It wasn’t fun in any sense of the word to come to the understanding that Riven was the underdog. Not just in these silly face-offs against enemy Essentiers, but in an overall way too. Orbray was backed up by a literal Scion’s Chosen, and with all the power and resources available to him, he was able to easily outmanoeuvre Father in every possible way.

Not that Riven was going to sulk, complain, and give up because of it. Though honestly, no one could blame him if he did. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours and he was facing off against a deadly Essentier again.

A Firstmarked to boot.

“What’s this,” the woman said. She took a step closer, the grin on her face unmistakable despite the dark. “Do I see Nivi Rorink with the fugitive as well? He must have coerced you to follow him, yes? Surely you wouldn’t throw away your life and all you hope to accomplish for the sake of assisting a known traitor. Fear not, Researcher-in-Chief, I will liberate you!”

Nivi bristled. “I’m doing this of my—”

Riven nudged her hard with his elbow. Maybe a little harder than necessary given she grunted in pain, but at least she stopped talking and digging her own grave. “This damn researcher is coming with me.” He kept his voice loud and brash, letting nothing of his disquiet and fear seep into it. “You can’t stop me. Pendle tried, and if you go look, you might me able to find bits and pieces of him back in Providence city. In fact, I suggest you do so before the same happens to you.”

The woman laughed. Someone joined her from behind, the two sources of laughter echoing each other like mirrors. Riven twisted around, pulling himself from Nivi’s grasp. There was another Essentier behind him! Damn them all to the Chasm’s Five Realms.

“You hear that, Firstmarked Weathering.” The new one was a man, older than the woman judging by his voice, but with a  servile air about him. “This stupid shithead thinks he can take you. He couldn’t even scratch me, much less hope to beat you.”

“Trust me,” Nivi hissed quietly. “I can get us out of here.”

Riven looked from one uncompromising Essentier to the other, keeping his voice to a  mutter. “This is why I told you to stay back.”

“Use me as a hostage.”

“What?”

“Do it!”

The woman—Weathering—shuttered her laughter. “Don’t worry Olsten, the boy’s only a Thirdmarked. He’s all yours. Shouldn’t be hard, Secondmarked that you are. Try not to kill him though. I’d rather spare myself the trouble of poking his silly brother awake.”

“Excellent.” Olsten’s eyes screamed murder. “You have one chance to surrender, boy.”

Hostage, Nivi said. Ah, what other option did he have? Riven grabbed Nivi’s arm and dragged her closer to him, bringing his gun out with his other hand in the same motion and pointing it at her head.

“Stay back,” he shouted. “One step, one wrong move, and I’ll blow her brains out.”

Despite pointing the gun at a friend, his hand didn’t tremble and his finger was still and steady on the trigger. Scary, in a way. He was ready to pull, ready to let his shot loose.

Maybe he was becoming more of an Essentier than he had first thought.

“Kill her,” Weathering said. She was leaning against the car, one elbow on the roof of the chassis to prop her head up at a crooked angle. “We don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, every single person in that research facility of yours is a damned traitor who deserves to die. Taking and consorting with Deathless, harbouring fugitives, Scions know doing what other horrid research behind closed doors. You can all rot in the Chasm.”

Riven’s grip on his gun tightened. Horrid research? Weathering didn’t sound like she was lying at all. No, he had to focus. Those were questions for later. “I’ll pull the trigger! I’ll seriously do it, I’m warning you. Everything you hoped to find out about the Deathless, all that glorious information that hasn’t been released out yet, it’ll all die along with Nivi if she’s killed.”

Even in the darkness of night, the woman’s eyes seemed to flash. “Do it, you little arse. Pull the trigger. Kill that damn traitor, then shoot yourself in the head. Don’t be a pussy and stop wasting our time.”

“I’ll kill her. Don’t you care—”

“I said, do it.”

Riven pulled the gun away from Nivi, then shot Weathering. Fast as he was, the woman was even faster. There was a red flash, a sound as of metal slicing, and Riven stepped back.

Weathering had a sword in her hand. A blue Coral sword, one edge flatter, thinner, and sharper than the other. The next moment, the two halves of the bullet Riven had fired clinked down on either side of him. She’d cut apart the bullet in mid-flight. Riven swallowed. Firstmarked Essentiers were supposed to be powerful, as proven by Glaven and his Essence of Commanding, but this seemed insane.

Both Weathering and Olsten laughed. Riven pushed Nivi behind him and hefted his gun, pointing it at the woman again.

“See?” Weathering returned to her original stance, elbow set against the car’s roof. Her smile promised death. “It’s hopeless for you. Now, why don’t you turn around like a good little dog and face down Olsten over there? I promise he’s just as fun as I am. Well, almost.”

“Almost is good enough, Firstmarked,” Olsten said from behind Riven. “Hey boy. Turn around and let the Researcher-in-Chief go. We can play nice once you’re no longer clinging to the faint hope of being saved.”

“Go,” Riven whispered back to Nivi.

As ever, she didn’t argue. Nivi placed an encouraging hand on his back, then stepped back. Good. She was getting herself to safety. For a moment, a selfish part of Riven wanted her to stay back, but he crushed the thought. No, best if Nivi returned to the research facility. She’d only be a distraction out here, and her departure meant he had one less to worry about.

Though facing two deadly Essentiers on his own really buried any other worries he might have had.

But Nivi didn’t leave.

“I think I’ve seen enough of this.” She walked on until she was halfway between Olsten and Riven. “As the highest-ranking officer here, I order you all to lay down your arms. Now!”

Weathering thumped the car’s roof with one hand. “You’re one wrong step away from being branded a traitor, researcher. I wouldn’t push it if I were you.”

“So what if you brand me with this ridiculous traitor idea. What will you do next, kill me? I can assure you that the Invigilator will have your heads for harming me.”

“No Invigilator will protect a damn traitor.”

Nivi stepped closer to Olsten. “I’m warning you to end this farce before something irrevocable happens and you end up dooming yourselves.”

“Nivi,” Riven warned. “Stand down.”

She ignored him and kept on approaching Olsten, who pulled out his gun and levelled it at Nivi. “One more step, and I will blow out your legs, researcher.”

Riven’s head jerked from the Essentiers to Nivi and back again. This didn’t look good. Then he froze. Nivi was providing a distraction.

Cursing himself for the fool he was, Riven lurched towards a surprised Weathering. She jerked straight, her sword flickering as she pulled it out fast. He didn’t allow her much time to use it, didn’t allow her any time to use her Essence. She got into position, legs spread out and Coral sword held at the ready but Riven stopped short.

The building pressure he’d held back burst out in an expanding Essence shield.

Weathering wasn’t ready for it. It shot outwards as fast as she was able to draw her blade, thumping her back and sending her rolling across the ground.

Riven didn’t wait to see her recover. He jumped into the driver’s seat of the car, and slammed the door closed, making sure he locked it. Olsten was shouting as he charged forward, and Nivi had fallen back, arms covering her head as though she was about to be struck. Riven turned on the ignition and pulled the gearstick into the right position. If only there was time to check on Glaven beforehand. Olsten was coming closer with every breath, gun pointed straight at Riven and the car, while Weathering was shouting obscenities at him from behind.

No time. Riven floored the accelerator. The engine roared, and the car shot forward. Olsten grow larger too fast, and in that fraction of a second, Riven had steeled himself to running over Olsten just as he had done to Tam if he needed. He didn’t get the chance.

Olsten froze like a deer caught in headlights. Then he fired his gun.

Riven had less than a second to consider that it had to have been the stupidest move he’d seen yet, but the bullet was glowing. A bright, almost neon teal colour that blinded him if he looked directly at it. Then it struck the car.

And the car flipped.

Riven screamed as the world turned upside down and his head was slammed into the roof, skull feeling as though a hammer had driven a rusty nail right into his spine from the top. His eyes watered, but he still caught sight of the world cavorting over and over. He and his car had just been tossed up by a damn bullet. An Essence-infused Sept bullet.

In the next breath, the car crashed down into the ground. Riven was jerked from his seat and thrown against one of the doors. He didn’t have time to consider what sort of Essence might have caused a whole car to flip like that. His head was still trying to tear itself apart and with his vision shaking, it was all he could do to keep a tight grip on himself.

Riven climbed to the other door. Climbed, for the car had been upended on its side, and he had to struggle upwards. Damn, he’d locked it too. He fiddled with the latch for a second before kicking the door open.

Glaven had better survived the crash. He hadn’t dragged his damn brother all this way just to have him die by a falling car.

Riven jumped down to the ground, only to be faced with Olsten and his gun. The man hadn’t moved a single step so he appeared smaller now. Off to the left, Weathering was lazing on the ground. The darkness hid her expression but it wasn’t hard to imagine that it was bored beyond belief.

“He’s mine right?” Olsten asked.

“Yes, yes,” Weathering reassured. “And take care of his damn brother while you’re at it too. I’m feeling like taking a break again.”

“No worries, Firstmarked. You need to rest up once in a while.”

“I feel like I’ve been a bit too lazy the past few days though.”

“No such thing.”

Riven stopped paying attention to their heart-warming banter and looked around. He didn’t see Nivi anywhere. Hopefully, that crazy woman had the sense to finally get herself out of this tiny warzone.

“Did the fall damage your head, little Morell?” Olsten asked. “I’m over here, not there.”

“You’re an arsehole,” Riven said. Olsten frowned at him, pausing as though surprised. “Sorry I didn’t have a better comeback.”

Olsten growled. Then fired his gun.

Riven was ready. His simmering pressure seeped out from everywhere, forming the Essence armour all over his body. It took the bullet, cracking at the impact. Olsten blinked. He got ready to fire again, and Riven was nearly overcome with the desire to move and get out of the way. He couldn’t though. The car was right behind him, and he needed to protect his getaway vehicle.

Olsen knew it. His grin said he’d already figured out the car was Riven’s priority.

The next shot was glowing teal alongside the gold of the Sept. Riven took the blast head on again, and this time, his armour didn’t crack. He wasn’t even sure there was an impact. Instead, he flew back, his Essence armour protecting his back from breaking after colliding with the car’s underbelly. Hopefully, there was no major damage, neither in him nor on the car.

Riven got up, mind whirling. What was that Essence doing? Everything Olsten’s bullets touched was being thrown back, as though his Essence pushed or repelled things from the point of impact with it.

Teal Essence flared for a few moments again, and this time, Riven finally caught what Olsten looked like. He was older than Riven had thought, sallow-faced with sparse, salt-and-pepper hair, thin and bony as a scarecrow. Someone needed to get some food into him before Riven ended up killing the bastard.

Another shot. In the fraction of a second the blue-gold bullet took to reach Riven, he focused on safety. On survival. How closely they were linked. His Essence armour disappeared, but just as the bullet reached a few feet in front of him, he let go of the pressure, focusing the lines of his Essence on the space inches before it. A golden sphere formed around the bullet, and the sphere jerked in the air as the bullet struck its sides.

Riven laughed. He’d stopped the damn thing.

But Olsten fired again, his follow up too fast. Shit. Riven couldn’t pull off this shield in fear of getting hit, but he couldn’t stop two bullets at—

The sphere he threw up in desperation was struck from the outside, and pushed back. Riven hardly got a breath in before he was rammed with his own Essence and sandwiched between it and the car, hard enough for the vehicle to lean backwards for a heartbeat before righting itself.

Riven focused and his shield disappeared, bullets clinking to the ground before him. His ribs ached but he was alive. That was enough. With a shout, he charged forward.

Olsten reloaded his gun with the practiced ease and speed of an experienced Essentier, and started firing again, all before Riven was even halfway close to him. No matter. Riven had planned ahead. Soon as the bullets came close enough, he let go of a burst of the pressure boiling inside him to form a dinner-plate-sized shield. The bullet struck it and the shied made to shoot back, but Riven focused again and it disappeared.

He laughed as he ran on, charging as fast as his legs could carry him. Twinges of pain shot from his wound, but Nivi’s ointments were doing a fantastic job of keeping him safe.

“Careful!” someone yelled. Nivi probably, but Riven couldn’t pay attention to that.

More bullets came at him but he stopped them all in the same manner. As he ran on, Olsten’s face became clear, the worried expression twisting delightfully across his features and enticing Riven to rush in even faster. The Essentier was taken aback. Frightened almost. Riven grinned. Despite his wound growing livider with every step, his feet flew over the ground as he rushed towards Olsten.

When he got close enough, Olsten put away his gun. Just what Riven had been waiting for. He focused his Essence to reform the golden armour around him. Twos steps more, and he was close enough to punch. Which he did, hammering his fist straight at Olsten’s face.

He hadn’t forgotten seasoned Essentiers were better at close-combat. Olsten dodged, then struck back. Riven’s armour protected him, and he came with another punch. That was dodged too. Unyielding, Riven came in with several more, refusing to cow at the return hits. His Essence armour started to crack under the blows but it was nowhere near as bad as it normally was with bullets.

Olsten was a good fighter. Much better than Tam even, and without his armour to protect him, Riven would have fallen a long while ago. He took a step back, giving himself some space to breathe. Then charged in again.

He missed his punch, the momentum throwing him forward.

Olsten took the chance. Took the bait too. Riven had to focus to let go of his Essence, and Olsten’s kick sent him tumbling to the ground with his waist aflame, but he didn’t notice it. He was too busy focusing on the Essentier himself. His Essence rushed out and formed a sphere around the unwary Olsten, encasing him entirely in glowing gold.

No time to waste. Riven pushed himself up despite the feeling like lava was sitting in his kidney, then rushed at the sphere. Just before he rammed into it, he focused again and it disappeared.

Olsten staggered back, eyes wide and too surprised to defend himself. Riven encased himself in his armour in the split moment, and his fist connected with Olsten’s guts.

A grin worked out on Riven’s face at the contact, widening as Olsten crumpled around his fist, and with a savage kick, Riven threw the man to the ground. Olsten coughed. His hands were pressed to his stomach where he’d been hit and he was gasping in pain.

Riven didn’t give him a second to recover. Now that he had the advantage, it was up to him to press it. He charged in. When he reached Olsten, he raised his foot to stomp down, but then the teal light flashed out. Riven’s feet met the teal Essence, and for a second, it was as though he’d stepped down on solid rock. Nothing happened.

In the next breath, Riven was sent flying up.

He screamed as he rose over a dozen yards into the air, faster at the beginning before slowing down as though he’d been launched straight up by an invisible catapult. He lost his concentration and the Essence armour disappeared. His limbs flew wild, the air rushing everywhere and the world teetering on the point of tipping over its side. Damn it, he had his Essence didn’t he? As the ground came rushing back up, Riven focused. Survival. His Essence armour reformed, absorbing the brunt of the impact, though Riven was still shaken and jolted.

Which was what Olsten was after all along, no doubt. By the time Riven was halfway to pushing himself back to his feet, the other Essentier had returned and began striking at Riven again. When he returned a punch, Olsten didn’t dodge this time. His teal Essence came out instead, and Riven struck a wall. His fist froze as though all energy was gone. What?

It left Riven wide open, and though Olsten had taken a step back, he was still close enough to strike Riven in the face. It didn’t shatter as his armour but Riven was still thrown back at the impact, small cracks masking his face.

Olsten’s assault was relentless. A vicious kick sent cracked Riven’s armour and sent him scrabbling against the ground.

“Finish the boy, already!” Weathering demanded.

“You sound invested, Firstmarked,” Olsten said.

“No, I’m just bored.”

Riven was up again, and he tried to fight back. But Olsten had his Essence to protect him this time. Riven’s blows landed on the teal Essence that propped up wherever he struck and though Olsten staggered back a little, every hit stole Riven’s energy as though he was being drained. Apart from falling back a step or two, Olsten suffered no real damage. He didn’t stand still though. As the much better fighter in this bout, he lashed out nearly twice for every blow Riven landed. His punches, jabs, elbows, and the occasional kicks left cracks all over.

It looked like Riven had come to the end of his line. Olsten hit him hard again. He fell back a step, and looked up to see the other Essentier pointing his gun at Riven. Shit. There was no time to use a different kind of shield, and Olsten’s bullet hit Riven in his Essence-covered sternum.

He flew back, colliding with the bottom of the car again. This time, his Essence armour broke, and he screamed out as though his back was hammered by a ship.

Slumped on the ground, Riven groaned. Damn the Chasm. No, he had to stop being bullish. Stop being impetuous and thinking he could brute-force his way past a more powerful Essentier like Olsten. He needed to think. Good thing Riven could now play dead.

The idea popped in his head fast as lightning.

Riven forced himself to his feet, soul shrieking against the nails perforating his back and limbs wobbling as though made of jelly. If his hypothesis was right, then Olsten was done for. He walked to the roof of the car and pushed for all he was worth. Damn thing was heavy.

“Look! He’s still alive.” Weathering cackled as though Riven was a headless chicken that had forgotten it was supposed to be dead and was still running around. “You’re not done, Olsten.”

With a heavy heave, Riven shouldered the car back to its usual position. Olsten cursed, firing his gun as Riven made to enter the driver’s seat. The bullet wasn’t hard to deflect with those smaller golden shields which Riven scattered to nothing as soon as they were hit. It was distracting at worst, but he managed to get into the car in one piece. He should have checked on Glaven but if he had time to do that, he’d have done a lot of things in all honesty.

Riven floored the accelerator and the car charged forward.

Olsten waited where he stood, and Riven noted the set of his shoulders and the placement of his feet. Bastard meant to jump out of the way at the last second. Not if Riven could help it. Riven pulled out his own gun, placing his arm out the window and shooting at Olsten. His teal Essence protected him, Riven’s bullets dropping dead as he took a step back.

It was something to do with momentum. Riven was sure of it now. Olsten’s Essence played with the momentum of whatever it touched.

Riven continued firing, and Olsten fell back step after step as the glowing bullets struck his teal Essence armour. He returned fire a few times too, but Riven was ready for it. He focused, and his Essence shot out in golden line to form those little shields, disappearing as soon as they stopped Olsten’s bullets.

Someone needed to give Riven an award for being a master multitasker. Driving a car with one hand and shooting with the other and forcing Olsten back, all the while still using his Essence to stop any return fire, wasn’t easy.

Olsten didn’t move. Not even when impact with Riven’s car was imminent.

“Move, you arse!” Weathering shouted.

Olsten did jump. Riven’s heart thundered as his car charged past, but he was expecting something like this. He dropped his gun on his lap and brought both hands on the steering wheel, already hammering down on the brakes and twisting the wheel around to make the car turn. The world revolved slowly like it was drunk. There was an awful screech, and the car’s floor vibrated with frightening clangs. Riven kept turning the wheel, and the car finally faced back the way it had charged in, though there was a louder clank and a burst of sparks underneath that Riven spotted in the mirror.

No matter. The car charged on. He’d run over one man already, so what was another?

Olsten never got a chance to jump again. He did get to use his Essence, teal flickering all over him as Riven’s car rammed in. Not that Riven waited to see. He jumped out of the car at the last moment, and by the time he looked, he was thanking the Scions that he’d chosen to do so.

Upon impact, Olsten and the car both went flying. The car rammed into the other Essence, his teal Essence unable to stop him from flying off. Riven had been counting on Olsten’s Essence having limits. It did strike the car though, and the vehicle flew off in the same direction as Olsten but at an angle to him so that the car landed a few yards off him.

Riven had no time to wonder at the miracles of Essence and whatnot. He pulled himself to his feet and rushed at Olsten. The only way to kill the fool was up close.

The enemy Essentier was still on the ground when Riven landed on top of him, though softly. His teal Essence flickered, and Riven was pushed up a little, but he pressed down and his knees dug into Olsten’s guts to drive out the older man’s breath.

Olsten tried to shove Riven off. He latched onto Olsten’s shoulders and wrapped one of the other Essentier’s legs with both of his own. No way was he being pushed off. He was right, Olsten couldn’t use his Essence when no one was harming him directly with forceful hits and blows. So all Riven had to do was crush the life from him slowly, but inexorably.

For Olsten’s Essence, the striking momentum had to be hard and fast.

Easier said than done. The crash with the car and the subsequent fall hadn’t hurt him much, and Olsten struggled like a cornered wildcat. Riven had foreseen this though, and he moved his hands to grip his enemy around the neck.

Then he started to squeeze.

Olsten hammered Riven’s head with his fists, and Riven pressed down onto his chest. The weird angle relieved the blows somewhat. Olsten’s furious heartbeat pounded in his ears and Riven squeezed harder no matter how he was jostled around, no matter how Olsten bucked like a bull. Just to make sure, Riven focused again. His Essence burst out and formed a sphere around Olsten’s head, cutting off the man’s airflow and suffocating him. Eventually, the blows began to slow down before coming to a stop.

The stab came out of nowhere.

Riven screamed as he squeezed harder. Why wouldn’t he bastard just die already? A hole had been bored into his back by a knife, Olsten’s Coral knife no doubt, and Riven felt as though sharp icicles had been rammed in. The knife rose again, its blade scraping against his flesh as Olsten withdrew it, Riven shrieking along with it.

When it descended again, Riven was ready. He focused to bring up his shield, thought that meant he could no longer suffocate Olsten. He had relaxed his grip on the man’s neck at the pain, but now he tightened it.

Enough was enough. Bastard needed to die already.

“I’ve seen enough.”

Riven hardly had the time to recognize that voice, heart thundering all of a sudden at its proximity. Then he froze. Everything froze, or at least, went turgid and slow as though the air had become thick as honey. What in the world was happening?

Something cracked above him. His shield! Riven couldn’t focus on his Essence, his thoughts in a slow disarray that refused to cooperate.

Riven was plucked up off Olsten by the neck like he was a runt. He blinked. Red Essence waved around in the air like streamers and he found himself staring at Weathering’s snarling cardboard-like face.

“You’ve done enough,” she spat in his face. Her dark brows were drawn together in a severe frown, dark hair falling to her shoulders in jagged ends as though she’d hacked off unnecessary bits with a knife.

Her sword flashed, but Riven had regained enough of his focus. His Essence armour came back on, stopping the blue Coral sword. Weathering wasn’t going to be stopped. She let go of Riven, who staggered back for a second but got no time to do anything more. Her sword whipped around and struck Riven with the force of a stampeding bull.

Riven flew back and struck the car once again. His armour didn’t shatter and he was mostly fine, but something snapped in the car. An axle of sorts. Riven was no mechanic but it was bad even to his untrained eyes.

There went any thoughts of escaping.

Olsten was coughing on the ground. “Firstmarked! I’m all right. I can—”

“Let’s just end this farce already, shall we?” Weathering suggested, approaching Riven, her dark eyes promising death. The red Essence floating like streamers around Weathering shot outwards.

Riven swallowed. He closed his eyes, and focused again. He needed help and the only person who could provide anything of the sort was Glaven. How had he woken up his damned brother last time? It had been his Essence. Had to be.

Besides, that red Essence looked like bad news. He had to steer clear.

With more focus, Riven got his Essence working again, the pressure erupting around him all around him. A spherical shield formed, encompassing him and the boot of the car. The red Essence didn’t get past his golden shield, and nothing else happened.

But Glaven didn’t magically wake up either.

“I think I’ve had enough of your Essence too, little Morell,” Weathering said. She walked forward with a dangerous stance, sword held out in front of her to strike.

Stupid. Glaven must have been woken up by something else. Riven was an idiot for thinking his Essence could—

The boot of the car thumped once. They all froze, every eye turning to the back end of the car. Another thump, mirroring the ones that had taken over Riven’s heart.

Then the trunk curst open, and Glaven fell out. Riven’s brother staggered upright, a wild and confused expression on his face. “Which fucker here thought I was dead and buried me early?”