She pulled back. “I am not without a cruel streak. Most would agree to that, but I tried to help you before and while you rebuked me, I need you now more than ever. This time, even more than then.”
Because you killed Varus, you bitch.
“Why?” I asked “So that you can have yet another powerful weapon to use against anyone who would dare stand against you?
She brought a hand to her cheek and her eyes were furrowed in dumbfounded disbelief, an expression that couldn’t believe I could even think to utter such words. “You cannot possibly think that I feel any less suspicious of you having it!”
She punctuated her statement by twirling around and moving back towards her chair. I barely even noticed how revealing the movement had been. My head was too busy once again, my brain on the brink of madness. I tried to get a handle on it by reminding myself I could think about it later, but it was difficult.
Was Agrippina simply trying to do what she thought was right? Did she see me as a threat?
Was I the threat?
I shook my head at the thought and glanced quickly to my right. Santino and the boys were already on their knees, all shirtless just the same as last time, so I peeked left. Helena, shirtless this time too, was coming around as well, not quite as quickly as last time, but perhaps more peacefully. My conversation with Agrippina had saved her from the painful beating she’d received last time and suddenly I felt the need to ask myself why Agrippina had been so colloquial this time, far more reasonable than violent. Had my trip through time altered her sensibilities as well?
That didn’t make sense. Did it?
I turned back to Santino as I finally remembered what would soon happen, keeping my voice very low.
“Tell Titus to move as far from Vincent as possible.”
Santino looked at me questioningly.
“Pass it on,” I insisted like a third grader.
He narrowed his eyes but turned to do as I asked all the same.
“Jacob?”
The sound of my name came from Agrippina, and I turned my head to face her. Her Praetorian had returned and I saw Varus’ headless body crumpled at her feet. She didn’t seem aware of its existence at the moment, and since her demeanor wasn’t nearly so cruel this time around, I suspected she wouldn’t even reference it.
“I must know something, Jacob,” she said from her chair, her legs crossed as they always were. “If I offered to give you and your friends — even your Amazon — everything you ever wanted and needed, promising to protect you and keep you from harm, will you help me?”
“I…” for the briefest of moments, I thought about it, but it was never an option. “I can’t do that, Agrippina. There are things about the orb that you’ll never understand.”
“And you won’t tell me?”
I shook my head. “I know what you’re capable of. I’ve seen the kind of cruelty you can do with your own hands. I watched it here myself.”
I winced at the slip, but didn’t think she’d understand what I’d meant.
But she must have because she stood again, this time with purpose. “You have been here before, haven’t you? You used the orb!”
I almost laughed in her face. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The control she’d exuded for the past ten minutes was gone, but instead of coming at me in a furious rage, she simply smiled, but then the insistent beep, beep, beep noise of Bordeaux’s watch sounded all around us and just like last time, confusion set in immediately.
Agrippina looked at her Praetorians.
“What is that noise?!” She yelled.
They stood just as confused as she was, glancing about the room in search of the nuisance. It was at that point when I started to chuckle and she turned back to glare at me, her eyes wide and angry. My chuckles grew to a rolling laughter.
“Boom,” I said between laughs.
A half second later, I was flying through the air again before slamming against the back wall. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs, but I was ready for it. I kept my head against my chest and braced for it by slowly exhaling as I flew. It took me a full minute less than last time to get to my feet. I saved another twenty seconds knowing where to look for Penelope and another fifteen because the Praetorian I’d fought the first time was still completely out of it. I shot him in the head with one bullet and quickly scanned for targets.
I had thirty rounds left and I was going to make sure I killed every last one of these fuckers before any more of my friends died.
Again…
I scanned left first, remembering Gaius and Marcus were here this time, each rising to their feet. Two more bodies for the fight. Titus still didn’t fare as lucky but at least the concrete hadn’t killed him, landing lower on his leg instead. He couldn’t move, but it freed up Vincent to fight from the beginning. Wang was already a blur of motion and Santino was on his feet and had his ropes torn open as well. He moved to help Helena again while Helena went in search of Agrippina, just as she had last time.
I couldn’t forget Bordeaux. Fate my ass. That big lug was up as well, alive and fuming. After the explosion, he’d ripped open his bonds through a sheer exertion of muscle alone.
After confirming everyone was alive, I started dropping Praetorians. Some were still struggling to their feet. These were easy kills. Others were up and moving to engage either myself or someone else. These were only slightly more troublesome. Thirty rounds, twenty five kills. Not bad.
I looked around for Helena. Hers was the only fight I knew for sure had a bad ending.
I found her deadlocked with Agrippina once again, only this time there was no spherical object to be used as a weapon. The two women rolled each other over and over and over again, whoever ending on top momentarily gaining the upper hand. I wasn’t wasting any time to watch this time. They were on the other side of the room, so I was already on the move.
Helena finally managed to get Agrippina on the ground, positioning herself more on her foe’s legs than her stomach. This allowed Helena to keep more control over her desperate adversary. Agrippina tried to punch up at her, but Helena impressively caught her arm with her left hand and managed to snatch Agrippina’s other hand as well. With a quick motion, Helena jerked Agrippina into a sitting position and head butted her.
I was ten steps away when I saw the Praetorian who almost sliced Helena in half the first time, looming in the rubble. I noticed this time that he had been buried beneath fallen concrete and wood during most of the fight, and was only just now able to extract himself. Agrippina’s head rested against the ground, stunned by Helena’s blow, and Helena looked like she was ready to choke her to death.
The Praetorian moved closer.
I moved as well.
Maybe fate simply had it out for Helena. The woman had impressively escaped death on multiple occasions, after all. Perhaps Death was getting angry at her constantly snubbing him out of a pay check. It didn’t take a leap of logic to assume that Death could be a pretty ornery guy.
But Fate, or Death, or even God, could all go to hell.
Helena made her own fate, and so did I.
The Praetorian had his sword in hand now, cocked and ready to plunge it through Helena’s back this time instead of slashing at her. He still had a few more steps to go, but I only had one.
I dove at Helena, tackling her harder than a linebacker would have. I had to break her grapple with Agrippina, and the only way to do that was to really nail her. I only prayed I didn’t hurt the baby, as if my impact could do any more harm than the explosion had earlier.
Unfortunately, even with all my momentum behind my leap, Helena’s hands stayed firmly clamped around Agrippina’s wrists. It slowed us just enough so that when the Praetorian finally came through on his stab, he didn’t just meet air like I’d originally hoped. Instead, his gladius tore right through my left flank, just below my armpit.