Rigil managed to compensate and the battle reached a standstill, one side managed to push the other a few feet before being driven back shortly after. This continued for quite some time, and Rigil’s tricks became easier to predict—his advantage slowly faded. Antares and Kira worked together increasingly better. Moving fluidly, like music, their strokes reaching perfect harmony. Attacking together, blocking for each other, both carving through Rigil's defenses—making him progressively more frustrated.
Antares and Kira pushed Rigil on a steady retreat. He launched a few clever swipes of his own but Kira and Antares batted them aside.
Rigil did everything to slow them down and block their attacks, readjusting himself to counter them in the most efficient ways. It felt impossible to get their blades near enough to kill him, but Rigil had no attacking chances. Antares and Kira complemented each other too well, and Rigil could only keep blocking—hoping to win by attrition. He was pushed ever closer to the wall and the outcome seemed inevitable, he would lose.
Rigil switched tactics without warning. They passed a pillar and Rigil threw himself at Antares, narrowly avoiding a swipe from Kira. Their blades crashed with the full momentum of Rigil’s body, knocking Antares to the ground where he rolled to the side and bounced to his feet.
When he got up, Rigil was nowhere to be seen. He’d completely vanished. Even Kira seemed surprised.
“Where’d he go?” she asked.
“You mean you didn’t see?” Antares spun in a circle, not wanting Rigil to surprise him with a backstab.
“He went behind the pillar and disappeared.”
They both turned circles, looking everywhere. Anxiety filled Antares’ stomach. Made him uneasy. Forced him to wonder if Rigil was arming one of the controllers.
“You see those controllers,” said Antares, pointing to the nearest one.
“Yes.”
“We’ve got to destroy them all. They’re able to launch the skytechnology.” As Antares said this, he and Kira went instinctively back to back, and together combed the room, slowly, protecting each other, watching out for Rigil on all sides.
They reached a set of controllers and destroyed them. "That makes six down... several more to go.” He expected Rigil to leap from the shadows at any moment—especially when they’d walked into a corner to take out the controllers. But he didn’t.
They moved to another set of controllers without resistance. Antares listened for even the slightest movement. Feeling extremely uneasy.
They wiped out these two controllers also and continued sweeping the room. Antares nearly jumped at the sound of a sliding door slamming aside.
A man was there, wearing full red radiation gear and a helmet. He jogged into the room, carrying a shiny black assault rifle. His shoulder was marked with the emblem of Silverwind.
“You’re the last person I expected to see,” said Antares.
“Baene said I could find you here,” said Jaden.
“Jaden? What are you doing here?” asked Kira. She sounded genuinely concerned for his safety.
“Someone I deeply respect helped me remember,” he said, “that sometimes the right thing to do isn’t the safe thing.”
He approached and Antares stepped aside, allowing Jaden into their defensive circle. It meant a lot to see Jaden, but Antares doubted Jaden understood the danger he’d placed himself in. And how useless his rifle would be when Rigil resurfaced.
“Careful, Jaden,” said Antares. “Rigil is in here somewhere. Full combat armor. Keep your eyes peeled.”
“We have to take out those controllers,” said Kira. “They’re wired to the skytechnology.”
“Simple enough,” said Jaden. His rifle blazed to life as bullets crashed into the nearest few controllers. After a few seconds, the clip ran dry and he slapped in another. Antares and Kira guarded him on both sides, escorting him through the room while he blasted the controllers into sparking metal refuse.
The rifle ran dry again just as the last controller on the ground was destroyed. That left three in the catwalks. Jaden slapped in another clip and Antares led them toward the nearest ladder. There was still no sign of Rigil, that made everyone uneasy. Especially Antares.
“We need to get up there. But Rigil could be waiting to decapitate the first person who tries. So, I’ll go first,” said Antares. He climbed the ladder, sword in one hand.
He raised himself to the top of the metal catwalk. It was hard to see much but there was no sign of Rigil. Cords ran everywhere, some torn open and sparking, and steel supports blocked his view. He pushed his way past a curtain of cables, moving along the catwalk toward the center. Jaden climbed up next and followed.
“Hurry up, Kira,” said Antares.
“I’ll be fine, someone needs to guard the way down. Just hurry up!” she said. Antares got a sick feeling, he was not comfortable with leaving Kira down there alone. If Rigil were hiding on the ground…
“Make it quick!” snapped Antares, and Jaden crouched, stabilizing his firearm. It growled to life and blasted away one of the remaining controllers. As Jaden changed angles to get the other one, Antares moved out of the line of fire. He watched their backs, searching for any good hiding places. Unfortunately there were several.
“Almost done,” said Jaden He aimed his rifle at the last two targets, Antares looked away.
Jaden fired his weapon then yelled, “Watch out!”
A whoosh of noise. Something moved behind him. Antares spun to see what it was, but saw only Jaden’s arm pushing him, knocking him over. Antares rolled off the side of the catwalk, barely catching the edge with his free hand to slow his fall before he crashed onto the hard ground below.
He leapt to his feet, sword at the ready, only to hear Kira’s panicked voice. “Oh no, no, please, NO!”
Antares moved like a snake, sweeping in for a better view. Rigil stood on the catwalk, tall white armor that loomed over Jaden. He pulled his sword from the young soldier’s corpse. Antares watched Jaden's helmet roll along the catwalk, somehow having been knocked loose.
Only then did he realize what Jaden had done. Rigil’s blow had been meant for Antares. Jaden had given his life… A sense of awe and remorse poured over him. It wasn’t right for better people to die protecting him. Death was what he deserved, not them. His eyes flicked from Jaden, to Emon, then back to Rigil. And he felt both hate and fear. Hate that he’d failed to save yet another. And fear that Kira would be Rigil’s next victim.
"Survival is meant for the fittest,” said Rigil. “Nature must have disapproved of that one.”
Rigil dropped to the ground, landing with the grace of a cat. Antares stared at Rigil’s expressionless helmet, feeling wrath boil his blood, burning him. He could sense the magic inside him, steaming, begging to be released, restrained only by the elder magic. The pressure was intolerable, and the sight of so much pointless slaughter was impossible to accept. They never should have had to, but Emon and Jaden had given everything. And now it was his turn.
Antares stepped forward, blade raised. Rigil faced him. They stood opposite each other for barely a second before Antares charged, his sword a trail of sweeping fire, his teeth clenched, his muscles taut. Kira met Rigil on the other side, and together they fought him, pressing him back again, forcing him to retreat. Every stroke energized by a measure of hate and desperation that poured from an endless well inside Antares. He wouldn’t let up. He wouldn’t let go. Rigil was his.
This exchange was the most vicious yet, and Antares pressed himself to the front and center. Keeping Rigil in check and pushing with all his might and vigor, blow after blow, swiping and slicing, every strike stretching for the kill. He’d never fought so aggressively in all his life, or with such deadly force. Wrath and anger empowered him, desperation motivated him, and Antares surrendered to them all. Let them consume him. Absorbed the hunger for violence like a ravenous animal. He threw everything, including his humanity, into killing Rigil, into ending it all.
Antares domi
nated the battle as much as he could. It felt like a burning craving he just couldn't satisfy as he continued throwing himself at Rigil, wildly and impulsively.
In his fiery state, the harmony he and Kira had achieved evaporated. And though Antares struck with viciousness and passion, relentlessly charging and sweeping, he made it difficult for Kira to wedge herself into the battle.
His strokes were fierce and put Rigil on the defensive, but they were also clumsy and easily blocked. And, in his maddening charge, he'd left himself wide open, a window Rigil didn’t miss as he sliced upward.
With reflexes faster than lightning, Antares lurched backwards, mostly avoiding the blow. But the point of Rigil’s blade caught him, scraping along the edge of his helmet. Sizzling as it went.
With a hiss, the seal was broken, and Antares had to duck away from the fighting to tear the burning helmet from his face. Some of it crumbled apart as he ripped it off. His naked face felt vulnerable to his sword’s incredible heat so he switched it off and slipped behind a pillar to catch his breath. Kira darted to intercept Rigil and hold him at bay and he could hear them fighting from the other side of the pillar. The noise moved farther away.
He had to get back in there. He had to save her.
He thought quickly, desperately. Knew he had to protect himself from the radiation and blinding light. He glanced towards Emon’s corpse. Unfortunately, Emon’s helmet was already ruined. But Jaden's wasn't. Antares’ eyes found where Jaden’s helmet had rolled on the catwalk. He dashed for the nearest ladder and climbed it as swiftly as he could, his sword now behind his back.
He ducked a beam and slipped past the mesh of cables. Directly ahead, on the far side of the catwalk, was Jaden’s helmet. It looked intact. He ran for it, stopping only as he heard a light scream.
His heart exploded in panic and he skidded to a halt, glancing over the side to where Kira had last been seen. Through the holes in the riveted catwalk floor, he could see her sword. It was snapped and ruined on the ground.
But she was still alive. That gave him enormous relief. Even though he was still terrified for her safety.
Rigil was holding her, arm around her neck, his blade poised to carve into her at any moment. Seeing her helpless, and in such danger, Antares felt levels of panic and fire that he’d never known existed.
“Where are you, Antares?” asked Rigil. He whipped Kira around like an appendage as he spun about, searching.
Kira was safe for the moment. Rigil didn’t know where Antares was. He looked back toward Jaden’s helmet, and crept forward as quietly as he could. After a few steps, the catwalk creaked.
“Stop or she dies,” said Rigil. Antares froze in place. Rigil’s voice returned to its normal, smooth texture. “Not another step toward that controller.”
Antares looked up, suddenly realizing Jaden’s helmet lay next to the only intact controller. If he destroyed it, Rigil’s threat to the world would be over. Potentially he’d be saving hundreds of thousands of lives. More even than had been lost in Andar those years ago.
“What do you want, Rigil?” asked Antares.
“I want you, Antares. I want to fight you alone.” He said the last part with relish.
Antares caught a direct view of Rigil's sword, it looked like a blazing ball of white light, forcing him to squint and shield his eyes. He looked away, hesitant. If he fought Rigil, he couldn’t hope to win, he would certainly die. Even if he prevailed, the tremendous amount of radiation pouring out from their swords would kill him. If only he had a radiation helmet… he glanced back at Jaden’s helmet—it was only steps away. And right next to the final launcher. He could go to it and destroy it if he wanted to, and Rigil couldn’t stop him.
“One more step and she dies this instant!” said Rigil.
“Don’t listen to him, Antares!” screamed Kira. “Destroy the last controller!”
“Shut up, you!” said Rigil, knocking the hilt of his sword against her helmet as hard as he could. “Antares, this is your last and only chance.”
He stared at the ground below him, realizing if he jumped, he was likely to die. He looked at Kira tied up by Rigil's arms and thought of his Crucible. Thought of the woman tied up below, a woman he might’ve been able to save—but didn’t.
His eyes darted between Kira and the controller. He didn’t have to do it. He didn’t have to surrender his fate, and the safety of so many people. It wouldn’t be selfish to go for the helmet and the controller. Saving himself in the process. Kira even wanted him to make that choice. To do the safe thing. Save the hundreds of thousands. Rationality begged him to let her go. To do the right thing for the good of the many.
But when he looked down at her, everything around him—all of the chaos, all the destruction, and all the logic melted away. For once in his life, he knew what he wanted. And there was no conflict within him. It was the strongest feeling he’d ever experienced.
“I fight you, here and now, leaving that controller intact, and you let her live.”
“I swear it,” said Rigil.
Antares knew he couldn’t trust Rigil. But his heart had made his decision long before his head ever could. Without another thought, he stepped over the edge and dropped. Like he should have years ago, at that cliff. For that poor woman.
His knees bent to break his fall. Then he stood up straight, drew his sword, activated it, and held it high. He stared at Rigil through squinted eyes. Completely at his mercy.
Rigil tossed Kira aside with a powerful shove. She crashed into the nearest wall, rolling and crumpling to the ground. But she was still alive.
Antares stood his ground, letting Rigil come at him. The blur of white armor and blinding light flew closer. Antares threw his sword and all of his weight into it, connecting with Rigil’s blade. It shook him. He groaned as the immense heat and brightness scorched him, but he gritted his teeth and held off Rigil’s attacks. Managing even to throw in a few strikes of his own.
Their fighting accelerated and still Antares yielded no ground. He kept pace with Rigil. Focused his mind. Swallowed his pain. Pushed back with everything that he had. Nothing else mattered anymore.
His own blade stabbed at him with deadly rays of heat and radiation, scalding him. A pain that further intensified when Rigil came near and their blades crashed, sending sparks and heat everywhere. Antares’ skin burned, his vision filled up with foggy white scars.
Rigil’s attacks came even faster, and were becoming harder to predict. Antares parried them as best he could. Forcing himself to guess where the next would be. Trusting his instincts. The blinding white ball of Rigil’s blade was like a vague, deadly blur. Roasting him, and threatening to carve him open. Antares fought back fiercely, even though his own sword felt like a small star in his hand—a burning white orb that took every drop of will just to wield it.
Their duel stretched on, and Antares found himself pressing Rigil back, making him retreat. The fight continued, grueling blow after grueling blow, and Antares felt the enormous tax of his efforts. He lost his sense of direction and now everything seemed to glow white. The sweat on his face evaporated as fast as it formed, and all over his body was a nasty, itching, burning sensation. In the pit of his stomach he felt the almost overwhelming urge to vomit out all of his organs.
But he kept fighting. Turning his weaknesses into fuel, burning himself alive, squeezing his soul for stamina. Scraping his insides and finding strength he never knew he had.
The frenzy continued, blades crashing and sweeping against each other with unprecedented speed and force. A circular exchange that stretched Antares, stealing from him everything he had, every drop of will, powered by pure, raw, sheer desperation.
It enabled him to continue when his body begged him to stop. Enabled him to throw his arms fast enough, grip his sword tight enough, and think clearly enough to keep pace with Rigil. And press him hard.
The white flashes were all but invisible now, blanketed over by a thin veil of blackness. Tears melted away as th
ey formed over his scorching, burning eyes. And the skin of his face was tortured increasingly by each passing second. His body was consumed by a horrible sweltering and his eyes stung with overwhelming pain.
But Antares fought on. Swinging more and more desperately. Guiding his blade as best he could, putting all his strength behind it. But, even though he’d driven Rigil back almost against the wall, he was breaking. His body was severely weakened. His sense of balance shook and the entire world was spinning out from under him. It was almost impossible to distinguish Rigil’s armor from his blade, and Antares felt himself become stiff and slow. His attacks slackened, his pace diminished, his limbs seemed to crumple under their own weight.
It was over.
Antares cursed himself. Hating that he'd failed. Hating that he wasn’t able to save Emon or Jaden. Hating that he couldn’t save the people of the world. And, most of all, hating that he couldn't protect Kira. Even giving his last full measure hadn’t been enough.
With one last surge of desperation, Antares crossed blades with Rigil, aiming for a swift kill. His efforts were easily blocked. He felt himself crash to his knees, all strength sucked away. It took whatever was left just to keep from falling on his face.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered hoarsely, trembling, shaking all over. His body was sick and broken, and the whole world was shaking. He touched the ground with his free hand, searching for something steady to cling to, blinking, desperate to clear his eyes.
Rigil stood over him. He too was bent and battered. Their fight had taken a toll on him as well, but he was the victor. He still stood. Sword in his hands. Ready to deliver the death blow.
Antares felt the urge to close his eyes, but couldn’t. His eyelids were frozen, or else he lacked the strength. He felt he could do nothing, except watch his own death swing toward him like a pendulum. “I failed,” he screamed to the world, but it came out less than a whisper.
Secrets of Silverwind Page 30
