The Heart of Alchemy by James Wisher (e book reading free TXT) 📕

beautiful woman. The result was an incongruous mix of sensual and repulsive.

At last she stepped back. “Astaroth must still favor me if he sent you to my aid. I thought to never see you again.”

“That makes two of us. I came primarily to deliver your follower.” Lady White looked over his shoulder at Jet and seemed to dismiss her immediately. Otto cleared his throat and continued. “I also hoped to discuss undead and how best to control them. But now I’m thinking our best move is to leave this place, quickly. Do you have a secure location where we can talk?”

Lady White stretched, straining the fabric of her thin dress before focusing once more on Otto. “Nowhere is safe for me here. Astaroth’s High Lord has cast me out of the cult. Abaddon’s followers were selected to hunt me and my familiars down. I’m down to my final warbeast and he’s not in very good shape. I would be grateful for transportation elsewhere.”

“I can arrange that.” Otto whistled. “Hans! We’re heading back.”

The good sergeant trotted over, mithril blade still bare in his hand.

Lady White shivered and moved away. “Could you put those swords away for now? Being surrounded by so much mithril makes me nauseous.”

“You’ll just have to bear it,” Otto said as they set out. No way would he leave the others unprotected in the corrupt land. He’d lost one man on this journey and he had no intention of losing another.

Lady White glared at him, but her expression quickly smoothed. She needed him and she knew it. More importantly, she knew Otto knew it as well.

The little group set out at a quick march back toward the docks. The sooner they put some distance between themselves and the cursed city the better.

They managed six blocks before Lady White said, “They’re coming.”

Otto sensed it a moment later. Concentrated corruption headed their way, four of them it felt like.

A gout of blue flame came roaring in only to be turned aside by Lady White’s magic.

“Run!” Otto said.

They broke into a sprint, abandoning all stealth for speed. Fortunately, the docks weren’t that far away and soon the ship was visible ahead of them. Even better, Axel had his archers on deck, bows at the ready.

Otto waved and pointed over his shoulder.

Axel nodded and said something to the scouts. Seconds later arrows arced over their heads.

No more fire blasts exploded.

The moment Otto made it up the gangplank, the crew cut them free of the dock.

“Keep watch.” Otto sent thirty-four threads through his sword and formed them into a huge arm that pushed the ship away from the dock and out to sea.

He fell to his knees, drained by the exertion.

When Otto finally forced himself to his feet, the ship had put on half her sails and they were making good time away from the cursed land. On deck, Lady White and a cowering Jet stood on one side, while everyone else gathered on the other side and watched her warily. Perfectly understandable given that she was an undead demon worshipper. Still, Otto couldn’t have this tension the entire trip home.

He made his way to a spot near the main mast, halfway between the two groups. “Hans, Axel, Corina, Lady White, if you’d be so kind as to join me.”

When all four had met in the middle Otto went on. “Everyone, Lady White is my guest on this voyage. Please treat her with the proper respect. You have nothing to fear from her.”

“What about that?” Corina pointed at the warbeast.

“Rest easy, child,” Lady White said. “It will do nothing without my permission. The poor thing has been through a rough time and needs to rest.”

Corina bristled at being called a child, but she remained silent which Otto appreciated. “Shall we descend to my cabin and discuss our arrangement further?”

Before Lady White could respond, something hit the ship, sending it lurching to the side. Otto sprawled on the deck but quickly regained his feet.

He looked up at the crow’s nest. “What was that?”

“Can’t see anything!” the lookout shouted.

“It was Dagon’s guardian,” Lady White said. “I didn’t think they would dispatch it after I left. It seems the High Lords really want me dead.”

Otto frowned. “Dagon’s guardian, you mean that thing that pulled us into port last time?”

“Correct.”

“Something’s coming right at us!” the lookout shouted.

Sure enough a long shadow was bearing down on the ship. They had about five seconds before it hit them again.

“Hang on!” Captain Wainwright said as he frantically turned the wheel.

The ship turned hard to the right.

Otto used threads of ether to brace himself.

“It missed!” the lookout called. “It’s turning back!”

“How do we kill it?” Otto asked.

“It’s a demon fused with a mass of corpses,” Lady White said. “It’s already dead.”

“Can you control it?”

Lady White shook her head. “The bound demon serves Dagon. It would never heed the commands of a follower of Astaroth.”

Otto snarled away his annoyance. He considered and rejected using the Heart. This thing had so much corruption in it, he doubted he had the power to transmute it all into pure ether even with the artifact’s help.

He peered closer at the approaching monstrosity. While the corruption ran through its entire being, there was a core at its center. It was as close to a heart as he expected to find.

A desperate plan formed. “Axel, get your archers ready. When I force it up, have them shoot mithril arrows into it.”

“How many?” Axel asked.

“All of them!” He turned to Lady White. “I’m going to need your help.”

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Be the bait. Stand at the rail and expand your presence. Call it to the surface.”

He hadn’t thought her pale skin could get any whiter, but it did. “You want me to challenge Dagon’s guardian? I’m strong, but I can’t defeat that creature.”

“I’ll deal with it. You just need to coax it to the surface.”

“Thirty yards!” the lookout called.

“Quickly!” Otto hustled her over to the rail rather more firmly than he’d intended.