Infinity Blade: Redemption

with him,” Ashimar said softly, rising. “A seed, he calls it. Me or you. His favorite pets. Everything else will be . . . gone.”
    “What are you talking about?” Raidriar snapped.
    “You can’t fight him, Jori,” Ashimar said, sighing. “He knows too much. Everything we do is but a string he has pulled.”
    “And this?” Raidriar asked, raising the Infinity Blade toward the steps and throne. “I hold the only weapon that can destroy him. It was a mistake to give this back. He is capable of making mistakes.”
    Ashimar looked up, meeting Raidriar’s eyes. Then the Deathless stood and pulled a sword from its sheath at his side.
    An Infinity Blade.
    ANOTHER INFINITY Blade.
    Outside Siris’s cabin, the sky rumbled with distant thunder. The ship rocked back and forth, and he smiled. Then, he took out the small ring of teleportation. He could summon the Infinity Blade back in a heartbeat, leaving Raidriar unarmed and facing a weapon that could kill him for good.
    The perfect betrayal. Vengeance, at long last. A conclusion to what he had been built to do, what he had been trained to do.
    Defeat the God King.
    He moved to activate the ring . . . but found himself hesitating.
    On the screen, the fight began.
    RAIDRIAR WAS not stunned to see a new Infinity Blade. He could not afford to be stunned. Lesser beings let surprises destroy them. Not him.
    It could only mean one of three things. Ashimar’s Blade was a fake. Raidriar’s Blade was a fake.
    Or the Worker had created more Infinity Blades.
    You are a fool, Worker, he thought. A duel would solve this problem. He would need a Deathless soul to feed to his Blade to test it, and that meant he could no longer allow Ashimar to leave. A pity.
    “I am sorry, old friend,” Raidriar said, entering a dueling stance.
    “I am not,” Ashimar said, putting on his helm. “I can’t let myself die. Curse me, even still, I cling to life . . . I can barely remember the old days. The good days.”
    The old days, good days? Perhaps putting poor Ashimar down would be an act of mercy.
    Raidriar attacked.
    Ashimar stood on the steps leading up to the throne’s dais, and that high ground should have given him the advantage. But his attacks were sluggish. Raidriar easily forced him up the stairs, using his shield like a bludgeon, keeping his opponent’s Infinity Blade away. He did not plan to test its authenticity with his own blood.
    SIRIS WATCHED the fight.
    Inside of him, another fight raged, more powerful. So strong, he could barely focus on the screen.
    Betray Raidriar or not?
    This monster had killed him hundreds of times. Siris could have the perfect revenge now. If he took the Blade at just the right moment, in the instant when Raidriar tried to parry, this enemy’s weapon would find Raidriar’s soul.
    It would end him forever. Raidriar deserved it. He truly did.
    And yet . . .
    He didn’t kill me when he had the chance, Siris thought. He believes in honor. He’s a tyrant, a murderer. But he’s an honest one.
    Could Siris really do this? The Dark Self wanted to lash out, wanted to see his ancient foe defeated.
    The man that Siris had become fought back, clinging to his morality by his fingernails.
    RAIDRIAR FORCED Ashimar up the last few steps and onto the dais above, then came in like a tempest. Raidriar threw aside his shield and attacked with overhand blows in rapid succession.
    Ashimar was Deathless, and he was skilled, but Raidriar was among the best. Only one man had beaten him in recent times.
    Ashimar floundered, dropping to the floor of the dais. He lunged in a desperate maneuver.
    Raidriar moved to batter the weapon aside.
    SWEAT SLICK on his brow, Siris watched.
    The moment came.
    And to his sorrow, to his shame, he activated the button and betrayed the God King.
    Nothing happened.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN
    SOMETHING CHIRPED in Raidriar’s helm—the chip that Ausar had embedded into his weapon, the one that would have teleported it away, had been activated. Raidriar had removed it, of course.
    So, you decided betray me after all, Raidriar thought, surprised as he continued his swing and battered aside Ashimar’s weapon.
    Raidriar’s blow threw the weapon from Ashimar’s hand. It clanged to the floor of the dais, skidding away, toward where the Worker sat, engaged by his screens.
    Raidriar’s enemy slumped down, defeated.
    Ah, Ausar, Raidriar thought. That move with the teleportation ring was clever. Just not clever enough. He activated