Ultimate Assassin Saga: Escape

If she was going to meet her death here, then she was going to meet it with dignity and eyes wide open. She stared up at the white clad creature and was amazed by the horror that was its face. It was contorted into a look of painful screaming and it looked truly tormented. What the hells kind of creature could live when it was so tortured? The creature was born of the Abyss, so that probably explained that, but that didn't really concern her anymore. All that concerned her was the scythe the creature was lifting over its head and the fact that that same scythe was coming down, aimed right at her chest.

Just before the blade struck her chest, she heard the sound of metal slapping against metal and she saw that the scythe was knocked off its track. The creature turned to see where the blade that had knocked it's scythe away came from and she was fairly certain that it was a dagger. After all, she hadn't seen the blade that had knocked the scythe off its target. Just as the purple skinned beast turned its head, it cried out in pain and she saw that two black hilt daggers protruded from where its eyes were suppose to be. The creature dropped its scythe and it fell back onto the ground, dead.

The Amazon Queen gritted her teeth and she groaned as she pushed up onto one arm, looking around for the person that had saved her. She heard the sound of someone landing in front of her and she turned to see the person that had landed in front of her. It was a woman and a woman that the Amazon Queen was all too familiar with. It was her youngest child and second daughter, Tsunami.

Tsunami stood over her mother, staring down at her with eyes devoid of all emotion. It was at that moment that she took in the features of her daughter as she'd done so many times before. She was short, about five foot even, and slender. She had ash blonde hair that fell to her jawline and dark blue eyes set in a tanned face. She wore a black mesh shirt, black pants, calf high black boots, a black leather belt with daggers sheathed all around it, and a knee length black cloak with a wide hood, but the hood was down at this point in time.

Tsunami had been away constantly for the past three months since her older sister's disappearance. Before that, she'd been away spying on a small band of Orcs. However, when her sister had been kidnapped, she'd returned home, and when she'd found out what was going on, she'd gone off in search of her sister. She was the best spy the village had and the only one that could get into the Elf village without being seen and get out just as easily. Tsunami had been spying on the Wood Elves since the beginning of this situation, but she hadn't brought her mother any sort of information about the Elves as of yet. Her daughter returning now was fortuitous, and once this battle ended, they could confirm that Twister had indeed been kidnapped by the Wood Elves. Then, they would be able to take their entire force again the Wood Elves and bury them for good this time.

The Spy held out a hand to her and Kira took it. The grip of the Spy's hand was firm and she pulled her mother easily to her feet. As the Amazon Queen looked around, she noted that the Minions were being easily destroyed and that they didn't stand a chance. Then, she watched as her son sliced through the head of the last of the beasts and it fell to the ground, dead. She shook her head as she released her daughter's hand and she turned to look at her daughter, glad that she'd returned at such an opportune time. If she hadn't returned when she had, the Amazon Queen would be dead. That didn't stop the bleeding that was still pouring from her back though and she could feel it, but she ignored it, wanting to appear strong in front of he people.

"We have much to discuss, mother." Tsunami told her, breaking her from her reverie. She turned to look at her daughter and she was struck once again by just how much she looked like her father. It always amazed her that out of all her children, her youngest was the one that looked like her father. Tsunami had his ash blonde hair, his dark blue eyes, high cheekbones, pointed chin, and his delicate eyelashes. She was definitely her father's daughter, all the way down to her spying abilities. "First we will take care of your wounds though."

With that, the youngest Amazon Royal turned from her mother and she went in search of someone to heal her mother. It would seem that she had much to tell her and she wanted to do so quickly so they could act on it. She only hoped that her daughter's information matched her mother's assumptions. If they didn't, then there could be no war against the Wood Elves, and while she didn't relish in the thought of war, she wanted her daughter back more than anything else. She would gladly sacrifice her own life to get back Twister and return the village their most powerful Mage.

She would do anything.

Chapter 22

A sunbeam fell through the thick trees, washing the empty glen in golden light. There was nothing around for several feet, not even a stray squirrel. For the past three months, everything within the forest had refused to come into this empty area, not even the plants would grow. Squirrels skirted the region and bears took their young elsewhere to find their food. They could all sense that this ground was somehow dangerous to them, though they didn't know how. Even the grass had refused to grow in this spot, leaving a large patch of sand for several feet and creating a strange tableaux of desert in the middle of a forest.

That would soon be changing.

The desert like ground began to move and shift slowly. Then, the movement sped up and it seemed that something was attempting to claw its way out from underneath. That was an accurate description of the event anyway. If any sentient being would've been present, they would've believed that it was a Zombie rising from the dead and they would attempt to kill it before it rose. However, there was no one around to make that assumption and attempt to kill what was coming from underneath the soil. Suddenly, a large hand broke free of the surface and grasped the ground beneath it.

Then, a second hand broke the surface and grasped the ground on the other side. They began to push, lifting whatever it was from beneath the ground and did so with ease. First came the arms, the shoulders, and finally the head. However, it didn't stop there. After several minutes of pulling, the full frame of the being was free of the ground and was kneeling near the hole that he'd made in the ground. His emerald green eyes were open and searching for any enemies, but there was nothing around. Nothing would are come towards him at this time when he was not in his right mind. If they did, they would find themselves under attack from a mad beast without any emotion other than rage.

Acheron finally pushed to his feet and he began brushing the soil off of the clothing that he wore. While he brushed off the dust, his memories came back to him and his rage diminished immensely. When he was finally clean, he remembered it all. Fleeing Dalkia, finding friends in the High Forest that were the Amazons, finding the Elf injured, taking him back home, and then getting shot in the chest by an arrow. His last memory was of a Wood Elf with a painted face holding a yew bow and he knew that it had been that Elf who had shot him in the chest, killing him.

The Chaos Demon shook his head and closed his eyes. He cursed himself under his breath and opened his eyes once again. If the Elf had been knowledgeable of how to kill a Chaos Demon, he wouldn't be here right now. To kill a Chaos Demon, one had to cut off the head and burn the body. If you just cut off the head, he would regenerate the head in five years and he would come after you. After all, who would take well to someone cutting off their heads? No one, that was who.

The Command Assassin had no idea how long he'd been out of it, but he knew that it had to be a while at least. No Chaos Demon could take an arrow in the heart and come back the next day. No, it took much longer when one was killed to heal. However, once the body was healed, they would revive. It was just a survival instinct of the body to sink under the ground and leave no trace of a grave. After all, you didn't want someone coming across you while you were healing and actually kill you. No one knew exactly why Chaos Demons were so hard to kill, but many believed that it was because they were the most powerful caste of Demon. No one knew for sure of course, but it was a good guess.

Acheron straightened and took a deep breath, only to burst out into a coughing fit. He could feel the dirt in his lungs and all he could do was continue to cough. It was long, loud coughs that would draw attention if he couldn't get it under control. Finally, he managed to subdue his cough by closing his mouth and his shoulders shook with the force of his coughs. Then, the coughing stopped all together and he sighed, letting out a cautious breath. He looked up and frowned. What was he going to do now?

"That seemed like a horrible cough." said a strange voice from behind him and he turned sharply, holding up his hands in a defensive posture. The figure that had been standing behind him leaped back and the creature continued to stare at him, his eyes filled with caution as he looked upon Acheron with a curious light in his eyes. "Calm yourself. I'm not your enemy. In fact, I could become a good friend to you."

The Chaos Demon frowned, but said nothing. He took in the creature that stood before him and its features. The creature was huge, well over seven foot tall, and heavily muscled. However, he couldn't see any flesh because it was covered in silver gray fur that ran over his chest, shoulders, arms, legs, feet, and even its face. The creatures face looked like that of a wolf, but the dark brown eyes glinted with intelligence, hinting at sentience of the creature. It wore a leather harness that crisscrossed over its chest in an X and a pair of black leather pants of sorts. Adorning the creature's wrists all the way to his elbows were golden gauntlets with razor sharp blades on the outside of them.

The Command Assassin had never seen a creature like this before. Of all the things he'd seen, he'd never seen a wolf-like being in his long life. Lycans - or Werewolves as they were better known as - merely became large wolves, but weren't bipedal creatures like this thing was. It could've been a freak of nature, but he didn't think so. The thing seemed way to intelligent to be an aberration of nature. If he had to hazard a guess, he would say the creature was one of many and they probably had their own society.

"Who and what the hell are you?" Acheron asked, showing his distrust of the creature by touching the hilt of his broadsword and readying to draw it. He didn't do so just yet, but that was only because he wanted to hear the creature's answer. He'd never seen such a creature before and he wanted to know what the name of its species was before he killed it. The silver gray wolf creature stared at him, its elongated muzzle spreading in a show of a smile and showed off it's rows of razor sharp teeth. He had no doubt that this creature could rend him in two if it's fangs closed around him. He would just have to stay away from its fangs then.

"Forgive me for being rude. I am called Fenris." the bipedal creature replied with a grand bow at the waist, sweeping his arm out before him. The Chaos Demon watched him carefully, not trusting it and not sure that he should even be talking the creature. It could be like the Dark Races in nature with no ounce of goodness at all in it. There could be nothing but evil within the creature and all it sought to do was kill. However, he sensed no evil in the creature, and in fact, he sensed purity from the creature. Then, the bipedal wolf creature raised his eyes once again and it's smile got wider. "I am of the Wolfian race. We are a relatively new race, only four generations in, but we are long lived and powerful."

The Chaos Demon didn't relax even though the creature had answer his question. After all, it could be trying to fool him. He tightened his grip around the hilt of his broadsword and he readied himself for a battle. The creature stood straight once more and continued to stare at him in some sort of standoff of sorts. He wouldn't look away from the creature and it would seem that the creature wasn't going to look away from him either. It would seem that they were at an impasse.

"How did you know I was here?" Acheron asked, still suspicious, though the majority of it had waned. However, the rest of his suspicion depended on the Wolfian's answer now. There were few ways that he could've learned of Acheron's resting place and not one of them proved a good thing for the creature, but he would wait for his answer first. The Wolfian put his arms behind his back and lifted it's wolf-like head, staring at him with feral, dark brown eyes sagely.

"It was the Seer of our people that saw you. She saw you fall in this spot and she saw you sink below the surface, making sure nothing could grow in that spot. Then, she saw you rise once again and she instructed me that I should be there to meet with you." Fenris replied in monotone and he searched the man for a lie in his aura, but he could sense no lie. So, the bipedal wolf was telling the truth. That much was obvious, but what of his motives? Why would he want to involve himself and his people with a Demon?

"Surely you know what I am." Acheron replied, his tone openly hostile. The Wolfian rose a single brow in askance as if he was confused. Then, it must have occurred to him what he was talking about because he lowered his brow once again and he nodded his head once. "If you know what I am, then why would you seek me out? Surely your people, young they may be, know of Demons and their danger. So why?"

The Wolfian seemed amused by his words and he shook his wolf-like head. Then, he took a step towards the Chaos Demon, but he took a step back and he glared at the creature. He stopped and shook his head, his mouth spreading once again into a wider smile. His razor sharp teeth gleamed in the low light and they looked well taken care of. Each of the teeth were dagger like, but they were pearl white and there wasn't a crack in any of them. All in all, this man's teeth were dangerous weapons in their own right.

"It is because of what the Seer saw next." Fenris answered vaguely and he brought his large, clawed hands out from behind him. He placed his hands on his hips and he tilted his head to the side, much like a dog would when sizing up its prey. However, if the creature was doing that, he would find that the Command Assassin wasn't easy prey and that he would fight him to the death. "She saw you put an end to the bloodshed and the hell beasts that plague the High Forest. She saw you bringing together the armies of the Wood Elves and the Amazons in one last battle against the enemy."

The Chaos Demon stared at the man, not sure if he should believe him. Sure, he'd like to believe that he could do such a thing, but he couldn't see how he could. After all, the Elves and the Amazons held their animosity centuries into the past and no one even remembered why they hated one another. Whatever had eroded the alliance between the two races was long gone. When that thought raced through his mind, a feeling of hope filled his chest and he smiled slightly. Maybe because it was so long ago forgotten that he could manage to pull them together and bring them against the enemy. But how would he do such a thing?

"The enemy comes from within. The hell beasts plague both sides, but they originate from within the Amazon village." the Wolfian said suddenly, breaking through his thoughts and he stared at the man. It stood there with eyes filled with seriousness and it seemed that the wolf creature wanted him to believe him more than anything else. That could've been because it was a lie, but he sensed no lie coming from him. It seemed genuine to him however. "They come from a place hidden. Behind the waterfall. I warn you not to go alone. If you do, you will fail and the High Forest will be overrun with these creatures. You are our last hope at defeating them and driving them all out. You must kill their leader and master."

The Command Assassin stared at the Wolfian in surprise, hardly able to believe what he was saying. He had noticed that the Minions had smelled of fresh water, but he never would've put that together with the waterfall in the Amazon village. He would've assumed that they made their home near a pond or lake. What he said made sense and it would be a great place to operate, especially if the Demon that controlled them had the ability to portal them out. Most Upper Flight Demons had immensely powerful magic and teleporting several Minions would be easier than lifting a sword.

The thing that worried Acheron the most however was somehow managing to pull the Elves and the Amazons together. Wait, he hadn't said that it had to be the armies of the Elves and the Amazons, just that he'd pulled together the two races. He definitely knew an Elf that would help of that he was sure and a powerful Amazon that could help him as well. He would call upon Twister to help him, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to get a hold of her. He didn't know why he thought that, but he knew better than to go against his instincts. His instincts were mostly right and his instincts were telling him right now to send a message to the Wood Elf Gareth and the Amazon Prince, Tide.

The Chaos Demon raised his eyes to thank the Wolfian, but he stopped and stared. Fenris had disappeared into thin air while he was thinking. He hadn't even sensed the creature disappear and maybe that was because he was able to shield his aura. He didn't know, but it was the best guess that he had. Also, this was the best lead that he'd had on where the controller of the Minions' was. All he had to do was get the two forces together and that would be simple.

The Command Assassin held out his hands at his sides, palms up in the air and he began to chant. He drew on his magic, and in only seconds, two eagles appeared, one in each hand. He smiled at the creatures as the two dark feathered creatures stared at him. These eagles were magicked to relay the message that he'd given them in his own voice and only to the recipient. Also, they knew where their targets were at all times and would be able to fly fast enough to get to both places in less than an hour.

"Go, my precious messengers." Acheron told them and lifted his hands into the air. The two eagles leaped off of his arm and they flew off in two very different directions. One was flying towards the Amazon village and the Forest Guard Captain, Tide. The other was flying towards the Elven Archer, Gareth. When they disappeared in the distance, he sat down next to the place that he'd crawled out of the earth to wait. They would return soon enough and they would bring with them the two that he wanted to see, courtesy of teleporting spells.

All he had to do was wait.

XXXXXXXXXX

Twister sat on her knees as she had done day after day and hung her head. The air around her was muggy, giving her little air, but she was still able to breath enough to keep herself alive. Her skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat as she had been every single day, but she didn't stink. Every day, her kidnapper came back and threw a large bowl of water on her to clean her. She was able to judge how many days that she'd been in this place because of that and she believed that she'd been there nearly three whole months, though she couldn't be completely sure. However, it was the best she could do.

The High Shaman lifted her golden eyes to the cavern that she was being held in and she stared at the rocky walls that had some sort of runes carved into them with gold inlaying them. She didn't know what the runes said, but it didn't really matter. She couldn't draw on her magic and she had a feeling that it had something to do with the runes that marked the walls. Maybe the runes were meant to suppress magic powers so no one could use it. However, that wasn't the end of how she was kept where she was.