Hewanted to cry like a child.
Distantly,at the stairs, Zaria was pacing backwards, holding the length of her poleaxe ina defensive posture.Soren followed her down, twirling her cutlass with agraceful vengeance.The bunny’s burnt flesh twisted into a snarl.
“Yourmagic fucktoy can’t help you now, traitor.”
Zariathrusted her spear tip, but Soren sidestepped it easily, slashing down at thehaft.If the hyena hadn’t jerked away, the blow would’ve taken several fingers.
“That’sfine,” Zaria said.“I’ll follow your lead, capt.”
Theyslashed, trading several blows, their shadows leaping over the wall.Steel metsteel in a bone-ringing clang.
Sorensnorted.“Sandy graves?”
“Fuckin’right.”
Zariaslashed with the axe, hitting only stone.Soren drew a knife from herbandolier.Zaria thrusted.The bunny dodged.When Zaria attempted a thirdswing, Soren threw the knife.Zaria jerked her head.As the hyena clutched herface, stumbling back, Soren jumped over the poleaxe, bounced a foot off thewall, and leaped high into the air, her sword lowered for a plunge.
Isaaclost them through the pipes and souls.
“Zaria!”
Therewas a scream of pain.
“Z!”
Suddenly,the two pirates appeared again, both of them tumbling out into the nest ofpipes and ducts running down the length of the tower.Their bodies bounced andclanged.Zaria left a red smear of blood.Further below, Isaac noticed agrowing storm of ice and fire, mixed with the sound of bone clattering againstmetal.Caine was unleashing the full brunt of his masses.Berith’s thralls werelaunching a barrage of elements.Whatever was happening between the twobrothers, it seemed both desperate and reckless.
Hehoped his father was winning.
He knewZaria was not.
When hetried to stand, the pain made him gasp.He collapsed onto his back, breathing,swimming in agony, feeling his own blood soaking his tattered robes, the soundof spells and steel and bones blurring together into a cacophony of noise, likethe swirling voices of the souls.
He wassupposed to be aiding his father.He needed to help Zaria.
Get up.
Hetried to stand, only to fall back again.
Heremembered the days in the yard, when Berith would strike him for failing acast, or misremembering the mnemonics, or any other reason he could find.Isaachad mastered all of his spells while covered in welts and bruises and tears.Hehad picked himself up thousands of times before.He could do it now, when itmattered more than any time in his life.
Hepictured Berith’s face again, eyes alight with the glow of parasitic magic.
Heclenched his fist.
Hegained a knee.
Helurched.
Herose.
Isaacstood, wobbling, his teeth clenched in rage and pain.
Throughthe haze of souls, he saw the two pirates a short distance below.They hadfallen onto a gnarled tangle of blast gates and broken residue filters,something that now looked like a forest of jagged metal.Soren clutched hershoulder, squeezing her small body from the depths of a cooling fan.Besideher, Zaria was dangling by the tenuous grip of a pipe, her feet dangling overnaked air.The duct was visibly bending beneath her weight, and every swipe ofher hand was leaving a visible streak of blood.
Isaacraced down the stairway, drawing the dagger from his pocket.
Zariatried to pull herself up.Soren sauntered forward.Casually, she kicked thehyena’s poleaxe off the pipework, sending the weapon clattering down the tower.Zaria slipped back down the pipe, dangling on bloody fingers.Soren turned herdislocated shoulder towards a hard junction of valves and bashed it against themetal, snarling as the bone returned to the socket.Finally, with a sneer ofburnt flesh, she pointed her cutlass down at Zaria’s struggling face.Isaaconly now noticed that a knife was sticking from the hyena’s eye.
