Page 136 of The Star's Sword

“Damn,” Cayne said. “I haven’t fought one who could. She’s unique, I’ll give her that.”

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, as her clones flowed all around me, trying to scare me but fearing my sword too much to attack.

“She’ll try to run,” Cayne said. “Anticipate it.”

I looked at the door of the arena. Cayne was probably right. Even with all of these illusions, Vasara was probably just trying to get away.

There was no way she wanted to fight me.

I stared at the clones, aware that when I found the right one, I wouldn’t want to let on.

At the right corner, I saw one clone floating a little slower as it moved, sword out, in a circle. It looked at the door and I felt in my gut that it was about to run.

In a flash, I ran to a spot on the arena between the clone and the exit, holding up my sword just as the clone became a blur of motion, running for the door.

Right through my blade.

A shriek rent the air and the other clones disappeared as Vasara, wounded in the side by my sword and spraying blood, fell to the ground, writhing.

I kicked her in the stomach, sending her rolling back, smearing blood across the sand.

“For hell’s sake, I didn’t even dismember you. You are from the eighth realm. Get up and fight,” I said.

She sobbed as she grabbed for her sword, putting a hand up to her bleeding side and then looking at it before sobbing harder again. She crawled backward, away from me, and put up both hands. “Please. Please. I give up. Show mercy.”

“Stand up!” the vampires yelled. “Boo!”

“It hurts!” she yelled at them. “Fighting hurts so freaking bad!” She pushed to standing, limping over to shake a fist at them. “Shut up you leeches! Shut up!”

The vampires went quiet then, at her sudden honesty about how she felt about them.

“Now you’ve done it,” Vasara said, glaring as she turned back to me. “You’ve ruined everything.” She looked to Samael. “I just wanted to play with him. Touch a ninth realm celestial, just once.”

“Too bad,” I said, walking forward, sword out. I ran at her and attacked, lunging forward as she couldn’t move out of the way in time. My sword slid through her middle like it would through butter, and she choked up blood, hands over mine on my hilt as she fell backwards. I jerked my sword free of her grip, letting her hit the ground alone.

She was bleeding in three places, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Not for her stunt with Simon. Not enough for putting Samael in a cage.

I walked forward as she tried to crawl back on her elbows, dragging her bleeding body away from me.

I shoved my sword down into her sternum, hearing it break beneath the sharp blade and all the force I put behind it.

I didn’t hit her heart, yet.

She screamed, the loudest yet, and her legs began to kick at the sand as she tried to get away from me in earnest. “Stop! Stop! I give up, just stop!”

I pulled my sword out and lunged again, shoving my sword into her thigh this time. It sliced through the meat as blood arced, bright reddish-orange and arterial. All around, I heard vampires hiss, licking their chops at the wasting blood.

“Normally someone would die in seconds from an arterial bleed, according to Cayne,” I said. “But since you’re a celestial, I guess we’ll see.”

She was bleeding in too many places to tend to with her hands so she just lay backwards, staring at the sky as blood continued to leak.

“What a waste,” I said, cocking my head. “That could have fed some vampires, right Simon?”

“Tons,” Simon agreed cheerfully from the sidelines.

“Should I kill her now?” I asked, turning to Simon and my friends.

Vasara was blurring into two shapes on the ground, clearly trying to summon the strength to make any illusion so she could have a chance to escape.

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