Splash of Color

Ileana’s brown hair blew in the wind as she stood balanced upon the tree limb, her bow taught with an arrow meant to kill her prey. Her grey eyes perceived all that was around her. The trees, rocks, leaves...there! She shot....and missed her quarry for he was fast. She sheathed her bow and slid down the tree, her leather leggings making not a noise. As she crept closer to her quarry, she studied him.

He wore a leather jacket and denim pants these humans were fond of wearing. A small cloak was over his not-so-broad shoulders, hiding his face. He was lithe. Athletically built. A runner, not a fighter. She had caught him in the movement of tucking some papers into his jacket. So, he’s the thief we are after. Not a very good one.

She blinked and he was gone. She unsheathed her bow and strung it with an arrow. Slowly she crept around the woods. What! Where did he go?

The cock of a gun at her back signaled his position and she held very still.

“You know after all your people have taken away from me, I should just blast your head clean off.” He cocked the gun.

She gulped and raised her hands dropping the bow. “Why don’t you,” she questioned.

“I have another mission to see through.”

He put the gun down. “Don’t follow if you don’t want an early death alright, elf?”

He spat the last word with such venom that were he a bespoken elf, he would have vanquished her on that word alone. She nodded but she did not promise. It was her job to catch him.

She turned slightly catching piercing green eyes glaring at her. “What is your mission?”

He chuckled. “Nice try but you’re not getting me to talk..” The gun was back. “Turn around I won’t ask twice.”

She did so and growled. If only my powers weren’t water powers and therefore completely useless against a gun!

There was some scrounging around behind her and she wondered what it was he was doing.

She kept calm. “What do you plan to do with me?”

“Tie you up and make sure you can’t scream for help, for one. Where is it? Oh, there it is!”

In curiosity, she turned around and caught sight of, a metal holder used on imprisoned elves to dampen their powers. They were like those human handcuffs, only made for elves.

“How do you have that!”

“Stole it off one of your shipments...what else? Turn around!”

“I don’t have any real power. You can…”

“I’ve heard this swill before, and my partner paid for it! I won’t fall for it again. If you won’t turn around, then come over here then so I can fasten these on you.”

Ileana sighed, stood, and walked over to the rebel when the forest became too quiet, catching both of their attention. From the shadow a huge eye materialized and below it a salivating mouth. Both looked on as a lumbering figure with four arms and two hind legs bent at the knees appeared from the shadows. Its hulking body was a deep grey in tone, blending into the background of the forest at night.

The rebel sighed and let the metal holders go cocking his gun instead. “I hope those swords you carry aren’t just for decoration.”

She unsheathed her swords, the metal making a ‘shing’ sound coming out of their scabbards. She held one with each hand.

“I assure you they are not.”

“Good, ’cause I’m not about to save an elf from a Morph especially when you guys brought those in with you!”

She wasn’t going to deny it. The elves were currently at war with the Morphs who had destroyed their planet, so they had taken this one as their own and saved it from the humans. It was the first planet where their elements sang to them again after years of sleep.

“You humans were only destroying yourselves and your planet!”

“So, we should be grateful for eternal bondage and these guys.” he pointed at the Morph with his gun. “Not only do you enslave us, but you bring another threat to our planet! How would you like it if you were torn from your family, and thrown into labor at childhood for being a lower species, and on top of that, have these guys to contend with?”

The Morph lunged before she could answer.

Ileana swung her swords and blocked the huge claw, about to tear them in two. The rebel swooped under and tried shooting off a round, but they bounced off the Morph.

“Damn! Lend me a sword!”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You only need one!”

She threw a sword at him with her elven strength and was surprised when he caught it. He swung the blade and thrust it at the Morph impaling its marble skin but not doing much damage. Ileana twirled dodging a claw and swung slashing into the meaty part of the Morph’s paw. It took a step back.

“We need a river! I can’t use my powers otherwise,” she said flipping over a paw and landing a diagonal slash over the Morph’s gigantic body. The rebel flipped, landing with grace on a branch and thrusting his sword straight into the Morph’s eye. The Morph roared in agony trying to scratch at its eye. He hung on for a few minutes before dropping, leaving the sword embedded in its eye. Grabbing his gun from the holster, he shot off a few rounds to distract the Morph.

“There is a river through those trees.” He points west of their situation. “Go. I’ll lead the beast there while you gather your strength.” He shot again gaining the beast’s attention. “Over here ya whiny pup! Where is your mommy I wonder?”

The thing roared and charged, the rebel took off with the Morph behind him. He was counting on the smell and hearing of the beast to be trained solely on him after he shot at it. He was right. Now he would lead it through to the river and leave everything up to her.

“I can’t believe I’m working with an elf!”

Ileana watched as they disappeared through the forest. She ran through the trees towards the river. She could hear the stream but more, she could feel her powers stretch inside of her like a rubber band waiting to be used. Not yet!

She ran straight into the middle of the river and kept wading into the water, till she was waist deep. All around her, the water began to glow a bright white. She sheathed her sword.

“Mother. As I use your gift today, life-giver, please protect me and the other from the foul creature about to dampen your space. Please help me rid the world of one more magic stealer, one more life taker, one more soul breaker! As I will it so let it be!”

The rubber band stretched to fill her with power. It echoed from her soul and filled every crevice of her with light. When she opened her eyes once more, not noticing that she had closed them, they were swirling vortexes of light. Out of all her sisters, she held the most power, but unlike them, she needed a direct source to use her well of powers. Her ears perked up as shooting reverberated through the forests and then the rebel came charging through to the stream with the Morph right behind him.

His eyes widened when he spotted her.

“What the…”

She grinned and rose her hand.

The Morph stepped into the water and the water rose to trap it in a cage. A funnel of water began swirling and leading the caged Morph to it where the swirling waters swallowed the animal for a minute. Underwater, the glowing water was invading the Morph’s insides through its orifices and tearing it to shreds. The Morph exploded from within. The river washed down the blood and guts, and slowly the glowing water began to fade. She felt faint and slipped under the water.

Strong arms carried her to shore.

The rebel laid Ileana down by a tree and bit his lip before scratching his chin and shrugging. She saved my life. I wouldn’t have beat that Morph alone.

He closed his eyes and placed his hands over her chest and forehead. A bright light enveloped Ileana for a few seconds.

Her eyelashes rose to see a halo of magic around the rebel and she gasped. With his hood off, she could see the mop of red hair hiding semi-pointed ears.

“You’re a halfling!”

Green eyes gazed into grey annoyed. “I prefer semi-human.”

“You can do magic!”

“I can do a lot of things...mostly trained in the human half though.”

“Do you have an element?”

He snapped his fingers a small ball of flame gathered from the spark.

“Good enough for lighting campfires and explosives not much else.”

“Of course not! If you can heal, your powers are out of balance. You have both chaos and Nirvana living within you! Unheard of!”

“Chaos and Nirvana?”

“Destruction and life powers. Fire destroys and healing gives Life.”

“But after a fire, everything grows again so fire serves life.”

“I-I never thought of that.”

“Circle of life or some shit like that. Anyway, I have to leave. I’m already late for my mission.”

“Thank you. You didn’t have to help me.”

“We make a pretty good team I think...if we weren’t enemies that is.” He stood and threw on his hood. After making sure the papers were unharmed, he saluted her and went on his way.

“Wait! What is your name?”

“Max!”

He disappeared between the trees leaving Ileana to gather her wits about her. She gathered her things from the fight, finding her other sword downstream. She thought about the question he had asked her before. How would you like it if you were torn from your family and thrown into labor in childhood for being a lower species, and on top of that, have these guys to contend with?

She’d be mad as hell so she at least knew where he came from but what would she do? Facing the water, she thought of her family in slavery by the Morphs and sighed. Sheathing her weapons, she left for the citadel to report her findings.

I’m fighting aren’t I, so why shouldn’t they? For the first time, Ileana understood the rebels a little more and wondered if she’d ever see Max again. She didn’t fool herself into thinking that was his real name.