The Zodiacs

15. Key Encounter

Zahra immediately threw her sword up, blocking the initial attack that was thrown her way. She launched forward with her own attempt to wound the skilled fighter in front of her, but barely got a few inches within the left side of his ribs before he leaned back and brought his sword to hers. Both metals rung against each other loudly and, had there been common houses around them, could easily have called attention to their presence.

She stumbled back when he slammed his sword against the base of her blade with a force that made it nearly fly from her grip. But Zahra had learned of the iron grip to keep on her weapon from the last time she'd lost it in battle with the soldier.

When the opportunity showed itself to her, Zahra wrapped her left hand around the taller man's wrist --holding his weapon away from her and spinning herself against him. She lifted her other arm up just enough to bury her elbow into his side, making the knight fall forward with a pained grunt. His chest barely brushed her back before the girl pulled away, spinning back toward him confidently.

She'd landed one hit on a knight. The first hit one of them was able to manage on the other was from her side... maybe there was hope to live through this after a-.

A sharp blade suddenly cut through her sleeve, slicing the top of her arm open and making the girl cry out. She lifted her weapon as heat overtook her dominant arm and forced her to depend on her left one to wield the weapon instead.

The knight easily blocked her attempted hit, twisting her left arm and yanking the sword from between her fingers. She watched it fall against a distant wall as the momentary building hope dissipated almost instantly. But Zahra pulled her injured arm back to build power before she brought it down on the knight's temple.

He caught her wrist, twisting it back with a force that reminded the girl of the bleeding wound on that arm. She cried out, grinding her teeth together as the pain overwhelmed her body with the desire to give up the battle that she had no chance of winning now.

But Zahra pulled her other arm back for the same purpose. This time she landed the hit on the knight's ears, noticing the sharp cut in his hood and the blood that stained the area. When she'd initially seen him dodge the arrow, she'd assumed that the sharp point had completely missed. Seeing the bloody tear now confirmed otherwise --she'd injured him from such a far distance.

Flinching to the side, he released his hold on her arm to allow one hand to fly up to the bloody area that she'd just directed all her strength into striking. Stepping back when he looked away from her for just a second, Zahra dared to consider running away now that she had the chance to flee and not fight.

She'd only taken half of a step away when his leg suddenly shot up, kicking her with a painful force in her stomach and sending the girl crashing to the ground with a pained groan.

In a moment, his sword's point was pressing into the base of her neck as he towered over her. "Traitor!" He barked from beneath the material over his nose and lips, muffling the word only slightly. But it wasn't enough to take the pure hatred and disgust out of his tone.

Zahra breathed heavily, looking up at the shadow of the knight now above her. From this point of view, she noticed the familiar light brown eyes for the first time since they'd clashed. "Master... O...?" Her unsteady breathing made the words difficult to enunciate as her chest rose and fell frantically from her place on the ground.

"Don't say my name," he spat, pressing the point further into her skin with evident dislike. "You lost that privilege when you screwed me over after everything I did for you," the words seemed forced out through clenched teeth.

She furrowed her eyebrows with breathless exhaustion hindering her features. "Screwed you over? I didn't... I wouldn't-."

"You did," he snapped, putting more force into his hold on the cold blade that brushed against Zahra's neck. "I trusted you. I trusted you more than the others and you turned out to be worse than I could have ever imagined, Seven. You're a monster."