Chapter 5: Part 3 - Fight Me For It

It felt to Jean as though they'd been climbing Draconis Mons for days. The heat was relentless, the animals they encountered were strange and savage, and he found himself looking over his shoulder at every opportunity.

"It's been about six hours," Oska informed him, when they stopped to rest. "And there's worse to come. There are destroyers ahead."

Jean cursed under his breath. 'Regret' wasn't the right word for his feelings. The whole game felt inevitable, as though he'd never had any choice about being here. All he could do was endure it.

They advanced slowly, sending Oska to scout more than once. The fourth time, Jean volunteered to go instead.

"You?" Oska couldn't hide his scepticism. Jean wondered when his little cousin had grown up so much – and become so bad-tempered.

"Jean's right," Marissa said unexpectedly. "You need to rest, Oska. We're all going to have to take turns."

Oska muttered something under his breath but didn't argue. Jean nodded to Marissa, then picked up his sceptre and set off.

Draconis Mons was a very different place when you were alone. Even the crunch of his companions' feet was gone, leaving only the raucous cries of the volcano's natural inhabitants. Jean hadn't seen many birds, or indeed much that he recognised. There were a few skelk and drifting packs of wind riders, but there were also bizarre hopping mushrooms and all manner of reptiles armoured in thick plates of hide or bone. Jean did his best to avoid them. Some of the creatures looked heavy enough to break every one of his bones with a casual kick.

He rounded a rocky outcrop – and there were the destroyers. Just the sight of them made Jean shudder. There was something distinctly odd about them, too; he was surprised Oska had even been able to identify them. Many glowed with a sickly green magic that made them look twisted and strange.

This wasn't a scientific expedition, though. He didn't need to catalogue their features or identify their traits. What his team needed – if he was right about the bridge of rock rising behind the destroyers – was to get past them.

"If you possess even an inkling of common sense," a voice said, "you'll find another way around."

Jean turned slowly, as though in a dream. He'd been so quiet and careful – but Amber had found him anyway. She stood with her arms folded and head back, so she could look him in the eye.

"Is there another way around?" he asked.

"I wouldn't tell you that even if I knew. I couldn't, in fact."

There was a sinking feeling in Jean's stomach. "We're no longer on the same side."

Amber grimaced. "Not by choice, I assure you. Yinn grew tired of me ignoring his orders. He thought it'd teach me a lesson to use Light's Memory as common mercenaries in this round."

Jean found himself looking involuntarily around the small clearing. Rocks rose on one side, thick vegetation on the other. Plenty of places for even a norn to hide.

"She's not here," Amber said sourly. "I said 'not by choice', didn't I? Yinn is holding Erin hostage to ensure my cooperation."

That made sense, but it wasn't enough to quell Jean's unease. Amber wasn't here as a friend. She would make a dangerous opponent, but also... "Do you have a piece of key?"

"I do. Before you ask, I won't risk Erin's life by giving it to you. You'll have to fight me for it."

Jean nodded. He'd expected as much – but that didn't mean either of them were going to like what came next.

He attacked first; Amber seemed to be waiting for him to do so. The earth split beneath her feet, forcing her backwards into a storm of ice shards that Jean had already summoned. Before he could catch her, though, she jumped away – and vanished.

"Damn thieves." Jean backed towards the rock wall on his right. He'd sparred with Oska before and nearly always lost. Those encounters had taught him to keep his back against something solid, though. He didn't want Amber getting round behind him.

Her daggers came out of nowhere, driving towards his right side and sparking off the protective barrier of rock he'd created. Amber leapt back again, almost too fast for Jean's eye to follow. She was a blur of movement, of spinning blades and flashing limbs. He threw an ice missile at her, but she seemed to shimmer in mid-air. The missile slammed into a tree.

Amber landed again, flickering back into view. Unlike Jean, she wasn't panting. He raised his sceptre, spinning up a vortex of ice – but Amber raised a hand to stop him.

Jean attacked anyway. If she stayed still long enough, he could restrain her without doing any damage. That was the theory, anyway. Before the vortex had closed around her, Amber darted away. In his last glimpse of her before she vanished, Jean thought she was grinning.

He retreated again, restoring his defences. There was a shimmer in the air before Amber's next attack, just enough to give Jean time to react. He flung up a shield of ice. This time, Amber bounced off, landing heavily on the ground. She rolled over, but before she could get to her feet, Jean had caught her ankle in a fist of ice and pinned her to the earth.

Jean was surprised by the look of triumph in her eyes. She'd let him win, he realised; he wouldn't have seen her coming otherwise. He should have felt humiliated, but instead there was only relief. Perhaps they could end this without either of them getting hurt.

And he understood why Amber looked so pleased with herself. To an outside observer, their fight would have appeared perfectly serious. Yinn would never know that Amber had dictated the outcome in Jean's favour – or that she'd done it to get one over on Yinn. They could still trick him, even now. That did indeed feel good.

Jean pointed his sceptre at Amber. It was a touch dramatic, perhaps, but he was in the mood to show off to their watchers. "The key, please."

There was a sudden crunch of footsteps. Jean's family spilt into the clearing. Their weapons were drawn, but they lowered them as they took in the scene. Jean had to admit it was a little bit gratifying to see how impressed they looked.

Amber dropped her daggers and climbed slowly to her feet. She nodded to the rest of the Valparis, then made a low bow in Jean's direction. With great ceremony, she drew a shimmering piece of metal from her pocket and handed it to him.

Jean turned the key over in his hands. It was surprisingly beautiful, much more enticing than the blank keys from the first round. "Thank you," he said to Amber. He knew he shouldn't be so polite to someone he'd just beaten, but he lost nothing by being civil – and he wanted her to know he was well aware she'd lost deliberately.

"It was a good fight," Amber replied. She looked up, as though searching for watchful eyes.

"Are you out of the game now?" Jean asked.

Amber grimaced. Her words were almost too soft to catch as she said, "I hope so."

She bent, retrieving her daggers and sheathing them. Jean circled her, heading towards the rest of his family, as though he was still wary of her. In truth, he was anything but. It was funny how a fight, of all things, could turn an acquaintance into a friend.

Jean had expected Amber to vanish as quickly as she'd arrived, but she hesitated. After a moment, she said, "You know, this game isn't going to last forever. If you're in need of a guild when this is over, we should talk."

Jean barely had time to nod before she was gone, the shadows swallowing her up.

He twitched as Marissa's hand touched his shoulder. He'd half expected a reprimand, but her voice was soft. "I looked into Light's Memory when we were last in Rata Sum. They're a very small guild and they rarely recruit."

Meaning Amber's offer had been quite the honour. Jean found himself grinning. He didn't need Marissa to tell him that.