A Void Within the Door

Chapter 29

Another shadow creature dispersed with a loud, high-pitched screech, and Eleanor took the small opportunity to catch her breath. 

"I'm waiting Princess." Grimhill's spine-chilling voice  boomed in her head, causing Eleanor  to shoot up. 

She scanned the clouds of dust, and battling soldiers, Grimhill was nowhere to be seen. 

"You're a coward, you know that?" Eleanor mumbled, her eyes darting all over the place. 

"Why would say that?" the shadow creature asked, in an almost innocent voice

"You sent one of your shadow creatures to do your dirty work, and now you're hiding from me." she answered. 

"That lowly creature disobeyed orders, and he's paying dearly. Also, who said I was hiding? Grimhill replied, snickering. 

Eleanor felt a presence behind her, and turned around, but it was too late; she was greeted by a shadow hand, and white-hot pain on the right side of her face a moment later. 

Staggering back, Eleanor dropped her staff, and grasped her cheek. When she looked back at her hand it was covered in blood. Eleanor slowly looked up, and saw Grimhill's shadowed figure grinning down at her. 

"Stings doesn't it?" he taunted. 

Eleanor picked up her staff,  her eyes locked on her enemy. Though she seemed defiant, Eleanor's vision was getting blurry from exhaustion and blood loss. 

"I can feel you fading, Princess," Grimhill hissed, and in a blink of an eye, he was in front of her, his shadowed hand wrapped around her throat. 

Eleanor gasped for air, and when clawing at Grimhill's grip, she dropped her staff once more. 

"Stop fighting. Let me send you to Rose like you wanted me to." he whispered. 

Eleanor froze at the mention of her surrogate mother. "How...dare...you m...mention her." she scowled faintly. 

Grimhill's grin widened, and he applied more pressure to the girl's throat.

"Princess!" the shadow creature heard the Captain shout. 

Without breaking a sweat, however, Grimhill's free hand snapped toward the Captain. The sound of flesh tearing, and a gasp is what followed.

The Captain looked at his torso, a black blade now driven through him. As blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth, his vision faded. and his bones numbed, before he dropped to the dirt...dead. 

"N...NO!" Eleanor tried screaming, but she could barely say anything with the hand gripping mercilessly at her throat.

"There's no one to save you Princess." Grimhill hissed. 

Filled with new found rage, Eleanor muttered weakly, "I don't need saving." 

The Princess raised one of her hands, as it started to glow vibrant blue, and like a missile, the magic shot from her palm directly into Grimhill's shadowed face. 

A blood-curdling screech erupted from the shadow creature King's throat. His grip released Eleanor, and the Princess crumpled when she hit the dirt. 

"You brat!" Eleanor looked up, and saw Grimhill clutching the left side of his face with his shadow hand. 

A blade of void black formed within the grasp of the shadow creature's free hand, and Grimhill muttered, "You are going to die, might as well make it easy." 

"Sorry, your highness, that's not how I roll." Eleanor smirked. 

The hand clutching Grimhill's injured face lowered, revealing the damage Eleanor's attack had done; cracks that glowed white had formed, and the king's left eye had been damaged, and now had a white glaze over it. 

Eleanor swallowed down her fear, not taking her eyes off the enemy. Her head throbbed, and her vison was starting to fail, but she ignored all that. 

If she was going down, might as well go down boldly.  

Grimhill raised his blade, more than ready to strike down the girl that had caused him so much trouble, but before he could cast it down, a flash of purple caught his sight, followed by sharp pain, then numbness.

Clink!

Mannix stood there, a magenta-flame sword in hand, and Grimhill's right hand, along with the blade fallen at his feet. 

A/N: RIP the Captain; your sacrifice will always be remembered. We're almost there; just hold on a little longer. Theories? Feedback is appreciated!