Bido had held off on shooting them at a distance, and I now understood why. He aimed both beams from his hand mirrors at the center of the rib cage of the front skeleton and concentrated. The beams crossed, focused, and the skeleton exploded.

  The beam continued past the first skeleton into the second, and then the third. He had exploded seven skeletons before his beams faded out, and he gasped, weak and out of breath.

  The other defender groups held their own, but spears and bows were not terrific weapons against skeletons. The next rank of undead behind them looked like zombies with weapons.

  My blood ran cold. Undead capable of using weapons were of a higher power. I think they were called ghouls. If they were ghouls and not lesser undead, we were in far worse shape than my worst fears.

  “My turn,” I roared angrily as Biff made to step into the gap himself. He looked at me and held his position. He knew as well as I did that once things got to hand-to-hand, the numerical advantage of the undead would get rough for us.

  “Ghouls behind the skeletons!” One of the inquisitors yelled. She noticed what I had seen but came to a quicker conclusion.

  “Blunt damage works best!” Another of the inquisitors added.

  I changed my mind on the fly. I focused on one of my silver rings and another elemental spell. This spell was called Volley of Stones and was a third element spell. It was the next level up from the copper ring Adriana made for me, called Pebble Blast, as part of the adventurer’s set that Master Gizmo made sure I received. The sound of dozens of slingstone-sized rocks shot forward from my outstretched hand and smashed into the skeletons with particular effectiveness.

  The gap before us that Bido had cleared had filled back up rapidly. My spell cleared it again and even more quickly than Bido’s effects.

  But there was no cheering this time. Everyone was too engaged to celebrate such a fleeting victory.

  I had another idea for the ghouls.

  I shouted, “As soon as the first ghouls get to us, I will knock them to the ground. Warriors jump to them and dispatch them quickly. You must get to them and back to us before they regroup.”

  I held up my hand, waiting for the ghouls to reach the wooden barrier as they marched over their de-animated skeleton allies.

  “Now!” I shouted and activated a different ring. It was one that Simon had filled for me. He had successfully used this effect against the giant oyster under the bay, and I had high hopes for its use here on land.

  I released the Lesser Shock Wave from its silver ring. The sound of the spell was higher than underwater, and we could not see the concussive wave move out before us as clearly as we could in the water, but the effects were no less spectacular.

  Ghouls, skeletons, lumbering corpses, and a few zombies went down like pins at the city bowling alley.

  I could not get the entire front rank of ghouls in my strike because the angles were wrong, but those I missed were met head-on by the warriors. It was good that I had chosen the middle station to position myself. Area of effect spells would be most helpful from this position.

  Of course, it also meant I had enemies before me, to my left and right.

  Biff leaped over the barricade, and Bido moved over to stand beside me, aiming his red beams over the heads of the warriors to strike the undead further toward the back.

  The undead closest to us were ripped apart by the power of the monk's attack, but the rest, while taking damage, had only been knocked prone. The damage effects diminished as it moved forward, with each successive creature taking less damage than the previous one, as if it had blocked some of the impact for those behind.

  The stun effect was nearly useless against the undead, although they seemed slightly slower to recover than earlier.

  Because of the successful attack, Biff had to run further than I felt comfortable for him to strike the nearest viable target. He smashed the undead with his magical gauntlets. Each concussive blow sounded like a bell, tolling loudly.

  A trio of apprentice clerics I had mistaken for younger citizens let loose with a volley of Holybolts that hit, damaged, and continued to damage the undead over time.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Although they were young, each had a few magical tricks handy, and I was glad to have them with us.

  I had not noticed at the time, but my concussive attack had sent many undead sideways and unbalanced into the inquisitors’ Holy Light with dramatic effect. The inquisitors, not to be outdone by cleric apprentices, chose that time to leap the barricade and assemble into a kind of diamond formation. They moved purposefully into the ranks of the undead, and the corrupted burned in the light.

  Things were going better for us than I had feared, which meant that the surprise attack by a group of four black-clothed cultists from atop a nearby building caught us by surprise.

  I don’t know what spell or device they used that exploded when it hit the ground beside Bido and me, but we all flew backward because of the air pressure wave. Fortunately, the attack fell short and did not hit us directly. However, it broke my spell concentration, which meant the Holy Light dropped, and we all began to stagger back to our feet slowly.

  Fortunately, the inquisitors and other warriors were far enough away that they were unaffected by the blast. Unfortunately, the inquisitors’ departure from our ranks had been what the directing intelligence behind the undead had been waiting for. Three dark shapes descended from the sky and launched themselves at me, Bido, and one of the cleric apprentices.

  They struck us with bone-chilling coldness.

  I felt my life draining out of me, and I was helpless to prevent it.

  “Shades!” One of the apprentices yelled to his companions. “Use magic, or they’ll die!”

  Shades were very powerful undead who drained the life out of their victims. They were deadly but weak compared to other undead. However, they had a wicked defense since they could only be damaged by silver or magical weapons.

  Luckily, Holybolt's spells were both magical and disruptive to the undead. The remaining two apprentices let loose with another volley of their favorite spells, and the shades popped like balloons against their magical strikes.

  I had lost a third of my health between the blast and the shades and saw that Bido was likewise hurt. The young apprentice who had been attacked was alive but was unconscious on the ground. The clerics had defended Bido and me before their own, almost costing the boy his life. If we got out of this, I would personally mention their bravery to the bishop or at least ask Steven to convey it for me. Their bravery saved our lives.

  “Get back behind the barrier!” I yelled at the inquisitors, but I also intended it for all the warriors and Biff.

  The inquisitors had already started back before I called out, having heard the cleric apprentices announce the presence of shades. The inquisitors knew what had happened and who the targets would be.

  Everyone made it back safe, and the inquisitors resumed their positions. One had cast Holy Light on me and one of the apprentice clerics. We had a more solid wall of magical protection, but we were still too thin to hold the barrier for much longer.

  The inquisitors had no idea that the shades were in waiting, but they chastised themselves for the error regardless.

  “No time for blame; the next wave is coming!” I yelled out, hoping to refocus the warrior priests.

  “How can there be even more of them?” Bido shouted.

  I had no answer for him, but there seemed to be a never-ending supply of the undead. The next wave appeared to consist of a mixture of both zombies and lumbering corpses. This wave of undead seemed to move more slowly than the skeletons and ghouls.

  My rings and gems had plenty of combat availability, but they were mainly against a single target. The horde attacks by the undead were not something I had ever considered. But the more time we bought for ourselves, the more likely it would be that additional help would arrive. Surely, the entire city was not fleeing.

  Was it?

  One of my favorite Dwarven copper rings held five of the 7pt elemental gems, which allowed me to summon lesser elementals. These elementals would not have much combat ability, maybe inflicting damage equivalent to a dagger or small club, but they could harass the undead across an area of effect that was useful to us right now.

  I summoned an earth elemental and said, “I command thee to slow the progress of the undead.”

  Elementals took direct commands. The weak ones were not very intelligent and worked quite literally. I knew I could not give them a two-part command because they would wander aimlessly, trying to do both simultaneously.

  When invoking the command, I thought to mire the undead somehow, but the means was up to the elemental. There was a delicate balance between too little or too restrictive magical compelling. I had to direct their will without smothering it. There was an ongoing debate among mages about whether using such spells against elementals or spirits was ethical. Free will was a hallmark of sentient life, after all.

  But now was not the time to allow my mind to wax philosophic.

  Bido was back shooting his beams but had changed from red to blue. The blue was not water-based but cold-based, and he could slow the undead illuminated by his rays. It was not a winning strategy, but it gave us more time.

  Biff had procured a long spear from somewhere and was using it to keep the lead undead from advancing as quickly.

  Initially, he had used the bladed end, but the undead just allowed the spear to pass through its body, and it got a few good claw swipes at Biff before the nearest inquisitor hacked at it with a short, broad saber called a cutlass. I saw naval officers wearing them more often than anyone else, but this team of inquisitors favored the slightly curved weapon. Regardless of weapon choice, Biff thanked her and changed to the blunt end of the spear after that experience.

  On a sudden inspiration, I quickly moved from one inquisitor to the next, casting my Sharpness enchantment on their blades, making them magical. The spell would only last for around four hours at best since their weapon materials were only standard fare and not the fine material required for permanent enchantments to take hold. Still, it should improve their ability to strike and inflict damage.

  The four priests were surprised but overjoyed by the immediate improvement they felt in the weapons. The swords would be lighter, stronger, and sharper. “See me when this is all done, and I’ll help you each get a real magical sword and not this temporary charm!” I shouted as I moved back to my original position.

  The other advantage was to make their weapons magical in case we had a revisit by the shades.

  As I raced back to my position, I didn’t have time to repeat the magical effects for others. Nevertheless, my return to the central channel was timely. The undead were making another rush. I had hoped to enchant the warriors’ blades, but there was no time. The next wave was upon us, and it was much larger. Fortunately, no shades or ghouls filled its ranks, which appeared to include lumbering corpses, zombies, and skeletons.

  The disquieting noises and clammy atmosphere of the Deathlight were disheartening, even if the magical effects of despair had been eliminated by the Holy Lights.

  But the feeling of impending doom at the sight of so many undead suddenly disappeared as a striking voice rang out in song nearby…