A Hope in Hell by Nuttall Christopher G

Author:Nuttall, Christopher G.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Mythology Press
Published: 2023-07-07T00:00:00+00:00

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Chapter Eighteen

“They’re coming,” John said as he joined Alexander and the rest of the magicians. “Are you ready?”

Alexander nodded. “Do they know we’re here?”

John shrugged. Greyshade knew John was in New Hope. Katrina would’ve told him as much. Did he know about the other magicians? John didn’t know, but he was fairly sure Greyshade would at least suspect their existence. The settlement had tried to hire a bunch of magic users even before it had found itself on the wrong side of the law. They had nothing to gain, and everything to lose by upholding laws written and enforced by the person trying to kill them.

And Greyshade knew about the tattoos. He’d expect John to use them.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, “we have to fight them off anyway.”

He looked from magician to magician. They looked nervous, but ready. Better that, John told himself, than overconfidence. The Grey Men were amongst the best magicians in the world—and some of them, at least, would be able to cast spells without a focus. There was a very good chance they’d expect to run into enemy magicians, and they knew how to take them down. They practiced on monsters like Skinlord. The magicians defending New Hope were nowhere near as powerful.

We do have a few surprises up our sleeves, he thought. If we catch them by surprise, we can stun or kill them before they have a chance to react.

“Don’t try to be clever,” he said. “These men are dangerous magicians with far more experience than you. They’ll take advantage of the slightest gap in your defenses. Keep it simple, and keep pouring it on. Don’t give them a chance to react.”

John felt the magic surge again as the enemy magicians prepared themselves to advance. He had no idea how the enemy would make their approach, but he was sure it would be shocking. They knew they were facing a dangerous enemy. Greyshade might’ve held them in reserve, unwilling to risk taking serious losses, but now he had no choice but to throw them into the battle.

He’d do everything in his power to minimize losses. John suspected he’d pull a card out of his sleeve and play it, but it was impossible to guess what he could do.

The ground heaved. John scrambled up and watched as a cloud of dirt and dust roared toward the settlement. There was something inside the cloud, something powerful and magical. He caught a glimpse of flashing blades and glimpsed metal before the device crashed into the outer trench and plunged onward. He saw a defender raising a crossbow, trying to take a shot at the cloud, only to be torn apart and scattered to the winds before he could fire. Blood and gore flew in all directions. John had no time to mourn the dead man. The cloud was moving with terrifying speed.

“Get out of the way!” Joyce bellowed. “Move!”

Her voice somehow cut through the deafening racket. Defenders scattered in all directions as the cloud crashed into the inner palisade, flipped over and over, and landed inside the settlement.

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