Caterina twisted her head toward me. "Stay here. I will not let her harm you," she whispered, trying to calm me. It didn't work. I was trembling. Caterina leapt from the pool, landing inches away from her sister. Her feathers stood on end and shook, sounding like a storm ripping through the valley. "I love this small one. You will not take her!"
Love? I wondered how this exquisite creature could love me. I had only known her for an afternoon. My heart pounded as I readied for my impending death.
Maria was done talking. She growled and took a wild swing with her hook, slicing it across Caterina's leg.
"No!" I cried out.
Caterina stumbled backwards before collecting herself. She tensed her muscles, looking furious and ready to strike. "So, you wish to fight rather than fade? Fine sister, I will send you away from this realm myself." My protector lunged with incredible speed, her wings pushing a huge wave across the pool. I heard Maria gasp as she spun from the impact, slamming into the cave wall. Talons emerged from the tips of Caterina's fingers and she began to rip and tear at her sister's flesh. Black blood steamed hot across the rocks.
Maria retaliated with a quick kick, gashing Caterina's middle. "Die!" screamed the scarlet horror, bashing her sister's head with the back of her hook. Caterina dropped to the ground with a grunt. I couldn't watch anymore. "STOP!" I screamed, pulling myself from the pool.
Maria stomped on Caterina's bleeding abdomen and raised her battered hook to deliver a killing blow. "I will be the last Aloja," she sputtered, drool draining from the side of her mouth. Her red feathers had become thin spikes.
I heard my feet slapping across the wet stones. A scream spilled from my raw throat. Something was in my hands.
"No, she will be the last Aloja," growled Caterina from the floor.
Maria's yellow eyes stuck wide as she stumbled backwards, away from her crumpled sister. I looked down, seeing the femur I had snatched from the cave floor buried in the beast's middle. Gore gushed from the wound and splashed across my naked body, streaking me black as midnight. A hot gasp gurgled from Maria's throat as she collapsed and transformed into a small blackbird, stiff and lifeless on the rocks.