Finding the Fallen

Chapter 6

Kala stood still, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. Not only was she saddened by the carnage around her, but she was also disgusted as well. She'd just ruined another shirt...well, Merik had anyway. She looked up at him. He'd dropped the shotgun to the ground and was straining to pull himself up into a position that might aid him in releasing the tightly wrapped grapevine from his leg.

"Well, I guess your last shot was a good one at least," she said, wiping blood from her cheek. "Just had to get warmed up, eh?"

"What?" Merik said, breathless in his struggle. He relented momentarily and looked down at her.

"Do you need help...getting down...or anything?" she fought a smile that was lurking at the corner of her lips.

"No, I'm good, thanks," the strain was evident in his voice as he pulled himself up and attacked the vine once more. "What do you mean...warmed up?" he said between staggered breaths.

"Oh, come on, Merik. Look at that mess," she pointed at the slumped and bloodied mass that had once been the earth witch. "You didn't hit one vital organ. Maybe if you'd hit her in the heart or a lung, she wouldn't have been able to do...oh, I don't know...that!" She gestured up at him, raising her eyebrows and challenging him to better explain his current state.

"What!? No, no, no...that last one was a lung shot! Give me a little credit. In case you didn't notice, she was hurling rocks at my head...big rocks." He lost his grip on the vine and gravity took over. "Ah, shit," he cursed, meeting her amused gaze as he revisited his previous upside-down position.

"Hey, and by the way, you're welcome!" he nearly shouted, anger and frustration evident on his red face...or was it all the blood rushing to his head?

Kala stifled another laugh, "Right, right. I get it, Hero."

"You think you can do better, lady? Let's see it, then..." he challenged.

Kala couldn't help herself at that point. She smiled and said, "Oh, I think I already did...better, that is." As he looked down at her again, she nodded in the direction of the impaled air witch.

"That's cheating," he hauled himself up the vine again and looked back at her, one arm dangling down towards his ultimate goal, the forest floor. Kala stood her ground, staring up at him in silence. His eyes narrowed and he shook his head, grunting at the effort of maintaining his new perch. She tilted her head to the opposite side and waited.

"OK, fine," he blurted. "Yes, it was impressive. Definitely an improvement from the last fight...you know, the one where I saved your ass."

Kala frowned at him and rolled her eyes...men! The guy was hanging helpless from a tree and he still had to one-up her...unbelievable...

And he wasn't done yet, "You know it's 2 to 1 now, by the way. I'll give you one for that bitch...I don't even want to think about what she was gonna do next."

Kala reached down and picked up one of Merik's knives that hadn't made it up the tree with him. Noticing her action, he instinctively reached for the sheath he wore on the thigh of his free leg and found it empty. Kala raised her eyebrows. "Lose something...else?" she teased, holding the knife in the air.

"Toss it up...please," he mumbled through pursed lips.

Kala held the knife in her right hand and slowly waived her left over it, glancing up at Merik as she did so. Water rose from her fingers and palm to encircle the blade, gift wrapping it in a shimmering blue mass. Staring down at the knife now, she snapped her fingers and the ball of water froze instantly, settling into her outstretched hand.

Merik stopped struggling and stared. From the look on his face, he was nearly as impressed as he had been by the target practice with the doomed air witch earlier. She released the frozen orb, the only evidence of its hidden treasure the handle of the knife poking out one end, and willed it to float upward. Merik followed it until it bobbed lightly in front of him.