Difference between revisions of "PhoenixOfTheWest/Chapt04"

Latest revision as of 00:50, 9 June 2010

Part 3 | Story Info Page | WBM Home Page | Part 5

by Dissolvegirl

The most frightening thing about the warrior wasn't his size, or the fearsome demeanor of his strange, reptilian steed. It was the silence that set Oteitani's hair on end; even though he was possessed with demonic prowess, he still grunted and heaved and sweated under the mocking grin of the golden monkey. But this... this thing... it was silent. Tireless.

One of the few uninjured huntsmen lept into the air, tumbling to the left and bringing his sword to meet the belly of the reptilian stone-beast. A fine dust of stone and paint stung the man's eyes, and the warrior's mount bit him deep in his shoulder.

It was the man's scream that woke Taban. In his dazed state, for a moment he thought it was Osol whose distress called him to wake. The fear for his sister burned away the spiderweb fog at the edges of his consciousness, and he lept to his feet with preternatural speed, although he had to steady himself on a pillar once he was fully erect. Amidst the commmotion of the fleeing workers and the din of battle, he snatched up his staff and turned to run in the direction Lyeshe had gone.

Out of the corner of his eye, Taban saw the statue's sword headed straight for Oteitani.

Hot tears flowed helplessly down Osol's tanned cheeks, leaving cold streaks of anger in their wake. She could not believe her own frustration; two days earlier she was ready to call down her god's wrath on Stone Face himself; now she was fleeing, in blind servitude to a lowly Dragon-blood."Quit crying and start moving more quickly," Lyeshe snapped. "Your beauty will not save you if you hinder my progress."

Progress? Don't you mean retreat? Osol bit her tongue, remembering the look of horror and sadness on Taban's face as he recognized the collar. The dark metal encircling her neck moaned quietly; that, on top of everything else, kept the girl in a perpetual state of unease. She quickened her pace, mouthing a swift prayer to the Sun for Taban's safety-- only thinking what she was too prudent to voice. I don't know if thoughts count, but if you save me and my brother, you will have an offering. Her eyes locked onto Lyeshe's back, the brown embers burning with hate.

"Look out!"

Oteitani dove to the side as the warrior's stone sword battered against one of the many stone pillars, shooting a jagged crack through the thick support. The beast charged the young mercenary once more, apparently displeased by the injury to such a sacred place.

With one more quick glance in the direction Lyeshe had run, Taban joined the fray-- Oteitani was stuck between two pillars without much manuvering room, and despite himself, Taban could not allow the man to simply be run down. He dashed forward, bringing his staff down on the reptilian beast with all his might. The weapon clanged loudly against the stone, but it was to no avail. The great statue's sword cleaved through Oteitani's shoulder. The flesh flowed back into place, as if nothing had happened. Taban raised his eyebrows; the mercenary barely had time to respond with a scowl before swinging one of his twin weapons at the warrior's head with all his might. Taban could feel the energy crackling on the blade of Oteitani's axe as metal met stone.

The head of the stone warrior sailed through the air, forcefully hitting another stone pillar in the back of the hexagon. Its body, unfortunately, seemed unaware of the serious injury. Oteitani lept into the air, sailing easily over the top of the decapitated construct, landed another ringing blow on the statue's shoulder, and landed next to Taban.

"You fight your brothers," Taban panted, readying himself for the next onslaught.

"Shut up, we haven't got time!" In those few seconds, the warrior's beast had spun, and now both mount and rider were barreling towards the unlikely companions.

Taban dove to the side. He tumbled away from the great blade even as the heavy stone claws of the reptilian creature lashed at his side, making deep gouges on his ribcage. He let out a cry and continued rolling away, hoping for a few key moments to regain his composure.

The guardian's sword bore down on Oteitani with surprising speed. The mercenary's reflexes, though swift, were not enough; while he slipped to the left and out of the most deadly range of the weapon, its blade still grazed his arm. The axe fell from his hand, clanging uselessly on the ground. Forcing away a wince, he darted forward and swung himself up on the lizard-thing, riding the animal behind the stone warrior, his remaining axe at the ready.

The stone reptile bucked and spun, attempting to throw the unwelcome rider as the stone warrior tried unsuccessfuly to swing his sword around to strike Oteitani. Gritting his teeth, the mercenary hacked relentlessly at the silent construct, chipping away at the stone that formed the adversary. He held on tightly to the back of the warrior's golden armor with his off hand, desperately hoping that he could disable the device before the sweat and blood dripping from his hand caused him to lose his grip. His fingers ached, and his chest burned with every breath. The flesh on his arm, deeply gouged by the claws of the strange beast, strained as injured muscle contracted and relaxed, slowly ripping even more under the stress of his grip.

The susurrous wind brushed petulantly against Osol's skin, begging for her attention. She brushed a strand of hair our of her eyes in irritation, and for a moment, she thought she might have tasted salt on the wind.

"Where are you taking me?" She demanded.

Lyeshe's eyes flashed with frozen disgust at his Anethema prisoner; Osol's blood ran cold. Lyeshe's face sharpened into a condescending smile. "Why bother telling you? You'll just forget anyway."

Osol's face flushed in anger. "I'm not some child who can't remember something for more than a few minutes."

As soon as the sentence was past her lips, pain shot through her body like a bolt of lightning. She stifled a cry, and her hands flew instinctively to the strange, dark metal encircling her neck.

"No need to be indignant, my child. I simply mean that the collar you wear will erase your memory of everything you hold dear, soon enough. Your family, your life before me... Even the Anethema, Uyaash."

She blinked in shock. "Taban. His name is Taban." She repeated her brother's name, more to herself than to her captor.

Lyeshe simply laughed. "Come along, child."

Osol closed her eyes for a moment, and then hurried along. He may say what he likes, but I will remember. If a god can breathe sunfire into a man, if a man can make mountains tremble, then I can remember.

The statue stopped moving, and Oteitani's chest slammed forcibly into the armor of the headless warrior, knocking his breath away in a painful gush. After a moment, he pulled himself back slightly, wondering at the construct's sudden stillness. He glanced over at Taban, sweat trickling down his face and stinging his eyes.

Taban held up the head of the warrior, or rather, what was left of its face. "The purple stone that was embedded in the head was feeding the statue its power. I slammed it with my staff, and the force of the gem's destruction blew the head into chunks. You didn't see that?"

Oteitani simply blinked at him, his breath returning in hot, ragged bursts. "I was busy." He slid off the inert construct's back, landing painfully on his feet. He winced and looked around at the bodies strewn around the floor of the sacred place. "Lyeshe isn't going to be happy. Everyone's either dead or fleet of foot."

Taban shook his head, leaning heavily on his staff. "I doubt he cares about much. Although the runners are going to have it in for them if they're stupid enough to return to Lyeshe." He cocked his head, eyeing the other man intently. "Shouldn't you kill me now?"

The mercenary's shoulder popped loudly as he moved the bone in its joint. "I'll get around to it, don't rush me. I'm sore."

Taban's smile of amusement faded into a look of concern as he finally got a good glance at Oteitani's arm. "You're injured pretty badly. Let me take a look."

Oteitani snorted. "Yes, a demon who offers to heal his hunter. Now I've seen it all."

Taban's eyes sparked knowingly. "We are all something more than we seem," he stated quietly. "Now give me your arm." Taban took great care in walking towards the other injured party, holding his injured side delicately.

Oteitani gazed at the wound critically. "Shouldn't you fix yourself before offering your aid to others?"

Taban grinned. "If you're going to kill me, what does it matter?" Before the mercenary could reply, Taban reached out and took his arm. "This is pretty serious. You need a sling."

"I'll manage," Oteitani grumbled, glancing the way Lyeshe had gone.

Taban's eyes followed Oteitani's gaze, and his face contorted for a moment of grief. He looked down and tore a swath of cloth from his shirt. "Here, let me bind your arm."

Oteitani studied the Anethema's face with curiousity. "You care for that girl."

Taban's eyes remained on his work. "She's my sister."

"Another demon, you mean." The monkey hooted indignantly in the back of his head.

"She and I are chosen of the sun, yes, but that is not what I meant." Taban looked up and brushed the mercenary's hair off of his dark, sweaty forehead. A sunburst shimmered there, visible but faint. Oteitani's face flushed involuntarily as the Anethema's eyes lit on the brand of his personal shame.

Taban's voice was soft as he repeated himself. "You fight your brothers. Why?"

"It is none of your concern who I fight, or why I fight. I am in Lyeshe's employ. That is all."

"And does he know your secret?"

"It is no secret that I am the best tracker in the world. That is all he needs to know." The monkey's grin was ruthless.

Taban tied the makeshift bandage and stepped back. "Change this every night, if you can. You should heal quickly."

"I always do."

Taban's eyes flickered to the maze of pillars in which Lyeshe had disappeared. "Osol and I aren't demons. No more than you are."

Oteitani's eyes flashed. "Don't speak to me of what I am. You don't know me."

The other man smiled slightly. "But I know the Sun, and he shines on you even now. We are blessed by our god, not cursed, and it is an honor not to be discounted."

"An honor." Oteitani's voice was flat, his tone weary. He picked up the axe he had been forced to drop, and placed it in its sheath. He walked over to the ruined statue and ran his fingers over the golden armor. The golden monkey began a crazed dance of joy.

"It's orichalcum, you know," Taban said as he followed behind. "You should keep it. In the First Age, your kind were visonary generals and peerless warriors."

Oteitani glanced back at Taban in annoyance, his fingers still resting on the sunburst catches that held the armor together. "And what were your kind, meddlers who offered unwanted advice?"

Taban grinned. "At times, I'm sure we were. The fact remains, this armor is your right. It will suit you."

Oteitani carefully unfastened the armor from the statue. "I'm never going to wear anything like this. However, there's no harm in taking it. I'm sure that this much demon-gold will probably fetch a good amount of jade from the Immaculates."

"Your reasons for accepting the armor are your own."

Oteitani put the armor in a knapsack that had been abandoned by one of the fleeing huntsmen and slung it over his shoulder, holding it with his good arm. "If I ever see you again, I may have to kill you. Although as far as Lyeshe is concerned, I already have. At least, that's what I plan to tell him."

Taban nodded. "He has my sister. He will be seeing me sooner than he likes, that I'm sure of."

Oteitani nodded briefly, and began to make his way out of the forest of pillars. The armor on his back was heavy, and the cackling of the monkey in his mind was loud. This was not shaping up to be the best day.

Taban slumped painfully against a pillar, holding his ribs. The bleeding had long stopped, but he needed rest before he gave chase. Just a few hours' sleep..

Crooked teeth smiled in secret as oil-black eyes watched the scene unfold. Her thin frame hidden behind a pillar, it had been easy for Sanan to watch the two demons defeat the stone warrior. Once Oteitani had walked away, she waited in silence for Taban to succumb to unconsciousness. When his eyes were finally closed and his breathing was slow and even, she slipped away to find the Dragon-Blooded and his new prize. Master Lyeshe will find this interesting indeed...

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