A crash and a scream rang out behind me. I whirled, my gaze flickering over the docks. I ran forward, leaping into the air. I spotted Night, and someone? I touched down in a (super awesome) traditional superhero landing, one knee and one fist on the ground. When I raided my head, I got a good, solid eyeful of the thing.
The first thing I noticed was that it was in fact a woman... sort of. She was deathly pale from the waist up, with luminous blue eyes, and dark blue lips. White fangs protruded from her lips. Large fins poked out from her dark blue and green hair. They were her ears I guess? A blue armor plate covered her chest. Deep blue armbands covered her wrists and in her hands was an ornately carved blue trident. The waist down however, was a different story. Blue and green tentacles sprouted from her waist. The underside of the tentacles were covered in round suction cups. The tentacles kept her upright and supported on land, and could likely go pretty fast underwater. She grinned, tossing her long hair over her shoulder and twirling her trident.
"Did you like the fire? Fire usually isn't my thing, but I made an exception for my two favorite heroes." She paused, scoffing, "oh wait," she said, turning to me, "you're not a hero are you? You're just a sidekick."
My hands tightened into fists, fire just beginning to glow around the edges of my gloves. I glanced over at Night. Her face was stony, hands clenched into fists with both darkness blades formed. Her uniform was ripped in several places, blood dripping from the shallow cuts.
I turned my focus back to the mysterious woman. Just in time too, because she lunged, swinging the back end of her trident at my face and the pointy part at Night's. I ducked backwards, the tip of the trident brushing my nose.
I lunged forward, brass knuckles made from fire around my hands. I swung at her, stepping into the punch. Her eyes flickered with amusement, and she threw one arm into the air. A wall of water from the bay surged up under me, and suddenly I couldn't breathe. I thrashed, straining in the watery grip. Night swiped at the woman with her blades. A thin cut opened on her forearm and she hissed. She danced forward and shoved Night back, toward the bay. I knew what the woman wanted. Night knew what she wanted. Night threw herself into the fight with renewed vigor. The woman dropped the water around me, too preoccupied with Night to keep drowning me. I collapsed to the ground, my knees harshly impacting the wet concrete I heaved, coughing up water onto the ground.
A screech cut short by a splash cut through the air. I was on my feet in an instant, running toward the side of the pier. Oh no nononononononono. The woman stood at the edge, her hand outstretched over the water. Bubbles floated to the surface. As I stumbled toward her, the woman turned and grinned at me, and stepped off the pier into the water. I collapsed on the edge, frantically searching. A single bubble rose and popped on the surface. I summoned a brilliant ball of fire and sent it into the depths of the bay. I heard wings. Griffin landed behind me, panting. I kept looking. I made the ball hotter. Brighter. Something moved. It wasn't the woman.
Night floated to the surface, face down in the water.
"Oh my god." Griffin whispered behind me.
"No." I said quietly. I reached out and pulled Night onto the pier. She wasn't breathing. Her face was devoid of color and her lips were a sickly blue. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot. I stared at the corpse. "No." I said again. Griffin didn't move, her hands pressed tight over her mouth and silent tears streaming down her face. She had taken her mask off. When did she do that? I stared unblinkingly at the body of my mentor. Of my friend. Of my sister. "NO." I said, louder this time. "HOLLY" I roared in anguish. I started screaming, hunched over her body, and didn't stop until I was out of breath and my vision started going fuzzy. My chest heaved. I sobbed and screamed for the beautiful woman I would never see again. I proclaimed my agony to the heavens so everyone knew how I felt. So everyone would share this unimaginable grief I pfelt.
Griffin finally moved. With jerky movements, she pulled me away from Holly. She held on tight as I sobbed into her chest. The authorities arrived. Holly went to the morgue. I went home. Griffin kept an eye on me.
YOU ARE READING
Of Fire and Waves
AçãoThe woman, wreathed in flames. The woman, shrouded in shadows. The woman, dancing with waves. Day saw fire, Night saw darkness, Nessie saw the sea.
