Disclaimers Notice: Depends on how many lawyers are within suing range.
Authors Beginning Note: I am sooo tired! But you know what.I'm too psyched about writing this chapter to sleep!
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Chapter 3
Insanity, Memories,
And Monsters
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Oh no, she isn't.that stupid idiot! I raged in my head as I felt a sharp jolt of power in the air and ran through the hallways, pushing idle servants, when met, aside. I started to climb the stairs, but soon chose to fly, for it was the quicker of the two. Coming to the very top of the tallest tower I set myself down again and ran the rest of the way.
"Ahrima!" I bellowed through the large tower door. In the center she laid on the hard and cold stone floor. Her coal black and red streaked hair snaked out around her, forming a dark halo and her crimson dress was fanned out like a pool of blood surrounding her. She was nearly motionless. Her skin is pale as ash, and she stares at the ceiling, unblinkingly. Her red lips moved incessantly and she mumbled incoherent words to ears of those who knew not the spell she was attempting to invoke. She will ruin everything if she keeps this up!
"Ahrima! Stop this at once!" She didn't. Instead the storm that was raging outside was becoming more violent with every syllable she muttered. Soon her words gathered in sound and became more of a musical tone that shattered through the sky. No, it is nearly complete! She will kill herself and ruin the best supply of power given to us! Finding another replacement would take months! Even if it does rid me of her, it's too much work to throw away here! All because of her stupidity!
"Atria Harahan Séance Dray Edos Say Cumos Etna!" I shouted out a counter spell, or at least one that would stop her. She yelled out a screech of pain, forcing even me to cover my ears and kneel on the ground. Her voice is comparable to that of an angered banshee, in the deadliest of moods, thankfully though, Ahrima's voice did not carry the power to kill as she screamed like a Banshee does. Shutting my eyes, I waited for what seemed like Hours. Jeez! If I had that kind of lung capacity, who knows what lengthy spells I could conjure up, instead it's wasted on her YELLING! Then again, she does practice almost every hour of the day by yelling my ear off. She especially loved to do it in the mornings, when I'm trying to sleep. As soon as she stopped screaming I opened my eyes. My ears, officially ringing, and a head ache following; I shook my head to ignore it and looked around me. Candles and Baubles were placed everywhere but all shone no shred of light. The storm that I had briefly noticed earlier had clamed, but as always, the sky was still a dark steely black. The room was bare other than Ahrima, the candles and baubles. Columns were place here and there in a pattern and Windows were also present, about three stride lengths apart from each other. I walked over and stood above Ahrima's now twitching body, my footsteps not even making a sound, as always. 'Still as death' the servants said when they thought I could not hear them. No, the dead were much louder than I. The dead howl, and scream in torment and agony. They call out in cries of rage and anger. No, I am as silent as the wind itself on a calm day.
"Ahrima." I said, piercing the now unbidden silence. Ahrima kept twitching, and her normally burnt golden colored eyes were dull and yellow. I wonder how this is going to affect the boy. If lucky, not at all, though luck had seemed to abandon us at such moments many times before. My spell had worked, at least I know that much.
"How could you?" Consider my debt from that horrible mess I made before on that last shenanigan you sent me on, paid in full.
"You idiot, even I know it's too early. What were you even thinking? Pulling a stunt like that? You could have been killed! Not to mention you could have killed the boy!" I said angrily, with sarcasm and indifference dripping from my lips. It will be a grand day when I am rid of you. There is one of the great differences between you and I. I am smart, though I keep it to myself when it is not needed to be voiced out loud, the same with my powers. You flaunt all of your knowledge and 'grace' everyone with the grand display of your powers in all of its glory. You do not know however, the upper hand I have gained in your lack of perceptiveness. In your lack of seeing what is truly there. You believe me to be a stupid buffoon only good to do your bidding; this will be your downfall.
"Rock a by horsy..." She began singing as she sat up and rocked herself back and forth like a crazy women. My lip curled up into a smile. The spell she tried only could work on sane people; it's too much for someone who is mentally ill. It's a good thing I know this spell, though there was a high chance that it could have fried her brains when I did it, hmm.too bad this is only temporary.
"When you're done singing children's songs, we have important matters to discuss." I said and turned to leave. I had my hand on the door handle when I stopped.
"Don't leave me please, Aki. Please. I'm afraid of the dark. You know that. Please don't leave!" She said, her voice tear filled. My knuckles turned white as I grasped the door tightly. ` ` ~*~Flashback~*~
"Don't leave me please, Aki. Please. I'm afraid of the dark. You know that. Please don't leave!" cried a little girl in the cave. It was raining out and she had gotten stuck in the storm. A small boy who was at the entrance about to leave turned around.
"I won't be gone long Akiko. I promise."
"Please! I'm so afraid! When I'm in the dark, I begin to remember things. Bad things. Like when mommy and daddy were killed! Please Aki! Please don't leave me in the dark!" The boys face became pained. He walked to his older sister, who for the first time, looked even younger than him.
"I won't leave you." He whispered as he pulled her into a hug.
~*~ Be a Flashback No More~*~ ` `
"Grow up Ahrima. That boy is long dead now. He doesn't exist. You did this yourself. He left you, because you left him in the dark first!" I cried out with more anger than I had intended and swung the door open and slammed it as I walked out.
"No! You can't leave! Aki!" Came the heart wrenching cries of a young girl screaming through the millions of years old body of Ahrima, but I remained immune to their strands of pain as I silently walked down the cold hard steps, disappearing in the shadows. Maybe I should have opted to let her kill herself.
***
"Aki!" came the piercing yell that was none other than the one that belongs to my dear sweet sister. Not even a full few moments later I appeared before her in the throne room. Her face was contorted in rage and was reddened by tearstains of two days worth of crying in insanity. Though, what sentimentality she could have gone through when she was insane, was completely wiped away as she had returned to sanity, my spell had wore off. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or bad.
"You called."
"You bastard! You.you low life scum! You idiot! You stupid, egotistical bastard!" I didn't even flinch as she dealt out name after name. I had heard her say them all, and none fazed me in the least.
"And what have I done to loose favor with you Sister Ahrima."
"Don't you 'Sister Ahrima' me! Do you know what you have done! I was so close to."
"To what! Killing yourself! Killing him off! Ruining our plan! Destroying years worth of work!" I yelled back. Sometimes, sitting back and taking it like a dog, is not the best tactic to use, now was one of those times.
"No! I almost had it! I almost had it all! Did you know that that particular spell can only be used by a being once in a hundred years!" I leaned back in the air. This above all annoys her, though she doesn't like to show it.
"Well that's really too bad. Now if you had waited and hadn't stupidly rushed things, then maybe you wouldn't have had to waist the easy plan 'A' idea. Now we have to go to plan 'B' which seems almost to much trouble to bother with."
"That stone that Satsuma had made was brilliant! And then that little wench went a destroyed it, and our whole plan! If only I knew how she had created that stone, I could make one out of Iraz crystal, and it would be much more effective than hers ever was." Here we go again. On with the ranting about the blue crystal. It is gone! Quite crying over it! It's gone, that stupid girl got a one up over us. Now it's our turn to twist the odds back into our favor.
"You're new mirror was completed." I said handing her a small leather bag from out of my shirt where it had been safely tucked. I sent it in the air towards her and she grasped it with her hands. She smoothly pulled the drawstring and held the mirror in her palm.
"Reflected sight" she said, activating the spell imbedded into the mirror and making it grow large until it was the span if my arms together. It hung suspended in the air facing her as she made motions with her hands that made one image disappear, reappear, or make a new image appear. The Looking mirrors of this proportion took a lot of control to work, more than I have. I grow much too impatient.
"No! I have lost him!" She screeched as her hand movements became more rapid.
"Why not search for the girl instead?"
"What makes you think I would want to look for the girl?" She seethed. I shrugged. If she couldn't figure it out on her own, I wasn't about to tell her. I reclined in the soft air, and listened to the whispers the barely moving air draft brought me. All boring of course, just servants' gossip, but more amusing than watching Ahrima mumble about 'my' stupidity and making rapid motions with her hands in attempt to find what she was looking for. Oh yes. Much more entertaining.
"I have found her at last." She said coolly. Apparently she took my advice after all, though she would never admit it, and claim that it was her idea to begin with.
"And what is it that you see?" I asked mildly curious. She gazed into the mirror with bittersweet amusement.
"I see this." She said and swung the mirror facing me. I gazed into its depths, and saw a young women standing there, with a spear to her neck. She was quite pretty for a human wench. I assume that this must be Chihiro. Then the image completely faded.
"Well? Are you going to tell me what you heard? Remember, I do not control this mirror, I can only see what you show, and can't hear a word. So enlighten me."
"The boy is in Ukoria, at the Sakeyo House. I assume at the infirmary."
"No thanks to you and your bravado stunt." I said smugly, but she chose to ignore me. It was true and she knew that of course. Because she tried to take too much energy from him at once, he was more than likely in rough shape. Worse than Ahrima was a few days ago after her display of true stupidity. She must not be feeling quite herself. Usually after a smug remark like the last one made her snap like the sound of a whip cracking through air. It's quite funny to see her face contort with anger, though none other than me found amusement, the rest would cower in fear. It was quite entertaining.
"I want you to send your pet Ishrites. They haven't had any fun in a while. And while they have their fair share of a good time, I want you to grab the boy unnoticed. Then once we have him, our plan can be set to a more satisfying stage." Oh yah, now I get to have some fun. Thievery is my specialty, and the goods I was going to get, would prove interesting. On second thought, maybe Plan 'B' will be more fun.
` *** ` `
"Bye Sam. Good bye Killer." I said over my shoulder as I got off on my stop. I slowly stepped through a curtained doorway that seemingly had no back. At first it was dark, but after a few steps, all of the sudden I became bombarded with music and yelling. Cries of merchants yelling about things for sale, spirits laughing, spirits weaving around the streets, some dancing, some playing, some just enjoying it as it comes. This was Ukoria, and Ukoria was renowned for it's parties and sake. I remember the last time I was here. Kohaku took me, we were supposed to be negotiating about the prices for the sake that the Bathhouse needed. Kohaku and I were parted and I got lost. It turned out I ended up standing in front of the building we were supposed to be going to, to deal with trade negotiations and not even knowing it, while Kohaku ended up looking around half of Ukoria! It turned out fine though, and Kohaku was just glad to find me, and I him. The trading went exceptionally well too.
"Excuse me miss, but would you like to buy some sake? A pretty bottle of sake? For you it will only be 20 krinklets. It's Ukoria's finest!" asked a grubby looking spirit, in a slippery snake like voice, common to most underhanded merchants. He had an almost human like face, and had four small black hairs to adorn his head. His skin was a medium orange/brown and all four of his eyes were orange colored. On his back, he carried a bag that clanked, from what I guess to be more bottles of Sake.
"No. I'm on an errand for something other than to buy sake." I said politely and turned to walk off into the crowd, but the spirit grabbed me by two of his five arms.
"Perhaps the pretty little missy is lost? I can give you directions. It will only cost you three krinklets. Very reasonable." Krinklets, krinklets, krinklets. Such a funny word for money! I remember my first time coming here and I was so confused that it had taken two hours for Kohaku to completely explain the money exchange. All of the money is in coins. Corbs are the smallest and have snakelike designs on them. It takes eighteen corbs to equal a krinklet. A krinklet was a black colored coin with a silver sun printed on it. It only takes ten krinklets to equal a Scholep. A sholep is a sleek maroon coin with a sword printed on it in orange. Three of these equal a bril. A bril is the highest amount of money in the exchange. Almost like a c-note to humans back into the human world. A bril is really pretty. It looks like a soft blue colored glass piece shaped coin, but can't be broken. In the middle of it is a completely clear teardrop. Kohaku showed me one once. I really liked it, but we had to use it to buy the bathhouse its sake. I haven't exchanged my money currency from the bathhouse yet. Shoot! I need to do that soon too.
"No thank you." I said and tried to push past him, but he wouldn't let go of the grasp on my shoulder.
"I won't take no for an answer. Either you buy something or I'll take you're money." He threatened. Oh boy, where was Kohaku when you needed him! I tried to loosen his grasp, but his sharp nails dug into my shoulder.
"Let me go!"
"I don't thing I will." He cackled. He threw me against a wall.
"Orgnek! Leave her alone right this instant." Came a strong female voice from behind him, but I couldn't see through the huge bag on his pack to see whom it is. He froze.
"Orgnek, you have caused enough trouble today, now go back to the hole you crawled from.now!" Orgnek quickly disappeared into the crowd. I looked up to the voice of the speaker who had scarred 'Orgnek' off. There stood in front of me, a tall woman with dark copper skin. She had black hair that was tied in a tight ponytail, only allowing enough hair to shape her face to escape. Her hair waved all the way down sharply in a thick line to her hips. In one hand she held a spear, and her other hand was placed on her hip. She had swirly tattoos on her cheeks, and a diamond shape on her forehead. Her eyes are the color of ashes. She wore golden armbands on her upper quite well toned, muscular arms. She wore a dress that was tight. The top was like a tank top, but the dress split from the hips on down, which left an excellent view for the sides of her well-toned legs as well. She looked athletic and in extremely good shape. She wore a belt that looked to be made of leather and had pouches. Across her chest she wore a leather strap. She looked at me, and quickly, with fluid motions, had it placed on her back in the strap, much like the kind Nushi, the Air Spirit had, only he used his for keeping swords.
"You can get up now." I nodded and quickly stood up.
"Thank you." I said nodding my head. She stared at me scrutinizing.
"Where are you headed?"
"To the Sakeyo House, head of this place." I said. She tensed up and as soon as she had dispersed it, her spear was at my throat, again in the strong woman's hands. I hadn't even had time to blink.
"What business would a commoner like you have?" I smiled weakly, and tried to melt into the wall behind me as the sharp point of the spear started to break the skin.
"I'm here to see Kohaku. He is my husband and he has fallen ill. I am here to take him back to the Bath House that the Head Mistress Arelinita manages." She shifted slightly, her eyes wandered onto an object that didn't exist, then her gaze became even harder as her attention snapped back onto me.
"How do I know that what you say is true?" She asked. What have I gotten myself into? What could I show her that would give her proof of what I had told her was indeed the truth?
"My ring. The ring Kohaku gave me for my wedding, is that proof enough?" I asked sounding braver than I really am. Hopefully it works.
"Let me see." I slowly moved my left hand up in the air were the stones in the ring glimmered as the cities party lights hit it. Slowly the woman moved and touched it.
"What the.!"I yelped as I yanked my hand back, starring at the swirly markings on her face that had been glowing as she touched my ring.
"What you say is the truth. I can feel Kohaku's power twined in your ring." She lowered her spear again.
"Come, I will take you to him. He is not doing well." I stood there shocked than quickly hurried after her. My, she was fierce and a bit blunt. I can't make heads or tails of her.
"Um, excuse me, but.my name is Chihiro. What's yours?"
"I am Fiammeta, Daughter of the wise and brave Takehiko of the Amazon territory in Spirit World. All I know I was taught by my mother Takehiko, and my tribe. I am a guard here at Ukoria."
"That's interesting. Um.Fiammeta, when you touched my ring, the markings on your face glowed an orange and red color. What did you do?"
"That was a gift bestowed upon me by the unnamed man that was my father. He was a Spirit both of fire and earth. He was a powerful spirit and all the power he possessed came to me as soon as I was conceived. That was a small taste of what I can do." Um.okay. That didn't directly answer my question, though her answer was interesting. An Amazonian, well, part Amazonian and part Spirit. That must be a powerful combination. I think Kohaku mentioned Amazon women once or twice.but I can't remember.what was it that he told me about them? Hmm.
"Ishrites!" rang out a terrified voice in the crowd, which surprised many. I glanced at Fiammeta, she too surprised as me. What is an Ishrite?
"Ishrites! The Ishrites are coming! They attack from above! Run! Run if you value your lives! Run!" The spirit that had been yelling screamed incomprehensible words as he vanished. Hundreds of spirits looked up, and I did too, though I strongly wish I hadn't. Ugly creatures flew in the air on wings like bats. Long and black. Curved bones could be defined in the wings and where the tips were rounded on a bat's, the bones sharpened to create a grand tool for impaling as well as flying. The wings were black and scaly, with blood dripping out of fresh wounds from them. Their bodies are gangly and thin, reminding me of a near death-starved human, though it's arms and legs were much too large to be a humans. Their heads shaped like a gargoyles, and even from this distant, I can see the saliva dripping from huge ghoulish teeth.
"Ishrites? But that can't be! They haven't been here since." but fiammeta's soft murmur was drowned out as shouts and sounds, none making sense, but all snaked in fear, rang through the air. I looked around at the chaos that seemed to have happened in a matter of seconds. The wild, fun, enticing feel that had hugged the city here, disappeared as fear gripped it in its place.
"Chihiro, above you!" Fiammeta yelled in a strong voice. I looked straight above and saw to my horror, a creature with long sharp claws, and dull pink, hellish eyes coming straight at me. It's wings beat hard and fast, giving it more momentum. I can smell the putrid odor of death and carnage from it all ready. What was even worse though.was it's coming for me and all I can do is watch in fear.
` ` ` Authors Ending Note: Well, how did you like it? Am I going too fast? Or is it a good pace? What do you think of everything that's happening? How about my Ishrites? They were kind of fun to come up with. So what do you think of the evil guys so far? Do I need to show a certain characteristic more in one of them? Or are they just fine for now?
What do you want to see more of in this fic.? Love? Action? Adventure? Evil creatures like the Ishrites? More original characters? More of the older characters? Comic relief characters? Evil cliffies? (Well I make evil cliffies whether you want them or not.just to keep you twitching, and your suspense into 'killer' mode!() Well, anyways, you just tell me if you want to see more of something, and I'll make sure to do the best I can to add it in here.
Any Questions or comments you want to give/ask me, just drop them on by in my review box. Till next time! L8terz!
Authors Beginning Note: I am sooo tired! But you know what.I'm too psyched about writing this chapter to sleep!
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Chapter 3
Insanity, Memories,
And Monsters
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Oh no, she isn't.that stupid idiot! I raged in my head as I felt a sharp jolt of power in the air and ran through the hallways, pushing idle servants, when met, aside. I started to climb the stairs, but soon chose to fly, for it was the quicker of the two. Coming to the very top of the tallest tower I set myself down again and ran the rest of the way.
"Ahrima!" I bellowed through the large tower door. In the center she laid on the hard and cold stone floor. Her coal black and red streaked hair snaked out around her, forming a dark halo and her crimson dress was fanned out like a pool of blood surrounding her. She was nearly motionless. Her skin is pale as ash, and she stares at the ceiling, unblinkingly. Her red lips moved incessantly and she mumbled incoherent words to ears of those who knew not the spell she was attempting to invoke. She will ruin everything if she keeps this up!
"Ahrima! Stop this at once!" She didn't. Instead the storm that was raging outside was becoming more violent with every syllable she muttered. Soon her words gathered in sound and became more of a musical tone that shattered through the sky. No, it is nearly complete! She will kill herself and ruin the best supply of power given to us! Finding another replacement would take months! Even if it does rid me of her, it's too much work to throw away here! All because of her stupidity!
"Atria Harahan Séance Dray Edos Say Cumos Etna!" I shouted out a counter spell, or at least one that would stop her. She yelled out a screech of pain, forcing even me to cover my ears and kneel on the ground. Her voice is comparable to that of an angered banshee, in the deadliest of moods, thankfully though, Ahrima's voice did not carry the power to kill as she screamed like a Banshee does. Shutting my eyes, I waited for what seemed like Hours. Jeez! If I had that kind of lung capacity, who knows what lengthy spells I could conjure up, instead it's wasted on her YELLING! Then again, she does practice almost every hour of the day by yelling my ear off. She especially loved to do it in the mornings, when I'm trying to sleep. As soon as she stopped screaming I opened my eyes. My ears, officially ringing, and a head ache following; I shook my head to ignore it and looked around me. Candles and Baubles were placed everywhere but all shone no shred of light. The storm that I had briefly noticed earlier had clamed, but as always, the sky was still a dark steely black. The room was bare other than Ahrima, the candles and baubles. Columns were place here and there in a pattern and Windows were also present, about three stride lengths apart from each other. I walked over and stood above Ahrima's now twitching body, my footsteps not even making a sound, as always. 'Still as death' the servants said when they thought I could not hear them. No, the dead were much louder than I. The dead howl, and scream in torment and agony. They call out in cries of rage and anger. No, I am as silent as the wind itself on a calm day.
"Ahrima." I said, piercing the now unbidden silence. Ahrima kept twitching, and her normally burnt golden colored eyes were dull and yellow. I wonder how this is going to affect the boy. If lucky, not at all, though luck had seemed to abandon us at such moments many times before. My spell had worked, at least I know that much.
"How could you?" Consider my debt from that horrible mess I made before on that last shenanigan you sent me on, paid in full.
"You idiot, even I know it's too early. What were you even thinking? Pulling a stunt like that? You could have been killed! Not to mention you could have killed the boy!" I said angrily, with sarcasm and indifference dripping from my lips. It will be a grand day when I am rid of you. There is one of the great differences between you and I. I am smart, though I keep it to myself when it is not needed to be voiced out loud, the same with my powers. You flaunt all of your knowledge and 'grace' everyone with the grand display of your powers in all of its glory. You do not know however, the upper hand I have gained in your lack of perceptiveness. In your lack of seeing what is truly there. You believe me to be a stupid buffoon only good to do your bidding; this will be your downfall.
"Rock a by horsy..." She began singing as she sat up and rocked herself back and forth like a crazy women. My lip curled up into a smile. The spell she tried only could work on sane people; it's too much for someone who is mentally ill. It's a good thing I know this spell, though there was a high chance that it could have fried her brains when I did it, hmm.too bad this is only temporary.
"When you're done singing children's songs, we have important matters to discuss." I said and turned to leave. I had my hand on the door handle when I stopped.
"Don't leave me please, Aki. Please. I'm afraid of the dark. You know that. Please don't leave!" She said, her voice tear filled. My knuckles turned white as I grasped the door tightly. ` ` ~*~Flashback~*~
"Don't leave me please, Aki. Please. I'm afraid of the dark. You know that. Please don't leave!" cried a little girl in the cave. It was raining out and she had gotten stuck in the storm. A small boy who was at the entrance about to leave turned around.
"I won't be gone long Akiko. I promise."
"Please! I'm so afraid! When I'm in the dark, I begin to remember things. Bad things. Like when mommy and daddy were killed! Please Aki! Please don't leave me in the dark!" The boys face became pained. He walked to his older sister, who for the first time, looked even younger than him.
"I won't leave you." He whispered as he pulled her into a hug.
~*~ Be a Flashback No More~*~ ` `
"Grow up Ahrima. That boy is long dead now. He doesn't exist. You did this yourself. He left you, because you left him in the dark first!" I cried out with more anger than I had intended and swung the door open and slammed it as I walked out.
"No! You can't leave! Aki!" Came the heart wrenching cries of a young girl screaming through the millions of years old body of Ahrima, but I remained immune to their strands of pain as I silently walked down the cold hard steps, disappearing in the shadows. Maybe I should have opted to let her kill herself.
***
"Aki!" came the piercing yell that was none other than the one that belongs to my dear sweet sister. Not even a full few moments later I appeared before her in the throne room. Her face was contorted in rage and was reddened by tearstains of two days worth of crying in insanity. Though, what sentimentality she could have gone through when she was insane, was completely wiped away as she had returned to sanity, my spell had wore off. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or bad.
"You called."
"You bastard! You.you low life scum! You idiot! You stupid, egotistical bastard!" I didn't even flinch as she dealt out name after name. I had heard her say them all, and none fazed me in the least.
"And what have I done to loose favor with you Sister Ahrima."
"Don't you 'Sister Ahrima' me! Do you know what you have done! I was so close to."
"To what! Killing yourself! Killing him off! Ruining our plan! Destroying years worth of work!" I yelled back. Sometimes, sitting back and taking it like a dog, is not the best tactic to use, now was one of those times.
"No! I almost had it! I almost had it all! Did you know that that particular spell can only be used by a being once in a hundred years!" I leaned back in the air. This above all annoys her, though she doesn't like to show it.
"Well that's really too bad. Now if you had waited and hadn't stupidly rushed things, then maybe you wouldn't have had to waist the easy plan 'A' idea. Now we have to go to plan 'B' which seems almost to much trouble to bother with."
"That stone that Satsuma had made was brilliant! And then that little wench went a destroyed it, and our whole plan! If only I knew how she had created that stone, I could make one out of Iraz crystal, and it would be much more effective than hers ever was." Here we go again. On with the ranting about the blue crystal. It is gone! Quite crying over it! It's gone, that stupid girl got a one up over us. Now it's our turn to twist the odds back into our favor.
"You're new mirror was completed." I said handing her a small leather bag from out of my shirt where it had been safely tucked. I sent it in the air towards her and she grasped it with her hands. She smoothly pulled the drawstring and held the mirror in her palm.
"Reflected sight" she said, activating the spell imbedded into the mirror and making it grow large until it was the span if my arms together. It hung suspended in the air facing her as she made motions with her hands that made one image disappear, reappear, or make a new image appear. The Looking mirrors of this proportion took a lot of control to work, more than I have. I grow much too impatient.
"No! I have lost him!" She screeched as her hand movements became more rapid.
"Why not search for the girl instead?"
"What makes you think I would want to look for the girl?" She seethed. I shrugged. If she couldn't figure it out on her own, I wasn't about to tell her. I reclined in the soft air, and listened to the whispers the barely moving air draft brought me. All boring of course, just servants' gossip, but more amusing than watching Ahrima mumble about 'my' stupidity and making rapid motions with her hands in attempt to find what she was looking for. Oh yes. Much more entertaining.
"I have found her at last." She said coolly. Apparently she took my advice after all, though she would never admit it, and claim that it was her idea to begin with.
"And what is it that you see?" I asked mildly curious. She gazed into the mirror with bittersweet amusement.
"I see this." She said and swung the mirror facing me. I gazed into its depths, and saw a young women standing there, with a spear to her neck. She was quite pretty for a human wench. I assume that this must be Chihiro. Then the image completely faded.
"Well? Are you going to tell me what you heard? Remember, I do not control this mirror, I can only see what you show, and can't hear a word. So enlighten me."
"The boy is in Ukoria, at the Sakeyo House. I assume at the infirmary."
"No thanks to you and your bravado stunt." I said smugly, but she chose to ignore me. It was true and she knew that of course. Because she tried to take too much energy from him at once, he was more than likely in rough shape. Worse than Ahrima was a few days ago after her display of true stupidity. She must not be feeling quite herself. Usually after a smug remark like the last one made her snap like the sound of a whip cracking through air. It's quite funny to see her face contort with anger, though none other than me found amusement, the rest would cower in fear. It was quite entertaining.
"I want you to send your pet Ishrites. They haven't had any fun in a while. And while they have their fair share of a good time, I want you to grab the boy unnoticed. Then once we have him, our plan can be set to a more satisfying stage." Oh yah, now I get to have some fun. Thievery is my specialty, and the goods I was going to get, would prove interesting. On second thought, maybe Plan 'B' will be more fun.
` *** ` `
"Bye Sam. Good bye Killer." I said over my shoulder as I got off on my stop. I slowly stepped through a curtained doorway that seemingly had no back. At first it was dark, but after a few steps, all of the sudden I became bombarded with music and yelling. Cries of merchants yelling about things for sale, spirits laughing, spirits weaving around the streets, some dancing, some playing, some just enjoying it as it comes. This was Ukoria, and Ukoria was renowned for it's parties and sake. I remember the last time I was here. Kohaku took me, we were supposed to be negotiating about the prices for the sake that the Bathhouse needed. Kohaku and I were parted and I got lost. It turned out I ended up standing in front of the building we were supposed to be going to, to deal with trade negotiations and not even knowing it, while Kohaku ended up looking around half of Ukoria! It turned out fine though, and Kohaku was just glad to find me, and I him. The trading went exceptionally well too.
"Excuse me miss, but would you like to buy some sake? A pretty bottle of sake? For you it will only be 20 krinklets. It's Ukoria's finest!" asked a grubby looking spirit, in a slippery snake like voice, common to most underhanded merchants. He had an almost human like face, and had four small black hairs to adorn his head. His skin was a medium orange/brown and all four of his eyes were orange colored. On his back, he carried a bag that clanked, from what I guess to be more bottles of Sake.
"No. I'm on an errand for something other than to buy sake." I said politely and turned to walk off into the crowd, but the spirit grabbed me by two of his five arms.
"Perhaps the pretty little missy is lost? I can give you directions. It will only cost you three krinklets. Very reasonable." Krinklets, krinklets, krinklets. Such a funny word for money! I remember my first time coming here and I was so confused that it had taken two hours for Kohaku to completely explain the money exchange. All of the money is in coins. Corbs are the smallest and have snakelike designs on them. It takes eighteen corbs to equal a krinklet. A krinklet was a black colored coin with a silver sun printed on it. It only takes ten krinklets to equal a Scholep. A sholep is a sleek maroon coin with a sword printed on it in orange. Three of these equal a bril. A bril is the highest amount of money in the exchange. Almost like a c-note to humans back into the human world. A bril is really pretty. It looks like a soft blue colored glass piece shaped coin, but can't be broken. In the middle of it is a completely clear teardrop. Kohaku showed me one once. I really liked it, but we had to use it to buy the bathhouse its sake. I haven't exchanged my money currency from the bathhouse yet. Shoot! I need to do that soon too.
"No thank you." I said and tried to push past him, but he wouldn't let go of the grasp on my shoulder.
"I won't take no for an answer. Either you buy something or I'll take you're money." He threatened. Oh boy, where was Kohaku when you needed him! I tried to loosen his grasp, but his sharp nails dug into my shoulder.
"Let me go!"
"I don't thing I will." He cackled. He threw me against a wall.
"Orgnek! Leave her alone right this instant." Came a strong female voice from behind him, but I couldn't see through the huge bag on his pack to see whom it is. He froze.
"Orgnek, you have caused enough trouble today, now go back to the hole you crawled from.now!" Orgnek quickly disappeared into the crowd. I looked up to the voice of the speaker who had scarred 'Orgnek' off. There stood in front of me, a tall woman with dark copper skin. She had black hair that was tied in a tight ponytail, only allowing enough hair to shape her face to escape. Her hair waved all the way down sharply in a thick line to her hips. In one hand she held a spear, and her other hand was placed on her hip. She had swirly tattoos on her cheeks, and a diamond shape on her forehead. Her eyes are the color of ashes. She wore golden armbands on her upper quite well toned, muscular arms. She wore a dress that was tight. The top was like a tank top, but the dress split from the hips on down, which left an excellent view for the sides of her well-toned legs as well. She looked athletic and in extremely good shape. She wore a belt that looked to be made of leather and had pouches. Across her chest she wore a leather strap. She looked at me, and quickly, with fluid motions, had it placed on her back in the strap, much like the kind Nushi, the Air Spirit had, only he used his for keeping swords.
"You can get up now." I nodded and quickly stood up.
"Thank you." I said nodding my head. She stared at me scrutinizing.
"Where are you headed?"
"To the Sakeyo House, head of this place." I said. She tensed up and as soon as she had dispersed it, her spear was at my throat, again in the strong woman's hands. I hadn't even had time to blink.
"What business would a commoner like you have?" I smiled weakly, and tried to melt into the wall behind me as the sharp point of the spear started to break the skin.
"I'm here to see Kohaku. He is my husband and he has fallen ill. I am here to take him back to the Bath House that the Head Mistress Arelinita manages." She shifted slightly, her eyes wandered onto an object that didn't exist, then her gaze became even harder as her attention snapped back onto me.
"How do I know that what you say is true?" She asked. What have I gotten myself into? What could I show her that would give her proof of what I had told her was indeed the truth?
"My ring. The ring Kohaku gave me for my wedding, is that proof enough?" I asked sounding braver than I really am. Hopefully it works.
"Let me see." I slowly moved my left hand up in the air were the stones in the ring glimmered as the cities party lights hit it. Slowly the woman moved and touched it.
"What the.!"I yelped as I yanked my hand back, starring at the swirly markings on her face that had been glowing as she touched my ring.
"What you say is the truth. I can feel Kohaku's power twined in your ring." She lowered her spear again.
"Come, I will take you to him. He is not doing well." I stood there shocked than quickly hurried after her. My, she was fierce and a bit blunt. I can't make heads or tails of her.
"Um, excuse me, but.my name is Chihiro. What's yours?"
"I am Fiammeta, Daughter of the wise and brave Takehiko of the Amazon territory in Spirit World. All I know I was taught by my mother Takehiko, and my tribe. I am a guard here at Ukoria."
"That's interesting. Um.Fiammeta, when you touched my ring, the markings on your face glowed an orange and red color. What did you do?"
"That was a gift bestowed upon me by the unnamed man that was my father. He was a Spirit both of fire and earth. He was a powerful spirit and all the power he possessed came to me as soon as I was conceived. That was a small taste of what I can do." Um.okay. That didn't directly answer my question, though her answer was interesting. An Amazonian, well, part Amazonian and part Spirit. That must be a powerful combination. I think Kohaku mentioned Amazon women once or twice.but I can't remember.what was it that he told me about them? Hmm.
"Ishrites!" rang out a terrified voice in the crowd, which surprised many. I glanced at Fiammeta, she too surprised as me. What is an Ishrite?
"Ishrites! The Ishrites are coming! They attack from above! Run! Run if you value your lives! Run!" The spirit that had been yelling screamed incomprehensible words as he vanished. Hundreds of spirits looked up, and I did too, though I strongly wish I hadn't. Ugly creatures flew in the air on wings like bats. Long and black. Curved bones could be defined in the wings and where the tips were rounded on a bat's, the bones sharpened to create a grand tool for impaling as well as flying. The wings were black and scaly, with blood dripping out of fresh wounds from them. Their bodies are gangly and thin, reminding me of a near death-starved human, though it's arms and legs were much too large to be a humans. Their heads shaped like a gargoyles, and even from this distant, I can see the saliva dripping from huge ghoulish teeth.
"Ishrites? But that can't be! They haven't been here since." but fiammeta's soft murmur was drowned out as shouts and sounds, none making sense, but all snaked in fear, rang through the air. I looked around at the chaos that seemed to have happened in a matter of seconds. The wild, fun, enticing feel that had hugged the city here, disappeared as fear gripped it in its place.
"Chihiro, above you!" Fiammeta yelled in a strong voice. I looked straight above and saw to my horror, a creature with long sharp claws, and dull pink, hellish eyes coming straight at me. It's wings beat hard and fast, giving it more momentum. I can smell the putrid odor of death and carnage from it all ready. What was even worse though.was it's coming for me and all I can do is watch in fear.
` ` ` Authors Ending Note: Well, how did you like it? Am I going too fast? Or is it a good pace? What do you think of everything that's happening? How about my Ishrites? They were kind of fun to come up with. So what do you think of the evil guys so far? Do I need to show a certain characteristic more in one of them? Or are they just fine for now?
What do you want to see more of in this fic.? Love? Action? Adventure? Evil creatures like the Ishrites? More original characters? More of the older characters? Comic relief characters? Evil cliffies? (Well I make evil cliffies whether you want them or not.just to keep you twitching, and your suspense into 'killer' mode!() Well, anyways, you just tell me if you want to see more of something, and I'll make sure to do the best I can to add it in here.
Any Questions or comments you want to give/ask me, just drop them on by in my review box. Till next time! L8terz!