COF 06

 Once out in the hall, Lenneth quickly turned her attention to the keys. There was so many! There must have been at least 15 silver and brass keys, of all shapes and sizes on that heavy ring. He couldn’t have just one master key in his pocket. She thought to herself in dismay. No, of course not. That would make things too easy for me!

She glanced at the door besides her and debated wasting time, trying to find the right key to lock the wizard in. But she didn’t know which key, and didn’t want to waste time hoping to stumble on the right one. Not when Lezard could wake at any moment, and his homunculus Zephyr could be lurking around the corner. “Damn it all…” She swore, realizing he could break down the door with his magic at any rate. “A locked door wouldn’t slow him down at all!” She cried out in dismay. Then cringed, hoping against hope that his lackey Zephyr wasn’t nearby to hear her.

No time to lose, she hitched up her skirt, and ran through the hall, stopping at each door to see if they would open. Most would not, and she frantically jammed key after key in the lock, trying to get the door open. The doors she could get open proved to be empty rooms, windowless and with no other entrances besides the one she had opened. They hadn’t even been worth the effort to lock. Of course his laboratory was one of the rooms that had been locked, and she cursed with frustration upon seeing the hated room, especially the slab where she had wakened as a human.

She slammed the door shut, and ran towards another door, getting it open on her second try. In that room was a immense library on all things magical, and related to the Gods. There was a door off to the side, and she ran towards it, swinging it open onto a small study. Stacks of books were on the table, a notebook open and displaying terrible chicken scratch writing, and ink stains from the blotter tossed carelessly on the table. A small cot was pushed to one side of the room, even there discarded books lay on the floor, adding to the disarray. Lenneth realized Lezard must have spent so much time studying and doing research, he often went to sleep here rather than his own room. It seemed a rather sad way to spend one’s life, Lenneth thought. Then shook her head. She should not began to feel anything for the necromancer, not even pity.

She backed out of the room, and ran through the library back into the hall. She ducked into an alcove when she heard footsteps. The homunculus walked by, carrying several sealed crates. Lenneth held her breath, willing herself to be as still as a statue, to not give away her hiding place. Zephyr never paused in task, never even glanced towards her hiding spot. Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps he was merely too simple minded to think of doing anything but the task assigned to him. Lezard would surely remedy that flaw in the future.

She waited a few more minutes, than dashed down the corridor. There was yet another door at the far end that looked promising to her. Just as she reached it, she thought she heard something. She glanced over her shoulder, relieved to see no one looming over her. But the sound came again, louder this time, and more clear. “VALKYRIE!!” Lezard was awake! She fumbled with the keyring, nearly dropping it. “WHERE ARE YOU?!” She tried one key after the other. Come on! Come on! She pleaded, not sure who she was praying too. Once upon a time it would have been to Lord Odin, but he was gone. Technically she was now the highest form of supreme being in all of the nine realms…at least…before Lezard had made her human.

“VALKYRIE!!” Closer this time. “COME OUT THIS INSTANT AND I PROMISE I WON’T BE MAD!”

Like I would believe that! She thought to herself, jamming in the last key. With an audible click, the door was unlocked, it’s rusty hinges creaking noisily, as she struggled to pull open the heavy metal door. What is this thing made of? She wondered. Iron? It made a lot of noise, groaning in protest as she got it open, inch by inch. So loud even Lezard had to have heard it.

“LADY VALKYRIE! NO!! STOP!” came the frantic cries of the necromancer.

It must lead to the outside if he sounds that worried. Lenneth got the door open just wide enough for her lithe frame to slip through. The door quickly slammed shut when she released her hold on it. She locked it behind her, paying no attention to the gold glowing rune of warning on the inside of the door. “Whew…” She let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the door for a moment to get her bearings. She was pleased to see stairs leading downwards, and she grabbed a torch out of the sconce on the wall. She practically flew down the stairs, taking them two at a time, eagerness making her careless. She was lucky she didn’t twist her ankle, or get tangled up in her skirt, and she certainly did not take heed of the chittering sounds that lurked just beyond the bottom of the staircase.

When at last she came to the end of the stairs, she was in another round room, with two corridors branching off in the center. “Which one do I choose…” She fretted, biting her lower lip in worry. She cringed hearing the door from above being banged upon. She quickly decided on the right, praying it wouldn’t lead her to a dead end. She ran down the corridor, the light from the torch barely illuminating the place. Suddenly without warning, something struck at her, knocking her off her feet. The torch rolled a few feet from her, and she glanced up, shocked to see a harpy flapping her wings, a foot chained to her perch. “Why am I not surprised he keeps monsters as pets…” She muttered, reaching for the torch. She sat up on her knees, eyeing the creature cautiously. The length of chain was not long enough to allow the bird woman to move more than two feet off the metal bar. If she stayed on her hands and knees, she could avoid it attacking her again. So she did just that, one hand holding the torch, while the other felt along the ground. “Nice birdy…good birdy…”

She got pass it with a minimal amount of fuss, and quickly got to her feet. Running down the corridor, she came to the a wide open room that was illuminated with magic. She stopped up short, her scream dying in her throat before it even begun. There was something far worse than a harpy waiting for her in this room. The creature was large, at least three times the size of a man, it’s golden brown body lightly furred, with a lion like head, two horns, and a tail that split off into two hissing snakes. It growled at her, a trumpeting roar, as it displayed it’s rows upon rows of jagged teeth. Lenneth did not even dare breathe, fear causing her to stiffen She was unused to feeling scared. When faced with a manticore however, even a Goddess would have a tough time. What chance did she have as a human?!

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“Oooooh…” Lezard moaned, waking up from a dream where the Goddess was passionately kissing him. “Why am I on the floor…” He took in the burgundy blankets hanging on the wall and realized he was in the room he had prepared for the valkyrie. “The Valkyrie!” He cried, hurrying to stand. “How could I forget, even for a second…” He grabbed at the back of his head, wincing in pain. Pieces of the porcelain vase she had struck him with fell from his brown hair, joining the mess already on the floor. “That minx! She played me for a fool!” He continued to rub the back of his head. “First order of business is to find her. Second order is to have any objects she can use as a weapon removed from this room.”

He took a stumbling step forward, still a bit woozy on his feet. He wasn’t sure how long he had been out. Had it been a few minutes, or a few hours? He dearly hoped only a few minutes had passed by, not that it really mattered. There wasn’t many places the Goddess could go in his tower. He had taken to keeping things locked up tight, and for the floors that lay beyond the one he used for his home life, they were riddled with traps and monsters. He took his privacy very seriously, and not many fool hardy adventurers would make it past the first floor of his tower.

“VALKYRIE!!” He shouted, as he pulled open the door, angry at her for doing this to him, angry at himself for allowing him to be open for an attack. How dare she! He thought furiously to himself. “VALKYRIE!!” He screamed louder this time, his voice bouncing off the walls in an echo. He stepped out into the hall, listening but didn’t hear anything. Not that he had expected to her to actually answer him.

He ran down the hall, checking shadowy corners, and the alcove, hoping to find her huddled behind a statue, or hiding in one of the empty rooms. Nothing though. “WHERE ARE YOU?!” He cried out, seeing locked doors were left carelessly open. Did I leave them open or… His amethyst eyes widened in panic. He patted his pockets, ruffled through his cape. Nowhere did he find his keys. She must have pick pocketed them. He realized, panic rising. “LADY VALKYRIE! PLEASE! COME OUT THIS INSTANT” He bellowed, running into his lab.

He quickly but carefully checked around, glancing under tables, and into closets for any sign of her. Much to his dismay he still could not find her. His dread rising, he ran back into the hall, and shouted out her name again, desperately pleading with her to reveal herself, he wouldn’t be mad at her if she would just come back to him. From some distance away came a reply…the sound of a heavy door being opened. It groaned and creaked in protest, not from falling into disrepair but from the warning spell he placed on it. It let him know if it was being opened, and for good reason. That door led to the more deadly areas of his tower…and it took a strong reinforced iron door to keep out most of the horrors behind it from invading his home. Several spells kept the rest out bay, leaving him with some of the best guardians sorcery could control. But now it seemed something or someone had opened the door…and he had a pretty good idea who it was.

“LADY VALKYRIE! NO! STOP!!” His anger forgotten, Lezard cried out frantically, as he ran in the direction of the door. He had hoped his beloved remembered her first visit to his tower. How she and her party of einherjar had to struggle to reach his laboratory. Of the many monsters they faced, among the most impressive being zombie dragons and bone warriors. “YOU’VE NO IDEA WHAT IS DOWN THERE!” But the door slammed shut, and fell silent once again. He reached it too late, and slammed his fists against in rage. “Damn it!” He pounded his hands against the door yet again, when he realized she had locked it behind her.

A locked door was only a temporarily set back for a wizard as great as Lezard Valeth. He stepped back, and took a calming breath. He clasped his hands together, almost as though in prayer, his eyes closed as he centered himself. His aura lit up, a vibrant purple, and he began chanting a spell. The energy swirled around him, before zigzagging across his body and down his arms. “EXPLOSION!!” He shouted, and flung his right arm forward, palm up and facing the door. The spell blasted into the door, rocking it on it’s hinges, though it did not budge. “Again!” He commanded, and the explosion spell hit the door for a second time, making more progress. It would take time and a few more spells, but he would have the door open. Lezard just hoped it would not be too late for the Goddess.

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Lenneth shrieked, ducking to the side as the manticore rushed towards her. It’s catlike paws slashed at the air where she had been, leaving three deep clawmarks into the stonework. “Stay back!” She cried, waving the torch at it in a feeble attempt to keep it from her. It reared up when faced with the fire, and then she saw it’s wings. It was one of the rare winged versions of the beast. It pumped it’s wings, the strength of the wind produced being more than enough to blow out her torch. “Nooo!” Lenneth cried, backing away from the monster.

It flattened it’s wings tight against it’s body, and once again they were camouflaged among it’s fur. Saliva dribbled down it’s mouth as it drooled, watching Lenneth with open hunger. With a growl, it’s back legs bunched up underneath it, just before it leapt forward trying to catch at her with it’s paws. Lenneth shocked them both by scoring a hit on it’s head with the wooden remains of the torch. It snorted, and shook it’s head, reaching out with a lazy swipe of it’s claws. Lenneth moved out of the way, but wasn’t quite fast enough. Just the tips of the claws caught her in the back, wrenching open the material of her dress, and lightly slicing open her delicate skin. “Aiieeee!” She cried, falling against the wall, dread in her eyes.

From somewhere in the distance an explosion sounded, and the manticore briefly turned it’s attention away from it’s prey. Seeing her chance, Lenneth tried to edge away from the beast, but it quickly whipped it’s head around to watch her again. A warning growl issued from it’s throat and she froze again. Footsteps hurried towards them, and again the beast turned to track the sound. Lenneth didn’t move this time, staying pressed against the stone, watching and waiting for another attack from the beast. She was so concentrated on it’s mouth and claws she failed to notice it’s tail sneaking it’s way behind her, and let out a pained scream as one of the snake heads bit her on her left thigh. Blood and poison dripped off it’s fangs, and Lenneth fell to the floor in agony.

Bellowing out a cry of victory, the beast pulled back it’s right paw, preparing to finish off Lenneth with one swipe. She cringed, placing her hands over her head in a futile attempt at protection.

“DARK SAVIOR!!” A voice called out, and four black blades surrounded the beast, pulsating with a red aura. They converged on the manticore, knocking it away from Lenneth.

“Lezard!” Lenneth cried out in relief, shocked that she was almost happy to see him. So relieved she called him by his name.

“Valkyrie! I’ll take care of this!” Lezard told her, his eyes infuriated with rage to see his beloved bleeding. Bleeding! And at the mercy of one of his creatures. “FIRE STORM!” The fire spell exploded onto the manticore, charring it’s flesh, and blowing it apart. It made quite a mess, chunks of it landing all over the place. But Lezard had already disregarded the beast’s presence the moment the spell had been uttered from his lips. He was all eyes for Lenneth.

“Lady Valkyrie…” he rushed to her side, bending down over her. “You’re injured!” He stated the obvious.

“I’ll…I’ll be fine…” Lenneth winced, trying to sit up. She managed to raise herself off the floor, far enough to look up and offer a shaky smile. “Thanks to you.” It was not sarcasm but real gratitude in her voice. She was willing to overlook that she would never have been in danger in the first place if not for him, grateful for the rescue from what had surely been her death.

“Your back…” His hand hovered over the wound, though he did not touch it. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Just my leg…” Solicitously, Lezard was down on his knees, one arm going around her waist, the other gripping her by the arm. He helped her to her feet, though she swayed and nearly fell again if not for him catching her in his arms. “It’s tail…it bit me…”

“It’s tail you say…” Lezard’s brow furrowed in worry. “One of the snakes bit you…”

“Oh yes…it hurt quite a bit…” Her eyelids fluttered in rapid succession, she was having trouble keeping his face in focus. She slumped down, causing Lezard to have to support her fully. “Why is the room spinning…?” She questioned out loud, her voice breathy and whisper quiet.

“I’m afraid you’ve been poisoned.” He regretfully told her.

“Poisioned…is that all…” She managed to get out, before fainting in his arms. Lezard stared at the girl in his arms with a sad look on his face. “It’s too my regret I haven’t studied the healing arts as often as I should have.” He scooped her up in his arms, placing one hand on her back, the other underneath her knees. She murmured unintelligibly, wrapping her arms around his neck in her fevered sleep.