Coldsnap: Harbinger of Ice

Chapter 31: Just Desserts

Firebird rushed in faster than the eye could see, slid beneath Leo, and used one swift movement to cut both of his hands right off his wrists, the heat cauterizing the wounds instantly. Then, she swung around and delivered two deep cuts to his legs to bring him to his knees, causing him to scream in pain and become practically immobilized; a perfect opening for Keena to bring the huge foot of her water colossus form directly down on him, showering him with a massive torrent that left him completely depowered.

Keena dissolved the water construct and landed on the shrine platform while Firebird slid back to her initial position by the entrance, once again cutting off his escape.

Leo glared at Coldsnap, his gaze a mixture of anger and confusion. ".....What are you all doing?! I'm on your si---"

"Oh, can it, Leo.....Firebird already told me everything," Coldsnap replied, rolling her eyes. "She spied on one of the Seared Hand's meetings, and also eavesdropped on Alpin and Flamestar at the Grand Terminus park. As for how Keena knows.....well....quite frankly, you did that to yourself."

The water mage laughed. "Yep! You think I'd be intimidated by your attempt to blackmail me? You practically rattled off your entire plan with that big mouth of yours!"

At that point, Leo's eyes widened, his irises and pupils twitched, and his jaw dropped.

Not only had he failed to kill Coldsnap again, but he was now at the mercy of three very powerful Mage Aspects.

Additionally, Flamestar had warned him that if he had failed again, the Fire Sect leader would likely leave him for dead as punishment. The full ramifications of how ruthless Flamestar really was came crashing down on him all at once within seconds.....but there was no way he was getting any mercy from them, especially after everything he'd done.

He was a goner.

Coldsnap glanced over at both Firebird and Keena. "Great job, you two....now he can't fight back."

She walked over to Leo and forced his head upwards to look at her. "What do you say we give him what he deserves?"

Leo briefly shoved her aside, picked himself off the ground, and tried to run away, but a large ice gate suddenly rose from the floor to seal the passage's opening, further aiding Firebird in guarding it. 

"Where are you going? We're not done," Coldsnap teased.

"What are you going to do?! Kill me?!" Leo asked.

The icy heroine chuckled. "Oh, no, no, no.....at least not yet. You've put me through years of pain and suffering for so long.....I think it's only fitting we do the same to you."

She grabbed him by the arm and threw him back to the center of the shrine, where Keena's water construct bent over and ensnared him in its inescapable grasp before picking him up.

He gulped. "I'm not getting out of this alive, am I?"

Coldsnap grinned. "Precisely."

In order to get closer to Keena's level, Coldsnap summoned her giant ice dragon to her side, mounted it, and took to the skies, while Firebird took on a different form for the first time---resembling a massive, burning phoenix---before doing the same. 

"Whoa, I didn't know you could do that!" Keena said excitedly. "You look amazing!" 

"Yeah, how come you've never used that form before?" Coldsnap added. 

The newly-formed flaming avian chuckled. "Honestly.....I've been nervous to. I radiate a lot of heat in this form, and I'm always afraid I'll end up destroying my surroundings. But, hey....it's time for some payback, right? Might as well go all-out!"