Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 65 How Long Can He Stay?

Kahtesh pulled himself out of the void and stood atop it. His wings opened wide and then settled neatly on his back, half draping off the side. His tail lay in an ‘S’ shape along the ground and his soulless eyes gazed forwards without a thought behind them.

Isaac whispered to Lenna: “What should we do with the merchant?”

“He can’t survive.” She replied.

Isaac thought about it for a moment. He didn’t particularly like killing noncombatants but she was right. He couldn’t be left alive after seeing Kahtesh and if Safeharbor found out they let him live then their loyalties would be put into question. ‘Line the guard tending to the pecurke and the mage up then lightning bolt them both.’ He mentally directed Kahtesh by simply willing the words towards his dragon.

The pair watched with great interest and bated breaths as the bone dragon bounded forwards once covering twenty feet as mana coursed over his semi folded wings. He bounded again, this time forwards and to their right. He landed in a perfect line with his two targets.

“What in the…” The guard shouted but was cut off by a lighting bolt that flew out of Kahtesh’s open mouth, through the guard’s chestplate, the pecurke in front of him’s kidney, and finally through the mage’s chest. As the bolt pieced through the guard it slowed slightly from the resistance. The guard’s heart exploded from the current vaporizing the blood inside it. His armor had two glowing orange circles. One in the middle of his chest and the other on his back.

The pecurke’s kidney exploded and its fur lit ablaze as the bolt passed through it. It collapsed in a wail of pain. Its body too slowed the bolt. As the lightning slowed the magic maintained the energy. The slower it was the hotter it would get but also the more it would transfer the energy into whatever it hit next.

When the bolt finally made it to the mage it was still moving faster than anyone could react but compared to its original speed it had slowed considerably. The impact with his chest was much more of an impact than with the other two victims. The mage flew off his feet and was tossed towards the wall. His body absorbed most of the lightning bolt’s remaining energy and much of his inside’s vaporized instantly.

The cavern fell silent. The guard who was struck stumbled back a step, then another. He hung there for a moment before his strings were cut and he crumpled to the ground. The moment was soon over and the wraiths lunged for the remaining guard intent on ripping his soul from his body.

Their blue, glowing, silhouettes launched across the tunnel. Their spectral forms were still equipped with the visage of the gear they once wore. Its fabric, scabbards, and pouches weren’t affected by their momentum nor the wind resistance in the slightest. The guard screamed as they dove into and through him.

‘Finish the pecurke. Quickly. Go for their throats.’ Isaac ordered Kahtesh. The dragon bound towards the standing pecurke and pawed its head backwards which opened up its throat. The dragon opened its maw and clamped down with a snap that echoed through the tunnels. Kahtesh shoved off the pecurke with its throat still in his mouth.

A sickening tearing sound, liquid slapping against the ground, and short, pained, gurgling were what followed. Kahtesh tried to swallow the meat in his mouth but lacked the necessary organs. Isaac just stared at him for a moment as he struggled. ‘Kahtesh, just spit it out.’ He told the dragon. Swallowing whatever was in his mouth was so ingrained into the dragon, that the shadow of what he once was, that now terrorized the tunnel, had tried almost as if it were muscle memory.

Kahtesh tried to spit it out but again he lacked the necessary organs and eventually Isaac felt that he had enough mana stored up to use his lightning breath again. ‘Just fry it along with one of the wraiths.’ He directed with a defeated sigh. “We’re gonna have to figure something out with the whole ‘getting things out of his mouth’ problem.” He told Lenna with a frown.

Kahtesh aimed at one of the wraiths and fired. The wraith tried to dodge the bolt but it still managed to clip it. The glancing blow still blew a chunk out of the wraith and it wailed in pain. The meat that was stuck in Kahtesh’s mouth was thoroughly cooked and had shrunk a little but was still stuck in his mouth.

Isaac groaned audibly. ‘Finish off the other pecurke with your claws. Afterwards, lightning bolt the wraiths.’ Isaac directed and looked at Lenna. “He’s gonna need some help or this is gonna take a while.”

Lenna nodded and rose to her full height. She cracked her neck and started jogging towards the wraiths. Isaac disappeared and moved to kill the merchant before he could make a break for it. The merchant was looking around frantically trying to find an exit when he spotted the armored monster jogging towards his cart. He tripped backwards when the monster’s sword caught fire.

Kahtesh was playing cat and mouse with the wounded pecurke because he really didn’t know how to fight without biting things and Isaac hadn’t taken the time to teach him via overlaying complex commands. Isaac figured it was possible but hadn’t gotten around to trying. The wraiths finished off the guard they were harassing and went to dive at Kahtesh when one of them was cut in half by Lenna and burst into flames.

The merchant moved to get up but quickly halted by a blade cutting through his throat and getting lodged in his neck vertebrae. Isaac kicked the merchant off his blade while yanking his sword free. Lenna moved to finish off the other wraith but it darted away from her.

‘Kahtesh, quit playing with the pecurke and fry the other wraith. I’ll finish your toy.’ Isaac directed and moved towards the bloodied and cut up pecurke. Kahtesh jumped back and lined up a shot at the wraith. Isaac glanced at the dragon just in time to see that Lenna was down range. ‘Make sure you don’t hit Lenna.’ Isaac corrected. Kahtesh yanked his head to the side and the bolt slammed into the wall sending stone chunks flying.

Isaac slashed the pecurke across the throat quickly before backstepping a sweeping strike. He stepped in and jabbed into its eye and ducked under another swing. He took out the other eye then transitioned into another slash across the monster’s throat and backed off.

Lenna tossed Kahtesh a quick glance when the bolt had gone wide. All she could really do was stand there and wait for the wraith to get impatient. “Isaac.” She called.

Isaac reappeared. “Yeah.” He asked.

“Try throwing shadows at it.” She directed.

Isaac reached out and started making a shadow version of the throwing spikes with a confused look on his face. “I thought they were immune to physical damage unless it was from a magical weapon?”

Lenna nodded. “They are not immune to hostile mana.”

Isaac launched the spike at the wraith with his will and the bolt lodged itself an inch deep into the ghostly being. “That was underwhelming.”

Lenna shrugged. “It’s something.”

Isaac heard the chains holding the pecurke snap and he reengaged it. Kahtesh was ready for another bolt so he took the chance and fired. The wraith twisted at the last second and took the bolt on the arm. Much of its body was starting to disperse and float away. It looked at the bone dragon with hatred in its eyes before a sword slash finished it off in a blaze of magical flames.

Lenna turned to see Isaac finish slicing through the final pecurke’s throat. “He did well. Mostly.” Lenna commented.

“Yeah. There is definitely plenty to work on. The scent of over cooked pecurke being one. Also teaching him to fight without trying to eat it.” Isaac sighed then shrugged. “Win some, lose some I guess.”

Lenna shook her head. “How long can he stay?” She asked.

Isaac thought about it. “Forever. He takes about as much mana out of me to function as I use silencing my footsteps. Honestly it’s kinda ridiculous. If he didn’t need micro-managing I’d never have to work again.” He explained.

Lenna stared at the dragon for a bit examining him. “He’s healing.”

“Yeah. If he’s not spending any of my mana he just starts fixing himself passively. It’s really nice actually. This way I don’t have to worry about healing a party member who can’t tell me when he’s hurt.” Isaac replied and started trying to pry the lid off one of the crates.

Lenna walked around the tunnel intersection and made sure everything was dead. She looked down the one tunnel and found the remains of the adventurers. Their armor was piled off to the side and there were still blood stains and broken bones. She frowned at the sight before walking over and digging through their gear for their adventurer’s badges.

Isaac finally gave up and just forced a ton of his shadow mana into the crate and pushed half of it upwards and half downwards until the top flew off. He panted from the effort as he looked inside. “What in the hells is this?” He asked and picked up a clear crystal of some kind.

Lenna looked up from her somber task to see Isaac holding up one of the crystals. “Quartz probably.” She said and returned to searching the pile.

“Why?” He asked. “And where?”

“Magic rituals. I don’t know.” She replied to his questions.

Isaac looked down the tunnel they were headed down. “What’s down that way?”

Lenna looked over her shoulder down the tunnel and tried to imagine the map of the area in her family’s war room. “Nothing?” She replied. “A lot of tunnels. Most just end or circle back.”

“That’s worrying.” Isaac said and squinted his eyes trying to see through the tunnel walls and find whatever the drow were up to. “I already don’t like wizards.”

Lenna nodded and finally stood up with all four adventurer’s badges. Only one of them was still in one piece. She looked over at the fresh corpses. “We need proof.”