My hands tightened on Tyrant's reins as I urged him to gallop harder.
I had been riding non-stop only doing so when necessary and now I feared was one of those times, my fucking ass hurt. I pulled his reins and he skiddled to a stop. I slid off the saddle and sat under a large oak tree, relishing in the breeze that kissed my skin.
Part of me was somewhat relaxed because my cousin and the slaves should have arrived home by now. I could rest easy now knowing that they were safe. The other part of me worried for Drazhan and Damon, they had been in that awful place for nearly five days now, no more.
The back of my head rested on the oak tree in the large grassy area around me, i closed my eyes as the sun's rays shone through the trees leaves.
The snap of a branch broke through the silence. My eyes snapped open and I got up instantly, my hands grasping my weapons instinctively, waiting for who or what was undoubtedly behind me.
I heard it again, I slowly removed Chaos from its scabbard, the metal gleaming in the sunlight. Multiple heavy footsteps approached my direction, men in black leathers appeared, weapons in hand forming a large circle around me.
They were twelve in number, their faces varying from young to middle-aged, and a few looked like they've fought in multiple battles "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a man with a lean build said, he had chestnut hair, gray eyes and a large scar on his face from eyebrow to lip.
I held his gaze, unwavering and without a drop of fear.
"An extremely ugly fellow" I responded before any of his comrades did. I knew how this would go. They would point out the obvious which would be that I'm outnumbered, and then proceed to suggest that I surrender all my valuables, I refuse and then there'd be blood, gore and I'm the only one left unscathed. "She has a sharp mouth indeed, we were well informed" he announced to the group.
His statement hit me like a punch to the gut, what did he mean? My confusion must have shown on my face, because he laughed and said "Don't look so surprised princess, some part of you must have known that you were being followed, if you didn't, I'd be truly disappointed. Perhaps you're not as smart as the duke said you were"
This entire conversation had been a series of confusion, surprise and irritation. I did not sense that I was followed because I was too focused on heading towards the dark forest to rescue Drazhan and Damon and the duke had the smart idea to send these… bottom of the barrel bounty hunters to capture me, the thought was almost laughable. And most of all, I hated that he called me princess.
"I'll give it to you, you and your merry band of petty thieves caught me by surprise, a mistake I won't be making again, but you on the other hand aren't as smart as you think, because if you were, you'd know that none of you wii be leaving here alive"
Laughter erupted from the men around me, as though what I said was the funniest thing in the world, the tall man spoke once more.
"The duke refused to mention your arrogance. If we didn't have orders to capture you, you wouldn't be leaving here alive." I gripped chaos a bit tighter as my other hand went to heartstopper, I unsheathed the blade and flung it at the chest of the man standing next to scar face, the dagger hit it's mark and the man fell to the ground lifeless, foam spewing out of his mouth as the poisoned blade took effect. Scar face growled.
"Big mistake, princess" with a snarl, he charged.
~
I blocked the first swipe of his blade with mine, the sound of steel on steel rang through our surroundings.
I kicked a man who charged towards me from the side in the stomach, the attack sent him reeling back. Two men rushed towards me from behind as I launched continued attacks at Scar face.
One swiped hard, I ducked and kicked him hard in the knee, causing him to scream while I stabbed the other with my sword and backed away, keeping a good distance between me and my opponent. "You talk big game, but if this is the best you can do, then I'm highly unimpressed"
I had taken down four of his men with ease, and I hadn't even broken a sweat.
He chuckled "Arrogant girl, they were just the warm up" he removed his gloves and opened his palm, flames materialized, taking the form of a swirling arc as he observed it with pride. Another of his men opened his palm, and streaks of lightning formed into a bolt his palms, and one by one magic of different colors flared to life on the palms of each and every one of the men that now surrounded me. They are witches too. Fuck.
"Don't be scared, we have specific orders not to kill you, but the duke said nothing about the shape we should bring you in" I stared at the enemies around me in fascination, and if they weren't hell bent on taking me back to Herbert, I would dare say I admired their power. A deep voice yanked me out of my thoughts as scar face said..
"Take her!"
Scar face was the first to attack, he sent a torrent of flames in my direction, and I conjured a green energy shield, the flames dissipated upon contact, but the sheer force of it pushed me back a little. He was definitely strong, but still not as strong as me. A bolt of green energy materialized in my palm, I flung it at the man who was preparing to launch an attack at me, his golden shield blocked the attack, but the force sent him crashing into the nearest tree.
From my peripheral vision, I noticed as another man, he thrust his hands in my direction. Streaks of lightning erupted from his palms and shot rapidly towards me, I had to act fast because I was also being cornered by four more men.
I muttered a spell under my breath, sent a silent prayer to the triple goddess before I took the lightning in my palms and redirected it, striking down my attacker and the four men that were slowly creeping in. The smell of their charred bodies filled the air and I almost gagged. Now only three soldiers remained, including scar face. Something like fear passed through his face, but it disappeared almost instantly "Ready to give up?" I taunted, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
"As if" he replied, his hands widened as flames crept up his forearms like threads. He flung his arms in my direction, and sent a concentrated fire blast towards me, heat crept in as the flames got closer.
I had a crazy idea. "Aquamalia" I chanted, a concentrated water blast shot from my palms and clashed with his fire, and the whole space was enveloped in steam.
Scar face and his men began coughing, sending blasts of their magic all around, red, blue and yellow, hoping that one would hit me, but none did. I called upon my magic and opened my arms wide. Chaos flew into my left hand and heartstopper to my right.
Taking advantage of the steam, I moved stealthily around, and though I was unable to see much, i could only see the silhouettes of my enemies and that alone was enough. I made my way to the first one, chaos pierced his stomach and heartstopper sliced open his throat, stamping out his scream. Scar face and the others must have heard his body fall amidst the mist, because they all launched simultaneous attacks in my direction.
I managed to dodge two blasts while making my way towards another man, a bolt of blue energy hit me in the side. A groan escaped my lips as I looked to where I had been hit. The skin had come off and blood poured from the wound.
I pressed a hand on the wound, emerald magic flowed beneath my palm, when I lifted it, the skin had healed rather roughly.
Huh? My self-healing didn't work on magical wounds the same way they worked when I am wounded by mortal weapons.
It sucked.
Two more bodies hit the ground with a thud as the mist dissipated, leaving me and Scar face standing alone. "Most impressive indeed princess, but now you have me to contend with" he spread his hands wide, and flames erupted in his palms, but before he could strike at me,
"Immobilus" I chanted. Scar face stood deathly still, paralyzed.
His eyes shot up in surprise. He obviously didn't expect me to pull that move and satisfaction washed over me in waves.
I walked past him to his dead comrade, removing my dagger from his chest. His skin had gone deathly pale as foam still poured from his gaping mouth.
"What have you done to me?" he spat.
I walked back to him, a devilish smirk played about my lips "Now who isn't smart? I obviously cast a paralysis spell on you"
He looked around the battlefield, taking in the sight of his fallen companions and again with that satisfied feeling. "You will release me" he demanded.
I raised an eyebrow at him "Will I?"
Scar face struggled against the spell's hold, but quickly found it futile. He wasn't going anywhere and he knew it.
"What do you want?" He asked at last.
Good boy.
"What does the duke want with me?"
He was quiet for a while before he said "We didn't ask questions, we just followed orders" He could be lying, but some part of me believed he was telling the truth, it was a game those in power played when contracting mercenaries. Complete the task, no questions asked.
Curiousity got the better of me as I asked him "Why are you fighting for the duke? He had been aiding in the killing of our kind for decades without a second thought"
If I had thought these men could be rallied to my cause, I would've tried reasoning with them the moment magic flared to life in their palms because in all honesty, with what Herbert plans to unleash on my kingdom, I would need an army of witches in my ranks.
He scoffed "The Duke will return all witches to our rightful glory. He only kills witches who are too blind to see his vision, and blind is what you have proven to be"
Walking behind him, I placed heartstopper on his throat, the blade glowed green with the magic imbued into it as it bit into his skin.
"If that's what you think, then you're already lost" I whispered into his ear as I slit open his throat. His body hit the ground with a thud as I sheathed my blades and strolled to Tyrant, mounted him, and rode north into the dark forest.