Korsha lunged, dagger in hand. Her arm contracted then sprang forward. Metal glinted in the dying blaze of Deidra's opening attack. Korsha shoved herself up as the dagger tumble through the air. The dagger struck the wall with a ringing metallic clang.
Deidra had moved. Was moving. Now charging forward. A barbaric scream disgorged itself from her throat, ripping through the air as she threw another vortex of fire. Korsha lunged. Her suit's servos groaning from the effort as she flung herself up. Reaching the ceiling, she thrust her hand forward, palm smacking the concrete as she tethered herself to it.
Deidra swam through the raging inferno below. Her dark silhouette barely visible beneath the roiling surface of the flames. Her arms flailed madly like blades in a blender. The scorching of the flames sizzled and sputtered signing the air in irate wavy lines of heat haze. This is madness. Korsha blinked thick beads of sweat from her eye as she started to swing herself.
"Running as always."
The hairs on the back of Korsha's neck quivered. Fear gripped her, flinging her from her perch. She tumbled. A furious unrelenting heat rode up her spine, its blazing ethereal fingers clawing at her. She arced down, swinging her legs up as she caught the wall, jumped off and landed with a thud.
Korsha's fingers tightened on the handle of her lasher. The whip unraveled, the tip falling at her feet. Her eyes narrowed into a hard glare as she brought her arm back. The whip twisted up into the air, arcing back like a serpent. Then with a swift jerk the whip came hurtling down. There was a hard sharp crack as the tip connected with the concrete floor.
"Cute trick." Deidra said as she spat onto the ground.
Korsha sprung into action without hesitation, pushing her foot forward with a forceful thrust. Her body moved with the precision of a machine, yanking her hips back and harnessing her strength until her arm swung down. The whip cracked like thunder as Korsha directed it towards Deidra. There was a sharp snapping sound and the whip pulled tight.
Deidra's arm was up. The whip was coiled around her. It had shielded her from the blow. Korsha pulled, causing it to constrict. She could feel Deidra's slight tremble as she strained to keep her arm in place.
"I've learned since we last fought."
Deidra hunched over. She pulled her arm down. How is she this strong? Korsha thought as she now struggled against Deidra. The woman sucked in a deep breath and then shrieked. It was a horrid baleful thing that clawed at the air and Korsha's ears. An unseen burst of energy shot out and struck Korsha sending her stumbling back.
Scrambling, Korsha steadied herself. What in the nines was that? Korsha bent her knees, her boots scraping across the floor as she repositioning her feet. This wasn't the time for sloppy foot work. She raised her arms in a defensive stance. She tucked her elbows in, hands were clenched but relaxed.
"So have I." Korsha said as her chalice armor unfolded its arms.
Korsha's helmet materialized, sliding up her neck and then sealing around her. A second later incense poured out of each arm. The smoke unfurled before her in delicate strands of ghostly gossamer.
"What are you doing?"
Korsha didn't react. Didn't move.
"Face me you coward!"
The smoke danced around her. She could see Deidra but her former sister couldn't see her. Her HUD beeped. She was all out. She was fortunate that there wasn't any ventilation in the room. She could see vaedra lingering around her. Thick serpents of flowing black smog that coiled and slithered around her feet.
Fear vaedra.
She turned over to Deidra expecting to see the vaedra of wrath or hatred. Her brow furrowed as she saw nothing.
Deidra lunged forward, fist striking the air. Korsha rolled to the side, a vortex of fire shot passed, striking the far wall and spreading out along its bricked surface.
"Damn you." Deidra said in an icy tone as she stalked around, strike the air. "Why can't I see you!"
Korsha flung her whip up and used its momentum to propel her up to the ceiling. She kicked her legs up, bound them and squatted. Now upside down she gazed down at Deidra. She was pleased with the shroud's ability. Right now Deidra was sending flames in random directions.
Korsha's mind raced. How was she going to stop Deidra? She had to subdue her and somehow bring her back. She didn't know how she would ever convince her to submit herself to their master but she could figure that out along the way. For now she needed to stay out of sight and think.
A deafening boom resonated through the room. The force of it shook the ceiling. Korsha's head snapped to the side. A high-pitched hissing filled the room as a jet of steam spewed out from a rupture in the pipe. She flinched as she followed the trail of steam with her eyes.
Within seconds the incense was dissipating. Korsha only had a enough time to curse before Deidra's malevolent glower fell upon her.
"Die!"
Korsha dropped. Throwing her hands up, she caught her self and flipped back. A heat wave rippled across her body and she could feel its intensity consuming her. Her HUD was flashing. Alarms screeching. She flailed. Rolled. The flames followed. A meter appeared on the edge of her vision. A fiery bloody line that crept towards her armor's system's failing.
Then Korsha was free. Having found a space behind several pipes to huddle behind. The metal behind her shivered, groaning as it was forcefully expanded. Her suit's systems were stabilizing but she needed to by herself time. Somewhere along the way she'd lost her lasher. Glancing over she saw it laying on the ground several paces away. She slid the pistol from its holster and pressed her back against the pipes.
"Deidra stop. We can fix this."
"Come out and face me."
"Deidra I don't want to hurt you!"
Silence.
The fires stopped.
Korsha licked her lips. A shiver ran up her spine. The stillness that had fallen between them was unsettling. A need to know where Deidra was, what she was doing, what her reaction was, pressed upon Korsha's mind to sneak a glimpse from the hiding spot. Fear of the fires kept her rooted to her spot.
A slow chuckle broke the silence. It was a quiet echo the bubbled up from behind Korsha. Then it escalated. It transformed, warping into a cacophonous roar of cackles that stabbed at the silence. The hairs on the back of Korsha's neck rose and she shrunk in on herself. The laughter became higher pitched, taking on an eerie unhinged quality as it came in bursts of jagged and erratic laughter. What disturbed Korsha the most was the lack of any real emotion. It wasn't happy, nor sad, nor bitter or angry. It was the sound of insanity dancing upon a knife's edge. It gained in its barbarity. Reveled in its frenzy. Each subsequent bout was more deranged, more broken than the last. Then it was silent. The unsettling rhythm interrupted. Korsha sucked in a breath. Another mad wave came, slamming into Korsha and making her gut's twist. The laughter reverberated around her, sending a bone-chilling shiver racing down her spine.
“So be it.”
Korsha braced herself for the onslaught. Her heart hammered. Continued to hammer. It's pounding rhythm beating one after another after another after... Where was the attack? A sharp beep on her HUD told her the attack hadn't been direct. She watched as the temperature display rose. One degree. Four seconds later. Another degree. Korsha had seen this technique before. Her master had forbidden Deidra from using it.
"Deidra stop, you're going to kill us both!"
"Then the circle will be complete!"
Another degree. And another. Korsha pushed herself from the pipes and spun. Her pistol raised. Her finger retracted. Bang. Bang. Bang. She panted. Sweat trickling down her nose.
"Good shot." Deidra said with a smirk as she was lowered into a squatting position, elbows pulled in tight against her sides as her entire body was flexed.
Korsha saw the three bullets lying on the ground. Deidra had a kinetic shield. From the way the bullets had bounced off it was strong. Korsha could likely empty her pistol into it without doing much to drain its charge. That's if she isn't charging it herself. That thought terrified Korsha. That's why she was able to take my lasher so easily.
"Korsha," Koklan's synthetic voice said in her helmet, "A ship just entered the system. Marked as an inquisitor's ship."
"Shite." Korsha said, "Do not make contact. Cut off all communications. Come to my location for extraction. ETA until contact?"
"Inquisitor is fifteen minutes out. I am five."
"Good enough." Korsha said cutting the communication.
The air before her was now writhing with heat haze. Korsha considered trying to use the lasher again but realized it was likely no use. A bitter rage tore through her. After all these years, Deidra was right there. Within arm's reach but it might as well have been half way across the universe.
The realization that she couldn't stop Deidra, let alone contain her hit Korsha like a punch to the gut. She'd failed. But this time she'd failed not only her master but Deidra as well. Maybe, given enough time she could wear Deidra down. She could use her fires against her using Anaku but it would take to long. Even then success wasn't a guarantee. It's never a guarantee. Korsha thought bitterly. Yet she had to reach out one last time. Perhaps...
“Deidra, listen to me. I can save you. There's an inquisitor coming. Most likely a technomancer. We need to leave."
"I'll finished you off and then kill anyone else who thinks about taking me on."
Korsha's eyes flicked over to the doorway. She dropped back, keeping her eyes on Deidra as she retreated. She stopped, bent down and grabbed the lasher. Taking a deep breath, she fought back the tears as she stepped forward. A pipe burst. Followed by another. More steam streamed into the room. Korsha lifted the whip.
"Didn't learn your lesson last time I see."
Korsha gazed at Deidra. In that moment her heart nearly failed her. There would have been a poetic justice in letting Deidra kill them both. They could linger her, two spirits bound to a single grave. Reunited in vengeance. But she couldn't. She couldn't let her master down. She had to carry on. With or without Deidra.
"I loved you."
"I hate you!"
Korsha flicked the whip. Tethered. Jumped. Soared. The steam rushed by her like billowing storm clouds as she shot through the air. In the blink of an eye she was past Deidra and had reached the door. She yanked the seeker from her back and focused on the image of the outside.
"Where do you think you're going!"
The seeker took off and Korsha bound herself to it. The two of them shot down the hall. A heat wave cascaded behind them, filling the hall like an angry dragon. It chased them but they gained ground putting the icy air between them and their elemental pursuer.
Deidra howled behind her. It was an indignant biting thing that told Korsha she was in pursuit.
"Come on, come on, come on!" Korsha shouted at the seeker as they turned a corner.
The halls blurred past. Metal sheets smudged together to form an endless sheet of gray. Korsha glanced back just in time to see a fireball arcing through the air. She pushed on her tether, jumping to the side and landing on the wall.
"Sister. Come here!"
Korsha jumped again as flames devoured the wall she'd been standing on. All around her the structure groaned. It was deep and reverberating. Korsha had a sick feeling in her gut that they'd done something to upset the delicate balance of the structure. The image of the frigid waters below them flashed through her mind.
She continued to jump from side to side as she evaded Deidra's attacks. Several times they struck her and each time her suit screamed. It couldn't handle much more of this. It was hard to keep a steady rhythm of lunging jumps so as to keep pace with the seeker. The last thing she needed was to trick and be pulled along. An easy target for a markswoman like Deidra.
Then she saw it. The light at the end of the hallway. It raced towards her. A heavenly beacon drawing her out of this nightmare. A second later they were through, bursting out from Grimnar and into the cold open air. The seeker stopped in midair. Korsha cursed as she was left dangling.
In her haste to get out, she'd forgotten to give the seeker another destination. Her mind raced, trying to piece together a picture. The seeker jerked from side to side, dipping up and down like a bobber on violent waters. Everything froze as Deidra stepped out from the academy.
"Time's up." She said as she held her hand up.
A fiery sphere ignited in her hand. It spun, gathering speed and mass as it did so. It bunted like a miniature sun, staining Deidra in it's malevolent glow of golden-orange. It cast sharp shadows across her face that magnified the wild fervor in her eyes. A crooked smile shoved on cheek up, forming a jagged peak of madness as she glared at Korsha.
"So this is how it ends?"
Tired and frustrated, Korsha could only think to say, "You always wanted us to go out in a blaze of glory."
"Oh, I assure you there is no glory in this. Only justice."
There was a high pitched screech as twin bolts of emerald struck the academy. Their terminus left partial melted metal that glowed an angry orange. The familiar roaring engines of her ship whined as she saw it's dark silhouette dropping down. It hovered over her like a protective hawk would its chick. Korsha pictured the ramp at the back of the ship.
The seeker shot off. Korsha allowed it to drag her along, though she tried to turn back and see Deidra one last time. She never got the chance but she did hear her sister's screaming. It was an acrid howling, one brimming over with a primordial disappointment that was soul piercing. Tears welled up in Korsha's eyes, as an unbearable ache filled her chest.
Seconds later she was standing on the ramp, holding onto one of its long slender pistons. She lingered, hoping Koklan would turn so that she could face Deidra one last time but the acrena lifted straight up. Efficient. Correct. Korsha hated him for it. She turned and trudged up the ramp, the seeker following behind her.
"How long until the inquisitor arrives?"
"Three minutes. I want to know who is following me. Switch to infiltration. I want all systems quiet. Our exodus from this system needs to be quick."
"Destination?"
Korsha hesitated. She didn't have anywhere to go. She sighed.
"Anywhere but here."
“It will be done.”
Korsha nodded, reaching the bridge. She nodded to Koklan as she passed. Just as she made it to her room she stopped, turned and made her way back to the acrena.
"Track the assassin if possible.”
Koklan's head lifted. His glowing teal eyes met hers. There was an understanding there. Something from the spirit's past life that understood the desperation that had etched her voice. Korsha shifted her posture so that she was facing away from him. Her gaze dropped to the floor. Her head wanted to drop with it.
"It will be done."
Without another word, Korsha nodded and made her way to her bed. Though she had little hope that she would be able to sleep.