Courage (42 page)

Roxie tore her mind vision away. Nexus. It was Nexus. It had to be. And now she’d just announced her presence to him like a stupid idiot. She cowered near a rock as tall as her waist and searched the empty ground with only her eyes.

The ground vibrated under her booted feet as something slammed into the ground. She raised her fists and back up a step.

Nexus straightened up. “You’re not Aerigo. Who are you and what are you doing here?” He stormed over and Roxie’s limbs felt like they were turning into useless blobs. Her eyes started glowing and Nexus paused in his advance. “You’re the girl!” His glare bore into her, and Roxie felt like she couldn’t move. She willed her fists to swing at him, but they just hovered near her chin. Nexus seized her by the throat. “
Why
are you still alive?”

Roxie clamped Nexus’ wrist in her hands. This felt just like the time Daio had grabbed her throat, but this time she had more ways to defend herself. She willed herself to stop panicking. She concentrated on her abdomen and reached for her Mana with the intent to preserve her life. The trapdoor flung open at her lightest touch, and the power rushed out with an echoing explosion.

Nexus reflexively let go and jumped back.

Roxie wrapped her neck in one hand as she staggered under the force of her surging power.
Stand up, damn it. Stand up and fight!
She straightened up and raised her fists again, her whole body shaking. This confrontation had happened so suddenly and so far from any scenario they could’ve hoped for. Where
was
Aerigo? He had to be waiting for the most opportune moment to jump in.

Nexus glared at her with a mix of hate and fear. How the heck was he afraid of her when she was so terrified of him? “Did poor, weak Aerigo send you in to do his dirty work?” He made a lazy gesture with one hand. “That’s too bad.”

The rock cracked under her patellas as Roxie dropped to her knees. It felt like Nexus had telepathically commanded her to kneel and her body had obeyed. It felt like she was back on Druconica the first night. She rose to her feet with monumental effort and raised her fists once more. She needed to hurry up and draw the other half of her power out.

Before she could concentrate, Nexus wordlessly pressured her to kneel once more, gesturing again, but more aggressively. She didn’t have to do what he wanted. She knew that, but her body sank back to knees. She couldn’t move.

“You’re quite the strong-willed Aigis.” He held up his hand, his thoughts focused on her death.

She struggled to overpower his will and get back to her feet, but she could do no more than raise her arms a little.

Two small circles of a furious red glow near the base of the plateau caught her attention. The red glowing circles shifted from side to side, and the outline of the rock below them wavered.

“But you were beyond stupid to come all by yourself. Enjoy ruminating over your foolishness in the afterlife.”

A second explosion of power erupted from the base of the plateau and Aerigo’s body filled in around his glowing eyes. He leapt towards Nexus and came down on him, his dagger leading the way. Nexus turned just in time to have the dagger plunge into his chest. Eyes wide, he fell on his back, hitting the ground with a rock-breaking thud. Aerigo straddled him and began pounding Nexus with blow after blow, putting his weight and power into each strike. The vortex of Aerigo’s power was tinted red with his wrath.

Aerigo stopped attacking and stood over Nexus with his fists ready for more. Nexus lay there with his hands held up, his stabbed chest heaving, and eyes locked on the dagger’s hilt.

He calmed his breathing and looked up at Aerigo with a crooked smirk. “That’s no sword.” He got to his feet without using his arms. His body rose upright and he simply placed his bare feet back on the ground.

Roxie struggled to break free of the invisible forces pinning her down, but Nexus turned and threw a fresh wave of pressure at her. She sat on her heels and her arms dropped to her sides.

Aerigo threw more powerful punches, but Nexus deflected them with his own arms and fists. He clamped one of Aerigo’s arms to his chest and socked him in the face. Aerigo reeled and pin wheeled his free arm. Nexus hit him again in the gut. Aerigo folded, then landed an uppercut to his jaw. Nexus grabbed Aerigo’s jaw and forced him to look at Roxie. Aerigo swung again, but Nexus clenched his jaw harder, making him cry out in pain. Aerigo grabbed Nexus’ wrist and tried to pry his hand off.

Nexus said, “The both of you have been defying my every attempt to see you dead. But maybe that was a good thing after all.” He glanced at Roxie as Aerigo’s power sent his curly hair dancing. “You Aigis have been a thorn in my side for millennia. You in particular, Aerigo, since my lousy father created you just for me.” His voice was dripping with venomous hate. “And her. Two Aigis just for me. I’m going to make you watch while I torture her for all her unnatural life.”

Roxie and Aerigo exchanged helpless stares. He had his face scrunched up in Nexus’ grip, eyes glowing yellow, and him tugging vainly at the god’s grip. Roxie wracked her brain for a way out of this. Yes, they both needed to release Frava, but the wrath reddening his energy probably meant it was too dangerous for him to unlock it. On top of that, Roxie couldn’t focus thanks to the crushing pressure pinning her down, along with having to focus on keeping her power from getting away from her.

“I’m going to push her to the brink of death, and you will watch while her healing powers force her to endure more and more, year after agonizing year. I will do everything in my power to make you feel as helpless as you really are. I--ow!”

The glow in Aerigo’s eyes shifted from yellow to red, and then to white. The power swirling around him drew closer. He gripped Nexus’ wrist so hard that he threw his head back and cried out in pain. Aerigo pulled his hand off but Nexus fought to grab hold again. His hand hovered inches away until Aerigo managed to pull it farther away.

Aerigo said, “You will not.” His power pulled into him and his entire body began glowing white. It was so bright, Roxie had to close her eyes. And once her eyelids stopped showing red, she opened them again and gaped at what she saw.

Aerigo stood wearing a black helmet and what looked like a mishmash of uniforms and armor. He had two different shoulder guards, one a stainless steel as shiny as his helmet, the other a dull black metal that hugged the joint. He had a leather gauntlet on one hand and a black glove on the one crushing Nexus’ wrist. His sleeves and torso were covered in two different military fatigues, and he had studded armor over his elbows. His black pant legs were the same, with the metal bands still around his thighs, and he now wore black knee guards. His combat boots were also the same. He radiated power.

Nexus released Aerigo’s arm and swung at him. Aerigo caught his fist and squeezed. Nexus dropped to his knees with another cry of pain. He tried to break free, but Aerigo held him down with what looked like little effort. He then threw a punch that sent Nexus bouncing off the ground by the back of his head. Aerigo closed the gap between them with two patient steps, then raised his fists to continue his assault.

Nexus flung up his hands and a strip of air shimmered between the two. Aerigo’s punches bounced off the silvery shimmering, each impact hitting with a loud crack. It sounded like he was hammering cement with a piece of wood. Nexus sat up with his hands held out in front of him, then got to one knee, the dagger still protruding from his chest. His shoulders hunched a little lower with every cracking blow, and soon he kneeled with his head bowed and arms quavering. Roxie almost felt sorry for him.

One of Aerigo’s punches broke through the barrier and sent Nexus face-first into the rocky ground, and he lay motionless. Aerigo stood still a moment with one gloved fist outstretched. He had to be as surprised as Roxie at breaking through the barrier so suddenly.

Nexus’ body grew blurry, then shot past Roxie like debris in a tornado sent airborne. Roxie felt sharp metal pressed against her neck with the flat of the blade holding her chin up, a hand digging into her arm. Her body went rigid as Nexus pressed the side of his face to hers, her power still surging out of her.

“Put away that power or I’ll make sure you live every last one of your days without her.”

Not only could she not move, but now her stomach dropped. She stared helplessly at Aerigo’s reflective helmet. He slowly straightened up, his shoulders rising and falling with each deep, slow breath. Roxie began to feel lightheaded--not because of her power, but because of the choice she and Aerigo might have to make. He had all the power he needed to bring Nexus down now.

She tried to focus on her need to protect Earth and her grandmother so she could draw out the rest of her power, but the dagger pressed to her throat had her life flashing before her. Today in Nostrum Hospital replayed itself. She found herself wishing they’d taken things farther before heading to Baku’s realm, before the assassination attempt. But now it was too late and she could only appreciate what had happened between them.

Roxie wanted to try to speak but fear that Nexus would cut her off with a slash of Aerigo’s dagger. Instead she tried to speak with her eyes, tried to tell Aerigo to act for the greater good and accept that she’d been reduced to collateral.

Roxie caught only a blur of Aerigo’s gloved hand as it slipped between her neck and the dagger. A fist blew past her ear, taking Nexus’ face with it. Aerigo stepped past her and placed a protective hand on her shoulder. Finally able to move again, she pushed to her feet.

Nexus vanished.

Roxie stared at the bare patch of rock, then inched closer to Aerigo. He turned around and looked to a patch of sky not blocked out by the storm. The sky looked amber, like an off-color sunset, and with ghosts of stars showing through. A giant transparent head and shoulders manifested in the sky, his bloody-nosed frown devoid of any smugness. Nexus’ projection filled up the entire corner of the sky. Roxie had to be no bigger than one of his eyelashes. This had to be what a flea felt like when being stared down by a human.

Aerigo stood before Roxie and placed one hand on her cheek and the other over her abdomen. His deep voice sounded mechanical through his helmet. “Concentrate and start over, Rox. I still need your help.” With his help, Roxie drew out and tucked away her Mana, then she planted her hands on her shaky knees and worked on catching her breath. She wanted to flop to the ground like she had on Baku’s realm, and curl up into fetal position. For a few agonizing seconds she’d been convinced that she was about to die, that she had to give up her life because there was no way to save her without giving Nexus what he’d demanded.

The blur that’d been Aerigo right before he’d pushed away the dagger replayed in her mind and she almost dropped to the ground with relief. Instead she put a hand over the one cupping her cheek and tilted her head towards it.

Aerigo cupped her face with both hands and gently guided Roxie upright, standing an intimate few inches from her.

Despite all the danger, Roxie couldn’t help but wish he’d take off his helmet and kiss her. She didn’t have a preference for a man in uniform, but man, Aerigo’s transformative attire clothing all that muscle increased his allure. The rest of the universe didn’t seem to matter all that much right now.

Aerigo glanced at Nexus’ transparent giant self in the sky, then turned back to Roxie. “You can do this.” He stood there a moment with her face still in his hands, as if trying to decide whether or not to kiss her. Or maybe that was just her overactive imagination. His hands slipped away from her face, took a few steps closer to the projection, and reached for it just like he had with the obelisk in Phailon, but this time he held his hands close together, as if he was holding an invisible ball. He shifted his weight to his back foot and pulled his hands towards his chest, but stopped with his elbows slightly bent.

Nexus’ gargantuan eyes widened as his face lurched towards them. He leaned back and Aerigo’s arms straightened as his weight shifted forward. He leaned back and pulled, and Nexus teetered forward once again. Two massive hands rose over the edge of the realm and gripped the rim with booming thuds, making the ground quake. Roxie flung out her arms and widened her stance, and kept her balance. Grunting with effort, Aerigo leaned back a little more and pulled his gloved hands inches closer to his chest.

Nexus let out a startled yelp that overpowered the din of war, and then his gargantuan frame collapsed towards his center and fell out of the sky like a comet. His neck materialized in Aerigo’s crushing grip. He frantically clawed at Aerigo’s arms, pulling every which way to get the hands away. Aerigo remained firm, even when Nexus tried kicking his legs out from under him. He tried to vocalize but nothing more than a strangled gurgling escaped his lips.

Roxie backed up a step, intimidated by the sight of watching Aerigo strangle someone to death. Killing had been proven necessary but she couldn’t detach herself from how brutal and barbaric this necessity was. Maybe if she drew her full power out, it would help her acquire the mentality necessary.

She looked around the realm. The war waged on in scattered bouts. Most people were watching the titanic clash, resuming fighting once they remembered their lives were in imminent jeopardy as well. There were several figures watching from the top of the plateau, too. They had to be more gods. Why weren’t they jumping into the fray? Then again, she hadn’t either, so who was she to criticize?