Will

Buck made the first move. He launched into a soaring, dizzyingly fast leap. He spun in the air, a whirlwind of flashing metal. Will barely sidestepped, Buck’s saber whooshing only half an inch from his ear.

Buck had used at least two separate skills for the maneuver. Flash Step for the sudden burst of movement and Panache for the impossible number of mid-air rotations. Will chided himself for getting distracted by details, forced his mind to go blank as he deflected another cut.

I just need to hold him off long enough. Can’t let him beat me, but I also can’t push him so hard that he feels cornered into using his semblance. That second one would not be a problem, he surmised.

Will dodged and parried furiously, struggling to turn aside the serpent-quick blows Buck sent his way. The Entertainer moved in a showy, drunken swagger that well suited his Profession, making him nearly impossible to predict. When he looked off-balance, he instead pivoted on one foot and launched a daring thrust, poised like a dancer. When he looked to be preparing for a leap, he instead went low with a sweeping kick that Will only narrowly scrambled over. When he looked as though he was about to pile on the pressure, he instead hung back with that infuriating grin. Taking his time. Playing with his food.

Will realized that he could not keep playing defense, or Buck would pressure him right off his feet. Despite the fact that only moments had passed, his back was already plastered with sweat, and he pushed sharp, hissing breaths through clenched teeth.

Feigning a retreat from one of Buck’s diagonal cuts, Will Repelled off the ground with his back foot, immediately reversing his momentum and sending himself forward. Buck laughed as he parried, dancing sideways and allowing Will to barrel past.

“Good one!” the Entertainer called good-naturedly. “Allow me to retort.”

But Will was not done. Still spinning around to face his opponent, he readied a Dash. The best movement skill available to Explorers, it was typically considered the lesser version of the Entertainers’ Flash Step.

But not to Will. He had a secret that made Dash by far the more attractive alternative.

Will launched into stomach-lurching motion, the world seeming to warp around him with the speed of his advance. He felt himself catch on something, and came to a staggering halt just before a man wrestling with a chimp, the two of them stumbling off down the hill like drunken dance partners.

I definitely hit something there, didn’t I?

Triumphant, Will looked back to see if his sword had found its mark, only to notice a growing blotch of red across his stomach. Separating a tear in his clothing, he found a long, nasty-looking cut.

“Motherfucker,” he muttered. He directed a glare at Buck, who came sauntering unharmed along the overgrown path, swinging his bloodied weapon in lazy figure-8s.

“Close one, there,” Buck said, his tone still light and bouncy. “Try again, why don’t you? Maybe you’ll have better luck.” He hung his saber off to his left, leaving himself completely exposed. There was a glint in his eyes that was equal parts playful and lethal.

“Master One-Eye, I’ve got your back!” cried a voice, and a young man came barreling out of the chaos to put himself between Will and the enemy, raising a shaky sword to bring down on the enemy.

Will did not have time to cry out a warning. Buck skidded into a Flash Step, kicking up gravel as he slid past the boy. A moment later, Kiddo's head tumbled off his shoulders. It rolled toward Will, red cap still tugged past his ears, a look of open-mouthed shock on his twitching face. It went past him and continued down the hill out of sight. The body fell in a heap like a puppet with its strings cut, severed neck watering the earth with warm blood.

Will had no time to be annoyed at the boy’s stupidity or saddened by his death. For the moment, he let it flow right past him, allowed it to fade to mental static.

Buck had not even come to a full stop before he transitioned into another assault on Will. He soared high in the air, and when Will rolled right to keep Buck out of his blind spot, wincing at the burning pain in his midsection. Buck seemed to springboard off the air itself, finding purchase on nothing and instantly changing his momentum to stay on top of Will. Again, he scrambled out of the way, but as soon as Buck’s feet hit the ground, he moved into a Flash Step that cut the distance between them lightning-quick.

Will stumbled away from that exchange with another wound, clutching at his right shoulder with his free hand, blood trickling between his fingers. He rolled his arm to test its mobility and found that the muscle had not been cut. Still, his bag of tricks was running empty, and Buck’s was seemingly endless. While he usually prided himself on his system knowledge, he didn’t even know how Buck had done that thing with the air.

Fucking Entertainers and their parlor tricks.

They clashed swords again with a clang of steel on steel. On the follow-up, Buck threw out a fan of popping sparkles that confused the eyes with a murmured “Glitter,” then went low and let Will’s weapon pass over his head. He swept Will’s legs out from under him, knocking him flat.

Buck stood over him, taking his time with the finishing blow. Not ready to admit defeat, Will braced against the ground with his free hand and aimed another Dash, sending himself soaring high in the air past the Entertainer. He spun out of control thanks to his poor balance when casting the skill, and it was only by some miracle that he landed feet-first when he touched down on the other side of his enemy, knees nearly buckling with the impact. Being a cantrip, Dash did not cost him any AP, but all skills took a toll on the user’s body. Eventually it added up, building fatigue. Will felt his vision doubling already, not sure if it was from exhaustion, skill overuse, or terror. Maybe a happy mix of all three.

When he glanced back, expecting Buck to be coming for his neck, he instead found the man as unsteady on his legs as he was, a slightly glazed-over look in his eyes. He took a few tottering steps—trying to launch another assault—then fell to one knee, groaning, and his weapon rolled free of slackened fingers to clatter onto the stones.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Oh, thank god. It finally kicked in.

“What…?” Buck snarled. Confused, the mirth gone from his expression and replaced with a grim scowl. Slowly, he reached up and touched the only wound Will had scored on him, the small scratch on his cheek. He rubbed at the blood that came away between thumb and forefinger, chuckling to himself. “Poison, huh? I should have seen that coming from someone with your reputation…”

Will felt an enormous wash of relief, letting his heavy sword arm drop so the tip of his blade touched the ground. At Buck’s accusing glare, he could only shrug apologetically.

“Fellas?” Buck called out, swaying on one knee as the poison strengthened its stranglehold on him. “A little help would be nice.”

But as he looked around him at the bloody piece of old Millstone, he found, as Will did, that none of Buck’s men were left to answer him, the hillside covered in pincushioned bodies. The chimps were just finishing up, whacking dying men over the head with mallets, silencing pleading whimpers. Mongrel oversaw the effort, leaning fashionably against his unbloodied sword with his hip cocked. The Farmer had an incredible knack for getting out of work, and the killing kind was no different.

Buck laughed tiredly, finally sagging sideways as the last strength fled his body. “That’s how it is, huh…? Never thought I’d die… in a shithole like this…”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have talked so much shit, then,” Mongrel muttered, scraping with a fingernail at a piece of food caught between his teeth. “But don’t worry. We’ll put that bounty money to good use. Might even drink a round in your name, if the mood strikes.”

Buck seemed to find that unreasonably funny, and the two of them laughed about it like old friends.

Will, however, had other plans. With a swipe of his hand, he opened his Inventory, a circular black void about a foot across that floated beside him. He reached in and pulled out the small medicine bag that he always kept in there. When he went to kneel at Buck’s side, the man frowned up at him, suspicious, but Will pushed his head back into the dirt, forcing him to lie down.

“Now, you’ve got two options,” Will said. “Either use your semblance and hope it’s enough to kill both of us, or…” He unbuckled and unfolded the satchel on the ground beside the man, revealing a selection of vials, bottles, bandage rolls, and clay pots.

“Or?” Buck asked.

“Or, you let me administer the antidote. The poison in your veins is a highly potent version of curare. Unless I stop it, you will either die of asphyxiation or heart failure in a minute or two as your muscles become unable to contract.”

“Hold on, what?” Mongrel asked, suddenly standing stick-straight in outrage. “You’re not talking about letting him go, are you?”

“I told you I didn’t want to kill him. He’s one of Brimstone’s only meaningful enemies at the moment, which means he might prove useful in the future.”

“Yeah, but… the bounty.” Mongrel looked absolutely appalled, as though Will had suggested traumatic self-castration as a fun and exciting new leisure activity.

“We don’t need the money.”

“Speak for yourself. Unlike the lord’s perfect little killer, some of us are regular working stiffs without a mountain of cash to tuck ourselves into at night.”

“I’ll pay you for your trouble.”

Mongrel snorted. “It’s about the principle.” Number Three and Number Five, returning from their bloody business to stand beside their master, looked equally offended. It was downright eerie how well they synced up sometimes.

“I hate to break up your discussion,” Buck murmured, his lips gone bluish, “but I’m kind of… dying… down here. Any chance of that antidote?”

Will nodded, ignoring Mongrel’s further protests. He produced a small vial of clear liquid, unstoppered it with a flick of his thumb, and placed the top against Buck’s lips, tilting his chin up to help the fluid go down as he began pouring.

The Entertainer drank greedily. “Thanks,” he sighed once it was empty, weakly smacking his lips. He tried to move his arms, and frowned when they flopped right back down at his sides again. “You’re sure this stuff works, right?”

“It’s not an instant fix,” Will said, tucking the empty vial back in its place and replacing the satchel inside his Inventory. He stood up, growling at the fresh lines of pain marring his upper body. “You’ll be able to move normally again within half an hour. We’ll be long gone by then.”

Buck glanced around him. “You killed all my friends, you know. Real grateful that you’re sparing my life and all, but if you think it’s all water under the bridge…”

“You started it. Besides, you killed one of ours, too. I reckon we’re even.”

Buck sighed, looking up at the darkening sky. “Whatever. Let’s do this again sometime. Your house, next time.”

Will chuckled, standing up and dusting off his knees. “Sure. If you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment with a demon.”

They left Buck amid the corpses and entered into the warmth of the longhouse, which consisted of a single large hall filled with old benches and tables, a few of the latter laden with food and supplies. A great fire crackled in a hearth at the far wall. Mongrel’s insistent grumblings faded away once they saw the woman sprawled out before the fire on a pile of rugs, her back turned to them.

She looked over her shoulder at their approach, and a mischievous smile played in dangerous eyes. She rolled over, lounging with the easy grace of a housecat. Will felt clumsy under her gaze; unwieldy, somehow.

The woman—he could not help but think of her as one, even though he knew her true nature—was fully nude. She was slender and womanly, gray skin contrasting against black lips and black nipples. Startlingly yellow eyes blazed like the fire behind her, and long, dark hair fell in perfect ringlets about her, like it had been arranged just so. She was beautiful as a predator, beautiful in a way that made clear it should be appreciated only from afar if you wanted to keep all your limbs intact.

“I am Nyx,” the demon said in a husky half-sigh, head propped up in her hand. “It seems you boys have been fighting over me. I do so enjoy when humans murder each other for my affection.”

“I’m not here for your affection, sorry to say,” Will said, his throat suddenly dry. He scratched at his stitched-shut right eye, feeling the bumps of the heavy sutures keeping the lids together. “I’m here to make a bargain.”

Nyx studied sharp black fingernails, almost talons, with great interest. “Very well. If it intrigues, I’ll consider it.”

“I want to bring someone here from Earth.”

The demon looked up, a sweeping eyebrow cocked in surprise and amusement. “From Earth? To the Frontier? You realize that people only end up here one way, yes?”

“By dying, I know. Even so.”

“Why would you want to bring someone here anyway? I hate to disparage my own home, but it’s more or less the ass end of existence, don’t you think?”

“That’s my business.”

Nyx rolled her eyes. “Fine. Don’t tell me, then.” She thought about his request, taking her time; made not at all uncomfortable by her nudeness. “I’ve only ever heard rumors of someone making a deal like this, but I suppose it should be possible. The prospect is exciting, I’ll grant you that.” Her yellow eyes swiveled up; fixing him, pinning him in place. A cat eyeing a particularly tasty-looking mouse. “Of course, something like this is going to cost you. Not only do you have to get someone to fetch this poor victim you want ported over, you’ll also need to bribe the Tower custodian to get them through processing.”

Will nodded solemnly. “I’m willing to pay whatever it takes.”

The demon regarded him for a long moment, letting one claw trail across her smooth hip. A disconcerting smile spread across her face, revealing wickedly sharp top and bottom canines. “What is your name, dearest?”

“Will.”

“Very well, William. I’ll take on your request. Just tell me one thing first.”

Will shuffled uncomfortably. “What?”

“Why all this fuss for one human? Who are they, that you would go to such lengths?”

“Someone very special,” Will said without hesitation, forcing himself to meet the demon’s gaze without flinching. “Someone this world could use right now.”

The demon pursed her lips to hide a smirk, but did not do a very good job at it. “I see. So it’s a woman, then.”

Will did not reply.

Nyx sighed—somehow she did even that smugly. She stretched, slid gracefully to her feet, and padded barefoot off the furs onto the smooth stone floors, approaching the two men. “Shall we start talking about your end in all this? What are you willing to trade for such a monumental service?”

Will swallowed hard. I’ve always hated haggling.