EACH one hit … and each one bounced free of Steelheart, like pebbles thrown at a tank.
I lowered the gun. Steelheart raised a hand toward me, energy glowing around his palm, but I didn’t care.
That’s it, I thought. We’ve tried everything. I didn’t know his secret. I never had.
I had failed.
He released a blast of energy, and some primal part of me wouldn’t just stand there. I threw myself to the side, and the blast hit the ground beside me, spraying up a shower of molten metal. The ground shook and the blast threw my roll out of control. I tumbled hard on the unyielding ground.
I came to a stop and lay there, dazed. Steelheart stepped forward. His cape had been torn in places from Prof’s attacks, but he didn’t seem to be anything more than inconvenienced. He loomed above me, hand forward.
He was majestic. I could recognize that, even as I readied myself for death at his hands. Silver and black cape flapping, the rips making it look more real somehow. Classically square face, a jaw that any linebacker would have envied, a body that was toned and muscled—but not in the way of a bodybuilder. This wasn’t exaggeration; it was perfection.
He studied me, his hand glowing. “Ah yes,” he said. “The child in the bank.”
I blinked, shocked.
“I remember everyone and everything,” he said to me. “You needn’t be surprised. I am divine, child. I do not forget. I thought you well and dead. A loose end. I hate loose ends.”
“You killed my father,” I whispered. A stupid thing to say, but it was what came out.
“I’ve killed a lot of fathers,” Steelheart said. “And mothers, sons, daughters. It is my right.”
The glow of his hand grew brighter. I braced myself for what was coming.
Prof tackled Steelheart from behind.
I rolled to the side by reflex as the two hit the ground nearby. Prof came up on top. His clothing was burned, ripped, and bloodied. He had his sword, and began slamming it down in Steelheart’s face.
Steelheart laughed as the weapon hit; his face actually dented the sword.
He was talking to me to draw Prof out, I realized in a daze. He …
Steelheart reached up and shoved Prof, throwing him backward. What seemed like a tiny bit of effort from Steelheart tossed Prof a good ten feet. He hit and grunted.
The winds picked up, and Steelheart floated up to a standing position. Then he leaped, soaring into the air. He came down on one knee, slamming a fist into Prof’s face.
Red blood splashed out around him.
I screamed, scrambling to my feet and running for Prof. My ankle wasn’t working properly though, and I fell hard, hitting the ground. Through tears of pain, I saw Steelheart punch down again.
Red. So much red.
The High Epic stood up, shaking his bloodied hand. “You have a distinction, little Epic,” he said to the fallen Prof. “I believe you agitated me more than any before you.”
I crawled forward, reaching Prof’s side. His skull was crushed in on the left, his eyes bulging out the front, staring sightlessly. Dead.
“David!” Tia said in my ear. There was gunfire on her side of the line. Enforcement had found the copter.
“Go,” I whispered.
“But—”
“Prof is dead,” I said. “I am too. Go.”
Silence.
From my pocket, I took the detonator pen. We were in the middle of the field. Cody had placed my blasting cap on the dump of explosives, and it was just beneath us. Well, I’d blow Steelheart into the sky, for what good it would do.
Several Enforcement soldiers rushed up to Steelheart, reporting on the perimeter. I heard the copter thumping as it ascended to leave. I also heard Tia weeping on the line.
I pulled myself up to a kneeling position beside Prof’s corpse.
My father dying before me. Kneeling at his side. Go … run …
At least this time I hadn’t been a coward. I raised the pen, fingering the button on the top. The blast would kill me, but it wouldn’t harm Steelheart. He’d survived explosions before. I might take a few soldiers with me, though. That was worth it.
“No,” Steelheart said to his troops. “I’ll deal with him. This one is … special.”
I looked over at him, blinking dazed eyes. He’d raised his arm to ward away the Enforcement officers.
There was something strange in the distance behind him, over the stadium rim, above the luxury suites. I frowned. Light? But … that wasn’t the right direction. I wasn’t facing the city. Besides, the city had never produced a light that grand. Reds, oranges, yellows. The very sky seemed on fire.
I blinked through the haze of smoke. Sunlight. Nightwielder was dead. The sun was rising.
Steelheart spun about. Then he stumbled back, raising an arm against the light. His mouth opened in awe; then he shut it, grinding his teeth.
He turned back on me, eyes wide with anger. “Nightwielder will be difficult to replace,” he growled.