Snippets of Writing

12.

"I'm sorry," Hyperion muttered under his breath, then sprang forward as a spear made of fire crackled to life in his arms. In a flash, the five guards behind Radan had locked position in front of him, their glaives locked in front of the king with the blades pointing outward.

Hyperion spared the King's Guard a single glance and stared into Radan's eyes. He broke his spear of fire in two and brandished two flaming swords. "Cass," he said, his voice low and warning.

Cassiopeia nodded, her eyes widening, and whistles piercingly. She glanced at the sky, then at the Guard. King Radan raised a hand and as one, the guards stepped back and their glaives returned to their sides. Radan strode forward, reaching out to grip a scythe made of light that formed in his hand.

"I don't want to do this, but I will," Radan warned. He tossed his golden hair over his shoulder and stared at Hyperion. "No one may take from the Garden of Light."

"Sorry," Hyperion said with a quick, nervous grin. "But 'no' isn't really an option for us." He glanced up at the canopy of golden leaves above them, then back at the face of his king.

"So be it." Radan stepped forward and swept his scythe low. Hyperion jumped and spun midair, lashing out with his sword. The king followed through with a spin as the scythe became a spear. He held it up, blocking stroke after stroke, as Hyperion battered at his defenses with twin swords of fire.

Behind the two, Cassiopeia nervously glanced at the sky again. A crackling ball of orange fire appeared in her free hand as she traded glances with the still guardsmen. On their part, the guards were doing remarkably well in not dashing forward to aid their king. Even as Hyperion pushed Radan back, step after step, they stood stock-still with a hand on their tall glaives.

"Cass, get out of here!" Hyperion shouted above the sound of light hitting fire. He spun, his long red hair a halo against the glowing light of Radan's spear. The spear caught him across the chest and Hyperion fell hard. His swords fell out of his hands and fizzled away in a shower of sparks. "Cass," Hyperion rasped. "Run."

Cassiopeia shook her head. The globes of light jangled in her arms as she shuddered. The fire in her hand lengthened to a staff and she squared her shoulders.

Radan looked into his friend's eyes and bit his lip. Then the spear of light plunged through Hyperion's chest and embedded itself in the ground beneath. Hyperion screamed and his eyes glowed with the terrible light of the king's spear. Radan stepped over the spasming fae on the ground and raised his hands. Two swords of light shimmered into appearance in his hands as he strode toward Cassiopeia.

"You can either put that light down right now," he said, "or I can do to you exactly what I did to your brother."

Cassiopeia shook her head, still in shock from what had happened. Then she turned tail and fled through the trees, letting the staff of fire burst into embers.

Summoning fire was a new skill to her, but running? Running was second nature to her. She'd been running ever since she could walk. Cassiopeia wove around trees and ducked under low branches, taking a path that would be difficult to follow when the follower is six feet tall.

Then the forest in front of her disappeared and was replaced by a cliff wall hundreds of feet tall. Cassiopeia stumbled to a stop and turned around, dreading the inevitable.

She needed that light. The king wouldn't understand, but the Deadwood needed that light. She glanced at the sky again - when would that dreaded wyvern get here?

The crashing in the trees grew louder and the king, with leaves stuck in his golden hair, emerged from the forest. He stood tall in his wrath and she shrank back another step. "Last chance, girl," he growled. Radan leveled a sword at her. "Light. Now."

"N-no."

The king's face softened for a moment, then he stepped forward with large strides. "Then I'm afraid this is the end."

Radan threw the sword at her, spinning point over pommel. Cassiopeia stood there, petrified with fear.

Then a shadow swept over the trees and a wyvern picked her up in his flaming talons.

from 'and the deadwood burned', part 2 of 2
high likelihood of plot relevance