The Eyes of a Doll (The World of Shijuren Book 2) (15 page)

I heard a crunch and felt my sword chop into the body. The creature tried to continue attacking, but after an initial step it slumped down, pulling my sword with it. I cleared my sword as quickly as I could and simply waved it in front of my shield to create some sort of threat.

I need not have bothered. My initial charge had succeeded, and struggling to get out of a crumpled heap were the two other figures. I stepped quickly and slashed downward on one of them, following with a quick stab at the one at the bottom of the pile.

Over my back I felt something whirr past. I turned to look to my right and saw a fourth figure about to stab me with a rusty sword. A quivering hilt stood out from its throat.

I made sure the others were dead and took a ragged breath.

Sebastijan was pulling his dagger from the fourth attacker’s body. I nodded my thanks.

He shrugged, looking at his dagger oddly. “No blood.”

I looked at my sword. “I have no blood either.”

Katarina opened up the lantern completely. “Look at what you have slain.”

Sebastijan and I looked in horror at the bodies before us. Emaciated skin wrapped taut over bones. Their limbs seemed slightly longer than normal, though their prominent ribs and torsos seemed smaller.

“They’re not human,” he rasped.

“They were. They’ve been fed with anger, and naught else, for at least two thousand years.”

“Ever since the lord of this castle left,” I whispered in awe.

“Ever since the lord of this castle left,” she confirmed. “These were his servants. They still keep his tower clean.”

I shook my head while she continued.

“These are the tower’s guardians, for the most part. They are filled with hate, but little in the way of a threat to you.”

“For the most part?”

She nodded. “Three floors below us the amulet awaits. There, also, is the greatest servant of the lord of this place.”

“Who has also survived only on hate?”

She shook her head. “Not like you are thinking. All of the hate here is his, and somehow he has survived and fed off of the amulet.”

“How?”

“Only the Giants would know.”

I sighed.

“So the texts are true.”

She nodded.

Sebastijan looked at us irritably.

“What texts? And why are we waiting here? This is not an outfit to go dancing in.”

“Every ancient text around the world that talks of the Giants agrees on one thing. The Giants used us to test their theories, twisting our minds and bodies for their pleasure or edification.”

“Every child knows the Giants were evil. Every child hears the stories how they abused us.”

I nodded. “Those are the myths we learned as children. Katarina speaks of the truths we fear as adults.”

Katarina nodded. “The creature below was once a man, but we will not recognize him as such. Do not think that you have slain him until he is truly dead.”

“How will we know?”

Katarina shrugged. “I don’t know myself.”

Sebastijan threw arms weighted with lead into the air and ranted at our insanity. I shrugged at Katarina and started off. He was not wrong.

The stairs to the level below were immediately to our right. Though only about my height in width, they were plenty wide to allow me to step downward with Katarina at my side, shining a beam ahead of us.

Again, as we reached the bottom, we were rushed by several figures. This time they could only attack in a file, and I stepped up to work.

I chose to hold my shield low and cover my legs. In this light I could not see shots coming from every angle, so I focused on defending with my sword where my eyes had the best field of vision.

The first attacker swung some sort of rod at me. Its swing, though vicious, was inept, and I sliced through its arm with a small sweep to my left. That sweep left me in position to follow through in a strike at its neck, and my blade swept through wasted tendons and bones like they barely existed.

It crumpled to the floor and was immediately followed by another figure of hate and empty eyes. With my blade in front of me after my slash through the first one’s neck, I simply extended my arm and twisted the blade, placing the point directly through its nose.

I pulled my sword back and collected myself. The third and fourth assailants had to clamber over the first two bodies to reach me, which left them both vulnerable to quick chopping slashes.

My breath came out in gasps as I saw the way in front of me clear. I nearly panicked, though, as another body fell past me. I looked up and saw that two more from the floor above had attacked Sebastijan.

I chuckled. Sebastijan would not regret that lead-lined tunic quite so much, judging by the straight crease in the plates along his left side where a rod hadhammered into him
.
We looked at each other and nodded, catching our breath. No harm done so far.

We had to cross the room to find the stairs leading down. I thought I saw shadows moving and might have heard scraping, but nothing attacked us immediately.

We turned to the stairs, but in that moment Katarina let out a yelp and suddenly I felt every bit of the Bardheküülle’s rage. I lashed out at the arm that had grabbed Katarina and disturbed her shielding. Sebastijan lashed out as well, and for a brief moment we hacked with no skill but all that rage at the three servants attacking us.

When Katarina regained control of her shield, Sebastijan and I stood there, swords raised at each other with broken pieces of what had once been men between us. We shuddered.

Even Katarina’s giggle wavered. “Isn’t this fun?”

Sebastijan and I shook our heads and turned back to the stairs downward. They led to a small enclosed landing with doors on all sides. Katarina pointed to another door, hidden by the steps coming down.

“Through this door, down the steps, and we will be in the main laboratory of the tower’s owner.”

“Where the guardian lives.”

She nodded.

“Will it attack us immediately?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think it is tethered to the amulet in some way.”

“Tethered?”

“I can’t think of a better word. It only walks a short distance from the amulet. Most of the laboratory is set up away from it, perhaps because it would destroy the equipment. Perhaps because it has to stay close to feed. I don’t know.”

I started to open the door.

“Wait. One more thing. The power of the amulet is immense. Edward, as you fight the guardian you will feel the amulet sap your energy. Do not get close to the amulet if you can avoid it. Dart in and out so you stay as far away as you can.”

“Whereas I can get close.”

She nodded at Sebastijan. “With the hood on, you can stay close for a time. You’ll feel its effects eventually.”

“Should I grab the amulet when I can?”

“Edward, give him the box.”

I lifted the bag with the lead-lined box and handed it to Sebastijan.

“If you can get the amulet, place it inside, and close the box, then yes, grab the amulet. Otherwise, do not move it. I suppose I don’t need to tell you not to touch it without the gauntlet.”

Sebastijan glared at her.

“Don’t grab it if you can’t get it into the box quickly, though. We do not want to have the amulet moving with its power unshielded while we are dealing with the guardian. Let’s keep it tethered to a range we know and can measure. However, if you can get the amulet in the box do so, for once there, the box’s shielding will prevent the amulet from feeding the guardian.”

She chuckled. “And once it’s in the box you can remove your tunic, gauntlet, and hood.”

Sebastijan grunted. “I will try and lead the guardian from the amulet.”

“Remember, he cannot go far.”

I nodded. “Are we ready?”

We took a firm grasp of our weapons and a final breath, and I pushed open the door.

As we started down the stairs Katarina removed the shutters from the lantern and raised the wick to provide the brightest illumination she could.

I almost wished she had not, for as I came down the stairs I saw a gray monstrosity step forward from a pedestal. A different gray something that seemed to absorb light sat on a black cloth atop the pedestal.

The monstrosity prowled up to its limit, and as we approached, I could see the guardian better and better.

That was not necessarily a good thing.

The guardian shone like the leaden gauntlet, with a dirty, dusty gleam that made me feel unclean.

Worse, the creature’s master had done things to the body, and what had once been a man in form was barely recognizable as such.

Arms had been added to the creature. Two shorter arms led from the bottom of its ribcage and ended in keen spikes. Above its head two more arms waved, ending in what appeared to be maces. Its real hands grasped square shields, small enough not to get in his way, but large enough that I would have to work to find ways past them.

I stepped slowly to my right, approaching with my shield raised and my sword held horizontal above it. I stared at the guardian between them.

Katarina approached with me, lantern held high. I could hear her fatigue in her breath.

Sebastijan had slid to the left when he saw my approach. Now he kept flanking the creature.

The creature welcomed my challenge, ignoring Sebastijan for the moment.

The leaden tunic limited some of Sebastijan’s skill, but he could hardly fail to miss an exposed back at but twenty feet or so. I saw him reach into his bandolier and let loose with one of his short knives.

The knife did not really hurt the creature, but it reacted as the blade entered his back. I took advantage of the distraction to leap forward and slash downward at its left leg with all my might. I connected solidly, but unlike the other creatures in the Bardheküülle, the flesh and bone of this creature stood firm. I could feel a bone break, but not the cleaving strike I had hoped for.

Then the monster reacted far quicker than I expected. It drove my shield into me with a backward slash of a mace-like arm. The power of that blow sent me back crashing into a table of equipment. Fortunately, it had driven me far enough away from the amulet, for had I remained in range I would have easily died under its blows.

Sebastijan darted toward the amulet, but the guardian moved to block him. At least our gambit had hurt it, for I could see it favoring the broken leg.

As Sebastijan backed out of range, I prepared to re-engage the creature. Sebastijan caught my glance, nodded, and threw another dagger.

The creature, though wounded, shifted slightly to avoid the thrown blade.

I had already committed to my attack, leading point-first in hopes of striking the meaty portion where a right mace-arm had been grafted to its shoulder. I connected, but a sharp jab from its pointed arms and a swipe with its shield knocked me down. I scrambled away just as its left mace-arm crashed into the stone floor where I had been.

My breath came out in gasps, but there was no help for it. I got back up.

Sebastijan tried again. This time, the creature simply turned his back to the knife, ignoring the bite so it could smash its left mace-arm downward just as I entered range.

I got my shield up, and the heavy ash shield that had served me so well for nearly a decade shattered. Fortunately, my arm did not shatter with it. I fell backwards out of range with but the boss and splinters dangling from my left arm. My left shoulder and arm went numb and I dropped the boss to the ground.

Time to change tactics.

I waved at Sebastijan, who put the amulet between himself and the creature.

I jumped in with sword stabbing for its left thigh. Since I jumped back almost immediately, I escaped the mace-arm crashing downward.

My stabs had drawn a seeping of viscous blood from each wound, and the right mace-arm had flailed somewhat weakly and out of control since I had stabbed under that joint. I decided to continue with stabbing instead of slashing.

This time I leapt only a half-jump forward, following immediately with another. The feint worked perfectly. The creature smashed down with its left mace-arm where it thought I would be, exposing that arm to a deep jab from my sword. It screeched in pain.

Unfortunately, I had stabbed too deeply and as it recoiled, it yanked my sword out of my hand. The blade remained in its arm, hampering it further.

It dropped its right-hand shield to pull my sword out. At that, I jumped in and shoved my saex its right arm before immediately leaping back. Still, one of his pointed arms ripped through my scale and slightly into my side.

“Sevener?”

“No need to worry, Katarina. I’m but scratched.”

“Excellent.”

She paused.

“You have hurt him.”

“Yes, but how much?”

The creature stood, three of its arms bleeding slowly and attacking awkwardly. The wounds in its right leg seemed to be slowing it down, at least in conjunction with the broken left leg.