"Her? You can't be serious. She's not going to survive the transformation, I promise you that." Zyda huffed. "Besides, we need stronger subjects, not this teenage war-sage wannabe."
"Don't be so quick to judge, Zyda. His blood takes all kinds, or doesn't." He sneered. "We will let fate decide. Give her one. If she dies, she dies. The perfect punishment for Cabil's meddling."
Syreene's eyes stretched as Zyda reached into her sash—a vial? The sight of her yielding the sanguine liquid out of the vial with only her fingertips forced Syreene to hold her breath. All sorcery, she thought, an illusion of the dark arts! The elf yanked her head away, and snapped her eyes shut to the impending administration. Syreene wouldn't go down without a fight, shoving Zyda off as the witch tried to snatch her arm. Her struggle was short lived, the assassin's patience shorter than Mhal's fuse amid Cabil's presence. She kicked Syreene down, her boot ramming against the elf's head.
"I can make this a hell of a lot more painful for you," she grunted, and Syreene submitted, yelping at the sting of a needle-like stab into her nape. The hot-red liquid expelled into her body, Syreene gritting her teeth at the throbbing pain coursing through her muscles.
She teared, her hopelessness bare before two great evils forcibly embarking her in an irreversible clandestine journey. There was no point in carrying this tough girl façade anymore. Defeated, she sat herself back up, letting out a whisper, "I'm sorry, Cabil."
--
The road to death was a long one. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes slugged by. She arched her head, lips slipping ajar as Mhalfoynt left Zyda with a final command before departing. Was… that it? Was this the aftermath?
Zyda suddenly yanked Syreene by her hair, her heated glare biting at the elf. "Why am I not surprised you're actually still alive? No foaming in the mouth, blood gushing out of eyeballs, no irrepressible muscle spasms," she paused, feeding Syreene a disgusted look, "nothing. Oh, maybe a delayed response, right?" Zyda tossed Syreene's head back, rolling her eyes, disappointed.
"What's going to happen to me?" she grieved.
"Fortunately for you, Mhal wants you alive."
"How fortunate. I'm sure you aren't going to let me go anytime soon," Syreene fretted, looking south.
"Give the little girl a prize," she teased. "Makes you wish you weren't so hot on getting those feet wet, huh? No one can save now, pest."
She scrunched her face in regret, the idea of escape scraping at the back of her head. Until the ground beneath them started to rumble, Syreene instantly darting her eyes to the east wall now glowing with a red hot center. She looked back to the disgruntled Zyda, who seemed to have spoken too soon. With a booming spur,
the stone wall was bulldozed, the clouding debris engulfed in flames.
"Was that truly necessary?" Narus questioned.
"Did you have any better ideas?" Cabil countered. Clouded by the fog, the pyro shielded his face, narrowing his eyes on the two figures in the background. Two familiar faces, one of which made his blood instantly boil with rage.
His eyes fixed on his chained sister as he cautiously approached, Syreene's beaming smile greeting him cheerfully.
"Cabil!"
"Oh shit." Zyda dashed toward the west exit, Cabil quick to follow.
He didn't allow her to get very far, the distance between them soon closing in. And before they passed the next section of spiral stairs, he called out, "Hey!" Zyda stopped, looking over her shoulder. A slit of moonlight paved the steps, revealing the bright white mask of his assassin. He gritted his teeth, then swallowed the spiral dungeon stairway in flames, a roaring turbulence clearing his path.
In a few seconds, she had disappeared, Cabil bent on pursuing her further, where he ended up running into a hallway with three doors. The one across him continued to screech lightly—the decision was already made for him.
The sole of his boot rammed the refectory door open, his eyes thoroughly scanning the area, until she caught his attention.
She stood there, lounging over the railing on the second level, proudly swinging her full hips. "I must be so lucky, seeing you again so soon…"
"I promise you bitch, this will be the last!"
"You know, we really do have to stop this cat and mouse chase," her smooth rich voice tweeted. "Maybe sit down, have a cup of coffee, get better acquainted…"
"How about getting acquainted with my fists!"
"Mmm, I'd like that too." She pulled out a white ball from her sash, Cabil already engaging his flames as she fixed herself to escape. "Maybe next time, sugar." With a sharp strike against the floor, the ball dispersed a white powder that coated the air, allowing her exit. She vanished, followed by the sound of rushing steps up the hallway that turned Cabil's eyes toward the door.
"Cabil!" Syreene tackled him with a tight hug. "You're okay!"
"Where has she gone?" Narus questioned.
"The bitch made a run for it."
"I'm so glad you found me! I thought I'd never see the light of day." She sunk her head into his chest. "And I forgive you."
"…What?" Cabil arched a brow, looking down to her. "Forgive me?"
She withdrew from him, and bit back, "You're the reason I got caught in the first place! I was trying to avenge you."
"Erm, may I interpose?" Narus politely interjected while advancing toward the two.
"No one asked you to play superhero," Cabil retorted, "And how exactly did you get abducted?"
Syreene choked, turning her head away in guilt. "That's not the point."
"Sy, this isn't a game. I don't need you running around like a vigilante fighting my battles!"
She pouted, bringing her hands to her hips. "Well someone has to since you're always getting wasted and smoking your kesh! You're twenty-eight. It's about time you got your life together!"
Cabil towered over her short stature, his face twisting with authority. "Well, maybe if I had some decent entertainment in my life, I wouldn't have to!"
Syreene gasped. "Am I not entertaining? Sweeping, washing dishes, cooking your meals, why, I'm a true stand up!" she hissed back, Cabil catching a peripheral of Narus' darting attention zipping between both sides of the quarrel. "You never do any real work around the house! I have to go to school, then go straight home to upkeep our house!"
"Are you listening to yourself? I fight for a living. Not to mention, my services to this country allows us to live in that apartment and not out on the streets."
"Hmph, that's nice, being able to fend for yourself. I wish I could, but someone's bent on keeping me in school, denying me any combat training! Or maybe I should have rammed a math book against her head! That woulda' solved the problem!"
"Perhaps I could help with that," Narus followed. "We cater to various levels of combat practice in a specialized courtyard at the temple. I would be happy to, at the very least, supply you with some basic self-defense tactics."
Syreene looked up to the priest, delight blooming off her face. "Would you, really?"
"Absolutely not!" Cabil blared. "There's no place for combat in her life. If I can protect this country, I can definitely protect my sister."
"That wasn't the case here tonight. Syreene still managed to get captured by the same assassin who almost killed you." Cabil sniped Narus a hard glare that triggered him to choose his next words carefully. "Oh, em, but, heh, at the end of the day, she was rescued! And you did ward off that dreadful cat woman!"
"She's not going to train, end of story."
"Don't I have a say in this?" the young elf followed, fretful.
"We are leaving. I don't want to spend another minute in this crypt-hole."
----
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