Gigi’s breath hung in the air as it left her lips. Her legs were pumping furiously, well-conditioned muscles firing at full capacity. Her feet tore through the fresh snow as she kicked up the powder with each frantic step. The gauntlets fit snugly, each finger reinforced by the metal that covered them. Ready to smash through whatever she found in the forest.

  She had seen Drake in the sky, she was sure. Whatever she had seen flying certainly hadn’t looked like a man, but she was sure it was him - right before the sun winked out and night held sway. She had no idea how someone could block the sun’s light, even someone like Drake, but the black sky above proved it possible. The cold wind cut through her leathers and returned her to the search.

  As she hit the tree line, she began to notice the broken bodies and moans of soldiers. The frosty air dulled her senses, but she was sure she could smell blood. Did Drake do this? She stepped over an unconscious soldier. These knights flew no colors; she didn’t see a banner amongst them. She knelt before the wounded soldier.

  “What happened here?” She asked.

  The soldier groaned and lifted his head to meet her gaze. He grimaced and seethed in agony. “It w-was only supposed to be one m-man, but he wasn’t a man at all.”

  “Who are you looking for?”

  “They d-didn’t say it was a b-bleeding Sword. They didn’t tell us it was the fucking Shadow Drake.”

  “Drake,” she said to herself. She looked away from the soldier.

  “That b-bastard. The K-Keepers will get him; the captain will get him.”

  Gigi turned her attention back to the man. “I don’t think so.” She punched the soldier in the jaw, knocking him out clean. He slumped against the tree. “Damn it, Drake,” she said, standing back up.

  She followed the trail of bodies, figuring she would find her man at the end of it. With a huff, she was off again, running deep into the woods. There had to have been dozens of men left in crumpled heaps. They had gone through all of this just to get Drake back? The troll from earlier, Gigi cursed under her breath. Of course, the trolls Drake had thrashed must have spilled their guts to that goddamn captain. If she ever found the captain, she would give him a piece of her mind, mainly by breaking his spine.

  Her ears perked up as she heard a roar of pain. She hurtled through the trees toward the inhuman cry. She came to a clearing by the cliffside, the same one that rolled down to the frozen river below. Before the goblin was a bloody scene. The first thing she saw was a knight on his back. Several arrows plunged into him. Then she saw the broken form of another knight lying useless like a discarded doll on an outcropping of rocks.

  Then she saw him, or what she thought must have been him. Drake was inhuman. A hulking demonic build with one leathery black wing raised high, a roar on his lips. Teeth as sharp as razors were bared in pain. Behind him stood a behemoth of a knight, wielding a sword that might have been twice as tall as Gigi and at least as thick. The blade was splattered in blood fresh from the flesh it had just cut through.

  It was then that she saw a glittering silver falcon driving toward Drake. She could tell immediately that whatever it was, it was no ordinary bird. It looked wrong—nothing but sharp edges and angles. Every inch looked designed to cut, and it was closing in. Gigi exploded forward.

  She bolted past the gargantuan knight to get before the wounded Drake. Gigi leaped forward and cocked her fist back. Gigi’s steel-clad knuckles slammed into the strange metal bird like a comet as the falcon was inches from Drake's chest. The metal felt far softer than she had expected. Whatever it was made of, it relented and crushed inward. The bird went ricocheting off into the woods.

  The three knights stood flabbergasted at what they had just witnessed. They said nothing, unsure what to make of this interloper. Gigi went to Drake, who desperately tried to get back on his feet. She put her small armored hand on the massive clawed one he pushed into the snow for purchase. He looked up, and the lovers met each other’s eyes. Even changed, she knew it was him. Those beautiful, icy blue eyes remained the same.

  “What did they do to you?” Gigi asked.

  “I don’t know who the fuck you are, girl, but if you get in our way, it’s your head,” Sargasso bellowed.

  Gigi stood up defiantly, turning to meet the speaker with fire in her eyes. “Are you the captain?” she asked with scorn. Sargasso was taken aback. Malevolent gears clearly spun in his head as he worked out who was before him.

  “You. You must be the woman the trolls were talking about.” Sargasso pointed at her. “To think a Sword of Paxia couldn’t do better than a goblin,” he laughed. The other two knights joined in the laughter.

  “Her?” the knight with the mammoth sword asked. “He couldn’t even find a human whore.”

  Gigi bristled. “Who are you calling a whore? You’re going to wish I was human in about thirty seconds when I knock your arrogant ass out.” She squared up with the hulking knight and dashed toward him, her fists raised.

  “You’re dead. Hope you enjoyed being in one piece.” The knight lifted the gargantuan blade and, with well-oiled muscles, swung the blade in a horizontal arc. The blade came within a pinky’s length of cutting through the goblin. But at the last moment, she shifted her weight and slipped to slide on the powdery snow. She cut a line through the white dust, and her feet slammed into the giant knight’s shin. He cried out as his center of gravity came out from under him, and the knight fell forward like a tree cut at the roots.

  Gigi cried out, rolling out from under the knight as he crumbled into the snow. She scrambled up and lifted her foot to slam it into the back of the knight’s head when a loud crack split the air. Pain erupted in her back before she could turn to meet the attack, faltering as she turned to meet her new attacker.

  The smaller knight stepped forward, his armor shadowy in the false night. In his hand was a long segmented whip, serrated steel, and barbs lined the length of the deadly lash. The knight cracked the whip against the snow as he walked forward. Gigi dashed toward the new challenger.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Before she could get to him, Gigi saw the Vita Macel, now a gleaming boar, charging out of the woods toward her. Sargasso barked orders frantically as the scene unfurled. The boar was too close for her to alter course now.

  Beside her, a roar erupted as the battered Drake got to his feet and rushed recklessly at the boar. The metallic boar’s tusks elongated as it prepared to gore. Drake raised a taloned fist and called the darkness to it. Encasing it in black crystals hard enough to smash bone and steel alike. He pulled his fist back as the boar lowered its head. The Shadow Drake aimed and let loose his fist with a meteoric force directly into the center of the boar’s forehead. Its momentum came crashing to a screaming halt. The ripples of the blow went through the living metal before being thrown aloft.

  “DRAKE!” Gigi called out.

  He turned in time to see Sargasso rocket toward him, spare sword in hand. The captain stabbed at the beast. Drake did not move to block it, recognizing it as a regular blade, and the sword cut harmlessly through him. A growl slipped from him, and Sargasso took a step backward.

  Drake stepped forward, and the captain took another step back. This was not a fight he wanted without his enchanted blade. However, the soldier the captain had abused his entire life surged forward. Drake tackled him, shouldering him through the gut. Sargasso left his feet as the wind was knocked out of him. Drake felt the relic armor buckling underneath the strain of the attack.

  The pair collapsed to the ground by the cliffside, the frozen river about twenty feet below the embankment. Sargasso wheezed on the ground as Drake towered over the fallen man. The Vita Macel made itself known again, swooping in with its falcon form. Drake raised his fist to intercept it again, but the blade transformed again before he could punch it.

  A shimmering octopus wrapped around Drake’s fist before sinking all eight legs deep into his wounded body. Drake got both hands around the writhing tentacles but succeeded only in slicing his fingers for the effort. Sargasso stood teetering before he called out in rage, shoulder-charging the distracted Drake. Both men went tumbling down the rockface.

  “DRAAAAKE!” Gigi called out as he disappeared.

  She tried to step forward, but the ground before Gigi exploded. She continued contending with the whip’s wrath, the knight lashing the ground near Gigi’s feet. She hopped back and out of the whip’s range, but the knight continued to advance. Another lash. This time, she could block it with her gauntlets, but the impact of the blow caused her to slide on the slippery snow. She was losing ground as the knight threw a flurry of howling slashes. Each smashing into the steel fixed to her.

  She had enough of this. The knight continued to plod forward, growing more confident in his lockdown. Gigi studied his movements with each crack of the whip. She watched as he reeled his arm back, her brown eyes following the tail of the whip as it flew back. She gritted her teeth and opened her hands. The knight let loose another devastating crack of the whip. With a blur of steel and speed, Gigi caught the lash. The whip’s momentum came to a screeching halt as she wrapped the barbed monstrosity around her shielded hand.

  The knight was nearly pulled forward as his blow was intercepted, but he managed to stay on his feet by a hair. Gigi glanced down, noticing the barbs of the whip. He tried to pull it back and tear her hands to shreds, only to find he was trying to pull a pile of furious stones. The knight focused on his target and saw Gigi’s chestnut eyes filled with rage.

  She was not going to budge one inch. Twisting her grip, she pulled hard. As she gained ground, she noticed his hand with the whip. It must be magnetized. Gigi pulled with such force that this upgrade proved much worse for the knight. He could hang onto the hilt of his whip, but only just. He threw his free hand around the handle and pulled with all his strength.

  Gigi was unmoved. She dug her feet into the ground and pulled with all of her strength. The knight cried out in pain, practically pulled from his feet as Gigi hauled him backward. The magnetized hilt was all that kept the whip in his hand. With one more tremendous draw, the goblin ripped the whip from his hand. A loud pop sounded as his shoulder was dislocated from the socket.

  The knight fell to his knees, howling in pain over his unnaturally twisted arm as Gigi continued pulling in the whip like a rope. Finally, she had the hilt in hand and went to lash the knight. But she hesitated, not knowing how to use a whip, and she didn’t want to lash herself. After raising it menacingly, she shrugged and grabbed it by two chain lengths. Perhaps she couldn’t use it, but she could break it. Gigi pulled, feeling her muscles go taut as the steel under her fingers protested.

  With a metallic groan, the chain broke. Bits of steel showered down as Gigi grinned triumphantly. She turned to finish the large downed knight behind her, ignoring the cries of the smaller knight.

  “I’m going to kill this bitch,” growled the massive knight, getting to his feet.

  “Bet you say that to all the girls,” she said, raising her fists.

  The knight drew to his full height, towering over the goblin woman and brandishing his mammoth sword. He stabbed the blade forward with the ferocity of a beast. Gigi spun to avoid the blade's tip, bringing her forearms together before her chest. The blade skidded against the steel, plating her arms. The great weight of the thrust pushed her back, but she dug in her heels.

  The knight drew closer as his steel screeched against hers. She pushed into the blade, pushing her arms out. The blade flew up from the opposing force, allowing Gigi to slide under the knight's raised arms. He looked down to see the goblin woman inches from him, grinning. She had broken his guard, and now she would break everything she could. She pulled her right fist back, then exploded forward with a bone-shattering hook into his left side.

  The armor groaned under the weight of the blow, and the knight reeled backward. She pushed onward to his flank, fists raised. Gigi cocked her left fist before letting it fly into the knight’s armored kidney. She slammed blow after blow as her knuckles connected. The knight’s armor was beginning to crack and warp from the pressure.

  She had him.

  Suddenly, she sensed movement. Gigi rolled out of the way at the last second to avoid a slash from behind, wincing as her tailbone hit the frozen ground. There, the smaller knight stood. A curved, serrated blade extended out of the knight’s gauntlet. The big knight coughed and staggered to stay on his feet.

  “Together!” the smaller knight cried.

  “Whatever,” Gigi replied.

  The big knight bellowed and coughed before taking a giant step forward. Without warning, he leaped into the air with his gigantic sword raised to the heavens. Gigi grunted and scrambled back. The knight fell like a hammer on an anvil, his blade cleaving deep into the frozen earth. Gigi took a panicked breath, making sure all of her was still attached. She saw that the top of the blade was inches from her groin, but she had managed to clear it.

  She scooted back into the frigid snow as fast as possible before jumping back to her feet. The knight struggled to pull his sword from the icy ground. Gigi ran at him at full speed. This was her chance to finish the lummox once and for all. She took a step that dug deep into the snow before leaping. Gigi kicked off the blade and flung her body at the knight’s head. Her steel-clad knee careened into the knight’s temple, instantly knocking him out. The ferocity of the blow carried her through, and she landed on the knight’s face.

  The smaller knight looked on in horror, then regripped his sword. He slinked over to his fallen comrade and the downed goblin. As Gigi attempted her bearings, the last knight stood over her and readied his blade to stab down.

  As the sword sliced down, Gigi rolled to her back. The knight was mid-swing when Gigi raised her legs and kicked him directly in the jaw like a mule. The smaller knight’s feet left the ground for a moment before collapsing like a sack of potatoes in the snow.

  “Ugh, humans,” Gigi groaned, getting to her feet.

  The darkness in the sky began to melt. The inky blackness receded, and the sun once again held sway. Gigi didn’t know what that meant, but she knew Drake must have been in bad shape. She took a mouthful of frozen air before rushing off to the cliff. Drake needed her, and she was not going to let him down.

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