Predator and Prey

The trees of the forest bowed to the unnatural wind that accompanied the master, but the witch would not yield any of her time to him. “I don’t want to talk to anyone, not even you, Khyrs.”

“You test my patience, Atrina. I have given you ample time to make a decision, yet you spit in my face by refusing to speak. The Church has brought you nothing but sorrow. There should be no doubt in your mind about joining me.”

Atrina squared her shoulders and shot daggers at the cult leader. “I. Won’t. Repeat. Myself.”

Khyrs’ face twisted in fury. “Do you know whom you speak to? Does your minuscule brain even comprehend the magnitude of the offer you are turning down? Callow whelp! Since you won’t be of use to me willingly, I will simply take the artifact you possess.”

The master prepared to cast a spell, but Atrina was faster. Clapping her hands together, the witch roared, “Shock-wave!”

The witch’s sonic blast tore through the forest and nailed Khyrs to a tree. The master clenched his eyes in agony as he was assaulted by the devastating oscillations. The trunk of the tree he was pinned to began to crack, and it rapidly snapped in two. Khyrs fell with the tree, bouncing off it as the tree hit the ground.

“That's that,” growled Atrina.

To the witch’s chagrin, Khyrs rose to his feet. Atrina heard the master’s bones crunch as he regained his footing. The cult leader's eyes were bloodshot, and sanguine streams poured from his nose and ears.

“HAHAHA! It’s magnificent! The stone’s absolute power! I’ve never felt anything like it before.” The master cackled maniacally, petrifying Atrina.

He’s a living demon! He shouldn’t have survived a blast like that. No one can! The witch raised an index finger to her forehead and readied her strongest spell, eager to land a decisive blow.

This time, the master was quicker, and he spoke words unheard by humans for countless eons. His words were more akin to guttural, droning sounds, unlike any language the witch had heard in her life.

Atrina’s version darkened. What’s he doing to me? The master continued his otherworldly chant, and the witch stumbled backwards. She felt like her head was going to explode.

“What’s the matter, Atrina? Too afraid to fight back?” mocked Khyrs.

The witch could not concentrate on casting a spell. My...my skull! It’s splitting in two! Bile spilled from Atrina’s mouth, and she grabbed her head, in too much pain to scream.

Gray, viscous tendrils emerged from the master’s back and slithered towards the witch. Khyrs accelerated his cadence and raised his voice. The tendrils lengthened and thickened, speeding towards the incapacitated sorceress.

A deep snapping sound distracted the cult leader. Khyrs ceased his chanting to scan the forest. His tendrils receded, and Atrina found some strength to crawl away.

“Where do you think you’re going?” As the master began his chant again, a massive tree caught in Atrina’s previous attack fell. Its shadow grew over Khyrs, and he leapt out of the way as the tree crashed to the earth.

Catching her breath, Atrina hid herself behind a thick, stable tree, far from her enemy. The master lost sight of her, but he was not discouraged. He went from tree to tree, searching for the witch.

As he hunted for Atrina, Khyrs spoke, “The stone wants to become one with you, Atrina, but you reject it, as you reject me.” The master’s footsteps sounded closer. “The ancient verses I chanted are from people of the distant past. My people. The day I was born, I had a vision. I saw the veil lift as man’s eyes became unclouded to the truth of their history.

“The Church denies mankind of its true past, for they fear the future free men will create. The stone you possess is a testament to the existence of the Ancient Times. I can feel it in my bones. That artifact is not a gift from some deity. It is the ultimate culmination of the desires of humanity!”

The master looked behind a tree, but he found no one. Atrina’s heart froze. Unbeknownst to Khyrs, he was closing in on her. “You waste the stone’s potential, witch. You are incapable of truly understanding its ability to reshape reality in the hands of a worthy wielder. All the artifacts my followers have collected for me were mere trinkets. When I sensed the reappearance of the stone in Brooksill, my blood stirred as never before.

“Don’t you understand? The same ancient force contained in that stone flows through my veins. We were meant to be together. Over countless millennia, humans have poured their desires into the stone, not unlike those Church idiots hopelessly praying to their god, wishing he would fulfill their insipid desires.

“But, the stone is real. It has granted you unimaginable power, but you could never give your mind, body, and soul to it. Your own desires will always subvert those of the artifact. In me, it has found a deserving master.”

A green cape peeked from behind a tree, and the master grinned. “There you are.” Khyrs advanced towards the tree, certain that he had found his quarry.

-

“Fireball!” 

A flash of light blinded the master’s right eye, and he shrieked as blazing flames seared the flesh off the side of his face. He had fallen for Atrina’s ruse, as she used her cape to mislead the cult leader, giving her the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

The witch reclaimed her cape. She had regained enough strength to cast a weak fireball spell, but the master was still alive, screaming as he covered his oozing, scorched face.

Atrina was ready to end the cult leader once and for all. “It’s over, Khyrs! The world doesn’t need more monsters. Ring...of...FI—”

Suddenly, the world went upside down for the witch. A tendril had seized her by the ankle and dangled her above the earth. Blood rushed to her head, and her pointed hat fell. The master was no longer screaming, and he uncovered his face.

“You have much to learn about deception. I could have taught you many things, Atrina. Here, you shall perish.” He gave the witch a sickening smile, the exposed muscles of his burnt face twisting into a sadistic sneer.

The tendril pulled the witch towards the master. He reached up and ripped the stone pouch from her belt. At first, Khyrs only felt a slight tingling where his fingers contacted the cold stone. Then, an immense torrent of power surged through him, and he howled, not in pain, but in rapture.

“The...ancient power...is...MINE!” The master bellowed in triumph, and Atrina watched in horror as the destroyed flesh on his face began to regenerate. Muscle fibers reattached themselves, and new skin grew, wiping away the damage to his visage.

Fully healed, the master gave his attention back to the witch in his captivity. With tremendous force, Khyrs flung Atrina into the air with his tendril. The sorceress cleared the forest’s canopy, and she saw the ground move farther and farther away from her.

At the height of the witch’s trajectory, Khyrs chanted, “Devil wind!” Hot and cold air swirled violently under Atrina, generating a gaping vortex that sucked her in.

Can’t...breathe! Swirling around in the master’s storm, the witch felt the air being ripped from her lungs. Khyrs’ spell spared nothing in the environment. Plant life and woodland creatures were dragged into the cyclone as it scarred the earth.

I don’t want to die here! Mother, help me! Atrina spun in the storm helplessly, and her life seemed near its end. It was at that moment when the storm expelled her.

On her last rotation through the storm, the witch unintentionally moved closer to the outer edge of the cyclone. There, she escaped its mighty pull. Atrina shot through the air, and the last sound she heard was rushing water before everything went dark.