Chapter Eleven — Part 2

He jumped over me and tried to get a stab in from behind. I spun, knocking his blade back, then flew out of sword reach. He swung forward, as if propelling himself from a cliff-side on a rope, hitting extra hard with his first strike. Then we were fighting again, like animals.

“You stood a better chance against me as a human, angel of deception.” He said with smooth, charismatic tones.

If he weren’t so bent on killing me, Wastik might have been attractive. Our swords flashing, we fought on, I oblivious to the battle around me, unable to fight everybody at once, the Prince focused intently on killing me. He cast a spell that twisted the local Otherspace, turned its light dark, and left me feeling woozy and disoriented. I knew the shift was one that made Otherspace a dangerous place — no longer safe haven for anybody.

The ground had disappeared, pieces of it drifting away. The absence of solid ground hardly seemed to bother Wastik. The Persimmon flew into Otherspace, toward the center of battle, affecting local gravitational vectors with its approach. Captain Reed jumped free of the airlock, howled in rage, and met the Hunters head-on. He was bigger than the other Hunters were, and his scales and claws sharper and tougher, but there were six of them — and they were intent on killing him.

I focused solely on staying alive. Then a scream broke my attention, and I was ill rewarded for my lack of concentration. Wastik slashed my arm open, and I yelped before backing away from his next attack. The wound was minor, and I countered with a harsh stab at the Prince, cutting his hand and forcing him to rethink his attack. His sword drifted free and he sputtered profanities at me.

“I will have my revenge.” He fell back toward his sword, taking it in his good hand. I looked back toward the scream I’d heard before, and saw Tiffany and Kotian dead, adrift in Otherspace. Blood sprayed into the ethereal plane, their life force drained and gone.

She wasn’t supposed to be lying lifeless with her husband at her side — Otherspace normally wouldn’t allow anybody to die. The Prince had done something terrible to Otherspace, and I had to find out what that was. Mama was supposed to end up back in Realspace should she start to die, back in her home, with maybe a few bruises to remind her that she’d lost.

King Lotus and Captain Reed held the Hunter Force at bay, kept them from killing Uruza. Prince Wastik kept me from getting close enough to help them. I knew that to end the fight I would have to force Wastik to retreat from Otherspace.

“You’ve corrupted my home.” I said, and sliced him on the arm. “I don’t know what you’ve done to Otherspace, but I’ll use your own laws against you.” I slashed out in rage, and he fell back, fear in his eyes. “Live in fear of me, of what you’ve brought on yourself. I’ll avenge my mother’s death. I’ll see that my father knows peace.”

I swung again, slashing his cheek open and very nearly killing him. Time froze, and I was sitting in Otherspace, with nothing moving around me. Tester and Wisdom were there, separated into their dual forms. I had never seen Tester looking so sad.

“We have to go now. And you need to calm down.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The problem is out of hand. People with shallow minds are gaining too much power. I have to return to the First Magnitude, to my origin. We are going to rewrite the laws. You’re on your own, kiddo.” Wisdom said.

“I need you.” I said. “I don’t have a clue what to do next.” I started to cry. “I’ve already failed my parents. Otherspace is corrupted by Wastik.”

“It is as it is. Your friends will help you.”

“You knew Fluff would leave me, didn’t you?” I said, sobbing openly.

Wisdom and Tester both hugged me close. “If he met the Princess, we knew he would rekindle his love for her.”

“He loved her before? It’s not fair. We were in love.” I stamped a foot on a nonexistent ground that felt real despite its absence.

“No, you were in love. It works that way sometimes. He’s chosen. He’s a thousand years older than you are anyway. Realspace and Otherspace are merging, a dimension is dying, and we have to disperse ourselves to another plane, called Zerospace, to keep that from happening.” Tester kissed my forehead. She faded from my sight, “Remember that we will always love you. You are the last of the angels, do us proud.”

Time asserted itself, and I was instantly back into the fight against Wastik.

“You’ll suffer tenfold.” I said.

A Hunter broke past Captain Reed, its claws and scales slashing violently against anything it could reach. King Lotus was slammed in the chest by one of the Hunters, his ribs splayed open over his heart. The King was dead, and my hope dwindled. Then my eyes locked with Wastik’s and I knew that I couldn’t lose hope. My mind focused intently on one thing — survival. I felt no mercy in my heart.

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