Sablynx

'Who are you?' Lisa said in a voice that sounded more startled than she intended.

'You can call me Lord Sablynx,' the woman said with an easy smile. 'Have we met somewhere before?'

Lisa shook her head. 'I don't think so. Maybe you met my grandmother?'

'Perhaps. What is her name?'

'Sand Lord Eleanor Henson.'

A brief twitch ran down the side of Sablynx's face, replaced at once by a perfect smile. 'I... don't seem to recollect that name.'

'My name is Lisa, and this is my friend, Riser Trent.'

Sablynx gave Riser an amused look before returning her attention to Lisa. 'Welcome, Sky Lord Lisa Henson. I am honoured to receive you in my humble home.'

'This is your place?' Lisa said. 'I thought the Ice Cathedral belonged to Lord Appelastus?'

Sablynx walked slowly towards them, her hands making sinuous patterns by her sides. 'That's right.'

'Is he here? I was hoping to speak with him.'

'He just... popped out for a while.'

'I'll wait for him, then - if that's okay.'

'What is it that you wanted to speak to him about? Perhaps I can help in his absence.'

Lisa's wings fluttered behind her. She wasn't sure how much she could trust Sablynx. Her grandmother hadn't mentioned anyone of that name in her journal. Maybe it was better to speak to Appelastus first and work out who else she could trust later. But if Sablynx was living with him, she must surely be a trusted companion of some kind?

'You can wait, if you prefer.' Sablynx said, staring at Lisa with a half smile. 'But I must warn you, he may be some time.'

Lisa nodded, feeling better at once.

'I don't like her,' Riser whispered a little too loud. 'There's something not right about her.'

Sablynx glanced in his direction, her lips twisting to one side. 'And what are you?' she said. 'Some kind of farming slave?'

Riser bristled. 'I'm nobody's slave. I'm a hacker - a technician, and a free man.'

Sablynx laughed like a delicate chime. 'So sweet. Did you teach him to talk yourself?'

Riser grunted, looking like a surly teenager.

Lisa ignored the barbed question, trying to steer the conversation back onto a less volatile topic instead. 'When do you think Lord Appelastus will be back?' she said.

Sablynx shrugged.

'Maybe we'll wait outside.'

'As you wish.'

Lisa turned, gesturing for Riser to follow her. She had only taken a few short steps towards the entrance when she heard wings beating behind her. Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw Sablynx looming over her with her wings extended, and a long, twisted dagger in her hand.

'Lookout,' Riser said, pushing her to one side.

Lisa stumbled, feeling the draft of the blade whipping past her ear.

'Run!' Riser shouted.

Lisa didn't need asking twice. She turned and ran towards the cave entrance.

Sablynx hissed, beating her wings rapidly as she swooped towards them once more. She flew low beneath the hanging icicles, her feet touching briefly on the ground, and then bounded towards them once more. Lisa ran as fast as she could and Riser's exoskeleton crunched across the icy ground beside her.

Sablynx was getting closer now. She shouted something in a strange language, holding the fierce-looking dagger in her outstretched hand. Riser ran sideways, firing short bursts of chaff into the air until chunks of ice fell down from the ceiling behind them.

'What are you doing?' Lisa shouted, horrified at the destruction of such a pristine and beautiful place, but the damage was already done.

Icicles crashed down, falling onto Sablynx's back. She grunted, twisting to one side to avoid the worst of the impact before throwing out her hand and sending a wave of air towards her attacker. A sudden wind lifted Riser off the ground, slamming him into the cave wall several metres away. The ice smashed behind him as he slumped onto the ground.

'Run!' he shouted in a pained voice as Lisa stared back at him in stunned silence.

Turning with tears in her eyes, she dashed out through the cave entrance, stumbling into the blustery moorland outside. She used her wings for balance as she charged through the waist-high ferns, tripping over hidden rocks and almost stepping on her own heels in her rush to escape.

Sablynx launched from the cave behind her, vanishing briefly before appearing again much closer than before. She had covered more than half the distance between them in a single heartbeat. Lisa barely had time to blink before Sablynx shifted again, appearing so close that the two of them collided. Sablynx's knee struck her in the stomach, driving the air from her lungs, and the dagger slashed at her face.

Lisa raised her arm to protect herself and the blade went straight through it. She cried out in anguish and when she looked down she saw blood pouring from a gash in her arm where the dagger was still embedded in her flesh. It scraped against bone as she pulled her arm away.

Sablynx laughed with a savage expression as she lunged forwards once more, snatching the blade from Lisa's arm with one smooth movement. Lisa screamed, twisting as she tried to use her wings to escape. She lost her balance, and a moment later Sablynx was upon her, her face a picture of pure malice.

Lisa struggled, thrusting out her hand to conjure up a wave of air, but Sablynx blocked it easily with a blast of her own. She was like a woman possessed. Whatever Lisa did, she just kept on coming.

The dagger sliced the air between them and Lisa pulled her head back, teleporting away before the razor sharp blade could cut her again. When she reappeared, she was standing in a clearing a few paces away with Sablynx circling overhead.

'What are you doing?' Lisa said. 'I'm a sky lord - just like you!'

Sablynx laughed hysterically before swooping down and slamming onto the ground nearby, her feet cracking the icy rock beneath her. 'You're nothing like me!' she spat.

'How can you say that?'

'You bring shame on our race.'

Lisa shook her head. She had no idea what Sablynx was talking about.

'If lords were meant to fly, God would have given them wings from the start.'

'But you're one of us? The Lasrecon are inside you.'

Sablynx came closer, slashing the dagger back and forth between them. 'I have the gift.'

'Gift?'

'Lord Malkor chose me to eradicate the sky lords - to remove this abomination from the land.'

'You're insane,' Lisa said, backing away.

Sablynx shook her head, stepping forwards with the dagger raised high above her head.

Lisa heard a strange noise coming from the cave entrance. When she glanced over Sablynx's shoulder, she saw Riser charging towards them like a Rotohawk truck. He shouted something unintelligible, and when Sablynx turned towards him, he slamming into her with the full force of his exoskeleton. Her head whipped back and she bounced across the ground, coming to a halt in a thick patch of ferns.

'I told you I didn't like her,' Riser said, jogging towards Lisa with a heavy frown.

Lisa held onto her injured forearm. She felt sick and light headed, as though the life was draining out of her.

'I can fix that,' Riser said.

Lisa winced, turning towards him. 'My arm?'

'Not fix exactly, but I can stop the bleeding and maybe reduce the pain a little.'

'Okay,' she said through gritted teeth. She was in too much pain to argue with him.

'Give me your arm,' he said, stepping closer.

Lisa stretched out her arm towards him, blanching as crimson blood dripped down onto the ice beneath her feet. She hoped she wasn't going to pass out.

Riser took her hand gently in one of his titanium paws before reaching over his shoulder to grasp the Refractor Orb.

'Hey!' she said, pulling away. 'What are you doing! I thought you were talking about a bandage.'

'It's okay. You have to trust me.'

'Do you even know what you're doing with that thing?'

Riser shook his head. 'Just give me your arm. I know what I'm doing. You brought me here to help you, so let me help.'

Lisa gave him a long, stern look before tentatively offering her arm once more. When he rolled up her sleeve, holding the Refractor Orb before him, it glowed with a pale red flame flickering at its core. Lisa tried not to pull away but the pain was getting worse, seeping deep into her bones.

Riser's face became a mask of concentration as red flames extended beyond the surface of the Refractor Orb, dancing across her bloody forearm. Lisa tried to pull away at first, thinking the flames would burn her, but he held on tight, keeping her still while the Refractor Orb did its work.

She whimpered, feeling suddenly strange inside, and a shiver ran up her spine. The flames reached her elbow after a few seconds, completely wrapping her forearm, and an odd tingling sensation travelled across her skin.

'Keep still,' Riser said, 'his lips twisting to one side.'

Lisa tried to relax. She didn't know what was happening to her. Heat flushed her face, and her arm trembled continuously as Riser held it still before him, wrapping it in more and more layers of rippling, red flames.

Gradually the blood stopped flowing and she felt a tightening of her skin. The vivid red wound pulsed before her eyes, stretching first one way and then another as the pain slowly receded to an acceptable level. The skin pulled together, sealing where the cut had been, leaving a pale white scar in its place. Lisa let out a quiet whimper before stumbling backwards and falling onto the ground behind her.