Chapter 26: Like a phoenix from the flames
The guard was attacking her with angry blows and Selina was trying her best to fight him off without inflicting any serious wounds on him, so that at least he would be saved from the terrible fate of his companions who fell pray to Tulrah's insatiable bloodlust. He skilfully wielded his sword with one hand and the other one cut mercilessly through everything that came in the way of his sharp claws. Somehow she managed to knock the soldier out cold and his unconscious body slumped to the floor.
Her daggers hung unused at her belt, to make sure she didn't kill anybody in this fight by accident. Her brother didn't notice that she refrained from using her weapons, because he was seized by the rush of blood spilling and fighting.
She had a brief moment to catch her breath, then the next attacker stormed at her and she greeted him with a roundhouse kick that momentarily knocked the air out of his sails. He gasped and staggered a bit, but after a few seconds he attacked anew. She was able to evade his sword strikes easily, as her reflexes warned her of every blow he would aim at her. She knocked the weapon out of the soldiers hands and dealt a hefty blow to his stomach. He lost consciousness immediately and collapsed on the floor.
After a few minutes all of their attackers were taken care of. Either they were unconscious or they had been slaughtered by Tulrah's brutal hands. Selina was breathing heavily and as the adrenaline of the fight slowly left her system, she became aware that she was bleeding from numerous cuts. Those were the signs of gratitude that the soldiers showed her for sparing their lives. An ironic smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
She turned to Tulrah who was standing in the middle of the corridor, grinning from ear to ear. His face and hands were covered in the blood of his victims and the sneer that was plastered on his face made him look like a creature that had crawled out of the deepest pits of Mordor. It took all her willpower to fight down the overwhelming feeling of nausea and disgust she felt when she looked at him.
He let out a hideous laugh, "Well, that was exciting! Nothing like a little fight to make you feel all warm and tingly inside," clapped her on the back, his hand leaving a bloody imprint on her bare shoulder, no longer covered by the huge cloak which she had shedded at some point of the fight. She stared at the mark with open disgust and her hands unconsciously shot up to wipe it away.
"I think we have wasted enough time with those weak humans, now lets go get the eye staff!" Tulrah exclaimed zestfully and marched up to the huge doors which let to the treasure chamber. He ripped them open and was immediately greeted by a blade that was pointing right at his throat. Tulrah let out an angry hiss.
Selina's eyes widened in astonishment as she saw the attacker. It was an elvish woman and probably the most beautiful being she had ever seen in her life. Though the she-elf was dressed like a warrior with her black armour, her long dark hair tight back strictly, ethereal beauty and grace radiate from her. Her intense, blue eyes sparkled dangerously at them as the tip of her sword pressed against Tulrah's throat, slightly cutting his skin in the process, so that a tiny droplets of blood were oozing from the small wound.
"Hello, beautiful!" Tulrah sneered at her, totally unimpressed by the threat she posed to his life. He leered at her appreciatively. "Had I know that you came with the eye staff, believe me, I wouldn't have kept you waiting for so long, darling."
The elvish woman squinted her eyes together disapprovingly and even though she spoke angrily, the words came from her mouth in a melodious and enchanting voice, "I am Arwen, Queen of Gondor and the only thing that was waiting here for you was death by my sword!"
At her words Selina had to suppress a surprise gasp that threatened to escape her mouth. The beautiful she-elf was Aragorn's wife Arwen. She had to protect her from Tulrah's wrath under any circumstances and as he seemed to be obviously fascinated by her, at least this wouldn't turn out all too difficult.
"Oh, beautiful and brave! I like you," Tulrah grinned. "But I would feel much better, if you would put away this nasty little blade," he pointed at the cutlass Arwen was holding in her hands.
With a movement so fast that it was almost undetectable to the human eye, he had wrenched the sword out of the she-elf's grip and pinned her slender frame to the nearest wall, her arms above her head, so that she couldn't move anymore.
This was the point at which Selina decided to intervene. She stepped up to her brother and whispered conspiratorially in his ear, "Just imagine, master, if she was yours.... All the fun you could have with this beautiful body. When you have the eye staff in your hands, she will be your willing slave, reading every wish from your eyes and fulfilling all your desires. You wouldn't want to miss that out, would you? "
Tulrah licked his lips, imagining the extremely delightful scenario Selina had described to him.
"Oh, and the best is yet to come! The irony of it all! She is the Queen of Gondor and will be grovelling at your feet," Selina added.
Tulrah quickly nodded in agreement, "You are right. I will keep her."
"I rather die than being touched by your filthy claws!" Arwen screamed at him, her head held up regally.
"Well, you can't always have what you wish for, beautiful," Tulrah answered dryly and knocked her out cold.
He stepped back from the unconscious form of the she-elf, his eye searching the treasure chamber frenetically for the eye staff. His head shot from side to side like that of a blood-hound, while his back was turned to Selina.
"So it is just the two of us then, brother," Selina said and her eyes shimmered with determination. Now the moment had come, for which she had been waiting for weeks and weeks. She had arrived at the end of her journey, of her hunt. She had found her prey and now she was ready for the kill.
"Yes, what of it?" he answered, distracted by his search for the eye staff.
"Well, thinking about it, it is actually quite funny. It all started with the two of us on that fateful day on the lakeshore of Lakur and now it ends here in the treasure chamber of Minas-Tirith, just moments before you are able to hold the ultimate power in your murderous, disgusting hands. How very unfortunate for you!" she said calmly, unshedding her daggers.
Tulrah turned around and an amused smile played at his mouth, "I should have known. The annoying questions, the constant whining and the incredible self-importance could only mean one thing - my beloved sister is back! It's really a pity, because I liked the new you much better."
"As far as it concerns me, all bonds that we have ever shared, brother," she spat out the last word with disgust, "have been cut. The same blood maybe running through our veins, but apart from that, we have nothing in common."
"Oh, is that so," his eyes sparkled mischievously, "What about this new powers, I saw you use when you saved lover boy? How did it feel? Wasn't it amazing? Come on, admit that you liked it! No need denying it, because I can see it in your eyes." He began to circle her like a predator did with his prey right before it attacked.
Selina answered, never leaving him out of her eye, "I did it, because I wanted to protect him, because I love him. Yes, it was a great feeling to use those powers, but it was terrifying and intoxicating at the same time. It felt like I was standing on a cliff. One false step and I could have fallen to incredible depths. You stumbled and fell into the abyss, Tulrah. Your actions have only been guided by selfish motives, by the most evil urges imaginable. Alone in the little time I spent with you I have come too hate you even more than I had done before. I thought that this wasn't possible after you killed my parents, but you have proven me wrong."
Tulrah drew his sword and look at it with a strange fascination. No matter how many men he killed with it, its blade was always clean, perfect and complete spotless. He cocked his head, his eyes still fixed on the sword and continued to speak, "So you hate me....Well, that comes as a bit of a shock to me," he let out a sarcastic snort, "So tell me if you hate me, you are not possibly doing all of this simply out of vengeance?"
"What if I did? It wouldn't matter, because either way I'm doing this earth a great service if I get rid of you," she pointed at him with the tip of her sharp dagger.
Tulrah rolled his eyes in response, "Come on, don't be so vain! If this is just about vengeance, than sorry, dearest sister, you are not any better than me. Remember the good guys always need honourable motifs. What is yours? Do you honestly care about any being other than you? Would you give your life for this pathetic place we call Middle-Earth? For a mass of nameless faces that doesn't even know of your existence?"
"I know what you are trying to do. You want to lure me into believing that what I'm doing is wrong. Though luck! I saw what you did and I know that by taking your life many others will be saved," Selina answered determinedly, though she knew that his well-aimed words had struck a cord somewhere deep inside of her.
"You know what? This little talk seems rather fruitless to me," he shook his head in mock exasperation, "So can we please skip to the part where I beat you to a bloody pulp? Your stupid, narrow-minded babble makes me all sick inside. Obviously you like being defeated. Well, nothing like getting your ass kicked by good old Tulrah. You didn't learn anything from the last time, now did you?", he said with a vicious gleam in his eyes and attacked with his sword risen, ready to strike her down with it.
Her daggers shot up and blocked his blow right above her head. Sparks flew where their sharp blades met. "A lot has changed since the last time we fought. I'm not as weak as I was back then."
Tulrah growled angrily deep in his throat. Their faces were just inches apart and their eyes fought out a fierce battle in which angry glares and piercing gazes were the weapons. "But you are not nearly strong enough, Selina," he shoved her back and whirled his sword around expertly ready to attack anew. He motioned her with his hand to come closer and she did with an angry scream on her lips. Their fight continued in a constant back and forth. She evaded his deadly blade and whenever the opportunity presented itself, her daggers broke swiftly through his defence. The twin blades made a barely audible swishing noise when they cut the air. A constant rhythm which was only interrupted when they met Tulrah's sword or cut through his flesh. They started circling each other again, both bleeding from several small wounds.
"I must admit that you have gotten better, but I fear your are still not good enough," Tulrah smiled mockingly at her.
"You could never admit that you were loosing, even as a little boy," Selina smirked and shook her head.
The Selvadage'tok warlord let out an angry hiss and stormed at her with a blood chilling scream on his lips. She squinted her eyes together. She had counted on this reaction. Selina swiftly threw one of her daggers and its blade cut mercilessly through the huge, clawed hand that held Tulrah's sword. He let the weapon fall accompanied by a loud clattering noise and clutched his wounded hand, looking at it in wonder. Then he let out a loud laugh and drew the dagger out in one swift movement without even flinching once. Blood was dripping from his hand and the blade.
"Oh, that was nasty, sister. Lets play fair, shall we? No weapons, just like the old times," he said, his voice even and deadly calm.
She nodded and her hand let go of the weapon she held in it, her golden eyes shimmering angrily at Tulrah. He then dealt her a series of mighty punches which she blocked and dodged skilfully.
"My turn," she announced with a deep growl. She aimed her attacks well. A few of them even managed to break Tulrah's defence. One punch hit the sensitive spot between his throat and his chest, knocking the air out of him, followed by an effective kick to his knees that let his huge frame slump to the floor like a felled tree. Before he could move she was sitting on his chest, pinning him down with her weight.
"You don't have the guts to do that. You won't kill me," he managed to get out in between coughs.
"Lets see, shall we?" she said with a dangerous tone in her voice.
Tulrah's eyes darted around nervously, looking for a possibility to save himself from certain death. Maybe if he could reach his sword, or anything he could use as a weapon, he would be able rescue himself from this desperate situation. Then he caught sight of something from the corner of his eye, he had already entirely seized to hope for. The glimmer of a huge precious stone, an amethyst, sitting on a wooden staff. The Eye Staff of Shalakrah! So close, but yet so far out of reach. It was just a few meters away from him, but it could also have been on the other side of the world. He would never be able to reach it.
Then he heard steps approaching, resounding on the stone floor of the corridor. Out of reflex Selina's head whipped around to face the door and she let out a surprised gasp as she saw Legolas and Sulrathi storm in.
But she should pay that one moment of inattention dearly. Tulrah used it to free himself, slashing with his sharp claws over her stomach in the process. She screamed loudly as sharp pain shot into her body, blinding her senses momentarily, so that nothing else existed, but those five burning gashes that stretched over her skin. She looked down and saw blood oozing from the wounds, unstoppable red rivers. Suddenly a cold fear seized her heart and she felt paralysed by it, as it crept into her body.
Legolas was immediately at her side, asking her if she was alright, comforting her and trying to convince her that everything would be alright, but his words were just a faint whisper. Her eyes were searching Tulrah, who was now towering over them with a victorious grin on his face, his arms behind his back.
"Oh, lover boy is back! And I thought you were slowly withering away in your little prison. Will wonders never cease?", he cried out in mock astonishment. "Well, I've got a little surprise for you two," Tulrah sneered and produced the eye staff from behind his back.
An expression of horror appeared on Selina's and Legolas's faces. They had failed! Now everything was lost!
The precious stone on top of the eye staff began to glow in an eerie blue light which got brighter and brighter with each passing second. It formed little tentacles made of pure energy which slowly crept up Tulrah's muscular arm like a grape wine, while he watched in fascination.
"Oh, that feels good," he said, his voice filled with delight, "It is intoxicating and sweet like drinking too much wine, but you keep a clear head. All that energy, that power. I could.."
They never got to hear the next part of his speech because a black shadow, Sulrathi, attacked Tulrah with an angry growl, sinking its sharp fangs deeply into the hand, that held the eye staff. Tulrah cried out in pain and the mystical artefact escaped his grip, falling to the floor with a thudding noise. Sulrathi still had her teeth sunken into his hand, clinking to it like a dog to a tasty bone. With an angry growl Tulrah shook her of. Her body flew through the air and crashed into the nearest stone wall. The she-panther shook her head, dizzy from the impact and got to her feet again. She hissed and attacked anew, this time aiming for the warlord's throat, but he stopped her before she got this far. Selina let out a terrified cry, when she realised what fate was awaiting Sulrathi.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Tulrah buried his sharp claws deep inside the she-panthers body. Sulrathi let out a cry filled with agony, as her life-force slowly drained from her. He laughed and threw the dying body to the floor in a gesture full of disrespect.
Selina struggled desperately under Legolas's strong, but gentle hands that kept her from trying to foolishly attack her brother anew. "Let me go to her!" she hissed at him. "I have to be with her and ease her passing!" She struggled desperately under his grip.
"This is the fate that awaits those who oppose me. So anybody next in line? I'd love to see you try," Tulrah sneered at them.
The elf threw Selina an apologetic gaze and she knew immediately what he would do. She grasped his hand in a vicelike grip and looked him in the eyes, begging him not to do what they both knew was inevitable. He briefly kissed her forehead and then turned to Tulrah. "Too long have I stood idly by, because fate had tied my hands," Legolas said calmly and got slowly to his feet. He still held the Uruk-hai weapon in his hand. A long blade, curved and made of sharp metal, that was almost black in its colour. The weapon looked grotesque in his hand. An elf with an Uruk-hai sword. "Defend yourself!" Legolas said and took his fighting stance.
Selina's followed the fight with wonder in her eyes. Legolas moved with the grace of a dancer, his movements elegant, precise and ever so deadly. Tulrah's technique appeared in comparison plump and clumsy, but nevertheless he managed to hold his own. Selina pried her gaze from the fight and dragged herself over to Sulrathi, leaving a red trail of blood that marked her way.
She saw her side rise and fall slowly. It was not too late, she was still alive. "I'm here Sulrathi. I'm with you," she said softly, tenderly stroking over the silky black fur of the panther.
"Do not worry for me, my little kitten," the she-panther answered softly, her breath coming unevenly, while it got slower and slower. "I will only leave this world, but not you. Our bond is everlasting and even death will not cut it."
Selina lowered her head so it came to touch Sulrahti's. Her eyes were filled with tears when she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper "But I need you here! You cannot leave. Please, don't go! Please!"
"I have to, Selina," Sulrahti answered sadly. "But do not despair! You have the power to save yourself and Legolas. Reach inside of you, summon your last strength and believe in yourself." For every word and every breath Sulrathi took she had to go through an incredible ordeal. Now that she had said everything she had wanted to, she stopped struggling and gave into the sweet surrender of death.
"Sulrahti!" Selina let out an anguished cry.
"Goodbye, my little kitten," the she-panther said affectionately and closed her golden eyes forever.
Selina felt like she was suffocating. Her whole body was shaking as it was overwhelmed by a mixture of different feelings. Pain, grief and anger bubbled up inside of her and washed through her like a mighty tidal wave. The intensity of those feeling almost overpowering. She let out a loud scream, that came from the depths of her soul, filled with all the emotions that burdened her heart.
The two men stopped fighting and turned to face the figure that was sitting on the floor with her back to them. The stone tiles around her were covered with blood, partly her own and partly that of the dead panther. Her back was falling and rising in rapid breaths. Then she slowly raised to her feet and turned around. Her face like a stone mask, but her eyes pitch black pools filled with an ancient power. When her voice spoke it was like it were a hundred voices at once, the sound of it almost unbearable. Tulrah cringed visibly. The voice entered his body through every pore and resounded there eternally. It was frightening and overwhelming. Legolas observed the whole scene with astonishment shining in his bright blue eyes.
"You have meddled with forces you should not have awoken, Selvadage'tok."
Tulrah whimpered and slumped to his knees. This voice inside his head could not be silenced. It repeated Selina's words over and over again.
She stepped to the spot were the eye staff lay and took it in her hands. It reacted immediately to her touch and glowed with the intensity of a lighting, blinding everybody in the room momentarily.
"Behold and receive your punishment," Selina's voice announced.
Blue swirls of energy crept out of the eye staff like smoke. First they were chaotic and undefined, but then they took different forms. Small figures appeared and they got clearer and clearer with each passing moment. A bear, a fox, an eagle, a wolf, a lion... in short every creature imaginable seemed to manifest in those swirls of pure energy.
"Nature is angry," the Selvadage'tok woman's resounded in the treasure chamber like thunder.
The lion growled deeply and the bear bared his sharp teeth threateningly. Tulrah slowly took a few steps back, raising his arms in a defensive gesture, but the creatures got closer and closer. A few inches away from him their figures, shimmering with the blue energy, came to a stop, hovering over the ground like terrifying ghosts. Then they attacked. Their incorporeal bodies shot inside of Tulrah's huge frame which struggled against them desperately. Every muscles in his body clenched and unclenched as violent tremors accompanied by shrill screams of endless pain, raged through him. Huge wounds appeared everywhere on his skin. One looked like the imprint of the sharp teeth of a predator, the other like a violent scratch inflicted by sharp and deadly claws. His body raised in a last desperate fight and then lay completely still, never to move again.
Selina's breath calmed slowly. Each time she exhaled she felt like some of the power she had summoned left her. The strength, which had run through her veins only moments before, was now leaving her and made room to the burning pain, which radiated from her uncountable wounds. She exhaled again and the last remains of the borrowed power left her. Selina felt dizzy and slightly light-headed. Her surroundings were only a blur, everything looked foreign and distorted. She saw a face hovering in front of her and faintly heard a voice calling to her, but it was all so far away. She staggered and then collapsed in Legloas's arms.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, let me tell something about my detail routine. I run to the computer each day, check my mail and afterwards I always have a happy smile plastered over my face, because I have received so many incredible nice, awesome and very helpful reviews (Thank you so much!) You guys are simple the greatest! I have been writing on this chapter for what seemed like a thousand years and I'm so happy it's finally ready. I hope you like it and I'll try to update as soon as possible!
The guard was attacking her with angry blows and Selina was trying her best to fight him off without inflicting any serious wounds on him, so that at least he would be saved from the terrible fate of his companions who fell pray to Tulrah's insatiable bloodlust. He skilfully wielded his sword with one hand and the other one cut mercilessly through everything that came in the way of his sharp claws. Somehow she managed to knock the soldier out cold and his unconscious body slumped to the floor.
Her daggers hung unused at her belt, to make sure she didn't kill anybody in this fight by accident. Her brother didn't notice that she refrained from using her weapons, because he was seized by the rush of blood spilling and fighting.
She had a brief moment to catch her breath, then the next attacker stormed at her and she greeted him with a roundhouse kick that momentarily knocked the air out of his sails. He gasped and staggered a bit, but after a few seconds he attacked anew. She was able to evade his sword strikes easily, as her reflexes warned her of every blow he would aim at her. She knocked the weapon out of the soldiers hands and dealt a hefty blow to his stomach. He lost consciousness immediately and collapsed on the floor.
After a few minutes all of their attackers were taken care of. Either they were unconscious or they had been slaughtered by Tulrah's brutal hands. Selina was breathing heavily and as the adrenaline of the fight slowly left her system, she became aware that she was bleeding from numerous cuts. Those were the signs of gratitude that the soldiers showed her for sparing their lives. An ironic smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
She turned to Tulrah who was standing in the middle of the corridor, grinning from ear to ear. His face and hands were covered in the blood of his victims and the sneer that was plastered on his face made him look like a creature that had crawled out of the deepest pits of Mordor. It took all her willpower to fight down the overwhelming feeling of nausea and disgust she felt when she looked at him.
He let out a hideous laugh, "Well, that was exciting! Nothing like a little fight to make you feel all warm and tingly inside," clapped her on the back, his hand leaving a bloody imprint on her bare shoulder, no longer covered by the huge cloak which she had shedded at some point of the fight. She stared at the mark with open disgust and her hands unconsciously shot up to wipe it away.
"I think we have wasted enough time with those weak humans, now lets go get the eye staff!" Tulrah exclaimed zestfully and marched up to the huge doors which let to the treasure chamber. He ripped them open and was immediately greeted by a blade that was pointing right at his throat. Tulrah let out an angry hiss.
Selina's eyes widened in astonishment as she saw the attacker. It was an elvish woman and probably the most beautiful being she had ever seen in her life. Though the she-elf was dressed like a warrior with her black armour, her long dark hair tight back strictly, ethereal beauty and grace radiate from her. Her intense, blue eyes sparkled dangerously at them as the tip of her sword pressed against Tulrah's throat, slightly cutting his skin in the process, so that a tiny droplets of blood were oozing from the small wound.
"Hello, beautiful!" Tulrah sneered at her, totally unimpressed by the threat she posed to his life. He leered at her appreciatively. "Had I know that you came with the eye staff, believe me, I wouldn't have kept you waiting for so long, darling."
The elvish woman squinted her eyes together disapprovingly and even though she spoke angrily, the words came from her mouth in a melodious and enchanting voice, "I am Arwen, Queen of Gondor and the only thing that was waiting here for you was death by my sword!"
At her words Selina had to suppress a surprise gasp that threatened to escape her mouth. The beautiful she-elf was Aragorn's wife Arwen. She had to protect her from Tulrah's wrath under any circumstances and as he seemed to be obviously fascinated by her, at least this wouldn't turn out all too difficult.
"Oh, beautiful and brave! I like you," Tulrah grinned. "But I would feel much better, if you would put away this nasty little blade," he pointed at the cutlass Arwen was holding in her hands.
With a movement so fast that it was almost undetectable to the human eye, he had wrenched the sword out of the she-elf's grip and pinned her slender frame to the nearest wall, her arms above her head, so that she couldn't move anymore.
This was the point at which Selina decided to intervene. She stepped up to her brother and whispered conspiratorially in his ear, "Just imagine, master, if she was yours.... All the fun you could have with this beautiful body. When you have the eye staff in your hands, she will be your willing slave, reading every wish from your eyes and fulfilling all your desires. You wouldn't want to miss that out, would you? "
Tulrah licked his lips, imagining the extremely delightful scenario Selina had described to him.
"Oh, and the best is yet to come! The irony of it all! She is the Queen of Gondor and will be grovelling at your feet," Selina added.
Tulrah quickly nodded in agreement, "You are right. I will keep her."
"I rather die than being touched by your filthy claws!" Arwen screamed at him, her head held up regally.
"Well, you can't always have what you wish for, beautiful," Tulrah answered dryly and knocked her out cold.
He stepped back from the unconscious form of the she-elf, his eye searching the treasure chamber frenetically for the eye staff. His head shot from side to side like that of a blood-hound, while his back was turned to Selina.
"So it is just the two of us then, brother," Selina said and her eyes shimmered with determination. Now the moment had come, for which she had been waiting for weeks and weeks. She had arrived at the end of her journey, of her hunt. She had found her prey and now she was ready for the kill.
"Yes, what of it?" he answered, distracted by his search for the eye staff.
"Well, thinking about it, it is actually quite funny. It all started with the two of us on that fateful day on the lakeshore of Lakur and now it ends here in the treasure chamber of Minas-Tirith, just moments before you are able to hold the ultimate power in your murderous, disgusting hands. How very unfortunate for you!" she said calmly, unshedding her daggers.
Tulrah turned around and an amused smile played at his mouth, "I should have known. The annoying questions, the constant whining and the incredible self-importance could only mean one thing - my beloved sister is back! It's really a pity, because I liked the new you much better."
"As far as it concerns me, all bonds that we have ever shared, brother," she spat out the last word with disgust, "have been cut. The same blood maybe running through our veins, but apart from that, we have nothing in common."
"Oh, is that so," his eyes sparkled mischievously, "What about this new powers, I saw you use when you saved lover boy? How did it feel? Wasn't it amazing? Come on, admit that you liked it! No need denying it, because I can see it in your eyes." He began to circle her like a predator did with his prey right before it attacked.
Selina answered, never leaving him out of her eye, "I did it, because I wanted to protect him, because I love him. Yes, it was a great feeling to use those powers, but it was terrifying and intoxicating at the same time. It felt like I was standing on a cliff. One false step and I could have fallen to incredible depths. You stumbled and fell into the abyss, Tulrah. Your actions have only been guided by selfish motives, by the most evil urges imaginable. Alone in the little time I spent with you I have come too hate you even more than I had done before. I thought that this wasn't possible after you killed my parents, but you have proven me wrong."
Tulrah drew his sword and look at it with a strange fascination. No matter how many men he killed with it, its blade was always clean, perfect and complete spotless. He cocked his head, his eyes still fixed on the sword and continued to speak, "So you hate me....Well, that comes as a bit of a shock to me," he let out a sarcastic snort, "So tell me if you hate me, you are not possibly doing all of this simply out of vengeance?"
"What if I did? It wouldn't matter, because either way I'm doing this earth a great service if I get rid of you," she pointed at him with the tip of her sharp dagger.
Tulrah rolled his eyes in response, "Come on, don't be so vain! If this is just about vengeance, than sorry, dearest sister, you are not any better than me. Remember the good guys always need honourable motifs. What is yours? Do you honestly care about any being other than you? Would you give your life for this pathetic place we call Middle-Earth? For a mass of nameless faces that doesn't even know of your existence?"
"I know what you are trying to do. You want to lure me into believing that what I'm doing is wrong. Though luck! I saw what you did and I know that by taking your life many others will be saved," Selina answered determinedly, though she knew that his well-aimed words had struck a cord somewhere deep inside of her.
"You know what? This little talk seems rather fruitless to me," he shook his head in mock exasperation, "So can we please skip to the part where I beat you to a bloody pulp? Your stupid, narrow-minded babble makes me all sick inside. Obviously you like being defeated. Well, nothing like getting your ass kicked by good old Tulrah. You didn't learn anything from the last time, now did you?", he said with a vicious gleam in his eyes and attacked with his sword risen, ready to strike her down with it.
Her daggers shot up and blocked his blow right above her head. Sparks flew where their sharp blades met. "A lot has changed since the last time we fought. I'm not as weak as I was back then."
Tulrah growled angrily deep in his throat. Their faces were just inches apart and their eyes fought out a fierce battle in which angry glares and piercing gazes were the weapons. "But you are not nearly strong enough, Selina," he shoved her back and whirled his sword around expertly ready to attack anew. He motioned her with his hand to come closer and she did with an angry scream on her lips. Their fight continued in a constant back and forth. She evaded his deadly blade and whenever the opportunity presented itself, her daggers broke swiftly through his defence. The twin blades made a barely audible swishing noise when they cut the air. A constant rhythm which was only interrupted when they met Tulrah's sword or cut through his flesh. They started circling each other again, both bleeding from several small wounds.
"I must admit that you have gotten better, but I fear your are still not good enough," Tulrah smiled mockingly at her.
"You could never admit that you were loosing, even as a little boy," Selina smirked and shook her head.
The Selvadage'tok warlord let out an angry hiss and stormed at her with a blood chilling scream on his lips. She squinted her eyes together. She had counted on this reaction. Selina swiftly threw one of her daggers and its blade cut mercilessly through the huge, clawed hand that held Tulrah's sword. He let the weapon fall accompanied by a loud clattering noise and clutched his wounded hand, looking at it in wonder. Then he let out a loud laugh and drew the dagger out in one swift movement without even flinching once. Blood was dripping from his hand and the blade.
"Oh, that was nasty, sister. Lets play fair, shall we? No weapons, just like the old times," he said, his voice even and deadly calm.
She nodded and her hand let go of the weapon she held in it, her golden eyes shimmering angrily at Tulrah. He then dealt her a series of mighty punches which she blocked and dodged skilfully.
"My turn," she announced with a deep growl. She aimed her attacks well. A few of them even managed to break Tulrah's defence. One punch hit the sensitive spot between his throat and his chest, knocking the air out of him, followed by an effective kick to his knees that let his huge frame slump to the floor like a felled tree. Before he could move she was sitting on his chest, pinning him down with her weight.
"You don't have the guts to do that. You won't kill me," he managed to get out in between coughs.
"Lets see, shall we?" she said with a dangerous tone in her voice.
Tulrah's eyes darted around nervously, looking for a possibility to save himself from certain death. Maybe if he could reach his sword, or anything he could use as a weapon, he would be able rescue himself from this desperate situation. Then he caught sight of something from the corner of his eye, he had already entirely seized to hope for. The glimmer of a huge precious stone, an amethyst, sitting on a wooden staff. The Eye Staff of Shalakrah! So close, but yet so far out of reach. It was just a few meters away from him, but it could also have been on the other side of the world. He would never be able to reach it.
Then he heard steps approaching, resounding on the stone floor of the corridor. Out of reflex Selina's head whipped around to face the door and she let out a surprised gasp as she saw Legolas and Sulrathi storm in.
But she should pay that one moment of inattention dearly. Tulrah used it to free himself, slashing with his sharp claws over her stomach in the process. She screamed loudly as sharp pain shot into her body, blinding her senses momentarily, so that nothing else existed, but those five burning gashes that stretched over her skin. She looked down and saw blood oozing from the wounds, unstoppable red rivers. Suddenly a cold fear seized her heart and she felt paralysed by it, as it crept into her body.
Legolas was immediately at her side, asking her if she was alright, comforting her and trying to convince her that everything would be alright, but his words were just a faint whisper. Her eyes were searching Tulrah, who was now towering over them with a victorious grin on his face, his arms behind his back.
"Oh, lover boy is back! And I thought you were slowly withering away in your little prison. Will wonders never cease?", he cried out in mock astonishment. "Well, I've got a little surprise for you two," Tulrah sneered and produced the eye staff from behind his back.
An expression of horror appeared on Selina's and Legolas's faces. They had failed! Now everything was lost!
The precious stone on top of the eye staff began to glow in an eerie blue light which got brighter and brighter with each passing second. It formed little tentacles made of pure energy which slowly crept up Tulrah's muscular arm like a grape wine, while he watched in fascination.
"Oh, that feels good," he said, his voice filled with delight, "It is intoxicating and sweet like drinking too much wine, but you keep a clear head. All that energy, that power. I could.."
They never got to hear the next part of his speech because a black shadow, Sulrathi, attacked Tulrah with an angry growl, sinking its sharp fangs deeply into the hand, that held the eye staff. Tulrah cried out in pain and the mystical artefact escaped his grip, falling to the floor with a thudding noise. Sulrathi still had her teeth sunken into his hand, clinking to it like a dog to a tasty bone. With an angry growl Tulrah shook her of. Her body flew through the air and crashed into the nearest stone wall. The she-panther shook her head, dizzy from the impact and got to her feet again. She hissed and attacked anew, this time aiming for the warlord's throat, but he stopped her before she got this far. Selina let out a terrified cry, when she realised what fate was awaiting Sulrathi.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Tulrah buried his sharp claws deep inside the she-panthers body. Sulrathi let out a cry filled with agony, as her life-force slowly drained from her. He laughed and threw the dying body to the floor in a gesture full of disrespect.
Selina struggled desperately under Legolas's strong, but gentle hands that kept her from trying to foolishly attack her brother anew. "Let me go to her!" she hissed at him. "I have to be with her and ease her passing!" She struggled desperately under his grip.
"This is the fate that awaits those who oppose me. So anybody next in line? I'd love to see you try," Tulrah sneered at them.
The elf threw Selina an apologetic gaze and she knew immediately what he would do. She grasped his hand in a vicelike grip and looked him in the eyes, begging him not to do what they both knew was inevitable. He briefly kissed her forehead and then turned to Tulrah. "Too long have I stood idly by, because fate had tied my hands," Legolas said calmly and got slowly to his feet. He still held the Uruk-hai weapon in his hand. A long blade, curved and made of sharp metal, that was almost black in its colour. The weapon looked grotesque in his hand. An elf with an Uruk-hai sword. "Defend yourself!" Legolas said and took his fighting stance.
Selina's followed the fight with wonder in her eyes. Legolas moved with the grace of a dancer, his movements elegant, precise and ever so deadly. Tulrah's technique appeared in comparison plump and clumsy, but nevertheless he managed to hold his own. Selina pried her gaze from the fight and dragged herself over to Sulrathi, leaving a red trail of blood that marked her way.
She saw her side rise and fall slowly. It was not too late, she was still alive. "I'm here Sulrathi. I'm with you," she said softly, tenderly stroking over the silky black fur of the panther.
"Do not worry for me, my little kitten," the she-panther answered softly, her breath coming unevenly, while it got slower and slower. "I will only leave this world, but not you. Our bond is everlasting and even death will not cut it."
Selina lowered her head so it came to touch Sulrahti's. Her eyes were filled with tears when she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper "But I need you here! You cannot leave. Please, don't go! Please!"
"I have to, Selina," Sulrahti answered sadly. "But do not despair! You have the power to save yourself and Legolas. Reach inside of you, summon your last strength and believe in yourself." For every word and every breath Sulrathi took she had to go through an incredible ordeal. Now that she had said everything she had wanted to, she stopped struggling and gave into the sweet surrender of death.
"Sulrahti!" Selina let out an anguished cry.
"Goodbye, my little kitten," the she-panther said affectionately and closed her golden eyes forever.
Selina felt like she was suffocating. Her whole body was shaking as it was overwhelmed by a mixture of different feelings. Pain, grief and anger bubbled up inside of her and washed through her like a mighty tidal wave. The intensity of those feeling almost overpowering. She let out a loud scream, that came from the depths of her soul, filled with all the emotions that burdened her heart.
The two men stopped fighting and turned to face the figure that was sitting on the floor with her back to them. The stone tiles around her were covered with blood, partly her own and partly that of the dead panther. Her back was falling and rising in rapid breaths. Then she slowly raised to her feet and turned around. Her face like a stone mask, but her eyes pitch black pools filled with an ancient power. When her voice spoke it was like it were a hundred voices at once, the sound of it almost unbearable. Tulrah cringed visibly. The voice entered his body through every pore and resounded there eternally. It was frightening and overwhelming. Legolas observed the whole scene with astonishment shining in his bright blue eyes.
"You have meddled with forces you should not have awoken, Selvadage'tok."
Tulrah whimpered and slumped to his knees. This voice inside his head could not be silenced. It repeated Selina's words over and over again.
She stepped to the spot were the eye staff lay and took it in her hands. It reacted immediately to her touch and glowed with the intensity of a lighting, blinding everybody in the room momentarily.
"Behold and receive your punishment," Selina's voice announced.
Blue swirls of energy crept out of the eye staff like smoke. First they were chaotic and undefined, but then they took different forms. Small figures appeared and they got clearer and clearer with each passing moment. A bear, a fox, an eagle, a wolf, a lion... in short every creature imaginable seemed to manifest in those swirls of pure energy.
"Nature is angry," the Selvadage'tok woman's resounded in the treasure chamber like thunder.
The lion growled deeply and the bear bared his sharp teeth threateningly. Tulrah slowly took a few steps back, raising his arms in a defensive gesture, but the creatures got closer and closer. A few inches away from him their figures, shimmering with the blue energy, came to a stop, hovering over the ground like terrifying ghosts. Then they attacked. Their incorporeal bodies shot inside of Tulrah's huge frame which struggled against them desperately. Every muscles in his body clenched and unclenched as violent tremors accompanied by shrill screams of endless pain, raged through him. Huge wounds appeared everywhere on his skin. One looked like the imprint of the sharp teeth of a predator, the other like a violent scratch inflicted by sharp and deadly claws. His body raised in a last desperate fight and then lay completely still, never to move again.
Selina's breath calmed slowly. Each time she exhaled she felt like some of the power she had summoned left her. The strength, which had run through her veins only moments before, was now leaving her and made room to the burning pain, which radiated from her uncountable wounds. She exhaled again and the last remains of the borrowed power left her. Selina felt dizzy and slightly light-headed. Her surroundings were only a blur, everything looked foreign and distorted. She saw a face hovering in front of her and faintly heard a voice calling to her, but it was all so far away. She staggered and then collapsed in Legloas's arms.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, let me tell something about my detail routine. I run to the computer each day, check my mail and afterwards I always have a happy smile plastered over my face, because I have received so many incredible nice, awesome and very helpful reviews (Thank you so much!) You guys are simple the greatest! I have been writing on this chapter for what seemed like a thousand years and I'm so happy it's finally ready. I hope you like it and I'll try to update as soon as possible!
