Chapter Sixty Eight

A Knight of Shadows

ELSA

"Stay close. Don't let them separate us." Elsa warned as she watched Inque and Mover circle her and Peggy while Dreambinder stood at a safe distance, fingers touching his temples.

The concrete ground beneath their feet began to crack and cave upwards courtesy of Mover's manipulation, dislodging snow and stone, prompting Elsa and Peggy to scurry out of the way and regroup a few paces away even as the Mage Slayers continued to advance.

"Of course not," Peggy stood back to back with her, the knives in her hands held in reverse grip. It was rather disturbing how akin her fighting style was to Janus'.

Inque lashed out directly at Elsa, dark gooey substance threatening to splatter and suffocate her. A stream of ice met Inque's attack, and a second separate blast of her sorcery hit the assassin in the gut, stumbling him.

As Inque and Mover attacked, Dreambinder continued to conjure up one of his hallucinations.

"Focus on taking Dreambinder out first," Elsa hissed. "He'll mess with our minds, if he hasn't already."

"I got him," Peggy flipped the blade around into a forward grip then whipped it end on end at Dreambinder.

Forced to dodge it, his concentration was broken and with that, whatever evil machinations he was trying to infect their minds with.

"Keep him distracted until we can find an opening!" Elsa formed a sword of ice and blocked a large slab of stone carved out from the parapet and hurled at her by Mover.

In the split second she had, Elsa cast a glance over her shoulder as she heard a loud pop from the other end of the rooftop. The Mage Slayers who'd been cornering Janus and Tracy were temporarily blinded - presumably thanks to one of Janus' tricks - while Janus and Tracy themselves had vanished together with Lord Magnus.

Whatever your play is, she thought silently as her eyes swivelled back to meet the threats before her. I hope you know what you're doing. Janus.

JANUS

Body leaning against one of the many pillars in the empty building, he settled into a crouch. Thankfully the place they'd crashed into wasn't a home. It was an office suite, most likely belonging to a bureaucrat or some high ranking member of Exon's business society. A long polished table made out of sturdy acacia wood stood in the centre of the room. It would hold up nicely when he drove one of the assassins into it.

Apart from that, he saw a couple of chairs, a lamp, a couch, plants and shelves lined with books. All things that he could use to his advantage if it came down to it. But hopefully this fight wouldn't last that long.

He exchanged a glance with Tracy, who was sneaking towards one of the rooms, obscured in the shadows just like he was. It helped that she was dressed in black too. She gave him a thumbs up as she disappeared into the darkness. Ever the happy-go-lucky one among us.

Magnus shifted uncomfortably, his wrists and ankles bound by thin sturdy cables from Janus' arsenal. "I'll say, you-"

Janus spun and clutched Lord Magnus' throat in his free hand. "You'll say nothing," He whispered. "Now shut up, or I'll feed you your nose." He felt Magnus swallow, his eyes flaring with rage. Slowly, Janus released his hand and turned back to the door which lay not too far away.

Finally, the door creaked so quietly that any normal man wouldn't have picked it up. But not Janus. His grip tightened on the falchion, his bow slung across his back and his other hand clenched.

The door opened a fraction larger and in slipped Venom first, brandishing two new knives from her seemingly inexhaustible supply of poison tipped blades. Behind her came Vertigo and Carnivore, the latter still nursing his broken nose. The door swung open wider as Beast made his entrance. As hoped, they'd come to rescue their master, but none had a clue where the two Warriors had hidden him.

Shooting a warning glance at Magnus, Janus raised his falchion to hip level and pressed himself against the wall, his entire body melting into the shadows.

"Split up and flush them out," Vertigo said. "The emperor wants them dead on sight."

"Our priority is His Eminence," This voice belonged to Carnivore. "They'll pay for laying their hands on him."

The four Mage Slayers split off into different directions to comb the rooms of the large office suite. Beast and Vertigo were headed towards his spot in the main hall, while Carnivore and Venom were taking the other end where Tracy was hidden in one of the rooms.

"Where are you, Prometheus?" Vertigo called out, unknowingly moving further away from Janus. "We know you're here. You think you can hide in the dark? You think you're some knight of shadows? You can't hide from us. We will flush you out and kill you!"

Obscured in darkness, Janus knelt at the edge of the pillar, waiting as the heavy footfalls of Beast drew nearer. The giant passed him by, and Janus seized his chance. He severed a couple of arteries on Beast's leg and leapt up, clutching the front of the big assassin's neck. Bracing his knees against Beast's back, Janus tugged with all his might and the two of them fell backwards. Moments before Beast landed on top of him, Janus let go of the assassin and twisted away. Beast fell heavily, raising a cloud of dust from the concrete.

That's not going to keep him down for long. Janus lashed out with a vicious kick across the giant's cheek just to buy himself a few extra seconds as Vertigo came running, obviously having heard the commotion. A single dagger slipping into his hand, Janus melted back into the shadows, watching as Vertigo stopped beside Beast, then looked round in search of the masked mercenary.

"Where are you?" Vertigo snarled.

Janus whipped the dagger across the distance and it sunk into Vertigo's shoulder, eliciting a cry of agony. Moving like the wind, he sprung from the shadows, delivering a crushing knee to the sternum which doubled Vertigo over. As he dropped to his knees coughing, Janus grabbed his enemy's hooded head and smashed his knee into the Mage Slayer's skull. He followed up with a textbook right cross which floored Vertigo before he could even use his disorienting powers.

But Beast was rising again. Gritting his teeth, Janus checked to make sure the High Priest was still where he'd left him. He was. That split second cost him. Beast grabbed him and lifted him over his head like a toy. A blade slipped into his hand and Janus jammed it into the giant's left wrist. Beast roared but that didn't stop him from tossing Janus across the room and sent him crashing into the acacia desk standing in the centre of the room. And like Janus predicted, it held up, though not in the way he'd planned for it to be used.

His body ached all over, screaming at him to retreat, but Janus ignored it. Exhaling deeply, he grunted and used the edge of the acacia desk to lever himself to his feet. He nursed his side and looked up to see Beast charging at him like an angry bull.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath as he dove clear. The giant missed him and rammed into the desk with such force that it broke in half, a testament to his demonic strength. As Beast whirled round, Janus unhooked his bow from his back and nocked a single arrow, running towards him. Knowing that the assassin would catch it, he shot it anyway.

The arrow flew on a straight path for Beast's eye and as predicted, the big man snatched it out of the air, giving Janus the opening he needed. Launching himself off his feet, he planted a knee in the giant's chest. In that moment of contact, Janus sunk a dagger into his neck with much difficulty and pushed himself off the assassin with a kick, landing in a crouch. That wound would've killed any man instantly, but all it did was cause Beast to stagger backwards.

"Glurk." Beast rasped as he pawed at the dagger protruding out from the side of his neck, blood running down his skin and beneath his priest robes. Finally, the giant wrenched the dagger out of his neck and fell to his knees.

Slinging his bow on his back, Janus drew his falchion and brandished it with both hands on the hilt, prepared to end the giant once and for all. Vertigo overcame his senses and his sword fell from his hand. Everything spun, and he was forced to a knee. Jaw clenched and willing himself not to throw up, he could see Vertigo walking towards him from the peripheral of his fuzzy vision.

"It's over, Prometheus," Vertigo mocked, still looking rattled from the beatdown Janus had dished out earlier.

Something lurched in Janus' stomach and he dropped to the concrete floor, gagging and breathing hard. His senses were clouded and he felt as though the world were collapsing in on him. But he knew it wasn't. It was just the damn Mage Slayer messing with his senses. Fortunately, he'd thought this through.

He closed his eyes. Colours still swarmed his vision, an assortment of blue, green, pink, yellow and a coruscation of every spectrum. But they began to fade to black and he felt the dizziness waning slightly. That's it.

Grunting, he levered himself to his feet. The nausea was still there, though weaker now. Concentrating hard, he could hear Vertigo's footsteps getting closer. Ignoring the remaining queasiness in the pit of his stomach, he began walking towards Vertigo.

"What are you doing?" came the baffled voice of the assassin.

Even with his eyes closed, Janus could feel Vertigo intensifying his efforts, a stronger wave of vertigo attempting to stop him, but it did little against him now.

"What is this?"

Behind his mask, Janus smirked slightly. He clenched his fists as he closed the gap.

"Stop!" Vertigo's footsteps were moving further away now, almost as though he was backpedaling. "Stop! You're not supposed to be able to-"

Janus lunged forward and grabbed the fabric of the Mage Slayer's cloak.

Vertigo shouted in terror as Janus manhandled him like a toy and swung him against something - a wall or a shelf perhaps. "Let go of me! You…you should be on your knees! Dizzy, weak, begging for mercy! How are you doing this?"

Obviously he couldn't see that Janus had his eyes closed behind his mask. But Janus wasn't going to tell him that. Vertigo was still clawing at his grip, trying to get away from the masked man he was suddenly so afraid of.

"What the hell are you?" Vertigo's voice quaked.

Janus responded with a quick jab to the face, spun and drove an elbow into his gut. Eyes still closed, he seized Vertigo's arm and hoisted his entire body over his shoulder. As the Mage Slayer landed with a thud, Janus leapt and brought his fist down, crunching into the man's face and felt something shatter.

"A knight of shadows," Janus answered as he stood up. He finally opened his eyes and saw clearly again, all traces of the vertigo effect having vanished. The queasiness in his stomach was gone now, and all was right again. Well, as right as it could be given the circumstances.

From one of the other rooms came sounds of knives hitting walls, and blasts of magic illuminated the room in purple at brief, erratic intervals. Clearly, Tracy was still fighting Venom and Carnivore.

To his chagrin, Beast stood up again and grunted angrily, blood still flowing from his neck. Janus sighed in frustration. What would it do to keep the giant down?

The man gave a roar and lumbered towards him like an incensed predator. Janus dove to the side, picked up his sword as he came to his feet and melted into the shadows. Bent over double, he returned to where he'd left the High Priest bound, relieved to see that he was still there. Shooting Magnus a warning look, he settled down to wait.

He heard Beast's heavy breathing as the confused assassin tried to make sense of his prey's disappearance. One hand sheathing his falchion back into the scabbard on his hip, Janus nursed his ribs with a grimace, a dull pain making itself known. Assuming they made it out of the capital alive, he was going to be sore as hell tomorrow.

"Where are you?" Beast growled, his hulking figure cleanly bypassing Janus' position.

Silence. Janus waited for the right moment, sticking to the shadows as he padded noiselessly behind the Mage Slayer.

"Where are you?!" Beast snarled as he came to a stop in front of one half of the broken acacia table.

"Here."

The Mage Slayer spun round angrily, lashing out wildly with the pent up frustration from not being able to find the archer.

Easily, Janus batted the heavy hand away and countered with a fist into the man's gut, forcing him to bend forward slightly. Like lightning, he sprung off the ground like a loaded spring, unleashing a vicious uppercut to the underside of the big assassin's jaw that sent him pitching backwards towards the broken acacia table. In mid-air, Janus swung his body and used the built up momentum from the full rotation as he came back round to drive his knuckles down into Beast's forehead, crushing his skull against the acacia wood.

Landing neatly, Janus disengaged from his enemy to survey the damage. Beast was down, all right, breathing hard but still conscious. But the giant rose again, albeit slowly and sluggishly. He shook his head lethargically as though trying to clear the metaphorical cobwebs that were more likely than not broken bones.

Seizing the opening, Janus lunged at him again. But perhaps he'd been too complacent. The giant caught his arm quicker than Janus would've pegged him capable to, and grabbed Janus by his collar. Before Janus could grapple free, Beast lifted him overhead with a furious growl.

Janus knew what was coming. He'd seen this move before from Kane, and it'd cost him his spine. With all his might, he twisted his body sideways and crunched his knuckles into Beast's eyes. Further dazed, the assassin loosened his grip and as Janus fell, he hooked his arm behind Beast's shoulder and hit the ground rolling, forcing Beast to fall with him. As expected, Beast wasn't agile like Janus himself, resulting in a messy sprawl on the assassin's part.

This time, Janus knew better than to engage head on again. He knew it wouldn't be enough to keep Beast down, fatal wound or not, what with his demonic powers making him seem impervious to pain or wounds. But he knew what would keep the Mage Slayer down, at least long enough for him to catch a moment's respite.

He circled round the rising enemy, keeping his distance this time and putting his back to a tall shelf made of rust-free steel. Unhooking his bow from his back, he silently beckoned the giant with two fingers. Beast, visibly enraged, charged at him with arms wide. Janus sidestepped the charge, spun and with all his might, cracked the bow's limbs across the assassin's lower back which caused him to slam face first into the shelf.

Reaching a safe distance, Janus turned and fired a grappling arrow into the bookshelf. Grunting and ignoring the sharp pain that lit up his sides and shoulders, he tugged on the arrow's cable with all his might. The tall shelf tipped and fell right on top of the dazed assassin, burying him beneath steel.

Panting hard, he stood at the ready, half expecting Beast to get up again. Thankfully, he didn't. Janus deflated considerably, then remembered Tracy could probably use his help. Catching his breath, he raced towards the room where Tracy was likely still dealing with the Mage Slayers, although everything was silent.

"You'll pay for this," Magnus hissed and writhed on the ground like a worm as he passed by.

Janus contemplated killing him but instantly decided against it. Murdering an old man in cold blood? Not very Warrior-like. But this is the mastermind who orchestrated the damn war from the shadows, a voice protested at the back of his mind. He traced his steps back to Magnus and unsheathed his falchion.

The High Priest whimpered, cowering into a ball.

A pregnant pause, then Janus sheathed his weapon again before moving on. Maybe I'm getting soft after sticking around Elsa for too long.

Arriving outside the room Tracy had hidden herself in, he stopped beside the open door to survey the scene before he entered. Venom was already out cold, pinned to the wall by two knife hilts sticking out of her bloodied shoulders. He allowed himself a smirk. So it seemed Tracy had handled the Mage Slayer pretty much the same way he would have.

But Carnivore was still in that large room somewhere, hunting down Tracy. He knew that she was aware of the consequences if she allowed him to get ahold of her. One touch was all the assassin needed to drain her of her powers the same way he did Maui. And that could not happen under any circumstances, especially not on the night when they were supposed to escape from the capital.

"Come out, witch!"

Carnivore's voice told Janus exactly where he was, and he crept into the room silently after the man.

"Come out and face me, girl," Carnivore taunted. "Or are you afraid of my touch?"

Janus skulked in the shadows, crouch-walking his way up behind the oblivious Mage Slayer.

"I said come out here!" Carnivore shouted. "Show yourself!"

Janus smashed his shoulder in a glancing attack off the assassin's side, then doubled back to land a spinning heel kick to the side of Carnivore's face.

The Mage Slayer stumbled, clawing at air to keep his balance and failing. Disoriented, he scrambled away and tried to get up but Janus rammed a running knee into him that drove him into a dusty pillar. Like before, Carnivore gripped Janus' wrist to drain him of his powers.

"Reflex," Janus said. "Here's one of mine." He twisted out of Carnivore's grasp and gripped his wrist in return. Pulling the arm taut, he swung himself sideways and slammed his forearm into the assassin's elbow. Bones snapped beneath the fabric of the cloak.

The Mage Slayer screamed in agony, crumpling and clutching his broken arm.

"Shit, that was savage," Tracy emerged from behind one of the many pillars in the room. "Even for me."

"Have you seen the woman you pinned to the wall?"

"Eh," Tracy shrugged. "She had it coming."

Janus smirked and knelt beside the moaning Carnivore. Suddenly, the Mage Slayer didn't seem so tough.

"Alright," Tracy rubbed her hands as she knelt on the other side of Carnivore. "Let me do my thing and break his wards."

"How long is this going to take?" Janus glanced over his shoulder, acutely aware that at any moment, either Vertigo, Beast or perhaps some of the other assassins would come charging at them.

"Hopefully not long," Tracy said nonchalantly.

"You think this is the end?" Carnivore spat acidly, clutching his arm. "No matter where you go, the Crimson Order will find you. Your friends. Your loved ones. We'll hunt you down in your sleep and kill you!"

"Ugh, I hate evil monologues," Tracy dealt a backhand slap across Carnivore's cheek and clutched the lapels of his cloak. "Shut the hell up and give me my Christmas present."

As she began muttering some foreign spell beneath her breath, Janus watched with one hand on the hilt of his sword, his ears strained to pick up any other sounds that would tell him if more threats were about to present themselves. Not that he felt up to it. His body ached terribly from where he'd weathered Beast's heavy strikes, perhaps more bruised than he'd been in a long time.

A bright light suddenly filled the room. Tracy was glowing purple, and so was Carnivore.

"Shiva-alek. Mantouth jelamaneik, touqa vlahimn." Tracy chanted, hands pressed against the sides of the assassin's head. Carnivore was squirming, struggling with teeth gritted - probably from the pain of his broken arm and also from whatever the hell Tracy was doing to him.

The sea witch's chants grew into an echo, a voice that swirled round the room like a storm, overpowering the Mage Slayer's screams. Janus raised his arm reflexively as the glass windows broke and fell inwards, almost as though an invisible force was pulling them in. He felt wind against his hood too as he continued to watch Tracy and the Mage Slayer glow even brighter.

Soon, the room was filled with light as bright as daylight itself, Tracy's voice hauntingly loud as the spell came to an abrupt end. The light disappeared as quick as a flash, like it'd never been there at all. The room was thrown back into darkness, the only illumination coming from the moonlight outside the windows and the remnant glow of Tracy's body that grew fainter by the second.

Carnivore gasped, his breathing getting weaker. Then he was silent, unmoving.

"You alright? Did it work?" He asked as he offered Tracy a hand. As she took it, Janus pulled her to her feet.

She glanced at her fingers and wriggled them like a professional pianist would do before a performance. "Only one way to find out," She shot a hand out towards an empty spot of the dark room.

The familiar sight of purple mist opening to form a Crossing Point sent a cathartic wave of relief through Janus. Hell, she did it.

"Merry Christmas, you son of a bitch," Grinning broadly, she winked at Janus. "Looks like we're getting out of Exon tonight after all."