The Brutes fall upon us like a pack of wolves.
I stab and slice, striking flesh where I can and dancing backwards, Luca at my side. We tempt the monsters away from the airship's entrance, bringing them aboard and allowing the deck to heave with the weight of armoured bodies. Ignoring my tired muscles I keep moving, one eye on the fight and the other on Luca's back.
When we reach the edge of the ship we hop up onto the walls, holding the ropes that affix the ship's balloon to it's sides. I stomp down on one woman's grasping hand, wobbling on my perch as the ship bucks and sways. Luca has managed to trade his short sword for a bow and is firing off shot after shot, earning us some distance from the encroaching army but steadily depleting his ammunition. Instinctively I reach for my own bow and quiver, finding only a length of rope and cursing as I remember that I chose to leave the rest behind in favour of stealth.
So much for that.
Glancing over my shoulder I spot more Mechs rushing at the ship, aiming for the ladder. Ignoring that small detail for now, I search for the airship's tether.
"Other side!" I shout.
Luca and I split up, running in opposite directions along the ship's ledge. Rain pelts me, coating the wood and turning the surface slick. I keep my steps light and when lightening strikes again I leap, reaching for some of the ship's rigging just as the thunder rocks the hangar and sends the Brutes crashing into one another. I look out across the swell of mechanical bodies and lock eyes with Luca, nodding a mutual understanding. Simultaneously we let go of the rigging and race onwards, taking advantage of the mass confusion and sprinting the remaining length of the ship. Dodging the odd hand or outstretched weapon, my ears continue to buzz with warning. The cloud pulses at the edges of my frayed nerves, tempting me to give in to it's help.
Closing in on the ship's ladder I grab hold of the nearest rope and swing at the Brute standing on the top rung, kicking him squarely in the metal gear protruding from his chest and toppling him and the others behind him. My hands burn as the cords slice into my already-tender palms and I release it prematurely, crashing feet-first. My bad knee spasms when I straighten, nearly sending me back to the ground. Ignoring my body's protests I unsheath my sword and arc it across the shoulders of a charging Brute before ducking beneath the ship's hull, once more looking for it's tether.
"There!" Luca has taken momentary shelter under the ship as well. His eyes are wide as he points behind me so I swipe blindly, severing the rope anchoring the ship to the hangar floor.
At once, the hulking ship is rocketed towards the roof. The storm catches the balloon and sends it spinning into the rafters, leaving Luca and I exposed.
"The door." Luca seizes my elbow and points me in the direction of the hangar's only entrance. Darting behind the nearest airship we run, catching glimpses of the Brutes roving the aisles between the swaying ships. Their pace is relentless, tracking Luca and I with an iron will that sees neither sleet, snow nor rain.
Up ahead, the line of Brutes filing through the door and into battle is never-ending. The Madam's living experiments angle their reinforced bodies through the narrow entryway and stalk down a flight of stairs, continually adding to the horde. My heart leaps to my throat as I realize that this won't be our route out.
Luckily, Luca had something else in mind. "We can stem the leak. Use your rope."
Without slowing down I begin unwinding it from around my shoulders, tossing one end to Luca who catches it deftly. He takes off, breaking away from me and driving the rope across the necks of the Brutes in between us. I boost myself off the shoulder of one falling body and fly at the stairs, grabbing hold of the scaffolding in behind. A flick of the rope calls it from Luca's grasp and I begin to clamber up, the tread of armoured boots rattling the metal in my hands and the teeth in my skull. Near the top I withdraw my dagger, in one motion vaulting myself over the railing and into the floodwaters.
Spokes of metal pummel me on all sides and I drop down low, unable to see much of anything. Spinning a tight circle, I shut my eyes to shield them against the thick, black goo spurting out from the narrow strip of unprotected flesh above their boots. I stow my weapon and dive between the legs of a teetering Brute, grappling for the edges of the door and pressing back against the mob fighting to get inside.
Sweat weakens my grasp and I struggle to hold on, my knee throbbing as the door creeps closed slowly. Too slowly. Luca reappears behind me, giving me cover for the finite amount of time we have left. Thrusting my legs into a locked position I release a bellow of pain, harnessing the sensation into my efforts and sliding the door shut fully. Looping the rope through it's handle and some piping on either side, I tie it as securely as my shaking hands will allow.
The door blocked for now, I spin back around to find us trapped on a platform above a cavern full of clamouring Brutes. My hand once again finds my sword as Luca fires his last three arrows into the stairwell, his blade seeming a paltry weapon against an army this size.
There is no room for thought as we fight, our efforts seeming increasingly pointless. The whispers take advantage of my weakened resolve and begin to claw their way forward.
It's over.
You've lost.
The platform beneath us shifts, the creaking of loosened metal rising above the Madam's storm. I nearly lose my footing as the weight of the Brutes begins to tear the stairs free of the wall.
Luca slams his elbow into someone's face. The Brute topples over the guardrail, causing the scaffolding to shift again. We grab onto the rope barring the door as we kick back the Brutes still doggedly pursuing us despite the steep pitch of the collapsing stairwell. All the while the door at our backs shakes violently, rattling from the impact of many more trying to break in.
Thunder, the pounding of fists and clanking of metal dims to a hum as the cloud hums louder. I take a breath, shutting my eyes as I prepare to let it wash over me.
"Don't," Luca's voice jolts me back to awareness, "Do not give in to it."
I look at him in surprise, having nearly forgotten that he was there.
"Not yet." He says, shaking his head.
"I have to." Pain and fear strain my words. "It's that or we die."
"There is another way." Luca stares into the bedlam below, a strange shadow overtaking him. "I can hunt them."
I stammer, not understanding. "There's too many of them," I say. "And you're out of arrows."
When his eyes return to me I find them black. "I am the arrow."
And then he drops away.
If I scream the sound is swallowed up by the storm. Luca has disappeared into the ocean of mechanical monsters but I can see them converging, their attention drawn by his arrival. Readjusting my grip I press both heels into the loosened staircase and brace myself. The hammering at my back threatens to throw me from my perch and I grit my teeth, vision blurring as I straighten my legs and push with all my might. A bone-shattering screech fills my ears as the stairwell is finally severed from the wall, taking me and the rest of the Brutes down with it.
Throwing myself into the air in the instant before the crash and I tuck into a roll, colliding with the legs of one. He lands with a thud, his armour-plated fist flying out towards me. In the next breath my head rings with the force of impact, spots of light momentarily blinding me. I struggle to get my bearings, at the same time searching for Luca. There is a flash of something near my elbow and I jump back, barely managing to dodge the falling Brute. The Madam's unwilling lackey hits the floor with a distinct thud, his unseeing eyes posing a silent question.
Sabre clenched in shaking fists I look for the Brute's assailant. As I search another Brute falls, then another. Metal-laden bodies slump to the floor, falling one after another like so many sacks of brick.
A shadow moves near my back. Spinning around I raise my weapon, barely managing to block the oversized blade. Using both hands to shove the woman back I ready myself for the next attack, watching as she strikes. I am raising my own weapon when the charging Brute stops suddenly in her tracks. A thin black line appears on her neck, widening slowly as the poison escapes her veins. By the time I understand what's just happened Luca has already killed two more and is disappearing once again into the fray.
Dread creeps over me. My actions feel sluggish as I return to the battle, weariness lacing my bones as piles of soaking wet corpses fill my peripherals. The battle feels endless, nightmarish as enemy after enemy materializes without any hint of the fatigue that laces my soul. Between the storm and the slaughter I feel caught in a dream-like state, falling back on my instincts while remaining acutely aware that a murderous spectre is stalking the grounds around me. When the last Brute collapses I remain still, sword wavering precariously before me as I wipe the blood from my face and await the next blow.
My hand falls to my side when it fails to appear, my bad leg caving and causing me to stumble. Gingerly I right myself and wince when a crack of thunder sounds distantly, signalling that the storm is beginning to pass. Awareness dawns slowly and my aches are replaced by a sudden desperation.
Where is Luca?
Wobbling on unsteady legs I search, clawing past heaps of cloth and machine. The battlefield has been transformed into a graveyard, the scene around the unholy tower and splintered airships being one of unspeakable savagery. The feeling of dread creeps in further as I make my way across the hangar, the sheer number of dead Brutes overwhelming my senses. If this cursed night had not already shown me rain, I might never have believed that a single person could defeat an entire mechanical army.
I find Luca crouched near the tower. Rain drenches him but he doesn't appear to notice, his head bowed and his face hidden by the shadows.
I slow, approaching him carefully. He doesn't so much as flinch when I draw closer, seemingly focused on the bloody sword he has propped up before him. My hand hovers a few inches from his shoulder, retreating when I remember how he drew away back on the cliff. Instead I sink down beside him.
"Luca." I ask softly. "Are you hurt?"
"No." His voice is muffled. "Are you?"
"No."
He exhales slowly and lifts his head a fraction. The rain cascading down his face intermingles with the sticky black blood, masking his familiar features.
"You do not need to worry, he was not one of them." Luca casts a glance around the bodies gently ticking away their final moments. "Will, I mean."
My shoulders slump. "Thank the gods."
"Do not thank them. The gods are far removed from here."
My relief is overshadowed by a sudden chill, fed by the dampness seeping through my clothes. "Come on," I urge, swallowing my rising panic. "Let's go." The thudding of Brutes fighting to break in emphasizes my point.
"You go." He says, watching the door. "I will wait here for the rest."
"What? No. Not a chance." I shake my head. "I'm not leaving without you."
"Why shouldn't you?" Luca finally looks at me fully and I nearly gasp. The blue has vanished from his eyes, leaving them black and full of a bloodlust that freezes me to my core. "This is precisely what you wanted me for, you and Jaron and the others. You wanted me because of what I can do."
"That's not true." Ferocity masks my fear. "You are so much more than this."
"Am I? Then explain how I am able to do such things."
His attention has drifted again, head tilting as he watches the rope I tied across the door pull the metal piping loose.
"This is who I am." Luca speaks from far away, his knuckles whitening as he tightens his grip on his weapon. "A Hunter. A killer."
"Stop it."
"It is what you wanted." His accusation tears at me. "Someone to fight for you, keep you alive long enough for you destroy the Madam. That is precisely what I am doing. Leave me."
I swallow, every word failing me but one, "No."
He straightens, rising to his feet in one unnaturally smooth motion. I do the same, somewhat shakier.
"I don't want you with me because you can fight, or because you keep me in my right mind." I say, ignoring the sounds of the Brutes throwing themselves against the door with a renewed ferocity. "I just want you."
"Leave, Kay." Danger laces his voice.
"No."
The door squeaks on rusted hinges but I refuse to look, keeping Luca's too-dark eyes locked with mine.
"I belong here." He seems to be speaking to himself. "This is what I am meant to do."
"No, it isn't." I tell him. "Please, Luca. I need you to run."
"Why?"
"Because I can't lose you, too."
He looks at me in surprise and without a thought I reach forward, pulling his mouth to mine.
The chill of the rain and the hammering at the door are forgotten. Luca's hands tangle in my hair, his sword clattering to the ground as he pulls me to him. Our hearts pound against one another, the familiarity of his touch and the heat of his kiss alighting a spark deep within me. A spark I had thought long-dead.
When we draw apart Luca's eyes have cleared, blue finally finding me.
"We are going together." I tell him, slightly breathless but leaving no room for argument.
He nods, picking up his sword and shouldering my weight when my knee buckles. The Brutes shout over one another, urging my murky thoughts into action. Finally gaining enough clarity to dismiss one exit in favour of another, I gauge how well the nearest airship survived the storm.
"There," I say, indicating the vessel. "That's our way out."
"What of the other airships?"
Rather than point out that his carnage will enrage the Madam far more than a few missed ships, I instead say, "The storm already took care of them. Let's take one ship so we aren't leaving empty-handed." The need to distance ourselves from this dome is primal and it isn't a new pack of Brutes getting in that scares me.
It's knowing what Luca will do to them.
The remaining Brutes finally break through just as the ship lifts off the ground. I watch them crowd the hangar floor, reeling from our near-miss as we float higher and higher, clearing the hangar roof and the tower beyond. Our flight from Babel and into the Wastelands passes in a blur and I steer the ship blindly, bleary eyes checking the compass every so often to ensure that we won't be abandoning the ship anywhere near the camp. When a faint light appears on the horizon I have to blink several times to register the sight, scarcely believing what I am seeing. Impossibly enough, the night has ended and a new day is upon us.
Through it all Luca remains silent, staring blankly over the side of the ship. I chance a look back at him, bloodstained memories of my life's longest night churning through me while I consider his faraway gaze.
Strange, that despite countless warnings I never truly understood what made Luca an outcast. Hearing the stories of Jaron's Hunter are one matter, but seeing with my own eyes precisely what Luca is capable of is something entirely different. Lost in thought I don't immediately notice that he has caught me looking at him. A lightning bolt of warning strikes me as we lock eyes across the stolen ship, leaving a distinct tingle upon my lips.