Hell broke loose with shouting. It broke loose at the sound of an explosion and the thunk of arrows firing into a wall in one of the courtyards. It broke loose at the patter of footsteps on the roof, the metallic cling of swords meeting.
“Just as I suspected,” Ghost said, who was currently in possession of Alistair’s body. The assassin was now crouched at the foot of the bed in case anything came flying through the window.
“It’s only been a few hours. How can a rumor spread that quickly?”
“A rumor needs less than a few hours to spread if it is targeted at the right people, Alistair. The problem is getting out of here. Scratch that. The problem is getting out of here and making sure that Renez dies in a way that we can bring Caidan evidence.”
“What do you mean?”
“If the whole place goes down in a blaze of flames, it might muddy our chances. Noctarii confirmed that she was here, that the assassins had all arrived.”
“He said Kang came with a wagon of bodies.”
“He did. But I’m not worried about fighting zombies.”
“What about Kanda?”
Ghost looked up at the ceiling as someone moved directly above them. He waited until they were gone to speak: “What about her?”
“She should be here by now.”
“Agreed. I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t made her way here yet. That tells me she is either biding her time, or, I hope this isn’t the case, wrapped up in the shitshow herself. None of it’s good, but this is where we are, and we have to adjust accordingly. Lionel, my sword.”
“As you wish,” the Abyssal summon said from the shadows as he produced Ghost’s sheathed blade.
Ghost put it on and grumbled that they still hadn’t changed out of the turquoise clothing.
“We could have done that an hour ago but you told me I had to rest,” Alistair told him.
“Your body isn’t processing these things as well as it should. I’ve been noticing that more and more as of late.”
“Whatever, I’m fine.”
“Keep telling yourself that. My point is: we’re going to have to work together,” Ghost told Alistair. “Spells and blades. It’s the only way. Always be ready, starting with now.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“There is still a guard outside the room. Kick the door open, cast Mistmeld, and let me do the rest.”
“I can’t believe they’re still guarding us. There is a little war taking place.”
“The Baronblades do not question Felix’s orders, no matter how dire things may be. Now, let’s do this. Summon Ziggy and Noctarii.”
Alistair did as instructed.
Squish? the slime asked as he hopped to his shoulder, Ghost in control again.
“What is going on?” the shadow fae asked Ghost.
“I need you to find Kanda and lead us to her. We’re getting out of here.”
“Will do. Anything I should do about the assassins?”
“Avoid them,” Ghost said.
“You got it, boss!” Noctarii flashed away and Alistair took over again.
Ghost: Are you ready to move on?
“I think.” Alistair imagined himself kicking the door open and casting Mistmeld. Another thought came to him. “How do you want me to grip the sword?”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Good question. Reverse grip.”
Alistair turned the sword around in his hand. He steeled himself with a deep breath in and kicked the door open, where he immediately cast Mistmeld just as Ghost took possession of their shared body. The assassin spun directly into the Baronblade and cut into him, Ghost following this up with a quick cleaving motion that brought the guard down. “Lionel.”
The man let out a muffled scream as he was dragged into a pit of shadow, where his lower half was crushed, and deposited again in the hallway.
“Moving on,” Ghost said as he crept ahead. “Be ready for more.” There was another explosion, followed by yelling somewhere about fifty feet away, toward one of the dining areas from what Ghost knew of the layout. He pressed to the wall and spoke to Lionel again: “If anyone comes, make it impossible for them to attack me.”
“How impossible?”
“As impossible as you can. Alistair, Moonlight Eyes, now. You’re in charge in the next room.”
“Me?” Alistair asked, yet Ghost didn’t respond.
Alistair soon saw why as he entered into a darkened space after passing through a hallway that led into a foyer. His eyes immediately adjusted. Why was it so dark in here? The answer to this question soon became clear when he noticed a presence.
“I have it,” he told Lionel who had already started to swell toward the presence.
A deep male voice from the shadows spoke: “Who are you?”
Alistair didn’t respond. He launched into action with Eclipse Claw and cut into a man wearing all black, his face obscured by a skull-shaped mask. The man managed to absorb most of his strike with a blade-like shield that sprung from the side of his gauntlets. He moved on Alistair with the same weapon as Ghost took over, the assassin yet again wielding the sword in a reverse grip pattern.
Ghost: I’m coming in!
Shank!
Ghost blocked the assassin’s strike and fired off another message to Alistair, telling him to be ready to hit their opponent with Resonance Pulse. Ghost struck the man’s shield blade and relinquished control to Alistair, who fired his wand at their assailant’s face.
Zapp!
“Argh!” the man yelled as he stumbled backward. “My eyes—!”
Lionel took it from here, the man quickly falling into a pit that sealed up around his waist, allowing Ghost to deliver the finishing blow with his sword, which he drove to the back of the man’s head, the tip of the blade pressing out the front.
“Don’t keep any of the bodies,” he told Lionel as he moved on.
Squish! Ziggy, who’d been privy to all of this, exploded forward, the slime smacking into a female Baronblade as she came around the corner with a pair of hand axes. The slime pinned her to the wall by her face, Ziggy suffocating the woman until she gave up the struggle and dropped her weapons.
“Good,” Ghost said as Ziggy continued to squeeze the woman. “That’s exactly what we need. You did well. You continue to be one of our most lethal weapons.”
Squish!
Alistair: Don’t give Ziggy any more ideas.
“I’m back!” Noctarii announced, the fae breathless. “And Kanda is coming. Try not to kill her. And wow. Wow. Holy wow. Would you look at that? The slime is a murderer. Heh. I already knew that, but seeing it like this. Whew. At least don’t play with your food,” he told Ziggy, who continued to hold the woman against the wall.
Squish? Ziggy unceremoniously moved on, the woman’s body falling.
Kanda appeared with her sword sheathed at her side, the older girl in a mask. “I was just coming toward you. The rumor took hold faster than I expected. This could be big. My uncle could die here tonight.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. I would bet the life I don’t have that Felix is gone by now.”
“You think?”
“I know. Do you really think he would stick around for an assassin’s war? You, of all people, Kanda, know of all the contingency plans he has in place. I’m sure he’s taken the first tunnel out of here, which funnels to a carriage that takes him back to Solaria, where he can better protect himself. But the other assassins are still here. As are some of the Baronblades and trainees.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” she asked Ghost. “We need to find Renez and Kang, right?”
“Renez, yes. Kang, no. I suspect Kang would have exited with Felix. Not that he wouldn’t believe the rumor, but Kang is smart enough to know he has a better chance in a carriage with the man responsible for Goran’s murder than he does in a mansion in the middle of nowhere filled with bloodthirsty cutthroats. Let’s do what we need to do, and move on. Our night of murder mayhem is hopefully winding to a close.”
“You should be wearing a mask,” Kanda said. “I’m surprised you aren’t wearing one. Everyone wears masks at a murder party.”
“Heh.” Ghost broke into laughter at Kanda’s statement. “That’s one way to put it. And you’re right. A mask is doable. Lionel.” The abyssal summon appeared and produced the mask that Alistair had once worn in Solaria. Once it was on his face, Ghost spoke to the shadow fae: “Lead the way. We’re looking for that lady with short-sword-sized daggers.”
“Lady with short-sword-sized daggers, got it!” Noctarii said.
“I can help as well,” Lionel told Ghost.
“Yes, good. The more the merrier. Kill anyone that stands in our way. You too, Ziggy.”
The slime moved like it was saluting Ghost. Squish! Squish!
Ghost continued: “Everyone remember that we have two objectives here: Kill Renez and escape. Stick to the plan, and everyone that’s supposed to make it out of here alive, aka us, does so. Deviate, and these could be our final hours. Now, let’s go. And Alistair, be ready to switch.”