Let's Finish This Breakout

 If the roles had been reversed and it were a human nailed to that table, they would have been dead at that point. But it wasn’t a human.

It was Talia, with three humans standing over her.

Consistent number of fingers.

No yellow ochre tint.

Just three regular humans, all dressed in that same white clothing from around town. And one was holding the hammer in his hand.

Both parties stared at each other in shock for a moment, the humans wondering how the group had gotten out and the Nightshade denizens wondering just how in the hell any of them could be considered monsters in this scenario (Millie included).

Given that Millie and Amaia were both armed and Sara wasn’t, really, nobody had to speak the plan aloud. The witch and dullahan would fight the humans while the drider freed their vampire companion.

One of the humans in question grabbed a spear from the wall behind him. There was still blood on it, and he charged at the two weapon wielding interlopers with it. Millie charged right back at him, letting out a downright primal scream as she swung the scythe at him. The scythe was large enough to knock a few things over in the process, but she honestly DID NOT CARE about that right now. No, her focus was on doing some damage to any of these bastards.

A second one, meanwhile, had picked up a battle axe and was swinging for Amaia with it, as Amaia’s head floated a little ways to the side. They attacked with Vertiwhip, the spine wrapping around their opponent’s dominant wrist.

When training with Millie, they tended to hold back just before yanking on the whip. But with this woman? They showed no such restraint, hearing a wet cracking of bone as her wrist snapped. She shrieked, Amaia kicking her back into the third human.

This third human was a bit preoccupied in trying to get Sara away from Talia, but the drider wouldn’t budge. Said third human’s attention, however, screamed as his ankle became a chew toy. Nibbles had entered the fray, and she didn’t like the idea of any of her people getting hurt.

He kicked the dog into a wall, which brought Millie’s wrath down on him immediately. She swung the scythe at him, screaming something about it being time to erase him. Under any other circumstances, she might have cringed at such a line, but her last damn had gone off on vacation, and she just wanted revenge.

Before too long, the three humans were taken down, and Sara had finished getting Talia free. Her own blade had been one of the things used to keep her pinned, having been plunged through her arm. The vampire stumbled toward the others, Amaia being the first to approach her.

“Do you need some blood?” they asked.

Talia, breath shaky, nodded. “Y-yes...they tossed my bag over the wall, though…”

Millie glanced at the bodies around them. “Can you drink from one of them real quick, or need something fresher?”

It wouldn’t be the first time since coming to this world that she’d let a vampire feed on her, though she wasn’t sure if that’d technically make her a thrall, considering Talia’s status.

“One of them would suffice,” she said. “But if one of you could help me down to them…”

Sara stepped in to do so, Talia going to drink as much as she could from each of the three before any of them could bleed out.

After she’d gotten her fill, her wounds began to heal. Her breathing steadied, and she stood up.

“You doing okay now?” Amaia asked, their tone soft.

“Physically, yes,” Talia replied, shivering a bit. “They promised me that that was only phase one of their plans for me.”

Millie glanced around the room, seeing that some of what she’d knocked over had involved a set of pliers, a syringe filled with something clear, and a crucifix.

“Did they say what they wanted with you?” Sara asked.

Talia nodded, but glanced toward the door. “I’d rather wait until we’re somewhere approaching ‘safety’ to go into it, though, if that’s okay.”

Nobody had a problem with this, and Millie had gone to check on Nibbles. The dog had gotten up, sniffing at the bastard that’d kicked her, before going to her human.

The group walked out of that particular room, going to look for a cloak they could use to shield Talia from the sun. If necessary, they could always ask Sara to weave one for her, but they weren’t sure that spider silk would be an ideal substance for such a task.

Furthermore, they were pretty sure they’d still have some guards to deal with. Possibly more of a threat than the trio Millie, Amaia, and Nibbles had dealt with. They wondered if there was a back door to this city, or if there was some way around it that they hadn’t located as of yet. Either way, there had to be some way back to the blessed darkness three of them were so accustomed to.

After a bit of probing, they found what was probably the station’s coat room, Talia grabbing a floor-length white cloak from a hanger. Amaia considered taking one, themselves, but decided against it. The sun may have been uncomfortable for them, but it wasn’t like it was outright lethal, and that discomfort could help fuel any anger that might be necessary to fight their way out of there.

Millie had found her hat, putting it back on. She had to admit...with that addition, she felt something close to whole again.

The group started down the hallway again, going to look for the nearest exit, when they could hear footsteps approaching. Millie and Amaia both prepared to attack whoever came their way, as the newcomer stopped.

He was tall, with ripples of blond hair rolling down his back. His golden eyes gleamed as he looked at them. His attire was fully white, just like everyone else’s around there, but while many of them wore robes, he had on armor, with a gold trim.

No weapons on his person, just a grin that he undoubtedly felt was disarming.

They simply glared at him.

“Step aside,” Amaia stated, their green eyes hard.

“Now, ladies...is that any way to greet your host?” he asked.

Millie rolled her eyes so hard, she could have sworn her brain looked right back at her. And both she and her brain were in agreement on one thing: this guy was a tool.

“I don’t get outta the woods much…” Sara said. “But does ‘hospitality’ usually end up with a leg getting ripped off? Because if it does, I think I preferred being alone.”

He scoffed. “Oh, come on, now. The fact that I’ve allowed you all to live is quite gracious of me, indeed. Like what the blue-haired one did to my precious library.”

Millie groaned. “It was trying to devour me, Sir Dingus.”

He arched an eyebrow. “So, I should have brought about your death...got it.”

His eyes began to take on a solid glow, as he conjured a skeletal hand from the floor. It wrapped itself securely around Millie’s throat, lifting her a couple inches from the ground. When Amaia moved to help her, two more burst up to grip them by the wrists. Talia sighed and stepped forward.

“...Kevin,” she grumbled. “Please, let us leave…”

Kevin, as he was called, smirked. “Strange to see you out and about, parasite. Shouldn’t you be sitting there in your castle as you send hapless mortals to die?”

A sigh. “I’ve never intended for any of you to die. I’d always hoped you would succeed in the mission, so I wouldn’t have to summon another. Do you know how much energy it takes to do a summoning in the first place?”

Millie would have had a few questions about this, were she not struggling to breathe.

“And this one’s your newest ‘champion’, am I right?” he asked, glancing at the witch who was trying in vain to remove the fingers from her throat.

“Yes, and I would appreciate it if you dropped her, and released the dullahan, and pointed us back to the darkness.”

A chuckle. “I tried to bring you a much more permanent darkness, Your Highness. But that plan has, so far, fallen through…”

Amaia was trying to get themselves free, but had managed to bring up a hand and flip him off. Their head floated right up, right in his face, eyes narrowed.

“What is wrong with you?!” they demanded.

He shrugged. “Nothing wrong with me, friend. What’s wrong with you? Now, if you’ll all follow me, I can fill you in on some more details. Then you’ll know why you deserve what’s coming to you.”