As They Bloom

11 - The Turncloak

The girl slumps forward, snoring. You catch her before she hits the ground and sit her up against a wall, where you know she'll be safely out of the way of the fight. Behind her, the Azakana and Yone fight in a clash of claw and steel. He moves so quickly you struggle to keep track of him, instead seeing a motion blur of red and black.

The Azakana hisses, fighting him with equally quick slashes. He dodges a strike, and it sweeps his legs with its tail. Your heart skips a beat as you watch him crash to the ground. Desperate, you swoop up a piece of beam and launch it at the Azakana's head. It turns to face you, bearing its sharp teeth, giving Yone just enough time to get back on his feet.

He darts around it in a flurry of wind and steel. The magic erupting from him rattles the windows, whipping the thatch and debris around the room. A piece of wood flies past you, which you barely dodge. It does; however, graze the girl, cutting her cheek. 

The cut disappears in a burst of healing magic, as does the pain in your arm. You walk around the outermost edge of the cottage, keeping out of Yone's way and ensuring the sleeping girl doesn't get caught up in the crossfire. She snores, head back against the wall, dead to the chaos raging around her.

The Azakana struggles to strike him – his speed, empowered by wind magic, is simply too much. Its frustration builds, and in its desperation, it grabs a fistful of debris and launches it in his direction. It misses Yone by meters, but a chunk of brick nearly collides with you. You crouch, hands over your head, feeling the cottage walls heave from the impact.

You look up from behind your hands. Across the cottage, through the haze of dust and grime, you catch sight of the Azakana's eyes. A sly smile spreads over its thin lips. Your stomach drops as realisation washes over you.

Another fistful of debris. Another near miss. The cottage quakes from the slam of brick and wood against the walls. Yone is a difficult opponent. But you're not Yone.

"I have no more use for the human. That one is spent, no more than a husk." Its voice is cold as ice. "Let's say we rid ourselves of the extras, hunter, and make this fight more interesting."

The Azakana pulls a two-meter-long beam from beneath the debris, wielding it like a polearm. It swings towards you in a wide arch, shattering whatever is unfortunate enough to be in its way. You slam to the ground quickly, narrowly avoiding it. Searing pain rushes up your knees, the breath knocked from your lungs.

You push yourself up to your feet once more, another gust of wind washing over you as Yone desperately tries to draw its attention back. It swipes at him as though he were an annoying fly, before picking up another fistful of bricks and launching it at you.

But the brick is thrown off course by the rushing wind.

Adrenaline washes through your body in cold spikes. Time seems to slow, everything unfolding before you horridly slow. You hear yourself shout in horror, watching the debris fly across the room, right towards the sleeping girl. Yone's eyes snap to it. He crouches, swords crossed across his chest, and dashes towards you.

The world melts away around you in a rush of wind. Before you have time to comprehend what just happened, you and the girl both find yourself on the opposite side of the room, squashed against the peeling door by Yone. The space you were just standing in explodes, the wall shattering. The cottage heaves, the walls crumbling from the impact. The Azakana hisses, confused, as the entire building begins to collapse onto itself.

"Out!" shouts Yone, standing and kicking the door open. He throws both of you out unceremoniously. You roll across the dusty ground before coming to a stop next to the neighbouring cottage. The girl does the same.