After calling their names, Kano found Sherp and Himin taking shelter behind a huge rusted press on the factory floor. Himin poked her head around the side and demanded to know what was going on.

“The same guys who attacked me at Sherp’s office are back. They killed Eomonsa.” Kano joined them on the other side of the press.

“What?” Himin said. “I thought they worked for him?”

“Yeah, me too. But I’m not so sure anymore, or maybe he was just that incompetent. Either way, we should probably get moving.” Kano gestured for them to get up, and she looked around for an exit. There was nothing to be gained from fighting here, not when they had pressing business elsewhere. “Before he got shot, Eomonsa said something about the citadel. I think he’s making another attempt on it, so I’m going there to see if there’s anything I can do. Did either of you see an exit around here?”

“Yeah,” Sherp said, “there’s a back door over there.” She pointed toward the back of the factory.

As they made their way toward it, Himin said, “You shouldn’t need my help for that. I believe I’ve already held up my end of the deal.”

Kano considered insisting she come along, but it probably wasn’t worth the effort. The ghoul wasn’t likely to be of much help, and the same went for Sherp. “Fine, you two go make sure the orb is safe, and I’ll save the citadel on my own.” She wasn’t sure what exactly she intended to do once she got there, but it was a nice way of putting it.

Easing the door open a crack, Kano scanned the street for anyone waiting in ambush. Her field of view was too narrow to make sure, but there didn’t seem to be anyone waiting for them. She stepped out, poised to dart back inside at the first sign of danger, but there wasn’t a piece of brown armor in sight.

“Okay,” she said to the others, “looks like we’re safe for now. Hurry up and get out of here.”

She dashed off toward the citadel without looking back. Whatever happened to them now, they were on their own. There wasn’t much she could do to save them if they got shot at anyway, so best to focus on keeping herself safe. Her current injuries only slowed her down a little, but she wasn’t looking to acquire more.

Pushing herself to hurry, Kano raced through the streets of Shorinstown. Buildings and ghouls alike blurred past her until she was within sight of the citadel and stopped to check out the situation. There were no sentries outside, which wasn’t a good sign, though it seemed to be the norm lately, but there were also no enemies in sight. Nor were there any sounds of fighting.

Just what was going on? Whatever it was, Kano had neither the time nor the patience to stand around trying to figure out what it might be. But having run all the way here and spent entirely too much time going up stairs as of late, she decided to take the elevator. It would save her a lot of walking and take her close to the most important parts of the citadel. If there was some sort of attack taking place, it would probably be concentrated on that area.

As far as Kano was aware, now that the orb was gone, there wasn’t much of value left in the citadel beyond the labs An was using. Those and the necromancer herself, along with her research. Looking around as she went to make sure she wasn’t spotted, Kano made her way around to the hidden entrance. A short elevator ride later and she was back in the room where Blob Kano lived. She still wasn’t sure if she believed everything she’d told her about Karen, but she seemed more trustworthy than most of the people she dealt with these days.

“Oh,” the other Kano said, recreating her humanoid form. “Hello there. An told me you’d left the citadel. What brings you here today?”

“I did leave, but I’m back for a little while. Just long enough for me to take care of something. Do you know if there’s any fighting happening in the rest of the citadel? Or anything strange?” She wasn’t sure exactly what form Eomonsa’s scheme would take, though she expected that it would somehow involve another assault by his ghouls. He hadn’t struck her as very imaginative.

“Not as far as I’m aware. Not that I’m aware of much, what with being stuck in here and all.”

Kano felt a little silly for asking, but it had seemed like it was worth a try. “Never mind, then. Bye.”

Leaving the blob to whatever it was she did in her tank, Kano went into the abandoned laboratory. The tanks with the preserved dead bodies suspended in fluid were unchanged. Kano wished someone would empty them out already. It made for a rather grim spectacle, particularly when all the corpses looked like her. Shuddering, Kano hoped that someone would have the decency to dispose of her corpse properly after she died instead of putting her body on display.

She passed by the rows of tanks and moved into a portion of the lab that was still in use. Or at least, a portion she’d thought was in use. But there was no one to be seen. She hadn’t yet reached the area An had claimed as her personal station, but she’d expected to find the necromancer’s assistants at work here. Had things already gotten bad enough that they’d fled to somewhere safer? Though Kano had no idea where that would be, she’d thought this was the safest part of the citadel.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Maybe they’d left to do their part in protecting their master’s residence, though Kano had trouble imagining how they’d make much of a difference. Or could this place already be under the control of Eomonsa’s minions? It was possible, but then surely she’d have run into them by now. By the looks of things, the people who’d been working here had left abruptly. Much of the equipment was turned on and still contained the various materials they’d been experimenting with.

Hearing movement, Kano spun around and narrowly avoided being drenched in sizzling caustic fluid by the armored figure sheltering behind one of the workstations. She was about to dash toward the new foe when more of them appeared from similar hiding spots or came from outside the lab.

With no time to think, Kano hurled herself at the nearest creature. She pulled them to the ground and was grappling with them, trying to keep their natural weapons from getting a bead on her, when a searing stream caught her across the back.

White-hot agony coursed through her and her body trembled. Twisting her body, Kano ripped her opponent’s arm off and rolled away. She discarded the limb and looked around for something that could help her fight back or escape.

Spotting the discs that enclosed the concentrated necromantic energy, Kano rolled toward them. Maybe the energy could do something to turn things around. It was a long shot, but she was desperate.

Gripping the bottom ring, she hauled herself up and thrust her hand inside. There was the same tingle as before, but this time she felt something heat up in her pocket. As her foes closed in on her, Kano fumbled for whatever it was and pulled out the soul she’d found in Shorin’s room.

She’d forgotten all about it, but here it was, glowing and exuding heat as it reacted to her contact with the necromantic energy. Was there some sort of connection between the two? Whatever was happening, there was no time to think about it. Hoping that it would do something useful, Kano closed her hand around the soul and put her other hand inside the rings.

There was a bright flash of colorful light that left her seeing spots, and the soul in her hand flared to searing hot. She was opening her hand to release it when she saw it disappear entirely, along with the heat it had been emitting. In turn, she felt something flow into her.

As it did so, Kano’s vision blacked out entirely. When it returned a moment later, she found herself standing alone. Her attackers were nowhere to be seen. Where they’d once stood there was now only dust. What had happened? Had the energy done something?

Unless their controller had ordered them to self-destruct? That seemed unlikely, but it was the only explanation she could come up with. It had moved to save her, but why? With a growing sense of bewilderment, Kano realized her wounds had vanished. It was like she’d never been attacked at all.

Pacing the confines of the lab, trying to figure out what could have happened, Kano walked around the corner and froze. Miusvon was slumped over in a chair, clutching her stomach. She was so still that at first Kano thought she must be dead or unconscious, but as Kano drew closer, Miusvon stirred.

“Kano?” she called, her voice barely above a whisper. “What’re you doing here?”

“I found Eomonsa, and he let slip something was going to happen here. What did happen?” Kano wished Miusvon could explain Kano’s encounter with the necromantic energy, but she doubted the other natural had any more idea than she did.

“Not sure exactly. Something went wrong with the ghouls, and they started shooting each other.” She sat up with a groan. “There were bullets flying all over the place, and I happened to catch one.”

“And then what?” Kano hadn’t heard a single gunshot. Was it all over already?

“I was down on the lower levels at the time. Took me a lot of time and dead ghouls to get back here. But by the time I made it to An’s lab, she was gone.”

“Any idea where she went?”

“She wouldn’t have left on her own, not like this. Whoever’s behind this must’ve taken her. Her notes and the prototype are gone. Same with her assistants. But as far as I can see, there’s not a single clue as to what happened to them or who took them.”

“How long ago did you get here?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve sort of been fading in and out. Probably at least an hour.”

By the looks of things, there hadn’t been much of a struggle. Could An be working with the people who’d taken her? The thought crossed Kano’s mind, but it seemed rather unlikely. There was nothing to be gained by wasting all these ghouls and abandoning the citadel’s facilities. Nothing she could think of, at least. There was always the possibility that this was part of some grander plan; you could never tell with necromancers.

Kano looked back at Miusvon. Her hand was red with blood where it covered her abdomen. “Are you dying or what?”

“Looks that way,” Miusvon said, managing a faint smile.

Kano didn’t see much reason why she should care. They’d only been allies for a short time, and that was all over now. But it didn’t feel right to leave her to die; Kano wasn’t in any hurry. By the sounds of it, An was long gone. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Miusvon looked at her, long and hard, as if trying to discern her intentions. Apparently Kano passed muster, as the other woman nodded and told her what to do. After a period of fumbling by Kano and swearing on Miusvon’s part, the wound was sealed.

“Thanks,” Miusvon said, closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair.

“Are you okay with staying here, or do you want me to take you somewhere?”

“Depends. Are you going after An?”

“Duh.” What else was there to do in this situation other than chase after the wayward necromancer? She could hardly leave An’s kidnapper to their own devices, not if she wanted any peace of mind.

“Then leave me here. I’d only slow you down.”

Kano shrugged. “Suit yourself.” As far as she was concerned, she’d done enough already. Hopefully Miusvon would recover, but it was out of her hands now. After a curt goodbye, Kano left the citadel. Great happenings were afoot in the town, completely outside her control, and all she had to rely on were a pair of incompetents.

If she could even find them again in the chaos that was overtaking their little world.