Chapter 23

Forest of Eyes

One of the hideous creatures leapt out from the circle of glowing eyes, legs outstretched and maw gaping like a giant, fanged wound. There was a loud boom as Haydric's pistol sounded off, and half of the crypt fiend's head was torn apart. It feel to the floor in mid-leap, lifeless once more.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then the darkness was a flurry of activity. The fiends came from all sides, clawing and biting at the circle of travelers. Fineus sliced through one of the fiend's stomachs, and Lyra subdued another with a pair of throwing knives. Stefan battered one into submission while Molgoby crushed one in his giant hands. And still they came, throwing themselves at the group with no remorse. There were no limit to their numbers; Stefan could see an endless forest of glowing eyes in the distant darkness of the cave.

"We've got to move. Soon, they're gonna' swarm over us," said Stefan.

"I agree," said Iyana, decapitating a charging fiend. "Let's move quickly."

Haydric's pistol went off again, missing his initial target but catching another fiend in the chest. Two came at Molgoby this time, but with the help of Fineus the Tauren was able to subdue his opponents. The attacks were slowly becoming faster and stronger, with little time in between.

"The torches!" said Mae. "Nerubians, alive or Undead, do not take kindly to fire! The light blinds them!"

Molgoby began tossing the torches out like candy, and one by one they were lit. The reaction was immediate; combined with Geraldros' giant light contraption, the fiends' advance had slowed dramatically.

"Let's make ourselves a path," said Iyana. She winded up and launched her torch as far as she could, watching it spiral through the air. It landed in the midst of the fiends, lighting one on fire in the process.

"Go!" shouted Stefan.

As one, they moved. Slashing their torches about, they kept most of the fiends at bay, save for the most brave of the mindless beasts. As they neared the torch, Fineus threw his own, which landed further ahead. They advanced again, taking down several more of the Undead automatons. Soon, they were down to their last three torches. And as the light dimmed, the crypt fiend's bravery increased tenfold.

Stefan swiftly drew his arm across his forehead, wiping away the beaded sweat. He brought his hands up a moment later, catching the snarling head of a crypt fiend between his maces. He pushed the beast away, letting Iyana slice its face to pieces with her twin daggers. Another approached almost immediately, but Stefan brought his maces down on the fiend's crown, shattering its skull. The Elementium-laced maces were glowing brighter than the sun, twin torches of their own. Still, the intense light did not stop the swarm from coming.

"We can't go on much longer," shouted Haydric, from across the circle. Stefan saw the open cut above his right eye. Instinctively, he licked at the blood on the corner of his mouth, where a stray talon had nearly taken off his face. His old friend was right; without a serious turn of the tides, their life could be measured in minutes. The Engineer may be their only chance.

"Geraldros! Have you got anything else?" shouted Stefan.

"Well...It's never been tested..." started Geraldros, timidly.

"If you don't try it, we're going to die, Dwarf!" roared Fineus. A crypt fiend came at him, tackling the Gnome to the floor. They fought roughly, Fineus keeping the fiend's swarming legs at bay with his dagger, darting about quicker than lightning.

"Alright," said Geraldros, fumbling with some controls. Over the din of battle, a high pitched whirring began to sound. The Dwarf stuffed some loose cloth into his ears. "Cover your ears, and shut your eyes! It's going to be loud and bright!"

"What--" started Lyra, kicking a crypt fiend away, but stopping when she realized it was pointless to ask.

"In 3...2...1...NOW!"

What followed was a sound louder than anything Stefan had ever heard. Had he not been covering his ears, they would have surely ruptured. There was a bright light, even behind the darkness of his eyelids, that sent pains shooting through his head. An intense ringing, and then his legs began to wobble.

He blacked out.