Path of the Necromancer Ch. 03

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Later that morning, Ian, Ember, Dani, and Scraps, holding a cheerful Grim, drove to Pioneer Square. Dani didn't know why she'd decided to tag along for a no doubt dangerous mission, but she knew she felt an even greater need to repay them after what she'd learned over breakfast. Just the memory of what had happened the night before brought tears to her eyes, but when they'd told her what the agent had done to help her and her vow to protect her; what she went through to keep her safe, what she risked... She had broken down crying on the spot. Ember had surprised the hell out of her when she wrapped her in her arms and comforted her.

Looking out the window as the city passed by, she grimaced. They even liked her pancakes -Ian praising the meal like it was the sweetest ambrosia. She kept waiting for something to happen to shatter her view of them. Where were they hiding the decapitated bodies of children or the ravaged nuns-turned-sex slaves the Order always told them about?

She sighed, knowing it would take some adjustment. Nevertheless, she wasn't one to mope around all day and hitting her wall against a wall trying to find out more about the 9th Order was what that equated to. Dani decided she had to do something and going along with Ian was as good as anything she could think of. She'd even realized as she checked her guns that she had craved a little danger and excitement; to feel the adrenaline rush that came with a difficult job.

Ian was disappointed to learn that vampirism wasn't an undead condition (thus he couldn't control them as a necromancer), but more of a mutation which altered their genetics. It made them sensitive to light (though nowhere near enough to burn them to cinders), reliant on uninfected blood, and taking in excessive amounts of new blood tended to kill off the fluffy, puppy-loving, ethical portions of their brains. In return, of course, they got increased speed and strength, longer lives, the ability to see in the dark, and an unlimited supply of date-rape drugs flowing through their system.

"Seriously?" he asked Grim after he'd finished giving them the low down on their prey. "They put a kill order on 'me,' but let these virtueless wonders run around free?"

Ember pursed her lips and reminded him, "There are many vampires who feed only in moderation. They're as sane as you or I."

Ian thought about that. "Then there should definitely be a kill order out on them," he finally concluded. A laugh burst forth from Dani and he was captivated by how innocent and free the young assassin sounded. He sighed. He was really beginning to dislike this order that would inflict young girls with what she'd been through.

They got to the storefront and Ian put on a determined expression as he tried to weave a compulsion around the vehicle so that it wouldn't be towed for being parked along the busy street. A voice behind him called out, "Don't bother." He turned and saw one of the Castille sisters leaning against a building without any sign of how she got there. "We'll make sure no one touches it."

Ian chuckled, "I hope so. Otherwise some poor meter maid is going to get the shock of their life."

She frowned before asking, "Where do you want to start?"

He pointed to the shop, already walking towards it, and said, "In there." The girl stared at him incredulously, wondering if he was screwing with her. She reminded herself of what she'd seen in the arena and forced herself to stay calm. Her sister was still canvassing a likely starting location for them anyway. They'd been watching the vampires for over a week now and knew they used the underground to access most of their territory. It was going to be a nightmare navigating their warren in the dark.

Inside, Ian smiled as he saw Lily sitting at a corner table with a bag of cookies and a coffee. She returned his smile and waved as he walked by, blushing slightly as she remembered their encounter in his apartment. They sat down and started making plans for the assault.

"First off, what's your name?" Ian asked the Kin enforcer.

"What's it matter to you?" she retorted defensively.

Ian's lips quirked up and chuckled, "Fine, be that way. But if I have to shout for you in the dark I'm going to call you the snookums."

She growled threateningly at that, but decided that it did make sense to prepare for the worst. "It's Rosalie," she admitted gruffly, daring him to crack a smile. "And my sister is Evelina."

Ian didn't disappoint her expectations as a wide grin formed. "Beautiful Rose and lovely Eve," he murmured as if tasting their names. Rose glared at him, trying to figure out why the biker bitch getup she was wearing didn't scare him off like all the others. She was about to make an issue out of it, but saw his goofy smile and head-in-the-clouds expression and knew it was pointless. This just confirmed her suspicions from the night before that he was insane. She sighed to herself and hoped he wouldn't die on them before they got rid of the vampires.

"I think the main problem we need to address is manpower," Ian pointed out.

The dark-skinned girl gave a snort of annoyance and rolled her eyes. "Obviously," she declared.

Ian ignored her tone and continued, "What I meant is that if we start at one location and work our way through each room and level, those that make a run for it are simply going to run out of the other exits. Now, I don't see this as a major problem for getting rid of them in the long run as I'd already figured we'd need to do multiple purges, but what happens when a bunch of angry and scared vampires run out into the open? What's to stop them from just massacring people in the streets?"

Lily smiled and told them, "The bureau knows we're about to poke a hornet's nest. They're standing by in case we need damage control. All it will take is one call from me confirming that they've committed a crime and we'll have this place flooded with my people." Their host did not like the idea of the Inquisition invading her territory, but she knew they didn't have the numbers to contain things if the leeches went berserk.

"Speaking of which," Ian wondered, "why hasn't there been a single recorded violation on their part so far?"

Rose grimaced and explained, "It's their leader, Cassandra Devereux. That soulless bitch makes Mary Tudor and Elizabeth Bathory look like innocent kittens in comparison. She also rules with an iron fist and any who cross her know their death will be painful and prolonged. She had enormous wealth before she was infected and she's used it to build quite an empire. I can't even guess what Long offered her to get her to agree to this."

Ember smiled, showing off her fangs, and commented, "It's nice to know that his investment will be going to waste."

* * * * *

They reached the building amidst a small army of Kin members prepping for a raid. Rose's sister was waiting in a black Mercedes and Ian waved at her cheerfully as he walked by. She nearly spit out the coffee she was drinking as she saw him walk right up to the solid oak door of the place they were casing without a care in the world. 'He's not going to just- ah, hell,' she thought to herself.

Ian put a hand on Scraps's shoulder and said, "Play time..."

The revenant blurred forward and hit the entranceway shoulder-first, blowing through the door with ease and spraying wood fragments in all directions which Ian helpfully shielded those behind him from. Ian saw the receptionist immediately kick her sizeable desk in the air towards them and pull out a cutoff shotgun like she dealt with intruders every day.

Unfortunately for her, she wasn't nearly prepared enough for Scraps, who hadn't stopped when he'd gone through the door, to suddenly appear before her and punch through her neck. Quiet fell over them as the vampire's body collapsed to the floor, her tainted blood dripping from the flesh golem's hand.

Then a horrible buzzing, scraping, crunching sound filled the air as the building came alive. "Incoming!" Grim shouted. From the far ends of the two adjoining hallways came a rush of vampires crawling on the floor, walls, and even upside-down along the ceiling, moving with frightening speed, their limbs seeming to defy the limits of a human's biology.

Scraps and Ember took the lead while Ian plucked those from the ceiling and willed them into the thresher the pair was creating. The Kin opened fire from behind the trio. Most of their shots were ignored however and Rose shouted, "Aim for their heads." One of the sisters had animated the receptionist's desk and turned it into a lanky wooden monster that drove the stakes it had for arms through vampires like some kind of grotesque shish kebob.

Then they heard a scream from behind them and looked back just in time to see one of the Kin members plucked from his feet and dragged towards the door as vampires flooded the entranceway. Dani calmly raised her Beretta and shot the head of the vampire that held one of the gunmen and the group shifted to form a circle as the bloodsuckers hit them from three separate angles.

Those in front slammed into the shield Ian had created and he winced at the effort of keeping them back took. 'These fuckers are strong,' he thought. Ember cleared away their pressure by unleashing a wave of Hellfire down the nearest hallway which seemed to spook the rest of them as they abruptly began to retreat. Those Kin who'd followed them were breathing hard. Lily went around checking wounds, occasionally slapping a hand on a cut received from shrapnel and muttering a chant to heal the wound or dull the pain.

She got to the man who'd been grabbed and applied herbs to the rents in his shoulder. She looked to Rose and said, "He's safe from infection, but he's done for the day." The champion nodded her head, expecting the answer, and had him carried out to one of the cars. She shot a grateful look at Lily, finding it useful to have a healer along.

The rest of the building which appeared to have offices in the upper levels and bedrooms in the lower ones only turned up five more vampires. They reached the basement level and were met with a large hole in the concrete that led... somewhere. "Wow," Grim commented. "That's pretty ominous. I'm glad I don't have to worry about dying or anything."

Ian sighed and told the group, "Stay close." Turning to Ember, he warned, "No large combustions or waves of fire while we're underground."

He then made his shield visible for all to see and stretched it to cover those behind and in front of him. Its light cast their surroundings in an eerie green hue causing the people with him to flinch in surprise. Flames of Hellfire surrounded Ember's hand as she led the way while Scraps took up the rear.

They heard skittering coming from the darkness and the sound of nails on concrete caused shivers to run down their spines. Every once and awhile they'd catch glimpses of movement at the limit of their vision before fading into the murkiness beyond. The vampires seemed to avoid the light, but they clearly weren't happy that the invaders were there.

The party continued until they reached a crossroads. As if a switch and been flipped, as soon as they stepped into the center of four crisscrossing tunnels they came again. They charged from all directions, including the one they'd just come from and staccato bursts of gunfire hammered the air around them. Ian had to not only concentrate on allowing those things inside the barrier to get out, but he had to strengthen all sides of equally since he didn't know from where the pressure would come from.

Inevitably, the horde of bloodthirsty predators reached the shield and slammed against it. Ian felt what Ashley must have at the FBI branch headquarters when she'd tried to protect herself against the countless ravenous ghosts reaching towards her. Ian dropped to his knees and gritted his teeth under the onslaught. Most of the Kin had run their clips out at that point and were furiously reloading with shaking fingers.

Lily touched Ian's shoulder and whispered, "I think it's time for you to stop pretending." She knew the Seattle players weren't who Ian would have to worry about now. It was the European leagues who'd established the decree that would come for him next.

Rose threw her an incredulous glance, amazed that Ian hadn't collapsed yet. Her words seemed to relax Ian though, and when he next opened his eyes they were blazing green. Ian reached out for the spirits around him and found a host of waiting volunteers. They'd been dragged down to these caverns and killed in large numbers. In some cases they'd been kidnapped from the streets and taken unwillingly. In others, they'd paid to come and be fed on before their used husks were tossed in a twisted pile of corpses. All wanted vengeance.

They came when he called. They eagerly took the energy he offered. The mass of vampires suddenly found themselves looking into the ghostly eyes of their victims and their small, degraded animal brains registered fear. The Kin were shocked as they saw a wave of ghosts explode outwards and crash into the suddenly outnumbered vampires.

Their fury made the ghosts even more frenzied and some of the attackers were stopped in midair, their limbs ripped from their sockets. A terrible, inhuman screeching noise went up and the vampires again began to retreat, but this time they were followed. Ghosts began possessing the dead vampires or, in some cases their old bodies, and took the fight to the enemy.

Grim chuckled into the silence that followed, penetrated by distant screams, "Vampire zombies... What a concept." The two sisters were gaping like a pair of fish as they tried to make sense of what they'd just seen. "Don't strain those limited brain cells of yours," the Archive commented, "we still haven't reached their lair."

The snide remark seemed to shock them out of their trance. Ian saw a familiar spirit waving towards him in the distance and he began walking down the corridor towards her. Rose's sister had a conflicted expression on her face and he called back, "Fight or flight, Eve. Decision time. I'll have to escort you guys to the surface if you want to call it quits." Slowly, she shook her head and started to follow him. It registered that he'd called her by a nickname and she glared at her sister who was trying to look innocent.

The others followed him warily, shooting uneasy glances at his back. The decrees of the authorities didn't mean much to them and they wouldn't have followed them given their present situation anyway, but it was still quite a shock for them to see a necromancer in person knowing how rare they were in the world's present climate. Most of them finally decided to simply appreciate the fact that he was on their side and began looking outward for new threats.

It took close to twenty minutes to reach the deepest depths of the labyrinth, during which there seemed to be an attack waiting for them around each and every turn. Each time they killed, the bodies were resurrected and began staggering along behind them. They soon found the ground littered with corpses that had been cut to pieces to stop the ghosts from reviving them. Most of the spirits that had used up their energy had crossed over, sated with the vengeance they'd caused. Others gathered around Ian as he channeled more energy to them.

They entered a clearing and looked up to see a honeycomb of tunnel openings. Ian had to crane his head to see all of the tiers upon tiers of rock formations on which countless ranks of vampires stood waiting. In the center of the pack in front of them a girl with flawless skin that looked to be about Ian's age stood out. Her incredibly beautiful face, framed by long, snow-white hair, was marred by the cold, furious expression she was wearing.

Ian and company reached the center of the large underground room and realized the full scope of what faced them. Grim broke the silence with, "That is one scary ass bitch."

Her lips pulled back, revealing a set of fangs that gleamed in the light of Ian's shield. They retracted and she walked to the edge of the tier she was standing on, stating in a malevolent voice that rang in their ears as it reverberated around the chamber, "What is a son of Erebus doing in my realm?" Ember flinched as she said the name and the Kin held their weapons tighter at the force of her words.

She smiled as her chilling gaze locked onto Ian's. "Ah, a mere stripling," she concluded in a haunting tone. "No matter. I sense in you power enough to meet my requirements. Yeesss. You will become my magnum opus. An undead mage, rooted in the spirit world. You shall be mine and serve me throughout eternity." She raised her arms in triumph and from her wrist hung a gleaming talisman that made his skin crawl. "As a lich, you'll command an unstoppable army I will use to secure my position here in the city, and then the world. Come, my sweet. Submit to your fate!"

A fireball streaked out of Ember's hand as she shouted, "Like hell, you fucking parasite!"

The onlookers watched in amazement as the ball of Hellfire exploded in front of the white-haired vampire queen, the flames dying away against a pure ethereal blue shield. "Ah shit," Grim remarked. "Vampire mage..."

Almost as one, the ranks of vampires surrounding them crouched and then jumped high in the air. Hundreds of flying superhuman bodies came crashing down atop Ian's shield, causing it to flare green. The Kin opened fire, Scraps rushed the leader, Ember ignored Ian's warning and started an inferno of flame, and the two Castille sisters summoned two enormous rock golems the size of a Mack truck that wandered outside of the failing shield and began smashing their way through the mayhem.

The army of ghosts and possessed cadavers under his control began moving forward in a massive assault of their own against the enemy lines. The vampires surprised them by retaliating with weapons of their own. A minigun began firing from the third tier and mowed down the lines of the dead as they crossed the protection of the barrier.

Dani, who'd managed to assemble her sniper rifle without anyone taking notice, sent a round through the head of the vampire controlling it before looking around for new targets. She found one when an honest-to-God rocket materialized out of the mass of feral attackers to hit one of the rock golems, blowing roughly a third of it to dust and knocking the surrounding figures to the ground.

Eve gritted her teeth and concentrated on reforming her minion. Then it happened. Cassandra, who'd blasted Scraps through four layers of rock, hammered Ian's flagging shield with her own force of will, shattering the construct. Kin soldiers began dying as they all scrambled to get behind the cover of the rock golems.

Lily, who'd been waiting for such an occasion, finished her spell and shot an orb of light into the air, shining brighter than the Sun. The denizens of the dark screamed in surprise and anger, momentarily blinded. The pressure of their assault was relieved as all the vampires were suddenly put on the defensive. All of them except their leader...

She blasted them with her power, actually succeeding in picking up one of the golems and tossing him backwards, cracking his frame. Ian stepped forward and shot a jet of Spiritfire at her. It stopped against her shield and seemed to take forever to burn through it. She flashed forward, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

A broadsword the length of her leg and twice the width suddenly materialized in her hand and she thrust it at Ian. He barely had time to register its presence before he knew it was too late. He winced backwards before it stopped centimeters from his chest. There in front of him stood Ember in full demon form grasping the blade with her bare hand. The two seemed to blink forward at the same time and the room exploded in a series of aftershocks that resulted whenever the two connected.