And now I present the final chapter in this week's installment. Frost has just seen something she can't believe and is about to act on it. Will she run away crying, or will she lay the smack down? I think we all know Frost well enough by now to know the answer to that one! What she does will end up changing Luther's life forever as well. Things are beginning to turn for both of them.
We are not far now from the ending. Only a few more weeks worth to go, 20 chapters in total. Next week I will try to post 3 chapters, and then the final 2 the week after thanksgiving. Hope to see yall back here for the big finish!
XV
Keltar was lying on the bed, his head propped up against the inner wall, inches from the door. He was nude, and he was not alone. Also in the room was a young woman with golden, flowing hair. The woman's head rested between Keltar's thighs, twisting and bobbing quickly. The woman was topless, but Frost could spy the dress that covered the woman from the waist down.
The woman, realizing the door had opened, stopped what she was doing, and sat straight up. Keltar did not catch on as quickly and was about to begin to protest when he noticed the woman's shocked stare. When it hit him that Frost had entered, he instinctively grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around his midsection. The woman also tried to cover herself, grabbing for her blouse.
"Frost! Wh…what are you doing here?" Keltar stammered.
"What am I doing? What am I doing you say?" Frost screamed. "No, what the hell are you doing? That's what I want to know!"
Keltar stammered a few syllables, unable to get a complete word out.
"Did you forget we were together? Did that just slip your mind?" Frost demanded.
"Hey!" Keltar replied, growing some backbone. "I thought we were over! I told you I had to have more, and you refused to give it to me, remember?"
Frost's face reddened. "I gave you….I gave you the same thing that dirty bitch was giving to you!"
"Yeah, but you wouldn't give me the rest! She would." Keltar countered.
The woman began to open her mouth in response to the slanderous name Frost had called her, but was quickly silenced by Frost waving the Wizardspike.
"Don't even" Frost warned the woman.
"Leave her out of this!" Keltar bellowed. "In fact, if you don't want to jump in the fun here, get the hell out and leave us alone."
Frost's vision swam red at such a proposition. She reached back and kicked the door closed. She held the Wizardspike up, and formed a glacial spike in her other hand.
The natural sounds of the jungle were interrupted by a woman's scream. The scream ended as abruptly as it began, leaving a silent weight hanging in the air.
Luther tensed quickly at the terrible scream, worried that maybe the demons had found a way to invade the town proper. He blessed his shield and began moving towards the tavern, where the sound had erupted from. He made no more than a few steps before Frost teleported in front of him.
"Luther! You've got to help me!" Frost pleaded.
"What's going on? Who screamed?" Luther asked confusedly.
"Not here, no time. Meet me in by the Spider Cavern, come quickly!" With that Frost teleported away, out of sight.
A roar rose up from the tavern, and several Iron Wolves poured out of the building.
"Where is she?" the lead Wolf demanded of Luther.
"Who do you seek?" Luther asked, still a bit confused.
"You know who! The sorceress you travel with!"
"Why do you want her? Is there a problem?" Luther asked, still lost as to what was happening.
"She killed a local woman and a barbarian, with utmost brutality. Go speak with Asheara, she is handling the investigation. Step aside, we must find the murderess." The man explained, pushing Luther aside.
Shock gripped Luther tightly. He could not understand what was happening. He had just a few moments ago, been holding Frost tightly in his arms, releasing her only to allow her to end her relationship with the barbarian. Now, not fifteen minutes later, he finds out that she had been accused of murder.
Luther made his way into the tavern, and the chaos brewing there. Iron Wolves were running to and fro, all searching for any hint of Frost. Luther knew she was in the jungle, but decided to withhold this information until he had a better idea of the situation.
When Asheara saw Luther enter, she quickly issued a last order to the Wolf by her and began his way. She was a tall woman, powerful in her build, befitting the head of a mercenary organization.
"Hello paladin" she said, facing him.
"Hello. What has happened here?"
"Well, there was a double murder here, and it is pretty obvious it was a sorceress that did it." Asheara answered.
"What makes you say that?" Luther queried.
"The female was killed by a glacial spike. Along with witnesses seeing the sorceress go up the stairs moments before the crime was committed."
"May I view the scene?"
Asheara nodded and led Luther up the stairs.
A grisly sight met Luther as he entered the room. A large spear of ice had been run through the throat of a young blonde woman. Blood mingled with the melting ice dripped onto the hard wooden floor. The man was none other than Keltar, his throat had been cut from one side to the other. The pair had apparently been involved in some form of sexual congress, for Keltar was completely nude, and the woman was topless.
Luther's heart sank. It was obvious what had happened here. Frost had charged in, found Keltar in a compromising situation with the woman, and she had lost her cool. She had then attacked the pair, and slain them. His duty was now to bring her in for judgment. He did not know if he would be able to, however since death would surely be the sentence.
Mournfully he turned away from the bloody scene, and back to Asheara.
"Will you help us look for her?" The mercenary captain asked.
"I will fulfill my duty." Luther said sadly before heading down the stairs and out the tavern door.
The Iron Wolves did not dare to enter the jungle itself. If she was out there alone, they hoped that the demons would do their work for them. Luther knew where Frost was, and knew there were few demons left wandering this section of jungle. The Wolves did not know this, and he was happy to leave them with this misconception. They let Luther through, confident that he would turn Frost in, should he find her. Luther did not share their confidence, however.
While he made his way to where Frost was waiting for him, his thoughts raced with blinding speed. He had just come to terms with his feelings, and Frost seemed to be genuinely interested in him. He had already begun to envision the perfect life they would share together as soon as this quest was over. Now it appeared that dream was in danger. The entire situation was altogether too familiar to Luther, and he could not get over the irony of it. He had only had his first love a brief time, and now his relationship with his second love was appearing to be even briefer.
His heart weighed heavy in his chest, and with each passing moment, he felt less likely to fulfill his duty. He did not believe he could turn Frost over for death, no matter how horrible the crime. He loved her too much to watch her die. But he could not let things go either, for it was the duty of a paladin to uphold the principles of Light, no matter how painful it was. He truly did not know what he was going to do, his mind changing from one decision to another with blinding speed.
He finally arrived in the clearing by the spider den, and found it empty. Panic raced through him at the thought of someone else arriving here first and taking Frost into captivity.
"Luther?" a voice called out tentatively.
Relieved, Luther answered "Yes, it's me."
A moment passed before Frost appeared in the opening. She teleported to a spot right by Luther and began to sob wildly. "Oh God, what have I done?" She asked to no one in particular.
"Did you really kill Keltar and the woman?" Luther asked, trying to be gentle.
"I couldn't help myself. I don't know what happened. I went to tell him that it was over, and I found him with that woman, and I just….just lost it." Frost said, clinging to Luther tightly. "The next thing I remember was the blood. Blood everywhere, blood on my hands, blood running down the blade of Wizardspike. I knew I had to get out of there, so I teleported out to you, and then to here."
Luther sighed heavily, and pulled back from Frost. "You know I have to take you in, don't you?"
"No! No, you can't! They'll kill me if I go back! Wait, I've got it. We can run away, leave this place and never return. I love you, now take me away from here, and let's go live our lives out together in peace." Frost pleaded.
"I don't know, we can't just run away…..can we?" Luther answered.
"Yes! Yes we can, let's get going, just the two of us. We can make our way to the east, through the jungle. I know of a secret path, not far from here." Frost said, tugging on Luther's arm.
Luther resisted a small bit, still unsure of what he should do in this situation.
"I'm afraid I cannot let you go" called a voice from the edge of the clearing.
"Who's there?" Frost called, worry slipping into her voice.
"Show yourself!" Luther demanded.
Laughter floated in the air, as a woman seemed to materialize out of thin air.
It was Natalya, though now she wore a helmet shaped like a skull, and her katars were drawn and primed for action. The black armor apparently had the ability to completely vanish, hiding her presence, at least temporarily. The assassin seemed comfortable in her surroundings, but still was prepared for anything. She held her claws in a defensive manner.
"Step aside, paladin, and I shall not report that you nearly neglected your duty" Natalya ordered.
Luther turned aside from Frost, staring back at the jungle, and away from his love, and the assassin sent for her.
"Frost, I told you that you were skirting the line. Now you've gone and killed a barbarian, and even worse, an unarmed civilian. Keltar might have been able to defend himself, but the woman was helpless before you."
"Where are you going to take her?" Luther queried.
"Oh, you misunderstand. I am not going to take her anywhere. She is to die, and I will serve as executioner. Do you plan to resist?" Natalya asked coolly, turning to Frost.
"You damn well better believe it" Frost said, holding Wizardspike up.
Luther stood stunned for a moment, unsure how he should react to the situation. He wanted to help Frost, but he knew he could not go against justice, and everything he believed in. He had killed many for committing the same crimes, but yet he could not imagine doing the same to Frost. His hard line stance against such acts had instantly softened when it came to someone he cared about.
Frost engaged the assassin, determined to destroy the woman, or at least put of a hell of a good fight. Frost threw out her hands, releasing a lightning bolt from them. The assassin did not stop her advance, but instead lifted her hand, deflecting the bolt off her palms, and sending it crashing into the jungle. A wicked smile spread across Natalya's face.
"You cannot harm me, sorceress. You should give up now, and make this easy for both of us."
"Go to hell." Frost replied fiercely.
A fire sprang out of Frost's hand, and she formed it into a ball. She threw the burning projectile at Natalya as hard as she could. Right as the fireball reached the assassin, she made a single swipe with her katar, and the fireball split down the middle, each side flying away and back, safely missing Natalya.
Magic was useless against the assassin, so Frost adopted a more martial approach. She charged forward, holding the Wizardspike in an attack position. The two collided in the center of the clearing with a tremendous crash. Frost stabbed the dagger forward as hard as she could. Natalya deftly knocked the dagger away with her claw as though it was nothing. The assassin then drew her hand back, and struck Frost with a great deal of force with the back side of her claw.
Frost twisted from the blow, and fell backwards. Quickly scrambling to her feet, Frost began to panic. The assassin was well trained in both avoiding magic and attacking with martial might. The sorceress decided that retreating might be the better option.
The trail out of clearing and deeper into the jungle was a good stretch away, but Frost figured she could get there in a couple of teleports. Frost teleported away when Natalya approached, throwing herself as far away as possible. Natalya was prepared, and teleported herself.
As soon as Frost rematerialized, the assassin did so as well. Natalya appeared in the middle of a roundhouse kick, which she finished by landing her heel against Frost's chin. Frost stumbled back in confusion. She did not know any other type of warrior could teleport besides sorceresses, though the proof of the assassin's ability still stung on Frost's chin.
Once again Frost teleported, and once again Natalya followed, landing another hard kick. The impact sent Frost flying, spinning through the air before crashing down with a thud. She struggled to return to her feet as the assassin approached.
"It's over, now it's time to die." Natalya said with a growl.
Frost was on her hands and knees when the woman reached her. Natalya reached down and grabbed Frost's hair, holding her head back. Natalya brought her claw down to Frost's throat, pausing a moment to gloat in her moment of victory.
"Luther help me!" Frost screamed.
Luther was numb all over. He did not know what to do, how to respond. This moment could define him, could change his life completely. If he turned from Frost, he would have upheld the Light, but yet he would carry the pain of losing her for the rest of his life. If he came to the sorceress' aid, he would betray everything he had ever stood for, but his darling love would live.
Either way, he would pay for his decision. In an instant, the answer became clear. He knew what truly mattered, what would sustain him for the rest of his life. He could not have known how much his life would change because of what he was about to do.
A woman's scream pierced the jungle air.