I gripped my sword tightly. He came at me with his own sword and met mine with a loud clang. Surprisingly, my sword didn't break upon contact with actual metal. We sparred with each other, and as I fought him, I could tell that he was much better than. Realizing this, I quickly made a tiny ball of light and, while he wasn't looking, I dropped it into the ground.
Immediately, information slammed into my senses. I took a small step back from the impact. Ryder, seeing the opening, rushed forward, and jabbed his sword at my face. Quickly, I deflected the blade, but Ryder slashed my arm because of my hurried recovery.
I gritted my teeth as searing pain exploded in my arm. I knew that if I didn't bandage this fast, I was going to lose a lot of blood. Then, I felt the soft wind of the voice in my head.
"Ooh, he looks like fun!"
I really wanted to scream at this voice. This is anything BUT fun.
"Can you help me are not?" I asked, irritated.
"Of course, I can!" The voice cried in indignation. Suddenly, my arm stopped hurting and my wound closed up.
"Alright, now that that's fixed up…"
A power I hadn't felt since the time in the dungeon surged through my veins. This time, it wasn't overwhelming, but rather like a gentle stream. It trickled through my body, empowering everything. Ryder noticed a shift and stared at me with a scrutinizing gaze.
He started approaching me. This time, when his blade met mine, I was able to push his blade down and grab his arm, twirling and throwing him across the hall. If I was going to win, I was going to have to show no mercy. I ran forward and froze him to the floor before kicking him, hard. He grunted in pain and raised his head. His blood red eyes seemed to glow even brighter. Suddenly, he grabbed my arm and I heard a crackling sound before I felt it. Electricity ran up and over my body. I screamed in pain. I could barely see straight.
"Breath Amara, breath," the voice said. "Break free."
With a loud grunt, I struggled to stand. Ryder had a tight grip on me and he stared at me with a delighted smile on his face. Angered, I did the only thing I could: I bit him. I lunged forward and sank my teeth into his hand. It probably hurt us equally as much, because I was left with a burnt mouth and he recoiled in pain. He let go and I was free. I kicked him and then slammed my hand over his eyes. With a little concentration, I blinded him with a bright flash of light. As he rolled around screaming, I turned to see that most of the prisoners were now outside. Astrid led the way while Gram looked quite pale. He was walking, but he must have lost quite a bit of blood.
Then, from the ground, came the loud rumbling of steps. My eyes widened in shock.
"Astrid! Move!" I screamed. There was little I could do as thousands of troops came forward and started shooting the prisoners. Before I could do anything to help, I was pushed to the ground by many hands. I couldn't get up since there were at least four people holding me down. I heard loud shouts and screaming. A loud explosion could be heard and a part of the compound was engulfed in fire. I could feel the heat wave from where I was being detained. Hopefully, that was Theo.
Alright, now how am I going to get out of this sticky situation?
They had taken my icy sword, so it looks like I was going to have to use my actual sword. I gathered my light in my hands and flashed it as bright as I could. Only some of the hands loosened their grip, but it was enough for me. I yanked backwards, throwing off the others. In one swift motion, I stood up, twirled around, and pulled out my pocket knife. I heard laughing from one of the four figures.
"Are you really going to fight us with a pocket knife and a simple light trick?"
A second figure chuckled. "Nice one, my twin."
They must be some of Ryder's brothers. Quickly, I scraped some blood from my shoulder and dragged it along the carvings of the pocket knife. It transformed to the wickedly beautiful blade.
"You need my help?" the voice inside my head asked calmly.
"Not yet."
I sprung forward slashing at all four of them. Two of them lept back with ease while the two that were twins got hit. They were not prepared for my attack and swore at me.
"Ah! Why you little-!"
"Blitz told you not to underestimate her, so you have no right to complain."
The comment was from a third figure. Both of the twins grumbled in defeat. I kicked one of them in the chest, sending him flying. The other twin scrambled back.
"What do you want?" I growled.
Ryder finally spoke up. He was being supported by one of his brothers.
"Sorry girly, but our playtime has come to an end." He nodded to two of his brothers. "See you in the next life. Gemini and Duko, when you are finished, we have a meeting to attend."
Suddenly, the twins (Gemini) and the other one (Duko) charged at me. The realization slammed me in the face like an ice cold brick.
They were trying to kill me and it was a possibility that I was going to die.
"Hmm, now you really are in a pickle." The voice in my head said. It seemed to let out a sigh as it spoke. "I might need to call some backup."
I had no idea what it meant by "backup". It didn't really matter. I had other things to worry about. For one, I had three people after me. Astrid and Gram were still out there amid the chaos. And finally, this mission had definitely been a bust. I didn't even know if any prisoners were alive which made my heart clench and my anger rise.
I raised my sword to meet theirs. Clangs rang through the halls for a second time. I dodged an incoming punch and returned a kick to the stomach. I spun and rammed the pommel of my sword into one of the twins, knocking him unconscious. I received a solid punch in the shoulder from the other twin. I staggered from the impact and Duko kicked me in the ribs, sending me tumbling into the cold floor. I absorbed many hits because I could not regain the ground I had lost.
"Voice, please, I need your help!" I cried.
I heard some grumbling. "Oh, NOW you need my help and...how can you call me a voice!" It cried, sounding incredibly hurt.
"Well, what else am I supposed to call you?"
The voice didn't answer. Instead, with some complaining about name calling, it started to take control.
I felt myself losing my grip on reality. My vision blurred and I felt myself losing control of my body. Again, felt like watching the world through a window. I was safe inside, but I could do absolutely nothing.
"Hmf, I suppose you do have a good reason to call me 'voice'. So, I will give you a name you can call me. Maybe someday you will understand more clearly, but for now you can call me: Crystal."
The name itself brought a strange pain to my heart, like just talking about it could reduce me tears. But, the funny thing was, I had no idea why this name caused me so much pain.
"Alright then, show them what we're made of, Crystal!" I said.
I could almost feel her smiling and I'm sure that my actual mouth was smiling.
"Gladly."