Blazing Glory Ch. 08

"Don't worry... It's nothing a little magic I know can't fix," Rae laughed as both women walked out of sight in the trees from the bloody scene...

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Her breath was cut off roughly before darkness enfolded her. She couldn't see anything for that brief moment and it terrified her. Vision was always still with her even in the dark. But this black void was nothing light could ever hope to penetrate to see. No more than a blink of an eye later than it had started, vision returned to the frightened woman in the form of a dark room filled with red light.

Nariko gasped as she was tossed to the hard stone floor like the disposing of trash. The impact hurt her ribs slightly as she choked and rubbed her sore neck. Her head turned to look hatefully at her captor, but her big orange eyes saw the woman standing above her. The last woman she had expected to see.

"L... Lexiss?" the ninja assassin gasped in horror. "But that... that means..."

"That means that you're in the presence of the one who commands you and the one you failed," the sexy voice said behind her in cold controlled anger.

A shiver of terror like nothing she had ever felt before ran up her spine. Even though her mind screamed at her not to do so, Nariko slowly turned her head around as the fear filled her entire being. Glowing red eyes burning brightly like the fires of hell within the darkness. They were beacons for any onlooker to see the goddess's fury. In one moment she had been safe hidden inside her sister's home and the next she was half-way across the known world at the feet of a wrathful deity.

Her mind screamed at her to beg for mercy and another chance to take care of Blaze, but her mouth simply hung open in horror. The words simply wouldn't come in the face of such anger.

"Dear... dear Nariko," Koas whispered from the darkness. "You failed me. Not only did you do so, but you hid from me. You cowered away from me in your hideaway even though you knew I summoned your presence for weeks. Dear Nariko... Did you not know how that hurt my feelings? I may have simply wanted to know why you hadn't been able to fulfill your assignment and nothing more..."

Slowly those red eyes rose within the darkness as the goddess rose from her throne. The soft sounds of her footfalls on the steps down from her ghastly throne sounded like the massive drums sounding the approach of Nariko's impending doom. As the beautiful goddess crossed into the light, those lavender lips were turned down into dark scowl that made Nariko literally squeak in fright.

"But I was angry anyway and you knew it," Koas spat angrily as she walked towards her cowering servant. "The defiance of my summons only infuriated me more, little Nariko. Did you think you could hide from me forever? Foolish girl...."

The tall goddess now towered over the ninja woman at her feet. Nariko couldn't help herself as her body visibly quaked for all to see. Shaking her head in disgust, Koas looked up and gave a small smile to Lexiss.

"Lexiss has once again proven herself to me to be a reliable servant. Even though it took her a little while, she found you out nonetheless and brought you to me," she hummed with pride. "She even had to work more than necessary and accomplish what you could not. That's right, Nariko. Lexiss killed Blaze for me."

Nariko's head raised quickly in astonishment at this news before shooting the shadow mistress a hot glare. But Lexiss had averted her gaze from goddess and ninja, remaining silent. With a wave of her hand and smile, Koas quietly dismissed her avatar. With a bow to her mistress, Lexiss made a quick exit from the room leaving the two of them in agonizing stillness.

"So Nariko," Koas finally spoke as she began to circle the ninja. An invisible force suddenly snapped the assassin's head up and lifted her up into the air. Nariko choked off a terrified cry as she floated in the air unable to move. "What punishment should be dealt to you for your disappointments?"

Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she shook her head. Koas stopped her circling in front of the floating woman and glanced upwards with those red eyes. "No suggestions? Perhaps I could twist your arms around in your sockets before they popped out? And maybe then I could rip them off your body?"

Her orange eyes were as wide as they ever could be in blind terror as her arms lifted into the air horizontal to the ground from the powerful invisible force. She couldn't resist and soon felt her arms turning backwards with the first twinge of pain.

"N-no! Please! Mistress Koas! I'm sorry! I beg of you! Please NOOOO!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as her arms turned a little bit further and the pain increased.

"What is that? You say 'no' to me? 'No' that I cannot do this to you?" the goddess snapped angrily as she began circling the ninja again. "You know about the Natori pact as well as I do. But what you don't know is that YOU belong to ME! The day you swore allegiance and personal servitude to me, you walked right through the loophole of that promise. We gods cannot harm mortals anymore, but we may do whatever we wish to our own personal servants!"

Koas stopped in front of the shaking, crying woman she held up with just the slightest bit of her immeasurable power. "So I can do to you whatever I please. I could spill your guts right here and now while keeping you alive before healing you to do it all over again!"

That was the last straw as terror fully seized the helpless Nariko as she shrieked and cried uncontrollably while struggling with all her might. Koas scowled as she let the woman become frenzied with the fear and knowledge that goddess could destroy her mortal body easily in any horrible fashion she so chose. Before Nariko went insane from the panic, Koas decided her point had been made and stepped up to the howling female.

SLAP!!!

The screaming ceased instantly with the loud crack of the slap Koas landed across Nariko's cheek. The quieted ninja woman whimpered from the stinging blow as she was lowered to the ground. Koas sneered down at Nariko as the assassin crumpled to her knees.

"Consider that part of your punishment, dear Nariko," she smiled darkly with promise of what could have been. "Now I have a mission for you to complete for me to prove your worthiness to serve me once more. Fail to succeed and all that I described that could be done to you will seem like a pleasant experience compared to what I will really do!"

Nariko kneeled before the deity with her head slumped low in obedience. "Yes, my mistress. Thank you for your mercy and this second chance. What is it you wish for me to do for you?"

Koas smirked evilly, "My army is in need of a cavalry...."

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The pain was gone. No longer did he hear its wicked whisper and promise of unending pain long after his death. Instead he now dreamed. Waves crashed in the distance and he could smell the salt in the air. He looked down upon his home village once again, but this time it was there. Everything was peaceful as children ran about the streets in play. He could hear their cries of joy and play from where he stood.

"Still always finding trouble aren't you, young Richard?"

The boy Richard had been blinked and looked behind him to see the old man sitting in his usual spot of meditation underneath the shade of the massive tree. He grinned and went over to sit beside his master who had always been there to train him. He wasn't a massive man like Blaze had always heard heroes were supposed to be like. But this old man's body was hard as iron and still as deadly. His hair was cut short in the military style and fully grey. His master had a full grey beard that Blaze often thought about growing one himself when he became a man one day. He wanted to be so much like the man he had grown up to admire.

"Listen to me Richard," his master said with a sigh as he looked down to his young protégé. "I have taught you much over these last few months. There is still much I have yet to teach you. I will pass on to you all my knowledge I gained as a soldier and wandering warrior. Knowledge I obtained from studying with many different masters of their own styles. You'll become a great warrior when I have finished. But there is one lesson that is more important than anything else I can teach you."

"What is it master?" the boy asked.

"There comes a time in every person's existence when they are faced with the grim harshness of life and begin to doubt. This cannot be truer for the life of a fighter. In everything I have and will teach you Richard, there will come a day when it will still fail you," his master said as surely as he believed the sun would rise the next day. Those steel grey eyes fixed on Blaze's and immediately silenced the protest forming in the boy's mouth. Grey eyes that had seen too many hard times and too few good ones.

Looking back to the ocean, his master continued. "No matter how great you become there will always be someone out there that is better. You will be defeated and suffer a blow to your confidence more painful than any physical blow can inflict. This becomes the defining moment in what will define you as a man. As you doubt your abilities and believe yourself a failure, will you give up and go home? Or will you stand your ground and learn from your defeat? Learn from it and gain strength in confidence in your abilities?"

Blaze stared in wide-eyed awe at the depth of the meaning his master was trying to press to him with this message. He nodded that he understood what his master was telling him.

"A man who gives up in the face of adversity has already suffered defeat before any final blow is struck," the old man said and turned his gaze to the boy sitting next to him. "Such is true for a warrior or any other person in their life. When that time comes, will you give up Richard?"

"Never, master."

"Good boy," the old warrior smiled to his student. "You continue to make me proud Richard. Remember that in the future. You always have made me proud and always will..."

The old man's voice faded away. When Blaze looked from the sea back to that gruff voice, the young warrior was a man once more staring at the grave marker of his teacher in the spot the old man always sat. The wind blew gently across the ground as the only sound.

"Never give up..." Blaze whispered.

Swiftly his vision faded into blackness. He groaned as his body felt sore and heavy. His body! He could feel himself again! Slowly his eyes opened, squinting at the bright light that filled his sight. In his blurry vision, he saw a face he remembered. Though still blurry to his eyes, he could see that tanned skin and bright hair that he knew all too well.

"Kendra?" he said, finding his voice hoarse and a just a whisper.

"No," answered a completely unfamiliar voice.

Confused, he shook his head slightly as his vision began to clear. What he saw damn near put him into a coma! He knew that many of the other women were very beautiful. But none could equal Kendra's sensual exoticness. The only one who had come close was Sonora. The young warrior now stared speechlessly at Kendra's true equal in beauty.

Mysterious amber colored eyes stared into his. Beautiful tanned skin like a soft bronze. A lighter tone than Kendra's. Long silvery hair framed an exquisite face like nothing he had seen before. She was shear elegant beauty. Even with her pointed ears... Blaze's jaw dropped open in shock as his eyes bolted right back to those pointy ears with realization. An ELF!

"W-who are you?" he groaned as he tried to sit up, finding such a movement extremely difficult. It felt like he had a massive boulder sitting on his chest. "Where am I?"

The elegant elf put her hand to his chest and only had to press lightly to push him back down. He was so weak that he couldn't resist even if he tried. With his head resting comfortably back on the pillow as he looked this woman over more closely this time. The hand that rested gently on his chest now was encased in a glove that extended halfway up to her elbow. A quick glance revealed that her other hand bore the same glove as well. Sitting close to the bed with her legs crossed, boots extended up those lovely limbs past her knees to mid-thigh.

What really blew his mind was her dress! It was a single piece dress that extended down shapely hips in a skirt. The cloth flared out from her shoulders straight in a fashion like Tyra's pauldrons. But what made his eyes nearly pop out of his skull was her torso! The dress was split open down the middle in a 'V' shape. The bronzed cleavage of her chest was bared for all to see as the material on both sides strained against her large breasts. It drew his gaze painfully down her smooth cleavage and belly before terminating right where it reached her golden belt. All of the cloth was the same color as her lustrous silver hair and embroidered in places with gold.

Kendra was perfect sensuousness. This elf was perfect elegance.

"You're in my home in the eastern forests of Solomon, Blaze. Your friends brought you here to me as I was the last chance to heal what they could not," she said to him calmly. All his mind could think was what a babe! Wow! "Some call me the Silver Enchantress. But my real name is Callista Malthenniel."

"A pleasure to meet you, Callista," he grinned, still amazed he was seeing and talking to a real life elf! One of the legendary elves! "I guess it's quite obvious that you cured me. Thank you. I don't really think I want to know what was done to me, but why do I feel so damn weak?"

Soft lips smiled warmly to him as those amber eyes seemed to look into his very soul. "You lost a significant amount of blood, Blaze. You were lucky you didn't die from that alone. But your spirit needs time to recover as your body replenishes the blood it needs. Now you need to continue to rest and regain the strength you've lost young human."

He started up again. He was about to protest and ask about the others when her hand rose from his chest to touch his forehead. He felt a warm pleasant feeling of sleepiness wash over him. His eyes closed as his head dropped back. The young warrior was asleep before his head landed upon the pillow.

Over the next few days he stayed within the confines of the room. Callista made it clear that he was not allowed to leave. It was obvious that she had forbidden any of his friends to enter the room. When he asked why he couldn't see them, she stated that it was simply because he was still too weak and seeing his friends may prove to be too much excitement for him to handle yet. While feeling unsure about it, he trusted the elven sorceress. She had saved his life after all.

Throughout much of this time, he slept a great deal. Whenever he woke, he saw Callista was there by his bedside. She was always there. The Silver Enchantress stayed by his bedside in almost continuous watch over him. During this time spent alone together, they talked quite a bit. Though a bit quiet at first, as if conversation were an uncomfortable action for her, Callista soon inquired about him. The sorceress wanted to know where he was from and what it was like. She was curious about how he had ended up becoming the companion of a succubus instead of being consumed by the demoness. Blaze felt comfortable in telling the beautiful elf the story of what had happened so far, having to come to like Callista.

It was nearing the end of the third day of their time together when he finally asked what he'd been pondering about for a while. "Callista, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Blaze," she answered with a small smile.

He sat up and pushed himself back to lean against the bed's headboard. His strength was slowly but surely returning to him as she had promised. "I've noticed that there seems to be no one else here but you. Do you really live here alone?" Blaze blinked when she nodded slightly and pressed further.

"But why? You're incredibly beautiful. Surely there are male elves lined at the door wanting to be with you." Callista averted her gaze silently to the floor. She looked like she was sad and Blaze instantly regretted asking. Damn it! I went too far, he cursed himself.

"I'm alone... because I'm different," she whispered softly, interrupting his forming apology. The sorceress's gaze remained centered on the floor.

"Different?" the young human blinked and scratched his head in bewilderment. "You look like an elf to me. Just like the legends my people say of your race."

Those amber eyes glanced up to him as her small smile returned. "Thank you, Blaze." The young man blinked, wondering why he was being thanked. The sorceress leaned back into the chair and turned her eyes towards the ceiling with a faraway look. "I'm not like the other elves. Elves in Solomon all have fair pale skin that never changes over time. None look as I do."

"Why would that make any difference with elves? Just like with my race, despite the differences of skin color we are humans all the same."

"I wish it was that simple," she sighed softly. "Even though it has quieted down over the past few centuries, the ancient war between elf and drow is still ongoing. A natural distrust of any elf that looks different than normal has evolved out of such conflict. It's worse because no elf has ever looked like I do. Not even grey elves, the offspring between drow and surface elves, look as I do."

Blaze snorted and shrugged. "You look perfectly fine as far as I'm concerned. Actually... Very 'fine' to be truthful!"

His compliment drew another small smile from the sorceress and even a laugh. "My aren't we a clever boy with words! Thank you again...... But it gets worse. Ever since my youth I have displayed potential for great power. A power coming from a bottomless well as far as I can tell. Such made me stronger than the elder elven sorcerers. They and everyone else grew to fear me. Thus I became an outcast of my society."

"If I may ask," Blaze started carefully and continued at her approving nod, "Where were your parents in all of this?"

"Father was always there for me, Blaze. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing wrong with me. What he saw was that the other elves were those who were wrong. I eventually learned that father was different from the rest as well. He wanted to make peace with the drow and end the war that never seemed to have an end in sight. I, with my unusual looks and magic, was the last straw for the elves and both of us were shunned from society."

"And your mother?"

The Silver Enchantress blinked at his sudden question and glanced out the window with a pained look. "I never knew her. She died during my birth. Father always told me about how beautiful she was and how much of her he could see in me. What I learned from him was that mother shared his beliefs in the war and that she was a kind woman with a fierce passion for life. So father and I moved out here and built this home. But a few years later, he was killed by a flash flood while fishing in one of the rivers."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "But from what I can see, I believe they'd both be proud of who you've become."

"I would like to think so," she said wistfully. "I've tried my best to continue to be kind to others even though they fear me. Some, though suspicious, come to me for help in curing ailments or physical problems. I'm always glad to help. Just like I was with you. Speaking of help, it's time you get more rest!"

Always the obstinate patient, Blaze started to protest. The young human the blinked wide in surprise as he felt her soft lips press against his cheek. Instantly a wave of sleepiness hit him like the last time and he was soon asleep.

It was two days later when Callista finally allowed the others to come into the room one by one to visit. Tyra came in first and was a towering pillar of reassuring warmth. The beautiful gargoyle sat with him for a while, simply talking and asking how he was doing. Nadine had literally bounded into the room and leapt into the bed. The furry woman curled up tightly against him with a tight grip as she cried into his shoulder. They simply held each other and took comfort in each other's presence.