Uh-oh! — Antwan yelled, and we all knew what ghost-weapon wounds meant for people with actual organs.
Blood streamed from Phoenix's mouth and eye sockets, and with one failing hand he barely deflected a follow-up strike aimed to finish him off. Then he crashed to the floor, trembling in convulsions. Not quite death spasms yet... but close. If I didn't drain that poison, he'd better start drafting a cute little epitaph for his tombstone.
Two enemies lunged at me, and I couldn't help him. The ghosts worked together and fast — not letting me get the space I needed to whip the arcana properly. I was clearly boxed in.
I rolled to the side and slammed my head right into the damn table that had been lurking nearby — the same one where the bar patrons had been chilling a moment ago. Speaking of which — they'd all vanished, poof, like they were never here. Leaving us to deal with the ghost mess solo.
Then again, maybe better that they didn't pick the other side…
Having thrown the whips, I elegantly merged them into one and sliced the air, aiming to sever the nasty ghost's head. It lost its focus and got snagged by... the hairy claws that tore into it mid-air.
The talons shredded the postmortem entity, turning the ghost's silhouette into something resembling a torn bedsheet. But the lycan couldn't rip apart all the soul-binding threads on his own, though he did plenty of damage to the enemy's outer shell. I lashed the arcana again, turning it into a long, simple cord — and the strike landed square in the levitating scumbag's gut, right where the lycan's paw also rammed in, and together we finished the job.
Headshot! — Blurted Antwan completely out of place, considering the ghost's head was still where it belonged.
Darling! — Mia's terrified scream kicked my body into a whole different gear, obeying laws I hadn't even drafted for myself yet. Hard to say how I dodged the blade hurled at me, but I did it!
And now, the last of the ghosts was left barehanded, with nothing but an unshakable, trembling desire to surrender. Despite the Obscurity will breaking its servant from within and demanding it keep fighting, this final phantom found the strength to resist — and dropped to its knees, raising its hands in a pleading gesture.
.. don't do thiiis!
As I twirled my deadly weapon, a simple puzzle began forming in my head
one that could change the course of our entire crusade into the Our original plan was to reach the administrative headquarters that used to oversee the peaceful quarters of the City — now drowned in shadow — and summon the strigoi there. We were banking on the idea that he was monitoring key locations, since he probably didn't have a crystal ball showing every corner of the Obscurity.
That's where I'd been trying to get using a navmap loaded with the district's pre-darkness layout — but the ever-shifting fabric of reality threw off that plan. I was basically winging it, trusting my legs more than anything.
But now... a new option flickered into view — something far more specific.
The fight was over, leaving behind a kneeling, surrendered ghost and poor Phoenix, shivering in delirium and turning blue right before my eyes.
I nodded to Kim Soo-Hyun, who suddenly showed up in Blackout and stepped into the action. He barked quickly, sticking to his usual style, and laid it out in clipped phrases:
Julia called me. She said you're headed. To the Center. I followed the scent. Found you You saved my life three times. Stopped my squad from killing me. Kept me from offing myself. Taught me to live with it.
Now it's my turn to help. Hurry. They'll storm this place soon. They don't touch me. I'm part of Them. But you guys — you're screwed. — That was hands down the longest and most touching speech from this esteemed officer.
He might've even looked a bit funny from the outside — his lower half was still human: round and absolutely non-athletic. But from the waist up, he was the hulking skeleton of a massive anthropomorphic wolf with curly
reddish fur, broad shoulders, and an arsenal of fangs and claws. Funny- looking or not, the cop knew how to use what he had.
Get him out of here, please. — I pointed to the unconscious Caper. — And suck the poison out — like I showed You've got this. You said it yourself — you're part of this world. And where are you going? — Asked the lycanthrope, The carousel's waiting for me. — I replied cryptically and watched as Kim effortlessly hoisted the huge Phoenix onto his back and leapt toward the A chilling wind was already creeping in from there, bone-deep and foreboding — no time to waste. They'd be breaking through any minute now, and I wouldn't be here to enjoy it.
I turned my gaze to the last ghost, still frozen in its pleading pose.
Stand up! — I Once it was on its feet, I barked again: — Straighten up. Freeze.
What are you planning, Ali? — Asked Antwan, There's something in them that can help — I whispered under my breath like someone possessed, eyes locked onto the glowing fractals rippling across the phantom's body like an LSD trip gone sideways.
I screamed something ferociously primal and dashed toward the ghost, leaping into the air and twisting mid-flight into a taut line with outstretched hands. Then... I plunged straight into the bright belly of the phantom, pushing through layers of its glowing essence.
It was probably like swimming through a churning bay of sludge — every stroke a tiny victory against the raging tide. My grain of consciousness, fighting back the madness of this interdimensional space, would fall, rise above the next proud wave, bounce, tumble, and push forward farther and farther... and there — finally — was the promised shore of hope.
Knock-knock-knockin' on Heaven's door. — The words rang through my ears, like a farewell, laced with unmistakable sorrow...