Try as I might to think of this golem as an "it", I couldn't stop thinking of the thing as a "he" even though I doubted his creator had bestowed him anything between the legs. "Artificial life," I said. "Not real."
"So, I am not really alive."
"Uh, Justin, we don't have time for existential discussions." Katie pushed herself up and grabbed my hand. "We've got to meet Felicia and get out of here."
A flash of panic raced through me as I realized we'd been dawdling. "Crap, how long has it been?"
"We're going to be overdue if we don't hurry."
"How far?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, but pretty far. Like a couple hundred yards maybe."
I sighed. "Might be faster if you hitched a piggy-back ride."
Katie smiled and hopped on my proffered back. "Thought you'd never ask."
"Come with us and watch our backs," I told the golem, hoping it wasn't a mistake trusting the thing.
"I assume that is an idiom since I will have difficulty seeing your back through the person perched upon it." The golem's tone never wavered from a calm monotone.
"Uh, yeah." I resisted a face-palm. "It means protect us."
"I will."
We ran.
Not more than twenty feet later, we ran into trouble. Literally. Racing up the spiral staircase, I slammed into Amanda and sent her sprawling. She sprang to her feet in an instant, eyes wide, fangs extended at the sight of me.
"How the hell?" She bent her fingers like claws. Looked at Katie and smiled. "Oh. The little morsel helped you. I guess she fell prey to your incubus charms."
Katie slid off my back. I held my hands in what I hoped was a good fighting position. Self-defense remained one of those things I should probably have learned at some point, but the bad guys hadn't given me much breathing room.
Amanda grinned. "I'm going to make short work of you." She flashed forward.
I dodged back, but not before her sharp fingernails raked my hide, leaving bloody trails along my arm. I growled and lunged. Her body swayed left. She grabbed my arm. Twisted it, and used my momentum to drive me into the stone wall. Fireworks burst into my eyes.
"Leave him alone!" Katie yelled.
I looked up in time to see Amanda smack her against the wall like a doll.
A rough hand clawed into my hair and dragged me up. Amanda kneed me in the stomach and followed with a flurry of blows to my chest. Every breath of air exploded from my lungs. I sucked and heaved for oxygen. The vampire kicked my feet out from under me and pinned me to the floor.
"You didn't think Maximus chose me just because I can resist your incubus powers did you?" Her yellowed fangs glittered in the light. "I've studied martial arts for over a hundred years."
"Martial arts this, bitch," said Katie and dumped a flask of silver liquid on Amanda's head.
The vampire screamed as the substance burned the skin on her face. She flailed at Katie, but a gray hand caught the vampire's and held it.
"These martial arts are interesting," said the golem.
Amanda twisted away from the gray man and backed off, wiping the silver liquid from her face. It left angry red welts where it had been. "You think a little silver is going to kill me?" she screamed at Katie. "I'm going to drain you dry, you little tramp."
"I cannot allow such a thing," the gray man said, and stood between her and Katie.
I jumped to my feet and stood beside the golem. "Think you can take on two of us, Amanda?"
"Does a bear crap in the woods?" She lunged.
I let go of my body, and let instinct take control. Her fist flashed for my face. I dodged and felt the wind from its passing. The gray man grabbed her wrist. I grabbed her other arm as she overextended from the missed punch. Together, we drove our knees into her stomach and slammed her against the wall. She recovered faster than I thought possible. Kicked off the wall and flipped forward, twisting at the same time. Her arms slipped from our grasps. Amanda ran back up the stairs and vanished.
Katie stood up, rubbing her bottom, a pained look on her face. "Oh, crap."
"We're going to have company." I looked at the golem. "Where were you at the beginning of the fight?"
"I had returned to our prison room for a moment. I am sorry for the delay."