29. Answers without questions #3
Horus flashes his dimples, removing his blazer and tossing it aside.
He retains Kyra’s attention, not shying away for a moment’s tick, rolling up his sleeves, which allows us a glimpse of the ink coating his arms. Thick, raven-like dye slithers down and detaches with a twitch of his fingers, transmuting into a trident, rivaling Poseidon’s, the sea God.
A weapon made of stygian darkness. His aura ignites.
Flutters of metallic orange drift down its stalk, intertwining with the natural black essence to form luminous, intricate designs.
Like shimmering symbols on obsidian parchment.
Kyra peers with amazement glossing her vision. More than shock, she is enthralled, and I’ll admit, Horus’s magical hue resembles a fleeting sunset darting across the sky. An artistic clash of midnight and dawn.
She regains her composure, and the moment’s gone. “You’ll need more than a weapon to beat me, Russ.” A tug pulls at my emotions, seeing her enjoying this, but another truth hides behind it. An unfamiliar awareness.
“Let’s test this theory, shall we?”
He retracts a few paces, extending the distance between him and her, and I remain rooted about four feet away. Far enough to evade yet close enough to strike without harm if she turns her attention upon me.
Responding in kind, she creates a crimson, bladed dagger for each hand and grins before darting towards him. Her speed reveals the essence of our training as she reduces their space with ease, catching Horus off guard and rendering his smugness to a more defensive take.
She strikes for his chest, then spins on her heels before he is able to evade. Kyra’s first attack is only a diversion. Rounding towards his back, she aims the next assault for his shoulder, but he meets her strike with a backwards swing of his trident, deflecting as he turns and faces her.
“Damn, Kitten, you almost had me.” He chuckles. “Almost.”
“Is that so?” she questions, nodding to his rear, and I find myself smiling. He peers over his shoulder, discovering a crimson, glowing blade aimed at the nape of his neck. “You almost evaded my attacks. Almost.”
She struts past him in my direction, and Horus’s laugh booms across the room.
He is as equally impressed as me, and Kyra catches my gaze, winking with a smile of her own.
Or I deduce she is winking. It must be a mortal expression to do it with both eyes.
And I’m left wondering how and when she learned of such an attack.
“Holding back is off the table, besides, I’m still waiting to see how sharp…” Kyra vanishes in an instant, leaving her sigil fading from existence. “Shit, where’d she go?” Horus wonders as two sigils manifest on either side of him, and I study her tactics.
Had she not whispered, “I got your Kitten,” before vanishing, I would have missed it myself.
Each night we spend the last thirty or so minutes training and understanding her sigil: if it works like mine, and what uses she can get out of it during combat.
We learned not all sigils are the same, and in fact, hers and mine alone can-do different things, which Horus is about to find out.
Before inserting myself into this group activity, it’s best to observe her, knowing she has been hiding her close-quarters combat.
“To your right!” I shout as she reappears in a blink, swiping her dagger across his stomach. But he is quick on his feet and able to dodge. He leaps back, mouth gapped and brows raised. An opposite expression to the one Kyra gives briefly before fading into her second sigil.
“What the hell kind of attack is this?” Now on alert, Horus swivels in every direction except the right one. She is playing a game of cat and rodent, and it’s obvious who is who.
“Above you!” my voice warns, though smiling this hard makes it difficult to speak. She enters from high above, grinning with her weapon aimed in truth, targeting his head.
“Shit.” He jumps back, bringing his trident up to block, but Kyra maneuvers midair, rotating her body and landing with an elegant form. I see now why he gifted her the name ‘Kitten.’
She drops a red metal dagger and says, “Boom,” before vanishing again, and my vampiric speed carries me to Horus within a heart’s beat, grabbing him and entering a sigil of my own. Thankfully, his attention was on the weapon dropped at his feet, making my natural order go unnoticed.
We emerge beyond the explosion, realizing there wasn’t one, and I find her standing with folded arms and an annoyed declaration.
“Stop taking it easy. I won’t save you again. Now let’s go,” I scold Horus.
I bound towards her, hearing his last words of, “Did one of her daggers get stuck up your ass?” and my palm jerks with magic flowing around it. Summoning a sickle, I toss it at my opponent. Grinning, Kyra deflects it with ease, meeting me head on with an attack of her own.
She is nimble. I aim to grab hold of her as she dissolves her weapons, but she avoids my reach by ducking under it and sliding to a complete halt. A quick glance to Horus ensures he hasn’t moved. Her leg strikes for my stomach, and a grasp around her ankle ceases the movement.
“Faster,” I demand, and on cue, Kyra lifts her other leg with a rounding kick, forcing my release.
“On your left,” I warn her as Horus jumps in.
She spins in haste, capturing him in her gaze and leans back while taking hold of his arm.
With another kick, Kyra hits his ribs, but without enough force.
He takes the assault, grabbing her leg while sweeping the other, and Kyra’s back meets the floor as he follows through with a bone crushing stomp, which misses his target.
She is on her feet in blink, backing up with a smile. “Okay, I see how it is. Bring it.”
“Hey, Alex, how’d you get to me so fast earlier?” he asks, and my brows furrow. Had he noticed? Was I reckless in coming to his rescue?
“Focus, she’s planning something.”
Rarely am I this sloppy with my movements, yet here we are with my natural order up for discussion. Being part elf is a hindrance in its own right, so once others take notice that I’m a vampire, their facade and motivations entice them to become…reckless, acting on vengeance and self-preservation.
He re-summons his weapon and backs away. Light of a metallic orange hue wisps with a shadow’s cadence, and he flings his trident with great force and without warning, slicing the air towards Kyra’s chest. She dawns a smirk so devious, a sensation much like fear entices my natural order.
She won’t be able to dodge this.
A growl wavers my throat, and I move on instinct.
Colors blur as I take my first step–then another.
As though I’m holding time within my grasp, I feel it seem to slow, but only for a moment.
A vampire’s speed is bound by the laws of Hermes, thus mine lasts but a mere four seconds per burst. This semblance of fear constricts my chest.
I’m not going to make it in time.
Scowling, I throw myself in front of Kyra with an ache of dread building. The one thought repeating is, my life for hers. But his spear sails around my reach, and my eyes expand, watching her final seconds dwindle along with any hope of procuring a future. No–No…
I hold a breath as the room returns to an uproar of weapons and magic clashing throughout. Stumbling, I skid to a halt, taking in the light of her gaze before realizing there is still a spark within them.
Horus’s spear remains suspended with an orange tether of energy extending back to him. Its three-pronged tip is less than an inch away from her chest, and my fingers twitch with sparks of lightning.
Darkness engulfs my vision, and I can feel the veins beneath my eyes pulse. He had every intention of harming Kyra, and my vampiric nature is itching to react in kind.
“Alex, are you okay? What’s going on?” Her voice is a gentle breeze waving over the pit of embers surrounding my aura. And the flames ignite in an all-consuming rage.
Horus releases a singing chuckle before speaking.
“What do you think? Still feel my weapon won’t be good enough?
” He yanks on the tethered energy, and his trident returns.
My gaze snaps to him with an insatiable thirst, and dark clouds manifest overhead.
Kyra is not aware of how close her life was to ceasing, and witnessing the smugness he dons, releases the shackles of my binded beast. “Woah, Alex, you okay there? What has you riled up?”
It’s nearly impossible to hear most of anything over the exaggerated tone of my heart. Despite my natural order.
“Russ, hold on. Give me a second,” Kyra says, stepping around and coming into view.
Her voice always finds a way to snare me.
“Alex, talk to me. What’s wrong?” But I’m speechless, left wallowing in what could have been and who’s at fault.
“Alex, I’m going to grab your hand,” she announces beneath a whisper, but Kyra’s words slices past all others.
Then I feel her, and the sparkles of her dragon scales fade from existence.
Warmth encompasses my palm. I feel a smaller hand with soft skin, then a *thud*. And another, gradually picking up until the drum of my own evens out. “Hey, are we okay?” Placing the other tender hand over the brewing heat of my cheek, she directs my attention.
Peering down, I see our hands overlap right above her heart, and not once does she avert her gaze as distress swirls around my reflection.
Without realizing, I notice the room has grown silent, and I attempt to turn, but the gentle hand cusping my jaw forbids it. “Don’t worry about them; look at me. I need you to tell me we are okay?”
“We?”
“Yes. We ground each other, and I’ll stay here as long as it takes for you to assure me everything’s fine.”
In the many years spent around others, not once has someone come close to understanding me. Yet she chips away every wall and obstacle set in place for this purpose. How?
“I’m…” Kyra raises a brow. “ We –are okay. I just need a word with Horus.” My magic dissipates, and across the room, I hear Angie yell for everyone to mind their business and not stroke the bear. Whatever that means. Kyra rolls her eyes in response.
“Thank you.” She smiles, and my aura reciprocates as if it’s her target audience. Calm yourself. “Russ, can you come here please.”
He trots over, all smiles with flashing dimples. Either Kyra doesn’t believe I’m fine, or she lost track of my palm still against her chest. Raising an internal conflict, I wonder if I should remove it myself. So why haven’t I?
“Is everything okay? Can we get back to sparring, or are you forfeiting?” He notices our tangled position and glances between us.
“Your attack, did you have any ill intentions of hurting Kyra?”
“What–”
“What?”
They speak in unison. Something a pair would do after becoming closer, or potential eternals. A perfect reason for me to withdraw my touch.
“I’d never harm a thread on her clothes, let alone attempt to hurt her. And I’m not one who enjoys being accused of such actions.” He scowls. A semblance of irritation brews within his aura .
“Hold on, Alex. Russ wasn’t trying to hurt me. More like proving me wrong against the gibe I offered beforehand.”
“You believe this to be true?” I ask, holding her stare.
“Yes, silly. Russ and I…” she pauses, giving him a glance. “We’re always enticing one another. Edging each other in a game of rivalry. I wholeheartedly believe Russ was not trying to hurt me.”
“Thank you, Kitten.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m standing behind my initial comment now, knowing your game.
” Chuckles commence between them, and whatever came over me should be studied.
Stepping out of character is much unlike myself, and I’ll reflect later on my actions.
“Alex, are we okay to continue, or shall we call it for today? Whatever you decide is fine.”
“It’s quite alright; let’s continue.”
Kyra may believe he had no ill intentions, but I’m not so sure. Hence forward, Horus will be kept under a watchful eye.