Pride x Familiar (42 page)

Constance and I landed on a corner of the
rooftop from where Maya had called for help.

Across the open rooftop I saw Rina lying in an
unconscious heap.

But Maya was still awake and kicking.

In fact, she was neck deep in a struggle against
an opponent that was clearly a male Paladin, and not an
Artemis.

Constance snapped, *
What the Hell? I thought
we were only facing Artemis. Why is there a guy here?

Maya yelled, *
I need a hand.

Both her okatanas flashed as her barrier fields
clashed against the shield-blades of her opponent.

I hesitated. Over-clocked as I was, it felt like
an eternity went by as I found myself unable to move.

We’d never fought an opponent two-on-one, let
alone three-on-one. We were still learning how to operate as a
team. I had no idea how to go about it. If we charged in recklessly
we could end up taking each other out.

But we had to make a choice.

Maya cursed. *
Damn it!

She was barely keeping pace with the Paladin
clad in a black skinsuit, and a Fragment that covered his arms,
torso and legs. It was like a male version of my Valkyrie
Armor.

Constance gripped her jousting lance tightly.
*
What do we do? How do we fight this guy?

*
Just do it
, Maya screamed in our
heads.

Constance growled, and then charged, but I
couldn’t make myself move.

That Fragment was too familiar. Those bladed
shields were instantly recognizable. Why hadn’t Constance said
anything? Hadn’t she seen them too? Didn’t she recognize them?

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t make my legs move.

I screamed out his name.

“Caelum!”

For one instant, one heartbeat, the Paladin
glanced my way. He wore a visor over his face, making it difficult
to recognize him.

But in that moment I realized it wasn’t him – it
wasn’t Caelum.

That realization set me free, and strength
returned to my limbs even as a single thought raced through my
head.

Why?

In a heartbeat I had leapt across the rooftop,
charging with my forearm blades fully extended.

Why? Why is he using Caelum’s Fragment?

Constance cut in between Maya and the Paladin,
stabbing through the Paladin’s barrier-field, forcing him to back
off and give Maya some breathing room.

*
Check on Rina
, Constance cried out.
*
I’ll hold him off.

Maya ran across the rooftop toward Rina.

I jumped to a spot a few feet from the Paladin,
then pushed off again. My armored toes flew mere millimeters off
the ground as I slashed toward him.

Constance darted back at that moment, giving me
center stage.

My piercer-field was narrow yet extended a foot
ahead of my right blade. It struck his barrier-field, warping it
then splitting it. But he was already countering, thrusting his
right shield-blade into me. I managed to block his scything cut
with my left forearm blade.

Barrier-field met piercer-field.

Mine gave way, and I twisted my body in order
avoid his Gauntlet. I felt it strike my left blade, and I was
knocked aside.

What strength!

It was abnormal.

Was this the power of a Fragment when drawn to
its fullest?

No—something told me he had held back.

I touched ground, both my feet gouging shallow
furrows along the rooftop.

Then Constance joined the fray again, driving
him back with her jousting lance reconfigured into a bladed tuning
fork. The weapon blurred in her hands as she met each attack with a
stronger one, and drove the Paladin back.

Constance crossed my field of vision, blocking
him from me – and me from him.

I leapt low, and when Constance stepped aside I
slashed at him with everything I had.

My piercer-field cut through his hastily erected
barrier and my right blade sliced into him.

Or so I thought.

At the last moment, I watched him hook his right
shield-blade between my blade and his chest. He flicked my right
arm up, and I had an instant to block with my left.

This time he didn’t go easy on me.

But this time I had expected his counter and
gathered my barrier-field into layers.

His right shield-blade cut through layer after
layer, slowing down as it did.

Now both my feet were on the ground and I
anchored myself to rooftop, bracing hard against his incoming
blade.

Blade struck blade, no barriers between us and a
loud screech filled the air.

I heard a cry inside my head, and realized a
heartbeat later it was my Fragment warning me of the damage
incurred.

Wincing against the ear splitting screech, I
swung my deflected right blade in an arc, using the momentum to
come up and under his left arm. The blade was on course to bite
into the left flank of his skinsuit when I felt his left arm come
down hard on my forearm.

I screamed, feeling as though my arm had been
broken.

I lost my balance and my legs buckled, dropping
me to my knees.

Expecting him to follow through and stab with
his left shield-blade that was now aimed perfectly at my chest, I
tried rolling to my right, and barely managed to avoid his
thrust.

Again, I realized he’d held back.

Why?

Was this still a mock battle?

If so why was he coming at us so hard?

In my over-clocked state I had time to think my
moves through, and the hesitation in his thrust was there for me to
perceive.

Was he just prolonging the battle?

Constance leapt over my rolling body, slashing
downwards with the bladed tines of her six foot long tuning fork,
turning a chunk of the permacrete rooftop into powder when she cut
into the ground.

My right arm had grown numb, but my Valkyrie
Armor told me it wasn’t broken. The forearm blade was attached to a
gauntlet that covered my hand, wrist and forearm. The gauntlet had
weathered much of the kinetic energy, dispersing it with a hastily
thrown up barrier-field. However, my muscles and tendons had taken
an impact that would have shattered bone had my arm not been
protected.

I grit my teeth and bided my time to come at him
again.

Constance whirled her tuning fork, sweeping it
under his feet.

This forced him to leap back, but Maya was there
waiting for him.

I watched the raven haired girl unleash a flurry
of strikes that would have easily backed me into a corner.

Yet the Paladin fended them off, and even
succeeded in landing a kick to her midriff that knocked her back
twenty feet or more.

Again, Constance charged in, and I saw her
Fragment had reconfigured into a twin-bladed lance. Even
over-clocked I had trouble following it as it struck the Paladin’s
shield-blades over and over, working him step by step back across
the rooftop and to Maya who had regained her feet.

I was out of position so I gained my feet and
ran forward to rejoin the battle.

Constance succeeded in locking one of his
shield-blades with her lance.

Maya aimed her okatanas at his other
shield-blade.

And I ran a bee line for his chest, with the
intent to leap upwards at the last moment and land a blow against
him with an armored knee.

Then it all went wrong.

Both his shield-blades vanished into the black
mist that chilled the air.

Constance and Maya lost their balance.

The Paladin kicked Constance in the stomach with
the flat of his armor shod foot, sending her flying through the air
and into me. I had no choice but to catch the girl with my body
though I managed to extended a barrier-field over my chest and
torso an instant before she crashed into me. Though the impact was
cushioned, I had been brought to a stop.

I heard a scream, and saw Maya neatly flipped
through the air. She landed bodily on her back onto the rooftop.
The air blew out of her lungs with a whoosh.

Then a bolt of crimson light flashed across my
vision, blinding me for a moment.

I knew it was Rina that had fired her
gun-blade.

In my over-clocked state I watched the Paladin
take the shot to his back. The barrier-field protecting him flared
brightly and he pitched forward over Maya’s body supine on the
ground. But he rolled and came up crouched with both his
shield-blades manifesting in heartbeats.

Now he deflected every shot that came is
way.

I had to do something. At close range Rina was
hopelessly outmatched. The girl had little close quarters combat
training and lagged behind Maya, Constance and I by a long, long
margin. Hell, even Caelum would have overwhelmed her in mere
seconds.

Against this Paladin she was as good as
defeated.

*
Go!
Constance yelled.

I hesitated for half a heartbeat.

*
He’ll tear her apart
, she screamed.

I pushed Constance off me and onto the hard
rooftop, then I gathered the barrier-fields around my legs, using
them to boost the power of my leap tenfold. My bones would have
fractured if not for the Valkyrie Armor encasing my legs. I leapt
the instant the Paladin did, and for once something went right.

I crashed bodily into him, barrier-field against
barrier-field, and we both sailed at a forty degree angle away from
Rina who squeezed off one more shot. Luckily it went wide otherwise
it would have struck me.

By some happenstance my arms locked around him,
and we tumbled madly across the rooftop, coming to rest against the
parapet wall.

By good fortune I ended up on top and quickly
raised my right arm, aiming the blade at his chest.

A sudden chill surrounded me. The black mist
clouded my vision. I expected him to try some trick but instead I
watched his Fragment fade away into pocket space, leaving him clad
in his black skinsuit.

The visor he wore vanished as well, revealing
the rather handsome face of a young man with mesmerizing violet
eyes.

His lips curved into a playful smile.

“Hey, if you wanted to hold me that much all you
had to do was ask.”

His smile turned into a roguish grin.

“I never say no to a beautiful girl.”

I lowered my right forearm blade until the tip
pressed against his throat.

His grin wavered and he swallowed lightly.

I sensed Maya and Constance step up to either
side of us. I didn’t doubt for a moment they were glaring down at
him as I was.

The Paladin only moved his eyes as he gazed up
at all three of us. Then he swallowed again and said, “Well, I
could never say no to
three
pretty ladies.”

Maya laughed and I heard clear anger in her
voice. “Go ahead, Caprice. Stab him.”

Constance growled like a wounded beast. “No—I’ll
be the one to stab him.”

I swallowed hard while still breathing hard.
“Before I cut out your throat, answer me one question.”

He frowned but didn’t dare to nod. I took his
frown for a ‘yes’.

“Why—why do you have
his
Fragment?”

The Paladin’s frown deepened, then reversed as
he understood what I’d asked. “Promise you won’t stab me?”

“No promises.”

Before he could reply the rooftop was bathed in
light that overwhelmed the evening light provided by the simulated
sky overhead. In surprise, I pulled my arm back.

Then I heard a woman’s voice boom loudly over
the building.

“That’s enough. All trainees stand down. This
mock battle is declared over.”

Maya complained angrily. “What the Hell does she
mean stand down?” In my peripheral vision I saw her turn about a
full circle.

Lying on his back, the Paladin said, “I suggest
you do as she says before she gets angry.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because that’s Commander Selena Alucard, and
she’s one lady you
do not
want to piss off.” He smiled
guiltily. “And she’s the one that instructed me to drop in
unannounced.”

Constance muttered in a tone that simmered with
rage. “What the Hell is going on? Who the Hell are you?”

I stood up as smoothly as my legs could manage,
which left me standing astride the Paladin’s supine body. He wasn’t
bothering to hide the way he admired my body. I could tell he was
undressing me with his eyes. If he dared to whistle I was going to
ignore orders and stab out both his eyes.

“Can I get up?” he asked.

I stepped away from him. He rose to his feet a
few seconds later. His Fragment armor had completely returned to
its Pocket Space. I noticed he was taller than Caelum by at least a
few inches. His body was more slender, more tightly packed, with
longer limbs. I didn’t want to admit it but the manifested Fragment
armor fit him better than it did Caelum.

I swallowed tightly and repeated my question.
“Why do you have his Fragment?”

The woman’s voice I’d heard from overhead now
reached my ears from behind me.

I half turned to see a rather attractive woman
in her mid-forties stride across the rooftop. She wore a dark grey
uniform with strokes of red to highlight it. From her manner and
appearance I assumed this was Selena Alucard, Commander of Special
Interventions.

I studied her face as she approached us.

So this was Simone Alucard’s mother.

I could see the resemblance to the Countess, and
to Silia Alucard.

Despite her age she was quite attractive, with a
taut, trim body, and breasts that made me envious. She must have
been a beauty on par with both her daughters when their age.

Rina limped in her wake, overtaking Alucard when
the woman came to a stop a few feet away from us.

Alucard smiled a satisfied smile. “All of you
pocket your Fragments.” She saved the last look for me, a hard
shine in her eyes that promised repercussions should I refuse her
order.