Trails Chapter 21: Confrontation

                The air was tense as the three pairs stared each other down. With the arrival of Doratea and Dixie it was clear this would no longer be a straightforward fight. Those two would wipe them all out with ease. The question was whether two would team up to knock out the dominant threat or if it was every man for themselves? Dawn was the first to react.

                She slammed her staff into the earth. “Floras Titanes.” She shouted.

                The earth shock and instantly cracked open as massive vines shot forth from the breach. Ramsey was taken by surprise as a vine wrapped around his leg. He went to reach it but he lost footing and was suspended two stories into the air. Kiri fared better able to see the attack coming and ducking and dodging the first lash. However she was outnumbered and as she tried to dodge one vine another knocked her off balance then another wine wrapped itself around her waist as more bound and immobilized her hands. She two was suspended high above the air. The real surprise came from Doratea and Dixie who hadn’t seen fit to move at all. They stood there as the vines ensnared them and lifted them up.

                “Wow Dawn.” Cass said with a whistle. “Nice work.” She looked at her partner as her eyes glowed from the magic that flowed through her. It was always surprising to see it done in real life.

                Cassandra reached into her belt and produced a small dagger. She casually tossed it to Dawn.

                “What’s this for?” She asked.

                “The next time someone grabs you don’t play games, stab them in the kidney.” She walked over to the statue and hoisted it over her shoulder. “This was surprisingly easy. I guess it’s one of the perks of having an all-powerful elf mage at your side.” She made a cutesy gesture with her free hand. Dawn blushed at the compliment.

                Ramsey for one was not prepared to be embarrassed in such a fashion. “This isn’t over!” he shouted surprised by his own anger.

                “I wouldn’t struggle if I were you.” Dawn advised. “They’ll only get tighter.”

                Ramsey ignored her warning and kept thrashing. He could feel the vines grip strengthen squeezing the air out of him. He watched as the pair began to leave and he could feel his heart rising. The burning was coming back and his blood began to boil. Suddenly he broke out into a sweat and steam rose from his body. Smoke started to appear as the vines burned and withered from his body heat. Then a flame caught and Ramsey’s body was engulfed in hot fire. The vine withdrew and he was dropped to the ground.

                “What the hell?” Cassandra gasped. She took a few steps closer investigating the ball of flame that was formerly Ramsey Lench. “Did he just set himself on fire?”

                “Spontaneous combustion?” Dawn proposed. She looked at the fire as it began to smolder. Smoke began forming obscuring the shrinking flame. Something wasn’t right. She felt energy coming of him. Life energy. “Mistress. Be careful.” She warned

                Cassandra turned to face Dawn. “What?” she motioned showing she hadn’t heard.  In a flash a form burst out of the smoke. It was Ramsey charging Cassandra sword first. He thrust his sword straight for her abdomen in that moment all of his being aimed towards skewering her insides. She was prepared however deflecting his strike easily with a knife in her left hand.  She then shifted her arm elbowing him in the stomach and dropping him to his knees.

                “I wasn’t expecting that.” She chuckled. “You have some spirit but you’ll need more than that to.” She was interrupted as fist struck her face causing her to drop the statue and send her back a few feet. She rubbed her cheek and turned to see KIri rushing her body covered in bright yellow lines.

                It was clear the fight had started as the two amazons collided in fair combat. Kiri was a flurry of punches and kicks aimed at Cassandra in rapid succession. Cass however could not be underestimated. She was able to back step before any of KIri’s attacks could connect.  She drew another knife in a reversed grip now having one in each hand. She thrust a blade at Kiri’s eye but she moved aside the knife hitting air. Then Kiri went to grab Cass’s shoulder and try to restrain an arm when her other came down knife first forcing her to release. They connected again in a combination of fluid motions neither gaining and advantage. Then a break in the stalemate; Kiri swept Cass’s leg causing her to go to one foot, she then pressed her advantage knocking the guardian off balance she then knelt down putting pressure on her abdomen. She went to strike a finishing blow when her arm stopped moving an inch from Cassandra’s face. The guardian smiled. “So you’ve finally decided to join us.” Kiri turned to see Dawn in the midst of another spell. Suddenly she lost feeling in her arm and then her waist. She went limp and fell to the ground.

                Ramsey stood up shakily gaining his balance. That guardian had finished him in one move. He wasn’t surprised by this; he knew the difference between them from the beginning. What shocked him was how he had acted. In that moment he had been a different person; a being of hate and rage. He didn’t have time to wonder as he noticed Kiri spasm on the ground.

                Dawn focused her energy. The current spell she was using required complete concentration. She could see white wisps and tendrils bind Kiri to the ground in a spectrum only visible to her. She had precise control over each one but if she faltered the spell that summoned them would break and Kiri would be free. The poor girl must of thought she was having a seizure oblivious to Dawn’s control over the forces of the second realm. “Now’s your chance Mistress, finish her off.”

                Cass didn’t miss her mark. She rose to her feet in a position directly above Kiri. She sheathed her blades quickly and cracked her knuckles. In a swift punch she slammed a fist into Kiri’s sternum causing her to shriek in pain and gasp for air. She raised her hand for another when two small feet connected with her chest as Ramsey jumped right into her. The force was enough to stagger her but not knock her over. She looked to see the small soldier on his ass in front of her. She lunged for him but he swiftly scooted away from her. He ducked between her legs and drew his sword.

                “What now soldier?” Cassandra taunted. “You don’t think you can take me?”

                Ramsey answered by chucking his sword which she deftly avoided. “Not your best move.” Cass noted.

                “I’d have to disagree.” Ramsey smirked.

                Cass tilted her head intrigued by the soldier’s confidence when suddenly she was grabbed from behind. Kiri moved her arms between Cass’s armpits and leveraged her own weight to lift the amazon over her head. In one motion she slammed the guardian to the ground in an earth shaking suplex.

                Cassandra’s head spun and not just because it was just propelled to the ground at thirty miles per hour. How had the amazon escaped so quickly? As her vision slowly returned she got her answer by seeing the soldiers blade embedded in a tree right behind where Dawn had been standing. She was treated to a nice view as the bottom of the elf’s feet came into view. She looked up at her thin frame that had small bumps of fat in all the right places. Even with eyes strained and a look of worry on her face she was adorable.

                “I’m sorry Mistress. I had to stop my spell to avoid being hit.” She apologized

                “You know you look pretty good upside down.” Cassandra remarked.

Kiri looked at her soldier. She was surprised by his ingenuity. She ruffled his hair in appreciation before turning her attention towards the other pair. They were more formidable than she had thought. What really worried her was her sister. Both Dixie and her still remained suspended by the vines. They looked fine but they hadn’t yet moved or even tried to break free. She couldn’t worry about that now as the real threat became apparent to her. She had thought to focus on the guardian but that elf was the real danger. Her spells gave them the advantage in almost any situation. Kiri swatted Ramsey on his head to gain his attention. He shot her and angry scowl but was silenced when she pointed towards Dawn.

                “Don’t let her cast another spell.” Was her command.

                “Right.” Ramsey affirmed.

                Doratea watched with only the slightest amusement as the two pairs recovered. Their first skirmish had been quite entertaining. In it she saw their naivety and inexperience. The  elf while powerful was unsure of the proper time to help, Cassandra was most skilled with a knife but she was arrogant and talked too much, Kiri didn’t take her time preferring to rush in head on assaults instead of waiting for the opportune moment, and the soldier while clever didn’t have the muscle to back it up. She looked over to Dixie she was watching the action intently occasionally giggling at the events.

                “These kids have so much energy.” She covered her mouth stifling another laugh. “You’d think it was their first time or something.”

                Dixie had a point. For all the things they lacked passion wasn’t one of them. Part of her wanted to see how this would play out. She disagreed with Kiri about all this but part of her was proud to see her sister on the battlefield. Still her she was getting bored and she had questions that needed answering. She grabbed the end of the vine that bound her and snapped it from the rest freeing herself. Seeing this Dixie flexed her body the vine instantly giving weight to her might. Dora looked at her and smiled at how easy she made it look. Both women jumped of the vine and into the battle.

                Kiri’s fear had come true as her sister for whatever reason had decided to stop spectating. She had no way of knowing who her first target would be but she assumed it was herself. She had a large chunk of vine in her hand and was coiling it around her wrist. She took a few test swings and everyone heard the loud cracks as the lash of the vine hit the ground. Then Dixie hit the ground right behind Dora. She crossed her arms observing quietly. Kiri wasn’t too worried about her chances are she wouldn’t move unless Dora requested.

                “You have one chance.” Dora spoke. “Forfeit now before you all get embarrassed.” She began tying another vine into the previous one and stretching the plant for tightness.

                Instantly a knife was flung in her direction. In one swing she managed to swat the knife from the air with her makeshift whip and catch it with her free hand. “This doesn’t concern you rookie.” She threw the blade back at Cass’s feet. “It would be best you not involve yourself.”

                “Can’t do that sir.”

                “Very well.” Doratea nodded her head in disapproval. “Dixie please make sure they don’t interfere.”

                Before anyone could react the giant amazon took hold of the two squeezing each in a separate arm. “Sorry about this.”

                Suddenly Doratea rushed, Kiri put up a guard but she wasn’t aiming for her. Her sister grabbed Ramsey by the throat.

                Ramsey stared into Blue eye’s blue eyes. They shimmered in sunlight. He looked at her face it had an expression that could only be described as hate. He flailed in her grip as his air supply dwindled. He could feel himself embracing the darkness. Surprisingly he was more worried about Kiri than himself. Could she win these games without him? He tried to start his fire but it was only a flicker now. He couldn’t understand how it worked or why it would save him before and not now. He was losing consciousness a cold chill ran through his body and he could no longer feel his limbs. He dropped to the floor but he couldn’t feel the impact. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Kiri standing above him cloaked in yellow flames. His flames.