| The Enforcer |
| "Oh no!" No one was sure which one said it first, but both boys had apparently decided that leaving would be better than what Sarai had in mind. "Avana! Hold them here!" Sarai had already formed a plan. "I can't keep them still!" Avana said, now holding Delta firmly on the ground. She had a grudge agains the demon child. "I don't need you to. Just keep them from teleporting. Can you do that?" "Yes." Avana said confidently. Emma was getting nervous. "Don't just stand there Emma! I certainly can't outrun them," Sarai said. Emma blinked, then remembered her new features. Rabbits were fast. She took off running, and sure enough, she gained very, very quickly. Sarai was far behind Emma, but still shouting orders. Had she not been so sarcastic, she would be a born leader. "Derek first. He can teleport! I've got Eddie!" The boys were running along a riverbed away from beneath the bridge they had previously been hiding under. They had gone in a straight line at first, knowing it would be fastest, but soon realized they would be harder targets if they separated. Eddie had begun to climb the cliff and Derek kept closer to the river, trying to get out of Avana's reach. He was about to try teleporting again when a rather large object slammed into his the middle of his back. The air was knocked out of Derek as he fell to the ground. The rocks scratched him up more, and a few stuck into his already bleeding cuts. He would probably get an infection. Emma smiled with pride. She had done it! Her joy was all too soon. Derek, weakened already by his fight, was still not ready to give up. He kicked his leg out, knocking Emma down, and quickly jumped to his feet. Emma's reflexes saved her as she barely escaped a concussion by holding herself inches above the ground. She threw her legs back towards her head then forward again to propel herself to her feet. Derek looked shocked. Emma grabbed his arm and grabbed a memory. "You lost another pet? Well, we'll get you something more resiliant this time. Like an armadillo!" Derek jerked away as quickly as possible, but it was too late. Emma's bunny ears had vanished. She felt her arms buffing slightly and her awareness of her tail increased. She slid her feet out of her shoes, wiggling her long toes happily. Derek recognized the monkey features, and cursed his luck. He would have to count on her inexperience and self-concious nature. He moved first, not giving her a second to plan an attack. He let his fists fly and Emma backed up with great agility, her feet able to move like a second pair of hands and her tail providing the extra balance she needed. Emma was still unsure of her abilities, but she was sure of a monkeys. She was also sure that Sarai needed her to do this. Balancing her weight on her tail and her left foot she sent her right foot high into Derek's face and already broken nose. The blood no longer trickled, but flowed freely. Emma was on him before she realized what she was doing. She knocked him back and the two wrestled on the rocky ground. Emma's tail and extra strength provided her with the extra edge. She had him pinned within moments of the match beginning. His face was buried in the dirt once more, despite his struggles to remove her. Sarai on the other hand was still trying to catch Eddie. She had managed to gain on him as he climbed. Her smaller size made it easier to lift herself up the steep ledge. The ground she gained would be lost if Eddie got running again. Sarai shot round after round of black sparks in front and around Eddie. She aimed very carefully, removing the ledges around him until he could go nowhere but down. He had no intention of hurting Sarai, but he couldn't jump. He was running out of choices, and he couldn't see very clearly. If it was any other girl, he would just kick her in the face, but Sarai...he couldn't. So he gauged the distance to the ground below and leaped. He managed to turn himself in the air and land on his feet. Had it been any shorter his legs wouldn't have broken, but as it was, Eddie crumpled in a heap. Sarai rolled her eyes and climbed back down. It had been too close to tell, but the uneven bottom below him had ruined it. If it had been grass, he probably would be running past Emma by now and free forever. She jumped the final six feet and landed somewhat gracefully. She wasn't a dancer by any means, but she wasn't a crumpled heap like Eddie. The girls had the boys and Delta tied up under the bridge a few minutes later. Sarai waited until they were sure they couldn't leave before she healed the worst of their injuries. She did fix Eddie's glasses, so he could see what was being done to him. "You're not just going to check their memories?" "Heh. No. We're going to use them. To cast a little spell," she said, pulling a book out of nowhere. Eddie began to struggle fiercely and was yelled from beneath his gag. "What are you smiling about?" Avana asked Derek, glaring at him. His gag had been spared so they could double gag Delta. "Her," Derek said, nodding behind them. "Duck!" Sarai yelled, diving for Emma and Avana. She managed to knock them away in time for a jet of fire to stream past them. "What took you so long?" Derek asked, upset that the fire had missed the ropes. The young woman did not answer. Her silence was almost scarier than the fact that fire was dancing all around her body. She gave Eddie an appraising look, approved, then moved closer to her master. She didn't untie him just yet, but did stand between him and Sarai. "Allow me to introduce my enforcer. This is Eris. She plays with fire," Derek said. Delta seemed to be dancing in her ropes. Probably saying "ooh boy." "Ooh, I'm so scared. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Avana. I play with your enforcer." Her axe in hand, Avana glared at Eris and Eris glared back. Exhibiting life-like qualities, the fire formed into a large whip as Eris grabbed the handle. She smiled with glee, as if the promise of a good fight was a rare treat. The two didn't move for several minutes. It felt like hours. They were evaluating each other, sizing up their opponents. Both were natural fighters, but who was the better fighter was about to be seen. The only noise that could be heard was Delta trying to talk beneath her double gags. The only one who dared blink was Emma who missed the first movements. It was undeterminable whether one moved before the other, but they were definitely quick. As axe met blade, Derek grinned. "Check princess. Your move." "What's going on?" "Lilly!" Emma cried out. Sarai grinned as Eddie began to struggle and cry out more. Sarai opened the book to the marked page quickly and muttered under her breath as she ran a glowing finger along it's pages. "SEALED!" She finally cried out. With a grin as the ground began to shake she looked at Derek. "Checkmate." |