Overlord

45

Slater struggled with O’Donnell, coughing as the sea splashed into her face. But he was too strong, wouldn’t give up his grip on the idol, and only moved deeper into the water. Jen Galicia was halfway to reaching them when another tentacle swept by and drove her back. She slashed at it with her spear, and another deep groan came from beneath the waves. Then another one, louder and more pained than ever, even though Jen hadn’t struck the creature a second time.

Slater pulled back one hand and punched Digby in the face again. He laughed at her, spat out blood and a tooth, but still would not relinquish his grip on the idol.

Then Jen was screaming from near the shore. “Jo, look out! They’re coming!”

Slater turned, wondering who the hell they were, and her stomach dropped as she saw three mantics, surprisingly fast in the water, heading straight for her. She quickly stepped back, raising her hands to try to ward them off, but they all headed straight for Digby.

She barely had time to flinch away before they fell on the man. He cried out, “No!” in pain and disbelief, and then they were tearing him apart, his blood spreading in rapid clouds through the green water. The idol tumbled from his hands, splashed into the sea and began to sink.

Ducking a sweeping mantic forearm, Slater dove under, snatched the idol up, and quickly waded away. As she searched the shore, she turned to see Digby gone and the mantics floating further out, directionless.

“What are you going to do?” Jen asked.

“I don’t know! But this is the key, I’m sure of it.” Slater stared, wondering if she should hold it up like O’Donnell had done and try to will the beast away. But she hadn’t communed, she hadn’t eaten of the green stuff like Digby had. Like Aston had.

“How did Digby control it?” she asked.

Jen gave a humorless laugh. “That lunatic didn’t seem like he was in control of anything really,” she said. “More like he was just stirring it up.”

Slater remembered when O’Donnell had dropped the idol, how things had calmed momentarily before he had recovered it. There were no tentacles reaching for them now. Maybe the overlord was already going away. She needed to ensure that continued. She looked around, saw the fog seemed to be thinning, the waters less disturbed. She called Aston’s name, but got no reply.

“I don’t know how to end this!” she said, but fury, exhaustion, fear, all took hold and she wanted only to smash everything. She raised the idol high and smashed it into the ground. It thunked but didn’t shatter. It didn’t even appear to have a chip in it. Nothing seemed to change.

They both turned at the sound of a cry in the distance. “Aston?” Slater screamed.

She saw the bloodstone spear Jen still held, remembered its powerful effect against the beast. “Give me that,” she said, and Jen handed it over.

Slater took it in a two-handed grip and stabbed it into the idol. A blinding flash burned her eyes, and the statuette exploded. Her howl of shock and pain mingled with Jen’s as they were sent flying, shards of stone slicing into any exposed flesh. But with their cries, a deafening shriek filled the air, so loud Slater thought her ears would burst. The very ground shuddered and giant stalactites fell from high above, somewhere lost in mist, and splashed into the sea, or crashed and shattered onto the rocky ground all around them. As Slater and Jen grabbed hold of each other in an attempt to steady their stumbling on the heaving ground, a massive wave crashed into them. It lifted them high and fast. Slater had a moment to notice the cavern wall rushing toward her. Sharp pain blossomed in her head, a hollow thud rang in her ears, and everything went black.