Golden

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

            I lunge to the side, raising my palms and sending bursts of gold to deflect the metal away from me. Norun’s glare is blazing as he strikes my cheek. He continues his assault.

            Think, Lysandra. He has my swords; what am I to do? I can’t simply block his attacks and wait for him to exhaust himself; that will take too long. I need to get those swords back. I need to push him back.

            Gathering my blood once more, I let it pool everywhere in my body. It burns a trail underneath my skin, settling for only a split second before it bursts. It surges through my chest and my palms, slamming into Norun again. This time, however, he holds his own; blocking my force with my swords.

            The torrent of gilded liquid pushes him back. He digs his feet into the ground, bracing himself against the gold that presses on him like a burst of brilliant wind. He grunts, pushing back with increased strength. I push harder and take a step forward. He steps back, his eyes shut and his face turned away.

            I keep moving forward, making him move backward and towards a mountain that has a large crack through the middle. When his heels hit the base of the mountain, he stumbles, giving me an opportunity to cease the torrent and slam my fist directly into his chest. He wheezes, falling against the mountain, however the crack in it gives way and the large rock splits apart. Norun falls through it, dropping one of my swords and landing on his back once again.

            I waste no time in picking up the dropped sword. Before he can react, I slam the blade right through his chest.

            He splutters, his eyes widening as he looks at the sword imbedded in his skin. Liquid leaks from my hands, twirling around the hilt of the blade and travelling down the metal. It soaks into the wound, poisoning his own blood.

            He pulls out the sword in a swift movement, flinging it away. He slashes at my stomach with the sword he still holds. I jump back, giving him the chance to get back on his feet. He sways as he stands, but he continues to advance towards me.

            I deflect his attacks with heavy bursts of gold. His breathing is short and his eyes are half-closed. His swings are desperate attempts at injuring me; wide and careless. “I will kill you,” he wheezes, clutching his chest. His blood soaks through his clothing, turning black from the poison.

            I send another torrent of gilded liquid towards him – aimed directly at his wound. It surges through him, pushing him back. He presses onward, his face contorted in pain and exhaustion.

            I can see the poison burn brightly under the exposed areas of his skin. It courses through him, affecting every vein and blackening every drop of blood in his system. “I will kill you,” he breathes.

            Slowly, his skin begins to char. His arms darken to black, deteriorating before my eyes. His eyes are sunken in, his cheeks hollowing. He swings at me one more time, and then collapses to his knees. I kick the sword out of his hands and grab his hair, pulling his face upward so he looks at me.

            “How does it feel to know you will die by my hands?” I speak.

        He closes his eyes for only a moment, “Aureal, I am coming,” he whispers. His neck begins to blacken; his breathing ceases.

        I make sure that my voice rings clear. I don’t break my gaze from his. “For the death of my mother, for the destruction of Valsea, and for the loss of my friends – I sentence you to a death more torturous than anything you could ever imagine.”

        His lips char, the skin disintegrating to reveal a set of breaking teeth. A black film spreads across his eyes. Then slowly, his entire body disintegrates in my grasp. His ashes pile at my feet.

        He is dead.

        Norun is dead.

        My hand falls to my side, my breathing laboured. I did it. I killed him. “I did it,” I whisper. I exhale loudly, the sigh feels as though a thousand weights have been lifted from my soul.

        Grabbing my swords and sheathing them, I take in my surroundings. The remaining rogues stare up at me and drop their weaponry. I see Quinn and Atticus below me, standing side by side as they meet my gaze. Looking down at them all, I realize now what power truly feels like. I am not a mortal. I am a Warrior Goddess.

        I let the gold drain from my body, my size decreasing until I am no longer the massive giant that towered over the battlefield. Quinn runs up to me, a large grin placed on his face. He moves to me in quick strides, not stopping when he reaches me. Instead, he throws his arms around me, startling me entirely.

        “You did it!” he exclaims, pulling away. He moves his hands to grasp my shoulders. “You actually did it.”

I return his smile, “we did it. All of us.” I look at Atticus, Morgan and Annette and Darren as they reach us. “The war has been won.”

        “What are we gonna do about them?” Atticus asks, nodding towards the group of rogues. There looks to be less than a hundred of them.

        They all group together, standing close with lost looks on their faces. They glance at each other and then back to me. Two of them step forward, their swords still in their hands. I place my hand on the hilt of my right sword, but they kneel before me, placing their swords on the ground in front of them.

        “We surrender,” they say. “We will serve you.”

        I swallow the lump in my chest. They want to serve me like a goddess. I am a Warrior Goddess. I can do this; I was meant to lead, therefore I was meant to punish.

        I hold my head high, “stand, rogues.” They stand and move back to join the rest of the crowd. I make sure my voice can be heard by them all. “I want every single one of you to give me your transportation orbs.”

        They hesitate and glance at each other. I narrow my eyes, gathering my blood and raising my palms. Ribbons surge through my hands, knitting through each other and forming a massive net that hangs precariously over their heads.

        “If you do not obey me, I will drop this net and burn you all to ashes,” I tell them.

     Their faces are stark white, their eyes trained on the net as they retrieve their orbs from underneath their armours. Slowly, each rogue steps forward and places their orb at my feet. I watch each one, making sure they dare not try to attack me.

        Once all of the orbs are with me, they group back together. I keep the net above them and look at Quinn and the others. “Check each rogue and make sure that they don’t have any orbs. If any have kept one from me – kill them.”

        They all nod and make their way towards the crowd. After a few moments of waiting and holding the net in place, I hear a gunshot. I purse my lips.

        It is a long while before they finish checking them all and return to stand behind me. The net disperses, causing a chorus of relieved sighs. I speak, “as punishment for your betrayal to the goddess Penella, I hereby banish you to this world. You will remain here, undead, for the rest of eternity. Should you feel that that is too long of a sentence – I will leave you your weaponry to end your torment as you wish.” Their eyes widen, gasps and protests echoing in the air.

        I look at Morgan, “let’s leave.”

        He nods, grasping my hand. We all clasp hands, forming a ring. I close my eyes.