Tales of An Escapade

Ninth Chapter

  Ane paced around the hut. It was one of Mounty's old huts, where she and Daphne used to play often. She was contemplating and considering her decisions. She had been adding relative 'strangers' to her alliance, and they offered her their fellowship, but at what cost? She knew that Daphne was far from being the only victim of a fight. They still had to reach the Eastern Bay, and who knows what was awaiting them there?
  The heaviness weighed on Anevay's shoulders. When she had decided to started this quest, she merely expected some fighting here and there, but she thought it'd be an easy job. How wrong was she? Incredibly wrong. She realised she barely even had plans. How do you defeat the evil? How do you kill a devil? How do you conquer them?

  Empty answers floated through Ane's troubled mind whilst she was listening to Daphne's regular breathing. Bethil sat by her side, and that warmed Ane's heart. She knew very well that if she'd be lying there, Elliot would be right by her side. She was glad that at least Elliot had joined her. Ane felt responsible for these fellows she'd dragged through the mud. Not only because she was a princess and she felt as if they agreed to fight with her merely because of that, but also because if they failed, it'd all be her fault. She couldn't fail.
  "Princess."

  Ane looked up and saw Jarco and Elliot in the doorway. She left Bethil and Daphne alone after she nodded reassuringly to Bethil and followed Jarco and Elliot. She heard the crackling fire of a hopefully cosy bonfire. Logs were gathered around the flames and her comrades leaned against them, somewhat defeated glares on their face. Ane couldn't comprehend that. They had won. A blurry vision shot through Ane's head.
  I couldn't see it. I couldn't see what happened. It was too dark, too faint. However, as soon as I heard Daphne's yell, I knew something was fully wrong. Sarkhan and Bethil immediately ran to her aid. Our Druid reached out to something lying in the dirt a bit further away from her, and it took me too long to realise that it was her horn. 
  No. 
  That couldn't have happened.
  She lost her horn because she fought with me. 

  No time for self-pity, Ane, I told myself. I manned up and with some final blows, I could escape from Hayres' men trying to close up on me. Elliot helped me with this, for which I'm still thankful. I ran to Daphne and my feet led me in front of them. Hayres was scary. Incredibly intimidating. She held way more than just rubies in her blood. I knew that for sure. It was powerful as core-magic and the strength still radiated from her. She had an incredibly vital life energy flowing through her veins. I always expected rubies to have a red aura, slightly crimson, but the aura that fired up from within Hayres was black and toxic green. Truly maleficent, I'd say. Then it hit me; she carried quartz within her, which adapted to the soul's aura. Fine. Green quartz. No big deal, I told myself. 

  "How dare you," I spat. "You shall pay for this, Hayres."
  "You can't do anything, little princess," laughed Hayres. "What can you do?"
  Taunting. And very tempting. 

  I let out a giggle, which I was surprised by myself. I dropped my weapon and opened both of my hands. Flames stoked up on my palms. To me, time seemed to go slower now. Within my veins, I felt the intense, exhuming heat run through my arms, aiming straight for my heart. The shock that shivered through my spine spread to my legs and my toes curled. I gathered the core of the energy flowing through my body, and up my throat I sent it to my head. It blinded me, so sharply. When vision slowly came back to me and the energy that I felt in my body had reached its maximum, I saw how Hayres raised her weapon. It all happened so leisurely that it felt like everything was slowed down. A little more, I told myself. Come on. Come on! It itched and tickled, and when it finally twirled into a height, I let it all out. 
  I sensed how my energy reached the furthest bits of its capacity. I felt everyone's pain that it reached, how it tore away every cell alive of one's body. I felt the strength that it gave to my allies, my comrades. I felt how Hayres suffered, how she screamed and fell to her knees, her skin burning away, her eyes losing sight, her ears losing sound. Skies were no limit. I ripped off the wings of Hayres' birds and gave life to my own men. I ate every bit of Hayres' toxic mist, clearing the skies, giving it a crystal clear colour. Hundreds of men plunged to their death and my comrades and humans felt the tickling sensation creep up their own spine.
  I had been looking at the sky, my arms spread open. I blinked once, very slowly, and again. Sarkhan was carrying Daphne, Bethil and Lewir stood between a group of dead men. Elliot and Jarco looked around them, exhausted. Hallan and Marrie sought for air. Mounty and Mint were holding each other, trying to support one another. Livi seemed frozen as her eyes went over every corpse around her. I looked around as well, and noticed the chaos that I had brought. Humans, their weaponry shining in their hands, gazed at me. Aethul, who had been fighting along without anybody ever noticing, glared at one specific point between the aftermath. I followed his gaze.
  Hayres lay on the ground, her eyes bleeding and her horns crippled. 
  "Someone still has to rule Sharran's Valley," spoke Sarkhan. "My brother Aethul and I could take the crowns. Our parents are, after all, no longer around."
  Ane didn't know whether to feel sorry or not.
  "I shall stay with you," said Mounty.