Hey people. Sorry this chapter took so long, but I hope that it was worth it. Please comment on it, I really do like to know what you honestly think and I won't get grouchy at criticisms as long as they're justified. So please comment, writing is lonely and it's nice to hear from fans? Is fans the right word?... I don't know, either way, enjoyxxxx
Her eyes flicked to the right as her breath left her in short, quick gasps. She smiled. Her wrist was automatically circling, waiting for her next fight. She looked down. Sabres light glowed through the blood coating it, fed by her bloodlust.
She turned and looked at her surroundings. A huge, white temple stood burning; she could vaguely see the word "casino" still flashing through the smoke. A crash was heard and one of the gold topped turrets collapsed and fell onto the roof, bringing that down with it. She smiled again.
She walked over to what used to be the fountain, intent on cleaning her sword despite the fact that it might be used again. She caught her reflection in the water; she was a Queen covered head to toe in blood armour. It was a deep red colour, the magic in it nearly spent. She'd have to make a new suit before long.
Whimpers came from all around her, shifters, vampires, witches and humans had all tried to stop her, but nothing and no one had been able to penetrate her armour. Her sword once again clean, she gazed around the battle field and saw a lone figure limping towards her. 6:3 and nothing but muscle covered his body, his hair was shaved preventing anyone from grabbing it in a fight and he was completely naked despite the frigid chill in the air. Shifter.
He stopped a couple of feet away from her and said
"It doesn't have to be this way." His deep voice seemed to boom throughout the dead of the clearing.
She laughed as the blood armour retreats back into her skin. Renewing and refreshing itself, now she stood naked with him.
"It's always had to end this way, the moment our paths crossed last year it was written to end this way." Her voice was full of autocratic power; demanding obedience.
"But why? Why now? Why the vampires? Why her?" his voice equally demanding. How dare he demand something from her. She is a Queen, and Queens are obeyed, not questioned.
Her face twisted into a sneer as she felt a presence behind her. Quickly she turned and thrust Sabre into the vampire's heart. She grabbed what was left of its hair, withdrew her sword and with one blow, the vampires head joined its brothers.
"It didn't work last time, it won't work this time." She chided.
He sighed, knowing that his time was up. He felt the change come over him as anything human in him retreated into a faraway place in his mind. He could have no emotion in this fight. He grew another 2ft and grey, striped fur burst from his pores, covering his body. His head grew and transformed a snout grew from his mouth, his teeth elongated and a mane grew from his head and ran along his back. A roar ripped its way through the lions' mouth as the man finally gave in.
She saw the man retreat and released her own power. Blood burst from her skin in tiny needles and seeped across her body, covering it in a layer of armour of the brightest red. It continued to move all over her body even once it had formed. That's what people misunderstood about blood armour; it never stops moving. It's alive with magic; just people aren't able to see it.
Just as her helm formed the lion roared and lunged at her. She lunged to meet him and they collided in the middle and the battle has begun. They fought for what seemed an eternity, armour was ripped from skin and she screamed in pain. Fur and skin flew through the air causing the lion to roar. But finally she stood the victor and he knelt before her. Ligaments in his knees and he had a deep laceration on his chest. She held the sword to his throat, a cruel smile played across her face as the lion shrank until only a man remained. His features would never be stunning, but there would be no doubt that he was handsome.
"Don't do this. We can come back from this. Please Kate."
Her helm shrank back releasing her own mane of black hair and sharp features.
"Goodbye Curran."
She raised the sword in the classic executioners pose and brought it down…
"No!" I sprang up and hit my head on the roof of the car and fell right back down onto the seat. "Ow, mother of all things mercif-"
I was interrupted by a knock on my window. Grabbing my head and sitting up, I opened the window and smiled. The man smiled back (and not in a good way) and said
"Are you okay ma'am? You've been here for a day now and-"
"Wait what? A day? I just dropped her off…." My voice faded out as I tried to recollect what had happened. I remember dropping Julie off and telling the guards that something bad would happen if something happened to her…. Then I… I… Then what did I do? I looked down at myself and found that I was covered in blood. I recoiled and hit my head of the headrest.
"Son of a-"
Again the man interrupted me.
"If you come with me, I'm sure me and the lads can help you get cleaned up and find whoever did this to you." I heard a whistles and jeers come from behind him. I sighed and leant my very sore head against the steering wheel, hoping that the throbbing behind my eyes would stop for a second and allow me to think.
"Fuck you! What kind of idiot do you have to be to ask me to come with you whilst I'm covered in blood? I mean this obviously isn't my blood, if I'd lost this much blood, I'd be dead already." I turned to look at him. "You really are a fool." He didn't look scared. Or even worried. Something very wrong was going on here.
"But I'm a fool with a gun and your very interesting sword." He grinned at me whilst waving my scimitar in one hand and an assault rifle in the other. "Now out of the car ma'am." He took a step backwards to allow my out of the car whilst pointing the rifle at me. I could feel a strange sort of rage well up inside me, boiling in my stomach, but I squashed it down. I'd rather not be bullet fodder. As I stepped out of the car I took in my surroundings. I wasn't at the ley line anymore; all around me was tightly packed terrace houses, or what used to be terrace houses. Windows were shattered, doors were decimated and the roofs almost ceased to exist, and despite it being almost noon by the sun, everywhere seemed to ooze a darkness which made the sunlight sinister. A strange magic leaked out of the walls of the houses and I realised where I was.
I was out of the car now and could see the men behind the guy holding the gun (who I have now decided to call asshole), there had to be at least twenty of them and one of them appeared to be holding a dart gun. I felt my neck and yup, sure enough, there was a little prick mark there.
"Now put your hands behind your head and kneel on the floor." When I failed to do it quickly enough, Asshole waved the gun just to ascertain the fact that he was in charge. I sighed, rolled my eyes and swore. Even to me (and I'm no firearms expert) he clearly had no idea how to use the thing. For one thing, he was holding the rifle by the magazine clip. I knelt. Sometimes an asshole with no clue of how to use a weapon is more dangerous than one who does.
"So dickface, why did you drug me and drag me all the way to Unicorn Lane?"
"We're on a mission from the Goddess." Asshole stated proudly. Correction; make that deranged asshole.
"And do you happen to know why I'm covered in blood?" I asked stubbornly.
"Well you weren't exactly happy about what we were doing so before we drugged you, you took quite a few of us out with your sword here."
I tried remembering, but I couldn't remember a thing. The grin came across Asshole's face and I didn't like the look of it.
"Of course we were under strict instructions that you should not be harmed, but if you stay still, you're not going to be harmed by anything." He put enough emphasis into the word "Anything" that it left little to the imagination.
"So you think that by waving a rifle and my sword, neither of which you know how to use, in my face that I'm going to willingly lie on my back for you?" I asked incredulously.
"I might not know how to use them, but they do." And with that he gestured behind him where all of his friends decided to pull out a variety of weapons including, maces, rifles and swords.
"Go screw yourself!"
"That's what you're here for." He took a step forward. Why do I always manage to get myself into these situations?
"What Goddess do you serve?" I said, trying to kill time whilst I looked for a way out of this. Magic was a last resort, especially in my weakened state.
"What?" he looked surprised at the question. He took a step another forward and I made to rise but stopped when I heard the distinct clicks of weapons being readied to fire.
"What Goddess sent you to get me?"
"The Great Goddess Hecate." Asshole said as he took another step forward.
Great, Hecate. Goddess of necromancy, sorcery, witchcraft, animals and herbs and plants. Just what I need right now. Asshole took another step forwards.
"So surely she wants me unharmed AND unmolested." He was in front of me now; I could smell the dirt and the sweat which clung to him. I looked up at him defiantly. I would die before I let him touch me.
"She's the one who ordered this. She said it was my destiny, that you will be a Queen and I, you're consort." He said almost wildly. His eyes seemed glazed over and he reached out to touch her. This was my chance. Quickly, I grabbed his hand and bent it backward sharply and quickly until she heard a snap. A scream tore through his mouth and the rifle dropped from his hand. Snatching my sword from his other hand I put the blade to his throat and sliced through the soft skin and veins concealed within. I let him drop to the floor as his good hand tried to stem the blood leaking from his throat and reconnect the pipe which would allow him to breathe.
Looking up from the pathetic excuse for a man dying on the floor I saw his fiends stood in stunned silence; a crow flew overhead, releasing a shrill shriek which broke the men from their shock and as one, they charged, forgetting the actual use of their guns, bent on using them as clubs instead. As I looked at the oncoming horde I saw that they seemed to be in some sort of berserker rage. Spittle flew from their mouths, some of them were even foaming, their eyes didn't seem to comprehend what was happening and the ones at the front who fell were trampled to death by the rampaging men.
I took a defensive stance and waited for the battle which was to come when a bright, white light filled the street and there stood Artemis in all of her naked glory. The berserkers stopped bare meters away from me as they took in the Goddess. And boy did she look pissed. Spreading her arms wide I felt magic spill from her in waves, coating the houses and bringing them under her control. Quickly she brought her hands together and an ear-splitting crack echoed through the clearing, making me cover my ears. It was like standing next to a thunder cloud. All of the houses in front of me seemed to explode outwards, burying the berserkers in tonnes of already broken rubble. The noise was deafening and I wondered if I would ever be able to hear again.
Once the dust had settled and she was sure that all of the berserkers were dead, she turned to me and her features softened. Gone was the avenging Goddess, hell-bent on destruction and back was the Goddess that I knew, with the playful glint in her eye.
"Are you okay Kate?" her voice filled me with calm and I felt myself relax as the adrenaline fled from my body.
"I am now. Thanks for that." As I looked at her face, I fully took in her features. And realised how beautiful she was. I felt a strange sort of longing in my chest and felt feelings which I would reserve for a loved one. And shock came over me when I realised that I might like Artemis a bit more than a friend. She came closer to me, we were equal in height and I felt her breath on my face as she stared back. I looked into her eyes and saw the same longing that I felt. She placed a hand on the side of my face and I leant into it. I couldn't help myself. It was if I was spell bound.
"How did you know that I was in trouble?" I asked.
"I am the Goddess of virginity and when someone's is threatened, I am alerted of it. Of course you are not virginal in that traditional sense, but there are still many pure parts of you, physically and mentally, and no matter what you do, they will never be touched. Remember that Kate, no matter what you do or someone does to you, you will always have something pure about you. Let that part of you be your guide and you will never go wrong."
Hating to ruin the moment, but having to satisfy my curiosity I asked
"Why did Hecate order my abduction and almost rape?"
Artemis' face turned dark and she dropped her hand as she turned her back to me.
"Hecate did this to you?" her voice was filled with a strange emotion. Almost a cross between pain and anger.
"That's what Asshole said. He also said that I was to be a Queen and he my consort."
Artemis turned quickly to me, worry filled her face.
"Kate, are you sure that he said Queen?"
"Yer, but also, whilst I was drugged, I had a really weird dream. I dreamt that I was on a battle field, outside The People's Casino. I was covered in blood armour and I was a Queen. But I, I, I, I killed Curran." Whatever doubt she had fled from her eyes as she heard what I said and I knew that it wasn't going to be good news.
"Kate, I am so sorry." Tears spilled down her cheeks and she looked at me as if I'd just told her that I'd been sentenced to death.
"Sorry for what?" I asked nervously.
"I must go. Find your answers in Iphigenia." Her face contorted in pain and she doubled over clutching her stomach. Black veins started crawling their way up her back. I blinked and she was gone.