CHAPTER 39
REVENGE
Kiethara slowly bent her knees, wincing as her potion bottles clinched together slightly. Her sword stuck out at an odd angle on her hip while her hair twitched in the chilled wind. She did not even dare to breathe.
Ten feet in front of her stood an elegant deer. It bent its slender head down towards the lush grass beneath it, picking at the tall blades. It eyed Kiethara with caution, but it did not seem to see her as an immediate threat. If it had, it would have been long gone.
Long gone. That explained Durga and Markii perfectly. Their visit had been weeks ago and, ever since then, she could not stop musing over Markii’s…personality. If that’s what you could call it. After they had left, she had attempted to try a day where she felt no emotion, but she had hardly made it through lunch. Sometimes her daydreams about Navadar got a little out of hand…
Durga’s words proved true when she woke up one day shaking. A thin layer of snow had covered her clearing, continuing to patch throughout the forest when it managed to make it past the bare trees. Her lake had frozen over, but, like always, the guardian’s lake remained the same, untouched by both weather and time.
The snow had not hindered Kiethara’s training. Fire had suddenly become one of Aaron’s priorities due to the cold weather that had befallen them. Thankfully, the winter did not seem as bad anymore, now that she had a sufficient way to stay warm. She was so far advanced that she hardly needed to recall memories of rage anymore, just like how she used her shield, the wind, and the earth element. And soon, the winter would be behind her.
Her attention was drawn back to the scene in front of her as two more deer entered her line of vision. They attempted to pick at the small patch that the original deer had been chewing on. Food would be scarce for them this winter.
No sooner then when she contemplated the thought did two more deer weave their way into her line of vision. They were so graceful in their movements; she knew that one clumsy move from her would send them off through the trees almost as fast as she could fly.
Yet it was not like she could stay in her position forever. Her toes were on fire from squatting on them for so long and she was frozen from being immobile. She needed to walk around.
Kiethara stood up, her joints cracking in cadence to her movement. As soon as she did, however, all of the deer jolted upright, ears up and bodies prepared to run. At first, she thought it was in reaction to her movement.
But they were all staring in the opposite direction.
Her heart froze as her gut wrenched. Her instinct screamed out at her to bolt, but, like the deer, she was frozen to the ground she stood on.
The ground trembled slightly under her and a strange stomping noise echoed through the trees. The deer were gone in a flash, swiftly sprinting through the frozen ferns and shrubs. She began to back up, her mouth opening wide as the bark of the trees around her were illuminated in an orange glow.
Sinsenta barreled through the trees with a yell, wielding two flaming daggers above his head. His tan face was contorted into a sneer, mangling the scar that marked the lower half of it. His hair flew widely around him, only adding to the chaos his presence inscribed.
She barely had time to lean back as the metal inferno slashed through the air. The heat was so strong it singed her cheek.
Kiethara’s right hand flew towards her left hip and drew her sword. It seemed so large compared to the smaller daggers, but it was every bit as deadly and it was all she had.
Well, that and her powers.
The winds began to whip at Sinsenta, who had turned around to attack her again. The flames on his daggers flickered, but they did not snuff out. He raised them again.
Her shield flew up, blocking his next move. He struck the golden sphere again, but the dagger could not penetrate it. It was a very peculiar feeling, as though she really was holding up a metal shield and the dagger was bouncing off of it.
She closed her eyes and focused harder on her fear, while Aaron’s training resounded in her head. Her heart was pounding almost painfully, but she did not panic. Instead, she turned her knowledge into wisdom. She was now an efficient and organized fighter; not the same foolish girl who had been as sloppy as she had been lucky.
Her shield expanded, throwing him against a tree. His daggers finally went out, and she saw that underneath the flames the metal remained unblemished. He rolled twice on the ground and, without warning, he snatched up one of the weapons and flung it at her now unprotected body, the dagger bursting into flames in midair.
But her reflexes were well practiced now, thanks to Aaron’s hard-core lessons. Without them, she would not have been able to duck in time. The dagger whizzed past her head, sending her hair up around her in its wind before thudding quietly against the trunk of a tree. She quickly put the flames out with her winds.
Sinsenta was back on his feet again, panting heavily. One dagger still remained in his hand.
“You’ve gotten better,” he commented, tilting his head to the side. His eyes still made her uneasy.
“Do you think this time around I’ll be able to make the top half of your face match the bottom?” she replied icily, raising an eyebrow.
He snarled as the dagger in his hand burst into flames. They began to circle each other, Kiethara quickly snatching up a blade of grass and tying her hair back. She would send Sinsenta back to Gandador in a box.
Sinsenta lunged again, his teeth bared. She pulled to the side, expecting him to blow right past her, but instead he spun on his heel and sliced through the air. This time she was not quick enough. The flames caught her right hand, causing her to drop her sword onto the ground, where she followed it quickly to dodge another blow.
Kiethara clutched her hand to her chest and crawled behind a tree, pressing her back up against it. Suddenly, there was no sign of Sinsenta, not even a whisper. Carefully, very carefully, she examined her hand. It was not as bad as it felt; nothing, at least, looked like it would scar permanently. To her, that was all that mattered. She didn’t want another scar from this man; she didn’t want him to have the pleasure of signing his signature onto her. She glared angrily at the white-pink scar that trailed down the length of her arm for a moment. The question was whether or not she should use her potion on it. It hindered her, certainly, but not completely. She could still fight with it, just not with her sword.
She then noticed how quiet it really was. Her heart took off as she looked around her. Sinsenta could be anywhere, doing anything. What if he appeared right in front of her and stabbed her? If she called out tauntingly, would he answer? Or would it just give away her position? She bit her lip.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Sinsenta’s voice rang out, relaxed and mocking. It didn’t sound close.
A sudden idea came to mind. Trying to be as quiet about it as possible, she pulled herself up into the tree she was leaning on, careful not to use her right hand too much. The branches were thick enough and close enough for her to walk on them with ease. She would never have to touch the ground.
She began skulking along the branches, stepping as lightly as possible, ducking to avoid rustling any of the leaves on the trees that still had them.
“How’s your master?” she called out.
Sinsenta appeared right beneath her, dagger ready. She jumped lightly to the neighboring tree with bated breath, but he did not look up. People never did.
“He is ambitious. He wants nothing more than to control the forest.” Sinsenta was obviously trying to make her speak again, but this time she heard a weakness in his voice.
“So you believe he is beginning to embrace insanity as well?” she asked, hopping from branch to branch while ignoring the pain in her hand. “You doubt him now and you believe his quest is useless. Yet you refuse to defy him! What does that make you? A coward or a love-sick puppy?”
Sinsenta’s enraged hiss made her smile. He disappeared and reappeared ten feet in front of her. She giggled and jumped silently to another tree
, watching him spin widely in an attempt to see her. Her laugh echoed eerily throughout the forest.
“He is not insane!” Sinsenta called loudly. “It is possible! His plan makes sense!”
“Lies!” she yelled back, weaving through leaves and bark. “If he managed to lay his filthy paws on my crystals, how is he planning on putting them in his skin? And say he does manage that! Before he dies in attempt, how will he get them to work for him? He has none of Aaron’s blood! It will not work! Greed has seized his sense and twisted it! You see it too!”
“Whether I see it or not is none of your concern! I pick the stronger side, not the saner one! If Gandador does not kill you, I will! I fight for my son; he does not need all this magical nonsense in his life. All this power does is cause strife, turmoil, and insanity! And yet you continue to protect it!”
“Only the insane use it for insanity! For others, it is a blessing!”
She quickly ran into the next tree.
“Would you not protect what is yours?” she continued. “Would you not defend your rightful heritage? The forest is mine, so I fight for it! I defend it! I would not desert my home, and I would not betray my ancestors.”
She leaped into another tree, Sinsenta helplessly confused beneath her. She needed to act now, but she loathed giving up her advantage. Or maybe she didn’t have to.
Kiethara closed her eyes and brought forth the exact memories she needed to become invisible. She opened her eyes, satisfied to see only tree limbs, none of her own. With a smile, she jumped down and landed on the ground besides him. He was frozen, listening intently as he scanned the forest. His eyes would not help him now.
Kiethara crouched and then sprung, twisting midair, kicking his last dagger out of his hand. Sinsenta cursed and turned to face her. She laughed aloud at his bewildered expression.
Her laugh, however, broke her concentration, and she turned visible once again. He sneered and brought his fist down on her side.
From that point on it was only instincts and Aaron’s teachings that ruled her mind. It became a battle of limbs and, although he was stronger, she was swifter. He received a foot to the stomach; she received a fist to her cheek.
Sweat rolled down her brow as she blocked another one of Sinsenta’s blows. Every muscle in her body was on fire. Sinsenta crouched and kicked her legs out from under her. She rolled on the grass, but he caught her foot by the ankle. Using her other foot, she spun and kicked him in the face. He released her with a mad howl.
She pulled herself upright and backed up. Her breathing was labored and her skin was beginning to bruise. She felt blood trickle down her chin: her lip was cut.
Anger flared inside her as her hands burst into flames. Sinsenta jumped up as well, rubbing his nose.
Kiethara sliced her flaming hands through the air, sending a wave of flames towards his direction. He pared her blow with fire of his own.
Their fight continued; however, it increased in tempo, adding in the extra element to utilize to their individual advantages. She used it because it was the easiest emotion she could feel without having to focus on it; he used it because it was his best element that he fought with. She did not complain; it was light, swift, and easy to conjure quickly. It was fire against fire.
“Time for my revenge!” he growled, sending a flaming ball at her face. She couldn’t help but notice, even in the heat of the battle, how differently they used the element. Her flames covered her entire hand, her crystals protecting the flesh underneath. He, on the other hand, was not able to let the flames go anywhere near his skin. They appeared a hairs breath away from his fingertips, and they did not stay there for long. He might be able to project them onto other objects, but she had the feeling that her method deemed her exceptionally more powerful. He beat her in years, not strength.
“You can try,” she growled in return, dodging his strike. He was slowly pushing her back—she was losing ground through the trees. Sinsenta’s attacks were becoming more and more ferocious; she kept having to throw up her shield more and more, hindering herself from attacking back. He only became even more incensed when his blows failed to reach his target. Aaron’s words sounded in her head, warning her.
Kiethara skipped backwards, knocking Sinsenta’s fist aside with her forearm. Her right hand burned painfully, pulling her face into a permanent grimace. Sweat stung her eyes, even though she was standing in a small pile of snow.
“Soon you will know what it feels like to have your own flesh burnt off,” Sinsenta hissed, tossing another blast of fire at her.
“Soon you will be reliving that experience,” she spat.
He roared and threw his entire body at her, catching her off guard. His head rammed her stomach, knocking her breath out of her as she hit the ground and skidded to a stop. Shivering, as her limbs were buried in snow, she raised her head and was momentarily derailed by the clear sky above her. He had knocked her into the clearing that beheld her lake. She gazed at the sun in shock, turning her head to take in the glistening water before her—only the edges had remained frozen with the days rising temperatures.
Kiethara thrust her knee up into Sinsenta’s gut. She would not be found under him, helpless, again. He grunted and rolled off of her and, before he could recover, Kiethara pulled the bottle filled with blue liquid from her vine belt.
Her aim was never very good with potions and he had been moving, so she considered herself lucky that the potion managed to splash onto his forearm. Sinsenta gasped and jerked away from her, clutching his elbow like a maniac. Kiethara smiled a devilish smile; she knew the effects of that potion quite well.
Making it had not been easy. She had spent all day trying, only to fail again and again. The last couple attempts had failed only because of her frustration at Aaron. He had told her that he would teach her a new potion under one consideration: she would have to use it on herself to find out what it did. She had, and she had screamed aloud for twenty minutes after until her voice had given out.
It paralyzed the area of the muscle it made contact with. It was like a painful freezing that seared through flesh and smoldered inside bone and there was nothing—absolutely nothing—you could do to ease its horrendous feeling. It lasted for hours, though, eventually, it wore off. She could still remember Aaron’s exact words:
“I made you experience that so you won’t abuse it. It can kill someone if aimed correctly. Do not use this potion unless you have to.”
Kiethara would have loved to use it on Gandador, but after what he had done to her last potion, she hadn’t even bothered. The last thing she wanted to do was remake it, but at least this time she had managed to hit her target.
Kiethara looked over at Sinsenta, the cruel smile still spread wide across her face. He grimaced in pain, stumbling to the side.
“What the hell did you do to me, you little bastard?!” he bellowed. Birds flew out of the surrounding trees.
“You’ll find out when you return to your master, but by that time your arm will have fallen off,” she exaggerated smoothly. “Better head off now.”
Sinsenta roared, enraged, but clearly torn. Kiethara was surprised he was falling for her bluff. Maybe the potion was even stronger than she remembered.
“You deserve to die!” he screamed at her. “Just like your mother!”
“Leave my mother out of this,” Kiethara said in a low voice. His words no longer sent anger through her. She had heard them too many times. Instead, they only brought a wave of sadness.
“I’ll leave only the innocent out of this! And your mother was far from innocent!”
“Oh, shut up!” she snapped. “You are trying to feed me lies to make up for your own pain! How pathetic!”
“You want to know what’s pathetic?” he asked. “A fifteen year old girl who takes her orders from a spirit and allows men to come in and out of this forest without thinking about it twice! Sounds a little lonely to me, eh?”
Sadness erupted in her chest. She ground her teeth and clenched
her fists. How did he get into her head like this? How could he bring forth emotions she had not felt in months?
“You are lonely. You have no one. They come and go as they please; their normal lives continue on without you. Just what, exactly, are you protecting?”
She shook her head: the forest did matter; there was no question about that. It must have an effect on the lives outside the forest. Redawn was the only kingdom that didn’t use magic…
“You have no reasons, you fool! Your cause is pointless and your life is meaningless!”
Kiethara screamed and slashed her arm through the air, her crystals glowing brightly. The surface of the lake rippled before their eyes, and then a huge geyser of water erupted from it. It twisted in the air, glittering as though a thousand diamonds were flying through the sky, winking at her from above, before it shot directly at Sinsenta.
Halfway through its flight it turned into ice. Giant, jagged pieces cut through the air like knives and, as she stared at them, transfixed, she could suddenly feel them, as though she was the element that she was controlling. She grabbed a hold of this connection and pushed them towards him, her mind blank except for thoughts of her own revenge. Revenge for the words that had cut her into jagged pieces.
Sinsenta screamed once.
And then he disappeared.