Page 138 of Love, Nemesis
Ana flinched as a loud noise cracked above her, and looked up as five planes spiraled from black clouds, droning low and dropping heavy metal tears that whistled and exploded with the force of an earthquake on impact.
Ana shielded herself from the explosions, finally catching sight of two great beasts, wrestling through the center of the battlefield.
It was hard to tell them apart, each a deep shade of black and laden with mechanisms that could hardly be defined with common words. They were made of claws and teeth, levers and knives, neither living things nor machines but composed of the most murderous aspects of both.
They broke apart and tore through the landscape. As big as the city walls, they crashed through them, one throwing the other across the valley and into Chronos, causing the orb of time to shimmer.
The beast who had been cast back retaliated with a deep, mechanical roar, casting black chains from its body and striking the other monster that ran toward it. Four wings expanded on the running beast's back.
The chains wrapped and then snapped two of the wings. The monsters collided again and rolled elsewhere before taking to the air.
First, they ascended with wings like a bird, then collided and entangled in the air with wings of a bat, and then as they broke apart again, they spiraled back, wings flattening into metal like a machine. The battle was loud and happening quickly, the destruction of the valley and the capital’s walls only a prelude of where things could go.
Ivan!Anacalled in her head as she sprinted full force across the battlefield, following the shadows of the figures. She could hardly hear herself think. Something exploded beside her,tossing her through the air. She hit hard and rolled into a crater, gritting her teeth as she clasped her hands over her ears.Ivan!
There was no response beyond the high-pitched ringing in her ears.
One of the beasts was thrown out of the sky, a crater breaking into the ground under its weight.
Ana scrambled back to her feet, pushing forward toward the battle. She prepared Chronos, knowing that in this case, she might have to use it again.
Against the blue sky, the other black beast morphed, diving with straight, metal wings that loosened into bat-like wings again and folded around its body. It spun, the bat wings melting into its form until it was like a large, metal bullet, shrieking through the sky at an alarming speed.
Ana slipped past two black fighting lions and several soldiers until she dropped into a trench. The impact shook everything around her. There was an intense flash of black light and then a sound like a large tree cracking in half. The explosion bloomed up into the sky, blotting out the sun as it rushed out toward her. She waited with her hands over her head as another tidal wave of Madness crashed over her and everything else. This time, Madness was so dense that it was water. Ana had to crawl out of the trench just so she could breathe.
She stared forward, the battlefield awash with darkness. There were no more machines, or animals, or soldiers. It was silent and she could hardly see ahead beyond the haze. She stifled a cough in the smog, looking back to see Madness lapping at the base of Chronos. But still, the people were safe.
Ana climbed out of the trench, soaking wet as she pushed her way deeper into the battlefield, up to her knees in Madness.
Ivan,she called again, but there was no response as she pushed hard through the waters. As they leveled out, she found shallower ground, the water at her ankles as she ran deeper into the mist. She picked up her pace when she saw a figure hoisting himself out of the water.
It was Lethe.
She ran faster, sprinting through the water and diving for him.
Their fight began. Ana made contact, striking fast as their movements sent water splashing loudly beneath them.
Weapon!she demanded from Ivan, imagining the grip in her hand. No response.Weapon!she shouted louder in her head.
The long blade materialized in her hand just as she drove a fist toward Lethe. He copied the weapon, and their blades sang against one another. She struck again fast, blades clanging and screaming like notes in a racing song. Lethe was strong, but maybe even as a Strike his fighting would remain simple. She tested what might be her only advantage over him.
She beckoned for a switch of weapon, and her blade morphed into a long axe. Lethe countered with an axe, and she spun with a second axe in her other hand, materializing from the mist. He blocked again to her dismay, keeping up with the variety easily.
She slammed them together into a new sword and struck for an opening. He countered with a sword, and forced her back, copying her movements at every turn.
It dawned on her then that she really could have any weapon she wanted, even Ares’s. She flipped her sword into a gun.
Everything stopped, and there she was, the pistol in her hand pointed at Lethe’s heart as she stared down the barrel of a gun that mirrored her own. Each of them panted, staring into each other’s eyes. They were both soaking wet, the dark waters dripping off their disheveled clothes. Ana could see blood trailing down his neck, a wound, somewhere from his battle with Ivan and the others.
Her body throbbed. The only sound was the quiet dripping of water and their breathing in the fog.
Five minutes,he spoke in her mind,until you realize that this situation is out of your control.
He dodged before she fired the gun.
He drew in close, the shot echoing through the silence as he formed a knife back in his hand. She had a knife back too, and the fight started again.
She recognized the dance in their violence, just like the festival when she’d recognized the violence in their dance. There was some sense of destiny in the battle they fought. She’d seen her past in Lethe’s eyes, in his spirit and laughter and losses.
