Chương 144: 136. Coiled snake

We ran outside after dealing with three more guards, and what greeted us was a scene of absolute chaos. The golem stood in the middle of a group of fighting people. Bodies of the guards lay around in different states of dismemberment, poisoning, or other spell effects. Our side was still holding on, but there was no way for them to advance, and losing the battle was clearly a matter of time. Myhur was dealing with a curse, judging by a lone, rotting spot growing on his side.

I could also see an elf whose eyes were strangely open, most likely similar to my right eye. One elf was dead, and three more were heavily wounded. Darius and Ophelia also let some attacks slip past their guards, but their injuries were much lighter. The dwarf had a light cut going across his chest and a puncture wound in a thigh. Ophelia had a cut on her shoulder and a few bruises forming on her arms, most likely accompanied by a few on the sides as if something slammed into her with a lot of power.

The tiger was in the best condition, only sporting a few bite marks on the fur here and there. Alongside the two groups were two strange, spider-like creatures. They were half-humanoid, reminiscent of smaller ents carved from dark wood, with massive spiders perched on their backs, poised to leap on any unsuspecting victim, their thin legs ending in sharp, poisonous pikes that stretched out to the sides. The overall situation wasn't looking good.

"We got the girl!" I shouted, and heads turned in my direction.

"Ophelia, Darius, Bakari—help me with the golem." The elves didn't need commands, as they swarmed the girl immediately, forming a protective circle around William. Thank god they cooperated. I rapid-fired first-circle death spells at the guards to keep them out, killing one in the process as the rest managed to put up shields. I ran at the construct. This one was a copy of the one that protected the girl—once again, faster and stronger than me—but this time I had backup proficient at close-quarters combat.

It was then that I saw an arrow fly at my throat. Too fast to dodge. But I didn't want to dodge, noticing the red tint to it. Instead, I leaned into the illusory attack, avoiding the golem's charge and started casting Bone Spear. The golem turned around only to raise its shield as a massive khopesh slammed into it. Darius then rotated the sword and used the hooked part to pull down the shield. But the opponent was too strong, barely budging—only enough to show its eyes.

Ophelia jumped next to the dwarf and stabbed at the eye visor. The golem easily turned its head to the side as the blade scraped against metal, not leaving even a scratch. The construct then rammed its shoulder into its own shield, moving forward, flinging both out like dolls. Ophelia managed to turn around in the air, landing wide open but on her feet. Darius, who took the brunt of the attack, ended up on his back.

An opportunistic guard drew his bow and fired at the dwarf and then Ophelia, in rapid-fire—both arrows almost leaving the bow at the same time—only to be turned to splinters by Bakari's metal claw. I finished my cast and looked to Ophelia. She was back up running at the golem as she caught my gaze. Bakari sped past her and jumped with all four legs forward. He got his claws around the shield, sticking to it, finally managing to drag it down.

The golem raised its mace to kill the tiger, but then I released my spell, aiming for the left hand holding the weapon. The third-circle spell slammed into the palm, but to my dismay, it didn't open. Still, the force was enough to keep its hand extended to the side. Ophelia jumped forward and stabbed her rapier between the shoulder plates. She then did something I didn't expect and, using almost her entire weight, snapped her own blade—a big part of it still jammed into the shoulder.

The golem tried moving back its arm, but it wouldn't move as intended. Bakari used that second to let go and swiped at the legs, knocking the creature out of balance. That was my cue, and, closing the distance, I slipped the Hook between the knee plates of the armor. I felt it catch onto something, like it was stuck in a thick tar underneath. Straining all my will and muscle, I pulled and sensed something tear.

'It shouldn't be able to follow us easily.' I nodded to myself as I barely dodged a steel fist.

"Run!" I shouted and went after the first group. They were not far, firing spells at the guards to keep our fight uninterrupted. Once they saw us run, they started moving toward the exit. We could see the main gate. The golems were slowed enough not to catch up to us. And the guards weren't much to speak of. All we needed was to cross that threshold. I looked behind, but saw that the guards weren't pursuing. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I didn't like that. I would expect much more panic, but they just stayed there. I saw the man with the control scepter standing still behind his bodyguard, who, despite being the most powerful of the guards, didn't join the fight. I then saw runes on the scepter shine as a previously dormant part of it came to life. Something was wrong, something… I looked forward. We were running straight to the gate. William, carrying the girl, was near the fountain.

I quickly looked at the gargoyle, but it was just a statue—I was sure of it. But we had looked at the wrong place. Before I could react, there was a movement: a massive white stone tail shot forward, going through the elves like they were just toy soldiers to be thrown around on a whim. It then slowed down slightly, going for William's legs. It flung him away as he dropped the girl on the ground, rolling to the side. He barely got up, wincing at the pain.

The elves that took the brunt of the attack also weren't in good shape. One of the strange ent-like creatures got pulverized, which probably saved the rest, as they started to get up—some of their ribs most likely turned to pieces. I did a quick assessment, thanking myself for my inability to panic. Myhur was out, as he was spending most of his power on fighting the curse. Darius, Ophelia, and Bakari were mostly spent but still capable of fighting.

One of the elven creatures was still around, and two archers and one mage. I wasn't counting the fighters who got slammed just now. I then looked at the fountain. It wasn't the gargoyle on top. Now that I was closer, I could see the basin was meant to look as if it had been created by a massive coiling snake. A snake, which now uncoiled, turned out to be another golem. Weaker than the metal ones, but quick and proficient at ambushes. Quick enough to slow us down.

Another crash could be heard, and the side doors flew from their hinges as the second golem finally arrived, joining the first one. The constructs started run-limping in our direction, with the remaining guards keeping behind them, slowly approaching. Our group was tired and injured, standing between the three golems. I could take on the snake, but not fast enough. Some of them were looking around, lightly panicked. A few of the elves I could see were preparing for a final stand.

I caught the eyes of a woman holding her side—she was the most powerful of the elves and seemed to be their commander. I nodded at her lightly, and after a bit of hesitation, she responded in the same way. I looked at the new golem. It finished uncoiling and stood about four meters tall, hanging over us, its head retracting for an attack, its triangular face fixed on the girl. It wasn't striking yet—eyes glued to its target.

"Retreat!" I shouted, the only command possible now.

"Leave the girl—the golem will stay on her," I screamed and, after running to help William walk, went around the golem. The elves looked to their commander, who screamed the same. The one undead creature was left to stop any pursuit as we bolted out of there. The golem coiled around the girl's body, making it impossible to get to her before the metal creatures arrived. So we ran. Flinging spells and putting up shields, we carried our wounded and retreated.

The guards reached the girl and slowly, but surely, moved back to the mansion. They would soon move the girl and call for the sabbath authorities, reporting this as an unprecedented attack, forcing the Aquientie to support their story as an attempt at revenge. But we had other things to worry about. I needed to deal with the curses, and we were all in need of healing. Luna was already patching up the worst cases as we moved.

The elves, similarly to us, couldn't sneak in a large group, so there were nine of them in total, arriving here in a mover's truck, which we turned into a moving hospital. I sat down in the car and concentrated on pushing the curse back. I needed to look presentable enough. Q'Shar was most likely in the meeting with Riswalt. The news would reach them soon. Q'Shar sat on a cushion placed on a special pillow stand in front of the table.

Initially, he brought it here mostly to slow down the talk, but right now he was thankful, since the long, many-hour discussion was starting to get on his nerves, and his paws were growing stiff. Around an hour ago, someone burst into the room, telling Emmanuel Riswalt something in secret. The man gave only a short command in return and went back to the discussion, but Q'Shar could see he looked like the cat that got the canary.

Soon after, one of Q'Shar's men was let in and reported that the group had come back looking rough and beat up. Also, some elven warriors returned with them, looking just as bad. Q'Shar was a professional and didn't let this affect his demeanor, although many worrying thoughts swirled in his head. The room was most likely bugged, so the cat didn't get a definitive answer on whether they succeeded. He trusted Sam and his abilities but was still worried—what if they didn't get to the girl?

"I think we should wait a bit with the discussion," Emmanuel spoke up once Q'Shar got the report.

"I would like to make a new proposition, but I don't think you can make decisions like that without your backer's presence." Q'Shar nodded in agreement. They waited for Sam as the cat tried not to squirm in the tense silence while Emmanuel relaxed in his chair. It took him quite a bit of time to get ready, during which Emmanuel made a few jokes about licking one's wounds. Finally, the doors opened, and in walked Sam. He was mostly healed, but Q'Shar could see tiredness in his eyes.

Casting clearly took a toll on him tonight. Emmanuel straightened up to greet him, and they both sat down. Q'Shar then checked the time. It was an hour before the sabbath started—an hour to the minute, just as they planned.