by Ivan Kal
Vin was struck speechless, and could only stare in shock.
“You are surprised?” the cat asked. “You knew that this would happen, the moment you took my essence.”
“I thought that there was no sign of your remnant. I had hoped that there wouldn’t be anything left of you.”
The cat released a loud and grinding boom of laughter. “Then you are a poor hunter indeed! One does not hope for a better outcome. One prepares for the worst.”
“What is happening? Where am I?” Vin asked. The cat did not seem to want him to come to any harm, he thought—at least not at the moment.
“We are in the plane of your soul. I must say that I find myself liking it, even though there is nothing to hunt here. It is…peaceful.”
“The plane of my soul?” Vin asked slowly.
The cat seemed to know exactly what he wanted to know. “What did you think would happen when my essence encountered your soul? We are now one—two halves of the same.”
Vin looked on in astonishment. Nothing in the records had suggested anything like this. Something occurred to him, something deeply worrying. “Then…”
“Yes, I am in control now.”
“No, she will kill me! Kill us! You need to give me back control!”
“I need do nothing, little cub. You are the one that lost himself in his rage. You are the one who lost control. You killed my body, and now yours will do.”
Vin shook his head. “I know, but she is stronger than this body. She will kill us both! If I am in control, I might find a way to escape,” he tried desperately.
“What do I care for her strength? I have hunted things stronger and faster than I am before. I have ripped the flesh from the masters of the sky themselves. I am the Hunter.”
Vin tried to think of anything to say, anything he could do to regain control of his body. “Please,” he said with his head bowed. “Let me at least die as myself.”
The cat looked at him appraisingly. “That I can understand.”
“Then w you let me regain my control?” Vin asked.
“Hm… Perhaps,” the cat said slowly. “If you promise me one thing.”
“Anything,” Vin said.
“Do not let us die.”
Surprised, Vin frowned. “I don’t know if I can promise that.”
“You could’ve lied.”
Vin looked at the beast and shook his head. “No, I couldn’t have.” Not if he wanted to die a death worthy of a spirit artist.
“Perhaps that is enough for now. Perhaps we can grow strong together.”
Vin felt himself lurch, and then he was falling. Sensation returned to him, and he slowly opened his eyes.
The courtyard was a mess—broken stones and small craters were everywhere. The rain seemed to be falling even harder, with lightning sending flashes of light into the courtyard every few moments.
Ming Li stood in its center, her four serpents turned toward him and steam raising above them as rain fell on their bodies. Ming Li seemed to have a new wound on her shoulder—something that looked surprisingly like a claw wound. He looked down and saw black, smoke-like ki evaporate from him, and his body emerged. On his hands he had something that looked like crystallized gauntlets made out of blue ki that were tipped with claws. They shattered and ki scattered into the ambient.
“Ah, I see that you are back,” Ming Li said, but her voice was strained, angry, and she glowered at him. “At least I will have the honor of killing you as a man.” Her serpents reared upward, preparing to strike.
Vin felt strangely drained, his ki nearly gone, and he looked at them without even trying to escape—but then a shout snapped him out of it.
“Vin! Move!” Kyarra’s voice rang out, startling both him and Ming Li. Her voice spurned him into motion, and he Wind Stepped away to the roof of the mansion, his feet touching the tiles and crumbling as he had no strength to hold himself. Ming Li stayed in the middle of the courtyard and her eyes turned to look at Kyarra just as she slammed her staff into the ground. A circle appeared on the ground, taking up the entirety of the courtyard—and, all within a moment, thousands of chains made out of light exploded out of the ground, all wrapping themselves around Ming Li. Kyarra raised her staff and whispered a word, and then the world went white.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
KYARRA
How could I have been so naive? We gave them our trust, our devotion, our love—only to realize that they were not better than us. They were us. How could we have known that they would be cowards, that they would abandon us?
–Excerpt from the Journal of Vardun Con Aroch
Kyarra watched as Vin tried to fight Ming Li. She saw exactly what he’d meant when he’d said that she was stronger than him. She had shown more effort when fighting Kyarra than she was with the other spirit artist. She slowly climbed to her knees, holding her staff in both hands. Her thigh and upper arm were hurting badly, but she pushed pain away and looked at the two of them as they fought. Vin was attacking almost recklessly with his spear, and Ming Li was evading as if it his actions were nothing to her.
Kyarra, seeing that she was forgotten for the moment, checked her spells. The binding she had placed on the courtyard was still dormant—she needed only to activate it. The problem was that she knew it would hold Ming Li only for a moment.
Kyarra drew a new glyph and checked on her other spell the one she had set up prior to their fight, which was high in the air above. It was almost ready. She debated trying to help him now, but decided to wait. She only need a few more minutes, and then she would be ready. She had been lucky that Ming Li hadn’t noticed her spell, but with so much anima being thrown around the city, and her own spells in the courtyard it was hard even for her to see it, and she was the one who cast it. Now that she had actually fought Ming Li she realized just how inexperienced she truly was. She could’ve casted the spell before the fight in preparation, but that would have signaled to all the mages in the city that she was back, and they would’ve worked to counter her spell. She needed the cover of the chaos in the city and she needed to keep Ming Li focused on something else. Vin had warned her that Ming Li would be able to counter any spell if she saw it coming. It was best that she remained forgotten for now—
A sharp crack drew her attention back to the fight, and she saw Vin hitting a wall of the mansion.
Ming Li was shaking her head in disappointment. “So much for the great Kai Zhao Vin. It would be a mercy to end you now,” Kyarra heard her say. Ming Li started walking toward Vin, and then stopped, as Vin’s body began to…change.
Black smoke was rising from his body, wrapping itself around him until only a vague shape remained. He stood up, and even though Kyarra couldn’t see his features, she felt him stare at Ming Li.
“Oh, how far you’ve fallen! Lost yourself to the beast,” Ming Li said with a sad smile. She raised her blades, and they caught fire.
Vin took a step forward and blue smoke started seeping through the blue on his hands, moving to cover all up to the middle of his forearm, and then it crystallized into two gauntlets with sharp endings on the fingertips, almost claw-like. He crouched, more like an animal than a man—and roared.
The roar shook Kyarra down to her bones, and it seemed to have the same effect on Ming Li. She almost didn’t manage a parry when Vin suddenly appeared above her and swiped down with his clawed hands. She brought her blades up at the last moment, and the parry shook the air itself and the stone beneath Ming Li’s feet cracked. She yelled out, and two orange serpents exploded out of her blades and struck Vin in the chest, throwing him back. He twisted in the air and landed on all fours—he moved like an animal. Then he jumped forward again, disappearing from sight.
Kyarra could not see him, but Ming Li lashed out with her serpents and hit him as soon as he appeared behind her, sending him skipping across the courtyard, taking chunks of stone with him. He slammed into a wall, but shook himself off immediately and attacked again, this time from a low positi
on. He swiped at the stone and ripped chunks and debris from it, sending them flying at Ming Li. The debris surprised her and forced her to take a step back and use her blades to deflect the projectiles, something Vin used to his advantage by swiping at her from the side. She managed to get a blade up to parry in time, but his attack was so powerful that it picked her up from the ground and threw her across the courtyard.
Ming Li slammed into the wall and turned her eyes on Vin. She snarled and her flames turned blue as two more serpents appeared. She disappeared and appeared behind him, all four serpent heads crashing toward Vin’s back. He turned just in time, and his hands flashed out, parrying all four with his claws.
Kyarra felt her spell reach completion, and immediately she prepared herself to cast it. She was looking for an opportunity, but they were moving too much. They had been lucky that Ming Li hadn’t noticed it. It had been their plan all along. The fight was a distraction. She just needed one moment when Ming Li was still—and she needed Vin to get away. She didn’t even know if he would listen to her now, though, considering the state he was in. He had obviously lost himself in some kind of a trance.
Vin jumped back away from Ming Li’s serpents, getting out side of their range, and then smashed his hands into the ground, ripping out a huge piece of stone. He hurled it at Ming Li and then disappeared. Ming Li smashed her four serpents into the center of the stone slab and then ripped it open. As she did that, Vin appeared among the debris itself, and Ming Li’s eyes widened. Her serpents started arcing back toward him, but he roared and a visible wave exploded out of his body. Ming Li and her serpents froze, and his hand swiped down and slashed across her shoulder all the way down to her chest. Blood flew from her, and Kyarra felt her breath caught in her throat.
The serpents, acting seemingly of the own accord, grabbed him and threw him aside. Ming Li stood in the center of the courtyard, glaring at Vin as he crouched and growled softly. Then something rippled over him, and he straightened. The smoke started to abate, and his face became visible, as soon after did his entire body. Finally, his gauntlets cracked and scattered.
Ming Li’s eyes narrowed at Vin and her serpents hissed silently. “Ah, I see that you are back,” Ming Li told him, and Kyarra saw her chance. “At least I will have the honor of killing you like a man.”
She triggered the greater binding as she yelled out, “Vin! Move!” He didn’t even glance at her, yet he obeyed her instantly.
The binding triggered and surprised Ming Li, who reacted a moment too late. The chains wrapped around her, keeping her in place as Kyarra raised her staff and whispered a word, activating the spell from above. A wall of anima sprung around Ming Li, stretching to the heavens and containing her inside and protecting the city. And then a massive bolt of lightning anima, collected from before she had even started the fight, crashed down in a single bolt of burning light. It hit the center of the courtyard and the ground shook at its power as a clap of thunder echoed off the mountain. The containment shattered into pieces and Kyarra’s eyes hurt at the burst of light, even though she had looked away.
Kyarra struggled to get to her feet, the burn on her leg sending a burst of pain each time she moved, and the mental tiredness she felt from holding the spell-construct for so long made her feel dizzy. But she managed it by leaning heavily on her staff. She looked at the center of the courtyard as the smoke and dust started clearing. A crater at least three paces deep began from the edge of where the containment shield used to be. The rest of the stone in the courtyard was lined with spider-web cracks all leading up to the crater. Then, as more and more of the smoke cleared, she saw a form in its center.
At the bottom of the crater, down on one knee, with her blades raised above her head, was Ming Li.
Kyarra looked on in disbelief as the smoke cleared and she could see her completely. Her serpents were coiled above her, or at least what was left of them was—it almost seemed as if the serpents had been melted, if serpents made of fire could even be described in such a way. They slowly fizzled out into nothing, but Ming Li still remained there. Her breathing was ragged, but she was very much alive. Her clothes were torn and she was covered in blood. It leaked down her face, from her eyes, nose, and even her ears. She coughed, and more blood and spittle left from her mouth, most of it spilling down her chin. Her bloodshot eyes glared at Kyarra with a hatred that chilled her to the bones.
“That’s impossible,” Kyarra whispered to herself.
Vin suddenly appeared next to Kyarra, and almost stumbled, going down to his knees before he stood back up with obvious effort. He looked at Ming Li and she returned his stare as she slowly raised her knee from the ground to stand upright. She lowered her blades to her sides, and they ignited once more. In response, two blades slowly appeared in the air above Vin’s shoulders, and the two of them glared at one another for a long moment.
Then, faster than Kyarra could even process, Vin’s blades flew—and Ming Li jumped out of the crater, deflecting one of the blades as she stepped and ran toward the cliff. Two more blades appeared and then flew toward her, but she crouched and launched herself in the air, cracking the stone beneath her and falling down toward the city. Vin took a step after her but stumbled and fell, catching himself on his hands.
Then slowly he turned to look at Kyarra, giving her a weak smile. “We won.”
Kyarra sighed and her hands lost their strength, making her slip forward as her staff crumbled into mist. Vin stepped closer and caught her before she could fall, and held her gently. He looked over her wounds carefully.
“We need to get you to a healer,” he said. She nodded weakly, not having the strength to talk.
She felt him pick her up and them starting to move, and then her eyes closed and she slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
* * *
Kyarra woke slowly as warmth and light hit her face. She turned toward the source and saw light coming in through the window. Everything hurt, but she forced herself to take in her surroundings. She was in a large bed in an unfamiliar room. Her eyes searched the room, until she finally noted two figures sitting on a couch that had clearly been brought in there. Vin and Ashara were sleeping, leaning on each other. Kyarra relaxed, knowing that she was safe.
She took the moment to study them: Ashara’s face seemed scrunched up in worry, while Vin’s seemed calm and collected. His forearms were wrapped in bandages, and the cuts on his face seemed to be on their way to healing completely.
Then Vin’s eyes opened, and he looked straight at Kyarra. He shifted and Ashara woke up as well.
“Kyarra!” Ashara exclaimed as she stood up and walked over to the bed to look down on her. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I was dropped off a cliff,” Kyarra answered, attempting a smile.
“Don’t worry, you are going to be fine. Master Jeressi has assured me that you will recover fully in a couple of days.”
Kyarra nodded weakly. “What happened? And where are we?”
“We won,” Ashara said triumphantly. “Commander Atiok and his forces defeated the Lashian forces in the city and he and Master Jeressi are keeping the city under control,” Ashara said.
“And we are in the palace,” Vin chimed in. “It seemed the safest place. While we do control the city, there are still a few Lashian soldiers unaccounted for.”
“Ming Li?” Kyarra asked.
“Escaped,” Vin said darkly. “A group of Lashian soldiers and mages managed to take hold of the water gate, and they lowered the chains and took one of the merchant ships in the harbor. They escaped north, toward the Empire. Ming Li was seen by some of the troops getting on the ship with them.” Kyarra shuddered—she still couldn’t believe that Ming Li had survived her attack.
“There is…an issue that you need to deal with, Kyarra,” Ashara said slowly and uncomfortably. Kyarra looked at her, trying to discern what she meant. “Let me get Master Jeressi and he will see if you are well enough to handle it,” Ashara said quickly, and then left the
room suddenly.
Kyarra shared a look with Vin. “Not going to tell me, are you?”
“It’s not my place. You’ll know soon enough.”
Kyarra still wanted to press the matter, but decided to leave it alone. She closed her eyes to rest a bit more until Master Jeressi arrived.
* * *
A few hours later, she had found herself in the King’s state room surrounded by Commander Atiok, Master Jeressi, and Lord Haris Olos—his presence surprised her a bit, as he was a lower noble, but she had learned that he had been instrumental in moving weapons and helping Commander Atiok’s forces deploy across the city. And, with so many nobles actually in collusion with the Lashian Empire and other suspect, he was now the most trusted one in the city. Ashara and Vin stood at the end of the room near the doors, watching, but staying out of it—and Kyarra swore that she could see Ashara grin at her at one point.
“Let me repeat myself, if you didn’t hear me the last time—I am not doing that!” Kyarra told the three angrily.
“My lady,” Master Jeressi started slowly, almost as if afraid to anger her. “I don’t think that you understand. You don’t have much choice. The people have decided.”
“Well, they can pick someone else!” Kyarra said hotly. “There must be some distant relative out there!”
“There are,” Master Jeressi said uncomfortably. “And they had been working with the Lashians to smuggle in their troops.”
Kyarra grimaced, then turned to Commander Atiok. “You can’t believe that this is a good idea?”
“Actually, I think it is a great idea,” he said. Kyarra glared at him—traitor.
She then turned to Lord Olos. “And you? What do you think?”
The man looked so out of place that she was almost sorry to have asked him, but he managed to gather himself and answer her. “Unless you take the throne, the nobles will try to take it for themselves—and not only will there be civil war as they try to outmaneuver one another, it will leave us weak to defend ourselves. Their names do not carry the weight of yours.”
