Page 98 of Katya and the Young God

So instead she skates around as it strides towards her, forcing her towards the building instead of the line of runes, and her mind races.

It’s not easy to stop a Golem, but they’re not smart. Simple constructs brought into being by their Magician, able to follow basic unspoken commands, and strong. It could, if she let it, pummel her to death without breaking a sweat.

Not that she wants it to, but it’s slow enough moving that she can avoid it, make it split its attention between the two of them, give them a chance to get to Not-Thomas, to teleport out.

Pieter goes left, so she goes right, tracing a line of fire between the Golem and the Magician. Bullets and stone splinter off, sparking in the dim light.

The Magician cuts his hand towards Pieter, and Katya can’t see anything in the dim light, but Pieter falters, stumbles to one knee, still holding onto Selene.

There’s some invisible weight pushing down on him, something she cannot see nor understand, but he hunches over Selene’s unconscious body, as if protecting her from rain. As if stopping something unseeable from harming her.

Katya shoots at the Magician, and he deflects with a gesture. A smile crosses his face, half gritting his teeth, but his eyes are alive, like this is what he truly lives for.

The Golem slams close to Katya, and she springs away, still getting courted towards the door to the warehouse. She pulls the trigger again, but the rifle just clicks.

Tossing it aside, she pulls out her copper knife, flicking it open with a satisfying click, and faces off with the Golem.

She doesn’t know if Golems can be affected by copper, if copper can cut through their stone skin, but if the bullets didn’t do the job, this might.

There’s a flicker of motion, something beyond the rune line, drawing her eye, and...

Not-Thomas hits the ground, sudden, his hand in a fist and his shoulders strong, and the forest floor, with twigs and branches and damp pine needles, bends and bows from his fist. Mud ripples up, splattering them.

The Magician stumbles, his hands dropping and the glowing light blinking out, and in that moment, her heart in her throat, Katya throws her knife at him.

It’s not a throwing knife, it’s not made for it, but the point sinks into his upper shoulder, and he chokes out a gasp, a surprisingly little sound for the injury.

The Golem in front of her freezes, like it’s glitching. Like the concentration keeping him upright falters, and it moves in slow, jerking motions towards her. She dances away, scrambling.

Pieter struggles to his feet, hands white against Selene’s form, and stumbles across the line of runes. In a flash, Not-Thomas grabs him and twists, and they’re gone. Disappeared.

Leaving Katya alone with the Golem and the Magician.

Empty handed but not unarmed, Katya side steps away from the two of them, heart pounding. Her hands sweat, but she can’t pause to wipe them off.

The Magician twists, yanks the knife out of his shoulder with a pant, and the copper is slicked with blood. He raises his hand again, glowing.

“They left you, didn’t they?” He says, and it’s a jolt. She hasn’t heard his voice since under the mountain.

As if rebooting, as if jerking back to life, the Golem charges at her, clipping her by her bad shoulder and swinging her back into the rusted metal wall.

She hits it with a clatter and a clang, her head ringing, but she springs back up again, springs to her feet, and the Magician is giving her such an odd glance, full of a mix of wonder and fury, that her blood goes cold.

“Where’s Feketer?” She asks, and gets a grin in return. Pain sparks down her shoulder, her hand clenching beyond her control, her fingers spasming closed.

With a single shaking hand, she pulls out her backup revolver, aiming it. The Magician grins at her, like he finds her adorable.

“He’s off duty, it’s just me right now,” The Magician boasts, as if that would scare her. As if one less enemy is anything but something to be celebrated.

She fires off a shot with her other hand, the Magician blocks it with a wave.

“Yeah, but we got her,” Katya says, and her blood cools, both with the terror of being here alone and with the satisfaction of doing the job well. “Don’t think he’s going to appreciate that.”

“We’ll get her back, we’re resourceful,” he says, then sends her sprawling into the ground with a mere flick of his glowing hand. Blood streams from the wound in his shoulder, but he pays it no mind. She’s not sure if it’s some sort of magic concentration, or just force of will, or—

Her face splatters into the mud, and pushing herself back up, her shoulder...gives. Twists underneath her, landing her in the mud again, and the Magician laughs.

“Right, weren’t you injured there?” He says, striding over, and she twists herself over, scrambling back. Lockstep with him, the Golem approaches too, as if to pummel her. “Had that pretty scar, made everyone all uncomfortable? Didn’t Pieter put it there?”

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