Xana IV

Chapter seven

Xana IV

Imps soar towards me and I grip my scythe with white knuckles and charge them with a battle cry scratching my throat. I bash a There's no sign of any imps or other faeries in the village yet we proceed with utter caution. My hands hover over the lid of my canteen ready to unleash my weapon at any second. I lead the rag tag group of rebels towards the base of the tree. There's still no indication that and imps are here and within attacking range, but I know they're here; there were no imps in the wheat field or beyond.

I gesture for everybody to follow me. Instead of flying up the side of the trunk we climb the winding stairs carved into the bark one by one. It takes longer this way, but we have a better chance not being seen climbing rather than flying in open air.

Once we reach the top of the stairs we bunch together and scan our area. Nothing. I motion them to follow me. We climb up a thick branch and quickly switch branches, ascending higher in the tree's protection of left over leaves. We hop from branch to branch getting closer and closer to the Queen's whereabouts without interruption from any imps.

As time draws on without any sighting of imps makes me nervous; very nervous.
Before I know it we're standing on the Great Pavilion. The long path leading out takes you straight to Fey Hall where I have to bypass and walk through the corridors to find the Queen's chambers. That's where I'll find her, where I'll end her.

I point towards Fey Hall. “We'll go to the main doors of Fey Hall where I'll leave all you there to guard for me.”

“We're taking you to her chambers,” says Demetri in resilience. Adana nods in determination.
I sigh. “Fine, but that's as far as you're going and then you're to return to the others right afterward, that's an order.”

“Roger that,” says Adana in total seriousness.

“Ok, let's go.” I turn around and walk towards the path.

I freeze. A single buzz like a cicada's wings pierces my ears. “They're here,” I whisper. Suddenly imps pour over the rim of the pavilion and ambush us. “Attack!” The first imp to come into contact with me was definitely the most unlucky. It racked its claws across the side of my torso and as I happened I grabbed its neck and legs and whip it in front of me. I lift my knee up and throw the imp down on it, cracking its spine easily. Arrows whiz by my head and by the flower stamps on them I’m guessing it the work of Fleur. I kick a few imps in the head, throw some onto the hard marble, punch some hard enough to kill, and simply freeze others. I watch as my friends succeed in their fight. Nerina holds about twelve imps in a large bubble of water to drown them, but she doesn't have the time to wait that out so I freeze the bubble. Since the bubble is no longer liquid she can no longer hold it so I falls to the ground and shatters decapitating all the imps inside. Aleen shoots balls of fire out of her fists as Cecile slices any imps coming in from behind Aleen. Jinx seems to be having the most fun; the girl makes imps run into each other or do funny twists and turns in the air before they crash and die as she pretends they're airplanes and says “mayday mayday” or “abort mission”. Adana and Demetri seem to be doing fine as well. All this is short lived of course.

As more imps advance in increasing numbers I decide I can't possibly keep fighting hand to hand any longer. I twist the cap off my canteen and draw my weapon out. Holy water in the state of snow gathers in front of me and freezes into my trusty staff, but I gather more holy water to make it into a scythe. For some reason I always feel more powerful with my staff/scythe bunch in the heads with my scythe, impale a few with the pointed top, and slice others with the blade. I throw some out of my way with a simple swipe of my scythe. And that's when I realize that there are way too many. I hear screams of faeries as the imps bite and tear at their skin. I panic. I know exactly what to do.

“Magic faeries!” I yell at the top of my lungs. “Create a force field! All other faeries, retreat to magic faeries!” Almost instantly they follow my orders. Faeries find a magic faerie and huddle close as they propel, this time, light sparkling force fields around everyone for protection. I scan the pavilion to make sure there are no faeries left out. There aren't any. I can hear the screams of the faeries as they beg me to enter a force field, but I ignore their warnings. Instead I clear the space around me so I can fly over them, and do so. The imps form a spire like a tornado of imps rising to get me. I laugh. I let go of my scythe and it just floats beside me and hold my hands out.

I smile and begin. I freeze their veins, then blood. I can hear the crackle of their veins and the sound makes me giggle maniacally. I unfreeze everything and soar up in the air to dodge the splash zone. Blood spurts everywhere like fireworks exploding in the air. All the imps fall lifelessly into the pavilion floor with uneven thuds.

Blood runs off the force fields like fallen rain off an umbrella as the shields dissolve. People stare at me in horror and awe, but I let them stare; they should be very afraid of me. I giggle. Oh just look at all the bodies! All lying in a pool of their own blood mixed with others! All their faces pinched in terror and pain! I cover my mouth as I laugh. And look at all the warriors’ faces! They’re so scared! My laugh becomes hysterical. “Xana?” says Demetri cautiously. “Are you ok?”

I snort and laugh more. “You look so scared!”

“I am scared Xana,” he says firmly.

I stop laughing and look at him in confusion. “What are you scared of?”

“You.”

I gasp. I look around in shock. Tons on imps lie on the floor drenched in their blood with their faces twisted in fright. They were scared of me too.

“Oh my Nixie. I-” I look around at the petrified faces of my fellow warriors. “I'm so sorry.”

“The curse is getting stronger,” announces Jinx. “She only has a matter of time before the madness spreads and is too much to overcome.”

I wave my hand in dismissal as if the thought doesn't drive me closer to the edge. “Don't worry about that, just if it ever happens again, slap me. I'll be fine. Now lets go, the sun should be coming up soon.” I jerk my head to the side gesturing them to follow me, turn around, and run towards Fey Hall. There's a hesitation in their pursuit, but they obey either way. I fear I may have scared them beyond the boundary of trust. With me going crazy how are they supposed to believe I'll be any better at the job of killing the Queen than Agues? Well it's sort of a lost cause now; I'm doing this no matter what they think.

We reach the stairs and I dash up them. Once at the top I turn to the other warriors. “This is where I leave you. Guard this door with your life. I fear more imps are coming, but if I kill the king then they will go haywire without orders. That's when you'll strike.” I look around at all their determined faces. “Good luck and goodbye.”And with that I turn my back on them and open the doors of hell.

�-–

I follow the rotten smell to the Queen. I know the smell as King Caesar’s and he can only be with her. Demetri and Adana walk behind me with their weapons at the ready. They walk me up to the door. Without even saying good bye I kick open the door and strut inside, but the Queen isn’t there. Instead King Caesar sits in a high backed chair with his stubby legs crossed. He’s just as ugly as the first time I meet him. We’re inside the Queen’s library. Books line the walls and a large fireplace is stuck in the middle on the circular room. “Caesar,” I growl.

“Hello young Xana and friends.” I didn’t even notice Demetri and Adana creep in behind me. “How nice it is to see your beautiful face again. You know, not many would dare to say this, but I think you might be just as dazzling as Titania maybe even more so.”

“Compliments from you mean nothing to me.”

“Pity, I don’t hand them out willy-nilly.”

“Where’s the Queen?”

He laughs. “Like I’d tell you. The only reason why I’m here without her is because she wants me to take care of you, not give you directions to her chambers.” He grins wickedly. His lips stretch all the way to his farthest molars. Suddenly the doors are slammed behind us. I hear Adana gasp and I turn my head towards the door. About three dozen imps line the walls, blocking our only way out. I guess there’s no other thing to do is to fight. I turn my staff back into a scythe. Caesar laughs. “You think you can beat me? Three against thirty one?” He chuckles again. “I’d like to see you try.”

I swing my scythe into a fighting position. “Adana, Demetri, take care of those little imps. I’ve got the big guy.”

Caesar laughs, lifts a bent sword from off the side of the chair and stands up. He stretches his arms up towards the ceiling. “This should be fun. I haven’t had a good duel in a while.”

He swings his sword in front of him and smiles again. “Duel starts in three, two, one.” He charges me at lightning speeds always jerking from side to side. At the last second I swing my scythe in the way of his oncoming blade. The sound of the ice and metal colliding makes my ears ring. The second we met contact the imps attack Adana and Demetri. I can hear them fighting behind me as I struggle to keep Caesar’s sword at bay. He pushes all his weight into the sword as I keep it up in between the ice of the staff part of my scythe. I use all my strength to push him off. I breathe heavily as I back up. He chuckles. “You’re not as good as they say.”

I snarl at him. He charges me again. He wildly hacks at me and I put in a great effort just to block each of his attacks, I even have to use my metal arm a few times. He has no pattern, no technique to his fighting; all he does is hack away without any care and that’s what’s scaring me. I can’t predict his next move at all. Within the first minute I’m sweating and getting rapidly tired. I try to play offence a few times, but he just parries and strikes at me again.  I guess I’m so fatigued I didn’t see him coming in for me. I block his sword for the ump-teenth time when he suddenly goes for my throat. His fingers wrap around my neck and lift me off the ground. I grab at his fingers and try to pry them away, but it’s no use, his grip is like a vise. “So weak,” he coos. “I wonder what happens if I drop you; will you shatter like everything you make?” And then he throws me to the ground.

I cry out as my shoulder and hip hit the marble hard. Thank Nix I still have my scythe in hand because he strikes down at me. I strain to keep the sword away, but it slowly inches towards my face. I groan in effort. Caesar laughs and winds his wicked sword back. “Good bye last ice faerie. Say hello to your parents for me.” He lets out a battle cry as he hefts his sword over his head. I tense up and ready myself for the blow, but it never comes. Suddenly a dark glint blurs in the air over my head and impales its self in Caesar’s belly. He yells and drops his sword behind him. He stares at the spear perturbing from his stomach as he crumples to the floor to never move again.

Shocked I look behind me to see Demetri empty handed. All the imps are dead now and Adana stands still crouched in her fighting stance and wipes sweat off her forehead. Demetri stares at Caesar’s body for a long time. “Nice throw Dem,” huffs Adana.

His eyes slowly move to mine. “Are you ok?”

“I’m- Dem watch out!” An imp crawls down the bookshelf behind Demetri and launches itself at him. I scramble off the floor and tackle him as Adana lunges. She’s successful in killing the imp before it can lay a finger on my Demetri. He groans as we land on the floor. “Sorry,” I whisper.

“It’s ok.” He looks up at me. We just look into each other’s eyes acknowledging that we’re still together. “How are you?” he asks softly.

“I’m fine, I swear.” He nods. Together we slowly get up off the floor and straighten ourselves out. He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. I catch a quick glance of Adana beside us. My focus falls to her. Her face is slack and whiter than I’ve ever seen it before. “Adana?! Are you ok?”

“Look above the mantel,” she says shakily.

I follow her orders and freeze. Just above the mantel is a glass case holding a… an arm. It’s pale and sparkles in the fire light. Immediately I scream and look away in horror. Flashbacks flicker in my head like rapidly changing movie clips. I hold my head as I scream. I crouch down onto the floor and cry hysterically as the visions dance menacingly in my head. “Get rid of it!” I scream. “Get it away from here!”

I hear someone running towards the fireplace. Demetri kneels next to me and holds me against him. I grab a handful of his shirt in my hands and clench it with white knuckles as I sob. I open my eyes and look over Dem’s shoulder just in time to see Adana take my arm down from the mantel and throw it into the fire. A shattered breath escapes as I watch my arm burn with wide eyes. Demetri takes my head and turns it away from the fire. I bury my face into his shirt and weep as Demetri hovers over me. He grabs a chunk of my hair by the nape of my neck and tugs on it lightly. “Don’t cry Xana,” he whispers. “It’s over. It’s gone now. I’m so sorry.”

I let him hold me there for a few more moments basking in his warmth and the comfort of him until I speak up. “Leave.”

“What?!”

“It’s time for you to go. I’m going to her now and you can’t come with me.”

“Xana, I don’t know about this. I don’t like you going by yourself. You could barely fight against Caesar.”

“This is different,” I say firmly. I look up into his big Bambi brown eyes. “I must go now. I love you.” I kiss his nose gently. He lets me get up, but he doesn’t move for his spot on the floor. I walk up to Adana and hug her bone-crushingly tight. “Don’t let him do anything stupid,” I whisper lowly in her ear. She nods ever so slightly. I let her go and let my hands linger on her shoulder as I turn around. I walk over Caesar’s body, pick up my scythe and let it melt back into a staff again. I hold it firmly in my hand as I reach for the door on the other side of the library. I push the door open and stare ahead.  A long ominous hallway leads to another grander pair of French doors decorated in mosaic art.

Someone grabs my shoulders and yanks me around before I can walk through the doorway. Demetri kisses me desperately. I’m so shocked I almost drop my staff. He lets our lips part with difficulty. “Xana, be careful ok?” he breathes.

My lip twitches in a faint smile. “Ok.” This time I kiss him, but way shorter. A quick peck on the lips and then I turn away. Head spinning, heart racing, lips tingling, I walk away.

�-–

Walking away from Demetrius was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but now making my way in the Queen’s chambers I know that what is ahead is even more difficult.

The mosaic on the door is of the day Queen Titania and King Oberon became the rulers of Fey City. I can only imagine how nice those days used to be. I heard the Queen was such a wonderful woman before her husband died. It seems like a joke to me now because of the way she exploits herself as a tyrant. I let my fingers trace the patterns on the door. Frost grows across the door beautifully and a hint of a smile paints onto my face. I press my hand to the door and take a deep breath. Here I go.