Chapter Seventeen: Days Gone By
Joseph and Mylar stood before Taylor ready to for the fight; Mylar was now using his familiar shield as not to hold anything back. As for Joseph he used the same Claymore as before gripping it in both hands, its tip burning into the grass below it. Taylor had to be smart, his two swords would be challenging to use against two powerful hand to hand fighters. He'd done some research about sword fighting techniques when he found out about the Gladius, and using two blades wasn't always a good idea. He took a deep breath trying to slow down his heart as it had begun to beat at a far faster pace than he preferred, then pictured a shield. A tall rectangular shield, that similar to the ones the romans called a Scutum. It was Latin for shield, another thing Taylor had researched and was now glad that he had. It formed in his left hand, the fiery handle on the inside finding its way into his grip.
As one the two brutes charged for Taylor moving either side of him. Joseph swung his Claymore down in a vertical slash meant to cleave him in two, as for Mylar who stepped forward with his shield. They were trying to pin him between their weapons, but Taylor wasn't going to fall prey to such a ploy so easily. He rammed his own shield into the oncoming blow from Joseph and pushed the Claymore into the direction of Mylar, this caused him to turn in time blocking the tip of the blade with his shield. This gave Taylor his chance to vanish amongst sky blue flames and appear five feet away from them, and with a smile plastered on his face. Right before pulling off the move Taylor had noticed a strange tingle in the back of his mind, as if something was probing around. He realized it had been Joseph trying to read his thoughts and had managed to somehow block him out. It was like he put up a mental block within his own mind and by some miracle it had worked.
"So you've worked out how to keep me out, very few people know how to pull that off and usually not many have lived to find that out" said Joseph. Impressed at how fast he was adapting at solving problems.
"Lucky guess I suppose, at least it paid off" said Taylor. Still smiling as he stood ready for whatever was coming next.
"Let's see if it does this time" said Joseph. Then he was gone amongst a whirl of white flames and within a moment appeared to Taylor's left taking advantage of the weaker side of his defences.
Taylor ducked as his Claymore came swinging in for his head, and the air whistled as the blade passed over just barely clearing the top of his hair. He stepped back in order to gain some distance from that beast of a sword and to consider his next move, carefully. All the while he kept one eye on Mylar who now paced over to them, gradually moving to Taylor's rear. Presumably to catch him off guard in some way while Joseph engaged him, but knowing Mylar it wouldn't be as simple as that. The Claymore came crashing down yet again, instead of dodging our blocking Taylor swung his own blade out angling it to parry it away safely. This left Joseph wide open, sensing the opportunity Taylor slashed horizontally for his gut. As the blow came close a whoosh of white fire erupted besides him and Mylar materialized ramming his shield in deflecting the strike away.
Taylor wasn't surprised and he spun in the direction in which the blade was deflected and as he came round he was in a position to strike Mylar's unguarded flank. As his blade descended upon his exposed shoulder, Mylar shifted his stance in order to deflect the blow from the Gladius. However that's exactly what he wanted him to do, Mylar brought the shield up high exposing his lower legs. Right before the blade made contact; Taylor let it disappear then hooked his foot behind Mylar's and pulled with all his might. He began to fall back and then but a moment later and Mylar was on the ground a fiery sky blue Gladius at his throat. Mylar's chest was rising and falling rapidly in beat with his heart which was throbbing away against his ribcage.
"In no time at all he's damn near unstoppable, is this how skilled Arturios was?" thought Mylar. As he looked up to his king, a smile on his face. Panting and sweating profusely, he seemed so care free as well.
"So do I pass the test?" asked Taylor. Who now just wanted to rest, fighting the two of them had really taken it out of him.
"Ha, yeah you pass but it's still not the end of training. So back into position and we'll continue" said Mylar. Now getting to his feet as Taylor removed his Gladius from his throat then took his position back where they started.
An hour later and training was done; Mylar had pushed him harder than ever before not letting him stop to take a breath. Taylor's muscles ached as if they'd been stuck together with glue and looked forward to a nice hot shower and his bed back at the caravan. Jamie and Taylor dragged themselves back to the caravan after being dismissed by Mylar. He reminded them to be at the clearing for training at 7 o'clock the following morning. It was pushing on past eight in the evening by the time they got back and had showered up ready for sleep. Taylor wasn't able to sleep just yet and decided to wonder outside for a while heading back to the artillery ruins. He walked through amongst the trees feeling at peace being in their presence it was another part of nature that he loved so much growing up. Funny seeing as he grew up in a city, but that didn't stop him from venturing out to the woodlands outside of the city.
Leaves crunched, and branches snapped beneath his feet as he navigated his way through to emerge by the newly erected gravestone of the recently fallen Arturion's. He made his way to it and sat down in front of it crossing his legs to get comfortable. Taylor merely sat there and picked away and the grass about him as he looked out to the sea. It was pitch black but it was calming and the soft breeze mixed with the salty sea air was heavenly to him. The silence was welcome as well, so much had happened over the past six days since the attack at the College. He'd gone from a very normal teenager to a warrior able to wield fiery weapons from just a simple thought and travel where ever he wanted. The days gone by had been interesting to say the least, and Taylor couldn't help but wonder how life was going to be from now on. He'd jumped into the flames of hell itself just to protect his family, but it also made them a target to get to him and this worried him above all else.
"I've got a habit of running into you here" said a soft female voice from behind Taylor's hunched form upon the grass.
As he turned, he saw that it was Kimiko stood but a few feet away. She was wearing a woollen jumper made up of browns and greens, it was handmade definitely not the kind of mass produced. She also wore black jeggings and navy blue daps. Her long black hair was left untamed and flowed down to her shoulders. It encased the beautiful features of her face perfectly and he felt his eyes drifting to her lips and eyes most of all.
"So it would seem, come join me if you like" said Taylor who now sat up straight and brushed off any blades of grass still on his fingers from before.
His heart began to race as she sat down beside him and he couldn't help but feel knots in his stomach twisting and unfurling. After the kiss on the cheek in the caravan he'd been feeling confused and was beginning to feel things for Kimiko. He just wasn't sure how to approach the situation, he'd never really thought much about girl's before and was petrified of making the wrong move.
"How was training tonight?" asked Kimiko as she led back on her elbows with her legs stretched out before her and tapped the tops of her shoes together.
"I didn't get any teeth knocked out, so it was an improvement on this morning" said Taylor with a small smile.
"Good, as long as your handsome face is in one piece I won't have to kick Mylar's ass" said Kimiko with a laugh as she and Taylor locked eyes for a moment before she broke her gaze away to look to the sky.
"You sound so sure of yourself" said Taylor teasingly as he looked at her and saw her smile wickedly out of the corner of his eye.
"What don't you think I can?" asked Kimiko a smile still tugging away at her lips as she looked at Taylor intensely, analysing all of his features.
"It's tricky to say as I've never seen you fight before" said Taylor. Who was enjoying the gradual teasing and by the smile that was growing ever larger on Kimiko's face, so was she.
Then before Taylor knew what was happening he saw a dark figure block his vision then a weight pressed on his torso knocking him down, flat on his back. He looked up to see Kimiko sat on top of him with her knees pressing firmly but not too hard into his shoulders pinning him down. She had her hands on her hips with a look of triumph plastered upon her face, followed by that smile of hers.
"That any good?" asked Kimiko with a giggle as she sat atop him quite relaxed.
"Not bad I suppose, I get the feeling your being too soft with me" said Taylor.
"Maybe, but this is me being too soft" said Kimiko. Then she leaned down her face slowly closing the distance between hers and Taylor's.
Their lips met in a soft yet firm kiss, for the two of them it felt like it lasted a life time. Taylor felt his heart beat faster than it ever had before as the softness of her lips moulded together perfectly with his. They held the kiss for a few long moments as he placed one of his rough hands against the side of Kimiko's cheek, her skin was warm and inviting to the touch. For the first time Taylor inhaled her scent, it was a mixture of peaches and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on but it helped calm the beat of his raging heart. She moved her right hand and entangled her fingers amongst his hair, relishing its gentle touch between her fingers. They sat like that passionately for at least another minute before Kimiko pulled away. She smiled down at him, it was the happiest she'd been in months.
Being around Taylor was close to a breath of fresh air, and she couldn't get enough of it.
"You should be soft with me more often" said Taylor, as he played with her hair and gazed deeply into the fiery white of her eyes.
"Oh I fully intend to" said Kimiko as she giggled at the thought. She descended upon him again, and they became lost in their warm embrace.
...........................................................................
Tobias dragged his hand along the polished wood of the banister, as he made his way to Braius's room. He'd woken up late that morning and was ready to give a full report of the attack on Scotland. He was anxious to hear why he had taken so long to arrive back at Lavernock. He came to the door and firmly grasped the handle swinging it out wide. Sat next to Braius by the bed was Argus who was out of his wheel chair and comfortable sat in a wooden chair, with red padding on its seat and back. Braius looked to the door the moment it creaked open; he had a fresh white bandage wrapped about his head, aside from that the man seemed to be in good spirits. Tobias closed the door behind him and joined Argus's side by the bed leaning against the wall behind.
"How are you feeling Braius?" asked Tobias. He was eager for the report but didn't want to jump to that straight away he'd had a few rough days.
"Not bad with all things considered, I'm out of action for at least another twenty-four hours unfortunately being under doctor’s orders and all" said Braius his tone rough and tired.
"Well that's the best thing, the last thing we need is for you to collapse in the middle of a fight" said Tobias.
"True, but I like to think I'm made of tougher stuff" said Braius with a hearty chuckle.
"Even so Aeon won't be best pleased. On to other matters though, I need your report on the events of the attack at Inchkieth and what happened afterward" said Tobias.
"Ah.... well get comfortable it's going to take a while" said Braius.
Inchkieth, Scotland, Three Days Ago
Braius swung and cleaved through the arm of an advancing Cyturion with his broad sword going clean through and severing it causing it to flop down to the grass below. He followed up with a brutal chop to the man’s neck as he fell to his knees clutching his bloody stump with his remaining arm. His head rolled away down the hill and bumped into the feet of several other people fighting behind. He turned and looked out at the carnage before him. The ground was scorched beyond recognition and was littered with limbs ranging from arms and legs even heads. Their forces had been hard hit by the scourge that was the Cyturion army and they were close to breaking point, and held on by a thread. Braius looked to the shoreline as his leader led the battle to defend their rear and was gradually pushing the enemy back. He tore his gaze from the clash of fire behind him and turned to see a giant of a man stride through the carnage of the battle as if nothing were even happening.
He was at least six foot in height, muscles the size of Braius's head and a distinctive scar running across his temple to the corner of his eye. He held a blazing obsidian black shield shaped into a crescent adorned with spikes in its center, they were long and deadly in appearance. The man stopped but ten feet from Braius, a look of disinterest on his face. The man vanished amongst a whirlwind of black flames and appeared next to Braius, but he was anticipating that. Braius jumped back as the giant rammed his shield forward the spikes missing his gut by a mere inch.
He stood facing the curious new enemy and decided to take a moment to analyse the man. He came across as intelligent just by looking into his eyes any man could see that he was as sharp as a fox. His speed was impressive, however Braius was faster but he knew that in a fight of brute strength that he hadn't a chance. This man was built like a tank, and used the same kind of fighting style as Mylar did so he was bound to be a challenge.
"What's your name stranger?" asked Braius wanting to at least get that much in terms of information.
"Curious that you wish to know my name, why is that?" asked the man in a Russian accent. He began to pace from right to left, his eyes never leaving his opponent.
"I see it as an honour to know the name of a worthy opponent such as you. I am Braius by the way" said Braius keeping eye contact with him at all times, not letting his guard faltered even for a moment.
"Ha. What makes you think I find you a worthy opponent?" replied the man his eyes alight with excitement.
"Because if you thought me a lesser man, you would not take pause after the initial strike" said Braius his fist tightened about the handle of his blade ready to pounce when necessary.
"Such observation, you are no common soldier then maybe I can have some fun after all. Come then Braius I am Kirill Avilov and I will be your reaper this day" said Kirill a smile now filling his features.
Braius merely smiled and let his blade disappear from his hand and gathered fire about his fist then swung it horizontally in the air sending a ball of fire straight for Kirill. The ball of white flames soared toward Kirill ready to claim his life, Kirill's smile remained as it came but within a few feet of him. He brought his shield up to block and deflected the flaming projectile but while his vision was obscured, Braius appeared by his side. He lunged forward with a spear made of pure white fire aimed directly for his flank with such speed it did not seem humanely possible. Kirill didn't move a muscle instead his shield glowed black and its size increased and re-shaped rapidly covering his exposed left flank where Braius's spear was destined to strike. Braius was unable to stop his attack so braced himself for the impact with the sinister looking shield.
The clash of the two weapons sent a viscous shock wave up Braius hands up to his shoulders knocking him back a few steps. His spear had been destroyed and the embers of its dying flames cascaded to the ground in a brilliant display of fiery white. Without hesitation he vanished amongst his flames, and reappeared at least five feet further back from where he last stood his broad sword back in his hand. "A worthy opponent indeed" thought Braius as he attempted to conjure up a new strategy for dealing with Kirill. So he was able to adapt his shield at a moment’s notice with ease. Other Embers were capable of reaching such a feat but to do so after deflecting an attack and at the very last moment before another, that was truly impressive.
Kirill brought his shield down with the spikes penetrating the earth beneath it burning away the green of the grass. The shield surged with energy and glowed darker, there was the sound of cracking and groaning beneath Braius's feet and the ground below him began to build in heat. Sensing danger Braius darted away just as a stream of deadly obsidian black fire roared into the sky, reaching twice as high as Braius. It didn't stop there, it began to curl and change its direction toward where he now stood after evading the attack. It moved like a serpent through the air and was at least five feet in width matching its extraordinary height. It came crashing down as Braius was gone safely out of harm’s way amongst his white flames, to appear away to the left of the blazing beast as it tore into the earth where he once stood.
Braius ran forward and while he did, he poured his powered into his sword reforming it so it had gained a few more inches in length. He got within in reach of the giant flaming serpent as it began to descend upon him again, Braius dodged to the side as it flew toward him threatening to consume him. He turned as it passed him and brought his blade down with all the strength he could muster, and drove the white of his blade straight through the darkness of the serpent. His blade cut it asunder splitting in two causing it to explode outward sending him flying back landing roughly on his back side. With the connection broken Kirill stood up with his shield removed from the ground and ready to fight.
"Very good Braius, your speed is incredible and against a less formidable opponent you would cause havoc I am sure" said Kirill no longer smiling. He now realised Braius was a dangerous fighter and not to be taken lightly.
"Enough talk, this ends now" said Braius but before he moved to attack he surveyed the scene around him.
The Arturion forces had been almost annihilated except a few who as Braius looked about were being corned by the remaining Cyturion forces, death by the flame to be their end. The battle was lost and there was only one thing left to do.
"Arturion’s retreat!" roared Braius as loud as his lungs allowed him to and held the shout until his voice gave out a few long seconds afterward. At that several flashes of white lit up the land scape as the few Arturion's made their escape from scarred land around them.
Braius gave one last look about at the destruction that marred the once beautiful island of Inchkieth. The lighthouse was aflame as the darkness of Cyturion flames ate away at its structure blackening it's yellow walls, the guard post was in ruins along with the house where majority of their forces had previously lived. Finally he looked down at the shoreline where the rest of their army stood victorious but to his utter horror a colossal flash of black filled the space behind them. At once a gigantic wave of blistering black fire crashed into Argus and the rest of his army, and all that was left afterwards was fire and smouldering corpses.
Then Braius turned as he heard a whoosh only to be met with a ball of black flame heading towards him only a mere foot away. Once it came close Braius raised his right hand in defence covering his face as he allowed his own flames to consume him in preparation to escape. Before he vanished the obsidian flames burned through his flames catching his hand and his forehead sending searing pain through his nerve endings, he held in a scream which was begging to break free from his lips.
In a split second he landed in a field clutching his hand and burying his head into the dew covered grass beneath him. Glad that nobody was there to see it he cried furiously not just at the pain of his wounds. But the knowledge that friends that he had known for decades were now dead and he had been powerless.....to prevent their fates.
AN: Okay so this is the latest installment! It took a little longer than I planned but I had moments where I just couldn't write for some reason hah. Please let me know what you guys think of the scene with Taylor and Kimiko. As I said at the end of the last chapter my talents aren't typically in romance so I'd love to hear feedback!
Hope you all enjoyed this and please vote/comment!
All The Best FN