CHAPTER 25: REUNION FROM HELL (HELL HOUNDS)

STREETS OF DOWNTOWN, NEXERIA

Zombato runs through the street with his giant skeletal hand carrying Mafisto. His phone buzzes in his pocket. He checks to see all his missed messages after realizing he actually has a phone that he forgot about during all his panic, drinking, and fighting.

“Ah, dungsicle, don’t they recall I’ve forgotten my head before because it wasn’t connected? How do they expect me to recall this?” The zombie hunter ponders down the street. He calls Deadhead back after seeing the missed call from him.

“Laddie, you still in one piece? We’ve been worried about you.” Deadhead spoke with a sound of concern in his voice.

“Oh, he’s still undead? Yay, let me talk to my pile of flesh! I have 3000 words for him!” Black Duchess says with loud excitement at Deadhead on the phone. Deadhead waves his hand to signal for her to quiet down so he can hear Zombato.

“Heh heh I can tell, harken I’m satisfactory, but my acquaintance is dying here. I need to rendezvous with you two to help him; I refuse to let him become like me.” Zombato says.

“Sounds like he’s more than an acquaintance, lad, if you want to save him that badly.” Deadhead cracks back.

“He has helped me through most of the skruk that has happened here. So let’s get on with it.” The undead man says hastily.

“All right, laddie, Black Duchess can track your phone. We’ll meet up with you as quickly as we can.” The skeltal hunter reassures Zombato.

“Thanks, Jonny, I’ll be waiting.” Zombato hangs up the call and continues running through the street.

Deadhead puts his phone away in his pocket.

“Lassie, find his location and get us there quick. He has a friend that needs help.”

“Of course he does; he wouldn’t be the master of messes without a mess. Let’s hurry to our crazy corpse.” Duchess says with equal parts sass and concern for her comrade. Black mageus slithers around their bodies and teleports them in front of Zombato.

“What took such a prolonged instance? The pizza has almost arrived.” Zombato says sarcastically.

“You unbalanced set of bones!” The dark witch shouts at him.

“You had us worried this whole time; forget to call us, and the first thing you say to us when we arrive is a joke! I should rearrange your body parts and turn you into a puzzle.” She adds to her yell fest. A huge dark mageus aura forms around her, with tendrils appearing out of portals near her.

Zombato looks at her, seeing the dark mageus surrounding her, and the portals with tendrils brings a huge smile to his face. Her concern for him was always this genuine. He goes up to her, wraps his cold, dead hands around her arms, and kisses her deeply. The feeling of his stiff lips on hers calms her fury. The tendrils retreat into the portals, and her aura disappears. Black Duchess puts her hands on the zombie’s face and pulls him closer to her body. His heart may be dead, but his soul feels alive like it can touch the stars in the sky when he’s with her. Her spells can manipulate the elements, but even she cannot create a fire this passionate; a magnificent inferno that burns in her heart whenever she is with him.

“This is such a lovely moment, but lad, your friend is dying over there, and you said you wouldn’t let that happen!” Deadhead says to them, pointing to the body lying there in the giant bone hand.

Zombato points his finger out, representing that Mafisto can wait one more second.

Black Duchess slowly pulls away from him and smiles at him.

“You just like me angry, don’t you?” The witch huntress says with a smile on her face.

“Just a tad, you’re all amorous when you look almighty and furious.” Zombato says with a grin.

“Lad and Lassie, save his friend, then get back to having your snogfest.” The skeltal bard mentions, still trying to save Mafisto’s life from the unfortunate impaling.

“Precisely, yes. The main point of why I phoned you, chums. This way.” The undead hunter says, heading over to the giant bone hand on the ground and Mafisto’s unconscious body. The skeltal and witch look over at him.

“A Saurcillian? You don’t see many of them outside of Nexeria.” Duchess questions just seeing his body.

“Nope, still alive, and apparently the fundamental problem we’re dealing with here.” Zombato points the way he came from.

“A Saurcillian assassin attacked while we were hiding out after being attacked by Saurcillian spies in his safe house.”

“We know. We were just there; you left your calling card behind. I hope I can heal him; Saurcillians have a natural resistance to mageus from all the arcanus energy they are attuned to.” Black Duchess kneels down and puts her hands out in front of her. Her eyes glow brightly as a dark aura surrounds her. Black mageus energy surrounds Mafisto and begins healing him.

“Oh laddie, there were no bodies left behind at the safe house. Also, they had a powerful counterspell attached too. Blinded even myself.” Deadhead mentions watching the mageus happen.

Zombato looks up behind Deadhead.

“That is an unfortunance to hear. They were acknowledged as the Tri-Squad and had quite the brawl with them. However...” He points out to the rooftops, seeing two people looking down on them.

“We might have more of a troupe this evening.”