Green light illuminated the corridor.
Kára spun Kazak'Thur in her hands. The swordsman stood ten steps away. Nothing could be seen through the slit of his helmet.
Kára slammed the hammer against the floor.
Stone exploded upward in shards.
She charged.
The swordsman leapt backward.
Kára swept the hammer sideways.
He dodged.
The green blade scraped across the hammer's shaft.
Blue and green sparks burst into the air.
—You're faster than you look —Kára said.
The swordsman touched the spot on his helmet where the hammer had struck. He tilted his head slightly.
—You are strong —he replied.
His voice sounded metallic.
—I know.
The swordsman raised one hand.
Water burst from his fingertips.
A pressurized stream.
Kára covered her face. The impact struck her chest and hurled her backward. Her boots slid across the stone. She drove the hammer's shaft into the floor to stop herself.
The swordsman was already on top of her.
The green blade carved through the air.
Kára blocked.
The sword passed through her defense as though the hammer shaft didn't exist.
Cold spread through her chest.
A pulse.
The air escaped her lungs.
She touched her sternum.
No blood.
No wound.
But the cold remained.
A spiritual attack, Kazak'Thur said. Be careful with those. You cannot block them.
—I noticed.
The swordsman gave her no time to recover.
He lunged again.
As he moved, he launched spears of water.
Kára repositioned herself and raised a wall of fire.
Flames roared upward, licking the ceiling.
The swordsman vaulted over the wall gracefully.
He landed on the other side and unleashed a flurry of attacks.
Slashes.
Thrusts.
A punch with the hilt.
Kára dodged every strike. She guarded with Kazak'Thur.
Again, the green sword passed through the hammer's shaft.
Another pulse of cold struck her chest.
Stronger this time.
You must evade those attacks. They strike directly at the soul. I do not think you can endure many more.
—I know, but he moves too fast.
Kára steadied herself.
The swordsman attacked again.
Kára formed an electrical barrier.
Lightning crackled around her body.
The swordsman thrust forward.
The green blade collided against the barrier.
Light.
Heat.
A shockwave exploded through the corridor.
The swordsman was launched backward.
The far wall split apart.
Debris rained from the ceiling.
A cloud of dust swallowed everything.
That's what you need to do, Kazak'Thur said.
—It's hard to time it. He moves too fast.
His knee. Watch the right knee. Before every attack, he shifts his weight there.
The dust settled.
The swordsman rose slowly.
His armor was cracked along the side. Pieces of stone fell from his shoulders. He shook off the dust and raised the sword again.
The green glow returned.
Kára charged.
The swordsman prepared himself.
Kára watched the knee.
A slight movement.
The swordsman shifted his weight onto the right leg.
Kára dropped low and swept the hammer.
It struck the knee.
Something cracked.
The swordsman screamed.
He dropped to one knee.
—There it is.
Kára rose and drove her knee into the helmet.
Metal crunched.
The helmet flew off and bounced across the floor.
The swordsman lifted his face.
He was an elf.
But not a normal one.
Burn scars covered his entire face. Twisted flesh. Split lips. One ear missing.
Only the eyes remained untouched.
Gray.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Kára froze for a second.
—What happened to you?
The swordsman didn't answer.
He forced himself back to his feet.
Barely.
His right leg faltered.
The armor was shattered in three places.
Blood ran down his knee.
He planted the green sword into the floor.
The blade glowed brighter.
A figure emerged from the sword.
A specter.
Then another.
And another.
Seven shadows peeled themselves from the ground.
They hovered just above the floor, wrapped in spectral light.
All identical.
All wielding the same green sword.
The corridor filled with ghostly radiance.
They are dangerous, Kazak'Thur warned. Be extremely careful.
—How many?
Seven. And the original.
The specters moved at the same time.
Kára slammed the hammer into the ground.
A shockwave burst outward.
Some specters staggered back.
Others passed straight through it.
Intangible.
Kára felt cold strike her shoulder.
Then her leg.
The specters touched her.
Draining her strength.
She felt slower.
Her legs grew heavy.
The hammer too.
—I can't handle all of them.
The original swordsman advanced.
The green blade shone brightly.
The specters followed him.
Seven pairs of gray eyes.
Seven spectral swords.
Kára stepped backward.
Her back hit the wall.
No escape.