“It was neatly done.” Druanna paused as they reached a new floor. An empty chamber revealed two corridors spearing off into the dark, twin doors of metal bars blocking each off. “Anybody down here you wish to save?”
“Naomi. Helminth. If—”
Footsteps came from above, the sound of a conversation, laughter.
Druanna pursed her lips and turned to face the stairwell.
Nox was still on the steps leading down. Scorio moved up beside the Pyre Lady.
“…so I told her, absolutely not, she couldn’t demand that of Dameon, and when she protested I placed her in a prism… oh.”
Ydrielle and Simeon stepped into view and stopped, the easy smiles on their faces fading away.
“Awkward,” said Scorio.
For a moment nobody moved. Simeon’s eyes narrowed as he glanced back and forth. The space was cramped. Barely large enough for the four of them.
Druanna cracked her neck and then everybody moved.
Simeon disappeared.
Ydrielle raised a hollow prism over herself, overlapping her Shroud, its surface composed of geometric planes and glowing a soft, snowy white.
Scorio dropped to a crouch and spun as Simeon appeared behind him, already reaching out to smack the back of his head. As the Dread Blaze’s arm swiped overhead Scorio slashed his talons across the inside of the man’s knee, only to impact his Shroud.
Druanna leaped upon Ydrielle’s defenses, her six arms slashing down with terrible power.
Simeon tried to slap Scorio again but hit his Shroud instead; both Shrouds repelled each other, forcing each Great Soul to stumble back.
SIT, Scorio roared at the Dread Blaze with his aura of command, and to his satisfaction, Simeon’s knees buckled.
Scorio lunged forward, slashing with both sets of talons, only for Simeon to vanish.
Where—?
Nox gurgled as Simeon appeared at the head of the steps and leaned in to touch the toad’s snout.
Simeon disappeared again and Nox blinked in confusion.
“Damn it,” hissed Scorio just as Druanna stumbled back, one wrist pressed to her eyes.
“You all right in there, love?” barked Ydrielle.
“This weird as all… hell. I’m going to be sick.”
“Don’t meet her eyes,” said Druanna, voice thick with anger. “Blinding power.”
One problem at a time. Scorio threw himself at Ydrielle, his aura preceding him as he commanded, DROP YOUR SHIELD.
Ydrielle.
The Great Soul who’d imprisoned him, manipulated him, laughed at him. Manticore, the focus of literally years’ worth of obsessive hatred.
Copper raged in his Heart as he burned everything he could, as he swung with every ounce of strength, his large muscles coiling under his scaled skin. In that moment he thought of Leonis, of Lianshi, of Dola and Abentha and the people of Bastion, of everyone this woman had wronged.
His rage became the Dread Blaze’s funeral pyre, and just as her prism flickered his talons slammed into her Shroud and slashed it apart.
Momentum carried him through so that his shoulder slammed into Ydrielle’s chest. She must have weighed less than a third of what he did in his scaled form. She was smashed off her feet and sent flying onto the steps behind her with a cry.
Scorio turned and lunged after her, fixedly avoiding her gaze, to fall upon her like a panther and sink his talons into her neck.
Hot blood welled up, bubbling and boiling around his white-hot talons. Only then did he raise his head, chest heaving with the intensity of emotion, to meet her shocked gaze.
Her hands fluttered around his wrists. Her mouth worked but only made a clicking sound.
“For Leonis,” rasped Scorio. “For Lianshi.”
A yellow smolder tried to light in her eyes as she sought to summon her power, but it dulled and went dead as her head tilted to one side.
Three down.
Two to go.
Scorio tore himself free and leaped back lightly into the chamber. Druanna was facing Nox who’d emerged halfway into the room. Thick ropes of drool hung from the toad’s maw down to the corpse of Sammy the guard.
Nox convulsed again. “Damn…fiends… can’t…”
Then Simeon was ejected from the toad to stagger upright, his face green with nausea.
“There you are,” said Druanna.
“Wait wait wait,” said Simeon, raising both hands. “Ydrielle? You still with me, love?”
Druanna’s six blades interwove.
Simeon appeared before her and reached out, only for the blade to neatly sever his hand.
It fell to the floor as Simeon screamed and jerked back.
Druanna turned. “You really think that’ll work a second time?”
“Wait,” cried Simeon, gaze darting back and forth. “I was only obeying orders, I protested, I never wanted to—”
He lunged forth again with his stump, a feint toward Druanna’s face, blood dashing forth, only to drop and try to touch her knee.
A second blade cleaved through his hastily summoned Shroud and took off his other hand.
“Damn it!” Simeon fell to the ground and pressed both stumps to his chest. “It wasn’t my decision! I had no choice, I swore Heart Oaths, I’m innocent, I never wanted to—”
“Shhh,” said Scorio, crouching before the fallen Dread Blaze. “It’s all right.”
Simeon stilled, his large, dolorous eyes widening. “It… what do you mean?”
“You’re going back to the Archspire. You don’t deserve it.”
“Scorio, please.” Tears stood out in Simeon’s eyes. “I swear to you, on my honor, on Eterra, I never wanted to harm you, for any of this to happen.”
“Too bad,” said Scorio softly. “But first tell me. Who did Ydrielle place in a prism?”
“What?” For a second Simeon looked confounded. “Oh—Jova Spike. She’s not herself. I can lead you to her room—”
Scorio slashed his talons through the Dread Blaze’s throat.
Simeon tried to scream but it became a gurgle. He pressed his stumps clumsily to his throat, half sat up, then lay back, convulsing, and died.
“Yeurch,” said Nox in distaste. “Unpleasant.”
“Four down,” said Scorio, rising to his feet.
Druanna’s arms faded from view. “You’re drawing continuously from the local mana pool. That’s a Pyre Lady technique. How?”
“It’s complicated,” said Scorio, and nodded to the barred doors. “Give me a moment?”
“Don’t take long.”
Scorio used his talons to cut through the lock on each door and pulled them both open. “Naomi?” His voice echoed down the corridor. “Helminth?”
“…Scorio?”
He was down the hallway before his name was finished being called. Past a half dozen doors to dig his talons into the frame of a heavy door and then heave, his muscles writhing, to toss it aside with a crash.
“Naomi?” Sinking down to his human form he entered hesitantly, dark vision revealing his friend sunken against the wall, her hair hanging lank before her face, both wrists manacled to the walls with monstrous chains. “Are you hurt?”
“Can’t move my legs.” Her fury matched his own. “Shadow Petal cut through my back with her black blade.”
Druanna appeared in the doorway. “A friend of yours? She’ll heal. It just takes time for the mana channels to restore themselves.”
“Let’s get you out of those,” whispered Scorio, rising to his scaled form and taking up the chains.
“How did you… oh. Hello, Nox.”
“Favorite friend Naomi. Not looking good.”
“I’m better now. I heard… fighting?”
“Ydrielle and Simeon.” Scorio cut through the chains with patient pressure. “Druanna was in the cell next to mine. Everyone’s upstairs having a feast.”
Naomi reached for Scorio as he cut through the last chain, and he slid under her arm and lifted her up to hold against his chest.
“Well, then you’d better go ruin it for them.”
“That’s the plan. Druanna?”