Deck of destiny 4, p.22
Deck of Destiny 4, page 22
“Daymares?” Mayce asked.
“Cowboy,” I growled. “They’re his summons.”
Elsie stared at me. “He’s got to know about the coven at this point.”
“I think he figured it out,” I agreed. “But I’m also pretty sure he’s insane.”
“Misha’s told us that you’re in charge while he’s out hunting,” Tilly interrupted. “We need a move here, Matt, and fast. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I swear to you that’s the scent. I pulled back to the patrols to make sure he didn’t know we were here.”
“Any chance he saw you?” Elsie asked.
Tilly rolled her eyes. “Elsie, please. We don’t get seen unless we want you to see us.”
“He’s good enough to run rings around us,” I reminded her.
“Maybe. But what he’s doing is a death sentence.” Tilly’s eyes locked back onto me with bloodlust in her eyes. “We can take him, here and now. We’ve got the numbers, and he’s in our territory.”
“He’s fucking insane if he thinks that he’s going to get to you here,” Mayce said.
I thought over the Cowboy, his invincible confidence, and the sheer ease with which he’d forced Tilly and me into retreat. I’d only seen him use three spells, which left two unaccounted for. He had a pile of tricks and the kind of experience that most Sharks never lived to see. An insane show of force with creature summons on the mountain didn’t strike me as foolish or suicidal.
The Cowboy was probing and looking for holes in the vampires’ defenses.
The thought clicked into my mind, and it was the only one that made sense.
“Split off the patrols,” I heard myself say. “Widen the net of sentries you’ve got set up and give them orders to retreat and report the second that you see him. Should be hard to miss—you know what he looks like.”
Tilly frowned. “We could flank him.”
“We don’t know if he’s alone,” I countered. “How many runners do you have?”
“A dozen,” the vampiress said.
I nodded. “Keep them moving constantly, and widen out the net. If we’re going to take this guy, it’s going to be on our terms. First order of business is making sure that he didn’t bring backup. Summons are good scouts, but he strikes me as the kind of guy who likes a distraction.”
Lana’s eyes hardened. “He’s taunting us.”
“He’s telling us that he’s here,” I agreed. “Best move would be to play on our paranoia. Pull everyone back into a tight knot around me, then take us all out in one fell swoop. You can’t stay locked together with this guy—he’s got an AoE spell that fucks everything in about four yards or so.”
Elsie and Mayce stared at me as if seeing me for the first time. The tight, informative sentences spilled out of my mouth as I formed my thoughts. I hadn’t had enough time to canvass the perimeter of the plateau, and it was slow going in a truck if we wanted to escape.
Tilly gave me a wary nod. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to set myself up as bait,” I told her.
Lana started to protest, and I cut her off with a sharp gesture. “His Contract is for me, and I’m the one that he’s hunting. We’ve got the advantages here, but Cowboy doesn’t strike me as an idiot. He’s got a plan, and he’s going to hit us where we’re least expecting it.”
“So, your strategy is to use yourself as bait?”
“It’s psych and counter-psych,” I said to Lana. “He’s expecting me to be smart, draw back, and rely on the vampires to do the heavy lifting. It’s what I did last time when he caught me off-guard.” I gave Tilly an apologetic nod. “I think it’s best to assume he knows everything about us, what we’ve pulled off in the past, and how we operate.”
“Seems paranoid,” Mayce muttered.
“He’s not omniscient,” I told her. “But we need information and a location first.”
Tilly nodded, blurred away into the rain, and left the four of us standing there. Lana gave me an approving nod as I turned to the others. Elsie’s eyes shone as I looked over her, and Mayce gave me a curious look before a rueful smile touched her face.
“Kinda like it when you get all commanding,” the assassin told me.
“Suits him well,” Elsie agreed. “What’s our play here, boss?”
“Hope for the best, plan for the worst,” I said. “We find a place that favors our skillsets. That means we need cover for Mayce, some open space for Elsie and Lana, and a big juicy flare that’s going to draw his attention.”
“If he’s as smart as you say, then he’ll know it’s an ambush,” the paladin countered.
“That’s where the vampires come in,” I told her. “Two layers. Those daymares are a handful. I saw him use two of them in one Combat Encounter, and he wasn’t even sweating. Hand-to-hand, he’s probably better than any of us. Except maybe Lana. Elsie, did you get a chance to scout out the surroundings while you were here?”
“A bit,” she allowed. “Been trying to stay out of the rain.”
“Know a place that fits the description I just gave you?”
“Why don’t we take the road?” Mayce suggested. “Gives us the space you talked about, gives me and the coven a tree line to hide in, and it’s open, obvious, and pretty much suicidal.”
I nodded. “Good enough. Keep your ears out for the vampires if you can.”
“We taking the truck?” Elsie asked.
I shook my head. “Can’t risk it getting trashed. We won’t have a way back off the mountain, and we’ll be sitting ducks if he’s brought reinforcements with him.”
The others nodded, and I turned back to Lana. “You’re right, by the way. I didn’t think through the implications of joining with the Blue Dawn. We’ll send these fuckers back to where they came from without putting the Guild in danger.”
Lana offered me a careful nod. “You brought me here for a reason.”
“And it wasn’t just about trashing the trailer,” Elsie giggled.
“All right, team,” I said. “Let’s show this lunatic why he shouldn’t have messed with us.”
Phoenix Guild stepped out from the cover of the vampire’s camp and out into the rain. The deluge quickly soaked the four of us down to the skin, but I knew our invulnerability to nature as Players would keep us from the worst of the cold and the wet. Pine trees groaned above us as wind battered the treetops, and the steady crash of rain down on our heads obscured our footsteps. Our borrowed clothes helped us blend into the shadows. They weren’t perfect, but the thick bank of black clouds overhead made it almost impossible to see ahead of us. I kept my head on a swivel and pulled a halt as we reached a thick knot of pines.
A glowing red pair of eyes dropped from the branches above our heads.
A familiar chuckle rolled out of the dark, and fangs flashed into a smile.
“That you, Red?” I asked in vampirese.
“Indeed it is, brother. It is good to see you.”
His eyes peered past me. “You’ve added to your retinue.”
“Sure have. What’s the word from the scouts?”
“No sign of our prey yet, brother.”
“Keep me posted.”
He nodded and vanished back up the tree as quickly as he’d descended. Lana stared up after him, and Mayce nudged her shoulder. The four of us hurried down a steep, mud-filled descent. I focused on keeping my footing as we vaulted over fallen trees, pushed our way through the ferns, and trusted the hidden coven to alert us to the Cowboy’s presence. My mind raced ahead and thought through different possible scenarios.
The mercenary might not take our bait. It was an obvious fake head.
But he was up here on the mountain to do one thing: take my life and get paid for it.
He’d have to engage on some level. Standing right out in the open as a target for the arrow-like thorn bombs didn’t appeal. I had my Spell Parry ready and loaded, but there was no way of telling if I’d have the reaction time to pull it off. I had to trust my companions and the coven to have my back. A swell of pride and excitement washed through me as we trudged farther down the slope, and I spotted the road ahead of us. Yet another figure melted out of the ferns beside us, and I rapidly dropped onto my haunches.
“Brother,” a raspy voice murmured.
“Brother,” I greeted him in return.
“We have followed your instructions. The invader moves freely through the trees, and we have closed the ring behind him. He is alone, and he does not see us.”
“Assume he does, and pull back as far as you can,” I said.
The vampire’s eyes narrowed. “You believe him to be a threat.”
“Ask Tilly about it,” I advised him. “If you’re sure he’s alone, close in behind him.”
The vampire nodded, vanished into the ferns, and the others clustered around me. I scouted out the road ahead of us, and my eyes latched onto certain points of cover. A fallen tree beside the road would be perfect for one of my tanks—probably Elsie—and a tight cluster of pines across the pathway caught my attention.
It was perfect to obscure Lana’s frame.
Mayce was the smallest, and her ability to turn invisible would shield her from just about everything short of a specific Card designed to seek out other Players. I ran a simulation or two in my head and let a long, deep breath slide out of my lungs. I turned to the others and pointed out the spots to them.
“We go for a pincer maneuver here,” I said. “The road’s tight, and he can use cover if he wants to, but it’s as good as we’re going to get here. Anyone picks up on any movement from around them, holler out, and the rest of us will come running.”
“And you’re going to stand in the middle of the road like a chump?” Mayce muttered.
“Maybe on the edge,” I told her. “I’m not completely insane.”
“Here’s to hoping he doesn’t have one of those rifles,” Elsie whispered.
I shook off the thought. “There’s something about this guy. He likes to get up close and personal. He likes to whistle, too. Should be a dead giveaway.”
“Feels too easy, boss,” Elsie said quietly.
I couldn’t help but agree with her. “Two-wave ambush. We draw him out, you hit him, and the coven hits him from the back. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best we’ve got on short notice.”
“You didn’t think to bring the little one along?” Lana asked.
“She’s still recovering,” I replied. “Don’t want to strain her.”
The former Arbiter nodded and darted across the road with a sure-footed jog. Elsie slid into position behind the fallen tree, and Mayce vanished behind her invisibility Card a second later. I forced myself to breathe, rely on my instincts, and remember that I wasn’t alone. I stepped out onto the road.
It felt like standing on a set of railroad tracks playing chicken with a freight train.
Rain continued to pour down from overhead, and I brought up my menu of Cards a moment later. I needed Threat Assessment, Mindcrack, two Items, and a summon of some kind. The Cowboy had already taken my measure, and he seemed like the guy to do his research. I resolved to take weapons and skills that he hadn’t seen me use before and stood out in the pouring rain like the world’s biggest schmuck.
I hoped against hope that the coven had managed to stay hidden in the trees.
And that the Cowboy didn’t have a trick up his sleeve. I had two armored tanks in the trees, an assassin who never forgot a grudge, and a wide army of vampires hidden around me. I wondered if the Shark had tracked us through the tire treads of the Dodge, or if he had his own Card that allowed him to follow a single Player.
Too many unknown quantities.
I quieted my mind, stared out at the road ahead of me, and wondered why the Cowboy had come out here alone. He’d said it was purely business. He’d said that the money was worth it. And he’d apparently come alone, which struck me as insane.
Just as insane as I had been back when I’d first started the Game.
Part of me almost felt some kinship with the guy.
Until I heard a low, melodic whistle pierce through the rain and the trees.
Chapter 28
I reached into my Deck and pulled my Threat Assessment to the front of my mind.
Magic flared up around my eye and gave me a new lens and a new wavelength to see from. White flared up ahead of me as I spotted Lana in cover. Blue, white, and red magic shimmered behind the log just off to my right, and Mayce’s hidden form lay in wait ahead of Lana in a swirl of red, blue, and violet. I leveled my gaze at the road ahead and tried to pinpoint the exact location of where I’d heard the whistle. Flashes of red and violet twinkled in the distance like stars, marking out the hidden coven, but I didn’t catch a glimpse of the figure I was searching for.
I swept my gaze over the trees, turned on my heel, and spotted a single figure at the other side of the road. White, green, red, and violet shimmered around his outline. The wide-brimmed hat, the boots, and the open-necked shirt were impossible to miss, and a cold shiver rolled through my spine that had nothing to do with the rain.
He’d snuck up behind us, but he hadn’t tried to attack. The Cowboy stood at least twenty yards away. Far enough to avoid any attacks that came his way, but close enough to be seen in the deluge, the mud, and the darkness around us.
Magic flared around my hands, and the whistle sounded out again like a warning.
“I’m really starting to get sick of you,” I said aloud.
“That fast?” he called back. “We’ve only met twice.”
“You’re outmatched,” I said firmly. “You take a swing at me, and it’s going to get you killed.”
That lazy chuckle spilled out of his mouth, and he touched the brim of his hat.
“Heard that before. Never really stuck. You want to make this easy on yourself?”
A surge of frustration rolled out of me, but it was tinged with respect for the guy.
He had bulletproofed brass balls, and I still couldn’t tell if he had a death wish or if he was really that good. I’d spread out my forces, flanked him, and my team lay in wait in the tree lines around him. Elsie rose from her hiding spot between the ferns and the fallen log, and her Greatshield and Greatsword shimmered into existence on her hands. A white blur of runes spiraled out from her feet as she activated her Knightly Aura, shielded herself against the worst of a magical attack, and stepped out onto the road between us.
“He’s not lying to you,” Elsie warned him. “You’re surrounded.”
“Like Colonel Custer,” the Cowboy agreed. “Thing is, I’ve got something he didn’t.”
Mayce and Lana held their positions and waited for the assassin to move in on me. Flickers of red and violet grew larger in the trees around him as the coven converged on the track, and the Cowboy cocked his head as he looked over to the two of us.
“I’m not surrounded.” He chuckled and let out that whistle of his again.
A suddenly thunderous roll of hoofbeats echoed out in the distance, and my eyes widened as blazing-white unicorns rounded the corner behind him. Golden horns sliced through the rain, and I stared in shock as an entire stampede of daymares rounded the bend, lowered their heads, and charged straight down the middle of the road. I lunged forward, caught hold of Elsie’s shoulder, and used everything I had to pull her off the road. The Cowboy laughed as thousands of pounds of white-flanked monster horse kicked up mud around him and split off into two wedges.
I couldn’t have counted them, even if I’d tried.
I hadn’t run into another summoner before, and they sure as hell hadn’t been able to do that.
There were too many, too fast, and sheer instinct told me that we had to get to cover.
Elsie tore her eyes away from the stampede of Daymares and dived for cover in the ferns. Three of the monstrous unicorns tore away from the herd and raced toward us like runaway trains. Elsie shoved herself through a gap between two pines, and I barely managed to lunge over the fallen log before the first creature reached me. It leapt into the air as my foot caught on the earth, and I slipped. Golden hooves blazed down toward my prone form, and I barely managed to torque my hips to the side. My Blade of the Barrow hissed into existence in my right hand.
A hoof missed my neck by two inches, and the creature’s momentum carried it over my body. I rammed the black-bladed sword straight up into the unicorn’s stomach. Steel punctured flesh, and I ripped the sword downward as hard as I could. Ice clamped onto the open wound, spilled up into the creature’s insides, and it let out a vicious whinny as its back legs gave out. I covered my head as its weight collapsed downward, and I shoved up with everything I had.
The angle of my arm and the last-minute momentum found crushing force, and I barely managed to avoid being crushed by the crippled horse’s weight. I caught a fistful of the thing’s tail, used it as a handle to rip myself up into a crouching position, and dived onto its writhing back a second later.
I rammed the edge of the blade against its wide neck and ripped the sword across its flesh with everything I had. The Blade of the Barrow tore through its flesh, froze its blood into spiked crystals, and tore up its insides a second later. I heard a scream from behind me, kicked off the dying Daymare, and found Elsie fending off two of the Cowboy’s summons. Their horns tore through the pines around her, sprayed wooden shrapnel into the air, and rammed into her shield.
The blow smashed her back onto her ass, and I dived through the ferns. My sword lanced into the closest unicorn’s eye as it tried to rip its horns free from a pine. A full-body tremor rolled through the monster’s body, and it exploded into a mass of white runes. I forged through the mist of magic as the Blade of the Barrow’s weight dropped back into my palm. Elsie let out a war cry, kicked the unicorn straight in the nose, and reeled it back. Its eyes flashed as it reared back onto its hind legs, and I seized the hilt of my sword with both hands. I couched my elbows and rammed my full body weight into its side with everything I had.
The Blade punched clean through its rips, hit a lung, and filled its insides with ice a second later. Golden ichor exploded out of the unicorn’s mouth, and my charge dropped it onto its side in an explosion of dissipating magic. I caught my balance right before I fell into the space where it’d been a second earlier and turned to Elsie. She stared up at me in shock as I flicked the excess ice from the edge of my weapon and scrambled to her feet.
