Kate let out a shaky breath, and in the darkness moonlight cut through the holes of the metal coverings. Muffled curses, snorts and light footsteps were faint, but Kate strained her ears, closing her eyes, and just listened. Water dripped in a rhythmic fashion into the steadily, moving sewer line. She didn't know silence could be so loud as her legs trembled while her palms grew sweaty in her gloves. She could feel Milli's heat right next to her while her brother's breath echoed in her ears. They stood in a crowded hole in the wall, and waited another two minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. Everyone was grateful when Charlie made the first move to headed out first from the dark shadows. Next was Milli, and when she had enough room she lit the torch once more with her match, setting the brick walls of the sewer in an orange glow. Kate’s long hair was slipping from the simple bun she pinned up and she breathed out a big sigh of relief when she finally stepped out. And for seconds that seemed to stretch eternities, Kate stood there and basked in the silence and the putrid aroma from the sewer water.
They were safe.
“They have left,” Kate whispered somewhat dazedly, turning to the shadowy alcove where her brother and Milli were. "Who were those people..."
Just as she took a step closer to Milli, a stampede of footsteps behind her, echoing on the pavement.
Her cheek burned hotly, and a burst of orange firelight engulfed her figure as light surrounded her from the front and back. Her shadow stretched long on the brick tunnel wall, and she turned to the silent assailants in front of her. Her amber eyes landed on a smug-looking man whose hair was almost like silver threads. His grin was sinister and downright nasty.
Kate couldn’t help the way her eyes narrowed into annoyed slits, and her mouth pursed into a thin, solid line as her feet parted slightly as if she was ready to bolt. The warmth from the fire torches was unbearable as she looked at them – these people clothed in nondescript clothing.
“I can’t believe you were right, Yale,” said the tawny, golden hair man. His smile was wide and possessed a cruel quality to it. It was almost jester-like the way his smile widened with each passing moment. “We caught ourselves a little missy. Now what are you doing down here all by yourself? Are you lost? Maybe we can help you find your way home.”
He came closer and closer while Kate scooted back, gazing over her shoulder as men surrounded her in the back. Just then as she took her eyes off the approaching man, his large hand tried to fiercely shackle her wrist, but he did not expect fast, dainty ones to emerge from the shadows where a hidden alcove lied.
Milli was calm amongst the circling vultures as the fire burned bright.
Milli’s fast thinking and strong hands twisted the larger person before her onto his knees, using his weight as momentum as she pulled his arm up and pull backwards over her shoulder, dislocating his arm. His piercing scream echoed in the tunnel, spurring the shocked soldiers into action as they pulled out short swords and daggers.
Charlie pulled his sister into the shadows of the alcove and unsheathed his sword as he kicked the side of one approaching soldier into the sewage water as hard as he could without losing sight of the other soldiers. His sword was longer than what the soldiers had; therefore, he had a greater reach as he held onto the silver hilt of his sword. Charlie moved swiftly with an undeniable elegance and reacted faster than the average soldier. His jabs were fast and deep as he switched from side swipes to upward slashes and downward swings.
One body fell into the murky waters, and there were two more that Charlie was facing in the narrow battlefield. Charlie’s eyes were cold and seemed as hard as steel. He took them by surprise, rushing at them as they were distracted by the man on the floor.
“Don’t,” barked Yale at his men who were behind him. His face was contorted, and his teeth gritted tightly as he saw his best friend reduced to an invalid on the short pathway. “Deemos! Fuck!”
Milli towered over Deemos – her face was apathetic and unreadable as she let go of the limp arm, and she then quickly grabbed the other, protesting arm. After achieving a firm hold on him, Milli placed his elbow between the hard, toned flesh of her thighs, squeezing hard. Deemos screamed even louder while Milli pulled his head back, exposing his thick neck to her blade.
“You crazy bitch!” Deemos gritted out. His eyes were blazing with a strange mixture of intense hatred and disbelief – something his men rarely saw. Deemos was never angry, and no one could make him look quite like this.
“I’d be careful with your words,” whispered Milli into his ears so only Deemos could hear. She reached into her right-breast pocket and fished out a thin razor that looked like a letter opener. She placed it to the major artery in the neck where the skin was thin and soft and vulnerable. She nicked him accidentally, drawing a drop of blood. “It could be your last, and I will try to make it quick, but this blade is not the sharpest tool. Stay still, little bird.”
He gave a gruff laugh, but then he hissed in pain as the blade nicked his neck.
“You! The one in charge,” Milli began, locking her deep ocean eyes with Yale’s grey-blue ones. “This is your friend? If you want him alive, then let us leave. Now.”
Yale laughed. He shook his head and raised a brow at her. “You think you are going to leave here alive when you killed four of my men? You’ll be lucky to have a body intact.”
“Then I guess I will be taking him with me, won’t I?” replied Milli stubbornly. She pulled Deemo’s curly head flush against her tone stomach, making a show of how he would die.
Yale no longer laughed; and instead, his frown was deep as he watched Milli intensely, dissecting her body with a bone-cutter in his mind. If looks could kill, Deemos would not be gritting his teeth and his chest would not be racing as adrenaline made him take in the towering woman’s stony face.
“I don’t negotiate with a lesser,” Yale spat out bitterly.
“That’s unfortunate then,” replied Milli nonchalantly. She tightened her hold on Deemos’ throat, bruising the skin from her tight, choking hold.
Kate stepped out from the shadows and stood in the middle as Milli’s back faced her while her brother was valiantly protecting them from behind. They would die here if something wasn’t done.
“Milli,” began Kate calmly, but her head felt so very light. The palms of her hands were clammy, sticky, and wet. “Release him.”
Her eyes widened. Shocked by the sudden command, Milli couldn’t help her unsteady stance as she tried to resist the urge to turn to Kate. Her grip was unrelenting; instead, it became tighter, squeezing him until he choked. It was only when Kate placed her hand on Milli's shoulder that the shield-maiden began loosening her hold just a bit while the man underneath her continuously tried to break her hold. Milli didn’t want to kill him if she didn’t have to. She then said under her breath, “I cannot do that… If I release him, we will have nothing.”
Upon hearing Milli’s quiet protest, Kate closed her eyes and strengthened her resolve. Torn by her logic, and what her instinct was telling her, Kate took a deep breath before shaking off the trembles that lingered in her arms. She then opened her eyes and continued to breathe as evenly as she could when she pushed her brother’s sword down. Looking pass Milli’s shoulder, Kate captured Yale’s angry stare and pasted on a serene smile. She then announced boldly, “My name is Katherina Yates. I am a doctor. Who is in charge? We would like to speak with them.”
Yale laughed, and sneered at the woman barking nonsense.
“I am in charge,” he said.
“Sure,” replied Kate, brushing him off easily as she cut off his protests. “I want to speak to the person who is in charge of you,” Kate then stepped to the side, and pointed at Deemos. “-and him.”
“Kate,” her brother said, drawing her attention to him. Her ears perked up, listening to his soft voice. “We are surrounded.”
Kate was not surprised by the news as she knew it was a possibility. She sighed, running a hand down up and down her arm in a comforting way.
Charlie tightened the grip on his sword, and then pivoted to left, ducking the swift blade that caught tiny wisps of his brown hair. His deep eyes shifted upwards as he thrust the bottom of the hilt up, trying to catch the attacker by surprise. When the bottom missed the enemy’s jaw, Charlie quickly stepped back, creating a bit of leeway as he shifted his grip. Bending his knees, Charlie lifted the sword in the motion of a sideswipe at the body. Charlie focused on cutting his torso, seeing that he moved back – Charlie then moved forward, chasing after him. While his strike was mid-motion, Charlie slid onto his knees past the heavy swings, and twisted his wrist upward in a controlled swing, aiming for a final blow at the neck.
Charlie’s blue eyes then caught glimmers of deep green, and he hesitated as he heard the enemy call out his name.
“Charlie!” Alex yelled out in shock as his hands trembled from the shocks of barely stopping his attack in time. His downward pointed sword was merely centimeters away from Charlie’s neck while Charlie’s own blade was pointed upwards at his jugular.
“Alex!” Charlie breathed out heavily as he took in his friend’s shocked face. Charlie’s mouth was wide open, and his eyes were rapidly blinking.
Upon hearing Charlie exclaim in shock, Milli’s sweaty grip loosened and Deemos twisted away freely, knocking the breath out of her as he pulled his heard forward before savagely swinging the back of his head against the soft flesh of her stomach. She stumbled away, gasping for breath and the dagger in her hand was knocked out of her hand and kicked away as Deemos pushed her onto the pavement, and onto her back. Once she was on her back, Deemos straddled the top of her stomach, pinning down her arms with his strong legs. His good arm and hand then pointed her razor at the hollow of her neck.
“Don’t move,” Deemos breathed out. The glint in his eyes was dangerous, and Milli looked back at him defiantly. His working hand shook, and the dagger trembled against her skin. He was tired and hurting, but Milli didn’t want to risk anything.
Milli would not waste her energy on struggling; instead she focused on breathing as she took in the man’s features, burning them into her memory so she would remember him.
Charlie was the first to relax his grip on his sword, putting down the sword. Then after a moment of contemplation, Alex sheathed his own sword, and helped his old schoolmate up. He then turned his eyes over to the blonde woman.
“Get off her!” demanded Kate, balling her hands into fists. She was afraid to move. What if she moved, and the man before her sliced Milli up?
Alex’s ears perked up upon hearing her voice. He then narrowed his eyes, and his mouth parted. He took in the long figure of the blonde. It was hard to truly observe someone’s physical trait in the sewers, but he recognized the voice. Sweet, deep, loud, teasing, hard, quick to anger, quick to forgive – patient.
“Dr. Yates?” he tested the waters, unsure, and yet he was – Alex didn’t know what he was hoping for.
She slowly turned to him. The tilt of her chin – sharp and long. Her lips were full. Her eyes were fiery and blazing – and that unique color of amber like syrup from a maple tree.
His chest swelled, and it began thumping a bit faster than it did before.
Small rays of light broke across the sky, coloring the darkness a deep purple that was slowly turning blue. Black smoke covered the city as ashes scattered across the city like a blanket of black snow. The three of them were now under the intense scrutiny of what seemed like a thousand eyes.
Deemos Elwyn preferred riding without his helmet in his tan and green armor, allowing his fallen enemies to take the image of his face to the afterlife. His short, tawny colored hair was drenched in blood and sweat while his dark tanned face was smeared in what were messy smears of blood. Deemos, the ever-vain man, tried to look his best and it became clear that he had repeatedly wiped his face clean of blood as dry streaks of blood carried into his hairline. There was only so much he could do with one arm working at the moment.
Every so often he would often turn back to look at the woman who harmed him. His lips were thin lines that eventually became a smirk as if he was greatly entertained by whatever he saw.
“Eade soldiers in the caravan!”
At first, only the hard, pounding sounds of galloping horses could be heard from every direction as they rushed through the iron gates of Helios. The trio were escorted by Zephyrian Elites to a camp outside of Helios.
“Come, Kate.” Charlie urged her as she stood glued to the ground beneath her trembling knees. The screams in the distance held her attention. Kate stumbled along. Milli gently pushed at Kate’s elbow, helping her keep pace as Kate clung onto the tawny material of Milli’s cloak. Rushing footsteps came towards them and suddenly, vertigo invaded Kate as she watched the burning city spin in the distance while her body collided with her brother’s solid one. Her eyes couldn’t tear away from the fires.
The screeching of metal clanging against metal chilled her to the bone. The Helian soldiers were reduced to nothing as their golden armors were ripped to shreds by the spears and swords of the enemy blue coats. Blood covered the jeweled streets as the soldiers’ bodies were crushed by the passing horses.
