Stormblade 4 C31: War Games (3)

31 - War Games (3)

As we crashed through another vine-covered silver trellis-gate and entered the wooden palace high above, two things became clear.

First, the portal’s boss hadn’t fled.

Second, while this hadn’t been a trap portal, it had two bosses.

Hendren, the Silken King: A-Rank Monster

Koura, Voice of the Citadel: A-Rank Monster

Hendren stood tall, a long, curved blade at his hip and silver armor covering his body. Despite the gear, he looked fast and agile, and his eyes had narrowed into a glare. He said something to the robed, hooded Dark Citadel monster; she glowed a slight purple, and her ethereal robes ended in an almost phantom edge instead of in legs and boots. A book of scripts hung in one hand, and a light mace that emitted smoke rested in a ready position on her shoulder.

“That’s a Dark Citadel monster,” Sarah said, staring at it.

The Portal Tyrant nodded. “Agreed. Battle plan?”

Sarah blinked once, then started talking. “If the Dark Citadel monster gets rolling, she’ll snowball off her Scripts and Bindings. The team’s going to take her out. Bernard, can you handle the spellblade?”

“Yep,” the big tank said.

I cleared my throat. “I have close to full resources. Let me fight the king. You can bail me out when I’m done.”

“You’re sure?” Sarah asked.

“Yes. Absolutely.” This was a test, and I wasn’t going to fail it.

She nodded, and Nimbus Edge formed in my hand, clouds and lightning surging. I stepped off to the left side of the wide, checkerboarded ballroom, feet stepping on the white squares, and locked eyes with Hendren, the Silken King.

Truthfully, it wasn’t just hubris or stupidity powering me. It was something else. A burst of energy I’d seen as Hendren put his hand on his sword. He was a string mage just like most of the elven casters I’d seen—but he was more than that. As his aura lashed out, I smiled through the sudden wave of fear and darkness.

He was a shadow mage, too.

I needed that core for Ellen. An A-Rank shadow core would give Eugene exactly what he needed to fix her broken one.

The boss’s sword flashed out as he stepped onto the black squares. Dark energy swirled around it, and a whip of silk cracked as he snapped his off-hand toward me. It left dark afterimages in the air that exploded outward after a second.

I didn’t move. I was already in Mistwalk Forms, sword out and body sideways. As the whip lashed toward my face again, Nimbus Edge flicked up. The shadow whip cracked off it, and I took a single step back and to the right as shadow energy detonated where I’d been standing.

Hendren kept up the pressure. His whip outranged Nimbus Edge, but I didn’t press the attack. Instead, I forced the Silken King to follow me across the room, stepping back and weaving from side to side as he tried to snare me in explosion after shadowy explosion. I didn’t even bother parrying; I just used my feet and speed to avoid his attacks as the Rainfall Charges stacked up.

Then, as I stepped into the far corner of the room, Hendren smiled. His teeth were slightly pointed and covered in silver. He had me pinned, and the whip lashed toward me once more. There’d be no dodging this one.

Instead, I parried it, letting the silk wrap around Nimbus Edge. Then I let go of the blade altogether, feet kicking off the room’s wall, and unsummoned it.

It appeared back in my hand a moment later—without the whip attached to it. I hit the ground, spun, and came up in Cyclone stance.

Cloudburst. One of my Rainfall Charges vanished.

So did the whip as a quarter of the room went silent to all spells. I’d been dragging Hendren away from Sarah, Nathan, and the others the whole time; their fight raged around the throne as Koura floated mid-air, summoning hordes of monsters that the S-Rankers shredded in seconds.

They were fine. Better than fine; they’d have their half of the fight wrapped up the moment they decided to go all-in, and they were just waiting on me. Five S-Rankers were enough to handle an A-Rank boss in their sleep. I turned my attention to the A-Rank boss I was fighting.

He stared at me, eyes narrowing, then lunged. I stepped back one more time, then shifted stances as his sword-tip left a red-and-black gouge on the Stormsteel armor’s gauntlet. Rain-Slicked Blade consumed my second Rainfall Charge. Nimbus Edge lunged forward, leaving tufts of cloud and crackling lightning behind, and sank into Hendren’s armor. Blood erupted from the wound, then choked off as it cauterized shut.

I launched a second Rain-Slicked Blade right behind that one. This time, Hendren side-stepped. The blade punched into the floor, then through the black tile, and shadow energy poured out of it. I took three steps back to drag the boss away from the pool of growing darkness.

Thunderblade. My attacks rained down on Hendren as the cloud rapier punched through the air fast enough to leave tiny shockwaves behind. The elf’s curved saber was just as fast, though; Every blow found itself pushed off-target, and the boss even found the room to retaliate, forcing me back.

One step.

Two.

I hit the edge of the collapsing Cloudburst effect and switched stances again—back to Cyclone. Hendren didn’t see it for a crucial moment. Polarity Shift with Rolling Thunder, then Lightning Chain. I pulled the chain, ripping Hendren off his feet and jerking him toward me. A second Polarity Shift, copied with Rolling Thunder. His shadow sword lashed toward my face; I jerked back, but the blade cut a gash in my cheek. I spat blood. Another Polarity Shift. The Rolling Thunder had copied three of them.

All three went onto a single Thunder Crash.

The column of lightning that slammed into Hendren and the burst of thunder that followed blew out windows and rocked the whole palace on its tree trunk foundations. The boss’s body twitched as electricity poured across his silver armor. But he was still alive, still moving, and his sword lashed out right at me.

Stormkin Avatar erupted from my core, blocking the sword on his shield and jamming his blade into the boss’s stomach. Hendren whispered something. He stepped back, and the shadow whip re-formed—this time as a nine-tailed lash.

I braced myself. If Stormkin Avatar and my combo weren’t enough, my next play was Stormbreak. I’d exclude Sarah and Terrel, let them finish off the surviving boss, and—

A column of flame so large it blew through the palace’s wooden roof erupted around Hendren as the whip lashed toward my face. Three arrows crashed into the fire, and a hammer blow slammed down so hard it parted the inferno. The magic decayed even as it touched my already-parrying blade, and Hendren died before he could so much as scream.

Nathan’s phoenix form landed next to me, then fell away as the gigantic fire mage stared at the corpse. “You did well, Kade. If we’d let you, I think you might have won. But we’re not just here so you can show off. We’re here to clear the portal and get some levels on your skills. Mission accomplished, right?”

I nodded. But as his flame column broke up, I reached for the boss and came away with an A-Rank core. It sat in my hand, glowing an off-white and feeling like silk. It was the wrong type of core—not a shadow core at all. I’d been so close, but in the end, it hadn’t mattered.

“Not happy with that one, huh?” Sarah asked. She winked. “That’s fine. Koura had something interesting on her. Normally, I’d hang on to it as evidence that something fishy was happening in this portal, but the GC…how do I say this politely?”

“You don’t,” Nathan grumbled.

“Right.” Sarah bowed his way theatrically—and sarcastically. “The GC has no jurisdiction over S-Rankers. Not really. We do what we want. Sometimes, that lines up with GC goals. But not always. So, politely, Mr. Councilman…”

“Screw me, right?” Nathan asked. Sarah stared at him seriously, and his face split in a grin. “Just give the damn thing to him.”

Sarah grinned back, then turned to me. “Koura didn’t have a boss core. She wasn’t a boss monster at all. But she did have something interesting. I’d be willing to trade it for that silk core you’ve got. The power in an A-Rank core is more valuable to me than this thing, but I think you’d feel the opposite.”

“What is it?” I asked. She was right, though. The A-Rank core in my hand was essentially worthless to me. It wasn’t the correct thing for Ellen, so all it represented was money. A lot of money, to be fair, but money wouldn’t get Ellen back in the fight.

Sarah’s hand opened, revealing a tiny marble the size of her pinky’s fingernail. It swirled with multicolored energy, but a soft green dominated the other tones. She handed it to me, and a blue-white took over almost as soon as it touched my skin. “This? I have no idea.”

◄▼►

We didn’t leave the portal world until the timer ticked down to zero.

Instead, we searched King Hendren’s palace.

It was a brutal process. Where there were locked doors, we knocked them down or cut them off their hinges. Drawers and chests were ripped open, and by the time we were finished, the palace was ablaze and in ruins. But Koura had been there—and if Koura had been there, the Dark Citadel was still active outside of the Ghostmarket. I wanted evidence, and so did Nathan Anders.

We didn’t find any, though. Koura’s body and spellbook were all we had—that, and the object I’d traded an A-Rank core for.

It was obviously a core. It had to be. But at the same time, it felt like only one core I’d ever encountered before—the moonlight core that opened a portal to the Crone’s world. That core was in my sister’s possession now, but the Governing Council was using it more than she was at this point.

More importantly, while we’d stumbled on a way to use that one, I didn’t have a good first step in activating the core in my hand. As the portal collapsed and we climbed onto the helicopter for our return trip, I pondered the tiny orb.

Its colors shifted—they were dominated by the blue-white tone it had picked up the second it touched me, but there were angry reds, deep purples, and bright yellows in there, too. It wasn’t warm or cool to the touch; instead, it felt perfectly room temperature. I tried to understand it, but had nothing.

I worked on the puzzle that was the strange core the whole flight, but it wasn’t until we got back to the S-Rankers’ training facility and got off the helicopter that Sarah pulled me aside. “Come with me.”

I nodded and followed her across the sparring room and into one of the side doors. It led to a long hall with a dozen doors branching off from it on either side—an apartment complex. “Your room’s third from the left. It’s probably not as nice as your guild building, but it’s got a couple of key advantages. For one thing, access to the S-Rank facility.”

“Thanks,” I said, and took the key card from her. I walked to the room, scanned in, then stared at the space. It was small—a full bed, a desk and chair, and a bathroom off to the side. But as I looked around, I noticed something. “Portal metal walls?”

“Yep. They’re a full two feet thick. The door’s the ‘weak point,’ and it’s built out of similar stuff to the Wall’s gates. Terrel or Bernard could break in, but it’d take them ten minutes or so. As for the rest of us? An hour?” Sarah grinned. “It’s also got cell reception and connections to the Phoenix internet, so you can stay in touch with your friends.”

“Thanks,” I said.

She nodded. “No problem. If you need anything, give me a call. I’m heading up to the surface to check in on patients. Yes, including Ellen. Want me to tell her anything?”

“No. I’ll text her.” I started to say goodbye, but a thought hit me. “If you’re leaving, I’m not stuck here, am I?”

Sarah paused. “Technically, no. But…look, Kade, you’re strong for an A-Ranker, but if I had to put money down, I’d take at least three members of this team over you in a fight. You might be able to beat Hugo if you got in close, and Bernard would have trouble, but the rest of us could kill you. Yes, even me. We need you as strong as you can get before we go. That means that you need to put in the work. Every minute you’re not here is a minute you’re not training or catching up. So, yeah, you can leave any time. But don’t leave just to go see your girl, okay? Try to have a good reason.”

I nodded. “I understand. Thanks.”

“No problem.” The door shut, and I was alone.

My phone was out a second later. There were new messages; I went to Ellen’s first.

Ellen: Hey, Kade. Missing you here. Lots of meditating and focusing on my core. Slow going, though. Call me when you can.

Kade: Will do. Just cleared an A-Rank portal. Going to recover for a bit, then work out. That’s most of what we’re doing.

While I waited for a reply, I scrolled down to the next message on the list.

Jeff: If you’re available, Raul’s service will be at San Xavier, down south of Phoenix, two days from now. We’ve got permission from the Iron Falcons to go there. Apparently, Raul’s family was their people. If you can escape whatever cell they’ve got you locked in, we’d like to have you there.

Jeff: Details attached. Try to look respectable—this one’s not a casual event like with Carlos.

Jeff: Let me know.

I sighed. Unlike Carlos’s death, Raul’s had had nothing to do with me. He’d died in the line of duty, just like the archer from that trap portal so long ago. But…I couldn’t leave Jeff hanging on this.

Kade: Hi, Jeff. I’ll be there. I’ll have Ellen grab my suit. I don’t want to lose too much time training. I’m behind compared to these guys.

Jeff: Got it. Glad you’re not a prisoner wherever you are. Anything else you need? We can get it to you when we meet up.

Kade: No. I think the suit’s it.

I sent the message. Then I thought about it for a while, the multicolored core resting on the bed next to me. I needed help figuring out this core—and there was only one person to talk to about it. While I was at it, I could try to kill two birds with one stone.

Kade: Actually, can you bring that core I gave you? I have an idea.