away his location, and he wanted to maintain the element of surprise. He glanced behind him, seeing Blair enter the room. Blair had a hand extended towards Steve, but whatever shaping he was doing was invisible. Trevor shifted his attention back to Jordan, who was descending towards Steve’s still human form. Then a bolt of green energy shot from Irakesh’s hand, catching Jordan in the chest and knocking him away from Steve.
Now, my host , his risen crooned. He didn’t need the encouragement; he was already in motion.
Trevor intensified his blur, planting a foot against Irakesh’s face and launching himself at Steve. The move caught the deathless off guard, and he knocked Irakesh to the edge of the platform as he sailed into Steve. Trevor’s flying tackle knocked Steve prone on the disk. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have broken his concentration. The deep thrumming intensified, and the room was bathed in familiar white light. A moment later they were elsewhere.
Trevor gave it a once over, knowing he only had moments before combat resumed. The room, wherever they were, was dimly lit by the familiar diamond-shaped lights he’d grown used to back in the Ark of the Redwood. Fluted columns lined a pathway leading from the room, just like they had in the Nexus. The disk they’d landed on also mirrored the Nexus, which meant they were in another Ark. The Ark of the Cradle, if the hologram had been telling the truth. Trevor gathered that meant somewhere in Africa, where Irakesh’s mother ruled. Lovely.
“Fuck,” Jordan roared, flipping to his feet and blurring towards Irakesh. His meaty werewolf fist sailed harmlessly through the illusion of Irakesh’s face.
“Dammit,” Trevor muttered, leaping off Steve and back into the shadows. They’d failed to stop Steve from initiating the light walk, and it looked like Blair had been left behind in the Nexus. That meant the fight was two on two, more or less even. Except that Irakesh was older and more powerful than he and Jordan put together.
Another bolt of toxic green energy lanced from the darkness at the edge of the room, briefly illuminating it. The bolt sailed into Jordan, picking him up again and hurling him into the wall with a sickening crunch.
Trevor unleashed an eldritch bolt of his own, catching Steve in the face. The bolt knocked Steve from the platform, sending him slamming into the black stone wall where he collapsed. Right at Jordan’s feet.
Jordan leapt on Steve, tearing and biting as the two males snapped at each other. Jordan had the twin advantages of size and experience, so Trevor turned back to combat.
“Clever, my apprentice,” Irakesh’s voice whispered from the shadows. Trevor darted right, then left. He rolled behind a pillar. His evasive moments were probably unnecessary, but the last thing he needed was Irakesh getting the drop on him. The deathless had far better control of his powers, and centuries more experience. Trevor doubted he could take Irakesh on his own, but hopefully he could delay him long enough for Jordan to deal with Steve. “What will you do now, Trevor? We’ve arrived at the cradle, and without Blair you can’t escape. Even if you beat us, you’ll still have my mother and her attendants to deal with. Surrender, and she may show mercy.”
“Fuck you,” Trevor said, turning his attention back to Steve and Jordan.
Steve was on the bottom, clearly getting the worst of the exchange. Jordan hadn’t come away unscathed though. His fur was matted with blood, and one of his eyes scrunched shut in obvious pain. The two were apparently more evenly matched than Trevor had expected. He could do something about that, though. Trevor blurred forward, planting a hand against Steve’s shoulder. He reached into his reserves, flooding Steve’s body with the same awful radiation he’d just used at range. The move caught Steve off guard, and he began flopping about like a fish.
Jordan instantly seized the opportunity,
Now, my host , his risen crooned. He didn’t need the encouragement; he was already in motion.
Trevor intensified his blur, planting a foot against Irakesh’s face and launching himself at Steve. The move caught the deathless off guard, and he knocked Irakesh to the edge of the platform as he sailed into Steve. Trevor’s flying tackle knocked Steve prone on the disk. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have broken his concentration. The deep thrumming intensified, and the room was bathed in familiar white light. A moment later they were elsewhere.
Trevor gave it a once over, knowing he only had moments before combat resumed. The room, wherever they were, was dimly lit by the familiar diamond-shaped lights he’d grown used to back in the Ark of the Redwood. Fluted columns lined a pathway leading from the room, just like they had in the Nexus. The disk they’d landed on also mirrored the Nexus, which meant they were in another Ark. The Ark of the Cradle, if the hologram had been telling the truth. Trevor gathered that meant somewhere in Africa, where Irakesh’s mother ruled. Lovely.
“Fuck,” Jordan roared, flipping to his feet and blurring towards Irakesh. His meaty werewolf fist sailed harmlessly through the illusion of Irakesh’s face.
“Dammit,” Trevor muttered, leaping off Steve and back into the shadows. They’d failed to stop Steve from initiating the light walk, and it looked like Blair had been left behind in the Nexus. That meant the fight was two on two, more or less even. Except that Irakesh was older and more powerful than he and Jordan put together.
Another bolt of toxic green energy lanced from the darkness at the edge of the room, briefly illuminating it. The bolt sailed into Jordan, picking him up again and hurling him into the wall with a sickening crunch.
Trevor unleashed an eldritch bolt of his own, catching Steve in the face. The bolt knocked Steve from the platform, sending him slamming into the black stone wall where he collapsed. Right at Jordan’s feet.
Jordan leapt on Steve, tearing and biting as the two males snapped at each other. Jordan had the twin advantages of size and experience, so Trevor turned back to combat.
“Clever, my apprentice,” Irakesh’s voice whispered from the shadows. Trevor darted right, then left. He rolled behind a pillar. His evasive moments were probably unnecessary, but the last thing he needed was Irakesh getting the drop on him. The deathless had far better control of his powers, and centuries more experience. Trevor doubted he could take Irakesh on his own, but hopefully he could delay him long enough for Jordan to deal with Steve. “What will you do now, Trevor? We’ve arrived at the cradle, and without Blair you can’t escape. Even if you beat us, you’ll still have my mother and her attendants to deal with. Surrender, and she may show mercy.”
“Fuck you,” Trevor said, turning his attention back to Steve and Jordan.
Steve was on the bottom, clearly getting the worst of the exchange. Jordan hadn’t come away unscathed though. His fur was matted with blood, and one of his eyes scrunched shut in obvious pain. The two were apparently more evenly matched than Trevor had expected. He could do something about that, though. Trevor blurred forward, planting a hand against Steve’s shoulder. He reached into his reserves, flooding Steve’s body with the same awful radiation he’d just used at range. The move caught Steve off guard, and he began flopping about like a fish.
Jordan instantly seized the opportunity,
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