Veridian Shores

Chapter 29 - Pawns

Rage coursed through Capper's body as Vandel's headless corpse thumped to the earth. Behind it the pile of half-scattered ash that had once been Beel lay, a horrendous reminder of what this battle had already cost. He stared at it for a moment as the winds whipped at the remains, his body trembling, but then an anguished howl snagged his attention, making him turn his head.

He saw Arcil hurtling towards him. He held a bloodied sword in each hand and a slim-fitting suit of bronze and black gilded armour. His Aspect seemed to pour out over the battlefield like a supernova, fuelled by anger and loss. Right now, Capper couldn't muster up a drop of sympathy. He turned to face the Baelock Elder-Blood, set his feet and bent his knees, his axe hanging loose in his right hand. He shook his head and bared his fangs, letting his full vampire visage come forth.

"C'mon!" he bellowed at his charging opponent. "COME AND GET ME!"

Just before Arcil reached him he surged forward, and the two Elder-Bloods smashed together with enough titanic force to generate a shockwave that flattened every vampire within twenty meters of them and tore a series of spidering cracks in the turf.

One of Arcil's swords flew skywards, the other locking against Capper's axe as the pair of them crashed to the ground. He swung his knuckle-duster at Arcil's face, but he jerked his head out of the path and fastened his free hand around Capper's throat, digging his fingers into the windpipe with a growl of fury.

Capper shook like a dog to loosen the grip, then rammed a knee up into Arcil's stomach hard enough to push them apart. His opponent rolled smoothly with the impact, bouncing back up to his feet and collecting his fallen sword as he went. Clashing the blades together with a snarl, Arcil bared his fangs and flung himself forward again.

Over and over their weapons smashed together as they ducked and wove in a tightly coiled dance of death. He gashed Arcil's leg with a reverse stroke of his axe, only to have his face laid open by a flicking upward slash of one sword in reply. Minutes passed and soon both Elder-Bloods were a mess of slowly healing wounds, covered in mud, grass and blood.

Arcil snarled a Vampyr curse and leapt, arcing towards Capper with both swords raised to hammer downwards. Holding his axe crossways in both hands, he braced himself as the Baelock Elder-Blood plummeted back to earth.

Both swords bit deep into the axe haft and Capper roared with exertion as his knees buckled from the tremendous force. Aspect blazing, and fury coursing through his veins, he pushed back, slowly levering himself back into a standing position. They stood there, pushing against each other, muscles straining, teeth gritting and Aspects warring for space overhead like battling shadows. Seconds passed.

Then Capper felt the pressure against him lessen fractionally. He had the edge in pure brute force, and he ground his teeth together, pushing harder. Suddenly Arcil ripped one sword free of the axe haft and swung, not at his head but at his right hand.

Instinctively Capper released his hold, knowing that if he lost a hand he would be as good as dead. The axe fell and the abrupt removal of resistance pitched Arcil forward. Capper took one step back to avoid the swinging sword, then lunged forward again, smashing his upper arm into Arcil's throat with an echoing thud.

Arcil was tipped backwards, feet pointing skyward, but before he could fall he let go of his weapons and grabbed Capper's armour, dragging him down into the mud again. They fell with a crash of armour, weaponless but with murderous energy still boiling between them.

So they kept fighting. Capper still had his knuckle-duster but Arcil did his best to avoid the heavy band of metal, and they tore up the ground as they traded punches and kicks back and forth. All technique vanished as they ploughed through the turf, brawling like two drunks. The rolled to halt with Arcil on top of him, their hands locked together, and Capper leaned up, opening his jaw wide. Then he sank his long fangs into Arcil's shoulder, digging deep through a gap in the armour and latching on. His opponent howled in pain but that only made Capper bite down harder. With his grip secure, he gave a powerful jerk of his neck muscles, pulling with enough force to flip Arcil over the top of him. Releasing his hold, Capper scrambled clear, looking around wildly at the torn-up ground where they'd been fighting until he stopped the chipped and scarred handle of his axe.