Wooow, I loved those reviews the most. Thanks, guys! Big round of applause for Kat! whooo
Rebel: Yes, 'nuff said.
Gabbiez: Hahaha... funny you should mention a book. We're both kind of working on one right now... a collaberative one that's been on hiatus for a while, and one each on our own (although, we're each others' personal editors).
Rilricks: Hahaha, just wait for it...
Zinachu: Isn't he? He's kind of scaring me a bit, too... and I'm the one writing this things. Crazy, aint it?
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Chapter 9
"I want you tell me a few things, and then I'll let you go. Is that so hard of a thing to ask for?"
Emri couldn't see where she was. But what she did know was that she was tied to something --a chair, maybe?-- and that a blindfold was over her eyes. "Who are you?"
"That information is irrelevent to the situation." The same icy voice --most deffinately a man's voice-- answered back in annoyance.
"It has everything to do with the situation!" Emri snapped back, turning her head in the direction she thought the voice was coming from.
Something then smacked her very hard on the cheek. The impact sent her head reeling, jumbling her thoughts. "Don't talk back to me." The voice growled.
After regaining her focus, Emri tried to squirm free of the ropes tying her arms together. The voice chuckled, "Your friend here is much more submissive."
A prickle of fear --not her own-- was felt in Emri's mind. "Claire! Where is she?" She felt anger rip through her throat in a snarl that carried the question through the air.
The voice laughed, cold and dark. "She's right next to you. Hasn't made a sound since she woke up. Unlike you. Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions. And if you don't answer, I have ways of getting you to talk."
"Who are you!?"
Someone gripped her hair tightly, pulling up; her scalp screamed. "I didn't ask my question." But the voice sighed, and released, before continuing in annoyance. "What's on your mind? I'd rather you not have any outbursts and interruptions."
Fine. If this person wasn't going to tell her he was, a new question. Emri chewed on her lip. "How did we get here?"
"I couldn't tell you. Why don't you see for yourself?"
"See--?" Emri was cut off as sudden, vivid imagery exploding in front of her eyes...
--
She had been sleeping rather peacefully. Ever since Claire and Shea had returned from the forest, she had been more at ease. Yes, it was still raining. Yes, it was cold. But now that her friends were at a peace of mind, her mind was at peace, as well.
Emri's eyebrows furrowed as she opened her eyes. Something had broken into her meditation --also known as sleep. She sat up, looking around... she started to inch her hand slowly towards her bo-staff.
"Emri."
She snapped her head around, but sighed in relief when she saw Shea in an equally tense position. He was watching her carefully, "What did you feel?"
"That's the weird thing. I feel nothing." Emri whispered, looking around. "Wake up Claire. I'm going to check on things." She stood up, and extended her bo-staff before taking a few cautionary steps into the forest. She peered around the trees, whacked a few bushes, before continuing on. The forest was quiet all around her... no crickets, no birds, no bats... even the sound of the rain had stopped.
Emri poked a bush with her bo-staff, before giving the area one last sweep with her eyes. "Huh..." she huffed, turning back around. Maybe it was just her being paranoid... after what she felt earlier when Shea had left to go find Claire.
And then she felt like the world was crushing down on her. She couldn't breathe; she couldn't move. It was like a giant hand had clasped its grasp around her, cutting off all movement and oxygen. Oxygen that she desperately needed.
She fought passing out as she saw images creep out of the bushes and trees; grotesque, distorted faces and bodies that seemed like they would only appear in nightmare.
With a passing breath, Emri realized what was going on. Dead creatures… dark magic… and then her memory faded.
--
"Do you understand now? Will you allow me to ask my questions without any interruptions?"
Emri grumbled, fidgeting against her bonds. "I'd like to know who you are…"
"All in good time, my dear." The voice was closer, to her right. She heard Claire whimper beside her. "That Shea is quite the fighter, despite how skinny he is."
Emri's heart stopped. What happened to Shea? Where was he?
"Tell me, my dear, what kind of connection does the boy share with Rhairu?" Emri could trace curiosity in the man's voice. She glared behind the blindfold.
"You haven't heard?" She drawled.
The man laughed. "Oh, I've heard. But I want to hear it from his closest friends. What connection does Shea share with the God of Restoration and Balance?"
Suddenly, Emri felt her mind go sluggish, and lethargic. "He's… Shea's…" she shook her head, her mind becoming clear again. "I'm not telling you anything!"
A finger placed itself under her chin, forcing her to look up. "Pity. You have such a pretty face."
Emri could feel heat near her cheek, and her heart started to pound. "What…?"
"I told you, I have ways of making you talk. But I found out a while ago that the way to break you is through your mind." The heat disappeared, and a new image appeared in front of her eyes.
There was Blaize… he was staring at her. She stared back. And then she saw him turn away, and leave, fading into black.
A new vision formed, showing the Exelian once more, holding a blade. There was a shape at his feet, and by the flash of blonde hair, Emri recognized it as Shea. Before she could jump in between the two, Blaize drove the blade into Shea's back.
"No!" Emri screamed, tearing hear head away from the hand that held her. Her mind went sluggish again. "Shea's the incarnated form of Rhairu, the living embodiment of-" she stopped, shaking her head. "No! I'm not telling you anything!"
"That's quite alright. Next question… Claire."
Emri's eyes widened. Claire couldn't handle that kind of mental torture! He wouldn't dare!
"I'm curious as to who this infamous 'Trace' is. My sources tell me he hangs an awful lot around Hyrule Castle. Especially Her Highness, Princess Zelda." Emri could hear the spitefulness in the name.
"He's… Trace is… a Hylian. A rogue Hylian warrior who helped us reach Hyrule from Termina." Claire sounded like her tongue was swollen; she spoke softly, and slowly, as if choosing her words carefully.
The man grunted disapprovingly. "Anything more you'd like to tell me?"
Emri could hear the sound of liquid in a phial.
"No." Claire muttered.
"Pity."
And then Claire started to protest, whimpering and fighting. Emri desperately wished she could take off the blindfold and see what was going on. Her mind screamed at her what Claire was feeling. She was feeling detestation, and hatefulness, and disgust.
Claire gagged as she was able to breathe again. "That was nasty! And you smell like death! Literally." She took another deep breath, "And I'm not gonna lie. This place here you got. It smells. It smells bad. Like smelly boots. I'm cold. You really don't do a good job of treating your guests with hospitality. I mean, what's up with this? Blindfolding them and tying them to a chair? It's like you're gonna rape-"
"Claire. Shut. Up." Emri hissed. A truth serum… Claire was normally one to speak her mind, but never in this kind of situation.
Emri felt pricklings of satisfaction coming from the unknown presence. "Now, can you tell me more about Trace, my dear?"
"Pff. I'm not your dear. I'm Shea's dear. And no matter how many times you try to convince me otherwise, that's not ever, ever, ever, ever gonna change!"
Emri wanted to laugh. But she felt the pricklings of satisfaction turn into annoyance, and then anger, before she winced when there was a loud smack!
"You will tell me what I want to hear!" He roared.
Claire whimpered. "Trace is Shea's father. He's the Hero of Time. He's Link." She sounded like she wanted to cry… Emri could feel the girl's pain.
"Good. Now, what is Princess Zelda planning?"
"That I could not tell you."
There was silence.
Emri felt a hand on her face again, pinching her cheeks so her lips opened. A hot, bitter liquid was forced into her mouth. She tried to spit it out, but her head was tilted back, forcing her to swallow. Her mind became foggy, and there was no escaping it.
"Emri. Why did Zelda send you on this quest?" The man growled.
"To get the Triforce back."
And Emri knew they had lost.
--
Shea groaned, and rubbed his head. His body ached… he felt like there were weights on all his limbs; they were hard to move.
And then his eyes snapped open. "Claire!"
Shooting up, Shea still gripped his sword by the hilt, looking around frantically. All around him, he saw… corpses. Looking-like-they-had-been-dead-for-years corpses.
Shea remembered. He remembered being back to back with Claire, watching in horror as these undead warriors slowly came at them. Like the ones that had attacked them when they were crossing Termina? No. These were different. Like they were being controlled somewhere.
Claire.
Claire was gone.
He remembered fighting with three –or four, he couldn't remember that particular detail—of the zombies, when he heard a scream. He had turned his head briefly to see Claire being picked up by one of the zombies. She was throwing punches at its head, kicking violently and swearing in an equally strong voice. But that was the last thing she saw before something hard hit him on the head.
And Emri hadn't come back, either.
The zombies had gone after the girls.
Panicked, Shea started off in a dead run, following the trodden down path of foliage. Surely, the army couldn't have gotten far!
He leaped over a log, barely registering the movement. He was cursing himself. He was cursing himself at not being able to protect Claire, to protect Emri. What good was he, as an incarnate, if he couldn't protect the ones he loved?
"Ack!" Shea yelped as his foot caught on a root, causing him to fall forward. He swore venomously when he felt a crack in his nose when he landed face first. As he stood up, he wiped a hand under his nose, seeing a trail of blood left on his skin… great. Nose broken.
Bracing himself, he put both hands on either side, and pushed. There was a pop and pain.
He looked in the metal of his sword. Nose was straight, albeit messy with blood. Now he could get movin-
Something rustled in the bushes around him. Shea tried to follow the movement, but it was too quick.
"Stupid rabbit…" he guessed, continuing on at a jog, careful to pick his feet up when he ran to avoid falling again. But he couldn't shake the icy cold feeling that kept running up and down his spine that something was following him.
Shea came to a clearing, and he shivered. Was it just him, or had the temperature dropped? The clearing was covered in fog, and during the time it took for him to reach the center (or what he thought was the center), it had thickened.
"Great. I'm lost in fog. And I can't see where I'm going. And I'm talking to myself!" Shea threw his hands up in the air and sat down dejectedly. He couldn't find his way now… he could barely see in front of his fingers. He only hoped that Emri and Claire would hold on, wherever they were, until he got there.
There was a cackle, and he stood up, drawing his sword. The mist swirled in intricate designs, but Shea followed its movement. Another light chuckle echoed through the air, sending shivers down Shea's spine, and making the hairs on his arms stand on end.
"Who's there?" He called out, much more boldly than what he felt.
"My, my, my. What a cute little Hylian boy." The same voice cooed; light and airy. "He looks good."
Shea didn't like the way that last bit was said. "I'm not going to ask again. Who are you?"
"All in good time, lovely," the voice purred, as it circled Shea, "Ah, the Master did say you would be a bit skinny."
His pulse pounded in his ears. Shea didn't like the idea of becoming some sort of meal. "Show yourself." He ordered, taking a defensive stance.
"Oh? You really want to see me that badly?" The mist swirled, and Shea could have sworn he saw a face, "I'm flattered." The voice cackled again, and disappeared into the mist.
"Ohoho, look at the little Hylian boy. He looks so scared, so confused… where, oh where could the hungry monster be? Could he be… here?" Shea whirled around when the voice was right at his ear, but found nothing.
Something breathed near the base of his neck "Or here?" and he slashed out with his sword, only cutting the mist.
The thing cackled again, making Shea turn once more. "Look at how scared it he is. Look at how scared the poor little Hylian boy is." The voice sang, almost as if it was enjoying Shea's terror.
"Show yourself…" Shea hissed, looking around. "Face me, you coward!"
"A coward, now, am I?" The mist swirled, and Shea felt his blood go cold.
He stared into the face of utter horror… there were no words to describe it. Death had rotted away at the skin; what was left of it was a sickly yellow-green. The eyes had sunk far down into the sockets so only the crimson irises were visible. A black cloak clung to its bony shoulders, falling down and swirling in a black fog like substance.
Shea's sword had fell from his hands as he stood, frozen in fear. "W-w-what a-a-re y-y-you—" he couldn't get the words out.
The creature slowly glided towards him, before disappearing and reappearing in a smooth cloud of black-grey smoke. "What am I, you ask?" The thing purred, running a talon-like finger across Shea's collarbone, and breathing in, as if smelling something delicious. "I am a fictitious character in your peoples' nightmares; I am a figment of a wives' tale; I am the highest ranking creature of the night; I am a vampyre."
Shea felt needle-like points on his neck. He couldn't move… those eyes were still painted vividly into his mind, freezing him. He felt air be sucked way as the vampyre inhaled again. "Ahh… I smell a divine bloodline in you… royalty, perhaps? Nobility, definitely." The creature inhaled greedily, "Delicious. I can't remember the last time I tasted the blood of a prince…"
"Well, that's disgusting."
The vampyre screeched; Shea blinked, thought and feeling finally returning to his mind as something smelled like it was burning. Shea ducked down and grabbed his sword, noticing that the mist was fading.
There, writhing on the ground was the vampyre, clawing at its back as smoke billowed off of it. Shea blinked multiple times… what?
The vampyre rose up, and turned away from Shea, red eyes made with fury. "How dare you interrupt my meal?" It hissed.
"Personally, I think he would taste horrible. I mean, think of where he's been. Gross."
Shea didn't know whether to be glad, or upset. It was a voice he thought he would never hear again, a voice he never wanted hear again. But a voice he was eternally grateful to hear.
Out of the mist, Blaize walked, swinging two twin blades, and his infamous smirk plastered onto his face. "Are you quite finished being a damsel in distress?" He sneered in Shea's direction.
Shea growled, and let out a battle cry as he brought his sword up, and pushed it down into the burnt part of the vampyre's cloak, where it would surely be wounded.
The thing screeched, turning around in anger. "You have to do better than that, weakling!" It extended its claws, and dove for Shea. Shea covered his head protectively, ready for those claws to penetrate his skin…
But it didn't happen. There was sudden silence… and then burning once more.
Shea opened his eyes, and saw Blaize with his two swords stuck in the vampyre's back, red-hot radiation visible from his hands and down the hilt of the sword.
With a soundless screech, the vampyre fell on the ground in a crumpled heap, a wind coming to blow the blackened mist away, leaving the clearing clear as a crystal.
Blaize exhaled and sheathed both swords, and looked at Shea boredly. "What? No thank you? No 'Thank the goddesses, it's Blaize!'?"
Shea could only stare as remembered hate boiled up inside of him... as he remembered all of the things he had done to them… He screamed, and leapt at the Exelian, sword ready to come down on him…
"Whoah!" Blaize burst, dodging out of the way, putting his hands up. "What's your problem?"
Shea didn't hear him. He attacked again, swinging the sword almost blindly in a mad rage that slowed his mind.
How dare he come back? How dare he save him? How dare he still be smirking when he should be pleading for forgiveness?
Shea's sword was met by both of Blaize's. "Look, Shea, I know you're upset but the girls-"
"Shuttup!" Shea pushed against the swords, causing an ear-wrenching screech to fill the air; sparks flew against the grated metal. He glared at Blaize. "We're ending this."
Blaize blinked, and backed away at Shea's expression, "Calm down, Shea. Turn Rhairu off and lets get going! The girls are in trouble and we-"
"What do you care?" Shea interrupted, gripping his sword tighter. "Why do you care if something happens to them? To us? You betrayed us in the first place!"
"Yeah, I know. And I'm sorry-"
"Sorry's not gonna cut it!"
Blaize exhaled impatiently, running a hand over his face. "Look, Shea. Derrick's got the girls. And if we don't find them soon, I don't know what he'll do. So, can we save this argument for another time?"
Shea was frozen again. Derrick had Claire? Had Emri? But then he remembered what the Great Fairy had told him. He eyed Blaize warily. "Not a trick to get me to him?"
"Exelian's honor."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Shea mumbled, sheathing his sword before walking off.
Blaize shouted, "You're going the wrong way!"
"Says you!" Shea snapped back.
"Listen, Shea," Blaize jogged to catch up with the irate boy, "I know I screwed up. Big time. But you have to trust me! For the sake of the girls," he drew in a breath, now that Shea was giving him his full, undivided glare and attention, "When I saw that army of monsters carrying them and not you, I knew that you'd be hot in pursuit. So, I came to find you, because you have no idea what you're up against. Like that vampyre back there." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "So, if you can't trust me for the sake of me, trust me for Emri. For Claire."
Shea stared up into Blaize's red eyes. He stared for a long time, trying to find any lie in his eyes, before sighing, defeated. "Fine. But you need to tell me why you're here, how you got here, and how long you've been following us."
The Exelian laughed nervously. "You figured it out?"
"Kind of. Now lets go get the other damsels in distress."
And they began to run.
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Aaand, I think I speak for all of us when I say, "I missed Blaize. A lot."
Review, review!!
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