Dominion

Chapter Thirty: Doorway To Darkness, Part 2

Chapter Thirty: Doorway To Darkness, Part 2

"What's a star?"

Such a simple question and yet, one I could never truly answer. Not back then, and not now. No matter how much I wished I could. No matter how much I still saw my sister as that little girl. But she wasn't that little girl anymore. She was grown up. So was I. We had been apart for a lifetime, yet we found our way back to another. We may have to get to know each other all over again, but I knew one thing: she was definitely my sister. I could see it in her eyes as she stood in a standstill with the leader of the Dominion. She had a ferocity about her, a determination. A belief in her own capabilities. I knew the look because it was my look when I was in situations like the one she faced now.

I watched her carefully, her enemy's sword in her hands. Her mind focused on the singular task of defeating her enemy, not taking her eyes off of him, ready for any move he might make. But could she win?

I would've done anything to help her, but I couldn't. Not without risking Vera's life, too. I didn't need to see them behind us to know the Dominion soldiers still had their weapons trained on us, unrelenting to the end.

Vera's hand slid into mine, and she sent me her strength. "If she's anything like you," her eyes turned from my sister to me, but I couldn't look away from Ash. "She's got this."

I hoped so. Thus far, The Immortal had lived up to the name. Regardless, I held to my beliefs as my sister and her Coalition held to theirs. No one was beyond death. Everyone had a weakness. I just wished I could help my sister figure out what The Immortal's was.

I had no choice but to watch as my sister confronted The Dominion itself.

The Immortal struck first, striking at Ashley's side. She easily deflected it, their blades briefly clashing. She was playing defense, letting her make the strikes. Smart. She knew she was at more than one disadvantage. Getting a gauge for how her enemy fought was needed before she went on the offensive.

Another attack, another deflection. Ashley backed away, her opponent slowly following, unwavering in his stance. Without a face, his expressions couldn't be read, but I got the sense he was toying with her, enjoying watching her calculate. He was letting her think she had a chance just so he could rip it away when he wanted too. Ash was smart, though. She could figure out his game.

"I find it... difficult to believe that you are the leader of this rebellion," The Immortal spoke, his voice directed at my sister, yet still coming to us as if we were the intended ears.

Ash remained firm in her stand, slowly backing up. "Why?" she dared. "Because I'm a woman?"

"Because you are pitiful. Not unlike the vast majority of your species," he was trying to make her angry. If it was working, she didn't show it.

"You don't give us enough credit," she countered. "We embrace our pitiful-ness," she mocked, turning the tables. He clearly became angered, swinging his blade for a strike at her directly - one that she was easily able to counter. "It makes our enemies underestimate us."

"I do not underestimate you, Ashley Oren," any anger of his seemed to vanish. "Your species has proven its usefulness."

"What? As slaves?" she asked, parrying another easily-predictable strike. I had to be right. He was toying with her. He knew she was testing his capabilities - he wasn't letting her see any of them.

"That is too generous a term, for yours or any species under my Dominion. Your worlds are merely means to an end, the people on them insignificant. Small by comparison," he paused, as if taunting her. "You are nothing."