Chapter Thirty Nine

Desperation

MELODY

Grinding to a halt, Melody stopped before the opening into a stairwell. A corner, which meant a blind spot. Prometheus could be hiding behind it, ready to strike. And she hadn't exactly been quiet about her approach, pounding the ground in a sprint in a bid to catch up with the elusive mercenary.

All this took place within a second, and she stopped just short of a downward katana strike. Melody grabbed Prometheus' wrist, and slammed his elbow against the corner of the wall, forcing him to drop his katana. He swung out with his other hand, emerging from behind the wall, and Melody dropped beneath his arm. Now on the inside of his attack, she sprung up with a blow to his midsection, and he brought both elbows down on her shoulder blades simultaneously.

The two combatants disengaged, and Prometheus backed away into the stairwell, where it was far more spacious, but not quite enough for a fight. Melody saw that half the mask was still strapped to his face, the left side exposed and showing the ugly scar across his cheek.

"What's the point of hiding your face anymore?" Melody said.

"You're right." Prometheus ripped the half mask off his face and removed the hood, revealing a thin face with prominent bone structure and brown tousled hair. He tossed the broken black mask aside, and it fell down the flight of stairs.

"It's just you and me now."

Melody lunged at him, hoping to drag him down the flight of stairs. He caught her deftly, using her own momentum to hurl her against the wall of the stairwell. With her back to the wall, Prometheus pressed his forearm against her collarbone viciously, pinning her tight.

"You shouldn't have come after me." Without the mask, his voice was a crisp baritone.

"You're not getting away. Not this time." Melody croaked, her voice strained. Both hands positioned against his forearm, she brought her knee up against his midsection. That was sure to weaken his hold on her. Sure enough, it did.

The moment Prometheus loosened his grip, she pushed away his forearm, and launched a push kick at him. He caught her boot and twisted it, forcing her to the ground. She swung away before he could pin her down, and found herself teetering precariously at the top of the flight of stairs. Prometheus inched closer slowly, sensing the advantage. He removed a gleaming knife from his belt, advancing toward her. Why did it seem like he had an endless plethora of knives?

"I don't want to kill you." He brandished the knife. "But I am getting out of here by any means necessary." Prometheus lashed out, and Melody weaved out of the way. She slammed his arm forcefully against the banister, and he dropped the knife which fell a few floors. Grabbing his jacket, she forced him against the banister, dragging him down the stairs.

He twisted free, throwing her against the wall. Before she could recover, he jumped up with a knee, and because of the close quarters they were in, she couldn't get clear in time. Prometheus then hauled her arm over his shoulder and threw her the remaining distance to the bottom of the stairs.

Melody groaned and looked up to see him take a running leap off the stairs. He landed with a leg drop across her collar, and he quickly shifted to a side headlock manoeuvre. Smart. He was planning to force her into unconsciousness so that he could make his escape unhindered.

Her body already wrecked with pain, she willed herself to counter. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she locked her hands at his leather covered ribs. Before he could react, she exerted all the strength in her core and raised herself in a bridge, forcing Prometheus forward. Then, with her hands still tight around his waist, Melody rolled herself from shoulder to shoulder. Now that she was on top and she had Prometheus with his side on the ground, she pushed his face against the ground and wriggled free of his headlock grip.

Disengaging, she crouched and began landing blows to the side of his head. He rolled away and got up quickly. Good, he's backed himself into a corner. She advanced towards Prometheus, and unexpectedly, he barrelled into her, forcing them both down another flight of stairs. Landing at the bottom, Melody felt a strange metallic taste in her mouth. She spat out blood and struggled to get up, her bow having already dislodged itself at some point during the fight. It was on the same landing as her, but too far out of her reach. She could really use a blunt weapon right about now. And then she remembered. She still had sharp ones.

In the split of a second, she evaluated the situation. His priority was clear: to get away from her and Swynvort in a bid to escape. He was only fighting her to fend her off and prevent her from following him. One of his legs was already hurt, but if both were injured, there would be no way he could run from her.

Prometheus had already gotten up, towering over her. His pain threshold is incredible, she mused to herself as she allowed him to get closer. There was the chance that he could lash out at this distance, but this was a risk she was going to have to take. Closer…Then, without warning, she drove an arrow through his other leg, the one that had not yet been wounded.

He grunted loudly in agony and Melody sprung up, pain shooting through her body. She ignored it, attempting to deliver a spinning back elbow to his sternum. However, he faded sideways and backed off, before yanking the arrow clean out of his leg. She could see him wince and grit his teeth, and he tossed it aside, advancing toward her again. The man was relentless!

Tactics and offence strategies raced through her head, and she noticed both his legs shaking a little. Now there was a weakness she could properly exploit. Both his legs were injured, meaning she could take advantage of his weak balance. He would know his legs were obvious targets, so he would do anything to defend himself low. She could feign an attack to his legs, and then go for another unprotected spot further up his body. That could work.

She dove low in a feint, and Prometheus evaded her narrowly. Neatly, she moved into a somersault position, planting her hands on the ground and launching her legs off the ground. The back of her boot found its mark on Prometheus' nose, which had already been broken in the Training Hall. He grunted in anguish, clutching his nose which was bleeding profusely.

Melody decided that it was time to enact her signature combination of moves. Left hook. It caught him on the ribs, and Prometheus faltered to the side a little, dropping his guard. Right uppercut. His jaw took the full impact of the blow, and he was utterly stunned. Push kick. Her boot launched off his chest and he fell backwards at full force.

As he hit the ground, Melody leapt and raised her elbow, locking it. She landed and jammed her elbow into the ankle of his boot, and she could feel his bone giving way in a crunch underneath the impact of her elbow. She disengaged quickly, feeling light headed and finding it incredibly hard to stand. The fight had really taken a toll on both of them. Melody returned to a stable stance, breathing heavily with the taste of blood still fresh in her mouth.

Wiping her blood stained lips, she watched the mercenary struggle to stand. His broken ankle gave way under his weight, and he leaned all his weight on the other leg, though it visibly pained him as an arrow had also gone through that leg. He hobbled and tried to support himself on the wall.

"You're done, Prometheus." Melody picked up her bow and stood over her limping opponent.

"No," Prometheus looked at her, nose dripping blood on the ground. There was a flash of despair in his eyes, there one moment and gone the next. "I don't have time for this." He stabilised himself with great difficulty, and somehow, his quick reflexes returned to him even though he had been hobbling and writing in pain just a moment ago. He avoided a left jab thrown by Melody and swung himself till he was positioned perpendicular to her on the outside of her arm.

She found her wrist being caught swiftly before she could pull it back after the left jab. Yanking her arm taut, Prometheus slammed his forearm viciously into her elbow and the snapping of bones could be audibly heard. Pain as sharp as the point of a sword shot through her arm and her vision went grey for a moment. Melody collapsed to the ground, clutching her broken arm and twitching in agony.

From the ground, she could hear Prometheus groan and shuffle away slowly.

"No!" She made an attempt to sit up, but as she moved her arm, sparks of flames seemed to erupt at the corners of where her joints used to meet. With her other arm, she dragged her body across the landing towards the wall, and attempted to prop herself up. She watched as Prometheus hobbled down the stairs in retreat, trailing blood as he went, and realised that there was no way she could catch and detain him in her current state. She closed her eyes, hoping to ease the pain as her senses faded away slowly, replaced by a dark wave of unconsciousness washing over her.

Author's Commentary:

Melody fighting Prometheus has got to be one of the most fun but exhausting scenes to write. Especially since I've already pulled out so many tricks and techniques out of the bag for previous fights. It was visceral, I have to admit, but I think it served its purpose in portraying a darker and more mature world that our characters now live in. They both came to a stalemate. Somewhat. Don't worry, we'll be seeing Prometheus again for sure…in the sequel to this story. Leave a review so I know what you're thinking and share with me if you have any suggestions to make future fights better!