need every power-up I could find to take out the rest.
13
DAGNEY
What did it mean that my loyalty was purple? Nothing.
Except that I wanted Ryo to win. Well, sure. Ms. Takagi asked me to help him, and we needed to get out of this rotten game, so who cared who won it? I didn’t even know my win condition, and if Grigfen could win as a member of a team, then helping Team Ryo to victory seemed like my best shot.
That was all it was.
That was the only reason.
The drumming grew closer.
Exit catacombs. The arrow spun, pointing out the door. Grig had grabbed everything of value in the office, so we should amscray.
We raced through the catacombs, turning ourselves in twisting circles. The bones glistened beautifully, stacked carefully to show the way out. I’d caught the pattern, but still trusted my arrow for directions more.
Grig slowed to a stop. “Last turn until the exit,” he whispered.
“Let’s go,” Ryo said, moving forward.
I grabbed his arm. The soundtrack had just changed to battle music. “We’ve got a boss to fight first.”
I peeked around the corner. Three priests blocked the exit, swaying softly, their hands alit with ghostlight.
I gestured three fingers and Grig nodded.
“Can you turn their loyalties?” I asked.
“No time,” Grig said, his eyes sparkling. “Besides, I’ve got a few new spells I want to test out.”
“I’ll tank,” I said, unsheathing Ryo’s sword before he could protest. “Ryo, protect Grigfen as he does magic.”
Grig gave a brief nod, and we moved forward. Ryo trailed one second behind.
The bone walls of the catacombs around us shook, and then a monster of bones formed, blocking our way. I checked, but it wasn’t Grigfen’s doing.
Now we had to fight three priests and a bone monster? I was so done with this level.
I lifted my sword and sliced at the bones. Shoved the thing backward.
Grig lifted his hands and chanted a single word over and over, “Vixhe, vixhe, vixhe.”
I ducked as his magic shot from his hands. The bone monster imploded, sucking tight into itself, and then, as Grig closed his fingers into a cupping shape and then spread his hands out, the glistening bones exploded. Grig pulled his hands in front of him and gestured vertically, whispering a word I couldn’t catch over the boom.
A shield blocked the shattered bones from hitting us. But they destroyed those swaying priests, just completely eviscerated them.
Grig swayed on his feet, his color pale, but still he grinned. His knees buckled, and Ryo caught him.
I put a hibisi in his mouth, and he chewed the blossom like a cow.
“When did you learn that?” I asked.
“I may have found Edvarg’s book of spells in his desk.” His head dropped to the side. “Can I bother anyone for a horse, or a cart, or maybe you could wrap me in a blanket and carry me like a wee baby?”
“I’ve got you,” Ryo said, wrapping his arm under Grig’s shoulder. He lifted him easily. “I left my horse at the stables. Do you think they’re still there?”
Oh, he was asking me. I ripped my gaze away from his rippling arm muscles. “Probably.”
I turned away quickly and almost ran into a dead priest.
“Watch where you are going, dude,” I said, not embarrassed at all. Stables. Stables.
Find stables. Thank you, Pathfinding arrow, for working when my brain just wasn’t. I didn’t even think to loot the dead priests.
We made our way to the horses, and then out of the city to a hill overlooking the castle. Grigfen drooped forward on his horse, but he was sitting steady enough that I didn’t worry about the galloping. We made it out. The twin moons lit the city with my hope. The sky had brightened, morning on its way. Whirligigs scanned the streets for us. The docks were full of ships ready to flee the kingdom before the Savak came to claim what we’d given them. And the empty castle glowed like a candle left in a window.
Ryo’s throat bobbed.
“We’ll come back,” I said. “This isn’t a forever goodbye.”
Ryo met my eyes. A lie was not a lie if it was kind.
Truth was, there was no guarantee we’d make it back here. But we would get Ryo home.
Nao Takagi asked me to.
I searched the tree-covered hilltop. We had the gloves, so we should get the Traveling Boots next. From my understanding, they were like Seven League Boots and would help us collect the items faster.
The words Retrieve the Traveling Boots scrolled across my game vision in glowing yellow