The Spaces in Between Read Online Free

person.
    Considering their masks, the Draco slumped over each other in a very disturbing manner. Behind them stood Tsuen wearing his own sword. Cameron fired a round at Tsuen, but missed. Three more misses certainly weren’t coincidence either.
    “ Onamae wa onegaishimasu!” Tsuen said.
    “ Sakamoto Ryoma to Cameron desu. ” I am Cameron and Sakamoto Ryoma. So I guess Cameron is being possessed or something like that. I don’t know - dreams are weird. Cameron charged over the gap with a quick thrust. Tsuen sidestepped the point, but with a flick of the wrist his attack became a slash at Tsuen’s abdomen.
    The strike was parried with his sword’s scabbard. Tsuen drew his own sword only a foot to knock the rail gun out of Cameron’s hand. Cameron shifted his weight to his back foot to clear Tsuen’s sword, but still nearly lost his chin.
    Cameron quickly thrust his blade, which was brushed aside with the handle of Tsuen’s. He shifted forwards to quickly slash Tsuen across the face, but with a back step Tsuen completely avoided it. Cameron leapt back to get out of Tsuen’s considerable kill zone.
    Tsuen sheathed his sword and redrew it so fast that his blade was a mere flash of silver. Cameron ducked under the silver arc and slashed Tsuen across his spine. The tip of Cameron’s sword shattered on an invisible barrier surrounding Tsuen. He turned and struck Cameron in the midsection with an open palm.
    Cameron went sliding across the floor on his ass, and Ryoma went flying in the opposite direction. Tsuen shuffled forward on his heels following a sweeping cut. Cameron parried, but his sword snapped under the strain. Tsuen pinned Cameron’s wrist under his foot and pointed the tip of his sword in Cameron’s face.
    “ Makoto Tsuen degouzaru ,” Tsuen said, “Why do you radiate with the light of God? A mere, insignificant pirate such as yourself. And why do you seek this?” A stone talisman slid out from Tsuen’s left sleeve and dangled above Cameron’s head from a chain. It glowed with a faint white light. “I can tell just by looking at it that’s what you seek. As you say, like attracts like.”
    “I’ve heard rumors of a Lemurian ex-monk traveling the stars for over a century now,” Cameron said, “Exiled for killing his Guru. Do you make a point of killing the Enlightened?”
    “The weak are food for the strong. Killing any obstruction on the path to God is no sin. Even if a Buddha blocks my path I shall strike him down without remorse. Why is it that the ones touched by God are so weak?”
    “Weak? I could blink your entire family line out of existence, but that’d be too flashy. I’m far more humble than that.”
    Did he just gloat about how humble he was? Instead of trying to wrap my mind around that I made a grab for the talisman. I assumed that was definitely the Mehmet talisman Cameron was looking for. I kind of figured that if it made spirits solid then I could touch it.
    Sure enough I could feel the weight of the talisman in my hand when I wrapped my fingers around it. Tsuen turned and brought down his sword. The chain on the talisman snapped so I could get out of the way in time. At least only losing my left arm. It’s odd, really. I didn’t feel it at all.
    Why so upset? Come on. I’m almost done. I’ll stop boring you with this.
    Cameron slipped by Tsuen and tried to grab me. Both of us were shocked when his hands passed right through me. Without wasting a second Cameron grabbed my chain instead. He jumped through the wall and pulled me right behind him.
    Cameron stumbled through the new room before landing on all fours. He vomited and rolled over on his side shivering.
    “The Dread Pirate needs a moment to compose,” Ryoma said. “He just entered the Astral with his physical body to get through that wall.”
    “Does that take a lot out of him?”
    “Not so much,” Cameron said, “But the Astral is not designed for humans to live. I might as well have just jumped into space.