Villainus || Folkelore

Chapter 14

Enchantments and weapons are thrown from all sides. I mostly try to dodge blows, keeping my cover. Every once in a while, I'll throw an enchantment to protect a Sclian. Most of the time that Sclian is my husband. He's a great fighter, but he's definitely got a blind spot. It's a good thing I came along. All of my attention is so focused on Demetrius that I'm knocked to the ground.

"What the Otherworld?" An Aeryan soldier curses, squinting at my position. His face clears, and he kicks at my leg. I try to dodge it, but it lands. His face splits in a grin, but it's short lived. Just as he starts to call out, I slam my hand out. An enchantment bursts from my palm, rushing into his gut. Doubling over, he coughs. I take the opportunity to sweep his legs out from under him and push to my feet. By now, we've drawn the attention of the others, so I remove my enchantment keeping me from being seen. Immediately, all the Aeryan forces attack at me.

I retaliate in turn, and through the commotion I hear Demetrius roar with anger. Forcing my way to his side, I shoot enchantments left and right. Barrier enchantments have always been my specialty, but I'm not too terrible at combat enchantments.

"I told you to stay home," Demetrius growls when I finally reach him.

"And you're being dramatic! Do you know how many times I've saved your butt within the last ten minutes alone?"

He glares, disarming his opponent with a swift twist of his spear. "That's not the point. You're carrying the heir of this Court, you're not just responsible for your life but the baby's too."

"Just be happy I stayed invisible for so long," I huff, exasperated.

He grunts, blasting a soldier with an enchantment while simultaneously butting the side of his spear against another's chest. I'm fighting to keep up with the other opponents surrounding us, weapons and enchantments are thrown every second and it's hard to keep up. Luckily, I was trained to do the impossible.

Demetrius and I slowly spin with our backs to each other. Soldiers are disarmed and taken out one at a time with increasing accuracy. We make a pretty good team. The circle around us gets tighter and tighter, and my enchantments aren't as effective. With a snarl, I whip out my knives and use them to fight our attackers. Slashing and swiping, I take out even more opponents than before. Demetrius loses his spear sometime and resorts to enchantments.

"Is it just me or do these soldiers seem to be multiplying?" I call over my shoulder, thrusting my knife through the chest of the nearest soldier before he can get his through mine.

"Your Father must've called in reinforcements. The–" Demetrius cuts off with a grunt followed by a hiss. I look over to see a blood red spear protruding from the back of my husband. Everything else fades away. A scream rips out of me, and on instinct a barrier bursts from my skin, pushing everyone back. Dropping to my knees in front of him, I press my hands against the bleeding.

I feel disembodied. My mouth is running, but nothing goes through my head. "We'll get you help, you'll be alright. Helsante can fix this. She has to fix this! You- you can't leave me! Not now!"

Demetrius tries to speak, but nothing comes out. He turns his head, hacking out a wet cough. Tears blur my vision, but I feel him press my hands away, taking them in his own. "Vi," he chokes. "Be strong. You have to be strong for our girl, you'll be the best mother." He pauses, laying his head back. Breathing heavy, he presses something into my hands. "I love you."

The tears come even harder. "No! NO! You can't die! You– you promised! You promised you'd fight it! Please don't give up. I need you still. I– I can't do this without you." Sobs take over me, and I curl over him. "Please Deimos or Nikos. Anyone. Please, if you can hear me please don't take him. Spare my husband, he's a good man. I– I can't live without him!" Pressing my head to my love's chest, I clench his hands in mine. "Please."

I love you. The words bounce around my head. Blinking away my tears, I watch Demetrius take his last breath. It shudders through him before he goes still. Too still.

"NO!" I cry, but it's too late. He's gone to Deimos now. Lost to the Otherworld. Breaths rack through me, anger coursing through my veins. I rip the spear from his chest, knowing exactly who it belongs to. Something stabs into my palm, and I look down, not quite seeing clearly. Everything is red. Demetrius's ring sits in my hand, humming with energy. With bated breath, I slip it onto my finger and everything sharpens.

Suddenly, I can sense every blade of grass, every particle of dust, the leaves, the branches, all of it. A slow, cold smile fills my face. I spin, scanning the faces of the soldiers, Sclian and Aeryan, surrounding my barrier until my gaze locks on the killer of the best thing in my life. My father. The Crimson Captain. I tread towards him, stepping over dead bodies and mangled remains.

He smirks at me, raising his hands into a fighting stance. "Should we end this, just between the two of us? Afterall, this is our fight."

"That won't be necessary," I counter with a detached coolness. Raising the spear, I send it into the dirt at his feet. "You lost this."

Father gives me a haughty look. "Actually, I meant for it to go exactly where it did."

"He's dead because of you."

"I know, the olive needs to be broken in order to reap the oil."

I let my lips curl into a sneer. "I'm not broken."

"I beg to differ."

"Then beg," I spit, raising my hands. He steps back into a fighting stance again.

"Bradburys don't beg."

A cold smile tilts my lips. "We'll see." Looking at the soldiers around me, I call out, "Avenge your King, and I'll spare you."

No one moves.

"Fine, we'll do it this way."

I twist my wrists, curling my fingers, and the trees around us twist and convulse. The soldiers scream, ducking for cover. My smile grows. When I snap my hands back to my sides, fingers closing into fists, the dirt beneath their feet disappear. Their screams pierce through the air for a measly second before being swallowed up with dirt.

I fix my father with a sharp look. "Still don't want to beg for mercy?"

He growls, charging at me. A snap, and a single root lifts to trip him. He falls flat on his face. I meander over to him, squatting down to tip his chin up.

"Looks like someone's a little rusty." I give him a pitying pout. "Just one little word, and I'll go easy on you."

If looks could kill, I'd be well on my way to Deimos. I shove his head back farther.

"Please," he sputters, and I tilt my head. "Well? Don't just stare, girl."

"Hm," I muse. "I don't think you're worthy of mercy."

"But– but you said–"

"I lied," I hiss. With a sharp motion, I snap his neck. Standing, I brush my hands on my pants and give his still body a disgusted look. He should've died a long, painful death. Oh well. At least this world is rid of him.

A brilliant golden light catches my eye. Looking down, I find the raven pin he never went without glowing. Gasping, I slip it off his shirt. It flashes brightly, and I shield my eyes. The light fades, and I pin it to my shirt, a symbol of my victory.

Slowly, I trudge to Demetrius's side. Crouching, I close his eyelids. "Rest in peace my love." Something pinches my shoulder. Turning my head, murky black eyes meet mine. Raven eyes. I gasp, trying to brush it off. It tilts its head, as my hand moves through its body effortlessly. Holy– It's a shadow.