35. Rematch

Kiren brandished his greatsword and discarded the scabbard to the side. He ran towards the Villains alongside Haden, the big man barrelling across the marble floor like a born sprinter. He found himself hard-pressed trying to keep up.

The Villains were still reeling with surprise. Although, unlike last time, they were armed—Hyena with a baton, Snapjaw a straight crowbar of black iron, and Magpie a nasty-looking hook which he swung on the end of a rope.

Just like they had agreed, Haden launched himself at Snapjaw, opening with a straight right. The massive turtle creature brought up his hand just in time, catching the blow and redirecting the force so that Haden was sent stumbling past.

Kiren reached his own quarry and swallowed down a gulp of cold dread. The furry beast towering over him snarled with rage and launched into an attack. He swung his baton in a horizontal arc. Kiren ducked under the attack, but Hyena swept out with a low kick, using his long legs to his advantage.

Kiren couldn’t make enough distance, and the kick brought his legs out from under him. He fell on his back but kept a firm grip on his greatsword.

“Why do you keep coming back for more?” Hyena howled, readying for a stomp.

Kiren rolled out of the way and jumped back on his feet. He took a step back and began building momentum with the greatsword, swinging it in a tight figure-eight pattern.

Hyena went in to grab it, but the blade cut up his palm. He recoiled, snarling and showing sharp teeth.

Kiren glanced over at Haden’s direction, just as he ducked under one of Snapjaw’s slow sweeps with his crowbar and delivered a devastating uppercut that sent the big turtle reeling.

Kiren grinned.

This isn’t going so bad.

Too late, he realized that Magpie had snuck around his left. He tried to adjust, but the black-cloaked man threw out his hook, flying quick as a striking snake.

It sailed past him, but the rope suddenly went rigid, then coiled back up. The hook caught Kiren in the back of the leg, and Magpie gave it a good yank.

Kiren fell with a curse.

It was the Villain who was grinning, now.

Lace came in with nimble steps, spinning a humming gale-staff between her hands. The invisible air jet coming out of its front tore open a large gash in Magpie’s roomy cloak. She kicked him in the stomach, and while the thief was stumbling, she cut the rope to his hook.

Kiren nodded in silent thanks, but Lace was already occupied with Magpie as the Villain returned for more.

Kiren had his own problems.

Hyena came in with an overhead baton strike, carrying enough force to crack open his skull. Kiren let go of his greatsword and tucked into a backward somersault which landed him back on his feet.

The baton hit the floor where his head had just been and threw up a spray of stone chunks.

Hyena struck once more and Kiren dodged towards him, slipping past his giant arm and in towards his chest. He yanked out the hook which had gotten tangled in his hose and used it as a raking weapon, managing to draw a bloody cut down Hyena’s chest, right next to the ugly, vaguely rounded scar Hulda’s spear had left on him.

Hyena gritted his teeth, and desperation shone in his eyes.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone!” he said.

He flailed with his baton, putting a wall of attacks between the two of them, but inadvertently leaving a big gap between his legs as he widened his stance. Kiren threw himself and slid between his, only narrowly avoiding a strike to the head. He jumped up on the other side and sank the hook deep into the lower part of Hyena’s shoulder. Putting his entire weight into it, he drew a pained scream from the creature. He used the hook for a handhold and began to climb onto the creature.

Hyena dropped his weapon and reached behind him, trying to pull Kiren off, but his hands grasped at air.

“No! I won’t let you!” Snapjaw bellowed, voice echoing in the large hall.

Kiren clambered onto Hyena’s shoulders and wrapped his legs around the man’s neck, ready to choke him out.

He felt something grab a hold of his waist, and a moment later he was flung through the air with a sickening twist in his stomach.

He landed hard, feeling one of his arms crack, and he slid a good distance on the slick floor.

Snapjaw bounded after him, crowbar raised high.

“I won’t let you hurt my friend!” Snapjaw shouted, spittle flying.

Kiren, too dazed to dodge, brought up his hands to block the blow.

The crowbar shattered his arms with a heavy thunk, and he was thrown back against the floor.

*****

Lace kept her moves conservative against Magpie.

They circled each other like a pair of wolves, each sizing up the other.

“How are those arms healing?” he asked with a nasty, yellow-toothed grin.

Lace struck with the gale-staff, and Magpie dodged away from it. She made an overhead swing, putting more air into the base of the staff this time. The air jet coming out the front lengthened, cutting a slash across Magpie’s nose and cheek like an invisible blade.

“Better than your face,” Lace said with a smile.

Magpie touched his cheek, and his fingers came away with blood. He made a bitter grimace.

“Your Guild has bigger problems than me,” he said. “If you let me take this money, I’ll be out of your hair forever. I’ll even tell you a secret for free.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“There’s a storm coming. A bad one. That’s why I’m leaving the city, along with every other bastard who has half a brain. The facade Paragon has put up will come crumbling down any day now.”

“What?” Lace asked with a snort. “Peace? Justice? That’s all going to crumble? Not while Aribel’s got Heroes to protect it!”

She went in with another swipe and Magpie jumped out of the way, giving her staff a wider berth this time.

“I’ll take that as a no,” Magpie said. “Well, suit yourself.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lace saw Kiren being thrown through the air. Almost as soon as he had landed, Snapjaw came after him. He tried to block, but the turtle man crushed his arms with that crowbar.

Lace cried out and made to go towards him.

A piece of glinting metal zipped past her face. It halted suddenly in the air in front of her and rebounded, flying straight into her stomach.

She screwed her eyes shut as a wave of nauseating pain came over her. Her trembling hands closed around the grip of a knife, slick with blood spilling out of the hole it had punched into the metal plates of her brigandine.

“You’re out of your league, kiddo,” Magpie said, his footsteps echoing behind her. “Call yourselves Heroes all you like, but I’m the hero of the Slog! And I will not be bested by imperialist scum like you.”

Lace looked back. It was all she could do to keep her shaky legs from buckling.

Magpie came towards her, holding a slender knife in each hand.

“It’s over kiddo. Admit that, so I don’t have to finish you off. That’d look bad on me, y’know? People don’t like a killer.”

Tommyn was coming up behind him with silent steps, spear pointed at the Villain.

Lace grinned.

Tommyn, you beautiful man.

“Brave until the end, huh?” Magpie asked. “I like that. You’re a showman, just like me. If things had panned out different, we might’ve been—”

Lace’s eyes flared wide. She threw her arms up, ignoring the wrenching pain wracking her midsection, and with a yell, she let fly the wind that ached to be released.

Magpie flew back, feet sliding across the stone. He put his arms up and almost managed to regain his footing when Tommyn sank the tip of his spear into the man’s right side.

He squealed and jumped to the left, the blade slipping out of his flesh. He discarded one of his knives and clutched his injured side. He threw the other at Tommyn, the slender blade flipping through the air.

Tommyn scrambled out of the way, but the knife circled back around and caught him in the forearm on the rebound—below where the chainmail ended—slicing open skin and muscle before returning to Magpie’s hand.

Lace tried to conjure up another blast of wind, but her Power wouldn’t obey. Neither would her body. The gale-staff slipped out of her hand, making a loud twang as it hit the floor, and she fell to her knees.

“Damn it all,” Magpie hissed. “Just one last job. Why can it never be easy with you people, huh?”

He pulled a small glass vial out of his cloak. He smashed it on the ground, and a large cloud of red smoke filled the air around him, completely obscuring his features.

The smoke vial he stole from me, Lace realized.

When the smoke cleared, Magpie was already halfway across the room. He staggered, clutching his side, towards the end of the ballroom.

Towards the vault.

*****

Kiren crawled away on his back, pushing himself with his legs while his arms dragged uselessly on the ground.

Snapjaw lumbered after him, crowbar raised in both hands.

“I thought you were our friend!” he shouted. “You were our friend, and you hurt him!”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Kiren said.

Snapjaw’s stiff face contorted with rage. “Liar.”

Haden bundled into his side full force, digging his head into the creature’s ribs and knocking them both to the floor.

“I’ve got you, buddy!” Haden said. He cracked a blow across Snapjaw’s face, whose head went lolling.

Kiren flopped onto his stomach, teeth gritted against the splinters of red-hot agony radiating through his arms. One tiny movement at a time, he managed to get on his knees, then stood on wobbly feet.

As seconds passed, his arms began to mend themselves. The bones drifted back together in his body and the bruises faded before they had fully formed.

He looked over and saw Lace on the floor, a knife sunk deep into her body.

Kiren ran over to her and slid to his knees next to her. She looked up at him, eyelids almost flickering shut, and gave him a dazed smile.

“I’m fine…” she said. “Get Magpie. He’s going for… the vault.”

She looked pale.

“I’m going to stay with you and make sure you’re okay,” Kiren said firmly. “I won’t let them get to you.”

He clutched her to his chest, soaking his shirt through with blood.

He looked up quickly to survey the situation. Haden still had Snapjaw on the ground, the two wrestling for control as they traded blows. Hyena had managed to dislodge the hook from his shoulders and was panting on his hands and knees.

“Kiren, you s-should go,” Tommyn said. “S-Someone has to make sure Magpie doesn’t get into the vault, and your Po-Power is best suited for taking him on. Haden and I will keep Lace safe until help arrives. I promise. I’ve already sent for the g-guards.”

Kiren hesitated.

Magpie wasn’t his mission. As long as Hyena and Snapjaw were subdued, he would keep his position at the Lodge. His first priority was making sure Lace was safe, though.

“Please,” Tommyn pleaded. Cats began to leap down from the rafters and spring out of open doorways, crowding around the green-haired man. “T-There’s not much time. If he has some other way of cracking open the vault, then… H-Haden will be blamed if the fortune is lost.”

“I thought you weren’t going to use your little animal friends,” Kiren said.

“Yeah, well…” Tommyn murmured. “I guess I realized th-this is an ‘everyone together’ kinda thing.”

Hyena got on his feet and shambled towards Kiren and the others. His teeth were bared in a vicious snarl, eyes narrowed to slits.

A pair of strays stalked around the side of the ballroom. They leapt onto the furry behemoth from behind, clawing up his back. While he tried to get them off, dancing around like a fool, three more latched onto his front and climbed up his legs.

“Go,” Lace said, nodding firmly.

Kiren’s stomach flipped end over end.

Stay or leave?

He looked over at Haden, who was still fighting Snapjaw. Having gained the upper hand, he pummeled the turtle with punch after punch.

Oh, fuck it.

Kiren stood.

He cast one final glance at Lace before taking off towards the end of the ballroom.

I’ll kill those two if anything happens to her.