56. Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter 56
“I ncoming,” Talik grunted as he rolled.
Dante hit the back of the blaster and ignored the jolt of pain that shot up his arm. It was empty—there was not enough time to recharge the weapons. The serpopards kept charging toward them, and the wayfarers were scattered across the cavern. An endless supply of cannon fodder continued to flow from the walls. They came out of the small openings in droves. At first, the wayfarers had both been a cohesive unit, but something had set the serpopards off. They were now viciously attacking the wayfarers as well as targeting them.
Distracted, Dante almost didn’t see the serpopard that jumped in front of him. He skidded to a stop as he took a step backwards. It snapped its sharp yellow serrated teeth at him, its snakelike tongue hissing. Orange eyes studied him, glowing with a predatory hunger, as it tilted its head and stared. Its gigantic body arched, readying itself to attack.
“Aim for the underbelly,” Khalida shouted as she stabbed a serpopard through the neck before gracefully half-turning and slicing its stomach open. Its contents sloppily hit the ground with a thud as the animal stumbled. “It will slow them down.”
He dropped the blaster. A green figure materialized next to him as he palmed the knife.
A club swung toward his head, scarcely missing him. “Traitor.”
Fanatic zealots—save him from the lectures.
The wayfarer tackled him, hitting him on the side. Dante used the momentum against the attacker, flipping him to the ground as he quickly slid the knife between their ribs, easily slicing through the unprotected flesh. Blood spurted everywhere as Dante pulled the knife back. He didn’t have to wait long for the poison to run its course. The light in the Atlantean’s eyes slowly dimmed as their body continued to convulse and gurgle long after the heart had stopped beating. He picked up the wayfarer’s club, turning it over in his hand as he adjusted for the weight, before he stepped over the body.
“Duck.”
Dante followed the command.
A flash of silver sliced through the air just as another wayfarer came at him from his blind spot. Except this time the wayfarer stood unnaturally still as blood dripped from his neck. He wobbled for a moment before his head rolled and splattered onto the ground. Dante nodded a thanks to Khalida. She stood behind the body, her sword bloody.
“You are welcome,” Khalida said.
“I’m out.” Talik stood above them, frowning at his blaster as he shook it. He kicked a body out of his way. “We are going to be outnumbered sooner rather than later.”
Near them, on an isolated outcropping of rocks, a serpopard pawed at a dying wayfarer. The animal rose on its hind legs and used its powerful claws to slash through the flesh, bones, and organs. The limited body armor the wayfarer wore didn’t stand a chance. It lowered its head and began eating its bounty, alive, slurping as it chewed. Dante looked away.
“Modern technology,” Khalida muttered as she cleaned her sword. “Perhaps you can use it as a bat.”
Dante surveyed the cavern. The serpopards had begun to feast on the dying and slow wayfarers, forcing them to turn and hide. He followed their retreating paths, taking note of where they climbed and disappeared, and they all appeared to be heading in the same direction. More importantly, none of them had reappeared. “There is a way out.” Dante pointed to the corner. “It may be our only option.”
“Oh good. We only have to cross the crevasse and bypass the ten or so serpopards that may want to eat us.” Talik’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he waved Khalida’s sword away from his neck. “Don’t get annoyed because you don’t like what I said.”
“If we time it, we should be able to use the wayfarers as bait,” Khalida responded with no hint of emotion in her voice as she ignored Talik. “They don’t appear to discriminate between who they feed on. Better a dying wayfarer than us.”
A small light flickered above them, followed by a quick flash of silver as a jerking body of a wayfarer was thrown out of one of the smaller openings along the wall.
“The immortals,” Khalida stated.
“Hey.” Rieka’s voice rang loud and clear on the other side of the cavern.
Nowhere near where she was supposed to be.
“I believe you are searching for yours truly. Looks like you are on the wrong side of the cavern.”