I plunged my consciousness within and stepped out of myself. The process going far easier and quicker than last time. I floated out of myself into my Projection-form and glanced about. Grabbing a hold of the tether I reeled it behind me as I drifted through the exit and out onto the catwalk.

A bullet rebounded off Karen’s spear as she spun it about her person. I flinched as a bullet passed right through me, but felt no pain.

“Oh right. I’m basically a ghost,” I shook my head and surveyed the scene down below. Karen was frantically blocking all manner of strikes as she wound her spear fluidly about herself. Patricia was tanking several heavily armed men, the Arium laced light machine guns punched round after round into her. Yet her armour didn’t faulter. Unfortunately, it also meant she couldn’t advance as each round pushed her back.

Ophelia, surprised me the most. The angelic-woman was like a radiant warrior, as she waded through a pack of armed men and women. Using her wings to trip or push aside, as she spun and carved through them with her wrist blades. I flinched as I saw someone charge in and swipe at her wings with a machete.

She ducked aside and stabbed through his thigh, but not before his blade sliced into her wings. She grunted painfully and I watched as her healing powers flared over her and instantly healed the wound.

I looked towards the stage, where the ASP leader had been giving a speech. He and several of the Necromancers had vanished. Leaving behind three Necro’s and their Draugen minions. Thankfully, the majority of the people who’d been gathered here had fled when we’d arrived.

I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. But I pushed the thought out of my mind and refocused. For now, the Necro’s and the Draugen were staying out of it. Which meant I needed to help my friends first.

Karen was in a bind. Ophelia was holding her own for the moment. Which left Patricia. If the Technomancer could be fully brought into play then the rest of the men would be dealt with easily. Her suit wasn’t affected by the Arium laced rounds and not one had penetrated her armour yet.

I looked down at the six men with their three mounted machine guns. One to fire and another to load the box ammunition. They were staggering their fire, keeping Patricia back and occupied. I held out my hands and focused on two of the men as their gun unloaded and clicked empty.

I frowned as my powers curved around the ammunition box one of the men was carrying. It then dawned on me that I couldn’t manipulate anything with Arium laced through it. Which meant the ammo itself was out of my control. That left the gun.

I pushed my will through my powers and the gun spun around to face the man behind it. He frowned and looked about before wrestling it back into position.

I nodded thoughtfully and waited, something drew my attention back to the stage and I saw that the Necromancer’s gaze were now focused on me. I froze and hurriedly moved out of their line of sight. Except their eyes stayed locked on the area where I’d been.

“Maybe they can sense the usage of my power?” I asked myself thoughtfully. I looked down to see Karen take a punch across her jaw that sent her spinning into a man that raised the stock of his rifle to smack her in the side of her head.

Without thought I summoned a Telekinetic bullet and let lose. It slammed through the centre of his forehead and he jerkily flailed before falling dead.

The blonde Stormcaster rolled across his body, just narrowly avoiding his scatted brain as she hopped back onto her feet. I heard a loud click as another light machine gun spent itself completely. Ignoring the sight of one of the Necromancers gesturing his Draugen towards the catwalk. I whipped back around to see one of the mounted guns finish loading.

Patricia was down on one knee, looking exhausted. I flew across the chamber, my tether reeling out behind me as I drifted. I hit the opposite wall of the chamber and twisted as the man on the gun began to fire on the Technomancer.

Heavy round, after heavy round slammed into her. The first sent her sprawling onto her back. The second impacted her right thigh and pushed her prone body backwards a couple feet.

Holding out a hand, as the other kept me steady against the wall I punch my power into the side of the gun and took control. It spun on its mount and the gunner to yelped in surprise as it was yanked out of his grip. I felt my Telekinesis power wrap around the trigger of the light machine gun. Felt the pressure of the trigger as if I were there pressing it myself.

The gun erupted in a cacophony of explosive fire, and punched hole after tearing hole into the loader. He jerked violently as he was ripped in half. I spun the gun about blasting a row of bloody craters across the gunner, and eased off the trigger. The gun kept up a slow pivoting spin as the barrel came range of the other mounted units.

Two men abandoned their mounted weapon and threw themselves into cover as I blasted as row across them. The third unit screamed something and began returning fire the same instance the gun under my control buck with each heavy round shot.

Limbs when flying and a head exploded into mush as a round skim down the side of the third units barrels and entered the man’s orbital socket.

The machine gun clicked empty and I released my control. Patricia leapt to her feet and charge with a slight limp at the second unit who were still hiding.

I turned back to survey the scene and saw that Karen now had the upper hand on her foes, and Ophelia was starting towards the Necromancers screaming for their deaths.

“She really doesn’t—Argh!” I doubled over as pain blossom through my chest. I looked down to see four elongated claws stabbed into my sternum and recognised that I was back in my material body. A Draugen stood menacingly over me.

“Fuck!” I screamed as he began to twist his wrist, and wrenched. Without thinking I summoned my powers and caught his wrist with my hands. The aura around me flared powerfully and seeped into my skin. The wrist crunched and snapped within my grip as if it was made of cheap plastic.

A blur of movement caught my eye as the Draugen’s other hand sliced downwards towards my face, seemingly unconcern with his crushed wrist.

I whipped my head up as a lance of hot pain shot through my mind. A Telekinetic-round spun existence before me and blasted through the incoming strike.

The Draugen’s hand evaporated in a blink and it snarled as it stumbled off of me. In so doing it wrenched it crushed arm from me as well.

I gasped in pain and double over as the Draugen claws exited my chest. Blood leaked down my jumpsuit and pooled on my lap. I stumbled onto my knees keeping a hand pressed to my wounds.

“You mother-fucker!” I growled and winced from the pain. My hand shot out, my Telekinetic power unfurled, and jolting the Draugen off his feet into a levitating grip. It snarled, bearing its disgusting teeth at me.

I clenched my hand into a fist and the Draugen limbs bent inwards. The crunch of his bones echoed loudly through the tight confines of the hallway. His leg’s snapped, folding upwards. His head twisted three-hundred and sixty degrees around, and I slammed his limp body into wall.

My powers receded as the room swayed for a brief moment. My head pounded with a incessant drum beat. Booming over and over.

I took a deep gasping breath and stumbled onto my feet, heading towards the door. The sound of bones rapidly snapping froze me still. I turned back around just as the Draugen’s head realigned itself and his arms were grinded back into position.

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His sunken black eyes stared up at me with all the malice and contempt of an evil fiend. A dull purple glinted at the back of the Draugen’s gaze, then began to brighten.

Realisation shivered up my spine as I squared my shoulders. The Lich was looking through his minion’s eyes at me.

“You assholes may be hard to kill,” I breathed. “But you can still be fucking die.” With that said I summoned my miniscule power to me and weaved it all into a lance of Telekinetic force.

Intelligence swam through the Draugen’s gaze a half-second before his entire upper torso was evaporated into nothingness. I sagged against the wall before the door and caught the handle. The sound of fighting drifted up to me as my vision swam.

“Really… need… to learn… my limits…” I breathed heavily. My thoughts turned to Spectre, and my promise that fell on deaf ears.

I breathed out coarsely through gritted teeth and leaned against the door opening. How the Draugen hadn’t punctured any major organs, or done enough permanent damage I wasn’t sure. All I felt was the fiery pain of the headache behind my eyes, and the slight hitch in my breath.

In fact now I that thought about, the pain was in fact easing as a tingle spread across my sternum. My powers were still present, flowing beneath my skin.

I reached the catwalk and looked out. The majority of the men were either dead or unconscious. The only ones still left standing were firing not just on my friends—who were now battling the remaining Draugen—but also the Draugen themselves.

I looked to the stage and saw Ophelia fighting two of the Necromancers. The third was down on the ground. Gold wisps of smoke trailing out his eye sockets.

I looked towards the end of the catwalk, and realised it would take too long to get down there. “Don’t fail me now,” I muttered and climbed over the railing, balancing on the edge.

A storm of bullets rattled up the catwalk right next to me. One impacting an inch from my left foot. I flinched and in that moment lost my concentration.

I fell.

“Shit!” letting go of my chest I spread my arms out and caught myself by levitating. Slowing my descend greatly. Another hell-storm of rounds shot around me, one even clipping the side of my ear lobe.

“Fuck it,” I yelped and fell the last ten feet. The instant I hit the ground I rolled into a tumble and smacked bodily against one of the concrete supports.

I coughed as air whooshed out of me, winding me pretty badly. I clutched at my ribs and pressed lightly, feeling the tender swell of a bruise coming on.

“Just… Keeps… getting better,” I wheezed and sat up, rolling onto my knees. I peeked around the pillar and saw the remaining four Draugen. One was on the floor dead with a charred staticky hole in its chest. Karen and Patricia were fighting back to back.

The Technomancer sent blast after blast of plasma at any who rushed them, whereas Karen thrusted her spear back and forth. Impaling and sending arcs of lightning coursing through them.

I got to my to my feet with a grunt and looked to the stage just in time to see Ophelia parry a black obsidian dagger aimed at her face.

She dropped into a crouch and spun as the second Necromancer rushed her from behind. Her wings snapped out and caught his legs tripping him up.

I summoned power and shaped ball of Telekinetic force, which I then split into two. I winced as the pain of my headache intensified with a vengeance. I began to condense both balls of Telekinetic force down. Mentally hammering each into the form I required.

Sweat broke rapidly across my brow, scalp, and neck. Tremors racked through my hands as I held both Telekinetic rounds. I stepped out from behind my cover and blasted the two Draugen attacking Karen. The first leapt and my round evaporated his body from the waist downwards.

The second lost his head. Disappearing in the blink of an eye. My arms flopped down to my side as hot pokers knifed through my brain. The first one I’d hit was still moving. Even missing everything below his waist he crawled after Karen.

“Eli!” Karen shouted with joy, thrusting Braken into the eye of the Draugen dragging itself towards her. It rapidly convulsed as Karen’s spear lit up with bright currents of lightning.

“Could use a hand a here,” Patricia called. The two other Draugen charged her simultaneously. Patricia whipped her hands back and forth. The first stumbled as her plasma shot blew his knee cap off shearing straight through his leg. But the second leapt at Patricia driving her onto her back as she tripped over her own feet.

Summoning my powers to the surface was painful enough I had to shut one eye just to focus on the Draugen. His hands pinning Patricia’s to the ground. His claws dug through the surface of the concrete floor and held.

Then his mouth yawned wide open. Revealing a dozen rows of needle-sharp teeth and then his mouth expanded down his neck until is encompassed the entirety of his head.

“Oh, fuck,” I heard Patricia muttered as she froze in horror.

The fucker chomped down engulfing her head and tried to close its jaws. I heard and felt the shriek of metal as her helmet began to crush around her head. I, was having none of it. I threw out a Telekinetic binding, and he locked up on surface of Patricia’s helmet. I could feel barest his teeth scraping against the metallic surface as he fought the binding.

This I twisted my hand, rotating so that my palm faced the ceiling. Searing lances of agony shot through my head and into the backs of my eyes. The Draugen began to lift off of Patricia’s prone body. His claws kept him anchored above her though.

I dug deeper within. Finding that semblance of a spark that was my power, and breathed life until it kindled and caught once again.

The concrete floor beneath the pair crunched audibly. Cracks appeared in a jagged circle around them. Then the slab lifted out of the ground and I grunted as it floated two feet into the air.

The pain became too much. Something within my eyes popped repeatedly and I slumped onto the floor. The slab fell, smashed back into place. The Draugen escaped my binding, its mouth snapped tight around Patricia’s helmet. I heard a distinct crunch followed by a scream.

A slivery Braken blurred in and penetrated half-way through the side of the Draugen’s head, followed by Ophelia dropping down from above to stab her golden wrist blades into the Draugen back.

There was a squelching spray of blood as Ophelia’s hands gripped the Draugen spine and tore it partially out of his back. She sliced her blade through the spinal cord and Draugen went limp atop Patricia.

I blinked in shock and leaned to my side as bile rose up from my stomach and spewed out across the ground.

The main chamber was packed with the dead. My puke somehow seemed to lessen its effect on me. My friends were still alive. I was still alive.

“Elias?” a gentle voice said my name.

“Hnuh?” I said groggily and cracked my eyes open. The light was too bright and stung to even glimpse it. I leaned into the gentle soothing hand that cupped my face.

“I’m going to heal you all up, okay?” the soft voice explained, and it was all I could to nod my head. I just wanted to sleep. Nothing else seem to matter anymore. I couldn’t even remember what I’d been doing before I found this dreamless peace.

~*~*~*~

“How’s your head?” Ophelia asked me a few minute later.

I squinted against the light radiating off her powers.

“Fine,” I grunted and tried desperately to not close my eyes. I looked down at my hands resting in my lap as the angelic woman looked me over.

I was back in my human-guise once again. Unsure why. But they’d informed me that sometimes when someone’s exhausted their power so much, there can temporary or permanent side effects. Sometime that side effect can result in permanent damage.

Luckily for me, the issue was exhaustion and the pain in my head when I tried summoned my power. I felt severely weak.

I sat on the edge of the stage. Ophelia hovering over me, running her healing hands across my back and chest. Karen and Patricia—the latter having ripped her helmet off—were searching the main chamber for anything of significance.

My gaze was fixated on the double-door’s opposite the stage. Above them was the vent we’d peered through earlier. A part of me was of the mind to go chasing after the ASP leader, Ben, and his entourage of Necromancers. I suspected there was a door behind the stage or some secret passage they’d gone through when all hell broke loose.

The other more prominent part of me, wanted to go through those double doors and look for that caged woman. To see if there were any other’s held captive here, like my mom.

“Well, there’s not much here really,” Patricia sighed as she came over. “All I found was a few crates of guns and Arium laced ammo. That’s about it.”

“Same here. Though I did find their toilets. Gloryhole galore,” the blonde Stormcaster shook her head as she joined us. “How is he?”

“I’m fine,” I said absently still staring at the doors. “We need to save the prisoner.”

“I agree,” Ophelia murmured behind me, and leaned down to press a kiss atop head. Her rich coffee scent soothed the tension in my shoulder’s. I relaxed a little and looked at them all.

“That was one big cluster-fuck,” I said dryly.

“This ones on me I’m afraid,” Patricia sighed heavily.

“It is,” I agreed bluntly. “But we followed you, anyway, even knowing how messy it would get. I’m just surprise no one got shot.”

“Oh, I got hit several times,” Karen replied cheerily, leaning against her spear.

“What?” I blinked at her dumbly. Not certain if I heard her correctly.

“Yeah. Ophelia patched me up nicely.”

“I was shot as well,” the angelic-woman offered gently. “Luckily, Arium laced rounds only stop the impacted area’s from utilising powers. I just simply heal the flesh round the bullet and pushed it out.”

Now that they said it, I looked at the two women more closely. Karen’s Stormcaster armour didn’t exactly cover her vitals, yet it came from her power’s. Several small red welts were dotted about her abdomen and upper chest.

Ophelia’s jumpsuit had numerous holes in which I saw the same reddened welt’s peeking through.

“I think these jumpsuit’s might need some more protection,” I said plainly and looked at Patricia.

The dark-haired woman nodded and glanced down at her armour. “We should all at least have an armoured suit. I’ll configure the schematic when we’re home.”

I nodded and shuffled off the stage. “Let’s see what’s behind those doors, shall we.”

This novel is the work of Rhys Thomas. If you are reading this and it has not been published by Rhys Thomas, then this work has been stolen. Please report this to Amazon and me at email: [email protected]