Page 72 of Living Legend

“For fuck’s sake Dani, how are you this selfish?”

“Selfish?!” She sounded surprised.

“Yes! This is could be a huge turning point, but you won’t do it because of your fucking pride!” I could hear myself yelling, but I didn’t care.

“Have you ever taken a soul, Nicholas? No, you haven’t. It’s more painful than you could ever know. You just become a void, reckless, so easily contorted, because you aren’t quite dead yet, nothing but an empty vessel that breathes and moves. Angels couldn’t stand the thought of what I do weeks ago, but now angels are using me to get what they want? What do you plan to reward me with when everything gets resolved?” She started to stomp towards me. I opened my mouth to answer but she stopped me. “A fucking medal? A pat on the back? No, you will send me back to Purgatory until the next time I’m fucking useful, or better yet, you’ll just get rid of me since a dead demon is better than aselfishone.”

“You are out of your fucking mind if you think that’s what’s going to happen.”

“Yeah, probably, but I’m pretty sure that’s what Natalia’s people thought before angels slaughtered half of them. Excuse me for expressing all of my options.”

I watched as her chest rose and fell with each breath. She wrapped her hair around one side of her neck and tugged at the ends. She had ended her statement and I didn’t know what to say. She had a point, but none of that mattered right now. Oddly enough, I knew I wouldn’t let them hurt her if it came down to it. I had to find a way to turn this around, but without manipulation. She would sense that from a mile away. So, I used the one and only tactic I had.

“Alright, you have a point.” I let out an exhaustive sigh. “That doesn’t change the fact that there’s a demon that needs to be broken down, so how about we do this fairly?”

Dani eyed me skeptically. “Explain.”

“You didn’t seem to mind the wager I made when it came to your dagger, so how about we do that again?”

“You want to fight me, in hopes that you’ll win, and I’ll be forced to help you?”

“There is no hoping. I will win. We both know that,” I said, giving her a sly smile that I had a feeling she’d enjoy.

She looked away, but not before dropping her eyes to my mouth for a moment, then over at the rack of weapons. A smile ticked at the corners of her lips. “Possibly. How about we make it a little more interesting?”

“Go on.”

“You have a way with a sword, I’ll give you that, but what happens when the sword is taken away and all you have are these?” She lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers.

I held my stomach as I started to laugh. “You want to legitimately fight me?”

“No magic, no weapons.” She had a glint in her eye, almost as if she was excited.

“For someone whodoesn’twant to torture someone, you sure do get excited for violence.” I tilted my head, hearing my neck crack a bit.

“You’re known for your sword skills, but that doesn’t mean you’d want to use them on one of your own without any sort of pretense.”

“It stepped into Heaven’s Gate without permission, Dani. What more of a pretense do you want?”

Dani pressed her lips together hard before replying. “That, Nicholas, is where you and I differ.” I started to chuckle, but that got cut short by her fist colliding with my jaw. It was bone against bone and the pain was quick, my jaw throbbing as she stepped back. I lifted my hand up to cover the likely bruise on my face, surprise written all over my face.

I staggered back a few paces. “Did you just punch me?”

Fake innocence appeared across over her face. “Oh, did I not mention we were starting? My bad.” She shrugged.

“I’ll disregard how completely unfair you are,” I said, realizing the pressure in my jaw wasn’t so bad, meaning she hadn’t hit with all her power, just enough to make a point.I looked up at her to see her other fist in my periphery and felt her knuckles connect with the other side of my face. She chuckled when I almost tripped backwards.

“I’ll disregard how annoying you are.” She cracked her knuckles.

“I’m annoying? Have you metyou?”

“I have, and if I do say so myself, I’m a fucking delight.” She took a few steps towards me, bringing her fist up again, but this time, I wouldn’t be caught off guard. I blocked her fist and grabbed her wrist, twisting.

Her body followed along with my slow but deliberate cranking of her wrist. She squinted her eyes at the pain, but I couldn’t be in charge for long, because she wrapped a leg around the back of my knee, causing me to bend awkwardly enough to release her wrist. She spun around, lifting her leg and aiming for my side, but not before I regained my composure enough to grab her leg mid-swing.

Dani tried to yank her leg back, but I held on tighter, knowing she wouldn’t be content hopping on one leg for long. She let out a huff that reminded me of the sound a disgruntled toddler would make. “How does this end, Dani?”

She brushed a piece of her hair from her eyes, almost losing her balance on the one leg. “I don’t know, Nicholas. Since you’re making all the shots, you tell me.”

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