Destined To Die

Chapter 3 - Rematch

-3-

-Rematch-

The sharp sound of beeping woke Maddy immediately, and she pushed herself up from the couch, books falling to the ground as her legs kicked out instinctively. She'd been a light sleeper ever since her world had changed, and it took her only a few seconds to register that the beeping was coming from the smartwatch on her wrist.

Oh shit.

"Akane!" she called, quickly gathering up the books and laptop, stuffing them into her backpack, "Proximity alarm!"

It'd been the first thing they installed when they'd bought this place, a security system that was an odd blend between magic and technology, tracking anyone moving toward the house within a mile. Expensive, but well worth it. The rain outside had faded, clouds breaking to let dappled moonlight shine through the windows.

When she turned around, she could already see his form in the dim shadows at the bottom of the stairs, strapping on the last of his bracers.

"I know," he said quietly, a deadly look in his eye that she hadn't seen for some time, "How many?"

"One, as far as I can tell," she replied quickly, looking down at the watch," it's coming in from the south."

"Get the packs, I'll see what's come. You know what to do."

She nodded, quickly stuffing the books and laptop into her backpack before dashing past him into her room at the back of the house. She opened the door quickly, sliding on her knees to the space underneath her bed and pulling out a pair of small duffel bags.

They'd been prepared for emergencies like this for some time, each contained something close to fifty thousand Euros, clothes, water, and burner phones. They'd practiced this dozens of times.

Seeing that she was busying herself with securing their escape if necessary, Akane launched himself back up the stairs with speed. His feet barely touched the wood as he sped forward, running full speed at the window and closing his eyes. His form exploded into black smoke the second before he hit the glass, snaking through the cracks and rising up. As he reformed on top of the slanted roof, looking out over the woods, he spotted the intruder.

Standing among the trees, half in shadow, old and familiar vestments clad his form. A wickedly long sword was held slightly off centre in a relaxed posture, catching the moonlight. There was something unusual about the sword, something distantly familiar, but Akane couldn't quite place it.

"Just the man I was looking for," Jun called, voice filled with malice, "You're a hard man to track down, Akane."

Akane looked down at the man before him. He seemed different than the last time they'd met; somewhat tattered, thin, but his posture spoke of a calm confidence that was unnerving.

"What do you want, Jun?" Akane called, unsheathing both of his swords, taking a step towards the edge of the roof, "Koyane is gone, you owe no loyalty to a dead man."

"What do I want?" Jun echoed, stepping forward from the trees and looking up at Akane, "Your head, for a start. The witch's, next. Did you really think I wouldn't come for you, after all you've done?"

The witch? So apparently Jun didn't know Abigail's location either. She really had just vanished.

"This is the last chance I'm going to give you," Akane said firmly, pointing a blade towards Jun's chest, "Leave, now. I don't want to kill you."

Jun said nothing, merely adjusting his stance to hold his sword in both hands, level in front of his body, a grim smile on his face. No words needed to be said, they both understood what had to happen.