Cassandra Pendragon

Once outside, it was child’s play for her to interrupt the stream of magic that coursed through the pentagram. She didn’t bother with searching for any weak points but simply slammed her wings into the arcane foundations. Her fires flared, a flash of crimson, the walls of silvery flames around me stuttered and went out, leaving behind nothing but molten, still glowing rock.

“That wasn’t too bad, now, was it,” she said with a satisfied grin. “And not a second too soon.”

I nodded and quickly strode to her side. Paranoid it might have been, but I wasn’t going to stay within the formation, destroyed or not. Besides, it surely seemed like we were going to have company any second now. While I wrapped my tails around her, the spell, which had been growing in the background, reached its conclusion. “Thanks,” I whispered in her ear, my gaze focused on the newly formed portal, an altogether more impressive affair than the last one. A ring of swirling, iridescent runes circled around a grey, mirror like surface that was at least as tall as the one that had filled the archway. And considering the acidic smell, even more powerful.

“You’re very welcome. Any ideas what’s coming for us,” she asked mentally.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but if we’re lucky, we’ll make the acquaintance of Captain Dawn quite a bit sooner than expected.” “What makes you say that?”

“If he’s the one in charge and just received the news that some magical creature with tails and silvery wings is stuck inside his prison, I’m willing to bet he’ll have a look for himself. It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to deduce who I am, he has already sent one of his cronies to invite us to his next gathering, after all. Chances are, he’ll get a guard or two and a competent mage and make an appearance. At least that’s what I would do in his stead.”

“And what do we do? Kill them all as soon as they step through and use the portal?”

“That’s risky. It might close, once they’re dead. And honestly, I’m tired of it all. If they’re willing to, I won’t mind bargaining. But he’ll have to let the girl go. My promise was fulfilled when we left the cell, but I’m not going to let her languish under his care. I like her.”

“Of course you do. Have you ever thought about opening an orphanage? Considering the speed with which you’re adopting strays left, right and centre, you might soon need one.”

“Not a bad idea,” I chuckled, “but this one already has a family. I simply want to return her to her mum. However prickly the lady in question might be, at least she cares for her child.”

“That she does… which is about the only excuse she can make that won’t lead to me incinerating her for what she’s done to you. I mean, we’d even have helped, if she had simply asked... Incidentally, how are you? If we’re forced to, will you be able to fight?”

“Hell yes. I’m as good as new. Tired and hungry, admittedly, but that’s something I’ve gotten used to for a while now. But my core, my body… I’m feeling much better. How about you?”

“Drained. Before I asked you to summon me, I tried the same, but it didn’t work. Don’t ask me why, I simply don’t know, but I had already used quite a lot of power before I understood that I wasn’t going to be able to pull you through. A bit unfair, in my humble opinion,” she added sulkily.

“It is, isn’t it? But I imagine that’s the advantage of having made that thing. You realise what it means, though, don’t you? Even back then, when I forged the magic, I already knew what had happened to us. Or do you think angels can be summoned? I’m not completely sure anymore.”

“I don’t know, either. But we can talk about that rather academic question, when we’re safe again. Look, something’s happening.” I didn’t think it was academic, not at all. Summoning one after the other to wring their necks seemed quiet appealing to me, but I did agree with her. There was probably a better time to explore that option. For now, the rippling waves that spread across the smooth, greyish surface of the portal were a tad more important.

“You know, for once, I’d like to actually look like I’m about to start a fight. I can’t wait for the dwarfs to finish the armour. I’m so done with walking around naked, every time someone ruins my day. Seriously, I can’t even remember the last time I was appropriately dressed for a battle.”

“Of course that’s the first thing that comes to your mind,” Ahri chuckled, while she extended her fingers and brushed over the bracelet she had given me. “At least, you didn’t lose that,” she added quietly.

“I’m an idiot,” I groaned. “The bracelet, I could have sent it after Layla! Damn it all, why didn’t I think of it sooner? Or better yet, maybe I could have used it to damage the formation…”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, I don’t think it would have worked. They are connected to our own magic and I guess that means it wouldn’t have been able to cross over the flames. It would have either burned up outright or been repelled. Besides, since you’ve still got it on you, you can’t claim that you’re completely disrobed, can you?” At least I hadn’t made another, stupid mistake...

“You’re not the one who’s going to meet one of the leaders of Free Land in their birthday suit. If it’s not big deal, I won’t mind taking your shirt, or your trousers, both are fine, really.”

“Sorry, but there’s no time. Or do you want us to be changing when they come through the gate? Otherwise I’d definitely share with you.” Despite her mocking inflection, she slung her tails around me. We both knew that wouldn’t last, but I still appreciated the gesture, immensely.

I wanted to lean over and kiss her, but a sudden gust blew back my hair. The portal had activated and the mirror had turned into a pitch black passage. A lithe, heavily armed figure stepped through, confidence, maybe even arrogance, radiating off him in palpable waves.

He wasn’t overly tall, I’d have put him at around 1.85 metres, but he was a fighter. Every movement was precise and controlled, a graceful strength lingered in his easy gait and an inner tension gave him the appearance of a predator, stalking its prey. Clad in a silvery scale armour, the overlapping pieces masterfully crafted and carved with arcane symbols, some of which I recognised, he waltzed through and into the room as if he owned the place. Which, judging from the engraved coat of arms on his chest, a stylised sun breaking through a bank of clouds on the horizon, wasn’t that far from the truth.

Captain Dawn had a kite shield on his back, the edges clearly visible on either side of his agile frame, and a massive, brutal mace on his belt alongside a pair of silver daggers. He didn’t wear a helmet, his unnaturally pale face was drawn into a satisfied smirk that revealed his canines. Bloodless lips and perfectly white hair emphasised the vibrant colour of his ruby red eyes, their unchanging glow broken solely by slit like pupils. But as soon as he spotted us, their expression changed.

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Surprise was followed by disbelieve as the self assured leader of the vampires realised, that he wasn’t walking in on a tied up angel, but rather two of them, both unshackled. His eyes narrowed as they roamed from Ahri to me, to the molten remains of the pentagram and back again. As he pieced together what must have happened, I waved at him and said:

“Now, no reason to be shy. I assume you’ve come here for me. That I’m not stuck behind an impenetrable wall of flames shouldn’t change much, should it? Or are you afraid of being alone with two women? We don’t bite, don’t worry. And I’m also not craving your head on a platter, not yet, at any rate. Although, what have you done to Layla? For your sake, I hope she’s still alive.”

Before he could answer, the first of his lackeys came through the portal, a bespectacled, bearded man in a brown robe, his long, white fingers wrapped around a carved staff which smelled like oak. His timing couldn’t have been any better.

Concluding that being stuck in a room with the both of us wasn’t in his best interest, Captain Dawn had decided that a strategic retreat was his best course of action. Unfortunately, his hasty flight coincided with the wizard’s arrival. The armoured vampire crashed into the poor fellow like a brick wall and sent him flying, while his arms and legs became hopelessly entangled in the flowing robe. For a split second, he managed to keep his balance but quickly enough, gravity proved its superiority and he kissed the floor only an instant after his friend.

“Oh my, what a display of poise and grace,” Ahri chuckled. “If you’re so eager to get away from us, why would you have offered an invitation in the first place? It’s not like…” she didn’t finish her sentence since the portal flared for a third time and a monstrous figure, one I had met before, easily steppe through, gracefully avoiding the flailing mass of limbs on the ground.

The gaunt behemoth hadn’t changed one bit while he had been away, except that he appeared even larger now, but that was probably simply because I wasn’t safe and sound behind a wall of fire and magic. I heard Ahri swallow dryly at my side, her eyes glued to the impossibly long sword which the Goliath handled as if it was a toy. “I assume that’s the undead monster you referred to,” she mumbled. “Somehow I thought you were exaggerating.”

“No… no, I wasn’t. Let’s hope he doesn’t…” my words were drowned out by a ringing command when Captain Dawn screamed: “hold them back!” “Or not,” I muttered.

While the two vampires on the floor struggled to get up and already reached for the portal, a savage smile spread across the face of our newest friend. Without a word, he effortlessly twirled his sword around, glided into a basic offensive stance and attacked, the air whistling around his first strike. Without thinking, Ahri and I reacted in perfect synchronisation.

She took a step forward, her flames a ravenous storm of heat and power behind her back. She extended her arm, tongues of fire swirling across her skin, her eyes ablaze with anger and violence. A thin beam, crimson red and brighter than the sun, shot from her fingers and cut through the armoured figure like a hot knife through butter. Smoke coiled around the pinprick sized hole in his chest but he didn’t fall. Instead he roared, an eerily soft sound that reminded me of a hissing snake, and threw himself towards her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his blade descend, but my vixen was faster than him by a landslide. Before he even came close to her, she whirled around and ducked under his strike, her wings glistening as they pierced his side. This time, he couldn’t shrug off the horrendous wound, surrounded by blackened flesh and molten metal. He stumbled, his own momentum carrying him further while his arms flailed like a propellor to keep him upright.

Meanwhile, I had spread my wings wide, relishing in the smooth, powerful roar of energy as it rushed through my veins, a far cry removed from the exhausting, insufferable sensation I had been forced to endure before. A smile formed on my face when I felt the rules of reality bend and break around the torrents of light and with a thought, I vanished into a shower of sparks. I reappeared behind the stumbling colossus, the glare from my eyes focused on the disheveled vampires on the floor. To their credit, they didn’t freeze. Instead, the mage uttered an incantation and Captain Dawn went for one of his daggers but he never got to draw it. A lance of darkness ripped through the air, distorting the very space it passed through. With a dull sound like a hand hitting a table it struck me, directly over my heart. The magic sizzled evilly, pulsed once and petered out. Not even a mark was left on my skin. Captain Dawn, who had still been fumbling with his dagger, swallowed visibly and raised his hands, the tension leaving his body as he exhaled deeply.

The mage though, was a little slower on the uptake and brandished his staff, sending another spell in my direction. Unwilling to put up with an arcane bombardment, I simply ignored the incoming streak of purple light and wrapped my wings around the caster, as well as his weapon. While I felt a gentle tickling where the magic impacted, I heaved, hoisting the wizard up into the air by his ankles. Dangling upside down in front of me, his eyes going wide in panic, I presented him with a lazy smile before I engulfed his toy in silvery blue flames, reducing it to so much as cinders and smoke in the blink of an eye.

“If you’re dead set on being killed tonight, please continue. But trust me, the next spell you cast will be your last,” I said sweetly, my smile never wavering. “I’ve had a long day and my patience is about to run out. But if you think testing me is a good idea, by all means, go ahead. To me, it makes no difference whether you walk out of here or if the wind blows away your ashes. The choice is yours. And if you think your hulking brute of a friend is going to help you… well, why don’t we just watch the show?”

I turned around, provocatively giving them my back, but neither was stupid enough to take the invitation. In awed silence we watched as Ahri began a dance of flame and fury, whirling around the lumbering ogre in a stunning display of speed and grace. She didn’t even use her magic, except for her wings, she dissected him with skill alone.

I might even have pitied the poor oaf, if he hadn’t already shown his sadistic, blood crazed nature. His satisfied smirk when he had taken Layla with him, his delight when had seen my powerless rage, in a way it was poetic justice to see him become dismembered limb by limb while the love of my life extracted a price in flesh and blood. It was a gruesome sight, his wounds closing almost as fast as she managed to strike, but piece by gory piece, she reduced him to so much as a wriggling torso on the floor.

Dark blood flowed through the room, a thick, wet carpet that filled the chamber with the smell of death and pain. Pieces of his body, some of them squirming, littered the floor, ripped away from his regenerating form and still he struggled to get a hold of her, to bury his sword in her side. But try as he might, his efforts only led to more injuries, to him watching as parts of his walking corpse sailed through the air, the edges charred and smouldering. Step by step, Ahri took from him everything he had left: his strength, his capabilities, his ill begotten power.

Finally, he collapsed, the stumps of his legs unable to support his weight anymore. Finally he stopped attacking, his sword sailing through the air, his hand still attached to it. Ahri towered over him like a goddess of vengeance, her flaming wings spread behind her like the fires of doom. In a voice that thrummed with immortal power, she looked down on him, grudging respect etched into the lines of her face.

“You’ve fought well, but it’s time to rest. May your next life be more forgiving than this one. Farewell.” Fire engulfed her form, coalesced into her hands and with a whisper, she sent forth a bellowing wave of flames and destruction that devoured him whole. I kept my gaze locked onto his face, searching for any reaction and then, when his skin was already turning to ash, the runes annihilated, a spark of hope and gratefulness appeared in the depths of his soulless eyes. For one tiny moment at the end of his life, he was again free, he was again whole. And while the fires burned him to nothingness, an icy wave of anger spread through me.

Over the crackling flames, my voice sounded clear and cold, like the crack of a whip:

“Captain Dawn, you have much to answer for. If I dislike your story, I’ll make sure you’ll pay for everything you’ve done. And believe me, it’ll be more than your life, I’m going to take.”