The Last Flame - Crystal Bow

Chapter 24

Cliffton, Stevie, and Moone were traveling at a fairly quick pace until a group of Blighted fae found them. They spat insults and charged with swords in hand, and Cliffton was suddenly very glad that Moone had agreed to train him. Still, he realized just how much she had been holding back. The fae seemed to move at the speed of light and Cliffton was just barely able to defend himself but, seeing an opening, he jabbed his sword forwards, impaling one of them in the heart. He twisted the sword before kicking the Blighted fae away. He would need to wash his sword soon. One thing that Cliffton had learned at the castle was that if any of their blood or saliva got in your blood, you were as good as Blighted yourself. T'was just the way that the sickness worked.

Cliffton managed to pick off another fae before glancing over at Stevie. His eyes widened as he saw the ease at which she evaded their strikes before landing her own. She fought in a completely different style than Moone did, but it got the job done. Two dead fae lay dying at her feet, and another was clearly on the way with the blood spurting from his wounds.

Cliffton turned and froze when he saw Moone darting around the fae fighting her. They seemed to be evenly matched at first, but Moone was very clearly landing more blows. Eventually, she swung her sword and embedded it in the fae's neck. The Blighted fae crumbled to the ground, going limp.

"That was less than ideal." Stevie commented, already cleaning off her sword. Cliffton grabbed the small cloth that Moone had given him for his sword and began cleaning it. Moone just muttered grumpily as she hovered her hand over the sword, clearing it of blood almost instantly.

Strangely enough, the Blighted's blood was black. Cliffton frowned at the bodies. "I think we should keep moving."

"Yeah, I don't feel like being attacked again, or followed." Moone hummed. The three continued walking, but it was less than two hours before they were attacked again.

Cliffton was a lot more prepared now and while his speed didn't match the fae's, he was fast and any blow he did land was heavy and stuck. He thought he was about to lose when the Blighted stumbled away, bleeding from multiple wounds. Cliffton backed away and gripped his sword a bit tighter. Why had he stopped fighting?

Something clicked in Cliffton's mind. His sword was silver! Of course! He turned towards his next enemy and finished them off almost as fast as the other one. Cliffton's confidence grew with each victory and fairly soon he was whirling around, doing almost as much damage to the Blighted's numbers as his companions. Cliffton was breathing heavily by the time they finished and there was one Blighted left, but he ran, stumbling, off.

"That's not great." Moone said. "Somebody should probably go kill him before he blabs off to someone in charge."

'Oh...." Cliffton thought about Saphaer, and in that moment he wondered where he was. He turned to Moone. "How long has it been since we left?"

"Like, two months, give or take." Moone shrugged. "We're only a few days away from the bridge, honestly."

"Really?" Cliffton's eyes widened. "Wh-no way."

"It's been a while." Stevie agreed.

"Well..." Cliffton breathed a heavy sigh. "We should get going."

Moone nodded. "Saphaer knew what he was getting into when he gave you the Faerie Seed."

Still, even Cliffton saw the shadow of doubt in Moone's dark gaze.