I gritted my teeth and quickly drew my sword when the first gun made a sound, then a second, and a puff of smoke erupted from near its rear. Then, bursting like popcorn, the rest of the guns did the same thing. My team and I held our collective breath for several seconds before Nyna coughed dramatically.
“Well,” she said, looking at me, “you can relax now. But do you want the good news or the bad news first? ”
I kept one eye on the nearest gun and sheathed Ebon. “Let’s start with the good news.”
“Well, you see, I tried to tell the guns to go back in their little gun-holdy things, you know? But they said no. So, I insisted, sort of. They said no again. Then, I gave them a really tough problem to solve, you know, just to keep them busy. While they were thinking about it, well, not really them, but the computer that told them to shoot us, I started poking around. Then, I found the power system, so I tried to shut them down. It didn’t work. So, I tried to shut the big computer down. That didn’t work either. So, I told the power system that I was the server, and I tripled the voltage going to the guns. That worked, I think we can all agree. Did you see the smoke? That’s never a good thing for electronics, you know?”
“That’s good,” I said, waiting for the other shoe to fall.
Nyna sighed. “Right. The other thing. The guns are on the same circuit as the fountains. Those are gone, too. They were so pretty, weren’t they?”
Skrew laughed.
Nyna shot him an angry look.
Skrew stopped laughing.
I sighed in relief. It was time to move on to our objective. Tortengar was trapped in the dome with us, and, as far as I knew, he had no way to escape—almost all of it thanks to Nyna.
“It’s time to remove the Vizier from his throne,” I announced. “His reign has come to an end. Let’s get the bastard before he can do any more harm.”
The team cheered. Their voices were amplified by the shape of the dome, and it made me proud. I had no doubt Tortengar knew we were there. He probably had tiny cameras hidden all over the place. He’d seen what I was willing to do and what my team could do. But I hadn't shown him my best tricks yet.
I took a step toward the tower and froze in place. I sensed something. The air felt different. It smelled different. The wind wasn’t quite right, and in the stillness of the room, I thought I could hear breathing coming from all directions.
We were being stalked.
Chapter Eleven
The enemy was close. I could sense them even though I couldn’t see them. I felt their hunger, their excitement, and a little bit of fear. It was why they hadn’t attacked yet. They were building up the courage. They were forming a plan.
But there was only silence. It felt like my heartbeat was echoing off the walls, amplified by the shape of Tortengar’s dome.
The lights were dim. The lights in the trees twinkled merrily as if saying, No problem here, all is well.
All was not well. Not even close.
The politicians, bureaucrats, and administrators had all taken cover. That was fine. Though I wouldn’t have shed a tear if a few got eaten, I didn’t want to be the one to kill them. Most people were salvageable. Maybe they weren’t, but you never knew.
The five creatures—I could sense the five distinct mixes of emotions around us—knew who I was. Something about them being Void-touched allowed me to connect with them. I knew them, somehow. They knew where I was, though I sensed they couldn’t see anything at all, at least not in the normal sense of the word. They knew me as if we’d been raised together.
Reaver made her way to me with her eyes glued to the top of the tower. “Are you sensing what I’m sensing?”
“Yeah,” I said, “I think so. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
“They’re Void-touched, like us.”
“Go to smash?” Skrew asked. “Make Turdendumb into slippery spot on floor?”
“Yeah,” I said over my shoulder. “In just a minute.”
As I turned my head back, I caught a glimpse of Beatrix. She was crouched low, holding her rifle up to her shoulder as she searched for targets.
“Should we make the first move?” Reaver asked. “Get it all over with?”
“Um, guys?” Nyna piped up. “I think we have a problem.”
She was still wearing Spirit-Watcher. She was staring toward the tower, then she looked around. “Yeah,” she continued as she took a step back. “We definitely have a problem. I’m counting five problems, to be exact. Five unfriendly-looking problems, you know what I mean?”
“I know,” I said with a smile and a nod.
“On three?” Reaver whispered.
“Three!”
Reaver raised her rifle to her shoulder and began to fire rapidly into a thick copse of trees about halfway between us and the tower. I drew Ebon and charged toward the nearest presence. I found the creature hiding in a nearby stream. It was as black as my blade, the size of a small bear, and it slashed at me as I jumped over it.
The rest of the team erupted into motion, even Skrew.
When I landed, skidded to a halt, and turned around to face the dark creature, Timo-Ran was standing behind it with his big ax raised in both hands. The creature must have heard him because it arched its back and slashed the man’s leg, knocking him off his feet. I charged in before it could make another strike, but the thing was fast and blocked Ebon with a single black claw. I slashed again, and it blocked again. I tried again, this time harder, but missed when the creature ducked the strike and lashed out.
I dodged and kicked, catching the thing on the hairy spot where its nose should have been. Whatever I hit, it was sensitive. The thing wailed and
