Im gonna crap my pants. Nick said.
Sohow, I didnt strangle him.
After the terms were finalized, a handful of shadow people escorted us to the square open area at the end of the hall, pushing and prodding if we moved too slowly. The wide ream of royal red carpet bisected the square, which I eyeballed at about twenty-five square feet. There was ample flat terrain, more than enough for a simple duel.
And why are you crapping your pants?
I thought the Knights of the Round Table were a myth. Nick ground his teeth, leaning forward a bit to sneak a glance at Stonewall, who was conversing with Dent. But that guy has seen so shit. Like Battle of the Bastards level shit.
No, he thinks hes seen so shit.
I think hes seen so shit. Nick pointed at his own chest for emphasis, on the verge of panic. He fought the Romans and won, Matt. As in the Roman Empire? As in the dudes went to war in skirts and despite that, still sohow conquered almost everything?
My mind ticked. Okay, one, the Knights of the Round Table are fictional. The Roman Empire wasnt. They never actually fought, and if that guy cos from a version of Arthurian lore where they fought the Romans, it was probably so sort of weird 12th century British propaganda.
How does that help when fictional-propaganda-man is standing right there? Nick hissed.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. Just, chill. Give a second.
Hes so casual about it. Cool. Like hes the real deal. Nick said, genuine admiration in his voice.
I peered at Nick. Do you want to fight him or marry him?
Nick extended his arms, Wheres the none of the above option?
Thats the one where you dont tell , confidently, that you want a fair duel only to crumble like a house of cards shortly after, I snapped.
Fuck. Nick said, loud enough that the heads of several nearby shadow people turned our way. Fuck.
Need to head him off before he spirals.
Listen. I took him by the shoulders and forced eye-contact. Putting aside the fact that hes a fictional character, there are plenty of reasons this could go in your favor. One, his mories are artificial, sa as Audreys and Talias. I left out Azure, for obvious reasons. Rembering battles and war campaigns might make him self-assured, but theres no guarantee his mories will directly correspond to ability and skill. They probably wont.
Sure youre not just blowing smoke up my ass?
Certain. Because hes not even the final product. Said it himself. His god threw him away. He was a failed experint, just like the Grilings. aning that even if there is a version of him out there in the tower that can back up the Roman-spanking, this one probably cant.
Nick squinted at Stonewall again and seed to accept that as a possibility. Okay, yeah. Youre right. Just got intimidated by the stories.
Never happened.
Right, he just thinks it happened. Nick paused, taking several deep breaths. Slowly, his prior confidence returned. Just on the off-chance he ends up nuking from orbit, look after this, okay? He placed Jinnys User core in the palm of my hand. And if you manage to bring her back, tell her Im sorry, and stuff.
I glanced next to Stonewall at Dent, who despite his helt, did an excellent job of giving the impression of leering. He made a gesture that resembled a man forcing his thumbs into two overripe tomatoes. Yeah. Probably gonna need to train Talia to see for and go cane-shopping while Im at it, but after I get my bearings, I will.
What? He gave an odd look. The hell are you talking about?
Dont worry about it.
The concern in Nicks expression grew. What did you do?
Crawl out of my ass, I did what I had to. Thats the way this works, right? When the answer didnt satisfy him, I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. The negotiator had a specific request. A condition to be satisfied if you lose. I was able to spin it into better terms for us.
What request? Nicks voice was stone cold.
I sighed. If you lose, Arthurian Psycho over there gets real up close and personal with my eye-sockets.
Golden aura flared around Nicks shoulders, reflecting off his tal armor. He stared daggers at the tall knight, hefted the blade hed selected and spun it at the wrist. And if I win? Do you get up close and personal with his eye-sockets?
No.
Then Im fighting him next. And with that Nick walked away, towards the center of the square.
Wait, I called after him, We need to strategize
He didnt even bother to look back and didnt stop until he reached the center of the square.
I rubbed my mouth and hid a smile behind my hand. The truth was, Nick didnt need a tactics session. He needed motivation. And sure, I could have ntioned the fact that Id taken Dent as a contingency, which made the ocular threat approximately as dangerous as a safety cone, but why deny Nick the fuel? I hadnt forgotten how he sprung into overdrive when Id been captured by the spider during the trial. Hed gone from capable but inexperienced fighter to absolute wrecking ball.
Talias eyes bored into from where she heeled at my feet. Id ask if anyones ever called you a bastard, but the answer is clear.
Uh-huh. I glanced at her. Was I right?
Talia looked away, towards where Nick stood at the center. Not entirely. She switched to nonverbal communication, voice echoing in my mind. They are only Eldritch in part. The mana in these ripples is aberrant to begin with. That, combined with their abandonnt and subsequent bitterness tainted their souls, compounding until they drew too deeply on the wrong sort of mana.
Is there enough Eldritch in the mix that you could do serious damage? I asked.
Perhaps. But I do not know if my purification abilities alone will be enough to turn the tide.
That was fine. If Nick could deliver the goods and everything stayed above board, it might not even be an issue. I settled in at the edge of the circle, across from Dent. He was doing sothing with his thumbs again, trying to get in my head. I ignored him and took in the situation. There were knights on both sides of the circle. So were obviously keeping tabs on , but most were on Stonewalls side of the arena, murmuring amongst themselves. From the body language, they werent exactly worried, but they werent thrilled, either. And unless I was reading it wrong, several of them seed to be overtly glaring in Dents direction.
Not happy with the terms of the duel. Sothing in there hurts him. Good.
Stonewall didnt share their concerns. Hed crossed his arms and conversed with Nick at the center, though Nick seed a lot less interested in conversation than an-mugging Dent. His mouth was a straight line, his eyes cold, and for a mont, I could guess why Hastur wanted Nick emotionless and free of guilt.
Because if he ever looked at that way?
Id start running.
Having grown tired of all the preamble, Stonewall took a few loose steps back and stopped, lifting his sword in simple salute. Knights and shadows alike fell silent.
Nick returned a deep nod that was almost a bow. Then brought his weapons to bear.
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