Over a mile away through winding tunnels were a pair of unlikely women.

One had hair the color of a sunrise on the ocean. The other wore fuzzy blue dinosaur pajamas. They each held a weapon painted in blood, surrounded by pointy spears and huffing beards. An alarm rang loudly throughout the complex, like a child afraid to be put down to bed. It pulsed with the rhythm of blue veins pumping blood through dwarves' forearms.

The alarm faded until the only sound was the labored breathing and gasping for air. The rise and fall of heavy chests invariably altered the points of their weapons and, thus, the battle's outcome.

A drop of blood dribbled into a dwarf's eye. It was a moment of weakness Valorie used to its fullest, planting a shoe into his battered face. There was a satisfying crunch as something gave, and Valorie flipped head over heels to dodge three spear strikes. She pirouetted overhead, twirling, drawing arcs of blood as she cut nasty wounds.

Asteria used her height to push through them, cutting with the efficiency of a style meant to maim and kill. They regrouped on the perimeter, looked back at the forty dwarves still standing, and collectively agreed.

Run.

=

The plan had been simple. Avoid detection and free the prisoners. We failed at the first objective almost immediately. Admittedly, it was my fault. A sadistic dwarf was poking his spear through the prisoner cages. Valorie held me back until we heard a child scream. I couldn't help myself from sending a crossbow bolt through the dwarf's heart. A second bolt hit him on the way down.

True, Valorie double-tapped him when she could've pierced his laughing friend. We were both at fault at different times and for different reasons.

I ran along a parapet, twisting and dodging a clumsy spear strike. I couldn't fathom their inept attacks. Were they soldiers or not?

"CHARGE!"

Even if they were clumsy, numbers would do the trick. A full squad of dwarves formed on a bridge, blockading our path forward.

I hopped back to the ground while Valorie parkoured up the side of the keep's wall. It was about this time that they started shooting arrows.

"Will you *Twang* just *Thud-Thud* screw off."

*BOOM*

"Christ almighty!"

Fireballs? They were shooting fireballs.

A dwarf postured on the top of the keep's tower; fire coalesced from nothingness in his hands. It swirled like the inside of a lava lamp. So fascinated was I that I didn't see the fist flying at me.

The impact reversed my momentum and allowed the next fireball to miss. The pain in my gut hurt like no tomorrow. I held my side even as I defended my back from the lesser dwarves. This time I was ready for the flying sidekick. It came opposite my sword arm, so I tried blocking it.

My soles skid through the dirt as I struggled to stay on my feet. The pain in my arm competed with the throbbing in my gut.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"This one's mine. You lot go after the other one."

"Yes, Captain!"

The rabble of dwarves was unified and left more organized than they came. Making sure no more fireballs or arrows were coming my way; I examined my opponent. A black-haired dwarf in a tight tan shirt showing off his sun-stained muscles. His grin irritated me.

I'd seen it on every proud man who thought a woman couldn't fight. The arrogance of someone who won too much and had no idea they were about to lose.

"Silly girly, why'd you come? No matter, you'll be a decent warmup for the evolved."

Wrinkling my nose, I put my sword in the ground.

"You'll need that."

"No."

I traced my foot in the dirt and readied my stance.

"I won't."

His grin was manic. One moment he was there. The next he was kicking my head.

Ducking under the whoosh, I repositioned. The dwarf captain landed and threw a straight punch. I twisted around, grabbed his arm, and threw him into the dirt.

"Good. Good! Show me more."

He tried to perform a flip to get up, but I beat him back into the ground. Instead, he spun like a turtle on its back and swept my legs out from under me. I grabbed the leg trying to stomp my head, and twisted.

He was strong enough to break my holds, but each time I grabbed a different appendage and showed him his strength wouldn't change anything. I put my knee in his back and put him in a headlock.

"Come on now. I need this one. Give it back."

"Make me."

"Hah!"

He sagged.

I was in the air. How?

The air left my lungs as my back broke my fall. He was above me, kicking. Crossing my arms did nothing to soften the blow. I bounced off the ground with a bloody cough. My eyes shook, and I could tell this was the moment I was going to lose consciousness. Biting my cheek to stay awake, I rolled away.

As he dug his fist out of the hole in the ground, I coughed my way to a standing position.

Attacks came. I dodged what I could—blocked what I couldn't. Every counter I made somehow went in a different direction than intended. Eventually, only my willpower remained.

"Woo! What a warmup. Come on. Let's dance some more."

From what I could see through the red haze, the captain was indeed dancing. The entire fight was a ruse. The dwarf was playing with me. There was no fairness in battle with whatever tricks he used. One moment I'd be blocking a kick, only for the attack to come from somewhere else. Illusions and eye tricks could explain it, but not when I was the one being redirected.

Somehow, he moved my own body out of position every time.

Dammit.

I needed to get even. The aliens, the parasite, Zeke! That guy didn't make sense. He knew everything. He knew it, somehow. Why would he save me only to insult me? Was he a child?

I think I'm in trouble.

The world was shaking, and I was thinking about something stupid. The most confusing part was my opponent also seemed worried.

I only heard the roar because I felt it vibrate through my bones.

Headlights blinded me, and when my vision returned, there was a slobbering monster as tall as the outer wall, thumping its stony fists into the ground like a mad gorilla. The monstrous siege engine reared its head as the dwarven rider tightened the razorwire leash.

There seemed to be a standoff as underlings gathered, but I couldn't hear anything. Perhaps, in this case, it was a boon.

I'd seen it before my enemies.

The following events only took five seconds.

During the first moment, I assumed there was a scream as Valorie kicked the dwarven mage off the keep tower.

In the next, I retrieved my sword and was running for my adversary. They were too busy looking up at the falling mage and the triumphant girl.

I reached him in the third, my sword poised, his blue eyes turning before his head could react.

Four. I felt whatever supernatural power he wielded threatening to ruin everything, so I reached out a hand for his neck. It grabbed his arm instead, but that was enough.

Without a way to reposition me in any meaningful way, my weapon irrevocably pierced his chest and nailed him to the ground. Blood erupted from his mouth as the mage's body finally splattered.

Together we fell. My energy spent.

I won. I'd never find out what all those points were for. Hopefully, Valorie could escape the troll.

Laid on my back, I witnessed a glorious scene. The troll's meaty arms were raised and ready to strike.

Then, inexplicably, there was a flash of light, and a thousand slashes erupted across its body. The ground slurped up the green blood. The troll went limp, the baffled rider clawing uselessly at a shining sword piercing his back.

I didn't see more than a silhouette leaping off the falling beast, along with the scurrying of moving shapes, before unconsciousness finally punched my ticket.