Chapter 11: Betrayal

“You bastard!” Adriana seethed. She fought to get the crab off of her, but Synto planted his foot on it and pressed down hard.

“Yeah, but I’ll still be the one who becomes a God. Meanwhile you’ll…Well, maybe Calix will welcome you to the hereafter, maybe he won’t. Either way, you won’t be a pain in my ass anymore.”

Davos groaned on the ground. His hands reached around blindly, but he wasn’t getting up. Mykos watched with glee on his face, but otherwise he stayed out of it.

Adriana wasn’t afraid so much as alarmed. She knew Synto to be capable of it, but that didn’t mean he could pull it off. “It figures that you couldn’t take me in a fair fight, you coward.”

Synto scratched the back of his head with his club. “Oh no, you called me a coward. What ever will I do to recover? Oh, right.” He raised his weapon.

Adriana struggled against the weight on her, to no avail. Her stomach dropped. She was going to die, right after she finally got power. She was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Davos reached forward again, and sent a blast of air straight up at Synto. It wasn’t enough to hurt him and never would be, but with the right angle it sent him sprawling backwards. It bought Adriana the time she needed to peel herself from under the crab. Mykos drew his daggers and charged her, but she slammed her fist into his chest with all of her strength. He halted, and then crumpled to the ground, gasping for air.

Synto recovered fast, but the cocky smile was gone. “Foolish, Davos. I would’ve let you live.”

“No you wouldn’t,” Davos said through a wavering groan.

“No, probably not. Well, Adriana. You wanted that fair fight? Let’s see what you got!”

Synto wasn’t the most physically intimidating man in the world. Adriana was bigger, in better shape, and in the prime of her life…while he was starting to leave his. But his relentless confidence, like he knew something she didn’t, did get under her skin sometimes. It was enough to make her take his challenge without much needed prudence.

“I can’t wait to pry my Divinity off of you,” Adriana said before she hurled Smoldersap his way.

He didn’t dodge so much as lightly move his head out of the way while he continued forward. Adriana threw another batch, this time so close she thought there was no way he could avoid it. Faster than she could register, he spun away from the attack and kept closing the distance. She drew her sword, but it wasn’t in time to stop his attack.

His club crashed against her head hard enough to make her vision blank for a second. Then she hit the ground. Adriana threw everything she had into rolling to the side, but it took longer than normal for her body to cooperate. The club went into the sand right next to her head.

Adriana lashed out blindly with her sword, but her opponent just stepped over the attack like it was nothing. He kicked her in the side, and finally her body remembered how to move and rolled further. She got back up in a fighter’s crouch in time to parry Synto’s next strike.

The impact shot up her arms, harder than she would expect, but his mystery of vulnerability made the most of every strike. Any weakness he could exploit, he would. And that was with whatever ability the second Warmaster Divinity he picked up granted. Adriana was strong now, but as they circled one another, doubt crept in.

“You’re fierce, but you fight like a wild animal. You have no discipline, no cunning, no nothing but brute force,” Synto said as they danced their dance. “Greater Divinity is wasted on you. If it wasn’t me, it would be some other man killing you and taking what they want.”

Adriana spat on the ground. “You say that, but you have yet to kill me. You got one hit in, and it didn’t do shit. You might be fast, but all I need is one good hit to bring you down.”

Synto’s grin grew wider. “Maybe. Good luck hitting me.” He feinted, the oldest trick in the book, and Adriana flinched. He leapt forward and swung his club in harsh, diagonal blows that Adriana had to either block or avoid. It offered her an opportunity. She reached out with her left hand and gathered her strongest ability. The Flashfire gathered in her palm, but Synto seized her by the wrist. He twisted, and the blue fire floated through the air until it landed on the sand.

There was a hiss and a small patch of glass where it hit. The effort was wasted, and cost her valuable energy. Adriana fought to get out of his grip, but he had leverage on her. He grinned, then slammed his forehead into her nose. Stars filled her vision, but she managed to catch herself before she fell.

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And just like that they both backed up, waiting for the other to make a strike. Davos had managed to get to his feet, but he looked like he wanted to puke. Likewise, Mykos stood behind Synto, knives out, waiting for instructions.

Adriana’s eyes flitted between the two of them. It was possibly dirty, but there was no such thing as a fair fight. Her left hand blackened once more. Synto saw it and laughed.

“Going to throw your tar at me? Go ahead. My new Divinity means you’ll never hit me.” Synto twirled his club tauntingly.

Adriana smiled. She flung the Smoldersap not at Synto, but at Mykos. Time seemed to slow down as his eyes widened and he realized what she was doing. The teen didn’t register until it was too late and the sticky black fire flew his way.

Synto swung his club down as fast as he could. He intercepted the Smoldersap, but not before a piece landed on Mykos’ chest and another on Synto’s hand.

To her supreme gratification, Mykos let out a surprised, pained cry and clawed at his chest. Synto’s reaction was much more subdued, but he did drop his club and wave his hand around. Adriana launched herself forward, her fist raised high in the air.

But no matter how fast she had become, Synto had advanced and matched her speed. More than that, his new gift gave him an edge. His entire body shifted out of the way, and he grabbed a fistful of her hair.

“You stupid girl. No matter what you do, I see what will happen and I have all the time in the world to change it. You were never going to win this match.”

Adriana pulled, but Synto’s grip was like iron. Fear hit her then, that she might have been outclassed. Through no fault of her own, he must’ve gotten the one power that would’ve stopped her.

Just as she went to pull away again, he released her and danced backward from Davos’ wild sword swing. Behind him, Mykos fell to the ground and rolled to put out the Smoldersap. Even with the second ascension enhancing her body beyond human limits, Adriana was almost tapped out. She was hurt, exhausted, and drained from the ongoing battle. Synto seemed fine, and even eager to get back to her.

“Let’s go,” Davos shouted, shaking her from her thoughts. He didn’t look so good, but he was on his feet.

“What? We need to finish this,” Adriana said, raising her sword.

Davos shook his head, though it looked like it hurt him. “Those who fight and run away, live to fight another day.”

“I’m not a coward.” Adriana gaped at him, but looked over to Synto, who knelt and slapped the fire out on Mykos. He smiled back at her, looking completely at ease and well rested. He never did join the fights until after everyone else did the heavy lifting.

“Call me what you want, but let’s get out of here.” Davos took a deep breath and held out his hands. Wind blew away from him, kicking up sand and rocks and sending them at their two foes. It wasn’t enough to hurt or stop anyone, let alone someone like Synto.

It was enough to get the sand in their eyes and mouths and set them coughing. Davos relented and took off in the direction of their boat. Adriana looked between the two groups, then stowed her sword and gave chase. She didn’t like running away, but even she had to admit it was a good idea.

The boat waited for them on the shore, both pulled up past the surf and tied down. Davos dealt with the knot, while Adriana set her shoulder against the end and pushed. She prided herself on being able to do it alone before, and now it was even easier. Davos took the rope and jumped inside as she pushed them out into the water.

She managed to get in right as Davos yanked on a rope and pulled the sail taut. He quickly wrapped it around a knob on the side and tied it. The boat was big enough for maybe six people, if they liked each other. They had enough provisions to last them, especially with two fewer people to worry about.

The last thing left was for Davos to brace himself against the special bench set up for him and to direct his own personal wind against the sail. The sail caught it, and the boat cut across the water, leaving the shore behind.

Adriana looked behind them. Synto and Mykos came up to the shore, but it was too late. Her heart soared at the look of murderous rage on their faces. She couldn’t help but kiss her hand and wave at them.

“You’re dead!” Mykos screamed as their forms swiftly shrank. “No matter where you go, I can find you!”

Adriana opened her mouth to shout, but Davos shook his head. She stopped, and let herself drop to the floor. The boat rose and fell as it was propelled forward. Then a thought hit her, and she groaned.

“What?” Davos asked, dropping the wind and pulling on the sail again to change the direction ever so slightly.

“The loot,” Adriana groaned. “We got the boat, but they have all the loot. Except for me, we have nothing to show for this.”

Davos shot her an exasperated look. “Your hands are permanently on fire because of your Godmark. You’re going to attract attention anywhere we go, and will probably increase the chance of people trying to rob us or take your Divinity. We have plenty to show for it. We can always find more haemar and Bestia and little treasures to sell later. For now, we’re alive, and maybe there’s no way for them off the island. Not like it’s inhabited.”

Adriana gave it some thought, and then let herself kick back and rest. “Maybe you’re right,” she allowed. “But it only gets harder from here. This is my first taste of power, and it’s got me hungry for more. I bet by the end of the year, I could be a full Demigod! And maybe we can get you some Divinity too, if you stop avoiding it.”

Davos said nothing, but she didn’t mind. She let her eyes close and felt the warm sun on her skin. It was a beautiful morning, and she badly needed a nap. Within seconds, the rocking of the boat put Adriana to sleep.