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Kyoko just managed to lower her friend to the ground while favoring her right arm. Kanae's body was seizing, her eyes blank and distant. One of her flailing arms banged into Kyoko's injured one. She bit her lip, resisting the urge to cry out. Her friend was in a lot of pain, but Kyoko couldn't attend to her yet.
Kyoko dug into her bag, thankful she was prepared this time. The bag had been enchanted to hold more than it should, much like her waterskin. Ever since Kuon had been poisoned she'd taken to carrying around basic medical supplies and spells around with her. It looked like the new habit served her well.
She grabbed a ring from inside and slipped it on, a small enchanted emerald resting in the center. She then placed a finger to her own cut, using the spell inside the gem inside to draw poison from the wound. Veins bulged across her whole arm as the trail of blood and poison followed her finger. This time Kyoko couldn't help crying out in pain as the poison was forcibly removed from her body. Her hands shook, but she was able to remove it all.
Tossing the residue aside, she did the same for Kanae. It took longer as the poison had had more time to spread. Once she'd gotten out all she could, Kyoko sighed and looked at Kanae. Her body had stopped seizing, eyes now closed as if in a peaceful sleep.
"Kanae!" said Kyoko, shaking her friend. "Kanae, wake up!"
The spear wielder stirred.
Kyoko let out a breath or relief, then dug through her bag again. She grabbed a bottle of salve and bandages, spreading the medicine quickly on her own arms before wrapping it with the cloth. She had just started patching up Kanae when she opened her eyes.
"You…" said Kanae, quietly.
"I took what I could of the poison out." Said Kyoko, finishing her makeshift bandage warp. The rest would have to wait until later. "I'm sorry. I had to take it out of myself before I could start treating you. If I started spasming before I was done, I could have really hurt you. You were in a lot of pain as it was…." She shook her head, erasing the image of pain on her friend's face. "We can do a better job and get you an antidote somewhere else. For now, I think this will have to do until we are safer."
"Good idea." Mumbled Kanae, already attempting to sit up. Kyoko quickly moved to help her, offering her a shoulder. They staggered for a moment before finding a balance of weight.
"Where should we go?" said Kanae.
"I'm not sure." Said Kyoko, thinking. "We could try to go back to the coliseum, but that might not be a good idea with all the people there. It would scare them to see injured people going in."
"Is there a command post or anything around here?"
Kyoko wanted to smack herself in the head. That's where she should have gone at the very beginning. There would be soldiers there that could have defended against Naomi. She was lucky it had all worked out this time but her carelessness could have gotten her killed.
"There's one nearby." Said Kyoko. "Let's go. The sooner we have shelter the better I will feel about all this."
Kanae nodded, leaning on Kyoko as they walked out of the narrow streets.
Not two minutes after the two women had left, the wall lit up with a circle of dark runes. The magic pulsed, then rippled as a person stepped out from the spell. Reino glanced around, his eyes noting the destroyed pieces of ground, one spot in particular catching his attention. A perfect circle of sand interrupted the uniform formation of stone, the residue of a spell hanging around it. Now that was interesting. It had been used with arcane magic, which mean 'that person' had been there. She was the only one that could replicate the spell without dark runes after all.
Reino grimaced, sensing something else in the bottom of the sand pit. It looked like the little kittens had come out as the winners in this battle.
Resisting the urge to sigh, Reino activated his transportation spell on the wall beside him again. He reached through, grabbing a handful of something before pulling. Sand fell out in piles at his feet, the pit slightly receding as he withdrew his hand. What appeared first was a tangle of hair before Naomi's head popped through. Reino released her, letting the woman fall to the floor as she lay there, trembling and gasping for breath.
"You're not supposed to be here." said Reino coolly. "Why aren't you at the stadium spreading the seeds?"
The woman glared daggers at him, the effect lost due to her disheveled appearance and tears streaming from her red eyes. Grains of sand coated her skin, her clothes and hair askew and disheveled. A nasty looking gash decorated her shoulder, the wound coated with sand, sticking to her blood.
Naomi opened her mouth to speak, but ended up letting out a hacking fit instead. Reino just watched her, expression lending neither sympathy nor interest. She was so disappointing.
"Shove off." snapped Naomi when she finally got her act together. "I could say the same of you. Weren't you were supposed to be spreading your portion of the seeds through the whole stadium as well?"
Reino shrugged. "At least I didn't disgrace myself by losing to a bunch of children, though, you are a woman so it is understandable if you couldn't do a simple job."
"You-"
Naomi let out a shriek of rage. She swayed to her feet, raising her weapons and poising herself for a fight.
"Where is the pendant I gave you?" said Reino calmly.
Naomi's whole body tensed, the fight in her eyes diminishing. Well that wasn't a good sign.
"She lost it."
Reino resisted the urge to jump. Instead he stooped into a low bow, Naomi scrambling to her knees as the Djinn swept into the alleyway, dark swirls of energy trailing the cloak. The hooded face turned towards Naomi.
"Does the girl Kyoko still have it?" said the Djinn.
Naomi licked her lips, her whole body trembling as she nodded.
"Kyoko still has the pendant." Said Naomi. "The seeds that needed to be spread have already been placed. The rest inside are just extra."
"You're so useless." Said Reino glancing at her. "I gave you all that I had, my relic can't supply an endless amount you know. If we don't get it back the plan could get set back again."
"This is all your fault in the first place!" said Naomi. "If you had actually been doing your job like you were supposed to I wouldn't have had to-"
"Enough"
Naomi closed her mouth, silenced by the sight of the Djinn coming closer to her. The woman sputtering her apologies, cowering, scampering backwards, pleading as the master approached.
A resounding snap echoed in the dark street. Naomi was flung sideways, the Djinn having backhanded her across the face. Blood sputtered from Naomi's mouth, the side of her face twitching from the pain. Naomi was not yet technically an Accused since she didn't have a Relic. Touching the master without being bound to him would sear both body and soul.
"I see I'll have to handle this myself." Said the Djinn, ignoring the cries from Naomi. Reino raised his eyebrows. Well, that was new. Since when did the boss do any dirty work? The hooded figure turned to Reino.
"Take us to the girl. I assume you got a good enough look at her soul while you were playing around. You should be able to find her even in this crowd. She shouldn't be far."
Damn. The Djinn knew him well. He closed his eyes resisting the urge to wince as he did do. He concentrated on the magic around him, shuffling through all the difference essences and souls that littered the area. He spread out his consciousness, looking, searching for that certain soul.
There you are…
Reino nodded, indicated he had found her.
"Good, now create a portal for us to get to her."
Reino wanted to sigh, but did as he was told. He raised a hand to the wall, wincing as he did so. He had never used this spell so many times in one day. It was becoming ridiculously tiring. The dark magic swirled, runes lighting up sequence before they blurred together, forming that dark hole with which they could travel through. The Dark Djinn went in first, then Naomi, cradling her face and glaring as she passed.
He prepared to follow, then stopped. He didn't mean to stop, but his body jerked, causing him to sway. He gasped, gripping his chest in pain. It lasted only a second, then he let out a deep breath, slowly withdrawing his hand. Reino glanced at his chest.
An invisible wound had sliced through his dark soul, cutting in the way only a light sword could cut. Straight through darkness and evil. It looked like the prince's sword had reached a little farther than what he had thought.
Reino pulled out a vile from his pocket, downing the contents before tossing the glass away. The pain receded, vanishing for the moment as Reino walked through the portal to see this to the end.
Koun cursed, jumping away from the wall of dark runes as they enveloping Reino. A second later, the magic dispersed, leaving nothing behind. Kuon dearly wanted to capture him and get out why not just twice, but three times Reino had tried to turn Kyoko, but the man's magic had proved too tricky. Hopefully the one strike he had managed to land would slow him down.
Kuon breathed in, calming his emotions before turning to go after Kyoko. He stopped short as Lory and Dyrus came around the corner. The two men approached, Dyrus looking distinctly ruffled.
"Lory! Dyrus. You're a little too late." called Koun, tired.
"So it would seem." Said Lory nodding towards the fading remains of the dark runes. "He got away?"
"Unfortunately and he was after Kyoko again. Did she tell you where I was?"
"No." said Lory looking a little confused. "Dyrus told me what happened. I haven't seen Kyoko all day. Is she alright?"
"She was a few minutes ago." Said Kuon, thinking. "I sent her to go find you…"
Dread settled in Koun's heart. She could have just missed Lory, it didn't mean she'd gotten herself wrapped up in something else stupid and life threatening.
He pulled out the locator. The pointer faced the opposite end of the stadium, the distance indicating she wasn't too far off. If his memory served him right, there was where a command post around that area. That was a good sign, she was probably still looking for Lory. Koun breathed a sigh of relief and pocketed the devise.
"Let's go meet up with her." Said Kuon. "I want to make sure she's alright."
Lory and Dyrus nodded in agreement, the three of them hurrying down the hall.
Kyoko and Kanae had gotten more than a few stares as they approached the command post. An injured concubine and female warrior was an odd enough sight that by the time they were starting to approach the post, several guards were coming to see what was going on.
"Mistress." said one of the guards. "Are you alright?"
"Help my friend." Said Kyoko, indicating Kanae. "She got the worst of it."
The guard ordered some of the others to help Kanae. Two of them took her from Kyoko's shoulder, the spear wielder grumbling about being fine the whole time. Kyoko staggered a bit at the change in weight distribution. Her arm was caught by the first guard. He began leading her towards the building, still holding her arm in support.
"What's your name mistress?" said the guard. "I am sergeant Jax. Can you tell us what happened?"
"My name is Kyoko." she said "Can you find Lory Takarada for me? I need to speak to him."
The sergeant's eyes flickered to the necklace, then back to her face, recognition in the expression.
"Of course lady Kyoko." said Jax. "But first let us get you inside and have a healer see to your arm."
Kyoko just nodded, letting him lead her behind Kanae into the building. They passed through the entry, taking one of the back doors into a much larger room. It was occupied by a few guards and tables, the men either talking, lounging or sparing. The activity paused as the group entered, everyone's attention immediately on Kanae and Kyoko.
The other two guards set Kanae down on a bench, careful with her injury. Kyoko immediately broke from her guard to go sit next to her.
"Where's Gabbit?" grumbled the sergeant to the men. "We've got an injured royal concubine."
"He's out on break." Said another guard. "I think he was going to go see the finals."
"We'll be fine, I'm an apprentice physician." Said Kyoko, grabbing some supplies from her bag. "If you could just let Duke Takarada know where we are that'd be great." She grabbed a needle and thread from inside, quickly sterilizing the needle with a burst of flame magic.
Jax gave her a look that clearly said he didn't agree with her decision, but he didn't question it. He ordered one of the guards to go look for the duke. The guard ran off, the rest of the men in the room sending Kyoko and Kanae curious glances.
"Can you tell me what happened Lady Kyoko?" said Jax again, coming to stand by her. "Were you attacked by someone?"
Kyoko exchanged a look with Kanae who just shrugged. How much of the story should they tell them? She looked back towards the sergeant, hesitating.
A muffled cry came from the front room. It was silenced a second later. Everyone in the room jumped up, hands reaching for weapons and enchanted stones. Even Kanae pushed Kyoko's hand aside to grab her spear, heaving herself to her feet.
"Looks like she might have followed us." Said Kanae, her comment drawing the attention of Jax.
"Who?" he asked.
"She's a little snake called Naomi." Said Kanae through gritted teeth. "Careful of her blades, there's poison on them."
"She's not the only one." whispered Kyoko, eyes wide. Her voice was shaking, realization coursing through her as she sensed the aura coming from the other side. She couldn't be the only person that felt it. The room was soon restless as the men shifted at Kyoko's comment.
"What do you mean?" said a guard. "Who else is coming?"
"Reino, and…"
The Dark Djinn.
The door to the outpost burst open. Reino and Naomi stepped through, the later looked a terrible mess. A bruise was rising on her cheek and sand covered her, sticking to the injury in her shoulder. As dangerous as those two were, it was the third figure that held Kyoko's attention.
That thing, the Dark Djinn.
Kyoko took a step back, the air of the room immediately pressing down on her. No one else was looking at the cloaked figure, they were all concentrating on Reino and Naomi, ignoring the third presence. Something Reino had said to her clicked. Hadn't he said something about being able to see the Djinn was unusual?
"I'm glad we found you Kyoko!" called Reino, waving cordially at her, seemingly oblivious to all the weapons and spells pointed in his direction. "You have something that belongs to this little colleague of mine. We'd like it back"
There was a flurry of movement as the men in the room attacked the group. Light and sounds assaulted Kyko's senses, forcing her to squint her eyes shut. A shout. The sounds of metal hitting the floor. Screams.
Kyoko managed to open her eyes, staring at the scene before her. Most of the men were down, only three standing beside her and Kanae. The sergeant was among them, one of his arms hanging limp as he backed up.
The Djinn stood before the other two, slowly lowering its arms. It had been the one that defended against all those attacks, and yet it didn't have a scratch on it.
Jax was cursing under his breath, shouting orders to the two that were left. A shot of fear ran through Kyoko. They couldn't see the Djinn. There was no way they could win.
"Wait! Jax." Yelled Kyoko. "You can't see it. There's something in the way. You-"
The Djinn shot forward.
Jax was hanging in the air, the Djinn's hand imbedded into the man's chest. A shrill scream ripped from the sergeant's mouth, turning Kyoko's blood cold. Shadows and runes lit up around the man, cutting into the ground and enveloping him in darkness.
Kyoko watched, horrified as the sergeant's eyes went dark, his body going limp. The body fell with a thud, the Djinns hand still raised. Resting inside was a shining object, round and full of life. The Djinn held it for a moment, then it shattered, the energy flying in all directions.
Kyoko felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart. She fell to her knees, clutching her chest, checking to make sure her own soul was in tack. Was that... had the Djinn just ripped out that Man's essence?
Dimly she was aware of Kanae and the other guards shouting, trying to figure out just what had happened. They couldn't see it. All they had seen was Jax suddenly being lifted into the air and having the life drained from him. They didn't completely comprehend the absolute horror of the situation.
"Hand over the stone girl." Spoke the creature.
The voice sent rippled of fear through Kyoko. Just his voice alone made her soul shake in fear. This was a being of complete darkness and evil. There was not a speck of light inside of its soul.
Kyoko rose, her whole body shaking.
"I-"
The words were fumbling in her mouth, unable to come out. She could only stare at the creature of darkness. Then it began to approach, the movement sparking her flight reflex.
"Kanae! We have to get out of here." Said Kyoko, grabbing her friend by the arm. She had only managed to take one step when it was in front of her. The Djinn raised a hand and plunged it into Kanae's chest.
The hall echoed with Kanae's screams, Kyoko's own shriek adding to the din. The spear dropped to the ground as Kane clutched at her chest, writhing in pain. The other two guards were backing up, fear and terror paralyzing them.
"Let her go!" yelled Kyoko, tears in her eyes. "Please! Stop!"
She rushed forward to yank the Djinn's hands off Kanae. A wave of nausea and sickness hit her. She stumbled back, unable to bring herself to touch the creature. Gritting her teeth to stop from puking, she formed a large blast of magic in her hands, preparing to fire it.
The cool sensation of steel on her throat stopped Kyoko short.
"Ah ah. We'll have none of that." Said Reino's voice next to her ear. "How about you just give me the pendant. It's that, or watch as your friend has their essence ripped from their body."
The magic died in her hands. There was nothing else she could do. Her eyes were glued to her friend, the darkness slowly circling, eager to claim their prize. To have your essence removed from your soul and body… it was a story used to scare children, a nightmare come to life.
Slowly, hands trembling, Kyoko reached into her pouch, taking out the gem. Reino snatched it from her, holding it at eye level to examine it. His knife was still against Kyoko's throat, the metal pressing against her skin as she swallowed.
"Alright." She spoke. "I gave it to you. Now please. Let her go."
"Too naive Kyoko." Said Reino. An arm circled around her waist, pulling her against him. "We were going to kill her no matter what you did."
"No…"
The magic began to light up in earnest, black runes carving onto Kanae's skin as her eyes slowly faded.
A burst of magic lit the room in a blinding flash. Flame sparked above them, swirling with power and life. A clear call sounded from within, the cry of a bird shrieking its song.
The Djinn looked up sharply, removing its hand and dropping Kanae. It jumped back, barely dodging the wall of flame that landed where it had been a second ago. Kanae fell to the ground, unmoving.
"Kanae!"
Kyoko took the moment to break out of Reino's slack grasp, shoving the knife aside as she ran to her friend. She skirted to a halt beside Kanae, wincing at the dark magic as she checked her friend's pulse, her own heart racing in her ears.
It was there! Weak, but there. She was alive.
The swirl of fire converged, then shot out, unveiling within its flames a set of red and gold wings. They unfurled, beating at the air for a moment before sinking to the ground with a soft clatter of sharp claws. The phoenix raised its head, opening its beak to let out another fierce cry. Beside the phoenix stood a man that Kyoko instantly recognized. Who else could have an aura that looked like that!
King Kuu stood tall within the chamber, an overwhelming feeling of light and power radiating from him. The cloak around his shoulders shifted as he drew his sword, light bursting from the hilt. A light sword spun into existence, larger and more powerful than any Kyoko had seen before. The King's eyes were locked onto the Djinn, fierce anger burning within.
"So the specter that's been tormenting my son turned out to be you, Vaith." said Kuu. "I'll make sure to properly destroy you so you can't return again."
The Djinn shook as a chuckle rasped from under the hood.
"You can't kill me little king" spoke the Djinn. "I am immortal. I am darkness itself."
"Then you won't mind if we test your theory." Said Kuu. The king's eyes darted towards Kyoko for a moment before returning to the Djinn.
"Take care of your friend Kyoko." said the King.
Kyoko's heart jolted. The king knew who she was?
He attacked.
Kyoko only saw a brief spinning of light before flashes of magic and power pressed against her. She gasped, throwing up a barrier around her and Kanae to protect them from the shock waves. From within, she watched, eyes wide as the king and phoenix battled the Accursed.
King Kuu was striking at the Djinn, a sword of shadows within its own hand. Magic was flying in every direction, making the building tremble from the impact. The phoenix was shooting bursts of flame at Reino who was desperately deflecting the attacks, Naomi hovering behind him.
One of the spells collided with her shield and Kyoko let out a squeak, feeling the barrier waver. It wouldn't be able to withstand much more of this abuse.
Reino managed to get one spell off towards the phoenix, who dived to avoid it, opening its beak wide to shoot a large burst at them. The flames enveloped the two, bathing the room in a bright orange glow. Then the fire receded, leaving behind only a circle of dark runes.
Kyoko's heart leapt, quickly looking towards the King and the Djinn's fight.
The Djinn stood, battered inside what appeared to be a prison of light. Kuu was before it, the phoenix swooping down to stand beside the king.
"This is where it ends, Djinn." Said the King, voice hard.
"Wrong little king." Spoke the Djinn, it's body crumbling. "This is where it begins"
The King's eyes hardened, raising his hand.
The prison shone brighter, yellow runes fuzzing into life in the air around the Djinn. The creature didn't let out a single sound as it was bathed in a pillar of light, fading out of existence.
Thanks for reading!
And of course, a special thanks to all those that take the time to review. I probably look at the reviews at least twice a day just to read what people think about the story and to keep me smiling/motivated.
SweetieSakura: I agree with you. Kyoko has a knack for getting herself into trouble doesn't she? Self defense lessons would be a good idea. lol.
meehansamantha: I hope you will be able to sleep for school this time. XD.
Unnamed Guest: I'm so flattered you (and anyone else) have taken the time to re read this! (I'll have to do the same soon to remember what I have and haven't told you guys when I start outlining for the next arc.)
Also, I've created a poll on my profile. Some of you have already told me, but I'm curious who most people's fav OC is. (I've tried hard to make sure they didn't become self inserts, uninteresting, Mary sues, or obviously evil/good. XD)
wish me luck in my last semester! It's going to be crazy!
-Blushweaver