But before it could get a firm grip, he landed a kick on the thing’s reddish face that shoved it back by half a cubit or so. He used that opportunity to spring away from it.

By this point, Satahsusar was on her feet again and reaching toward her fallen knife. Seeing her present her back to it, the Abhorrent turned away from Xerxes and attacked her. She shrieked again as her skirts were caught, which caused her to fall to her hands and knees. Her other knife clattered in the opposite direction. Now she had no weapon.

Meanwhile, another Abhorrent had appeared in the corridor, and Xerxes was sure he could see more motion behind it.

“More are coming out!” he shouted.

“Get Sata out of there!” Ninsunu said. Having shoved her hand into her component pouch, she brought it out with a handful of glittering dust. Xerxes wasn’t an expert regarding spell components, but he knew Sinitu mages used gold dust as their base.

Having never seen a Sinutu mage cast a spell, he was curious about what would happen, but now wasn’t a moment for casual observation. He swung his sword at the Abhorrent harrying Satahsusar, taking off a leg and slashing its abdomen. It squealed, spun toward him, and forced him back.

Another Abhorrent was now out in the open, with a third behind it. Worse… Xerxes saw a glint that indicated yet another one was coming. Soon the courtyard was going to be so crowded he couldn’t swing his sword properly.

Now more than ever Xerxes wished he was a High Seer. If he was, he could cast Minor Augmentation and turn the strong end of his sword into a burning expression of power, not just his fist. With a weapon like that, he could chop these Abhorrents into pieces with almost no effort.

But he wasn’t a High Seer. And there were now three Abhorrent to deal with. Probably more.

Satahsusar had one of her knives back and was hiking her skirt up while simultaneously waving her weapon in the general direction of the nearest monster.

“Hya!” Ninsunu shouted.

Xerxes turned, and his eyes went wide as he saw threads of melam filling her, causing her to twitch as she changed shape and size. She grew taller and broader of shoulder, while at the same time her face became flatter, and curved horns sprouted from her forehead, sweeping back toward her neck. Her arms lengthened and sprouted dark green hair, while jagged claws emerged from her fingers. Her voluminous clothing remained intact, almost as if she had picked her garments specifically to cover her even after casting her spell. She continued to transform, but Xerxes forced himself to focus on the Abhorrent.

He slashed and stabbed, while off to the side Satahsusar was devolving into a frenzy as she tried to defend herself. Then a roar rattled the corridor as Ninsunu finished her transformation, stepped forward and grabbed one of the Abhorrent bodily. It let loose a shrieking hiss as she threw it hard against the opposite wall. A few of its legs were crushed, but little more happened. It dropped to the ground and jumped at her.

Another Abhorrent emerged. The courtyard was really starting to get crowded. He thrust forward, stabbing the nearest Abhorrent in its reddish head. But that didn’t stop it. Spindly legs struggled to grab his blade as he backed further away. His back was almost to the wall.

“This isn’t working!” he said, his previous confidence collapsing.

Satahsusar lunged forward, trying to pull off the same move she had before, but failing and getting slashed across the arm in the process. Blood flowed toward her hand as she lurched away. “I agree with Seer Xerxes,” she said.

Ninsunu let loose another bestial roar as the Abhorrent she’d thrown latched its arms around her shoulders and another grabbed her legs from behind.

Using her massive, greenish arms to hold the Abhorrent at bay, she kicked at the one behind her. But then, the monster in front of her suddenly twitched, and a line appeared from its ‘head’ to the base of its abdomen. It was like a long, thin crack that opened wider and wider, sticky slime stretching between either side.

The opening widened, like a massive, vertical mouth. And as it opened, countless swaying tentacles appeared within, like undulating teeth that slowly extended toward the High Seer.

When Xerxes saw that, his heart went cold, and he felt weak at the knees.

“Help,” Ninsunu grunted, her voice deep and gravelly.

Gritting his teeth, he jumped toward her, raising his sword overhead before bringing it down with all the force he could muster. It slashed clean through the entire Abhorrent, resulting in an enormous spray of black blood and white ichor.

Yes! he thought.

Ninsunu tossed the corpse aside, spun, and kicked the monster that was harrying her. It tucked its legs around itself as it rolled backward.

“Send up the flare to call the soldiers!” Satahsusar said.

“No,” Ninsunu growled. “They’d get slaughtered. We go.”

She bent her legs and jumped straight up onto the rooftop.

Xerxes saw more Abhorrent coming out of the mansion’s entrance, some of them crawling right over the mangled corpses of their fellows.

To the side, Satahsusar slashed at some legs, severed one, then turned and made a leap for the rooftop.

Holding his sword with only one hand, he did the same, taking a running leap and then extending his free hand up. His fingers found purchase on a roof tile, and he pulled himself up, scrambling for a toehold on the wall as he did. Behind him, an Abhorrent stretched its legs out, but he pulled his feet over the top of the roof before it reached him.

Standing, he looked around to see at least six Abhorrent in the street courtyard below, and more coming out of the building. Some were small, similar to the ones Gandash had summoned at Ligish Castle. Others were larger.

A few cubits away, Satahsusar clambered up, dislodging a roof tile in the process but otherwise making it safely away from the courtyard. She only had one knife left.

“We made it,” he said. “I almost can’t believe we made it.”

“Vile things,” Satahsusar spat, turning to look down. “What do we do, Nina? Run back to the cart? Or wait to see how many will come out of—”

A white tendril shot out from the dark corridor and stabbed her through the thigh.