Ashes of Revenge

Sitting at the counter, the small group waited for Bram and Mark’s return in silence. The only noise was that of Malik cleaning the pints.

The door opened and in walked the pair. They handed the small group their coats. They were black, with brown fur outlining them; leather lined certain parts of the jackets at random, and all had hoods.

Malik looked at all of them, and his brows naturally furrowed together as they folded the coats over their arms. “Goin’ somewhere?” he asked.

“Yep,” Raven said, tossing coins onto the counter despite them not ordering anything. The group walked out of the pub, leaving behind a confused Malik.

“Bram an’ Mark, get tha back of tha Market. Colt an’ I will get tha front. Richard, do what yeh want. Meet at that hill.” She pointed to it.

The two men nodded and walked away, taking a path that led to the back. Richard, Colt, and Raven all turned and walked towards their target.

Richard’s wings expanded and lifted him into the air. Raven’s eyes watched him fly away for a second or so until he camouflaged into the thick mist floating just above the houses and shops. The sun had begun to set, starting the timeframe between peace and danger. She glanced over at Colt, who was staring at the town, but when he felt her gaze on him, he looked at her.

They both faintly smiled and drew their hoods over their heads, then clipped their face coverings into place.

"Bye," she said.

"Bye."

They separated - Raven going to the left and Colt going to the right.

Good luck, she thought to him.

Be safe, he thought.

Once Raven made it to the top of the little hill, and at the base of the Market, she saw that every cart was wrapped up and protected from the wild Monstros, but not from fire. She bent down to the bottom of a cart and struck her gloves together a few times.

An ember finally caught the dry wood on fire, the flame immediately taking a liking to it.

Looking up, she saw Richard shoot through the air.

Richard landed on top of a cart, stolen lantern in hand, and slammed it down. The fire covered the top within a second, and Richard quickly flew back. As he flew up, he saw that fires had been started on all four corners of the Market.

Igniting another fire towards the center of the Market and walking away, Raven froze as a new noise entered her ears; it was that of metal hitting metal. She knew by the beats and hits alone Colt was involved; it was too fast-paced to be anyone else.

Shifter’s speed and accuracy when it came to fighting were the best and most precise out of all the species. They moved like lightning with the exactness of an expert marksman.

Knowing that Colt was involved, she ran away from her fires and to his section of the Market. Freezing in a small opening, her eyes scanned around the grey smoke and red fire for any signs of life. A silver flash made itself known, and she finally spotted the source of the noise. Colt was fighting three Knights as fast and as accurate as he could, barely allowing all three of them to keep up. All the Knights had their swords drawn with varying mutations, and Colt had his knives out.

Colt spun around and blocked each attack that came towards him. The Knights were fast and skillful, but Colt didn’t have a heavy sword or armor to weigh and slow him down. He blocked a high and low blow at the same time before he spun around, blocking a third. He managed to shove one of the Knights away. A knife shot through his foot and out his boot. He kicked a Knight’s side and ripped his foot out of the Monstro’s ribs, slicing towards another man.

“Join in ANYTIME!” Colt yelled as he blocked a sword and somehow avoided two more attempts on his life.

Raven pulled her sword from the sheath and ran towards them. A Knight saw a blur of black and turned his head. She swung her sword with as much force as she could muster, and it collided with the Knight’s helmet. He dropped to the ground and screeched, his claws scratching at his head. Raven plunged her sword into his back before she swiftly pulled it out.

Another Knight swung his sword at Colt, and Raven blocked it, shoving him back. Now Colt and Raven each had one Knight, and they couldn’t have been happier.

Colt outstretched his left arm, and pulled the trigger to his crossbow. A small arrow flew through the air, colliding with the Knight’s hand that was holding the sword. He screeched in pain as the sword fell to the ground. Within the next second, Colt had both of his knives in the man’s chest. The Knight went limp and fell to his knees, allowing Colt’s blades to drag through his body. The Shifter stepped back as he turned around and faced Raven.

She and the Knight battled for a few seconds. The attack was so quick that the Knight barely had any time to process the move before he fell to the ground. Raven pulled her sword out of his gut. Just like that, Raven and Colt were alone. They were breathing heavily as they looked around for more enemies.

Embers flew through the air in an almost hypnotic way, circling around the pair with a fine mix of ash. The orange allowed her eyes to turn into the soft autumn that they seldom were.

“Yer welcome,” Raven said as she cleaned her sword on the bend of her arm and unhooked the facepiece.

“I had that under control.”

“Did yeh?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Is that why yeh were screamin’ for me to join in?” Raven raised an eyebrow.

Colt’s mouth opened and closed a few times as he made eye contact with her. “It was a moment of weakness.”

“I’m sure it was.”

Colt made a mocking face as he pretended to laugh. “Shut up,” he finally said.

Raven smiled ear to ear. “What a comeback.”

“I’m goin’ to kill yeh.”

“Yeh can certainly try to, but we both know who tha better fighter is.”

“Me, of course.”

“Yer wrong.”

Colt laughed one single time. “No, I’m not.”

“Yeah, yeh are.”

“There isn’t a single doubt in my mind who is better.”

“Neither do I.”

They stood there in silence.

“Agree to disagree?” Colt asked.

“No.”

“Yeh little twat,” Colt said in an amused tone.

“Yeh little wanker.”

Raven and Colt faintly smiled and laughed at each other, but silence soon followed.

“Thanks again for helpin’,” Colt remarked.

“Yeah, yeah . . . no problem. . . .”

They rocked back and forth on their feet as they looked at one another, neither knowing if they were mimicking each other.

Raven studied his two different colored eyes as he looked at her face.

“Well, I’m gonna go look for tha Official,” Raven finally said as she turned away from him, blocking his view of her scars.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Silence. “I’ll see how Bram an’ Mark are doin’.”

They nodded and went their separate ways.

As Raven watched Colt walk away, she swung her sword at her side and brushed her free hand against her nose. Taking the cloth piece, she covered her mouth and nose again. Turning around, she naturally forced her body to the ground, a sword flying over her. She rolled out of the way and moved into a defensive stance.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw none other than the Oficial standing a few feet in front of her. “Remember me?” Raven asked as she smiled, despite it being covered by the mask.

He swung his sword at her again, and she blocked it. Her eyes looked down at his hand, and she noticed a beautiful black ring on it.

“I like yer ring,” Raven said in an almost taunting voice.

Their swords collided once more after the statement. Metal slid against metal as sparks flew off the blades. Sidestepping, Raven moved out of the way, and the two stared at one another.

Getting the sense a sword fight wouldn’t get him anywhere, the Official decided to change tactics.

Before she could move, something rammed into her side. She flipped through the air and landed roughly on the ground. Rolling to the side, she stood and looked around as her hip began to throb. The Official was gone, but she heard a weird whooshing noise circulate her. She turned around as fast as lightning when the sound came closer, and she froze for a second as she took in his new appearance.

The Official had transformed into the Monstro that he was. His eyes had turned into ruby slits of a reptile. Embedded in his skin in particular areas were dull red jasper scales, the same color thin point tail swayed behind him, creating the whooshing sound. His claws twitched at his sides. Though he wasn’t the most frightening Monstro she had seen, he somehow had an amount of control, dominance, and power that illuminated off of him.

The voices entered into Raven’s head. That unknown language speaking to her, telling her to fight him. Kill him.

Raven’s gloves hit each other, causing her sword and gloves to become ablaze, the echo of the plates resonating through the air, adding to the crackling of the fire.

Both stared at one another, waiting for the other to attack first.

They shot forward at the same time.

Her sword collided with the scales on his arm, and the blade bounced off. He grabbed both her wrists with his hands, and his tail wrapped around her throat with frightening speed. He lifted her off the ground slowly as she gasped for air. The sword was clenched tightly in her hand, and her gloves were still on fire. Breathing out one quick breath, Raven managed to swing her lower body up and connect both her feet with his face.

He stumbled back and naturally let go of her. She tumbled to the ground and quickly stood up, swinging her sword again. It connected with his scales and bounced off them again. Sparks flew off of the flame on the sword and landed all around them.

He sliced his hand towards her, and she blocked it with her weapon. Sidestepping, Raven moved out of range and swung again. This time, her sword connected with actual flesh. He wailed in pain as he naturally latched onto the blade, trying to pry it out. Parts of his hands burned while the scales protected others.

Finally, he forced the sword out of his flesh. The relief only lasted for a second before Raven’s glove latched onto his face. The pain was so intense that he screamed and fell on his back. Raven fell with him, her glove still grasping his skin. His tail wrapped around her throat again, and his hands grabbed her wrists. Within a second, he flipped Raven to where her back was on his chest, and his back was on the ground. Raven gasped for air as his tail tightened.

The Official slowly began to move Raven’s glove towards her face. The intense heat forced her to close her eyes. She could feel the heat about to hit her skin, and her body went into overdrive at the thought of her face getting burned again. Her muscles strained, and she managed to hold her hand where it was before it slowly began to move back, despite the constant loss of air every second.

Raven slammed the back of her head into his face, and he went limp for a second. Raven rolled backward on him, and as soon as her feet struck the ground, his tail pulled her down once more. She tried to counter again, but they were both hit. They flipped and tumbled against the ground, disconnecting their limbs and holds on each other.

Before either knew what was happening, they were separated. Raven was left gasping for air on the ground. The sound of a blade slicing through the air and a noise that could only be described as flapping resonated around her. A scream soon pierced her ears and then silence.

The collar of Raven’s shirt was grabbed, and she was yanked off the ground, coming face to face with Richard. She relaxed and smiled a toothy smile at him; her mask had been ripped off sometime during the fight.

“Yer an idiot,” Richard said.

“I know.”

Richard placed Raven’s feet on the ground, and she stepped back.

“Good," he responded. "We should head out.”

Raven looked up onto a small hill. “I’ll meet yeh guys up there.”

Richard looked and nodded.

Raven reached down and slid the Official’s ring off his finger. She placed the ring onto one of hers, next to the blue version of it. She looked up and noticed a silver chain around Richard’s neck - his blue ring tucked under his neat clothes. Colt had given his ring to Richard for safekeeping, too scared he would lose it or gamble it away while drunk.

Raven and Richard walked down the hill, naturally going their separate ways.

Walking through the thick smoke, her burning eyes landed on Herbert. He had remained where she had left him, awaiting his owner’s return. She ran her hand over his side, and he steadied himself so she could hoist herself onto the saddle. The reins slapped against his back, and he jolted forward and gratefully ran out of the smoke.

Raven redirected him to the meeting location. The men made their way to her on their horses, stopping in front of her. “Let’s go,” Raven said.

***

Richard looked up at the sun and saw it was closer to the horizon than it had been a few hours ago. The border came into view, and Richard almost sighed in happiness. The edge was a straight line. Pure whiteness was on the other side of the border - snow and ice - the only other color was the dark silver of the mountains. Even though no one could feel it, the wind pushed and pulled the snow in every which direction.

Ash stood at front of the border.

Everyone hopped off their horses. Putting the coats on, they grabbed what they needed from their bags before their hands slapped the back of the stallions, and they all took off.

Raven ran her hand up and down Herbert’s nose gently and smiled at him. “Be safe, yeh hear,” Raven mumbled to Herbert. She let go of the reins. Second thoughts began to rise in her, but she couldn’t allow them to stop her from what needed to be done. Slapping his back, he ran off.

She slowly began to put on her coat as she watched Herbert get further and further away. Bye, she thought.

“So tha travel through here is around three to four days. We will stop to rest in caves in tha Mountains that should be free of Monstros. However, keep yer eyes open because most Monstros in here blend into tha snow,” Ash said.

Raven placed the hood of the coat over her head as she breathed in deeply. Regret seeped into her, and she honestly didn’t know if this was the right thing to do. Biting her tongue, she shoved those thoughts down; it was too late to turn back.

Taking a few steps forward, Raven’s foot entered into the snow. Coldness engulfed her and chilled her to the bone.

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