Page 66 of Xeda

"I know you're afraid," he said to her. "But stay here." He pointed to the spot.

The girl barely seemed to hear him. But she did look at him even through her tears. He took that as a sign she understood, though he didn't know if she would do as he asked. As long as she remained in the yard, that was all that mattered.

Quickly he slipped away to hide between a tree and the entrance of one passage where he could clearly see her, waiting to either see movement or hear someone coming.

Time seemed to go by excruciatingly slowly, but Xeda was apt at being able to remain still for a long time just as he was good at keeping hidden. He worried, however, about how much time remained. But he knew Kaxek wouldn't lose.

The girl's soft sobs would surely draw him out and, moments later, Xeda saw Kaxek's tall shadow emerge from an entrance, looking straight at the girl. He appeared unimpressed that she was just a fledgling. Didn't seem to care at all as he stalked toward her, his claws flexed, ready to rip the seal out.

The girl screamed, and Xeda moved with such speed he felt he could fly. With Kaxek's back to him, he launched himself into the air, blade out, and dropped down on top of him.

Before Kaxek could turn, Xeda's blade indented between his ribs and ventways. Kaxek roared as he whipped around, but Xeda got on his back and sank his talons into the slitted vents along Kaxek’s throat, then bit down on the other side of his neck, trying to tear his head from his shoulders. At the same time, he jabbed the tip of his tail into Kaxek’s side.

Kaxek snarled and grabbed Xeda's horns, yanking hard, then his tail sliced across Xeda's thighs and back, trying to wrap around him. He backed up into a tree and tried to smash Xeda against it.

Xeda refused to let go. This was it. He had him. He was going to win.

He heard the whoosh of something flying, then felt a sudden awful pain across his arm as something dug deep into his very bones, a cold metal slicing through his armor into flesh. The pain blinded him, but desperation made him still latch on as Kaxek smashed him again into the tree and tried to wrench him off.

Xeda saw at the corner of his eye Tazyn rushing at them. Weaponless. And he realized it was because his weapon was embedded deep into Xeda's arm.

Tazyn jumped and pulled it out, nearly taking Xeda's arm with it. Xeda felt the tendons tear in his muscles, felt the nerves unravel, and realized he couldn't move his arm. It went limp at his side. Still, he crunched and shook his head, trying to tear Kaxek's throat.

Kaxek lurched forward, and his claws raked down Xeda's face, one catching near his eye, making Xeda lose temporary sight. Kaxek then rolled, taking Xeda down with him. Xeda clung to him until he tasted blood while Kaxek hit Xeda’s face several times till he broke his nose.

Xeda held on even still. Until he felt Tazyn's weapon cut into his side, the pain making him lose focus. At the same time, Kaxek took hold of his horns again and rolled as he pulled.

This time, with one arm damaged, he couldn't hold. He took some of Kaxek's scales and flesh with him as he was thrown off, sliding against a nearby tree.

Kaxek slowly stood, his face twisted with rage. Blood trickled from the bite on his throat and from the wounds Xeda inflicted with his blade and tail.

"You'll die for that," Kaxek hissed. "There is no such honor in you. You truly are scum. The worst of our kind." He pulled Xeda's blade out and gripped it tight. Tazyn rose his weapon and stood beside him. He didn't try to fight Kaxek at all. He hadn't even tried to take advantage of the situation. Somehow, they had become allies, and Xeda wondered for how long. "You are a fool, Xeda," Kaxek said. "A miserable animal and nothing more, forced to use trickery to win a fight. Because you know you could never defeat me head on. Now you'll pay for it."

Xeda rose to his feet, his one arm cut so badly the bone was broken. Not even his grivhide was able to withstand Tazyn's heavy weapon. But if it hadn't been for his armor, Tazyn would have sliced the arm clean off.

The wound on his side was bad too, Xeda knew. Tazyn had gotten him through a break in the armor and so it had sliced through his scales and skin, and he knew it had hit vital organs. He would bleed internally. He staggered back, hating them both.

The girl cried and screamed, and he couldn't help her, couldn't save her. He had no hope that he did enough damage to kill Kaxek. And even if he did somehow succumb to the injuries, there was still Tazyn. Xeda had no hope to win against them both, not like this.

He thought of Ophilia and wanted to roar and scream with rage. No, it couldn't end like this.

But damn if he wasn't going to do something before he lost.

With the enhancements still coursing through him, he knew they were the only thing now keeping him going. With all the strength he had left, he bolted for the girl and grabbed her up, then ran.

He started for one passage straight ahead, then felt Tazyn's heavy weapon smash into his back.

The girl went flying across the ground, landing on her side as he fell. He could feel the blade deep into his spine. He couldn't move.

The girl screamed as Tazyn and Kaxek moved on either side of him. Tazyn wrenched his blade out of Xeda's back, the pain nearly making Xeda lose consciousness. He stared up at the nillium who smirked down at him.

"I don't suppose you'll let me have the final blow, will you, Kaxek?" Tazyn said.

"Go ahead," Kaxek said in a tone of disappointment. "He's not worth anything to me."

Tazyn grinned. He raised his weapon, ready to smash Xeda's skull in. He went to let it fall when the grin on his face dropped, and his eyes widened in shock. Then Xeda saw his eye being punctured open by an invisible blade.

The skra with the invisible cloak had jumped on him from behind and stabbed him in the face. Tazyn snarled in rage and swung his weapon around, hitting her in some way because she reappeared and smashed into a tree nearby.

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