The Stronghold 2: Immortals

A Plan!

I listened closely to what Loki was saying then moved, speeding up the stairs and creating a rockfall at the entrance that no human could pass. It was enchanted with shadows to create the illusion of moving bodies behind it but as soon as the creatures passed through the rock it solidified behind them, trapping them inside the dungeon. It bought me a little bit of time but not much so I wasn't sure if the actual plan would work in that time.

"Move!" I hollered, shoving past people and sprinting over to Harry. He looked surprised to see me there, covered in dirt from the floor and blood that had dripped off the walls.

"Shadow, what-?" he began but I cut him off.

"Harry, you know everything, don't you?" I said quickly. Harry frowned.

"I know quite a lot, yes, but-"

"Is there a way to barricade Nightmare but open up the basement to the cliff?" I questioned.

"If everyone went up to the top floors it could possibly work," Harry said slowly. "There are some gates that the trucks normally use, but why-?"

"Good," I interrupted. "Get everyone up to the top floors and now. ASAP. Pronto. Move move move!" I clapped my hands sharply and people began to hurry towards the stairs, led by a few officials that had heard my shouting. Ignoring the bustle around me I continued to talk to Harry.

"Now, could I open a portal on the cliff without risking dragging everyone at Nightmare through it?" I quizzed. Harry looked a little overwhelmed at the task but thought hard anyway.

"Yes," he said hesitantly. "But..." When it was clear I wasn't going to interrupt again he kept on going. "But not all of the monsters will go through."

"If we have something to bait them with they will," I said, eyes glinting mischievously and alternating between black and blue. 

"You're not using my sister," Harry said, cottoning on immediately.

"I won't," I promised, turning on my heel to scout the crowd for a red haired shapeshifter. "I'll use the other one instead. Hey! Delta!"

Harry groaned as Delta came running over. She looked both excited and afraid at the same time.

"What's the plan?" she asked, skidding to a halt. 

"You're the distraction," I replied. "I need you to turn into something big when I say so and lead the creatures up to the cliff top. Leave it to me from there."

"Got it," Delta said, going to leave again. I caught her arm.

"Don't go down there yet," I warned. "I don't know if any of the creatures are actually trapped inside the dungeons yet. Where's Brian?" 

"Tobi and Cleo are upstairs with him," Delta said. "He didn't look that well."

"Well, day after the full moon and all," I said quietly. Delta nodded but I didn't let go of her arm.

"Where's Max?" I asked, the seed of an idea hatching in my brain. 

"Somewhere over there," Delta said, waving her hand vaguely and then yelling. "Max!"

The purple haired boy appeared out of nowhere and grinned. "'Lo, Shadow. Or is it Shaade now?"

"I really don't give a damn," I said. "Max, is there any way you could use your powers to look into the dungeon basements from where you are now?"

"It'll be hard but I can try," he said, his eyes glazing over and his body going rigid. People had started to turn back and I caught sight of a white-haired young beauty drifting amongst the crowd. 

"Angel!" I called. She looked around and smiled radiantly.

"Yes?" she responded.

"Get the people to panic, please."

She nodded and in an instant the crowd was screaming and racing for the stairs, thundering up like a herd of elephants that had just seen a mouse. Angel followed them upstairs with a vacant smile on her face. The four of us were left in the now-empty hall, Max as still as a statue and Harry pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Shaade, explain what's going on," he ordered at last, coming to a halt and facing me with fear in his eyes. "I don't like this at all."

"I've created a spell barrier thing to get the creatures back to the dungeons," I explained, "so they get trapped in there, only allowed out when you open the truck hatch."

"Me?" he squeaked.

"Yes, you, because I don't know where it is and I'll be opening the portal. That's why you need to stay here with Max and listen to everything he says." I glanced across at the boy and snapped my fingers in his face. "Max, can you hear me?"

"Yes," he muttered. "There are monsters everywhere. They're going back into their cages."

"Okay, tell Harry when all of the cages are full," I commanded, turning back to the terrified man. "Harry, you open the truck hatch or whatever and the creatures see an exit. They take it but are unsure where to go. That's where Delta comes in." I looked across at the girl and was pleased to see that she was bouncing up and down with energy. "Delta turns into something that will provoke the monsters into chasing her."

"That's too dangerous," Harry protested but I kept on talking regardless.

"She leads the monsters up to me on the cliff and they fall through the portal with a little help from the other side. Hopefully they'll see some monster family in the other world and want to go back."

"What if those monsters come through?" Delta questioned.

"Then we die," Harry said flatly.

"The monsters are fighting," Max announced. "I don't know if they'll last in there much longer."

"Thanks Max," I said, feeling just a tiny bit tense. "Harry, stop being pessimistic. I'm phoning for backup."

"What sort of backup?" Harry asked. "You'd need more magic to beat these things!"

"And that's exactly what I have," I said with a grin, digging my phone out of my pocket and putting it on speed dial. While it was ringing I fixed the trembling man with a glare. "Oh, and if you go all Sherlock-y on these people, you're likely to get punched. Just a word of warning."