Crimson Warrior

by Amanda McLaren

  The warrior began to duck my blows and swing harder, faster. I blinked as I tried to follow her. Whenever she ducked, I seemed to lose her for a moment. When San ducked, spun up and struck, I felt the sting of her blade.

  //I swear love, your stance isn’t right. //

  “My stance is fine.”

  The next time she pulled the move I barely blocked it. I couldn’t seem to strike her when she ducked, or follow her rapid spin-strike-parry. I felt another sting.

  “DOWN GIRL!” I shouted with another charge of magic into my lover’s mind.

  Anshumali doubled over. Her weapon vanished as she held her head. I quickly soothed the pain, coming to help her up.

  “Hold up.” Sybel came toward us. “I see the problem.”

  “I see several, actually.” The Azhi grunted through clamped jaws. “Any idea on solving them?”

  “Yes.” She sounded triumphant. “That wonderful magic of hers could be a start. But she’s gotta practice first.”

  “That’s it!” I backed up, sheathing my blades. “No freaking way I’m doing that to her again!”

  San flinched. “Baby, I’m fine.”

  “No. A thousand times no.” An idea hit my mind, making me smile roguishly. “Can we invite Chrono?”

  Sybel snickered, but I heard Ryeger sigh as if in frustration as San shook off the last of her pain.

  “Love, sorry but I’m not flying all the way back to ask Chrono if he’d let you experiment with magic and his brain.” San’s amusement echoed mine. “So we can do that tomorrow.”

  “Funny, San, but I don’t think that would improve their relationship in the least.” Sybel’s voice was hardly amused.

  //She’s giving me a dirty look. //

  “Xia, you have a link with Sanquility. So I want you to fight with me.”

  San’s anger riled with jealousy. It confused me. “What? Why? She’s less comfortable with you!”

  “That’s not why you’re angry, Anshumali. Why are you jealous?”

  //Are you kidding me? Fighting turns you on so bad. //

  “She’s less afraid to hurt me. She loves you, and your soul-bound. Your pain affects her.”

  “San, I don’t mind having a mock fight with an old friend.”

  “Sybel is happily joined with Ryeger. I am happily mated and soul-bound to you. Don’t talk to me about getting hot over a training skirmish.”

  San sighed.

  //What if she hurts you? //

  “Stop making up excuses. You know pain is a good teacher. It’s a part of war training. I’ll hurt her back, and work harder not to let her do it again. Besides, this isn’t a real fight. She won’t do more than give me a knock on the head or a little nick with the tip of her blade.”

  “If you seriously hurt her, I’ll snap you like a twig.”

  “San!” I rebuked her quick as a wink.

  “Just saying,” Suddenly our link merged to the point where we could feel one another’s emotions and pain. I gave her a rough look. Then I turned to Sybel as I unsheathed the double blade again. Chills ran down my spine from the excitement as my old friend approached me.

  “We’ll start from where you two left off, okay?”

  The air lit up as the Sybel swung her sword. I ducked just in time. I shot up, slicing at her with both mine in an almost scissor movement. Growling at the feel of empty air, I aimed low. She leapt out of the way. I blinked, giving her long enough to rush me. I was too slow to get out of the way; the hilt drove into my gut, making San and I both double over. Her elbow planted me face first into the ground.

  The pain was swallowed by my adrenaline. I rolled up, crouched and propelled myself at the woman. She evaded me swiftly. Instantly I lost my balance. Sybel grabbed me and steadied me.

  “Don’t watch the ground. Ignore the movement of the air.”

  I gasped, staring at her in shock. “You know?”

  “Yes, Xia; I know. Steady now; focus on me and my weapon, not the world around us.”

  A rush of images rushed through my mind.

  The world was a shower of shape and swirling color. I could see Sybel’s aurora opposite to me. Holding a scimitar, I charged her, and the two of us danced in a fight of grace and beauty. Even when Anshumali joined the deadly dance, I took both on with ease, not pausing in my step even once.

  Finally, when we were all exhausted, Sybel approached me. When she spoke, it wasn’t her voice, but I knew it was her.

  “Well done. I think you’re ready.”

  “You taught me well.”

  Then I opened my eyes, and the world was as it was before I’d been blind. Instead of Sybel and San, however, there were two different women.

  Panting hard, I stumbled several steps back. Sybel was on the ground. I realized my swords had been an inch from her throat.

  “Damn,” Sybel whispered; she sounded out of breath. “Wanna go again?”

  “…Okay.” I answered.

  “What happened?”

  //You moved with the vision. I don’t think it’d be wise to do this again. //

  “Love…I remember how.”

  //What are you talking about? //

  “How to fight blind…with second sight…how to fight in the Monobi style.”

  //…It’s like what the dragon said. //

  “Huh?”

  //You’re the First Guardian, and these are your memories! //

  “…San, don’t exaggerate.”

  //I’m not! You’re remembering your very first life! //

  “So how would that explain you?”

  //…Maybe I was one too. //

  “San, Azhi weren’t guardians.”

  //I wasn’t originally an Azhi. I don’t remember my first life. //

  “San, we’re not mythical spirits created by the gods to protect humanity. Nobody is; they’re just stories.”

  Suddenly a Gryphon landed beside us, and Callie leapt off. “Quinn took Vortix! We got Lyrea penned up in an Azhi-proof cage.”

  “I’m going to kill that bitch!” I snarled furiously.

  “No!” Sanquility shouted in horror.

  I whipped around to slap her. “She raped me! She kicked me out of the temple and is the reason my sister and now my son were kidnapped!”

  “But Xia, she’s my sister!” Sanquility implored with horrified eyes. “Would you want me to kill Fay, even if she was like Lyrea?”

  I shook my head. “Fine, but I’m getting answers out of that – out of her.”

  I whipped around – and there was Redemption, snorting and stomping his hooves. I was surprised when Sanquility got up behind me. “Why?”

  “You’re not facing her alone.” San told me gently. “I won’t let her hurt you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Get Fay to the safe room in the temple. Keep her and it heavily guarded. I’m getting information, and then going after my son.”

  “Why not just go after him?” Callie asked.

  “Why track him if we can head him off? If I find out where he’s going, I can meet him there.”

  Redemption took off toward Whitestone, no longer willing to stand around and talk.

  Chapter Six

  Son of the Crimson Blade

  ~*~

  Anshumali helped her lover down from Redemption. Kariken seemed almost in a daze. The Black Wolf tightened their bond. Out of nowhere a well of lust slammed into her, and then vanished. This happened several times. Abruptly, the Azhi realized Kariken was being completely guided by her dog. She didn’t even seem aware of the auroras around her.

  “Kariken?”

  There wasn’t even an acknowledgement that she’d heard Anshumali. The temple warrior seized the Azhi’s hand to squeeze it tight. Then the wolf woman felt it; Lyrea and Kariken’s magic charged the air like an electric storm.

  They came to the palace gates. Before Anshumali could say a thing, a guard noticed them.

  “What in the name of the Seven…?” He stared at the two of them with eyes
the size of dragon eggs. The black wolf wasn’t surprised that he took a step back. “Is everything alright?”

  “Yes.” Kariken’s voice was flatter than an anvil’s surface. “We’re Xia Leafsong and Sanquility the Black Wolf. We’re here to speak with the White Wolf, Lyrea.”

  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so formal.

  “Ah, yes.” He visibly relaxed. “Right this way please.”

  The gates swung wide to allow the four of them through. He glanced back anxiously every time Kariken’s magic spiked. Anshumali swallowed hard, feeling Lyrea’s magic strengthen and weaken at opposing intervals of the warrior’s swells and dips.

  …Exactly what is Lyrea trying to accomplish here?

  Instead of turning down the courtyard, the four of them went through two more gates before they entered a tunnel on the side of the barracks. They strode down a hall with a guard on either side of the corridor every few feet. There had to be at least thirty men. Between each guarding pair was a cell. Sanquility didn’t look at the twisted fiends locked away here.

  Most of them knew her, and knew her damn well.

  Kari smiled wide. Lyrea’s magic vanished.

  “Now to answer your question.” Kariken snapped out of her trance. “Lyrea was trying to override your takeover of her spell. I had to keep her off it...”

  //…Damn. So you…you’ve got to be pretty…um… //

  The warrior cocked an eyebrow.

  “Now, now, Anshumali; we’re here to get answers out of a criminal and traitor. Not make love in front of all your captured x-comrades.”

  There was a pause.

  “And x-lovers.” The Templar just had to add.

  Three guards barred the way to the next door. There were iron chains there.

  “Halt.” They all drew their swords. “None shall pass.”

  “Xia Leafsong and Sanquility the Black Wolf are permitted to question the White Wolf, Lyrea. Please escort them to her cell.”

  “Are you armed?”

  “Yes.” Kariken told him firmly.

  “Follow me, ma’am.”

  They were led down a hall smelling of blood and death. Kari’s breathing became shallow as her pulse hit a hundred and two. Her partner wasn’t far off.

  //This reminds me too much of the days in training for the Fallen One. //

  “It was this bad?”

  //Our cells were very like these. I think it’s why they’re kept this way, actually. Humans like to use the mind against us, and this is definitely one way to do it. //

  “He trained you in cells?”

  San cleared her throat as the man stopped at last.

  //This is why I don’t share with you, love. //

  He began to unchain the various chains barring the door. Opening it wide enough to let them through, he stepped back – way back. In a corner on a tight, magically bound chain was Lyrea in her true form. Her eyes gleamed with anger and pain. There was a ripple; a yelp of pain, and she was human. Nude.

  //I’m so glad you’re blind right now...//

  “Why?”

  There was a tense moment Anshumali tried to break by clearing her throat.

  “She’s naked, isn’t she?”

  //…Maybe…//

  “Welcome to my humble abode, Xia.” Lyrea purred sarcastically. “Common in; could I get you some whisky – or perhaps a plump hunk of boar flesh?”

  “Shut up.” San couldn’t take the snide remarks already. “You know why we’re here.”

  “You’ll have better luck driving that blade through my heart, dear sister, than me telling you what you want to hear.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Kariken led the way into the cell. Anshumali noticed Al’re remained by the door, sniffing anxiously. His fur rose along his spine; the animal let out a deep growl. The guard slammed it shut, but the sound of chains didn’t follow.

  “Where the fuck is that no-good mage and my son?”

  Lyrea cackled hysterically. “Lovely tactics, Xia.”

  To Anshumali’s shock, the warrior growled in pure rage and kicked the tied woman in the gut. It was almost painful not to pull her mate away from her sister.

  //Kariken, please…//

  “This bitch raped and beat me, threatened me and abused me. She ruined my career and helped that piece of filth kidnap my son!! You want me to be gentle? To the Abyss with that; she’s a damn traitor. Not even Alatek would forgive her.”

  //But, love…she’s my sister; my twin. //

  “Sisters protect. They guide and love. Lyrea steals, lies and ordered a mark on your head.”

  //Xia, //

  “…Fine. I won’t be too drastic. Just hope she gives us that information fast.”

  Lyrea snorted. “So, did you bring your watch dog as well as that filthy mutt? Or did Sanquility not trust you because you’ve screamed my name instead of hers more than once?”

  San snarled before backhanding her elder sister. “You will not speak to her that way!”

  “Where is Quinn, Lyrea?” Kariken demanded with a quivering fist.

  “Why should I tell you?”

  Kariken seized her by the throat. “If you don’t, I’ll make you beg for mercy.”

  Lyrea leaned forward to give Kariken a huge, forceful kiss. The white wolf flew into the wall a second later. Kariken began whipping off her mouth and spitting.

  Anshumali could feel her just barely containing all that pent-up rage. “This isn’t about our past. It’s about the future.”

  “Yes.” Lyrea gave a very twisted smile. “The future you can’t divert. A future with Vok Kree Drake enslaving all that will be left of your pathetic race after Quinn is finished.”

  Vok Kree Drake…

  Crimson Dragon the Immortal…

  The Fallen One.

  The sound of a breaking bone made San’s stomach churn. Lyrea’s screams caused Al’re to howl even with the door slammed shut. Anshumali couldn’t look away from the twisted shape of her sister’s broken leg.

  “Tell us.”

  “Die in vain.” Lyrea hissed.

  Her chains vanished. Out of nowhere the human was a huge wolf again. She rushed Kariken, pinning her to the floor and lunging for her neck. The wolf yelped in agony out of nowhere, for no apparent reason. She began to howl and snarl at nothing as she fell back to rub her snout and head all over the stone walls and floors as if she’d gone mad.

  Before she could come to her senses, Anshumali stabbed her through.

  Her sister’s white pelt stained crimson as she fell to the ground, dying and twitching in a pool of her own blood. Anshumali turned to her lover. “What in the name of the Seven did you do?”

  “S-San, I’m sorry. I just – I just defended myself.”

  Anshumali starred at her in horror. “How will we find them?”

  Kariken drew her lips into a thin line. “Actually…I don’t – I don’t know how, but…I ripped the memory of where they’re going from her mind.”

  The guard jerked the door open with a shocked gasp. “You were supposed to question her, not kill her!”

  “The chains vanished. She tried to kill us.” Xia told him very quietly; too quietly.

  There was a moment of quiet. “Did she tell you anything?”

  “Yes; and what they’re planning on doing.”

  “What?”

  “Tell Chrono that if we don’t find that damn mage, the portal to the Abyss will be opened. We’ll see a lot worse than a few shadow cats and enchanted Gryphons. Tell Callie Sanquility and I will be back with our son within the week.”

  The black wolf helped her mate up off the ground. She stumbled out of the cell. Anshumali reached for injuries. The only thing she could find were severely frayed nerves and memory after memory of Lyrea.

  “…I love you.” Anshumali’s voice shook.

  Kariken turned a blank, emotionless face to her. Her lover’s eyes seemed to bleed with need. “Believe me, baby. I love you too. Now let’s go get Vortix.”

 
Once again, Redemption met us there. To my surprise, Callie held a Gryphon in her grasp not far away. “Take Mi’roc, Vortix’s Gryphon. He raised her from a fledgling; she’ll help, if only to bring him home safely.”

  “Thank you, Callie. I’ll bring him home.”

  “I’ll fly him with Al’re. You ride Redemption.” San told me gently, mounting Mi’roc. I handed her Al’re and mounted my Unicorn.

  “Redemption, don’t outride the bird, okay?”

  He snorted.

  “Thank you.” I sent the image of the peak of the Mist Peak mountain range to him. “In case we get separated, they’re at Frozen Fang Peak.” I told my soul-bound.

  Redemption waited for Mi’roc to take wing before taking off as fast as the Gryphon could fly. I didn’t slow him down; for now, the Gryphon was flying as fast as he could, and we’d rest before he grew too tired to keep up.

  I woke suddenly in darkness, my heart racing, my mind spinning. I tried to get the images of blood out of my mind, but they wouldn’t leave. With a sigh, I rose to tend the fire, to give me something to do.

  Did I really kill all those people? Just to impress somebody who didn’t love me back?

  “…Xia? What are you doing up?” Sanquility’s voice took me by surprise.

  “…I can’t sleep.” I murmured.

  “Again?” Now there was a note of concern.

  “…Yes.”

  Sanquility rose to her feet, went to the pack and took out a flask. “I’ll make you some tea.”

  “I don’t want any fucking tea. I want sleep.” I snarled at her, turning to watch the red flicker and dance, devouring green and brown before twisting into the white and blue of the wind.

  “It’s medicinal; it’ll help you sleep soundly. You’ll get through this.”

  I sat down with a sigh. Redemption had forced me off his back this time; he’d refused to ride another second, and had vanished the moment I was off his back. Mi’roc was so tired he’d barely been able to safely land.

  Maybe these nightmares are because I’m worried about Vortix.

  Sanquility handed me salted meat.

  “I don’t want it.” I complained. My stomach was upset, and my body was too exhausted to want food.

  “I don’t give a shit if you want it or not. You’ve not eaten since dawn. The sun to a new day will rise in only a few hours.” Sanquility argued.