Chapter 14
Calythé raced lightly through the forest, bare feet hardly touching the ground. One hand rested on her harp, the other on her shadowbeam staff. In her head she repeated her order over and over again: find Thunder, find Thunder, find Thunder. She bounded into a clearing and came to a halt. Held her nose in the air. Her heightened senses detected his scent and she leaped back into the brush and continued to run.
A voice spoke in Calythé's head. What are you looking for, girl?
"None of your business," she growled, whipping out her shadowbeam staff and peering around the forest.
Tut, tut. Such a temper. You know, little girls who talk back get in trouble…
"I'm not a little girl."
She was answered by a whispery rustling sound in a nearby bush. Calythé turned around in a split second, just in time to see the sleep arrow flying toward her. There was a slight pricking sensation on her stomach.
She just had enough time to think, Oh crap. A dart trap. Hey, that rhymes, lol.
Then, all was darkness.
Meanwhile...
Ramisse padded gently across the crimson, stealthily crawling across the terrain. She smiled as a lone crimera flew over the hill, then pulled out her sword and threw it in the air. The green blade spiraled end over end into the sky, sliced the crimera in half, and embedded itself neatly in the crimson sand before her, covered in crimera blood.
A voice chuckled in her head. You know, Ramisse Ironfist, you were always a competitive one.
"I'm not competitive - I just like to win," she gloated, wiping her sword clean and sheathing it.
Precisely, the voice replied. Say, you certainly had it in for that one crimera. How do you think you'd fare against many? Satisfy your need to win, and kill the crimera, and I will let you go.
"Easy," she grunted, hefting her sword and engaging her ice wings. "I hunt crimera in my sleep."
Suddenly her jaw dropped, for flying over the hill was not a group, not a cloud, but a veritable swarm of crimera so thick it blocked out the sun.
"Awright," she snarled. "I like a challenge." Ramisse threw herself into the swarm of crimera, slashing away at the monsters. Unfortunately, though she was strong, the crimera were stronger still and soon overpowered her. Ramisse's flight time ran out, her eyes closed and she succumbed to her cuts and bruises.
Time to sleep, Blade, the voice laughed as the girl fell down to earth.
Meanwhile...
Monavelle was suddenly aware of a dark presence behind her. She whirled around, tensing the string of her crossbow with an arrow at the ready, and was surprised to see Thunder standing behind her. "Thunder? What are you doing here?"
Thunder opened his mouth and spoke, but the voice didn't belong to him. "All people like pretty things. You are certainly very pretty, Monavelle Skyvale."
"Um, thanks," she said tentatively, relaxing her bowstring slightly.
"I'll tell you what," Thunder murmured. "Come with me, pretty one, and I will give you gifts."
"Oh, stop," giggled Monavelle, blushing and brushing back a strand of chocolate-colored hair. "You flatter me."
"So will you come with me, lovely girl, and be mine forever?" Thunder asked with a winning smile.
"No," Monavelle giggled, still blushing.
Thunder's expression darkened and his eye blinked red. "What do you mean, no? Don't you love me?"
"You're ugly and weird, and plus your eye is red," Monavelle said pointedly. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" She turned around and tensed her bowstring. Thunder's face turned bright vermilion and he pulled his rainbow rod out of its sheath. He tried casting a rainbow a few times, but somehow could not summon the rainbow, for it fizzled out seconds after leaving the rod. Thunder shrugged and raised the rainbow rod above his head. When Monavelle turned around, all she saw was the rod descending, and it made contact with her head and suddenly there was nothing.