In hope that I make up for that, today I will post Chapter 9 & Chapter 10 and (amn't I spoiling you!) a taster of the November Series. So keep reading!
...enjoy ...
Tome: When the Night Falls
Chapter 9
The meek man’s hand reached out and Death laughed at him,
“What the hell do you think you’re going to do,” then raised his scythe to
relive him of the weight on his shoulders.
Next he heard the
buzzing, fizzing energy that crackled in lightening strikes in the air. A great
electrical storm blew above him, powered by the energy of the Haloed energy
that Grosse Mann was conjuring up.
Lowering his scythe
and dropping it from his hands, Death raised his arms and grasped the
lightening storm. The power he could feel ripping at his bones and shredding
its outer layer to feed finally on the marrow below before it completely
consumed the skeletal figure of Death.
Death was not so keen
to be so easily disassembled and called upon something from the centre of his
darkest places and brought them to the surface letting the Necromancy flow in
dark clouds, slowly up his arm and into the storm above. In the room now rain
lashed at all inside. That shower plastering his deathly shadowed cloak to the
bone. Wind roared around him trying to peel the plastered cloak from his bones
and whipping at his hood. Hiding his eye socket so as his one, single, solitary
eye could look darkly at his enemy.
Grosse Mann’s hand
continued to feed power into the storm as the two stared the other down again. Locked in concentration as they fought for
supremacy over the storm clouds.
Grosse Mann won…
The first strike of
lightening tore Death’s cloak in two as it flailed wildly across the air. The
second tore a bone from his rib cage and a third stuck his eye right at the
centre. Burning and blazing. Cupping a hand over the terrible wound, Death brought
himself to his feet.
A forth and final
brought the unsteady giant to his back, all Necromancy lost from his bones gone
as Death fell to the floor. His hand fell away from the wound and everyone
could see the full extent of the damage done to Death.
Death swore before
calling, “The Clockwork Watchman… Kill him…” then his head fell back,
memories broken and for the time being in a dreamy state. A single fly, the
messenger of death and famine landed on his wounded eye and others followed quickly.
Soon an amassed swarm was fleeting across Death’s body until nobody could see
what was going on under that veil of dark blackness.
Dead Weight had heard the call and he knew what to do. He
knew how to do it. He had already done it once… but then,
there was not a God standing in his way. Now it even stalked around the room
looking for more prey to kill after already battering the Bio-Mechanical and
Death itself into the ground. Filius Mortis lay still and Death… he could only
guess as more and more flies zipped across his body.
Dead Weight drew his
sword, the lethal haze drawing the light away from the three bodies gathered
behind that hill.
“I will kill him…”
Dead Weight vowed and started to clamber up the hill.
“It will kill you,” Number 47 held his shoulder back.
“Let it try,” Dead
Weight tightened the bandana around his face and threw himself over the hill
sprinting across the dead soldiers and skirting his way past the dying.
“How could I have been so darn blind?” Filius Mortis cursed himself
realising that it was the Clockwork Watchmen around the world that controlled
the God. They were the pilots for the God’s energy. Kill one vital transmitter,
kill the whole thing…
Grosse Mann’s gaze
was following Dead Weight as he ran but not him… Pulling his tired body up into
a sitting position, the Bio-Mechanical called on the very limited amount of
Haloed energy in his bones, the sparks flew out of the tip of his finger and he
roared out:
“Grosse Mann! Watch this,” Grosse Mann turned around to feel the
burning, singing heat of the ball of Haloed energy sear against his face and
burn more mechanics. Another piece of vital machinery fell from his face,
broken and lost. Others were being melted together while some flitted away from
existence entirely.
Grosse Mann’s rage
did not fail however as it powered over on all eight of its limbs straight
towards Mortis.
Mortis swore, held
his hands up in a defensive nature and then started screaming…
Dead Weight ran straight towards the Clockwork Watchman,
ignoring Mortis’s wailing and thrusting his sword out straight towards the
Clockwork Watchman. Another blade batted his hand own away but it was not
damaged in the process. The Necromancy cut deep into the blade and melted away
at the steel. At its hilt, clockwork mechanics ticked quietly, power the hum of
energy that ran electrically down the blade. Dead Weight reckoned that one good
swing could break the sword and perhaps even more…
Looking up to face
his opponent’s face he found himself quickly dodging the rain of bullets that
tore past him. Swinging his sword up and pouring his full energy into the
swing, he made his enemy the one to be on the defence. More and more heavy
swings Dead Weight made roar past and again and again his enemy managed to bob
and weave out of the way.
Then his opponent’s
electrical sword struck him in the leg, biting deep and making him feel the
full extent of the damage right down to the bone. Dead Weight screamed in
agony, a scream that alerted Number 47 and Tiberius to look up and check on
their once and only time colleague.
“Do you think we
should help him?” Tiberius asked.
Number 47 looked at
him, a sense of mocking in his voice, “Are you feeling sorry for the Necromancer, Tiberius?”
“How dare you accuse
me of such… yes…” Tiberius confessed ashamed.
Number 47 ginned. “I
thought so,” then he followed Dead Weight’s route over the hill and started to
dart across the ground, avoiding the rolling tumble of Filius Mortis and Grosse
Mann. Hesitating a moment more, Tiberius followed grasping his axe tight in his
hand, the patterns of the Haloed energy playing out swiftly over the blade as he
followed.
Dead Weight chipped
in his blade underneath the electrical blade pulling it slowly, painfully away
from the wound in his leg and watching as the electricity threw itself all over
the place. Narrowly avoiding another zap from the thick blade, Dead Weight
threw another uppercut with his own sword and split through the clockwork
mechanisms of the thing.
The man tossed the
useless blade away and threw out his hand, the wires on the underside of his
hand spat electricity, powered by his magical energy. Dead Weight raised his
sword and watched as the shadows reached out to grasp at the lightening that
the man produced, enveloping and catching it all.
Then he pinned
another deadly attack that cut through his shin and burned his blood. The man
screamed out and staggered around before zapping Dead Weight’s arm with a quick
electric shock that made him jerk the blade backwards. A painful removal of the
blade but the quicker the better, there was no telling what Necromancer shadows
could do if it got into your bloodstream.
Then the sword was at
his throat, “What do you want? Who are you?” Dead Weight asked.
The man had no choice
but to answer, “I am Jacob Grantham… head of the “Grosse Mann Project”,” he answered.
Dead Weight pressed
the flat of the blade closer so as the full effect of the burning could be
felt, “What does the “Gosse Mann Project,”
do exactly?”
“You remember the
time, Dead Weight… don’t you…” Mr Grantham said, “That time that only the
sorcerers remember don’t you?”
“Of course I do, Mr
Grantham, every sorcerer before that
time does,” Dead Weight answered pressing the blade ever so slightly against
the skin, “What is it for?” Dead
Weight gestured carefully to Grosse Mann whom seemed to be playing with Filius
Mortis like a cat does with a ball of wool.
“We want the power that we had back. We want all of it, Necromancer. We’re going to eradicate the Necromancers and the Order
of Darkness like we came so very, very close to doing before… we’re going
to kill you all… every sorcerer shall beg
for our mercy. Our soldiers shall cleanse this world so as only the pure remain and the others die,” Jacob said, “That is what Grosse Mann is for.”
“The only being that
you could get your grubby hands on
for experiment,” Dead Weight growled. “The only being that could hold the true
power of the Haloed energy in its frame… but it couldn’t could it?”
Jacob looked at him
funny, seething with hatred as the burning continued on his throat.
“Because you needed
the Clockwork Watchman as pilots to the power, several of them placed in points
around the world where they fell… its clever I’ll grant you that… but no Order of the sorcerers shall ever have that much power again, Jacob.
Why? Look at yourself, it has totally corrupted you as it had then… and it’s
down to me to stop this…” Dead Weight looked him sternly in the eye before
whirling round, the fiery passion in that swing seen in his eyes even through
the dark tinted Noble Alliance glasses as he cut a bloody path through the
Clockwork Watchman’s body for a second time.
“NO,” Jacob roared lunging at Dead Weight and feeling the bullet
pass straight through his stomach. Landing on the floor with a great thud,
Jacob turned around and saw Number 47’s pistol, smoking, its end hot with
discharge.
Number 47 holstered
his pistol and looked up at Grosse Mann, seeing it toss Filius Mortis away,
down the hall and into the wall with a great metallic crunch.
The being did not die
however, its movements became more natural seen as it turned slowly around. In
its faceless features, the hatred burned brightly.
Grosse Mann had
regained complete control of his body…
Chapter 10
The first movement that Grosse Mann made back in his own
body was a direct, straight route towards Jacob.
“Do you know how much pain you caused me?” Grosse Mann made sure
that Jacob’s ears bled as the words bellowed in his ears.
Jacob held up his
hands, “No please don’t…”
“I said DO YOU?” Grosse Mann growls rose to a great, almighty roar.
“Leave this place
Grosse Mann…” Grosse Mann whirled around and saw Filius Mortis beginning to
walk weakly towards it.
Grosse Mann turned to
Mortis and growled, “And what are you
going to do Bio-Mechanical?”
Mortis raised his
hand to conjure the shadows to his command but instead staggered forwards, a
mistake to even begin to raise his hand.
Grosse Mann simply
laughed and raised his own clawed hand, “You
forget, Mortis, I now also control the Haloed energies…”
then launched a bolt from his finger tips.
“STOP,” Tiberius
roared and stepped in the way raised the flat of his axe towards, Grosse Mann
and stopping the energy from hitting Mortis, the blast instead caught the tips
of his fingers and he started to disassemble slowly.
“Tiberius,” Dead
Weight charged in placing a veil of shadow over the Haloed energy dimming it
and aiding the Paladin’s abilities but this was proving too much for his body
as the shadows fed off of him. Slowly his body faded away, quicker and quicker
as more and more shadows were poured into the incantation.
The Haloed energy
although did not forgo its ill effects on Grosse Mann either as the backlash
whipped out and started to rip at Grosse Mann’s body too. The damage already
done to the two sorcerers and the one foolish monster, each began to
disassemble and fade away until there was no memory of Grosse Mann or of
Tiberius. It was strange being disassembled, Tiberius thought as he watched
ever part of his body begin to disappear and destroy itself, returning to
whatever had created him in the first place. It came slowly, very slowly until
finally he disappeared entirely. Grosse Mann however panicked, know what came
after death for him and that truly scared him. It was not somewhere that he
wanted to return to but he knew that he was going there. His own Haloed energy
ripped him from the insides out until Grosse Mann was dead. Dead Weight however
was different, Dead Weight was returning to the shadows where he had come from.
Although he would have liked to spend more time on planet Earth in his own
body, if this was how he would be forced to go then that was the way of
Necromancy. Dead Weight would be mourned but how the shadows claimed him and
more importantly why the shadows
claimed him would remain a mystery to them all…
When one is touched with killing intent by Haloed energy, it
is not only their life that is removed from their body but their body, every
memory of them. Gone.
Removing Tiberius
from the timeline took quite a lot for the Haloed energies to handle, as they
did not only edit him out of time and space but rewrite time itself too. Not
something that they had to do with everything (and not something which was
easy…) This did not bode well with the universe and seeing this and it needed a
remedy before it tore itself apart in confusion and chaos. Sometimes however…
things remedy themselves…
Tome: Determined
Boneheads
Jacob packed up his things, quickly. The Noble Alliance
would be coming for him and he knew that. Clumsily he package things into
his bag, thinking that he had taken and needless lamp with him…
In the shadows he saw
something flicker but ignored it, mistaking it for his own shadowed hands.
Although his hands did not end in claws as he recalled.
Jacob slammed the
suitcase shut and compressed it using his great mind and mechanical knowledge.
Bright lights flickered outside and then he heard the sinister death call of a
man’s voice he had heard before:
“Jacob Grantham…
we’ve come to take you to a nice, cosy cell…”
Jacob swore quietly
and whirled around, the suitcase dropped as he saw what was still flickering in
the shadows. It opened and the clothes spilled out. The needless lamp smashed.
In his fear some
lights flickered on and off, the faceless face of the man waiting, his six arms
flailing in blood lust.
“Exactly where I wanted to be,” Grosse Mann’s voice purred in
Jacob’s mind. “Mr Grantham… at last…”
Grantham backed
himself up against the wall… and then the screaming started…
The true events raced past his eyes in his
dying moments. Dead Weight sacrificing himself to save the Paladin. Grosse Mann
disassembling himself and the Paladin too.
“Who was that Paladin?” the man asked himself drunk on the last
thoughts that his dead mind could manage, “Ah
yeah…”
“…Tiberius…”
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