Zuko pulled Beast up short on the crest of a dune. Pink light was creeping up over the horizon before them, casting away the darkness and pushing back the brightness of the stars. He could feel the Garden's pull on him, nearly as powerful as the Conduit's had been all the way back in Jinsan. It called to something deep within him, to his inner fire burning in his belly.
"There it is," Zuko said, a bit breathless. He pointed to a dark mass that spread out in a small canyon. The sands came to an abrupt end at the cliff edge. The canyon was like a scar on the land. Zuko realized it was almost a perfect circle. On the other side the dunes rose back up, and would continue until the desert reached Chameleon Bay.
Katara straightened in the saddle, the scarce breeze lifting the flyaway hairs from her face, and she let out an elated laugh. "Spirits, Zuko, we made it!" She glimpsed back at him over her shoulder, the whites of her teeth shining brightly in her dark face. "We finally made it."
Zuko guided Beast down the other side of the dune. His heart was pounding in his chest and his blood was nearly singing in his veins. He sat up straighter in the saddle, any signs of tiredness or thoughts of sleep forgotten. His stomach was filled with a warmth that spread out from his core to his limbs.
"I can feel it now," Katara said. Her voice was filled with awe. "I can feel it...like it's pulling on my chi. It's incredible."
Zuko nodded. "Exactly."
He wanted to push Beast harder, to have the komodo rhino sprint across the remaining stretch of desert. He was more than eager to finally see the Garden in person. But he restrained himself. Beast was tired, and it wouldn't hurt to wait a little longer. Within the hour, they would be there.
But then his ears picked up a new sound: a rustling of...something. Beast sensed it too; the komodo's head swung to the right and he let out a grunt.
Zuko turned to look, and all feelings of elation evaporated.
About two dozen mongoose lizards were rushing toward them. Black-masked, black-clothed riders pushed them hard as they cut across the dunes. Even from the distance Zuko could see the glimmer of their weapons in the fading night.
Katara sensed it. She swiveled in the saddle and let out a horrified gasp. "Who is that?"
Zuko shook his head. "Not friends, that's for sure." Zuko snapped the reins and the komodo put on a fresh burst of speed. "Move, Beast!"
Obeying his master's command, the komodo bounded over the sand. Zuko gripped the reins and Katara, who clung to the saddle as the ungaitly rhino threatened to accidentally buck them from the saddle. Beast's paws sank deep into the sand and slowed their escape. Zuko threw a cautionary look over his shoulder and found that the mongoose lizards were gaining on them, and quickly.
Zuko swore under his breath.
Katara looked back. Her wide eyes caught his. "We're not going to make it to the Garden, Zuko."
His hand tightened on her waist. "I know." Once more, he pulled the komodo rhino up short. "We're going to have to make a stand."
Katara nodded, her expression determined. She reached for one of their waterskins. "Let's do it, then."
They dismounted from Beast. With a smack to the animal's hide and a gruff command from Zuko, the rhino took off across the sand. Beast, like all of the Fire Nation's komodo rhinos, was trained for battle but Zuko didn't want to risk the animal getting hurt or killed.
"What's the plan here?" Katara asked.
"We watch each other's backs and take out as many as we can." He took her hand and squeezed it. "Katara...no matter what happens, I love you."
"I love you too."
Together, they waited atop the dune. Katara secured two waterskins around her waist as Zuko drew his dao swords. He was still reluctant, even now, to firebend, although he knew it was going to come to that. He flexed his fingers against the hilts of his swords as he took in the ambushers. He didn't know who they were, but he suspected they were about to find out.
As the first of the lizards neared, its rider flicked their wrist out. In the early morning light Zuko saw the glint of stiletto knives racing through the air at them. Katara saw them too: before he could react, she brought up a wall of water and froze it. The knives embedded into the ice wall. Katara whipped her hands around and the ice melted into water once more. She flung her arms outward and the water turned to ice daggers and soared through the air.
"I've missed that," Katara said roughly. Zuko risked a glance over at her and saw a steely grin on her face. The heat of battle was rushing through her veins, and Zuko felt it too.
As the attackers neared they splintered off into three groups: one coming head-on and two from the sides. Zuko and Katara rotated until they stood back-to-back. As the pincer-movement closed, the masked assassins jumped from their reptilian mounts and brandished their weapons.
For a moment, they were at a standstill, two opposing sides preparing to face off in what was sure to be a bloody battle.
Zuko took advantage of the brief pause to demand, "Who are you?"
The one nearest to them at the front of the pack answered. He brandished dual swords like Zuko. He was tall, and broad-shouldered. Zuko instinctively knew he was the leader.
"Your sister sends her regards." And then he lunged.
Zuko barely had time to register his words before he was forced to raise his swords. He pressed forward, away from Katara. The metal clashed and sent sparks raining down between them. The man was taller than Zuko, and easily had thirty pounds on him, and just as Sensu had done, he used his weight to try and force Zuko down to his knees. Zuko's boots slid against the sand.
With that, the battle had begun. Katara drew the water to her and formed a half-pentapus. Her eyes flitted around and she whipped the tentacles at any movement she saw. More stilettos sailed through the air and Katara brought her arms up. The ice deflected the knives and she pushed out, allowing the water to sweep two of the assassins off their feet.
Zuko could feel the strain in his arms and shoulders. Being locked body-to-body was never good for the smaller combatants. Zuko gritted his teeth. He swept out with his foot and called upon his inner fire, and a jet of flame followed the sweep of his leg. The assassin withdrew and Zuko was right on top of him. He brought the swords down over the assassin's head, a trail of flame following them. The assassin was forced back again and Zuko spread his arms wide. A wave of fire arced towards his enemies. The leader, and those nearest to him, dropped and rolled to avoid being burned.
A weaponless assassin drew near to Katara. With a powerful kick, a blast of flame extinguished one of her tentacles. Katara tried to rebuild her defense, but a second wave of fire had her ducking aside. She felt the fire singe the hairs on her arms. She pulled the water with her, deforming the partial pentapus. Her arms rotated over her head and a jet of water hit the firebender in the chest.
Searing pain burned down her arm. Katara whipped the water into a wall of ice in front of her and glanced down. A stiletto knife was embedded in the back of her arm, cutting through the tender flesh. Katara pulled it out and cast it aside before she melted the ice and pulled the water back to her.
Zuko fought with a fury he hadn't felt in a long time. The leader's words played over and over in his mind: your sister sends her regards. Azula was behind this! But how did she know where we were? What we were doing? He could ask and hopefully answer those questions later. For now, the important thing was getting out of this alive.
Zuko coated the blades of his dao swords in fire and left blazes burning in his wake that scorched the sand black. The leader had fallen back and four more men had taken his place, wielding a variety of deadly-looking weapons. Behind him, Katara had draped the water around her arms and was deflecting the attacks from half a dozen more assassins.
Katara whipped the streams of water back and forth, knocking assassins aside, only to have more take their place. She didn't have nearly enough water, and that worried her. She could hear the roar of Zuko's fire behind her but she wouldn't dare risk a glance over her shoulder at him.
Katara drew her water into a pool in front of her. With an exhale, the water froze. She flicked her wrists out, and thousands of deadly, tiny icicles flew through the air. Assassins who weren't quick enough to dodge the volley of sharp icicles were pierced and felled by her attack. Katara quickly drew the water back to her.
Her arm stung from the wound and her blood dripped onto the sand. Hastily, she withdrew a small stream of water from her remaining supply and coated her arm in it, freezing it in place. It stung her wound viciously, but she didn't have the time to heal it.
Her eyes skirted the scene furtively, and what she saw was alarming.
The assassins were black shapes on the pale sand, leering at them from their faceless masks. There were more than she had realized, and it was becoming clear very quickly that there were more than she and Zuko alone could handle, even with their combined strength.
For a brief moment she was reminded of the catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se, when she and Aang had to fight off an entire legion of Dai Li agents, plus Zuko and Azula. Azula. It always comes back to Azula.
"Zuko," Katara said without breaking stride. She whipped at three of their assailants and was satisfied to see them knocked down the side of the dune. "There's too many of them. Any ideas?"
Zuko buried one of his flaming swords into the gut of an assassin who had dared to get too close. As he pulled the blade free he swung his other sword, flames pushing outward, to keep more back. Blood flecked his skin and dampened his clothes. Whether it was his or someone else's, Zuko didn't know.
"We keep fighting," he gritted out determinedly. "Never give up without a fight."
Her heart pounded furiously in her chest. She couldn't see them coming out of this alive. But Katara was a warrior, and she would never give up. His words surged through her, giving her strength. If this was the end, she was glad he was by her side. She swallowed the swell of fear that threatened to overcome her. She gritted her teeth and drew her water in closer.
"In that case, we better kick some ass so we don't disappoint. It will be an honor to go down with you, Fire Lord." Katara smiled at him.
Zuko drew closer to her and smiled back, his eyes glinting fiercely. "There's no one else I'd rather have by my side than you." He kissed her quickly. "I love you, Katara." He poured all of his love into those words, taking in her ocean eyes.
Although they were surrounded by enemies and only had a handful of seconds, it felt like time slowed down just for them to share this moment. Katara's voice was just as earnest. "I love you, Zuko."
With one last, tight smile, they broke apart and stepped back into the fray.
They fought, fire and water, Yin and Yang, push and pull, but the onslaught of enemies pushed back against them until they stood back-to-back once again. The assassins pressed in. Despite her best efforts some got too close. She felt their blades nip at her skin and tear her clothing, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins numbed most of the pain as she commanded the water to push them back again.
Zuko's fire lit up the dying night, casting their attackers in a ghoulish orange glow. The sounds of clashing blades and flames eating up the oxygen around them were the only sounds that could be heard, punctuated by grunts of effort and pain when a weapon found its mark. The battle forced them apart, despite their best efforts to remain close.
Half a dozen bodies lay scattered across the sand. Katara could smell the metallic tang of blood in the air. She could see it pooling, hot and crimson, beneath the bodies. I could end this, Katara thought abysmally as she pushed off two more assassins. I could turn them on each other and watch the slaughter.
But the thought of bloodbending curdled her stomach. The last time she had done it, she had been so out of control, filled with pain and rage. She had nearly killed a man. She had been filled with a darkness that made her recoil. She had wanted to run from herself, and she had sworn she would never bloodbend again.
And how ironic that it was Zuko who had been by her side then, and it was Zuko by her side now? I can't do it.
She could feel her powers waning as the full moon fell from the sky. Zuko's powers only grew with the rising sun. But how long could they keep this up? Black shadows were everywhere; their steel sparking in the brightening day. Her breaths rasped in her throat and the muscles in her arms protested at the strain. Sweat poured into her eyes and she flicked it away as more trickled down her back. And she was running low on water.
But there's water in blood, Katara thought darkly. And there was blood everywhere.
She transferred her remaining water to her left hand and reached out with her right, calling to the crimson liquid that stained the sand. To her chagrin, it obeyed her command, and soon, she had a supply of blood. It coated her arm, thick and sticky, the smell of it cloying in her nose. Katara wanted to recoil from it, but she couldn't. She needed it.
Katara lashed out with water and blood. It seemed to shock her enemies as she did.
Zuko saw Katara draw the blood to her. It was shocking, but they were desperate. He turned back and saw the throwing knife too late to do anything more than twist to the side to avoid a deathblow. The razor-sharp edge cut along the soft flesh of his hip.
He registered the impact but didn't quite manage to feel the pain. He felt the warmth of blood run down his side and into the waistband of his pants. Behind him he could hear Katara's labored breaths and the sound of the water moving through the air.
As the sun rose, so did his strength. But as it invigorated him, it also lent its power to his firebending enemies. And now he was wounded, and although he didn't think he was mortally hurt, he was losing blood and found it was all he could do to stay on his feet.
Suddenly the leader was before him again. The deadly swords were coming toward him. Zuko brought his arms up and felt the white-hot pain lance through his belly. He gritted his teeth and, to his dismay, found himself locked body-to-body with the assassin's leader once again.
"This is the end, Fire Lord Zuko," the masked assassin hissed.
Zuko could hear the grim satisfaction in his voice. That tone caused fury to surge through his veins. He wouldn't let this masked attacker defeat him. Zuko needed to win this. He needed to protect Katara. But he was only one man. And he only had so much strength.
The man brought his foot up and delivered a sharp kick to Zuko's inner thigh. Tingling numbness shot down his leg and Zuko felt it give out. He dropped to his knees in the sand and saw his imminent death. The assassin retracted his blades and Zuko's fell at his sides, the flames dying out, his fingers loosely gripping the hilts. Zuko saw the assassin bring his swords up and together, and saw the crimson smears of his blood on the sharp points that were about to deliver the death blow.
I'm sorry, Katara. Time slowed down once again, and a storm of thoughts rushed through him. How did I let this happen? What have I done? Aang would have never let this happen. He would've gone into the Avatar state and saved her. Maybe she was safer with him…
Behind him he heard Katara's panicked cry. "Zuko!"
Suddenly the man before him froze. His limbs began to twitch and tremble, and the assassin was forced to his knees. He grunted and strained uselessly against the unseen force. Zuko's eyes widened. He had seen that before, just one time.
Katara was bloodbending.
Zuko looked over his shoulder at her. Katara's face was set in a furious snarl, her eyes flashing in the dawn light. She held one hand out before her, her fingers curled. Zuko felt a shiver run down his spine. She was terrifying, and beautiful, and he couldn't believe she loved him so much she would bloodbend to save his life.
Some of the remaining assailants began to close in on them behind Katara. But before any of them could raise their weapons against the princess or the Fire Lord, overhead, a massive roar shattered the air. The wind picked up as broad wings beat against the sky. Zuko turned his gaze upward. What he saw took his breath away.
A two-headed black dragon circled around. On its back rode a woman dressed in black robes with raven-colored hair. Zuko watched as she threw herself from the back of the dragon into a free-fall from a hundred feet in the air. She unsheathed a katana from her waist mid-fall. The air around her shimmered before it turned black and danced like fog in the wind.
The Conduit landed in front of the fight. The impact shook the ground and shifted the sands around her. The assassins nearest to her struggled to maintain their balance.
She swept her blade out and a hurricane-strength wind kicked up sand and swept the combatants off their feet. Zuko was thrown sideways. He finally lost his grip on his dao swords as he rolled down the cool sand. He landed nearly ten feet away on his back with the wind knocked from his lungs and a searing pain in his side. He pressed his fingers against the wound. They came back warm and wet.
All around him the assassins landed haphazardly. Some managed to get back onto their feet within moments, but others struggled. He searched the dark masses for Katara, but couldn't see her.
He hoped that the Conduit's arrival was a good thing. She had obviously come to save them. He wanted to see her in action, to see the powers he had only gotten a taste of before. If she was half as powerful as she seemed, it would work in their favor. They could still win this.
Fresh adrenaline coursed through his veins and Zuko rolled onto his uninjured side and pushed himself onto his knees. He looked up in time to see the Conduit crest the dune. Black fog encased the blade of her sword and wavered in the air around her. Her eyes glowed black in the first rays of the sun.
"I warned you not to come for the Fire Lord and the princess!" Her voice carried over the desert, resounding with her ancient power. It sounded like thousands of voices speaking at once. A chill broke out across his skin at the sound. The wind picked up again, blowing her hair around her and stirring the sand into a miniature storm around her. Above her, the dragon circled, its impressive wings beating on the air. "Now you will pay the price for your insolence."
With that she jumped from the dune, almost weightless as she flew into the thick of the remaining assassins. Her blade cut through the air and the battle resumed.
Zuko pushed himself to his feet. He could feel the pain in his side now, and could feel the trickle of blood still running from the wound. He pressed one hand against it and raised the other, ready to continue this fight with renewed vigor. He looked around for his dao swords, but the sands were still shifting along with the breeze the Conduit had dredged up from nowhere.
"Zuko!" Katara appeared before him. His heart swelled when he saw that she was alright. Somewhere in the fray, she had lost her blood-weapon, but it didn't matter as long as she was fine. She took in his wound. "We've got to get out of here!"
"What about the Conduit?" He jerked his chin in her direction and his vision wavered. He blinked it away. He saw the nicks and cuts on Katara's hands and face.
"You're bleeding badly, Zuko," Katara said. "We don't have time for this." She drew some of her water into her hand and pressed it to the wound. She could at least stop the bleeding.
From above the dragon swooped low, the great beating of his wings causing mini sandstorms that tossed grit into their eyes and mouths. The dragon roared and black fire left its great mouths. Zuko and Katara watched in stunned horror as a handful of the assassins caught fire. Their screams filled the air. The smell of burning flesh was nauseating.
The wind surged again and the assassins were blown back. The Conduit stood straight in the middle of the storm she was brewing. Katara took a moment to admire the sheer strength she was displaying. Her free hand shot to the side and then back in front of her. The legs of her enemies were swept out from beneath them. The movement was oddly familiar. Is she airbending? Katara thought of that moment in their room at the inn where an invisible hand had wrapped around her and brought her closer to the Conduit. She was the Avatar's opposite; of course she could airbend.
Black eyes locked on Katara. "Get out of here! You need to get to the Garden. I'll handle them." Her eyes were dangerous, glittering jewels. A vicious smile creased her face and sent chills down Katara's spine. "We have some unfinished scores to settle." With that, she launched herself at the nearest assassin, the sun's first rays reflecting off her sword.
Katara looped her arm around Zuko, carefully avoiding his wound. "Come on. We've got to find Beast and get to the Garden. Can you hold on until then?"
"I'm not gonna die from a little flesh wound, Katara," Zuko muttered. But his voice was strained.
"That's a little more than a flesh wound, Zuko."
Katara and Zuko staggered up the side of the dune as quickly as they could. Katara spotted the familiar dao swords and bent down to pick them up with her free hand.
"Can't leave these behind," she muttered with dry humor.
"Thanks." Zuko took them from her and slid them into their sheath on his back with some effort, his face twisting in pain.
Below, the carnage ensued. Hopefully she takes care of all of them, Katara thought.
As they reached the apex of the dune, two assassins waited for them, weapons drawn. Shock and sadness gripped her heart. Beyond them, she could see Beast on his side. Even from the distance she could tell that the komodo rhino wasn't moving. Their supplies lay spread out across the sand.
"Not so fast, Princess," he sneered. "Put the Fire Lord down before he falls down, nice and slow."
Katara swallowed hard as she quickly absorbed the situation. She didn't have much water left in the skin on her waist, and both of her arms were supporting Zuko. The assassin would run her through before she could do anything.
I've got one thing left, Katara thought darkly. Her eyes flickered to the fingers that were wrapped around Zuko's wrist, draped across her shoulders. Hopefully she had enough power to do it, even with the full moon already setting. She could move them inconspicuously enough. The man would never know what hit him. She had bloodbended the leader without a moment's hesitation. She could do it again.
Without taking her eyes off of the assassins, she loosened her hold on Zuko's wrist. She curled her fingers in, reaching for the lifeblood that coursed through the man's veins. She could feel it, rushing below the surface of his skin, fast and rich with life and the heat of battle.
Her fingers twitched.
Before she could take control of his blood, the dragon ducked low. One assassin was picked up by one of the beast's massive jaws. Katara saw the glint of sharp teeth in its mouth. The man screamed, an agonized howl. The second was knocked aside by one massive wing. The assassin landed hard on the top of his head, and his neck twisted unnaturally. Katara flinched at the sound of cracking bones.
But the dragon wasn't done: it shook its broad head back and forth before letting the man go. Katara watched in stunned horror as the body flew through the air before landing some distance away. The assassin did not move again. The dragon swooped past them, its great wings raising a breeze that stirred Katara's hair. The smell of blood and death followed that creature, and she had to suppress a shudder.
"Come on," Katara murmured, dazed.
She and Zuko made their way toward where the komodo rhino lay. They didn't have much time to waste, but she had to know. She had to be sure.
Beast was dead.
"Oh no," Katara moaned. Fear prickled on her skin. How would they get out of the desert on time? She looked down at the dead animal and blinked away the tears that had sprung, unbidden, to her eyes. His loss was more than just harmful to their ways of travel. She had grown sincerely fond of the animal she had been so skeptical about.
"They poured out all the water," Zuko remarked. He gestured to the empty water skins, discarded on the sand. He winced and pressed his hand against his hip. "Do you have any left?"
"Not much." Katara looked up at him. "We've got to move. We can't stay here." Her eyes combed over the scene. There were the mongoose lizards, but the fight lay between the two of them and the animals. They couldn't risk going back. They had to go on by foot. She pointed to the east, where the canyon lay. "The Conduit gave us a window to get out of here. We've got to try and get to the Garden. Can you walk?"
"I'm fine. Can you?"
She nodded.
They set off toward the canyon as quickly as they could. She looked over at Zuko. His face was pinched and his skin was pallid and he limped against the pain in his side. She wasn't faring much better herself. It didn't help that they had been riding all night and were utterly exhausted.
"As soon as we get to the Garden, I'll get that properly taken care of," she told him as he leaned against her.
Katara looked back over her shoulder. The black dragon wheeled through the sky, breathing black fire down below. The sounds of battle carried on the air.
Katara hoped the Conduit would be able to finish the assassins off. She didn't wish death on anyone, but she suspected the assassins wouldn't give up on their pursuit so easily. If they did come for them, Katara would end them, even if she harbored the guilt of their deaths afterward. Their mission was too important to jeopardize with ideas of morality. But all the same, she was grateful it was the Conduit who was spilling blood, not her.
"You're bleeding," Zuko remarked.
"What?" Katara glanced down. For the first time she realized how bad the wound in her arm was. The band of ice she had formed had melted away, exposing her wound. Her arm ached fiercely and she could feel the blood soaking her sleeve. She shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Let's just focus on getting to the Garden, okay?"
Zuko didn't protest.
They pressed onward. The canyon, with the Garden inside, loomed closer with every breath they took. The sun was rising in their eyes, casting the sand and the walls of the canyon in shades of gold, but the dark mass of the garden remained dark, as if the light didn't quite reach it.
Katara ignored the pain in her arm, and the sting and ache of the other wounds she had suffered. She focused her gaze on the approaching drop-off. She would figure out how to get them down into the canyon when they got there. All that mattered right now was that they did get there.
As they approached the edge, she realized that the dark mass in the canyon were trees: skeletal, barren trees that were ashy brown-gray in color, petrified by the sun's intense rays. It didn't look anything like a garden. But Katara knew it was the place they had been searching for: she had become aware of its draw on her chi again.
Behind her, Zuko straightened fractionally. "We're...actually going to make it." His voice was filled in wonder.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Katara muttered. "Even if we get there, we better hope the Conduit takes care of all those guys, or they might follow us."
They carried on. Katara searched the surroundings at the edge of the canyon for a way down, but she saw nothing that would be of any use to them. She glanced over at Zuko, at the way he limped along, and could feel the stiff pain in her arm. They were in no condition to climb down into the canyon. She would have to risk having the assassins coming after them so she could heal herself and Zuko.
She heard the impact a heartbeat later, quickly followed by Zuko's grunt of surprise and pain. Katara turned her head in time to see Zuko fall forward, a stiletto knife buried in his back, just below his shoulder blade. He fell from her grasp and into the sand.
"No!" Katara was mortified by the sight. She reacted quickly.
She twisted, one hand uncapping the skin at her waist while the other bended the remaining water out into the air. She registered the two assassins who had followed them, mounted on two mongoose lizards. She registered another throwing knife glinting in the assassin's hand.
The mongoose lizards charged for her. The knife-thrower retracted his hand. With a supple flick of his wrist, the knife came flying toward her.
Katara stepped forward and to the side so she stood protectively in front of Zuko. She brought her arms up, ignoring the resistance from her left arm, and created a shield of water in front of her as she froze it with an exhale. There wasn't nearly enough; the knife was stopped but pierced her defense. The tip was inches from Katara's eyes.
She melted the ice and coated her arms in the water. She whipped her water at her enemies. Her left arm lagged and they easily dodged her. Katara pulled back before unleashing her whips again.
"Give up, Princess!" one of them taunted her as he side-stepped her attacks. "The Fire Lord is as good as dead."
"Never!" Katara shouted back fiercely. She lashed out again and caught the arrogant assassin in the chest. He skidded back across the sand but jumped back to his feet.
Her left arm was like a deadweight. She wouldn't be able to hold up her water whip for much longer. Zuko was unconscious or maybe dead. Anger surged within her, hot and burning. The Garden is right there! We're so close. I didn't come this far to lose now.
The canyon was right there, ten feet behind her. Below, it was a dizzying drop to the ground...broken only by the dead trees. She distracted the assassins with another water whip and glanced down at Zuko.
He lay face-down in the sand. The knife had pierced him just below his shoulder blade. A few more inches to the right and it would have been his heart. But it was likely he was bleeding into his lung. If she didn't heal him, and soon, Zuko would die.
Katara focused on her opponents. They were closing the distance, ducking and weaving to avoid her whips. Her left-side whip was little more than a casual stream that rolled lazily across the warming air at this point. If she wast going to get them out of there, she needed to end this.
Katara acted quickly. She drew her left arm in while slashing with the right. She fed the water into her right whip and quickly gripped onto Zuko's forearm. He was limp and heavy. Katara battered at the assassins again, and when they were knocked aside, she pulled the water in close.
There was a good chance her plan wouldn't work. For all she knew, it might get them killed, either at the hands of the assassins or at the mercy of the fall into the Garden. But she had to try.
Katara crouched into the sand beside Zuko. She drew her water down to her boots, where it pooled at her feet. I hope Zuko's training was enough. This was her first real test using her feet to waterbend. She looped her arms under his and pulled him close. He was limp and heavy. She tried not to jostle him too much, but there was only so much she could do. This likely wasn't going to be pleasant for either of them.
"What is she doing?"
"I don't know. Stop her!"
That was her cue. It was now or never. Katara inhaled deeply. When she exhaled she jumped up. The water obeyed her command and she found herself launched up and back on a jet of water. Droplets sprayed into the air. Katara looked at the masked assassins, their profiles blurred by the fine of her water as she imitated something like flying. The sunlight caught the drops and refracted in rainbow colors.
And then they were falling. Katara looked below her. It was a far drop, further than she had thought. Air rushed past her ears in a roar and her stomach dropped. The trees were flying up to meet them.
She let go of Zuko with her right arm and pulled the water back to her. There wasn't much left, but Katara would have to make it be enough. She had no other choice.
Katara pulled the water underneath them. She spread her fingers wide until it spread out below them. When she closed her hand into a fist, the water enveloped them like a blanket, covering their upper bodies. Their lower halves were still exposed. Katara could only hope they didn't break their legs.
The water was cool and soothing. She could feel it reaching for her wounds. Katara allowed herself to enjoy it for one fleeting moment before she exhaled and encased them in ice.
Seconds later their ice cocoon made contact with the tops of the trees. The ice cracked as it was battered by branches and tree limbs. They were tossed haphazardly through the boughs. Katara clung to Zuko's unconscious form, gingerly avoiding the blade still stuck in his back. She prayed to Agni that the ice surrounding the blade would hold up. If it went in any deeper, Zuko was in serious trouble.
They landed with an impact that knocked the air from her lungs. Their ice cocoon shattered and for one exhausted moment Katara lay, chest heaving, her too-warm skin cooled by the shards of her element that lay around her. Zuko lay on top of her, unmoving.
Above the light was dimmed by the thick coverage of the dead trees. Their fall had broken boughs and branches and had left a hole in the barren canopy, through which the sunlight filtered down weakly.
They were alive. And, as far as Katara could tell, they hadn't sustained any new injuries during their fall.
Zuko groaned and stirred. Katara looked down and saw his eyes flutter open weakly. They moved slowly as they took in the new environment.
"Just hold on, Zuko." She couldn't stop the small, triumphant smile that crossed over her lips. Against impossible odds, they had made it. Now she could heal him. "We made it."
This time, the Conduit wasn't enjoying the battle as much. She was too filled with fury to feel elation at the bloodshed. She had known, of course, that she hadn't seen the last of the Kage Noshi that night in Jinsan. That was why she had followed the Fire Lord and the Water Tribe Princess into the desert in the first place. But it still grated at her. How dare they not heed her warning? Princess Azula had no idea who she was dealing with.
The Conduit's blade danced through the air, slicing through flesh as easily as if it were made of air. Black mist danced in her other hand.
The assassins were pulling back. She could smell the fear in their blood. They hadn't forgotten the mess she had made of their comrades in Jinsan. But the Kage Noshi were made of tougher stuff than most, and they wouldn't shy away. Not when their reputation was on the line. And, if Princess Azula was truly as fearsome as the last assassin the Conduit had run into claimed her to be, not when their lives were at stake too.
Overhead, Hiei exhaled a blast of black flames so hot the Conduit felt her hair singe. A handful of assassins caught fire. Their agonized screams filled the air as they threw themselves to the ground to put out the flames. The Conduit drank in their pain. She was invigorated by it.
She would make quick work of the assassins, just as she had the last time. Then she would ensure that the Fire Lord and the Princess made it to the Garden safely. After that, she thought she might make a trip to the Fire Nation for the first time in over a century. She would pay Princess Azula a personal visit.
The Conduit did not see the slender, nimble assassin that crept up behind her as she ran her katana through yet another body. Too late did she feel the movement behind her. Several quick jabs landed along her chi paths.
Like an extinguished flame, her power abandoned her. Tingling numbness shot down her limbs and the Conduit fell forward into the sand on her knees as her eyes returned to their violet shade and the power of her past lives left her. The katana fell from her unfeeling fingertips. She gaped at her unresponsive limbs in astonishment. She knew of chi-blocking, but no one had ever used it against her.
The leader of the assassins stepped before her. His clothes were torn and singed, and soot and blood stained his mask. "A valiant effort, but it was in vain," he sneered down at her. "We're going to take a little trip to the Fire Nation."
The Conduit hissed, cold fury rising in her. She struggled to move, but her limbs were leaden and wouldn't obey her brain's commands. Above, Hiei cried out. His flight faltered, and she knew that he was feeling the impact too.
"You're going to regret ever crossing me," she snarled at him, pouring as much venom into her voice as she could. "I am going to strip the flesh from your bones and feed it to my dragon in front of you. By the time I am through with you, you will be begging for death."
"We'll see about that." The cocky arrogance in his voice caused her rage to bubble up within her. But she could do nothing. He looked past her to one of the remaining assassins. "Renshu. Bind her good."
The Conduit turned her neck. It seemed to be the only part of her body that could move. She saw the assassin approach, and she saw what he pulled out from his tunic. Her eyes narrowed and her snarl deepened.
She could hear the smugness in the leader's voice. "I bet you'd like to know where Princess Azula got the Bindings of Confinement from, wouldn't you?"
She turned her seething eyes back on the assassin leader. "That bitch of a princess is going to wish she had never heard of me! How did she find out?"
"That library in the desert proved to be full of useful information about you." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Your predecessor was quite familiar with those, wasn't he? What was his name? Tatsuya?"
She didn't entertain him with a response.
"Oh yeah, Tatsuya spent most of his final days in those, until the Warriors Guild finally put him out of his misery, like a sick polar bear dog." The assassin actually chuckled. "When the Kage Noshi finally killed the Guild off, we recovered those. I'm surprised you let those things get out into the world. That was a really stupid mistake. Since they're one of the only things in the world that have any effect on you. Besides chi-blocking, of course. By the way, how does it feel to be powerless?"
Hiei continued to circle above, but his flight was slowing. He roared mournfully, unable to spit fire upon his enemies while his master was subdued.
Behind her, the assassin pulled her arms behind her back and wrapped the ancient binds around her wrists. The Conduit could feel their spiritual power. The silver embroidery that sealed the power into them rubbed against her skin painfully and she bit her tongue to keep from crying out.
Overhead, Hiei let out a pained rasp. He dipped low in the sky and landed hard in the sand. The Conduit watched her companion as he struggled across the sand toward his master. He began to waver and transform as he relinquished his dragon form. When he was just a cat again, he limped weakly toward her.
The cat pierced her with his gaze. This is very bad. I knew we shouldn't have gotten involved.
The Conduit ignored him. Hiei jumped up onto her shoulder and fixed his intelligent gaze on the assassin leader. She could feel Hiei's diminished power and could sense his unease. He didn't like being powerless, either. There was no getting out of this at the moment.
"These won't hold me forever," the Conduit said, her voice guttural.
"Maybe not, but they'll hold you long enough," the assassin replied.
The Conduit had made a mistake: she had underestimated Princess Azula's cunningness and the Kage Noshi's tenacity. For too long, she had grown accustomed to people running in fear from her, unable to stop her. Now she would have to pay the price for her arrogance.
"Renshu, get the cat."
The Conduit actually hissed, teeth bared. She pulled forward, straining against her blocked chi and dead limbs. Suddenly she found the tip of a sword held against her throat. It pressed into her alabaster flesh. She felt a warm trickle of blood run down and pool in the hollow of her throat.
"Not. Another. Move." The assassin's voice was cold and deadly. "Renshu. The cat. Now."
She watched, taken aback, as the assassin produced a peculiar black bag from his tunic. She could see the silver patterns embroidered into the material, just like the ones on her own bindings.
She covered her surprise with a scowl. The Conduit may have underestimated Princess Azula, but the princess didn't know everything about her. Things she would never find in any book or scroll. Azula had no idea who she had just crossed. She would learn. The Conduit was an excellent teacher.
"Oh, did I mention that Azula was able to make more? I told you, that library was invaluable to our mission." The assassin leader chuckled. "Those old ones we've got on you are the strongest, but the bag will work for the cat until we get back to the Fire Nation. Your chi will be blocked until we get there. We're not taking any chances. And if you try anything, we'll kill your precious pet."
The Conduit watched with fiery hatred openly displayed on her face. She knew that this wasn't an empty threat.
She didn't move as the assassin gripped the cat by the nape of his neck. The animal hissed and spat, claws lashing out.
"Don't, Hiei," the Conduit said to the animal. "This is only temporary." She looked back up at the assassin leader. "I'm going to kill each and every one of you."
"We'll see about that."
The leader stepped behind her and hauled her upright by the bindings. Her shoulders protested at the unnatural angle, but she did not cry out. He led her over toward one of the mongoose lizards and threw her across the saddle. From her new position, all the Conduit could see was the side of the lizard and the sand beneath her. She listened to the sounds of the remaining assassins moving about the sand.
"She killed almost all of us," one of them spat.
"Just like in Jinsan," said another.
"Never mind that," snapped the leader. Kurai. The assassin she had spared in Jinsan had provided the name. The Conduit didn't doubt this was him. Their blunder at apprehending her before had warranted his direct intervention-whether it was at the behest of the princess, she neither knew nor cared. "Where are Yuen and Naoki?"
"They haven't come back yet, Kurai." Ah, my assumption was correct. But where did they go? After the Fire Lord and the waterbender? "Should we go look for them?"
"No," Kurai said, his voice cold. "If they did not kill the Fire Lord, they would be wise to never show themselves to me again."
"So should we look for the Fire Lord then, sir?"
Before Kurai could answer, the Conduit heard a new sound: the soft, scaly rustle of approaching lizards. The assassins had returned. The Conduit's stomach was gripped with something almost like fear. If they're back, then...maybe they didn't make it.
"Is the Fire Lord dead?" Kurai asked.
"Yes, sir," one of the new arrivals replied. "He and the waterbender won't be an issue for us or Princess Azula any longer."
"You're certain?"
"I know what dead looks like, sir."
The Conduit heard the shift of the sand and the scuffle as the smart-mouthed assassin was put in his place by his leader. A smirk threatened to tug the corners of her lips and she pushed that feeling away. If those assassins really did kill the Fire Lord, then the Conduit was in a lot of trouble.
"I didn't ask if you knew what a dead body looked like, Yuen. I asked if the Fire Lord was dead, if you were sure he was dead." Kurai paused for a beat. "I don't think I need to tell you what the consequences are if he turns up alive."
"No, sir." She could smell the fear in him. "He's dead. I stabbed him in the heart. There's no way he survived that. Ask Naoki."
"And what of the waterbender? She can heal, you know."
The smell of fear intensified. "Yes, sir. She's dead too."
The Conduit could tell he was lying. She wasn't sure if he was uncertain if the Fire Lord was dead though. He likely had tried to kill him. But the water tribe princess was definitely alive. Maybe it's not too late. Maybe the prophecy can be stopped after all.
Her thoughts were cut off when Kurai pulled himself into the saddle of the lizard in front of her. She turned her head to glare daggers at him. He looked down at her, his face still obscured by the mask.
"Over a century in hiding, and we take you down so easily." He shook his head. "I expected more from the Conduit."
"Funny...I didn't realize that losing half of your men was considered an easy victory," she snarled at him, but he turned away.
When she killed him, she would make sure to take that mask off first. It was always more satisfying to see the fear in her victims' eyes, to watch the hope drain from their faces, and finally, to see the glow of life slip into darkness. When the time came, the Conduit would relish his death.
Congratulations! If you're reading this, you've officially reached the end of Part III! Which is why I only posted 2 chapters this week instead of 3. Gatta leave you guys on a cliff-hanger ;)
I hope you guys are ready for Part IV. The climax is almost upon us, and things go from 0-100 real quick.
Also, I'm excited to announce that I will be writing a sequel for this story! I'm still cooking up some ideas for it, but it's definitely happening.
And, as always, a special thank-you to my flawless beta-reader, FireLadyFae/LadyFaePhillips, for her priceless contributions to this story that make it so much better.