“Agreed,” Vindar said, and leaped.
I’d expected something more formal, maybe with seconds or at dawn or something. Prytheen dueling wasn’t like that, or at least it wasn’t between these two. Vindar’s knives sliced through empty space as Karnac jumped out of the way, rolling to his feet, and drawing his sword.
Just in time to parry one of the daggers Vindar threw at him. The other sliced into Karnac’s left arm before spinning off into the snow. Vindar already had another pair of blades in his hands, closing on Karnac before he recovered.
I covered my mouth and wished I could look away. The two were well matched, swift and smooth and brutal, and my heart stopped each time they closed for a flurry of cuts. The ringing of blade on blade came through the transmitter loud and clear, each exchange making me wince as I tried to match sound to action.
“As you can see, Karnac has the edge in speed, but Vindar’s experience is telling,” Allison’s voice caught my attention with the name of my khara, and I turned to see her standing next to the barricade, a camera drone focused on her, Tulla riding on its back. A second drone watched through the window, recording the fight itself.
“Ooh, that swing from Karnac nearly turned the tide. I think… YES, Vindar’s bleeding, that cut will slow him down a bit.”
I guess we all have our own ways of coping, I thought as I turned back to watch and tuned her out. Vindar was bleeding, but so was Karnac, blood staining the snow around them. My heart pounding, I resisted the urge to open fire on Vindar. My mate wouldn’t forgive me if I stole his kill, and the rest of the Prytheen would rightly see it as a reason to attack.
But I’d never forgive myself if I let Karnac die. I shifted my grip on the blaster as I watched Vindar dart forward, blades flashing. Karnac stepped back with the beautiful precision of a dancer — but just too slow to avoid a cut to the face. I yelped in terror, watching Vindar press his advantage. He couldn’t quite land a killing blow, but each cut slowed my mate down, made the next easier.
Fuck, come on Karnac, I thought, trying to think of something to do, some way to help. Karnac staggered back, sword swings too slow now, and Vindar pushed that advantage, getting in close. Blood sprayed, I opened my mouth to scream.
Karnac’s headbutt came as a surprise to us all. One moment he was on the back foot, the next he launched himself forward, head slamming into Vindar’s. Dropping his sword, Karnac grabbed both of his opponent’s arms as he hammered his head into Vindar’s again. Vindar tried to twist free, but no luck.
Allison’s voice shifted behind me, getting more and more excited. “Yes, I think Karnac has it, Vindar’s down. He’s down! What a comeback. And now Karnac’s opening his mouth, baring his fangs… oh my.”
I didn’t need to ask what had upset her. Karnac bit down on his enemy’s neck, his sharp teeth digging in as he shook his head violently. Vindar’s blades dropped from his grip and he choked out a word in Prytheen.
Instantly, Karnac released him and stood, roaring something into the darkness. Vindar remained on the frozen ground, pressing a hand to his bloody neck and as I watched he stopped moving.
“Yes, yes, it looks like it’s all over,” Allison’s commentary continued. She looked as calm as a statue carved from ice, but her voice came out fast, high-pitched, the voice of someone on the edge of panic.
I’m sure she’ll clean that up in post, I thought. That was a trivial distraction from the important job of congratulating Karnac on his victory.
No kisses until he washes out his mouth, though. I shuddered at the memory of that bite.
“Wait, what’s this?” Allison spoke on autopilot, careening over the edge into full-blown panic. “They, the rest of the Prytheen, they don’t look like they’re surrendering.”
Stopping short of the door, I whirled back to the window. The rest of Vindar’s pack charged in, a dozen of them against my one beloved. He snatched up his sword, bracing to receive the attack, though it was obviously futile.
Karnac would die while I watched.
“Like hell he will,” I snarled, snatching the untested blaster up and pointing through the window. Too big for my hands, it wasn’t easy to aim, but I had nothing to lose.
The heavy trigger clicked as I pulled it back, and around us the lights flickered out. In my grip the blaster whined, heated up, and then fired.
A rush of super-bright orange and white slammed through the window, shattering the hardened glass and throwing it out. My shot missed, but where it struck the ground, the snow exploded in a shock wave of steam that flung two of the attacking Prytheen off their feet.
Karnac took advantage of the confusion, hacking another’s neck open while the enemy were distracted. That got the rest charging again, two switching targets to rush me. Why do Prytheen have to be so fast, I wondered. The blaster burned in my hands, and the system hadn’t reset yet. Karnac was bogged down with fighters, he wouldn’t be able to reach me in time. I’d die alone.
But I wasn’t alone. Alf shouldered his way in beside me, improvised spear he’d made from a boom mike’s pole jabbing toward the window. Michiko joined me on the other side, holding her sledgehammer high, ready bring it down on the head of whoever stepped through the window frame.
Behind me, Amy and Rod gathered, pointing their spears over my head. Improvised weaponry, yes, and the people holding them didn’t have a clue how to use them. But they were performers enough to look frightening with weapons in hand, and the window wasn’t that big. Rushing through would be sure to get the Prytheen stabbed, even if they didn’t get killed.
They pulled up short, taking a moment to reassess their strategy. A moment too long — the lights snapped back on over my head, the blaster thrummed to life in my hands, and my finger squeezed the trigger. The blast cut one of the Prytheen in half before he could react, and I turned the beam toward his companion.
He was faster, diving behind a snowbank for cover. Not a great choice: the blaster’s beam struck the snow and exploded it, then carved through the chest of the exposed Prytheen.
And then it died in my hands. Dead as the station itself: the weapon had eaten all our stored power, and I couldn’t hear any of the thousand little noises the station usually made. It didn’t matter. The remaining Prytheen turned tail and fled, Karnac leaping on the last of them and driving his sword deep into the man’s chest.
Two more cooling corpses lay beside Vindar. My mate hadn’t been idle.
“Did—did we win?” Amy stammered. Rod laughed, clapped her on the shoulder, and pointed at Allison, who was still addressing the camera. Talking about our victory, she made it sound like we were a sports team. I half-expected her to do a deep dive into our stats and season records.
“Of course we won,” Rod said, slipping an arm around Amy’s shoulders. “You can hear all about it on the news.”
I stepped out of the shattered window, trying not to look at the remains of my kills as I found a path that avoided the blood. It didn’t do me much good — Karnac swept me up in a powerful hug as soon as I reached him, spinning me round and round.
“You are magnificent, Molly my khara,” he called out to the heavens. “Magnificent and deadly and smart.”
I winced, his hug making my ribs creak. “And you, Karnac, are covered in blood. Put me down.”