Chinese Touch

Chapter 26-Brother and Sister

I swung my foot out, knocking Hua to the ground. He leapt at me, that savage insanity had returned to his eyes. He rolled across the ground and pulled me into a roll. My fist connected with his jaw and I yipped in pain as I hit bone. He tried to punch me back but his fist was loose and slack, his follow through non-existent.

"You're a palace boy at heart, not fit for the outdoor life! We may be siblings but we're not the same! If anything, we're nothing alike!"

"Fool!" He cried, pinning me to the ground. His eyes bored into mine. "I may be insane, but you're more so! Every Changer is in some way insane. Depending on their strength they may be more or less crazy than others. But you, sister... You! The craziest of them all!"

"No one is crazier than you!" I twisted my leg onto it's side, sending Hua crashing to the ground. His hands were still gripped on my arm so I used his momentum to pull myself on top of him. Char ran at me but Ai leapt at him, knocking him back even though he was more than three times Ai's size.

"Char!" Hua roared. He attempted to do to me what I'd done to him, but I lifted my foot and he screamed in pain as his body twisted under my hold. I put one foot back on the ground, then jumped backwards, pulling Hua over my head so he hit the ground. He twitched and roared, jumping to his feet and slamming his shoulder into my chest. As I fell I kicked up, slamming his stomach. Char screamed again and I remembered the Bond. Ai slashed at the dragon' self and Hua cried out and clutched his leg as Char roared and fell. He curled up, his long, snake-like body hiding his injury. Ai jumped him, slashing his tail.

I scrambled to my feet and ran at Hua. He stood still, a wicked smile on his lips. Just as I reached him he drew a sword from beneath his shirt. I skidded, tried to stop, but my momentum was too strong. My brother slashed his sword, slicing the back of my shirt and cutting a few locks of my hair. I slid between his legs and punched his back. He arched his back and I punched his spine, lower down this time. I punched him a third time for good measure and swung my foot around, kicking his side. He flew through the air and hit the ground, rolling along. I walked over to his sword and lifted it from where it had fallen.

"Nice sword, brother. I might keep it." He laughed, tipping his head back and laughing to the Heavens.

"You think that's my only sword? That I'd come with a single blade? You're mistaken." He pulled a second, larger blade from his shirt and yanked a dagger from his boot.

"You've come packed, haven't you?" I waved the sword through the air, slicing through imaginary limbs. I rolled towards my brother, slashing at his legs. He brought his sword down where I had been, missing my foot by a hair's breadth. I slammed the side of the sword against the inside of his leg and brought it around, slashing the outside of his leg. Blood trickled down and Char screamed, lunging at Ai. The giant dragon struck Ai and I fell backwards in pain. Ai wasn't moving.

"Ai!" I screamed, scrambling towards him. A dagger hit the ground in front of my face, stopping my slow forward motion. I turned to see Hua walking towards me. Char stood right behind him. The giant dragon towered over me and shot a burst of pure darkness at me. It hit my chest and I screamed. Char smiled and leapt over to Ai, hitting him, scratching him. Hua kicked my side, sending my sprawling backwards. I lay panting on the ground, my hand laying on something hard. Like a rock, but different. I turned my head slightly and saw it was the egg. Hua walked over to where I lay and lifted the sword.
"Crazy? Yes. Insane? Definitely. But a fool? No. You're the major threat. You're my first threat, and you may well be my last. But you are a threat. And to leave you alive would be foolish. And I'm not a fool." Then he plunged the sword into my heart, and there was a blinding flash of light.