Isla was dead.

How could I let this happen?

I failed! I always fail…

Van Lagos' scimitar glinted in the sun. He loomed over me; his vision split between me and Dugan.

"Van… Do it. Kill me."

Van Lagos turned to me, his smile widening.

"As you wish."

The scimitar fell; its curved edge carved through the air. I closed my eyes and waited for the end.

Quick footfalls stomped on the ground. Van Lagos let out a frustrated hiss, and wood smashed against flesh.

I opened my eyes.

Dugan stood in Van Lagos' place; Dawn held in a defensive position.

"She's dead, isn't she?"

Dugan frowned, offering his hand.

"No."

I stared at Dugan, a flicker of hope igniting within me. It went along with a flicker of fear.

If Isla was alive, why did Dugan look worried?

I took his hand, letting the shorter man pull me to my feet. Among the dead and dying, Van Lagos got to his hands and knees from several feet away.

How did that happen?

"She's b... b... breathing," Dugan said. "But her wounds... I'm not strong enough to heal her, even at my best. We need to go to the capital."

He turned to Van Lagos.

"But first, we need to get past him."

I followed his gaze.

Van Lagos stood up, working a crick out of his neck.

"This is my fault," Dugan said. "I saved his life."

I shook my head.

"I gave him the bomb. Can you fight?"

"Yeah."

"Then we do this together."

I willed my dagger into my hand. Van Lagos turned to us with raised eyebrows.

"Two on one?"

He laughed.

"So much for fairness."

Van Lagos ignited the scimitar in his left hand and stalked towards us.

"It doesn't matter. You'll all die the same."

Dugan nodded to me. We spread out, him on the left, me on the right.

I took a deep breath, inhaling the foul air and exhaling the distractions polluting my mind. The shooting pain in my right shoulder. The headache throbbing in time with my heartbeat. My fear of Isla dying.

I had to focus.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Everything would be determined in the next minute.

I couldn't help but smile to myself.

A second ago, I'd given up, prepared myself to die. That wasn't me. That wasn't who I am.

I was alive.

And no one would take that away from me. I grinned at Van Lagos, and he grinned back.

One…

Two…

Three!

We charged.

Van Lagos swirled his scimitars around himself in an elaborate dance. Flames arced off the blades in fiery slashes that launched through the air.

I set my short sword on fire, swatting aside each flaming slash flying in my direction. Beside me, Dugan raised Dawn. The enchanted shield deflected each attack.

So, it worked on more than just arrows and swords.

Dugan lowered the shield and nodded at me.

I nodded back, understanding his message.

I ran at the short man as Van Lagos closed in.

Dugan knelt and raised Dawn over his head at an angle.

I jumped, both feet landing on the shield. The force of my jump was deflected, sending me flying in the air!

I cartwheeled over Van Lagos' head, dropping my dagger into the meat between his neck and shoulder.

Van Lagos hissed in pain. He looked up, twisting his upper body to keep track of me. As Van Lagos focused above, Dugan dropped his shield and swung his wooden club low into the Dahlgeshi's leg.

THWACK!

Van Lagos snarled.

I landed on my feet behind him, stabbing with my flaming short sword.

He recovered, spinning around to parry my short sword with his scimitar. Dugan pulled back his club for another swing.

Van Lagos pointed two fingers at Dugan and shot a torrent of flame. The shorter man raised his shield, bouncing the flames back into the Dahlgeshi's face.

Now!

I slid my short sword down to the scimitar's hilt. I willed my dagger back into my free hand and stabbed it through his right forearm.

Van Lagos grunted through clenched teeth as his scimitar dropped to the ground.

Yes!

He twisted away, and a flaming back fist caught me in the temple.

I stumbled back, blinking the stars out of my eyes, my dagger stuck in his right forearm.

Van Lagos pressed his advantage, turning his back on Dugan to finish me off.

I slipped my short sword into my right hand, willed my dagger into my left. I threw it pommel first.

The dagger flew past the Dahlgeshi's head.

"You missed," Van Lagos said.

The dagger bounced off Dugan's shield, the pointy end stabbing Van Lagos in the middle of his back.

As his face twisted in pain, Dugan lowered Dawn, raised his club and hammered my dagger home.

THUNK!

Van Lagos dropped to his knees like a puppet with its strings cut, his fiery scimitar sputtering out in his left hand. A look of shock and disbelief spread over his face. I wasn't aiming for his head. I was aiming for his spine.

"I can't… I can't feel my legs," Van Lagos said.

I willed my dagger back into my left hand…

"I know."

And I punched it into his heart.

Van Lagos wheezed, blood trickling out of his mouth.

I twisted the blade and ripped it free, stumbling back at my own brutality.

His head rocked forward, the last embers of his consciousness dying out. He smiled as his last breath passed between his lips.

I took a great heaving breath, releasing the tension in my arms, in my legs.

We did it… We won.

I raised my head to Dugan. He stared back at me, a wide grin splitting his face. It was the first time I'd seen the man smile. His chestnut eyes were wide... hopeful.

BOOM!!!

A pillar of fire shot into the sky between us. A wave of heat pushed me off my feet.

I raised a hand, squinting at the fire. Dugan was across from me with his shield raised. The aged wood darkened from the scorching heat.

In the middle pillar of fire, a shadowy figure rose. It was tall and broad-shouldered.

Van. Lagos.

I almost laughed.

Of course, he would become a revenant.

Red, burning eyes ignited in the figure's silhouetted face.

Eyes that turned to me.

I got to my feet, reassembling my weapon and slamming it back into the scabbard.

If he wanted me, he would get me. This is not the place I would die.

The revenant of Van Lagos stalked towards me with slow, purposeful steps.

I smiled, my lips cracking and blistering in his presence.

Every time I used my abilities, I was burned. It was as if everything I'd been through prepared me for this moment.

I raised my left hand and shot a stream of fire into the pillar.

Our flames and wills mixed, and the pressure in my head returned.

Which was stronger: his will to kill me or my will to live?

The burning sensation that I had ignored through much of the battle returned with a vengeance. It crept up my fingers, my arm, and my chest.

I screamed.

My tears evaporated as they rolled down my face. My fingertips singed black. The inside of my mouth blistered and burned.

He was almost in arm's reach.

Now! It had to be now!

I struggled to lift my right arm to the side and conjured another explosive orb. With a surge of will, I parted the fiery curtains of the pillar.

Van Lagos stood before me naked. His lips peeled back into a snarl. The blood splattered down his chest was as black as his dragonfly tattoo.

"When you see your brother," I said. "Tell him I'm not sorry!"

Van Lagos' flaming right arm snapped up to grab my left wrist, pulling me into the fire.

I screamed, from the pain—from the anger. I tossed the orb in my right hand into the hole I made in his heart…

And the world went white.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.