Marked for Death

Chapter 11

Kandler shoved his blade right into the thing’s mouth. He felt it grate along the creature’s spine and pop out through the back of its neck. Its eyes burned like glowing coals for a moment as it tried to scream. Kandler had never seen such unbridled hatred in a face that looked so human. His mind wanted to deny it could be. Then the creature disappeared in puff of smoke.

“That was a vampire,” Sallah said as she scowled at Kandler in frustration, “and you just invited the damned thing in!”

The banging on the door stopped. “Seems to be working so far,” Burch said as he cocked his ears, trying to hear where the creatures might now be.

Kandler cursed inwardly. He couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. Undead creatures like that were strong enough to break down the door anytime they liked. They hadn’t been banging on the door. They’d been knocking on it.

The justicar sheathed his sword, then picked up a chair and smashed it over a table. Long, jagged parts of the legs remained in his hands. He tossed one of the legs to Burch. If they were going to survive this, they’d have to do it right. They couldn’t afford any more mistakes.

“Where are they?” Kandler asked Sallah. His mind fled to his house, to Esprл. Although he didn’t believe much in the gods, he felt a strong urge to pray. He wanted to run out into the night, to race to his home, and to hold his daughter tight. He had to be patient though. If the creatures killed him, he’d be no help to anyone, and he certainly didn’t want to lead them to his porch.

The lady knight stepped up to the battered front doors. There was still a gap between them, but although the bar had bent it had held. She touched it with her left hand while she drew back her sword for a blow with her right. She concentrated for a moment, then gasped. “They’re gone.”

“They’re looking for easier prey!” Temmah said with a nervous smile. He flipped a quick salute at Kandler. “That was a dandy of a blow.”

Kandler wanted to smile, but he knew better. “I didn’t hurt that thing. Steel can’t do the job. It’ll be back.” He glanced around the large, high-ceilinged room. The windows were all shuttered. The back door was barred too. “Any idea how they’ll come?” he asked Burch.

The shifter shook his head. “Place is tight.”

Kandler grimaced. “Not airtight. Now that I invited them in, they can just turn to mist again and flow right through the gaps.”

Sallah put up her hand, and the others fell silent. “They’re on the move. Oh!”

“What?” Kandler said as he moved closer to her. He hated relying on someone else like this, especially someone he didn’t really know. And, he had to admit to himself, the fact that she was a paladin, a god’s chosen knight, rubbed him the wrong way too.

The destruction of the Mournland had convinced Kandler that one of two things were true. Either the gods didn’t care what happened to the people of Khorvaire, or the gods were out to get them. Either way, he wanted nothing to do with them.

Sallah pulled back her lips and revealed her gritted teeth. “There are more of them. Many more.”

The banging started on the front door again. Temmah yelped, then slapped a thick hand over his red face and muttered an apology.

“I don’t get it,” said Temmah. “If they can come in, why the knocking?”

Kandler knew the knocking was just a distraction meant to focus their attention on the door while the vampires circled around and came in another way. He started to respond to Temmah, but Sallah cut him off with a sharp wave of her hand. She concentrated for a moment then performed a slow pirouette, her empty hand stretched out as if to feel for something. Her eyes flung wide, and she spun about and stabbed her finger at the back door. “There!”

Kandler turned to see a strange clump of mist swirling around the inside of the back door. A moment later, it coalesced into the vampire Kandler had stabbed.

“You are a rotten host,” the vampire said with a grin, swirling his black cloak around him as he spoke. A crimson emblem of a gaping maw filled with fangs was embroidered on the cloak’s left breast. “Do you stab all your guests?”

“What are you doing here?” Kandler said as he hefted the splintered chair leg in his hand.

“Oh!” said the vampire. “She hasn’t told you yet?” The creature licked the blood from his lips. “How… delicious!”

“He’s a Karrn,” Sallah said.

“That’s all I need to know,” Kandler said as he advanced, holding the stake before him. The justicar didn’t care much for people from Karrnath-especially if they were undead bloodsuckers bent on killing him.

Sallah matched Kandler stride for stride. Burch angled off to the right, and Temmah kept pressing his back against the front door as the creatures outside continued to pound on it “He may have weaseled his way in here,” Sallah said, “but he can’t invite others. It’s not his place.”

“Correct, witch-knight,” the vampire said, its eyes glittering red against its eggshell skin, its mouth a savage slash filled with teeth. “But wrong all the same.” With a flick of his wrist, the vampire flung the bar from the town hall’s back door.

Burch’s crossbow twanged, and a wooden bolt pierced the vampire’s heart and jutted from his chest. The undead thing collapsed without a sound, falling on the bolt and driving it further into its chest.

“Secure that door!” Sallah said.

Kandler sprinted over to the door picked up the heavy bar. Before he could drop it into place someone outside of the hall knocked the door inward and clean off its hinges. The justicar had to jump back to keep the slab of wood from falling on him.

Two creatures stomped through the naked portal. They walked like men and bore the arms and armor of great warriors, but their flesh was torn and rotten, hanging from their frames in ragged strips. Their eyes were dark, empty sockets. Their breastplates bore the same crimson symbol that appeared on the vampire’s cloak. They snarled from their desert-dry throats, and they beat their blades on the ground as they stampeded in, daring any to stand before them.

“Zombies!” Burch said as he reloaded his crossbow.

“Karrn shocktroopers,” Kandler said, recognizing the creatures’ rotting uniforms. He raised his sword before him and leveled a swing at the first creature’s head.

The zombie parried the blow easily, but it failed to counter Kandler’s follow-up attack. The justicar’s blade clanged off the creature’s sword, just as he had intended, then slipped under the creature’s blade and breastplate and sliced clean through its backbone. It hesitated for a moment and loosed a dry screech before it fell into two pieces. Its top overbalanced first and hit the ground before its knees, sending up a cloud of dust. Kandler almost choked on the stench.

The other zombie stepped forward, its jagged blade raised high as it aimed a blow at Kandler’s neck. Busy with the first creature, he gritted his teeth and waited for the blade to slash at him. He hoped he’d be able to catch it on his armored shoulder rather than his face.

Sallah stepped between the two, shielding the justicar with her body. A silvery flame flickered along the length of her sword as she shoved it into the zombie’s face. Its light illuminated the empty corners of the zombie’s eye sockets.

“Get back!” Sallah screamed. “Your kind holds no sway here.”

The zombie raised its arm to defend itself, as if the silvery light blinded its long-lost eyes. It let loose a dry, wordless scream as it turned and stomped out of the town hall the way it had come.

Kandler made to follow the creature, but Temmah screamed at the justicar to stop. “You don’t know what’s out there!” he said.

Kandler looked back at the dwarf. Temmah shook so hard that Kandler could hear his armor rattling from it.

“Esprл’s out there,” Kandler said. His voice felt raw with fear, but he hoped the others could not hear it. “That’s all I need to know.”