The Last Saint

14: Tangled

River disappeared through the forest. Shadow and Yuki jumped down, and Shadow began to approach Adam. Suddenly though, Baum stood between Adam and Shadow, holding his staff in defense. 

"Wait! It doesn't have to be this way, Shadow!" Baum shouted.

"Step aside Baum. He has to die anyways, you know that." Shadow growled.

But Baum held his ground. Adam heard the trees creak. "That's true, but he is not our enemy. I still have faith in him. He can come back to our side. He's the only one who can stop Eve, and you know it!"

"He'll fail. She cannot be convinced, Baum, she'll only kill him like last time. This is our chance! Now step aside, I will not allow history to repeat itself because of your moral dilemma."

"If we trust in the Fourteenth, it won't end that way," Baum said. "This is happening because we've treated him like our enemy right from day one."

Suddenly Ryan popped out from behind the tree and fired an arrow at Shadow, who deflected it with his claws. Liz helped Adam up, and several wolves came from the woods, going for the Saints. But Yuki created 8 circles around herself and summoned large, gaunt knights with claws made of ice and white armor, who began to fight against the wolves.

Adam stood up, and charged at Shadow with Liz. Ryan and Baum began to fight against Yuki; both Baum and Yuki used magic. Baum's branches tried to capture her while she froze them and fired spears of ice back at them.

Meanwhile, Shadow deflected both swords with his claws. Adam and Liz began swinging at him, but he was fast. Liz's sword plunged into his body, but it turned into smoke, and her sword went right through. As his body became solid again, he kicked her away. 1 on 1 against Adam, Shadow was clearly stronger.

Ryan moved away from Baum and began firing his arrows at Shadow, who responded by sending a red stream of light towards him, flinging him back towards the house. Ryan crashed through the window, and two of Yuki's knights followed him to finish the job. Meanwhile Adam started fighting against another of her knights, but just as he beat it, Shadow hit him with his magic, throwing him against another tree.

Liz tried to fight Shadow, but he clawed her leg, and punched her, launching her into a different tree. Shadow ran over to Adam and picked him up by the throat. He swung his sword but Shadow smacked it away, and it landed on the ground.

As he started losing consciousness, Adam began to recall the fight against Airos. He remembered how he used magic. He raised his palms and shot two fireballs at Shadow, setting him on fire. He dropped Adam, who landed on his feet, but Shadow quickly lunged, sinking his claws into Adam's left shoulder. He screamed in pain.

"Adam!" Ryan shouted from the door.

He began running to Adam. Adam looked, and noticed that Ryan had only 2 arrows left. Ryan pulled one out and fired, but Shadow used a barrier and the arrow hit it and broke. As he was drawing the other, Shadow fired another magic bolt that hit the bow, shattering it. a second one struck him in the chest and he crashed back into the front wall of the house.

Adam thought about his magic, and thought about Oluja. He closed his eyes for a minute, and a bolt of lightning came down and struck Shadow, hurting him badly. Adam suddenly felt very nauseous, but he ignored it and used his left hand to create a blast of air, knocking Shadow back. As he did, all of his fingers broke at the same time, and he yelled in agony.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out. Adam looked up as Garamond emerged from the trees, firing three more shots into Shadow. Beth came out as well, but a stream of water arced out from the trees and hit her in the side, knocking her down. River returned to the area. At the same time, Yuki encased Baum's fists in ice and knocked him against the cherry blossom tree.

Ryan struggled to stand, crawling away from the Saints and running to Adam. Shadow turned into smoke and flew over to River's side, clearly injured.

Beth got up and ran to Liz, with Adam and Ryan meeting her there. "Where's Eve?" Adam asked.

Beth shook her head. "River got her. I think she's dead."

Adam stared at her shocked. Ryan threw Liz on her back, urging Adam to run away. But he ignored him. Dead? He thought to himself. the memories of her face ran though his head. thoughts of her smile filled his mind.

He began to be filled with rage. He gripped his sword. He still had one good arm. Shadow charged at Garamond, fighting him 1 on 1. Adam looked at River, and charged towards him. He dodged River's water blasts and began swinging, but River caught his sword with a ball of water and punched him right in his shoulder wound and grabbed his broken fingers, bringing him down.

Another ball of water formed around Adam's head. He couldn't break it with his hand, and he couldn't breathe. He fell to the ground, fighting for air. Yuki took on Ryan and Beth, and beat them both, and Shadow managed to kick back Garamond and disarm him.

Suddenly, the ball of water burst apart, and Adam gasped for air, coughing. A cloaked figure emerged from the woods with a long sword and swung at River, who jumped away to dodge it.

Another figure appeared behind River, and thrust her sword into River's back. It was Eve. She pulled her sword out and Yuki and Shadow both rushed towards her to save River. They drove Eve back, and Yuki helped River walk towards Baum. Shadow too retreated there, and Yuki freed Baum from the ice binding his hands and staff.

Shadow created a portal, and the 4 Saints retreated through it.

Adam looked around. the mysterious swordsman had disappeared as well. Eve knelt by his side. She had a cut on her head, and her face was covered in blood. She also had a deep wound in her hip. 

"Adam!" She said, her voice shaking with concern. "Are you ok?"

He nodded, and she helped him up. "I thought you went down Eve," he whispered.

"River got the drop on me," She said, scowling at Garamond as she did so.

Garamond recommended avoiding a hospital, and suggested instead they go to his house; his wife was a doctor, apparently, and would stitch them up. Everyone agreed, and he called her and explained the situation as they limped to the car. It was night-time by the time they got to Garamond's house. He let them in, and they met his wife, a short skinny woman a few years younger than Garamond himself.

She introduced herself as Susan, and stitched and bandaged everyone's wounds, one at a time. Liz, Beth and Ryan's parents were extremely worried, but they made the excuse that they went to a party to cover for them.

Adam slept in a sleeping bag on the living room floor, with Ryan in the sleeping bad next to him.
When Adam woke up, Eve was sitting on the floor beside him, playing with his hair. 

"I'm sorry," Adam said. "I failed to kill the Fourth, and because of how weak I am, everyone nearly died. You nearly died."

Eve shook her head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

"I don't know what I would do if I lost you like that," he whispered.

She leaned down, gripping her wounded hip, and kissed him. "Don't think like that. besides, if it meant protecting you, I'd gladly die." 

"Why?" He asked.

"Don't you know Adam?" She leaned down, and whispered in his ear: "I love you."

"I-" he began, but the sound of Ryan stirring and waking up silenced him.

Eve winked at Adam and got up, limping to the kitchen to start making breakfast. The others slowly filed into Garamond's kitchen and sat around the table. Meanwhile, while everyone was distracted, Ryan moved close to Adam.

"I talked to Beth. Garamond saw a figure creeping up on her and shot it in the hip and back. After he did that, Eve disappeared, and River appeared, completely unharmed a few minutes later. Eve attacked River, and was thrown away and that's how her head got cut. But Beth said that Eve was already injured when she attacked River. And don't forget what Baum said, or how he tried to save us."

Adam remembered his conversation with the Fourth, and whispered back to Ryan. "What are you trying to say?"

Ryan scowled. "Eve might not be who you think she is."