"DIANDRE!"
I threw myself forward desperately, a scream ripping itself out of me. Noel was frozen beside me, his dark ponytail framing his astonished face.
"I...I killed him." He realized. His hands shook at his sides. "I killed him."
I was already at the edge of the building, peering down at the city thousands of feet below. The night seemed to grow colder, needles of sharp pain stinging my eyes. Above me, Glen slammed into the female knight, sending her sprawling to the floor of the Empire State Building. He swooped in next to me, staring at the vast void of air beyond our feet. His eyes flickered with horror.
"Why can't I see him?" I exclaimed, my voice rising hysterically as I gazed at the empty clouds. "Why can't I see him?"
Glen put a hand on my shoulder, lowering his head.
"Marissa," He said softly. "I'm sorry."
Glen never spoke softly.
I stood still, bitterness enveloping me like a choking smoke. Tears of anguish threatened my eyes.
"I couldn't save him." I whispered. "Why couldn't I have saved him?"
I shouldn't have felt any pain, having watched Diandre fall to his death. A few days ago, I would have thought that it was fitting, him plummeting into the afterlife just like my family had. This was clearly justice slapping the world in the face. Yet it still stung me, making my entire body tremble.
That night in Colorado Diandre had wanted to tell me something. I never found out what it was.
"I'm actually quite touched that you two care about me that much."
I drew away from Glen, my jaw dropping.
In the shadows, almost invisible, Diandre was hanging onto a ledge below us, his legs dangling in the air. He smiled up at us as he held on for dear life.
"Diandre, I hate you." I snapped, although relief was chorusing through me.
Glen slowly let go of me, drawing away. I could still feel his hands, phantom pressure, on my shoulders.
"I honestly don't care much for you, wingless wonder." He remarked to Diandre. "But you need to teach me that trick." He reached down, stretching his arm out for Diandre to grab ahold of.
I was suddenly aware that Noel was behind us, watching. I whirled around, brandishing my sword.
"You almost just murdered your most valuable asset," I mocked him. "Queen Mab will be very impressed."
Noel bared his teeth.
"I'm tired of your chatting, Marissa. I may have been weak back in that witch's apartment, but now I understand. Our friendship means nothing. My duty means more."
I threw my sword straight at him, and it pinned him against the steel spire by his robes. He struggled uselessly, his legs kicking and thrashing with no avail. I turned around just in time to see the female knight struggle to her knees and fire an arrow straight at Glen.
I yelled his name, springing forward, but I wasn't fast enough. The arrow streaked through the night, skimming Glen's wing. He cried out, letting go of Diandre in his agony. Thankfully, Diandre was able to grasp a ledge, catching himself from tumbling thousands of feet to his death. Meanwhile, my eyes rested on the magic that was slowly seeping out of Glen's injured wing. He was gritting his teeth against the pain that seemed to rake his entire body. Faerie wings were fragile, all the fae knew that. They were connected to your soul, that's why it was unimaginable agony to have them cut off.
Rushing to Glen's side, I slung his arm over my shoulder and slowly hoisted him up. His wings were twitching weakly, and his breaths were ragged against my hair. I grunted with effort until he was standing, and he was leaning against me with a crooked smile. I was suddenly aware that his arms were around me, and below us the city sparkled like hundreds of diamonds.
"If we weren't about to die," Glen remarked. "I would have called this romantic."
I snorted, even though on the inside I was praying that it was too dark for Glen to see my pink expression.
The female knight met my gaze with a twisted grin. The blood on her face was a sickening background to her flashing white teeth.
"It looks like it's just us girls left," she observed. "This ought to be interesting. Can a novice defeat a skilled warrior? Will you be able to save your beloved sprite?"
"I wouldn't exactly call Diandre my beloved." I replied.
"You know I can still hear you!" Diandre shouted from the ledge of the building.
"Just hang on a while longer!" I called out to him. "This battle shouldn't take long." I added acidly.
I glanced upwards at Glen's face that was contorted with pain. "Will you be alright?"
He gave me a reassuring smile, but it looked more like a wince. "I've been through worse, partner. I'm just sad I can't have some more fun."
Satisfied, I lowered Glen to the steel floor.
"Try and get Diandre," I murmured in his ear so I wouldn't be overheard. "Once you do, leave as fast as you can. Don't wait for me. Just get yourselves out of here."
Glen opened his mouth to protest, but I had already turned away from him. I reached into my bag, my fingers grasping a holed object made of wood. I discarded it, reaching for a dagger instead.
"Let's end this."
I sprang into the air, my wings popping open. The female knight followed suit, her ice sword glittering in the moonlight. I flew into the sky, hovering next to the enormous spire that stretched above my head. The thin air was starting to effect my lungs, they were taking short and raspy breaths as I stayed in the air. Then, the female knight was upon me. With a clash of metal, her sword grated against my dagger, and I desperately wished for armor of my own. All I had was a cotton shirt and some leather pants, which offered little protection from a blade.
I dodged her as she viscously sliced at me, my wings propelling me in every direction. The female knight was a blur of ruthless blonde,
her blue eyes narrowed into cruel slits. I zoomed straight at her, my wings beating frantically. Her shoulder still had my arrow imbedded in it's flesh, and I brought my dagger down as hard as I could. It didn't hit its mark exactly, but was able to graze her vulnerable skin and stab right next to it.
The female knight erupted into a loud howl, and a flicker of triumph ignited in my stomach. I was winning. With her mutilated face and hurt shoulder, she shouldn't be able to fight for much longer.
I can finish this, I told myself. I can-
In a split second, the female knight reached into a sheath on her side that I hadn't noticed before. Unsheathing a small knife, she screamed and drove it straight into my chest. Straight into my heart. I could feel the blade pierce and rupture it, filling my entire mind with searing pain that made my vision fade into a blinding white. I felt myself lose altitude, my wings going limp as my body dropped. I slammed against the spire of the Empire State Building, crashing down onto a nearby ledge. My body felt consumed in flaring pain, as if fire was eating and knawing at my insides while my entire chest was slowly being torn apart into shreds. I couldn't scream, I couldn't cry, I couldn't even breathe.
I forgot who I even was. I was engulfed in the pain, the gut wrenching, unescapable pain that made me want to die just so that it could end. A gasp collected in my throat as I lay there, convulsing as an alien substance attacked my heart. I could feel it pulsing in my chest, poisoning my organs and making me choke on it heavily. I wanted to sob as a wave crashed over me, a wave of scorching heat and chilling cold.
Suddenly, my head was filled with a familiar voice, and in my mind I could see him smiling down at me. My brother, Hall. I fondly took in his lanky limbs and wispy blonde hair, and his usually worried eyes were creased in the corners by something close to admiration. Magic energy radiated from his palms. I realized that this was before Hall became distant from me, afraid of some dark shadow in the corners of his mind. This was before he became unreachable to me, always paranoid. This was before I found out that he had no friends at his school and that they were ridiculing and bullying him ruthlessly. Despite the surging pain in my chest, the sight of him happy and alive made a smile crack at my lips.
"Unfair," My eleven year old voice whined. I could see my younger self sprawled in the snow of my backyard, her lip bleeding as she exasperatingly reached for her ice sword. "You disarmed me when I was distracted."
Hall chuckled, his wings beating to the rhythm of his light-heartedness.
"There's no such thing as a fair fight, sister." He told her, reaching out his arm to help her up. "You're the one that asked me to help you practice, if I recall, so stop complaining. You know I had better things to do."
"Teenagers like you never have anything better to do." My younger self scoffed. "Besides, I'm only asking you because Diandre is busy today."
Quickly seizing her moment, she lunged for her sword and tackled her brother. He easily flicked his wrist and sent her sprawling back into the snow again. Her little head of silver was buried in the powdery white, and she puffed a cloud of snow out of her mouth with a frustrated growl.
Hall looked mildly bored.
"Feel like giving up yet?" He asked my younger self.
She met his eyes, sniffing indignantly. "Never."
"Good." He grinned. "Don't ever give up, Marissa. Not until you've won."
"Why would I?" my younger self glared.
"One day, you'll feel like giving up," Hall said. "To tell you the truth, I want to just let myself go all the time." His eyes darkened, but he brushed the look away. "But I fight it. I'll fight as long as I have to. Because sometimes we to show people that they can't get the best of us." Looking up at the sky, I heard him mutter to himself, "And that they can't hate upon the things they don't understand."
My younger self knew that she wasn't supposed to hear that last part, so she decided not to bother with asking for an explanation.
"Well then, big brother, if you're such an expert on overcoming suffering, how do you do it?" She smirked.
Hall reached out his hand to help her up. She grudgingly accepted it, and let him lift her out of the snowbank.
"I think of the reason that I'm fighting." He answered. "No one's is the same, I suppose. I fight because I want to show everyone that I'm just like them, even though I seem...different." He looked down at my younger self curiously. "Why don't you choose a reason, Marissa?"
She rolled her eyes. "Do I have to?"
Hall quirked an eyebrow. "Unless you want me to toss you into the snow again."
"Fine." My younger self surrendered. She paused for a moment, deep in thought. "I think my reason is...my family. I want to protect them. Mother, father, and even you, Hall."
My brother nodded, satisfied.
"Then fight for us, little sister." He motioned to my sword. "Now hit me again. This practice is far from over."
My younger self wiped her bleeding lip and laughed, springing towards her weapon with newfound energy. Hall tucked his hands into the folds of his coat, smiling.
My eyes sprang open, my brother's words echoing in my mind.
Fight for us, little sister.
My gaze locked on the night sky hovering above me, the ghost of the Empire State Building looming in the air. My breaths started to return as my eyes rested on the dagger that was buried in my chest. I squinted at the ancient fae runes inscribed on its hilt. The symbols blended together, lines bleeding into each other, but I recognized the pattern. I had been stabbed with a cursed blade.
"The Dagger of Darkness." The female knight's pale white face appeared in my view. "Such a handy little weapon."
I spat a mouthful of blood at her. She didn't seem fazed, and instead her lips twisted into a cruel, triumphant smile. "My orders from Queen Mab were to capture the sprite, but my true loyalties lie to another." Her voice lowered, whispering to me. "The dawn of a new era is coming, Marissa, and I have chosen the winning side. The Master will destroy the fae, and I will be there to help him rebuild a new kingdom."
My thoughts swirled with astonishment.
"You're in league with the sprites?" I hissed weakly. "How could you betray Winter Court for a monster like him?"
The female knight inspected the hilt imbedded in my chest. "Let's face it, we're all monsters. But there are weak creatures and strong creatures, that's what makes us different. I intend to be standing when this war is over." I glared at her icily, but she continued. "You, on the other hand, will not live to see the end of it."
"The Master wanted you to kill me, didn't he?" I rasped, my breaths short and labored.
The female knight's eyes flickered. "Killing you now would be a mercy," She answered. "The Dagger of Darkness will not take your life right away, but slowly infect your heart with a dark curse that will consume your life over the course of days." Her bloodstained face creased with a maniacal grin. "Can you feel it, Marissa? Can you feel the curse pumping through your veins?"
My tongue felt dry and cracked like sandpaper, and I knew that she wasn't lying. In my chest I could sense the darkness suffocating me gradually, eating away at my heart.
Fear spiked through my body.
"Why make your master wait for me to die?" I whispered, trying to grasp the shred of composure I had left. "Why go through all the trouble? I didn't think I was worth all this planning."
"To him, you are." The female knight answered, almost enviously. The tone vanished a moment after it appeared. "The Master wants you to watch your beloved fae to die in front of you, your beloved kingdom to crumble to ash on Midsummer's Night. Then, once you have witnessed the obliteration of your people, the curse will take its final toll."
"He's going to attack The Midsummer Festival." I realized aloud. "That's what he wants the Objects of Power for."
"Clever girl." The female knight mocked me. In a fast, jerking movement, she drew the Dagger of Darkness from my chest. I gasped. In awe, I realized that my blood was not on the blade.
"What about Noel?" I breathed, trying to distract the female knight as I slowly reached behind me into my bag strapped on my shoulder. "Is he working with the sprites too?"
"Of course not," she chuckled darkly. "That dumb knight knows nothing of my true loyalty. He's just blindly following Mab's wishes."
My fingers gently eased open the bag, searching for anything to defend myself. Suddenly, my fingertips trailed over the same wooden, holed object from earlier. My eyes widened, but I continued to distract the female knight.
"Who is The Master, anyway?" I asked her. "He had to have been someone before he became a sprite."
"No one has ever seen his face, you foolish girl." She replied. "The Master is like a ghost. His past is a distant wisp of memory."
My fingers curled around The Flute of Summer Slumber, and I slowly pulled it out of my bag.
"Sweet dreams." I smirked to the female knight. Her brows furrowed in confusion as I gripped the flute and chucked it downwards. "GLEN!" I roared, leaning over and glancing down at the floor below.
Stumbling to catch it, Glen grasped the flute in his hands, kicking a howling Noel out of the way. He grimaced at the magic bleeding from his wing, but he fought down the pain and raised the flute to his lips. I slammed my palms over my ears just as he blew into it.
The sound that drifted from the instrument caused the female knight's eyelids to flicker. She shrieked in realization.
"A...sleeping flute." She murmured tiredly. "You're more resourceful...than I thought."
With a cry, I kicked the female knight as hard as I could in the chest. She was blown backwards by the force of my leg, and I watched as her eyes drifted closed. As sleep claimed her, I could hear her mumble her last words.
"Count your breaths, Marissa."
With that, the female knight fell towards the city below, unconscious. As she vanished into the clouds, I knew that I wouldn't see her again. She was as good as dead.
Using the spire for support, I pulled myself to my feet. The curse swirling inside my heart subsided to a dull throb that clenched my chest. I opened my wings and soared downwards, landing shakily on the steel floor next to Glen. He looked down at the flute, then at Noel's sleeping form at his feet.
"What should we do with him?" He wondered aloud, his eyes filling with distaste. "I can always give him a nice drop onto Time's Square."
"Leave him." I replied. "He's not worth it."
Glen raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "You do realize that he tried to kill me."
"Get used to it," I responded with a snort. "Everyone is going to try and kill you."
"Speaking of killing, what happened to you and that blonde up there?" He inquired.
My thoughts seized up all at once. My fingers trembled, but I clenched them into fists.
"Nothing," I lied. "I was able to get rid of her."
Glen looked slightly skeptical. There was no way I could tell him. There was no way that I could tell him that I was dying. I swallowed a lump in my throat, seeing his face beneath the night sky.
I was going to die. It was just a matter of time.
I yanked my ice sword out from the spire, and peered around.
"What about Diandre?" I asked. "Where is-"
I froze as it dawned on me. I reeled around, my mouth hanging open as I looked over the edge of the Empire Building. Diandre's sleeping, limp body was plummeting through the air, gravity sucking him downwards.
Glen looked mildly amused.
"Oops."
Scowling, I shoved him off the building. He grinned up at me as he tumbled downwards, springing open his wings.
"What was that for?"
"Being yourself." I replied, leaping into the sky and gliding beside him towards Diandre and the glowing lights of New York City.
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