Kate held out the short staff in one hand. She closed her eyes and it grew twice its original size. She opened her eyes, glared at James and the sharp knife shot out of one end like a bayonet.
James held out his staff, and it also grew. The moment the knife shot out, Kate attacked.
She ran at him, swinging furiously. All he could do was to defend. She swung at him over and over, and backed him into the corner. Then she dropped to the ground, kicked her leg and took out his feet.
James fell back against the corner. Kate stood up and stabbed at his face, but he moved his staff across it just in time to push away the fatal blow.
As the knife whipped past his eyes, James realized his sister was out for blood. He realized how deeply he had cut her with his betrayal. And he knew if he wanted to live he had to fight for his life.
He began to push back and move out of the corner. He never stabbed at her body; he only went for the shoulders, forcing her to defend and step back. When the two staffs came together and he looked her in the face, he spoke.
“Kate, please let me explain.”
She pushed him away, and stabbed at his stomach. James jumped back and swung his staff low, sweeping hers away.
Kate spun around with the momentum and hit him in the shoulder. He cringed, but quickly gathered his thoughts and held the staff at the other shoulder just as she swung back around.
She stabbed and swung, turning every defensive move he made into another attack. Finally he was able to gain the upper hand and put some space between them.
“Father helped me escape,” he cried out before she could attack again.
“You lie,” she screamed.
Suddenly a loud thunder came from outside one of the shuttle bay doors. Another shuttle was landing in the arrival area. The twins watched it dock. As the doors began to open, Kate looked back at James. It did not matter to her if someone arrived; she was already at the end of her journey. There was nothing to hide.
James used the distraction to pull out the medallion William had given him. Kate had seen it before. She knew it belonged to her father.
The bay doors opened and two workers from the colonies on Mars began to exit. They stopped short and stared at the two standing before them.
Kate was immediately recognized. After she gave Yori’s eulogy, everyone in the solar system knew her face.
The workers asked if she needed any assistance. She held her hand out to them.
“Leave us,” she demanded. They quickly walked past the two and into the lab without saying another word.
Kate looked back at James once they were gone. “You must have stolen it,” she said, tumbling forward and swinging low. She struck James at the knee. He cried out, but did not drop to the floor.
Then Kate stabbed at his torso, using the flat end of her staff. He pushed it away with his as she spun around and stabbed again with the knife. He turned his body away and the knife sliced into his shoulder. He cried out, dropped the staff, and fell to the ground. Kate began circling him, like a predator and its prey.
“He helped me because he knows that death is the easy way out,” he told her. “It will be harder to live with what I’ve done.”
“And maybe I can pay for what I’ve done,” he added. She stopped in her tracks and stared at him.
“Maybe I can find redemption.”
With that, she attacked again. He held up his staff with one hand to block her downswings, and then he kicked at her feet. She was knocked off balance for a moment, but didn’t fall.
“You will never find redemption,” she told him.
Kate came at him, attacking his injured shoulder and pushing him back. Then she swung the staff around, barely missing his nose with the flat end of the staff. When it came around the tip of the knife sliced across his eyebrow.
The blood began to seep out immediately. It flowed across his face and started pooling on the floor. Kate paused.
She waited for some kind of remorse or pity to sweep over her, but all she could think of was Yori and his children.
With James wounded and kneeling on the floor, she lifted the staff over her head and stabbed downward at him. He turned quickly and defended the attack. But he was still left lying on his back with one eye covered in blood.
Kate went in again, stabbing downward. He swiped the staff across his chest and pushed her away. She swung it around with one quick stroke, and had the knife at his throat before he could do anything. That’s where she stopped, with the knife at his throat.
James closed his eyes and let his staff fall from his fingers. Kate stood motionless, staring at his bloody and defeated body.
James waited for it, just as he did in his cell. But the kill stroke did not come.
Inside Kate struggled. All she wanted was to kill him. When she found out he was the traitor, she became so single-minded. Now she knew that condemning him was easy, executing him was not. After all, he was her brother. He was blood.
She started to wonder if he was right. Life would be harder than death. He couldn’t suffer if she killed him, and that might be the best revenge. So, she pulled the knife away from his throat and stepped back.
James stood up. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Kate turned her back on him and headed inside the lab, never looking back.
James walked up the ramp and into the shuttle that had just arrived from the Martian colonies. He went inside and closed the bay doors behind him.
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