A Crimson Tale

by K. L. O Johnson

  “I know I’m a liability now but I won’t be in a while. If what Altair said was true my body is changing. There is nothing that a person can take from me when I already had nothing. You can knock me down but I’ll get back up. You can strip me of everything I have but I’ll regain it and you can humiliate me but I’ll be humble enough to accept the fact. There is nothing that this monster has done to me that I haven’t already mentally, emotionally and physically prepared myself for.”

  He nods.

  “Okay…” He goes to stand and I grasp his wrist.

  “Can you stay?” I ask. “Please…I want to have…for once I want a dream without a nightmare.” He nods and turns to Altair. He looks at us with pain and pulls open the door.

  “I’ll be outside.” He leaves.

  “You shouldn’t do that you know.” I regard Dante with confusion.

  “Do What?”

  “Push him away like that,” says Dante as I place my head on his chest after we manage to comfortably lie on the bed properly.

  “Why should I not? He’ll have me eventually.” Dante doesn’t say anything. “Why does it matter?”

  “It’s because he truly cares.” He says after some time. I refuse to believe that womanizer cares. Still images of his face flashes across my mind, slowly I return to a deep sleep. When I come to I find Dante above me with worry across his face. I’m sweaty and a little disorientated. “Kal! Kal! It’s just a dream…it’s okay. I’m here.” I glance down and realize that my claws are digging into his scales.

  “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” I mutter and he shushes me until I return back to sleep. I couldn’t even remember what the dream was about but when I finally woke, it was midnight and Dante still remained by my side. My body feels numb and I couldn’t figure out what had happened in the dream but fear floods through me and I brush it off-hoping it’s just that, a dream.

  “If they want more…they can come and get it. I won’t die so easily.” I mutter and slip out of bed, using the bedside table to rest my weight.

  I force open the door and there is Altair on the ground, his back against the wall and his elbow on his leg, his sword is unsheathed and clasped in his free hand. I move over to him and rest my hand on his shoulder, his blade slides against my cheek drawing blood, his eyes are savage. His eyes begin to register after I smile at him. “Kal?” He questions and his eyes land on the cut on my cheek. “I’m sorry…I never wanted to…I’m—” I cut him short, my finger is firmly placed against his lips.

  “It’s okay.” I whisper. I repeat it a few times as his head rests on my chest and clings to me. I had no idea how painful it is for someone to feel so powerless until now even though I’ve been beaten pretty bad it must be heart breaking to see me like this. Never in my life have I seen him cry the way he does now and I don’t try to fight it, if I can’t cry than he can cry for me. He can cry for the both of us…but we both knew the risk of war. We both knew the toll it would take.

  The only power anyone has over me is the people I truly love more than anything; my grandmother, my sister, my father and Dante. I don’t know what time it is or what day it is but at the same time I don’t care. “Altair…” I whisper in his ear and slip one hand through his long silver hair, allowing the tresses to slip through my fingers. He doesn’t say anything but I know he’s listening. “Please don’t blame yourself, I chose to go to the Vault, in a way I chose what has happened. So please…don’t blame yourself.” I whisper and I feel him nod.

  “But Kal…”

  “No. Right now I need you to be strong…okay?” I ask and I feel him nod once more. “You can’t give up on me.” I say as I wrap my fingers around his jaw and force him to look me straight in the eyes, I can’t afford to lose any chance to save these people—if Varden is the key to all of this—he’s of more value to us than we had ever previously anticipated.

  “Okay.”

  “No you won’t.” I demand. I need him to never surrender. “If something terrible happens to me, you have to promise me…”—I regard him once more, scanning his face before continuing—”that you’ll protect Varden, he’s the key to saving the people of this world, his people. Once he’s on our side, the other royal families will have to align themselves with us. In time the Grattican will lose their power but to be able to ensure that…if I can’t continue on my duty, you have to protect him for me. Okay?”

  He looks me dead in the eyes, his eyes both glaze with pain and admiration. “Okay. I promise.”

  *.*.*

  Later that night, I stare at the ceiling of my room, concluding I won’t return back to sleep, I pull off the covers and swing my legs over the edge. I feel the cool air on my naked form and my scales begin to wrap around my body from my toes to my neck. I leave the room. There are things to be done I need to ensure Varden is safe and I need to hunt down Vedric—that pathetic coward.

  I move down the halls and make my way to the common room, its pitch black and deathly silent. I glance back at the window that reveals my reflection against the obscure glass, my white gown, scales and silver hair look rather ominous. My blue eyes are sharp like icy daggers and above all emotionless—they are devoid of any expression. I glance towards the door. “Why they show up now of all times?” I mutter and exit the compartment.

  The air is silent…too silent. I scan the dark distant horizon, the moon shimmers above the hilltops gracefully. I pull my gaze back to the courtyard below. Standing on the balcony adjacent to the common room does help my mind relax a bit. Still I can’t wait until I get my hands on Vedric. Slowly will I make him suffer…there is nothing that any man or woman can take from me that no other hasn’t already taken.

  If the wind around me is still as death and the air as cold as ice; then I know my fate has been sealed for I am nothing more than a woman cornered by many. How things in this world seem to give me more pain is unanswerable? There are lives that have been taken and things to do but I have no choice in the matter that which I must choose—to live or to die—is my fate and my choice.

  Can anyone tell me the truth of my negligence? I guess not. There’s nothing more unbecoming in this world than me but I stand tall as I’m surrounded. They pull themselves out of the shadows. Their eyes dance in the darkness like sinister knives of death. I have no fear no erratic heartbeat to tell me if I’m scared or in shock. Then again…I’ve never been the one to be shocked and as such my stubbornness has been my down fall.

  20:Confrontations

  © 2014—All rights reserved by author

  “I was informed you were close to death…” comes that voice. I don’t answer, the silence is my answer, it is the unspoken truth but I have no reason to be ashamed. I have no reason to feel less than what I am so for that instance I glower at the figures before me. “No matter…you’ll die by my hand!” she declares and unleashes her force of demons, upon me. Golgotha!

  They launch—flying towards me with undeniable speed. The first one extends his claws and I bring up my forearm in an effort to deflect the attack only to see my white fleecy gown slashed with my white scales…my wound…drawing blood. “Not so tough…now…are you?” taunts Galavin where he stands on her right behind her.

  I evade the next attack and land ten meters behind me, closer to the doors of the long winding bleak dull walls of the Sector. The ground cracks under the impact, and I’m forced back against the wall—claws are sharp and nick my chin—the warm fluid of my blood slides down over my cleavage and breast. I attempt to draw my own dragon-claws but fail.

  “What’s wrong Princess? Can’t fight back?” it teases. I feel my arms, legs, chest, waist and shins becoming heavy. My armor is now active. I head butt-him hard and a cling sounds above me, I have no time to react and my curled fist connected with his jaw. I pull out my wire and wrap it around it its neck, where it whips around its thick neck twice. I yank on the wire and bring my boot down on the taut line. The monster falls forward and I pull out my crossbow and fire.

  It is
not that which I do not understand but by the impact that is ranging towards me I don’t necessarily have time to question one reason for another—they’re attacking me…that’s just it. That or Golgotha knows the truth, knows that I didn’t hand over the Prince. As if on cue, her voice breaks through the agonizing cries of demons—their blood bathes at my feet. My scales, remain white but with my armor and weapons, parts of it streaks and splattered in my blood or the demons, I’m unsure at the moment. “This is a new look for you…” mutters Golgotha before she inclines her head to the side, examining every inch of me. “Find him!” she orders another batch of demons.

  Where they keep coming from is unknown but what I know more than anything is that this woman won’t hesitate to pull down brick from brick that keep up the roves to find him. “No!” I cry and attempt to stop the demons only to be cut off, they charge towards me and I battle fiercely in order to move past them. In all this time and fighting my energy seems to have faded and I’ve become winded, sweat beads pour down my features and I pant heavily. “Oh…what’s wrong Kal? The big bad demons are too much for you?” she teases in a mocking baby voice, the ones as if she was pretending to talk to a child. I swing my blade towards her only to have her form become gaseous at my impact. “How can you kill me…when you can’t even touch me?” Her laughter echoes throughout the corridor and I step to the side avoiding the oncoming demon, its teeth are bare and claws scrap the air where I once stood.

  At this rate I’ll never reach Varden! I think furiously.

  Claws grind along the walls as I sprint down the corridors, several demons pull their way from the shadows and I kick several down out of my way while I slip my wire around the throats and limbs of others that avoid my path, I hear Golgotha cry after me. “Stop her! You pathetic beasts!” I hear a slashing sound and turn over my shoulder to see a red whip has extended from her finger tips and she slaps it towards the demons like a sled-dogs, they squat and growl under the strikes and chase after me. I turn over my shoulder and force my way through the line of demons, the task is difficult and I’m exhausted, my body aches and blood smears my scales from the re-opening wounds Varden had said they needed to stitch together because I wasn’t regenerating enough energy to heal myself. According to Dante, it suddenly had stopped and when he said that I knew that he concluded the worst, “you may have energy clots” the thought of it didn’t bother me.

  I slice down the next demon and find an opening in their defense, I break for it. “Get down!” I hear a voice call. I drop, my body flat on the floor and heat boils above me and my head begins to spin as a high-pitched noise enters my ears. I shake my head and tattering bass steps make their way towards me and I see armored greaves and blue scales. ‘Dante?’

  “No, it’s me!” I’m pulled from the ground and forced behind Altair he grasps my hand and leads me away. “We need to get you out of here!”

  “Varden!” I cry. A large demon-boar jumps us and he forces me back where I stumble against the wall, I feel rather useless right now and uncoordinated, it’s frustrating, I’ve never been so. That’s just another to add to my condition—still it’s too soon to tell. I see a winged demon hover above Altair and I move to reach for my wire I had to sheath away earlier only to find it no longer present. Great! I’m defenseless and we’re going to die!

  “Kal!” I glance to the voice, Dante stands with Varden, his crossbow is tossed in the air and swims towards me smoothly, a demon’s blade swings at me horizontally and I slide under it and catch the crossbow, I spin around and on my knee shoot down the demons that pursue me. I’m sturdy and manage to hold back the line until something large steps through the crowd, “You’ve got to be joking me…” I hear Dante mutter. My senses were heightened. I rise from the ground and slowly stalk back and stop beside Dante.

  “He’s all yours.” I say as I eye the large tubby stature of the nine-foot tall gray skin cracked demon—he is in real need of a hot-spring.

  “What…you’re going to leave me to fight tubby, here?” he asks me as he jerks his thumb to the demon before us and I give him a side look saying, “does it really look like I can take him, now” though he doesn’t comment he steps forward with a sigh and points a finger. “You’re mine big boy!” Dante charges at the demon and leaps, his shoulder comes in contact with its chest and the demon is sent back several hundred meters. I stare.

  There are times, like now, when I forget how strong Dante is and Altair for that matter—I’ll like to see which one is stronger though, that will be interesting. My mind is pulled from the fight between the gigantic demon and Dante to see a demon falls down before me with an arrow in its chest. “Keep your head in the game!” I hear Varden growl. I shake my head and fire several more arrows.

  It’s not exactly the fear the forces people to run but the impending death that threatens their existence, normally I’m never the one to run from what I feared however, I’m required to protect Varden if it means running than we’ll run. It’s not exactly how I like to handle life-threatening situations but survival is the utmost important. He may be good with the bow but there’s hundreds if not thousands after him. He may be a good shot but he has wooden arrows not energy arrows like the Nephalem—he’ll surely run out in time—that’s what the demons require, time if nothing more, time—every species greatest enemy.

  Not even the Vampires can escape it. Even time is their enemy…The corners seemed endless, I however am unsure which way to turn, am unsure of which way to go, once we had landed on the ground. I slip my lengthy wire that had extended to safely secure us on solid ground. The zip-line sounds and I manage to coil the whole wire and place it in my belt. “Do you think they followed?” he asks.

  “They won’t give up so easily, especially, since Golgotha has your life with her grasp.” The thought of what would happen should Golgotha place his hands on Varden. It would just give me another reason to ring her throat. I hear Varden clear his throat and regards me with wariness—I realize than that I was growling—like a dragon. I clear my throat and force myself to calm down, they couldn’t do anything to him as long as I kept him from the demons and the hands of Golgotha.

  “Behind you…” came the familiar voice. I glance behind us and force Varden to the ground. The stone-corner wall, crashes and flies towards us and I shield us from the impact my loose long sleeves. I stand on my feet and see a large Troll. I frown.

  “Hold still…Nephalem.” it orders and swings it’s chain mace around in the air before sending the spiky mace towards me and I duck, barely missing the debris from the maces’ impact on the stone wall. Now, we are currently at a crossroad of the Contuse Villa, the place where accommodation, businesses and stables stand tall and lifeless, stand tall and eerie.

  “Kal!” I hear Varden cry as he runs towards me, with little time to react he forces me out of the way and under him I now lie until there is a break in the momentum of the enemies’ weapon. I move to my feet and sprint holding up my long gown, I curse for the current symbiosis my body is in, the odd part is—my body is working together to completely heal itself—though, I’m a victim of a sad and dangerous game. I try and not let that fact, bother me, this is something I have to accept—I’m vulnerable now—just like before. I have to be on my guard or this time, I may remember what happens.

  I stop at a dead end, Varden halts beside me and gasps in surprise and annoyance. We both spin around to face our impending deaths. Why couldn’t I have died at Varden’s hand—I wouldn’t have been given the trouble. I scan the area, for anything to use than my right leg becomes heavy, I glance down. Armor, more…armor. What is going on with me? I wonder and see the materialization of my crossbow upon my leg, bit by bit, it slowly becomes shaped and solid. I slip my fingers down and around under the trigger and aim it at the Troll. At current, the Trolls’ arms are forced above its head as it attempts to swing its mace down at us, I fire, my wooden arrow—transforms—it’s no longer wood but energy green-blue energy zip-line that slices through the Tr
oll’s head. Its arms falls down and is sliced by the energy residue left behind like a trail.

  After the debris of the Troll have fallen to the ground, Dante and Altair, run towards us, I regard Varden with a confused look and he lightly shrugs his shoulders. After everything that happened, can I blame them for their current expressions playing out upon their faces? Shock—fear—anxiety—concern. It’s enough to one, want to smack them across the heads for over reacting and two for being concerned. Very few people care about me—mostly because they concluded or judged that I didn’t have anything to offer. Only in my human form. I think.

  “Kal are you okay?” demands Altair, in seconds he’s before me questioning and scanning my body for any other form of injuries. He continues to scan my body and notices my bloodied wrist and his eyes go dark. Why does it matter, it’s just blood, I pass blood every month? “Who did this?”

  “Golgotha and her minions…relax, I’m fine, and it’s just a little scratch.”

  “What are you doing getting into fights anyway?” he growls.

  “Why does it matter?” I retort.

  “Because you’re weaker than before!” he yells and I go quiet. He sighs. “Sorry.” Don’t be. I glance at Varden’s retreating form and follow suit, Dante and Altair I feel follows behind me. Entering the Main Building once again and I notice the receptionist from earlier who Altair and flirted with…the sight of her causes an unknown source of anger to rise within me, Lifet walks towards us from where the woman is, the moment her eyes land on Altair she ungraciously stumbles towards him with her hands flat on his chest.

  I can sense Lifet and Dante’s uneasiness and Varden’s enjoyment. “You’ve returned…I thought you died…” she states with a chock in her voice. I glare at Altair and the woman.

  “We’ll…I…”

  “You came back for me right?” she asks and at that point I’m tempted to pull out my father’s Prevail and thrust it through her.