Intertwined

Chapter 7 | Neko Poison

Dedicated to Natasha~ Do read her story So Not Normal. If you like Fantasy, werewolves and shapeshifters, it's probably something you'll enjoy :)

Chapter 7: Neko Poison

He was dressed in black from head to toe, lurking silently at the edge of her room, just outside the open door. It was the man who had introduced himself as Roran. His eyes glittered dangerously as they flicked across the room, from Ash to Lance, who had his back to him, and finally her. She froze, like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck.

They had been wrong; Lance and Ash, they had both been very, very wrong. If only they had listened to her. Roran slipped something out of his sleeve. It flashed a metallic silver when it caught the light – a small dagger. Jade swallowed, paralyzed. She wanted to shout, or cry out, or do something that would warn them, and yet, she couldn’t. A sly smile spread across Roran’s mouth when he caught her staring. He nodded slightly at her, smirking as he tipped an imaginary hat.

He lunged forward. Jade screamed.

A few things seemed to happen at once. Ash stood up, pointed an index finger at Roran and shouted something Jade did not catch. The air around them seemed to ripple, then an invisible force sent Roran stumbling backwards, slashing wildly at the air. He missed Lance’s neck, but nicked the sleeve of his shirt, ripping it. He cursed furiously. By then, whatever Ash had done had bought Lance enough time to duck when the cutting edge of the blade whizzed past a second time. In desperation, Roran hurled the dagger, hard, at Lance. It grazed the side of his neck this time, drawing a dark string of blood before embedding itself in the wooden sliding door of the walk-in closet. Jade stared at it in horror for a few seconds before turning back to the scene.

Ash had brandished a small sword from its sheath that hung subtly by his side. Jade had not noticed it before this. He spun it skillfully in his hand like how one would spin a pen, before advancing towards Lance and Roran to try and intercept. They were circling each other like a pair of angry lions.

“Crap,” Jade muttered, skittering to the far side of the room. She hated fights, especially when she had nothing to defend herself with. She pressed herself against the wall and clenched her hands so hard her nails dug painfully into her skin. Her heart was in her mouth as she watched them helplessly. 

Roran snarled, whipping out a deadly-looking pair of short blades. They had metal crescent-shaped blades crossed to form four razor-sharp points. “You will die, Kāskennír,” he hissed. “Overlord of all Aviascean mafia mobs, I will kill you if it’s the last thing I do.”

“I’d like to watch you die trying,” Lance replied venomously.

Roran smirked back cockily. “It would be an honor, my Lord, or should I say,” he paused. “Exile.”

Jade vaguely heard Ash curse then shout at Lance not to buy into the taunt. He was too late. Lance had already launched himself at Roran, and they dissolved into a flurry of arms, legs and metal, attacking and blocking so fast that Jade’s human eyes couldn’t quite keep up with what was going on.

Somehow, Lance managed to pin Roran to the wall, with the curved blades the assassin wielded at Roran’s own neck. “Take it back,” Lance snarled. “Take your words back, you- ” His hands shook as he dug the blades’ sharp tips deeper into Roran’s neck, piercing the skin.

“Never! Even as I speak the poison from my dagger eats at you. You will die before I ever eat my words!”

Jade saw a dark shadow flit across the room’s high ceiling then drop lithely in a crouch next to Roran and Lance. It straightened up. “Niko?” Lance stared. Ash nodded at the newcomer. He was rather tall too, with dark hair cut in a style similar to the guys in Korean boy bands. He was dressed in dark cotton clothes and had a pair of thin crossed swords, sheathed and tied to his back. Jade, however, only noticed the man’s hands. He was wearing long metal claws that sheathed over his fingers. She shuddered, imagining what would happen were he to strangle someone.