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  Despite Nils's apparent enchantments, the last checkpoint they reached before the site turned out to be far more difficult than the others had been. Whatever the boy did, it didn't stop the quartet of daemons stationed at the gates from stopping the truck. He at first thought that two of them were humans, but radiant eyes and their voices gave them away as they issued orders to Charlie. “Get out of the truck.”

  David exchanged a glance with Charlie, feeling that this didn't add up directly with their prep-work regarding the checkpoints. Charlie also looked unsure—and very worried. He quickly banished the look from his face, though, and both got out of the truck and moved to the point the daemons indicated. Once they were in place, two of the daemons moved towards the back of the truck to conduct an inspection. David shifted aside just a little more, and started talking while the possessee apparently charged with interrogating them was still approaching, doing everything he could to keep two of them faced away from the truck. "Just a bunch of stone from the quarry, and a shipment of tools."

  "Let me see the manifest, we'll check that. Then get a crew ready to unload."

  "Charlie, can you grab the manifest? Left it in the truck. We'll get right on that for you." David kept talking, trying to keep the attention of the possessee and daemon nearest him as the action started. At the truck the other possessee and a daemon started to open up the back for a visual inspection.

  David was pretty sure their initial plot would have died right there, without the American, Norwegian, and Japanese additions. The daemon leaned in, then suddenly was jerked forward. A strangled sound, then a cracking noise followed, and David winced. The possessee climbing onto the back of the truck tumbled backwards, convulsing. It looked like it was the daemon work crew that was going to do the dying.

  The pair near David turned, surprised. Without thinking about it, David lunged forward, grabbing the possessed man and clapping a hand over his mouth. As he watched over the daemon-host's shoulder, Celeste jumped out of the truck first, chanting in Latin, and anointing the convulsing man with water. The younger boy emerged second, with black daemon blood decorating his hand and his spear, as signs of his efficiency in silencing the inspector. Nils poked his head out of the back of the truck, chanting as well. That was when David noticed the daemon that had been near him was nearly stock still, aside from slight shaking, and the choked sounds emitting from its throat as it tried to shout a warning. Noriko came last, springing towards them.

  David held on for dear life as the possessee struggled to throw him off with more strength than the body looked like it should have. David managed to keep the host silent for a few seconds, before being violently tossed away. It was just enough time for Noriko to cut the throat of the paralyzed daemon, and turn her attention to the possessee, striking him in the throat with her war fan.

  He wouldn't normally think of a fan as that great of a weapon, but it seemed to work to keep the daemon-host from making any noise. A few seconds later, they'd knocked him out, and the other possessee had gone still, aside from the rising and falling of his chest.

  "Can you do anything for them?" David asked, as he struggled to stand. The burning in his chest told him that he likely had at least one cracked rib, and he'd landed badly on his left leg.

  "I hope so," Celeste said. "I can banish the daemons, but it's impossible to be sure what's left of the hosts' minds, or what state they're in. But I'll do my best."

  They dragged the unconscious forms into the back of the truck with help, and hid the bodies of the daemons, while Charlie stamped their paperwork. When she'd finished with the possessees, despite the toll it obviously took on her, Celeste turned her magic on David's injuries. It didn't fix everything, but it certainly helped with the pain.

  "Okay, we'll get in. You sure you can't help us with the demolitions? We could use a little security while we set the bombs."

  Noriko shook her head, as she finished helping with dragging the daemons. "We'll appreciate the distraction, and any damage you can do to Rhalissa's efforts, but she has something we need, probably down in her dungeon. Just be careful. Set the bombs, and get far away."

  "We'll do our part, and get you your distraction." David paused. "This thing you're after, do you really think it will make that big a difference to... well, all of this?"

  Noriko looked him in the eye as she answered. "We think so. If anything will. It's the only thing that might take down Rhalissa's master."

  "I appreciate your honesty. So, she's just a flunkie in all of this?"

  "Well, at this point, probably the flunkie, but yes. Not that that makes her any less powerful."

  David nodded. "Your boyfriend packs a punch too, controlling the daemons and everything. If she didn't have an army, he could handle her, right?"

  Noriko smiled wistfully. "The dumb ones, sure. That last one, paralyzing it was all he could manage. She'll have more of those. And on her own, she'd be a match for all of us. Maybe more."

  "Maybe I don't appreciate your honesty quite that much," he said. "So with all that, you really think you can get this thing?"

  "We have to," Noriko said.

  He nodded and climbed, painfully, back into the truck.

  ***

  The four had disappeared into the underground complex over twenty minutes before. Each of the groups that came with the truck had done their best to blend with the work crews, filling wheelbarrows with stone, and, of course, the bombs. The entire complex was abuzz with activity, and the daemonic foremen didn't pay much attention to individual human workers.

  They had six bombs in all, and had done their best to select areas which would cause the maximum damage to the construction project or Rhalissa's forces, while trying to eliminate likely human casualties. The plan was to set them, get some distance, and then detonate them by remote. Charlie had volunteered to go with David and keep watch on what had been deemed the most dangerous assignment. Right now, he was doing just that, giving David the all-clear to set the bomb being set on the mostly constructed building the daemons were using as their personal barracks.

  He was connecting the wires, trying to keep his sweaty hands from shaking, when chaos erupted. "What the hell?" He looked to Charlie.

  The other man was peering around the edge of the building, wide-eyed. "Don't know. Maybe they found bodies. The whole place is going nuts."

  "I've got the bomb almost set, but there's no time to finish and hide it. If they found one of the crews, or just lock the place down..."

  "They'll find it, yes."

  "Then you should get away from here now," David said, as he made a decision.

  "What are you going to do?"

  David took a deep breath. "We're here to do some damage, set her back. Those kids think they can save everyone. They need a distraction."

  "You're going to set the bomb off?"

  "I am, and with this leg, I can't get far enough away, and can't risk them finding the detonator."

  "And I can't risk they find me out. I have a daughter in Scotland. Last I heard, they weren't rounding anyone up in Scotland... yet.”

  David nodded.

  “What do you still need to set the bomb?"

  David took a breath. “Connect these last wires while I prime the detonator? I can blow it in about ten seconds."

  Charlie glanced out one more time. "Can we blow it in twenty?"

  David looked at him, confused, but started his efforts on the detonator. "Sure. Why?"

  "Having seen them move, I think that's how long it'll take that patrol to get over here," the other man said, before shouting, "Over here! They're over here!" Charlie darted from the corner to finish the connections.

  Well. All right, then. Here's to not keeping our heads down. David counted to twenty, and, just as several daemons were rounding the corner, he pressed the button.

  23

  Underworld

  Celeste Manoucheka LeRoux

  Celeste was still breathing a bit heavily after the exorcism exertions, but sh
e had to keep up. They'd managed to separate from the crew and, disguised in local clothing and work hats, slipped down a hallway under cover of Nils's magical 'nothing to see here.'

  The spell helped, but not enough to evade notice from the first checkpoint in the confined spaces. It did, however, give them the jump on the watchers there, with Hobie and Noriko making short work of a pair of supervising daemons. Despite the fight being over quickly, the strain of maintaining both the obfuscation and his divinations to find the sword was showing on Nils.

  A surprise encounter with a wandering daemonic foreman was similarly short when Nils froze it in place long enough for Hobie to finish it, but once again, he proved unable to fully take control and finished the encounter struggling to catch his breath, and rubbing at one temple.

  "Any feel yet for where it might be?" she asked him, once he'd shown some signs of recovery from the intense effort.

  "It's tough to tell with all of the background magic in here,” he said. “There're many more powerful daemons around, and Rhalissa's own rituals. But I think I've found something."

  When they opened the unlocked door Nils indicated, Celeste crossed herself, eyes shutting.

  “Not the sword,” she whispered hoarsely.

  “No,” Nils whispered back. “One of her batteries.”

  The smell brought Celeste to the edge of dry-heaving. She forced her eyes back open and stared at the bodies stacked on the floor for disposal—and the bodies-to-be strung up on the wall, muscles stretched thinly over the bones. The room steadily fueled Rhalissa's magic as death came over the victims at a slow, draining pace. Nils's hand darted out, grabbing Hobie's shoulder before the boy had even growled or said a word. "Shhh. At least four daemons are in there."

  Celeste looked. The daemons were watching the victims, fortunately, rather than the door, which didn't cast much light. But they certainly were in there. Nils quickly returned to his obfuscation gestures.

  Noriko closed the door carefully. "There's nothing we can do for anyone in there,” she said. “They're already gone, and messing with them would tell Rhalissa we're here. We need to find the sword and get out of here."

  Celeste looked into Hobie's outraged eyes—not yet dull and doll-like, stuck in a moment of bright, brittle pain. Then she bowed her head, and he followed suit for few seconds of breathing in silence. The four of them then backed down the hallway the way they'd come.

  She heard the gravelly voices around a corner before she saw them. "Where are Ceniteth and Gashkal?"

  "They were supposed to be down here," came the response.

  "They've noticed the empty checkpoint," Noriko said, adding a curse under her breath.

  Nils nodded to Hobie and Noriko, who sprang into action, surprising a trio of daemons and another possessee. Celeste started her invocations to cast out the inhabiting daemon, which kept the daemon-host from shouting. Noriko cut her first target's throat, but it didn't fall. Likewise, as Hobie ran another through, it started walking up the spear, reaching clawed hands for the boy.

  Nils was casting next to her, gesturing and drawing runes in the air. His invocation words were strained, though, and the third daemon started moving toward him. It made choking sounds each time its mouth opened, but it didn't stop moving.

  The daemon with Hobie's spear in its guts reached him, spitting up blood as it opened its maw, and snapped teeth down on Hobie's injured shoulder. She'd done a good job patching it back up, but it was still a vulnerable target, and he lost hold of the spear. Despite that, Hobie managed to get a hand on one of its horns, pulling back. The teeth raked his skin, but he got his shoulder free and proved still able to use his arm enough to grab the other horn as well, wrenching the head around until there was a pop, and it went limp.

  Noriko took a claw to one arm, leaving shallow, bloody marks on the skin, but that was all the offense the creature managed before her second strike cut it down. With the third hindered by Nil's spell, it didn't take long for Noriko to cut it down as well, as it was forcing Nils and Celeste to back down the hallway.

  Noriko and Hobie dragged the bodies out of easy sight, but there was no disguising the blood on the floor and signs of struggle this time. "We've wasted all the time we can," Noriko said, looking expectantly at Nils.

  "I think I've found it," Nils said, getting her help in walking as he took them down a different path.

  The next fight was shorter, with Hobie and Noriko's ambush dropping the checkpoint guards in seconds, without needing any help. Less comforting, Hobie was clearly limping again and testing the motion in his shoulder after the fight.

  Celeste did what she could, but there wasn't time for anything but the quickest healing invocations before they were moving again.

  "Do you hear that?" Noriko said, as they hurried along through the halls. "I think we might be being followed." Glances back revealed nothing, and they opted to keep going, following whatever Nils had found, rather than wait.

  "Probably just patrols. No sign they've noticed us," Celeste said, trying to reassure herself of that.

  "Just around this corner," Nils finally said, hushed.

  The group readied themselves, then turned to find another hallway. There were no signs of daemons, but halfway down, there was a set of double doors. Nils just gestured towards them, then started limping down the hall. Hobie and Noriko readied their weapons and moved to the front. By the time they reached the doors, there was no doubt: there was movement in the hallways not far away.

  Spurred on by the noises, Nils tried the doors, to find them locked. "It's in this room. I'm sure of it," he said.

  "Then what are we waiting for?" Hobie said, grabbing the doors before anyone could stop him, and pulling. There was a groan and a crack that echoed through the halls as he tore a door off its hinges.

  "Damn it, Hobie, they'll hear us!" Nils chided his brother.

  "You don't need to worry about that. Or anything else, now," said a crackling voice from inside the room. Rhalissa, shrouded stylistically in even wider wreathes of smoke than they'd seen swirling around her before, rested on a makeshift throne atop a dais at the far end of the room. A dozen major daemons stood along the edges of the dais, with twice that number of other daemons arrayed about the room, some of them holding chains that restrained twisted beasts or Tainted mad slaves. Just as importantly, next to her, on a weapons rack all by itself, was Fragarach. Two withered-looking slaves in rags, both with gnarled and slightly blackened hands knelt to either side of the rack, with a few more similarly disheveled and weakened humans chained to Rhalissa's stone chair, to empower her magics further.

  Nils was quick to cast, fingers weaving through the air, even as Hobie was rushing forward before anyone could restrain him. The witch simultaneously made a gesture of her own, and the smoke that followed Nils's finger in the air dissipated. Without pause, the witch pointed towards Hobie. The bear-sark stumbled, then fell to his knees, gasping for breath. The sounds of movement in the halls grew louder, as Rhalissa took the moment before anyone else reacted to speak.

  "I knew you'd be here eventually,” she said, one fingernail tracing idly along the thin, jagged, lines tattooed across her face. “I wasn't certain how you were evading my divinations, but I knew you'd come for the sword."

  Noriko darted forward to grab for Hobie, so they might run. He was already struggling back to his feet, snarling. Before they could get back to the door, half a dozen more daemons rounded the corner in the direction they'd come from, while other doors further down the hall opened, with more of the daemons pouring out.

  "We're trapped," she said, trying to focus herself to deal with whatever the witch had used against Hobie.

  "We also won't get another chance," Nils said, before he, too, was focusing on his next invocation and following Noriko into the room.

  Rhalissa tilted her head, studying them. "The fleece? No wonder you evaded my notice. Do tell me: is Kirke dead... or do I need to handle her betrayal myself?"

  The only respon
se she got was Hobie managing to not only get back to his feet, but lunging and driving his spear through the neck of the nearest daemon.

  "Oh damn," Nils managed, as the daemon staggered back. That was all the time they had before the rest went from being passive bodyguards to attackers, surging forward, even as more daemons closed in on the double doors from the hallways.

  Celeste got further into the room, away from the doors, before they could be swarmed from the hallways. Noriko, pulling Hobie with her, backed towards a wall, unable to fight through the daemons coming at them.

  "Never mind then. I'll kill you and find out for myself. I suppose, with the fleece in hand, she'll never see me coming," Rhalissa said, watching her guardians backing the group to the wall. She gestured. "Kill them." With that command, the daemons around the dais charged into the fray as well.

  Noriko and Hobie fought defensively, warding off attacks, keeping daemons at bay, and doing what damage they could, while Nils started casting.

  With the horde closing in on them, Celeste started in on her invocations to the patron of hopeless causes. “Sancte—”

  She was cut off by sudden dizziness, and her knees nearly giving out on her. She couldn't see the witch anymore, but could feel her power washing over them, trying to draw the life from their bodies and breath from their lungs. Nils doing his best to cast through shortness of breath next to her just confirmed they were all being hit. Trusting the others would manage, she began again, while the warriors bought them time.

  “Sancte Iude...spes desperatorum” She prayed intently, and the daemons slowed considerably—but they did not seem to shrink back with the same burning pain. Was it because they were smarter? Tougher, with Rhalissa reinforcing them? Or was Celeste just not as effective as she once was? Had her recent efforts started her straying from her true vocation? Was she having a crisis of confidence, of faith?