Alexander roared as he grabbed the face changer’s wrists, holding him immobile as Kira dropped from above.
She swung, the angle wrong as she missed taking its neck. She settled for severing an arm from its torso.
The face changer wailed. It thrashed in Alexander’s grip, breaking free.
Kira jumped back, landing on another block of ki that lifted her into the air and out of the creature’s reach.
It blundered forward, slashing at the block and destroying it.
Kira was already stepping onto the next as it appeared a foot to her right.
Alexander distracted the face changer with a well-timed punch. The leash he kept on himself snapped as he began to rain down blow after blow as a berserker’s rage claimed him.
Kira circled, waiting for her chance.
Each blow from Alexander taught the face changer how to strengthen his skin, and all too soon the battle began to shift in the creature’s favor.
Alexander tired as his fists slowed. The face changer grinned in victory.
Now.
Kira lunged forward, swiping at the face changer’s neck. Her sword cut cleanly through the creature’s neck, its head rolling off its body.
Alexander, still lost in his berserker rage, stared dumbly.
Kira smirked. “Did I keep up well enough for you?”
Alexander’s berserker lifted its lip in a sneer before plunging his fist into the face changer’s back. Seconds later his hand emerged covered in blood, a stone the size of an egg held in his palm.
“The seed,” Kira said.
It was amazing how something so small could cause so much death.
Kira plucked it from his hand, holding the mottled colored stone up in front of her. Pinks blended into metallic golds and purples. Strangely beautiful, it whispered promises of power and glory.
Kira closed her fist around it and concentrated. “You are not needed.”
Cracks spread along its surface like spiderwebs as Kira tightened her grip, bringing her soul’s breath to bear.
The seed gave way, becoming dust. Kira opened her hand, tipping it to dump the seed’s remains on the ground.
“One down.”
Alexander’s steps were heavy as he joined her. “Two more left.”
A boom rent the air.
Kira and Alexander looked over to find Finn a short distance away. He was covered in blood from head-to-toe, a difficult-to-read expression on his face as he stared at the body of the first face changer.
“I take it back. There’s two down. One to go,” Kira corrected, taking in the mangled remains.
Finn’s feat was impressive.
Kira and Alexander had to work together to take down their face changer. Finn had done the same on his own.
He’d been right all those weeks ago. He really was a bad ass.
“Make sure you take out the seed or they can be revived with blood,” Kira warned him.
