Sentinel

Chapter 43 - By shadow consume

Dedicated to the remover of wires, Prisim gummy bunny bear.

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Chapter 43 - By shadow consume

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The Master lunged.

Skye met his blade with her sword. The jarring impact ran through her arm as she brought her dagger around, slashing at his midsection. Purple sparks deflected her dagger that would have otherwise tasted flesh.

He was protected. Testing his confidence in it, she forced a parry and stepped inside the range of his sword, dagger aimed for his chest.

It didn’t make contact. The Master retreated several steps, eyes narrowed like a wolf that was reconsidering its prey.

Skye remained where she was, not yet ready to push the advantage. She didn’t yet know what he was capable of and the result could be deadly. Instead, she smiled at him.

The Master sneered in reply. “It seems your weapons have been touched by the deity. Now why would it do that?”

Hoping to hide her lack of understanding, she twirled the dagger in her palm. “Perhaps it knew that you’d try to use such a cowardly trick in a battle you claim has no magic.”

The lull didn’t last long after that. The Master initiated combat again with a powerful overhead arc intended to separate her from a limb.

Skye obliged. Dagger behind sword, she met his sword with her crossed blades to test his strength, absorbing the impact with her knees. Even so, it sent a tremor through her body that surprised her. The shock ensured she wasn’t quick enough to move her dagger and slip it through his ribs, instead having to parry his lightning side cut.

The next time the arc came flying at her, she danced out of the way. He was strong, far stronger than her, by either muscle or magic it didn’t matter. She parried, deflected and outright dodged his next flurry of attacks, feeling him out until she was sure.

She could beat him.

His footwork, the slightest change in angle at which he held his sword. They showed his ineptitude with a blade, as she was sure her lack of magical training was revealed in their previous encounter. It was the only reason he’d be content to let her hack away at him now, if he was confident he could easily overpower her at the slightest whim.

Skye parried another brutal attempt to break through her guard, her thoughts racing. She’d have to make her move quickly before he reached for the magic, and she’d have to do it before Jesse finished whatever he was doing.

She risked a glance at the figure atop the platform. She didn’t have long.

Skye took a deep breath and planned the sequence in her head, waiting for the right moment, trying to coerce him into the attack she wanted.

The Master broke away, giving her a smug upturning of his lips. It couldn’t be called a smile. “Once again, our Sentinel finds herself too enthralled with combat to help the tortured soul,” he said. “Too ignorant and blind, or perhaps she just doesn’t care?”

Skye swung her sword at him in reply. He blocked it. Where the two blades made contact, a purple glow appeared and held them in place. She tried to yank it away. Alarm took hold when the weapon didn’t budge.

His eyes burned. “I believe I asked you a question.”

Skye considered dropping her sword and continuing her attack with the dagger but decided against it. “I won’t turn my back to you, someone who has made it painfully obvious that they mean to enslave me to the shadow,” she said. “Release my blade, or are you worried that I might be better than you?”