Revival: Of Cethore ✔

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three: Finder's, Keeper's

As Samari's knees buckled beneath her, she adjusted her stance to stand firm. Her hands clenched into fists until her nails drew blood from her palms.

"Un-pleasant? Last time, I tried to stab you in the throat with a knife. I won't miss this time, a-at this rare chance to catch you," she growled.

Her friends eyed her questioningly, surprised by her sudden aggression.

Viper only laughed at the threat, the sound like a hissing rasp that raised the hair on her arms. "Well, it's not every day that I might see the great knight. Too bad he's not here to save you this time--ah, but is he?"

His eyes examined her carefully, his ticon swirling in response to his reaction. A frown grew on his face, his eyebrows creasing in confusion. He stepped forward.

"No, did he really? Why is it that I can feel his power, but it only leads me to you?"

The mina shifted, holding her arms in front of her. Cyrus responded to her position, stepping in front of her with his arm over her chest.

He can sense Shadow Knight's ticon in me?

Her breath quickened as Viper smiled, snarling, "Oh, he did! Now, this is interesting. How did he even do that? Nevermind, I want to know why he gave it to you."

If he can sense his ticon, why not just track him down directly. Unless...can he somehow cloak his ticon? Can someone even do that?

But he could put his power in me...

Her thoughts were interrupted when Mirabella mentioned, "Sir, others any catch up if we take too long."

Losing interest in Samari, Viper glared at the Flame. "Ah, yes. You all can deal with them, but leave that girl be. Later on, I'll deal with her myself," he commanded.

Having given his instructions, he turned to resume his search for the spirit gem. Lance, Mirabella, and Kalique stepped towards them, their ticon activating as they prepared for a fight.

"Zoran! You and Sam go after Viper, cause you're the only one who knows what the gem looks like. We can handle this here, and Sam will cover you," Dillian cried.

He didn't wait for a response before he jumped to block Kalique's descending sickle. Following his lead, Lorilie and Cyrus charged at their opponents.

Grabbing her hand, Zoran lead Samari through the fray. "I can keep him busy while you find the gem," he told her.

"But, even--even Shadow Knight cou-couldn't beat Viper. He'll act--he will kill you," she stuttered, her breaths shallow again.

Zoran smiled, "Don't worry. I can handle him. I'm not a weakling."

Samari believed him.

He rolled her to the ground right as a fireball shot over their heads. They glanced back to see Cy charging a splash for Lance. "Your opponent is me!" he cried.

The distraction worked, forcing the fire mage to focus on him as an arrow split into needles. He put up a shield of fire to evaporate them. The shield blocked his view of Cyrus's next attack.

Zoran hoisted her to her feet, and they continued their climb up the hill. Once at the peak, they saw Viper strolling from one pedestal to another.

"Square Shot!" Zoran cast.

Four energy bullets whizzed through the air, attacking Viper from all sides. Frowning, he swiped a wave of smog to disperse the spell.

Zoran charged without missing a beat, his first wrapped in a rune. Viper jumped back, but the energy left Zoran's hand to chase him. He stumbled back from the hit. Smiling, he steadied himself and glared at his opponent with hungry eyes.

Samari tore herself away from their fight. Come on, let's find the gem before anyone gets hurt.

She sprinted from pedestal to pedestal. Avoiding the fight proved to be a challenge, especially with Viper redirecting his focus to her, but she was able to read Zoran's movements to guide her through a safe path. Somehow, the mage was able both to keep Viper away from her and to rotate the fight how he pleased. 

Her heart dropped as she scanned the field and all the pedestals she had searched. Not one had the gem, yet none of them were missing any prizes. Her throat grew tight as she tried to find her error, perhaps a pedestal she had missed or something she had overlooked.

That dreaded feeling returned to her, coming like a chill she knew well. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind by focusing on her friends, each a blur in their duels.

"This is madness, " she huffed.

"Is it?"

Startled, Samari jumped. She looked around but did not see anyone.

"It makes perfect sense to me, " the voice continued. "The elementors are using their full power. The femme fatals are testing their speed. The castor is trying to outsmart the assassin. And the protector--hmph, he's a riot, I'll tell you that."

"Who are you?" she asked, looking to the sky.

The disembodied voice laughed. "You know who I am. Come find me!"

She stood alone, still looking for the person who spoke to her. An inkling crossed her mind. Hesitating, she knelt by the pedestal. Her hands ran over the surface, pushing and feeling every mark.

The top slipped. Eyes wide, she stood up to push the top until it slid off completely. A secret compartment was underneath, holding a different gauntlet than the one on the top.

"Bloody genius," she awed, scrambling to search the other pedestals again.

She didn't look at her friends, focusing on her task instead. Already, they had lost so much time.

She paused, staring at a beautiful necklace. It hummed and glowed, the pendant a brilliant blue like the sky above. Smiling, she picked it up--

She flew down the hill as something slammed into her. Coughing, she pushed herself onto her knees. Her eyes gazed upward to the top of the hill just as Viper picked up the necklace.

"Thank you for finding this for me, " he said, holding it up for him to admire.

The gem flashed. Beside him, a vortex formed, wind condensing into the figure of a man.

He moved freely through the air, swooping about like a child playing in water. "Ah, it feels so good to be out! Hey, what do you say we--"

The spirit stopped short when he saw Viper. His arms folded over his chest. "Oh no, you simply won't do. Where did the other one go?"

"Don't talk like you have a choice. I have your stone and I summoned you, so you will obey me!" Viper demanded.

Laughing, the spirit flipped in the air. "You really do not know much about summons, much less, spirits. I'll be glad to teach you!"

He backed away as Viper swiped at him, almost trying to grab him. His efforts were futile, only prompting the spirit's playful attitude.

"See, each spirit has some things that we embody--our ideals, if you will. Because of that, we can only be summoned by someone who coincides with our ideals. As for you, well, better luck next time!"

He blew on Viper, creating a gust strong enough to blow him off the hill. Zoran lunged for the gem.

Before she could see what happened, the spirit appeared in front of Samari. She jumped, startled by the swirling storm.

"You. I like you. You're passionate, open, and so...free! Ah, it's refreshing!" he cried.

She examined him, raising her hand. "M-me? I'm...open and free? Do you have the right person?"

He nodded, the motion making a wind that blew back her hair. "Yup, that's you. I mean, the first thing I noticed about you was that you're a Celethorian, and we spirits have a liking to Celethorians."

Next update July 9th.