The Scarlet Scepter

Chapter Twenty-three (Revised)

"No, you're not," I said.

Can't you heal him? I asked the Scepter.

"Well, would you look at that." Cepheus stood up like nothing happened and casually brushed off the smoldering pieces of fabric from his body.

"Be careful, Annaliese. He's not like—" Cyrus rasped.

I saw Cepheus pounce and I instantly shot up to my feet.

"I always knew you had a warrior in you," he said with a cool tone.

I steadied myself for his attack, and I felt my knees shake when our swords clashed. He's probably five times stronger than Celia. His thrusts came after another. I tried to back up, but he gave me no chance. Within a minute, he sent my sword flying in the air.

"You could use some training," he said as he caught my sword from the air. There was something weird about him, but I couldn't figure it out.

"I'm a princess, remember?" I growled.

"Nevertheless." He threw the sword at my feet. A sparkle caught my eye, but I couldn't tell where it came from. Thinking back, something was shining when Cepheus appeared at the temple. But what does it have to do with how Cepheus is now?

"If you're going to kill me, Cepheus, just kill me."

A look of surprise spread across his face. "What? No, I never intended to hurt you, Annaliese. I cannot kill you. I do not want to kill you."

"Then why all this? Why did you have to do this, Cepheus?"

"I told you already, did I not?"

"But this is unlike you! You were friendly and nice and—"

"I'm afraid that was only a front. I had to watch you. Because of your little incident, I almost got caught."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm surprised you still have the energy to talk. I stole the Scepter the night that Altair decided to send the Agnai to Seriah. How do you think they got in so easily if I was there?"

I gripped the sword and slashed at him. He dodged and countered the attack, and then switched to offense. I could feel my arm shaking at his force.

"Seriah is a very big place for Cyrus to defend alone, don't you think?" He's very strong. It's only a matter of time before he kills me. "I thought they were chasing me. That's why I ended up in the Eleos border in the first place, but it turns out that Altair did not even know that the Scepter was missing. I got back in time before anyone started wondering where I was, and that's when we were sent to save you."

"You mean you went to Eirene in a few hours? Without the Scepter? That's impossible!"

He grinned. "There is so much that you do not know." He parried my attacks like we were only playing. "Where is the Scepter, Annaliese?"

"You don't also know everything, Cepheus. You're looking at it."

I went in for a strike during that half-second distraction, and I was sure that I got him, but I had the weird feeling that my hand and the sword were deliberately avoiding hitting Cepheus's body. I missed.

"I don't want to hurt you, but this is necessary," he whispered, and I felt his elbow on my back before hitting the ground. There was something different about him, but I couldn't figure out what. I stared up at him after spitting blood. His clothes were tattered, his auburn hair was swept to one side and his friendly smile was replaced by an evil grin. I could feel my head get heavy, and I made no attempt to stop my fall as my strength left my body.