Death Touch Chapter 30

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Mia

The Champion of Salica had a really nice ring to it, but Mia had no love for the woman who had given her the title. When she finally made her way up the stairs to the Gilded Keep’s living quarters, she didn’t bother to slow down for her Sara. In fact, she had leapt several extra steps in the hope that her haste would discourage her unlikely companion from following. It had worked well enough that she had lost the priestess briefly on the stairs, but as she worked on deciding which direction she would go in the intersecting hallway before her, Sara jogged to the top of the stairs.

Sara didn’t even bother to complain as she caught up, nor did she speak. She only stood there, watching as Mia chose her path. She took a right and stalked down the hallway, wary of approaching guards. She felt naked with the sore thumb walking beside her with her damned judgemental gaze. She still wore the serving uniform that she had stolen, but the stones that had been used to confine her had ripped her left sleeve down the center and tore her leggings in the center of her thigh. She couldn’t imagine replacing her attire much less convincing Sara to don something more appropriate.

An interesting thought occurred to Mia while scanning the various doors in their path. If this priestess was desperate enough for her cooperation to let her carry out her revenge in defiance of her morals, Mia realized, their freedom must be important to her. The way they were going, there would be no making it to her prey without being challenged. If they were seen, would Sara allow her to kill anyone in her way?

Yeah, let’s not get carried away.

As a shadow appeared around a corner to their left, Mia decided this would be the perfect chance to test her. If either of them were seen, someone had to die.

“Hide!” She hissed urgently.

Mia leapt up to grab one of the light posts and hoist herself closer to the ceiling. From there, she then swung over to a nearby window and hung from a high window sill to wait out the patrol. She looked down to see that Sara had not moved from where she had been standing when Mia moved to hide. What the fuck does she think she’s doing?

Sara seemed to wait for the guard to come to her. As Mia had rightfully guessed, he seemed alarmed to see an intruder. But instead of approaching her with his weapon raised, he seemed to be addressing her politely.

“Madam, I’m afraid this place is off limits to the public. Do you have legitimate business here?”

“Nope. I’m sorry,” Sara replied as she grabbed his wrist and said, “Sleep.”

You’ve gotta be kidding me! She was not, as it turned out. The guard suddenly slumped to the ground and began to snooze as if he had been tranquilized. She looked up towards Mia and shook her head. With a sigh, the assassin dropped from her perch and continued her search in silence.

Mia was sure they must have been rounding the north side of the castle when they finally found a door marked with a golden plaque bearing the name of her hated prey.

“Anthony Clark,” she whispered. “It is time for us to sing a song of death together.”

She pushed open the door and found Dr. Clark standing in front of his window, gazing out on the festivities below. He turned at creak of the door and looked at Mia and Sara with confusion.

“Miss Marle, right? One couldn’t imagine a more unlikely pair to barge into more quarters. Do you realize that we are in the company of a killer?”

Sara said nothing, which sent a clear message. She wasn’t in control of what was about to happen next. She’s really not going to get in my way!

Mia pulled out her pistol without hesitation and aimed. “Shall I take the melody?”

“Only Starlings sing the song of retribution,” Anthony said calmly. “If you pull that trigger, you’ll only become their enemy.”

Mia pulled the trigger, again without hesitation. Somehow, her shot missed his ear by an inch. She had been aiming for his chest, and she didn’t miss often.

“You’re not going to get what you came for,” Anthony said with a smirk. “I took the necessary precautions the moment Lady Dinorah gave you up. She was hoping you could handle me disposing of your traitor, but you’ve disappointed her.”

“What the hell did you do?” Mia shouted as she fired another shot, this one missing wildly.

“It’s subtle, but the way your mind interprets sensory data is being slightly altered. You can still see and hear me, but your perception is slightly off.”

“Is that so?” Mia fired two more shots, aiming to either side of the man. One of the bullets managed to graze his shoulder, causing him to let out a grunt. But he only responded by holding his hand to the wound and healing it. Fucking medical mysticism!

Upon lowering his hand. “As entertaining as this is, that really hurt and I’m not eager to repeat the experience. Fortunately, you brought another weapon for me to use against you. Miss Marle, your king commands you to shield me with your body.”

Mia glanced at the priestess to see that she had walked past her and stood between them. Her face was blank.

“Hey,” Mia said uncertainly. “I told you what would happen if you got in my way!”

“She can’t hear you,” Anthony said with a grin. “Every patient I’ve ever treated carries a trace of Compound Aegis. It’s a banned substance now, but it was used by kings and queens of the past to enforce their soldiers’ absolute loyalty. Thanks to a careful application of this chemical mixed with some of my saliva, she has no choice but to defend me!”

Mia slapped her forehead, suddenly furious with herself for not finishing the priestess off before allowing her to follow.

“Well, we’re one for one,” Mia growled lividly. “I’m feeling good about our tiebreaker.”

Electricity crackled through Mia’s fingers as she prepared to shock the priestess yet again. However, as she released her strongest bolt yet, Sara jumped out of the way. The lightning sailed over her head and into Doctor Clark’s chest. He was blasted backward into the window and cracked the glass as he collided with it before falling to the floor. He coughed and croaked as Mia walked toward his prone form.

“How?”

“How did your creepy mind control fail you?” Mia said with a grin. “Or how did I just kick your ass?”

Sara pushed herself to her feet. “I heard his voice in my head, telling me that it was important to save him, but Lady Serenity speaks in a louder voice. Of all the patients you’ve abused, you relied on the protection of someone whose calling is higher than your own life.”

Mia scoffed and chuckled as she kicked Anthony in the ribs. “That sounds good enough for me. Thanks for playing along anyway. I wasn’t sure if you were going to bring herself to stay out of my business, but you were actually a huge help!”

The former Starling unsheathed her favorite knife, picturing the act of carving out his heart, just as she had done to his brother. But before she could plunge the blade into her prey, the priestess shouted “Wait!” Fuck.

“You don’t have to do this!” Sara said desperately. “We could learn a lot more about Operation Lighthouse if you let him live!”

Mia scoffed and shook her head. “You might want to wait outside. Something tells me you aren’t going to want to see the next part.”

But just then, she was interrupted yet again, this time by a score of guards who were apparently alerted by the sounds of her gunshots. FUCK! They swarmed into the room with their hands flailing in desperation and shouting for her to stop. Well, her only escape might be the window now, but they couldn’t do anything to stop her from finishing him off at least. But a final voice suddenly interjected.

“Halt!” A commanding female voice rang from the hall outside.

“Goddamnit! Will you people just shut the hell up so I can kill this piece of shit, already?”

But the new voice sounded familiar. She looked up from her prey, who looked so pathetic cowering beneath her, and glanced toward the door. There stood Queen Penelope, the monarch she had last attempted to kill. She swept into the room gracefully, her hand raised in a warding gesture.

“We meet again, young Starling. How appropriate that it should once again be on the crossroads of fate,” the Queen said with a gentle smile.

“Why are you trying to stop me?” Mia raged. “You told me to kill him!”

“Not even the wisest of rulers are immune to a change of heart,” Penelope said with a sad shake of his head. “My fear of my brother’s schemes and my anger at his crimes against our family combined pale in comparison to my love for him and my fear of losing the rest of my family. He will be confined to the castle dungeon until I can see repentance in him. That is, if you can be persuaded to share my mercy.”

Mia glared at Anthony with a look of pure loathing. “And if I don’t?”

“Then you will be imprisoned for the murders of my entire family, and rightfully so,” the Queen said boldly. She’s not the slightest bit scared of me!

Mia snarled and gave the hated prince another kick. The guards started towards her to intervene, but the queen held up her hand. “Why should he get to live with the blood of a better man on his hands?”

“You have to forgive him,” Sara said firmly. “Remember that evil is a choice we make every day. “

Mia stared at the ground, her eyes stinging with the promise of tears. She blinked the sensation away and shook her head.

“Fine,” she growled. “I apparently have better things to do anyway.”

The room breathed a collective sigh of relief as the Queen approached Mia and the guards rushed to check on Anthony. “You have made a choice worthy of Salica’s favor. Thank you for your mercy.”

Mia sighed and looked over to Sara. “I’m starting to get the feeling there’s a reason for that.”

Just then, the priestess stepped forward boldly and said, “Your Highness! My name is Sara Marle, and I am the Champion of Serenity. I was wondering if I could--”

Penelope raised her hand once more to cut Sara off. I wonder if she’ll teach me to do that someday. “I’ve heard of you from Matron Selena and I’m well aware of what you need. The answer is no.”

That seemed to deflate the priestess, but she managed to respond. “But this is--”

Penelope warded her into silence once more and said, “My gratitude towards you for helping to save my brother extends only so far as to pardon your new companion and my unconditional support of your mission is not necessary. If I am to believe that your group are the champions who will save Resta, you must earn the spear.”

She gestured toward out the window toward the RGT tent. “If the Gods’ champions cannot win a simple tournament, how could I trust you with a piece of the Storm of Mercy?”

Sara gasped as she followed her gaze to the tent. “I understand, Your Highness! The Salamanders will win the Royal Boon!”

Penelope smiled and said, “I will be in attendance for the final. I hope to see your friends there. You must be concerned with how they are doing. You’re dismissed.”

Sara grabbed Mia’s arm and said, “Let’s get down there! I can’t wait for you to meet the others!”

***

“Desmond is down and Reynolds dashes back into cover! The newcomer’s speed was just no match for the Bladed Gazelle and Blackstone can’t get a clean shot! If the Salamanders want to make it to the finals, they need to put somebody down now!”

Mia had followed Sara into the RGT stands quite reluctantly. Loud noise tended to make her anxious, which she supposed was an occupational hazard until very recently. The crowd was quite anxious with the outcome of this match. The two men she had supposed were her new comrades were pinned down behind a boulder on the edge of the ring. One of them was armed with a sweet-looking rifle and taking potshots against an opponent on the far side of the ring while the other was blasting at a volley of flying ice shards with jets of fire that he weaved with his hands.

The tournament’s female commentator chose then to chime in. “This is the most pressure Team Salamander has felt so far in this tournament! If they don’t take down Reynolds, they’ll never get a clear view of the Bolton twins, but their combined frosty onslaught has Midas vexed! Matches like these are why the RGT exists!”

“Amul dala barriane!” the spellwarrior shouted, which caused a wall of black flames to sprout from the ground in front of him. Just then, he and the other man darted out from behind their boulder and began running in opposite directions.

“And Midas and Blackstone seem to have thrown caution to the wind and abandoned their only cover. What could Team Salamander be thinking?” the male commentator shouted hysterically.

“They must be out of tricks!” The female commentator said. “Midas’ Black Fire Wall will protect him from Mark Bolton’s attacks, but he’s giving his sister Nikki a clean shot now!”

Just then, the only one of their the opposing Team Mia has managed to see so far darted out of his cover to go after the man she had worked out was Blackstone with the gun. But upon seeing his opponent coming, the champion stopped in his tracks. The other man was suddenly engulfed by a blast of flames from the spellwarrior. At that moment, a bolt of icy blue light sailed toward his back. He sprawled to the ground with a grunt, but his partner had turned toward the source of the spell and fired his rifle. An inky splotch appeared in the air near the edge of the pit, then a woman seemed to materialize before falling to the ground.

“Incredible! Team Salamander scores a double knockout with a dual distraction!” the male commentator roared excitedly. “Reynolds and Nikki Bolton are down and just like that, this match has turned over to a 2-1 lead for Team Salamander!”

Just then, a woman appeared on the opposite end of the pit with her hands raised in surrender. The crowd let out a chorus of boos as the female commentator shouted, “And Mark yields! That never looks good in this event, but it looks like he knew where this was headed! Team Salamander advances to the final for the first time!”

Sara nudged Mia and smiled. “What do you think?”

“They’d have to trust each other a hell of a lot to pull off something like that,” Mia said with a shrug. “If we weren’t on the same side now, I wouldn’t go near either of them.”

Sara nodded as Midas rushed over to revive his fallen teammate. “Watching them fight after everything you and I just went through makes me feel much more confident. When this all started, I was worried this quest wasn’t real, but now that we’re finally all together, I can see a group that the gods can all be proud of.”

Mia scoffed. “Yeah, okay. I never thought I’d be told that the gods are proud of me.”

Sara shook her head and smiled. “But you have proved that you are worthy of that pride when you spared Doctor Clark. Your path was put in front of you by the Gods and you have taken the right turn even when it would have been easier to make the wrong one.”

Mia shrugged and said, “I was worried that if I went through with it, I’d never be able to get your nagging voice out of my head.”

Sara gave Mia a side-hug and said, “Tell yourself whatever you want. You are on the right side of destiny now, and that’s what matters.”

Mia gagged slightly at the sweetness of her new apparent friend. She’s going to take some getting used to.

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