Running through a forest at night is generally not a good idea. Especially this forest on this island. You could break your ankle, put a branch through your eye, break your neck tripping over some stupid rock.
All of the above.
Which made it doubly impressive that Gard was keeping up with me. I'm not sure how she did it, I could see thanks to Taziel, but I had no idea how she did it.
Vaulting over a fallen tree, I blinked as a sudden spear of fire blasted upwards through the forest from the direction of the crash site.
"Dresden seems to have made it," Gard commented as she stopped next to me, breathing deeply but not heavily.
"Yeah," I said, "And something found him. Let's go."
I started to run again.
'We should take to the sky, My Host.'
'Agreed.'
Spreading our wings, I beat them hard as I jumped, kicking off a tree trunk briefly to get some distance away from the tree before we threw ourselves up into the dark night.
Clearing the trees, I got a better sight of the crash site. Another beam of fire flashed through the night, blasting a tree into pieces.
Bug lady.
'Polonius Lartessa and Imariel,' Taziel whispered, 'Can you get a shot?'
'Better leave her to Dresden,' I said back as I beat the wings slowly, scanning the crash site, 'She's too flighty for a gun to work well. At least as much gun as I have.'
'True. I think we sh- There!'
We cleared a larger rock hiding the actual crash site from view and it revealed a different scene to us. The Knight had made it as well. The other wizard was on the ground, not moving. Alive or not was difficult to say, but I couldn't see any blood.
But what drew my attention was the fact that Michael was in the middle of a sword duel with Nicodemus. What's worse, the Knight looked like he was losing.
'Take him.'
I didn't need more encouragement than that.
Half Folding my wings, I dropped into a shallow dive as I slid my hand into my jacked, grasping the hilt of my sword hilt.
A little closer. A little closer.
Pulling up hard, I folded my wings and pulled my sword before allowing myself to drop, bringing the sword down in an almighty chop, designed to split Nicodemus from his head to his groin.
His shadow twisted like an eel and he kicked Michael hard, sending the Knight backwards against the rock face hard as he twisted to the side and brought his sword up in a panic to block me.
His blade has to be some sort of special as I didn't shatter it immediately, but my blow knocked it down and caused him to stumble back. The impact shook the sword in my hands and as my knee hit the ground hard my wings slammed down to absorb the impact.
Nicodemus snarled as he rolled back onto his feet, "You!"
With my spare hand, I pulled my pistol and shot him in the face as I got back onto my feet, "Us. Oh and you really should have taught your little girl not to talk with strangers. We had some… fun."
Nicodemus' face twisted with fury for a second, his shadow boiling around him before he took a slow and deep breath, "You will die in agony."
"Taziel sends her regards, Anduriel. She's wondering how you liked Egypt," I answered at a whisper from Taziel and then I shot him in the face again. Or tried, this time he twisted to the side before I could pull the trigger and the bullet whirred past him as he charged.
I shot him in the chest again, mostly to make a point to be honest and then I dropped the gun and my blade met his.
He was good.
He was really fucking good, by far the best swordsman I had ever met, including any demon I had ever run into.
Two thousand years of practice or not, you don't get that good without dedication and practice as well as natural talent.
I kicked him in the chin, my sword dancing towards him, using the additional length of my blade to force him back.
His shadow boiled around us and then darted in. Taziel shifted our wings, throwing Anduriel's attacks off, letting me focus on Nicodemus.
He might actually be a bit faster than I was, I was stronger and might be a hint more skilled with a sword, but it was a close one.
Instead of avoiding my last blow, he stepped into it, his sword slipping past mine as he drove it straight through my heart.
Everything froze like that for a moment.
I glanced down at my chest before I looked at him again. My own blade was through his chest in turn, not through his heart, but straight through his lung and out his back.
The feeling of your heart beating around a piece of steel is not a particularly nice one, but also not the first time I had felt it either.
"This," I said as I met his eyes, "Will take a while."
'The noose, My Host.'
'I know. But I can't just go for it instantly or he'll know that I know about it. I need a real opening.'
"So it seems," Nicodemus answered before his shadow boiled in around him before hitting the ground, propelling him a couple of meters away from me.
'Why didn't the sword kill him?'
'Because his body isn't what's keeping him alive, it's an external source.'
"Saint!"
I turned at Michael's choked shout and there was a glint of flying metal towards me. By instinct I twisted, reaching out and grabbed it by the handle.
The sword of love burst into white flames as I touched it, it shone brightly and I could hear it sing in my ears as my wings flickered out like smoke.
'It sings to us,' Taziel whispered, sounding almost breathless, 'I remember… I remember the song....'
I didn't burn me, the white flames flickered around the blade and handle, up along my arm but I turned back to Nicodemus. I didn't have time to think about it, not now, not against an opponent like him.
I charged him and he took a step back before snarling and meeting my charge. This time, his shadow exploded away from the light of the blade in my hand and my sword met his.
What followed could only be described as some sort of… not dance. No, nothing so violent could ever be called a dance.
Slashes, stabs, thrusts and feints.
My blade hit his, blocking him as I thrust with Amoracchius, forcing him backwards, step by step, "No more," I snarled, "No more! No more slaughter! No more torture! No more chaos!"
My voice was… different. It felt deeper, stronger.
Not wholly mine.
My blade found his wrist, his blade and sword going flying to the side.
"I s-!"
I didn't let him finish the sentence. Amoracchius slashed through his throat and the noose, the old thin and grey rope burst into searing bright light as it snapped.
He stumbled back, his intact hand going to his throat as my sword slashed straight through his chest.
That was my mistake.
There was a glitter of dark silver of the spray of blood flying straight at my face and despite my attempt to avoid it, I wasn't fast enough.
'NOOOO!'
It hit me at the cheek and everything turned instantly white and then black.
'I'm sorry,' A voice said softly in the darkness.
'I will give you everything I can. But it will be up to you. I'm sorry, My Host.'
'Find me.'
