Veil of Shadows

Chapter 36. The Duel

The unknown figure paced in his throne room, muttering incoherently to himself. Uncontrolled fury burned in his eyes, and his head twitched to the side. He whirled to face the double doors as they swung open to reveal Wraith.

He ran a hand across his face. "I did not call for you. Get out of my throne room. Now," he growled.

Wraith raised an eyebrow. "I don't take orders from you." The unknown figure's eyes narrowed in irritation, but he turned away and continued pacing.

For a few moments, Wraith just watched him as he paced back and forth, muttering obscenities under his breath. "I'll take a wild guess and say that the negotiation was less than successful." She said, taking a few steps toward the unknown figure.

The unknown figure let out a scream of rage and threw a knife at the wall, where it embedded itself up to the hilt. Wraith stared at the quivering hilt of the knife. She said "You never seemed like the diplomatic type."

The unknown figure turned to face her and said, slowly, deliberately "Apparently, you're too dense to get the hint, so I'll dumb it down for you. If you don't get out of this room within the next five seconds, I will put this dagger through your heart!"

He screamed the last few words so loudly and with so much conviction that it was obvious he wasn't bluffing. Wraith just gave him a cynical stare. "Definitely not the diplomatic type."

The unknown figure's head twitched again and he drew another dagger, but this one wasn't meant for throwing. It was heavy, and rather large, with a sharp serrated blade. This was a dagger meant for close combat.

Wraith didn't shift her gaze from the unknown figure's. She tilted her head slightly to the side, gave him a small smile, and vanished. The unknown figure glanced around the room, alert for any sign of attack.

Behind him, Wraith had drawn both her daggers and was watching him with predatory calm, waiting for him to turn around.

After a few moments, the unknown figure whirled around and struck Wraith with his dagger. Well...at least, he would have, if Wraith had stayed in the same spot. Instead, his knife cleaved through empty air, throwing him off balance, and he stumbled.

A laugh echoed through the throne room. "Tell me you're not actually this terrible at combat," Wraith said.

The unknown figure forced himself to stay calm. An angry enemy is an enemy that can be easily manipulated into a position favorable to an attacker. He twirled the dagger with expert skill and glanced around the room again, this time marking targets.

He didn't have time to take a step before Wraith reappeared, knives stabbing and slashing through his guard with practiced ease, and the unknown figure winced as a blade carved a long gash in his shoulder. Then, Wraith was gone, and he was left to try to predict her next attack.

Soon, the unknown figure realized the only way he could survive this battle was to go on the offensive. If he let Wraith stay on the attack, she carried the momentum of the battle, and it would be impossible to emerge victorious.

He closed his eyes and let his powers take over.

Sensing the presence of the Wither Hybrid, the unknown figure grinned as he teleported.

He reappeared directly next to Wraith. He smirked as he saw her shocked expression and stabbed with all his strength. The Wither Hybrid's reflexes were fast enough that she narrowly avoided being impaled on the blade.

Wraith, noticing that he was temporarily unguarded, slipped under the blade of the knife, dropped to the ground, and performed a sweeping kick that knocked the unknown figure clear off his feet.

The unknown figure's head was slammed against the ground as he fell, and immediately his vision clouded, and his head spun from the impact. Shaking his head to clear it, he rolled to the side just as a throwing knife buried itself in the ground where his heart had been mere moments ago.

Pushing himself to his feet, a flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes as he began to wonder if he was outmatched. Wraith launched herself at him, and he stepped to the side, then moved to trip her. It worked, but she turned the fall into a somersault and was on her feet in an instant.

Finally, the unknown figure's anger took hold, and his eyes burned so brightly that if Wraith had been human, she would have been permanently blinded.

He threw the knife with all his strength, but that wasn't the end of his attack. Wraith dodged to the side, avoiding the dagger with ease, but didn't see the unknown figure teleport, and stepped directly into a powerful right hook.

She was sent reeling from the blow, and the unknown figure took advantage of her momentary lack of defense and leapt forward, hitting her on the point of her jaw with a crushing uppercut. Wraith slammed into the wall, then leaned on it to keep her balance.

The unknown figure let out a low laugh. "Wraith, master assassin, finally brought down a notch." He conjured an energy sword and raised it above his head, preparing to bring it down in a killing blow.

Too late, he realized that Wraith had only been feigning weakness. She grinned, and it all went wrong.

His chest went numb, and the unknown figure looked down to find a dagger embedded in his heart. He lost all feeling in his arms and legs, and he crumpled to the ground, his energy sword dissipating as he failed to supply the power needed to sustain it.

Wraith moved to stand next to him, and she after a moment, she said "Your first mistake was overestimating your own worth. Your second mistake was underestimating mine." She flicked a hand, and the gaping wound in the unknown figure's chest healed.

"Be glad I didn't leave you to die," Wraith muttered as she stalked out of the room. The unknown figure was left staring after her, wondering why he wasn't dead.