When Forever Ends (Part 1: A Game of Chess)

XXVI

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T w e n t y - S i x

"No!" Maya and Erin cried out, leaping forward to come to my aid.

"Back off," Tarron halted his approach momentarily to wave his arm at them. My friends were shoved roughly back as if an invisible wall had blocked them.

"I had hoped you would remember yourself before I had to kill you," he said to me, "but I'm afraid I just don't have the patience to wait any longer."

I jumped aside just in time to avoid the razor sharp point of the blade and winced at the pain in my back. It would be really handy to have that shield right now, I thought.

"Die!" Tarron screamed, his rage overcoming everything else. His eyes blazed hotter than ever as he spun the sword around and took a swipe at my head.

I ducked, but I felt a slight yank at my hair and realized that he had cut straight through it and given me an unwanted haircut. I glanced at my friends, but they stood behind the invisible wall, helplessly watching Tarron's attack.

While I was distracted, he slashed again at me. I heard the crash of metal on metal and suddenly I could move my hands. The sword had cut through the chain binding my wrists together!

I realized that I couldn't possibly overpower him, especially with my back still sore, so I went on the defensive. I spun out of reach of his sword and circled around behind him, making his movements look slow and clumsy. I ducked and rolled and outmaneuvered him, all the while keeping the pain at bay and trying to come up with a plan.

Eventually, Tarron seemed to regain some of his sense, and it told him that he needed to change tactics if he wanted to do more than blindly swing the sword around without hitting me. I was caught off guard when he feinted thrusting the weapon at me, then suddenly flicked the point over to the left, which was the same direction I had moved to escape the first attack. I felt a stab of pain in my right elbow and stumbled.

Tarron saw the drop of blood fall from my arm and gained confidence, his mind clearing of the blind rage that had overcome him. He swung at me with a two handed grip on the hilt, then, when I dodged to the side, pivoted on one foot in the other direction and slammed the blade into my foot with lightning speed. Since I still had no shoes, it gave my toenails a clean cut and drew a razor-thin line of blood on my big toe. I howled in pain and clutched my foot. Tarron grinned wickedly and spun the sword in his hand, preparing to finish me off, but in his hesitation, I had an idea.

As he brought the weapon above his head to deal the final blow, I charged towards him, cringing as my injured foot hit the ground. When I had come within a meter of him, I saw his eyes widen at my sudden approach. His sword was far too long to use in these close quarters. He was forced to drop it in the dirt and bring his hands back in front of of him, but I was too quick. I ran straight up to him, swung my uninjured leg, and kicked him where it counts. Hard.

Tarron screamed in silence as he flew through the air, landing at the base of the tower. Apparently, he was a lot lighter than I'd thought, because I wasn't that strong.

I limped over to him as he writhed on the ground. "Not so tough now, are you?"

He sat up slowly. "You've lost," he rasped.

A shadow crossed his face and I turned around. The sun was beginning to slip below the mountains, casting a shadow over the basin. The shadow passed the bottom of the tower and began to climb upward. Suddenly, a green light turned on next to an open doorway at the top of the scaffolding. An alarm let out a wail as a counter flickered to life above the doorway, the glowing red digital numbers starting at five minutes and counting downward. There was a hiss within the tower and a cloud of white vapor spilled out of the doorway.