Page 18 of Nemesis Mine
A risk, perhaps, that Maximillian wouldn’t just lash out and try to end him here and now. But it seemed unlikely. That chance had already been missed.
“In fact—” A pause to relish his own words, because he might’ve had Athaca’s worst ever headache, but he was not about to miss this moment. “I think I prefer you alive. To let you think back on this day. Really pore over the memory.”Like I did, all those years.
Maximillian’s face was carefully blank. He was good at putting up a façade, at hiding his truth behind a meticulously constructed mask. Cyrus saw through it to the howling shame beneath.
Good. Let him feel it this time.
Cyrus studied Maximillian’s face for a few secondsmore, committing the sight to memory. His enemy, defeated. Humiliated before him. Maybe this was the best outcome he could have hoped for. It was something new, unprecedented. Champions and wrongdoers killed each other all the time. Gossip ran rife and faded to memory. But people would be talking about this for years to come.
“Better hope you don’t see me around, Maximillian,” Cyrus murmured. Somehow it sounded like an invitation.
If Maximillian’s jaw tightened any more, the bone would surely splinter. Cyrus smiled.
Then he turned and walked away; and Maximillian let him, like Cyrus had known he would.
Chapter Five
Mighty Maximillian Battles Earthshaker; Emerges Victorious
Cyrus stared blankly at the headline. He could not be reading that correctly.
He had barely stayed awake long enough to clean himself up last night, the adrenaline of the fight draining fast by the time he’d hauled himself onto Soulripper and set off for home. He’d been asleep within seconds of crawling to his bed. Probably inadvisable with a head wound, but he’d woken to the damnably cheerful tweeting of birds outside and to sunlight determinedly boring its way through his window. So everything turned out fine.
Or so he thought until he picked up today’s copy ofAthaca News, his jaw cracking around a yawn and his black silk robe knotted about his waist.
His first thought: They had made it to page two. But the leap of glee at the shadowy depiction of a cloaked wrongdoer facing off against Maximillian was quickly stifled as his gaze slid to the headline.
Mighty Maximillian Battles Earthshaker; Emerges Victorious
Cyrus squinted. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, in case that changed anything. But the ink remained stubbornly in place, spelling out its dirty little lie.
Emerges Victorious
That was not how he remembered things, and despite the egg protruding from the back of his skull, Cyrus knew damn well he remembered yesterday’s events with perfect clarity.
The parchment was beginning to tear under the strain of his fingertips. He forced out a slow breath. Then he slammed the door shut and retreated to his brooding chair to read.
There were exciting scenes in the quiet village of Arclee last night as wrongdoer Earthshaker challenged the champion Maximillian to a fight.
What followed was a tense and unpleasant evening for the locals with the wrongdoer attempting to burn down the village (andsucceeding in burning down the tavern, which had until then survived at least three separate arson attempts by other wrongdoers as well as one accidental arson incident by the owner’s toddler daughter). Maximillian is said to have arrived on the scene at speed, with the two proceeding to battle fiercely.
The reasons for the wrongdoer’s challenge are not publicly known. One villager, who wishes to remain unnamed, shared her observations that Earthshaker “was staring a lot” in what she described as “a leery kind of way.”
We atAthaca Newswere lucky enough to speak to Maximillian following his defeat of Earthshaker, where he shared his insights into the battle that took place, as well as letting us in on some hairstyling secrets. He also spilled the beans on his latest brand deal with Swordz4you, an exciting new partnership which includes the chance for one lucky reader to win a sword of their own.
Cyrus stared down at the parchment. One word stood out as though the scribe had scribbled it in giant bold lettering.
Defeat.Hisdefeatof Earthshaker.
That obnoxious, conniving, lyingbastard.
His hand trembled as he turned the page, his eyes promptly assaulted by several drawings of Maximillian without his top on. There was no way his abdominal muscles were that defined. Nor was it possible for pectorals to be quite so perky. And he didn’t have a belly button piercing. Cyrus had been far too close yesterday; he would have felt it.
Maximillian Spills All: Inside the Life and Times of One of Athaca’s Most Iconic Champions
More drawings. Lots of them. Was that at Maximillian’s insistence? Or had the reporter just spent all their time gazing at the champion and doodling that detestable dimple instead of talking? Cyrus wouldn’t be surprised. They reducedhimto goggle-eyed cackling caricatures. Of course they turned Maximillian into a pretty doll for the masses to lust over.
Cyrus skimmed the interview impatiently. The brand detail was not of interest; the hairstyling tips were, admittedly, but this was neither the time nor the place. His heart performed a funny little skip when his eyes alighted on his own nickname—finally—and he leaned in a little closer, nose almost touching the parchment as he read.
