“You look like a Nefaliem now and not before. Why, even though you smelled like one?” it askeds.
“Because I am one!” I call, rushing towards it and leap several feet into the air. My power, I felt it flowing through my veins—though I felt the power of the Nefaliem—I felt the power of my people rushing through me. Their energy, their memories, their history. I realise this was who I am, this was where I belong—fighting, battling, protecting. It’s in my blood. I felt my energy gather, I felt it move and shift beneath my skin—I felt it rise and expand. There it is, next thing that surprises me, was the weight in my hands. I place what it was that’s in my hand without looking before me and the moment it’s before my eyes I realise it’s a sterling silver sword with engravings written in an ancient language along the width of the blade.
I gather my power and stab the monster in the eye. He screams out in pain and flings me away from him, I crash into the ground and realise it doesn’t hurt. I glanced around me and saw that I’ve shattered many thick old trees. I look down at my hands, they’re covered in three layers of armour, I saw blue scales wrapped around my arms lined in silver. I saw a tattoo of kinds wrap around my left wrist where it had burnt earlier—the strangest part was it looks exactly as it does then but instead, it moves around my arm as if tightening its grip and again, I felt nothing.
“Wench!” it calls. I glare a menacing glare and realise that the dangers that befalls me isn’t just me that will be inflicted by these dangers but Varden as well who will be in the crossfire if I didn’t do something and quick. So I pick him up and haul him over my shoulder after I had zipped over to him with my increased super speed and place him down on the ground, far east from the giant.
“I’ll be back.” I promise.
I stand and using my top speed, I zip over to the monster. I didn’t know what it was my body was doing but all I know was that it’s going into blind rage mode. I could felt it, the anger beneath my skin, pounding in my veins. “You’re mine big boy.” I state and point a slender finger at the towering Outlander.
“You’ll die, I’ll tear you apart and eat your insides before I shove them in a bowl!” he barks.
“That sounds nice.” I tease. “And what else?” I stare up at the monster that threatens Varden’s safety and my safety.
“I’ll feed the left over to my dogs just to quench their appetite,” he growls. He storms over to me and I feed the fire.
“Come and get me then.” I knew that was my death sentence but at the same time I couldn’t help it. He’s a giant—a tyrant to a degree. His people enjoy belittling other species literally, enough so that they enjoy walking all over them. I spy the monster on approach and I rush towards him, racing along the ground. I notice something different about him though—something almost magical. I saw in the way he moves in the way he acts. I saw it in the way he holds himself.
I saw it, his energy gathering around to form a dirty yellow glowing magical circle. From the magical circle comes a large wave of fire. I dodge the flaming blizzard and realise my mistake when it heads straight for Varden. At top speed, I make it to him in time and move him out of the way. I throw him over my shoulder and ran as the fire threatens to consume me. I ran far from the giant and place Varden down in another place and this time hope the giant won’t get him. “Fe Fi Fo Fum.” I hear him in the distance call as the ground crashes beneath his feet, “I still want to kill some Nefaliem scum.”
I dash out of the shadows of the trees and saw the giant’s head hover above the couldopy. I realise there’s something else too, it’s that presence, it lingers in the air—almost as if to taunt and haunt. The one I felt on Earth and the one I felt on Nefalia.
Confusion riddles me as my memories recognise that energy, as Altair’s energy. He’s near and for some odd reason; my heart yearns but also aches at the thought of him. We were once friends long ago but now, we aren’t even that—nor will we ever be that again.
And I fear, it’s entirely my fault.
There’s nothing to said other than to recognise this pain I felt and saw in the distance, him. Standing on the tip of the couldopy in the distance, where the giant wanders. The giant stops and glanceds down before turning its attention to me and I realise I could hear them, every word: “There she is.” Altair declares. “Kill her and make a mess.”
“No problem boss.” the giant returns.
Altair’s silent and I felt the cold winds breezing around me. It dances in a haunting rhythm almost as a reminder of my potential death. That giant was one thing but Altair was another story altogether. He’s the one that’ll I didn’t hate but couldn’t love as I used to. Never again. His existence was a painful reminder of the past we had and the feelings we shared as I think about all of those memories, I didn’t notice the giant gaining distance nor his hand, backhanding me away from him. I was swatted away and fly through the air before crashing into something hard.
When my eyes snap open. I realise it’s a stone cliff I’ve been tossed into. I saw the monster chasing after me. He’s desperate to end me and I deeply desire that. Death. True death was when my heart and mind may be at ease for all eternity. I couldn’t forgive myself for what I did to him but I could at least make amends for the pain I’ve inflicted and the suffering I’ve caused him. “You.” I managed, my dry throat feeling like sand. “Never gave up . . . on me.”
“I’m coming!” the giant teases as he rushes towards me with a fist. He pulls his fist back and launches it at me. I bring my hands forward in time and hold his fist away from my body. I could tell he could tell that he’s missed but that’s why I could felt the pressure of his fist forcing it’s way closer and closer to me. “Did I crush the Nefaliem?” his gurgly voice announced.
“Stupid, giant.” I force the hand away from me. I push hard and the fist and the giant falls way from me. “I’m no ordinary Nefaliem!” I bark and soar through the air, using my energetic majic to fly. I shove my fists into its solar plexus and watch as it stumbles back clutching its pain bearing area.
He rushes towards me and I unclip my cloak, grasping one end and the other. My energetic majic to fly drops and I begin falling to the ground. Using my incredible strength, I throw the giant over me; he rolls along the earth, shattering trees and wildlife that didn’t make it out. I hear the desperate breathing of some deers and bears but none—survive. The giant crawls to his feet and glares. “Still getting up huh?” I question as I reclip my clock, the badge that sits above my right breast has an insignia of the PASA organisation, the rank I was at and the title I had or rather did have. So whenever any Outlanders gaze upon me, they’re aware of who, I am. The markings on my features also clarify my heritage and my title.
“Bitch!” it barks.
I re-summon my sword, which had returned to my central core a while ago and float into the air. “This time I’ll make sure you stay down.”
“I didn’t think so.” I hear Altair said in the distance. “You couldn’t do much. Not when this comes into play.” And like that he’s holding a Codex of Innocence.
The Codex of Innocences, are cubes written in digital ancient algorithms that correspond to the Lucifer’s Innocence. This was lost from Heaven by the Archangel Gabriel who was killed by Prador my ancestor and the first Nefaliem.
“How did you get that?” I demand.
“That I was afraid, it’s none of your business,” he evenly declares. I notice his energetic majic gathers and he holds the cube high into the air. I smell his blood dripping from his hand and smell the heat of metal, as it’s heated and absorbed into the cube. Suddenly, without warning. The cube sings a high pitched song and the area around us, the ground around us rises, pulling trees from the ground, pulling water from the rivers and animals from the earth, even the smallest dirt was loaded into the air.
I even felt myself rise from the ground, “Don’t.” I whisper, aware he could hear me. Instead he smiles.
“It’s far too late for that, didn’t you think?” So into the air I rise.
The worst part about the Codex of Innocence was that the power it possesses could neutralise an Outlander—including a Nefaliem—a hybrid of angels and demons encased in dragon souls. My sword, floats within my grip but I never let it go—or I risk any opportunity to take Altair out.
With my sword in hand, still holds firm within my grip, I could felt it’s lightless weight. I regard Altair in the distance and watch as he remains on the ground where everything around him including the giant rises into the air. “What are you doing?” the giant calls. “I’m on your side!”
“I know.” was all Altair saids, with his back turned to the giant. Altair I notice squeezes the cube and the giant floats faster into the sky when he gets high enough, he explodes. Blood, guts, gore rain down in a shower of unforgivable mercy. Even though that Outlander was given orders to kill, his sentence shouldn’t be death. I notice the shower of blood and gore doesn’t bother Altair as he has a transparent barrier wrapped around him, protecting him from the mess he’s made. I remain quiet as Altair watches me and wait until I was high enough. I saw Varden in the distance, he’s higher than me and I reach out, almost as if I could cover several hundred metres with the stretch of my arm. Something I know was impossible.
I hear the sound of something in the air and the next thing I saw was Dante in the distance. He falls towards me and when he’s close enough, he catches me. We tumble to the ground and I recognise the metal around his writs it’s (Crotian) and because of it. We are able to move when the Codex of Innocence was activated. I hear Altair curse and not before long everything that was in the air falls toward the ground. Earth shatters and Dante shields us in a transparent barrier.
There’s a thing as danger in the midst of all danger. It doesn’t had to be here, it could be anywhere. The fact that Altair does what he does, does sometimes gets the better of me. Most of the time I fear it’s something more than just his pain. “You will suffer,” he declares over the raging winds. Where they came from I wouldn’t had a clue. But with Dante I fear the worst.
I know for a fact that he could make that happen so I remain silent and watch from where I was nestled in Dante’s arms. I felt Dante ran, he leaps over fallen trees and out of the way of large boulders that threaten to squash us. Not that it could really damage us. Once we’re a safe distance away, Dante sets me down and my grandmother suddenly accompanies us, “He has a Codex,” she informs. Something I already knew.
“Yes, and it doesn’t appear to be any ordinary Codex.” Dante concludes. I nod aware of the way those two are thinking. It’s true from what I now remember as a woman—as a child I learned many things and one of them being there were many different codexes. I hear someone laugh behind me.
“And I was surprised the Princess hasn’t figured that one out.” That voice! I quickly turn around to find Vince dressed in green scales. He wears no armour but he does wear forearm guards, shin guards and a green cloak. He doesn’t look like a Nefaliem and he doesn’t look like an Outlander. What’s going on?
“Vince?” I question.
His eyes land on me. A shrill of fear ripples through my veins. “Look who finally remembers who she really is,” he sates as he leaps down from the shoulder of a fallen thousand-year-old tree and lands several hundred metres before us. “You know, you tormenting those people because of what our leader had given us made you very, naive.”
“What are you talking about?” I demand. I felt Dante and Catalana stand ready to fight. They’re ready to protect me. Glaring the most menacing glare I could muster, I said, “Are you a part of this?”
“I was never no a part of this, dear child. You had so much to learn. And here I thought you being a full grown Nefaliem woman would give you some insight to the darkness of this universe.” He walks towards us.
“Not another step!” Catalana warns. An energetic majic circle has summoned around her fist. It’s purple in colour and glows a deadly glow, I could felt the power of her energy and the threat it holds. Vince doesn’t stop instead, he continues to walk towards us, Dante steps forward with an energetic majic circle of his own and I felt his power surging just beneath the surface of that circle. Dante and the empress are ready to annihilate this man and I fear that Vince was either wanting death or he’s confident he won’t die.
And that’s a problem.
Vince mocks a smile and I knew then and there that he’s confident he won’t die. Dante leaps forward and Catalana follows after him, the two of them leap at Vince with all their power and Vince disappears. Catalana and Dante stand back to back and scould the area surrounding them. I sense a presence behind me and I soon realise its Vince. “You were so naive. It’s rather amusing.” He whispers in my ear and I felt a sharp pain sift through my shoulder.
I scream out in pain and hear Dante and Catalana call out my name.
They rush towards me.
I felt Vince wrap his arm around my throat, “Come any closer and I will kill her.” I glanced at the knife at my throat and saw it’s Fortix. The material was Fortix. An element that has the power to cut through our scales, Dante and Catalana believe it to be a bluff and continue to saunter towards us. “Don’t think I was bluffing.”
“We know.” I hear Asashin said from behind us. “But we also know that you’ll never escape without suffering.” I hear a zing and saw the end of a large sword, engraved in an ancient language upon it. I realise its Asashin’s sword and he has it against Vince’s neck. “And trust me the empress will make you suffer. She doesn’t exactly like the Dark Cartel especially after what they did to Kalverya’s parents.”
I felt something snap, within me.
“What about my parents?” I question, feeling my energy gather around me. “What did you do?” I demand as I glare up at Vince and I could saw a small amount of fear hidden within his eyes.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” he mocks. My energy gathers around me more and more and I felt it reach critical level. My anger, my emotions were always a direct reaction to the way my energy and energetic majic reacted, often it was very violent. I felt the pressure of my energy and I felt the ground beneath my feet begin to rise. I notice, Vince releases his arm from around me and stumbles back. I saw now the fear in his eyes and the shocking part is—I didn’t care.
“What did you do?” I repeat, this time my voice doesn’t sound like my voice. It sounded like a monster. I felt my features, arms, legs and every other part of my body burn.
“Kalverya!” I hear Dante call over the blaring winds that somehow formed around us. “You need to calm down!”
I ignore him and turn my attention back to Vince. “What did you do?” I felt something zip through the air towards me and I lean back. It’s a silver arrow that flies past my face. I glanced over at where it was fired from and saw that it’s Altair. He’s holding a crossbow—one of our primary weapons we are taught to wield at a young age. The arrow lands in Vince’s chest and I saw from the corner of my eye, him falling to his knees but I didn’t care. Altair—is my target.
* * *
Chapter 12: Chapter 11
* * *
11. Tartoross
Revenge was supposed to be mine, revenge, it’s something that’s expected to be mine. Vince was expected to unwillingly die by my hand. I regard Altair and I could saw he’s not watching me but rather glimpsing behind me. I peep over my shoulder and felt it’s Vince. He’s sliding on his palms before pulling himself to his knees. The sight stuns me. “By Prador.” I gasp in shock. How was this possible? I pick up the quick intake of Dante and Catalana’s sigh and know, they knew. I tiptoe away from Vince and discover his bubbling laughter.
“Why so startled, Princess?” Vince teases. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The sight of him was disturbing. I glare at him than discover in the distance the boom of vibrating wings, strong and powerful flap. I saw in the distance, from the spec of obscurity, a dragon soaring through the pastel of the sun. It surges through the air and over to us. Vince glanceds up, as do the rest of us, the dra
gon circles us and its eyes latch onto Vince. It vanishes and dives along the ground, I shoot to the ground, as does everyone else except Vince. The dragon knocks him aside and I hear Catalana—the Empress complement the dragon.
The dragon roars in acknowledgement.
“Aragore!” the Empress calls. Standing with her weapon in hand and her fleecy gown swimming in the gusts as the dragon descends, it flies above the crumble of land and Catalana jumps twelve feet into the air and flips, landing on the neck of the dragon. She clutches the kerbs and her eyes lock onto the horizon in the east. There’s darkness approaching us. I saw that it’s not darkness though but thousands and thousands of black dragons, different shapes and sizes.
I gasp in shock, feeling my energy vanish. “That’s a lot of dragons.” Catalana whistles with her fingers in her mouth and Aragore takes off into the air and charges for the oncoming swarm of powerfully energetic beasts. Dragons are creatures that could harvest, manipulate and transform the largest amount of energy—explaining why my people the Nefaliem are superior when it comes to battles and wars. From birth, we’re gifted, trained and taught to use energy that has formed when heaven and hell split within the universe.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Dante proclaims and follows after the empress. Vince merely smiles. Dante disappears while Asashin and I stay.
“What are your orders?” Asashin askeds and I know he’s talking to me.
I turn and face Vince once more, “Why?”
He smiles and tilts his head to the side, “Why not?” I hear the sound of a swirling portal and I turn over my shoulder, at the same time, Altair turns over his. Our eyes meet and within an instant, he’s gone.
“Look and you’re all alone.” Asashin teases.
“Am I?” Vince questionably teases.
The ground beneath us shatters and the surrounding area begins to tumble away. Asashin was quick to grab me out of the way and with his power he leaps into the air and floats. The ground fragments and out from the earth crawls a dragon as tall as the Eiffel Tower on Earth. “By the stars.” Asashin mutters. I saw that the stones that fall towards me. I knew they couldn’t harm me but still I felt Asashin move in front of me and slices the stones in half with his sword. The stones move out its projected path.
Crimson Blade (Crimson Series Book 1) Page 15
