Spirit Mary

Chapter 12, Home

The cold reminds me: I'm all alone and lost

I.

It was all a blur: Pandora blasted into the air, spinning with her wings tucked in. When they spread, Limbo shook in terror. Her claws glinted under the purple blue sky as she dived straight towards Mary, teeth gritted, muscles tense.

The scepter's energy blade met with the daemon's claws; Mary's feet pushed backwards. Pandora threw her blades at her, swiping, slashing, stabbing--all of which Mary parried and dodged. Out of the blue, Pandora's eyes glistened; a dazzling white light shone on Mary's eyes, followed by pain on her neck and back. Pandora had choked her up off her feet before slamming her to the ground.

The daemon rose her free hand, claws moving mechanically like knives, then aimed for Mary's head--but the scepter's blade flew past the air between them. Pandora winced as her right hand fell and dissolved. However, it grew back again amidst cracklings of electricity.

Mary kicked her off her legs, forced herself backwards, and got on her knees. Before she could stand, Pandora was on her again--clawing at her, hoping for that one last hit that would send her head toppling down the cliff.

Realizing getting near black magick was risky, Pandora let off a smile before spiraling into the air again. Several feet above Mary, she stopped and hovered. The air shimmered around her--vibrating, moving. Holes ripped through space, and out of them came flying humanoid heads with flaming mouths: specters.

At once, they went into a formation: some remained up in the air with their mouths open wide, some homed at Mary. As they neared, she let her blade dance, slicing through monstrous flesh and bone. She felt the magick coursing within her veins--throbbing, jolting, empowering.

When all of the homing ones had perished, the ones way up spat balls of molten lava at Mary. She jumped out of the way, careful to keep her dress away from the flames. Once she got an opening, she swung the scepter wide. A volatile blob of purple energy sailed through the air and blasted the flying heads into smithereens.

She heard a small thump behind her and turned--parrying Pandora's claws. The daemon kept up with speed; the force of her slashes began to weaken Mary's fingers. Knowing she could lose like this, Mary forced her advance; Pandora's claws slipped through her blade but missed her torso by a centimeter.

Then, with all of her might, she ran the scepter's blade down Pandora's right wing.

"Grah!"

The blade sliced through it like paper. The wing ripped off Pandora's back and swiveled like a feather as it fell, eventually disintegrating into black sand.

Taking advantage of Pandora's fright, Mary inched forward and kicked; the daemon's stomach felt soft against her heel. Pandora staggered backwards and spat.

"How dare you!" she exclaimed.

With the red cracks on her skin glowing brighter, Pandora urged forward, hungry for blood. Mary took a step back and blocked all of the daemon's attacks--but her brittle fingers were beginning to slip. In a beat, she leaped backwards, turned the scepter around and positioned it by her side, then aimed right at Pandora's face.

There was a blast of purple light--then a small quake. Particles of energy danced around them. Pandora limped in front of her and fell on her knees, wheezing. Her remaining wing had a glowing hole burned into it; its edges began to crack.

Mary turned the scepter around and allowed its blade to point at Pandora's neck. She walked ahead and stopped right in front of the daemon, her fingers shaking.