Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Chapter Twenty-Six: Panic Maelstrom

'I won't give you the chance,' Regan hissed. 

Bastian blinked as she whipped up her sword and closed in on Trevellian with vicious speed. Her sword flashed in the rain and there was a sharp, bright sound as it met Trevellian's knife. 

Trevellian laughed. 'You were faster before, my frosty angel.' 

Regan rebounded like a ball and came at Trevellian again with a storm of savage slashes. They were too quick for Bastian to follow, but somehow Trevellian saw them and caught them easily. His style was strangely hypnotic as he weaved sinuously through Regan's attacks like a silk scarf on the wind. Knives would appear and disappear from his hands seemingly at random, like a magician producing an endless stream of cards. As much as Bastian hated to admit it, Trevellian was strong. 

Beside him Carver drew in a short, painful breath and tried to push herself up. A dark stain was spreading around the wound in her stomach, and her skin was already becoming waxy and pale. Bastian rushed to her and gently helped her into a sitting position. 

'I'm done,' she winced. 'I shouldn't have let that one through.' 

'Shut up. Don't try to talk.' 

He slipped his hands under her armpits and dragged her to the edge of the landing, where he propped her against the railing next to one of the deck lights. Behind him the sounds of battle were intensifying. 

'You need to help her,' Carver whispered. 'Did you feel the pressure before that infiltrator attacked?' 

'I could barely stand up.' 

'He's strong. Regan is one tough chick, I'll give her that, but in her current state she doesn't stand a chance against a guy like that. Help her.' 

'What about you?' 

'You're a sweet guy, but you're soft in the head. If she loses, I'm dead either way.' 

Bastian stood up and ran his fingers across the spikes on his cheek. Carver was right. At first glance he had assumed that Regan was on the offensive. Her attacks came with the same ferocity as when she'd killed the guard, and so far she hadn't given Trevellian a single opening to respond, but even so Bastian felt uneasy. It didn't feel like Trevellian was losing. It felt like he was waiting for something. 

'How much longer can she keep up this pace?' said Carver. 'Soon she'll slip, and when she does she's dead.' 

Bastian shivered and felt more spines emerging around his face and head. He lifted a fist and concentrated. Wicked barbed points pierced through the skin of his knuckles. 

'I guess it's down to me then.' 

Regan slashed at Trevellian's stomach and took a second too long to recover. It was only a moment, but suddenly Trevellian's stance changed. His hand lashed forwards and his knife caught Regan across the shoulder. Bright blood splattered across the railings at the edge of the landing. Regan staggered back clutching the fresh wound. 

Bastian didn't think. There was no time to think. He rushed towards Trevellian with an animal scream that rose up from his chest and tore through his throat. Blood was pounding in his head as he closed in and attacked with violent fury. Sounds in his ears melded together until they were a constant wall of white noise, and his vision began to narrow into a pinpoint. He threw one wild punch after another, charging at Trevellian in a mad rush without finesse or strategy

His punches whipped though empty air as Trevellian slipped away from them, but he'd caught the infiltrator by surprise. Trevellian retreated to give himself some distance, and Bastian surged forward. Step by step, he forced him away from Regan with the chaotic intensity of his attack. He didn't know whether he was screaming words or pure gibberish, but he yelled at the top of his lungs anyway. He didn't want to give Trevellian a moment's breathing space. He pushed forward and used the spines on his body as a defence as he struck out at any target he could see.