Mikiss started shuddering uncontrollably when he caught sight of a man just hanging in the air, flailing madly as unseen claws shred¬ded his flesh and droplets of fresh blood sprayed all around him from severed arteries.
The Menin soldiers ignored the horrific scene, but took advantage of their enemies' momentary distraction to dispatch the last of the men in the courtyard.
'Where has that light come from?' asked Amber angrily, scanning the grounds.
Shart reached out a hand, pointing off to the right. 'There, there's a mage in that bunch.'
A large group of men had formed a circle just inside the grounds, and were hewing a path through the injured and dead towards the house. One of the walking corpses burst into flames and blundered away.
'They're not locals; they're fighting as a unit,' Major Amber sud denly announced. The foreigners were now providing the only serious assault on the grounds; everyone else was dead or dying.
When Mikiss saw someone point towards them, he opened his mouth, ready to shout. But he closed his mouth in horror as a nearby bush started shaking violently, then lashed out with supernaturally long branches to envelop the man who'd pointed. A shadow crossed die still-hovering light and the branches slewed sideways and grabbed the man beside him instead, tugging the helpless figure into the body ol (be bush. Three of the attackers ran forward to help their comrade, but branches whipped at their faces and drove them back.
'The master will be pleased,' Nai commented brightly as the at-lackers struggled in vain to save the man, but all too soon it was over as, with one last shuddering moan, the man fell silent and the bush stopped shaking. Someone called out something, and in the next instant the bush burst into purple flames and an unholy howl echoed through the air.
'What the hell was that?' Shart asked.
'Just one of the master's pet projects,' Nai said airily. 'We hadn't had a chance to test it properly before.'
'They're a determined lot, I must say,' the major remarked, 'and as it doesn't look like your defences are going to stop them, and we don't have the numbers, we should get back inside.'
The foreign unit was inching its way towards the house, hampered at every turn by the new horrors springing up. The giant creature had killed every man in its vicinity, and now it turned towards the remaining group. The bright flare left Mikiss' eyes watering as he tried to make it out, but all he could be sure ol was the dark skin, a mass of criss-crossing scars and tattoos, a low-hanging jaw with unusually sharp canine teeth, and horns that curled forward past its eyes.
'Come on, you bastard,' Amber growled, grabbing Mikiss by the arm and dragging him back inside. 'Shart, check the other side of the house; let me know if there's anyone out there as well. Nai, your master had better get more involved or we're in trouble. There must be more than one mage out there.'
Shart ran into one of the front rooms. There was a clatter as some¬thing broke under the soldier's weight. Then he called back, 'Soldiers at the gate, pikemen of some sort – maybe the city guard. There are women in white standing before them. They've not come through yet.'
'Damn, White Circle mages? How in the name of the Lowest Pit did they get here so fast?' Amber looked at his men, assessing his options, then ordered, 'Nai, go and tell your master we need a diversion.'
'That won't be necessary,' said a calm voice from the cellar stair, making them all jump. Isherin Purn loomed suddenly from the kitchen shadows and stepped into the hallway, a smile of quiet pleasure on his face and a red flicker in his eyes. 'Nai, please fetch my books from the study table.'
'We've got at least three separate parties surrounding us, two with mages. You have an escape route planned?' Amber snapped.
Purn glared at him, and both the major and the messenger recoiled. The necromancer was a thin man, and hairless, no taller than Mikiss. He was believed to be around sixty winters, but his face remained unlined. Mikiss guessed that was some dark pact. It gave the necro¬mancer an air of unearthly, timeless cruelty.
'Major, you will modify your tone of voice with me.' Purn's voice sounded distracted, as though the physical world were only part of what he had to concentrate on at any one moment. 'I have released the wards on the boundary and triggered all the invocations within the grounds.'
'They hadn't all been triggered already?' the major asked, a little taken aback.
'The magic is complicated; you will not understand it,' Purn said. 'All you need to know is that there will be more appearing as we speak, drawn by the murder already done. They are free to leave the grounds now, and you will be just as great a target as any other mortal nearby'
'Isn't that going to make this even harder?' Amber asked, trying to control his temper.
'Not at all, as long as you stay close to me. In the general chaos they will cause it will be simple enough to go unnoticed.' Purn turned at the sound of his servant returning, laden with a bulky canvas bag slung over his left shoulder. 'Ah, excellent, Nai; you are sure you have them all?'
'Yes, master,' Nai replied, 'and you had missed Chalem's Experiments with Fire so I took the liberty of bringing that as well.'
Purn sniffed. 'The loss of any book is a waste, I suppose.' He pointed past Amber and through the high empty reception rooms. 'Come then, Major, that way, please. Get ready to go through one of the windows, but don't leave the building until I have joined you.'
Purn's smile faded as he touched his fingers against the splintered door frame, concentrating. He began to whisper under his breath. As Amber grabbed Mikiss by the collar and hauled him off after the brothers, they caught sight of a thin finger of flame that darted up to the ceiling and spread in all directions. By the time they had crossed the two rooms to reach the tall shuttered windows on the far side, a deep orange light outlined the doorway and Mikiss could hear the llames hungrily consuming the building.
Shart and Mikiss set to clearing away the debris below the window and forcing the warped shutters open. From outside came the sounds of magic; the fierce crackle of lightning and, suddenly, a raging wind, all overlaid with panicked cries. Despite the noise, Mikiss heard Purn's footfalls as the necromancer marched in after them, silhouet-led against the rising flames.
'Well now, chaos reigns in my wake,' Purn declared, 'so let us be off.'
He pushed past the soldiers and peered out of the window, then hopped through with remarkable agility. As Keneg and Sharl for lowed, a great chattering began in the low undergrowth nearby.
Tsatach's balls, what's that?' Shart demanded, looking anxiously at Purn.
The necromancer tugged his cloak straight. 'That? A local spirit I recruited to the cause.' Any further explanation was cut short as a shape burst from under a bush and leaped at Purn. It passed straight through the necromancer's body, skidded on the ground and slammed Into the side oi the house.
Mikiss stared down at it as the spirit scrabbled to right itself. It looked somewhat like a spider, only with four short, powerful legs, each one ending in a pair of large claws. He couldn't see the face, which was set deep into the body, but the hiss of fury it directed towards Purn was all too obvious.
The necromancer stared down at the creature, an expression of mild curiosity on his face. He said nothing, but continued to inspect the creature, until Shart took matters into his own hands and slammed his axe down onto it, cutting it in nearly in two. 'It didn't seem to like you so much,' he said, hauling his axe free. 'It looked at me for a moment, then went back to working out how it was going to gut you.' He stopped talking as a black man-like shape rose up behind Purn, claws outstretched.
The necromancer disappeared entirely as the phantom touched him. It surged forward and raked its claws down Shart's face, and he howled and collapsed in a heap. The phantom ignored Keneg, who jumped over his prone brother and attacked, but it was like trying to cut through fog. His sword was useless against the strange being.