For the Hate of God

This might be a trap, don’t rush with attack

Malleteagan’s POV

Thersar looked as if he was in the same thrill that Kandreah was a few moments ago. I forgot that he is a necromancer fae elder, too. A few vampires sent to pass the pavement waved to us from the other side. They seemed safe and sound. As soon as they passed, smoke on the pavement ebbed, pentagrams reshuffled to their initial, indecipherable position on pavement and fire and flames of pentagram dimmed and disappeared. We would be in the dark again if Thersar hadn’t provided us with the flame from his fingers. Kandreah got back to his…well…I wouldn’t say normal…but to his usual self.

“Those are necromancy spikes on the walls. They suck the life away from the victim and the victim’s soul. They can’t do anything to vampiric faes as we are undead, but we are also not alive technically. Smoke is the essence of the living souls, their life hopes and dreams that were harvested along with their lives. If a living soul passes throughout, pavement slabs activate the walls; walls will suck out their life essence when they stab the passer-by and will store their energy within the pavement, feeding the pentagram.” Kandreah said calmly as he was talking about the weather forecast. He was still looking somewhat pumped up with the energy of pentagram and as if he was in some weird zen state. I still think the dude is a creeper, ok?

“That means that most of us, apart from those faes with necromancy abilities and vampiric faes, cannot pass this passage unless we are dead. So, what do you suggest, Kandreah? To suck us all dry and turn us into leeches so we can pass the bloody spikey wall? I don’t want to become a bloodsucker anytime soon.” I blurted bluntly in one breath. Well, I am not sure, to be honest, what would be worse, to be dead or to be a bloodsucker.

“Oh gosh, Malleteagan, sometimes I wonder, do you have a working brain cell in that pretty head of yours? You have a brain of an ogre. No, we don’t want you or your dogs to become part of our perfect and divine race. I suggest that we who possess the necromancy powers cloak the warriors who are not dead or do not have necromancy abilities with the cloak of necromancy. We can try with a small sample of warriors, and then we can advance with bigger groups if this works?” Nexelex and Thersar smirked at his ogre remark: idiotic blood and life-sucking leech.

“Well, let’s give it a try”, I said, ignoring his stupid remarks, and I said to a few omegas loudly enough for everyone to hear that they shall step forward when instructed. I didn’t mind link them as I needed everyone to be on the same page when it came to our further movements, my warriors faes, dwarves and vampires alike. The flash of fear tore through the eyes of my omegas, but I quickly suffocated it with my commanding aura that slipped away. They nodded submissively. Thersar raised his hands and opened his palms, releasing the black dust and smoke to wrap around my omegas. He instructed a few of his warriors who had necromancy powers to cover the omegas, too, as my omegas attempted to pass through the passage. Kandreah let his necromancy aura slip away, engulfing omegas with black dust and smoke. “Go”, I ordered. Omegas walked through a passage encapsulated with Kandreah’s, Thersar’s and Faes' magic with no issues. The walls did not move an inch, nor did the pavement. Corpses of lesser faes and omega Lycans still flailing limply on the spike. That was a reminder of what will happen if anyone loses focus. Omegas had glanced over to spikes. Dread visibly washed over their faces. Finally, they managed to get to the other end of the passage, and they waved to us.

After several hours of transporting warriors, we all managed to get to the other side. We had no more victims, and everyone was safe and sound. Necromancer Faes, Thersar and Kandreah seemed knackered, though. And the problem is that this appears to be just one obstacle in the series. And again, it seems to be the same labyrinth kind of layout as we had in Damnarynth, so if we chose the wrong path, we would likely be back at square one and lost in this gloomy pit. Lord knows how long it will take us to break through Morsburg at this pace.

-Two weeks later

Kandreah’s POV

We are in Morsburg for days, if not weeks, now. A handful of necromancer faes, Thersar and I are the only ones who can ensure that warriors are safely going through spiked walls. And we are knackered. We would occasionally suck out a bit of necromancy energy from enchanted slabs, but we won’t be able to keep this way for much longer. Sometimes, when we would pass on the other end of the passage, pathway would lead us a level down, when a new passage with the same old necromancy wall trap would emerge. This seems like some f****d up twilight zone/Groundhog Day maze. After the zillionth passage that we passed through, a vast space with stingy light that barely illuminated the room emerged. It looked like the interior of some abandoned and long-forgotten castle.

Veltalas, cunning and hostile creatures who were in between life and the afterlife, transpired. Low-ranked warriors, Malleteagan‘s omegas and lesser faes looked daunted. It serves them right. Veltalas are always on the hunt for new hosts. They aim to enslave them and take over their souls, driving the host to madness.

“Don’t rush with an attack. This might be a trap. Scan our surroundings for any potential threats first.” I murmured to Malleteagan, Thersar and Nexelex. They were already tense and ready for the foray.

Forsaken souls and ghouls appeared first, surrounding us. Behind them, an apparition. Veltalas, who now resemble a horde of women, each one more beautiful than the other. The warriors seemed bemused and ready to dabble with them.

“Cast your gaze down; don’t look at them into their eyes, Thersar, Nexelex, Malleteagan, command your soldiers to do the same”, I snarled, and they did as I said.

A few soldiers who did a glance over before we managed to command were dragged away. I had a glance around, though I was careful to avoid the gaze of Veltalas. It would have been better for me if I hadn’t. Seductive nymphs that stood before us a moment ago were no more. Instead, they morphed into bare-boned creatures of human size. Their skeletal shape was all in embers and lava. They have hypnotised petty soldiers. Soldiers stood in the same spot, dazed, numbed and immobilised. As Vetalas held the gaze of paralysed soldiers, the life force of soldiers swished in billowing black dust, evaporated, vacating now lifeless bodies of soldiers and surging into cackling Veltalas.