TheBroker

  Ishtar took several swaying steps backwards, her head moving just out of the path of hua’s swings. Her attacks kept missiher she could see the goddamn future or she knew her fighting style better than hua did. It was beyond frustrating. How could anyone possibly know a style that did? Yet she knew every move as it happened, moved just the right way to block it, intercept it. hua grimaced, she o shake things up, ge the momentum in any way she could. Her eyes glowed faintly as she ducked low, shifting immediately from one form to ahe stress of the shift puttira strain on her muscles.

  Exeg a teique from this proximity was not only difficult, it was dangerous. She usually relied on momentum and keeping the oppo on the backfoot on a drawn out fight. There were no such openings here. Besides, she o keep Ishtar’s tration on her for a few more seds. hua did her best to keep her eyes steady, not shifting at all wheiced Handmaiden ing from behind. The thoughts moved through her head in the span of a single heartbeat, her body moving into a crouch so fast the force sent out a small rush of wind around her. She gripped the hilt of her sword and pushed off the ground, her muscles screaming.

  The uppercut came like a fsh of pink light that stretched up to the sky. At the same time, a thunderous crash rang out as Handmaiden came in like a et, her body gleaming like a star. hua felt something give way and followed through with the blow, bringing her on up and back down into her ready stanbsp;

  Ishtar chuckled.

  “Better.”

  hua’s eyes went wide as a kick drove all the air out of her lungs. She was flung backwards as she heard a cry of pain from Handmaiden. She hit the ground and skipped off of it twice before smming down with a groan and wheeze. Her head spun, her vision blurring, exhaustion screaming through every cell in her body. She pulled herself bad up, staggering to her feet and fixing her gaze on the supervilin. Ishtar was standing there, examining her gloved hands as if she was cheg her nails. The read her fingers out and tilted her head, nodding slowly to herself. “Not bad, I like it, a good baseline.”

  Baseline?

  Ishtar turned her head and looked at hua, tilting it slightly like a bird of prey examining something tasty. “Shall we turn it up, dies? I have a whole warehouse to test out.”

  A thrill went up hua’s spine, she grit her teeth and cursed. “What the hell are you?” She demanded. She gnced over and spotted Handmaideing to her feet, several deep furrows in her fad neck healing and closing. The woman looked physically healthy, but she was clearly tired. Regeion didn’t replenish stamina as fast as one might think aween A and Ishtar, the both of them were already running on fumes. Still.

  I am not letting her go! She gowards the west side of the battlefield where the glowing panels of light had formed an arena for them. She couldn’t see any movement. Hopefully that meant that Pathfinder had figured out where A was and had takeher heroes to pursue him. She go the right and saw cracks f on the east side barriers. The heroes lead by Bluestar were fighting to get through and give their support. Her focus returo Ishtar who hadn’t moved.

  “Done figuring out your strategy?” Ishtar asked, crossing her arms behind her bad holding her head high, “I imagihfinder is off searg for your quarry, right?”

  hua kept her mouth shut, slowing her breathing and allowing her cultivated energy to flow through her body, muscle tension eased and aches began to fade.

  “I wonder,” Ishtar said aloud, tilting her head and looking up at the sky, “ Pathfinder handle a mythic-tier master assassin? He’s good, but is he that good?”

  hua bore her teeth, “Handmaiden! Now!” She shouted and exploded into motion, her body turning into a streak as a burst of light erupted behind Ishtar.

  Ishtar just ughed, a cruel insane ugh as the grouh their feet shook. hua reacted as fast as she could, ging dire and spinning out of the way as water exploded from the grouh her in a torrent. A n sprayed into the sky and created an artificial rain around them, water flooding out at their feet. More bursts happened around the battlefield, more ns of water. The pipes! hua realized as droplets of water ged dire in mid air and begaing her, leaving small scratches and cuts as they passed. She winced and pivoted, shifting from strength to speed. Her sword turned into a blur as she cut lethal droplets of water out of the air.

  Hoowers does she have?!

  Water kept flowing, spreading, it was ankle deep when she nded again. A fsh flood that filled the basied by their battle with A. She slid across the ground, stopping on top of a slick sb of crete. Ahead of her, Handmaiden lu Ishtar again who simply raised her hand and blocked with a barrier of hardened light. She swept her arm and used it as a plow, pushing the woman to the side before leaping into a flip kick. The impact releasing a crack of sound before sending Handmaiden back a good distance, spshing into the water.

  “I set the terms, I set the field, I trol the game,” Ishtar pronounced and raised a hand. The water spraying into the air stopped and the ground shook again. “The battlefield is mine, heroes. You are just pying in it.”

  BOOM!

  The ground behind Ishtar exploded into a spray of debris and dirt, something huge r up into the air and spreading out. hua stood there and watched, her head turning up and up as the bows of a tree spread out over them. Leaves grew and flowers bloomed as the ground shook beh her feet. One limb caught Ishtar beh her feet and carried her up into the air with it, now looking down on them. Another limb sprouted from the tree and curled behind Ishtar who leaned bad took a seat, crossing her legs.

  hua felt heat rise to her face as the supervilin took the posture of a queen. She nearly lost her temper, her anger fring with the adrenaline, fusion, and stress. She bit her lip, drawing blood and f herself to calm down. She’s toying with us. If she could do things like this before we should already be dead. She took a calming breath as her eyes took in the ged battlefield. A massive tree hanging over an artificial ke, Ishtar sitting in her wooden throne like Titania herself. She mentioned Pathfinder and A, a realization hit her that should have hit her a long time ago. She’s deying us! She’s using herself as a goddamn distra!

  She stood up straight and lowered her on, “Ishtar! Enough games! I’m leaving!” She shouted.

  “About time!” Ishtar shouted back, ughing. “I’m sorry to say I ’t let you, dear, not until I have word that my quarry is secure.”

  “Try and stop me!” hua shouted bad turned her attention to the west, “If I get out e, whatever you’re doing to our unications will e ba, right?” She snarled, “Are you faster than me?”

  “Probably not, but you’re not in a position to run that easily,” Ishtar teased and the ground shook again. “Trees have roots, did you fet?”

  hua’s eyes shot down towards the ground and her instincts screamed at her to move. She darted towards the west, throwing everything she could into speed. “HANDMAIDE'S GET OUT OF HERE!” She shouted and put power into her voice, “HEROES! SHE’S DISTRAG US! GET AWAY AND FIND A!”

  Roots erupted from the ground and grasped at her, they darted from the side, from the front, aiming to spear and incapacitate. Every blorojected, clearly aimed not to kill but rather to slow her down. She set the infuriation she felt at the insult aside and put all her focus into running. There was ing Ishtar, not now, not when they were all exhausted. She uood how powers worked intimately, she was more practiced, more powerful. The best strategy was to eliminate a fight all together.

  I’ll get you one day. hua thought, darting past another pair of roots as Handmaiden caught up to her. The two exged a look and nodded before leaping over the glowing barriers that had taihem.

  –

  Ishtar watched them gh the Astral Eye hanging above a out a sigh, leaning ba the seat she had created for herself. She rest her helmet against the tree. Sylvan Monarch worked well. She thought and looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers again. Ah… your heart feels great in my chest, Feng Hyunh. She thought and gowards the distant ruin of the building where the dungeon had been. I didn’t expect that answer, but I’ll keep my promise.

  A chime sounded in her ear.

  “Bckrazor?” She answered.

  “I’ve arrived at the first staging area, Mistress. We are seg Ao move to the sed location, I am being pursued,” Bckrazor reported quickly.

  “Pathfinder, he find anything as long as he has some sort of e,” Ishtar said and shifted in her seat, watg the heroes of the east side of the battlefield make their retreat. She raised a hand and threatehem a little with the roots of her tree to keep the show up, “He could be a problem, kill him, he’ll be able to find the sed location once we move A.”

  “It will be done,” Bckrazrunted and cut the e.

  Ishtar gowards the east side again and a frown crossed her features beh her helmet, she felt her heart tighten a little. “Oh, Nick,” She sighed, “You brave, incredible man, you won’t be fotten, I promise.”

  She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. The air stirred and the eye in the sky began to slowly fade. The panels of light shattered, scattering sparkling dust about the now dimly lit ke and tree. She basked for a moment, sav the sense of power that burned in her veins. She looked down at the water below, glitterih the dissipating hard light and smiled to herself. “...maybe a memorial garden,” she murmured as a panel of light appeared behind her and turned in on itself. She leaned bato it and disappeared.

  –

  Bckrazor stood over the broken man. A was a shadow of his former self. He remembered seeing the man from afar when he o with Feng Hyunh on a job some time ago. Now he looked… diminished. His face was sunken, his muscles were deteriorated, and his eyes were just hollow. He supposed the paralytic he had used didn’t help things. He gowards one of the gang members who walked over with a steel suitcase. The young man wore the usual uniform of those in Ishtar’s employ, including the white queen chesspie his pel. He opehe suitcase and revealed the cuffs.

  “This is the prototype that the boss sent,” The youth said, holding it out.

  Bckrazor nodded, another meical marvel created by Amos no doubt. He owards A, “Cuff him and activate it, we don’t have a lot of time.”

  “Sir!” The gang member nodded and got to work, slipping the cuffs onto A and seg them before stepping bad pulling a remote from the box. He fiddled with it for a moment before hitting in a bination on the number pad. There was a sizzling sound followed by a strange sense of emptiness around Ahe broken mythic let out a groan and stirred, his eyes fluttering. Bckrazor frowned and tossed a violet needle at his throat, putting him back to sleep.

  He g the youth, “I’ll take the remote for now.”

  “Right, the code is one-four-seven-nine-nine-five,” The young man said and ha to him. Bckrazor tur over in his hand, it looked like a universal televisioe. Well if it works it works.

  A rush of air drew his attention away from his oy and he gnced over his shoulder to see Veloce return, one sed she was at the door and the she was at his side, arms zipping around his elbow. He gnced down at her, fused, as she pressed her face against his shoulder. He decided to tolerate it for now, “How did it go?” He asked.

  “I couldn’t get him tet me,” She pouted, puffing up her cheeks, “He practically ignored me, I even tried teasing him. It’s like that guy doesn’t have balls or something.”

  Bckrazor looked away, “Did you dey him at least?”

  “It’ll be a few more minutes,” She said with a sigh, “Is that enough?’

  He nodded, “Yes that’s fine, we’ve just finished up here. All we need is for the mistress to arrive so she and I go to the sedary location,” Bckrazor said, “After that, you’re to find your own escape route. If you are caught you might be reized as the one who separated Feng Hyunh and A which immediately resulted in his berserk state.”

  She looked up at him wide-eyed, “Oh, that’s right,” She blinked and looked thoughtful.

  “They won’t settle with impriso, if you want to live long enough to get Mistress Ishtar’s pnned gifts, you’ll o give it your all to get out of here,” He said grimly.

  She squeezed against his arm, “’t I go with you?”

  He raised an eyebrow. What was with her, it was like she hysically attached to him for some reason. All he’d done was fight off a few gnolls while she aralyzed. Ishtar had been the oo restore her legs. He sighed and shook his head, “No, the Mistress’ orders were clear-”

  He was cut off by the sound of gunfire.

  “And there he is, faster than expected,” He muttered, “Time for you to go.”

  She pulled away and snapped a pyful salute, “Right away!” She grinned and in a blur of motion she was gone. He shook his head and turned away from the beaten A, “The rest of you! Prepare to make your escape once we’ve bought a little time. The Mistress will arrive soon and she will not want to be disturbed!”

  “Yes sir!” A unified shout came as the thugs and lesser vilins hurried to make their final preparations while their rades held the heroes at bay. Bckrazor threw out his hand and a short bde appeared in it, glittering, violet, and deadly. His steps made no sound as he glided across the ground towards the door, “Only ohio do.”