Chapter 64 - Sound Retreat!

  Alex fired yet another ice blast. The spell created a short javelin of solid water that shot from his hand, stabbing one of the Karabos through the chest. The enemy went down. But there were so many more where that one came from!

  He’d long since lost track of how many of the things he'd killed. It seemed like they were almost endless. But all the same, he knew better. There was a way to end all of this. Take down those leaders riding atop the monstrosity, and he figured the remainder would probably flee, retreating back into the sea from which they’d come.

  “Retreat! Pull back! Retreat back to the wall!”MacGregor shouted from somewhere behind him.

  How the police captain made his voice carry like that without a megaphone, Alex just didn't know. He'd have guessed it was some kind of magical ability, except the man seemed like one of those people who'd learned the knack of being heard even when it should have been impossible.

  Alex's mana was almost tapped out anyway, so he turned to go. Most of the people he'd rushed out there with had already withdrawn or were racing back to the wall as fast as their legs could carry them. He fired off another spell at an approaching Karabos. The creature dove backward, so the spell missed. But it still forced them back, which was good enough.

  None of this would have been necessary if Castle had listened to his directions in the first place. Alex had warned Cameron not to overextend himself, to be careful. He’d told the man over and again that without him, they were all completely screwed. So, when he went down, Alex had done the only thing he could think of and jumped to the wall, rushing out to assist.

  Hordes of others followed him out to help, and together they’d managed to push the Karabos back for long enough that Castle was able to get his feet under him again. It was nuts, rushing into the middle of the fray like that, but he’d done it anyway. Sure, part of it was because he owed the man his life. That was absolutely a piece of the calculation, but not the larger part.

  Mostly, Alex just knew that as foolhardy as Castle’s actions had been, without his help, they were up a creek without a paddle.

  As he turned to retreat, he tapped one of the Karabos bodies on the ground next to him. A tier three Ice Blast crystal appeared in his hand as a reward. That was a good reminder that no matter how dire the situation, it was important to find ways to loot the enemy combatants before he pulled back.

  He tapped a few more as he continued his swift withdrawal across the street. One dropped a tier two Natural Armor spell, and another gave him a tier three Stamina crystal. Then he saw one of the Peristera bodies lying crumpled on the ground where it had fallen. Alex hesitated only a moment before touching the body. As he'd expected, a tier two crystal popped out into his hand. This one was for Flight. That was one hell of a find, and Alex pocketed the stone quickly.

  Of all the powers Castle had, being able to fly around anywhere he wanted to go had to be the one that Alex envied the most. Now he could do it, too. He tapped a few more of the Karabos as he finished his withdrawal, then slipped his way through the gap between two of the overturned cars that made up the wall.

  The wall? If you could call it that, anyway. All around him, Alex saw people huddled down behind the concrete barriers and the broken husks of shattered vehicles. When that monstrosity of a crab reached this place, the wall wasn't going to slow it for even a second. Its legs were each longer than the cars were tall. The thing would simply clamber over the top without even pausing.

  They needed a way to stop the thing, but even with his Intellect as high as it was, Alex was at a loss. None of his spells were even vaguely strong enough to damage the thing, although he had a few that might harm its riders, even as high-ranked as they were. He hated the idea that he was too weak to deal with this threat, despised himself for having to rely on someone else for his defense. But there he was, as helpless as any of the rest of these people.

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  They were all counting on the skills and strength of one man to defend them. Where the hell was Castle, anyway? Alex scanned the battlefield and finally spotted him, tucked down behind a ruined vehicle. He was still about halfway between the two battle lines. And for a moment, Alex couldn't figure out what he was trying to accomplish by standing there.

  “He must still be injured,” Alex muttered to himself. That was the only reason that he could think of to sit still. It wasn't like staying there would make it easier for him to deal with the Karabos.

  Everyone had withdrawn except for Castle. Even the Peristera had retreated until they were out of range of those deadly spells.

  "Alex, how are you holding up?" MacGregor said, suddenly appearing next to his elbow.

  "I'm fine. My mana's a little low, but it's recovering fast. I'll be able to cast a few spells again by the time the enemy reaches us. But I don't know how much good it's going to do."

  "Have those brains of yours come up with any ideas yet?" Mac Greger asked.

  Alex shook his head. "I've got nothing. Castle might be able to take down that crab one on one. I'm not sure he can, but it's possible, at least. Not with those Karabos riding it, though. At least two of them were casting Lightning Bolts, and that seems to be Cameron's weak spot."

  "Why is that?" MacGregor asked. "It looks like he's invulnerable to just about everything else."

  "His Natural Armor is really powerful," Alex replied. "But it only armors him. It doesn't prevent other effects. Those Lightning Bolts cause damage that doesn't involve puncturing his skin or breaking a bone. My guess is those are the effects that are hurting him."

  "So if one of them struck him with a strong enough bolt, it could conceivably stop his heart?" MacGregor asked.

  Alex shrugged. "Conceivably, yeah. I wish I knew more. But we're all fumbling around in the dark about this stuff."

  "So he can't attack the giant crab without running afoul of its riders?" MacGregor said. "And even attacking the riders could be risky. At their rank, those Lightning Bolts are probably much stronger than the ones he was hit with earlier."

  "I agree," Alex said. "That's why I don't have a plan. What we really need is some good old-fashioned artillery or maybe an F-35 with a few missiles."

  MacGregor laughed at that. "I would take any of those things. Hell, I'd take all of them. Unfortunately, I don't think that's in the cards."

  "Me either," Alex replied.

  "So if he can't attack the crab, and he can't risk attacking the riders, why is he still standing out there instead of retreating with the rest of us?" MacGregor asked.

  Alex sighed and shook his head again. "I wish I knew. Some days I have no idea what passes through that man's head."

  Movement on the battlefield caught both of their attention, and they turned to watch as Castle stood up from behind his cover. Then, without a word or backward glance, he rocketed skyward. For a moment, Alex thought he was flying back to meet them, but that wasn't the case. He watched as Castle continued soaring higher and then streaked east instead of north. He wasn't going to rejoin them, and he wasn't attacking the crab. He was leaving the area of the battle altogether.

  "What's he doing?" MacGregor asked.

  "I have no idea," Alex replied again. "But for once, I hope he's smarter than I am. Or we're all in a lot of trouble."

  The monstrous crab paused its advance when it saw Castle take off, but only for a moment. As soon as it saw he wasn’t flying toward it, the massive creature continued its steady rumbling march. They had at best a couple of minutes until it crossed their wall and started crushing everyone in sight.

  “He’s coming back, right?” MacGregor asked. “Because if he’s not, the rest of us should withdraw right now. There’s no way we can tackle that thing without Castle.”

  “Yeah, he’ll be back,” Alex replied.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “He doesn’t know when to quit,” Alex said, smirking. “Makes him a pain in the ass to be around, sometimes. But he won’t leave people in the lurch. It’s not who he is. When we met, he saved my life even though there was no real reason beyond compassion. He went off after that girl when me or just about anyone else would have told him it was hopeless. He saved all those people last night from the Karabos underwater base, remember?”

  MacGregor just nodded.

  “He’ll be back,” Alex finished. “I just hope whatever he went off to get or do works.”

  Because if it didn’t, they were all totally screwed. They had minutes before that crab was over the wall and chewing through their defenders—literally.

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