Their plan made sense. If the masters had no form of food to sustain them through the welding, then no welding today.
Of course, they had to sacrifice their own people to achieve their goal. And not just kill thempeople didnt die in Nekrolbut eat them.
I had limited sympathy for these idiots who believed the masters were going to bestow so kind of spiritual enlightennt on them, but that didnt make it any easier to watch them being slaughtered. And I had seen the weretics in action before, the others hadnt (at least, not in this tiline).
Jenny gripped my arm so tightly it hurt. Claire had turned away in horror while Maurice watched slack-jawed. Flossie had her head buried in Dudleys chest and whimpered while Dudley buried his head in the top of her curly hair, also whimpering.
The weretics, grotesquely misshapen and more monstrous in appearance than any of the masters, waded through the crowd, claws slashing and teeth taking chunks out of whatever they managed to grab.
Those who fought back were torn to pieces. Those who ran were pounced on and ripped apart. Limbs were tossed around like chicken legs at a dieval banquet, and t the sa fate.
We had witnessed many unpleasant scenes in our ti as adventurers. We had killed and eaten animals ourselves and werent the sa squeamish kids wed been when we first arrived. But this was different. This was a massacre.
How can you do this? asked Claire in barely a whisper. Youre supposed to save them.
We are saving them, said David, sounding unbearably smug. Not these ones in particular, but the rest will be able to live on in peace and safety because of their sacrifice.
He did have a point. Sotis the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the expendable.
Claires face was paler than Id ever seen it. She looked grey. This is wrong. This is murder. You planned it all along but I didnt see it. I shouldve seen it. She turned to . She didnt say anything, but her eyes were brimming with tears. What the fuck did she expect to do?
Slowly, but with a kind of inevitability, every one of my party turned to look at .
What? If they want to kill their own people, thats up to them. They were going to die anyway.
They didnt respond to this inarguable logic, but they continued to give the eye. Nice try, but your mind tricks wont work on , boy.
Once there is no one left for the masters to feed on, they will wither away, turn back to fairy dust or whatever it is theyre made of. David was positively gleeful at the prospect.
But theres no need for all these people to die, said Claire. We already arranged it with the golems. They were going to take care of the masters.
Pah, said David. You really believe they would turn against their creators? We cant rely on them. And if youre right, if they do what they promised, weve made it even easier for them. Theres no downside.
As a firm believer in belt and braces, I couldnt fault him. A plan with built-in redundancy, what could be better?
The screaming had lessened as the body count increased. The hulking weretics road their killing ground, grazing like cattle.
The Palace gates opened, probably expecting the tributes to file in. There were no tributes left.
It will begin soon, said David with a sneer. The death throes of the masters. They will finally know what it ans to die.
Mandy, who had been watching the mayhem with her hand over her mouth, partly in shock, partly to stop herself throwing up, spun around. What about Cheng?
All of them will die tonight, said David. All of them.
No! scread Mandy. She turned and ran but Phil jumped in front of her.
Sorry, babe, cant let you spoilt the party.
So beautiful won use their looks and their physicality (by which I an boobs) to get n to do what they want. They are manipulative, devious and completely consud by their own self-interest. They stalk the dark recesses of nightclubs, looking for football players to feed on.
But there is another type of woman (sotis its the sa woman at another ti in her life) who is driven by sothing more pure. The love for soone you consider more important than anything else. That kind of woman is far more dangerous, and willing to go to places beyond sense or reason.
Mandy didnt even break stride. She bent her knee to get lower and punched Phil in the balls so hard every guy in the arena buckled at the waist, even the ones not looking in this direction.
Mandy ran past him as he collapsed.
David drew a knife from his belt and lifted it to throw but it was knocked from his hand as Claire hurled herself at him.
He stumbled back and scread, Stop her! Then he turned back to Claire. You stupid bitch! He slapped her with the back of his hand, knocking her to the ground.
Mandy skirted around the side of the arena, already at the exit by the ti the weretics noticed her and heard David call out. The two who were nearest discarded the bones they were gnawing on to give chase. Rather than follow her through the exit, they leaped high into the stands and then over the wall.
She had very little chance of outrunning them, and even if she could, what good would it do? All shed do was be there when Cheng died.
Maurice had rushed to help Claire up. She had a bleeding lip but seed okay otherwise. She whispered sothing in his ear and held onto him.
David had drawn his sword, but no one made a move towards him. He was a far better swordsman than any of us, for a start.
That was pointless, said David. She wont get very far. He may have been right, but then again, it wasnt wise to underestimate what a clingy girlfriend was capable of.
You realise, I said, once you destroy the masters, the barrier will co down and everything will die. I looked up at the blank sky over us. This world is already dood, getting rid of the masters wont change anything.
There was a loud moan. Phil was crouched with his forehead touching the ground like he was praying to cca. We all ignored him.
We dont intend on staying here, said David. They planned to use this final welding to open a portal. Yuqi has it all worked out. We will finally leave this shitty world and its all thanks to you. You really have done us a great favour.
But if you stopped the welding, how will you open the portal? I asked him.
Theyre going to use us as sacrifices, said Claire. She was glaring at David so hard he was forced to look away.
Good guess, said David. We need a way to open the portal, and you people have just the right amount of concentrated power. Like I said, its all thanks to you. Or it will be. He smiled.
You know, I could see his point and I didnt bla him for considering us batteries for his escape capsule, but the smile really pissed off. The only thing worse than a sore loser is a sore winner.
I guess we have to do it this the hard way, said Jenny. She had her knife drawn.
Normally, I would object to my own death, but it really didnt seem like there was another option. Dying was becoming a bit of a habit. At least this ti I knew who was on which team.
She brought up the blade, ready to plunge it into .
There was a thump behind us and the dagger was knocked from her grasp by a massive, taloned hand. A weretic had crept up on us and pounced when Jenny tried to send into the past.
Do you really think wed let you go back? said David rather haughtily. We havent co this far just so you can ruin everything. You wont die. Ever.
He held up a small vial of blue liquid.
Once you drink this, you will take Yuqis place and she will co back to . He sounded quite choked up at the prospect.
Where did you get that? I realised he was threatening with an eternity imprisoned in the void, but I was still curious. If he had the fluid that had put Yuqi under, did that an he was the one who betrayed her in the first place?
It was in the treasury, he said. Maybe he was lying. And it truly was a treasure worth finding. You wont be changing any of whats happened here.
Claire ran at . She had a knife in her hand, pointed a little higher than my heart. She seed to be working off instinct, and possibly a deep-seated desire to stab in the face.
She didnt get more than a few steps towards before a large figure pounced on her, like a cat on a mouse. The weretic grabbed her around the waist and lowered its unhinged jaw over her head and down until her top half was completely covered. And then SNAP!
When the weretic lifted its head, there were just two legs left. They toppled over.
You dont learn, do you? said David with a shake of his head. Id always said the sa thing about Claire. and David seed to have a lot in common. Probably why I disliked him so much.
Now, said David, you can continue to
There was a thundering roar. It emanated from the Palace and shook the amphitheatre to the point parts of it fell off. The weretics all stopped and looked to the arena entrance. A few seconds later a figure appeared, flying at great speed.
It was Cheng, but no longer the multi-eyed, hippo-faced monster he had been. Now he looked like the young boy I had t back in Monsterland. Only bigger. And stronger. And with spikes for hands. He had wings like his father. His skin had the texture of granite. In fact, there were nurous aspects of the other masters combined into his body.
I didnt know what had happened, but my guess was so welding had taken place.
He swooped around the arena, slashing and stabbing at the weretics, destroying them with ease.
What has she done! wailed David.
So people never learn, but I am not one of them. When I see soone use an effective technique, Im happy to adapt my own approach.
I stepped forward, bent at the knee, and punched David in the balls as hard as I could. You dont really need to put extra force into that kind of blow, but who doesnt appreciate a little extra value?
David crumpled into a heap.
Cheng made short work of the weretics. They were large and strong, but Cheng was larger and stronger. Plus, he was majorly pissed off. Majorly.
He didnt just slice them up, he tore them to pieces and breathed fire on the remains (thats right, fucker breathed fire now) until all that was left were a lot of charcoal briquettes.
I picked up the sword David had dropped when he decided it was more important to hold onto what was left of his testicles instead. I admit, its not a very honourable way to fight another man, and you may think less of for doing sothing so underhand, but Im fine with it. Fuck the bro code, bro.
I also picked up the vial of blue liquid. It shimred and rolled around like it was alive. I needed to make sure it didnt end up in the wrong hands, which were any hands that didnt belong to . One Jester was more than enough.
Cheng landed beside us, his face a mixture of grief and rage. She sacrificed herself to save .
I assud he ant Mandy.
She gave herself to so I might survive the welding.
I told you, clingy girlfriends, theyll track you down no matter where you go.
Him and Maurice made quite the pair. Both were wearing expressions of utter despair and loss. Maurice had just been standing over what was left of Claire in shock. Id always considered her the pri example of Nice legs, sha about the face. True now more than ever. I didnt say that out loud because it might have been taken as insensitive.
I dont know what all you lot are so glum about. Now that we know what these two fuckwits were up to both Phil and David were still on the floor, searching for their balls I can just go back and fix things. I was hoping to not have to make the trip again, but I think Ive got the shortcuts down.
No, said Maurice. She made us promise.
They were the first words hed spoken since Claire had bitten it (or been bitten, to be more accurate). I wasnt entirely sure what he ant.
Claire made you promise?
Maurice spoke quietly, but each word seed imnsely loud. Or maybe just heavy with sincerity. Not sothing Id know much about.
She said if only one of us died, we shouldnt make you go back. It was asking too much of you. We had to go on and take the loss as the price we paid for relying on you so much. She said... His words drifted away as tears fell from his eyes.
I looked around at the others. Really? And you all feel this way?
There were tears in all their eyes, but they nodded.
Jenny placed her hand on my arm. We talked about it a lot. She honestly believed it was for the best. Jenny kissed my cheek very gently. Its what she would have wanted.
They genuinely wanted to honour Claires wishes, even though they all desperately wanted to bring her back. Perhaps thats what it ans to truly love and respect soone. If youre a fucking idiot.
Well, then let say a few words by way of eulogy. I took a breath to collect my thoughts. Fuck you, Claire. You aint the boss of . I turned the sword inwards so it pointed at my chest and fell forward.
The hilt hit the ground and drove the blade through . I really didnt want to die again, but no girl was going to tell what to do.
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