The Royal Assassin (Part 2)
1009 Words
“This is the third time today I’ve come here,” Jack said. “Not to mention yesterday. I’m sick of it.”
“You sure did a number on this place,” Luna commented. “It is wrecked.”
“What will this ‘backup’ be?” Belle asked. “A bunch of imperial guards?”
“Definitely not,” Luna answered. “Like I said, the king cannot exhaust his resources all at once. The bounty hunters have retreated, for now. This leaves him with only one choice…”
“The Royal Assassin,” Jack said. “Déjà vu, right?”
“Yeah,” Axel replied with distaste. “Déjà vu.”
“Don’t worry mate. We drove him away before, we’ll do it again.”
“I don’t think so. Yesterday was a test; to see whether I was really here in Bluegate or not. This time, he’ll be prepared.”
“Well, good thing we’re also prepared this time,” Belle said. “The four of us should be enough.”
“Keep in mind, he is a shape shifter,” Luna said. “I’ve seen his type. I doubt he can turn into other humans, but he can certainly turn into beasts. Stay vigilant.” She turned to Jack. “Stay. Vigilant.”
“What’re you looking at me for?”
The four had their weapons out and waited anxiously for the enemy’s arrival. The city was completely silent, with no beast in sight.
“Wait, what if he turns into an insect?” Jack questioned. “I mean, insects aren’t beasts, I know, but they are animals, technically, and we don’t know what he’s capable of, and if he turns into an-”
“Jack, shut up,” Luna ordered.
“I’m just saying-”
Suddenly a Volequi charged in and knocked him back. He was flung into the air and crashed into a nearby stall. Axel shot magical blasts but the Volequi turned into a bird and dodged it, then began flying.
“He’s here!” Axel said.
“I told you to stay vigilant!” Luna yelled.
“This isn’t the time for ‘I told you so’!” Jack yelled back and got up.
“Time and place, children,” Belle said, trying to surround the bird with flames. “You can bicker amongst yourselves later!”
The bird flew vertically up high into the air, then turned into a Koriken and immediately snatched Axel, taking him up in the air. His staff dropped down on the ground. Luna warned Belle not to attack.
The claws dug deep into Axel’s skin. He tried to free himself but the Koriken held him tightly. He quickly muttered a spell and the sunlight went away as the clouds converged, and suddenly a burst of lightning shot down from the sky, electrocuting both the assassin and Axel. They plummeted down on the ground. Jack broke Axel’s fall with force fields, but he was still hurt from the electricity and stayed down on the ground.
The Royal Assassin turned back into human form with smoke still coming out of his body, then got up and drew his dagger. The sky quickly began clearing up. The twins charged at him with their weapons drawn while Belle shot flames from her hands, which the assassin blocked with a magical shield.
As the twins got closer, they rushed at him with their weapons and Belle also joined with her sword. Every time the assassin attacked Luna, the sword went right through her body, giving her plenty of time to counter. Axel quickly got up and called his staff into his hand, then raised the rocks below the assassin’s feet to hold him in a place. Even though he couldn’t move, the assassin still put up a fight, using small magical spells to deflect attacks. Right as he was about to be stabbed, he turned into a snake, quickly slipping out of the rocky bonds and away from the three warriors. It then instantly turned into a bear and charged at Axel, who created a decoy and dodged just in time.
As the bear charged through the decoy, Jack created a force field right in front of him. He charged straight into it and hit his head; this managed to stun him long enough for the three fighters to catch up. The mage shot a constant red stream of energy at the bear; it tried to dodge but failed and the stream of energy shot straight across his right eye. He howled in pain, and turned back into a human, with a gushing red scar in the shape of a streak going up to his ear where his right eye used to be. He created a blast of wind that blew everyone back, then turned into a one-eyed rat and tried to slip through a nearby building. Axel waved his hand towards the base of the building and it began to crumble down; within seconds a pile of debris stood where the building used to be. Jack covered the pile of debris in a large force field and Luna shot a glowing blue projectile from her hands that turned parts of the debris invisible.
They carefully checked through the debris to see whether the assassin was alive or not, but he was nowhere in sight.
“I think he’s dead,” Jack said hopefully. “Does anyone see him?”
“I don’t see him,” Belle said. “But just because we can’t see him doesn’t mean he’s dead.”
“Love the optimism, Belle,” Jack replied and continued looking around the debris.
“I think we won this fight,” Luna said. “And that’s all that matters for now.”
“You’re right,” Axel agreed. “And with that injury on his eye, if he’s alive, he’d be running for medical help. There’s no chance he’ll be following us.”
“Can we go back to base now?” Belle said. “Please? I think I’m done trying to kill people for today.”
“Yeah,” Luna replied. “I think we can go back. Just in case, I’ll order the nearby spies to be on the lookout. The assassin won’t move an inch without them knowing about it.”
“They’re not going to engage him, right?” Axel asked. “Because injured as he is, he’s still dangerous.”
“Not at all, mate,” Jack said. “That’s our job.”
“Indeed it is,” Luna said with a smile. “Well, this was an eventful day. Let’s head back.”
The debris became opaque again, and the force field faded away. The four took one last look at the debris, then headed back to the hideout to get some well deserved rest.
- Writer
