Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Chapter One: One Fatal Weakness

Henry Mannering's leather shoes sounded unnaturally loud as he walked out of the elevator and across the bare concrete of the underground carpark. It was late, and long past when he should have been home. The sterile brightness of the fluorescent lights made his eyes ache. His daughter and son would be in bed by now, and he'd be back in the office long before they got up in the morning.

'I'm sorry to keep you so late, Dalton,' he said to the man beside him.

'Don't worry about it sir,' the big man shrugged it off. 'My body clock adjusted to shift work a long time ago.' He grinned. 'Besides, it's double rates after seven.'

Mannering gave him a tired smile. The indicator lights on his car flashed as he unlocked it. There were only a few other cars left in the complex. Without other cars, the vast empty space felt still and lifeless. Dark shadows gathered in the corners like dust.

He sighed and ran a hand through his grey hair. It had been a long, wearying day. He switched his briefcase to his other hand as he reached for the door handle.

'Henry Mannering, president of Coaxial Industries?'

Mannering whirled around and bumped the side of his car. He hadn't seen anyone else on his way in.

A girl stepped out of the shadows. He wasn't sure how he'd missed her before. Her industrial jacket, lace stockings and boots were dark as the shadows, but she'd dyed her hair bright blue and her tartan skirt was a deep red. Overall, she put Mannering in mind of some sort of teenage nightmare jester.

He caught sight of the short, brutal katana sheathed at her side. He stared at the weapon, then at the girl. Her eyes were hard – far harder than a normal teenager's should have been. Looking at them made him feel coldly nauseous.

'A silencer,' he whispered.

'Get behind me!' ordered Dalton, stepping between them.

The girl smiled. It was an unpleasant, predatory smile.

'I was warned someone like you was coming,' said Mannering. 'That's why I hired a protector.'

'Run back inside,' said Dalton. 'I can't fight her with you here.'

Mannering broke into a run, made awkward by his girth and his heavy briefcase. The sound of his laboured breathing echoed around the empty space as he sprinted for the elevator. The girl moved to intercept him, but Dalton drew two combat knives from his belt and blocked her path. His muscles bulged under the tight fabric of his t-shirt.

'You're fighting me now, silencer' he said.

He swiped a knife at her, but she jumped out of range with her hand on the hilt of her sword.

'I don't want to kill you,' she said. 'But if you try to stop me I will.'

'That short sword you wear is a fancy toy,' Dalton said. 'but it won't stand up in a real fight!'

He spun and delivered two vicious slashes aimed at her carotid artery. She pulled the sheathed sword from her belt without drawing it and knocked both slashes aside with the handle. Dalton changed his grip and tried a backwards cut, but his knives hit empty air. She was quick on her feet. Far quicker than he'd predicted.

'Run,' she said. 'And I promise not to follow.'

He ignored her and attacked again. She swatted his knives away and ducked under a well aimed elbow swung at her jaw. Dalton didn't expect her to dodge it. His fast elbow usually caught people by surprise. He was starting to get worried now. He'd underestimated her skill. He assumed she was just some punk who'd never faced a real blade before, but she was like ice.

'You've got a killer's eyes,' he said. 'How does a young girl like you end up with eyes like that?'

She didn't answer, but stalked around him in a slow circle. He needed to break that calm demeanour and put her on the back foot. Her style seemed defensive so far. He needed to push her, and that meant ramping up his aggression. He stepped back and breathed in.

'I'm going to show you something special, little girl,' he said. 'You're lucky; not many people get to see my craft.'

Dalton tensed and felt the power flushing through him. His heartbeat rose in his ears and his vision became edged with red as his muscles went into overdrive. He kicked off the car to give himself extra speed as he came flying at her with a flurry of slashes and cuts. She started to retreat and he felt a surge of elation. He was pushing her back! He increased the speed of his assault, looking for an opening to strike.

'You use the mercenary close combat style,' she said as she stepped back and let Dalton's blade slice past, millimetres from her eyes. 'It's a solid style with one fatal weakness—'

The girl closed the distance between them faster than Dalton thought possible and shattered his kneecap with a savage kick that felt like a nail being driven into the bone.

'— it leaves your legs unguarded.'

His leg buckled as a cold bolt of pain stabbed through his knee. As he stumbled forwards, he realised she wasn't being defensive. She was testing him.

The girl drew her sword in one lightning motion. There was a wet tearing sound as the blade sliced into Dalton's body. She put one hand on the back of the blade to push it on through flesh and bone. Blood spurted out of the wound and splattered her face.

Dalton choked as blood filled his lungs. He saw the sword handle twitch in the girl's grasp and felt the intense pain spreading through his body. His vision started to fade.

The girl twisted the blade and wrenched it out of Dalton's body. The corpse fell away and hit the ground like a bag of wet concrete. She stepped over it and walked towards the elevator.

She had an appointment to keep.