Riven stared at the young man. The weak light from the distant fires revealed dirty blond hair falling in curtains on either side of his head, and there was a patchy growth on his cheeks that further emphasized his youth more than giving any appearance of maturity or age. He reminded Riven of Tam. A fop trying to keep up with the latest fashions. Though that hair was a disaster no matter where or when he might use it.

“You’re the Invigilator?” Riven asked since no one else was going to ask the obvious question.

Aross laughed.

“No, he’s not,” Viriya said. “I’ve seen the Invigilator. She’s a batty old lady, definitely not some… not this.”

Aross’s laughter grew harder. “Please. Don’t let my mother hear you. She’s terribly temperamental and she’d take great offence at being called a batty old lady. I agree, though.”

Mother. Riven’s breaths were caught in his throat as the implications settled on him one after another like an avalanche of boulders. Invigilator Aross was this man’s mother. This Ascension Essentier’s mother. That explained why the Invigilator had been cowed so easily, far better than any stupid reasoning that she was simply tricking Orbray by pretending to go along with him.

No, she was allied to him in truth. Her son was an Ascension Essentier so of course she was on Orbray’s side.

This whole operation of theirs was a waste.

“Liar,” Viriya spat. “You’re not Aross’s son. You can’t be.”

“Do you want me to bring out poor mother and prove it?” he asked. His smile assured them he’d have no problem doing so.

Viriya cursed. “We’re here to free your mother from Orbray’s yoke, so you’re going to either get away or stand idly by while we take her away.”

“Oh? You and what army?”

Riven looked around. Surely there were all the Spectres—there were, yes, but not enough. Orbray’s battle-trained soldiers were regrouping with professional expertise. The Spectres had been corralled into specific areas for slaughter, and the cars and trucks were slowly starting up again as the troops realized those were their best hope of defence and offence against the ghosts.

The tide of the battle was turning. Surprise could only take them so far after all.

Farther off, Mhell was still fighting with the other Essentier. Lime-green light swirled against the grey Spirit that Mhell was throwing forth, the streets caving under the combined stress of their Essence and Spirit.

Viriya aimed her gun at the enemy Essentier’s death. “Last warning. Get away or die.”

Aross grinned. The car door opened and the Invigilator stepped out. It was immediately obvious that this woman was the Essentier’s mother. They had the same high foreheads, and her golden hair, tinged with grey here and there, fell to her shoulders in much the same way her son’s did, if a little less oily and lank. Worst of all, her dark eyes held the same animosity that the younger Aross displayed.

“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded. “Who are you?”

Riven didn’t answer. Could he tell the truth in front of an obvious enemy, even if he was their supposed ally’s son? No. It was best to pretend that he was here of his own volition. That he and Viriya and Mhell had nothing to do with Father.

“We’re here to free you from this, Invigilator,” Viriya said.

“What made you think I needed freeing?”

“You were under duress by Orbray. You are.” Viriya’s eyes hardened. “By your own damn son. We’re here to kick his arse and get you out of here.”

“So essentially kidnap me?”

Riven couldn’t help cracking a smile despite the situation. “Essentially.”

Invigilator Aross frowned at him. It made the faint lines on her face stand out and give a better clue to her age. “I will have you know that I am in no need of any rescuing. I am doing this of my own volition. Instead, I am ordering you two to put yourselves under arrest lest you want to be killed by my son. I am getting tired of this insipid and frankly boring chaos. You’re wasting everyone’s time.”

Riven stared at her. Aross gave nothing away, not a single tiny sign that said he could trust her. For all he knew, she really was working with Orbray.

For all he knew, he and Viriya had gotten themselves into very deep shit.

“We refuse.” Viriya stood tall and undaunted. “It would be a poor kidnapping if the kidnappers gave up at the first hint of trouble and reluctance. No, we demand that you and your son surrender to us before you both get hurt. As you can see, no one here is shy about using necessary force.”

“It seems diplomacy is wasted on you fools.” Invigilator Aross sighed. “Then so be it. Son, take them out quickly and restart the convoy. My patience is running thin.”

“As you wish, mother,” the younger Aross replied.

Aross senior returned inside the car and closed the door firmly behind her. Riven’s face twitched a bit. So she had left it all up to them. They had to get past her son to get to her and get her out of here. It seemed like a tall order at first, throwing her own son to the wolves, but maybe there was more to it. No, there had to be more to it.

No mother in the whole world would want her own son to potentially die.

“Riven!” Viriya shouted. “Go!”

Riven was frozen for a second. Viriya’s shout had come out of nowhere, and he had no idea what she meant. Go? Where was he supposed to go? Then Aross charged in, leaving the car all alone and undefended.

Of course. He was supposed to go to the car. So stupid of him.

Faith, Mother said. To be fair, it wasn’t hard this time. Viriya shouldn’t have any trouble taking care of the Invigilator’s son. Though if she killed him, would Invigilator Aross be too distraught to work with them? No, he had to have faith that Viriya knew the implications of killing off younger Aross, especially in the presence of his mother.

As he ran, he caught sight of the battle between Viriya and Aross through the corner of his eye. Viriya had fired off her gun again, but the shot had no effect on her opponent. White Essence was burning all over him, dotted by flickers of silvery grey, and Viriya’s Essence-infused bullet ricocheted off him and went flying in a different direction. It made Riven pause. Was Aross’s Essence like Riven’s, one that formed impenetrable shields to save him from harm?

No time to wonder. Riven reached the car and pulled on the door handle. It wouldn’t give. Shit, of course. He’d have to break the invigilator out.

Riven paused. What were they even doing, kidnapping someone who had no intention of working with them? No, there was something strange going on, and his first task was freeing Aross from Orbray. Or kidnapping her. Semantics didn’t matter.

There was also a spot of that white Essence burning away on top of the car’s roof. That made no sense. What was younger Aross’s Essence doing on the car?

Riven closed his eyes to drown out the distractions and focus. His Essence came bursting out and encased his arm in golden armour. He hammered it on the door until the handle twisted and the lock broke. So easy.

“Don’t make me drag you out,” Riven said as he leaned into the car and peered at the Invigilator who had pushed herself to the other edge of the seat.

She looked scandalized. “Would you dare touch a lady in such a manner?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. Come out.”

Invigilator Aross sighed. Then her dark eyes sharpened like flint knives. “Have you taken care of the other Essentier here?”

Riven’s heart skipped a beat. “Other Essentier?”

“There’s another Essentier stationed here that didn’t come with the convoy.”

“Shit.”

“I will take that as a no.” Aross grimaced. “It seems you will have to force me out. Come, let’s get this over with.”

Riven blinked, unsure of how to proceed. Was he supposed to grab this weird old lady and pull her out by force? That seemed unnecessary. She could simply cooperate as someone under duress, and he was about to tell her so, but then he saw the look in her eyes again. Damn woman was enjoying this. Crazy!

“Riven!”

Viriya’s shout pulled him out of the car. He stared around, eyes arrowing to the green star. There was no sign of Essentier Aross. Viriya was pointing upwards and to the distance and Riven frowned as he followed to where she was indicating. Then his heart went cold.

Someone was on the roof of a nearby building. Someone who was clearly using Essence.

Hadn’t the Invigilator just said an Essentier had been stationed here? That had to be them. It didn’t seem like the convoy had come accompanied by more than two Essentiers or else they’d be out and fighting by now. No, this one standing on the roof of one of the buildings had to be the Essentier they hadn’t dealt with yet.

A streak of white tugged away Riven’s attention. The younger Aross was charging towards Viriya, who must have thrown him back with her Essence at some point. He didn’t seem hurt though, and he was moving fast. Too fast. The air burned at his passage, splotches of white burning in the air in his wake.

What did that Essence even do?

Viriya fired at him again, but her bullets bounced off without even leaving her telltale green mark. But Riven didn’t have time to worry about her.

The other Essentier was coming down.

He jumped from the roof. Riven gawked. That had to have been three storeys high at least. He wasn’t hurt though. His Essence burst from him, thin blue-white lines solidifying in the jagged shape of lighting to cushion his fall as they compressed when he made contact with the ground. Great. Another insane Essence Riven had no idea how to figure out.

The new Essentier surveyed the battlefield for a moment before his eyes settled on Riven. Of course, he was the obvious target. With Viriya already occupied and the Spectres finally being repelled, Riven was the only anomaly left unaccounted.

“You must be Morell,” the Essentier said. He seemed to be a non-descript middle-aged man, his navy uniform faded and old, and the silver Thirdmarked badge dull as lead. “The escapee. Rumour has it you killed Weathering, one of the Fabled Five. Very impressive at your age. I am Lauper.”

Riven nodded. “Will you by any chance let us leave without causing any trouble?”

“If you will surrender and promise not to cause us any trouble, then I will consider bartering for your freedom.”

“Does your definition of surrendering include us leaving with the Invigilator in tow?”

“What do you think?”

Riven straightened, sighing and drawing his sword closer to himself. “I think we might have to resolve this the old-fashioned way.”

“Agreed. I am looking forward to crossing blades with you.”

Crossing blades? Lauper didn’t even have any blades. But even as the thought crossed his mind, Lauper brought two short swords, smiling as though he knew exactly what Riven had been thinking.

Riven took a deep breath, then hefted his sword. Then he charged.

It didn’t matter if the Spectres were being defeated. Didn’t matter that the promised reinforcements of the townsfolk were yet to show up, might even show up too late to do anything about any of it. No, all Riven needed to do was kill off this damned Thirdmarked and he could be on his way.

He attacked with all he had. Riven’s first swing missed. Lauper jumped, and he jumped high, rising to a height greater than the three storeys he’d been standing on moments ago. Maybe that’s how he got on top in the first place.

Then he fell. His short swords were aimed straight down like fangs of a beast snapping its jaw shut. Riven rolled out of the way. He had no wish to test if his shield could withstand a blow from that high.

Besides, the fall might just kill him, even though it hadn’t killed him the last time.

It didn’t. His glowing Essence shot out in those spiky form, and they made his fall easier to bear again, compressing like springs. Lauper turned with a grin, and Riven froze. That Essence was Spring!

The enemy Essentier shot at Riven with the speed of a swooping falcon, shot forward by the Spring Essence of his that had absorbed the energy of his fall to bast him with incredible force. Riven didn’t have the time to dodge, and with no confidence in his swordplay, he focused. His shield shot up and closed around him, golden Essence forming a hemisphere around him.

Lauper crashed into it. The force of the impact made his two swords stick inside, a large delta of cracks spreading out from the points of impact. Riven grinned. Caught. The jumpy bastard was caught.

With a yell, Riven charged forward. His shield disappeared as soon as he came close enough to swing his sword, but Lauper jumped backwards and Riven’s swing missed him completely. He had timed it perfectly. His shield had dropped just as his sword had slashed out, and it would have taken Lauper’s head off.

But the damn Thirdmarked had let go of his swords so he could escape, and he stood several yards back, well out of Riven’s reach. He was smiling too. Riven had revealed his hand, and now the bastard thought he knew enough to win. The smugness seeped into Riven and made him want to throw his sword straight at Lauper. He restrained himself. No point in losing his main weapon.

Riven took a deep breath and rushed in again. Lauper had nothing with which to defend himself, but then his Essence fired in. He jumped away. Lauper was a damn rabbit.

His jump had been aimed too. He’d lured Riven forward so he could get his swords again, but Riven saw through it. With a moment’s focus, a golden shield erupted into being around the two short swords and Lauper bounced off the shield. Damn, his reflexes were too fast. Riven had once again timed the formation of the shield so that he shouldn’t have had any time to react and save himself. But he had still been able to use his Essence and he was now back on top of the roof.

“You’re good,” Lauper called down. “Very good. I shan’t underestimate you any longer. No more holding back.”

Holding back? He had been holding himself back all this while? Riven tried not to feel miffed about that, but his grip on his sword tightened, hands itching to swing and actually connect for once.

“You better stop running and jumping around and get down here,” Riven said.

“As you wish.”

With that, Lauper hurtled forward. Riven drew back, raising his sword to attack. He could shield himself from any of Lauper’s attacks, but his opponent was unarmed while he had a longsword. Offence was the best defence sometimes.

Lauper reached the ground, but he didn’t move. The back of Riven’s neck itched. He looked around, but there were no soldiers sneaking up on him and younger Aross was still busy trying to beat Viriya. They were all alone. Yet he still felt like something was being held above his head and was about to be released any moment, an itch on his head that couldn’t be scratched.

Rocks shot forward. Riven couldn’t tell from where they came, or how, but they did. He barely saw them, reacting just quickly enough to strike them away with his sword. Where had they come from?

He glanced at Lauper and saw that the man was walking around, his feet leaving glowing footprints on the street. Essence. He was leaving marks with his Essence. Wherever he stepped, more bluish-white footprints glowed, and the ground started. The first exploded, throwing another rock at Riven, and he sliced through it with his sword. More came in, and Riven did his best to stave the off

 They weren’t all shooting at him directly, but instead they followed a parabolic trajectory in the air as they arced towards him. It was that what allowed Riven to slice them away. His reflexes were nowhere near good enough to slice rocks out of the air if they were to come any faster.

Good thing Lauper’s Essence was all about jumping.

But time was running out. Even as Riven sliced off another rock, he caught the Spectres being pushed out of the street by the soldiers. Viriya was still holding her ground against Aross and his white Essence, and Mhell’s Corrosion Spirit was still staving off the other Essentier with his lime green twists, but it wouldn’t be long before they were surrounded. Manpower counted for something, and in a few minutes, they’d know just what.

Riven sliced off another rock mid-air, then charged back. Lauper was taken by surprise, and that allowed Riven to get a good head start. Something he desperately needed. He aimed for the car where Aross was sitting and reached it without trouble, even as Lauper shouted at him from behind, throwing more rocks.

It was easy to ignore Lauper. Riven rushed to the other side of the car, then broke the door lock with one strong blow from his sword. He pulled the door open and then grabbed Aross by the arm, pulling her out as she shouted in outrage and placing his sword at her throat.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. That quietened Aross a little, though not enough to arouse any suspicion in the minds of their enemies.

“You scum!” Lauper was scowling. He’d brought out his gun and had it aimed at Riven’s head. “You dare use a defenceless woman as a shield? What kind of monster are you? No wonder the High Invigilator wants your whole family dead.”

“Drop the gun,” Riven said. “I’m going to start counting to ten. If the gun isn’t on the ground by ten, I’m going to start cutting.”

He pressed the sword slightly deeper into Aross’s neck, and the Invigilator whelped. Her arm was tense as an iron rod under Riven’s grip. He had expected an older lady to be weaker but she seemed to be made of the same rocks that Lauper had been throwing at him.

“You won’t get away with this!”

“I said, drop the gun!”

“All right! All right!” Lauper lowered the gun slowly to his feet. “There. Gun on the ground. Now let the Invigilator go.”

Riven shook his head a little. What, did Lauper think he was that stupid? “Kick it this way.”

Lauper did so, kicking the gun at Riven. It swept under the car and popped out on Riven’s side. Good, Riven finally had a firearm too. Damn Daynom had destroyed his last one and he’d been feeling quite exposed without one.

“Pick it up,” he ordered Aross.

The Invigilator didn’t hesitate. She picked the gun and held it steady in her hands, with practiced ease that suggested she had used them often enough before.

“Now, we’re going to get out of here.” Riven nudged Aross in the back. “Get going.”

She moved forward as Riven relaxed his blade against her neck just a little. Had to keep up appearances for Lauper’s benefit after all. He turned them around as they passed the Thirdmarked, walking backwards to make sure he kept his eyes on him. No funny business allowed under Riven’s watch.

Something changed. Lauper frowned for a moment, then scowled outright in suspicion. Riven’s heart went cold again. The jig was up.

“Run!” he yelled at Aross.

The Invigilator didn’t move. Riven fell back a few steps then stopped when he saw that Aross wasn’t following. Instead, she turned around and pointed the gun at him. He only stared. How far was she going to carry the appearance that she was still on Orbray’s side?

She fired at Riven.

Damn it. He focused, his shield drawing around him as the bullet cracked into his Essence. The glowing Sept bullet dropped back to the ground, but Riven wasn’t paying attention. Lauper had flashed past him, propelled by his Essence, and Riven turned too late to see him picking up his swords from the ground.

Lauper’s smile was colder than an icicle stabbed in the back. “Now you’ll pay.”

Riven focused again as Lauper charged in. He dropped the shield and held his Essence close to him to form his golden armour. He was going to need that more in close-quarters.

If that surprised Lauper, he didn’t show it. He charged and swung his short swords. The attack was ferocious as a storm, his sword strikes flowing with the force and swiftness of gale winds as he struck at Riven in a complicated array of forms and moves.

Riven barely managed to block Lauper’s strikes with his blue Coral sword. It didn’t work well. If Riven didn’t have his golden Essence armour, he’d have been skewered in a dozen places already, and his armour was cracking under the strain too. Like a storm, the blows came in from every direction. One coming down from overhead, one from the side, one a stab aimed for his guts, another a slice that would take half his head off, one more a slash meant to take off a limb. Riven parried half of the bows, the blades clanging every time the swords met.

His arms grew tired and his wrists shook every time the shock of an impact jarred him. He could hardly focus on his Essence and replenish his armour. Lauper was the much better swordsman between them, and he wouldn’t even need to resort to his Essence to kill Riven.

Enough was enough. Riven drew back a bit to give himself some space. He focused, then his armour expanded into a shield as Lauper charged in, aiming to give Riven no space to manoeuvre at all. The shield expanded outwards fast as a battering ram and with commensurate force too. Lauper was thrown back and Riven had some proper space for now.

Not for long. Which wasn’t surprising. He had thrown back someone who was used to getting thrown about by his own Essence. Lauper righted himself in mid-air like some damn acrobat, then his Essence spiked out to absorb the impact of his fall. They compressed, and Riven drew o more of his Essence too.

Then Lauper shot forwards. Riven was ready. He formed a shield as soon as Lauper was close enough, but instead of hammering into the golden shield with his swords, Lauper threw himself bodily forwards. His Essence burst out again, absorbing the energy of his impact. More spikes shot from him, all of which sank into the ground.

Which decided to blow up around Riven. The ground tore up as through Viriya had used her bullets to make it erupt, but it was likely more that Lauper had used his Essence to make them shoot up like springs released from heavy compression. Not that Riven had time to think on or worry about any of that. His shield shattered apart as the rocks tore through it, and he staggered backwards, coughing at the dust all around him.

Lauper took advantage. Despite the dust, Riven managed to keep his eyes open to tiny slits and he saw the Thirdmarked charging in for the kill. As if Riven was going to go down that easy. His focus was shot, but he could still use his sword.

When Lauper blades hammered in again, Riven did use his sword. Badly. The blade needed a certain strength to use properly which Riven lacked. He blocked most of the strikes, but failed to land any of his own and got cut in several places. On one shoulder, on his arm, across his waist, all adding to the wounds Weathering had left him. He was falling back step by step, losing ground and about to die. He, Riven, who had killed off a Firstmarked and a Secondmarked. He, Riven, who had killed one of Ascension’s Fabled Five.

He was about to die. Unless…

Shouts popped up in the streets. Soldiers came hurtling back out, assailed by a new force. The people of Tollisett had started their attack.

Riven didn’t wait any longer. He had come free of the dust, and though he had paid a price of blood and pain for it, he had his focus back. Razor-sharp. So he took a deep breath after jumping back to get some distance between himself and Lauper, then focused. Golden lines burst free from Riven to create a small shield around Lauper’s head, cutting off his air-flow.

The Thirdmarked froze. He couldn’t breathe, and his hands aimed his swords at his head seemingly on their own.

As if Riven was going to give him the chance to free himself. He charged in. Lauper was caught a little off-guard, but the short swords met Riven’s strikes with his longer sword. He swung from the left, then from the right and slightly up, and when both of those got blocked, he stabbed in. Lauper dodged it. Riven didn’t relent, trying to emulate the relentless attack his opponent had performed on him moments ago, spurred on by the wounds stinging all over him.

He didn’t need to break through Lauper’s defences. The Thirdmarked was the better swordsman, and all Riven needed to do was keep him occupied.

That little shield of gold around Lauper’s head would do the rest.

It was already working. Lauper’s blocks were getting weaker, his return swings more lethargic and slower, and he was having difficulty dodging blows. Riven noted his sluggish feet, his drooping shoulders, and smiled as he pressed his attack. It was fun not being on the back foot for once. He connected too. Once, his stab slipped past Lauper’s swords and rammed into the man’s shoulder, another swing cut across Lauper’s chest.

The Thirdmarked staggered back, his shoulders and chest heaving. Riven was getting tired too but he attacked again anyway.

When his next swing came in, Lauper didn’t block or dodge. Riven had slashed in from the side and Lauper angled his body in such a way, the swing would have taken off his head if the golden shield wasn’t there. As it was, the blow would shatter the Essence. But Riven went faster, putting more power behind the strike. He’d break through his own shield and finally kill the bastard.

At the very moment that Riven’s sword connected with the golden shield, Lauper’s Essence spiked up around his feet. He flew back as the blue Coral blade shattered the small shield. Riven connected with Lauper’s head, but only barely. Nowhere near enough to kill him.

He’d hurt the Thirdmarked though. There was a low keening sound coming from Lauper, who had clamped one hand over the livid wound winding across his head. One ear was missing and the wide cut scored along his face, taking an eye and ending at his now-broken nose. He might recover, but never fully. Lauper was scarred for good.

But his training kicked in. Before Riven could focus on making another shield, he jumped.

Riven fended off his sword blows with his shield, but Lauper paused and placed his hands on the golden Essence. He drew back, bluish-white lines stretching away like he was pulling the elastic strings of a slingshot. Then he let go, and the blue lines smacked into Riven like rubber bands. Riven went flying back.

The shield took most of the impact, but Riven was still groggy. He got up in time to fend off more blows from Lauper, recreating his Essence armour so that he could attack back. But Lauper kept using his Essence to bounce around, too springy and jumpy for Riven to connect with his sword. His face was contorted and masked in blood, rage sitting like a burning conflagration in his lone dark eye.

Riven was thrown back by the bluish-white Essence again, his armour the only thing that protected him from breaking something. Scions, it was enough. He was getting tired of it all.

Lauper rushed at him again, too fast for Riven to focus on creating a shield around his opponent instead of himself. He didn’t bother. Riven focused on his sword and golden lines wrapped the air around it to form an oblong club. Lauper was charging in too fast to stop and react, and Riven swung as soon as he was close enough. It was heavier, but Lauper’s reaction to it made it worthwhile.

He crossed both of his short swords to block the golden club but Riven had swung hard, pushing Lauper off his feet and to the ground. The bluish-white Essence had popped up again, saving him from crashing. But Riven pressed in harder, compressing the spring-like Essence as he drove Lauper down.

He whisked his club-sword back, expecting Lauper to go flying, but the blue Essence simply disappeared. Lauper righted himself in moments. So much for that.

Riven struck again. Lauper had just barely got up, his guard wide open, but he got his swords up in a defensive position. A defensive position meant to stave off Riven’s club. Riven concentrated even as he swung, and the golden Essence around his sword disappeared just as it connected with the crossed swords. His blue blade slipped through the gap between the crossed swords and rammed into Lauper’s chest, throwing the Thirdmarked back with a huge wound over his heart.

Lauper didn’t get up. His short swords had clattered out of his hands and he was scrabbling the street’s surface for some kind of purchase. The blood seeping out of his head and pooling around his chest caught the firelight and gleamed like red blades. He was dying.

Riven had won.

He took a moment to reorient himself, the carnage and madness slowly making themselves known all around him. Riven was here for a purpose. Death and killing were only by-products. He found Aross still standing near the car, gun pointed at him with a resolute expression on her face.

Riven sighed, then strode forwards. Time to get this over with.