Avril unraveled the rope and slowly lowered herself down to the ground. The snow crunched beneath her feet as she made her way through the forest and slowly loaded another bullet in the chamber of her rifle before slinging the weapon over her shoulder.
When she came upon the body, the snow had already begun to build up, covering Cross with a thin dusting of white. Even with the snowfall she would still need to move him off the path. It was better to reduce the risk than take a chance that someone might stumble upon him.
With a small frown she began to pull on her glove when Cross abruptly sat up.
Avril did not spook easy. Once, while out on patrol during her ranger training, her squad had come face to face with a Dethbear. While the rest of her squad bolted in a haphazard scrambling retreat, Avril had calmly drawn her pistol and shot the charging monster squarely between the eyes before finishing it was a single stab to the throat with her knife. The bear meat had been more than enough food to last them through the rest of the exercise. For her actions she had been made squad captain and been placed on a fast track towards officer training.
Still, when Cross sat up with a long, groggy groan, she wasn't able to suppress a gasp of shock.
Rooted to the spot she watched with her eye wide as Cross ran his hand over his face. Cross paid her no mind as he gingerly touched his cheek, wincing as he did so. When he finally noticed her, he blinked extremely slowly before looking down at his wrist. For a long time, he stared at where the bullet had ripped his sleeve and exposed the bracer beneath. His eyes finally moved up to Avril, then back down to his wrist, then back to Avril again, his gaze coming to a rest on the rifle slung over her shoulder.
"Did… Did you just shoot me?" he said slowly.
The sound of Cross's voice broke Avril out of her shock and she flipped the rifle up to her shoulder. Cross reacted immediately, lifting up his left arm and firing off a flashbang. Cross began to dive to the right before twisting his body and launching himself to the left as Avril pulled the trigger.
The light subsided as Cross landed in a crouch. Avril remained where she was, the smoking rifle held tightly in her hands, the weapon pointed to his right, directly where he originally planned to roll into.
Avril's eyes narrowed as she slowly lowered the rifle. "So, you do have the Sight."
"I told you on the ride over, didn't I?" Cross said as he gingerly got back up to his feet. He glanced over at the bullet hole. "Good guess, though."
"How are you alive?" Avril said. "I know I hit you."
"Yeah you hit me. Then I punched myself in the face. So, yeah, thanks for that." Cross lifted up his torn sleeve, letting the light glint off the bracer secured to his arm before letting it drop back down to his side. "You said your name was Avril? You look different with your hair up.”
"And you are Cross Drachen, adopted son of Jiana Drachen. You are a courier in the Sleeping Dragon guild. Known aliases include The Courier, Christian Cross, and The Cro-"
"Stop," Cross held up his hand. Avril grew silent as Cross stared at her, a frown growing on his face.
"Do you know who I am, then?" Avril challenged.
"I've got a feeling, but let me confirm it," Cross said as his hand moved to his temple. "Your name is Avril Ena. You're a lieutenant in the Voy military and…" Cross trailed off as a strange sensation, almost like a static charge, washed over his mind before ending with a spike of pain. Grabbing his head, he dropped down to one knee. "What the hell…"
"I have trained extensively with the Queen. She is the greatest Seer to have ever lived," Avril tossed the rifle down and drew a pistol from inside her cloak. "My mind is mine own and my future is decided as I see fit. Whatever pathetic tricks you may know, they will not work on me."
"I'm guessing we can't talk about this, then?" Cross loaded a fresh cartridge into his bracer.
"No." Avril trained the weapon on Cross. "Your life was forfeit the moment the order was given."
"Right, then, fighting it is." Cross breathed before launching himself forward. He felt the same strange sensation play across his mind as Avril fired. Sliding to the side he dodged the shot and continued towards her. Avril held her ground as Cross grew nearer and angled her shoulder towards him.
Cross ducked as Avril fired the second pistol she had kept hidden beneath her cloak. The bullet whizzed just over his head and he came to a skidding stop in front of Avril. Her eye grew wide as Cross grabbed the barrel of the exposed pistol and wrenched it free from her grasp.
"Maybe your Queen isn't as great as you think," Cross said lowly as he tossed the weapon aside. "Because I can see through your tricks too."
Avril's face contorted into pure rage. "How dare you speak of the Queen in such a way. You have no… You have no right!"
Cross gave her a joyless smile. "Wouldn't you say that it's only my right?"
Avril threw herself back and tossed the second pistol away. She threw her cloak open and let it fall away from her body, revealing a formidable number of firearms strapped to her body.
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"Ah… Right, then," Cross lifted his hand and fired off a flashbang as Avril drew the two of the four pistols that were strapped across her chest. She fired the left one blindly and Cross barely dodged. He felt the bullet snap against the fabric of his coat, pulling it away from his body for a moment, before he was in front of her.
As her eyes cleared from the burst of light Avril swung down the empty pistol like a club. Cross deflected the attack with his arm and stepped in close, grabbing her other gun by the barrel and forcing it down towards the ground. Avril struck him again with the empty pistol, the blow hitting his shoulder. She went for another; this time aiming at his head, but Cross quickly caught the weapon with his hand.
Avril immediately released the empty pistol and reached to pull another one from her chest, but Cross caught her wrist, locking it in place against her chest and pushed her back. Avril tried to hold her position, but Cross overpowered her. With a grunt he pushed her, hard, and sent them both stumbling backwards until Avril's back slammed against a tree trunk.
The sudden shift of momentum jarred them both and Avril used the moment to let go of the weapon in her right hand. With no opposing force Cross shifted forward, giving Avril enough of an opening to reach for the pistol strapped to her thigh. She managed to get it halfway free from the holster before Cross grabbed her wrist. Snarling she jerked her head forward. Her forehead connected solidly with Cross's nose and he let out a cry of pain and his grip loosened. Avril pulled hard and was able to break Cross's grip and draw the pistol from her chest. She was already pulling the trigger as she brought the pistol around. Cross threw his body forward and slammed against hers, knocking her hard against the tree and sending the shot off wildly to the side.
Avril cried out as she was crushed against the tree. Sucking in a pained breath she swung the pistol down but Cross batted the weapon away. Avril didn't relent, twisting the holster strapped to her right thigh until it was pointing at Cross.
Still reeling from the head-butt, Cross only realized what Avril was doing on a breath before she pulled the trigger. Twisting his body away, Cross was too close to completely dodge. The bullet grazed against his hip and he stumbled back a step, his eyes closing against the pain. The newly opened space was more than enough to allow Avril to lift her foot up and press it against Cross's stomach. Baring her teeth, she kicked out and wrenched her arm free from Cross's grasp.
As Cross's momentum sent him stumbling back, he lifted up his wrist and fired his remaining flashbang as Avril reached for the last pistol on her chest.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Under the cover of the flashbang Cross hobbled towards the nearest tree, diving behind the thick trunk just as the light dispersed. Leaning against the trunk, he reached down and gingerly touched the bleeding wound on his hip.
"Why do so many people try to shoot me?" Cross breathed as the warm blood continued to drip down his leg and began to pool in his boot. He could hear Avril's boots crunching against the snow as she began her search for him. As quietly as he could he loaded two fresh cartridges into his bracers.
As he tried to slow his breathing, he felt a small stream of blood begin to trickle down his nose. He didn't know if it was from the head-butt earlier or overuse of his Sight.
Probably both.
His head was aching and the fuzziness still clogging his mind wasn’t helping at all. It wasn't keeping him from seeing completely, but it felt like he was looking thought a fogged glass, at least as it pertained to Avril.
Cross sighed as Avril's movement suddenly came to a stop. He didn't need to use his Sight to know she had discovered his location. The trail of blood he was no doubt left was probably a hint.
That left him with two options.
One. He could wait for her to move into a flanking position and easily dispatch him from a distance with one, or more, of her many firearms.
Two. He could charge her, try to dodge a few more shots, and close the distance between them to limit her attack options.
"Well when you put it like that..." Cross took in a deep breath before lifting up his arms and firing off two flash bangs, one up towards the sky and the other off to the left. Counting up to three, he spun around the tree just as the flashbang he fired to the left went off with a deafening pop.
Cross only had split-second to take in the scene. He was rather disheartened to see that along with the final pistol from her chest holster in her right hand, Avril had produced yet another for her left. Her guns snapped towards the noise of the flashbang before coming back around to bear on Cross as he came out from behind the tree. She fired both pistols at once. In his mind Cross followed the trajectories before the bullets ever left the barrel.
The first was aimed at him. The second was just to his left in case he tried to dodge. The third would… Third?
Cross was already moving to the right with no chance to alter his plan when Avril fired the first two pistols before pulling the third pistol from her thigh holster in a single, smooth movement. Before the first two hit the ground, she had pulled the trigger.
Cross twisted his body as best he could but the bullet still struck his right arm, just above the elbow, and sent him spinning around like a top. A scream escaped his lips as he grabbed at his arm and fell to the ground. Teeth clenched in pain he rolled across the ground and came to a rest on his stomach. Sucking in a harsh breath he tilted his head up to look at Avril.
She dropped the pistol and drew another two from behind her back. She lifted the weapons up and trained them on Cross, daring him.
Cross slowly pushed himself onto one knee. The taste of blood had filled his mouth. Black spots began to dance in his vision and the buzzing in his mind grew louder. He wiped the back of his hand across his face to clear away the blood that continued to drip down his nose.
"You are tougher than I expected," Avril called out. "Though I should have known that, all things considered."
"I could say the same for you," Cross said with considerable effort, some blood spilling over his lips. "You're a bit more prepared than me, it seems."
"Even so, I underestimated you and that was my mistake. I won't make it again. If you have any last words, now is the time to speak them.”
"Just one." Cross coughed out. Small specks of blood flew from his mouth and scattered along the ground, staining the snow a deep crimson. "Bang."
Avril's stance lowered and her eyes glanced down at Cross's wrists, waiting for him to move, to fire another flashbang, but he did nothing. Nothing but continue the silent countdown he had been doing in his mind for the last thirty seconds. As he reached zero, the flashbang he had fired into the sky came arcing back down, just as he had foreseen, and detonated directly behind where Avril was standing.
Avril flinched in surprise and Cross dashed forward, pushing off from the ground with every ounce of strength he could muster. Avril fired the pistol in her right hand. With the last vestiges of his power, Cross Saw the bullet and used his bracer to deflect it away as Avril aimed at him with the left. With nothing else to do Cross threw himself forward.
Avril pulled the trigger.
The bullet impacted with his right shoulder and Cross's world exploded into a bright series of flashes, but the shot wasn't enough to stop his charge. Roaring he crashed into Avril just as she dropped the pistols and drew the final two from across her lower back.
Gasped as Cross tackled her to the ground, knocking the air from her lungs.
In a tangle they rolled across the snowy ground before coming apart as Avril managed to knock Cross away. Growling in pain and rising anger, Cross rolled onto one knee and launched himself across the ground. He slammed into Avril just as she started to sit up, knocking her onto her back. Scrambling across the ground he lunged at her weapons, managing to get a hand on either one as he trapped Avril beneath him, pressing his knee against her chest to hold her down. His right arm felt like his blood had been replaced by molten lead but he did not dare let go.
"Alright, we both got some good hits in, let's call it a draw, okay?" Cross gasped as he wrestled to keep the pistols facing to the side and away from him.
Avril's only response was to run her fingers along a switch right above the triggers of either gun. Pulling down, she disconnected the pistol's barrel from the grip and exposed the thin blades hidden inside. Cross rolling to the side as she slashed upwards, one of the blades just skimming across his stomach. Blood seeped from the cut as Cross landed hard on his back.
Avril dove onto of him and drove both blades down towards his chest. Cross threw his left arm up and managed to block the attack as the blades slammed against his bracer. The reprieve only lasted that one brief moment before Avril angled the blades off to the side and they slid past his bracer, tearing through his sleeve, and plunged straight down towards his chest.
Left with no other option Cross did the only thing he could think of and swung his nearly useless right arm up to defend.
Cross barely felt the pain as the blades slide through his palm and burst through the back of his hand, splattering his chest with fresh blood. He saw Avril's eye grow wide as she stared at him in shock before he swung his left arm up and clipped her hard on the side of the head with the bracer. The strike was enough to send Avril rolling away, ripping the blades free from Cross's hand as she did so.
This had the unfortunate side effect of bringing the pain to the forefront of Cross's mind. He let out a shriek of pain and he grabbed at his injured hand with his left as he curled up into a tight ball. While he would have preferred to simply stay there on the ground, he knew it wasn't over yet.
Gasping with every movement he slowly rolled onto his stomach and forced himself onto his knees. After a few deep breaths, he managed to glance over at Avril.
She was still on her back, blood dripping down the side of her face, and her chest heaving, but she was still very much conscious. Cross watched as she began to pull her right leg up and slowly struggle to reach for something in her boot.
Cross didn't know what it was, and though he had a guess, he knew no matter what, that it wouldn't be good for him. His eyes scanned over their battlefield until finally landing on the pistol by the tree that Avril had dropped.
The still loaded pistol.
Groaning Cross pulled himself to his feet and staggered towards the tree. Each step felt like an eternity but finally he made it to the weapon. Leaning over he retrieved the weapon, nearly falling back to the ground as he did so. Turning around he lifted the pistol up and aimed down at Avril.
"Stop!" Cross called as she began to pull a small caliber derringer from her boot. "Don't."
Avril stared up at him, her hand on the grip of her weapon.
They stayed like that for what felt like hours, neither moving as the snow continued to fall, until finally Cross let out a sigh and slowly lowered his pistol.
"I know you have your orders,” he said softly. "But is this really worth dying over?"
"Yes.” She spoke with a clear voice and without a hint of hesitation. "My life is nothing of consequence in this world. I would give myself, and more, if the Queen asked it of me. I will protect her, and I will kill you, even if it means I must perish to do so!"
Avril pulled the derringer from her boot, took aim, and pulled the trigger.
The moment lasted for an eternity for Cross.
The smoking pistol.
The falling snow.
The pure unbridled rage he felt well upside him, contained for so long.
His right arm shot up, against the pain and agony, and he thrust forward thoughtlessly, droplets of blood cascading through the air as his hand rushed forward to meet the bullet.
"Tatchi!"
The energy burst from Cross's palm just as the bullet made connection with his bloodied flesh. The air bent around his hand before exploding outwards as the bullet shattered, along with the majority of the bones in his right hand.
Cross abruptly returned to the present and let out a pained shriek. He doubled over, pulling his hand against his body, but remaining on his feet with the gun clutched in his other hand.
"No…" Avril whispered as the empty derringer slipped from her fingers and landed on the snow with a soft thud. "That's not…"
Cross took in a deep breath and let it out through his nose. He felt the anger slowly slip from his shoulders and instantly be replaced by a weary exhaustion. He loosened his grip on the pistol and let it hang weakly by his side.
"It's over, Avril.”
"No," Avril began to shake her head back and forth, her hair coming loose from the tight bun and falling wildly around her face. "No. I can't be over. I can't fail. I can't. I swore. I swore to her. I have to… I can't fail!"
"It's over," Cross said with more force.
"No!"
Cross felt a lurch in his mind and took an unsure step back as the ground around Avril began to steam, the snow melting.
"I can't!" Avril screamed. "I won't!"
The eye patch over her left eye began to smoke before igniting in a flash, exposing the shining light hidden beneath. Her entire body shook violently before going unnaturally still. The forest went silent before Avril threw back her head and let out a high, piercing scream. More light flowed from her eye as her body slowly lifted up into the air and another scream tore from her throat.
Dumbstruck, Cross could do nothing more than stare as the light grew brighter and brighter until it consumed her completely