Chapter 9:

Nine

The Scorned


Selene and I casually strolled through the now deserted building, looking for anyone. I was starting to get annoyed with everyone's disappearance, when suddenly Selene stopped moving. I gave her a curious look, but she held up a hand, silencing me. It took a moment, but soon I heard it also. Multiple people were heading our way, walking in perfect unison. Trying to figure out what was going on, I headed to the nearest window.

Looking out, I saw what had to be at least fifty heavily armed soldiers, all perfectly ranked in front of the building. Turning to Selene, I said, "Well, you wanted more of a challenge. Will this do?" With a scoff, she replied, "Well, you have me hidden in this weak form. I can get it done, but it would be a lot more fun if I could fly."

Suddenly a soldier called out, "Monsters! Our King would like to have a word with you. You can either come with us, or we can make you comply. Your choice." Turning to Selene, I let out a long sigh and said, "Look, this whole thing has turned into such a pain. I just wanted to come back and collect the reward for your defeat, but this is becoming a nuisance. I'm at the point where I don't care anymore, so you decide. Do we try to collect our reward, kill the guard, or see what the King wants?"

Selene was quiet for a long time, then asked, "You are my master. Why are you allowing me to pick?" I didn't bother to answer her. I was already vexed at the situation, so I just shrugged. To my surprise, Selene gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and said softly, "Thank you, master. This means a lot to me."

Before I could say anything, Selene grabbed my hand, giggling, and launched the two of us through the open window.

We were close to the roof when we jumped, so there was a massive impact on hitting the ground. The force of the two of us landing together cracked the ground underneath our feet and created a shockwave, knocking most of the soldiers off-balance.

Looking over the group, Selene called out with a smile, "This is much better now that we can talk face to face. Now, who was it that was giving us the ultimatum?" The group of soldiers were stunned by our entrance and avoided eye contact, but I could see one pushing his way towards us.

There was nothing special about him whatsoever, but he appeared to think very highly of himself. He held his head like a prince and looked Selene straight in the eye, "That was me, you beast. Lucky for you, the King wants to talk to you, or I would cut you down right here in the street."

I knew that Selene could take care of herself, but how this soldier spoke to her bothered me. I took a step towards him so that I was between the two and said, "I think you had better watch how you are talking to her." The soldier gave me an amused look and said, "You had better watch yourself, boy. I can always just tell the King that you refused us, and I had to kill you."

Completely ignoring the man, I turned to Selene and asked, "Can you believe this guy? I don't think he understands what is going on right now. What do you think we should do?" Selene looked surprised that I was asking her again to take the lead. By the sinister smile that appeared on Selene's face, I knew she had formed a fiendish idea.

Slowly, walking over to me, she wrapped herself around my body like a snake and whispered in my ear, "Why don't 'you' show him precisely what 'you' can do."

I wasn't sure if it was because I was annoyed with this soldier or just wanted to do what Selene suggested, but I happily complied. I turned from Selene just in time to see the soldier swing his sword toward my neck. Reaching out with one hand, I stopped the blade in mid-swing, and the soldier's face quickly went from smug to worried. I had squeezed with only a quarter of my strength, but the sword shattered into multiple pieces.

Seeing this, the soldier didn't know how to react. His whole body shut down with fear and refused to move. I was happy with his reaction but was surprised when Selene kept going. Moving at a speed that only I could follow, she snatched a shard of the blade out of the air and slammed it down into the man's shoulder.

He was silent for a moment as he tried to figure what had just happened. Suddenly the pain hit him, and he fell to his knees, screaming in agony. I knew in the back of my mind I should be disgusted by Selene's excessive act of violence, but it just didn't bother me. In the end, it was only one more person who was going to die.

I turned back to Selene, who again seemed to be studying my reaction and processing something in her mind. Noticing that I was watching her, she quickly asked, "Do you have a problem with what I just did?" Her tone was interesting. It wasn't as if she was trying to challenge me; it was more like she was curious about my thoughts.

Answering her honestly, I just shrugged and responded, "No."

Hearing my words, Selene clapped her hands together happily and said, "Great! I knew that we would get along perfectly." Turning her attention to the remaining soldiers, she asked, "Now, does anyone else feel like playing the hero, or can we go see the King?"

The group was silent, so Selene happily said, "Alright then. Lead the way to your King." Turning towards me, still giddy with excitement, she grabbed my arm as the two of us walked, now surrounded by nervous soldiers.