6 Skill

My spear is knocked away.

The angle of the blow takes me off guard because it comes from above. My first thought is that Boulder woke up and somehow snuck around to finish me off but I can still see him sprawled out on the ground. Then Immmortalis comes into view.

He must have jumped off Primus from a crazy height because his legs are driven a half-meter into the soft earth. There aren't many on the island who could have survived such a stunt but I can see him already straightening up, bones that would have been splinters, unbroken. I still don't know if they break and heal instantly or if they're simply indestructible. There's a lot I don't know about him. In his hand is Ebodon, a staff made of something that looks like black glass but has yet to be marred by something as common as a scratch. It was what he used to block my killing stroke.

"There you three are. You know I have a feeling your mothers might be a bit angry if you kill each other off. Well maybe not you." Immortalis looks over at Boulder, who, despite what I had thought about him waking up is now snoring in a pile of mud. Immortalis raises a single eyebrow then turns back to Joss.

"Get out of here Immortalis, this isn't your fight." Joss is circling, trying to get an angle on me but Immortalis has already moved out of his landing site to stand between us. I notice that despite having to lean heavily on Ebodon to get out of the mud, there isn't even a staff mark on the soft ground. He holds it out towards Joss and the glass it's made of is untarnished as always. I wonder for the hundredth time what the hell it's made of and how Immortalis came to wield it.

"Don't make me go through you old man. You think you're so strong but I bet even you can bleed." Joss stops trying to circle around and stands at his full height, now towering over both of us. His face is more or less the same, though perhaps a bit larger than his human form. It's his mouth that draws the eye—not exactly animal but obviously not human. It's slightly longer than it had been but that's only to fit the knifelike teeth that erupt from between his lips when he closes his mouth. His exposed arms are rippling with muscle and I'm instantly grateful the strength of my aquatic shield is based on the strength of my mind, not my arm.

I look to Immortalis and he has a peace about him that I can't understand. It's as if he's been here before, seen all of this play out already. Or he's simply confident in his power to keep him from harm. I just hope he's confident he can keep me from harm as well.

"You don't know what you've gotten yourself into boy. You'd better run along and drag that rock of yours with you, before you regret being here." The last words are nearly a whisper but I can tell Joss is rolling them over in his head as if it's the first time he's ever been threatened. His eyes have a manic look in them.

"You challenged Damon and would have lost had I not blocked his killing blow. The way I see it is you owe me your life."

"Is that what you think old man?" Joss snarls back at him, that too-large jaw grinding his teeth together.

"Cursed is the one who chooses to fight over peace. If you seek out death and destruction you will find that death and destruction are the ones seeking you out."

It's when he says these things that I remember just how much older he is than I am. That he's lived decades longer, fought more fights and seen more death than the rest of us combined. His words hold a gravity to them, like he didn't just make them up but was reciting them from something heard long ago. Joss doesn't seem to appreciate the words as much as I do.

With a roar, he leaps at Immortalis. I know he can't be hurt, not really, but I still cringe as the razor-edged claws extend from the beast's fingertips.

It's in this moment that I realize I have never seen Immortalis fight, not really. He and I have sparred but I have never seen the man truly fight. It terrifies me.

Ebodon moves faster than my eyes can track it. It connects with a bone-rattling 'crack' across Joss's jawbone. I'm surprised to see the force of the blow throw Joss to the side and into a bush. He comes out, eyes blazing with a red fury. Immortalis is all over him.

Joss is standing but before he knows it there's another crack of the staff and his legs go out from underneath him. He tries to stand again, and again but the sound of staff meeting flesh rings out with each attempt. Joss tries to lunge with his clawed hands but all that's different is the sound changing in timbre, Immortalis remains unscathed. He's brutal in his efficiency, never letting up. Beating his opponent back relentlessly and preventing him from gaining any momentum.

"Drop your form." Immortalis's voice is calm though sounds winded. Even he is unable to dole out such a beating without it taking its toll on him.

The only response is another growl and a series of strikes that leaves Joss on his hands and knees, panting. When he looks up it isn't at his attacker but at me, promising me with his eyes that this is far from over. That's when I notice his jaw appears unhinged, the initial blow from Ebodon dislocating or breaking it. His body is covered in dark red bruising and there are several cuts bleeding freely on the ground.

He holds my gaze for another couple of seconds then turns towards Immortalis, looking as if he'd rather go another round but thinks better of it. Joss's hunting form melts away, revealing a tired and bloody young man. Immortalis nods at him.

"Primus will take you both back to your families." As if on cue the chimera lands a few meters from us. "Damon, walk with me."