Chương 42: Hold the Door

The door thumped and shook every few seconds. The rafters of the barn rattled with each hit, and dust and grit fell from them, making a sound like shifting sand. Thankfully, the barn was built to withstand large cattle and was holding up well against the large bats, which were small in comparison. The barn was spacious and empty, with hay laid around the edges for cattle to rest on. There was a small wooden staircase to an upper level in the roof space of half the barn. It was packed tightly with crates and boxes.

Luckily, the barn was built to keep heat in during the harsh seasons, which meant there were no windows. Aaron and Paige stood by the barn door pressing their backs up against the drawbar. Every hit against the door batted the two of them backwards half a pace. Alex was a wreck. He was beside himself, whimpering under the staircase. Aaron figured there was no point getting him to help.

"Aaron, we need a plan," Paige yelled.

"We just need to hold out until morning, then the sunlight will drive them away," he said.

"Do you think it will hold out until morning?" She asked.

"It's going to have to," Aaron said.

"What about the blood? We need to wash it off," Paige suggested. Her eyes darted around the room, but there were no troughs or buckets of water.

"If they get in, we run for the forest. It might be thick enough to interfere with their large wings," Aaron said.

"We'll never make it!" Paige replied. A loud screech interrupted their conversation, and a claw poked between the slats of wood on the barn door and scraped around. Aaron jumped to the side in surprise. The claw retracted, and a small splinter of wood pinged off into the barn. Paige put her hand where the claw was and shone a blast of light through the gap. An eyewatering screech and sizzling sound followed.

"Can you control them? Slow them down at least?" Paige asked.

"I can try, but it uses a lot of mana," Aaron said.

"You need to try," Paige said.

"How? It took all of my focus just to slow the other one down. I can't stop five bats all night."

"Remember when we left the town, and the dogs were chasing us? They reacted to your fear. Maybe you can do the same thing here and project calm into your aura. Or however it works." Paige said. A bat thumped into the door again, and a chunk of wood snapped off, leaving a hole big enough to look through.

"That's the thing, I don't know how it works." Paige and Aaron pressed back against the drawbar.

"But you managed before. Just do the same thing."

"Okay, I'll try." Aaron was about to ask if she would be okay holding the door alone, but she pushed him away before he could speak. Aaron lay down on a pile of hay at the back of the barn and closed his eyes. He avoided saying anything or reaching out to the bats directly. He just opened his mind and tried to calm himself. This feels ridiculous, he thought to himself. But what choice did he have? The bats hadn't calmed down. They still smashed against the barn door with the same frequency.

The same eerie clicking was bouncing around the barn walls like a plague of locusts. Aaron pushed it out of his mind. He had to ignore it. How could any undead respect and obey him if he was afraid of them? They are the corrupted, he is the master. They are animals and he, a necromancer. Necromancers ruled the undead, at least that's what he needed to become. To save them today, to help train Paige, to survive in this cruel world outside of the city and to understand and cure Tim's curse.

Aaron kept these thoughts close. He didn't just say them, he felt what they meant to him and he tried to believe them.

"Aaron, it's working!" Paige shouted. [Somatomancy talent increased] Dominion Over Undead: Rank 6 Aaron hadn't felt any mana drain that time. No ice in his chest, no cold words spoken. But he did feel his connection with the bats strengthen. One of them was about to charge at the barn. He could feel its bloodlust, raw and instinctual. He focused his aura towards it. This wasn't his mana, it was more like a field of influence around him.

He started to feel it over the past few days since working on his Dominion Over Undead. He felt it stronger than ever now. Rather than commanding the bat to stop, he merely projected his calm and non-threatening status to it. The bat charged, but landed on the door this time and scraped at it frantically. It screeched and slashed its claws around making an awful scratching sound then fluttered off. [Somatomancy talent increased] Dominion Over Undead: Rank 7 Aaron felt the next pair of bats loop around the barn.

Clicking sounds sent a chill down his spine as they flew past. They turned and started to charge at the door. Aaron pushed this time, he felt more influence with the increasing ranks. He shouted in his mind LEAVE, like a trainer commanding a dog. His chest went icy and he felt some mana shoot outwards through his aura. [Somatomancy talent increased] Dominion Over Undead: Rank 8 The bats screeched as they diverted and flew past the barn instead of into the door.

One of them flew so close to the wall by Aaron's head that the sound startled him, waking him from his focus.

"Don't stop now," Paige yelled.

"It's still draining my mana. I can cool them off a bit but I won't be able to make them miss the door all night," Aaron called back.

"Just keep doing it," Paige's legs were trembling as she leant back against the door. Aaron closed his eyes and focused again, not commanding, but influencing and suggesting. The hits on the door became less frequent and less hard. The screeches quietened down. But they still came. Little by little, bits of wood chipped and broke from the planks on the barn door. Moonlight began to flood in through the gaps. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Suddenly, Aaron felt a sharp pain in his head, as if something was resisting. Something powerful. He pushed through. Not only did it hurt, but it weighed down and clouded his mind, making it difficult to focus on the bats. It was strong and unrelenting. It was more than pain, it wanted him to fail. Aaron could sense it. He pushed it aside and projected calm influence on the bats. He started to shake and sweat as he resisted.

[Somatomancy talent increased] Dominion Over Undead: Rank 9"AAAAAROONNNNN," A familiar raspy voice echoed in his mind. It was harsh and made his head rattle painfully as if a bee was buzzing inside of it. It was the same voice from his dream, and with it came the same pain. The sound of the voice intensified, echoed and reverberated infinitely in his mind until it was unbearable. He couldn't stand it anymore. Aaron gasped for air, opened his eyes and stood up. He clenched his head in his hands, shouting in pain.

"Aaron! What's wrong?" Paige shouted.

"My head!" Aaron shouted in an agonised cry. The voice stopped, but it felt like he had taken a heavy punch. He felt dizzy and sick. Paige left the door and ran over, putting her arm around him to support his weight.

"There's something else… SomeONE else." Aaron said. His head was starting to feel more normal again and his thoughts felt more clear.

"What?! Where?" Paige shrieked.

"Not close, but I think it attacked my mind," Aaron said. The two of them paused.

"Do you hear that?" Paige asked.

"I don't hear anything," Aaron replied. The banging had stopped. Paige looked up at Aaron. The arm she originally used to help support his weight was now clinging tightly to the point where it almost hurt. Aaron could sense her tension and fear. The bats clicked, and a menacing pattering sound rattled through the rafters of the barn as they crawled around on the roof.

"They're coming through the roof!" Paige shouted. Alex had pulled some crates around his position under the staircase, barricading himself in. His terrified eyes peered out at Aaron and Paige through one of the gaps between the stairs. Snapping and ripping noises battered around the roof as the creatures dug around for an entrance. Bits of sawdust fell through the cracks and onto the floor around the barn. In the corner above the stairs, a wooden beam splintered open and a small head burst through the hole.

The corrupted creature let out a piercing, high-pitched whistle as it pierced its hands through the hole. Its claw dug in as it pulled its body through the hole. Chunks of wood dropped to the floor as it forced itself through the hole. It thumped onto the upper level in a heap.

"Get ready to fight," Aaron said. He had his dagger in one hand and stood sideways on to the bat. He readied himself to lunge forwards and stab if it approached. Paige unsheathed a small rapier about the size of her forearm. It was creatively decorated with a spiral-shaped metal handguard and looked more like a training tool or decorative wall piece than a real weapon. Her other hand glowed brightly as she held a white orb.

The creature was clicking and sniffing around the upper level of the barn for a few heartbeats before it caught their scent, or sound, or however it detected people. It shrieked as it jumped off the edge, flapping its wings in a frenzy and dove down the stairs towards them. This time, rather than using its claws, the creature opened its mouth to show layers of jagged teeth pointing in all different directions. Two large fangs hung from the top.

It flew towards them with its mouth open, flapping its wings in a frenzy as if it was trying to reach maximum speed. Luckily, the large creature struggled to manoeuvre in the small barn and barely had enough distance to build up to a gentle glide. Aaron lunged to the side and swiped his dagger at the bat. He narrowly evaded the charge and managed to sink his dagger into the base of the wing, ripping a line straight through it. It took all of his strength to hold onto the dagger as the bat tore past him.

The bat flapped frantically but couldn't catch any air to slow itself down. The rip had interrupted its ability to fly. It tumbled to the ground and rolled over twice before smashing into the wall at speed. Paige rushed over and stabbed her rapier through its chest, straight into where the heart should be. Blood spurted out like a broken pipe, and the creature went limp.

Before they could catch their breath, more blood-curdling whistles shrieked through the barn as four more bats forced themselves through the hole in the roof, each one with more ease than the last as the hole was broken wider.

"Get under the upper floor!" Paige shouted, "It's more cramped, and there's less room to fly!" Aaron and Paige ran to the opposite wall. The upper floor where all of the crates are stacked was just above head height. It would be impossible for the bats to attack from above now. Alex was still curled up in a ball under the staircase, surrounded by crates. It was probably for the best. He looked like he would be a liability in a battle in his current state. The four bats swooped down and hissed.

Aaron and Paige flailed their weapons at them. They swooped around the open space at the front of the barn. Shadows danced around the back wall from the light in Paige's hand.

"Get back in the corner," Aaron said. There was a space behind the crates Alex had barricaded himself behind where the stairs came up at a steep angle over their heads. The pair backed slowly into the corner, shoulder-to-shoulder. The space in front was too confined for more than one bat to fly in. One bat landed with a loud thud on the staircase above Aaron's head, hissing and swiping its claws through the gap. Paige stabbed through the gap with her sabre, piercing through the bat's abdomen.

It screeched in pain and flew down and landed on the floor below. Black blood trickled through the hole into her shoulder. Meanwhile, the three other bats landed and crawled around the crates, clicking and screeching at them. They snarled, baring their long, piercing daggers for front teeth. One of the bats on the floor hissed and lunged upwards, flapping its wings to gain a burst of speed. Aaron put his hand out and caught its neck.

The force of the jump pushed his back against the wall and his arm shook as it flapped and writhed, trying to bite him. Meanwhile, the other two bats lunged for Aaron and Paige's legs from the ground, using their wings to propel them forwards on the floor. Paige stabbed her sabre through the mouth of the bat on her side so deep that her hand was inside of its mouth. The creature bit down, but its jaws were stopped by the metal handguard. The bat recoiled backwards, ripping Paige's sword from her hand.

The blade had pierced out the back of its head. It made a few panicked flaps of its wings before collapsing onto the floor on its front, wings spread wide. It twitched a couple of times then stopped moving. The third bat snuck past their guard and bit down on Aaron's calf, digging its two long teeth deep into his flesh. Aaron screamed in pain. Instinctively, he stabbed his bone dagger with his free hand into the side of the head of the bat in his arms.

It hissed so loudly that he wanted to cover his ears, and then it flew off to the back of the barn. The bat on the floor flapped its wings and thrashed its head around as it clenched its jaws around Aaron's leg. He could feel his muscle ripping in its jaws. It was excruciating. The pain was too much for rational thought. He kicked his leg in panic. Orb in hand, Paige slammed her open palm down onto its neck, making a loud fizzing sound. The bat let go and backed off slowly, holding its mouth open intimidatingly.

Paige threw the orb of light into its open mouth. It exploded with a burst of light. Black smoke erupted out of its mouth for a brief second and cleared to reveal frothy saliva in its mouth. The creature fell onto its face and convulsed around on the floor as if it was having a seizure for a few moments before going limp. Paige ran over to the first dead bat and reached into its mouth to grab her sword. She rolled it over and put her boot on its chest to leverage her strength, but the sword wouldn't budge.

"LOOK OUT!" Aaron shouted. The two remaining bats flew over at speed. The first bat hit her chest with its claws, knocking her onto her back. She yelled in pain as its talons ripped across her, spilling blood over her white shirt. The second bat landed next to her, opened its mouth and bore its teeth. It was ready to strike into her exposed neck. Aaron could barely walk with the pain in his leg. It felt like poison was in his insides and his blood was on fire. But his instincts kicked in.

His chest went cold and his throat burned from his icy breath as he shouted.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" The bat froze as if it had turned to stone. Its mouth was still open but stuck in place. It waddled backwards one step on its small, clumsy feet, wings spread out like a statue. Aaron took his bone dagger and plunged it into the bat's chest. His True Sight ability showed him precisely where to strike as it punctured the creature's heart. It was too frozen to make any noise. But Aaron knew it was dead when it flopped to the floor.

[Somatomancy talent increased] Dominion Over Undead: Rank 10 Additional proficiency has been gained for reaching rank 10. Controlling undead costs less mana and now grants spirit coalescence. Gain an instant burst of mana. Reaching rank ten must have taken a big push. Attempting to calm them with his aura wasn't enough. But the sheer force of will stopping the lethal attack must have been a sufficient feat of strength to push him over the edge. A deep screech rattled the barn.

It was louder and harsher than any of the bats in the barn. Painful, in fact. Aaron and Paige doubled forward and covered their ears. Suddenly, the doors to the barn shattered. A cloud of sawdust whipped up around the entrance. Aaron barely shielded his eyes in time as splinters and shards of wood bounced off him. They hurt, but luckily nothing pierced his shin. A grotesque creature let out a shrill whistle.