Suddenly a bare foot shot from inside the mist and kicked the blond man square in the back, with more force than a normal human could utilize.
The killing strike had been thwarted as Alex’s sword cut deep into the wooden platform from where the man stood a moment before. Alex pulled the blade out cleanly and looked for the man to see him curled in a heap from where his fall dispersed the mist below. The fall was nearly eight feet below but the forced kick had knocked him into an unconscious state.
That robed man wasn’t the king, but an imposter to draw Alex or any assailant into a trap. They stepped into it this time and were outnumbered, tired and mentally muted for their hope for stopping the king was quickly proven false, but the surrounding troops remained in position and didn’t dare approach for fear held them in place.
“So who might you be?” Came a voice Alex didn’t expect to hear, it was clearly feminine.
As he turned around a tall, but young woman nearly six foot in height stepped out from the falling mist. She had long blond hair and deep blue eyes like the ocean on a calm day. She was a beauty to behold with high cheekbones and plump pink lips, but next to Lily she was homely in Alex’s eyes. She had to have been somewhere between seventeen to eighteen years of age and looked around like the outdoors were still new to her. She wore a red tunic and black pants that were snug enough not to be a liability in a confrontation. Clasped to each of her wrists were blank bracers, made similarly to Alex’s and in her left hand was a sword just like his own, but with a round grey pommel. This woman stepped forward, carefree like the world was hers and she stopped several feet away and studied who stood with her. Her bare feet brought it all together. She was a female Furion.
The woman’s presence also stopped Shade’s charge and leap onto the stage as he didn’t expect anyone besides the man they thought to be Runkamon being split in half. Then she glanced at them both and smiled.
“From the way you moved just then,” She began in a serious tone, but Alex’s grey eyes looked upon her and felt that somewhere inside her she was unsure what to do next, yet she tried her best to stand unconcerned and in control of the situation. “am I to assume you were the person the herald spoke of, this Alex Sheulson perhaps?”
His grey eyes never wavered from her, but his senses were kept sharp should an attack come from behind. She personified someone with a calm, commanding aura, but deep down Alex could sense she was frightened for some reason. He held no such conflicting emotions as he gallantly stated “Aye, but it seems I’m at a disadvantage for we know not who you are?”
“We?” She asked in a raised eyebrow.
“Aye, I haven’t changed my voice to speak to a human yet, but you understood me perfectly. And by we, I meant my partner understood your question as well.”
“He is right.” Shade said matter-of-factly. “Who are you female?”
“I am Zara, princess of Ra’van. And who are you Shadow Fang?”
“Shade.” He said simply while keeping a watchful eye of the mist swirling behind the human female.
“So it is true that you are a Furion like me?” She said joyously, turning back to Alex and placed the pointed tip of her sword into the ground. Zara had never met anyone else like herself, except for her father and it made her all but forget the battle raging. She had become inquisitive and relaxed her threatening gesture for a moment, but remained prepared nonetheless. She wasn’t a simpleton. “Tell me, how can a Furion still live? My father said that all but he were wiped out.”
“So you are Runkamon’s daughter?” Alex had to ask for this was beyond the unexpected. From what he learned the king didn’t have any children. In the many conversations with Travis even he was adamant that Runkamon was sterile.
“Aye,” She said without emotion for Zara heard the edge in his voice. “and his only child if you are wondering. In the past three months I’ve finally been allowed to leave the city and upon my first battle outside my home I come across someone like me. Will you answer my question now?”
Shade answered instead. “The reason your father said the Furions were wiped out was because he was the one who butchered them all with his own two hands.”
For the first time anger flared in her expression at the indignation and insult to slander her father. “LIES! What proof do you have?”
“This!” Alex yelled back and slipped off his signet ring and tossed it to her. She caught it like it was a child’s game for her reflexes were superior to that of normal mortals, but when she realized the significance of the ring she gasped for she has seen its like before. While she held it like a viper about to bite he explained “What you have been told has been all a lie. Our grandfather Gerieg had twin sons, Sheul and Runkamon. Sheul was the firstborn and true heir, but Runkamon killed him on my fourth birthday and all of our other Furion relatives who came that day. I’m the living proof that he is a thief and murderer, and if that isn’t enough to prove myself, that ring is only given to the rightful heir to Ra’van’s throne. You cannot deny Gerieg is our grandfather,” Her eyes revealed she knew that much, but not the man personally. “Sheul was the firstborn, and as his son, that ring was made for me. I understand one’s loyalty to a parent, but yours is wrong.
“I suspect it was you who killed the herald and ordered the attack this day.” She shook her head and said she only ordered it. She angrily tossed the ring back and pulled her sword from the ground after hearing a conflicting story she believed since she was little and she couldn’t believe her father a liar and deceiver. “That would be the only reason our seer and specialists couldn’t see you.” He continued after finding truth that her order caused the herald’s unfortunate demise. “As a Furion we’re blind to the effects of certain items and only we could have caused such a problem in misinformation. You need to call a retreat or do you not care for your people’s lives.”
“It is a worthy sacrifice for the unification of all peoples.” She declared after being taught since she was a small child the honorable path.
“That’s just it, it is those warped beliefs that say it’s justified to kill someone because they are different from you. Can’t you see with your own eyes how foolish those archaic those notions are, Zara? All sacrifice truly does is cause oppression, anger and death. As a Furion we don’t feel the bonds to things like most humans because we are freer and have other ties…”
“I don’t want to hear this anymore!” She yelled in a fit, like a child throwing a tantrum. It was then that Alex knew she had been like a caged bird inside the palace, knowing only what she has been told for her whole life and not allowed to learn about the world on her own. “Father can’t be wrong! He didn’t kill anyone, especially those of his own kin! He is the rightful king! You must be some Furion’s bastard child that survived like Father!” She then yelled behind her “Kyri, stop making mist and help me bring them both to Father and have them admit they are wrong!”
“Yes, my lady.” The mist purred. Slowly the hill of mist stopped flowing and came to the ground, coating over all physical objects.
Then it became all too clear what a living Makkian lord looked like. Kyri stood eight feet tall in the shoulder and outclassed Shade in practically every way. The tiger stripes were black and orange from her pink nose to the nearly articulating tail that twitched with enjoyment at a decent fight. Kyri’s sabers were fifteen inches long, three inches longer and more deadly than Shade’s. Then the large female Makkian gave a puff of smoke out of her mouth to show she was ready to incinerate someone. She knew the only threat came from the Shadow Fang and kept her brown eyes locked upon him for she knew Shadow Fang’s were tricky.
At Shade’s growl Kyri grinned to show her teeth that she would be glad to use against him. Shade stalked sideways, away from the stage that could now be seen. The mist continued to be blown by the slow breeze, but the further it blew the more it dispersed. Kyri mirrored the movement and her flicking tail showed just how much fun she thought the encounter was going to be.
Before they even thought of fighting Alex pleaded “Zara, Kyri, please stop this. We don’t need to fight each other over your father’s twisted beliefs. Can’t we find common ground? Just tell your men to fall back and save their lives. I can tell death weighs heavily upon you. If we can find a peaceful solution I guarantee Allahandra will listen and find a way to negotiate something. And if we stop the fighting we can talk, cousin, and get to know each other. Our only goal is to remove Runkamon and give freedom back to our peoples. Will you consider it?”
She went quiet for a moment and the silence kept Kyri’s large pads of deadly and extended claws in place. Zara then shook her head as the moment of indecision came to an end. “Nay, Father gave me orders to lead the Guard and crush the opposition here in Alluan and bring our order to this unlawful land.”
“I see you are blindly following, just like so many countless others. It seems that you need to be shown what freedom is capable of doing to a Furion.” Alex lifted his sword and his heartbeat nearly jumped through his chest and the heat of his body flared anew. “Come, Zara.”
She yelled as she jumped and brought her sword down and was surprised when Alex deflected the blow with his left wrist protector and threw off her balance. She had the undeniable strength of a Furion, but also the inexperience of true combat, or so he thought. When she landed she kicked Alex in the leg, forcing him to the ground.
At the initiation of her partner’s attack Kyri opened her maw as red and yellow flames billowed directly at Shade. He knew it was just a matter of time before a Makkian breathed its flames, but if it weren’t from Elo’s experience against Makkian it would have all been over. Shade took refuge in his shadow and raced around to tackle Kyri, but despite her advanced size and weight she jumped straight up and raked her finger thick claws across his back, but only minor damage was inflicted before he dove back down and tried all the tactics instilled in him from his master’s teachings. After a few more attempts at bringing her to submission Kyri had a four inch deep gash in her shoulder from his sabers, but that only flew her into a more violent rage of teeth, claws and fire.
The battle between Zara and Alex continued to get more intense with each blinding strike. As a male Furion, his strength was superior, but a female is naturally more flexible, far more than Alex has yet to achieve. Their swords clashed with such speed and ferocity that in some battles between Freelan and the Royal Guard they stopped fighting completely to gaze in amazement.
They fought like in a dance, in that lone platform made to oversee the troops they made a flashing show as their silver-like weapons reflected the sunlight. Since the hills were practically nonexistent here they used the platform for it separated them from any outside influence and allowed them to fight unhindered. They jumped, kicked, punched, struck, slashed and were practically equal. The only way Zara could have achieved such skill with the sword would be from a master swordsman and many, many hours alone to practice. If she was caged she would have had the time to hone such skills. Also she seemed to have more experience using her Furion abilities than Alex did and it equaled the fight to offset his strength.
As the battle continued for ten minutes, without a moments rest, Alex’s exhaustion grew on. As a Furion he could use his abilities for nearly two days continually, but a battle of this nature, and the fact that he was fighting an army nonstop for nearly thirty minutes before this confrontation, had taken its toll. His muscles felt like they weren’t there and the intense strikes numbed his arms and wrists from deflecting the onslaught forced upon him. His skin was sweating excessively from the extensive exercise and all the heat he produced.
As he cut her at the elbow he thought he had won, but then she proved she was just as adept with her right hand as she lunged the blade forward and pierced his right ribcage and cut through the bone, but intentionally missing all vital areas. If he didn’t have such reflexes and leaned back to make the wound shallower she would have went clean through, piercing his lung.
Damage had been done regardless and the pain it caused was enough of a distraction for Zara to punch Alex in his diaphragm with her wounded left elbow and forced the remaining wind from his lungs. Dropping to his knees was the only outcome for exhaustion, pain and breathlessness couldn’t allow him to keep him standing anymore.
Ava feared for Alex’s life and dove between them. She filled her lungs as she startled the female Furion. Ava forced the air out, but she had shrieked too many times earlier and her voice was pitiful as her yell only made Zara shake her head to clear it.
Alex watched as Ava had used the last of her strength in that final yell, that did little more than be a moments distraction. She fluttered to the ground tired, to stand between her master and the warped reality forced upon Zara. She breathed heavy through her open beak and stood with all the pride she first showed him back at her home, but he knew she was done and couldn’t fight any further.
Movement brought Alex’s attention to his left and the horror turned his burning blood into ice. Kyri had gotten under Shade and flipped him like he was a child’s toy and his head cracked against a rock, making him lose all sense of equilibrium. Shade practically went limp as he momentarily forgot where was from the pain. Then the behemoth Makkian placed both enormous forepaws on him and sunk her extended claws into him. The added pain cleared his foggy mind, but the weight pressing was too much to struggle against. Then she opened her maw and was going for his throat.
They were all done for.
Then he saw irritation flash in Zara’s eyes as she swung her sword for Ava’s legs. And the sight of his siblings about to be harmed made him gasp.
“ENOUGH!” He shouted as his will surged out and pressed itself upon everyone within earshot. His Dominance couldn’t be defended against as all had to obey his will. Alex was in control for the moment and he held onto the advantage with an iron grip. His will was so strong and heavy that both Kyri and Zara stopped their assaults without hesitation. Then they and everyone else turned wide eyes upon him. He had complete control of the situation and from the look on Zara’s face, she didn’t understand what was happening.
Alex removed his Furion strength to focus incredible heat to the wound in his chest. As he tried rapidly healing the damaged tissues he felt even more exhausted from all the fighting, but he forced himself to his feet. A deadly look was given to his cousin and he could sense that she didn’t choose to do this and no matter how much anger she had, she didn’t have the capacity to kill him or any other living creature. Her attack would have only wounded Ava to remove her as a threat. She could distance herself and watch others die, but bringing herself to take a life was beyond her. Kyri on the other hand could kill for the both of them, but he could see how devoted she was to her partner.
His will never wavered and only became heavier nor did his tone of authority rise above a conversational level. Clutching the wound at his chest, to slow the bleeding he stood tall, while healing with his ability to control heat. “Holster your weapon, Zara.” She did and the weight of his words forced her to expedite her movements. “Call for a full retreat and tend to your wounded. We are done here. If you wish to continue fighting this day you and this entire force will be decimated before nightfall. Leave the area immediately and have Runkamon tell you the truth about how he killed our relatives for his own gain. If you still feel like fighting alongside a heretic and honor-less murderer, come back and we will settle our score. But tell him his nephew is coming for justice and he will be held accountable for each and every atrocity he committed.”
His silence weighed increasingly heavier as she had no other choice except to obey. She turned and spotted a general nearby, under the same weighted influence emanating from Alex. “General, call for a full retreat!” She cried as the weight lifted slightly after obeying. “We will tend to the wounded first and meet up with the main force a month away.” With that the burden pressed upon her became bearable, but she didn’t have the capacity to move away just yet.
As Alex heard
three short horn blows and one long one from the general’s aid, the troops in his peripheral vision began a hasty retreat back to their camp. “Kyri, you are a good partner. Keep Zara safe and return to Ra’van. You aren’t evil like Jerkin or you wouldn’t have toyed with Shade for as long as you did. You only struck when Zara inflicted a serious blow upon me. Go and find the truth of the situation as well. If either of you come back we will gladly talk.”
His Dominance kept her from talking, but she nodded and walked over to the platform. Zara didn’t want to disobey the weight anymore and jumped on her partners back.
Then together they retreated with the remaining army with haste to get out of the strange feeling pressing upon them.
With the weight removed, Shade regained his senses and mustered the last remnants of his strength just to stand. He limped over, favoring his right foreleg from where Kyri dug her nails deep in his shoulder. He carefully watched the Royal Guard running back from the full retreat and growled at any who got too close. They spread out far and wide once they understood the warning.
Then a chorus of cheers filled the air as Freelan knew that a full retreat had been called and they had their first victory. Freelan didn’t even try to hinder the retreat for it wasn’t necessary to cause any further bloodshed. News of this feat would stretch far in wide and give hope to those that wish for freedom.
A familiar howl gained Alex’s attention and Crest, Clift, Beta and several other loyal pack members were running straight for him. Their riders swarmed around the platform protectively.
Once surrounded by a wall of bloodied fiends and powerful warriors Alex collapsed from exhaustion. His Dominance waned and its support was the only thing keeping him on his feet and seeing both Shade and Ava alive made his struggle useless. Lily saw this and shrieked “Alex!” for she didn’t know what was happening or if he was gravely wounded. She pointed and Crest ran to the edge of the platform. Lily then grabbed the ledge and jumped to find Marlin had the same idea and was already racing across the platform’s surface.
Furion's Trials (Book Two of the Items Trilogy) Page 55
