The tables of the usually-classy restaurant had been overturned and been converted into a shoddy barricade blocking off the entrance. Mark, Horan and Saralai vaulted over the barricade into the restaurant.
The Aztecs appeared to be holding an arm-wrestling match against the Greek Primoi holed up with them, and were seemingly losing. While most of the Greeks appeared to be physically inferior, Atenos was effortlessly plowing through all contenders.
Saralai got Atenos’ attention. “Got a couple more for you to look after, I’ll be back with more in a few minutes.”
Atenos shrugged and went back to smashing Hurat’s hand into the seat of a chair.
While Hurat sat off to the side to nurse his arm, Horan sat down next to him. “Hey, what’s up?”
Hurat looked at Horan for a while. “Who’re you, exactly?”
Horan deflated slightly. “Horan. Y’know, that guy who was in front of everyone at the meeting this morning? Or was it yesterday morning, at this point?”
Hurat grunted. “Eh, I wasn’t really paying attention during that. I was just planning that day’s paintball game.”
“Oh, right, I saw that.” Horan cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m… I wa… I am the one in charge of the Egyptian Domain. I heard you’re the leader of the Aztecs, and since my friend wanted to stay here for a while, I figured you’re just as interesting a guy as any to talk to.”
“I don’t know what Egypt is, but sure. So, who’s the friend you talked about?”
Horan pointed out Mark, who was sitting on the floor next to Omet. “That human, the one talking to Omet.”
“You’re friends with a human?” Hurat shrugged. “I guess I’ve seen weirder today. So, do you know Omet, or do you just know them through your friend?”
“Oh, we both know them, it’s just that Mark there has talked to them a lot more. It’s kind of impressive that we both picked them as a talking partner within one day of one another.”
Hurat nodded. “They do tend to attract new people to talk to. Maybe it’s some kind of hidden power.”
“Well, I’m glad they do. Mark doesn’t have many friends besides me.”
“I can imagine. He hasn’t even looked at the big lady since he got here. What kind of loser doesn’t so much as think about an opportunity to arm-wrestle against someone like her?!”
“Hey, he’s not a loser. He just knows how to pick his fights. There’s no way he’d go up against someone like her.”
“Pfft, lame.” Hurat leaned forward. “Just because she’s keeping us all in here doesn’t make her better than us. It’s just harder to prove that she isn’t.”
“That’s kind of a weird way of thinking about it.” Horan started slightly. “Wait, she’s keeping us in here?”
“Doesn’t even have the nerve to say it to us, either. As if she’s so important, we’re supposed just know it by looking at her. Well, I’m not someone who’s so easily intimidated. I’m refusing to acknowledge the fact that she’s keeping us in here, at least until she cracks and tells us to leave.”
“Okay…” Horan got up and walked over to Atenos, who was sitting on a solitary chair and waiting for someone else to challenge her. “Hey, are we allowed to leave?”
Atenos looked up at Horan. “Oh, yeah, sure, man.” She pointed at the barricade. “Exit’s over there.”
“Thanks.” Horan walked back over to Hurat. “She says we can leave whenever.”
Hurat crossed his arms. “Well, I don’t believe her.”
He sat in silence for a moment before bolting to his feet. “Hey, guys, we can go fight monsters whenever we want!”
Every Aztec in the room save one rushed over the barricade an ran out of the room. As they left, Mark called out to Omet. “Hey, remember what we talked about!”
Omet gave a thumbs-up and ran out of sight.
Atenos looked at the solitary Aztec left in the room. “Hey, aren’t you going with them?”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The Aztec raised her hands. “I’m quite alright here, thanks.”
Hurat reappeared at the edge of the hallway. “Hey, Quet, you coming?”
“Be right there!” Quet got to her feet and ran out of the room.
Horan walked over to Mark. “Well, that was a fast response. So, what did you and Omet talk about?”
“Oh, just some stuff. What made that guy suddenly get everyone to leave?”
Horan sat down next to Mark. “You’ve gone so far. Talking to someone, even though you get absolutely nothing out of it? You’re a real socialite, you know!”
“I hate you. Now answer the question, I’m getting a feeling that you had something to do with it.”
“…Well, all I did was tell him that there was nothing stopping him from leaving. That’s just me being honest and upstanding, if you think about it.”
Mark covered his eyes with his hand. “Well, there goes our best chance at regrouping our forces here. Well, might as well leave. I’ve gotten all I can from staying here.” He got up and climbed over the barricade. “Let’s move. Maybe we can catch up with those guys.”
Horan followed Mark sheepishly. “Sorry…”
Across the hall, a door was flung open and Orsinus stepped out, his bathrobe now noticeable more dishevelled. “It’s me!” He looked around and noticed Mark and Horan. “Oh, hey, you guys are back. Neat.” He looked around some more. “Hey, know where the Aztecs are?”
Horan pointed down the hall. “They went that way to go fight monsters. Pretty sure they’re long gone.”
“Oh, thanks.” He slapped the doorframe he was standing in. “C’mon, tower! You’re supposed to take me to where they are now!” He immediately began caressing the part of the frame he had hit. “I’m sorry, everyone makes mistakes.” He gently kissed the doorframe.
Right when Horan and Mark attempted to surreptitiously leave, Orsinus bolted upright. “Grigora!”
A split-second later, Grigora rushed in from down the hall, stumbling slightly as she came to a halt in front of Orsinus. She spent a few seconds doubled over before standing to attention. “Yes, Sir?”
Orsinus pointed down to the opposite side of the hall. “The Aztecs went that way. Find them for me, would you?”
Grigora saluted hastily and sped off. Orsinus watched her leave. “That’s my girl.”
Horan kept his distance. “What, is she your daughter? Who’s the other parent?”
Orsinus shrugged. “No clue, she just showed up one day and claimed that I was the dad. That kind of thing happens to me a lot, honestly.”
Grigora swiftly returned. “They’re on the 251st floor, sir. Permission to be dismissed?”
“Granted, I guess.” Orsinus stepped back inside the room he had exited as Grigora ran back down the hall. “I don’t know why she does that, she’s just like that.” He closed the door partially. “You two coming?”
Mark stepped inside the room with him. “Sure, I guess. But only if we don’t at all speak while I’m with you.”
Horan made no attempt to correct Mark as he followed him inside.
Mark and Horan turned to look at the room as Orsinus closed the door behind them. They appeared to be inside a dark boiler room with no alternative exits.
Mark looked around. “Where are we supposed to go from here?”
Orsinus opened the door again to reveal a completely different part of the tower. The overhead lights had gone out, and a potted fern against the far wall had caught fire.
Horan stepped outside and looked around. About twenty feet away, most of the Aztecs were engaged in a chaotic brawl with a large group of demons. Stray blasts of fire, ice and rocks were punctuated by wide halberd swings.
Orsinus lazily strolled up to the melee and raised one arm. A trail of lightning spread from his hand and arced through the swarm of demons and Primoi, disintegrating every demon in the fight in the blink of an eye.
The Aztecs composed themselves and looked at Orsinus as he confidently strode over to them, Mark and Horan in tow. Orsinus waved lazily. “Evening, everyone. Are we having fun here?”
Hurat stepped forward. “Oh, plenty. But we were kind of hoping to take care of those guys ourselves, so stealing our kills was kind of inconsiderate of you.”
Nods and affirmative whispers passed through the other Aztecs.
Orsinus held up his hands defensively. “Sorry to poop on your party then. But if you feel like killing even more demons, I suggest we team up for a little while.” He stepped through the Aztec crowd and turned to face everyone else in the room, including Mark and Horan. “See, I’m not too happy about these demons wrecking my lovely tower, and I’m just trying to get them off. About ten minutes ago, I felt a large amount of people arrive near the top floors. Since then, my access to the top eight floors has been cut off. I’m bringing all of you with me so that we can collectively take out whoever’s in charge of this whole attack. Sound fun, everyone?”
Horan looked over at Mark. Ark shrugged and pulled out his gun. “Better than wandering around looking for stuff to shoot.”
A few seconds later, the Aztecs raised their arms in the air and roared in approval. Orsinus nodded approvingly. “Nice to see some enthusiasm. I’d get some of my family to help us out, but they’re busy cleaning up on the lower floors, so you folks will have to do.” He pointed towards a nearby door. “I’ll bring us up as high as we can go, and we’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot. Let’s roll, everyone.”
-
Standing in Orsinus’ penthouse bedroom, Yang listened to Zhencha’s report on Orsinus’ speech. When Zhencha stopped picking up any more speech, she gave Yang a thumbs-up.
Yang tuned the channel on her walkie-talkie. “Teams B through F, standby for contact. Target is approaching.”