bluedragonauthor

VIP: The Blue Dragon: Chapter 27

Added 2024-07-02 18:19:17 +0000 UTC

-- CHAPTER 27: Templar --

****

On the northwest side of the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, there is a large gate at which many tourists will line up every day for a chance to look through a small keyhole called the Buco della serratura dell’Ordine di Malta. By design, the keyhole provides a picturesque view of Saint Peter’s Basilica directly through a tunnel of manicured garden hedges.

But we weren’t here to look through the keyhole.

We were here to rescue my girlfriend.

The Knights Templar organization was founded in A.D. 1118 by Frenchman Hughes de Payens, its self-imposed mission to protect Christian pilgrims journeying to and from the Holy Land during the Crusades. In A.D. 1138, the growing organization took over a crumbling monastery on the Aventine Hill and made it their headquarters in Rome. But the order grew in power and wealth, and in A.D. 1307, Pope Clement V charged the Templar leaders with heresy, sacrilege, and Satanism. The Pope ultimately dissolved the Templars in A.D. 1312, and the Roman headquarters were taken over by the Knights Hospitaller.

Or at least that was what had been written in the history books.

According to Lin Tang, the Templars merely went underground, keeping all of their wealth and using it to exert influence over the world behind the scenes rather than out in the open. Typical secret society stuff. Templar leaders remained in high positions within the Knights Hospitaller order, so the Roman Headquarters remained just that: the Roman Headquarters. And nothing really changed despite the Pope’s suppression.

The Knights Hospitaller eventually became the Knights of Malta, and the building complex ultimately became the Villa del Priorato di Malta, or the Magistral Villa of the Sovereign Order of Malta. The word “sovereign” means: acting independently and without outside interference. The estate was also granted extraterritorial status by the government of Italy, which meant that the grounds were exempt from the jurisdiction of local law.

Perfect place to hide a kidnap victim, if you think about it.

Although the gate keyhole was a popular tourist destination, the gate itself did not open to the public. Visits were by appointment only through the Order of the Knights of Malta (not to be confused with the Mediterranean island nation of Malta), but we didn’t have any such appointments.

Instead, Tianshi, Rae, and I just… showed up.

I’d been… surprised isn’t quite the right word. Confused? Astonished? Flabbergasted? Let’s go with that: I’d been flabbergasted when Tianshi told me her so-called ‘plan’ for rescuing Ziyi.

When it was revealed that Lin Tang was a tree spirit, I’d assumed that the old woman’s arrival meant that she’d be joining our rescue efforts and somehow using her wood elemental powers to help us gain access to whatever fortress complex was holding Ziyi. I’d made up my mind that our little group would be sneaking past the gates, neutralizing the guards, liberating Ziyi from her electric-force-field dungeon, and then battling our way to freedom. Basically, the same plan I’d done to recover the Baihu Sword from Zhu Wen’s army.

You mean the plan that ended with you getting stabbed to death? That plan?

‘Yes, that plan. It worked, didn’t it?’

We weren’t doing that plan. Lin Tang wasn’t even coming with us. Neither was Hannah, for that matter, although I understood why a powerless human would be little more than a liability in a rescue mission and shouldn’t come.

When Tianshi instead started asking Lin Tang for detailed floor plans of the estate, especially the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Priorato church, I’d thought, ‘Oh, okay, I get it now. Lin Tang is here because of her ability to access the tree-spirit iCloud storage memory and provide us with crucial reconnaissance for our ninja-like rescue mission.’

I was half-correct. Lin Tang really did provide us with crucial information. She even did it in a way I’d never expected, by taking hold of Tianshi’s wrists while Tianshi did the same to her, and then melting her fingers into Tianshi’s forearms like she was growing roots within the other woman’s body. But even that crucial information had nothing to do with a ninja-like rescue mission.

Instead, the three of us walked up to the front gate and pressed the buzzer. A uniformed guard politely greeted us, and Tianshi politely gave him our names before telling him that we’d like to meet with Signore Ludovico Divenire.

After some discussion and the gate guard making a phone call, the gate was eventually opened and a second guard came to escort us inside. Both soldiers wore ornate black uniforms with red trim and cylindrical black caps, along with gleaming steel sabers at their sides, but it was the military grade pistols at their hips I was really worried about.

I knew from Google satellite views as well as Lin Tang’s description that the villa complex was not large. We were in an urban area that had been built thousands of years ago before the idea of trucks, vans, and other automobiles had ever been considered, when the city’s population could be numbered in the thousands instead of millions. More than half of the real estate was taken up by the extensive garden, and there were three main buildings: the church, an adjacent administration wing, and a three-story residence that had since been converted into offices. The second guard led us across the garden to the three-story residence, where we met a third guard. And then both of these guards escorted us up two flights of stairs, down the hall, and finally to the room at the very end.

Having kept track of the twists and turns through the building, I knew that this room on the top floor of the entire complex would have sweeping views of the Tiber River and across the city to the west. This high atop the Aventine Hill, the man behind the door would have epic sunset views whenever he so chose, and this fact alone told me that Signore Ludovico Divenire was the most powerful man here.

The door next to us was open. A secretary sat at a desk, her hand to the headset over her ear. She tapped something on her earpiece and then looked up at us, stating, “Lui è pronto per tutti voi adesso.”

The guard in front nodded, and only then did he open the door to lead us inside.

Ludovico Divenire was a well-built man of about forty, with thick dark hair, a neatly trimmed mustache and beard, tanned skin, and handsome features. He wore a luxurious, well-tailored suit that must’ve cost thousands of dollars and showed off his muscled physique. Seriously, the man looked more like a professional wrestler than someone who sat behind a desk all day. But his expression was all business as he stood up from his desk and greeted us.

“Tiānshǐ,” he began in a deep voice with a charming smile before adding in fluent Mandarin, “愿你生活在有趣的时代”

“Xiè xiè nǐ,” Tianshi replied, clad in the human version of her true form. She was dressed for business with a neat suit and skirt combination that was form-fitting and yet demure. And she added with a perfect Italian accent, “Che tu possa avere molte notti insonni.”

The woman standing behind and to the right of Ludovico barked a quick laugh at Tianshi’s reply, and she shook her head with a smirk. Magdalena looked exactly as I had seen her in my vision, albeit wearing a smart business suit and skirt instead of the burgundy leather BDSM attire.

Ludovico turned and gestured back to the dark-auburn beauty. “I presume I do not need to introduce you to my associate.”

Tianshi’s eyes were thinner than her smile. “So nice to see you again, Magdalena. And so soon after our last meeting!” Her voice was syrupy sweet.

Too syrupy sweet. It was clear she didn’t like the other woman, not that Tianshi seemed to like anyone.

“Always a pleasure to see you too, Angel,” Magdalena replied with an equal amount of honey, enhanced by her thick Italian accent. But then her tone turned acerbic as she added, “I much prefer to see your beautiful face, as well, instead of that bushy tail turned as you run away from yet another fight.”

“I very much dislike fighting, as you well know, just as we are not here to fight today. I believe an offer of exchange was made to my colleagues here, was it not?”

“Indeed, an offer was made,” Ludovico interjected, his cultured deep voice rumbling in the air. I noticed that his Italian accent was less pronounced than Magdalena’s, as if he had practiced minimizing it for some time, or perhaps had studied abroad for several years. The man then gestured to the chairs in front of us. “But please, sit. May I offer you some refreshments? Tea, perhaps?”

Tianshi rolled her eyes as if the European idea of ‘tea’ was an insult to all Chinese people. But she politely replied, “No thank you. We are eager to get down to business.” Still, she sat down in the chair on the left side in front of her, with Rae taking the seat in the middle, leaving me to sit down on the chair to the right.

“So yes, an offer was made to your colleagues,” Ludovico confirmed while also taking his seat. “But you have not yet introduced us to them.”

Tianshi extended a hand to her right. “My student: Rae Yu Li Richards. And I believe you have already been informed about Aksel Andersen.”

“Yes… We have…” Ludovico intoned gravely, staring at me with a steel intensity in his eyes. I could practically see him thinking about the fifty-million-euro bounty on my head, and his posture was tense, as if he had to restrain himself from pouncing on me here and now. In the end he didn’t pounce, instead turning his attention back to Tianshi. “Regarding the offer, are you prepared to accept the terms?”

“Do you still have the asset?” Tianshi countered.

“Of course we do,” Magdalena scoffed, folding her arms across her expansive chest and leaning back against a cabinet behind her.

I couldn’t help but jump in, asking, “Is she unharmed?”

The dark-haired demigoddess turned to point her piercing gaze at me. “She has not been… permanently damaged.”

“You will understand that we cannot simply take your word for it,” Tianshi stated. “She must be brought to us before we can continue.”

“I’d be happy to take you to her to see for yourself,” Magdalena offered, again with an overly honeyed smile, gesturing behind us to the door.

“There is no need,” Tianshi countered. “We will wait here.”

“I thought you said you were eager to get down to business?” Ludovico scoffed. “Why now do you delay?”

“You know perfectly well why,” Tianshi replied dryly. “You think I will willingly follow you into the dungeon? I am not so stupid as to walk into such an easy trap.”

“You walked into this room, didn’t you?” Magdalena scoffed. “And for a viper, no less. Why?”

Tianshi rolled her eyes extravagantly. “She is special to the boy.”

“Special enough for you to give us the relics in exchange for her?” Ludovico drawled curiously, his eyebrows furrowed. The man leaned forward, elbows on his desk and his interlaced fingers beneath his chin. “I sincerely doubt that.”

“We sent you messages stating plainly that we considered her valuable and were still considering your ransom demands.”

“Stalling tactics to buy yourselves additional time to further your goals without interference from us.”

“Incorrect. We are here, are we not?”

“I am still trying to discern why you are here.”

“To recover the asset!” Tianshi exclaimed in obvious annoyance. “Why else did you capture her? Is not everything going according to your plan? Seize our asset and ransom her in exchange for valuable artifacts: this is what you wanted, is it not?”

Ludovico and Magdalena exchanged a look before returning their attention to us. Magdalena remained silent, waiting for her boss to take the lead. Ludovico pursed his lips and seemed to be thinking things over. And only after taking the time to collect himself did he finally push his chair back and stand up.

Still silent, Ludovico circled around the desk. Standing in front of it, he leaned back against the desktop and folded his arms in much the same way Magdalena was doing against the cabinet, and in that moment with the two of them posing the same way, I found myself reminded of the same master/student relationship that Tianshi and Rae shared.

“Angelika, you and I go back many, many years, and I know you are a smart woman,” he began wearily.

“Smart enough not to trust you.”

He spread his arms. “We live in uncertain times.”

“We have always lived in uncertain times.”

“These times are more… uncertain… than before.” He took a deep breath, gave her a harsh look, and asked, “What is Shen Wu trying to do?”

“The usual: he is attempting to conquer the world.”

“Then what makes this attempt any different?”

“This time, he somehow got you to do his bidding. Why is that, exactly?” Tianshi shook her head. “You and I have not exactly been friends, but over the many years we have known each other, neither have we been enemies. Until now.”

“I am not your enemy.”

“The fact that you are ransoming one of my people suggests that you are.”

Ludovico’s eyes narrowed. “You seriously expect me to believe that a viper is one of ‘your people’? If memory serves, she was working for Shen Wu in the not-so-distant past.”

Tianshi rolled her eyes. “As I said: she is special to the boy.”

“Yesss… The boy.” Ludovico turned his steely-eyed gaze to me. “What makes you so special?”

Rae grabbed my thigh and pinched her fingernails into the side of it. I’d been warned not to speak up before coming here, but I’d already failed to heed that warning once already.

Ludovico studied my face, took a deep breath, and then returned his attention to Tianshi. “I am going to lay my cards on the table, Angelika. I have no desire to keep the viper. I have no desire to keep the ancient relics. I would like to tend to my vineyard in Tuscany, relax, and enjoy the company of beautiful women. I would like you to join me, in fact. We had some good times in Tuscany.”

“Yes. We did.” Tianshi smiled for a moment, only a moment, before her smile turned into a scowl. “But those were different times.”

“Simpler times. Before the resurrection of the Cáo Wèi. Before Shen Wu.”

“What does he have on you? How did he buy your loyalty?”

“My loyalty is not for purchase,” Ludovico bristled.

“Well he purchased something,” Tianshi spat. “Mingyue is dead because of your Carabinieri.”

“An unfortunate accident. My goal was only to flush you out of hiding and to recover the relic you possessed, not to kill any of your people.”

“Yes, because assault rifles are such delicate tools,” she scoffed.

“My sincere apologies.”

“As if your apologies could ever bring her back. Her death is on your hands, and I will NEVER forgive you.”

“I know that. I accept that. It is the price we pay for the business we are in.”

“And what price must -I- pay to recover my asset?”

“I will give her to you freely.”

Tianshi’s eyes narrowed. “Somehow I sincerely doubt that.”

Ludovico cracked a smile. “I will give her to you in exchange for something that will cost you nothing and will give me exactly what I want.”

“Which is?”

When Ludovico pointed at me, Rae cut in roughly, “You can’t have him!”

Tianshi’s head whipped around lightning-fast to glare at her young subordinate for speaking up, and Ludovico started chuckling.

“Calm, calm, child,” the Italian man soothed, his voice a pleasant bass as he returned his attention to Tianshi. “I merely want information. Why, exactly, is this boy so special? Why did Shen Wu put a fifty-million-euro bounty on him… alive? What special powers does he possess? What destiny do your soothsayers predict for him?”

Tianshi’s eyes narrowed. “What did Shen Wu already tell you about him?”

“Not enough.” Ludovico shook his head. “And what he did tell me, I am not certain which parts to believe. I know he wants Faguang Long, but for what purpose, I don’t know. I know he wants four relics to access The Golden Dragon, but what do the relics themselves do? Of what value to you is a viper assassin? Why would you willingly come into this building - into a certain trap - to recover her? What is Shen Wu truly planning? You say he is attempting to conquer the world. How precisely does he intend to do that?”

“Information is the most valuable commodity in our world, Ludovico.”

“Indeed, I know it is. Worth more than money to me. Worth more than ancient Chinese relics I wouldn’t know what to do with even if I had them. There are other things in this world I cherish. For example, does Shen Wu conquering the world involve destroying my Tuscan vineyard? If you can convince me that my precious grapes are at risk, Angelika, you may very well ‘buy’ my loyalty with the truth.”

That last bit brought a smile to Tianshi’s lips. Without turning to look at us, she stated simply, “Go wait downstairs.”

Rae picked her head up, but to her credit, she didn’t question her teacher’s order. She merely grabbed my arm and stood up, pulling me with her towards the door.

Magdalena likewise didn’t stop to ask stupid questions. She merely walked with us to the door, closed it after the three of us, and then led the way downstairs.

And then we waited.

****

“So you are Jade’s boyfriend? I am not impressed,” Magdalena sneered with a haughty expression as soon as the three of us returned to the lobby.

I actually wanted to come up with a witty comeback, but as soon as I turned to look at the statuesque brunette with the bewitching dark eyes, I immediately recalled exactly how sexy and dangerous she’d looked in that burgundy leather BDSM outfit, and all coherent thought flew out of my head.

Instead, Rae immediately remarked with her crisp, upper-crust English accent that made her words even more biting than usual, “You know, that’s exactly what I thought of him at first. ‘This guy? Him? Like… what’s the big deal?’”

“Hey!” I reached out and lightly backhanded Rae’s upper arm.

The blue-haired girl grinned, shook her head in disbelief, and sighed. “But once I got past his cocky, entitled, I’m-living-life-on-easy-mode attitude, I found out that he’s actually a really cool dude. Unlike every other swinging pair of testicles I’ve ever met, he respects that I’m gay, he’s never once tried to hit on me, and he’s always made the effort to keep up with whatever life throws at him, no matter how batshit insane. He’s resilient. He’s hard-working. He’s always doing whatever he can for the people he cares about.”

Huh. I didn’t know Rae respected you.

Magdalena frowned at Rae, looking confused. “Why are you telling me this?”

Rae shrugged and turned to face the Italian demigoddess. “You and I have never met before - well, apart from that little ambush you planned the other night. Nice trick absorbing my electricity projectiles, by the way.”

“Thanks…” Magdalena drawled mistrustingly.

“But my teacher… Angelika… told me more about the Knights Templar. You aren’t ‘bad guys’, per se. Opportunistic, self-serving, and amoral to the point of believing that the ends justify the means perhaps, but not evil. But you need to understand that right now, you guys are on the wrong side. This is a literal fight against the Forces of Darkness, and by kidnapping our friend and supporting Shen Wu, you’re helping the bad guys.”

“So? We help the ‘bad guys’ all the time. Makes us rich.”

“Rich enough to get a quiet villa in Lago di Como and make love with Jade until neither of you can walk straight?” I interjected quietly, staring off at nothing across the lobby. “The way you two did in Phuket last year?”

Magdalena went deadly quiet for a moment. She slowly turned to me and practically hissed, “What did you say?”

I shrugged dismissively and didn’t answer her question. “Angelika is upstairs right now telling your boss that Shen Wu has found a way to become immortal, and that he’s going to unleash a supernatural plague that will turn all of humanity into zombie slaves. Fifty million euros or not, you’ll have a hard time enjoying your retirement if Shen Wu succeeds.”

The Italian woman snorted. “A supernatural zombie plague? You have been watching too many Hollywood movies.”

“I agree that it sounds a little farfetched and I’m not asking you to take our word for it. If we’re wrong, we’re wrong. But if we’re right, I don’t think you’d want the zombie enslavement of billions on your conscience.”

“It is cute that you think I even have a conscience.”

“I think you looked really cute in that burgundy leather BDSM outfit.”

“Her burgundy leather what?!” Rae exclaimed.

Magdalena eyes became BIG, her cheeks flushed hot pink despite her Mediterranean complexion, and her jaw dropped open wide enough to fit my dick through the opening quite easily. She turned and walked away in disbelief, putting both hands atop of her head.

“Seriously…” Rae whispered none-too-quietly. “What’s this about a leather BDSM outfit?”

I chuckled and shrugged. Magdalena turned around and started stomping back to me. “Okay, now I am not asking. I am demanding. Tell me how you know these things?”

I shrugged and again didn’t answer her. “Jade likes you. To be honest, that’s reason enough for me to like you. She’s one of the most important people in the entire world to me, and I trust her judgment.”

“Funny how she never mentioned you.”

I smirked. “Oh, I know she’s mentioned me. I believe the phrase was, ‘No matter what you try to do to me, you’ll never make me feel as good as him’?”

Magdalena’s jaw dropped for a moment, but then she steeled her spine and glared at me. “You are a telepath, like Angelika.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I’m something different.”

“Different how?”

“His superpower is sex,” Rae interjected helpfully. When I turned and glared at her, she gave me an innocent look and asked, “What?”

“Not what I meant,” I sighed and looked back at Magdalena. “Look, I’m not a telepath. But I know that Jade is important to both of us, and neither of us wants to see her hur--”

My forearm started burning.

My world faded into infinite white.

****

“Chezhou! CHEZHOU!”

Standing in the middle of her underground dungeon cell and hemmed in by the glowing, translucent force-field, Ziyi shouted through the force-field before turning around to face the back wall.

“Lena! LENA!” she added with a look of sheer terror on her face.

It was a look I’d never really seen before. Usually Ziyi had always been so confident, so to see her like this made ME feel a sense of terror. But to her credit, the expression didn’t last long as she bared her teeth in a growl, letting her fangs expand to full length. The rest of her body then morphed into its hybrid form with a powerful tail, serpent hood, and sharp claws. And thusly prepared, she adopted a battle stance to defend herself against whatever was ahead of her.

Still, she turned to look back over her shoulder at the force-field, yelling at the top of her lungs, “CHEZHOU!!! LENA!!! IT’S GOTTEN INSIDE!!!”

My world faded into infinite white.

****

“Aksel! Aksel!” Rae exclaimed urgently, and I felt her slapping my cheeks none-too-gently.

Gotta go, big dude. Your girlfriend’s in trouble.

“Aksel! Wake up!”

“Ziyi! Ziyi!” I shouted as I jerked awake, opening my eyes and sitting up so fast that I would’ve bonked Rae in the forehead had she not possessed the preternatural reflexes of a fox spirit. The underside of my forearm burned with residual heat, and I looked down to see the red imprint of the feather’s glowing outline fading from my skin. I was seated on the lobby floor with Rae kneeling beside me and Magdalena staring down at me with a deep-set frown and her arms folded across her expansive chest.

“What is going on?” Magdalena asked roughly.

“I don’t know!” Rae replied helplessly over her shoulder.

“Ziyi! Jade!” I looked up at Magdalena. “She’s under attack! Something’s gotten into her cell!”

“WHAT?”

I popped up to my feet, eyes wide and my gaze demanding. “The dungeon! Take us to the dungeon! NOW!”

Magdalena didn’t ask any further questions. She simply turned and ran down the hallway, with Rae and I quickly following after her. The statuesque Italian woman did a graceful power slide in front of an unmarked door, yanked it open to reveal what looked like a janitor’s closet, and then ducked inside. Rae entered right after her, and then me.

I found that one of the brick walls on the side of the closet had swung open as a hidden door, revealing a stone staircase that descended beneath the building. Magdalena was already at the first landing that turned and double-backed further below. Rae simply leaped the full length of the staircase, her feet hitting the same landing mere moments after Magdalena got out of the way. And I raced down the steps as fast as I could after them.

After the second set of stairs, I was just in time to catch a heavy wooden door closing in my face. Pushing it back open, I burst into a room that I’d never actually been in before and yet felt very familiar: the underground dungeon.

Dark shadows. Unsteady, flickering light from blazing torches. Massive sandstone brick walls. This place was ancient. A wooden rack held all sorts of medieval torture tools like knives, flails, tongs, and hammers. And there were two iron-barred cells right next to me.

One of the cells featured a glowing, translucent force-field, through which I could see my thousand-year-old lover, Ziyi.

“… said you were under attack,” Magdalena was saying, breathing hard and looking angry. The scowling brunette glared at me, her eyes narrowed with feelings of betrayal, and she added, “He said something had gotten into your cell.”

“Chezhou!” Ziyi called in relief as she ran right up to the edge of the force-field, looking out at me.

“Ziyi! You’re okay!” I exclaimed with equal relief, panting and a bit out of breath from sprinting here.

“She’ll be perfectly okay,” Magdalena growled malevolently. But then her hands started glowing as she turned to face me and Rae with her fists raised. “But you will pay dearly for deceiving me!”

“It wasn’t a deception!” I insisted, raising both hands defensively while taking two steps back. I had no sex-energy and no defenses. “I had a vision!”

“But of course you did,” Magdalena drawled. “It was a convincing ruse, with the glowing red eyes and everything. You successfully tricked me into bringing you here, and here you will DIE!”

I instinctively raised both arms to shield myself as the raging Italian woman took a big step and whipped her right arm forward as if hurling a javelin. A literal six-foot-long glowing lightning bolt materialized out of thin air and flew straight towards my heart. And since I utterly failed to create an ice shield or water shield or any other kind of defensive barrier, that lightning bolt would’ve skewered me like a boar were it not for Rae’s ultra-quick reflexes and elemental abilities.

Rae caught the lightning bolt with her bare hand.

Seriously.

She then absorbed its power, letting the crackling electricity jet across her body in short jumps that briefly appeared and disappeared along her limbs and torso and even making her eyes glow in staccato flashes.

Still glowing and crackling, Rae then grinned a sickening grin, grew that badass longsword between her hands, and took up position to defend me.

“Bring it on, bitch,” Rae challenged with a pixie wink.

Magdalena’s eyes crackled with electricity. And then she attacked.

Perhaps out of habit, Magdalena’s first move was to throw another lightning bolt. But Rae didn’t even bother parrying the bolt with her sword, catching it again and absorbing its power into her own. Then it was Rae’s turn to go on the offensive, leaping into the air so high that she nearly scraped her head on the sandstone ceiling. But the precision of her jump was perfect, and she was able to bring her longsword around in a horizontal arc that would’ve decapitated the Italian demigoddess had the woman been a lesser combatant.

As it was, Magdalena was able to duck and roll across the stone floor, coming up right next to the wooden rack of medieval torture devices. She quickly had a wicked-looking flail in one hand and a long knife in the other. So when Rae came after her again, she was able to neatly block Rae’s next swing with the knife and follow it up immediately with the flail.

The spiky iron ball on the end of the flail’s chain made Rae leap away to give herself space, and for a few seconds the two women paused to evaluate the other from twenty feet away. That would’ve been the perfect time for me to join in the battle, but of course I was completely helpless without any sex-energy to fuel my abilities. I concentrated on creating something… anything… to use as an offensive weapon. But I couldn’t even make the ice crystal unicorn to throw as a distraction.

Rae wound up creating a fireball - just a plain fireball, not the electric variety - and throwing it with pinpoint accuracy right at Magdalena’s face. The Italian demigoddess wasn’t able to catch it and absorb its power, but she was still able to deflect it away with her knife before charging forward, swinging the flail in rapid figure-eights.

Rae backed around a pillar, letting the spiky iron ball bounce off of the stone. She then spun around the pillar, stabbing forward with the sword, but Magdalena anticipated the motion and had already spun out of the way.

Rae pursued with several diagonal slashes, but when Magdalena parried and counter-attacked, her heavy blows quite literally pushing Rae back, the huli jing was forced to leap away.

Rae was quicker than Magdalena, but the Italian demigoddess was more powerful in direct combat. So much of the battle involved Magdalena trying to close the gap between them and Rae scampering to maintain distance. For the next few minutes, neither woman was able to get even a single scratch on her opponent. Both of them were simply too fast and too skilled, and neither could utilize her elemental abilities to the fullest.

Meanwhile, I was attempting to break Ziyi out of jail. But the electric force-field did not appear to be controlled by any switches or buttons, nor even have a visible power source. So while we were able to exchange a few greetings and she muttered beneath her breath about me being an incompetent male who wouldn’t be able to figure out how to switch off a light bulb, I basically had no success whatsoever.

Then Magdalena started coming after ME, forcing me to retreat across the room and Rae to intervene and defend me, which brought Rae into the kind of close-range combat where Magdalena had an advantage. But even so, Rae was able to buy me enough time to run away before leaping away to her own safety. And it soon became clear that we were all stuck in a stalemate.

Rae was the first to throw up her hands and ask, “What are we doing, huh? Your boss and my boss are still upstairs working things out. Why are we fighting down here?”

“Because you tricked me!” Magdalena shot back.

“We didn’t trick you!” I insisted. “I really had a vision!”

‘Didn’t I have a vision?’ I asked Dong quickly. ‘And didn’t you tell me my girlfriend was in trouble?’

Hey man. I saw the same thing you saw, and like you I assumed it was happening right then and there. Then again, I wouldn’t put it past Zhuque to trick me. I told you she doesn’t like me.

Magdalena seethed. “Your vision was a lie.”

“Look, I can’t explain it either,” I said defensively. “But I saw what I saw.”

“More lies.”

“I’m telling the truth!”

“I don’t believe you!” Magdalena howled. “You are here to rescue Jade and you tricked me into bringing you here. But you will NOT succeed because I will kill you both!”

Once again, Magdalena manifested a lightning bolt in her hand. Once again, she prepared to throw it at me. But this time, I realized that Rae was a little too far away from me to intercept the bolt. And I suddenly realized I was going to get skewered like a boar.

But then an unholy howl echoed around the underground dungeon chamber. The torch flames flickered as the room noticeably dimmed. We all felt a cold wind racing around us, chilling us to the bone. And an inky black shadow detached itself from the wall, slithered across the stone floor, and started rising up between us.

At first the shadow was formless, like an abstract ink blot. It was completely opaque, just a mass of darkness like pure evil leaking through a crack in space/time. Then the mass separated into two masses, and then three, and then four. Finally, the four blobs of amorphous darkness formed vaguely humanoid limbs. With one unified voice they all howled an unearthly, stomach-sickening wail.

Oh shit.

“Che cazzo sono quelli?!” Magdalena exclaimed in horror.

“Èguǐ! Hungry ghosts!” Rae shouted as she let her longsword disappear and instead raised both hands, immediately charging them up with glowing electric fireballs. Even though one of the ghosts was heading straight for her, she threw both balls at the ghost closest to me.

The humanoid shadow burst into smoke as the incendiary explosives smashed into its “body”. But the inky darkness rapidly re-formed and resumed coming after me.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

‘Any bright ideas?’

Don’t die.

‘Gee thanks.’

I turned and ran.

Magdalena started throwing lightning bolts at the ghost approaching her. With each impact, the shadow’s body likewise burst into smoke before slowly re-forming within the following few seconds. Rae did the same to her ghost, although she quickly made her way to me so that two of the ghosts were coming towards us and she could defend us against both of them. That meant that three of the ghosts were coming after the three of us in the room.

And the fourth hungry ghost had gone after Ziyi.

Fortunately, that electric force-field was still up, and the ghost couldn’t seem to get past the barrier. Each time it touched the glowing rectangle of electricity, it burst into smoke. The creature howled, its chilling voice wailing as if starving to death and the only source of sustenance was on the other side.

The other three creatures howled with it, each of THEM screaming as if they wanted to eat US.

The hungry ghosts were… hungry.

Magdalena was the first to go on the offensive. Rather than create another lightning bolt, she roared and somehow electrified the flail still in her hand so that the entire torture weapon was glowing and crackling with electricity. Then she charged straight at the ghost in front of her, swinging the flail around in figure-eights so that the shadow monster kept bursting into smoke and then was unable to re-form in place so long as she kept swinging the flail.

Rae caught on quick, producing her longsword, likewise electrifying it, and then charging at the two ghosts in front of us. Both shadow creatures burst into smoke and were unable to re-form.

For now, none of the ghosts could harm us. But neither could they be completely destroyed.

“Where’s a flaming sofa when you need it?” Dong muttered, appearing on my shoulder.

“Would that actually work?” I asked. “I thought the flaming sofa evaporated the water ghosts because they became water vapor.”

“Correct. But these guys aren’t water vapor. They’re just hungry, and they won’t stop until they’ve been fed.”

“Fed what? People?”

“Basically.”

“So what are we supposed to do? Find somebody to feed them?”

“You see anybody around here that’s expendable?”

“Where’d the talking gecko come from?” Magdalena yelled in annoyance.

“Chezhou! CHEZHOU!” Ziyi suddenly shouted. Actually, she’d been calling out to both of us several times, telling us to stop fighting on more than one occasion. Then, her tone had been more scolding and frustrated, as if the three of us outside were acting like unruly children. But this time there was a terrified note in her shrill voice, something that got even Magdalena’s attention. “Lena! LENA!”

Rae, Magdalena, and I all turned to look back at the cell. There used to be a shadow ghost in front of it, trying to find a way in.

Ziyi then yelled at the top of her lungs, “CHEZHOU!!! LENA!!! IT’S GOTTEN INSIDE!!!”

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Chapter 28 will post on July 6. For anyone who can't wait, Beta Tier will be maintaining a one-month lead from that date on until the story is complete.

Remember that all authors thrive on feedback, so let me know how you're enjoying the story! Leave a comment here or come chat with us on Discord! And be sure to connect your Discord account here on the Patreon website to get access to the Patron-Only channels! https://discord.gg/fg3m6MdfN9

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Prologue & Chapter 1: The Ax Effect: https://www.patreon.com/posts/99894240

Chapter 2: Santa Monica: https://www.patreon.com/posts/100614606

Chapter 3: The Zellij Fountain: https://www.patreon.com/posts/100887440

Chapter 4: Euhemerism: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101140816

Chapter 5: The Fremont Troll: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101373122

Chapter 6: Jade: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101713211

Chapter 7: The Blue Gecko: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101962728

Chapter 8: Yaoguai: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102225122

Chapter 9: Rome: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102437581

Chapter 10: Seeing Sights: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102690886

Chapter 11: Liu Kang: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102919633