Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

Chapter 84: The Mages' Battle

"What do you mean Nithercott's creatures?" Kommora snapped. Loren Rummage never told her of this. She knew to keep a close on eye on Seiren Nithercott.

"We saw them on our way back from Acrise," said Southwark, his face pale. "She said the Hannans used them to breach Acrise. They were her human experiments when she undertook Council-approved research in Bicknor. We managed to kill a few, but they're pretty hardy -- the modified runes are infused into their entire body, so you need to tear them to shreds or they regenerate."

"It's like some mad scientist's dream come true," muttered Ashworth.

A muscle twitched in Kommora's jaw. What a dangerous girl. Regeneration. She wondered if this was the same project she'd given up after being attacked by Ashworth. Rummage hadn't told her much about what happened after that.

Shouts came from behind them. Claps and snaps filled the air, followed by the rumble and crack of flash and burst magic. Kommora whirled around. The creatures leapt onto the mages, tearing into their flesh. Magic caught the monsters' sides, throwing some off, but they bounced back with a deadly gleam in their eyes and mouths dripping with saliva and blood.

"You said they were human experiments. What are they now? Sentient?"

"No. Wild. Bloodthirsty. Deadly." Ashworth pulled out several throwing knives, red-orange runes wrapped at the hilt. With one swift movement, she launched the knife, which embedded itself into the neck of a creature. She clapped her hands and threw a second one without waiting for the results. The knife gleamed and exploded, blowing it into large flaming chunks. "Shred them! Or it'll come back!"

The bewildered, injured mage didn't waste time to argue. He clenched his fists. Water droplets collected on the surface of the ground and seeped into the body before exploding outwards, spraying the nearby vicinity with blood.

Screams emanated from the houses as the creatures stormed in. Children's cries mixed in with the chaos. Without hesitation, the mages leapt into action, throwing magic to shield the Karmans from harm. All elements collided, throwing sparks, dust, water droplets in the air. The stench of blood and death hung heavy, punctuated by the animalistic screeches of the reanimations.

Kommora marched ahead, pausing at several innocuous-appearing closed shops. She drew out her paper and with a fluid hand sketched out ten identical violet runes.

"Take these," she said, thrusting them at Southwark's group. "Put one each on the two sealed steel containers by the canals, Villin's headquarters, the old Benover train station." She rattled off the locations Liore had told her in the encrypted message.

"What are these places?"

Ashworth threw several knives down and clapped her hands. The yellow runes shimmered, throwing up a temporary haze that disoriented anybody looking their way.

"The runed armouries belonging to the army." Kommora grimaced. She slapped the one she held in her hand onto the wall of the abandoned shops. It glowed violet and then dissolved into the walls. A translucent, pale purple sheen pulsed over the surface of the building, locking it down and preventing all manner of physical attacks and most magic from affecting it.

"If the 'commander of the soldiers' hearts' is here, why do we need to seal these places?" asked Azriel Edevane, the barely-graduated mage.

"Woodbead may be the leader of the old generation, but the new generation have been brainwashed into seeing him as a traitor. They wouldn't hesitate to kill us all," said Kommora. "You can't be too safe. Now move it! There's no time to lose. If we don't cut off their weaponry in time, Woodbead or no, we'll all be screwed over."