Page 556

--donation bonus (day #30, post 2/5)--
Roman was already covering himself with a fiery shock wave as he swerved right. Fire and lightning clashed. The explosion rocked the air and threw sparking embers across the sky, obscuring Roman’s view of Karkash.

Karkash veered around the explosion. Roman expected more lightning to accompany the man and so immediately launched another shock wave at him, but perhaps Karkash had anticipated as much, because there was no such lightning to be found. Instead, Karkash flew up and over, avoiding the shock wave before raining blue bolts from above.

A branch of lightning caught Roman’s left arm, making him grit his teeth and muscle through the seizure. In an instant, he swiped the air with his right arm and returned an enormous shock wave. Karkash must not have expected such a quick response, because it barreled into his torso.

Both men lost aerial control and started falling. Roman’s body seized up as the electricity coursed through it, and Karkash’s chest had caved in on itself.

They recovered nearly in unison, and abruptly found themselves staring each other down.

A tense quiet arrived as they got a good, long look at one another, both reluctant to make the first move again. Roman might have guessed from the man’s name that Karkash was different from the other Abolishers present, but the attire made that point rather clearly. The long, slender coat with a black sash was certainly not Atreyan fashion, nor was it something Roman had seen any of the other Abolishers wearing--though admittedly, he’d only seen three, and perhaps Desmond’s butler disguise didn’t quite count.

‘Still okay back there?’ said Roman, eyes still locked on Karkash as he floated.

‘Yeah, don’t worry,’ said Voreese.

Hoyohté, the crow on Karkash’s shoulder, took the lull in combat as an opportunity to speak. ‘Who are you people? Why must you stand in our way?’

‘Why do you have to fuck with our country?’ said Voreese.

‘We are honor-bound,’ said Hoyohté. ‘We are all servants of the Void--even you, though you may refuse to acknowledge it.’

‘OH!’ yelled Voreese, reaching for that obnoxious tone again. ‘WELL, OKAY, THEN! IF THE VOID WANTS EVERYONE DEAD, THEN THAT’S FINE!’