Chapter 17

Karis' body was frozen in place as she looked into her uncle's face, the pain in her shoulder starting to grow as his grip tightened. Behind her, the fox kits made little whimpering noises, their mother curling up tightly around her young, eyeing the male night elf with a look of severe caution.

"You have caused me a lot of trouble, young one" the man known to Karis as her uncle, the General Durun, said slowly. Slowly he pulled her away from the small hole where the foxes were waiting. When he next spoke, his voice was filled with a deep, malicious tone that caused Karis to shudder violently.

"The pain you have put your family through, those that love you, it is beyond acceptable!" Spittle erupted from Duruns mouth as he spoke, Karis flinching every time it struck her skin, her body shuddering slightly underneath his vice like grip. "You need to be taught your proper place in life!"

Karis let out a whimper of her own as she dared to look into her uncles eyes before letting out a gasp. Although normally a milky white in colour, they now presented themselves as a dark glowing red, almost black shade. Karis could almost feel the hatred that was burning behind them, a hatred that didn't feel like it belonged inside her uncle.

Durun seemed to pause for a moment as he looked at Karis, having noticed the look of shock on her face. He let out a deep, guttural laugh, throwing his head back as he did. Slowly he looked back at Karis, a horrid sneer spread across his face as he did so, before he yanked Karis away, almost throwing her, to the centre of the small clearing.

"I found some help" Durun said slowly, his voice sounding no where near as angry as it had, although still filled with danger. "A friend, if you will, came to me with a problem, a problem that we both shared."

As Durun spoke, he released his grip on Karis' shoulder, the young girl falling to her knees as he did so. She watched him start to pace around her in a circle, rubbing the palm of one of his hands with his thumb. Karis' eyes darted to where the kit's rested in their small hole, Vulpiera being the only one that dared to look their way.

"Yes, the little fox kits" came Duruns voice suddenly, causing Karis to jump slightly. She turned her head to look at her uncle who now stood with his arms folded against his chest, eyes glowing deeply. "The spirits don't want them alive, and the only thing that is keeping them from getting what they want, is you."

Karis felt a wave of dread wash over her as her uncle spoke, her mind starting to form a very good idea of what was going on. Arms and legs shaking, Karis slowly stood up, her shoulder send ripples of pain through her body as she moved. She did her best to ignore it, tears rolling down her cheeks as she did so.

"You're possessed by them?" Karis asked quietly, taking a step towards putting herself between her uncle and the fox kits. Before she had even finished taking the step, her uncles hand lashed out, striking her across the cheek with enough force to not only knock her back down onto the ground, but also leave a gash on her skin, a thin trail of blood quickly forming.

Karis cried out freely as she brought her hand gingerly to her cheek, looking over at Durun with blurred vision as he slowly walked closer to her. He crouched down in front of her, staring deeply into her eyes, his face only a couple of centimetres from her own.

"I didn't say you could talk…" he said slowly and angrily before standing upright again. When he started to talk again, the anger had left his voice once more. "You are right though! The spirits have chosen me as a vessel. I am here to bring you back to the Hold, to punish you for what you have done. In doing so, I help the spirits and receive their blessing. Everyone wins."

Again, Duruns face contorted to show the horrid sneer as he looked at Karis, his larger form blocking out the sun and throwing a shadow over the young girl. All Karis could do was whimper as she felt her cheek start to swell slightly. She had come so close getting Vulpiera, and now she was so far away. But she held onto one sliver of hope.

Tylira… Karis thought to herself as she watched her uncle stand over her, the General seeming to revel in the site of the helpless girl before him. Any minute now, you will come and save me…

"Well, I best go and do what I set out to do" Durun suddenly said, snapping Karis out of her thoughts. With a quick spin on his heel, Durun started to walk towards where Vulpiera was hiding, the small kit doing its best to hide amongst the others.

"No! Leave them alone!" Karis called out as she realised what her uncle planned to do. She readied another protest, but quickly stopped as Durun threw her a look, a look that made her fear for her life. Karis trembled as again her thoughts turned to Tylira.

"Where are you…" Karis whispered to herself as she glanced around the edges of the clearing, looking for any sign that the female druid was approaching. But there was nothing. No one came bursting from bushes or the trees, not even a bird flew over head. The only movement was from her uncle who now stood in front of the foxes. Steeling herself, Karis knew what she had to do.

Reaching out, Durun picked up one of the kits, holding it in front of his face. The small creature whinged at him as it squirmed in his grip. Durun smiled as his grip tightened around the creature, the life being squeezed from it, the squealing getting louder and more frantic. Before the task could be finished though, Durun let out a loud snarl, pain shooting through his knee, the kit falling from his grip.

As quick as she could, Karis grabbed the falling kit with her spare hand, her other hand holding onto the thick piece of wood that she had just used to attack her uncles knee. Before he had a chance to react, Karis ran away from her uncle, gripping the small kit in her hand.

Before she even had a chance to think about where to hide the small creature, there was a squawk from overhead, the familiar squawk that belonged to Karis' pet raven. The large black bird swooped down as fast as it could, its talons gently taking hold of the kit before flying off. Karis felt her heart rise as the raven flew the kit to the safety of a nearby tree before circling overhead again. Too late, however, Karis turned around.

Her uncle had recovered from the surprise attack, his anger boiling over. He had taken advantage of the momentary distraction provided by the arrival of the raven and had gone in for the attack again. Just as Karis had started turning, he lashed out with his fist, connecting with the young girls side, sending her sprawling with a cry of pain.

He advanced quickly on Karis as she tried to rapidly crawl away from her possessed uncle. With a shriek, the raven flew down again, distracting Durun long enough for Karis to get onto her feet again, running to the other side of the clearing, brandishing her makeshift weapon in her hand.

Through tear filled eyes, her side wracked with pain, Karis watched as Durun, continued to swipe at the raven before letting out a roar of anger, a roar that emitted so much force that Karis felt herself stumble slightly. Dazed, the raven flew into a tree before hitting the floor. With a snarl, Durun turned on the spot before sprinting towards Karis.

Letting out a cry of terror, and without thinking, Karis leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding her uncles grip as she curled into a ball, hitting the floor with a thud as she rolled. Again, she scrambled to her feet, just managing to avoid Duruns grasping hands.

Panting for breath, fearing for her life, Karis sprinted as fast as she could away from her uncle, adrenaline pumping through her body. She knew that if her uncle reached her that would be it. She could feel his hate reaching outwards, trying to grasp hold of her as much as his own hands were.

Taking advantage of her more agile form, Karis quickly turned on the spot, dashing to the side. Her much larger uncle couldn't turn as quick, instead watching as Karis built up the distance between them, but he was soon running after her again. Karis knew she couldn't keep the chase going forever though. Her side was causing more and more pain, and her uncle had more energy. Steeling herself, Karis switched her strategy.

Gripping her weapon tightly, Karis came to a sudden stop, swinging the weapon with all her might. Her uncle tried to bring himself to a stop as he realised what was coming, but failed to manage it. With a loud crunch, and the splintering of wood, Karis' weapon collided with Duruns stomach. The weapon was ripped from Karis' hands, causing more scrapes and lesions to take shape, as her uncle fell forwards due to his momentum, colliding with the floor before coming to a stop, face down.

Karis remained frozen in place, watching her uncle. Her hands burned, her side throbbed and her legs wanted to give way. Before her, her uncle lay prone on the floor. Karis couldn't help but smile to herself, an act that sent pain through her cheek, at the knowledge that she had taken down her uncle. Following that feeling, however, was one of concern. Crouching down, Karis carefully nudged Duruns arm.

"Uncle?" she asked quietly, finding herself wondering if he was ok. He still made no movement as Karis nudged him again. She hadn't wanted to kill him, she only wanted to make him stop. "Uncle, are you ok?" Even after the pain he had caused her, Karis felt a ball of worry form in the pit of her stomach. The worry rapidly vanished.

As fast as a bolt of lightning, Duruns arm shot out, grasping Karis' wrist tightly. The young night elf struggled in the vice like grip, clawing at the hand with her free hand as her uncle pushed himself up off the floor. Slowly, he rose to his full height before raising up his arm, forcing Karis to stand up.

Nothing was said as the two looked at each other, Karis eyes filled with tears as she tried to get away, Duruns own eyes filled hate and anger. Slowly, Durun reached out with his free hand, wrapping his large fingers tightly around Karis' throat. The corners of his lips curled upwards as he watched Karis' eyes go wide with terror, her mouth open as she started to gasp for breath.

Karis could feel the life fading from her as she struggled to stay conscious. The pain that was in her body was replaced with a burning in her chest, her lungs demanding more oxygen that they just weren't getting. As the darkness started to descend across her vision, Karis only heard one voice.

"Drop her right now!"

Turning on the spot, still gripping Karis in his hand, Durun looked in the direction of the voice. Standing in the middle of the clearing, a large staff in hand, a look of anger in her eyes, was Tylira. Neither Tylira nor Durun moved for what seemed like an eternity to Karis as she struggled to stay awake. Suddenly, Durun let out a loud laugh, throwing Karis to the side. Although she hit the ground, sending more pain through her body, Karis didn't care. She could breathe again and, more importantly, Tylira had arrived.

"I have been thinking about killing you, you know" Durun said as he and Tylira started to circle each other. "You shouldn't have attacked me when we last met. What was going on was none of your business."

"I wasn't going to stand by whilst you hurt an innocent young girl" Tylira said quietly, her voice still remaining soft, even with the anger that was present in her eyes. "I am giving you one chance, General. You are not in your right mind. Come with me peacefully, and no more harm needs to come to anyone."

"I'm sorry?" Durun stopped walking and looked at Tylira, almost as if he couldn't believe what he had heard. A short moment later, he burst out laughing again. "There is nothing you can do to stop me, druid. I am more powerful than you can ever imagine. No, I won't come peacefully."

Without skipping a heart beat, Durun lunged forwards, drawing the sword that was at his side and swinging it at Tylira. Moving just as fast as the General was, Tylira raised her staff and blocked his attack, forcing him back for a moment.

"So be it" she said, gripping her weapon tightly. "Then let what happens next be on your head." Raising her staff, Tylira sent a bolt of magic towards Durun, the night elf expertly rolling to the side to avoid it. Not giving Durun a chance to rest, Tylira lunged forwards, sweeping out with her staff. Bringing his sword round, Durun parried the attack before lunging forwards with his shoulder, colliding with Tylira and sending her stumbling backwards.

"Is that the best you can do?" Durun laughed, mocking Tylira as she regained her composure. Tylira looked over to Karis for a moment before she jammed her staff into the ground, raising her hands up in front of herself. Durun watched with interest before mimicking her actions, throwing his sword to one side and raising up his own hands.

Karis watched as the two of them moved towards each other, neither of them throwing a punch. All of a sudden, the fight began again. Karis wasn't sure who had started it, but they were both fully engaged. Both fighters expertly dodged and weaved past their opponents strikes, none of them seeming to land to begin with. As the fight went on, however, the strikes came closer and closer. Both Tylira and Durun had assessed each other and were now pushing harder.

Durun let out a grunt as Tylira landed the first punch to his chest. He soon followed up with his own strike that hit Tylira's arm. More and more they landed hits, even with the both of them performing an intricate dance between them. But, soon, that wasn't enough. Durun swung out with his foot, Tylira moving just a fraction too slow. Her legs were swept out from under her, quickly followed by Durun slamming his fist down into her chest, winding her and pushing her firmly into the ground.

"I am disappointed, druid" Durun said with glee as Tylira gasped desperately for breath, her body aching from the intensive fight. "But I am glad you're here." With a demented chuckle, Durun walked over to his sword, picking it up and tossing it from one hand to another, seemingly un-phased by the encounter. "It means you get to watch as I finally dispatch of dear little Karis. I do hope you enjoy it." With another chuckle, Tylira watched as Durun approached Karis, the young girl starting to sob uncontrollably.

"No…" Tylira said as she slowly pushed herself onto her elbows. "Leave her alone…" Durun didn't listen as he reached down and picked up Karis. The young girl screamed out as he lifted her up, readying his sword to strike. Karis watched with anguish as the sword was raised up, glinting in the light. What happened next happened so fast, it almost came as a blur.

With a cry of pain and anger, Tylira pushed herself off of the floor. In a heartbeat, she shifted into her bear form, lashing upwards with her paw with immense force, so much so that Durun was lifted upwards into the air. Without wasting time, Tylira leapt into the air after him, taking on her cat form. Durun twisted in the air, just in time to see Tylira lash out at him with razor sharp claws, tearing into his skin.

As Durun started to fall again, Tylira shifted back to her Night Elf form. As Karis watched, she seemed to hang gracefully in place before returning to her bear form. Durun hit the ground heavily, moments before Tylira landed on top of him, causing the General to cry out in pain and anguish. Raising his hands, Durun started to beat on the large bear on top of him, an act that Tylira started to return.

Karis watched in horror as the two beat at each other, their blood starting to pool around them. It wasn't long before Duruns attacks slowed down before stopping all together. Tylira's however, continued. Realising what was happening, Karis quickly rushed over, stumbling as she did. Falling forwards she reached out, placing her arms over Tylira.

"Don't kill him!" she said, her voice rough, her throat sore. "You've beaten him…it's over…no more…please…" All her energy drained, Karis slowly slid down Tylira's side as she stopped attacking. She continued to mumble as she closed her eyes, slipping deeply into blissful unconsciousness.

Sitting amongst the small kits and their mother, Vulpiera watched the three night elves quietly, a small twinkle in her eyes. With a yawn and a small mewl, the small kit curled up and fell asleep.