Silent Fall
Running On Ice
They hadn't known, how could they? The power Talas possessed was absolutely staggering and he had been able to hide so well that everyone had taken by surprise.
Out of the corner of his eye,
Cye could just barely see the other Ronin Warriors through the blurry, red haze
that veiled his vision. They were all
covered in blood and their armors had all but shattered under the stress of the
blow that had caught all five of them unaware. He was painfully aware that they were dead, a thought that made him
cringe; but he knew that he would soon follow and that fact was
undeniable. In a way it made him feel
better to know he wouldn't have to carry on alone. A solitary tear rolled down his burned cheek.
Talas had just laughed when
they fell; he never imagined it to be so easy. It was a laugh that made Cye wish he still had the strength to get up
and punch Ar'Nakari's ugly face into next month. But he turned away, instantly forgetting about his so-called
opposition, and faced the shrine placed in the back of the room.
At the predicted time the
statue glowed and the six objects in its hands hummed slightly.
And, to think, all this had
been made possible by the small crystal necklace that sat in one of the deity's
palms. Talas gave it an admiring
glance, as without it he would never have been able to begin his invasion on
the human world.
Cye awoke, a pain in his head reminding him of the day's activities, to a completely dark room save for the light coming in from a single torch outside the cell door. He sat up, taking his time with the action.
"You're awake," Sage muttered.
"You have a problem with that?" Cye demanded, a lot more hotly than he intended.
Sage didn't respond.
Cye was feeling frustrated as he picked up a loose stone and began rubbing its rough surface smooth. The dream had proven to him that he had failed to change anything. They were all still going to die by Talas' hand and yet he knew he couldn't tell any of the others, not even Ryo, and he couldn't even find a way to change it. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he meditated on that though and was glad Sage cold not see him.
At least, now, he knew exactly what Talas was trying to do.
"Don't even try to call your armor." Sage suggested absently.
"Why?"
"There's some kind of dampening spell on this room that won't allow us too. Believe me, I tried."
Cye noted with interest how Sage didn't go into any detail other than 'I tried' but the Warrior of trust remained silent.
The door of their cell opened and a small demon, no higher than Cye's knee, entered carrying a tray of food, which, for all they knew, could have been poisoned.
"Nice try, Orios, but we aren't that stupid." Sage called to the red-haired man that stood guard just outside the slightly ajar door. With him there, the two Ronins wouldn't be able to take five steps away from the door before Orios fried them or something equally painful.
"Suit yourself," came the idle reply.
Cye glanced at the stone in his hand, then at the demon, a plan formulating itself in his head. It wasn't one of his best ideas but with the situation he was in it wasn't up for debate.
He motioned the demon closer as Sage looked on curiously.
Cye pulled himself out of his depressed stupor long enough to see a soldier go flying past the small window of the cell door. From the look on his face, Sage had noticed this peculiarity as well.
It was long after the time they decided that Orios had left the dungeons and the time in the prison seemed to crawl. The flying soldier had been the first interesting thing to see in over an hour. During that time they'd both been depressed as imprisonment, regardless of how long, is always taxing on mind, body, and spirit.
Only when there was an enthusiastic 'yeah!' that followed the flying soldier's crash did they figure out was going on.
Both Sage and Cye leapt up and ran to the iron door of their prison.
"Rowen! Ryo!"
"Kento!" Cye followed up.
"Hey, having fun?"
"A blast, Kento, just get up out of here." Sage muttered, annoyed.
There was the flash of a blade and the sounds of metal impacting metal and the iron lock from the cell's door falling to the stone floor. The door creaked open slightly.
Sage pushed the door open and he and Cye were greeted by the sight of three of Talas' servants dead on the floor, two were in more than one piece.
"Where's Rowen?" Cye asked curiously upon realizing that only Kento and Ryo were present and in their armors.
"He's keeping lookout," Ryo motioned back the way they came.
"So what happened to you-" Kento's question was cut short by a warning cry from Rowen.
The four Ronins took off down the stone hallway in the direction of their friend.
"At the entrance to the dungeons stood Orios, the air around him crackling with energy as he held Rowen against the stone wall with just an outstretched hand. His eyes had gone completely white as he used his power.
Orios turned his head slightly to look at the approaching Ronins, a wicked smile tugging at his lips as they prepared for battle.
"Armor of Torrent! Dao Shin!"
"Armor of Halo! Dao Gi!"
Talas resigned himself gratefully to his room. He had to direct his servants on how to dispose of the demon's body in the passage leading to the catacombs. His soldiers were not capable of independent thought and with Orios dealing with the prisoners that left the servants with only him to rely on. His fault for creating them without minds in the first place.
He was just about to shut the door when he noticed a small demon, high as his knee at the most, in the middle of his room.
This adolescent demon was just one member of his army that he would sick on the Earth realm once he managed to open the door during the eclipse tonight.
Talas may have been callous but at least he took the time to learn every demon by name.
"Hyuri, what are you doing here?"
The demon, still with little concept for human words, only mumbled in response.
Talas narrowed his eyes in suspicion; the demon knew he was not allowed in the Master's Room.
"Get going then." Talas pointed at the door. Hyuri scrambled out the door and down the hall, back towards the cavern of demons in the bowels of the stronghold.
* * * * *
Almost there, only one chapter and an epilogue to complete.
So tell me what you think.
Disclaimer: Now I know you don't want me to go through this again.