The two guards, Zach and Tiffani were both elites among the elite with out the usual hoopla the elite dragon-born snobs usually had. These were soldiers above all else.
They themselves had ranked superbly well in the academy they had attended and both of their masters were very pleased with their progress.
Zach had studied under master Heng Lou-bu whose attainments in alchemy were not only very high but also legendary with his recent breakthrough to the late heavenly guidance stage not to mention his mastery of lightning hou.
The exact trait which was passed onto his student Zach, one he mastered splendidly.
Tiffani on the other hand was different her background obscure at best.
It's unknown who her master was but her brilliance is something no-one can simply deny. Her swift ascent through the ranks only being the fruits of her efforts.
It's believed that she has a special body constitution which allows her to channel hou without the need to refine it into Ki.
Aurelia looked at me from her seat, as the other two : Zach continued to meditate and Tiffani continued to bury her nose in that book of hers. I could tell that she hadn't forgiven me. As even though she agreed to put her dislike for me behind her for the duration of the mission, she still seemed disinterested and standoffish when it came to me. Just how she managed to put so much space between us in that small carriage was a miracle in and of itself.
But as much as I'd like to put what Aurelia told me earlier behind me, it wasn't as easy as I would've liked to think.
I mean either she's lying or I'm really a lot more dangerous than I thought previously and getting my abilities back was the worst thing that could've possibly happened.
She'd told me how I had... changed. Maybe it was because of the hou that seemed to materialize around me, raw world energy that formed dense rings around me or maybe it was the fact that I seemed so angry to her.
She stated how the marks on my arms had spread over my entire body like snaking tattoos, my face neck hands fingers and then how my eyes softly displaced energy as white florescence the same tone the tattoo like spirals which covered me radiated.
Either way it all seemed unbelievable.
The way she described my appearance at that time, how I'd mysteriously acquired the ability to fly like the woman who called herself the monarch of flame and how the air sounded awfully like constantly tearing fabric and how the trembling earth did nothing to quell her bad impression of how something terrible was about to happen.
At the time my seemingly ruthless state scared her enough to make standing difficult and even though I overpowered the flame monarchs soul clone after only a short amount of time plunging my hand through her chest obliterating her and absorbing her essence in the most brutal way possible, the way she described it was unsettling.
I was devoid of any emotion and I had somehow afterward absorbed the essence of my enemy completely.
There was no remorse.
It was like I had been possessed by someone else.
Someone, vicious and without mercy!
********
It took half a day more or less before we had to leave the carriage and proceed on foot.
Leaving the main path to thread through an ever thickening forest which occasionally thinned out into small clearings. Aurelia had noted that the place we were looking for would be in one such clearing however it still took us more than two hours to get there and when we did...
"Shh..." Aurelia states hinting in the direction of a cave entrance.
We all got low hiding behind small shrubbery and little trees.
There were two men stationed by the entrance! This was definitely the place.
"You'd imagine that this was a trap given how easy it is." Aurelia muttered.
A silent flash of light pulled my attention back to the entrance where Zach and Tiffani had already neutralized the two guards at the entrance to the cave dwelling. What the hell?
"When did they get there?"
Aurelia smiled before tossing my blade to me. I pulled it from the sheath checking the blade briefly before closing it again.
"You'd best not underestimate them." She added looking around before walking out to the entrance and from under the cover the trees provided.
"Stay alert, this is giving me a bad vibe so be careful and don't drop your guard until this is done, we don't know what they might throw at us."
With a flick of her wrist her blade materialized and she caught the handle testing the weight by slashing the air.
She exhaled, a fierce look on her face. One I'd never seen her wear.
Resolve?
Zach smiles in the dim light taking note of this. "The Commander enters the fray."
*****
We entered leaving Zach to guard the entrance and Tiffani to scout the area for other entrances with goal of finding other extraction points should the need arise, me and Aurelia being the main attack force with the forewords, should anything unexpected came up we would simply meet again at a designated spot in the woods.
We entered silently with Aurelia upfront and me pulling up the rear.
The place every bit as strange as I thought it look from the outside. Was this the right place? Why weren't there any other people?
It was like they had left in a hurry but if that was the case why leave guards at the entrance?
This couldn't be a ruse to buy time for them to escape could it? I mean they 'are' terrorists after all.
We walked in silence for another few minutes before my paranoia made me bring my thoughts to Aurelia's attention.
"There's something wrong with this cave." I half whispered.
"The air-" a loud clang interrupted me causing both me and Aurelia to turn on our heels.
"Tsk tsk tsk, what have we here?"
We both looked to the path we had just entered, there was a gate that had fallen in place, almost like it had slid from a well hidden slot in the walls and just beyond it stood a man holding little Moira by her hand.
Damn it was a trap after-all!
Aurelia dashed at the bars slashing with all her might, intending to cut it but failing to leave anything save the sparks produced by the clash. "You bastard!" she screamed at the unfazed man who stood there, a cocky smirk on his face.
"you think you've won haven't you." she seethed. "let her go and I promise to leave you a whole corpse!"
He shook his head in disdain. "No no no," he started "Its not about wining or loosing. its about making this place more... humane for lack of a better word."
"What?" I interjected slowly. "Do you really think sending an innocent little girl off to her death will make this place better? Get over yourself! Release us or don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Oh?... Lalie is it? the one who defeated the flame monarch's soul clone? I know how powerful you are so why don't you give it a try?" he chuckled a little "Rip these bars out of the ground with your oh so powerful cultivation. Come-on don't be shy!"
Aurelia looked at me expectantly.
"Well, since you're asking so nicely."
I reached forward to grab the ambient hou.
Nothing.
What?
"Well?" Aurelia stated releasing the man from her gaze turning towards me.
I couldnt feel the hou which is usually abundant even in the air, the strange feeling left me numb.
"Tick tock Lalie." the man added with perfect confidence.
Could it be that he sealed the natural hou in some way?
"Nice trick, however unfortunately for you I can also use it like this!" I stretched out my hand again but nothing. "eh?"
What? I tried looking inward to my core but.. nothing... i couldnt use my ki either!
Aurelia probably noticed the look on my face.
She returned her gaze to the man again. In the sparse light that the wall torches provided his purple robe seemed to be adorned with one lone black star. His features aged, the scar crossing his left eye not taking away from his age in the least.
"Who are you?" she asked him.
He smiled at this. "finally we can begin. I'm Naruk Marguiel, of a long line of Marguiel and we've been preparing for this moment for ages."
"Yeah I don't know about any Marguiel, but you must be quite happy finally being able to meet the monarchs."
He shook his head "no no no," he calmly stated before " this moment right here when you fall for my trap and I'm finally able to take the blessings of vehatra from your sorry ass is what I'm referring to, so just sit there quietly and await your inescapable death."
Aurelia shot him a puzzled glance "Ugh, Don't you think that if it were that easy others would have tried it?" Then "Lily I think we've gotten all the info we can get from him so let's get out of here."
"Still believe you can escape?" He chuckled darkly "go ahead, try it."
"Not yet," I stepped forward making sure that the light illuminated my features completely. "Naruk right? How do you know me? I don't believe we've ever met or exchanged names before now. So do explain. how do you know me? You're not a stalker are you?"
He smiled finally "even in the face of impending doom you still maintain your composure, very well I'll let you know seeing as how you're both going to die here today."
I exhaled softly trying to calm myself. This guy's confidence is no joke and his certainty was starting to get to me.
Was there some truth to his earlier claim?
"My family has long since had news of your coming here but we had no idea, see she's supposed to be vehatra and if it weren't for a certain proxy suddenly paying us a visit we would've had no idea that a new vehatra had been chosen and before the previous one died to boot."
He shook his head whilst smiling to himself "it would seem that our planning for generations had been doomed to fail but since our benefactor that proxy started supplying us with amber pieces and information we've been able to correct that error and now here we are, once again on the correct path!"
I clenched my fist, I knew who the proxy was and it would've been great if I could finally find out more about what evil she'd been planning but I had to consider the fact that this man's claims may not have been false and since Jiya is involved, this whole taking the blessings of vehatra scheme may actually have some truth to it.
"Damn it." I whispered.
"Oh?" Naruk mused "finally giving in to despair?"
I shook my head. "It's just a pity that I have to kill another living being apart from Jiya." His smile disappears replaced instantly by a frown.
"Also, Thanks for being a dumbass because it would've been so much harder to absorb your hou if you had been further away."
"What?" He tried stepping back but I already had a firm grasp on his internal hou. "Grr, if you don't stop I'll take the child's life-"
"-Too late." I cut him off instantly pulling everything from him. Then using the wisps to cut the bars to pieces from the outside.
"It's a good thing too, because had you been stronger and possessed more hou, killing you like this would not have been possible."
"Aurelia ran to Moira pulling her from the grasp of the deceased Naruk who had died standing, dropping her sword and hugging the child.
Her sword clanged noisily as it slid to a halt.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered to Moira who still seemed out of it not responding to her only looking into the distance.
"are you ok?" Aurelia tried again but Moira still remained unresponsive.
"is she... hurt?"
Aurelia shook her head. "from the looks of it, she's fine... physically at least."
I stepped forward, placing my hand on Aurelia's shoulder. "this is my fault, so blame me all you want but don't blame yourself ok? Now lets get Moira out of here."
She smiled faintly, "ok-".
Aurelia looked downward and I followed her gaze to the blade that now protruded from her midsection and the distinct red that flowed from the area when it was suddenly pulled out.
"Such a pity."
I turned to see Naruk holding the Aurelia's sword, now covered in her own blood.
"yOu managed to escape only to die a violent death." his calm causing fear to sink into my very core.
"But, you're... you're dead!"