What the fuck would have happened if those had hit me?
Shay leapt to her feet, catching sight of the glowing witch as the woman hurried onto another side street. She holstered her weapon and now regretted driving around earlier in a car instead of a motorcycle or moped. A good tackle from a vehicle could end a fight quickly.
Loud static filled her earpiece. “Peyton, you still there?”
“Shay…I…losing…”
A massive wave of blue energy shot from the side street like a translucent tsunami.
This isn’t good.
Shay winced and threw up her arms as the wave slammed into her. She blinked her eyes open after a few seconds.
“Huh, not dead. That’s convenient.” She sprinted toward the side street and skidded to a stop after she turned the corner and spotted her prey. The witch stood in the middle of the tree-lined street highlighted in an even brighter glow. The Scepter was pointed straight up.
A long moment passed during which the two women stared at each other before Shay realized the light wasn’t brighter, but rather every other light in the area was off, making the glow seem stronger.
“Peyton?” she whispered. “Can you hear me?”
He didn’t respond. There wasn’t even any static over the link. She wasn’t surprised, just annoyed.
Shay eyed the witch. “Magical EMP?”
“The Scepter of Dagobert responds to my will. You will not have it. You can’t even harm me, so why do you insist on chasing me? I don’t want to kill you, but I’ll have no choice if you won’t leave me alone.”
“I’m a stubborn bitch, and I’m being paid. Sorry.” Shay shrugged and holstered her pistol. Her gun had already proven useless, but she trusted the adamantine knives to do the trick if she could close on the witch. “You’ve already admitted you can’t control that thing like you want, and it’s only going to get more dangerous. Just hand it over before you blow yourself and half this city up. You don’t seem like a psycho. Do you really want to kill a bunch of people to prove some point to a bunch of mean girl witches or whatever?”
The witch gritted her teeth. “Don’t…mock…me.”
“Just saying.”
The witch pointed the Scepter at a nearby tree. A blue bolt shot out and struck the trunk. Wood cracked as the plant pulled itself out of the ground, its roots replaced by spindly legs and its branches thrashing.
“Oh come on!” Shay sighed. “Guess that’s what I get for not bringing my chainsaw.”
“Do you understand now? I control so much power, and I will not surrender it to anyone.”
“And you don’t think this is a ‘power corrupts’ situation?”
The witch glared at Shay. “I don’t believe anything you say. You just want to steal the Scepter of Dagobert from me. You’re nothing more than a heartless mercenary.”
“I prefer the term ‘tomb raider’ or ‘field archaeologist,’ but come on, chick. Use your head! There was a reason that thing was locked away for so many years.”
The witch’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she shook her head. “You’ll have to kill me to take it, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no way you can win against me while I have it.” She muttered something and made a few quick movements with the Scepter.
The tree lumbered toward the tomb raider, with no visible mouth, eyes, or weak spots.
Yeah, this is perfect. I miss the days when a tall guy with a gun was the weirdest thing I had to deal with on a job.
I’ve played nice, but it’s time to end it.
Shay yanked a knife from a sheath and threw it at the other woman. It bounced off her with a blue flash but didn’t vaporize like the bullets.
“Damn it.”
“This is pathetic.” The woman shook her head. “You thought you could win with a knife?”
Shay shrugged. “It’s a very nice knife. A gnome made it for me.”
She waited until the tree was nearly on her, then ducked underneath a striking branch and rushed the witch.
The witch flourished the wand in two swoops. A roar deafened Shay, and an invisible shockwave knocked her to the ground.
The walking tree got the worst of it, since the shockwave smashed into and reduced it to a shower of splinters and leaves. The old stones paving the side street cracked under the assault as well.
Shay crawled behind a nearby dumpster. She was coughing up blood, and every part of her body ached.
Why the fuck am I not dead? Huh. She keeps running, even with the wand. Maybe things are stronger for her far away. Time to bet my life on that.
Shay readied another knife, but a loud buzz sounded and the dumpster slammed into her. She grunted, and pain spiked in her arm. She rolled away from the dumpster and ignored the throbbing in her arm and the rest of the pain throughout her body.
Before, the increased illumination had been a trick of mere contrast, but there was no doubt now that the intensity of the glow around the woman had increased. Shay had to squint to even look directly at the witch.
What the fuck is going on? Is she getting stronger? Or maybe weaker?
The other woman took quick, ragged breaths as she gripped the Scepter with both hands, pointing it up at an angle.
“Why won’t you die?” the witch shouted, this time in her native language.
“I told you before. I’m a stubborn bitch.”
The witch whipped the Scepter down and Shay dodged a blue ball of energy that erupted from the wand. She closed on the woman, zigzagging to escape follow-up attacks.
Whatever the magical skills of the witch prior to finding the Scepter of Dagobert, it was painfully obvious she’d never been in a real fight. No anticipation, no leading of the target, no dynamic defense movements. The best weapon in the world meant nothing without proper training and experience.
Or killer instinct.
Shay closed the distance and brought her knife up. The witch’s eyes widened as the tomb raider stabbed toward her heart.
“Got you.”
The blade slammed
