“What?” Vanessa asked.

“Far side of the cavern,” Angel hissed. “That’s where they’re doing the sacrifices. I didn’t get a chance to analyze the guy.”

“Do it,” Lilian whispered. “We need to know what we’re up against.”

Angel pressed his lips together. That wasn’t exactly undercover, but he couldn’t see any way to get everyone out of there without alerting the person to their presence. If they had to go head to head, it was better to know what they were up against.

He poked his head back up just enough to see the top of the man’s head and scanned him with his artifact.

Race: Human

Name: ???

Level: 356

Status: ???

Information accuracy: 4%

Strength: 80

Intelligence: 200

Nimbleness: 322

Toughness: 109

Comparative Rating: ???

Weak point(s): ???

Element(s): Unknown

Error: Data scrambled. Unable to verify information accuracy.

Angel ducked back down, a grim frown carving across his face. “Nothing good. I can barely scan him, but he’s probably around level three hundred and fifty. I’ve never seen stats that scrambled before. Something is stopping me from getting a read on him.”

“So what do we do?” Vanessa asked.

He chewed his bottom lip for a moment. “If we break the orb, the people will be able to move again. There’s a good chance that there are a few combatants amongst the people down there, and maybe some of them can help us. I don’t see any good way out of here, though.”

“There should be another exit,” Lilian mused. “Probably on the far end of the cavern, near the bottom. There’s no way it would only have a single entrance, and any escape ships would likely be at the bottom of the buried god, near its belly. I bet they’re in there.”

Angel cocked an eyebrow at her. He risked another peek through the lip of the cave, scanning the bottom area of it with increased vigor. Hidden behind the glowing energy filling the air was a wide, thin doorway. It was only tall enough for an average human, but several dozen people could stand in it shoulder to shoulder without difficulty. He ducked back and reported his findings to the group with a hushed, urgent tongue.

“So we need to break the orb, evacuate everyone through the door and hope there are ships on the other side, all the while hoping that someone in there is strong enough to fight against the evil guy?” Vanessa asked. “That’s a lot of ifs. Let’s do it.”

“We’re all probably going to die,” Angel muttered, but a small grin tugged at his lips. “But I suppose there’s no point bringing back Old World magic if everyone is dead because a buried god blew up the desert. I’m going to blast the orb with lightning and then try to distract the cloaked man.”

“I’ll rally everyone to the exit,” Lilian said. “Vanessa, stay out of fire. Neither Angel nor I will be able to help you. Try to find people that can help Angel fight.”

Vanessa nodded, swallowing once. Angel steeled his nerves. He gave the women a firm nod, then flexed his fingers. He rose, bringing his hand up in a smooth, steady motion and aiming it at the floating orb.

Energy sparked at his fingertips, crackles of yellow lightning racing down his arm and gathering at his palm. A bolt of energy tore through the room with a loud crack, slamming into the floating metal orb.

It struck the artifact with a violent explosion. Shards of metal careened through the room and peppered down on the crowd below it as the lines of red light flickered and blinked out. Lilian and Vanessa dashed past Angel, activating their artifacts and skating down the side of the cavern.

The cloaked man jerked to look straight in Angel’s direction as the Seeker shot his grappling hook into the wall and swung downwards, sailing through the air. He pulled it free and fired a second time, changing his angle to bob and weave across the room instead of flying straight at the man.

Surprisingly, no attacks came. Several swings later, Angel tucked into a roll and landed on the ground on the other end of the plateau facing the man.

“Ah,” the man said. His voice was smooth, but there was a faint metallic warble beneath it. “You’ve come.”

“You had too many fancy artifacts,” Angel said, keeping his arm at the ready. The more time he wasted talking, the better their chances would get. “You should have expected at least one seeker to show up.”

“Expected? This is no surprise,” the man said. Angel half expected him to laugh, but he did no such thing. He pushed his cloak back, revealing a metal mask that looked identical to Cowl’s. Angel’s eyes widened.

“Cowl?”

“I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me,” the man said. “I am Reave, the blade of the Reawakening.”

“You’re cheesy and probably ugly,” Angel informed the man, glancing down at the bottom of the cavern out of the corner of his eyes. People were stirring, but almost all of them had yet to budge.

“Amusing little insults,” Reave said. “I shall let them slide. You’ve done the Reawakening a great favor, bringing that relic here. Our current methods were a little too slow and distasteful. This will be much more effective.”

“I’d call human sacrifice more than distasteful,” Angel said, aiming his hand at the man. “Don’t take one step further. High level or not, I’m pretty sure a lightning bolt to the face will kill you all the same.”

Reave finally let out the evil laugh that Angel had been waiting for. “Kill me? Why? I see the scraps and traces of Old World magic you’ve pieced together, Seeker. Your arm is crude, but the traces are there. Your goal is the same as ours.”

Angel blinked. “What?”

“You wish to bring back Old World magic. As do we,” Reave said. “However, as I’m sure you can tell, our way is much more effective.”

“I also haven’t tried to slaughter an entire city,” Angel said. “I think that’s a point in my favor.”

“Their lives are a small price to pay in exchange for the return of the old ways,” Reave said. “Men die, but magic is eternal, should it be taken care of properly. This is why you are drawn to seek it. Give me the relic in your arm, and your goal will be achieved.”

“Tempting offer. Can I have a day to think on it?” Angel asked.

“I would have said yes, had you not interrupted the ritual,” Reave said, nodding down at the teeming mass of people below them. People had started to run for the exit, but most of them were still present. “This buried god only has about ten minutes of energy left in it before the next sacrifice is required. However, I do believe that my sacrifices are running away.”

“Ah. That’s a shame,” Angel said. The strange man’s mild manners were putting him on edge. Nobody was this confident when their plans were interrupted, and it didn’t even feel like a victory speech. Reave simply didn’t have any doubt within him. “So I guess I’ve got ten minutes to think it over?”

Reave let out a sigh. “I’d forgotten how weary conversation is with mortals. Are you going to give me the relic and witness your goals come to fruition, or are you going to die before Old World magic returns?”

Angel shot him in the face. The bolt of lightning screamed across the deck and flew square into Reave’s face, sending the man tumbling backwards across the ground. He slammed into the wall, smoke rising up from his body.

“Oops,” Angel said. “I forgot to answer your question.”

Reave twitched. Angel’s eyes bulged as the man rose, brushing some soot off his otherwise unblemished mask. “That’s quite alright. I believe I have gathered the meaning of your response. The Reawakening thanks you for your contribution to the future.”

The canister clattered out of Angel’s arm as a new one spun into place. “Don’t go thanking me yet. You’re not getting this relic that easily.”

Reave shrugged his cloak off. Two thick trails of smoke rose up from his back. Two bronze spurs shot out from behind his shoulders with a loud click. The sounds continued at a constant rate. With each one, the metal bars grew longer.

A shudder racked Reave’s body as dozens of much thinner metal bars shot downwards from within the original spur, forming the bone structure of two great wings easily three times Reave’s height. Dark red light stretched out from between the bars, filling in the flesh of the wings.

“Yes I am,” Reave said, his massive wings flapping with enough force to buffet Angel backwards several feet.