Guardian (Part I): Last Winter

Chapter 28: Madelyn

As much as I wanted to tell these Guardians all about myself, about what I was, I was bound by protocol not to. I appreciated that Morgan and her teammates were concerned for my safety, though. They were good friends, even after knowing them for just a few hours, and as we went further down this tomb, I began to become more concerned for theirs. If this necromancer was under control of the Dark One, then he or she would be more powerful than any other necromancer before him or her. Even though Morgan had warned me to stay back, if she or the other members of her team were in danger, I would have to help them, and that would mean revealing what I was. It would be alright, though, since saving lives was more important than hiding who I was. Surely, my superiors would understand my actions if it came to that. Suddenly, Morgan raised her fist, and we stopped.

"The spectral trail is becoming stronger, Morgan," I warned. "You are going in the right direction."

"Thanks," said Morgan. "Something's up ahead." I looked past the members of the team. There was a large, dark space out in front of us, at the end of the corridor. The flashlights on the barrels of the Guardians' assault rifles couldn't shine into the darkness ahead. I switched my eyes to night vision, and I could see more clearly. In front of the Guardians was a chamber held up by stone pillars. On the walls were hatches with stone flaps that were locked with metal latches. That's where the sarcophagi from the ancient Chardanish people who built this place must have been stored. Four large braziers were hanging by chains from the ceiling. In the center of the chamber was a tall man wearing dark robes. He had his back turned to us, but I saw his arms out to his side, and a red light shining from behind where he was standing.

"He's in the center," I reported.

"You can?" asked Penny. "You have good eyesight."

"Why, thank you!" I chirped.

"Shh!" John hushed, then he chuckled and whispered, "My gods, Maddy."

"Apologies," I quickly said. "There are braziers that could make for a possible light source, but it would alert the necromancer to your presence. Would you like me to light them in order for you to have a better chance of winning this fight?"

"How would you light them?" asked Penny.

"With my hands," I answered. "Look."

I ignited my hands with orbs of flame from the crystals in my hands, and I hurled them at the braziers. The entire tomb was lit up by the fires hanging from the ceiling, bright enough for me to disable my night vision and see clearly normally. The necromancer saw the flames above him, and turned around to face Morgan and her team.

"Thanks, Maddy," said Morgan, and the squad raised their rifles. They rushed forward as the necromancer slammed one of his hands on the ground, and then thick, black smoke formed under his palm, and went to the sarcophagi hidden behind the stone hatches. The hatches began to shake as the smoke faded. Given that necromancers were capable of manipulating the Abyss, I could only assume that the people inside of them were coming to life, and there were dozens of sarcophagi on all four walls.

"Guardians!" I shouted. "The walls!" I saw Morgan and the other Guardians aim their rifles at the hatches on the walls as the corpses of ancient Chardanish warriors began to crawl out of them. They carried broadswords and kite shields with whatever sigils that were on them worn away by time. These weren't just bonewalkers or Lost that the necromancer had raised. I observed as they raised their shields out in front of them and pointed their rusted swords forward. They had intelligence, discipline even. They were Turned, and completely under this necromancer's command.

"Kill them!" the necromancer ordered. Now, there was nothing keeping me from revealing what I was in order to help my friends. I changed my clothing layer to my combat jumpsuit, and rushed into battle. I launched every flame missile I could as I rushed through the tomb in order to burn the Turned warriors before any of them could get even close to the Guardians. Once they were all dead, again, I leaped over the Guardians with a launch from the thruster pads under my feet to attack the necromancer. Before he could raise his hands to cast some kind of dark spell, the heel of my foot crashed into the necromancer's head. His skull completely caved in, and his aura of darkness faded as his lifeless body collapsed. The necromancer's aura was gone, but there was still a different one hanging over the tomb.