Chapter 34: Not done yet
Xena hurled her needle at the human rat. It flew faster than a bullet, lodging deep in the man’s shoulder.
As much as I hate it, I have to play it safe. His breath reeks worse than poison.
From that needle, a single thread snapped back toward Xena. She drew a second needle, hooked it to the thread, and drove it into the floor. Her enemy was on a leash. The line stretched across the center of the basement, taut between them. He tried to grab the needle in his shoulder, but his hand passed through it.
The human rat’s face twisted. She used her true name for this one! Bitch! You’re serious about killing me!
Learning an enemy’s true name was one of the hardest parts of Dark Practitioner battles, so the simpler counter was to use a true name against a true name. The human rat stirred his mana, preparing to unleash his spell. He flung a hand to cast, but the leash jerked him off balance.
Xena was already two steps ahead. She summoned a yarnlike orb and tied it to the thread linked to the human rat. She clasped her hands in prayer and summoned a fan of needles over her head.
At once, the needles barreled into him, skewering him from head to thighs. Xena even aimed for his groin out of spite. The needles hit, their thin tips burying deep. The human rat yelped and groaned as pain throbbed through him.
He vomited a mouthful of blood, then smiled. "You’re lucky you chose needles as your spell’s foundation. But this much damage will do."
A magic circle spread beneath him. A second later, all the needles blasted out of his body. Blood fountained after them. The needles hit the floor with a wet clatter. It boiled and released an invisible gas that heated the room and even melted the basement floor. A low hiss rose from the bubbling stone.
Xena scowled. "A sacrificial boost? Be a good rat and die!"
She saw he’d sacrificed blood to increase the potency of his toxins. She couldn’t tell how much stronger they were, but it would have been far worse if Han hadn’t severed his connection to the rats. An army of rodents carrying that poison would have been impossible to avoid.
The human rat grinned. "On my true name, RØDɆN, I swear to take one of you down! If neither of you dies in the next three minutes, I’ll die myself!"
"That’s more than a gamble!" Bellatrix shouted. "You don’t have to sacrifice your life for this battle!"
"Don’t bother me with your preaching, holy slut! I’m not naive! That dragon fucker somehow found out my true name and severed my connection to my summons! I can’t even call my strongest rodent! It’s over for me, but at least I’ll take that bitch Xena with me! Or do you want to die in her place, huh? You Church idiots willingly sacrifice yourselves for others!"
Before Bellatrix could answer, a blow slammed into her side. A needle was lodged deep in her flesh. Xena held the needle and pushed it even deeper.
"You’ll share this toxin with me. He’s confident he can take either of us down, so it must be potent enough to overcome your healing. If we split the damage, we will survive. You’ll suffer about sixty-five percent, and I’ll take the rest," Xena said, her spell conjuring a thread between her and Bellatrix.
Bellatrix shook her head. "You’re so inconsiderate."
"Thanks," Xena sneered.
With the needle buried in her side, Bellatrix dropped into a monk-like stance. She held one palm forward, the other close to her ribs. A small orb of blinding golden light coalesced before her outstretched palm.
"The First Sun," Bellatrix whispered.
Thick strands and ribbons of sunlight spilled from the spell, weaving through Bellatrix and Xena. Each strand carried so much vitality and warmth that Xena could hardly believe it. The strands shared their rejuvenating power evenly.
"You’re not going to make me suffer? After all this? You’re disgusting, Sun Champion," Xena scoffed.
Bellatrix didn’t look at her. "Focus. Reel him in. We finish this now. We have about one minute and twenty seconds left. I don’t want to risk anything."
As they spoke, moldy patches appeared on their skin, worse than any spoiled food, with bulging spots that disgusted Xena even more. Bellatrix ignored it and kept the toxins from spreading beyond her side.
Xena pulsed mana into her gravity orb, yanking him in. On Xena’s pull, Bellatrix timed her strike, and together they drove their weapons into the human rat’s stomach. A melting orb sank into his abdomen, and a sharp needle punched in beside it, rupturing his stomach. Skin blistered under the orb.
Xena added a kick that sent him flying across the basement. When he hit the wall, a fan of needles ripped through his flesh and pinned him there. He thrashed once, then went slack.
She checked her arm, stomach, and face. "Fuck! Get rid of those toxins!"
Han walked in. "After all you did to her? You’re so smug, Xena. How about you stay like this for a while and look at yourself in the mirror? I’d say you look like someone from the sewers right now."
His smirk nearly drove Xena insane. She wanted to strangle him, punch his face, and kick his groin. She said nothing as his command forced her out of the basement and into a room with a mirror. She stared at her curvaceous body mottled with toxins.
I will remember it, Han! You fucker!
Han walked past Bellatrix. "Focus on healing, then spare some of your mana for this man. I need to speak with him first."
"Yes..." Bellatrix replied.
Towering over the human rat, Han held his cold gaze on the beaten man. "Were you behind the note targeting my mansion?"
"Why would I answer anything you ask, brat?" he sneered.
Han tilted his head. "You think you’re finished. You think you’ll die soon. You’re wrong, RØDɆN."
The human rat’s heart leapt into his throat.
What is he planning?