Shadowlands 7: Strawberry Lemonade

I woke up to the feeling of a foot nudging me in the side. “Al. Al! Son of a bitch. Wakeup!” I was conscious, but not conscious enough to really understand what was happening. I felt tightness and a slight burning on my forearms. I tried moving my leg, but it wouldn’t go. “Al, quit struggling, you’re tied up.”1

I rolled to face the voice, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I vaguely recognized Inkster's face. “What’s up Inky?” I asked nonchalantly, trying to give her devil horns. She didn’t see the gesture as it was behind my back, but it’s the thought that counts. “Rock on man.”2

“How hard did they hit you?” she asked me with sincere concern.3

“Not hard enough, but they’re getting good practice lately.” I struggled to get up, but nausea swept over me. Without the help of my hands I fell over hard. “Ow. You got anything to cut these ropes with?”4

“No, what happened to your back?” she asked, as the hole in my armor slid across the wound.5

“Don’t worry, your jar of salt cleaned it up nicely. Oh by the way, why do you get guns, while I’m stuck with this melee crap?”6

“Cause I’m a girl.”7

Damn, the universal answer. I looked at myself, and then the area around me. Nothing about to help me. All my blades were definitely gone, which is impressive, because I carry a lot. They had however, left the neck guard on my left shoulder. Attached to the thick padded plate were three curved blades that came up to my ear. Strange that they hadn’t thought to remove it.8

I scooted over to Inkster and tried sitting up again, doing it more slowly this time to keep from passing out. “What are you doing?” she asked.9

“You owe me a kiss if this works.” I scooted around the pole to where her hands were bound, and slid down. “Hold still,” I told her. I rested all of my weight on my shoulder, and it slowly cut through the ropes around the pole.10

“Smooth,” she said. She stood up and hopped over to a trunk. “I watched where they put your gear.” She turned around and felt for one of my throwing knives. It took her only a few seconds to drop all the coils onto the ground. “I was going to cut you free, but I think I like this look a little more.”11

“Get me out of these you kinky freak, this is not the time.”12

“Ooh rough talk,” she bent down and the tension released from my arms.13

I stood up and took a better look around. We were in a canvas tent full of beat up wooden crates. I could see between the boards of a few. I saw gold and explosives in most of them, but a few of the crates had soul crystals in them.14

“What’s it like out there Gwen?”15

“Well there’s a Haunt avatar. I’ve dealt with her before, her bodyguard is a white wizard, real piece of work. Um what else? Oh and I saw a few high ranking Priests. I didn’t see what happened to Switch, but I assume she’s being drained right now. The dogs are being held in cages somewhere. I think I heard the avatar making a rift to the real world. They’re definitely summoning another mortal.”16

“Isn’t white magic good?” I asked her.17

“No, it’s all in how you use it, I’ll show you,” she took a book out of her backpack. It was an old leather bound book, proportions of your typical bible. She unbuckled and opened it.18

“Well put my dear, couldn’t have said it better if I said it myself,” the book said to her, “And I did once actually.” It had a charming British accent that made me think of tweed jackets, “Now, hand me over to our strapping young lad, Esmerelda has a white spell to teach him.”19

She tossed the book to me, in the air it transformed to a single scroll which on closer inspection was tanned skin from a human. The scroll spoke to me in the ethereal voice of a woman. “Unroll me, and read what it says. Not out loud. I have a spell you will need to destroy the avatar.”20

I obeyed. After a moment of looking at the sheet, I turned it over, looking for more words. I cleared my throat, “Uh, ma’am, this doesn’t seem very… magicky.”21

“What?” she said sternly, “Not archaic enough for you? I’m one of the founding authors of this tome, and that’s the only magic I ever used. Two words, that’s it for my portion, all you’ll ever need.”22

“But it says-“23

“I damn well know what it says I wrote the thing! Don’t utter it until you have the opportunity to kill her with your blade. Toss me back to the gooey one!”24

I tossed the scroll back to Inkster, and it changed into the book again. The English chap was back, “Don’t worry about Esmerelda. She took a lot of flack for her unorthodox addition to our joint book. She’s actually getting much gentler I’d say.”25

“Sod off!” shouted the woman again from within the depths of the tome.26

I thought about what she said as I tested the weight of the crates. An idea hit me. I looked up as I tried forming the thought. “Gwen? These crystals; what happens when you shoot them?"27

***28

The haunt avatar had left to deal with something, and her bodyguard was nowhere to be seen. Switch was getting really pale, and the highest ranking preist was getting drunk off of her power. I got the feeling he wasn't supposed to be taking it himself. It was a now or never situation. 29

"Alright Miss Inkster," I half sang, "if your magazines are packed like I asked then I'm ready."30

"You sure you want to do this Al?"31

"What, are you unsure of your aim Gwen?" I turned to the cart which I had loaded with a crate of crystals on the back and a crate of some high explosive in the front. Inkster had three magazines of normal rounds, and a magazine of tracer rounds. I'm sure you understand where this is going.32

"Godspeed," she said to me.33

"Godspeed," I repeated silently, I scraped my right boot back across the ground. Everything seemed to slow down as I started running, pushing the heavy cart to the door of the tent. I wasn't moving very quickly from my view, but to the rest of the world I was blurring.34

When I was a few feet out of the tent, I had enough speed to coast. I jumped onto the cart and coasted towards the pit of spiky crystals. Immediately bullets started ripping through the weak wooden crate. The bullets hit crystals, and they burst into little explosions of clear sharp stone. The fragments flew in all directions, burning holes into the ghostly flesh of the Kami.35

The Kami were scrambling to get away, as the shrapnel drained their strength. It was pure chaos, unblemished perfection of panic, and I was at the helm. The last of the normal rounds was spent. Inkster reloaded with tracers.36

I braced myself on the front of the explosive crate, and waited till I neared the pit.37

I jumped.38

Maybe a little too soon, but that didn't matter. She fired the burning hot phosphorus rounds into the front crate.39

It detonated, sending me hurtling towards the suspended Switch, and the remaining fragments and bits of cart back like a claymore mine. I came close enough to Switch to grab the rope suspending her. The force of the unanchored rope stopping my body nearly pulled my shoulder out. My hand felt like it had been broken, and my right gauntlet had been half worn through.40

The rope snapped and we swung vertically around each other. At the apex of my swing, I released Switch, sending her safely outside the pit, while I lost all inertia.41

My arm wrapped in shadow, and my gladius jumped into my hand. I tapped it against my boot and whispered, "For the love of God do something useful." The sword glowed bright black. I pitched it into the bed of spiky crystals.42

There was an explosion where the sword hit. More fractured gemstones blasted all around me, riveting the Kami who had regained enough composure to try attacking. Inkster was weaving through the crowd. Her feet and hands moving around her in a bouncing fluid motion. Her whole body dipped and spun and flipped as she added to the insanity.43

Sporatic bursts of flame sent bullets through the mustering spirit army. She knelt down by Switch as I fell past. Don't beleive the lies; even if you dig past topsoil, the ground is still hard.44

But I had no time to wallow in my own pain. There were Kami all around me. A rather big preist who looked somewhat like a gorilla, was throwing in Creatures to use as stepping stones. I reached across myself, pulling out the machette strapped to my back. As he leapt at me, I threw the blade. It hit him in the throat, and he fell on his back.45

A spiderlike Creature landed behind me. I pulled my sword to me, and the spider happened to be in the way. When the sword was overhead, I grabbed it backward, twisting my hand around and driving it through another preist's head.46

Switch was on her feet again, the dogs were already by her side. She held their chains with her all powerful stilletto heels.47

Her spiked whip lashed across a Crusher's spine and stuck. She wrenched him around. In his struggle to be free, he knocked several of his fellow Kami onto the spikes, before going in after them.48

As shapes closed around her, she pulled the whip free and swung it in a circle, lacerating the quicker ones. Sad Dog barred the path of a large Creature, rolling it up and starring at it until it just died.49

I continued fighting, in the center of the fray. Another gorilla looking Preist flew at me. His neck snapped as Mad Dog bit his head and hit the end of his chain, inches from me.50

My twin blades sliced through the pressing force of Kami warriors. I cleaved through the crystals, and used the swords as picks to pull myself out. Suddenly the fight stopped. I just didn't feel like fighting, and thankfully, neither did the Kami.51

The white wizard had returned. He was just shorter than me, wearing short white robes and white pants. His face was obscured by a wide brimmed white witch's hat, and linen wrappings that covered everything except a bloodshot eye, purplish skin, and a tuft of orange hair. In his right hand he held a shepherd's crook with spikes on the end, and in his right hand he held a tin sheet-metal lantern.52

His Kami bretheren, or those who remained standing, turned and walked away. He stood staring at us. Inkster took out the spellbook and opened it.53

I kept trying to rush him, but for some reason I didn't want to lift my sword. Though I wanted to fight, all my drive was gone. Inkster read a few words, and in a flash, the fire ignited in me again.54

She read something else, but before we finished, the wizard pointed his staff at her and whispered, "Quiet." The word hit her, and she went mute. I hadn't realized that the fighting was starting up again. Everything was catching me off guard. Inkster's mouth moved in silence for a few more words, and she tossed the book to Switch.55

In the air it became a red velvet covered book. There was a portrait of a victorian era man on the front.56

The wizard raised his staff again. I stepped in front of Switch, and became mute myself. I rushed at him, flanked by Mad Dog. Another charm hit the kanine.57

Frustrated, he charmed the whole area with the muting spell. Switch stopped reading. Sad Dog stopped whining. Mute Dog's mouth unraveled. The wires and strings holding his trap shut unsewed themselves. For the first time in a while, Mute Dog barked loudly.58

Spoolless coils of thread shot out of his mouth, sticking to and wrapping around everything. A cluster of threads wove themselves around the wizard's jaw and mouth and neck, piercing through the skin, and wrapping around the bone. He tried to scream but nothing came out.59

Mute Dog pulled hard, swinging the wizard around. Every time he swung, more thread flew out and stuck to whatever it hit. Soon the thinly wooded patch was full of a giant white web.60

I batted the threads away, eventually cutting a pocket into the thick white mess.61

The wizard flew into the air, Mute Dog jumped up and bit his side. Mute fell down, and started running around ripping the many fallen Kami to shreds. 62

I forced my way over to Switch and Inkster, "Well isn't this lovely?"63

"No," Switch said, pale faced, "It's not."64

After Mute had eaten his fill of ripped flesh, he inhaled all the string. His mouth sewed shut again. The Wizard fell to the ground. Blood filled his wrapped face, and his side, staining his white linens. He pulled himself up a little, and collapsed. He pushed up once more, reaching for the lantern.65

He collapsed again, fingers just inches from the small metal object. I could feel the tension in the air go slack.66

"That solves it then. We're done here," I said. I didn't really believe that my life could be that easy, but at the same time I didn't want to hang around much longer. Between bloodloss and concussions I did not feel like doing any more fighting.67

"That doesn't even make any sense Al," Switch argued, "We didn't come here for him, we came here to pick up the next member of the league. Remember, Haunt avatar. She's about to be superpowered and right in our presence."68

As I pondered the Avatar’s current activities, I heard a click of sheet metal. I looked around and saw nothing. click. Click, thump. Click, Thump. Inkster pointed to the lantern. 69

A fire had started inside it. Flames spread out of the pores and formed a large hand. A scrawny arm followed it. Pointed feet and spindly legs issued out the sides. The head rose up, trailed by a mane of fire flickering around its waist.70

I looked up into the fiery monster's eyes. It glared back at me, burning away my soul. "Beautiful isn't it?" Asked a high soft voice behind us. I turned around. The Haunt avatar Cectal approached. "I made him myself," she said, "Gave him to the wizard for safe keeping. Good thing he used it when he did."