Ru Emerson: Keep on the Borderlands

Jerdren pushed past Panev to go to his new ally’s aid, butthe priest yanked him back. He was muttering under his breath, and the small, dark wand he held turned briefly a pale green. The remaining skeleton guards backed away from the party and began stalking along the walls. Trying to get around us to flee-or to keep us here, Eddis thought.

“Back!” Mead hissed and pressed past her. She expected one ofhis fireballs, but the mage threw a day jug of oil into the chamber, splashing many of the skeletons. A burning candle stub followed.

Flames roared high. Dry, rotting doth burst into flames, and several of the nearest undead simply fell over and were consumed. The five still on their feet ran for the doorway, but Hebold and two of the Keep men who carried battering weapons blocked the way and battered them into bone shards and dust.

“Damage,” the priest demanded sternly, and to Eddis’ eyes,he’d grown and changed since entering this cave-turning from mere priest to adeadly force. “Let no cut go untended in such a foul den as this!”

Jerdren turned to stare from the room. “Not yet!” he hissed.“Somethings out there, coming this way!”

The priest’s eyes dosed briefly. “Coming, but not close enoughto be a danger.” His dark eyes fixed on Kadymus, smoldered as they picked outHebold. “I warned you. But take the gems, if you wish. Nothing will challengeyou for them now.” He strode over to stamp out the few remaining flames.

“Don’t doubt that I will,” Hebold replied stiffly. “Priest.”

The word sounded like a curse, and Jerdren spoke quietly but urgently against the man’s ear. Hebold nodded, then turned away to scoop up hisdagger, so he could free the other stone. He shoved the last in his belt and brought up his chin to meet Eddis’ glare with a challenging stare of his own.

She turned away as if disinterested, then froze. Something was moving out in the hall-close by. Uneven footsteps. Lame guards? shewondered.

What came into sight didn’t look lame so much as corpselike.A zombie, she realized, and swallowed hard. The reek of long-dead bodies filled the chamber. Eight of the foul undead approached slowly, bulging eyes or empty eye sockets fixed on the invaders. They carried no weapons that she could see. She set an arrow to her string and moved offside to get a clear shot. M’Baddahthrust Flerys behind him as he put himself against her left shoulder and drew back on his own bow. Her arrow slammed into the nearest zombie with a nasty squelching sound. M’Baddah’s went clear through its neck and into the shoulder ofthe one behind. Neither seemed affected.

More arrows: Between them, Willow and M’Baddah hadneutralized three, but they were both running out of the magic arrows. Jerdren caught up a spear and swung it at a shuffling corpse. The zombie’s head wentflying, and the body collapsed.

“They die like the skeletons!” Jerden shouted. “Take ’emapart and they’re worthless!” He darted forward, Keep men following, maces andaxes swinging.

One cried out and fell. A zombie had him by the ankle. Another man hacked the arm from its body and kicked at it. Blorys hauled the man to his feet and passed him back to Mead. Hebold slammed his heavy axe into one fallen zombie, cutting it nearly in half. Another man cried out in horror and pain.

Sudden silence.

The hall reeked of long-dead flesh, and the floor was slick with black, oily fluid that seeped from severed limbs and heads. Most of Eddis’arrows were worthless-coated in foul ooze, broken, or the fletches soaked.M’Baddah and Willow retrieved what they could but finally gave up in disgust.Eddis held her breath as they edged past the horrid mess and into the open.

“So far, so good,” Jerdren said as the priest came up to joinhim.

Panev pointed across the hall. “The other undead at this endof the temple are in that chamber,” he said quietly. “They are bound to thatchamber, or the noise of battle would have brought them out to aid their fellows just now.” He eyed Jerdren, glanced at Eddis. “We can leave them alonefor now. But if we did, their high priest could summon them against us.”

“We fight them, then,” Jerdren said with satisfaction.

“We fight,” Panev said. “Though I will turn them, if I can.Wait, all of you, until I order an attack.”

His black gaze rested on Hebold, who rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“It is seldom given to a man of my calling to turn theundead-but perhaps the gods of order will aid me in this. When we are donethere, I will help Mead with the wounded.”

Eddis thrust herself forward. “You who’ve been hurt-stay outof this fray, and watch our backs.”

Panev beckoned as he strode into the room. Zombies-eight moreof them-came to staggering life as he entered the chamber. Eddis moved toM’Baddah’s side and drew back her bowstring.

Her lieutenant hadn’t been quick enough to get Flerys behindhim this time-or more likely, the smell of rot and decay from the hall behindthem had already affected the girl. She stumbled away from him, clutching her stomach, and vomited. M’Whan snatched at her arm and dragged her back to thenearest wall, where he thrust her into Mead’s grasp.

Eddis and M’Baddah shot and shot again, moved sideways asone, the way he’d taught her. But the two zombies stalking them seemed unfazedby the arrows. One of the spearmen came from somewhere to bury his weapon into the nearest, angling up from the base of its neck and into the skull. The head popped off, and the body went down like a sack of pudding. The undead at its side pawed at the man but slid in Flerys’ mess and fell on its back. Hebold wasthere with his axe before it could rise, and across the chamber, Jerdren came darting up behind two more undead, beheading them both in one mighty swing.

“Back!” That was Mead, who thrust Flerys back at M’Baddah andstrode forward, unstoppering a gourd of oil as he walked. He whipped the thing back and forth, then backed away himself as he tossed a lit candle stub into the spill of liquid. Fire roared up. The three zombies still on their feet went up like torches.

Mead was already back in the short, broad corridor. “There isno one and nothing out there just now. Catch your breath, all of you, drink water-no, not here, out in the passage, where the air is cleaner. Let me knowwhich of you was wounded in that fray. We cannot afford to lose anyone here.”

Eddis hugged Flerys close as they left the chamber. The childwas pale, and her lips trembled.

“Here,” the swordswoman whispered. “Eat a little of thetravel bread, it won’t hurt your stomach.”

“I’m sorry.” The girl’s eyes filled with tears. “I didn’tmean to.”

“You couldn’t help it. It’s all right, Flerys. I almost gotsick in there myself. A little bread and a drink of water. You’ll be fine.”

Flerys took the wafer and tucked a bite of it in her cheek, sipped water, and leaned back against the wall, spear clutched to her body.

Mead’s voice roused Eddis. “Anyone so much as touched bythose foul creatures, come to me or Panev now and let us heal you.”

Hebold sighed heavily. The mage eyed him with disdain.

“Of course, a man like you bears his wounds bravely, but theleast touch from these undead may turn you into one of them. Do you want that, hero?”

Time passed. It was deathly quiet here. Eddis thought she heard something like a distant flute once, but when she held her breath to listen closely, there was nothing.

“So.” Jerdren came up quietly behind her. “What next?

The priest answered for her, as he pointed north. “There aremen. Fewer than we but strong in evil. We must be careful.”

Jerdren smiled grimly and got to his feet. “I can deal withmen.”