So, Goo decided he wants to do some work to. And by work, I mean steal my chair.
First chapter
Previous: Chapter 12
Chapter 13 (A
losing battle)
The sun
began to set as Aisa crafted a wall of fire across her front lawn, separating
her group from the mayor’s.
Iomat
placed her hands on her knees, Versist—her azure-forged katana—stuck in the
ground in front of her. She panted while Rokki and Tesol knelt, eyes closed and
mumbling under their breath.
“Just give
up,” the mayor said from the other side of the fire wall. “With the heat from
the sun leaving, we’ll snuff out your little barrier in no time, and you’ll be
left starving and powerless.”
Iomat
gritted her teeth. “Jump off a cliff. And take your fools with you.”
“I’m sure
your boy would prefer it if you were more mannered,” the mayor said, voice full
of scorn. “Especially since he is most assuredly in our custody now.”
“The One
take you!”
“No, but I’ll
take him.”
“I’m going
to rip your heart out and feed it to my spiderchickens!”
The fire
barrier shook and wavered, and Asia grunted. Her face contorted in pain, and
her hands clenched into fists.
Iomat sat
on the ground in front of Versist and crossed her legs. “A few moments,” she
said in a low voice as she bowed her head. “Hold that barrier for a few more
moments.”
“No,
Sister,” Rokki and Tesol said at the same time, both looking up at her, “we’re
almost done.”
“I’m not
going anywhere until I kill that bastard, even if it’s the last thing I do.”
“It will
be,” Rokki said.
Tesol shook
his head. “Remember the last time you used Wind-Breaker?”
“Yeah,”
Iomat said, bands of gray wind swirling around her. “I won the Gladiatorium.”
“And you
were in a comma for a month afterwards.” Tesol closed his eyes. “And you’re not
as young and strong as you once were.”
“We’ll have
the tunnel finished soon,” Rokki said, “so don’t do this.”
The barrier
shattered, and Aisa hit the ground, gasping. The sun set, and streetlights
around the village came to life. Iomat stood and drew Versist from the ground
as the gray bands of wind encased her body like armor.
Eyes wide,
the mayor took a step back and grabbed the man next to him by the arm.
Aisa sat up,
groaning.
“Make sure
our way out is clear since there are probably more of these bastards around.”
Iomat vanished then Versist ripped through the mayor’s improvised shield,
splitting the young man down the middle. She vanished again.
Blood splattered
to the hard-packed dirt of Aisa’s front yard.
“Release
it!” The mayor darted to the left and dove to the ground beside a pair of
Regime Hunters.
A flash of
blue and gray sent both Regime Hunters’ heads flying.
Water and
wind crashed into the area as the mayor scrambled into the street, crushing the
bodies of the two Regime Hunters. Spears of stone hurtled towards Rokki and
Tesol.
Aisa’s
stomach growled, but she threw her hands up and unleashed a wave of fire then
turned it into hands to snatch the spears from the air and drive them into the
ground, shattering them. She panted. “How much … longer?”
Rokki
grunted.
“A few more
seconds,” Tesol said.
Breathing
hard, Iomat stopped in front of the mayor, Versist held out to the side, blade
facing him. “Last words.”
“He was
meant to be used against the One.” The mayor snapped his fingers.
Iomat decapitated
him then slashed his body from crotch to neck. Her knees gave out, and she
wobbled to the side.
A man
wearing a gag, a blindfold and some type of glass breastplate stood behind the
mayor’s corpse, and a boy began unclasping the glass breastplate.
“Finished,”
Rokki said as Tesol stood.
“Stop him
from removing the restrictor!” Aisa gathered a fist of fire and threw it at the
boy.
Iomat
regained her balance and charged him.
But both
were moving too slow. The boy’s fingers worked through the clasps before either
attack struck him down. The boy crumpled, and the glass breastplate clanked to the stone street beside him.
Iomat
ripped Versist free from the boy then fell backwards, stiff as a stretcher. With
the grace granted by water, Tesol slipped under Iomat and caught her before she
hit the ground. Versist clanged
beside them, and Rokki scooped it off the ground.
The stink
of sulfur filled the air. A crackling sound accompanied it as sweat beaded
every face. It was so hot steam rose from the ground. The stones in front of
Iomat began to melt.
“Get away
from there!” Aisa crafted a heat vortex to dampen the inferno gathering around
the man and placed it in front of him. Her stomach screamed, but she set her
jaw and held the heat vortex. “Hurry!”
The gag and
blindfold around the man’s face melted away, revealing filed teeth and long
hair that had been tied behind his head; his glowing red eyes were alight with
rage. Four crimson soul crystals were embedded in his chest. A red aura
expanded from the man, bumping up against Aisa’s heat vortex.
Tesol
lifted Iomat into his arms and spun, sprinting back towards the tunnel with Rokki
in tow.
Aisa
grunted, her heat vortex shrinking. “Get into the hole.”
Tesol
jumped in with Iomat, but Rokki stopped and said, “Not without you.”
“It’s
everything I can do to hold him.” Aisa groaned and dropped to a knee. “Go!”
“My nephew
would kill me if I did.” Rokki tossed Versist into the hole then scrambled
forward and grabbed Aisa by the wrist. He shifted the ground and used it to
fling them towards the tunnel as Aisa’s heat vortex vanished.
The man
slung both his hands into the air and howled. Fire swirled around him, white
hot, engulfing his form until he turned into a creature of fire. Then fire
blasted in every direction, rolling in a massive wave with a boom.
Rokki dove
into the hole with Aisa, squeezing the top twenty feet of the hole shut, using
the rocks to help slow their decent and pushing his power into the tunnel
itself to stop it from collapsing as everything shook.
Tesol
nudged Rokki with his boot, artificial light stuck to his shoulder to light the
way. “Are you alive, Brother?”
“Fine.”
Aisa pushed
up off his chest. “I’ll pretend that you’re not indulging Tima’s fantasies.”
Rokki
shrugged and got to his feet with her. “You did kill him before all this mess
started.”
Aisa
groaned. “Let’s go.” She stepped around Tesol and Iomat’s limp form, taking the
lead and heading towards Jutzoran, the first major city in this region and the
best way for them to avoid notice on their way to Yarsek.
Next: Chapter 14
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