Page 34 of Monster Lover

“We are already nearly overwhelmed,” he said. “I haven’t even been able to shoot back at them yet. I thought you were supposed to be keeping watch!”

“I was, and I found out we have a horde of zombies coming!” she shouted.

“They’ll have to wait. I have my hands full already!”

Daemona was angry, but she took it out on the nearest witch: porting to the back of her broom and yanking the hag off, sending her plunging into the Swamp below. It so surprised the witch that she barely had time to scream.

“Thanks,” called Harlin as he finally loosed an arrow, knocking the skull from a Dust Mage, whose cold blast missed, and instead sent icicles rippling down a rope bridge.

Ghul Lykos was intently watching a boat with two Dust Mages as they fired their terrible cold blasts at the town, freezing the humid swamp air into great blocks of ice, crushing townsfolk and smashing through homes. But Ghul Lykos cut a line, and suddenly a huge log swung down and crashed into the rowboat, smashing it to kindling and the mages along with it. A cry of joy went up from the townsfolk. But just as things looked to be in their favor, the very balcony Daemona was standing shook mightily.

Down in the water, two of the huge fat zombies were pushing back and forth on one of the stilts, shaking the whole building. The mindless things looked like they were in a reversed tug-of-war, each trying to give the post to the other. Then it broke. The whole building tipped for a moment, giving Daemona just enough time to grab a man who stood frozen, yank him back to another connecting plank, and then away again as the building toppled and fell, crushing the two zombies.

“Looks like they took care of themselves,” said Daemona in relief.

“Maybe, but that was my house,” said the man.

“Eh, sorry.”

Witches were still flying about zapping lightning strikes. More zombies were wading into the waters surrounding the town; even when they disappeared because the water was over their heads, Daemona could see the ripples of movement where they walked unseen on the bottom, looking for somewhere they could climb up into Tall Town.

She heard Ghul Lykos shout in triumph again and guessed his traps must have crushed another foe. Harlin was still loosing arrows and the townsfolk were too, even throwing whatever they could at zombies below. She saw an old woman and a little child push a couch off a balcony to land on top of a zombie, making its tongue and eyes bug out. Men with pitchforks and paddles were holding off a squad of zombies that had reached the lowest level of Tall Town. She rushed to help them.

In a blink she was in the throng, cutting aside the repulsive host of rotting bodies with her twin daggers, slicing fingers and hands that clawed viciously. But still the horde came on, heedless of their destroyed and wounded comrades. They raged with drooling mouths and clung tenaciously to the stilts in any attempt to reach the living flesh above. Men drew back and away beside Daemona. She wasn’t sure if they were giving up or had fallen; zombies were grasping hold of people and dragging them down to their doom in the murky waters. Other zombies were biting them. The zombies renewed their attack and Daemona felt alone for half a moment, until she saw Ivy beside her, battering away at the zombies with a large cast iron pan.

“It knocks their heads off, good as anything,” she quipped before sending a green jaw flying.

The two of them pushed forward and knocked the last few zombies from their position. Daemona and her unexpected partner enjoyed a quick breather but heard screams from behind. Zombies had scaled other stilts and were on the lower level of rope bridges and planks.

Witches still flew about freely, sending their terrible curses below, but Daemona noticed there were fewer of them. Harlin and the other archers were doing some good there. Ghul Lykos’s corner of Tall Town was the hardest hit, with a dense swarm of zombies in his region. Daemona went to assist him.

“Wait,” said Ivy, “If we leave this spot open, they will climb up here again and we’ll be attacked from another direction.”

“But he needs help.”

“He does, but for the greater good, we have to defend this corner.”

Especially fat zombies were milling about in the swamp below them, not even close to climbing the stilts yet, but Ghul Lykos was beset by a howling horde of the monsters.

“I have to help him. I’ll be right back,” said Daemona. She blinked away before Ivy could argue and was soon beside Ghul Lykos, cutting and slashing away at the monsters.

They pushed the foe back and knocked many off the planks to splat against one another.

“I have to get back to where Ivy is, before more come that way.”

Ghul Lykos nodded, saying, “You mean over there? I don’t see her.”

Daemona looked, and a great fat zombie was standing where Ivy had been on the rope bridge just a moment ago.

“Oh no.”

She ported as swift as she could, but upon almost reaching the corner of the town, a fat zombie suddenly exploded, splattering green gore in every direction like a bomb. The smell was enough to knock a man down. Another one clambered over the side of the deck. Is it staring at me? It almost looked like it had a smile on its face, but zombies don’t smile, do they? Daemona was sure she heard malevolent laughter.

The grotesque zombie took a few quick steps toward her.

Daemona had her daggers out, ready to plunge into the horrific mass, when someone called her name.

“Daemona! Take cover!”

---