Watching the two assailants enter the hospital Nate’s stomach twisted. He mentally pressed down on the swelling thrill. Time was of the essence. The nurse would have communicated their position to the Mayor. They weren’t safe.

  “We can’t stay here. Dr.Mei, where is the safest?”

  “The Morgue. That's where the key stone is located. If we make it there we’ll be safe. But he can’t shift us there in his condition.”

  “I wasn’t planning on him to do that.”

  Nate turned his gaze over at the non-powered people. Two children, Mandy, and the former soldier. Weighing the options he knew he couldn’t keep them safe if he stayed with them. He took a steadying breath.

  “Armand, was it? You and Mandy take the kids. This bed is movable so push it to the elevator and head down to the morgue. You’ll know when to leave when you hear the fighting.”

  “Nat?”

  Teddy grabbed his sleeve. Fear in his eyes. The might of that creature down stairs was undeniable. Watching it tear the robot into pieces was enough to shake anyone’s belief in success. He didn’t want his brother to go away just when they had reunited.

  “Renee you’ll take care of him right?”

  At Nate’s question she nodded seriously. To her, for the first time in many lifetimes she didn’t want to end up dead. Things in this life had just become interesting and full of color. Letting that slip away now was not an option.

  “Nat please.”

  “What do you think I won’t come back?”

  “No, but thats what…”

  ‘Don’t sweat it you punk.”

  Nate ruffled his head and Teddy let himself be pulled away by Renee. Armand helped Dr.Mei prepare the bed as Mandy approached Nate. They had still yet to get anytime to speak to each other. The revelations over his father and her mother hadn’t fully sunk in. She reached out and caressed the side of his face.

  “Are you sure you’ll be fine?”

  “Who are you talking to? I don’t have to win the fight, I just have to buy enough time for all of you to get away.”

  “So once we’re safe you’ll come to us?”

  “One way or another.”

  “You have to promise.”

  The only response she received was a smile as he turned away toward the door. A cracking sound came from his neck and he rolled his head around. Shaking out his body he felt the pain in his arm but ignored the sensation. Stepping out, Karah followed close behind him.

  “Sorry, but you’ll have to stay.”

  Nate’s words clamped down onto her heart like a vise. Blood pumped up her neck coloring her face a slight red. She considered clobbering him and finding some other way around their predicament. A quake rolled out from somewhere below.

  “We don’t have time for jokes. Let’s get at it Nate.”

  “You don’t get it. No one else can fight if something gets past me. All of my spirits have a limited range of movement from me. You're my only monster. So only you can protect them.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? After all that shit about me protecting you. What? now you can just charge off and fight without me?”

  “It’s necessary.”

  “It’s against our contract.”

  She’d prefer to not pull up their contract. It wasn’t fair but neither was the way he was sending her away. This wasn’t what she wanted, she had to prove to him her worth. A small part of her wanted that more than anything. To be useful for once in her life.

  “If you're going to be that way. I order you to protect them until they are safely in the morgue. This doesn’t break our contract. I won’t ever get rid of you.”

  Nate turned around catching Karah off guard. She’d always been the aggressive one between the two of them. That was in spite of his anger and proactive nature. He reached his hand out and pulled her into a kiss. Bliss rolled throughout Karah’s body as she felt her confidence slacken. He let her go looking deep into her eyes.

  “You better get them there safe and come find me.”

  He left her there in the room. Mandy had seen all of it. This was not the time nor place but she felt pain in her heart. Had she been left behind, discarded so quickly once Karah had shown up? No, he’d kissed her recently as well this was just the danger pushing him to extremes. The others in the room had better things to think about then Nate’s love life.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The second floor was just as empty as the rest of the hospital. Nate was thankful that Doctor White was still shifting everything properly. He’d descended a level to fight his enemies away from the others. With a final quaking blow the floor blew up into the ceiling before scattering back down.

  A hand as large as Nate’s head grasped the edge and pulled itself up from the hole it had created. Just as the body peaked over the edge of the gap Lupita’s teeth cut down from all edges gnashing away at its neck. The sounds of grating metal rang out as the teeth sawed and crushed against the veiny neck. A second hand reached through and shattered the circular jaw.

  A small amount of pain passed into Nate’s mind as he felt all the teeth had been broken. It would take more than Lupita to kill this enemy. He’d metal prepared for this but was still uncomfortable with the prospect of his most familiar spell failing. Drawing out the wand he prepared himself.

  Hercules gave a final tug pulling himself out of the hole and onto the second floor properly. His body loomed high over Nate and devoured the scenery. Seeing him up close frayed Nate’s nerves but he could give up. They would only be starting to move now. He needed to buy at least five or ten minutes for them to get down to the morgue.

  Off of the beast's back a man hopped off. Dusting himself off with frustrated hands. Nate was familiar with him, he’d met the Mayor on one or two occasions. Functions that Mandy had forced him to attend, none had been good interactions. Always looking down on him.

  “Well, Well, Well. When my little birdy had told me of what you’d become I hardly believed it. That bastard of a boy, growing into a bastard of a man.”

  Hercules seemed to defer to the Mayor watching him for more instructions. This was good enough for Nate. Any time gain was acceptable. Even if it wasn’t directly fighting.

  “Mr.Mayor it is good to see you. How is the garden?”

  “My Hedge? Wonderful. How are your dead parents?”

  “HA, yes they are just fine. No thanks to you.” Nate ground his teeth.

  “Did you know about your father? Amazing. How did you find that one out? I thought we were untackable.”

  “There are eyes everywhere.”

  “NO, big loss was had. I mean a washed up piece of shit like him.”

  “Watch your words or I’ll make you regret them.” Nate Warned.

  “What don’t want to face the truth? That your father is a slimy, miscreant of man. The man who sired you with his bitch. The man who was to take my wife from me. That’s right he was having an affair with her. I allowed it when it was just her having fun, I could live with it so long as she did what she was told. But to think she would run away with him I couldn’t have it. I wouldn’t allow it!”

  “So you killed them.” Nate’s face went cold.

  “That's right. You should thank me. Maybe, if you let me do as I please, and go collect the vault. Just maybe I shall have the god bring back your mother. She was a fiery bitch that one.”

  “Sorry everyone, I wanted to delay longer. I just can’t do it.”

  His gaze fixed forward if he ground his teeth anymore they would turn to powder. Lucky for him another set of teeth were already prepared for him. He cast Lupita’s bite down upon the Mayor, anger surging up from his body. Hercules, seeing the attack, roared and charged down the hallway.

  The wand allowed a spell to be amplified when cast through it. One of his new spirits bubbled up and roiled across the ground. All along the walkway they surged with hunger. Stinging and grasping clattering to halt Hercules. The Dryad’s spell was simple. Snare.

  Hundreds of thorn wood trees sprung up out of the tiles. Famously they were an annoyance to pass through and with the strengthening of the wand that was doubled. Thorns two feet in length shout out of the trunks digging into his legs. At first it posed no difference he rushed through all the same. Until he was closing in upon Nate that at last the braking branches solidified even more.

  *ARGHH* *BOOM*

  Hercules toppled and slammed face first into another tangle of thorn woods. Now with the center most section surrounded on all sides it wrapped his body. Root and all stabbing, dragging, attempting to bury his body within their thorny embrace. Trapped unmoving was also the Mayor.

  Lupita’s teeth had torn him to pieces and now those pieces were pinned amongst the Thorn Wood. Nate couldn’t maintain the spell for very long. Each time that Hercules had destroyed one it had weakened the power. Unlike Lupita, who seemed to regrow the teeth nearly instantly, Dryad was unable to do so. Nate could feel with the land of the Spirit House that each tree located there was being repurposed for the summoning.

  It was not time for him to give mercy. Nate moved the teeth to fall down with force one after another upon the neck of Hercules. Coming down in all directions hadn’t finished the job but he knew it couldn’t be impervious. The Thorn Wood was proof enough of that. All ten of the molars were lined up first. They were made for crushing and that was exactly what he’d have them do.

  A sound close to that of rain rang out as the molars fell down upon the beast neck. Hercules was not just going to let himself die. Limited in what his mind could do but he still had a survival instinct. His body thrashed attempting to break free. Yelling and moaning as thorns were shoved deeper into his body. The molar slammed him over and over down into the ground.

  Blood ran endlessly from his body and he pushed up. His hand found the ground and a thorn pierced through the center of his palm. He gripped hard against the ground and scraped in an upward motion. He sent tiles broken thorns out in a torrent toward Nate.

  Without even a flinch he stood still as Budica appeared in front of him. A wet purple red swirl formed on her arm slamming down into a tower shield. This was not her magic ability but part of who she was as a spirit. Just as Lupita could form into a giant werewolf. It was within Boudica’s power to form items out of the miasma that she contained within her body.

  “You seem simple minded. I shall not take pleasure in your death, but I shall deliver it.” Nate spoke to the creature.

  There was a reason that Necromancers stood at the pinnacle of the underworld. Nate could feel that this was the power he needed. With this power he could kill his enemies, the Paladin and the Necro. Any who would threaten his family.

  The tower shield blocked his view for a moment. Hercules had a healing factor but it was nowhere near what the Mayor possessed. He dragged the various scraps of his body away. Low to the ground he slunk away like that snake that he was. Zeus would not allow failure. It was not his job to kill that boy, nor to care for the monster.

  All that mattered was the Corpse Vault.