Curseborn Saga - Fade to Black

by Fade to Black (epub)

  Lady Enies snickered and turned to face the girl. For a second she didn’t speak, as if weighing the cautionary words of the soldier confronting her. Her answer was not what Remi expected.

  “Sakura, what a surprise it is to have you here speaking on behalf of Lady Scylla,” Lady Enies said. “As if you were of any importance to her at all. You, of Rank 9 and the weakest of the Force . . . you dare think you have a place speaking openly to me? Could this be the arrogance of a young child, fresh with the confidence of winning the last Soldier Games? Don’t forget Sakura, that all of us in the Force are champions of the games.”

  “Any who bear a Rank in the Force has a place speaking openly with you, Lady Enies,” Sakura replied. “Especially when the subject at hand entails you disobeying a direct order from our Captain, for were she here at this very moment, you would be quivering under the wrath of her eye.”

  “Do not chastise me, Sakura . . . you, who have been a member of the Force for merely four cycles, clearly do not yet understand how things work around here.”

  “My apologies . . . I was under the impression that the number 1 outranks that of 2. But according to your leadership, you openly disobey when you see fit. As if you were standing above the very essence of the Force yourself. I cannot allow your judgment to go uncontested, for it is honesty and trust that binds our souls ready for Eiendrahk at any time. You have become a weakness of the Force, Lady Enies.”

  A shiver spread throughout the group as her last words traced across the air. Remi could feel the tension growing exponentially. Honorable, but stupid. Remi thought.

  “A weakness you say? I’m intrigued. You speak as if you intended to do more than lecture me,” said Lady Enies, a twisting grin curving across her face.

  “I cannot allow you to disobey the Captain, that I cannot,” said Sakura. “So I implore you, Lady Enies, will you re-evaluate your current order and allow these three sisters, children as they may be, to guard the Relic Room door during the 250th Soldier Games?”

  Why did you have to go and put us in the middle!? Remi’s thoughts raced.

  Lady Enies burst into a fit of laughter so jagged that Remi thought she might just snap at any moment and kill Sakura where she stood. How Sakura could speak so bravely to such a terrifying woman was beyond her. Fragmented images of Sakura’s bloody and mangled body kept reaching forth from the farthest pits of her mind.

  “No, I will not,” said Lady Enies. “You do not know your place, Sakura, and for that, you shall be punished.” She took a long drag from her pipe and blew forth a thick smoke that twisted into the form of a dragon. The dragon slithered forth and twisted around Sakura’s body.

  Sakura’s eyes were like blades piercing across the emptiness between the two. She slashed her arm through the dragon, dissipating it into but wisps of smoke. Remi began to feel a change in the air and it grew warmer as if the season of winter had just ended and the warmth of spring had settled upon them. Then Sakura spoke, in a voice clear and determined.

  “Then I declare use of the code, as the Ninth Seat of the Force Corps, to the Right of Challenge.”

  Murmuring broke out amongst the Force Corps soldiers. Lady Enies stood in the center, surprised by Lady Sakura’s open challenge. She stared into Sakura’s eyes, weighing the resolution of her words.

  “What’s happening?” asked Remi in a whisper to Lady Arya, who stood beside them.

  “Within the Force Corps are 9 Seats of Power,” she whispered. “The highest are filled by the Captain and the Vice Captain and all beneath are numbered up until 9. We are a unit consisting of the most powerful women of Soria. We are survival of the fittest at its finest. Upon joining the Force Corps, you become Rank 9 and must fight your way up to improve your rank. I did not become the Number 4 Seat by sitting around, I earned it.”

  “Who is the Number 3?” asked Remi.

  Arya was quiet for a moment. “Lady Lylise. But she is not here with us today.”

  “When you say you earned it,” began Remi, “do you mean that you fought Theresa?”

  “Yes,” said Arya with a grin.

  Remi remembered Arya’s attitude towards Theresa when she had blocked her fist. She had spoken down to her as if she had no fear of her, and an image of Theresa’s etched Number 5 appeared in her mind. Oh how I wish I could have seen Arya smacking her around! An image of Arya standing with her foot over Theresa’s face came to her. Remi grinned slightly.

  Arya continued whispering. “There is but one way to increase your Rank—you must earn it by fighting. That is why, many cycles ago, the first Captain of the Force, the Great Lady Islair, created the Right of Challenge. Initially, it was named after our world’s 4th Great Law, the Law of Challenge, but was changed to Right when it became apparent that this was more of a choice made of free will. A decision placing your life on the line. Fighting is our lives. We live and die by the weapons we wield.”

  “So this is what Lady Sakura is doing?” Remi whispered. “She’s challenging Lady Enies!? She’s crazy! As the 9th rank isn’t she the weakest of everyone?”

  Lady Arya took a deep breath. “Yes, that is what her rank denotes. But according to the rules regarding the Right of Challenge, you must challenge the seat directly before yours—for Sakura, Seat 8—and progressively make your way to the top. Or, only when one is the Rank 9, can they circumvent the ranks and challenge the Vice Captain. But there is a price to pay for the latter if one should lose.”

  “Has anyone ever done it before?” asked Remi weakly.

  “Not once in all the cycles of the Force Corps.”

  Remi’s imagination ran wild with terror. Then why is she doing this?

  Cracking her knuckles violently, Lady Enies strode to within a few feet of Sakura. “As Vice Captain of the Force, I hereby accept your challenge.”

  “What price?” whispered Remi.

  Arya flinched and spoke one last time to Remi. “A dire one. To openly challenge the Vice Captain is considered an act of pure arrogance. If the challenger, the Rank 9 soldier loses, they are discarded from the Force Corps forever . . . and banished to the land of the Curseborn.”

  Remi’s eyes grew wide with disbelief. “Is she out of her mind? Why don’t you stop her?!”

  Arya didn’t move. “It is not my place to stop the foolhardy from making bad decisions. She must learn from her mistakes on her own. Despite her honorable intentions, she may not live to see the rest of her days. Watch and learn, for you are truly lucky to be able to see with your own eyes the power of the Force’s second strongest. There is a reason we are silent before the Vice Captain.”

  “But you know what Lady Enies is doing is wrong!” exclaimed Remi, remembering how relieved she was when the Vice Captain had actually rejected them for the Captain’s order.

  “Right or wrong, our Captain needs no other to fight her battles,” Arya said. “Lady Enies understands the severity of her decision and knows that she would confront Lady Scylla eventually . . . considering her confidence and her fighting words towards the Captain, I can only imagine that Lady Enies is planning on challenging Lady Scylla for the seat of Captain herself.”

  “No,” said Remi, feeling her legs weaken. She had a dreadful feeling that she was about to witness the death of a young and naïve girl, who only felt she was doing what was right. Is this the true nature of the Force Corps? Are they all so heartless?

  “Let’s not waste any time then,” said Lady Enies.

  The next few minutes were a blur for the three sisters. Lady Sakura and Lady Enies had walked to the center of the massive white room, surrounding themselves with a vast open space for their battle. The other soldiers of the Force had spread out around them from afar, creating a ring around the two fighters. Feeling a sudden sense that something palpable yet invisible was wrapping around her, Remi turned around to see that Lady Aquas was speaking quickly under her breath. A few seconds l
ater, she heard what sounded like the ring of a bell and saw traces of emerald green energy rising from around the bodies of her sisters and herself. The chill of the room seemed to fade and a sense of comfort overcame her mind.

  “I encased you within a Ward of Shield,” Aquas said, “so that none of the energy from their fight may harm you in any way. Without a Ward, this place would no longer be safe for you.”

  Remi nodded once, thanking her even though she couldn’t bring herself to speak. Then she turned to face the center of the grounds where the two stood opposite each other. A cold wind blew past.

  Lady Enies stood with her back to Remi, her white half cloak billowing out behind her. Remi could see bright drops of blood falling from her knuckles to the white marbled ground. Standing before her was Lady Sakura, who held her lengthy white bow in her right hand. It had no string binding together its ends. A second later, a brilliant blue glow illuminated from each tip of the bow, and a streaking string of sapphire aura connected the ends, creating a humming sound that resonated through the air. Reaching up over her shoulder, she grasped one of the long black arrows from her leather quiver and with a graceful motion, slipped it into place on her bow.

  “I’m ready,” said Sakura.

  Then without warning, it happened. Like two shooting stars colliding, Lady Enies and Sakura shot forth from where they stood and clashed together, sending across the room an initial wave of energy so strong Remi felt it would have killed her on the spot had Lady Aquas not initially protected them. The sounds from their blows were like thunder, and each of the sisters covered their ears. Ardent arrows of dizzying speed ripped across the room and one even crashed straight into little Maile’s ward. Remi was stunned that they had not been injured at all. Magic? She thought. Maile was screaming and crying at their sides, but Remi could not hear her at all. They were completely muted by the battle before them. Remi felt as if she were in a vivid dream, watching the two powerful auras crash together. They appeared in one place for half a second and then at a completely different place in the room. If she didn’t know this was a battle to the death, Remi would’ve thought she was watching some elaborate, complex dance. It was a battle unlike any she had ever seen, or heard of in any story. They moved faster than anything she ever imagined possible. It was as if they were Gods.

  What seemed like shades of constant fighting wore on, and Remi did not know how much longer she could continue listening to what sounded like an entire civilization crumbling. Remi soon realized that the training grounds were encased in their own unique wards, for each time one of the pillars was about to crumble from one of their deflected blows, it seemed to repair itself in that very instant and remain standing. Their fight soon took to the outer sky, each of them landing on one of the giant floating chunks of earth surrounding the Valyti. For a second they paused, and Remi could make out dabs of blood that dripped from Sakura’s lips and a triumphant smile that was curving across Lady Enies’s face. Sakura seemed to collapse to her knees momentarily, grasping the earth beneath her fingers to balance herself. Lady Enies launched at the opportunity and the two resumed their fatalistic battle in the sky.

  She can’t win, thought Remi. Enies is just too powerful . . .

  XIII – The Master of the Forest

  Storm’s eyes were completely locked on Caim when it happened. Out of the shadows, a massive creature with scales of midnight and eyes redder than blood exploded out of the trees. He watched in terror as the demonic beast launched upwards, closing its razor-lined jaw over the tail of the unsuspecting Chameleoth and started falling back to the forest, dragging the flying beast down with it.

  “CAIM!!!!”

  Storm was forced to stop and clamp his hands over his ears as the Chameleoth released a deafening scream that made him feel like his eardrums were splitting. He stared forward in anguish. There, before him, was the Chameleoth, fighting with all its might to stay airborne. He could see the predator clearly, its crimson eyes flaring in the night, the dark black scales smeared with the Chameleoth’s blood. The wings running up its forearms were powerful and thick, balancing the creature as it retreated from its initial attack. The monster clung to the side of a tree, sending jagged cracks down the trunk. It was nearly as big as the Chameleoth. Storm watched as it hammered its black spiked tail into the side of the tree, releasing a stench that made him feel instantly nauseated.

  Storm’s face filled with horror, for he immediately knew what had befallen them.

  “CAIM!” he screamed. “RUN!! IT’S A FLARE!!!”

  Caim swore as he lost his balance. He watched the ferocity of the beast as he fell, as if in slow motion, digging its massive claws into the trunk of a tree, stabilizing itself before launching upwards again into the sky, violently slashing at the legs of the Chameleoth with its claws. In mid-fall Caim caught a branch, swung his body underneath and back-flipped onto the branch, landing on his feet. His hand instinctively shot to the hilt of his Fallblade and without a second thought he was dashing straight at the Kushala Flare. He watched the monster jump again, right before him, and sink its massive fangs into the Chameleoth’s tail. Blood splattered in giant puddles on the ground beneath the clashing giants.

  “Let him go!!!” screamed Caim, raising his blade above his head as he shot upwards out of the clearing like a white flash.

  “Are you crazy!?” roared Storm as he saw his brother swatted out of midair like a fly. Caim’s body shot into the forest and disappeared. The screams of the Chameleoth echoed throughout the entire forest. Storm saw the blood drip down the Kushala’s pearly white fangs and over its mouth just before the Chameleoth’s tail was ripped from its body. The tail fell downwards and crashed through the branches, snapping them like twigs. The Chameleoth struggled with all its might to keep flying, but he knew that the creature had already lost a great amount of blood.

  I can’t believe I’m about to do this.

  Storm landed on one final branch for a half second before grasping the hilt of his katana and Flashing straight towards the black-winged monster, which was coiled against the side of a tree preparing to attack again. Just before it did, Storm Flashed before it, drawing his blade. He felt like he was colliding with a mountain as his katana screeched across the metallic black scales of the demonic creature. His hands shook violently as he tried to pierce the Kushala’s steel-like scales. High above them the Chameleoth was frantically attempting to fly away, only managing to crash into the far off treetops before descending beneath them. A loud crack was all Storm could hear after it fell beyond the trees. And then all he could hear was deep, treacherous growling.

  Storm ducked as the beast rushed towards him. In an instant, he retreated back and landed on a branch, slowly turning to face the Kushala Flare. The monster seemed injured from Storm’s blow and was scraping along the sides of a tree with its claws trying to steady itself. Two crimson eyes full of anger and fury glared at Storm as he made eye contact with the great beast. A spike of fear ran through his body as he watched the tree holding the beast crack down the center and begin to fall, causing the dark monster to dash into the depths of the forest. A flash of silver caught Storm’s attention as Caim took off underneath him towards the fallen Chameleoth. With only the sound of growling behind him, Storm dashed toward the edge of the forest. Moments later he landed softly on the ground before the lake Senyria. The last bits of silvery mist faded from Storm’s body.

  The Blood Aura wore off already!? Not now!

  Storm felt a great surge of pain and his hand shot to his chest. He fell to one knee as the fatigue of his technique came over him. From his side, he could hear scratching and crying as the Chameleoth dragged itself across the cold dirt. Storm’s limbs felt extremely heavy. He could barely keep his eyes open. If only he could just rest them for a moment …

  This … isn’t good. Talk about bad timing. He could taste blood in his mouth.

  A second later, Caim burst from th
e trees, Flashing past Storm and stopping next to the maimed Chameleoth. Whimpering like a newborn animal, it could no longer walk, and one of its rear legs had been broken in the fall. A giant hole was pouring blood where its tail used to be. The sight was horrifying. Storm stared into the eyes of the creature that was no longer fierce and bold, but weakened and full of fear. The stench of blood was strong in the air, smarting Caim’s senses—the Kushala Flare would not give up so easily. It was then that a voice resonated within his mind.

  “Leave me be, young ones …” The voice was incredibly weakened. “For you do not have the power to withstand the might of that which hunts me.”

  For a second Storm didn’t understand. Did something just speak to him? And then his eyes fell upon the eyes of the injured beast. Before he could answer, Caim spoke.

  “Never,” said Caim, turning to face the growling of the forest. Taking the deepest breath he could, Caim screamed at the top of his lungs. “If you want to hurt my friend, you’re going to have to go through me!!”

  A sudden roar ripped through the forest like thunder. Storm turned to face the Kushala Flare stalking out and into the light. Its clawed feet sank heavily into the ground as it came closer, saliva dripping from its sharp and bloodied fangs. It was staring directly at him. No, not at him—its complete attention was on the injured Chameleoth, as if the scent of its blood brought on a visceral craving within the creature. Storm reached for his katana, and felt the presence of Caim walk past him.