Whispered Kiss

Rise Beyond Your Limitations

Bladen inhaled. A Blood User and the remnants of his fight down the building were scattered across the walls. A dead body lied at his feet. His stomach churned. He didn't thrive on pain, or on death but he spared as many as he could.

He dragged his attention away from the rising guilt and what ifs, and focused his attention on the curving basement door before him. Rustic, dark, thick, and lined with wrought iron throughout. The door stood between him and Ave. The Bleeding Scries hadn't sent in their best men which confirmed Bladen's suspicions. This is a trap but it doesn't matter. I have to save her.

In the sum of a few minutes, he took down over forty Elemental Users and killed twenty-two Bleeding Scries. He wasn't proud, to say the least. He tried his best not to take more lives than needed. As a Seeker, it was a warped way of living, but he couldn't deny his power or the end goals. One day, he wouldn't need to kill anymore. One day, peace would return to Damania, but for today, he did what he could in order to save the salvation of their world.

Bladen reached out a shaken and bloodied hand to open the bolts on the door, they creaked and squeaked unearth his grip. He used the motion to settle the shaking in his limbs. The adrenaline in his veins were wreaking havoc. He also carried an emotion inside him not present during other battles. He struggled to pinpoint it. Anticipation, fear of failure or both. He knew why. He could lose someone. Ave Vagameer wasn't just a Blood Witch; she was the key to helping Damanians. She awoke feelings in him, feelings he thought he locked away. His soul ached when he thought of any harm befalling her. It demanded he do everything in his will power to save her. It forced him to curl his wet and sticky fingers around the hilt of his sword and allow the emotion to harden his body and mind. I'll save her, here and now! No matter what.

The door opened, and words filtered through.

"Bladen Black. I believe you promised to break me, should I harm the witch? Do you intend to make good on your promise?"

Bladen laid eyes on Elihandra Velvin, the leader of the Bleeding Scries and Damania's downfall. The teasing and pure exultation in her manner of baiting, didn't escape his ears. No doubt, she found a thrill of excitement in the chaos around her. Her outward exterior was disingenuous yet, she wasn't an idiot either. She used her brain, her looks, and her power to her advantage. Almost like a rotten political leader the government couldn't get rid of because on paper no traces of foul play could be found.

When he first encountered her, she puzzled him. He didn't expect her beauty and the well-played facade she upheld, but through her actions, and cracks in those haunting orbs of her, Bladen depicted the hate and crudity of decades as a leader of the Bleeding Scries.

In battle however, Elihandra didn't hide her elation. She claimed the battle field as a place to express her perverse enjoyment for blood, battle, misery and gore.

Today held no exception as her upper lip curled into mirth, opening to reveal the white sheen of her teeth. Her tongue flicked across her lower lip, before her mouth twisted into a scimitar-like smile.

Bladen held his breath. In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of the scarlet resinous puppets at her feet. They weren't her most powerful blood weapons, but with their multiple numbers, their agility and their small statues, they were hard to evade. They were easy to kill, but Elihandra would just spawn another.

Today he wouldn't take down the Bleeding Scrie Empire. For such a mission, he would have to work on becoming even stronger, find an army and destroy Elihandra's network all at once. To kill the Queen Bee would only put another in her place. Today his objective laid claim to Ave alone. Survive and escape. He turned his attention to the rest of the room. Elihandra waited patiently for him. She wanted him to see his odds, and to scope out the room.