Enter Ayralef Part X

THE BATTLE OF ANGKORA

Now that they knew what they were dealing with, the Deluran Soldiers changed their tactics and affected a strategy of defense by means of banding together and concentrating firepower on the targets that were closest. Unfortunately this change in strategy came too late for two more soldiers, who were cut down by the long swords the skeleton warriors brandished. The tactical shift also did not address the long term problem of the skeletons being able to regenerate, thus ensuring that before long they would surely outlast the ammunition supply of the Delurans.

Crisis had pulled Lea out of the smoking pool basin and drug her over to where her friend and the Deluran scientists were crouched next to Anna’s unconscious body. Major Durham, the ranking officer below Colonel Demorah, was directing his soldiers’ fire while still trying to get reinforcements to come through his helmet radio.

“How soon can the others get here?” Crisis asked the major.

“Not soon enough. Apparently Tech Town is under assault also,” Durham replied tersely. “And not just us. Reports are coming back to me saying there’s black smoke rising from multiple areas in the city.”

Crisis and Lea Landau exchanged worried looks.

“What could these things possibly be after?” asked the lead scientist.

“We have to get out of this church before we get inundated,” said Lea Landau. “We need to know what’s going on out there.”

“I’ll get changed and open us a way out,” said Crisis. She reached over into her satchel and pulled out an armlet, which she clamped onto her left wrist. “Transform!” she said to the armlet.

Lea, who was despondent that this attack had come just as she was almost home, looked up just in time to see Crisis’ attire undergo a dramatic change. A golden disk of light started over the armlet and moved its way up the blonde naga’s left arm. As the disk moved, Crisis’ attire transformed in its’ wake.

First, Crisis’ entire arm became encased in an armored sleeve all the way to the shoulder. Then, as the disk expanded and washed over Crisis’ torso and head, her casual bodice and loincloth were replaced with an armored chest and shoulder plates, a leather battle-kilt, and weapons belt. Finally, as the disk moved down Crisis’ right arm, her skin was left bare save for a padded leather bracer on the wrist. The disk terminated at the naga’s hand and morphed into the shape of a heavy battle-axe before resolving as such.

Lea gasped. “What in the world is that?”

“I used to have to put my armor on normally,” said Crisis, clearly pleased with Lea’s reaction. “Then Temi gave me that armlet with an enchantment that can make me transform my clothing. What do you think? Cool, huh?”

Lea didn’t know what to think. In a way it was pretty cool. On the other hand, seeing Crisis in battle armor struck Lea as perverse.

“You’re actually going to fight those things?” Lea asked her.

“You bet I am!” Crisis twirled her axe like a baton in her hand, then grasped it tightly as though it weighed nothing. “I’m going to cut us a path to the door. Stay close behind me.”

Major Durham stood up with Anna slung over his shoulder. “Men! Form up! We’re going to get out of here!”

Lea felt a strong sense of surreal wrongness about this entire situation. She wanted to tell Crisis not to put herself in harm’s way. But the look of grim confidence on the naga’s face stopped her. Whatever notions Lea had about her own best friend didn’t apply here. This Crisis not only could fight, she wanted to fight.

“I’ve been wanting to see what the legendary Crisis could do in battle for a long time,” said Durham. “This’ll be a pleasure.”

“Heh… Watch and learn,” Crisis grinned.

The blonde naga warrior surged forward as a pair of skeletons stepped toward the group. With superior speed, she was inside their range in the blink of an eye, and with a power that belied her average size, Crisis swung her axe and shattered both bodies into so many pieces before they could react. The armor fell limply to the ground, and the bones bounced off the walls and floor, scattering as far as ten meters from the point of impact!

The Delurans let out a cheer, then set to work cleaning up the skeletons on the far side of the room who were trying to get closer to the fight. One of them tossed a grenade that crippled about three or four of the enemy. Crisis slid forward and savagely mangled every skeleton in her path, making sure to scatter every bone as far as she could with every swing of her axe and tail in order to prolong the process of their regeneration.

“Once we get outside, I can start lending a hand,” Lea Landau said to Lea.

“You can fight too?” Lea looked at her in surprise.

“In a manner of speaking,” her twin answered. “So what do you think of Crisis?”

Lea was quiet on that matter as she watched the naga carve her way through the thickest crowd of skeletons like a machete cleaves through jungle foliage. With the help of the tactical firing of the Delurans, they were through the worst of the attack and standing at the double doors of the sanctuary in no time.

“Where’s Alastazia?” Lea wondered.

“Don’t worry about Ally. She can take care of herself,” Crisis answered.

“She’s probably in the convent, making sure her nuns are okay,” Lea Landau added. “And Crisis is right. If those skeletons are trying, they won’t even get close to her.”

“Let’s go!” Crisis shoved the doors open so everyone could bolt through. As soon as the last soldier was outside, the naga grabbed both doors and slammed them shut in the faces of the oncoming skeletons who had managed to reassemble.

“Holy shit!” someone among the soldiers exclaimed.

Everyone turned practically in unison to look at the city of Angkora. Whoever had uttered ‘holy shit’ was not kidding. From their vantage point at the top of the church steps, they could see plumes of smoke rising from several blocks of the city. The sounds of screaming and clashing of weapons rose from the din. Pedestrians on the street milled about in confusion, looking around for some sign of what to do in the face of this unexpected threat.

The sound of flapping wings drew Lea’s gaze upward and she saw a formation of giant-sized harpies carrying Angkoran soldiers on their backs, flying toward a particularly heavy concentration of billowing smoke a few blocks away.

“Is this it?” Crisis asked. “Is this the attack from Evernight the council was worried about?”

“I don’t know,” Lea Landau shook her head. “But we have to help those people down there.”

At that moment, Anna chose to regain consciousness. “Major, put me down,” she instructed.

“Yes, ma’am,” Major Durham set the colonel down and steadied her. Anna was a bit pale and had a trickle of blood running down her forehead, but otherwise her body armor had apparently saved her from the worst of that explosion.

Anna took a look around and rapidly assessed the situation. “Boys, we have to get back to Tech Town, pronto,” she gritted.

A loud thump sounded from the doors behind them and Crisis threw her weight against the door. The skeletons were trying to get through. The naga grew a few feet in height to give herself more leverage and power. Her armor and weapon magically grew along with her.

“Corbin, I hope you’re alright,” Lea Landau wished out loud, closing her eyes as though in prayer. Then she opened them again and a steely determination replaced her fear. “Crisis… I need my racket.”

“It’s in my satchel,” Crisis replied.

Lea Landau reached into Crisis’ bag and rooted around for a moment before taking out a silver colored rod. The weapon was about a foot long and crowned with three metal loops that arced around a purple gemstone.

“You guys coming with us?” Anna asked.

“We’ll stick with you for a short distance,” said Landau. “But our priority is to save the lives of our citizens.”

“Understood,” Anna cocked her pistol coldly. “Gentlemen… Lock and load!!”

The Delurans replaced their rifle clips and cocked their weapons in military-style unison. “Ready!” they shouted as one to their leader.

As if on cue, an explosion at the end of the street drew everyone’s gaze. Smoke and fire filled the air as one of the low rise buildings sagged from some kind of crippling blow to its foundation. It didn’t tumble, but was in danger of doing so. People who were still out on the street, milling about in confusion, ducked their heads and screamed and began running away from the explosion. From out of the smoke came another group of skeleton warriors, giving chase to the panicked masses.

“Here they come! Secure the street!” Anna shouted.

The soldiers ran down the steps and took up positions to fire at the enemy. Any skeleton that got too close to a civilian was professionally mowed to the ground by withering rifle fire.

“Stay close to me, Lea,” her mirror twin said, also descending the steps. “Crisis, keep holding that door shut. Don’t let those guys out.”

“Don’t-- unph… gotta tell me-- oof… twice,” Crisis grew a few more feet in size and pushed with all her strength against the door as the skeletons within seemed to have all recovered and were pushing from the other side.

Lea Landau raised her racket in the air and began chanting what sounded like a magical spell. Lea watched in wonder as a group of clouds moved in, coalescing just under the draping foliage of the giant tree and forming an angry black mass of vapor. The wind began to pick up in speed, blowing everyone’s hair like pennons. In seconds, flashes of lightning began gathering in the small tempest.

The skeletons had been slowed in their progress by the firepower of the Deluran soldiers. Because of this they were now sitting ducks for the gathering storm. With no warning save for a clap of thunder, bolts of lightning lashed down at the ground from the black cloud. The effect was devastating! The skeletons were obliterated by the lightning bolts, their bones fragmenting into tiny scorched bits and their armor exploded into small chunks of twisted metal!

Lea took a step back from her mirror twin, both horrified and amazed at the power she wielded. Seeing herself summoning magic like some kind of wizard was stunning! She had never in a million years envisioned herself holding so much power!

It was while Lea was backing up that it happened. A pair of surprisingly strong hands came out of nowhere and grabbed her with inhuman speed. One hand clamped over her mouth to keep her from making a noise, the other arm wrapped around her torso, at the same time pinning her arms to her sides. With seemingly no effort at all she was lifted off the ground so that her legs could only flail in the air helplessly.

“Sorry about this, princess,” a man’s voice spoke into her left ear. “But you’re coming with me.”

Alarmed, Lea made a noise through the hand pressing her lips closed. Then, her stomach lurched as her abductor whirled around and began to make off with her away from the scene of the battle. She was being kidnapped!

Gods, no! Not when I was so close! Lea thought. Somebody help me! Crisis!!

*****

They gathered on the rooftop of the convent. Alastazia Lesona and her staff of forty-eight nuns of the Church of Saint Markie were surveying the growing calamity unfolding below. The city was under some kind of attack. Smoke was beginning to rise from scattered fires caused by the invaders. Screams of frightened women and children were punctuated by the sounds of battle as the city’s defenders scrambled to react to the sudden attack.

“Is there nothing we can do?” asked Celia, one of the few adult nuns close to Alastazia’s age. “The people down below need shelter.”

“No,” said the priestess sadly. “The cathedral is the only way into this convent, and it’s been overrun by those skeletons. No one here but me has the ability to fight, and I’m using all my power just to keep a barrier of protection up over this place.”

Alastazia had been walking toward the convent to check on her girls after her failed attempt to cure Lea’s curse, when a series of explosions caught her attention. They were coming from inside the cathedral. She was about to turn around and run back to see what had happened when a group of three skeletons jumped down from above. They stood in front of her, brandishing rusted long swords. They were dressed like Sagolian Military, but were obviously not living. Nor were they friendly. Alastazia dodged their attacks, then blasted them backward with a shot of purity magic from her scepter. To her horror, the skeletons reformed and started advancing again. From inside the church she could hear the sounds of gunfire and shattering glass.

It was then Alastazia made her decision. Between the Deluran soldiers and Crisis, Lea would be kept safe. Her responsibility was to her own people. She swept the skeletons away again and then darted inside the convent. She locked and barred the door, then quickly cast a spell to set up a holy barrier which would prevent any of these skeletons from getting close to the building. Luckily, all of her nuns were inside that day and she gathered them on the roof, still under the barrier’s protective dome, to see what was happening across the city.

It was not looking good. Alastazia forced herself to swallow the lump of guilt building in her throat. There had to be more she could do than simply sit here.

“Mother Lesona! Look!” one of her nuns pointed skyward.

Alastazia looked up and saw a Harpy familiar she knew circling above the convent.

“Priestess! Open up down there! Your sister wants to speak with you!” the harpy shouted.

Lesona shut her eyes and concentrated as a hole opened up at the apex of the magical dome. The harpy dipped her wings and dove into the opening. She came to a landing on the roof of the convent as the hole in the barrier closed behind her.

The harpy had long purple hair combed to a sheen and tumbling all the way to her hips. Her feathers were a colorful mix of brown, orange, and grey. She had piercing green eyes that looked down upon the nuns at her feet with a proud, confident demeanor. A set of gold colored pauldrons were fixed to her shoulders, connected to a burnished gold chest plate that bore the tree-like symbol of the city of Angkora; a gold circlet crowned her head; her wings were mounted with metal shielding that was honed to a sharp edge, enabling her to use her very wings as weapons in aerial combat; armored scutes and a plated battle kilt decorated her lower body. All of these things made up the harpy’s uniform.

“Isn’t that ‘Belletia, the Thunderbolt’?” asked one of the nuns.

“Indeed it is!” another one answered excitedly.

From Belletia’s backside, a lone soldier jumped to the ground. She too was female, and she bore a striking resemblance to Alastazia, though there were some differences. She had the same color golden eyes, but her hair was just a few shades darker blue than her younger sibling. She was dressed completely from head to toe in silver armor form-fitted to her feminine figure. At her waist was belted a pair of sabers, one on each hip. And her slightly broader shoulders and thicker arms spoke of a lifetime of training in the ways of battle.

“Onee-sama!” Lesona briefly lost all sense of decorum and dashed out from the crowd of nuns to hug her older sister.

“Alastazia-chan,” Celestia Lesona returned the hug. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

“That should be my line. You’re the one outside my barrier, in the line of danger,” Alastazia broke her embrace.

“Don’t worry about me. As long as I have Belletia by my side, I’m all but invincible,” Celestia looked up proudly at her mount. Belletia puffed out her chest and smirked. This particular harpy’s ego was as legendary as her battle prowess.

“I just swung by to see if everyone here was alright,” said Celestia, turning back to look at her sister.

“Everyone’s okay, but the church is overrun,” Alastazia said. “I take it you’ve met the enemy already?”

“Face to face,” Celestia nodded. “I was meeting with Captain Landau discussing civil defense, ironically enough, when all this happened.” The soldier gestured toward the chaotic city with her arm. “They struck several locations simultaneously and just started causing damage. They don’t seem to have a clear goal in mind other than mayhem. They’re easy enough to fight, but the problem is their endurance. Every time we knock one of them down they reassemble their bones and get right back up again.”

“I found that out for myself,” said Alastazia. “Whatever necromantic charm is driving these things, it’s giving them a relentless regenerative stamina.”

“I thought as much,” replied Celestia. “And the longer this situation goes on, the more it favors the skeletons, since we mortals can only die once and our endurance is considerably less prolonged. This wouldn’t even be an issue out in the open, but we’re fighting inside the city and none of the warrior familiars on the ground can grow to full size without causing more damage.”

“And because the enemy is so small, the Lightning Towers are worthless,” Belletia added bitterly. “Our defenses aren’t designed for an enemy like this!”

“It’s like our enemy knew exactly how to hit us,” said Alastazia.

“Perhaps, but like I said, the skeletons seem to have no singular goal in mind,” Celestia reminded her. “They only seem intent on causing mayhem. I’ve got the sneaking suspicion we’re missing something important.”

A rumble of thunder echoed across the sky, drawing everyone’s gaze upward. Dark clouds were gathering just below the lowest branches of Angkora Magnus. It was obviously not a natural storm. A point driven home with utter surety when they watched as lightning bolts lanced out from the thunderhead and seemed to focus their fury on one particular section of city block just on the other side of the church.

“I see Miss Landau has entered the fray,” Celestia remarked.

“Thank goodness she got out,” Alastazia said beneath her breath.

“Got out?” asked her sister.

“They were in the church when the attack began,” Alastazia explained. “Lady Landau, Crisis, and some Deluran Soldiers, along with a few civilians. Skeletons got inside the sanctuary and started battling them. I could hear their gunfire from the courtyard. I was unable to get through to them because a group of skeletons tried to force their way into the convent. I had no choice but to come back here and set up my barrier and hope that my friends got out on their own.”

It was clear from the priestess’ tone that she was ashamed of her actions. Celestia put a hand on her shoulder. “You did the right thing. Lady Landau and Crisis are warriors. Between those two and the Delurans they can take care of themselves. You chose to use your powers to protect your girls, who can’t protect themselves against swords. That was the wise choice.”

Belletia shifted restlessly. “Vice-captain Lesona, we’re wasting time. I want to get back out there and start crushing bones into dust!”

Alastazia hugged her sister again. “If you can clear the cathedral of enemies for me, perhaps we can start directing innocent bystanders into the convent so they can be protected by my barrier,” she said after breaking the hold.

Celestia smiled at her. “That’s a good plan. Belletia and I can take care of that. But that doesn’t solve our larger problem. You said there was some kind of enchantment powering these skeletons. Do you think you can undo it?”

Alastazia put a hand to her chin and thought for a moment. “I’d need to get pretty up close and personal to examine one of those things,” she said. “That would require immobilizing it long enough to study the coding of the spell. Even then there’s no guarantee I can decipher it.”

“It’s the best shot we’ve got,” said Celestia.

“Another thing. I can’t leave here and maintain the barrier around the convent,” the younger Lesona continued. “You’ll need to bring one back to me. Not the whole thing. Just a part of it will do. The skull should be enough.”

“So we clear the church of skeletons and bring you back a sample,” Belletia summed the plan up. “Just leave it all to me.”

Seconds later, Belletia and Celestia were soaring back outside Lesona’s barrier and circling over the top of the church. As they came over the front, they saw the battle on the street below. Crisis was holding the doors of the church shut, while Lea Landau and the Delurans were busily smashing skeletons to pieces and trying to keep them that way while civilians ran behind their defensive line and huddled in the pocket of safety they’d formed.

“Crisis is trying to keep the skeletons inside the church from getting out,” said Celestia, pointing with one of her drawn sabers. “Let’s lighten her load so she can do something more constructive, shall we?”

Belletia snorted. She didn’t particularly like Crisis, but Celestia did have a point. The naga was far more useful with her axe in her hand than serving as a doorstop. “As you wish,” she said, dipping her wings to circle around again so they could dive into the gaping hole in the roof of the cathedral.

*****

The lightning storm came to an end as every single skeleton soldier lay scattered in thousands of scorched chunks of bone on the pockmarked street. The Delurans lowered their weapons, but kept up their guard. The civilians who had been running from the skeletons just a moment before went up in a resounding cheer.

Lea Landau lowered her racket and sank to one knee on the ground. She felt spent, like she had just sprinted over a hundred yards. The fatigue was a side effect of using her magic to control the weather, but thankfully it was only temporary.

The people gathered around their savior to shower her with gratitude.

“Lady Landau! Thank you!”

“That was amazing!”

“Thank you so much!”

“What were those things? What’s going on?”

Lea climbed to her feet again and looked at the crowd. “I don’t know where these skeletons came from, or what they want,” she said. “But don’t worry. The defenders of this city won’t allow them to succeed!”

Anna watched the crowd shower Lea Landau with praise. She snorted. “I guess we Delurans are just chopped liver or something.”

Still, she had to admit that was some display of magic.

“Colonel, we’re almost out of ammo. We need to move now if we want to have enough firepower to fight our way back to Tech Town,” Major Durham reported to Anna.

Her eyes scanned the pockmarked street and observed no movement from the blackened chunks of bone still laying on the ground. Whatever that lightning storm had done, this group wasn’t getting back up.

“Tell the men to stand by,” said Anna. “We seem to be okay for the moment.”

Crisis, meanwhile, was still holding the church doors shut when a loud crashing noise inside the building caused her to tilt her head and lean her ear against the door. The unmistakable sounds of fighting could be heard from within. All at once the pressure of the skeletons pushing against the doors eased and faded away until Crisis was able to relax her hold. Somebody was inside the church, taking on the enemy themselves.

The commotion did not go unnoticed. Lea and Anna both looked toward the church and the racket going on inside.

“Yo, blondie! What’s that noise?!” Anna shouted to Crisis.

“I think somebody’s fighting in there,” Crisis took her hands off the door and turned around. “Should I take a look inside and maybe lend a hand?”

Suddenly the doors to the church burst open, nailing Crisis in the back of the head and knocking her halfway down the steps in a daze. However, instead of skeletons standing in the doorway, a giant purple-haired Harpy filled the threshold with her mass. She took a step forward and crushed a partially destroyed skeleton under the weight of her birdlike foot.

“Belletia!” Lea Landau stood up in surprise.

“In the feathers,” the harpy crowed, flexing her wings and grinning downward at the crowd. “Everyone out here can relax. The ‘thunderbolt’ has come to save the day!”

The crowd of civilians cheered again at the appearance of another one of Angkora’s well-known heroes.

Another skeleton went flying out in pieces between Belletia’s legs and a silver-armored female soldier with two sabers in her hands appeared in the gap. “Stop grand-standing, Belletia,” Celestia Lesona said. “We have to finish clearing out the sanctuary so we can get these civilians inside.”

“Right,” Belletia huffed. “I’m coming. Crisis, you wanna stop laying around and help us out?”

Crisis pushed herself upright, holding a large bump on her head from where the door had struck her. “Coming,” she said shakily, her eyes still swirling from the blow.

Lea Landau stood up, her strength nearly recovered. “Alright everyone. You heard the vice-captain. Once they’ve got the church cleared out, I want everyone to get inside and into the convent. Priestess Lesona will protect everyone who makes it there.”

“Thank you so much!”

“You have no idea what a relief it is to have you here!”

“You girls are amazing!”

“Go give ‘em hell, Lady Landau!” These were just some of the responses that emanated from the grateful crowd of civilians.

Anna holstered her pistols and stepped over to Lea Landau. “Lea, my men and I have to get back to Tech Town. You look like you’ve got things under control here.”

“Of course,” the weather mage replied. “You be careful.”

“Same to you,” Anna turned back to her men. “Alright boys, form up and protect the scientists! We’re going back to Tech Town, but we’ve got quite a few blocks between here and home base. We’re likely to encounter more enemies in that time, so remember to pick your shots carefully to conserve ammunition. We’re going to go by way of the River Street overpass. We might be able to avoid most of the worst areas if we travel the high road.”

Like a well-oiled machine, the Delurans did as they were told, forming up into a tight formation that kept the two Deluran scientists safely in the middle, then setting off down the street quickly, but cautiously. Their guns sweeping every alley and crevice along the way. Anna led the way, both pistols drawn.

Lea Landau watched the Delurans move out, impressed with their discipline. Anna was quite a grouch most of the time, but she sure ran her unit with amazing efficiency.

Inside the church, Crisis slammed her tail down on a group of skeletons, smashing them once again, then used her tail to sweep the pile of bones out the front door. She watched as they bounced down the steps. It seemed the further apart their bones were scattered, the longer it took the skeletons to reform and attack.

“That’s the last of them,” said Belletia. “They’ll start regenerating any minute, but at least they’re not in here anymore.”

Celestia Lesona bent down and picked up a skull laying on the floor. The skull moved its mouth and clicked its teeth together at the female knight, but otherwise was helpless to escape her grip.

“The two of you make sure those skeletons don’t piece themselves together, and start ferrying civilians through to the convent,” she told Crisis and Belletia. “I’m going to take this skull to my sister so she can get to work undoing the spell that’s making these things move.”

Crisis went outside and called out to the crowd: “Hey, everyone!  The church is clear, so you can start going in! Go quickly, but don’t trample over each other, okay?”

Lea Landau turned to watch as the crowd of civilians filed inside the Church of Saint Markie in a quick, but orderly fashion. Suddenly, she felt like she had forgotten about something very important. Her smile fading, she began looking around.

“Lara?”

Her eyes could not find her nearby, so she began searching the faces of the crowd of civilians for her Felaryan counterpart. The other Lea was suddenly nowhere to be found! No matter how hard she looked she could not find her.

“Lara?! Lara!” Lea Landau called out. Some in the crowd looked at Lea strangely, but nobody responded to the name.

A cold panic took hold of Lea’s chest as she swept her eyes out over the entire block. Where could she be? Wasn’t she just standing here with everyone else? Lea was pretty certain her twin wouldn’t simply wander off with all this chaos going on around them.

“Lara! Where are you!!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Crisis’ sharp ears caught Lea’s voice while she stood and watched the civilians crowding into the church. She looked down and saw her friend frantically looking around. Her face was pale and her expression filled with worry. Upon hearing her shouting the name Lara, Crisis began looking around also. It only took a few seconds to figure out the obvious.

The other Lea was gone!

*****

Kain had turned down a side street to cross over to another avenue with his struggling cargo. Lea was putting up one heck of a fight, thrashing and kicking for all she was worth. Occasionally some of her punches and kicks would find a tender spot, and Kain wished he knew how to grow larger so he could better control his hostage and move faster toward his goal.

Lea never stopped struggling. At one point she managed to wriggle her face free from his cupped hand and she bit down hard on Kain’s thumb. Kain yelped and dropped her reflexively. He looked at the bite mark on his hand and grimaced. The little pain in the neck had broken the skin!

Lea fell to the ground and made as if to get away, but Kain swept her legs from under her with his snake tail, then grabbed her by the ankle.

“HELP ME!!” Lea screamed, but passersby were too busy running away or trying to get indoors to care about her plight.

“Dammit, hold still! I don’t want to hurt you, but I’ll do it if it’ll make you come quietly, princess!” Kain shouted at her.

Lea glared at him over her shoulder. “Why do you keep calling me that, you idiot?!” she shouted back at him. Once she got her first good look at him, however, her anger gave way to surprise.

“Kain??”

“Whoa!” Kain was so surprised he let go of her ankle. “How do you know my name?”

“More importantly, why are you trying to kidnap me?” Lea clambered to her feet and put her hands on her hips in annoyance. “And just what are you doing naked?! Everyone else around here is wearing clothes!”

For some reason, Kain hadn’t thought of things like that until Lea pointed it out to him. Suddenly he looked around, feeling self-conscious in the middle of the city. He’d been nude since the day he came to this world and until now everyone around him had been naked too, so he had stopped thinking about it. Now he suddenly felt like he was in one of those weird dreams where he was naked in public.

“It’s… not by choice…” he stuttered, suddenly glad his male genitalia was retractable and not hanging out for every girl in the world to see. In the midst of trying to cover himself with his hands, his brain caught up with him.

“Wait a minute! You still haven’t answered my question. How do you know me?”

“It’s a long story,” Lea suddenly seemed very evasive. “Look, whatever it is you think you’re doing, just take me back to my friends and I promise I’ll overlook this.”

What a strange thing for her to say. She spoke to him, not like a kidnapper, but almost like a friend who had made some kind of mistake. And now that he actually focused on it, what a sweet voice this girl had. Kain almost couldn’t discern whether she was yelling at him or singing at him.

“No can do, princess,” Kain refused. “My boss wants a few words with you and if I go back empty handed there’ll be hell to pay.”

“Stop calling me princess!” Lea’s anger flared. “I’m not fucking royalty!”

“Okay! Okay! Geez!! It was just a figure of speech!” Kain threw up his hands in a warding gesture.

“And just who the hell is your boss?!”

Man, this chick didn’t let up, did she? “Black Vivian,” said Kain.

At least that shut her up. Kain took a little satisfaction in watching the color drain from Lea’s face. “Y-you work for her?” she asked fearfully.

“Yeah, you better be scared,” he blustered, looking to press the psychological advantage. “I don’t know what she wants you for, but believe me you don’t want to get on her bad side.”

Without warning, Lea turned and began sprinting up the street, away from Kain. He’d still been in the middle of gloating about his boss when she took off, and he was caught completely off-guard.

“He-HEY!!” he shouted.

Tanya, who had been watching this rather amusing exchange from a rooftop above them, watched as Lea made her escape, leaving this Kain fellow to look like a complete fool. The vampire rolled her eyes and decided to lend a hand. After all, she might get some of the blame if the girl got away.

Lea was looking over her shoulder to see if Kain was following her. The male naga was definitely giving chase. On her world, Kain was a friend of Anna, and by extension, an acquaintance of hers. On the occasions he came by the Giant Tree to visit, he seemed a nice enough fellow. Strangely, though he didn’t seem all that different on this world, he was apparently a willing servant of Black Vivian. Under other circumstances, Lea might just be curious enough to go along and meet Vivian herself. But she had to get back to the church and the portal. She had to get back to Felarya! She could only pray her one way home hadn’t been destroyed in that initial attack.

A movement caught Lea’s eye as she ran and she turned her head forward again to see a small robed figured had jumped to the ground in her path. Reflexively, Lea skidded to a halt. This was the one who had shot those fireballs into the church! There was no mistaking that shady outfit.

Red eyes and fangs glittered at Lea from under the cowl of the cloak. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Lea stepped back, her legs suddenly weak. “H-h-home,” she stammered. “I just want to go home!”

The girl reached up and flipped her hood back, revealing pink hair and the face of a child. However, this girl was clearly not human.

“I’m afraid not,” she said with wicked glee. “I destroyed the only means you had of leaving this world. You have no place left to go, so you might as well come with us.”

Lea’s heart felt as though it stopped beating as those words sunk in. She scarcely noticed Kain come up behind her and put his hands on her arms. All resistance had left her body as the despair of her only way home being gone forever gripped her chest.

“No… it can’t be,” she said weakly.

Tanya reached up and held an outstretched hand in front of Lea’s face. Lea’s eyes went blank as Tanya’s vampire magic hypnotized her into unconsciousness. She fell limply into Kain’s arms, her eyes open, but glazed over. She no longer could put up a struggle. Lea was theirs!

“Take her back to the loft,” said Tanya. “We don’t want any more delays.”

Kain slung Lea’s body over his shoulder. “What did you do to her?”

“She needed a nap. Don’t worry about it,” Tanya said. “Now go. By now her friends must have noticed she’s gone. And that means Crisis will be coming with a full head of steam in a matter of minutes if you don’t get moving.”

Kain turned around sharply and began scooting along as fast as he could go.

TO BE CONTINUED...