The team ran deeper through the catacombs, into a corridor made of bone. They saw two dots glowing red ahead of them.
Ex Vis stopped. “What in the name of Trishella’s tits is that...?”
In the darkness, eyes burned like hot coals. A mostly human shape moved forward. Hairless, mottled, decaying flesh drawn tight around visible bone. Cracked, jagged teeth grinned between a weeping, pus-filled mouth.
A Ghoul.
The Ghoul blurred toward the team faster than a thought. Its broken teeth ripped Druveus’s throat open.
Druveus raised a dying hand. Light pulsed.
A blast of magic tossed the Ghoul off. It flew through the air.
“No!!” Omazz screamed.
The team fought the Ghoul. Omazz held her dying mentor. “Don’t... No...”
Druveus weakly held Omazz’s shoulder. He handed her his staff. “Yours...”
His eyes closed, and he was gone forever. The small hourglass tumbled out of his other hand.
Omazz pulled out a healing potion and tried to pour it into Druveus’s mouth. No good—he was far too gone.
A tear dripped down Omazz’s cheek. Sadness turned to rage.
Omazz grabbed the small hourglass and pocketed it. She rose with fury, held out the staff, and hurled a bolt of lightning at the Ghoul, burning a hole through its chest.
This only pissed it off.
The Ghoul pulsed forward and kicked Omazz in the chest, knocking her back into the wall.
The Ghoul dashed toward Korr. It swung its sharp fingernails at the barbarian’s throat. Korr shifted his shoulders and head back, barely dodging the attack and saving his life.
A volley of arrows landed in the Ghoul’s back. Ex Vis kept firing.
Nimbus chanted. Light formed around him, but—
The Ghoul pulsed forward. It stabbed its fingernails into Nimbus’s stomach. Nimbus yelled out in agony as dark energy flowed into his guts.
“It’s me, Nimbus. It’s always me.”
“Minos. No...”
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“I remember when you used to hate the humans.”
“Not. Any. More!” He struggled, but the darkness continued to spread.
Alessia swung her sword down to cut the Ghoul’s hand off, but it caught her arm.
Snap! The Ghoul tossed Alessia like a rag doll by her broken arm. It head-butted Korr—breaking his nose open.
The barbarian shouted, “I’m gonna blood rage.”
“No. Wait!” Alessia shouted.
Alessia set her teeth. She charged forward, holding her shield in front with her good arm, and crashed into the Ghoul, knocking it prone.
Omazz slammed her new staff down, casting a spell. Magical chains wrapped around the Ghoul, binding it with electrical shackles.
Alessia—panting for breath—walked forward.
She bashed the point of her shield down on the Ghoul’s neck, sending blood spurting everywhere, decapitating it.
Before the team could even catch their breath, Alessia growled, “We need to move.”
They marched fast together.
“What he said...” Landar ventured. “About you hating humans...”
Nimbus strained to speak, his stomach shredded from the attack. “Don’t listen to him. He’s a damn demon ghoul.”
Nimbus saw a room. “This way.”
They ran into an antechamber in the crypt. They looked into the darkness. Dozens of red eyes peered back at them.
Korr pushed a huge door with all his might. “For the love of gods...”
He grunted harder, slamming it shut.
“We’re not prepared for this,” Ex Vis said.
Alessia poured a healing potion over her arm. It began to heal. Painfully.
She looked at the empty vial.
Landar looked at Nimbus’s wound. Based on Landar’s reaction, Alessia checked too.
“Shit.”
Nimbus coughed. “I can finish the mission.”
“Give him a healing potion,” Ex Vis said.
“Can’t heal an angel,” Landar said.
The bunny’s ears shot straight up. “Why not?”
Landar yelled at the bunny, “They’re. Not. Alive.”
“Well how the Hells am I supposed to know that?!”
“Okay, okay,” Korr said. “If there was ever a time to call for backup from Heaven, now would be it.”
Ex Vis nodded. “Yeah, let the gods know what’s happening. Rone, Lanwedar, Trishella—any of them!”
Everyone looked at Nimbus. He took a moment, then finally said, “Heaven doesn’t know we’re here.”
Everyone freaked out except Alessia. He’d just confirmed her suspicion.
Ex Vis yelled, “How the fuck do they not know you’re down here?”
Nimbus looked shellshocked, lost in thought. “My position in Heaven was... Well, it was tenuous. I made some mistakes.”
“I can’t fucking believe this,” Ex Vis shouted.
“You lied to us,” Korr said.
“The gods... didn’t feel humanity warranted saving.”
“They... They gave up on us?” Landar said.
“You gave up on us,” Alessia said.
“I made mistakes. I was trying to make up for them. Get back into the light.”
“So we’re completely screwed,” Ex Vis said.
Enemies slammed into the wall. Nimbus looked defeated, almost comatose.
“Time to bail,” Korr said.
“We can’t quit,” Landar said.
Korr said, “We don’t have a choice.”
Landar put his hand out, hitting almost every word as he spoke. “If we fight our way through—finish the mission—close the hole to hell, we can walk out of here.”
“I don’t know if you noticed,” Ex Vis said, “but our wizard is dead.”
Landar turned to Omazz. “Omazz, can you do it?”
“...Maybe?”
“See?”
Ex Vis laughed. “You wanna risk our lives on a maybe.”
“It’s all we’ve got,” Landar said.
“It’s crazy,” Ex Vis said.
“Alessia, what do you think?” Korr asked.
She looked lost in thought. “I... I don’t know...” She trailed off, shaking her head.
“That fire had nothing to do with the undead,” Landar said. “That was the little girl. You. What is going on?”
Alessia looked down. She seemed defeated.
“Tell me.”
A tear rolled down Alessia’s cheek. “I was an orphan before I could remember.”