In the early hours of the morning, Istanbul’s demonic garrison was startled to attention by an explosion going off in a largely abandoned part of the city, near where the explosives cache was located. Several guards were told to investigate and contain the event by their commanding officers, leaving their posts considerably understaffed.
As one of the guards normally posted at the Galata walked through the empty streets, Mark jumped out of a deserted building and pinned the demon to the floor. “Where in the Galata are the prisoners kept?”
The demon shook her head in a daze. “W-what?”
Mark kicked her with his free leg. “What room are you keeping Horan in?”
“The tunnels, why?”
“Thanks.” Mark knocked the demon out and stashed her in the building.
-
The remaining demon guarding the door to the Galata looked over the modest skyline at the column of smoke rising up several blocks away, the smoke mixing with the thick clouds. He was so enraptured by the bizarrely relaxing sight that it took him a while to notice the approaching engine noises.
Driving at full speed, Mark rammed through the tower’s front door and drove straight across to the other wall, plastering the front of his car with the demons in his path. Mark leapt out of the car, rifle in hand, and ran towards what was presumably the entrance to the tunnels.
As Mark entered the tunnel, he heard some kind of bird demon screech an alarm from the top of the tower. He’d have to hurry then. The dozens of demons in the subterranean chambers formed up against him, but there wasn’t much a bunch of animal people with spears could do in a narrow passageway against a guy with a gun.
-
Horan lay shivering in his dark pit, now consigned to his fate. He perked up slightly when he heard a dull, rhythmic rattling coming from outside. He strained to listen and heard it slowly come closer. What was more, he began to hear the alarmed shouts of the demons stationed outside his pit. After a few minutes, the rattling came into focus as the distinctive sound of gunfire. Mark had arrived.
The trapdoor opened to reveal Mark casually reloading his rifle. “Hope you weren’t having too much fun without me?”
Horan smiled weakly and got up. “Look who finally decided to turn up.”
Mark chuckled and extended his arm into the pit. “Don’t act so surprised, that’s my job. C’mon, I’m getting you out of this dump.”
Mark pulled Horan out of the pit by the scruff of his neck and started leading him out of the tunnels. “I didn’t exactly make the quietest entrance, so we should get out of here before the whole tower is crawling with hostiles.”
“Thel’s showing up in about two hours too, so I second that movement.”
“Right then, hurrying sounds like a good plan. I’ve got the car parked in the middle of the room, so we should be able to…”
Mark trailed off as the two left the tunnels and stepped into the tower proper. Erlani stood smugly in front of the smashed-up, flaming wreck that used to be the car, halberd held triumphantly in front of him.
“Sorry, guys, but I’m not making it that easy for you. Really, Horan? Getting some random human to bust you out? Hey, wait…” Erlani’s eyes narrowed as he looked Mark over. “Hey, you’re the guy I took out yesterday! Come on, you were supposed to die back there!”
Mark shrugged and dug through his pants. “Sorry, I’m not the best at that. I am pretty good at making distractions, though,” he said as he pulled something out and rolled it across the floor to Erlani’s feet.
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Erlani didn’t break eye contact. “I’m not looking at that, this isn’t Looney Tunes.”
Horan tilted his hand. “Eh, it’s pretty close. That is a bomb and all.”
Erlani looked down with his third eye to see that it was, indeed, a pipe bomb. He lunged back just as it went off, falling back into the wreckage of the car.
“Move!” Mark pulled Horan towards the exit, but stopped in his tracks when Erlani’s halberd impaled the flung-open door just in front of him.
Erlani stood up and walked towards the two, cradling his ear. “Like a small bomb can take me out. You’re not leaving this tower alive, human. And you definitely aren’t getting very far either, Horan.”
Horan glanced at the halberd sticking out of the door. “Well, you did just throw your weapon at a door as a show of force. And Mark here still has a gun.”
Erlani snorted. “His peashooter didn’t do anything to me yesterday, and it’s not doing anything now. And it’s not like I need a weapon to bring you down.”
Mark watched Erlani raise his fists, unfazed. “I wasn’t aiming yesterday, either.” He raised his rifle and fired a single shot right into Erlani’s third eye.
Screaming in pain, Erlani staggered back as Mark rushed in to close the distance. “Horan, get out of here! I’ll catch up with you when I’m done!”
Horan placed his bonds over Erlani’s halberd and cut the ropes keeping his hands together. “No, I’m free, I can help!”
Mark ducked under Erlani’s dazed swing as his opponent righted himself. “I don’t ca-!”
Erlani grabbed Mark by the arm and twisted his wrist, forcing Mark’s rifle to the ground. “Y’know, before, I thought you were just an annoying little twerp who needed to be put in his place.” He grabbed Mark by the neck and lifted him off his feet. “But you’ve actually gone and made me mad.”
Mark looked over Erlani’s shoulder at Horan attempting to creep up from behind. Erlani saw Mark’s gaze and scowled. “Oh, and Horan? Don’t even think about it.” He turned so that he was facing towards Horan while Mark faced away. “If I really felt like it, I could kill you both in seconds. But I’m trying to drag this one out, see how Thel manages it.” He looked up at Mark “But back to you, I want you to really soak in your hopelessness. You’d better, since these are your last few seconds alive.”
“Doubt it.” Using his free offhand, Mark pulled out his medal and jammed it into Erlani’s throat. Taking advantage of Erlani’s stunned state, Mark grabbed Erlani’s knife, pulled it out and jammed it into Erlani’s neck.
As Erlani stumbled down and released him, Mark scrambled back to Horan, massaging his neck. “What, bullets won’t do it, but a bowie knife works just fine?”
Horan pulled Mark behind him and summoned his sword as Erlani struggled to stand up and pull the knife from his throat. “I guess a gun just isn’t cool enough to bring him down.”
“Nothing is cooler than a gun!”
Erlani attempted to speak, but all that came out of his mouth was a wet gurgling noise. Instead, he sluggishly got back to his feet, yanked the knife out and hurled it at Mark. Mark barely got out of the way before the gold-spattered blade embedded itself into the door. Mark pulled the knife back out and looked over at Horan. “You know, this doesn’t seem like the best fight to pick. Think you can end it early?”
Horan nodded and raised his arms. Erlani, barely able to still stand upright, looked up as the ceiling began to buckle downward. Horan and Mark ran out of the Galata as Horan used the wind to force the ceiling downward. Erlani and the remaining demons inside were unceremoniously buried under eight stories’ worth of stone and wood while Horan and Mark took to the streets.
-
With most of the city’s demon garrison occupied with clearing the rubble of the Galata and containing the fire Mark had started, it was relatively easy for Mark and Horan to escape the city. Admittedly, they had lost their car and the supplies within, but at least they were still alive. After a few minutes of running out of the city and into the frozen wasteland of Europe, Mark looked back. “Think we’re in the clear?”
Horan kept running. “Don’t stop until Thel arrives. We won’t want to be anywhere near when he’s close.”
“How are we gonna know when he’s shown up?”
“We’ll know when we see it.”