Blood And Stone

Chapter 32: Spirit at Volker

Spirit stood atop the hill, watching in silence as the battle between the Bloodless and the Fair began. The clash of the two groups shook the very ground on which they stood. There was no doubt in her mind that her sister War, sat perched atop her throne, manipulating each warrior as she saw fit. However, Spirit knew that her sister was brazen in her abilities but would never allow the battle to go without a victory. Either The Bloodless or The Fair would die here today. That was not an outcome that she could allow.

With the ghost of a mischievous grin on her lips, she spun herself around, her skirts sweeping the dirt at her feet and curling up to bring her to her spiritual form. A mist snaking through the air, unbidden by the mortal realm, she made her way to the battle. Cursing the bright afternoon sun, Spirit lifted her hand, commanding the wind to carry the inky smoke across the bright star. A darkness cascaded over the city of Volker, allowing her to slip freely between the fighting bodies.

Her thin fingers wrapped around the wrist of one man, pulling him along behind her, twisting his tall frame, and forcing him away from the fatal swing of an axe. In the space between the ax's motion and the falling of the man, she slipped between the opponent's legs and toppled him into the mud, her hand coming up to his chest to confirm that he would not be pulling himself out. Her careful eyes moved between fighters and weapons. Arrows let loose, poised to kill but fell short of their marks with a simple shift in the wind. Subtlety was her strategy and it worked, if only for a few minutes.

War's heated gaze pressed down on her, heating where her feet should have been and forcing her to move that much faster. The frustration built within her sister's presence, her anger becoming evident in the fierce way The Bloodless began to move.

Spirit paused, her eyes taking stock of what she had to work with. Buildings and homes were ablaze, the smoke already busied with the sun. The wind dashed and pushed at the arrows flying in both directions. She closed her eyes, searching the energies around her, reaching into the ether to find anything she could use to turn the tide of this war. The hum of bees resonated from the trees, busy with their daily tasks and taking no interest in the silly wiles of the humans. She called to them, their answer immediate in their thrumming wings.

"How dare you interfere where you know nothing!" War's voice tore through her mind, dripping with a disdain that set the alarm bells off in her heart.

"Neither can fall, sister. Their fate is in cooperation, not destruction." She warned.

"Step aside. You do not know what you are doing. Battle is beyond your peaceful ways."

"And bloodlust rules your mind, a human sentiment that lies beneath your given existence!" The growl that burst forth from her chest was emboldened by the wings of her bumbling soldiers as they approached.

One welcoming wave of her fingers sent them soaring into the midst of battle. Dipping and diving at any bit of flesh they could find, their little daggers pricking at the surface and sending them all staggering aside. As they descended, the crowds began to break focus, swatting the miniature beasts of burden away from their faces. Satisfied with her attack, Spirit moved further into the city, rushing to the main event.

As the shouts of the Ulfheðnar and Sithaurians grew louder, a simple shift in the atmosphere carried itself within the cry of the Bloodless. Her rage rippled the air around them, making way for the descent of one who was bursting with offense and envy.

Spirit came to a rest behind The Bloodless, her eyes flaring with annoyance as War's form took shape behind The Fair. The two stared at one another, Spirit's head angled down slightly as War's rose to meet her gaze. No words passed between them, just heated gazes. The challenge bristled so heavily that the hair on the back of the mortal instruments began to stand on end. Everyone shifted in fear and unease, their eyes darting around with the weight of the energy flowing between the unseen immortal beings.