“You are sick,” Ansribael growled through gritted teeth. “These people have done nothing to you, and yet you serve the master of the darkness that rises against your own people and rot the city from the inside out. You do not deserve to live, and I will see to it that you do not.”

“Oh,” the elf sighed as he took up a defensive stance. “So melodramatic are we not? Come now, it is all in good fun. And I do not serve Xem’zûnd. I serve myself.”

The warrior dove across the water, a jump easily made. As his heavy boots touched the opposite side his blade fell. The runes running across it were vivid and sparked to life. The same ones that Lars had seen moments before against the zombies were flaring wildly. However, as the blade fell, the runic script dulled. Before it could come in contact with the elven necromancer his empty hands shot up as if to catch it… the blade shattered before it came close enough.

Lars was put off. He could feel the nervous Dedric at his side move forward uncomfortably and look down the other side to see the combat. The pieces of the blade soared through the air like fragmentation, piercing the exposed portions of Ansri’s body. He lumbered forward on unsteady feet, only the hilt remaining in his firm grasp. Before anyone could react the necromancer wrapped his hands around the warrior’s throat and smiled.

“Like I said, you will feel it soon enough.” At the ends of his fingers small pins shot out from the gloves. Each one was dripping like a poorly sealed syringe. Green goo ran down the side of the warrior’s neck and across the front of his polished armor. There was no time for Lars to throw a dagger to stop the monster. Even if there had been the option was nearly impossible with the proximity of the two elves. “Have fun in there with all my other pets.”

FLASH

“Time is always a pressing matter…”

A purple streak struck the forehead of the necromancer and sent him reeling away from Ansribael. His gloved hands cupped either cheek and barely remained away from puncturing himself with his own serum. Lars looked over his shoulder and saw the purple glow of Dedric’s eyes and knew instantly where the attack had come from. It was fast though, and had done more damage in the split second than the warrior had done in combat.

The hacker wasted no time in question and threw both daggers he had in hand. They streaked through the air and were aimed at the chest of the well clothed necromancer. His arms tried to fall. His body tried to move. But it was like watching the entire thing in slow motion. Whatever the spell that Dedric had hit him was had nearly stopped him completely. In a heartbeat the blades connected with the necromancer’s chest and an explosion of blood burst from the wounds.

“Kill him! NOW!” Lars screamed to his warrior companion, and the man moved without so much as a thought. He dug out a dagger along the side of his waist and swung quickly. Before it could come in contact though, the entire world went bat shit insane. The necromancer’s eyes turned a sickly, glowing gold. The daggers that the hacker had thrown dropped from his body as if he had suddenly become a ghost. And in the confusion Ansribael had stopped his forward thrust. A flurry of feathers and instead of a man waiting to be killed was a flock of agitated crows. The man had changed into the birds to save himself, and upwards they flew, towards the mesh grate and the outside world.

“This is not a trespass I shall so easily forgive.” The words of the elven creep wormed their way through Lars’ head. The way the others reacted, holding their heads and looking skyward, they too were receiving the same thing. “Your images will be burnt into my vision, and I shall not forgive any face I have seen. A small victory perhaps, but one that will be overlooked by Lord Xem’zûnd in the long run.”

“What the fuck was that? What the fuck do we do with these bodies? And how the fuck do we explain this shit?” Lars was angry, his voice a growl. But all around him the noise of unsteady stones began to creak. They were being pulled, just as he had predicted, leaving the three men trapped in the tunnel. “Fuuuck no…”