nodded grimly and readied himself to fight against the zombies that were trying to claw their way into the room. Glancing over, Garrett caught sight of the zombies through one of the cracks they had torn in the door. They were pressed together in the hallway, their sharp teeth and their long, jagged nails glinting in the dim light. Unlike the slow, methodical, mindless creatures that came to mind when he thought of a zombie, these undead creatures were supernaturally quick, at least twice as strong as a mortal, and clever. The only thing they seemed to have in common with the stories of zombies of earth was that they were immune to pain.
Racking another bolt, Abbius sniffed and lifted his crossbow, unleashing a shot that passed over Maximus’ shoulder with less than an inch to spare and landed in the joint of the stitched monster’s shoulder, cutting apart the tightly bound sinew that kept its flesh together. A shower of black blood accompanied the tearing as the stitching ripped open, creating a large wound. Maximus, not wanting to miss the opportunity, followed it up with a slash from his sword, managing to open the wound even further, even as he used his shield to block a heavy punch from the monster’s other arm.
The blow sent him staggering back with a groan, but he dug his feet in, causing the floorboards to crack as he threw himself forward again, trying to drive the stitched monster back out into the street. On the other side of the room, the zombies had finally created a hole in the door large enough for one of them to crawl through, and with a slithering motion, the zombie lunged into the room, only to be met by Obe’s mace. His soul spark flared, and the air around the head of his mace compressed and then blasted outward, creating a shock wave that turned the zombie’s head into mush.
Yet even as their companion died, the other zombies pressed forward, eagerly ripping out the remains of the door and fighting to be the first through. Sliding his foot forward, Obe’s mace swung up, smashing two of the zombies back and then he thrust it forward, creating a wave of force that drove the rest of them back. Into the breach that he had created, he stepped, his arm never slowing as he struck down right and left. With both entrances to the room stabilized for the moment, Garrett turned his attention back to the mirror, and the necromancer who was watching him with a gleefully mocking gaze.
“Soon you will join in the worship of my master as one of my undead, though I don’t know that it will be worth it to convert a cripple like you. Instead, maybe I’ll use you as a snack for my stitched. You’ll be kept alive while he chews your flesh off your bones.”
Ignoring her chattering, Garrett weighed his options as he kept an eye on what was going on. Abbius was standing behind him, sending bolt after bolt out to assist the other two fighters, but it was clear that he was going to run out of ammunition soon. Noticing a trickle of blood running down the awakened man’s arm, a chill ran down Garrett’s spine as he remembered a particular truth. He had no idea if, like on earth, the bite of a zombie would transform the wounded into another zombie, but he thought it would be better to find out before Abbius transformed into an awakened zombie in the center of the room.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his connection with Abbius, trying to sense what was happening through the dream flower. To his dismay he spotted the corruption immediately, climbing up Abbius’s arm. It had nearly reached his elbow, and despite the dream flower’s best efforts, it was continuing to advance. Abbius was still loading bolts, his actions as smooth as a well oiled machine, but Garrett could see the grimness hovering around his mouth.
“Were you wounded down below?”
“Aye,” Abbius nodded, his voice as calm as Garrett’s.
Despite the fact that he was about to turn into a zombie, Abbius appeared to be completely calm, and his focus was on dealing as much damage to the rushing undead as he possibly could. Impressed by his stoic attitude, Garrett was about to speak when Abbius beat him to it.
“I’ve got five more minutes, at least, and when the time comes, I’ll put a bolt through my brain to make sure I don’t become a problem.”
Garrett’s voice caught in his throat and his mind raced as he considered Abbius’s words. The awakened man’s voice never once wavered as he spoke, and he continued to fire his crossbow, its twang reverberating loudly in the enclosed room. While Garrett had been trying to think of ways to save him before, that desire magnified as he listened to Abbius’s words.
I need to keep him alive. This is the type of companion I need.
“No matter what you do, it’s impossible to save him,” the necromancer whispered from the mirror, her words trying to worm their way into Garrett’s mind. “Even if you cut off his arm, the corruption of his spirit has started and it cannot be stopped.
Ignoring her, Garrett considered the situation. He had thought about removing Abbius’s arm when he first saw that creeping corruption, but he knew that she was right. The wound that would transform him into a zombie was on Abbius’s spirit, not on his physical arm. At the door and window, Obe and Maximus were continuing their fierce fights, but were starting to be pushed back into the room under the weight of attacks, and Garrett knew that he had to act now, or not at all.
“What will you give up if I can save you?”
The question entered Abbius’s ears, and for the first time since the fight had started, his hands trembled, nearly causing him to drop his bolt. Recovering, he continued to load it, pinning a zombie that was trying to crawl in through the bottom of the door to the floor. As he grabbed another bolt from his quiver, he glanced at Garrett who was looking at him calmly. It was impossible to understand the storm of thoughts that rushed through him, but just as Garrett was about to ask the question again, he smiled grimly and spoke, lifting his crossbow to assist Maximus.
“Name the price, boss. As long as I’m not a zombie or dead, I’m in.”
Garrett was still holding the hand mirror, but the angle was such that the necromancer couldn’t see what was happening in the room. She could, however, hear what Garrett was saying, and her eyes lit up with curiosity at what Garrett was going to do. Unfortunately, he had no desire to show her, and he placed the mirror down on the desk, turning his wheelchair around. Closing his eyes, he entered the dream for the first time that night, watching as the world around him grayed out. He could still see the three awakened and the monsters they were fighting, but it was as if he sat amidst the memory of an ancient battle.
There was nothing ancient about the gleaming flowers that covered his wheelchair, however, and one by one, they began to peel themselves from the chair and march toward the two entrances, their petals swaying as they released a powerful hypnotic scent. It smelled sweet and just a bit sharp to Garrett and the other awakened who carried flowers, but to the undead, it had a completely different effect. They started to slow down as the enthralling effect kicked in, distracting them as their normally single-minded attention began to drift, causing many of the zombies to slowly stop pressing forward.
This bought Obe some much needed rest and allowed him to step back to gain a breather. He didn’t know how Garrett was doing it, but he didn’t care as he breathed in huge gulps of air, trying to shake out his tired arms. He could sense that if he attacked the zombies, they would turn violent again, so instead he took another step back.
“Obe, help Maximus.”
Nodding, he turned and dashed across the room, his mace coming down with a vicious slam on the massive stitched undead. In the moment that he observed the monster before he struck, he saw the weakened arm and the head of his mace fell accurately into the gaping wound that Abbius and Maximus had created, tearing through the Stitched’s shoulder completely, shattering its bones and ripping its arm clean off. At the same time, Maximus let out a shout and slammed his shield forward, blasting the hulking monster out of the large hole in the side of the building that had once been a window.
“Don’t let it escape,” Garrett said, his voice cold.
Sharing a glance, both Obe and Maximus gave chase, jumping down from the second story to land next to the undead monster that was struggling to rise. Upstairs, Garrett turned his attention to Abbius, who was staring at the enthralled zombies with undisguised confusion.
“Abbius. There is no going back from this.”
Grimacing, Abbius held up his wounded hand.
“No going back from this, either. And my choice will always be the same. Just promise me that I’ll be able to put a bolt in the scum that set up this ambush.”
Nodding, Garrett held up his left hand, as if he was swearing.
“Deal.”
Closing his eyes, Garrett re-entered the dream and focused his attention on the dream flower in Abbius’s mind. Mental energy began to seep out of him, filling the room. He couldn’t pull Abbius into his dream without the awakened man falling asleep, so instead he spoke softly into his mind.
Drop your defenses, and concentrate your energy on the flower you see.
To his credit, Abbius’s hesitation didn’t last more than a brief second, and when he mustered his soul spark, it was as completely as he could. Of all the awakened that the Klein Family had recruited, Abbius was the weakest, and his soul spark was the smallest, but still, he gave it everything he had, pouring all of his available energy into the brilliant rainbow flowers that appeared in front of him. Garrett’s thick energy wrapped around the thin energy that came from Abbius’s soul spark and sank into the dream flower, nourishing it rapidly.
The flower already held four blooms, which was enough to ensure loyalty to the family, but Garrett was going for something more. Another bud started to bloom as the flower soaked up the mental energy rushing into it, but at the same time, the corruption from the zombie’s attack began to move faster, no longer blocked by the flower’s strength. It crept up to Abbius’s shoulder in a moment and began to spread into his chest, aiming to corrupt his heart. Garrett felt a flash of curiosity about the interconnection between spirit and flesh as he watched the corruption spread, but he knew it wasn’t time for experiments.
Half a heartbeat later, Garrett’s overpowering energy drove the bud to completion and a fifth flower opened up, causing a qualitative change in both the dream flower and in Abbius. Thick roots exploded in growth, sinking deep into Abbius’s body and running through his limbs, quickly running into the corruption. Like it had found a delicious treat, the rainbow petals shook and began to absorb it, sucking it up like water. It all happened in a single moment, and Garrett felt a slight pang in his heart as he knew that Abbius, as he had been, was gone forever.
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