| |
––––––––
My left arm was still dead weight but that didn’t stop the rest of my body. I kicked at him to test the waters and to initiate the fight. I didn’t expect to actually land a hit. My kick was countered by his hands and he pushed me back. We circled one another for a moment before he lunged at me. So, he wasn’t the patient type I assumed him to be. His muscles flexed with stealth and skill of a man who has been a hunter and warrior his entire life.
He came down hard aiming to knee my stomach as a decoy. His real intent was to punch my chest and push me back. I circled around him to kick at the side of his ribs but he had already caught me and flung me around. I flipped in the air but despite his force, found control and landed on my feet. Already I was set to defend against his uppercut that promised to wind me if it connected. I dodged it and punched towards his face using as much strength as I could and used my clumsy left arm to block. He blocked my punch and with ease swiped away my left arm. He didn’t even have to punch at me again because I fell into the force that my left arm had been thrown and rolled on the ground catching my balance.
I was crouching but not defenseless. He seemed to have noticed my left arm but before he spoke, I jumped at him again. I kicked knowing that he would grab my leg. As soon as he did I flicked my other one over it and tried to kick him off the side. The thing with having one arm and being half the weight mass of your opponent is that maneuver wasn’t such a great idea. Especially when he locked his grip around both my legs locking me in place. I was suspended in the air on his two arms and he smiled.
“You know it will hurt,” he purred.
“I bet that’s what you say to all the girls,” I smiled back. I knew it was going to hurt but it would hurt my pride more if he didn’t go through with it. This was a one on one and fair fight.
He dropped me to the ground. I locked my feet around his shoulder to take away how much force he could bring down on me. As soon as my back hit the floor I lost my breath but flicked my legs back, taking his unbalanced weight over with me. His imbalance forced him to release me. Instead of pouncing on me straight away he let me catch my breath.
My left arm bowed a little as I tried to use it to push my weight up. Instead I balanced on my right arm.
“What could you have possibly done to your left arm in those six hours I wasn’t guarding you?” he asked curiously having noticed my weak arm.
“Maybe I enjoyed myself a little too much last night and my wrists gave way to the feverish desires of my fingers,” I said walking over to the collection of spears. I heard him tsk at my filthy comment. I was not a princess nor did I speak like one.
Before he could comment I aimed and shot the spear at him, only to clip his arm. It didn’t make it that far. He moved and caught it, swinging around with the force of it. It twirled in his fingers for a moment as his eyes fastened on me not at all impressed.
“Cheap shot,” he said. I grabbed another spear and walked back into the ring shrugging.
“I just wanted to see how senile your reflexes were. From what I’ve heard you’re a very old man,” I said noticing the flexing of his muscles as he spun the weapon over his fingers with ease. A sprinkling of sweat glistened his body.
“And yet your eyes seem to enjoy this senile old man’s very healthy body. And mistake me if I’m wrong. I’m not the only immortal standing here.”
That was true. Both angels and Guardians were immortal. But forty-four years was the longest any Guardian had survived. I wasn’t about to tell him that but I’m sure it was noted by those who took interest in Haymen and tried to find a weakness to his guard.
Gabe tucked his right hand back and swung the spear with ease with his left. Interesting. I only just noticed now that he was left handed but he stepped forward with his right.
“Fair is fair,” he said. “But are you good with only one hand with a spear?” He asked provokingly. I charmed a smile and jumped at him. The force and slap of the spears should’ve shattered if they weren’t already pre-built to fair against a demon’s strength. Minutes flew past as we countered one another again and again and those beautiful wooden pieces chipped away at one another. He got me once now, a slice on the cheekbone that provoked a cocky smile. That was two now that he had me on. I had to seriously pick up my game.
We smashed into one another, kicking and blocking with our knees as the spears went to our shoulders and face. With swift maneuvers and leaving myself open, I was over these games. I wrapped my foot around his ankle as I forced him to step back. He tripped as I pushed my weight down on him, knocking his spear away that would jeopardize piercing my shoulder.
I wrapped my knees around his waist as he keeled over and I sat on top of him. He was lying flat on his back. I heaved with breath as I inched my spearhead to his neck. His face gave nothing away. There were both the old echo of death many had seen; his forest green was the last thing they saw. But amongst that chaos was amusement. I looked down and noticed the sharp pointed spear that had caught in my shirt, slowly he glided it up, slicing it open with ease. Right above my heart.
I was still straddling his torso as my exhausted left arm was pressing against his chest. Hard and lean. The tattoos that scrolled over his torso spoke of the many wars he had already fought through. My eyes wanted to read those stories but I couldn’t remove my gaze from his. We froze there for a moment heavily gathering our breaths that mingled with one another. His was hot and mine was cold. My chest rose up and down, the tip of the spear etching closer each time.
If we were serious we could end one another’s lives right here and now. Neither of us would remain a victor. We would inevitably take one another out. And there was resistance to lower our weapon, because that threat became very real. Because despite the chemistry that burned through us, and I knew the look of passion when it was devouring me. It was the craze of madness and lust combined. Sometimes a warrior even had the same expression when they slaughtered.
Destiny grunted behind us and we both slowly cocked our heads to look at her. Neither of us moved from our death holds and were both weary of the weapons. She tapped her wrist watch and waited. I looked down at Gabe again and slowly but still with my weapon pointed at him, rose to standing. He didn’t raise his weapon to follow me but now that my weight has shifted and I was no longer pinning him he would have time to swipe my weapon out of my hand if he needed to. He didn’t move and only waited as I stepped back and threw the spear to the side. I turned my back on him and walked towards Destiny. It wasn’t me that she watched but Gabe. Her arms crossed and her hatred for him emanated from her eyes. If it weren’t for the treaty and the point that Gabe could kill her easily, she would’ve tried to kill him many times over now.
“I didn’t realize we monitored one another,” I said as I came to stand by her. It was a threat and my eyes conveyed that as she looked at me evenly with the same intensity.
“Perhaps you are getting side-tracked from your task at hand and need reminding?” Her voice was flat and matched my own tone. I smiled, nothing but savage as I leaned in closer towards her. Our eyes never diverted.
“Since when did you become Haymen’s lap dog?” It was a shot in the dark but I figured it was the only reason she was watching Gabe’s and my interaction so closely. She would have no other reason to unless reporting directly to him. She didn’t deny it.
“I like you Vi, but as soon as you’re compromised I’ll be the one ordered to put you out of commission.” I stared at her for a long time, to counter that threat. If I had to, I would kill her first. My stare conveyed that threat.
“I think rogue would suit me, don’t you?” I teased and walked away. I had no intention of going rogue. There was no way I could defy Haymen. Even if I ran away he would be able to find me anywhere in the world. But her absolution and following disturbed me. That was who we were and what we had to be for Haymen but I wondered if Destiny held something more for him, perhaps even admiration. It wasn’t hard to fall for Haymen to those who appreciated power and feared repercussions.
After a quick shower and preparing for my travels I threw my trusty backpack over my back. It held throwing knives, two guns and I strapped one sword to my back. And a lunch of course. They were all tightly strapped in for when I needed to collect the bag in a hurry. If Tahmeed didn’t fare well against the demons in the outskirts of Shabeah, then I had to be as well prepared as possible. Tahmeed had the blessing of a demon who could teleport although limited to the amounts of times she could in one day. It lacked in stamina unlike Haymen who had no end to his power. Yesterday that very demon’s gift was what saved her life and her ability to come back home.
I walked into the kitchen and was nodded in greeting by our chef. Gabe was sitting at the long white dining room at the end table. Destiny was staring at him with arms and legs crossed as he ate. The floundering chef came and scraped more bacon onto his plate and seemed rather flustered by his presence. Odd, he never so much as spoke to me. With accurate timing he looked at me and walked away. I stole two of the blueberry muffins which were freshly baked and cooling off the plate and his eyes chastised me. Maybe that was why he didn’t like me. I smiled and walked out. Time to negotiate with some demons. Underworld or death. But after seeing Tahmeeds wounds, I doubted that there was much room for negotiation. I took a bite of the buttery blueberry muffin. Awesome. I wouldn’t have to hold back today.
