The Fight our of Leis

Chapter Ten

I stared down at my smoking shoulder. Jinx was gaping at me with wide eyes, holding a pistol in front of him. We had never been trained to use such weapons, so Jinx was surprised with his own accuracy. Blood blossomed out of my shoulder and dripped horrifically down my arm in a slow stream. I stared at Jinx and began to advance towards him. He stood straight and prepared his foil. I faked a lung and gave him an oozing gash on his neck. He backed away, letting blood encase a side of his dark coat. I gave a wild swipe that he parried before it impaled his neck.

"You took," I yelled, my voice cracking with the pain. "everything from me! You made my life living hell" I furiously wiped stinging tears off my face, averse to showing him any weakness.

"You think you feel betrayed, hurt or bullied, but I was going to be executed by my own father! You know nothing of hell." He spat throwing a javelin at my head. It missed but halved a barrier behind me. I ran towards my pray, throwing my rapier as I went, so it suspended my brother hanging, against another barrier. He dropped his weapon, and wiggled mine slightly, endeavoring to free himself. I picked up his discarded sword at the same time he released himself from my foils hold. I lunged violently which he rolled to dodge. Lunging again, I got around his bell guard and chopped off three of his fingers.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh" He screamed in agony. He glanced nervously around the battlefield, but none of the weapon barrels were accessible. I strode towards, my crimson blade at the ready, but right when I was going to have revenge for almost every second of my life, a dark cloud swallowed him up. I looked up at Idoka, but she was free from the tower. My eyes started to blur, my body went limp and the last thing I herd was my brother cackling evilly, then saying, "I am a man of my word."

Idoka's Pov

There was a war going on inside my head. Half of my brain wanted to go help Tao and the other half was telling me that she had fought Jacoby with full knowledge that he was my boyfriend. But as I looked down at her crumpled form, I could not help but think back to the last look she gave me. The look was of sorrow, pain determination and friendship, something I did not know was possible. I sprinted over and examined her broken frame. She had three major wounds, the two gushing knife wounds and the bullet, still embedded in her shoulder. I slide to my knees and tor off a piece of my shirt and attempted to stem the flow of blood from the knife laceration. I pried the bullet out of the flesh in her shoulder, sending new outbreak of blood gushing over her already soaked body.

"Oh no, no, no Tao," I gasped out. My chest was tight with apprehension, my face screwed up with fear. I tentatively lifted one of her eyelids and saw her milky white eye rolled back grotesquely. "Tao!" I choked out. "No, no, no!" I yelled as if claiming it was impossible. I clenched my teeth and shook her uninjured shoulder uncertainly. Tao murmured something then half opened her eyes.

"Id... Idoka..." She stammered.

"Tao! You survived! How do you feel." I exclaimed, wiping a few tears off my cheeks.

Tao's Pov.

Her words sounded exited and happy, but once my eyes had adjusted, I could tell she was questioning weather she should have continued without me.

"Idoka, I am so sorry about everything, I should have told you about Jinx and I should have never fought Jacoby. Will you ever forgive me?" I asked, attempting to role over but feeling like I was petrified painfully in place.

"Tao, the damage is done, and... and it will never be undone, but is there anything else you haven't told me?" She asked marginally turning her head away and avoiding the last question.

"Well, I used to be the daughter of the rulers of Taiwan, and I was on the run for a year before I came to Europe. If anyone found out who I am, me and anyone with me would be executed, because the word still hasn't gotten out that I'm innocent and... uh do you have anything you haven't told me?" I asked avoiding telling her about Jinx's acquaintance with Idoka's parents.

"I've been an...an orphan since birth, my sister died when I was seven and I lived on the streets till high school when I was taken in and cared for by the Ukrainian society." She stated staring at the blood-soaked ground.

"If you don't want to hear it, I understand but, but" I stuttered. "Jinx told me what happened to your parents." I slowly sat up and stared into her sky-blue eyes. She looked back at me and nodded, her throat obviously chocking up. I hesitated, then said, "They, like you were some of the smartest, kindest people of their age. When Jinx abandoned Taiwan, he sought out your parents. They left you and your sister behind and evacuated into the Andes mountains, were he found them and sentenced them to the original version of this arena. They were electrocuted to insanity then murdered... I'm so sorry." I meant it too because I knew the feeling of having no one to be there on your darkest day.

Pain, rage anguish then fury flashed across Idoka's pail face. Tears welled up in her eyes, then poured down her face in a confused stream of grief. She placed her palms on her eyes and broke into silent sobs. Telling her the news about her parents was harder then surviving the bullet or the blood loss, it was like my heart was crumbling for her. Her blond hair fell over her face, as I hurriedly put my hair into a messy bun.

"Hey," I murmured, tucking a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. "It'll be okay, we will escape, we will save others from suffering this and I'll never hid a secret like that from you again." I peeled her hands away from her tearstained, putting my arms around her neck, I gave her a hug. We sat there for a second, Idoka's sobs subsiding, then there was a crack then some scuffling beyond my view. I drew back from Idoka a raised my head, like a hound searching for the stench of it's pray. Crack, my head snaped in the direction of the noise.

"What was that?" Idoka asked fretfully.

"I don't know," Another snap. "Get behind me." I advised. She scurried backwards so we were back to back. Dark, billowing, scampering clouds of artificial shadows came charging silently over one of the barricades. The smoke was like a pack of foxes, prancing mutely towards us. Something snaped again, this time loud and confident.

"I've got it!" Idoka exclaimed. "It's a fire crackling! Wait, Tao it's a fire, A FIRE! RUN!" She yelled with mounting worry. She had already gotten up a was running for the tower. I tried to stand but my lags gave in and I fell to the blood-soaked floor. Idoka sprinted back over to me and lent down an arm to help me to my feet but I pushed her hand away and said.

"You run. Get to the tower, escape as fast as you possibly can and kill my brother, please!" I pleaded, imploringly looking up at her. She frowned, shook her head then said.

"I will never ever leave you. Even if the odds are against us. You fought Jacoby, your related to the monster who killed my parents and you've despised me my whole life, but your all I have left and... and I can't believe I'm saying this but you're the best companion I have ever met." She blurted out, looking just as surprised at herself as I did. "We will escape together," She proclaimed her voice cracking.

"Willnever make it!" I said coming out of my revelry. Idoka did not seem to care,she picked me up like a baby a began to run to the tower, slightly hampered bymy immobilized form.