He swung his sword upward, and Buck arched back to avoid it, sending a volley of strikes back.Bastion parried, every slash an ear-splitting crash.They danced around each other, neither getting the upper hand.Then a blow glanced off Buck’s sword, giving him an opening to sink his armored fist into Bastion’s abdomen.Bastion doubled over, and he sucked in a painful breath.
Buck's eyes slid to Ulla, still grappling with Taro.A lecherous grin split his face.
“I’ve changed my mind,” he said, rising.“I still want you to watch her suffer.”
He surged towards the Yvri.
Bastion raced after him, panic overtaking pain.He roared and leapt, ready to cleave Buck in half.The pirate spun and met him blade to blade, a resounding clash erupting from the impact.As soon as he landed, Bastion launched a kick into Buck’s chest.
“Get her out of here!”Bastion bellowed at Taro.
All the humor left Buck’s face as he collected himself.He lunged, long and low, sweeping his sword in a wide arc.Bastion leapt over it and darted to the side, desperate to draw their fight away from Taro and Ulla.Buck charged, and Bastion dodged his wild slashes, a blast of air the only thing to hit him.
Behind Buck, Taro had finally succeeded in shepherding Ulla toward the hot springs.Grateful she would be out of harm's way, new strength swelled in Bastion.He shifted from defense to offense, surging forwards in a series of powerful attacks.Buck deflected, throwing them both off balance.They careened to the ground and rolled away.
As they got to their feet, Bastion tracked Buck’s rapid breathing, the sweat that was more than the condensation of the hot springs, and the way he kept one side angled away.
“Visara may have pulled you out,” Bastion taunted, “but whoever healed you did a shit job.”
Buck’s eyes flicked to Taro.The motion froze Bastion’s heart.
No.
Buck couldn’t have survived without help, and Taro wouldn’t have offered his aid unless there was something in it for him.Suddenly, it all made sense.Taro had made a fool’s bargain to win Ulla over with a ruse.
Bastion dropped his sword and dashed towards her.Buck followed, an angry cry ripping from his throat.Before Taro could react, Bastion tackled Ulla into the hot springs.
Sulfur and heat burned his nose and throat as his feet struggled to find purchase.They broke the surface in a spray of water.Bastion grabbed Ulla’s shoulders and shouted, “They’re working together!”
A terrifying calm descended over her face.
On the edge of the hot springs, Buck lifted Taro by the bandolier across his chest.
“You had your chance, and youwastedit,” he sneered.He tossed the Yvri to the ground.
Ulla threw her bone knife.It struck Buck in the shoulder, and he cried out.She lunged out of the water, grabbed his ankles, and toppled him.His sword clattered away.Bastion hauled himself up onto the rock.Dripping, he planted one foot and swung the other, aiming for Buck’s midsection.
Buck took the hit but clamped his arm around Bastion’s foot, then twisted.The world tipped sideways, and rock collided against his shoulder blades.
A mad light filled Buck’s eyes.He crawled forwards on his hands and knees so fast that Bastion didn’t have time to do more than hit the man’s jaw with his knee.Then, Ulla was on his back, seizing the knife embedded in his shoulder.
Buck howled as she twisted it.He rose up, reaching behind his head, as she withdrew the knife and sank it in again.
Buck roared and threw Ulla forwards.She landed on Bastion, one of her horns catching his cheek.Buck seized her throat and pushed her back, pinning Bastion beneath her with his neck between her horns.Her hair spilled over Bastion’s face as she clawed at the ironclad hands pressing her back.Bastion reached around her, blindly grasping for Buck’s wrists.
Buck grabbed the dagger in his shoulder, pulled it out, and drove it into Bastion’s side.He convulsed with a scream, and Ulla stiffened.Then it all bled away, her body going limp as Buck bore down on her neck.
“Isn’t this pretty?”Buck purred.He crept closer, spreading her legs with his knees as he leaned down and whispered, “I couldn’t have planned this better myself.”
White-hot rage filled Bastion.The buried part of his mind that had woken onThe Basiliskflared to life.It coursed through him like a bolt of lightning, and he submitted to it.He was willing to accept anything that would help him protect Ulla.
A deadly calm settled over him, and the pain of his wound faded to a vague nuisance.Before Buck could draw back completely, Bastion smashed his fist into the side of the bastard’s face.Supporting Ulla with one arm, Bastion drove his heel into Buck’s chest.
Ulla sat up abruptly, coughing, her eyes wild.With a groan, Bastion scrambled to his feet and plucked the bone knife from his side, hardly noticing his wound.The part of him that didn’t know pain, didn’t care, still consumed him, and he would let it carry him forwards.
Swiftly, he charged Buck and thrust his fingers into the puncture wounds on the pirate's shoulder.A cry tore from Buck’s throat as Bastion sank Ulla’s knife into his flesh with a flurry of quick stabs.Together, they staggered sideways before Buck finally blocked his strikes and knocked the dagger away.He peeled Bastion off him like bark from a tree, tossing him to the ground where the rock met Bastion’s back with acrack!
Taking advantage of his position, Buck crushed his heel sideways into Bastion’s knee.
