Southwest Days (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 2), Kal Aaron [book recommendations based on other books .txt] 📗

direction of those two large tunnels. It was more diffuse before, but now it’s more concentrated.”

Ryan made more clicking sounds. “They converge on another huge room.”

“Convenient,” Aisha said, putting her hands on her hips. “That solves one major problem. I’m weary of this vermin extermination. I’d prefer to face a Sorcerer. This is our best chance of finding him if he’s here.”

“They’re making a last stand,” Lyssa said. “Do they have enough instinct to do that, or do they somehow sense what’s going on with the others?” She shook her head. “I doubt they’ll suddenly change tactics, so we might as well get this over with.” She surveyed the group. “Everyone up for this? I’d say back off and rest, but the clock isn’t on our side, and we can’t be sure there isn’t a Sorcerer waiting for his chance to mess with us.”

Aisha scoffed. “You’re not going to outdo me, friend. I will not quit until I’m dead or they all are.”

“I’ll remember those words for your tombstone.”

Ryan lifted his hilt. The increased whine and distortion marked the return of his blade. “This job beats killing monsters in sewers. Let’s find and eliminate the last targets.”

“A showstopper into the heart of the enemy formation could devastate it,” Jofi said. “Consider their use in the next battle to lower the risk to your group.”

Lyssa furrowed her brow. He’d been far too eager for her to shoot a showstopper in the mine. She wasn’t going to use them to cut down groups of disposable minions. They’d been able to fight the panthers without them.

He wasn’t wrong. His attack choice might be questionable, but the general idea held promise.

“We need to be a little smarter about this,” she said. “Aisha, during the next fight, how about Ryan and I cover you while you rev up some major fireballs? We need to take these guys out in larger batches.”

Aisha nodded with a proud smile. “I could do that.”

“Antoine, you stay in the rear,” Lyssa said. “If you go down, we could be screwed later.”

He nodded. “I’m more than happy to let you continue the slaughter-fest, and I’m more than happy to pop any lizards or snake-roaches that get too close.”

Reloading her pistols with explosive and penetrator magazines, Lyssa made a mental note to save at least one explosive and one penetrator magazine. She had several ablative magazines left, reasoning earlier that she could kill the panther quicker by getting to its brain than burning off its armor. That caution was paying off in an unexpected way.

“Then we’ve got a plan.” Lyssa lifted her guns. “We’re Torches. It’s time we burn more impurities from this world.”

“Excellent, Hecate,” Aisha said.

Lyssa jogged toward a large tunnel. Sometimes a long battle tried one’s patience, and sometimes even a short, intense skirmish left a woman ready to go home and collapse into bed.

“I’m never going into a cave again after this,” Lyssa stated.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lyssa continued down the tunnel, unsurprised and satisfied at feeling active sorcery from somewhere in front of her. “Am I the only one feeling that, or did one of you somehow pull a stunt?”

“The rogue’s finally showing himself.” Aisha sneered. “I’ll enjoy seeing his fear. Once he sees how many have come for him, he might surrender.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Lyssa replied. “But I wouldn’t complain if it happened either.”

After all battles against disgusting monsters, sensing the sorcery flooded Lyssa with relief. She wanted the job over and the bastard captured or killed. After the stunt at the library, she’d worried she might not be able to track him down.

“That explains why they’re consolidating forces,” Ryan said. “The rogue might have just arrived during our earlier attack.”

Lyssa nodded. “As long as it means we can finish this, I’m happy.” She turned to Aisha. “Try to take him alive if possible. Given what we’ve seen, it’s highly possible this guy didn’t do all this by himself, and I think Samuel and Theodora would love the chance to call up the Tribunal and send them after the other rogues.”

Aisha frowned and folded her arms. “I’ll do my best, but that’s up to him. I’m not going to risk my life or any of yours on the chance we can gain something.”

“You do what you have to do,” Lyssa said. “It’s like with Allard. Sometimes you don’t have a choice. I get that.”

“This sounds bad, but you can mess him up, and I can save him,” Antoine said with a shrug. “Just don’t kill him and we’re good.”

Aisha’s smile turned chilling. “I’ll keep that in mind. It does increase the number of options.”

“I’d assume some sort of life essence,” Lyssa said. “But we don’t know. Be careful.”

Ryan fell in behind Lyssa. Aisha and Antoine took up the rear. The darkness of the tunnels was almost complete except for the flicker of Aisha’s floating lantern. Light began to filter in from the other side, changing Lyssa’s gray night vision to something more natural.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” she joked. “Maybe the twist is we lost that last battle, and we’re already dead.”

Antoine chortled, but Aisha and Ryan looked annoyed. Some people had no sense of humor.

“Don’t worry,” Lyssa said. “You don’t have to see me again anytime soon after this. I’ve got other things I’ll be taking care of.”

After cleaning up this level of mess, including finding the rogue, her ticket to Last Remnant was all but assured.

Something shifted and writhed toward the end of the tunnel, but nothing came at them. The shrieks of the lizards resounded from ahead. Familiarity fed into Lyssa’s cockiness. They could handle lizards, even a horde of them.

She kept expecting a final, desperate monster charge through the tunnel, but nothing happened. Whoever was controlling the monsters, if they were doing such a thing, must have something else in mind.

The presence of the Sorcerer could complicate their plans, but it wasn’t like one man could coordinate the tactics of a whole room full of monsters that well. He