Introducing Chapter 35 of Death Touch, now with a better ending in which the point of view character actually does stuff! The original version will remain up for posterity, but it's no longer canon.
Mia
Frustration pounded in Mia’s head as she felt herself awaken at the sound of someone brushing through foliage. She rolled groggily onto her back as she tried to make sense of her position. She saw that the sun was low on the horizon and cursed herself for her mistake. Then she cursed Sara with double the anger for falling for her own tricks. A whole day, lost!
The rustling among the flowers grew louder, stirring her ever closer to full alertness. She turned to see what appeared to be five large men with thick coal black skin towering above her. Seeing the three horns and spiked tail were enough for the assassin to identify these creatures according to Sara’s prior description. Maulans!
Her drowsiness quickly forgotten, Mia willed herself to her feet as quickly as her momentarily numb body would allow her and looked around wildly for her unlikely companion. Sara didn’t seem to be in the vicinity. In fact, Mia didn’t appear to be anywhere close to the pond that had been nearby when she fell asleep. She staggered backwards while considering running. She should have whipped out her gun and started firing into their necks-- the creature’s only known weak point. But while caught in the grip of this valley’s pacifying magic, fighting back didn’t even occur to her.
Mia watched as the maulans flicked their tails dangerously, daring her to stand still so they could strike. She felt helpless as she began to back away more quickly. The maulans should have been rendered harmless by the fey as well, but it was starting to look like they weren’t even affected at all. Run, damn it!
Mia finally shocked herself into turning around and running more quickly than she ever had before, realizing as she did just how unusual it was for her to be running away from something. She had only done so for the first time in years a few short days ago when she had to escape from her cell in Beldor. But this was the first time she felt genuinely terrified. Spellwarriors chasing her through open streets could never have hoped to catch her, but this was much different. The flowers in her way slowed her down, but the creatures who pursued her streaked rather quickly through the field by following in her wake. I’m not fast enough!
She was at a loss. They were close to catching up and didn’t appear to be tiring in the slightest. She was alone and unable to fight back. Her only hope was to clear Flora Field and make her stand outside the confines of this damnable pacification. But there was no telling how far she would have to run. She dared not look up to figure out which way she was going, fearful of slowing down or--
She then tripped over an exposed root to one of the field’s larger, tree-like flowers. She cursed as she scrambled to her feet in a panic, but the chase was over before she could begin to run again. They were already whipping their tails at her. Years of evasion practice was all that protected her now. Or so it seemed.
Mia’s heart felt like it was about to explode as her panic reached a fever pitch. But just then, a strong gust began to sweep the surrounding plant-life away. The ensuing wind caused the maulan’s tails to flail around slightly, causing their tail jabs to miss even more wildly than before. Although, a more logical Mia would have recognized this as a sign of good luck, the gust only intensified her alarm. What the hell now?
As the wind intensified with the assassin’s fear, she could see the creatures struggling to maintain their footing. It was at this point that Mia realized what was happening to her. More storm magic that she’d have to learn to control.
Mia began to laugh as the first of the maulans was pulled toward the tornado small that now circled the ground before her. “I should find myself a phobia!”
Soon, all five of the creatures were drawn into the vortex, but curiously the champion was unaffected by the wind. This didn’t make her completely safe, however, as she learned when they began to whip their tails out at her as she passed. These bastards are persistent!
Mia watched her pursuers as her apparent magic tossed them around for several minutes. She might have used this time to plan her next move if she weren’t taking so much satisfaction in the spectacle before her. Unfortunately, her returning calm began to slow down the wind. She was close to running again when something else she didn’t expect happened. Clusters of thorned roots exploded from the ground and began to ensnare the maulans. All 20 limbs, 15 horns and 5 torsos and tails were bound in stems. Okay, why not?
“I must not have made myself clear the last time!” A familiar voice called out from behind.
Mia turned to see Millie the fey spellwarrior, stomping up to the cluster of wrapped maulans with a livid expression.
“I told at least two of you that maulans are not welcome here!” She raged as she held her hands up in what Mia assumed was some sort of spellweaving gesture. “This is supposed to be a safe space of communion for mortals and fey, but your kind never follow the fucking rules!”
Mia finally found herself starting to like the floral sprite as she walked right up to the struggling beasts. With a swipe of her arm, all five of the maulans instantly disappeared and the roots that held them began to sink back into the ground. Mia whistled as the spellwarrior turned back to her with a smirk.
“What did you do?”
Millie smiled and glanced somewhere to the east. “A quick targeted translocation. They won’t be back for a loooong time!”
“Where are they?” Mia asked, duly impressed with what she was hearing.
“On the ocean floor, hundreds of miles away from our coast.”
Mia snickered and shook her head. “Well, thanks for the assist and… uh…” She began to survey the carnage that had stricken the plants around them. “Sorry for the tornado. I didn’t know I could do that.”
Millie gave the champion an appraising look and chuckled. “Really? An instinctive user of storm magic sounds very uncommon. In fact, since I don’t know anybody who’s heard of one, I’d even be willing to call you unique."
Mia shrugged and nodded awkwardly. “Well, for some reason, Salica thinks I need to be able to do that. She’s shown a lot more faith in me than I deserve.”
“Interesting!” the spellwarrior chirped with an inquisitive stare. “You know, Hem Academy put out the word that we were all to assist some people favored by the Gods as champions. My plan was to put the safety of my home first, but if you’re to be believed, I may have followed that order by accident!”
Mia shook her head impatiently. “This is too weird for me. Two days ago, I was no friend to any spellwarrior, but now you people are all over my business!”
Millie shook her head and chuckled. “Actually, two days ago, you were still asleep.”
“What?!” Mia barked suddenly. “How long have I been out?”
“Almost a week,” the spellwarrior said with a shrug.
“A week?!” Mia screeched in renewed alarm. “If you knew, why didn’t you try to wake us up?”
“Should I have?” the spellwarrior asked indifferently. “Lots of people meet with members of the Serene clergy to have themselves put to sleep here. For all I knew you were both suffering from nightmare-induced insomnia!”
“Wait! What about my--” the next word got stuck in her throat for a moment. “--friend?”
“The woman who put you to sleep carried her out of the valley, somewhere to the north.”
“And you didn’t think that there was anything wrong with two women you knew were looking for one of Maula’s cronies being knocked out and separated?”
“Yeah, I might have been a little distracted in my duties,” Millie replied with a frown. “I may as well redeem myself by helping you find your friend, since I’m supposed to be protecting you anyway.”
Just like that, Mia started to dislike Millie again.
“If you know which way they might have gone, just tell me,” the champion grumbled. “If they’re outside this field, there’s absolutely no reason I can’t save her on my own.”
Millie shook her head. “Unfortunately, I don’t. Unless you have some experience in tracking, you’re going to need my help and I’m happy to give it!”
Mia sighed and growled, “Fine, but you’d better not be wasting my time!”
“I’m hurt!” Millie whined. “I haven’t given you no reason to suspect I’m not good at my job, have I? How was I know that I’d need to protect anyone from a mortal here?”
Mia glared at the spellwarrior. “Save the excuses! I’m not really in the mood! If you want to help, now would be a good time to get started!”
“Oh fine!” the sprite said as she reached into the cleavage of her dress.
Moments later, she withdrew one of those tiny, curved cones that Mia recalled were used by spellwarriors to summon their mounts. She blew into the narrow end, but no sound came out. Mia watched as flowers in the distance began to rustle.
“C’mere, Vinca!”
In response, a large wolf with a beautiful mane of white hair flecked with green bounded gracefully into the clearing that Mia had made. The beast seemed to float as she galloped to the spellwarrior and began to nuzzle her affectionately.
“Come on, girl!” Millie said, giggling madly. “I just saw you a few minutes ago! Stop!”
Mia watched impatiently as she struggled to get the enthusiastic wolf under control. When she was finally atop Vinca’s back, she offered a hand to the champion. Mia swallowed her chagrin and climbed aboard and took a seat behind the spellwarrior.
“Hang on!” Millie shouted excitedly.
With the help of the spellwarrior’s lupine companion, it only took an hour to find where Sara had been dragged: a small cavern that Millie had referred to as Resbroka Grotto. Mia felt a surge of excitement as the predatory urges that she had become so used to returned to her. Together, she and Millie dismounted and were just about to enter the cave when a boy approached them from behind and called out to then.
“Sen na sai crana eka grag Maula,” he said with a smile.
Mia narrowed her eyes as she studied the boy who had come to follow her. He appeared to be a teenager--maybe two years younger than her--whose skin was brown and completely hairless and who was dressed only in white cotton shorts that were impossibly clean for all the dirt that surrounded them. He seemed to be marked from head to toe with white tattoos that Mia could surmise were druidic patterns thanks to the expertise of Camellia, one of her fellow compatriots in the Scarlet Starlings. Yes, yes, they’re druidic! No need to go thinking about old memories now!
“I don’t know ancient, kid!” the champion called back. “Can you even speak with real people?”
The boy shook his head apologetically. “I’m sorry! I have been speaking the old language for so long that it’s become second nature! I don’t even realize I am doing it sometimes!”
“What do you want?” Mia snapped. “We’re kind of in the middle of something!”
“I only mean to warn you that a servant of Lady Maula is hiding within this cave!” the boy said with a cringe. “It falls to me to confront her, but I must urge you to leave this place for your own safety.”
“I know about the witch,” Mia growled impatiently. “I’m actually here for her, so if you want me to leave, you’d better be prepared to make me.”
“I cannot stop you if you wish to rush into such danger, but please at least stay behind me,” the boy said as he began to walk into the cave.
Millie and Mia shared a look of confusion before jogging to catch up with the boy, who seemed to stride into the relative darkness with a sense of purpose.
“Wait a minute!” Mia hissed. “What does this have to do with you?”
The boy stopped in his tracks and bowed slightly. “I have been chosen by Lord Kerun to help stop his sister and her servants from destroying this land.”
Mia smacked her forehead impatiently with her palm. “Another champion? Who the hell are you?”
Recognition seemed to flood the boy’s face. “I see! You must have been chosen by one of the other gods! Let’s see… I think I feel Lady Salica’s solidarity in you!”
“How perceptive,” Mia grumbled. “How about you answer my question instead of your own?”
“I am called Kevin,” the newfound champion said with a friendly smile.
“Kevin what?”
“Oh, I have no family name,” Kevin said with a shake of his head. “The druidic commune that found me as a baby didn’t see any need to give me one.”
“Kevin’s a pretty funny name for a druid,” Millie said as she conjured a ball of light to illuminate their way forward.
“My name is all I have left of my family,” Kevin said with a shrug.
“Well, Kevin the druid, it’s nice to meet you!” Millie said with a friendly smile.
Who the fuck has time for this? “Yeah, yeah, let’s get acquainted later! I’m trying to rescue someone!”
Kevin nodded and strolled deeper into the cave silently. He seemed to be an awkward kid, not that Mia came to think of it. He didn’t seem to care that anyone else was there. He appeared to be concerned with his mission and little else. Without any engagement from Millie or Mia, he seemed perfectly content to focus on his objective. It’s nice to have such an efficient ally for a change! As they watched the boy walk from behind, Millie leaned in to whisper to Mia.
“Hey! Do you want to hear something cool about that boy’s ink?”
Mia didn’t bother to speak, but looked at her with her eyebrows raised.
“Those tattoos are like welcoming messages to me and other fey,” Millie said with a grin. “I think he’s made a contract with the elder of some fey village.”
“Oh, then it’ll probably look pretty when he decides to make himself useful,” Mia grumbled.
Just then, Kevin disappeared around a corner that Mia had nearly missed in the semidarkness. As she turned to follow, she found what she was looking for. The oni priestess who had put her in her current predicament stood near a brazier positioned under cave paintings Mia didn’t care to do more than glance at. She leered over Sara’s prone form, muttering to herself as she waved her hand over the other champion. When she saw the three people who invaded her dank sanctum, she stood up and regarded them with a cruel smile.
“Well! I was planning to come back for you once I finished with this one. Thank you for saving me the trouble of carrying you,” she said with a smile that looked innocent, but reeked of intent that was anything but.
Millie, who had been staring at Sara, asked, “What are you doing to her?”
“There is great power in the soul of one who is favored by the gods,” the witch said with a roll of her eyes. “This is something that appeals to me. Feel free to use your imagination.”
“No need!” Mia growled threateningly. “It’s going to stop now if you’re interested in keeping the same amount of blood in your body!”
Adaling laughed mirthlessly as she gave Mia a lazy wave of her hand. “The Death Goddess dubs thee… Rego! Wargo! Lugo!”
The witch’s incantation caused three burly maulans to appear in the narrow space between herself and her foes, causing Mia to click her tongue impatiently. She was in a position to fight back this time, but she wasn’t left with nearly enough space to move around. Avoiding their tails would be a problem. She had to think about how to work around this, but she didn’t have long to consider her strategy before Kevin stepped forward and began to approach the maulans. He did so casually, seemingly without any fear of their tails.
“What the hell are you doing?” Mia shouted in disbelief.
Kevin made no effort to dodge the maulans’ tail strikes, which in turn failed to even penetrate his skin. He only continued his apparently pleasant stroll until he was close to touch the creatures. When he pressed his palm to the torso of the first, the creature screamed in agony as his body began to dissolve as if affected by his own poison. Kevin repeated whatever he had done twice more, leaving Adaling alone with her prisoner once more. With a snarl, she whipped her arm across the room, causing a cold feeling to come over Mia and everyone else in the room.
“I’m not sure what the hell that was, but it looks like you’re outmatched here,” the assassin said with a smirk as she tried to get closer to the witch, only to be stopped in her tracks by Millie.
“Wait! Don’t move!” Millie shouted urgently as she pointed to the ground beneath them.
Mia followed the spellwarrior’s gaze down to her feet, between which a black stalactite seemed to be protruding. She nudged the spike with her foot, which seemed to cause it to grow slightly.
“If you don’t hold absolutely still, that thing is going to keep growing from your own shadow until it impales you,” Millie said breathlessly. “I hate this spell! It’s so evil!”
Kevin continued to stare Adaling down for a moment longer before opening his mouth. From it, a dozen tiny winged creatures with white fur swarmed out toward the witch. With a hiss of frustration, Adaling floored the majority of them with a spell which conjured a sickle of black light that Mia might have remembered seeing Seth use in one of his RGT matches. Only one of these new creatures remained flying after this assault and, considering the way it began to bob through the air, it didn’t seem unharmed. The creature retreated to Kevin, who opened his mouth and swallowed it once more. Once he did so, the druidic markings that covered his entire body changed from white to black.
“Those were eversprites!” Millie whispered excitedly to Mia. “Oh my gods! He’s a feykin!”
As Kevin began to walk once more, a spike began to grow from his shadow as well. But he seemed unconcerned as it grew and grew until it should have skewered him. Instead of harming him, the shadow began to phase harmlessly through his body.
“Thanks to those eversprites he conjured, he’s immune to her shadow magic!” Millie added to Mia’s slight irritation.
“Okay, what’s a feykin?” Mia grumbled, more out of frustration with finding herself helpless again than genuine curiosity.
“Feykin are mortals who have formed a connection with the fey,” Millie explained while Adaling lashed out with her shadow claw spell. “That means he can use our powers! His hands pulse with the light of a kerunite’s eyes, which explained what happens to the maulans! Hell! I bet he can spit lava like a magmadon or even inflict maulan venom with his touch!”
“Eversprite magic won’t protect you from this!” Adaling hissed! “Amul dala!”
Black flames suddenly erupted from Kevin’s shorts, causing him to jump in alarm, howling in pain.
“He’s going to need our help! How do we get out of this spell?” Mia snapped curtly.
“There is no escape!” Millie wailed. “We have to wait for the spell to wear off or for the caster to voluntarily remove it!”
Mia was already beginning to feel stiff. “Screw that!” She could feel the insidious spike inching further upward beneath her as she pulled the pistol from her holster and took aim at the witch.
Millie gasped as soon as she saw the weapon. “You can’t! There’s someone innocent in there!”
Millie rolled her eyes as she loaded an unusual round into the weapon. Sometimes, the work of a Starling needed to be public when the target preferred to stick to places that were anything but. When those times came, they had thin glass-tipped bullets filled with a sleeping potion that could be administered when their saturated shards cut into the target’s skin. They were used rarely as assassin tools, but now that she was giving a less deadly lifestyle a try, she would have cause to fire a lot more of these sleep rounds.
“Like I care,” she grumbled as she squeezed in the trigger.
Even in the dimly-lit environment, the Starling’s aim was true. The bullet struck her prey cleanly in the chest, where Mia suspected that the potion would be quickly dispersed. Within moments, Adaling began to falter and her grip on Sara loosened. Millie would then breathe a sigh of relief as the dangerous magic that had rooted them to the spot vanished. The spellwarrior turned toward Kevin and waved the flames that assailed him away with a wave of her hand and an accompanying gust of wind.
“Thank you,” the young druid murmured. “I didn’t count on there being fire. I’ve never been good at handling that.”
Mia ignored the two of them as she went to go check on Sara. She still appeared to be asleep, but didn’t respond to the Starling’s attempts to revive her. When Kevin was reasonably certain that he wasn’t badly burned, he joined Mia at her side and smiled.
“What was done by the mother can easily be undone by the father. Invigorate!”
Sara suddenly sat bolt upright and looked around in bewilderment. When her eyes found Mia’s, she mumbled. “Where happened?”
“I hope at least one of you knows!” Another voice boomed from behind them.
Mia looked up to see the spellwarrior that she had first seen in the RGT approaching them from behind. Seth Midas looked impatient, and for good reason. A week of waiting for her and Sara can’t have been good for the nerves of the rest of the group.
“This woman is apparently s servant of Maula,” Mia murmured. “She had us knocked out with some Serene magic this whole time. We had to track her down to this spot because she was trying to steal her soul or something.”
Seth studied the woman’s features and groaned. “Shit.”
The others snapped their gazes toward Seth. “What?” Sara said.
“This is Adamora. She’s my second-cousin,” Seth explained darkly. “I ran into another second-cousin very recently who seemed to serve Maula in the same way. Clint says they were guarding Orion’s artifacts.”
The spellwarrior coated his hands in a black light similar to the shadow magic Mia had recently just escaped before driving his hands into the sleeping witch’s chest. Moments later, he pulled out a thick, black, spiked chain that had apparently been resting within her.
“This is the last piece,” he said solemnly as he seemed to study his relative.
“By the gods!” Sara gulped. “That… was a thing that happened!”
“This is what we were looking for, right?” Mia said eagerly. “This means we’re nearly done!”
Mia hadn’t invested nearly as much time in this quest as Seth or Sara had, but she was eager to be done with it nonetheless. At this point, she was far more interested in eradicating the Scarlet Starlings than participating in some divine whatever-this-was, but she felt compelled to keep the promise she had made to Sara. Therefore, she was more than eager to see this ultimate weapon’s completion. The sooner this ends, the better!
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