Let me try to take him alone now that I got him cornered, Vivana said through their three-way Bond-sync. He was shot in the leg and is bleeding all over. He'll be at a disadvantage.

Don't underestimate him, Fahon replied.

Pom's aggression vibrated her Bond-link rapidly. Come on, let's surround and stab him to death. Finish this and be on with our day.

No Pom. We want to take him alive. I have a stab wound, and you're unpracticed with your Caster. We should stay back and only jump in if necessary.

How boring, Pom replied. I'm starving, haven't eaten an authentic meal in days. Heard you have all sorts of fancy restaurants in Whitestone from Arik.

Hush, you two. I need to concentrate, Vivana said.

Vivana acted first, lunging forward with her spear. Crin sidestepped the strike with smooth grace, despite the gunshot wound in his leg. With a stroke of his orange greatsword, he nearly took off Vivana's head. She flicked the butt of her spear and deflected the blow, getting shoved to the side. Leaping backward with a burst of magenta Phasematter, she avoided getting impaled through the gut.

Crin immediately put her on the defensive. She blocked and countered his strikes. Each time she attempted to get a shot in, she had to contend with a savage counterattack. Crin's movements appeared supernatural. He always knew exactly where she would strike and saw through her barrage like she was a predictable child.

Their weapons clanked over the commotion of skyport traffic. Vivana kicked Crin in the chest after dipping away from a backhanded slash. Crin growled, spinning his blade around and lifting it vertically.

Vivana's amber eyes locked on him, expression scrunched in determination. Being a true warrior, Fahon knew she wouldn't back off, despite the odds. He sucked back a breath, a spike of pain from his stab wound reminding him not to get involved. It reminded him of the day in the park when Vivana faced Kormel alone. At least that fight took him down fast. Crin was in a whole other league.

Screw this, Pom said. I'm jumping in.

Soon as Pom popped around the corner with her hand cannon leveled, she fired at Crin. The bullets ripped through empty air, punching into the container behind Vivana. Crin had Phase-jumped into a backflip. Pom fixed her aim, gun thundering as she squeezed off a few shots. Crin dropped behind her, and she jerked around, a shimmering red shortsword coalescing into her hand. The slash opened a wound above the orange Phasematter bracer on Crin's forearm as he missed the block. Blood sprayed into the air, and Crin backed off, surprised by Pom's sudden speed.

Fahon smirked. Pom was a natural fighter. She would make a formidable Bonded, perhaps even on Vivana's level, with some training. He and Vivana gave her a brief tutorial on the flight to Whitestone, but she needed more time to practice.

Vivana repositioned with a quick Phase-jump, skidding behind Crin. Pom shaped a second sword in her opposite hand and lunged, stabbing fast and accurately. Crin's large weapon gave him reach, an advantage in any close-ranged fight. Phasematter was feather light. Even with barely any penalty to speed, he still couldn't block her strikes fast enough with his blade. He stopped them deftly on his forearm bracer like he was weaving a basket instead of fighting for his life.

Vivana surged forward to plunge her spear into his back. He caught the point with a fist encased in crystalline orange Phasematter. With a forceful push, he shoved the spear away and turned quickly enough to avoid a slash to his throat by Pom. His encased fist smashed Pom in the head, and she collapsed onto the pavement.

Fahon, fearing for Pom's life, flung six Phasematter bolts at Crin. He batted one aside with his bracer, which might have ripped through his lower stomach, and flowed backward to avoid the other two. The bolts punched through the shipping container's steel wall like paper.

Crin scowled at Fahon and launched a dozen orange bolts of his own, slinging them in Fahon's direction. The attack wasn't accurate. But still hard to dodge with the number of bolts and the way they were spread out. It was like a nasty version of his shotgun technique. The one downside is it took a little longer to condense the Phasematter.

Fahon Phase-crafted a wedge-shaped tower shield on his forearm. Two bolts glanced off its surface and spiraled into the container under him. The remainder kept flying to cause havoc elsewhere.

Fahon lifted his head above the shield's rim and hurled bolts. Crin spun away from the sharp rain of death. At the same time, he blocked a spear thrust from Vivana with his club hand.

Crin's reaction times were getting faster as he continued to fight. It wasn't normal.

Fahon's own Caster could generate protective shields to save him from harm at a moment's notice. An example of one form of combat specialization. He also remembered the night on the Nightskimmer when he had shot down two drones. Divinity had assisted him in better predicting the trajectory necessary to hit such a fast-moving target. Through the Bond, a Caster could provide subtle details and corrections, aiding their Bonded as they battled.

He took a mental note. If he lived through this fight, he needed to write everything down. Producing a manual for new Bonded would help teach them the various abilities and nuances of Casters. Such a catalog of knowledge would have helped him learn to control his powers. The Warrior Sect would learn from the scholars. No more secrets.

Pom rose; mask cracked. She ripped it off and threw it aside, holding her head in agony.

Crin fled behind shipping containers and Phase-stepped across a bridge of orange light. Vivana took to the air herself, Phase-stepping after him on a shimmering staircase to get the high ground. Crin and Vivana hurled bolts, flickers of orange and magenta whipping past as they zigzagged through the air. Fahon could barely Phase-step in a straight line. He envied their expertise.

Pom's voice in the Bond-sync shook him out of his awe. How, in the name of the Cosmos, are those two doing that?

Despite his hesitation to get involved, he couldn't leave Vivana alone against the deadliest man on the moon. Clenching his jaw through the pain in his side, he darted to the end of the container and leaped off, landing on a platform of blue Phasematter. It dissipated as he took a step forward onto another. He broke into Phase-stepping. It was a steady running pace. The likelihood of him falling to his death was high if he went too fast or lost concentration.

Blue bolts of Phasematter lanced out from Fahon at Crin once he fell into the rhythm. Now the Knight Commander had two people shooting at him. He dropped out of the air and disappeared among a forest of stacked cargo crates.

Fahon stopped running in the air and perched on the arm of an inactive crane. His Bond-sense heightened vision sought any sign of movement among the stacks. In conjunction, he also reached out to detect Crin's Bond-link.

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It was gone.

He just vanished, Fahon said, incredulous, through the Bond-sync.

He disabled his Bond-link. What a coward, Vivana responded. Her irritation felt like a brooding storm through the Bond-sync.

Fahon dropped from his perch, braking in the air and gliding by Vivana. She held her spear behind her back and was breathing heavily. Fighting was exhausting even for a person in tip-top shape.

"I refuse to believe he will run. Going rogue isn't his style," Vivana said aloud. Fahon followed her as they jogged past lanes of towering crates. They slowed and visibly checked every nook or cranny. Pom's boots thudded on the pavement as she sprinted.

Fahon stayed in front, granting Vivana partial cover with his tower shield in case Crin popped out for a pot shot.

Vivana prowled between the crates. "We'll detect Bond-link vibrations soon as he activates his Caster. Stay vigilant."

As soon as she finished her sentence, a tingle trickled down Fahon's back, a new Bond-link vibrating behind him. Crin stood atop a stack of crates, flinging dozens of tiny Phase-light darts their way. Fahon lifted his shield, and they pelted it, glancing to the side like a plow pushing snow.

It was a dirty sneak attack at the most opportune moment, done without his Bond. He must have stacked crates to climb. Bond-sense enhanced vision allowed for circular three-hundred-and-sixty-degree image, a huge advantage. But they had two major blind spots: up and down. Crin remained perfectly out of sight.

Pom was out of range of Fahon's shield. The first three darts scored direct hits. Two through her torso and one through the meat of her arm, slicing open a deep gash. Fahon willed a blue barricade before her, sheltering her from the remainder of the raining projectiles. Pom screamed in pain and backed against a plastic crate. She slumped, smearing blood against it in streaks.

Gratitude struck him like a bolt of lightning. The origin was his Bond-sync with Pom. A jackhammer of pain wracked his guts. It was followed by a white-hot line of fire across his upper arm. He felt Pom's wounds too. She was unintentionally transmitting her pain directly to him.

He pinched off the thread of their Bond-sync. They could reinitiate, but he couldn't fight with her pain on top of his.

Bile swelled in the back of his throat. A deluge of hatred washed over him like a plunge into arctic waters. Pom was his friend, and Crin might have murdered her before his eyes.

Vivana was in motion before Fahon snapped out of his stupor. In a triple Phase-jump maneuver, she landed beside Crin on the crate. He seemed surprised at how fast she acted, backing to the edge. At some point, she had dismissed her spear, trading it for a Phase-light hatchet. Crin fell off the box in a clumsy dodge away from a hacking blow, recovering into a graceful backflip. He Phase-jumped off small orange platforms backward, like a shrimp propelling itself through the water. The strangest type of movement Fahon had ever seen a Bonded perform.

Vivana flung a barrage of magenta bolts after him. Fahon Phase-jumped into the highest arc he could manage, sailing over Vivana and Crin. He rolled himself upside down at the apex, getting a bead on Crin with his enhanced sight. Divinity nudged him, tracking Crin's motion and trajectory for a second.

Bullseye!

Fahon shaped a tiny arrowhead of blue Phasematter, condensing the object for a long second. Light spilled out at the seams, and the projectile burst forward with the velocity of a high-powered sniper rifle. It shattered the sound barrier with a crack like a whip.

Crin pulled a miracle maneuver, dodging a bolt from Vivana and blocking Fahon's projectile. In one effortless motion, Crin ducked away from Vivana's bolt. Skating in the air, he swung his arm into a perfect position to catch the speeding arrowhead. It shattered his bracer into thousands of flickering orange embers.

Vivana's frustration seeped in through the Bond-sync. This is not right. His Caster must be special, like yours.

He's improving as he fights. We must end it. Fahon projected a spike of determination through the Bond-sync to reinforce his words. The longer we resist him, the easier he will predict our attacks.

The fight reminded him of a quote from his martial arts instructor Marik. Never hesitate. Force an opening.

Fahon projected imagery, a quick strategy, to Vivana through the Bond-sync. If they could coordinate their attacks, they could break Crin's rhythm better. He saw through each of their attacks before they ever reached him.

He resumed focus on what was in front of him, bouncing in the air with flashes of blue, touching down on both feet. Pain from his stab wound sent a shock through his body, and he hacked a heavy cough, nearly keeling over.

I don't have time for this.

Fighting through the pain with clenched teeth, he stumbled forward. They clashed weapons above him. Fahon couldn't believe what he was seeing, skidding to a stop in awe. Crin and Vivana hopped from platforms of shimmer Phasematter, striking and blocking as they skipped across the sky, vying for positioning in a brutal mid-air melee. Fahon launched himself after them like a missile, Divinity trailing behind him.

Crin kicked off a condensed platform, Phasejumping higher. Fahon dropped the spear and snatched the tail of Crin's trench coat with both hands, dangling and pulling on it. They plummeted together like spinning bolas.

Fahon let go of the coat, creating a blue pulse beneath him before impact. He lurched in the air a moment—before falling face-first onto a brown shipping container with a loud thud.

He groaned and rolled over onto his side, chest heaving for air. Divinity corkscrewed after, floating over the top of him and scanning his body. Fahon listened to boots pounding the pavement below as Crin fled again. Hissing, he peeled himself off the container and lent chase, Phase-stepping into the air above the lane Crin occupied.

Vivana landed in front of the fleeing Knight Commander, spear pointing in his direction. Anger boiled in her fierce amber eyes, and sweat beaded her brow. Crin skidded to a stop, materializing his greatsword again and readying a defense.

Fahon ascended, putting himself in Crin's blind spot.

Vivana thrust her spear. In perfect sync with her attack, Fahon shot another speedy arrowhead at Crin's back. The cornered warrior knocked Vivana's spear upwards and put her off balance. Before he could react, the arrowhead pierced his upper back, erupted out the front of his chest, and embedded itself in the pavement below.

Crin teetered from the shot, his guard slipping for a moment. Vivana struck like a viper with her spear. Despite his life-threatening wound, he snatched the spear by the haft in a firm grip and heaved Vivana close. She let go of her weapon a moment too late. Crin pushed the point of his hyper-sharp greatsword into her shoulder. It burst out the other side, and she howled in pain, blood spraying into the air.

"No!" Fahon shouted.

She slid off the greatsword, leaving it slick with blood, collapsing onto the ground. Her magenta spear dissolved in her loose fingertips.

Crin rotated, sweeping his weapon in a vicious orange arc. The colossal blade would have taken Fahon's head off, but he had an ace in the hole. Divinity projected a shield. The greatsword was deflected away with a loud clang.

He seized the moment as the shield dissipated into blue embers. Crin's defenses were down.

Fahon slid below the traitorous Knight Commander and loosed a Phasematter shotgun blast at point-blank range in a blinding flash of blue.

Two dozen tiny blue pellets embedded into Crin's chest with a sickening thump. Fahon noticed fear wash over the Knight Commander's face for the first time in the entire fight. With a rasping sound, his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. He careened sideways, orange greatsword clattering onto the ground

Fahon rose to one knee, grimacing in pain. Crin finally crashed down. His black-shelled Caster floated, spinning over the top of him. Wiping sweat from his brow, Fahon took a moment to catch his breath. He reached to his ear, activating an earpiece radio with one shaky finger.

"The Knight Commander is down. Vivana and Pom are wounded. Send medics immediately!"

Fahon plucked Crin's Caster out of the air and deactivated the Bond. He helped Vivana to her feet, both warriors grunting from their injuries.

"I've never tried to emulate a shotgun blast." Vivana clapped Fahon on the back. "Good teamwork. Perhaps you'll make a fine Knight after all."

Fahon bent over and checked Crin's pulse; it had stopped. Blood pooled beneath him. Empty yellow eyes stared into the void of death.

Vivana and Fahon shuffled back to Pom, barely staying upright if not for each other's support. The wounded leader of the Faceless sat where they left her, putting pressure on her gut wound.

"Are you okay?" Vivana asked Pom. She steadied herself with one arm against a crate.

Pom's head was back, and her eyes closed. Her dull Caster floated above her, chirping and squawking in alarm. "Please tell me you killed the slime."

Vivana put a hand to her gruesome shoulder wound, fingers slick with fresh blood. Her entire left arm hung limp. "No. Fahon killed him."

"Good. There's proper justice for you, Your Excellency. Now can you take me to one of those fancy Ophani hospitals? So, I don't die?"

Fahon plopped beside Pom. "Help is on the way."