Nettlesome Nixies (2)

Rune may have overestimated his initial ability.

The hag had immediately began throwing blades of water at him sharp enough to cleave through rock, and fast enough that he needed to constantly keep moving or risked being sliced in two. His mind could hardly keep up with everything happening let alone plan something that might give him an advantage.

But the thing truly keeping him shackled were the words Gilya shouted before he left. If he just used a bit of that fire, that would definitely give him the edge he needed.

Leaping from the walls that he had been running along he propelled himself toward the hag, shifting his weight to dodge the crescent blade of water she fired at him. Twisting his body Rune pulled his fist back and slammed it into the hag.

Yet he did not feel it connect with the force he expected.

But still the witch retreated, firing more blades in his direction, and their dance continued.

When he struck next he felt the same thing, almost like his hand was being made to slow down slightly reducing the force of impact.

It was then he noticed the strange shield of water that floated near her after he pulled his hand back.

“Ah I see your little game now. You mean to whittle down my strength until you can finish me off.”

It cackled in affirmation before firing a trio of blades in his direction which Rune dove between before rushing across the wall once more. Yet as he dove suddenly he felt needle-like teeth teeth clasp around his forearm.

Looking down he noticed a piranha-like nixie attached to his forearm which he quickly tore free. A swarm of them suddenly began diving up and down at him through both the little bit of water in the cave and the shadows along the walls.

“Don’t kill them!” He heard the princess shout before rolling his eyes and sighing, that would make things even more difficult.

It was taking everything he had to bat away the nixies while dodging the blades of water; the blades were even starting to graze dangerously close to his skin.

He spotted the princess and her knight and ran toward them, snatching them both up and resting them on either shoulder.

“Sorry about the kidnapping princess, but if I’m going to beat this hag while keeping my word to Gilya I’m going to need your help.”

“You knave! How dare you handle the princess-”

“Yours too Juri.” Rune quickly interrupted. There was no time for squabbling.

“But…what can I even do? Even my magic is no match for hers, I couldn’t even-“

“I’ll stop you right there Kalleira, you’ve been resisting her magic all this time you can do anything you set your mind to. All I need is a gap in her shield of water, then I can hit her with everything I have.”

She seemed hesitant but after a moment gave a nod of affirmation, determination clear in her eyes.

“That’s the spirit.”

“And Juri, I’m going to need you to take care of those brainwashed nixies. If I have to worry about them I’m not going to be able to focus on my movement.”

The knight grumbled causing bubbles to form around its mouth, “very well knave. But know this does not mean I respect you.” Juri jumped off Rune’s shoulder and began unleashing a flurry of fists on the attacking nixies.

“Heh, fine with me.”

Rune smirked and then began to move even quicker, if this small spirit was putting it all on the line he might as well do the same.

He could tell the hag was having a hard time keeping up with him which was exactly what he wanted. If she had no idea where he was launching himself from she’d have to form the barrier earlier, and that’s when the tiny princess would strike.

The hag had clearly sensed this and began to retreat more into the typhoon of water, bringing the shield further around her. Clicking his tongue against his teeth Rune thought the plan would be for naught, until he heard a self-righteous shouting.

“Bear witness, villain! Bear witness to the strength behind nixie pride!”

Rushing from where he had been handling some of the nixies, the carapace armoured knight Juri launched himself toward the hag unleashing a flurry of strikes from what appeared to be hands that were part fist and part shield; in fact it looked to be a heavy carapace on his arms that would snap out, before retracting back to form a protective shield. With one always forming a shield it was a perfect balance of attack and defence.

“Heh, I can see why you like him, princess.”

The distraction was enough to force the hag out of her defensive stance, forcing her to move slightly. And that was when Rune made his move.

Digging his toes into the stone he tensed every fibre of his leg muscles before launching himself at the hag with incredible speed. In the next few moments he saw the shield of water hover near her chest, and a moment later the sight of a few empty holes forming within the face of the water. Then the holes came together to form one larger, just wide enough for a fist.

In the fraction of a second before his fist connected Rune savoured the look of terror in the hag’s eyes, the look of someone who had never expected their strength to fail them.

It was delicious.

He felt a pain in his knuckles and suspected he had broken a bone, but it had been worth it to knock her off guard. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain Rune unleashed a flurry of punches upon the creature until it collapsed into a crumpled heap on the floor of the cave; a heap that was now subject to the tiny fury of Juri.

Letting out a long sigh of accomplishment he nearly fell down on the cavern floor, the strength having completely left his body.

“Okay, that was a lot of fun.”

Rune felt something on his hand, glancing down to see Kalleira hugging his wrist with all the strength her tiny body could muster.

“Thank you, Rune. It means a lot to know that the future Khan of these lands will be one who keeps their word.” She smiled at him with such purity and innocence that it was hard not to feel touched.

“Well…any good leader should make sure those under their care are properly taken care of.” Looking around Rune noticed that several other nixies were beginning to rise from the shadows, almost like some kind of daze was lifted from them.

“Actually, I need something from you in return princess.”

The royal looked up at him with curiosity, like the idea of her being able to help was a surprise.

“My wife had her shadow stolen by one of your subjects, I suspect at the hags bidding. I need it back before she slips into Shadow.”

Kalleira turned around and began to speak to the other nixies in a language that sounded like a small bubbling stream before one came forward with head hanging low offering the sheer shawl-like thing that was the stolen shadow. The princess took it and then offered it to Rune with a smile.

Taking the shadow it was like holding something thin but slick, it moved through his fingers making it incredibly difficult to firmly hold; it felt cold running through his fingers. He smiled happily, radiating the energy of a young toddler proudly holding something they discovered at low tide.

“I offer you this, future Khan, in hopes that we can build a fruitful alliance from here on out.”

“I look forward to a prosperous relationship between us both princess…I’m sorry, I mean Queen Kalleira.”

Rune shifted slightly and bowed his head in deference, which the nixie chuckled at. And in the back of his mind he wondered whether Gilya would approve of his decision.