Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Chapter Seventy-One: Scavenger

Kessler flicked Regan off the point of her sword. She hit the ground on her hands and knees. A gout of blood spilled from her chest and splashed across the concrete. She took a choking breath and watched a trickle of blood creep along the ground in front of her. Her vision blurred for a second. She heard footsteps coming towards her. 

Regan's sword was just beside her hand. The distance seemed insurmountable. Her bones felt like they were made of lead. With effort, she lifted her hand and gripped the handle. Her fingers were beginning to go numb. She knew it was from blood loss. 

A few steps away, Kessler made a disappointed noise. 'I wouldn't bother. The outcome won't change no matter how many times you try.' 

Regan ignored her and pushed herself to her feet. Every move was a conscious effort. She gripped her sword. Blood spilled down her left arm and dripped off the tips of her fingers. 

Kessler watched her struggle, but made no move to attack. 'What are you now? You're not one of them, and you're not one of us. Too soft to be a wolf and too vicious to be a dog.' 

Regan stepped backwards and almost stumbled. 

'Did you think you could use your craft to read me? You're a foul mess, Regan. You thought that was enough to carry you though, but my ambition was never going to be defeated that easily.' 

Regan wiped her bloody hand on her skirt and gave her sword an experimental swing. Sharp pain radiated out from her shoulder.

'I don't remember your killing having so much prattle before.' 

'Your resistance isn't impressive. It's just self-denial. Look over there,' Kessler pointed though the flames with her sword. 

Regan followed her gaze. On the other side of the carpark, Sarafina and the others were hemmed in against the burning inferno that had once been the motel. Regan could see dark shadows moving against the flames, closing in on them like sharks. It looked like a window into hell. 

'That's what real defiance looks like,' said Kessler. 'They know they're weak, but they're fighting for every extra second of being alive.' 

'It won't help.' 

Kessler shrugged. 'No.' 

Each breath was like razor blades dragging inside Regan's chest. She felt like she was dangling over a deep abyss. 

'They're fools. Stupid fools.' 

'You're not any different. You were too impatient and you walked right into a trap.' 

Even from a distance, Regan could see that Sarafina and the others were in trouble. They were bunched together like cornered rats. Sarafina was kneeling beside Forester's prone body. He wasn't moving. 

Regan gave Kessler a hard look. 'There's no utility in killing them.' 

Kessler cocked her head. 'Have you suddenly found a conscience? It's like watching a dog try to walk on its hind legs. Or have you forgotten that it was you who threw them into the fire?' 

Regan gripped her sword. Her left arm hung at her side. Kessler's blade had pierced the muscles in her shoulder and left it near-useless. The pain was a red curtain that threatened to close over her. It brushed the edge of her mind like a creature swimming past in the darkness. 

'Everything I do is for a purpose. Killing is a tool. Pointless slaughter is for panicking weaklings and psychopaths.' 

'Don't try to manipulate me, my student. Words were never your weapon.' 

Kessler pulled back her sleeve to expose the lumpy gashes on her arm. She gripped one of the wounds and gasped. Behind her, the body of the spider creature twitched. Its fingers clutched at the empty air as the corpse gave a violent spasm. It started to scream; a wrenching sound that was like a shard of glass twisting in Regan's stomach. Its body contorted and it rolled over onto all fours. Stale blood dripped from the wound in its head and spilled through its mouth like drool, staining its pointed teeth black. It turned its sightless eyes towards Regan and hissed.