"Haha!", Ablee yelled. The fake Karich threw up a massive hand, grasping for her. Clinging tightly to his neck, she twisted her body, letting out a raucous howl as she avoided his grasp.
“Not today, bastard!” Zeph’s voice cut through the din. BANG, Applause barked, and a bullet slammed into Karich's knuckles. Stone splinters flew as he swung his arm wildly, howling.
"Thanks, witch!” Ablee yelled, her voice electric. She didn't spare a glance behind her, too intent on battering the head of her father's stone facsimile.
The storm intensified, whipping furiously through the commotion. It battered Karich, his body becoming a canvas for the rainbow of chalky colors the villagers left behind. Vibrant streaks of red, gold, and blue coated its surface.
Zeph, breathing heavily, reloaded Applause.
Throwing a quick glance towards the door, she caught sight of Rinval, the collar of his cloak pulled tight across the lower half of his face. He met her gaze, and the room shrank, tightening around the chest wound that slowly glutted out her resolve.
“Huhah,” he chuckled, his tone as grating as sandpaper. “What's the matter, coming to terms with your mortality?”
Zeph gritted her teeth, trying to steady herself. The pull of his influence gnawed at her focus, clouding her thoughts and making every glance in his direction feel like staring into the sun. Her shoulder's incision burned with every breath, her body screaming for respite.
“You’re lucky I can’t see straight,” she growled, taking to her feet and stumbling in his direction, her gaze on the floor. She threw a wild swing with Applause's butt, which he sidestepped easily, his laughter cutting like a knife.
Rhody skirted the cell to avoid the golem's erratic movements. With some distance established, she dropped her pack to the ground with a thud. Rummaging through it, her movements were purposeful but frantic. She pulled out a bulky clothesiron, its wooden handle well worn from maintaining Zeph's immaculate appearance.
She gripped the iron tightly, her small frame taut with determination. Keeping to the chamber's edge, she crept toward Rinval. Her breath hitched as she rounded his flank.
Zeph noticed her approach out of the corner of her eye. She glared at the girl, her expression begging the question, “What the hell are you going to do with that?” while pushing herself to maintain her assault and Rinval's attention.
Rhody bent her knees and popped up into the air, raising the iron high and bringing it down toward Rinval’s back. He twisted at the last moment, the blow grazing his arm but doing little of substance.
“Amateurs,” Rinval sneered, spinning his polearm in a wide arc to keep both of them at bay, "Your employers must really hate you, sending you on such an ill-conceived errand." Zeph was forced to step back, her grip tightening on Applause.
“I can’t get a bead on him!” Zeph snarled, frustration boiling over. “Looking at him is like—”
Rinval took a step forward; his presence was overwhelming, his voice smooth and relentless. “Like fighting a rip-tide."
----------------------------------------
Ablee clung to the golem as it thrashed wildly. Her iron-coated fists pounded against its head, cracks spider-webbing outward with each strike. She grinned through gritted teeth, the force of each blow reverberating up her arms.
“Go ahead!” she taunted. “Try and smash me! I dare you!”
It obliged, slamming its back—and Ablee along with it—into the nearest wall. The stone rippled, and Ablee's body submerged into it. As he leaned back forward, she emerged unscathed, still perched and ready for another assault.
The golem roared, its rage vibrating through the air. It swung its arm back again, its hand narrowly missing as Ablee ducked low and delivered another punishing strike to its fractured head.
“Come on now, you poor excuse for a Dad!” Ablee shouted, her voice ringing with exhilaration. “You’re barely making me work!”
The storm still swirled in chaotic bursts, its chalky wind pummeling the Karich's form. Vibrant colors seeped deeper into the golems cracks.
----------------------------------------
Zeph sidestepped a swing from Rinval’s polearm, her breath coming in shallow gasps. Rhody darted in again, swinging the iron with surprising force for someone her size. This time, it connected with Rinval’s wrist, eliciting a hiss of annoyance as his grip momentarily faltered.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“Nice work Rhody!” Zeph called, “Keep at it!"
Rinval's polearm swung in a wide arc, and Rhody pulled back just in time to avoid it. “You're supposed to be fighting these guys!” she shot back at Zeph.
Zeph raised Applause, but the swirling disorientation brought on by Rinval’s presence threw her aim. BANG! Zeph muttered a curse under her breath as the shot went wide.
Ablee, meanwhile, rode out another of the golem's violent thrashes. Her relentless assault did not slow. Each strike against its head landed with an audible crunch, the fractures in its surface growing wider, more jagged.
“Time to crack this egg!” Ablee shouted, laughter bubbling out between her words. She felt its movements slowing, turning desperate. Its strength waned under the combined assault of the storm and her iron fists.
“Zeph!” Rhody called out, sharp and urgent. She had her iron raised defensively as Rinval cleaved strike after strike in her direction. “Help!?”
The chaos around Rhody began to feel distant and slow, like the world had been submerged in thick syrup. Her breath steadied as the storm of movement congealed into a tableau of possibility. She realized, this sensation— she was too frightened to recognize it earlier. It was Clarity, the gift of an Ace of Wands. I'm on a path! she squealed internally.
She felt it thrumming within her, igniting her senses and sharpening her focus. The frantic energy of just moments before seeped out of her pores, replaced with a dutiful calm. She knew what she had to do: get Zeph a clean shot at Rinval.
Her eyes darted across the room, cataloging every angle, every surface. Zeph circled him warily, her revolver in hand, but her stance faltering. Rhody saw it—the subtle tilt of Zeph’s frame, the way her shoulders swayed with each shallow breath. Zeph was barely holding on.
Rhody clenched her jaw, her fingers tightening around the iron in her hand. The stone walls of the room loomed around her, their unyielding surfaces mocking her desperate calculations. A straight shot at Rinval was impossible; Zeph’s hesitation and Rinval’s deft movements wouldn't let it happen. A missed bullet could ricochet and strike Ablee, Zeph, or herself.
But a controlled ricochet...
Her gaze fell to the iron in her hand, its scuffed surface reflecting the flickering torchlight. The realization struck her with the force of a thunderclap. She could make this work.
Rhody took a deep breath and shifted her weight, stepping back to position herself. She angled the iron carefully, its face tilted to catch the bullet just right. Her pulse pounded in her ears, but her grip remained steady. She glanced up at Zeph.
“Zeph!” she shouted, her voice cutting through the din. Time stretched as Zeph’s head snapped toward her, her golden hair haloing across her face. Rhody didn't waste a second, raising the iron slightly and then shifting her gaze from it to Rinval. Her meaning was clear: Here. Shoot here.
Zeph’s brow furrowed, the weight of Rhody’s plan crashing into her like a blow. “Rhody, no,” she growled, shaking her head as if to dispel the idea. Her grip on Applause tightened, but she didn't raise it. “You’re in the line of fire!”
“Trust me!” Rhody snapped, her voice firm, louder than she’d ever known it to be. “You can do this!”
Zeph hesitated; her instincts warred with her exhaustion. Her aim hadn't been steady since the fight began. Rinval paced lazily toward her, his polearm poised like a tailor's needle. His every step radiated oppressive weight.
“If I miss...” Zeph growled, her voice barely audible over the storm.
Rhody's eyes locked onto Zeph's like a flare through the haze of Rinval's presence. “You're Zeph, you don’t miss!”
Zeph’s expression shifted, her lips pressing into a tight line. She exhaled sharply, her resolve hardening. “Hold tight!” she shouted, raising Applause. Her finger curled around the trigger, and for a brief moment, the world was completely silent.
BANG!
The bullet tore from the revolver, a streak of silver against the tumultuous backdrop of the room. It pounded the iron in Rhody's hands, sending shockwaves through her body that made her teeth ache. The collision rang out like a bell, and the bullet ricocheted cleanly, flying toward its true target.
The shot blew through his hand with a sickening crack, shattering bone. His polearm clanged against the floor, and he howled in pain, his voice raw and venomous.
Zeph didn't wait. She surged forward, her exhaustion forgotten in a rush of adrenaline. Applause shifted in her grip, and as Rinval clutched his wounded hand, she brought the butt of the revolver down hard on his head. The impact was sharp, brutal, and final. Rinval collapsed to the ground in an awkward heap.
The sudden absence of Rinval's spiritual pressure was exhilarating. Zeph felt like she'd just clawed her way through six feet of dirt to take a breath of fresh air. She lowered Applause, her shoulders heaving. The girl Ablee let out a wild holler from the other side of the room, clearly ecstatic to be punishing her father's imitator.
“They taught you that shit at the temple?” Zeph asked Rhody, her tone laced with respect.
Rhody exhaled shakily, the weight of the moment crashing over her now that her new-found clarity had passed. She forced a wavering grin. “No, that's why I'm here.”
Zeph's eyes flicked to Rinval’s unconscious form before settling on Ablee and the golem. “I guess we should help the brat...”
Rhody nodded, the iron still clutched tightly in her hand. Her body ached, and her nerves were frayed, but she felt a flicker of pride. I did it.
----------------------------------------
The golem staggered, its towering frame cracking under the relentless assault. Its fractured surface spilled powdery chalk dust with every lumbering step. Ablee perched precariously on its back, the vibrations crawling up her stony arms like spiderwebs of tension. She gritted her teeth, hammering blow after blow onto his crumbling head, her legs locked tightly around its neck.
It roared—a hollow, grinding sound—and suddenly lurched toward the windowed wall. Its glowing eyes fix on the jagged cliff-side beyond as it gathers the last of its waning strength. Ablee glanced up, her smirk faltering as she realized its intention.
"Oh no you don't!" she growled, pulling back her fist for another strike.
Before she could think to pull herself free, it charged forward, its massive weight breaking through the keep's outer wall. A shower of stone and dust surrounded them as they plummeted.