Scales and Swords ✓

46: Seer, Dragon And A Child Of Death

The beauty of a woman is a weapon in and of itself. Though you may not first realize this. And perhaps all who laid eyes on her hadn't as well. Because beneath the curvaceous body, the graceful way she moved and the way her words ran like water she was a soldier, a knight, a warrior.

In place of her form-fitting leather garments, she now dawned a white silk nightgown. Her hair of vines trailed down her back, white pearly beads intertwining her locks. She had stood with confidence and ease. But as she stared out her window into the dark of night, her shoulders tensed in a way. Almost as though she were ready for battle.

Brise met my eye from across the room and nodded. I aimed and in one sharp intake of air, I took out the chandelier's flames.

For a moment the warrior didn't move. She didn't flinch. She simply took a step back and looked up. I shrunk into the curve of the ceiling, into the darkness, out of sight. But I could've sworn she saw me. She knew I was there.

I watched as Brise moved through the shadows, nearing the general. Brise dropped with barely a sound out of her or the floor. The full moon's light glinted on Brise's blades as she rose them to the general's throat. But I saw something, I never thought I'd ever see happen to Brise, her hands trembled.

I saw what was to come next, though I didn't say a word, not when Brise forbade me to. The general's hair came to life and shot at Brise. She hardly had a moment to react, but Brise saw it coming before I did. Brise bounded back, landed unsteadily and sliced off each and every vine that came her way, her movements swift but somewhat sloppy. She was weak.

A vine caught Brise round the ankle and brought her into the air, holding her downside up. The vine brought her to the chandelier and hung her there, leaving her to dangle helplessly.

Rapio dropped next, landing a good distance away from the florial general. The general's vine hair lunged at Rapio, but she dodged swiftly, dancing through and past the living hair. I couldn't look away. Rapio raced towards her carefully avoiding all her hair attacks. Rapio went in with a hook, but the general caught her fist just in time and swung a fist of her own. Rapio ducked swiftly, missing it, landing a punch to the general's stomach as she lowered. Rapio's laughter rang throughout the room, and that's when I knew just how scary she was.

The general recovered in time for Rapio's next blow, a swiping kick to the general's face. The general caught her by the ankle, and in one swift motion brought her hand down on Rapio's knee. But it never made contact, Rapio grabbed her hand and then a moment when both women looked each other in the eye and an understanding passed between the two.

The general's hair flung towards Rapio. With her free hand, she took a hold of the general's hair. But she only gripped it for a moment, before she screamed out in pain and dropped the hair and her other hand as well. The general resumed her previous attack, her hand descending upon Rapio's knee. But once again, she didn't reach her leg. In a flash, the general's arm was severed and on the floor. Brise.

Rapio limped backwards. Brise went in for the kill, with one blade she redirected the general's other arm, and with the other, she aimed a horizontal slice to her throat, moving faster than the general could react. She may have been weakened, but the need to kill seemed to drown out all ache. But we hadn't come to kill.

"NO!" I shouted. Brise froze in place, her blade hovering over the general's throat. Only a millimeter separated the general from life and death. I was the millimeter.

The general's arm regenerated like wildfire. With her newly made arm, she caught Brise by the throat and lifted her into the air, picking out a knife in her baldric, the general brought it towards Brise's throat just as Brise had done to her. Rapio limped forward, her right foot red at the ankles and twisted. The general's vines launched towards the injured Rapio, taking her by the throat as well.

Without thinking twice, I dropped from my darkened corner.

"Please," I said, falling to my knees. "Spare them."

I dared to raise my head and our gazes met. Her eyes widened slightly and a knowing look crossed her face.

"Dragon." Her voice barely above a whisper. She hesitated and Brise took that opportunity to thrust her ebony blade into her throat. Rapio's body dropped and Brise fell as well. Dark goo slid down the general's chest, staining her white night gown a horrid shade of green. Florial blood. A tentative hand gripped the blade in her throat and jerked it out of its place. She gawked in horror at the dark blade, as her eyes fell to Brise's weakened self at her feet.

"You're a child of Death," the general said carefully, the dark knife dropping to the floor with an echoing thud.

Before I knew it, an awful stench filled the room. Reminding me of the invetiable end of life: rotting flesh. White lights appeared all around. No, the buds along the general's vine hair had bloomed into beautiful large-petalled white flowers. But they began to wilt just as quickly as they blossomed. And with the stench came the tiny screams, the screeches and the flapping of a thousand wings.

They came in hundreds, through the window into the room, filling the space: bats. They flew towards my companions and I had not a moment to think through my next move before I stood and blew gusts of flames at the tiny winged creatures. They fell like flies, but when my flames ceased, they were the only dead creatures in the room. The general was gone in a flash of a swarm of bats and fire.

~~~

With Rapio limping on one side and Brise practically dangling by the other I held them both up the best I could, until we reached the wagon that would bring us back to the giant forest. Both blacked out by then, leaving me and the coachman who seemed too preoccupied with his task at hand to spare me a word or two.

I laid between my two unconscious companions, staring up the sky, wondering where Geneal Bao had gone and if she was still alive. Florials regenerated the fastest among all the races, but something about the way she looked at Brise's ebony blade made me think twice. Her words echoing in my head "you're a child of death" what did that mean? And who exactly did that make Brise?

She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, you'd never think she was a bloodthirsty warrior. Even the other girl beside me, was more than just a pretty face.

I thought of the others and how they'd done. Had they failed as well or had they succeeded? I thought of Philip and what he'd have to do. My heart squeezed at the thought of him. I couldn't wait to see him. I couldn't wait to know what had happened.

As soon as we made it back to the forest, back to the tree houses, and Brise and Rapio were brought home to rest, I found Mars scribbling into a book at his desk. I'd deal with Cyr later. I'd think about all of that later. At that moment, I just needed to know how Philip was.

"What is it?" Mars grumbled.

"Marigold," I breathed, "you know who that is right?"

"The tall moron?" Mars suggested. "Excuse me, the tall pale-skinned, dark haired, grinning moron?"

I nodded. "Have you seen him?"

"He went up to my secret spot." He pointed casually up the tree with his pen.

"Where's that?" I asked, trying to keep my worry at bay.

"The tree tops, I go there to map the stars. Once you reach the last level, you climb up there via a ladder."

I stepped into the elevator.

"At night the temperature drops below freezing point," he added quickly. When I didn't say anything he said instead, "it gets really cold up there. He didn't seem to be wearing much and he was carrying a full bottle of some sort of alcohol."

A knot formed in my chest as I stepped out of the elevator and started for the door when Mars said, "there's a blanket in that box over there. And no it hasn't been used yet."

I silently thanked him with a smile and nod, entering the elevator again. Before I could leave, I had to ask, though I knew the answer I'd receive. "Did he and Hoku come back with...?"

Mars nodded.

Philip needed me.

A/n: damn I've been stuck thinking of how this chapter would go for awhile now so I hope it turned out well.