7 Deadly Instincts (The Sinfire Chronicles Book 1)

It took about twelve hours to find the first three idols.

By the end of that twelve hours, the Golden, the Savage Seven, and Froggy’s Thunder all had points.

It could’ve gone quicker but Mean Marla had to pretend that she didn’t know where the idols were. For that first idol, there had been Wrath Rats, big ones, near what Froggy described as demon generators. Whatever the crates held, they spit out demons by the dozens. It had been a hard fight, but they’d gotten the idol.

The Sex Instinct idol had been equally protected in what appeared to be a crumbling marketplace on the other side of the labyrinth. Those demons had been the strangely purple lust birds that Gray had first seen in his first days in Old Town.

Down from the marketplace—following the big underground corridor where Gray had been dropped during the Midnight Redemption—was the temple promenade. That was where the Food Instinct idol was found. On broad underground highway, there were various temples dedicated to any number of hellish archdukes, though the one dedicated to Malchutt had been completely utterly destroyed. It wasn’t just time that had done it. Someone had wiped it out on purpose. According to Tomi, it was probably another member of hell’s royalty who was jealous of the Troublemaker’s notoriety.

Tomi was the expert on the Underdwell, which was ironic given her claustrophobia. However, visiting the subterranean world had helped her fight her fear as did the knowledge that she was walking through the unknown history of the demonic forces that shaped the Underdwell in the first place.

According to the sleepy cat girl, there were seven sections, of course, since seven was everything in the world of Midmere. Well, there were eight if you counted the Colonnade Court.

Tomi had listed them, in order, to the coalition of squads.

The labyrinth.

The marketplace.

The temple promenade

The maze-like servant’s quarters, which was like an underground city all on its own. It was pile of rooms carved into the rock with narrow alleys between them.

The mausoleums, which held hell’s dead.

The dead gardens, which at one point had tall tree-like mushrooms but everything was shriveled and desiccated.

Lastly, there were palaces, which Tomi said were perched on the edge of the Weeping Well itself.

Main street connected most of the sections, which was the grand hallway on the other side of the labyrinth. The grand staircase on the other side of the temple promenade led down to the dead gardens and the palaces.

After the first three points were scored, and neither the fae or the orcs returned with an idol, they figured that going out searching was a waste a of time.

It was funny to see the Winners, the Wrath City Raiders, and the Fire Flyers all hanging back while the rest of the squads trotted through the Colonnade Court on their way to the labyrinth.

Tomi chuckled as she jogged next to Gray. “I know something they don’t know.”

“What’s that?” Gray asked.

The cat girl gave him a friendly nudge. “A secret passageway that’s surprisingly close to the exit. We won’t use it until we have to, but let’s keep it a secret, shall we?”

Two kill squads, the Heartbreakers and the Collector Brigade escorted them through the labyrinth, finding a special path that took them out to the broad highway.

Then, one of the fae pointed. “Next idol is in the servant’s quarters. Good luck. And nice alliance you got here.”

Gray deadpanned the fairy man. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. We all want to win.”

The fae shrugged. “None of my concern. I can’t believe the queen has us babysitting and not hunting. But oh well.”

* * *

It wasn’t long before Gray and his squad were escorting Mean Marla back to the labyrinth with the Security Instinct idol in tow. Like with the others, it showed the goddess of greed, grasping coins, and the god of generosity, flinging the coins away.

With them were the beastkin—their speedster Sabika Mitsuri was going to dash through the other three squads while Froggy’s Thunder and the Lucky Bastards stayed underground to rest.

Gray would’ve found traversing the dead marketplace and the servant’s quarters unnerving if he hadn’t been there with five complete squads of recruits—that was thirty-five very talented manamancers who had survived most of the Testing. He didn’t trust anyone other than his own squad, but just the sheer number of people made it tolerable.

The servant’s quarters were big buildings in the rock rising up around them—all those empty and dark windows and doors looked like howling mouths or sightless eyes. At one point, they had to go through an alley single-file. That was when the greed spiders scurried down the wall to get at them. They were giant spiders but with far more than the normal eight legs, and they were hairy, so very hairy.

Worst of all, the carried big sacks under them, swaying with eggs. When they were killed, those sacks would sometimes open spilling out other spiders that quickly grew and grew. The trick was to kill the spider without rupturing their egg sacks.

It was awful work but with over thirty manamancers, they were able to wipe them out. They found the Security Idol at the end of a cul-de-sac. Around it were the crates.

Gray had to take a peek inside. It was a machine that used a kind of mana crystal to power the magic. The crystals on these machines were dead, but it was clear that the greed spiders emerged from several holes in the pipes and cogs of the contraption.

There had been mention of a demon generator, and here was proof. It was how they had generated the demons for Chaotica. It was rather ingenious. He’d have to ask Emerilia Stone about them.

In the end, their run through the Fire Flyers, the Winners, and the Wrath City Raiders worked. The Savage Seven’s feline speedster raced up the steps and into the coliseum. At the last minute, the cat girl gave Mean Marla the idol, and when she placed it, the Lucky Bastards were given a point.

Four points down and three to go.

It was on track to be the fastest Reckoning in history.

Until Crewel got smart.

He flooded the Colonnade Court with envy steeds, big ones. The spiked ice horses could sense the mana and charged them. There was no way to stay in the columned hallway without having to constantly fight the horses.

The Laza family from Sloth City had given their best kill squad, the Pack Eternal, guarded the staircase so no recruits could loiter there. Everyone was forced into the labyrinth, where there were too many hallways to maneuver through.

To get back to the surface, you had to run a gauntlet of the deadly ice horses. It changed things but not all that much.

Gray still had his coalition to fall back on.

The squads split up in the mausoleum section of the Underdwell, which was very much like the tombs and crypts in Old Town on the other side of the wall from Lust City. All of the silent graves brought back memories of fighting the sloth squid before.

Gray dropped back to walk with Pinch while the rest of Squad 23 branched out, searching high and low for either crates of demon generators or the Work Instinct Idol, which would give Squad 23 their first point.

Pinch wiped some sweat off her face. It was nearing midnight and she was looking tired. It had been an exhausting day, and Gray thought about resting, but not until he found the idol for his team.

Even then, resting was risky. It would help them think more clearly, help them fight better, but there was also the risk that one of the enemy squads would attack them or find the idol, which would disrupt Gray’s plan.

Again, the Lucky Bastards would get gold, the rest of the them would get silver, and Squad 23 would tie with the Winners with one gold and one silver. It wasn’t ideal but at least they would all be alive.

Pinch gave him a friendly shove. “Remember the time I saved you from sloth squid? I do.” She gave him a surprisingly warm look. “I must have a soft spot for idiots.”

“It seems like you do. You joined us.”

The fae girl got serious. “You’re not idiots. I say that out of habit or as a joke or because I’m frustrated. And yes, sometimes you’re not the smartest but you’re not idiots. Well, let me take that back. Why are we talking?”

“Because we’re tired,” Gray said. “Maybe cause you and I have become friends, and that’s what friends do. Talk.”

Pinch rolled her eyes. “Not when their lives are on the line and there is a game to be won.” She launched herself into the air as red wings burst from her back.

She wasn’t up in the air five seconds when Rynn gasped. “Lilian, what’s on your neck?”

Gray looked over. Princess Lilian’s neck was glowing a dark scarlet. Looking again, he saw that it was here mana from the ruby necklace. She’d worn it, which couldn’t be legal, but her uniform had covered it up.

Why was it glowing?

A second later, the shoal of sloth squid attacked. Pinch—floating on her wings above the crypts—were their first target.

And then from out of nowhere Blythe flew down onto Gray, tackling him. He hit the rough dirt of the graveyard—where dirt had come from was anyone’s guess.

She landed on his leg, snapping the bone. At the same time, she grabbed his arm and crushed it.

With the sounds of battle around him, Gray knew no one was coming to his rescue. They were too busy fighting the sloth squid. From somewhere, he heard Lilian scream, and even from a distance, he felt her heat. He just hoped she could put that Inferno aura back in the bottle once she was done with it. He was in no shape to help her.

Blythe’s superheated spit dripped onto his neck, burning him. “We have the Work Instinct idol. You and your little alliance isn’t going to stop us. In fact, you’re not going to going to do anything but burn.”

She opened her mouth to bathe in fire—there was a good chance it would kill him but it was clear the dragon didn’t care. She’d been their enemy for a long, long time, and Gray knew why.

“I didn’t kill your parents, and I don’t think Settie did either. You’ve been lied to, Blythe. Fuck, you’re such a fucking idiot.” He liked he was quoting Pinch at her.

“Fuck you!” Blythe went to exhale but she was too late.

Hadn’t she been paying attention.

Mana exploded out of Gray’s core, blasting Blythe off him.

He’d kept just enough mana to heal his leg—but to fix that bone meant a pain beyond endurance, and it would leave him exhausted and shaking.

Blythe lunged for him again, but using his good arm, he charged his stick and hit her full in the face. There was another explosion of mana and her entire head seemed to shatter. No, not shatter, but she’d been knocked unconscious. She went from dragon to woman in seconds. She landed on the ground, out cold.

Ames found him, and a second later, he was screaming in pain as she healed his leg—then the squid were on the them, and both were forced to run.

Ames’s sword glowed a deadly red, as she cut her way through the tentacles. And yes, the sloth squid could adjust their speed, and it was alarming to suddenly have tentacles wrapped around his neck, but the Quelling elf was vicious with her sword—and so very fast.

Rynn soon joined them, and together with his wives, they ran toward the broad main street which would take them through the temple promenade all the way to the labyrinth.

Blythe may or may not survive the Reckoning, but Gray no empathy for her. All he could feel was the pain his newly healed leg and the agony of his still crushed wrist. Luckily, it was his left arm and not his right, so he could still swing his stick. Raw fury gave him mana thanks to his Wrath Resonance.

Duskdrop had the Work Instinct Idol, and he was running, flanked by the other fae.

He didn’t have the idol long—the Savage Seven’s speedy cat girl, Sabika Mitsuri, snatched it out of his hands.

Like before, the squads of the alliance rallied around her, and it was agreed that both the Savage Seven and Squad 23 would take the idol up with the other three squads rested.

It was Tomi who led them to a passageway that circumnavigated the Colonnade Court.

Brutus Sommes glanced down at Gray’s crushed arm, which was turning a nasty purple and blood dripped from his sleeve. He was pretty sure a piece of the shattered bone had been pushed through his skin, but he didn’t want to look.

Besides, the pain kept him angry, and he needed that anger to keep him and his team filled mana. He was glad to see Lilian wasn’t on fire, though her core was emptying out at an alarming rate.

He found himself running down the corridor with Pinch—she had a ton of mana thanks to her acolyte ability, which gave her additional magic in her core. He didn’t need to access it, not just yet.

Sabika Mitsuri hit the dead end. She spun. “What now, Tomika Ka?”

Their cat girl channeled mana into a part of the wall that had blotch of white stone.

The entire wall shifted forward until there was a crack big enough to sleep through.

The exit—lantern glowing over the top—was only twenty feet away.

The envy steeds neighed and charged over but by that time, both Squad 23 and the Savage Seven had made it out to the staircase.

The beastkin kill squad there stopped them.

For a second, Gray had a bad feeling in his gut. He didn’t have a reason to distrust the Beastkin, and yet, at the bottom of that long staircase, he was with both the Beastkin recruit squad and the Beastkin kill squad.

The leader, a dark elf named Boxiki Charms, frowned.

Outside, they could hear the fae and the orcs fighting the envy steeds.

Boxiki brushed some silver hair out of his face. “I can’t let you go up unless you have—”

Sabika lifted the statue. “This?”

The dark elf nodded. “Yes. That. I’ll let Crewel know you are coming, so he can let all Pit City know. It’s morning but there are fans who have stayed up all night.”

“Fucking idiots,” Pinch whispered.

And then the two squads were racing up the steps with Sabika out in front.

They emerged, and she still had it.

“That’s ours!” Pinch shouted. “Fucking cat bitch, give us the idol.”

Sabika turned. Dawn had painted the horizon a bloody red. The sun would rising soon. They’d been up for twenty-four hours, and they were all feeling it.

Brutus nodded.

Sabika handed the idol over to Pinch, and they all continued their jog into the coliseum.

There were a surprising number of people there—thanks to the Pack Eternal somehow relaying a message to Crewel.

There were a few members of Midj’s family, all swathed in bright blankets and drinking hot chocolate. They waved, and the goblin girl waved back, all smiles.

Gray wanted that idol up the pedestal, and then he wanted his arm healed.

He only got one of those things.

He and Pinch were on their way up to the stage when Sabika Mitsuri plucked the idol out of Pinch’s hands and placed it on the fourth pedestal first.

Crewel’s voice boomed out. “A second point for the Savage Seven! They are in the lead!”

Gray heard Brutus Sommes laughing. “We’re here to win, Grayson Fade. We’re here to win.”

Gray laughed as well. It was better than murdering the Beastkin.

Just then the fae and the orcs joined them, and they too were laughing.

Pinch threw herself at Sabika, and while the fae girl wouldn’t have killed her, she would’ve beat the speedster bloody.

It was only Midj who stopped her, pulling her back with a quick use of her mana hand.

And just like the alliance with the other squads—or at least with the Savage Seven—was over.

Ames touched his arm. “Should I heal you?”

Gray continued to chuckle. “Not yet. I want to feel broken for a minute.”

The Quelling girl was confused. “Your arm?”

Gray laughed more. “No, my fucking heart. Damn. Never saw that coming.”

With only two statues left, Squad 23 would have to find them if they wanted to tie up with the Savage Seven and win gold.

Or at least that how it seemed right then.

The Magistrate of First Field, however, was going to change things just a bit.