Page 850

‘Just wait,’ said Iziol. ‘I’m thinking.’

Dimas waited.

‘Try insulting him.’

‘...What?’

‘See if you can goad him into attacking us first.’

Dimas nearly gave a mental sigh.

‘Call him a... a turkey. Maybe that’ll get a rise out of him.’

‘...No, Iziol.’ The sad part was, he knew the reaper wasn’t joking.

‘Dimas, come on, help me out here. I hate having to be the bad guy. You can even use a crude word, if you like. A pissing turkey, maybe. Oh, or would that be too harsh? I don’t want to hurt his feelings.’

‘...I’m attacking him now.’

‘Dimas!’

‘I’ll remember to feel bad about it later.’ And without any warning to Horatio, he shoved one hand forward and launched a gravity wave at the man.

However, Horatio was prepared. With an extended hand of his own, a sudden explosion appeared in the wave’s path. It was large enough to neutralize Dimas’ attack, though a cloud of dust particles washed back over Horatio’s tower before the man dematerialized his work.

Dimas did not let up. He pressed forward with both hands this time and forced Horatio to either leap off the balcony or be shredded along with it. Horatio retaliated with targeted dust explosions as he dropped down to the uneven rock below.

‘Dimas, how can you be so heartless?! You’re a monster!’

‘Shut up, Iziol.’

Horatio’s reaper appeared from the gaping hole in the tower and latched onto the man’s back. To Dimas’ eyes, reapers were small wyverns--winged and dragon-headed, but with only two legs and a double-barbed fishtail.

Dimas never stopped moving and fired off a series of gravity bullets that Horatio couldn’t see until he’d already been riddled with bloody holes. Another moment may have been enough to finish him off right then and there, but an explosion caught Dimas square in the chest and sent him spiraling off course with an impressive hole in his vest. His raincoat flapped wildly as he brought himself to a hard stop in mid-air. He could feel a rib out of place, but the vest had more or less done its job. Pity it could only take one hit, though.

‘That’s what you get for attacking first.’

‘Iziol, please--’

‘I sense more approaching. I believe it is time for us to go harass some other part of the castle.’

That information, Dimas could appreciate.