Rise of the Night Witch

Chapter 4.6 - The Sluagh

Recap: Last time, our heroes created a protective spell made of iron nails around the people dancing in the gym. Unfortunately, windows broke and now we have monsters.

People underestimated the toughness of glass. Hollywood made it look like any action hero could just jump through a closed window. I certainly thought so. But, when I stood there in the corridor and watched the Slaugh shatter the glass, I realized one thing: It was loud.

Isa sat close enough to the ground to avoid injuries. I, however, felt the full force of shards sharper than scalpels hitting me. A throbbing pain spread through my face and leg as the glass pieces viciously ate through my skin.

Why didn't they teach me a make-my-robe-as-hard-as-armor spell?

A dark cloud streamed from the broken windows into the hallways. It was a walking black mountain full of restless, ghostlike souls whose forms shifted between those of faceless ghouls and crescent-like crows.

The crows descend onto their prey. Before I could react, I was faced with an armada of hungry beaks ramming my flesh like piranhas devouring a capybara.

With my last breath, I clutched my mother's necklace and focused my will on my ward. Good that I drank the Unseelie Repellant potion before the window broke. Its iron powder, breadcrumbs, and salt components turned my body into everything these creatures hated.

But warding wasn't as simple as saying "abracadabra". I needed to stay focused. I needed to keep the life energy flowing, or else the ghostly, ghoulish, amorphic masses that filled the entire pathway would break the invisible barrier around me and tear me apart.

Isa hugged her red fox as she watched the fight. The fox's cunning eyes followed Siris before switching to the morass of lost souls reconfiguring around me.

This swarm wasn't just creepy ghouls. It contained a crow-like familiar which had been ripped from a practitioner's soul.

And it was joined by a salamander. A red-and-white striped wingless dragon no bigger than a lizard crawled across the hallway. Its skin was birthed of flame and fire left its mouth.

I wasn't sure if she could see it or if it wore a glamour, but Isa saw the flames. Fortunately, this corridor had a wall hydrant hanging where other buildings might have a fire extinguisher. Not only did the running water deter monsters, but grabbing it also gave Isa a chance to stop the fire.

A vengeful fire erupted from the salamander's mouth as if it were a dragon, battling for dominance with the water hose.

Unfortunately, water was a scarce resource. Wasting no time, I gave Siris a simple, telepathic order.

Attack.

Like an attack dog, he jumped onto the salamander's back and restrained him before Isa's steam ran out.

The salamander winced under the pain of Siris' claws, glanced for escape routes, and ran before Isa's fox gave it the rest.

Now that my adrenaline rush calmed down, a second round of utterly ridiculous glass-cut pain tortured my face and legs. What I wouldn't give to be in the gym right now. I hoped Simon and Jaclyn got everyone into the iron nail circle. C-ranked situations and above left ordinary people with no choice other than to hide behind wards and hope for the best.

To ordinary people, the Wild Hunt was invisible but loud. It was the silent wind that howled through the forest. It was a reminder of days gone by when houses weren't invented yet and mankind cowered in caves when tornadoes swept the land and left no survivors.

Individually, the Sluagh weren't stronger than the monsters I fought before. But there were so many. Even Jaclyn's wind spells lacked the area-of-effect oomph to deal with more than a handful of the ghost tornado.