Runaway Devil

Kara

Azgaria's longsword was useless in close quarters. I pulled her flush against me, leaving her first line of defense impractical. Her sword slipped from her grip, pulling a growl from her throat, twisting and turning downward. She bared her teeth at me and screwed her face up in ugly frustration.

My wings kept climbing, pulling higher and higher, the air thrashing against us. The ground disappeared from below and we were all alone, hovering above the world.

Our ascent slowed momentarily and she took that opportunity to plant her palms on my chest and shove. She ripped us apart and pulled her dirk from her belt.

"You have no idea what you've put into motion," she said. I made no move to respond. I merely stared at her with my sharp, glowing eyes. "You are small," she sneered at me, lunging suddenly with her dagger. I let her come to me, blocking her strike with my forearm. Her armor against my bare skin sent a shudder through my bones. I grunted with the impact, using her momentum to wrap my arm around hers, pulling it to my chest.

The arm wielding the dagger was now in my possession, rendering it useless temporarily. She yanked her arm in an effort to free it, but I held fast, anchoring my claws into the exposed skin. I bit viciously at her inner shoulder, searching for tendons and ligaments. She clawed at my head and face, pulling my hair from my scalp in clumps. I pulled back, strings of flesh snapping and stretching.

Her roar shook my eardrums as I spit mouthfuls of blood and mucus at her. Her polished armor was soiled with grime and blood, I no longer could see my reflection in it. I was thankful for that at least. Blood fell to the earth in thick raindrops, soiling the soil beneath us. I ripped at her chest plate, having bitten through the leather holding it in place. The heavy plate of metal plummeted.

Azgaria slashed at my wing, finally pulling a sound from my throat. My feathers accompanied her blood, fluttering in the air. We broke apart, panting, my skin covered in a cold sheen of sweat. My energy was waning, I had to finish this quickly.

"You have been nothing but a thorn in my side, Karau," she turned her head and spit a glob from her mouth.

"Even when I was winning wars for you?" My smile was dark and sharp. She growled, lunging forward and sending us tumbling through the air.

"You were nothing but my dog. A well-trained one, at that. But then you went rogue," she lashed out with her elbow and made contact with my jaw. I felt a crack resonate through my head, knocking something loose in my mouth. "Nothing is more useless than a rogue mutt."

"Same goes for a shit trainer," I grabbed the back of her head and rammed my knee up into her face. It cracked satisfyingly against my kneecap, sending fragments of her skull deeper into her head. The impact sent her head back and sent an arch of blood into the air. Her throat was wide open, begging for my claws to rip into the soft skin.

I flexed my wings and braced myself behind her. I caught her stunned body before it started its descent, holding her almost gently against me. Her head was resting on my shoulder, her eyes dazed and confused. She stared, disconnected, into the blue sky, the sun peeking out from behind the clouds.

"You," she gasped and gurgled through a collapsing face, "were always the strong one." She flexed her jaw as if to say something else, but she never got the chance. She hadn't participated in a battle for centuries, she was done. I reached around her throat, resting my cheek against hers, and started applying pressure. My claws broke the surface of her skin, blood dribbling down under her tunic.

Just as she started to relax in my arms, her body had one last wave of energy. She chose to use her last moments to plunge her dagger deep into my gut. My lungs seized. My lower half was soaked in blood in moments, a sharp pain shooting through my body. The dagger was deep, all the way to its hilt.

I grunted and stuttered for breath. I felt Azgaria smile, her cheek still touching mine. She reached behind her head and rested her bloody palm against my other cheek. "Good dog." Her voice was airy and weak, already fading from my mind.

I ripped through her jugular just in time for us both to go spiraling down in a mess of blood and feathers.

Two figures came tumbling down, picking up speed as they went. They were both mangled and bloody, completely limp in their descent. My whole body tensed as I lunged for Karau. Her dark wings were slack with her feathers quivering in the wind.

Azgaria's body slammed to the ground like a ragdoll. She came to a sickening, sputtering halt, and finally lay still. I barely got to Karau in time, she landed hard in my arms, sending me to the ground beneath her.

I held her gently and immediately saw the blood. She was drenched in it, and it smelled like hers for once. Her face was broken and bruised; her jaw looked wrong as it sat at an awkward angle. Her skin was littered with slashes and markings from the fight; her chest barely moved with each labored breath. As I scanned downward, my heart caught in my throat.

A dagger protruded from her stomach and moved with each of her breaths. Her face began to pale and the glow in her eyes was dulling.

"No no no no," I gasped as I bent over her, resting my forehead to hers. I ground my teeth and closed my eyes, searching inside of her for the life-threatening wounds. "Don't you fucking dare."

I paid no mind to the sounds around me. Most of her wounds would heal normally; the broken bones and bruising was none of my concern. Among the superficial wounds, there was one louder and angrier than the rest. I focused my attention on it, sweat sprouting on my brow. Behind my closed lids, I saw the golden glow of our bond, my energy flowing into her.

I felt Balan approach and lay by her side, contributing whatever spare energy he had. I was thankful for the assistance and continued piecing her cells back together.

I felt my hand close around the dagger and remove it, sending a new gush of blood forward. Before I realized what I was doing, I began rocking. I held her head to my chest and rocked, feeling her spirit, pushing mine into hers. I needed her body to accept me, I could feel her weakening. Anxiety shot through my chest and I felt the beginning of tears in my eyes.

I took a deep, shaky breath and opened my eyes. I had stopped the bleeding, but she was too weak to go any further. Her body was too tired to heal. I looked down at her face, blood-spattered and pale. I sneered and beat back the panic rising in my throat.

Balan licked her hand and whined. He crawled closer, laying his head on her chest. I felt his body heat increase, his eyes moist with knowing. He was more sensitive to her energy than I was, he was her other half.

He knew. She was fading.