Our footsteps echoed through the empty halls. Kieyah’s map showed the door to the tsukigami hideout was basically straight ahead, with two turns near the end. At first I thought I was hallucinating, but it definitely started getting darker as we walked further towards the place where we were supposed to go. It got to the point where I had to turn to Shei and ask for them to make a light.

Flames burst from their fingers, becoming a small orb of flame. As soon as the light spread into the tunnel, the feeling of being watched intensified. A foul scent crept into my nose, I heard a very low growl from the edge of my hearing, and immediately drew my sword. I heard Hallya draw her knives. Magic crackled at Nadrire’s fingertips.

“Shei,” I said. “Turn the light up.”

The glow intensified. The light spread further into the tunnel. It illuminated two creatures at the very edge of the light. It was hard to see them clearly, but I could tell three things: each one was at least seven feet tall, their skin was pitch black and coated in an oily substance, and oh divinities, they smelled foul.

Nose wrinkling, I raised the sword and took a tentative step forward. The creature snarled and shifted its feet, but it seemed reluctant to come any closer to the light. Staring it down, I took another step.

As soon as I did, the creature attacked, swiping with its claws. Each one was longer than my forearm.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that quick.

The creature looked shocked when I went incorporeal. Its claws passed through my smoky torso.

Before it could react, I ran through it. It froze. Frankly, I didn’t blame it, since I have been informed that having someone pass through you is feels a bit like having a bucket of ice water dumped on your head.

I twirled to slash the creature across the back. My sword extended into a ribbon of light, the segments of it periodically dotting the line. The stroke was brilliantly bright in the dark tunnel. A dark purplish goo began to ooze from the Alsuzhar, mixing in with the slime on its skin. Its stench intensified. The beast let out an unearthly screech…. but as I swung, I heard a scream behind me.

I glanced back, and then ducked out of the way as an enormous clawed hand moved for where my head was. “Fuck, there’s a third one!”

The Alsuzhar had turned to face me, screeching. There was a small explosion, and flames blossomed from its shoulder.

Nadrire swore. “Velia, get back here!”

The beast shrieked, turning to face Nadrire as the flames began to spread rapidly across its skin. The other Alsuzhar, the one that had shown up behind me, swiped at me again. I made an executive decision. I need to get this stupid bastard out of the way so I don’t have to handle this other stupid bastard alone. I stabbed the Alsuzhar in the existing injury on its back with all my strength. The sword sunk deep into it with an uncomfortable gurgle.

It immediately let out an inhuman scream, and slowly began to lose its structure, much akin to a deflating blimp. A deflating, flaming blimp. The Alsuzhar behind me swiped at my face, and I tried to dodge. My face began to sting.

I yelped, and very frantically tried to pull my sword out of the flaming goo, continually trying to avoid the Alsuzhar slashing at my face. “One of you, please shoot it!”

Shei hesistated. Nadi didn’t. A blob of ice shot past me. Ice spread across its chest like a second skin.

I yanked my sword out and stumbled backwards, turning back and forth from incorporeal to solid. “I meant with fire, you idiot!”

“I’m sorry, your face is bleeding, that hasn’t happened for a while, it’s very distracting, and I’m very worried!”

“I’ll be fine!” I swung my sword again, the blade trailing out in a ribbon of light, before moving to help Hallya with the third Alsuzhar. “Shei, shoot it!”

Finally, blessedly, a bolt of fire caught the Alsuzhar with the ice on its chest, and it went up in flames with a whoosh. It let out that same horrible shriek, and took a few desperate swings at me before beginning to melt.

I hadn’t seen Hallya fight since the Alsuzhar had been blocking me, but she had been doing very well for herself, especially since she didn’t seem to have any access to fire. The Alsuzhar was dripping ooze from at least a dozen cuts and was missing several of its claws. The problem appeared not to be with Hallya’s competence, but with the fact that the long knives she was using weren’t the best thing for dealing with a seven foot tall goo monster with giant claws.

I stepped closer, and slashed. My blade curled, catching one of the Alsuzhar’s wrist. One of its hands fell to the ground with a wet thud, and quickly began to lose its structure.

“Shei!”

Another fireball. Another whoosh. Another unearthly scream.

Hallya looked at me and started.

“Yes, I know! Get it, or I will!”

In a pastel blur, Hallya bolted forward and drove her blades in the still-screeching Alsuzhar’s chest.

It began to collapse, melting faster as the ooze pouring out of its chest quickly caught fire.

Next to us, Nadrire summoned a chunk of stone and slammed it into the last, mostly-melted Alsuzhar’s chest. It collapsed into ooze around it.

Hallya shook the goop off her blades. I switched my sword to my left hand, pulled a handkerchief from my pocket, and held it to my nose. It was still burning. The blood had begun to leak all over my face, and I made an effort to wipe it up.

“Shei,” I began. “I’m sorry, I know you really don’t lighting people, or monsters, or whatever, on fire, but it seemed like they really didn’t like it, so-”

“It’s fine,” their voice was quiet, and I could tell this was something to be discussed more in depth later. “Is anyone else hurt?”

“I don’t believe so,” Nadi spoke up. “Where did Abi and Ella go?”

I concentrated, listening closely. “That way, I think. Yes, definitely, that way.”

The clanking footsteps were strangely rapid. That’s not right. Ella might run, but Abi never runs. Not unless…

Abi burst into the hallway, Ella a few steps behind. “Y’all, we got a problem.”

Their rapier dripped with Alsuzhar goo. They flicked a switch below the knuckle guard, and flames flickered up the blade.

“I keep forgetting you bought that,” I muttered.

Ella wiped some goo off her cheek. They glared at me, then looked back to the group.

Before they could speak, Ella blurted out. “There’s more of them.”

“What?”

“More Alsuzhar. The screams called them.”

Shei, who had paled a little, now turned the color of weak tea.

Nadrire and I looked at each other. She then knelt down and pressed her hands to the ground. Thick, thorny vines burst from the stone beneath us, crisscrossing the opening of the hallway Abi had come from, until it was mostly blocked. We glanced at each other again, then looked at the rest of the group and spoke in unison.

“Run.”

The pounding of our feet echoed through the corridor as we ran. Shei had brightened the ball of flame. Alsuzhar jumped out of the shadows like boogeymen, and Shei and Nadrire hurled flames at them to force them back. I was counting corridors as we ran. When we had to turn, I skidded to a stop, and bolted.

Up ahead, I saw a light. There was a pair of doors ahead, with a sconce on each side. I grabbed one of the handles and pulled.

Nothing happened.

I pulled harder. “Come on-!”

Nadrire came up behind me, pointed at a sign that said PUSH, and pushed the door in.

The entire group rushed in. It was much better lit than the hallway outside. We were all breathing heavily, and squinting in the light. Shei extinguished their flame. The smell of garbage hit me like a physical blow.

“What are you fools doing in my throne room?”