Gunshots echoed through the streets above as Vaeloric led his small group of undead up the crypt stairs. "Move faster " he ordered in an steady voice. A zombie stumbled on rubble but Vaeloric did not slow down.Vaeloric knew Liras people were waiting for them the moment he felt the fresh air hit his face thick with smoke and the smell of blood."Contact!" a man shouted from a collapsed building across the square.Bullets ripped into the skeleton. Bone shards sprayed everywhere. Vaeloric dove behind an overturned bus, ash swirling around him. "Return fire and hold your position " he said.His undead obeyed without hesitation. The hunter corpse with the shotgun pumped rounds toward the ambushers. Two zombies charged forward drawing attention while Vaeloric scanned for Lira.She stood on the rooftop of a grocery store her flaming sword raised like a beacon. "There he is! The grave robber. Kill the necromancer first!" she shouted.Her voice was full of hatred. No hesitation, no mercy.Vae

Vaeloric kicked open the maintenance door and looked down the stairs into the darkness. "Lights " he said.Kael turned on a flashlight he had found. The light was not very strong. Only made a small hole in the darkness. "This feels wrong. The Matriarch is pushing you hard " Kael said.Vaeloric started down the stairs anyway. He made a suit of bone armor to protect himself. Every step he took made a noise. Kael, Elara and four of Vaelorics guards followed him. They had left Lira chained upstairs with some guards to watch her. Vaeloric did not trust her because she was being too quiet.The air downstairs was cold and damp. It smelled like stone and something sharp like the smell you get just before lightning strikes.Elaras voice was shaking a little. "People are still scared upstairs. Some want to leave. Others say you are no better than the cults."Vaeloric said, "Let them talk. Talking does not make armies."They reached the bottom of the stairs. A big room opened up in front of them

Vaeloric stood over Elara his bone blade pressed against her throat. The war room was a mess it smelled like smoke and blood and sweat. Elara was on her knees her eyes were red from crying. She looked determined.Vaeloric said "Talk" in a voice. "You let Lira out of her cell you gave her back her sword. Why did you do that?"Elara swallowed the blade moved a little when she did. "I saw what was happening to you Vaeloric. I saw the veins under your skin like worms. The Sovereigns told me to save the people who can still be saved."Vaeloric laughed it was a bitter sound. "Save them by giving my place to cultists and traitors? Look around see what is happening."The room was a mess there were broken windows, blood on the carpet and broken furniture. Outside Vaelorics people were working they were quiet they were piling up bodies. The people who were still alive looked empty like they had given up.Elaras voice was shaking. "You used Lira like an animal you made her do what you wanted. Is

Vaeloric gripped the edge of the stadium roof tightly that the concrete cracked under his fingers. The dark veins on his neck and jaw were throbbing in time with the gates heartbeat. Dawn was just minutes away. The sky had turned a angrier red like an open wound ready to spill its blood."Come on " Vaeloric muttered through clenched teeth. "Just hold on."Elara stood behind him her hands pressed against his back pouring all her energy into the fight against the mark. Sweat was running down her face. "Its fighting me harder now. Ninety-six percent. Vaeloric, if it hits one hundred percent..."Vaeloric cut her off. His voice was rougher than he meant it to be. He turned to catch her eyes. "You know what happens " he said. "You should be downstairs with the others. If this goes wrong I do not want you near me."Elara shook her head stubborn. "I am not leaving you Vaeloric. You are still the man who pulled strangers out of burning buildings. I saw those memories when I healed you. Do not

The stadium was quiet after a battle. That was the worst kind. No cheering. No looting. Just wind through broken seats and the sound of Kael tying Lira’s hands with wire. She didn’t fight him. Her nose was still bleeding. Her sword was on the floor, cold and dead.“Go,” Vaeloric told her. “Run back to your Crimson Flame. Tell them what happens when they call me grave robber.”Lira looked up. Her eyes were red, but not from crying. “You don’t know what you started. The Eclipse Order doesn’t forgive. They don’t forget.”“I’m counting on it,” Vaeloric said. “I need more people to harvest.”Kael cut the wire on her wrists. “You heard the Stadium King. Move.”She stood. Wobbled. Picked up her sword. It didn’t light up. She walked to the tunnel without looking back. Her people were gone. Dead or scattered. Three hundred and eighty nine came in. Less than fifty walked out.Vaeloric watched her go. Then he turned to the Matriarch. The fragment floated at his shoulder, thinner than before. Us