Stehlen kicked the door in and a girl squeaked like a terrified rabbit and backed away, holding her stupid sword up like maybe Stehlen wouldn’t kill her for being in the way. Dragging Bedeckt in, she dropped him on the floor and drew her own sword.
Someone grunted and cursed and the song of steel on steel drew her attention. Wichtig and Lebendig fought, swords a blur of glinting razor sharp light. Again and again the Swordsman cut her lover. Stehlen saw fear and hate in Lebendig’s eyes.
She knows she’ll lose. She knows.
Lebendig stumbled, parrying and wincing when Wichtig’s sword slid past her guard and opened yet another surface wound. Stehlen, experienced in pain, realized none of her lover’s wounds were mortal. Wichtig was slashing and cutting Lebendig, careful not to kill her.
He’s playing with her. The bastard toyed with Lebendig. I’ll kill him.
The girl with the sword threw herself at Stehlen.
The Kleptic knocked the attack aside with her own sword, riposting with the intent of skewering the brat’s heart. The girl parried Stehlen’s attack, damned near disarmed her with a much slicker riposte, and followed it with a series of dancing attacks. Having dragged Bedeckt here, she was gasping for air while this young woman was fresh, unhurt. At least she no longer felt like her inner demons were about to claw their way free. She had no idea why, and no time to question.
Snarling, Stehlen pressed the attack and instantly found herself once again on the defensive. She retreated, stepping over Bedeckt’s prone form, careful not to trip. She parried another attack, and tried to manoeuvre herself toward Lebendig. The bitch Swordswoman kept moving to stay in her way.
She’s protecting Wichtig, making sure I don’t interfere.
Rage tore through Stehlen and then washed away in wave of desperate self-preservation as the girl again pressed her attack, steel licking and stabbing, prodding like it wanted inside of the Kleptic.
Lebendig screamed in rage and pain as Wichtig cut her again. Stehlen’s distraction cost her as the youth’s sword opened a vicious wound in her side.
The pain focussed Stehlen.
Kill this idiot and then save Lebendig.
In a crazed frenzy she attacked and once again failed to land a single blow.
She’s better than I am.
“Moron,” Stehlen cursed herself.
The youth was clearly a Swordswoman and here she was having a damned sword fight with her.
***
Opferlamm threw herself at Stehlen and Wichtig didn’t know whether to cheer or curse. The Kleptic would gut the kid in a second. His apprentice would spend her last few moments in a pool of her own innards wondering where things went wrong. The thought tore him up. He didn’t want that for Opferlamm. She deserved better.
Knocking aside another attack, Wichtig cut Lebendig again. The woman shrieked and attacked, still desperately trying to kill him.
“Give up, damn you,” he hissed through clenched teeth.
She didn’t hear or didn’t care.
He tried to yell at Opferlamm to run away, but every time his attention wandered to his apprentice Lebendig was on him in a flash. Wichtig might be better, but she was easily the best he ever fought. A moment’s distraction, and she’d kill him.
From the corner of his eye, he saw his apprentice drive Stehlen back and damned near died when Lebendig, seeing his attention wander, tried to bury a foot of steel in his heart. Wichtig danced away and the big woman followed.
The kid was good. Damned good.
But this was Stehlen. Even Wichtig didn’t want to fight her.
He saw her draw a stiletto, holding the knife hidden behind her arm so Opferlamm couldn’t see it.
She’s going to kill her.
Stehlen didn’t wound. She had no interest in torturing her victims. When she wanted someone dead she made them dead. Fast.
She’ll put it in Opferlamm’s brain. Pure Stehlen. Gods damn it.
Wichtig had to save his apprentice. Maybe he could convince her to leave this life.
But as long as he fought Lebendig, there was nothing he could do to help.
The big Swordswoman, noting his distraction, again attacked. This time Wichtig didn’t spin, didn’t dance away. Brushing her sword aside, he killed her, ran three feet of steel through her belly. He kicked her body away to free his blade. Wichtig’s sword came away in a spray of blood.
Lebendig stared at him from the floor, eyes wide with understanding. She curled about the agony in her stomach, desperate hands fumbling to keep her guts in.
Still sprawled in the dirt near the door, Bedeckt spasmed and screamed, waving clawed fingers as if to ward away something Wichtig couldn’t see. The pretty girl held on to him, begging and pleading. He showed no sign of hearing.
Wichtig caught three words, repeated over and over, in the madness gushing from Bedeckt: “I am sane.”
***
Wichtig killed Lebendig, ran her through and kicked her away like she was nothing.