Book 4, chapter 9

Leaving Jen, and her team to administer healing pills to the injured, Zee and her team set off in search of more monsters. They followed the sounds of breaking glass and screams, moving up the city streets until they found their quarry.

Zee had no time to wonder where the authorities were, as shouts of terror and pain echoed from a nearby building.

"Watch the exits, I'm going in," Zee said.

"Got it, Greg, get up on that roof, I will go around the back," Bastion said.

Greg nocked an arrow, and activated a skill, vaulting backward, and up, landing the two-story building across the street. Zee didn't sit around, turning into a puff of mist, just as Bastion vanished in a blur of motion.

Without hesitation, Zee entered the top floor of a two-story house through the open balcony finding a few more of the wolf-like Drawkveer.

It took a second for her vision to acclimate to the low light inside but once it did, her expression darken. Blood covered everything, from the furniture to the cabinets, pooling on the floorboards.

The loud crack of bone crunching filled the air as the two inside monsters tore their latest victim apart. The sight of a small body with youthful features being eaten filled her with burning anger.

The air fractured, the world river roiling as both Drawkveer were violently torn in half. Large chunks of their bodies vanished, disappearing into the horizontal rift created by reality slash.

The vicious attack killed them in an instant, ripping them apart and leaving the attic in deathly silence. Ethereal waves crashed around her, swirling in a storm of unprecedented ferocity.

Her infused aura and the crashing waves mirrored her anger and frustration, the storm chaotic. Zee clenched her fist, tightly on the hilt of her sword.

She was too late, again. These damned monsters were running from her, going after the weak civilians in the city. It pissed her off. A quick death wasn't good enough for these undead assholes.

Spurred on by fury, she pulled a brown leather-bound book from her spatial storage and flipped through the pages towards the back. If these undead bastards would only target children and the weak, they deserved to be eaten by a soul-sucking monster.

With a flick of her hand, Dern's conjured suit of armor appeared next to the two dismembered corpses of the Drawkveer. These two mutts were going to be the focal point of the soul-siphoning ritual.

Her bloodlust oozed out, and the complex ritual formed one layer after the other, forming a complex tapestry. All the while, ethereal waves crashed around her, the eerily silent waves speaking of a violent end.

She knew this ritual was beyond her, and yet, forming the framework of the ritual was so effortless. It was as if Dern was guiding the energy and not her.

In seconds the ritual snapped taught, and two spectral Drawkveer drifted from their ruined remains. The ghostly undead struggled with all their might, but it was to no avail.

Ghostly silver and blue chains bound them taught, ethereal, yet their power was absolute. For the first time in a long time, Dern body moved on its own, dragging the terrified souls into a gaping abyss that formed above his head.

It was a brutal demise, yet she felt no vindication. The ritual slowly dissipated, leaving soft moats of light to float through the air. Much to her surprise, a familiar voice entered her mind, soft and incredibly weak.

"More, I need more," Dern said his presence gradually fading away.

"Dern? Are you okay?" Zee asked excitedly.

There was no reply…. Still, she was elated. It had actually worked! He had even said something. Her relief and excitement at confirming the ritual actually was working faded as she remembered why she got so angry.

There were still more of these undead assholes out there, terrorizing the city. Even now, while she was standing here, innocent people were likely dying.

She glanced back towards the dead, and their bloodied remains. The undead had turned to ash following the ritual while the people they killed still were present, staining the room with their blood and guts.

It wasn't a pretty sight, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. At least the soul-siphoning ritual had cleaned up the undead corpses. Also, more important than that was that no one had been alive to witness the heretical ritual she just performed.

Small blessings. With a heavy heart, she strode down the stairs, through the wrecked house, leaving out the front door. Several people were on the street, and she waved one over. It was one of those arachnids, a male given the shape of their bulbous abdomen.

"The monsters are dead," Zee said, evenly, her expression dark.

"What about the people living inside?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Sorry, nothing I could do for them. They were already dead when I got here," Zee replied, deciding not to sugarcoat it.

The spider trembled, looking both sad and furious at the same time. Whether that was at the Drawkveer for killing his friends, or her for not saving them, she couldn't say.

"Thank you for helping," He said.

She gave him a forced smile. "Any time. Now if you will excuse me, I need to get going, there are more of these things out there," Zee said.

For the next couple hours, they combed the city, finding and killing twenty more Drawkveer. As it turns out, Greg was incredibly adept at finding them. After they found most of the ones that hid in buildings, Greg lead them into a hole that led to the sewers.

Trudging through some ankle-deep muck, Zee kept one hand over her nose, the smell so thick in the air that she could taste it.

"Are you sure you can sense one down here?" Bastion asked, his voice nasal.

"No, I just wanted to walk through ankle-deep shit for fun," Greg replied dryly.

"Well, I still don't see why it is us that has to come down into this literal shit hole. Why not let the city guard do it, it's what we pay them for," Bastion said.

"Don't look at me, your girlfriend is the one who insisted we come down here," Greg retorted.

Feeling their eyes on her back she glanced over her shoulder. "This place is private. No one will be around to watch when I perform a certain ritual. If it makes you any happier, I will buy you both some dinner once we are done," Zee said.

"I want a strong drink too. The good stuff, not that swill Bastion likes," Greg replied.

"Fine.... Now come on, let's find this mutt, and go, this place smells foul," Zee said, breathing through her mouth.

Two hours later, on the street, a sewer grate rattled and slid to one side. Three dirty, and grumpy-looking people clambered out, receiving curious stares from the people on the street.

Most of the onlookers immediately backed away, as a pungent odor wafted to their noses on a gentle breeze.

"That was awful, why did I let you convince me to go down there?" Bastion asked.

Zee grimaced, shuddering as something slimy dripped from her dyed black hair and slid down her neck.

"Why are you blaming me? You two should have talked me out of it," Zee replied.

"You are blaming this on us?" Bastion asked.

"Yes," Zee said.

"What? We tried, and you insisted anyway. Given how awful that place was, I think you should pay double for our troubles," Bastion said.

"Double? No chance, that wasn't a part of the agreement." Zee said, her boots letting off a sickening squishing sound as she turned and started walking down the street.

"You are going the wrong way, Yukna's shop is in the other direction," Bastion shouted after her.

Zee pointed down the street, just as a gondola passed. "There is a canal down here, I am going to jump in to get some of this gunk off," She called back.

Greg and Bastion both looked at each other and their positively gunk-covered clothes, then quickly followed. The brackish water of the canal did little to actually clean them. The canal was filled with murky water, and in the stacks was probably as filthy as the sewers themselves.

Zee did her best to ignore that unpleasant thought, as she swam through the canal. She was already coming up with plans to alter that cleaning ritual the old geezer made her learn.

In fact, it should be pretty easy. What if she altered it to target herself and not the room around her? She would need to do some testing first, but that ritual was fairly easy, so it shouldn't be too hard to alter its function slightly.

After a few minutes, she climbed out of the canal, her clothes dripping onto the street. Several passers-by gave her looks as if she was crazy, but she ignored them.

A young boy, human, broke from the crowd and rushed over to her.

"Excuse me miss, are you Zee?" he asked, gasping for breath as if he had been running for a while.

"Yes, who is asking?" Zee replied.

His expression brightens. "Rin wants you to meet him at the blind spider, it's urgent," the boy said.

"How urgent?" Zee asked, still soaked from her dip in the canal.

"Uhh, life and death urgent," The boy replied anxiously.

She glanced back over her shoulder, to Bastion and Greg sitting on the edge of the canal.

"Do you two want to come?" She asked.

"Sounds better than the sewers," Bastion replied. Greg nodded in agreement.

She turned back to the boy. "Alright, lead the way," Zee said.

The boy took off, running back down the street. He moved fast for a mortal, but it was hardly any effort to keep up. It wasn't his fault, the kid didn't even have a class yet.

Gasping for breath, their guide slid to a stop in front of a familiar run-down bar. With the weather-worn paint and unmaintained façade, it was even less welcoming in the daytime.

Zee flipped the boy a silver coin as she passed, and he caught it with a grin.

"The boss should be inside waiting for you," He said before running off.

She opened the door and entered, noting that only two people were inside.

"About Damn time," Rin said gesturing for the three of them to take a seat.

"What's so urgent that you made us all run down here?" Zee asked, plopping down in a wooden chair.

Bastion did the same, only he propped his sodden boots on the table, making Nanut's brown twitch in annoyance.

"Ahh, yes. It's about that little attack you three were participating in. Let's just say that the demand for my services has skyrocketed." Rin said, positively beaming.

Zee cocked her head, immediately understanding the implications. "The nobles are scared?" Zee asked curiously.

Rin nodded.

She furrowed her brows. "But why, those creatures were no real threat to the nobles. The Drawkveer only targeted weak civilians who couldn't protect themselves," Zee said.

Rin clasped his chair scraping on the floor as he clasped his hands together, leaning his elbows on the rickety wooden table.

"They are not scared of a few lesser undead. You are right in thinking that the Drawkveer are no real threat to them. However, they are scared of what that little invasion implies. Think about it. How did the Terlashar gain access to a teleportation hub?" Rin asked.

Zee's blood ran cold. "They have conquered a city?" Zee asked.

Rin nodded slowly. "It's a city called Kierston, on the planet named Drauk. My spies amongst the nobility tell me that we have already cut off all access to the planet Drauk." Rin said.

"But, what about the other cities?" Zee asked, horrified.

Rin shrugged. "They will have to find another planet or city to seek refuge. The patriarch of Verdant is not taking any undue risks," Rin spat, his tone implying just how little respect he held for their leader.

"That's horrible," Zee said.

Rin smirked. "It is, but enough of that. I brought you here because I am in need of more escorts. Before you say no, I am paying triple the previous rate for this run." Rin said.

Triple? That amounted to one hundred and fifty Ether crystals, which was insane!

"Why are you offering so much?" Zee asked, her eyes narrowing.

Rin smiled. "That is because I have a very wealthy client who wishes to be escorted by my best people. After your display today, I am confident, you are perfectly suited to this job," Rin replied.

"You had us watched?" Zee asked, her tone sharp.

Rin waved a hand dismissively. "Don't be like that. My people are everywhere, it would be hard for them not to notice." He replied.

For a moment, Zee wonder if he noticed something he shouldn't have. Like the fact that she performed a certain banned ritual several times. If he did, he gave no hint of it.

"So, who are the people you want us to escort?" Zee asked, deciding to drop the subject for now.

Rin tapped the table with his finger, "It's the second cousin of the patriarch and their family." Rin said.

"Huh, I guess that explains the absurd pay. I bet you are making Ether crystals by the cartload," Bastion said thoughtfully.

Rin let out a soft laugh. "With so many people trying to flee the dominion, and the fact that my smuggling group is the only one able to sneak past the blockade with any reliability, I am making enough to live like an emperor," Rin said.

Zee gave the blond-haired older man a side long glance. "And just how long are you planning on staying here? Surely you are not willing to go down with the sinking ship," Zee asked.

Rin laughed, amused. "Once it gets too bad, we are going to take our people, ships and leave. No point in staying around be converted to the undead," Rin said.

Well, at least he was being honest, even if his actions were incredibly self-serving. Zee couldn't really blame the guy, nor his people. They had the means to make an escape through the blockade, so why shouldn't they take it?

If she was being honest with herself, Zee even considered asking for a spot on one of the ships for herself and her friends. There was no shame in fleeing from a hopeless fight. She might even still do so, though not right now.

"I am in, though our fee, is two hundred Ether crystals each," Zee said.

Rin didn't even hesitate. "Done.. As always, half now, half when you get back," Rin said," Nanut, fetch them the funds," Rin ordered.

Zee shook his hand, wondering if she should have asked for more. Just how much were the patriarch's cousins paying? It must have been a truly stupid amount of wealth for Rin to readily give them this much for what amounted to escort duty.

"How long until we leave?" Zee asked.

"Tomorrow evening. Nanut will fetch you at your inn, and supply the details then," Rin said.

"Great! Now if you will excuse us, we need to get ourselves cleaned up," Zee said.

Rin waved dismissively. Once out of the small tavern, Bastion nudged her shoulder playfully.

"I like your initiative, though you should have asked for more," Bastion said.

Zee laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, I kind of signed you both up without asking," Zee replied.

"Are you kidding? Two hundred Ether crystals for what amounts to a month of boring guard duty is a lot of money. I would have been mad at you if you didn't take his offer," Bastion replied.

She smiled, "I figured you would agree." Zee said.

"What about Yukna, think she will want to come this time?" Greg asked.

Zee shook her head. "That's doubtful, she has been really busy traveling around and working on Rin's ships. Plus she has also been working on setting up her company," Zee said.

"Is it safe for her if we leave her here in the city alone?" Greg asked.

Zee nodded. "It should be fine, I doubt Rin will let her get in too much danger considering how valuable her work is," Zee replied.

Bastion ran a callused hand through his wet, curly black hair. "Let's hope you are right, or a certain princess will use us as a fire starter," Bastion said.

"On second thought, let's check in on Yuky before we go. Can't be too careful, when dealing with the fiancé of a pyromaniac," Zee said with a nervous laugh.

Bastion cracked a mischievous smile. "Do you think our illustrious leader will be here on Tartana when we return?" Bastion asked.

Zee raised an eyebrow, "I thought I was the leader,"

"Sorry love, but your leadership is being revoked on Allison's return. She doesn't lead us into sewers," Bastion said.

Greg nodded sagely. "I second that, sewers suck,"

"Humph, maybe I should start looking for another team that is more supportive," Zee muttered.

"Ohh, come on, don't be like that. I would hate to see you get turned down by other teams. It not your fault you like going in sewers," Bastion said innocently.

"You better watch it Buster, or we might replace you with a lizard," Zee said.

"That is just cruel, forcing a poor helpless lizard into the sewers," Bastion said, his hazel and orange eyes glimmering in amusement.

She reached out to punch his shoulder, but he smoothly dodged, slipping away, laughing.