Book 3: Chapter 25

Book 3: Chapter 25

One of the most dangerous aspects of the current zombie attack was that the typically mindless horde of undead was moving strategically, thanks to the necromancers who controlled them. It was one thing to fight a mindless monster who only knew how to attack the closest enemy, and entirely another to fight a relentless enemy who could strategize. In many ways, Garrett's largest headache in trying to plan the defense against Lesrak's March was figuring out how he was going to eliminate the minds behind the assault. The necromancers typically hid deep within the zombie army, making it incredibly hard to target them from the defensive line, or they embraced a transformation, turning themselves into incredibly powerful undead monstrosities that became even harder to kill.

Now a glimmer of possibility had appeared. Garrett sat on the Dreamer's Throne, his mind full as he tried to manage the tremendous stream of information coming his direction. His primary focus, however, was still in the hollow space where Delrisa, the vampire, had prostrated herself. He had to confess he didn't understand exactly what was happening and had assumed that the situation would play out very differently. This was the second time that an intelligent monster had fallen under his sway, but the first time it had done so willingly. First Isabelle, the dire spirit, and now Delrisa, a Lord of the Night. It almost gave Garrett a headache thinking about how he was going to manage the growing crowd of monsters hanging around, but that was a problem for another time. For the moment, he was content to use her to maximum effect, so he focused on his projection in the hollow space and gestured for Delrisa to rise.

"If you would truly serve me, I have a mission for you."

She stood at once, moving so fast her body was a blur, even as the cut on her forehead rapidly closed up, leaving nothing but dried blood behind as a testament to its existence.

"I am ready to serve," she said, her eyes flaring with multicolored light.

"You will lead Isabelle to find and kill the necromancers controlling the zombie forces," Garrett said, "focusing on those at the back and working your way towards the defensive line. Kill them as quickly and as quietly as possible. As you do, any zombies that are uncontrolled, command them to attack the other zombies, or if that won't work, send them back to their rest."

Delrisa nodded, and her figure blurred once more as she darted for the door. She had just made it out into the hall when she stopped, looking right and left with uncertainty. Turning around, she looked almost sheepish.

"My lord, how do I get out of here?"

It took all of Garrett's self-control not to chuckle, but he pointed down the hall.

"Isabelle will bring you out," he said.

A moment later, what looked like a sea of hair rushed down the hall, wrapping itself around Delrisa and pulling her out of the hollow space. She appeared on a rooftop even as Garrett took control of Isabelle, and together they scanned across the city. From where they stood, they could see the Maragoth, locked in a desperate fight with the adventurers and the hordes of zombies pressing into the slowly failing defensive line in the Brass Tiger Syndicate's territory.

"Come," Garrett said, speaking through Isabelle as he gestured for Delrisa to follow. "We'll begin in the graveyard."

While Delrisa didn't have the ability to move between reflective surfaces like Isabelle, the night was her domain, and she flew through the air with unbelievable speed, moving so fast that Garrett nearly couldn't keep up. The storm had begun to settle, the fiercest part of it having blown itself out, and the dark clouds had settled into a heavy drizzle. This suited Garrett just fine, though it made it harder to find raindrops to jump to in the distance. So he hitched a ride with Delrisa, having Isabelle hide in one of the buckles on Delrisa's boots.

Soon they were over the royal graveyard, and Garrett could see the thousands of zombies still milling around. One of the advantages of funneling them into a single exit was that the zombies created a natural choke as they rushed to leave the graveyard, jamming themselves in and often getting in one another's way. It only took Delrisa a few moments to spot the first of their victims, a necromancer stumping along at the back of the group, oblivious to the vampire who touched down lightly on the roof of a nearby mausoleum. With a faint shimmer, Isabelle manifested and Garrett spoke to Delrisa through the dream flower she carried. "Who is he?"

"Thats a good idea," Garrett replied, producing a mirror in Isabelles hand and pointing a finger towards the other side of the street, where the necromancers stood at the mouth of a small alley, their figures completely obscured by their cloaks as zombies milled around them.

"Pretend you're a necromancer and see if you can get close," he instructed. Lure one of them away and eliminate him.

Though it seemed as if Delrisa was about to say something, she ultimately remained silent and with a flicker of shadow, she was gone. Garrett knew that Delrisa was right: attacking three necromancers at once would be a challenge. So far, their fights had been relatively easy. Thanks to their strategy of ambushing each necromancer one by one, they had overwhelmed them each with a furious assault and Isabelle's shaper level strength, but three necromancers together would be an entirely different story. By the time they could kill one, the other two would have completed their undead transformations, making them that much harder to fight against. Thankfully, raw power wasn't all Isabelle had at her command.

Down in the alley below, the three necromancers were indeed discussing whether or not they should turn around and leave. Two of them were in favor of returning to the deep crypts, while the third found himself torn. He was concerned that such action might be viewed as a betrayal by Lesrak, and the result of such a betrayal would be much worse than staying here and fighting it out. Unable to come to an agreement, things were starting to get heated when one of the necromancers suddenly stopped, staring across the street at the alleyway, at the opposite alleyway. A hooded figure stalked towards them from the mouth of the alley, the zombies paying the figure absolutely no mind.

"Who's that?" one of the necromancers asked.

"I'm not sure. Must be one of ours though."

Naturally suspicious, the necromancers were on guard, but when Delrisa pulled down her hood to reveal her face, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lady Delrisa," one of them said, bowing slightly, "your transformation seems to have been a success."

"The Great Lord has favored me," Delrisa said, a cold smile on her pale, blood-red lips. "Why do the three of you hesitate here, cowering in the shadows?"

Exchanging glances, the three necromancers didn't know what to say. Delrisa was known to be one of the most fanatical followers of the skeletal hand of Lesrak, and one of its most powerful as well, as evidenced by her ability to transform into a Lord of the Night. There were few undead who were granted more power than a vampire, and it was with considerable jealousy that the three necromancers looked at her. She paid their stares no mind.

"You," she said, her tone imperious as she pointed her long nail at one of the necromancers, "come with me to block the rogue zombies while I go discover what's gone wrong. The two of you, press forward. We've almost broken through the defensive line and if you throw your forces against them, the pathetic defenders will break."

Her commands carried with them a subtle charm, and before they knew it, the three necromancers found themselves agreeing.

"Yes, Lord of the Night," one of them said, bowing. "We will do as you command."

Unaware of the figure standing on the roof above them, the two necromancers she had pointed to hurried to gather their forces, intending to advance toward the ongoing assault, while the third followed Delrisa in the other direction.