Sayed's chest burned, but not with the righteous fire of his blessing. Some people might think Sayed was simple, but he knew what the burning sensations meant. Jean and Erin had explained to him what happened to Alex, and Alex had explained what the growing blessing in his own body felt like. Sayed knew that if he opened his gate again and gave himself over to his blessing, it would also change.

Which was why he refused to use it at this moment.

Bragg stood away from him, holding his massive two-handed sword horizontal to the ground and behind him. Its long, curved blade was closer to a giant knife than an actual sword. Sayed's own curved khopesh was a utensil in comparison, but Sayed knew the size of the blade made no difference.

The power of a sword rested on the user's skill and the will to win the fight. Nothing more mattered.

"Why you got to separate us like that?" Bragg asked, narrowing his eyes. "Ma always told us we were useless apart."

"Your mother was right, in part," Sayed said, taking a wide stance and pointing his sword at the man. "Both of you are useless. Men who would trample and oppress others have no use in this world but to be overthrown by those with the will to do so."

Bragg quirked his head, and Sayed assumed he was working out what was said. After a moment, his eyes widened, and he dropped the end of his heavy sword to the ground as he pointed to Sayed with one hand.

"You're making fun of me!" Bragg yelled.

"Excellent." Sayed smiled as he flexed his muscles and drew power into his body. "Demon's Thrust."

He shot forward, thrusting his khopesh down the length of his body as he charged. He disappeared for a moment before reappearing right in front of Bragg. His sword thrust out in front of him as he grunted through the pain.

Slap.

Bragg's hand lashed out and caught the flat of Sayed's blade, knocking it aside and off course from the man's heart. A shock of pain rippled across his arm, and Sayed clenched his teeth to focus on holding onto his sword, if nothing else. He saw the next strike coming but couldn't move to evade it.

"Sword Hammer!"

Crack. Thump.

The pommel of the sword Bragg held came forward as the brother twisted his body. Sayed tried to step backward, but it was too late. It came up in a vicious arc and knocked Sayed across the jaw. Sayed flew back from the strike, his vision blurring as his shoulders slammed onto the ground. A grunt escaped his lips as he rolled himself over and onto the ground.

Still, he held onto his sword as he lay face down in the dirt.

For a moment, he lay there, but he was still in a fight, and he knew the next hit was coming. Sayed rolled instinctively across the ground and was rewarded a moment later with the sight of Bragg swinging a downward slash at where he had been moments before.

Boom. Crack.

The weight of the rotund man's hit cut through the ground with a slice, leaving a gash cut deep into the ground that caused dirt and rocks to explode out of it and into the air. Sayed forced himself up onto his feet. His muscles bulged again as he drew in power and charged toward the now off-balance man.

"Demon's Divide!"

A downward slash, hard enough to cleave stone, came for Bragg's body, but the brother moved out of the way of the strike. He pivoted on one leg, letting go of his sword and coming around again with a fist this time. Sayed brought up his gauntlet and cut toward the fist with his claws. He would not be hit a second time.

"Demon's Claw!"

He scored a hit across Bragg's hand. He knew he felt the claws connect as he completed the arc of his swing and carried himself away from Bragg's reach. When he turned, he saw Bragg with all his fingers in his mouth. Tears ran down the man's face and mixed with blood coming out from his knuckles.

"You'll pay for that, jerk," Bragg sputtered out, kicking out drops of blood and spit as he glared Sayed down.

"A fight with no injury can hardly be said to be a fight," Sayed said, smiling as he held his khopesh up again. "Are you some fool who thinks a battle can be fought without bloodshed? We both wield blades, Bragg. Wielding a sword means that blood will be spilled. There is no compromise with that."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Shut up!" Bragg took his bleeding hand out of his mouth and took hold of his sword with both hands.

His face burned red, and sweat streamed in heavy rivers down his head. Sayed had struck a nerve again with the man. Sayed knew it was best to keep a cool head during a fight. Even in the desert, a hot head could quickly lead to mistakes, which invariably led to death.

Sayed took in a deep breath, but still, his heart burned. He needed to end the fight soon. If not, his blessing might try to overtake him even if he refused to open his gate. He did not know if that was possible, but it felt right. Of the many strange happenings he had seen on the nightsea, a blessing being out of control of a user would not even be close to the top of the list.

"I'll show you!" Bragg said, raising his blade and taking a long step. "Sword Festival!"

Bragg leaped into the air with a bulge of his muscles as he swung his blade. He spun faster and faster, much like a children's toy sent spinning with a string, as he came down on Sayed. Sayed took a stance, pointing his gauntlet up at the spinning swordsman with his sword held high.

He had already seen the technique once and knew how to counter it. He would thrust into the center of the attack, where the sword wasn't. When he did that, it would be over for Bragg. Sayed did not go into the attack happy, but it was necessary. To free the drim, he would need to kill Bragg.

"Demon's Thrust."

He charged forward into the air and thrust up with his blade. It should have hit Bragg right on the top of the man's head, or failing that, it should have cut into his shoulder or chest. Wind buffeted Sayed as he thrust out his khopesh, forcing him to shut his eyes to it.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Vibrations rocked down Sayed's arm as his blade was thrown back and away from Bragg's head. In that blur of motion, Sayed had a flash of insight into what the brother was doing. After he had started spinning, the brother held up his sword close to his body so that the curve came over his head. Instead of thrusting up into Bragg's head, Sayed had thrust into a rotating blade pointed directly at himself.

He didn't have time to think. He only had time to act. Sayed threw up his gauntlet to cover his heart as the strike struck him. Metal cut and drilled into his gauntlet's palm as he caught the tip of the spinning sword. The force of the strike drove Sayed back down toward the ground with the tip of the rotating blade, sure to skewer him and shred him through when he landed.

Sayed grunted as he pushed against the blade. He had to remove himself from the edge of the strike, or he would die. He pushed himself away from the attack and sent himself sailing through the sky away from Bragg as the rotund man came cratering into the ground.

Boom. Thump.

Sayed hit the ground in a roll for the second time that day, this time losing his khopesh as he landed in the dirt. Rock and stone cut across his skin as he rolled to a stop across the ground, and when it was over, he lay looking up at the night sky above. Bright lights danced across his eyes, and for a moment, he didn't know where he was.

"Your sword," Abed's voice came to him. "Get your sword, Saint, before it is too late."

"Grah!" Sayed slammed his gauntlet against the ground and forced himself to roll over.

His khopesh lay on the ground a distance away. On the far side of the sword, Bragg was standing up from the crater created by his attack. Bits of dirt and dust fell from the rotund man's body as he retrieved his sword and began walking toward Sayed.

"Stand up, Saint."

"I will not fall here." Sayed clenched his teeth and pushed up with his gauntlet.

The fingers of the gauntlet creaked and groaned in protest as he planted his hand against the ground. The gauntlet had done what it was supposed to do: protect Sayed's hands from his opponent's blade. However, it was useless metal now. Unless he found a smith with sufficient skill to repair it, the gauntlet would never have the finesse he needed to fight with it again.

"The sword, Saint!"

He forced himself on his feet and stumbled toward his sword. Bragg swaggered forward with each step, in no rush to finish off Sayed. Sayed picked at the straps of his gauntlet, and with a few tugs, the leather straps came loose, and his gauntlet fell to the ground.

"Take it!"

Sayed jumped forward and took the hit of his sword from the ground. He caught himself on his feet, a habit from his years of wielding the blade in battle, and faced Bragg once again. Bragg smiled wide, showing a mouth missing many teeth as he laughed at Sayed.

"The big man thinks he can fight me now?" Bragg asked. "I've hit you hard twice. You look like you're going to fall over. Ain't no way you're going to beat me with that toothpick."

"That's where you are wrong." Sayed reached up with his free hand, grabbing the hilt of the second sword strapped across his back.

Sayed had held two swords since Glory Plateau. On that island, his brother from Hajh, Abed, had given his life to protect others who were prisoners to the island's owner, Gulantry. The blade was the last remnant of his brother and his friend. Sayed did not wield it lightly, but he knew that he needed Abed's help if he was to survive.

He drew the blade, standing tall with both khopeshes in his hand as he faced down Bragg. Sayed closed his eyes and looked up to the sky as he called on one final thing to ensure his victory. With a smile, he began to pray.

"God, may you deliver me this enemy today. With the power of Abed's blade and my own, grant me the strength and the will to overcome what stands in my way. Grant me the power to beat him back and save those who suffer in bondage. Do these things for me, and I will call on your blessing and accept the next step in my path to show your glory."

As Sayed finished, he opened his eyes and took a wide stance, leaning forward with both swords at his side as he watched Bragg. There was but one more thing he needed to do. It would be a risk, but Sayed trusted in his blessing.

He opened his gate.

A blazing fire erupted through his heart, and a spike of pain ran along the nerves of his body like a raging wildfire. Sayed clenched his teeth as the heat pumped out and along his muscles, making its way from his heart to the very end of his fingers and toes. Finally, his blades began to glow a hot orange as he faced down Bragg.

"By the glory of God, I will defeat you this day!"