12 Miles Below

Book 4. Chapter 27: Unpayable cost

Light and sound crashed with the full fury of an avalanche. Nothing more than a black silhouette stood between us and the blinding white-blue destruction. Ground ripped apart around our group in a semicircle, as if we were standing in the eye of the storm, somehow safe while the rest of the world tore apart.

The occult dome stretched wide before Captain Sagrius, wider than any Id seen before. He staggered back for a moment, knee dropping down for support, before slowly rising back up, inevitable.

Between him and ToSefits full power, one broke first and it wasnt the Captain.

Her weapons winked out, energy spent, leaving melted rock and glowing embers all around our small island of safety. Steam wrapped a hand around the world, a thick white cloud of vapor that hung almost endless and hid everything from sight.

Relic armors displayed linework of the expected topology, orange grids showing a virtual space within our HUDs, superimposed on the obscuring steam. It rose on a current of warm air, picking the cloud apart.

Sagriuss arms dropped back to his side. He remained upright, staring straight ahead, silent - and alive.

The terrain emerged around us as the steam lifted. Far away, the final wall ToSefit hid behind had been utterly blasted apart from her attack, revealing her position. She stood regally on the top of another half cut pillar, staff extended out, dropping down to her side with slow grace, mirroring the captains. Well. She said, violet eyes widening in surprise. ToAvalis was right... It seems I cant quite kill you by myself. My, my. How unexpected.

Strategy? Windrunner hissed, still holding the clan lord with one arm draped over his shoulder.

Atius didnt answer, still hacking black blood into the steaming puddle of water that remained by our feet. Draining away now into the cut ground to our sides, sizzling on contact with the half melted stonework. A hand shook, and he painfully formed a hand sign.

Take command.

Windrunner nodded then let go. Atius fell to the ground with a merciless thud. Acknowledged. He said, voice emotionless, hand reaching down, unclasping Atiuss knightbreaker launcher with quick and practiced motions. Assuming command. Keith, Kidra, flank. Sagrius and I will run vanguard. Advance.

He rose up, and sprinted straight forward. Simple plan, but we didnt have time to come up with a better one. Standard playbook here. Anything is better than nothing. And ToSefit wasnt opening fire on us. Shed had pauses between rounds before, but this was already well within her firing window range. Which meant she should be attacking again any moment now.

Instead, she looked like she was reviewing the battle, contemplating what to do next. Couldnt let that go on uninterrupted. Kidra and I dashed off to the right, sprinting over the destroyed terrain, advancing directly at ToSefit from an angle.

Draw knightbreakers. Windrunner hissed through the comms.

Kidra yanked her own launcher out, safety clicking off.

Winterscars, run interference. Windrunner said. Well need to pin ToSefit into a position she cant escape or dodge. Kidra, open fire at first opportunity. Ill match.

Relic armors calculated our current speed with the distance to target, thirty seconds was all wed need before we were within melee range of ToSefit.

Thirty seconds was all she needed to fire at least two or even four volleys. We might just be able to make it if Father calls out accurate directions.

On my minimap, two dots remained in place. HUD showing the nameplates, the first was expected - Atius hadnt recovered yet. The second wasnt. A look behind made it clear it wasnt some glitch.

The captain stayed still, like a puppet, right where wed left him. A cold feeling welled in the pit of my stomach. Windrunner noticed at the same time I had, realizing he was sprinting straight at a Feather alone. Whatever flashed through his mind, he must have concluded theres nothing he could do other than commit fully.

No time to worry about that right now. We had a Feather to kill.

Kidra, Windrunner said, voice deadly calm. Sagrius likely indisposed. Command falls to you if Im taken out. Atius is Deathless, hes died before and knows the score. Dont prioritize him. Make sure you and your brother make it out. Confirm orders.

Understood. Kidra confirmed.

ToSefit tilted her head with curiosity, blinked, and lifted her staff once more. I had a feeling she'd overheard us under our helmets, but nothing we could do about that. The staff aimed downrange at Windrunner, metal plates behind her circling in a pattern of two concentric rings, moving in opposite directions.

Occult crackled like lightning between the plates, the dome shield Wrath had described appearing. Protecting the Feather from the proximity danger of her own attack. The plates flew further away from her, spinning faster and faster- and then froze in their tracks all at once.

A single probing beam lanced out from ToSefit, gouging a hole into the ground to Windrunners right. He leaped into a roll to his left almost simultaneously, avoiding the majority of the damage, relic shields triggering to absorb the ambient damage. It hardly took any percent off his reserve, the HUD showing him hovering around ninety eight percent.

Interesting. ToSefit hummed. Delayed reaction now. Was that Deathless using some kind of prediction area support spell? Her hand lifted up, palm extended out to her side, as if she were about to grab us. The Feather hadnt even bothered to look in our direction.

Two metal plates twisted in the air to face us. Occult glowed, portals appearing within both, leading into someplace filled with machinery and the dark hollow of a massive barrel.

Thats all I got to see before Feather called out a warning through the comms, voice clear and direct. Kidra leaped directly to her right without a word, landing hard on her shoulder and turning it into a roll, while I slid on the gravel, crouching down. Above my head, a beam speared out, while another crackled right through where Kidra had been.

Not the Deathless then. Ah, how rotten. ToSefit said, now giving us attention. Which one of you is calling out those instructions?

Fifteen seconds until we reached her. She was onto us. ToAacar had quickly figured out non-lethal hits wouldnt show on Fathers death sight, and had instantly changed his combat strategy back when he fought against Wrath.

How fast would ToSefit catch on? Trick question - I wasnt going to let her catch on at all.

At this distance, there was something I could do to throw a crowbar into her plans. Occult crackled around me, and I dove for the mirror fractal, reaching for every bit of training Id done with Atius. Using it while running was going to be difficult, especially with what I planned. But one image was all I needed. Nothing too complicated. The real fight would be keeping it alive within range.

I sent it out, watching it soar through the air at ridiculous speeds. The fastest I could imagine it going. Gravity and air resistance both had no hold over the wraith as it sprinted over, bounding leap after leap.

Father called out another warning to all three of us left. Once more we followed orders, dodging the shots that would kill us, and tanking the damage that wouldnt.

While Id been dodging, shes speared out my image, the beam slicing through the ghost with no resistance. It whisked out of existence, my plan scrapped out the airlock.

I gritted my teeth, and summoned another, sending it once more after her. Willing it to go faster.

It leaped ahead, and was promptly speared again by another beam, while the three of us were forced to abort our sprint in order to dodge her shots. She was testing the waters, trying to find out what triggered our group's ability to avoid her shots.

Only a matter of time until she figured it out.

One more chance. Think. Imagine. Gravity was nothing more than a force that tied physical objects down. The occult wasnt physical. The mirror fractal fuzzed in my mind as I exerted more thought. Faster. It had to be faster. It had to soar through the very air. Size was relative. Everything was relative.

The fractal refused to comply. The instructions I sent, rejected.

I wasn't thinking about this the right way.

ToSefit drew the staff in Windrunners direction, twelve plates turning to track him. A gut feeling deep within called out to me. If she opened fire, Windrunner would die. ToSefit was going to attack in a pattern that wouldnt let him escape. I simply knew.

I forced every ounce of will I had into the mirror fractal. I needed some kind of edge, now or Windrunner was as good as dead. If the occult didn't answer to my imagination of gravity, than I'd make it accept my own reality. The soul tendrils within my mind flailed around the concept of that fractal, seeking out all the hidden edges within the no-man's land of broken cracks. The occult never respected physics in the first place, why should I? Everything was wrapped in concepts to the occult... and so was gravity. Just one massive concept so large and taken for granted I'd never seen it in my occult sight.

Something in my head finally clicked. My tendrils found something to hold onto deep within the fractal, a dimension that had been ignored. I didnt question it, and threw myself at the mirror fractal again.

A ghost of my image soared out, straight up, less like a cohesive figure, more like a wisp of pure occult. It arched directly down at the Feather, moving as fast as a tracer bullet. Faster than anything had any right to go, flying freely through the air.

ToSefit spotted it, two plates turning to fire, both unable to track the spell fast enough.

The ball of occult split into two into two, falling into a complete stop, one in front and the other behind her. Both materialized into fully realized images, as if my ghosts had simply appeared.

She picked to guard against the one in front of her, head turned to keep watch over the one behind.

I dismissed the one in front, no longer needing it, now that I had an image right against her undefended side. My real armshield lit up with the occult blades all across, and so did the copy on the ghost, now too close for her to shield against. She drew her staff around, letting the shield vanish, exactly as planned. My image lunged forward, the armguard zipping through the air.

I stumbled back on my feet, realizing Id crashed into the ground at some point channeling that spell. My mind felt off. That feeling of elucidation fading away like melting snow in my palm.

But the mirror fractal remained working, and thats all I needed.

ToSefit expertly ducked my images attack, staff whistling around in an uppercut. Occult pulsed with it, air flowing like a stream behind, the gust heavy enough to throw even loose rocks on the ground up. With the dust swirling around, it almost looked like a dozen streaming pillars - and every one of them went through my image, immaterial.

Enough force would break these ghosts apart, a punch or kick. Even a rock thrown. But air? It did nothing to the ghost.

I tapped into the mirror fractal again within my armor, and the mirrored version on my image lit bright. From there, another ghost appeared as the first image faded. I wasnt keeping more than one image active, just constantly refreshing a single image.

If ToSefit was surprised her gust didnt throw the melee combatant away from her, she didnt show it. The mirror lunged forward. She twisted away in place, refusing to give up her high ground, gracefully stabbing the end of her staff directly into the ghost with an occult blade at the end. Not before it had already generated another image, which dove to the side and attacked again. ToSefit tutted, aware that we were getting closer.

I might have stumbled, but both Kidra and Windrunner hadnt. Theyd doubled down, rushing at a full breakneck sprint.

ToSefit sent a far faster jab from her staff than any before, trying to destroy the ghost before it could split. But that was useless - I was already copying it again, letting the first image vanish right as her staff ripped it apart. Again and again I generated more copies, most not even given any attack pattern. Just avoid hits and remain close enough to be a threat. So long as the image was within attacking range, ToSefit couldnt turn that staff to protect herself for another bombardment.

No shield, no attack. Simple plan. The plates around her twitched impatiently, still tracking their enemies, but unable to open fire. It was working. There were a few dozen occult edges crisscrossed on my armshield. Just one solid hit with that and her personal shields would take a huge chunk to hold off that much surface area.

If she ignored my image and tried to fire her beams, it would open her up to a free backstab. That that would be a cost she couldnt pay.

For once, things were going my way. I had the right idea generating images with no intention other than to dodge. It let me keep up with her increasingly fast pace. She might not have been a melee fighter, but ToSefit was still a Feather and they could all move stupidly fast. I wasnt reacting, rather assuming she would pop them out of existence within a half second, no idea how or with what move, only certain she would.

I wasnt wrong.

She moved faster and faster, becoming more frantic in her attempts to eliminate the ghost. My image danced around her, destroyed over and over again, always one step ahead. The staff whipped around, now with no wasted movements, stabbing through each image, and instantly turning to chase after the next. Gone were her fluid and graceful strikes, she wanted that image gone.

Ten seconds until Kidra and Windrunner were onto her.

Windrunner aimed the knightbreaker with one hand, the other hand keeping his blade at the ready. Kidra and I were racing over rocks, vaulting over any obstacles with little issue.

ToSefit stopped, then turned to look up. As if something else had caught her interest.

Five seconds until we reached her.

The occult metal plates started to move again, portals closing on each, before they circled around her, retracting back into a tight knit orbit around her staff, midway through a parting swing. They flowed like water streaming after the source. She turned the attack into a graceful spin, leaping far into the air.

A shadow overtook the land under us.

Something large flew across the air from behind, with a screech that echoed everywhere. A massive metal bird, pulled straight from a nightmare, eight violet eyes glaring down at us, four on each side of the half skull like mask. Its wings were the same design ToWrathh used, only scaled up by a massive factor. Hundreds of blades all held together by nothing and yet still in cohesion.

ToSefits upward momentum ended, and she began to fall back down to the ground. The massive machine swooped under her at the apex of her jump, letting the Feather land with little issue. It circled around, taking further altitude, ToSefit as its only passenger. It seems my illustrious leader doesnt believe in my chances of success anymore. Her voice echoed out, with an edge of manic insanity to it. Even my own prediction programs were giving it a coin toss. Can you believe that? Me. A coin toss from losing. Exciting, isnt it? I would have loved to see how this would have ended. The uncertainty Ahhh

She smiled, walking by the spine of the monster as if the speed it was soaring was immaterial to her, another hand lightly going from spike to spike like guardrails on a stairwell. The metal plates streamed behind her staff, trying to keep up with the birds speed and remain at her side.

Scatter! Windrunner called out. We have no means of reaching her on a moving aerial platform like that. Weve got to retreat.

She wont fire. Kidra spoke, coming to a stop and unstrapping her rifle,switching the safety off and verifying the weapon was good to fire. If she could fight from the safety of that machines back, shed have already done so from the start. ToSefit has not shown any sign of moderating her attacks from the start. Every attack was either to kill or to learn our patterns. She aimed, and opened fire.

Yellow sparks appeared on the birds metal carapace. It glared down at her, the bullets uselessly flying off its armor. The bird circled again, giving a heavy shriek of anger. Talons trailing behind large metal legs, curling and uncurling as if anticipating a meal. Kidra stopped her fire, growling.

Wrath, what even is this? I asked.

In human terms, you address them as Ravens. A higher tier machine reserved for the seventh strata and downwards. Wrath said, watching the skies from her sack. It should not be here. Mites dont allow mother many chances to build such machines in mass. Theyre expensive, and she tries to conserve resources when she can.

From up there, ToSefit could have just bombard us anywhere we tried to run, and thered be nothing we could do.

Except she hadnt. And I think I know why. Her dome shield cant cover more than herself. I said. She opens fire on us from there, her mount dies from the splash damage. And Wrath says she cant get another one easily.

Given that ToSefit held her ground against my image instead of trying to move away, maybe this particular feathers malfunction was a pride thing about never breaking into a sprint? Her stupidly ornate robe might get ripped up or something and she cared more about that than winning at all costs. If her mount got offd, how would she get anywhere unless she ran on foot? Hardly dignified for a lady of her stature, if thats how her mind worked. Always had to attribute extremes when it came to Feathers. They were all dialed up on dramatics.

You have a few minutes of interlude while I look for a better spot. I suggest you think up a better plan. ToSefit said, proving my point. Or call up ToAvalis and accept the offer to surrender, though I would hope you dont. This has been very fun, a shame to see it end on such an anticlimactic note like that, wouldnt you agree?

Its going to end with us stabbing you to death. Maybe I might even put your head on a spike, were surface savages after all. I said, using that comms channel of theirs.

I knew she could hear, because her gaze snapped my direction, a smile blooming over it. Brave words. She laughed, hiding her mouth with the back of her hand. Why if you keep glaring at me with such passion, this lady might even swoon. Scraphead even had the audacity to wink as her mount whisked her away to safety.

Miserable lousy wench. Wrath seethed, actually upset. You should consider letting loose the Cathida engram on the Feather channel.

I believe that might be considered a war crime. I sent back.

I thought you took pride in committing those?

.... She got me nailed there.

Ill hit them with Cathida once were sure we dont need a channel to them anymore. The moment we send Cathida there, theyll shut down the channel in a few minutes at best.

The real Cathida might eventually run out of breath, but not our version. Shed rage around and never stop. I had to keep all options open. A direct link to this ToAvalis might come in handy later.

Wed started with a full army of the best knights the surface had to offer, equipped to the teeth. Now, there were only three of us left. Atius was out of commission, having overextended himself using the shield fractal, afflicted by something that was tearing him up on the inside. And Sagrius I didnt know what happened to the Captain. He remained staring vacantly ahead, right at the apex of the ruined ground.

Well get him back, whatever it was that happened. Somehow. I was the occult specialist, Ill fix this. Ill solve, bend or break whatever rules I need to get him back. Hes not gone. And if he is

The group watched ToSefit soar away, the bird diving down further off to the center of the temple, relocating deeper into the structure.

If he is gone either Ill cut ToSefit down, or Ill be cut down myself at the end of the day.

But one of us wasnt walking out of this temple alive.

Next chapter - Turnabout