---Aaron---
"Aaron, what happened to taking revenge for your friends? You were so close to achieving that goal." Lord Victor tsked his tongue disapprovingly. "It's a shame you stopped at the pivotal moment."
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath to steady my panicked heartbeats. Then I picked up my sword, stood up, and turned to face Lord Victor, standing protectively in front of Katherine to shield her with my body. I gripped my sword tightly; it was angled toward the ground, but I was prepared to fight at any moment.
"Why don't you come at me directly like you want to, instead of picking on my friends?" I said levelly. Surprisingly, my voice didn't waver. Lord Victor looked down at me from his perch and gave a short bark of laughter.
"What fun would that be? Seeing your expression when you realized what you've done to poor Katherine…oh, that was beautiful. You really can't stand to see your friends get hurt, can you?"
I clenched my teeth. Indigo was unconscious. Katherine was badly wounded. I wanted to wipe that snide grin off of Lord Victor's face and punch him. "At least I have friends. Have you ever wondered why you don't have any friends, Victor? It's because you're evil and cruel and mean and—"
Lord Victor's eyes flashed with anger. He waved his arm, and a silver streak sped towards me. I summoned a gust of wind and knocked the weapon out of the air, sending it clattering to the side. It was a throwing knife. "You'd better watch your tongue, Aaron. It's Lord Victor to you. Next time, my illusions will not be so easy to break."
He sat down on his throne and crossed one leg over the other. "What made you think I didn't have friends? Once upon a time, I had a group of friends, just like you. I had a best friend too. But while I know how my friends died, do you? No, Aaron, you do not."
"Yes I do. You killed them. You were the reason why Jason and Ashley and Lu—" I choked on Lucian's name. I refused to believe that he was dead. I refused to accept it. If I don't know for sure, then he was alive; he had to be. "They died trying to stop you."
"Well, I mean, you're not wrong, I guess. Though it was their own faults to be in my way." Lord Victor shrugged. "Why don't you avenge them, Aaron? Come and fight me. I am feeling generous today, so I won't even retaliate." He spread his hands to show that he had no weapons.
I knew it was a trick. I knew I shouldn't be rash. But watching Lord Victor sit on his throne and smile nonchalantly made my blood boil. He caused us so much pain. He killed so many innocent people. He made me hurt Katherine. I readied my sword and charged, my sword pointed directly at Lord Victor's heart. True to his word, Lord Victor didn't move.
'Clang!' A pair of crescent moon knives trapped my sword before I could reach Lord Victor. I was so focused on Lord Victor that I didn't notice the hooded bodyguard leap out at me. I tried to pull back my sword. It didn't budge.
"You're cheating!" I shouted in frustration at Lord Victor.
"No, I'm not. I promised to not retaliate, but I did not say anything about my bodyguard." Lord Victor looked pleased. "Jax, you may do to him as you see fit."
The hooded bodyguard nodded once before applying more pressure to his crescent knives, threatening to snap my sword in half. I aimed a low roundhouse kick to his knees which caught him off guard. As Jax tried to regain his balance, he loosened his grip on my sword, which I quickly retracted. We faced off each other, both in an offensive stance. I thought Jax looked a little familiar; where else had I seen a hooded figure before?
Jax rushed at me, his crescent knives flashing in the torchlight. Now knowing that my sword could get caught in his knives, I tried to not meet him head-on. It was more difficult now because his knives were perfect for close-range combat while my sword required sufficient distance for the most effective usage, so I was always forced to take steps back and distance myself while Jax could just swoop in and fight. He was skilled; his knives moved quickly with precision and speed. Soon, I could only defend.
Even so, Jax was finding holes in my defenses. He inflicted several slashes on my biceps, a few cuts on the back of my legs, and even managed to leave a thin slice across my right cheekbone because I dodged just a split-second too late. In my haste to prevent more wounds, I slipped up and Jax caught my sword between his knives again, which formed an X. This time, I aimed my kick directly towards his lower abdomen, but Jax was ready. With a strong twist and a shove, my sword was yanked out of my grasp and I was sent skidding backwards. I watched helplessly as my sword flew through the air and landed somewhere among the pillars to my left.
"Aaron, take Retribution!" Katherine called out. I glanced around and spotted Katherine's sword stabbed into the ground a few feet behind me to the right. Jax charged towards me again, but I ran and pulled out Retribution before dodging Jax's strike. The sword seemed to resist me, but it was better than not having a weapon.
"It's just like watching history repeat itself." Lord Victor's comments floated by as Jax and I battled. "Last time, Aaron, you were too far away to help when Jason died. This time, Katherine is too far away to help when you die. You're useless, Aaron. The killer is right in front of you, and you can't do anything about it."
"The killer?" I was distracted for a second, and one of Jax's knives left another cut across my bicep. I forced him back with a slash. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're the killer, Lord Victor; don't think you can get away with it."
"You're so dense. Jax, why don't you jog Aaron's memory a bit?" Lord Victor ordered. Jax sprung back and retracted one of his knives. From the depths of his sleeve, a dagger flew out.
I held Retribution diagonally in front of me and blocked the attack. But the image of Jax, with the black hood pulled over his face, throwing the dagger overlapped with a memory in my mind. "You—you're the one who killed Jason!" My eyes burned red as the grief and anger welled up all at once. "You were the one hiding behind the tree in the Desederium Forest!"
Lord Victor laughed. "He figured it out! Aaron Kane finally figured it out!" He clapped his hands together, and the glee on his face did not match the cold, cruel glint in his eyes.
I let out a roar as I charged at Jax, attacking him with everything I had in me. I was devastated when Jason died—I saw the dagger fly out but I was too far away to help. I watched as Jason fell and died in front of me, as Ashley wailed in grief and cradled him in her arms. If Jason hadn't died, then Ashley wouldn't have been tempted by Lord Victor and betray us, which meant Katherine and I wouldn't have been separated from the rest of the group, Martha and Matthew wouldn't have died, and all the tragedies that happened after wouldn't have happened. This all happened because of Jax. I vowed revenge, and so I shall take my revenge.
As Jax descended upon me once more, I stood my ground and summoned a powerful gust of wind. I made a socking motion with my left arm and the wind blasted Jax with such force it sent him flying back. I followed, running towards him with Retribution in one hand and another whirlwind in the other. The second gust of wind twisted Jax's knives out of his hand and sent them spiraling to the side, where they buried themselves into a stone pillar. Before Jax could pull out more hidden daggers from his sleeves, I was there, Katherine's sword extended.
With a sickening 'shplllut!', Retribution pierced through Jax's chest and emerged from his back. His hood slipped back, and I saw the face of a boy no older than me, with curly brown hair, freckled cheeks, and amber eyes that were wide with surprise. His mouth was open as if he wanted to say something. His face looked familiar. I've seen him before, but where?
There was no time for me to ponder. Our gazes locked for a moment, and then I yanked Retribution out. Jax fell backwards and landed on the walkway with a thud, blood gushing out of the hole in his chest. He never moved again.
Silence. I pointed Retribution downwards and blood trickled to the ground to form a small puddle. A larger puddle of crimson formed around Jax. I looked up at Lord Victor, whose face no longer contained any trace of glee.
"It's your turn, Lord Victor."