Deianeira
Elain
*****
Amel eyed his daughters. They did not stop anymore, not even when they felt the other army getting closer and closer. They only stopped one day before they were supposed to meet their enemies and they all used that day to rest and feed as much they could, taking turns in guarding the camp, making sure the witches were well provided for in order to maintain the cloak in their absence. The atmosphere was as tensed as it always was before a fight. It was not the first time they were outnumbered, but it was the first time the difference was so high. It was not the first time their minds were troubled, but it was the first time the moral of many was low. Along their way their number had severely decreased and they all knew Leon's list of allies was by far wider than Amel's, but what kept them going was the fact that what Leon had were not allies, but traitors, villains, bribed fighters and people that followed him out of fear. Amel was the only one who had allies, who had people fighting for him and his cause, which gave them strength and trust in themselves.
The rain started to fall once again the night they all grouped, waiting for the enemy to arrive. They were only a few hours away. Elain and Deianeira were in the first line in the middle, with their loyal people behind them and Amel was far at their left, where the line of the troops was ending. Amel and his daughters had only three lines of people behind them, everyone else having gathered at their right, waiting for their leaders' command. Leon's army was seen shadowing the horizon, rushing towards them, but none of them moved an inch. They did not stop to wait for an official signal to go to fight and Amel's people did not advance at all. Soon, the enemy got close enough to clash swords, but those from the left took a taste of Amel's direct attack, his famous rain of lightnings. Being covered by his men, Amel focused on putting his energy into his strike and destroyed them one by one. Elain and Deianeira joined their powers ,as Deianeira had a wall of fire appear in front of them and Elain used her wind right away and spread the flames in front of the vampires, for who it was too late to fall back; the wall was almost as long as the line and too strong for the rain to put it down right away. The vampires who had to confront Amel, as well as those that met the priestesses' wall of flames had no choice but to head to the right, where they clashed swords, claws and powers with Amel's men.
As soon as Amel and the girls were left with no one to fight against, they joined their men using the same tactics. Unlike Amel who had enough experience and maturity, the girls felt too soon drawn of energy, as they had never used their powers for such a long time and at such an extent. As soon as they realized they would soon be useless if they continued to rely on their powers, they took their sword and bow and did what they knew better; they fought side by side with their loyal subjects. With the help of her barriers of energy, Deianeira managed to get back part of her energy, but, before she could help Elain, they had already been separated by the chaos. Their shouts echoed through the marshes, they tripped and fell on each other. Those who fell in the marshes could not be helped anymore, as their heavy bodies sank in an instant. Blood mixed with mud, as the rain limited their visibility.
Shouts of agony, of panic, of anger, opponents covered in mud, some could not tell the opponent from the ally. When the rain dropped in intensity, there was a sudden silence, as the vampires grabbed their wounds, almost panting and leaning on the trees, or falling on the ground. It was the calm before the storm; before the arrow storm. The silence was a killing noise. In a minute, the sky coloured in red and black with arrows flying from everywhere. Deianeira and Malior only got to look at Terrion and Elain, as they tried to outrun the arrows. Holding on to her wounded right arm, Deianeira signaled Malior to go.
Ml: I won't leave you here.
Dei: I can handle. Go gather the others. The rain will start pouring again pretty soon.
With a sing of her hand, high walls of fire were lifted by her, stopping the arrows in their path. She kneeled on the ground, one arrow hitting her in her other arm. Malior lowered the last arrows with his. Elain was running with Terrion and she felt she could no longer keep up with him, when a lightning stroke a tree next to her, falling. Without a second thought, Elain jumped to her left, only to land on the edge of a marsh. She was wavering across it, trying to find her balance, but she was too tired from the fight and her wounds were still bleeding. It all lasted a couple of seconds, as she fell towards the marsh. She was prepared for the fall when a tight grip pulled her right back on her feet.
Tr: You should have told me you cannot keep up. I outran you.
She held on to his arm and could not have felt more grateful to Terrion.
Ela: Thank you. One more second and...
Tr: My duty here is to serve and protect you. I do not intend on breaking my vow. I see Deianeira lifted the wall of fire again, buying us some time.
Ela: That fool. She will drain herself.
Tr: She can steal from nature, right?
Ela: I am not sure there is anything else here to steal from.
Elain quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him aside and stuck her sword in the heart of the vampire that had aimed at Terrion.
Tr: Now I have to thank you.
Ela: Let us call it even.
Before they realized it, Elain and Deianeira had distanced themselves from Darion and Ramisu, who were now out of sight. The countless attacks kept them from reaching out to them. Darion, Ramisu and Eden were all fighting side by side, as rain started falling from the sky.
Ed: This is clearly a bad joke.
Eden slashed the head of a vampire. With his back against him, Darion grabbed a vampire by the neck and threw him in the tree next to where Ramisu ripped the heart of another one.
Dr: This is a disaster. We are way too scattered and, as much as we try to push them back to the center, the more they push us back. Ramisu, can you throw my sword?
Ramisu took Darion's sword which was stuck in a tree.
Rm: Thank you for that.
He threw Darion his sword.
Dr: I was just paying back a debt. Has Elain reached out to you?
Rm: Not yet. I am guessing she is doing well. She does not seem to be in deep danger. How is Dei holding up the fire?
Dr: It is draining her literally. She started absorbing the auras, but it is going very slowly and she must pick wisely.
Ed: Can we stop chatting and do more fighting? They keep coming our way!
Before Eden could finish his sentence, a vampire launched at him and rolled over with him in one of the marshes
Dr: Eden!
Darion rushed at Eden's side, leaving Ramisu behind. In the marsh, Eden and the vampire were sinking, as they were throwing each other punches.
Ed: Nothing like good old punches to keep me going!
Dr: Eden! Grab on this!
With a kick, Darion bent a willow tree whose branches fell in the marsh.
Ed: Thank you, brother.
Ramisu tried to make his way back to boys, but he did not get to take a step further when a vampire wearing a black mantle jumped in front of him and stuck his fangs in his shoulder, rendering Ramisu unconscious right away. At that moment, Elain stopped in her tracks and looked towards the place she felt Ramisu at.
Tr: Are we stopping?
Ela: Ramisu.
She needed no more words, as she started towards him, having her path blocked by vampires. Right after Ramisu fell unconscious, the vampire hunted Darion down and found him with his back turned at him, watching as Eden was struggling to get out of the marsh. He stuck his sword in Darion's back and then his fangs in his right shoulder, rendering him unconscious as well.
Ed: Darion!
The vampire dragged Darion away with him.
Deianeira had rebuilt the wall of spiritual fire again and patched it, lowering the last arrows down. A vampire rushed at her jumping from the crowd into a tree, and from the tree down on her, but she saw him falling above her and, with a swift move, she lowered her bow back and she timed it right, sending the top blade of her bow right into the attacker's heart, him turning to ashes in front of her. Her bloodstone was very pale, but she still had energy. From a tree, Raziel shut down the other vampires who aimed their crossbows at her, killing them swiftly, while Malior had jumped in front of Dei.
Dei: Raziel, where are the others?
Sb+Da: Right here.
Sb: We got separated when they came from all sides, but we figured out your position.
Ml: Where you see a fire, it's got to be Dei burning something up.
Dei: Or lightning up. Come one, we have to move from here.
Da: More seem to come our way from the back. Something must have made them go back to us.
They saw Amel's lightning up the camp, revealing more and more corpses with each strike. Suddenly, Deianeira felt Darion's presence gone, taking her hand to her back.
Dei: This can't be.
Ml; What do you feel?
Dei: What I don't feel...anymore...I have to get to him. I have to push back.
Deianeira's eyes turned red.
Sb: Then we will make your shield. This wall of energy took all of the arrows out.
They all gathered in formation with Deianeira in the middle, two to her left, two to her right, running at the same pace as Deianeira ran ahead of them, slashing left and right the swordsmen which had gathered around them, trying to create a breach.
***
Darion opened his eyes slowly, as if he had been awoken from a very deep sleep. Quickly, he breathed in the smell of fresh blood as he was trying to get his weak body up from the ground. With a steady push of his hands, he managed to get up and he took immediately his hand to the sheath. His hair was wet soaked in the rain that fell. The sky was dark red and so was the earth spilled with blood.
Dr: I am going insane.
Corpses were scattered randomly across the battlefield as he felt blood falling from his chest.
Dr; What happened here? Where am I? How am I even alive?
The next thing he saw almost brought tears in his eyes. Next to him, turned to stone stood Eden, with several swords in his back.
Dr: Eden...brother...
Darion fell to his knees and he touched Eden. At his touch, Eden's body turned to ashes. Looking across the soulless battlefield, Darion saw Ramisu and Elain dead, holding each other in their arms with their throats cut, having bled to death together. He recognized the trees, the forest, the smell. It was the battlefield he had died on, but this time new fighters had been introduced in the arena. In a tree next to his side, Assema was hanging by a rope, while other gang members like Serion and Remus had been made and example of and they were nailed with silver irons to the ground. From where he stood, he saw Amel's castle on fire and two stoned bodies were hanged at the entrance. He recognized Amel and Alyssa.
Dr: We lost the war. We lost everything.
Tears started falling from his eyes, but he wiped them quickly as he quickly started searching through the pile of bodies, trying to find her.
Dr: Where are you, Dei? Did you make it out alive?
Dei: Darion! Please come, save me before it is too late!
Leon's laugh echoed in the background as the sun was bleeding in the sky.
L: I was wondering when you would wake up. I am afraid she does not have much time.
Looking at distance, Darion saw Deianeira chained to a pillar with Lyserg's dagger at her neck.
Dei: Please save me.
Tears were falling uncontrollably from her eyes as Leon pierced her other side of the neck again. Her purple dress was soaked in her blood as her eyes were red.
L: You won't be needing this anymore.
Leon grabbed the bloodstone and crushed it.
L; I will only spear her for ten minutes. I waited so much only for you to wake up and have her die before your eyes. She really wanted to say goodbye to my traitor son.
Dr: Leave her out of this. It is between you and me, father.
Leon laughed.
L: Now I am your father. You want to reach out to me, well you shouldn't have betrayed me in the first place. She is my toy now, my trophy from the battle. Her blood I never got to taste because of you.
Leon slapped Deianeira across her face as she started crying. Without wasting any more time, Darion made his way past the corpses and started running the path towards Leon. He lacked his vampire speed and he felt like slipping because of the rivers of blood.
L: Hurry up, my son. Her time is almost up.
Dei: Please don't let him kill me. I beg you. Hurry!
Dr: Hold on, Dei. Please, stay with me!
The path was so slippery that Darion had to use both his sword to manage to climb up the path as the red blood kept on dragging him down. When he reached the top, he rushed to Leon.
L: Say bye-bye.
Dr: No!
With a quick move, Deianeira was stabbed right in the heart by her own silver dagger.
L: You came again too late.
Leon's laugh was heard as Leon pushed Darion off the cliff. Darion was blinded by strong rays of light.
***
When Ramisu opened his eyes, he found himself chained against a cold wall, vervain ropes surrounding his legs making it impossible for him to stand up. The place was dark and lit up only by the torches on the walls. As his eyes got used to the darkness, he saw piles of ashes here and there, marks of corpses of vampires who must have given their last breaths next to him. He heard the echoes of footsteps getting closer and closer, soon revealing Leon. Ramisu tried to break the silver chains, but it was useless.
Rm: It can't be. It is not possible that we have lost.
L: And yet, here you are. My dear Ramisu, my favourite, my right arm.
Ramisu growled at him, his red eyes already showing.
L: I've been thinking over and over again how I should punish you, how much torture I should let you have before your death and then I realized I care too much for you to simply let you die like this.
Rm: Where are the others? What have you done to them? Where is Elain?!
L: The others? They are right here; or they were I must say.
He presented each pile of ash.
L: Here it was Darion and right next to him Eden. Oh, how they cursed and fought and struggled to stay alive, but it was disappointingly easy to cut their heads off. This one here was Deianeira. Dear, poor soul, how she tried to reach out to Darion. They were face to face, but they could not have a last good-bye kiss. So terrible.
Ramisu clenched his teeth pulling back his tears.
L: Who did I miss? You dear Lord of course died by my very own hands and his stoned body was destroyed, what else was I supposed to do? And Alyssa, the beautiful Alyssa begged for her children's fate till she gave her last breath, as I pulled her heart out of her chest with this hand.
He took his hand to his cheeks.
L: I can still feel her touch.
Rm: You will pay for this Leon, I swear!
L: You know...I do pity them. You've been unconscious all this time they were crying and begging for each other's life. And you just laid down there, sleeping like a child.
Ramisu felt guilt overtaking him. He could swear he could almost feel his body was trembling with anger and fear. He took a deep breath and spoke between his clenched teeth.
Rm: What have you done to Elain?
L: Elain...well...you must know I have a weakness for Elain. Something happened the first day I met her, we had an instant connection.
Rm: Where is she, Leon?!
Leon stepped aside, revealing Elain. Her dark eyes seemed to be calm, she had no wounds and she showed no pain whatsoever. Ramisu stared at her and tears fell right away.
Rm: No.
Leon put a hand over Elain's shoulder.
L: This time it took little to no effort.
Rm: No, you're lying. Elain, look at me! Wake up, you must wake up!
Leon laughed and kissed Elain's head.
L: She is wide awake, Ramisu. And mine.
Rm: No!!
Leon took Elain's hand in his and started getting away from Ramisu, as his screams echoed throughout the dungeons. As soon as they disappeared from his view, he was blinded by a strong white light.
***