“Nnnn.. don’t know.” The talking head said in such a flat tone I think even with a full set of shoulders, To’Orda would be too apathetic to even shrug. “Don’t care.” Bouncing with each footfall as our team sprinted through the initial channels, Lord Atius leading with Kidra at his side.

Windrunner gave the head another shake, midsprint. "Gods, fucking talk already you defective piece of scrap." The unkept white hair made for a good handle that dangled up and down. Windrunner turned his helmet to us. “I’m starting to think he’s not being stubborn here, this scrapshit seriously doesn’t know a single thing at all.”

“Leader said guard tunnel. I do.” To’Orda said, dangling almost horizontally from centrifugal forces as we took a sharp turn, all of us leaping over a set of rubble. “Leader says stay, talk, give contact channel. I do. No other orders left to do.”

“Why the gods are you still here then? To piss us off?” Windrunner asked, shaking the head a little more than needed.

“Nnnn… being carried.” The gravely voice said, pausing with each word as if it were annoying to even speak. “Unfamiliar. Get to move without effort. It’s nice. Relaxing. If I could sleep, would be even better.”

"Didn't know machines could sleep." Windrunner said. "Why would you even need to sleep in the first place?"

Wrath? I asked, poking the Feather carried on my back. I hadn't seen her sleep before, though I have seen her pretend to.

Neuromorphic systems do benefit from a garbage collection process similar to organic mind. Wrath explained. However, we do not need to turn off all our functions for this to happen. The cleaning systems are automatic and nonintrusive. This may be a quirk of To'Orda specifically.

"Wrath says your guess is as good as hers." I said, to which Windrunner gave a few questioning glances before realizing I wasn't making a joke.

Atius turned an eye to glance at the stump in Windrunner’s possession, a set of calculations passing through before a conclusion was reached. “Well then, why don’t you go to sleep lad? Keith, see if you can get some space in your sack for an extra head. We’ll interrogate him once all of this is over.”

“Wait, you’re serious?” I asked, now both Windrunner and I looking at the Deathless expecting him to tell us it's a joke.

“Aye, nothing more we can do with the head right now. Once we’re more settled, we can consider ways to interrogate him that’ll work.”

This is not a wise course of action. Wrath said through the link between us. Her working eyes flickered in my direction, violet glow narrowing down with accusation. To'Avalis had orders for To'Orda to follow in the event of his capture, which means this situation was predicted. We do not know if there are additional countermeasures To'Avalis planned out. Or if the head could be a danger to us in another way.

She had a point there.

We reached another dead end and instantly took the left, the sound of splashing puddles the only thing left behind us. No sign of any machines yet, though we have been sprinting for only a few minutes now since our fight with To'Orda. “For the record clan lord, Wrath thinks this is a bad idea." I said, bringing up her points again. "Maybe should ditch the head somewhere? Preferably kick it over a wall. I vote Kidra do it, she could probably launch it into the next level up.”

Kidra scoffed. Actually scoffed. The nerve. And here I was giving her a chance to show off. Last time I’m doing her any favors, swear to the gods.

“No need for anything so drastic, whelpling. I have plans of my own, for now carry on with setting the head in the sack.” He raised a hand up, the motion for the group to stop. We slid against the waterway, while I was already opening up Wrath’s sack, preparing it for a new neighbor. The other knights took point at the same moment, rifles up and aiming downrange, covering angles.

Still no machine anywhere. Just broken walls, and water leaking in between the cracks.

While Wrath and I were privately debating the merits of keeping a living head as decoration, Atius had turned to the object of discussion himself. “Should be good for you, aye? You get to sleep and you won’t hear orders from your boss. So long as you feed us information, you won’t even need to move anymore.”

“That… seems good. Accept.” The head said, the single violet eye closing shut, already, deciding to waste no time on the offer.

Windrunner held the head out, helmet glancing in my direction with clear befuddlement. "He... he actually went to sleep I think. In the middle of all this?" Nevertheless, he held out the head so I could grab it. "I mean, if machines really can sle--"

A white machine sword flicked with lighting speed out of Lord Atius’s scabbard, tip unerringly diving for the Feather’s lower neck all in one fluid motion. Even Windrunner who was carrying the damned thing didn’t react to it in time before the blade had sunk straight through the machine’s soul fractal.

No pulse of occult came. No feeling of something more being cut. Atius tutted, withdrawing the blade with disappointment before he resheathed it. “He fled faster then I could get him. Seems he was either expecting this, or constantly on guard.”

A befuddled look down at Wrath reminded me I should probably close the sack again and strap it on. After all, it doesn't look like Wrath is getting a friend now. While the rest of her face was frozen in a neutral position, the eyes looked almost as confused as the rest of us. Windrunner shrugged, tossing the broken head behind him where it sunk halfway into the water.

“No plans to interrogate him?” I asked, slowly reconsidering the past events.

“No. Only picking the best moment to catch him unaware. It’s likely he did know information we could have used.” Atius said, continuing the sprint forward, his gaze flickering at the walls around us, as if looking for patterns. He clearly had a plan in mind given the directions we were taking. The rest of us followed behind, quickly putting distance between us and the head. “Unfortunately, as much as he liked to talk, we don’t have the time to extract the info, nor the tools. Carrying him around will only give--”

“DUCK!” Father yelled out over the comms. The group didn’t question it, all of us diving into a sliding crouch, feet wide to force the maximum surface friction, slowing us all to a full stop.

At the very same moment, the walls before us blew up. Or rather, seven blue beams sliced through at an angle and for a small sliver of frozen time, everything seemed perfectly still. The beams clear and bright, almost like the corridor was filled with dust and light was passing by.

The shockwaves of the beams ripped the walls apart from the inside out wherever the beams had cut.

That’s all I saw before a massive chunk of rock slammed on my side and sent me flying into rubble. The hit had been dangerous enough to trigger Journey’s shields, though the damage was negligible.

Wrath in the sack remained in good condition, only one strap had snapped off. She was lighter than she looked, despite the ridiculous things she constantly ate.

“I don’t think they appreciated us stabbing the head.” I said, scrambling back to my feet and following the other knights. They were already leaping over the rumble, soaring through the cloud of brick dust fighting against the splashed water droplets, turning into muddy rain. Looks like I'd been the unlucky one here, having to deal with a rock to my face. That's not a good omen.

“You bugs are ever so quick to scurry around.” To’Sefit’s voice echoed, amplified from somewhere far away. “I admit, I haven’t ever known humans to slip away so many times. Makes a lady wonder if she’s lost her edge. Would you so kindly do me the honor of dying correctly this time?”

And that's an even worse omen.

Father called out again, and beams lanced through the walls again, right in our path. This time a followup barrage came right on the heels of the first, trying to catch us wherever we’d crouched. To’Sefit had us in sight somehow and she wasn’t holding back.

The world shuddered around us, rock chips flying everywhere.

The wall behind us had already been ripped apart by the first volley of beams. Two more had turned it from something sturdy to an outright danger. It collapsed with a final groan, straight down on Kidra, the entire top part still solid enough to hold together. My heart froze at the sight.

She gave a surprised yell and leaped into action. A relic armor in full sprint was incredibly fast. The collapsing ton of rock was faster. Kidra wasn’t going to make it, not at the speed she was sprinting at.

An arc of pure occult flew over my head, impacting the rock wall and shattering it apart. A second wave of occult chased right behind, insurance in case the first wave didn’t do the job. The pile of rocks still collapsed straight onto Kidra, burying her for a half moment before her chest and arms broke free from the rubble, which was far better than being buried under a fully intact section. The family armor struggled out of the mountain of collapsed rock. I could hear the whine of motors trying, and failing to pull her completely free. “Can’t!” She called out, “Too much!”

“My, seems I've caught one.” To’Sefit’s voice echoed again, glee in every syllable, likely licking her lips.

I rushed straight for my sister, probably screaming I think, occult rippling around as I sent image after image to slice and cut at the rocks with the armguard I had, dice up the obstruction into smaller chunks her armor could push against. It was working, loose stone crumbling apart as more of her body was fighting for freedom. We could all dodge in some way. But Kidra was a sitting speeder, unable to move from her trap.

“Get down!” Atius called out right behind me, likely sprinting right on my heels. “Keith! Get down! Damn you, get down!” Atius’s voice felt far off, bouncing off me like snow blown against armor.

“Much obliged for the generous meal.” That damned voice echoed through the ruined rubble, low and husky, as if all of this was just a game to her. "I will gladly partake."

Father called out to move, desperation in his voice, knowing equally well To’Sefit wasn’t going to miss a chance like this. The beams would slice through and rip apart everything - including the soul fractals.

A foot kicked my knee joint and forced the armor to crumple on itself, breaking my sprint just as I was about to get to Kidra. That had been enough to avoid a beam To’Sefit had sent for my head a half moment after. I could see it, looking distorted through the flaring relic armor shields holding off the shockwave that came after from being so close to the beam.

In the soul trance I saw Atius continue past me, sliding directly next to Kidra, extending his hand out as his foot hit the collapsed ruin and forced him to a full stop.

A beam that had been aimed perfectly for Kidra speared directly into his hand the moment after - and slammed against an unmovable wall of will.

Occult surged, whipping even the water in a wide circle away from him. To’Sefit’s beam battled against the white dome shield. Atius grunted in pain, one knee falling down, arm shaking. The beam held for a second more, then dispersed.

The Deathless remained behind, occult evaporating off his armor like steam.

“Oh?” To’Sefit’s voice called out. “You survived? Today is just filled with surprises.” She seemed genuinely puzzled.

From his position, twelve pale blue wraiths stepped out, each leaping forward against the rubble, slicing and attacking everything holding Kidra.

Atius turned, exhausted eyes locking onto me. “Help dig her out, now!”

It shocked me back to my senses. My own ghosts flew straight out, joining in as I scrambled back on my feet. Something hit critical mass within the rockslide and Kidra’s knee lifted out, shoving crumbling rock out of the way, as if she was walking out of the deeper side of the baths. The stone grip loosened all at once, deflating as she forced her way through.

Father called out again. To’Sefit wasn’t done. Kidra tried to jump out of the way, but part of her was still climbing out of the rocks. The pause between volleys had been too brief. Atius grabbed her shoulder and shoved down, forcing her to stay put.

The rest of us leaped in random directions. Another set of beams cut again, directly through the open air. Atius’s eyes closed, mouth grimaced, and his hand snapped up once more, the dome shield summoned, shoulder and body braced into it.

To’Sefit’s beam lanced through, battering the invisible barrier again. The impact echoed through his armor, pushing his hand and shoulders back. Sweat beaded on the old man’s face, teeth grinding with effort.

Shockwaves impacted the rocks around, pulverizing the smaller ones into pisces and throwing dust all across, obscuring the battlefield for a moment.

The beams cut off, firepower spent.

Atius’s status on my HUD remained green.

To’Sefit tutted. “You are quite the resilient specimen. I suppose my cute little sister picked her friends well. A shame she couldn’t do the same for the rest of her decisions.”

Relief washed through me like a tide, as both the Deathless and Kidra sprinted out of the dust cloud, rejoining our group. We turned on our heels and ran. With so much of the walls ripped apart, there wasn’t any more rubble To’Sefit could use to pincer us.

To’Sefit didn’t care. She was out for blood now. I think living this long had made it personal.

"How's she finding us through the walls?!" I yelled out, looking for any clues in the chaos around me.

Father called out warnings again, death approaching all of us as the Feather locked onto our positions somehow and opened fire far off. The beams sliced through the far wall side, blowing it up into white granite chunks that harmlessly crashed into the floor and water, much too far to be any threat to us.

With the warnings Father had called out, we each leaped out of the way, avoiding the beams and letting our armor’s shields soak the resulting pulses that came from them.

“We can’t run from her, we need to engage her directly!” Atius called out. "Advance!"

We only got to our feet and hardly had the time to scramble before more beams came, shockwaves constantly ripping apart the very air with sound and confusion. This time she fired dozens in staggered shots, randomly aimed. There was not a single second where a beam was not in some way slicing through somewhere. They fired off like a machine gun.

Father stepped up to the plate. With his sight, he could see all fatal attacks ahead of the hit. And he used it to call out individual knights with clear cut instructions, honed with the clarity of a thousand battles. His voice only grew more calm as the fight continued, old habits of command returning even as a ghost.

We pressed forward, trying to make headway directly at the source of the firepower, somehow doing it.

“Why won’t you just die?” To’Sefit said, sounding annoyed now. “You are making thi--" She paused for a moment, though the barrage of beams didn't abate. "I get it." She said. "This isn’t working, yes yes, no need to point out the obvious so incessantly. I can handle myself, go pester To'Orda or the lessers. These humans are mine.”

The firepower stopped. We took the window for what we could, sprinting directly through ruins of walls between us and where To’Sefit must have been firing from. Relic armors were already painting the likely location of origin.

We barreled through the half teetering remains of a thinner brick wall, arriving at the location predicted. Nothing waited for us here except for a large half standing pillar, of which our HUD showed every line point intersecting. She’d been right here, firing at us through the walls from on top of that pillar.

“She can’t have gotten far.” Windrunner snarled.

None of us relaxed in any way, eyes peeled open for any possible attack. Four relic helmets looking around, with our Deathless clan lord at the center, watching the world through open eyes, calculating. “We don’t yet know how the witch moves in combat besides walking. Keep alert. A ranged artillery unit must have some emergency methods of escaping an attacker.”

Father called out a warning, we scattered on command.

No beams came.

“She’s aborted her attack.” Father said, voice on edge.

“Hmm, interesting. Very interesting.” To’Sefit called out, something in that voice sent a chill through my back. "How exactly did you all start diving around only when I decided to fire? Some supernaturally honed instinct to live? My, my, tenacious. A shame that won't be enough."

The world turned into hell the very next moment.

This time an entire barrage of twenty four shots opened up, slicing through everywhere like the wrath of gods, all at once. There was no way to dodge. No way to avoid it all.

We were dead.

Occult pulsed behind us, and ghosts of Atius leaped with full speed, reaching each of us, lifting a hand out in To’Sefit’s direction.

Most of her beams missed. Some hit. None got past the occult domes Atius summoned from each of his ghosts.

A terrible howl came from the clan lord behind us, hoarse, filled with pain.

The moment the beams faded, we turned, watching Atius collapse on both his knees, near pitch black blood leaking from his mouth, eyes flickering, fading between unconsciousness and lucidity. Old tired eyes met ours, and drifted away as his body fell forward.

Windrunner was at his side within the second, arms snapping out to hold the clan lord from complete collapse into the shallow water under. His teal helmet turned straight to us a moment after. I could almost feel the knight’s panic. I rushed over, not sure what I could do, my legs still moving me anyhow.

Atius sputtered, body shaking, coughing out. Black blood splashing down into the water, diluting back to red in the troubled water. He heaved, as if trying to gulp down air all the while choking still. One of his hands reached out blindly, trying to grab anything, failing at it. He was saying something, but even the armors weren’t able to reconstruct the few intact syllables coming from him into anything audible.

He wasn’t getting back on his feet. The hand began to wave more frantically. Voice fighting against his need to breath.

Kidra and Sagrius came to a stop, our group huddling over the clan lord, silently debating how to carry him out. Pure panic flashed through his gaze, eyes wide. Father didn't make another callout yet, which meant To'Sefit wasn't firing at us again for now.

“My, my. How exciting!” The bitch’s voice called out instead, happy for some reason. “You’ve really outdone yourselves, tiring me out like this. But now, without your Deathless…”

The chill raced again through my spine. Atius wasn’t flailing around out of panic, suffocating on his blood.

He’d been trying to warn us. We’d all huddled into one convenient target.

“... This is the part where I finally kill you all.”

In the face of complete annihilation, Captain Sagrius rose before any of us could act, turning to face the direction To’Sefit would fire from. Shield fractals began to glow across his armor, called on by his will. He took a step forward.

“I must protect... the young lord.” He whispered, more a litany than anything truly said to anyone. His relic armor automatically amplifying the silent prayer to audible levels. There was something strange in his voice, a distortion growing with each sentence. Crackles of occult were drifting across his plate, across the glowing shield fractals that lit up bright.

He lifted a hand before himself, watching it as if pleading to it. “I am... a knight Retainer... and I will honor my vow.”

“Directive... acknowledged.” His armor whispered back. The hand snapped forward, palm out.

To’Sefit opened fire. Twenty four beams ripped apart everything in their path, obliterating ground and air alike, more a force of nature incarnate. Uncontrolled and inevitable destruction. They converged into one point, one target.

Next chapter - Unpayable Cost