The Tale of the Huntress

21. Predator to Prey

"Miss me?" came a voice and Nova spun her head to meet the face behind her. Her vision was blurry and it was difficult for her to keep her eyes open but still she could make out the features of a familiar guard. The name didn't come to mind though she knew it started with a "K" or maybe a "C" but the situation was making it hard for her to focus. Nova grumbled something as she tried to pull her arm from his grasp but she couldn't budge.

"Momma!" she heard a shriek and her eyes widened as she took in the image of Lilium with two guards holding her. A cry bubbled up in her throat but she was unable to fight the soldier as if her muscles were unresponsive to the commands of her brain. She watched as they held her back and the little one struggled with tears streaming down her face. "Momma, momma help me!" came the continuous cry and Nova tried as hard as she could to get out of the strong grip of the soldier.

"Lily, no," came her voice, small and weak which was so unusual for the huntress. The soldier that held her sighed and shouted something in the elvish tongue. The guards accompanying him nodded and one moved his hand to his blade. It came from its sheath with a clean sound that echoed through the alley with the threat of death. Nova could no longer bear the feeling of weakness that enveloped her. With all of her strength she put her free hand to her chest to find her Ivud necklace. "NO!" she shrieked with all of her might as crimson light streaked through the cracks between her fingers and the world around her melted back to the present.

Shei kept her grip firm while Nova shrieked in protest of the guards and they took on the form of trees, the alleyway becoming a forest in front of her as well. The ruby beneath her fingers shattered and the fragments shot forward to the landscape. Everything that they touched disintegrated until charred barren ground became clear in her eyes. Nova collapsed under the weight of the vision leaving her so suddenly. Her body convulsed as Shei laughed and yelled something in elvish. Then she turned to the crowd that was watching the whole event unfold before speaking.

"I have found the whisperer that all of the nations have been looking for so now you may offer your respective rewards," she announced and Iridian made a move to approach her but  a hand on his shoulder kept him in place. An elven guard that he did not recognize clasped cuffs around his wrists and tossed him to the ground. He tried to free his hands but the warmth of a binding enchantment kept him from struggling.

"And the one who was hiding her will also be punished," the guard declared and Shei's smile faltered slightly as she regarded her mother. Perrice looked conflicted but didn't interfere so she took it as a sign that she would allow it.

"Poppa!" Lilium cried out as Marissia held her back in a firm hug. Tadonis stood awkwardly at her side and glanced between the family that was collapsing in front of his eyes after only a day of meeting them.

"Hush sweetheart, please," she cooed and the little one's hands began to glow gold. Marissia took notice of this and grabbed her face gently to stare into her eyes. "Lilium, if you do anything momma and poppa might be killed. Be calm," she tried to keep her voice from shaking as tears welled up in the child's eyes. The light around her hands dissipated and she began to sob in her aunt's waiting arms.

"Unhand me! She is lying! Nova is just a human," Iridian growled at the guard. It earned him a strike across the face and Shei began to laugh.

"Who are you to speak little brother? You knew nothing of her!"

"She is my wife-"

"I heard you talking to Lilium last night as you convinced her to keep lying to us," Shei shouted back. Her eyes went to her mother who continued watching on with no expression. "This family will not be held accountable for you wanting to help a fugitive," she said firmly and crossed her arms as her mother nodded in agreement with her last line.