99 Fighting Blind

Things were the same yet qualitatively new. The world was no longer in color. Nor was it in black and white. It was a strange combination of shapes and feelings.

 It was just like when she had seen Thorai standing behind her.

 'Oh! I've done it!' Bee tried to hold on and stabilize the images. They flickered in and out but did not leave completely.

 'Done what? You lifted him off the ground?! Bee!' Fireshing thought about the consequences. Her friend's family would be in jeopardy if people knew about her identity. Fire had experienced firsthand how persistent the paparazzi could be. 

'No!' Bee corrected her quickly. 'I have done the thing like when I fought Thorai. I can see Lost and GoldieRider without using my eyes." 

The hooded Awakened was biding her time, in no hurry to get charred to a crisp. Her daggers were spinning in her hands idly, ready for whatever came out of the twisting firestorm.

Lost was holding his khopesh at his shoulder. He remained unmoving, fully focused on breaking the two ladies of the Blazing Bees. 

After months of trying to make it work, Bee tried to figure out what had changed. 

Of course! 

She had only ever been using her Ability to alter emotions in her quest to find this type of vision. In battle, she never used her levitation skills. But in her disoriented anger, the two Abilities had combined in a way she had never considered before.

The emotional signature told her that someone was there, and her attempt to lift him had given the outline to the form. While it wasn't a perfect representation of the world, it was far better than having double vision. 

'Let down your fire shield. Send GoldieRider as far away as you can and try to get out of Lost's influence. If you cannot...just keep those daggers occupied.' The Queen did her best to fight Lost's mind attack as she formed a plan.

'Are you sure?' Fire didn't like the idea, but she did not have a better one. 

'I can see Lost without my eyes. I...I think I can beat him now.' Bee inhaled deeply through her nose. Her grasp on the new ability was tenuous, but it was superior to the blind groping she had done before. 

Outside, Lost and GoldieRider patiently awaited their prey. Both had seen how badly the women had reacted to Lost's ability.

The Blazing Bees had not anticipated a mind attack and were suffering for it. The move to create a fire wall was clever, but it was only delaying the inevitable. Eventually, Fireshing's essence would run out, and Gilded Glory would finish the job they started. 

The only question among the two competitors' was which one of them would be the one to end Queen Bee. 

"To the victor goes the spoils," Goldie winked at her partner. 

"Then my condolences on your loss," Lost responded with a winsome grin. 

"Skill issue! If anyone needs a shoulder to cry on, it going to be—"

Their banter was cut short as the fiery tornado began to dissipate. They both rushed forward to obliterate what was left of their competition's broken minds. 

But the cessation of flames was only long enough to release one figure from the storm. Then the flames whipped back up and began to move.

GoldieRider's eyes opened as she backed away. The storm with Fireshing inside was chasing her! 

Goldie tried tossing one of her daggers into the flames but slipped harmlessly through the inferno and was cast aside. 

As she recalled her blade to palm, Goldie had no choice but to retreat to another barge in the flotilla. 

Left behind, Bee strode forward with her estoc poised for battle. Everything about her looked like the iconic duelist that everyone knew except for one thing. 

Her eyes were closed. 

"Coming to fight me blind? I can twist my sight inside your head. You are in for a treat." Lost whipped his khopesh through the air as he spoke.

It was very nice of Fireshing to give him this win by going after GoldieRider. He would have to thank the redhead later. 

Except his swing did not lop off Bee's head as he intended. She agilely ducked under his stroke and thrust her estoc forward. The sword found its mark against his chest and pierced his armor. 

He was barely able to back up in time to avoid his skin being pierced as well. His owlish eyes went wide in surprise. The crowd cheered.

"Eyes are not the only way to see, Queen Bee. And some have better sight without them." Bane's words from years before drown out the distorted sounds of the arena. At last, she finally felt like she knew what the blind duelist meant. 

She was fighting blind but could see more clearly than she had the entire battle. 

With her eyes firmly shut, Bee smirked and motioned twice with her hand for her opponent to attack.

'Bring it.' 

Lost hesitated. But he was unwilling to back down. He raised his khopesh defensively and bid that the Queen come to him. 

'So Bee it.' 

Pulling herself to full height, Queen Bee surged forward and made three strikes in quick succession. Lost nimbly blocked the first with his sword and the second with the metal plate on his arm, but the third dug deep into a weak spot at his side. 

Blood flowed. 

Lost placed one hand on his side to staunch the bleeding and wielded his sword with one hand. He was angry. The black pupils of his eyes grew and consumed their dark irises.

He could not let this slight go unanswered. 

Unfortunately, he had no choice. For each swing Lost made, Bee made two. While she was able to avoid him, each of her blind attacks landed him in a world of hurt.

Wounds riddled the man's body, and he made sure Queen Bee felt every gash that she inflicted. 

It was painful, but Bee had experienced worse. 

'He thinks he is in pain now? He should try having twins...' 

Lost flinched. Had he heard her words?

Bee didn't think so, but she took advantage of his hesitation to follow up her initial hit with an elbow to the face. 

'Ah, that one stings!' Tears came to her eyes as Lost attacked her with the unpleasant sensation. 'Noses are the worst!'

She couldn't dwell on the pain. 

Memorizing his outline, Bee took one last jab at her opponent, hitting the exact spot where she had pierced him in the chest. 

This time there was no escaping. The [Unlikely End] dug deep into the curly-haired man's chest as his owlish eyes dimmed. 

The khopesh tumbled to the ground. Its owner gasped. 

Queen Bee gasped too, feeling intense pain in her chest. It was like her heart had suddenly stopped beating. But it was only a moment before the agony subsided and she was left in peace. 

"Lost has been eliminated." 

'Lost lost.' Bee shook her head slowly. 

There was no time to contemplate the strangeness of the sentence. There was still work to be done. Opening her eyes, the floating Awakened searched for her friend and the last member of Gilded Glory. 

She didn't like what she saw.