The Coast of Lake Angels
Not far from Graymalken Road
The Highlands
The land of Eltar
Early Evening
As day began fading into twilight, a misty rainfall swept over the timber tree-lined coast of Lake Angels. But as the bright sun descended once more, a vile tragedy was unfolding.
"Please... please don't hurt my family," Kalis begged tearfully while cradling her dead husband in her slender arms on the ground. She clutched onto him with all her might, as if she could somehow will him back to life with her love. Alas, the gaping wound in his chest bled until his last gasping breath. Now shadowed by her two terrified young daughters and both of them shattered by the horror they had just witnessed,
she could only think of their safety. "Leave us be. Take anything you want. You can have it all, but please leave us alone!"
"Take anything I want, you say..." Amidst the bellowing cackles of his rowdy men, Draven ran calloused fingers over his thick, black beard while towering over the grieving family. To look at him was to know he was the living embodiment of intimidation, his powerful build complimented by the vacant coldness of his dark eyes and utter lack of caring in his tone of voice. The longsword resting on his hip was still wet with the fresh blood of the man he just murdered for trying to protect his family. Towering in front of the campfire, he graced the grieving woman with a wretched appraisal of her female form. "Yes...
We might be able to work out a little something, milady."
Dread mixed with pure disgust broiled inside Kalis' stomach. She was well aware of what cowardly, evil men like him had in mind from women they captured. What was supposed to be a temporary family camping spot for the night on their trek to Sessel had turned into a horrible nightmare when they were discovered by this band of recently escaped criminals. Her husband stood bravely against them, but it was six
against one. He hadn't stood a chance, and now all that she could do as a mother was think of how best to protect her children. Her body, never mind the damage to her soul, was a small price to pay to insure her children's safety. "I'll... I'll do whatever you want, but don't touch my children." She painfully gritted her teeth when Draven caressed the side of her face with the back of his hand. The expression he wore was as
perverted as she was sure his intentions were. "I'll do anything," she reiterated with direct eye contact that conveyed her meaning.
Flanked by the five other former prisoners, Draven found the woman's soft, petite form most enchanting. He hadn't been with a woman in well over two full seasons of incarceration, and this one would certainly be a delicious delight. Her long brown hair and matching eyes weren't stained by age or hard living. She appeared barely over thirty seasons old, and he was sure she'd make a fine piece of 'entertainment' for the evening. Just so long as he got her first. "I won't touch your pretty little girls," he nodded while mocking sincerity, bending down on one knee to gaze into her eyes. "But I may sell them. Little girls are in
high demand in Vici. Brothels are always looking for fresh whores to train."
"YOU BASTARD!" Kalis screamed at him. Draven back-handed her so hard her lip split, with blood trickling down her neck onto her husband's face. Her children cried out, but she quickly held them back. No matter her rage, this was all about their survival now. Her husband's knife was in his back pocket. She could feel the hilt of it against her hand. It was all the hope that she had left. "You will not EVER touch my children while I'm alive!"
Draven tilted his head to the side, grinning evilly. He could feel the stirrings of arousal in his groin. "When we're done raping you to death..." Suddenly, rustling sounds could be heard all around them from behind the trees, despite a lack of a brisk wind. Something was moving ominously in the shadows. Draven and his men hurriedly drew their swords, effectively forming a defensive circle. "Keep your eyes open boys. We're not alone here."
It did them no good.
"PHANTOMS!!!" shouted one of the men before he was kicked so hard his head snapped back against a tree, knocking him unconscious as he crumbled to the ground. Draven and his men were overwhelmed so quickly and so brutally that they didn't even know how many enemies they were fighting. The Phantoms simply appeared out of the darkness, as their growing legend foretold. Their amazing sword skill was a blur of razor-sharp steel that disarmed their enemies with vicious efficiency.
Trinity, Kaiesha, and Titanya were already binding the wrists and ankles of the escaped men. Not long ago Bulkmier had rushed back to the church with news of the escaped prisoners from a U'selade prison camp. Unfortunately, the Rangers were too late to save everyone.
While keeping a close eye on the grieving family huddled together against their wagon, Kimberly of Hart snaked her sword to the tender throat of the man she considered the leader of this group. Draven cowered on his knees, shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm before the dark specter. She watched his mouth moving, but his pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. Only the heart-wrenching sounds of the children crying and the somber grief upon the mother's face spoke to her with deadly whispers. The leader of the Rangers desired to slay this man more than she had ever wanted anything before. With but a flick of her
wrist she could make him bleed so fast he'd die almost instantly. Or, if she curled her blade along the bottom half of his neck, he would bleed for a time, suffering before death set in.
Her heartbeat quickened as the sharpness of her blade dug ever so gently into Draven's neck, drawing a droplet of crimson that slowly descended his throat. This man was a murderer and rapist from what Bulkmier told her. She'd heard the leader threaten to sell the children into prostitution at a brothel. That alone was reason enough for him to die. There were more crimes he'd committed for certain, but those two were more than enough.
Who in the world would possibly miss this piece of garbage? And didn't he deserve to die as painfully as possible?
Anger and rage were growing colder within Kimberly of Hart's soul by the day. There were times she felt as though she was waging a losing battle when faced with dealing justice to men like him. There seemed no end to their greed or blood-lust. Still, there was enough of her mother's genuine love left in her to ward off the darkness... for now.
With the other Rangers silently looking on, Kimberly slowly withdrew her sword, and then whistled for her horse. It came barreling through the bushes. She quickly mounted it once more, as the other Rangers did with theirs. Cloaked in black attire that resembled damnation, she addressed the grieving widow. "We are Rangers, not Phantoms. Tell people about us. Tell them we rule the Highlands now. Crime will not go unpunished. Take your family and go. Leave this place and never look back." Retrieving a satchel filled with gold coins, she threw it at the feet of the woman. It would offer her no comfort or joy this night or any other, but it might buy her and her daughters a new start in a safe place. It was the least that she could do.
"Thank you." Kalis pressed a final kiss upon her husband's brow, and then gently shut his eyes with her fingers. She whispered something soft and personal to him, and then the mother within her rose to her feet. She had to get her children out of here now. Taking the satchel off the ground, she spoke to the girls briefly, but with fire in her voice.
"What's going on here?"
A man's deep voice drew the attention of the Rangers as they all turned their heads to catch sight of several riders approaching at a fast gallop. The one who spoke, a muscular man with short dark hair drew his sword. A Nubian man and another, both dressed in commoners clothing, leapt from their horses to come to the aid of the family. Kimberly considered they must be part of the search party after the escaped prisoners. The family would get the help they needed. Their work was done. "Depart and scatter!!!"
Thomas watched the Phantoms race off into the night, but kept his eyes on the one who he heard give the orders. "AFTER THEM NOW!" Jacen, Dulcia, Rockford, and William pursued the three Phantoms down one off-trail path. Breaking his horse into a hard sprint, Thomas chased the cloaked leader through darkest patch of dense forest he had ever seen. "I'M ON THE LEADER!"
The hunt had begun!
******
Heavy rainfall fell silent as a celestial feast of bright stars opened in the heavens, breathing new life into the forest shadows below.
Trinity, Kaiesha, and Titanya rode their horses hard through the thick groves of trees, weaving up dirt hills and around a stone creek bed before leading their pursuers over a narrow, timber-wood bridge that shook from the sheer force of their speed. The Rangers roared around a breathtakingly majestic, ruddy-hued sandstone formation that towered roughly as high as a castle, and were still unable to shake their pursuers. The frantic, non-stop chase left no doubt in the Ranger's minds that they were the hunted tonight.
For them, the feeling was foreign to say the least.
While tightly clenching the reins, Trinity kept close watch over the strangers after them, mindful of the immense skill they were showing in keeping up with them. Either they were well versed in these woods, or damn good at what they did. She was starting to believe they weren't from Sessel at all. "Lead them through the Gromor cave up ahead! We'll lose them in the maze!"
"I'm with you!" Titanya declared, right on Trinity's heel.
"I say we stop now and kick their asses!" Kaiesha shouted above the thunderous horse gallop they were in.
Under normal circumstances, Trinity would be all for it. But for some unknown reason, she had a bad feeling about tonight. Something was off, somehow. The people chasing them tonight seemed relentless, and without fear. "Not yet! I don't think they're from around here!"
With a flock of nocturnal birds flying overhead, Jacen's horse leapt up a small hill, with Dulcia following closely behind. From what he could tell so far, these so-called Phantoms hadn't used any sort of magic to turn the Knights pursuit away. They looked to be expert riders, but all too human beneath their garish costumes. Whatever their secrets were, he intended to learn them all tonight. "They're heading into
that cave up ahead! Keep your eyes open!"
"One or both of them!"
"Rockford!" Jacen would have smiled if he weren't so focused on the task at hand. He watched the Phantoms enter the dark limestone cavern mouth shaped like a huge horseshoe. "William, a spell for firelight!"
Reaching into his side pocket, William retrieved a sparkling red crystal. Upon reaching the cavern's rocky entrance, he tossed it inside ahead of them, and then chanted, "Fire Jewel of Telsafa, light
our way!!!"
"What the hell was that?!" Kaiesha swore when a soft amber glow illuminated the entire cave from behind them to far up ahead. Though she had the cavern's maze memorized to the point that she could navigate a horse through it blindfolded, she'd never seen it so brightly lit. "Damn mystics!"
"Pay them no mind!" Titanya shouted while pushing her horse faster. "Take the winding left pass. We'll lose them there!"
Natural cave rock lined the fast narrowing tunnel the Knights pursued their elusive targets after. Short passages angled left and then right so swiftly it made for a very dangerous journey. Massive rock pillars gave off ominous shadows all around them when they reached an open section of the cave with five individual cave paths ahead of them Dulcia pulled her horse to a full stop, and then quickly surveyed the ground. "There's more trampled dirt to the left. But it's hard to be certain with the grounds whithered conditions."
"It could be a trap," Jacen noted. "What does your gut say?"
"Caution," Dulcia answered.
"Not me. What's life without some life-threatening adventure," Rockford joked before racing off down the left passage, with the other Knights closing in behind him a moment later. The passage curled several times unlike any cave they had ever seen before, but their level of expertise at tracking was legendary. No one got away from them.
The Rangers pressed forward to escape their trackers, riding as fast as they could around the last bend. Nearing the wide exit of the cave ahead, Titanya could hear the galloping footsteps of horses behind them. "By the Gods, they're still after us!"
"Then we take them here!" Last to exit the cave, Kaiesha pulled a curved dagger from her hip holster and threw it it at an embedded lever on the right side of the cavern opening. The blade hit its mark, severing a very thick rope that caused two massive tree trunks to swing from opposite sides of the exit, effectively closing it off. Thanks to Bulkmier and Skullovitch, there were traps and caches of
weapons and supplies hidden all over the forest.
"Ahead!" William called out. "The exit is blocked!"
"It won't be for long!" Dulcia deftly reached for her bow and a exploding arrow.
Using her legs to lead the horse forward, she quickly pinched the arrow head, causing it to steam. She set her shot, aimed, and fired at the obstruction. A deafening blast sent gusts of splinters and bark everywhere as the Knights came raging out of the cave through a thick cloud of smoke.
In the clearing ahead, all three Phantoms stood ready, their swords raised for battle. A full white moon glowing overhead.
Jacen drew his horse to a full stop. "Take off your cloaks and surrender!" he ordered. They stood their ground, ready for a fight. "I guess we do this the hard way."
The Knights dismounted their horses as the Rangers charged in!
*******
Taking place simultaneously
*******
Predator and prey...
At the cusp of a narrow, steep canyon, they both traversed the rough terrain with such raw determination, the sounds of hooves digging into the dirt was like thunder! They deftly negotiated crumbling pathways clinging to the edge of near-vertical ravine like wild animals tearing through the night.
Charging her horse at breakneck speeds through the darkest corners of the forest, Kimberly of Hart felt deeply challenged by her pursuer's relentlessness. Fire scorched through her veins as the level of intrigue she experienced rivaled any she'd ever felt before. There was something dangerously dynamic about this man hunting her. Something that stirred her emotions. He was obviously an amazing horseman, and a skilled tracker. Whoever he was, when she bested him, she intended to learn his identity.
While finally closing the gap between himself and the rider up ahead, Thomas kept the Phantom's horse in his sights. The loose, unmaintained trails were treacherous, but unavoidable as he had no intention of allowing his quarry to slip through his grasp. Wild coyote howls bellowed in the distance, adding to the already animalistic battle of wills they waged. Whoever this Phantom was, Thomas sensed its risky, reckless persona. It rode without fear, and better than any rider he had ever seen before. When at last he captured the Phantom, it would reveal itself to him in every way.
At the cusp of a wishbone of mountainous terrain straddling a nearby lake, their horses rushed through the shallow waters to the other side, blazing back into the darkest regions of the forest. Thomas lost sight of the Phantom for a heartbeat... and then saw its horse, now riderless, dead ahead as rain swept heavily from the heavens once more.
Upon pulling his horse to a full stop, Thomas looked up only to find the Phantom leaping from a high tree branch. It barreled into him, knocking him clear off his horse into the dirt as they tumbled over the ground.
The Knight scrambled to his feet, only to catch a vicious blow to the face that knocked one of his teeth loose. He quickly ducked a second punch, and when his eyes opened, he found that the Phantom's cloak had fallen from its head... and revealed a woman to his eyes. A woman so devastatingly striking he blinked fast in succession as the rains poured down on him. The only word that found its way to his mouth was, "Beautiful..."
Snarling, Kimberly struck him again, only to recoil painfully when he slammed his forehead into hers, knocking her off her feet. Her head throbbed painfully as she kept her gaze trained on her enemy. The distance created when she rolled away allowed her to draw her sword, now matching his own pose. "Tell me who you are and I might let you live?"
"Surrender and I might let you live."
"Never!" With a smirk daring the corners of her mouth, Kimberly stepped forward and declared, "To the death?"
Fearless as ever, Thomas raised his sword high. "If that is your destiny."
Their blades clashed in a fury of cutthroat savagery!
******
As if a tribal war drum beat thunderously in the night, the violent chain reaction of blade crashing against blade erupted as Knights and Rangers did battle.
In a burst of agility, Trinity vaulted over Jacen's and Dulcia's heads. Upon landing, she quickly shook a small glass vial into her hand and then threw it at the female swordsman. The vial exploded in a flash of light, blinding Dulcia a second before Trinity's razor-sharp blade clashed with Jacen's. Dulcia screamed in agony while rubbing her eyes. Jacen and Trinity attacked each other with an onslaught of wild attacks, sword-fighting with pure venom.
Evading a fierce roundhouse kick, Jacen swung his sword with such aggression the blade severed part of his opponents cloak, narrowly missing its head. Trinity kicked his leg out from under him, hurtling the large man to the ground hard. She brought her blade high, ready to stab into his chest when Dulcia's blade crossed her own, blocking the blow.
"None of mine will die this night, Phantom!" Dulcia swore while gripping her blade.
Trinity held silent, and then assaulted Dulcia with a blinding array of rapid slashes and and spinning cuts that soon included Jacen in the mix. The booming clang of metal swords ruled as the three of them tempted death with every strike they made.
"I don't suppose we could talk this out?" Rockford questioned with a hint of a smirk while circling one of the Phantoms. "Look, I'm a easy going kind of guy. I've found many disagreements can be solved with a good bottle of ale and...". If he'd finished that sentenced the sword attempting to behead him would have succeeded. Kaisha pressed a bombardment of powerful, lunging strikes that sent Rockford backwards until he was pressed up against a huge tree trunk. "I know it might seem as though you have the advantage, and if that's what you think, then you're right. But that offer of a drink is still..."
The second attempted beheading slash saw Kaiesha's blade get stuck in the side of the tree. She struggled to tear it free, and was nailed with a swift kick to her stomach. The blow shoved her backwards, giving Rockford the opportunity he was waiting for. He advanced in a rush, grabbed the collar of the Phantom's cloak and threw it off its head, prepared to cave his fist in its jaw.
"Woah! You're a girl," he declared in a shocked voice, tilting his head. "And you're hot."
Giving him a unconscious once over, despite the fact that he possessed a cute smile, Kaisha taunted, "Now that that's out of the way," she nailed him with a barbaric kick between his legs, the force of with which crumbled the Knight to his knees, "I don't drink ale."
Dodging smoking fireballs from a mystic wearing commoners clothes was not the way Titanya had hope to end her night. Nonetheless, to keep from being set on fire, she used the thick shrubs as cover, leaping and diving all over the place as the forest was promptly set ablaze. She couldn't seem to get close enough to William. But more important than that, she knew that he knew he had her on the run. If his intent was
to kill her, he would have done so by now, and moments into their sword fight, she realized her skills with the blade far exceeded his own. Once he started with the magic, she was vastly outclassed.
Roaring flames circled the battlefield now as Titanya witnessed her sisters fighting for their very lives. Suddenly she saw a towering tree that was about to fall as the fire had ruined its base. It was about to kill the man who had started the blaze. Her body moved without thinking, rushing towards her attacker.
William spun on his heel at the last second, and when he saw the Phantom advancing he was sure he was dead. No time for a spell or to even draw his sword. The air flew from his lungs when she tackled him out of the way of the falling tree. Upon landing, his Royal Eltarian Emblem necklace broke free from beneath his shirt, dangling over his
shirt.
When the gold caught her attention, Titanya's eyes widened upon noticing the jewelry. Her hand lifted it while still around his neck. She swiftly tore off her hood off. "You're a Knight?"
Staring at her, William gasped for breath."You're a woman?"
Exhausted, bruised, and out of tricks up her sleeve, Trinity managed her blade at the Dulcia's neck, while the cold steel belonging to the Jacen chilled her throat. Her back was to a
hulking, jagged rock. This was it. Death had finally come for her. The end of the road. Her chest heaved while she waited. "If I die, I'm taking her with me."
"There's no need for that, Trinity," Titanya called out while putting away her sword. "They're Knights. All of them. I think we all need to have a long talk."
Upon seeing the faces of Kaiesha and Titanya, Jacen sheathed his sword. He faced the still cloaked Phantom. "We thought you'd just attacked that family back there."
Tossing back her dark hood as the rains finally stalled, Trinity corrected him. "We saved their lives... all except the husband. We thought you were officers looking for the escaped prisoners who attacked the family."
Sir William swore silently under his breath, his blue eyes having never observed anything more captivating than the sight of the enchanting woman before him. Her long, dark hair flowed down her back... possessing the most alluring, exotic features he'd ever had the pleasure to witness. She was a revelation to him. Nothing he had ever read in the countless books he owned had ever prepared him for
this.
She was... exquisite.
Dulcia put away her sword, surveying the scene. "William, put an end to this fire." She turned her back as the Knight whispered words that sent forth powerful gusts of cold wind, blustering their clothes about their bodies in the clearing. "I don't know who any of you are, but we're Knights sent by King Zordon to investigate events in the Highlands. Now state your purpose."
Trinity strode toward her, with Titanya and Kaiesha shadowing. "We're the Rangers. Our purpose, as you put it, is to uphold justice and protect the people of the Highlands. You can thank us later for doing
your jobs."
Catching sight of Dulcia's insulted scowl, Jacen quickly intervened. He turned to Trinity. "Your friend out there... is she by any chance high strung?"
Thinking of herself with a slightly worried expression, Trinity replied, "Is yours?"
With but a knowing look shared between them, Jacen and Trinity ran for their horses, the others quickly following.
******
Rain-soaked clear through their clothing, the hypnotic ferocity of Thomas and Kimberly's violent sword war raged on across the muddy canvas of the forest. Banter ceased to exist between the skilled combatants as they leapt and whirled around each other, touching down with perfect balance only to advance with fury once more. Murder interlaced with venomous passion reigned supreme as their swords waged a brutal campaign to kill each other.
The perfect synchrony of Kimberly's sweeping slash narrowly missed taking Thomas' head off his shoulders. Shifting his body sideways at an almost impossible angle, he evaded the end of his life. Her lip split with the sheer force of his closed-fist backhand reply, the taste of blood ghosting her tongue. She quickly shoved the pain aside, her blade flashing faster than the eye could see as she pressed his overconfidence with a masterful onslaught of lunging attacks, driving Thomas backward step after step until his shoulders hit the the broadside of a towering timber tree.
Raising his sword at the last possible second, Thomas locked her blade a hands breadth away from his throat. Droplets of moisture cascaded down his face while they stared into each other's eyes. The storm drowned them in heavy rain. "You're good, but you have no hope. I sense fear in you."
"I fear nothing because I believe nothing is out of my ability to change." Kimberly pressed harder with her sword towards his throat. "Such as relieving the burden of your head from your shoulders."
With a sudden head fake, Thomas drew her expected slice, parrying the blow, effectively knocking her off balance. Using his superior height and strength, he let all traces of his humanity fall aside to ravage her with pure barbarous power, smacking her swift attacks left and right with such force she could never set her feet to properly counter-attack. "I fought and bled in the Great War years before my twentieth season!"
His mastery of swordplay kept her off balance as she retreated from his hostile assault. "I've crippled seven Kraven Warlords and conquered the sword masters of Tezlera!" His blade lashed out like booming thunder, hammering against her superior speed with a type of raw tenacity she'd never seen before. He stalked her now, enjoying the sight of her retreat. "What have you done, little one? Bested a couple of the locals so that you could carve a name for your self at the taverns across the land?" he smirked, drawing her renewed rage. "As for me, I am undefeated. I have no equal in this world or any other. I have
never lost."
"Then I am pleased to be the first." With her breath coming short and hard, Kimberly of Hart switched tactics. Her foot swiped a pile of wet dirt into his eyes. The stinging howl he emitted gave her room to soar over his head in a forward tucked flip and then carve a bloody gash straight down his back with her sword. The agony of his scream was music to her ears. Wasting no time, she went in for the kill, only to have her sword lifted high above her head when he at the last second blocked the thrust. Thomas nailed a wild kick to her chest, knocking the wind clear out of her lungs.
While barreling backwards, Kimberly withdrew a slender black dagger from her boot and threw it at Thomas. The razor-sharp blade dug deep into his right shoulder, injuring him further. This was her shot to end this. "Are you ready to die?"
His teeth gritted when he removed the weapon from the wound it created. "Since the day I was born!"
With a white-hot furnace where her heart should be, Kimberly's sword moved simultaneously with her will. Her enemy was hurt and bleeding badly. Her attack came like lightening, their swords dancing with sparks as she twirled and rocked on her feet at awkward angles to keep him off balance. Showcasing her nimble agility, she cartwheeled out of his line of sight, only to feel the skin of her forearm rip open, courtesy of his sword slashing across her arm. Thunder crackled above them as they traded blows, with Kimberly's fist battering his face until he drove a punishing knee into her gut, doubling her over.
Thomas raised his sword to drive it into her back. "Say goodnight!"
"No! Say hi to a sunrise!" The small vile she removed from her cloak glowed when she shook it and then threw it at his face. The brilliant flash of light caused his vision to evaporate as he stumbled backwards, tripping over a long tree branch. Predator was now prey as Kimberly stalked after him. "This ends now!"
"Never!" Thomas dodged her deadly slash, back-flipping back to his feet, and then again over the branch onto the remnants of a old tree trunk. Kimberly leapt over the branch a well. They swiftly spun and fought throughout the forest clearing, their boots digging into and tearing the muddy grounds beneath them. Hacking at each other, Thomas severed half a Timber tree in hunting Kimberly, only to duck an attack that snacked a ragged chunk of bark from the tree.
Kimberly deftly back-flipped three times in succession until she reached another statuesque Timber-tree. She quickly climbed up the side of it.
"Come down here and fight like a man!!!"
"I don't suppose you'd come up here and fight like a girl?" she retorted, only coming down from the tree when he threw one of her daggers directly at her head.
Their savage skirmish had escalated into a bloodthirsty battle of sword-wielding combatants with murderous intent. Their dance was quickly drawing to a conclusion as both were bleeding badly and exhausted. Kimberly threw another dagger at Thomas, who deflected it with his sword while boldly charging after her. He slammed his shoulder into her stomach, knocking her clear off of her feet to the ground. Kimberly rolled with him, using his momentum to fling him over her head. She back-flipped to her feet, turned around and threw her sword at Thomas.
The Knight showed why he was one of the very best ever. Dropping his shoulder one time allowed him to not only survive, but see Kimberly without the cloak or a sword in her hand. Her blade whizzed by him, failing to hit it's intended target. What was worse, he grabbed the hilt of the sword, now brandishing both. "Are you ready to concede defeat,
little one?"
"Clever. Oh, and my the way. My name isn't little one. It's Kimberly."
When the rains slowed and the full moon peeked out from behind the clouds, she silently swore she'd never seen a more gorgeous man in all life. Handsome... and deadly. Pity they were actively trying to kill each other. This one... there was fire in him. She could see it in his eyes. No matter his good looks, she waited patiently as he seemed curious about her as well. Smiling, she watched smoke rise from his hand as he was suddenly forced to drop it. The sword's handle burned hot, and then cooled as it hit the ground. "A mystic cursed my sword for me. None may wield it except I."
Thomas kicked his foot beneath the length of the blade, and then deflected it back to Kimberly's hand, watching as she caught it in mid air. "When I beat you, it will make a fine addition to my collection."
"Cocky, I see. That'll get you killed." She raised her sword at a high angle, prepared to strike. "By the way, my name is Thomas."
"Did I ask?"
Yeah, that pissed him off. He came at her dead on. Their blades clashed and clanged with renewed vigor, slashing and grinding their way through a final brutal assault that saw Kimberly and Thomas lose their footing on a wet, muddy slanted side of a hill. They tumbled and rolled all the way down until they reached the edge of a deep ravine.
Kimberly grunted when Thomas covered her body with his, his sword now at her throat. She barely had the presence of mind to retrieve her final dagger, centering the blade against his groin. They panted as one... both covered in dirt, sweat, and their own blood. Yet, no matter their fight, there was something elemental between them, something raw and enthralling. They both felt it, but neither of them understand its origin.
Thomas gazed down at her and tried not to focus on her luscious mouth. "Just how many of those daggers do you have?"
"This is the last, and before I die, rest assured I will make you useless to a woman."
He didn't know if he wanted to slit her throat or kiss her. No, he knew...
She hated the thrilling surge that went through her body when he settled between her open thighs. This was madness... and arousal.
"STOP!!! THOMAS!!!"
"Kimberly, he's not your enemy. Don't kill him!"
Both Thomas and Kimberly lifted their heads when familiar voices called out to them. On the ridge above, they saw all of the Knights and Rangers together astride their horses.
Thankful to the Gods that they had arrived in time, Jacen leapt from his horse and navigated the hill down to the bottom, with Trinity following close behind. "Brother, she is not your enemy. We have been deceived in a great many ways. We need to talk with them. Trust me."
Trinity exhaled upon seeing her sister still alive. "They are Knights, Kimberly. This is a huge misunderstanding! We must return to Elpis and discuss things further."
Despite trusting their friends, neither Thomas nor Kimberly backed off.
******
The end of chapter 2
Chapter 3: The Knights are shown first-hand the horrors of the Highlands. Zedd arrives in secret. Lady Catherine wars with her father and the secrets she fears he's keeping. Dark secrets.
Shades of things to come...