The Red Queen

Back at the University, Bo watched as the police dispersed with the would-be assassin. As Bertyn answered his phone, and then left in his SUV, Bo felt the familiar tremor in the air; there was another Immortal nearby.

She was suddenly aware that her sword was still in its box over by the students. If she could reach it... but what of the students? They couldn’t see this. Before she could figure out what to do, the familiar form of Cullen appeared with his Sabre drawn.

‘Not here, Cullen...’ she said, ‘...you know the rules; not in front of innocent witnesses...’.

Cullen wasn’t listening.

He quickly lunged at her, intending to end the fight early and take her head. He didn’t seem to care that she was unarmed. Bo dodged the strike and rolled to one side. Cullen was distracted as Cynthia screamed, which bought Bo a little time and she lashed out with her foot as Cullen advanced, catching him in his midsection. As he doubled over, she struck with the same foot again, this time square in the Colonel’s face and forcing him back.

‘Sword... quickly...!’ she yelled, holding her hand out to her students. There was an awkward few seconds, as the three students looked back at her with blank expressions, before Ryan dived into the box and fished out her sword. Gingerly he tossed it to her. Catching the ancient weapon by the handle, Bo quickly whipped around, and steel clashed upon steel. The sudden impact sent Cullen reeling, which bought Bo some time to get to her feet.

The two warriors faced off, circling each other as the wide-eyed students looked on with equal amounts of fear and fascination. Cullen lunged again, this time with a sweeping downward strike, which Bo dodged but didn’t parry. Cullen followed this with two more slashes, alternating right and left. Again, Bo dodged but did not parry. She couldn’t allow her students to see her kill this man.

‘Fight me, damned you...’ cried Cullen, ‘...has your courage deserted you...?’

‘Not in front of my students...’ she replied coldly. It was hard to keep her emotions in check with such an ignorant opponent.

’Then I shall be the one to educate them...’ Cullen sneered as he attacked again. Bo had no choice; she had to defend herself, and kill him, if she must. He repeated his earlier attack, with three slashes, alternating right and left. This time Bo’s sword clashed against his Sabre, sending sparks flying with each consecutive strike. Cullen was clearly unprepared for the sudden ferocity of the swordswoman’s counterattack and cried out with pain as she finished her offence in an almost instinctive slash across his midsection. Her Chokuto ate flesh as it tore through his shirt. Cullen stumbled with a look of horror upon his face, clutching the wound, before he turned and ran off into the darkness.

Bo noted that he ran towards the park.

Good.

There’ll be no-one there.

The sound of applause distracted her. She turned to see her students standing, clapping with approval of her sword skills. It reminded her of ancient Rome and the gladiatorial arena of Emperor Commodus the day he met his death.

‘Wow...!’ started Ryan, ‘...you were awesome...!’

'Where’d you learn to fight like that, Miss Carver...?’ said Cynthia, ‘...you were like... like... fucking Wonder-Woman...!’

‘Live action role play...’ Bo lied, ‘...now, you all get home - I’ll...sort this out...’ and she raced off towards the park with her sword, eager to get this fight over with quickly.

She almost hoped Cullen wasn’t there, waiting for her.

It would be easier to fight him some other day, when she didn’t have her class here, but it seems a guy like Cullen wouldn’t quit.

He couldn’t even obey some of the most basic rules.

She entered a secluded portion of the woodland that had been cleared out for families to gather and have picnics or tell stories. It was circular, with a series of logs driven into the ground around the outside to form makeshift tables and chairs. In the northern part of the pear-shaped clearing, the logs were arranged as a campfire, with a central “story chair” and a semi-circle of logs as stools for the audience.

In the daylight, it probably looked wonderful and magical.

In the dark, it just looked creepy.

The familiar tremor in the air told her she was close to her prey.

Suddenly, a weapon flashed, and Bo barely reacted quick enough to counter. Sparks flew from the blades as they clashed, illuminating the small space. Cullen, semi-healed from Bo’s earlier cut, tried the same manoeuvre again; three slashes alternating left and right. Bo dodged the first, then struck back at the others, forcing Cullen back. This time she didn’t finish with the gut-slash, but instead moved two steps back and held her stance.

She was in control of this fight, and Cullen knew it.

‘Weapons do not belong in the hands of women...’ he sneered as he ran his blade suggestively along the edge of hers, '...why don’t you and I go somewhere more... comfortable? I’m sure there’s lots of more pleasurable things we could teach each other instead...’.

Even the thought of it sickened her.

‘Nothing would give me more pleasure...’ she started, seductively, ‘...than seeing your head divorced from your body...!’ she spat with indignation, as she lunged forward.

Bo’s impetuous charge threw Cullen off guard slightly, her Chokuto tearing into Cullen’s right thigh. Cullen replied with a heavy swing from his Sabre which Bo just barely managed to avoid. Bo recovered quickly and thrust her trusted sword through the man’s chest just below the right arm, narrowly missing his heart. Staggering and coughing blood, Cullen attempted a slash to Bo’s head, but he missed and went down hard.

‘Here endeth the lesson...’ growled Bo, and her blade flashed as she brought it over her head, and it seemed to hum a low, swift tune when she brought it down.

For a few seconds the air was still. Bo barely had time to get her breath back, as she planted her feet and raised her sword heavenwards once again, in anticipation of what was coming next. Cullen’s decapitated body began to glow; from the stump of his neck at first, then his entire body as it levitated a few inches off the ground. The wind picked up, sending leaves swirling all around her before crackles of lightning began snaking out from Cullen’s corpse and into her. She gritted her teeth with the sudden pain but tolerated it. All of a sudden, a huge bolt of lightning raked down from the night sky, striking the outstretched blade and coursing down through her arm and into her body. The pain was intense, and she cried out as smaller bolts struck the blade and coursed through her body. Each time the lightning forked down; it lit the glade with an array of dazzling colours. It was truly magical; although Bo had little time to appreciate it as she continued to get raked by the intensity of the lightning. After a long few moments, it was over, and Bo collapsed to her knees and caught her breath.

That’s when she noticed her students standing at the edge of the glade, watching the whole spectacle with a mixture of horror and fascination.

‘Damned it...’ cried Bo, ‘...why didn’t you just go home like I told you to...?’

‘We were worried about you...’ replied Kelly, her voice trembling slightly, ‘...that guy was trying to kill you...’

‘And now he’s dead...’ finished Bo, rising to her feet, ‘...and you three know my secret...’.

‘We won’t tell...’ said Kelly, looking around her at her companions with fear of what Bo may or may not do to keep her secret. After all, she has just chopped a guy’s head off, ‘...will we guys...?’

‘Who’d believe us anyway...?’ asked Ryan.

‘Wow...!’ Cynthia finally blurted out after staring at Bo for what seemed the longest time, '...never mind Wonder-Woman - you were like... fucking She-Ra or something...!’.

Bo couldn’t help a smile at that.

‘I’ll take “She-Ra” over “Wonder-Woman” any day...’ she laughed.

‘So, what are you, Miss Carver...?’ asked Ryan, ‘...some sort of God or something...?’

'She’d be a “Goddess”, stupid...!’ scolded Cynthia, '...she’s a girl...?’

‘I don’t know what I am...’ replied Bo, ‘...but this...’ she indicated to the scene behind her, '...didn’t happen...right...?’

The three students nodded mechanically.

'And you saw nothing...’.

The three students shook their heads in unison.

‘Excellent...’ Bo said, walking between them, ‘...perhaps I should behead someone in my lectures in future...’ she mused, almost to herself, as she replaced the ancient blade in the box under the glare of the streetlights, ‘...maybe you kids will pay more attention to what I’m saying, rather than what I’m wearing...?’.

Just then, her phone rang. She fished it from her back pocket and looked at the caller; it was Maria.

‘Hey, babe...’ Bo answered cheerfully, ‘...how’s it going at your end...?’

Twenty minutes later, Maria is sitting with Bo on the University steps. She is constantly glancing at the three students standing nearby, shuffling awkwardly.

‘So, how much did they see...?’ she asks.

‘Not sure...’ replied Bo, ‘...just the Quickening I think’.

‘Jesus, Bo...’ started Maria with exasperation, ‘...you need to be more careful. Remember what happened with Gilbert Becket...?’.

’Do you think I want to do what I do...?’ cried Bo with indignation, ‘...face another Immortal with a sword knowing only one of you can live...?’ she got to her feet, scooped up the box containing her sword and took a step away before turning, '...you try being me..!’ she yelled again, '...you try living with one eye over your shoulder, knowing that your time may be running out. Knowing that every time you fight, no matter how much you train, and whatever tricks you have, ultimately, you still lose’.

Maria looked shocked at her lover’s outburst. She’d never heard Bo react like this. Furious, Bo stormed off towards her pick-up. Maria watched her vanish into the darkness before turning her attention to the equally shocked students.

‘Listen up...’ she commanded. The three students snapped their heads in her direction, ‘...you lot are going to “discover” the body back there and call the police...’.

'But... aren’t you the police...?’ asked Ryan nervously.

‘I’ll pick up the call and respond, saying that I’m on my way here...’ explained Maria, ‘...that should buy you enough time to get your story straight...’.

‘What story...?’ asked Cynthia.

Maria scowled at them as Bo’s truck roared away into the night.

‘The story of how you guys found him...’ Maria paused to jerk a thumb in the direction of Cullen’s body, ‘...taking the park as a short-cut, maybe...? Or perhaps to make-out...?’

‘Short-cut sounds fine...’ answered Kelly and Cynthia almost at the same time. Ryan looked hurt that neither of them would want to make-out with him - even if it was pretend.