The cry met Crow’s ears like nails against a blackboard. Shrill, raw and filled with more pain than emotion. It was a sound to freeze the blood in his heart and bring him whirling around with a desperate urgency.
He saw crimson vapour coiling in the air like smoke caught in a gale. Blood stained the ground, pooling and dripping with terrifying steadiness. Its source chilled him more.
Unity stood with his back to Crow, face hidden behind his head and posture stiff from the strength of magic. His arm was clear before him; outheld and half-straightened, with paling flesh and redenning fabric. Its veins emptying out into the pooling ichor at the boy’s feet.
A spear haft protruded from it, hand of steel meeting a fathom of wood where the tip was buried in him.
“What?”
The question said nothing, asked everything, yet Crow found himself unable to form words with any greater meaning. The sight before him drove thought from his mind.
“I’m sorry.” Came a voice.
Even as he looked into Ethi’s face and saw the moving of her lips in time with every word, he still searched for the real speaker.
“I’m sorry.” The girl said again. The red smoke thinned, then broke like fog banished by a fire. Her eyes welled with tears as the shaft of her spear began to tremble in Unity’s arm.
For a moment Crow felt nothing but a stupid pity for her. Then the girl’s eyes hardened.
Her face twisted tight, lips peeling back to bear teeth as the sanguine, magical fog thickened around her once more. The drool of blood leaking from Unity’s arm became a shower, spliced with scraps of cloth and raced from him by a scream of agony as the girl yanked her weapon free.
It spun in her hand, scattering gore like rain, and Crow reached for his magic.
He touched it as she took a step towards him, her speed making clear that she’d reach him before his power.
Unity fell down at a pace equal to Ethi’s rush forwards, and Crow glimpsed the metallic tip of her weapon as it whistled for him. He threw himself back, hearing it cut through air inches from his throat, then grunted as he landed.
The girl didn’t pause, her feet shifted and sent her darting forth once more. Her charge was interrupted as Unity raised a leg, catching her foot with his shin and tripping the girl with a sickening crack.
Crow rose as she stumbled, then rolled as she swung. Sand was cast into the air by her weapon scraping the ground.
He was on his feet by the time she brought it back around, leaping from a thrust.
The magic came to him so very slowly, perhaps two seconds. It might as well have been an age. Ethi pivoted, drew her weapon in close and rounded her shoulders to stab as she froze with a momentary tension.
She’s no faster than usual. Crow realised. The sudden comprehension came but fractionally before another skewering stab.
He leapt aside, shifting the sluggish blow’s mark by inches where he ought to have by hands.
Metal bit through the flesh of one side, tearing rather rather than cutting and wreathing Crow’s ribs in flame-hot agony before it slid along the bone and leapt free.
Ethi adjusted her grip masterfully, clearly well experienced with the weapon, and moved to bring it back around.
Halfway through its retreat, the spear slowed. The time it had taken to move inches now shifted it centimetres, barely-perceptible quiver born from a cautious human grip sharpened into clear focus as it grew glacial.
Magic brought Crow on her before she could move again.
His elbow crunched into Ethi's nose, sending her reeling. A wild stab threw edged steel at his face, but it seemed to drag in Crow’s perception like the creeping of a spider. He sidestepped, seizing the shaft with one hand and bringing the other down on the girl’s wrist.
The move was executed no worse than he’d ever managed under Galad’s watchful eye, and it brought Ethi’s fingers springing apart to leave the spear falling harmlessly from them.
She swung with a punch, and Crow ducked under it. His fists flew faster than hers twice over, but the force behind them seemed barely enough to faze the girl.
Of course. I saw how fast she was, it only makes sense she’s just as strong now.
Ethi recovered, barreling after Crow with a rain of punches and kicks. His speed advantage made defence a triviality, but the power behind each of her attacks gave it urgency.
Another blow met the girl’s face, faster by far than she could match, and no more effective than the others. She stepped back, eyes wide and glare wild as her nostrils flared with thunderous breaths.
“Why are you doing this?” Crow asked, finding the rush of fear and panic suddenly ignited in his veins by a flood of anger. Ethi was his teammate. His teammate.
He would know why that seemed to matter so little to her.
Teeth flashed in a feral snarl as all the softness of her face became edged and tough. The girl met his question with a challenging stare.
“Why do you think?” Ethi spat. “You read your scrying slate just as I read mine. Only one of us can move on, and the only chance I had of ensuring it was me was striking before you could realise that.”
She took a single step forward, then halted as a grunting from the side claimed both their attentions.
Unity forced himself to sit, body moving slow and shaky like an insect. Pain racked the boy’s face, twisting his mouth and burning in his eyes. Behind it was a rage stronger still. Crow found himself relieved to see a torn rag binding his gashed arm, strangling its veins and drying the well of blood.
“Excellent work getting her talking Crow,” he hissed, lips moving with a strain similar to the rest of him, “Now you grab her and I’ll rip her in half.”
Magic tightened around his good hand like capillaries contracting in a heart, and Crow found himself stepping towards the boy with hands raised.
“Hold on,” he began. Unity was speaking before another word could escape him.
“No, you hold her, Crow.” A hysterical note seemed to seize the artificial’s voice as he moved forwards, madness mixing with agony to throw his face into spasms.
“You can fucking try.” Ethi snarled, the spear was back in her hands, dancing dangerously in her grip amid a rain of spittle. She seemed to challenge Unity with the wildness in her eyes.
Crow sensed the violence in the air, felt it sting his nostrils like gunfire. It gave him haste.
“Both of you need to back off right now.” He barked, surprising himself with the strength in his voice. Neither of his teammates seemed to even notice it. “We can’t afford to fight amongst ourselves,” he continued. Unity drowned the next of his words in shrill, mocking laughter.
“Pit, Crow, tell me you aren’t so stupid that you think our little coterie didn’t fall apart at the seams the instant she opened my fucking arm up.”
“I think that we’re all being hasty here.” He tried, yet Ethi cut in before another word could escape him.
“No, I think one of us is trying to lure my guard down so that the other can fucking kill me.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Oh fuck you.” Snapped Unity, bitterness mixing with dangerous amusement in his voice. “The only reason your spear isn’t sticking out of his spine like a fencepost is because you’re as incompetent as you are serpentine.”
Ethi’s grip tightened further, hands turning sheet-white as the blood was squeezed from them. Her spear strained, then buckled, under the preternatural grip.
Crow took a step forward, raising his voice in a desperate attempt to recapture both her and Unity’s focus.
“We don’t need to fight at all!” He roared. “All of us can reach the second stage together, this is completely unnecessary.”
For a moment neither the artificial or Takawan moved. Then both heads turned to Crow.
Ethi’s brown eyes and Unity’s blue seemed indistinguishable as they stared at him, the intensity in both overshadowing all.
“You have five seconds to elaborate.” Unity said at last.
“Read your slates again.” Crow pressed, brandishing his own for emphasis. He saw both of them hesitate, then saw their eyes flicker down- bodies tense and muscles taut in suspicion of the other.
“Oh.” Said Unity, exhaling the words more than speaking them. He stared at his slate absently, though his eyes had slid across it half a dozen times at least. “Oh fuck.” He repeated.
Ethi stiffened, suspicion lining her face no less than before.
“Drop the dramatics and tell me what I’m supposed to be seeing.”
“What does the slate say specifically?” Unity asked, his embittered anger giving way to some of the usual irritation he reserved for questions.
“It says that only one of us can leave.”
“No,” he hissed, “it says keys will only let one person leave.”
He stared at the girl, but his glare seemed to bestow upon her no stroke of comprehension.
“There are multiple keys.” Crow cut in, finding himself quite tired of the conversation’s dragging pace. “It says keys, plural. And if each key can give one person passage from the stage, then-”
“We can all move on.” She gasped.
The wrathful crimson energies coalescing about Ethi vanished like blood diffusing into water.
Crow felt the pressure subside in his ears as her magic withdrew, and a moment later he let go of his own.
The instant his touch left it a burning rush of emotion assailed him.
All the terror that had been driven to the back of his mind returned with a vengeance, inflicting the fearful paralysis which might have spelled defeat just moments before. It was only made stronger by the absence of magical fortitude or apathy to dilute the terrible realisation.
She tried to run me through. I wasn’t even looking at her, and she tried to stab me.
He fought to control his breathing, fought harder still to control his thoughts. Ethi eyed him with a vulnerability that threatened to shock the focus from him.
“I’m sorry.” She said, and Crow could tell she meant it. The apology did nothing to cool his temper.
“I think it’s a bit late for that one.” Unity sneered, taking a step towards the girl.
The fear that twisted her face was what dragged Crow from his fearful stupor.
“Stop.” He called out, levelling a stare at the artificial. Unity turned to meet it, confusion etched deep across his features.
“This isn’t the time to fight amongst ourselves, we need to focus on the task.”
“We can focus on the task when there isn’t a spear aimed at our backs.” Countered Unity, rounding on Crow with a look of utter amazement.
“I attacked because I knew I couldn’t beat either of you and thought I needed to.” Ethi cut in. “There’s no reason for me to do so now.”
“Wonderful!” Unity grinned, then dropped his face into a solemn and pitiless stare. “Crow and I have reason enough ourselves.”
Crow moved towards the boy, Ethi moved further from both of them.
“You’re injured.” He said, forcing his own bitterness down. “We can’t afford to fight her as we are now.”
His side stung sharply at the mention of wounds.
“And what makes you so sure she’ll leave it up to us?” Snapped Unity.
“Because there’s no reason for her not to. I can see that, why can’t you?”
From the corner of his eye he saw Ethi’s grip adjust on the haft of her spear. He silently urged the girl not to bring forth her power in a panic, to remain still and quiet while he difused things.
“Fine.” Unity relented. “But I’m not turning my back to that bitch, if you don’t want to fight her then she can fuck off and make her own way into the second stage.”
It was only then that Ethi spoke, her voice shrill and unsteady as it warred with emotion.
“I can help you. I-”
“No.” Crow cut in. “We can’t afford to fight you, but I’m not going to argue more to keep working alongside you. Leave us be and we won’t chase you, that’s all you get.”
His own arguments rang in his ears as he said it. Ethi would surely not betray them without cause, even if she had when thinking it necessary. Unity’s wound made her aid more vital than ever.
And still he couldn’t bear to face her spear with his back.
“Alright.” The girl said, eyes dropping and shoulders stooping as all fight left them. She turned wordlessly, taking off at a jog.
Crow found himself uncaring as he watched her leave. He hadn’t missed her eyes flickering to the key in his hand, nor the momentary consideration flashing within them.
He shifted his gaze to Unity, opened his mouth to speak.
The blast smothered his voice before it could even ring out.
Sand flew in all directions, kicked free a half dozen paces from Crow and hurtling bullets. The air struck him as a wall, rattling his teeth and sending stars to swim in his vision. A wave of heat touched his skin like scalding water, shrivelling hairs.
Then the weightlessness overcame him as his feet left the ground, sending his stomach shifting and flipping for several moments while the wind rushed by his ears.
Crow gasped as he hit the ground shoulders-first, legs continuing their flight and folding him over as he rolled. The world became a blurred mess to his vision as tears and pain distorted it, and when at last he felt himself stop it was all he could do to avoid crying out from the heap in which he lay.
His ears rang, his head pounded and his lungs spasmed as they fought to replace the air his fall had driven from them. Crow scrambled inwardly for his magic, heart surging at its touch before falling as he realised how slow it would come.
Move. He urged himself, pitting will against useless, slackening muscles. You need to move.
Fighting the wave of nauseous pain that ran down his body, Crow moved. He forced himself to kneel, then placed a foot flat.
He turned his position to a dive at the sound of rapid footsteps closing from one side.
Sand peppered his face and tongue. Crow spat it out, moved from dive to roll and leapt to a stand. He spun to see a boy some years older than him barreling forwards with the urgency and focus of a bloodhound.
Four heartbeats until his magic sparked to life, and the attacking mystic reached him in less than two.
A punch sailed for him so fast it blurred to a streak in Crow’s vision. His dodge brought him inches to one side, his block caught knuckle with forearm and left him spinning.
For the second time in a day he was weightless, and the ground made no softer a blanket than the first.
Three heartbeats. Or was that two?
Crow was prepared for the fall, shifting his legs and turning the impact into yet another roll. He felt agony run along his wounded shoulder like acidic lightning, and then he was up again.
He threw himself back as the boy charged him, his dodges quickly turning to stumbles before failing altogether against the frenzied assault. Fingers tightened around his wrist with strength enough to make the bone creak in protest, and with a single tug the boy hurled him to the ground.
The world seemed to slow as Crow twisted through the air, and even the steel of Utalis and ferocity of Cutaris fell second to the relief of feeling his magic rush forth.
Almost as soon as his back hit the ground he was moving back to a stand, the arcane proving a far greater propellent than muscle. He saw the boy’s eyes widen, his fist fly wild and reflexive.
It seemed so slow, suddenly. And Crow shifted from the blow’s path almost leisurely. He saw the shock on his enemy’s face, the sudden fear that came with realising how their battle had changed.
The expression disappeared beneath pain as Crow answered with a blow of his own.
He curled his lips at the disgusting sensation of flesh giving way as his fist sank into the mystic’s stomach, then stepped back as the boy stumbled away and began to fold around his gut.
For a moment pity stayed his hand. Then another pained twang ran from his jarred shoulder, and Crow twisted around to snap a kick out into the boy’s side. He felt something shift beneath the skin - buckling bones - sending his enemy down. The boy lay still, save the trembles of agony and shock.
Crow whirled without a moment’s pause, turning to see Unity rolling away from a girl whose dark hair was streaked with grey. He didn’t wait to assess the state of his teammate, only charged in towards his foe.
She turned as he came, eyes widening and fingers flexing.
Too late Crow recognised the sizzling energy about them, realised it was she who had produced the blast that had announced the attack. Five paces separated them, he cleared them at once.
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[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/483986979902717973/1152946957237620826/KARMA_ALABASTER.png?width=280&height=498]
Udrebam Sieve Advertisement Poster, Location: Udrebam.
Note: Advert includes likeness of Lavastro Kaiosynai, colloquially referred to as "Karma Alabaster" or "The princess of Dewlz" in Unix.
Circa 1,195 I.E.
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