the war-torn city at night.
Brynd located a suitable entry point, signalled for them to follow, whistled sharply to those further along the wall. The metal door was slung open, Brynd's small group began to enter. With bow nocked, Lupus was just about to follow the others inside when a small troop of red-skinned rumel came marching into the main street. They didn't notice the remaining Night Guard soldiers in the shadows, and focused instead on the Irregulars, now running towards them, a cacophony of yelling. The enemy began to release arrows and the Irregulars instantly returned fire with crossbows. Two rumel had fallen on each side before Lupus eliminated three of the redskins in rapid succession. They retreated back before it could develop into a close-quarters skirmish.
Brynd signalled for Smoke to deal with the redskins before they could get away and bring reinforcements.
A quick sprint back to investigate the casualties.
Four Irregulars were gathered around Jeryd, who now lay on his back with two arrows in his face and another in his chest.
Fucking hell, you too, Jeryd. After all you've done to help us.
'Shit, the old sod's dead,' someone said, pointing out the obvious.
'He's not just some old sod,' Brynd snapped, 'but an investigator who served the Empire loyally. Make sure he gets put on a decent pyre, you hear, and free his soul with some dignity.'
There was a high-pitched screech as the spider suddenly reappeared. It came bounding through the snow at an unlikely pace, forcing everyone away from the body of the investigator. The creature prodded the corpse with one of its legs. It tried to secrete something to stop the bleeding. How bizarre, Brynd reflected – this was the person who tried to put the creature behind bars.
Smoke rejoined them with a simple nod, confirming that he'd finished off the escaping redskins.
'Good work,' Brynd murmured.
The soldiers trotted across the street, weapons in hand, and all the time Brynd was checking around for any further incidents. Bringing his shield up in front of him, they headed into darkness.
*
Scan the walls, the doors, any signs of ways in or out. Lines of the corridoere evident to Brynd's senses, as was the cold dampness and stencf decay, but he couldn't source where the hostages were being held.
They pressed on for some time, the only noise detectable thootsteps and breathing of his own soldiers. An open space presentetself, a hallway, and after brief analysis he chose another corridor tollow. Lupus held his bow ready, Smoke and Tiendi gripped smalrossbows and sabres.
He put his arm out behind to halt the others: there was a distinct change in texture in the light up ahead.
A flicker?
A redskin rumel stood at the far end of the passage, leaning on his sword, talking in alien constructs to someone out of sight. Brynd signalled for Tiendi and Smoke to take out the nearest one, and for Lupus to fire at the one beyond.
Click, click, thud.
The enemy collapsed on each other. Brynd dashed ahead and, by the bodies, gave a quick look around. If their minds had been connected in some way, then others would be arriving soon. He dragged the corpses into shadow where Lupus retrieved his arrow.
They had to be getting close now.
Stepping with extreme caution, they approached a partially closed doorway. Back pressed against the wall, Brynd nudged the door open with the tip of his sword. Three soldiers beyond: all redskins, no Okun. Brynd gave his team the signal then deliberately coughed.
Two of the redskins emerged into the hallway where their throats were slit quickly. Brynd burst into the other room, shield raised, and engaged immediately at close quarters with another. He found it easy to block the sloppy strokes, then he knocked his assailant's arm against the wall. With his sword he ripped open the creature's torso, thrusting upwards to the hilt. Thick blood spilled onto the floor. The creature slumped sideways.
The rest of his unit filed in behind. Brynd hoped the rest of the Night Guard had managed to penetrate this far.
The next door they came to revealed some kind of washroom, with decrepit plumbing and broken wall tiles. The floor was covered in ice so they had to slide forward on hands and knees to the door leading into the main chamber.
Brynd opened it to reveal a vision of hell.
Immediately before him lay the remains of dozens of humans, and it took him a minute to realize they were mainly children and the elderly. Their corpses littered the floor or were heaped in the corner. Bones were fragmented across the floor, amid pools of blood long congealed. Many of the corpses had been sliced open and the bones partially removed, then left discarded. He wondered why. Were they rejects, the human waste? Ones who had not been loaded on boats and removed from the city?
There was no hope of recovering these bodies until later, so Brynd beckoned the others to move on. He could not blame them for standing there gaping with their jaws slack and eyes wide in disbelief.
We move on, he signed.
Too late? Lupus queried.
No. These are abandoned. Young and old. Probably find citizens still alive further on.
Tiendi was the first to shake herself out of the shock, coming to stand alongside Brynd, expectantly.
Into the next room…
Where hundreds of hostages lay slumped on the floor – but still alive.
Suddenly they began stirring. They had already noticed the arrival of the elite troops, more of whom were now appearing through different entrances.
Don't talk, don't talk. Brynd made obvious signs for them to remain quiet, but it was no good. The sounds that would blow their cover rippled through the warehouse, and within a few heartbeats, enemy soldiers began filtering in to the room.
Fuck.
Brynd now shouted the commands for combat focus.
The Night Guard united ranks as best as they could, while Lupus fired repeatedly to distract the enemy, his arrows plunging into the enemy, who were now spilling into the vast warehouse. Arrows and crossbow bolts sparked off the stone walls.
No sooner had a significant cluster of the dreaded Okun burst in, than Nanzi disgorged a thick drool of silk from above. The enemy was instantly halted, unable to navigate the sticky pulp. Lupus began an insane dash, sprinting across the front of their line, firing two arrows at a time into their weak spots as they waded through the viscous substance – and they began to crumple one by one.
Hostages were shouting and screaming by now, making a chaotic situation even worse.
Nanzi dropped to the floor and reared up on her back legs to force the hostages in hysteria towards the rear exits – and towards freedom. She then turned to confront a unit of the redskins, and Brynd ordered Tiendi and Smoke to provide her with backup.
The redskins lined up uncertainly before her, at first not quite sure what to make of this intruder, and suddenly some of their archers buried a dozen shafts in her abdomen and thorax. There was a deafening screech as her legs buckled, and she toppled forwards. Several others rushed forward to hack at her legs. She swiped at them with her razor-sharp limbs, severing their heads and arms in one go.
More came in, driving their blades into her thick black spider-flesh.
She screamed. She wheezed. The texture of the warehouse subtly changed.
As she settled herself down amidst her torture, a horizontal wave of purple light burst from her body and spread across the room.
A deep explosion knocked everyone to the floor, blew the upraised shield from Brynd's arm. He sprawled across the flagstones to retrieve it.
The battle regained momentum as the civilians scrambled to safety, and eventually the Night Guard managed to get themselves into position of forming a wall between the enemy and the hostages. By now about seventy enemy soldiers had arrived, and dozens more were soon filing into the room, many more than Brynd had
