Broken Birds

Chapter Eight - The Attack on Nanda Parbat

Sara's POV:

I watched as Nyssa silently climbed onto the roof of the small cabin. She squinted her eyes as she looked off into the distance. She yelled down "Nanda Parbat has no defence set in place, my father does not expect my attack, how foolish of him." I carefully watched her, I could see the hurt in her eyes. I don't think her father expects her attack because he sees her as weak.

Nyssa jumped off the roof, her boots silently landing on the soft snow. She turned to me "we shall begin our attack, prepare your weapons." I nodded and retrieved my bo-staff and my armour. Nyssa placed her bow and quiver on her back and pulled out a small dagger, strapped to her leg. She stepped towards me, placing the thin dagger in my palm and tightening my fingers around it. From the cold, a cloud of white filled the air as she spoke, "Sara, you must show no mercy, you are capable of defeating anyone in that castle. This dagger shows my faith in you. Use it when needed." I nervously put the dagger in my weapons belt and shakily said "I'm ready."

Nyssa stepped closer and placed her warm hand on my cheek as she whispered, "my beloved, there is no need to be afraid, I will protect you." She leant in and placed a quick kiss on my lips. She then turned towards the castle as we made our descent to Nanda Parbat.

Once we arrived, Nyssa wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into a small tunnel on the side of the large stone wall. Inside the tunnel were rows of torches, lit with fire and ancient writings on the walls. Nyssa yelled out "أدخل" and waited for her allies to enter the thin tunnel.

After several seconds, roughly 20 figures were visible on the far end of the tunnel. One of them stepped forward and removed her hood. "Talibah, I wish this reunion was under happier circumstances," Nyssa said as she stepped towards the older woman. Talibah smiled and knelt to the floor, the others following her movement. She loudly exclaimed "you are our one true heir, we are faithful to you only, not Sarab. We fear your father's decision was rash."

Nyssa gestured for them to stand and said "your fear is rightly so, we must attack our own lands and execute the one named Sarab, for his fraudulent behaviour awarded him the title of heir to the demon. His crimes must be brought to justice. I shall kill this imposture, as my loyal followers you will prevent anyone from stopping this action." They all nodded and placed their right hand on their sword's hilt.

The crowd of assassins parted as Nyssa swiftly walked through, gesturing for me to follow her path. As we walked through the secretive tunnels to the throne room, I whispered to Nyssa "are you going to kill Sarab?" Her sharp features turned to me as her eyes darkened she responded "I must. It is the only way to become heir, once more." I frantically searched for words as I mumbled "but he had no part in this, it was your father's decision." Nyssa shook her head as she quickly walked passed me, a group of assassins blocking me from questioning her further.

We continued to walk in unison until we were above the throne room. Nyssa opened a large trap door and peered through. "They are in there," she said quietly. She then stood up and jumped through the hole, landing silently on the stone floor of the throne room. Her father quickly stood up, raising his sword towards her, he called out "how foolish of you to return here my child. I regret ever considering you as worthy of the title heir. Did you think you could defeat me on your own?"

She stepped towards Ra's Al Ghul and said "no, of course not. You are a ruthless killer, you would kill me the second you have the chance. I'm not giving you that chance." The assassins surrounding me jumped through the trapdoor pulling me with them, landing in a perfect semi-circle, behind Nyssa. Ra's Al Ghul laughed and gestured for his own assassins to fight.

A man in a black hood raced towards me, lifting his silver blade. I flipped my bo-staff and blocked his swing. He stumbled backwards, regaining his stance. As he attempted to position himself for his next attack, I rushed towards him, swinging the side of my bo-staff into his stomach. He fell to the ground and looked up at me with pleading eyes.

My forearm collided with his jaw, I watched as a thick trail of blood ran from his mouth. Another assassin raced towards me with her sword held high. I picked up the fallen mans sword and thrusted it through the woman's chest. Her eyes went blank as she fell to the ground. I pulled the sword out of her quickly slit the other assassin's throat. I looked around the room, watching more and more assassins die.

I killed two people. I've never killed before. Was this to protect Nyssa? I looked down at the dead man near me. No, I wanted to kill them. I could feel something dark within me.

I looked up from the bloodied corpses and watched as Nyssa fought Sarab. Her blades were moving swiftly as she blocked every single strike. I could tell she was angry, it was helping her concentrate. Finally, she attacked Sarab when he started to slow. She kicked the back of his knee, until he knelt before her. Nyssa leant forward, holding a thin dagger against Sarab's pale neck.

I watched her eyes darken as she slowly swiped the blade across his skin. His eyes widened as a trail of blood travelled from his mouth and neck. He fell to the ground, coughing up blood, until he slowly died. Nyssa kicked his body so she could stare at his deathly white face. "You are no longer, heir to the demon," she exclaimed.

Ra's Al Ghul slowly walked down the stone steps until he stood before his daughter. She knelt before him, lowering her head to look at the floor. He slowly clapped and gestured for Nyssa to stand.

He crossed his arms and said "how foolish of me to doubt your strength, my child. I see no other option than to regift you the title of my heir as you have proven yourself worthy." Nyssa nodded and stood up as all the assassins around her knelt before her.