“That’s right. I ask questions. I don’t come in with my weapons drawn. But I’m not stupid either. Go!”
His teammates swept into motion. Lyle charged and tackled the witch into the back wall and Zaara circled behind Justin using a nearby chair to vault into the air and descend on the witch from above. Two blades, one steel and one silver, slashed and their enemy screamed. She lashed out toward the young woman and ripped her belt pouch away.
Thankfully, Zaara didn’t have the potion any longer.
Justin saw the decision form in her head, and he lunged, his blade out to catch the bolt of magic that arrowed directly toward his partner’s chest. He had no idea what it was but he did know he didn’t want it hitting any of them. When the witch crumpled in a daze, he realized it had been a stun spell of some kind.
Lyle flicked a few more drops of the potion on the woman before he threw the potion toward Justin and Zaara. Had the dwarf been the kind of person who hesitated before launching into battle, he might have been moved to pity by the sight of a lone woman swaying on the ground, defenseless.
Luckily, he wasn’t one of those people. He delivered a strong kick and followed it up with a hammer strike on the witch’s head.
“Ha!” he yelled. “You can’t shoot firebolts if ye can’t see straight, can ye?”
“The man has a point,” Justin called to Zaara. He waited for Lyle to dodge before he sliced down with his sword.
The witch, however, had somehow managed to activate some defenses. Where blunt force had partially powered through, Justin’s blade was stopped by a weakly-flickering shield half an inch above the witch’s head. She looked at him with a smile.
Fire burst from her hands where they were planted on the floor.
The house was barely standing as it was and this would bring it down within minutes. He swore and dodged a line of flames on the floor before he drove the pommel of his sword down on the witch’s head. It didn’t strike but the shield flickered and died, which was something.
Zaara danced in and one blade inflicted a long gash down the witch’s back. As she slid out of range, a death bolt like the one his mother had thrown launched to follow her. He lunged and realized too late that he didn’t need to worry about whether he stepped on the witch or not. He caught the spell with the tip of his sword and batted it away.
“Take that, worst batting average in little league!” His spare hand shook the vial over the woman’s head and the potion made contact with an unmistakable hissing sound.
“Oh, that is gross!” Zaara yelled.
Justin stumbled toward a fiery wall but took time to find a place to plant his feet. He looked back to see the witch’s form melt into something green, tentacled, and terrifying.
“Oh, good,” he said. “Medusa and Cthulhu had a baby. This is good.”
“It can still be punched!” Lyle shouted triumphantly and delivered a kick as he raced past her and managed to land it squarely in her groin. When she doubled over, he punched her in the face.
“I didn’t know that hurt for women.” Justin slashed at a tentacle that snaked toward him and followed it up with several quick swipes as others tried to circle. “Jesus, do these things ever stop growing? Zaara, does it hurt when women get kicked in the groin or is that only a man?”
“It hurts when Lyle kicks you anywhere,” she responded.
“Damned right it does,” the dwarf agreed.
“Sure.” He looked around. The smoke had begun to cloud the air and he could barely see the door. “Okay, last attack—all in.”
“Are you sure?” she called.
“Very sure. Zaara first.”
This had been part of the plan as well. The creature swayed on its feet and turned to look at her, but the woman had vanished out what was left of the doorway with Lyle at her heels.
By the time it looked for Justin, it was too late. It took the last of the potion full in the face and chest and a truly terrible scream ended in a gurgle when he ran it through with his sword. The monster’s face flickered between forms as it collapsed, and he punched out a side wall without even looking for the door.
He wouldn’t normally plunge his head into a swamp, but he did it this time without hesitation, bolstered by the