She hated that she was already panting. She wasn't THAT out of shape after a couple weeks of desk work but it was still too much for her to go at this pace for very long. Exhaustion was really starting to wear on her and she wondered how long she could keep it up. A parry, a block, a frantic backstep as an attack sliced through where her midsection had been. She had no time to counterattack, all her energies were being spent on just barely staying alive. She was nearing her limit and, worse, her assailant knew it. Already they were starting to be less guarded in their strikes, committing more strength to the blows, taking more risks as they realized she couldn't take advantage of them. It was insulting, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it.

  Again she wondered if she should just give in and rely on Cammie, or even have Pitch pull that time manipulation thing he was so fond of. It was so tempting, would be so easy to just let go and accept that their power might as well be her own. Except a part of her felt like that would be an admission of defeat. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was that made her so sure that it was the wrong call to use them more than necessary, but she remained absolutely certain of it. It was an instinct that she couldn't ignore and wouldn't. Instead, she figured she might as well try some of the other tricks that were up her sleeve, if only to buy time.

  "Man, you're pretty decent. I mean, for a guy taking on a woman who hasn't had a proper night's sleep in a week."

  "Not my fault if you don't take care of yourself," her attacker countered.

  She could practically hear the sneer in his voice. It did nothing to improve her mood but still helped her focus. More than that, it was an opening to exploit. She still didn't fully grasp what this trick Pitch had unlocked within her did exactly, but she still had a solid idea of what she could say next to further bait him.

  "So, just a mediocre killer hoping to take me out at a moment when I'm careless. I'm a little disappointed. I'd have hoped my enemies were more impressive than that. Let me guess, they couldn't afford anyone good."

  It was really just a probing tactic. She didn't have nearly enough information about the guy to guess whether he was acting on his own or on someone's instructions, but it still kept the conversation going. Why it was working was confusing to her. Before when she'd tried to bait him into conversation it hadn't worked at all but now...

  "Oh, your enemies have plenty of options open to them. I'm just the first one to get a chance like this, I'll damn sure take it."

  The attack was fast, but not so fast that she couldn't track it. She managed to get her blade up with time to spare as the jarring strike plowed into her. It stung, but it wasn't enough to make her lose her balance. In the moment his blade was occupied with hers, she lashed out at his face with her free hand. It was a simple enough eye gouge that would've been useful if it had landed, but even as he dodged backwards to avoid it, it was a solid reminder that she wasn't down for the count yet.

  "You say that like this is a great chance. You're barely holding your own against me as things stand and when my backup arrives you're gonna be taken down in an instant."

  "You're bluffing. You didn't tell anyone where you were going, no one was with you. You're all on your own, little girl."

  More information, It was true that she hadn't told anyone at home that she was going to the baths but he'd known it. That meant that he had someone working on the inside or had some other means of knowing the inner workings of her office. Not encouraging, but still good to know. It didn't explain how he new where she'd been but there was still time to figure that out. Either he hadn't known she was at the baths and had gotten lucky, or he had known but hadn't been able to take advantage.

  "It's always 'little girl' with you chumps, isn't it. Misogyny notwithstanding, the lack of imagination is what really bugs me. Couldn't you mix it up with a crack about my hair, some allusion to how weak I am because I'm a Dark Elf, just... I dunno, SOMETHING beyond commentary about the fact that I've got ladybits?"

  "You will start taking me seriously soon enough, LITTLE GIRL," he roared the last two words and lunged at her, anger flashing in his eyes.

  Len would've loved to be able to claim that she'd been baiting him with a greater plan to make him slip up. It certainly would've been nice to think that all it took to get out of a life-or-death situation was the right taunt at the right time, but life was rarely that simple. Sure, he was getting more reckless, but her strength was fading fast. Add to that the fact that she was in a lot more trouble than he was if he landed even a lucky graze (no way of telling what he might have coated that thing with) and her situation was starting to feel a bit desperate. Still, no sense in giving up the fight just yet.

  The nice thing about a charge like that was that it always took longer than the attacker thought it did. All that energy spent on rushing forward with your whole body put a lot more strain on things than simply lashing out with your arm. Sure, it added power to the attack, but all the power in the world didn't do you much good if you couldn't connect. Len was very good at making sure her attackers couldn't connect. She waited until the last possible instant as he loomed over her, easily dwarfing her slender frame with his blade held high for a cleaving slash. The very moment he committed his power to bringing the blade down, she sidestepped, slipping behind him with practiced efficiency and lashed out at his heels with her blade.

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  Sadly, the fatigue was getting to her. If the blow had landed, her problems would've been solved and her opponent would be left crawling on the ground with no means to oppose her. As it was, she was too slow and he stumbled out of reach before her strike could land. Still, she'd bought some time with the maneuver, and he looked all the more warry for having seen it.

  "Oh come now, a little resistance from little old me and you're already whining about your hurt pride. That's not very becoming of a mighty warrior, you know."

  That did it. He might have been regaining his composure, but it was remarkable how little a push it took to drive him up a wall again. She could practically see a stat bar in front of him balancing the various conditions of his mental state. He was insanely confident in his own abilities and not at all prepared to be mocked by someone he saw as lesser. Never mind the fact that that 'lesser' individual had already bested some of the greatest warriors this society had to offer, he couldn't accept that the same was happening to him. She really wished she was at full power so she could properly put this fool in his place. As it was, she was still hanging on, even if no hope seemed to be in sight.

  "You're going to die here and now, you bitch!"

  Before he could act on that threat, however, there was a percussive "THUMP" as a crossbow bolt struck the man in the chest. He stared down in bewilderment at the new occupant of his chest cavity just long enough for a dawning horror start to appear in his eyes before he crumpled over, quite dead. Len frantically turned to see who'd taken the shot and was greeted by the sight of a smirking Taylor.

  "Sorry I'm late, Boss."

  "I kind of wanted to take him alive," Len pointed out as the assassin moved to retrieve her bolt.

  "Yeah, woulda been nice. Didn't really have that kind of time, though. You really think you could've kept that up long enough to subdue him?"

  Len wanted to argue the point, to chastise the assassin for not asking permission for the kill, but Taylor was right. Any advantage that might have been gained by questioning him was seriously outweighed by the risks of that fight being drawn out any longer than it had been. Maybe she would've been fine, but it definitely would've been a gamble.

  "Eh, you're right. Let's see if he was careless enough to have anything identifiable on him."

  As far as indications of who had hired him might have gone, he was useless. There was no meaningful identification on his person or in any of his items. The sword, Len learned, was actually a fairly common one amongst the Kelvach and didn't have any distinctive markings. What did stand out, however, was that the man was one of the Banished.

  "What do you make of that?" Len asked, pointing to the mark.

  "Not a lot, honestly. Was a time, not that long ago, where no Banished would have dared enter the city. You did away with that so it doesn't mean a whole lot that one has decided to take advantage of the reprieve to come back. Not that hard for such a person to be roped into an assassination plot. Money is always a powerful motivator and the Banished are in more desperate need than most.

  "Great, let me just add that to the pile of things I've got to worry about."

  "You should. It's not a problem that's going to be going away any time soon. There's a lot of open wounds as things stand, and they're only going to get worse as people try to claw back what they once had from the people who stole it."

  "You think I don't know that? I'm working on it, dammit!"

  "Might I suggest you work faster? No telling how long people will be able to stand the status quo."

  "Look, it's not like I've had a lot of time to get things under control yet. Hell, I didn't even realize that people WERE coming back already. I expected it'd take longer than this."

  "You're right, he is a bit earlier than most. I've only heard of a few making their way back. Can't say for certain, but it's possible that this plan was already set in motion. by the time you made the proper decrees."

  "Lovely. Welp, can't exactly spend too much time worrying about it now. Let's go report this poor bastard to the Guard and call it a night. I've had a hell of a time with all of this and I just want to go to bed."

  "Whatever you say, boss, your wish is my command."

  "She's probably behind it all," Cammie whispered in her ear. A tiny part of Len wondered if the shade might be right.