Chapter 5
Leonardo stared at Karai. 'Kill her?' The shadows on her face made her green eyes stand out. She was looking straight back into his. Deeper and deeper, penetrating his soul, his thoughts, and his sanity. Then the impossible word:
'Please.'
Leo almost fell back in shock. How could this be happening? An opportunity to get rid of Karai once and for all was finally presenting itself, but he never expected her to give herself up to him so easily. It…it just wasn't right.
"Why are you hesitating? I am your enemy. Take your sword and do what must be done."
Leo watched Karai's lips as she spoke. Trembling, they were slightly trembling.
He frowned. 'Something's defiantly is not right.'
Then Karai lurched forward, grabbing her head with her hands, and blood soaked through the cloth on her wound at the action. Leo leaned forward in concern and then stopped himself.
Karai was shaking and the sound her teeth being ground together was audible. Blood trickled through her lips. "What's wrong?" Leo asked, putting his previous resentment of helping her aside and trying to understand what happening. "Karai! Tell me what's wrong!" Leo found himself yelling.
Karai's eyes closed in pain and she tried to speak, "T-The creature…some-kind of…poison…can't hold…on…you must-" But before she could manage to say anything else she collapsed onto the ground. Leo knelt beside her and rested her head on his knee. Feeling her fore head to see if the poison was causing a fever, Leonardo frowned. Her fore head wasn't hot; in fact it was strangely cold. Her body had stopped shaking and was entirely still. Like a corpse. Leo instantly felt uneasy and a feeling a dread rose in him. He felt her neck desperately for pulse. 'Nothing.'
Then Karai's eyes shot open. She looked wide-eyed at Leonardo. And he stared back, not believing what he was seeing. Because Karai's eyes were not their usual jade green. Instead they were blood-red.
She kept looking at him. But no longer into his eyes, but at his neck. Her fingers were twitching and silence dragged on except for the sound of Leonardo's heart-beat. "K-Karai" Leo stuttered out suddenly drawing her attention back to his face. The tension in the air dropped a little, but only to be replaced with awkwardness. "I thought you were dead…" Leo said slowly, watching for a reaction. Suddenly, Karai grabbed Leonardo by the shoulders and bit into his neck. Blood spurted out and Leonardo eyes widened in shock. He instantly reacted and threw Karai off of him.
She licked the blood from her lips and panted as she got up from the ground. Leo tried to ignore the fact that she was still staring at his neck. "You try that again and I WILL kill you, Karai." he said as he re-drew his blades.
Karai broke away her gaze, staring at the ground. Her body had started shaking again. Her voice could barely be heard over a whisper, "I-I'm sorry. That creature…when it bit me, it inserted some kind of poison. Just now when I woke up, I felt so weak…and then-" Her voice hesitated slightly, "Then I could hear your heart-beat. And I saw you. I couldn't control myself, I felt the need for blood…I still do…" her voice trailed off.
Leo raised his swords and narrowed his eyes.
Karai noticed and raised her head looking directly at Leonardo, her shaking stopping. "That is why I asked you to kill me, why you must still kill me." She said without a trace of hesitation. Though Karai's eyes had changed, the look within them had not. She wanted this and by all means did she deserve it. And now, Leonardo's well-being depended upon it.
Karai subconsciously gripped her wounded arm, and her eyes momentarily faltered. "You must hurry; I can't control myself for much longer." she said quickly.
Leonardo raised his sword and Karai braced herself for the strike. But none came…
She stared in shock as Leo cut his own arm and let the blood flow. Leonardo himself didn't know why he did it, but he just knew he couldn't kill Karai here like this. The battle between them was on fair grounds and this went beyond that. Something had interfered and now they were in a strange world surrounded by too many possible dangers. No, they were going to get back to their OWN world and settle things by their rules. So for now, he would do whatever it takes to make it that way. Even if it meant keeping Karai alive and working with her.
"Drink." he said forcibly offering his arm up to Karai. She looked at him and shook her head, but her body told him otherwise as it started to shake more violently. Her eyes strained on the blood dripping from his fore-arm.
"I'm not going to kill you, Karai. You may hate me for this, but I need you to survive here. There are things we need to settle and I'm not going to let you have the easy way out now. So drink or kill your self."
Karai glared at him spitefully, but her body over-ridded her mind and she took his arm and drank.
TBC….