The Clan by D. Rus Read Free Book Online Page A

spell entered its last moments. But the enemy's defense still held. Pointless, all pointless. The power of the cooldown was pressing me to the ground, forcing me down ankle-deep into the soil.
    I closed my eyelids. I'd let everybody down.
    "I'll help you," a familiar voice whispered into my ear as my mana bar refilled to the brim. For a brief moment, a dark shape obscured the stars.
     
    New buff alert! You've received an unknown buff: *#@$$@#@!
    Effect: Restores 100% mana and gives 30-second protection from any type of damage.
     
    "Thanks, O Fallen One. I owe you," I croaked.
    The Fallen One was raising my credit limit. That was all fine —until payoff day.
    Strength was gushing from me, the cooldown releasing its heavy grip. My lungs didn't feel the acrid smoke any more. The bone thorns crushed underfoot, unable to break through the invisible divine protection. My comrades in arms were dying, all dying. Having never recovered, the wizard group had turned into a mass grave. The enchanters were trying to use the portals but how could you expect them to cast a personal gate under the pressure from five or six debilitating spells? Lt. Brown stared at me, perplexed, not understanding how it was possible I was still alive and casting the spell. He wasn't looking forward to a cheap death but he wasn't going to prevent me from having my way, either. So he made the only possible decision. He deleted me from the group and transported everybody else via an evacuator portal to a random destination.
    So there I stood alone amid a dozen graves, in a semicircle of cutthroats shielding me with their bodies. I met their leader's stare and nodded: get lost. He lowered his eyelids briefly, then shook his head. He had his orders. After a brief moment, the Drow collapsed all at once. Now I was well and truly alone.
    Bang! The earth shattered as the dome over the castle exploded in a billion fragments. We'd done it! The Vets' battle cry shattered the air as they charged the main gate. A couple dozen warriors and archers got busy blunting their weapons against iron oak, a hundred mages getting through kilotons of mana per second as they transformed it into all possible types of magic damage.
    The castle put up a good fight. Boiling tar kept flowing, crossbows and glaive throwers released over the sea of flying arrows. With a thump, a trebuchet discharged from a donjon tower, propelling a two-ton rock onto the second line of our warriors. Yes, but... that was little more than an agony. Even I, too dangerously close to them on my hot spot of vitrified earth, could see that the Cats had failed to hold the perimeter.
    After another half a minute, the gates groaned and collapsed, letting in a human flood that consumed the thin line of defenders and everything around them. So far, the op had been a success. Now for the second part of the show: taking over the castle.

Chapter Four
     
    F rom the chat logs of an unknown bystander.
    Current time .
    Place: a lay-up about five hundred feet away from the Castle's main gates.
     
    "They're going in, Sir. O-three hundred hours, just as we've been told.
    "I detect the instance of a High Circle Spell...
    "No, Sir, I'm afraid I can't establish the caster's name. The group is protected by a mist screen.
    "Roger that, Sir. I'm adding all the established names to List 12.
    "I'm observing the intervention of a third force. Presumably, a class A structure. An unknown spell detected. It's a buff, uncategorized.
    "List 12 updated. The caster's name established. Code name assigned: Puppet.
    "Roger that, Sir. Priority target list updated. Puppet added at #2.
    "Roger, Sir. Commencing countdown now. 30 minutes to time D. The group is ready, Sir. We won't let you down."
     
    * * *
     
    I downed the mana and life elixirs and sat on the still-hot ground amid the makeshift graveyard. The interface blinked, receiving Lt. Brown's message.
    Stay put and take it easy. The reserve clerics are moving up toward you. They'll