Ashes of Revenge

Raven’s eyes shot open, and she sat up, inhaling deeply as she did so. Liquid filled her throat, cutting off her breath. The next thing she knew, she was coughing up something. It pooled out her mouth and onto the ground beneath her as her hands desperately scratched and clawed at her throat. She could feel her eyes straining due to the pressure, and she felt like she was about to pass out.

After a few more seconds, the liquid subsided. Air flowed back into her lungs, and she took deep, strained breaths. Her bloodshot eyes looked down at the fluid, and her shaking fingers lowered to it. Pulling her fingers away, her eyes faintly widened, and her face paled when she recognized it as the black liquid that had come out of Ash’s hand.

“Sorry it’s so messy,” Death said from behind her. "It's either that or soot and ash."

Raven quickly turned around on the ground and faced him. Death’s feet were on a wall - at least five feet in the air - and his arms rested against his knees. A giant smile was resting on his face, his white teeth twinkling in the dull light.

Raven looked around for any sign of the decrepit woman, and when she didn’t see her, her muscles untensed. “What’s tha point of tha black liquid?” Raven’s shaking voice asked as she staggered to her feet.

“To give you an incentive to do as I say.” Before he even finished his sentence, he flicked his wrist, and Raven gasped for air once more. She could feel the liquid pooling into her lungs and wrapping around her organs. A scream tried to come out, but every system began to shut down.

Raven’s fingers desperately entered into her mouth, trying to throw up and relieve the pressure, but even her gag reflex wasn’t working.

“Sorry, but I have to ensure that things run smoothly, and I can already tell you dislike me.” He had hoped the pair could begin on level ground, but she had already made up her mind. Nature was such a peculiar thing.

Suddenly, the liquid went away, and Raven quickly removed her fingers. Gasping for air, her body began to tremble again.

Death pushed himself off the wall and walked the few feet to her. “So, now that we have an understanding of what is to be done do we have a deal?” He reached his hand down to her, but she firmly shoved it away.

Death breathed out a laugh as he smiled. Raven made her way to her feet, staring at him.

“Ok, how about one more incentive. . . . If you don’t agree to the deal now, I will hurt Richard and Colt.” He watched as fear seeped into her body. “As I’ve stated before, it’s not permanent. We both get what we want. I’m still giving you a chance at your revenge!”

“Why are yeh makin’ me do this?”

“Because every time it happens, I get to take something from you and those little bits add up.” He stepped towards her. Once more, he outstretched his hand. “Deal?”

“What did yeh take tha first time an’ what will yeh take tha second?”

“That’s for you to find and figure out later.” His hand still extended to her.

Raven stared at his onyx fingers for a second, thinking about what she was about to give up. But she couldn’t stomach the thought of Death coming after Colt and Richard because of her stubbornness. Besides, he had said that it wasn’t permanent, so she would still get to follow through with her original goal. Pain was temporary; she knew that. She had been through so much torture that the thought of it happening to her would simply be another small gash.

Instantaneously her hand slipped into his cold one.

“Excellent, my dear!” He pulled his hand away. “Now that we have a deal, I’ll let you guys go. I hope you can outrun them.”

“Them?”

“Yes, them. They won’t kill you, but they are vital to the movement of our agreement.” Death pointed behind her, and she turned around. Her lips faintly parted at what she was looking at. Multiple slimy, skinny creatures moved and crawled over the walls, their brown and grey bodies blending into the rock every few seconds. Simultaneously, they froze and looked at her, baring their sharp teeth as their dagger-like claws scratched against the rubble.

“If I were you,” Death whispered next to her ear, faintly leaning down, “I would run.”

Raven turned around and saw that the cave had shifted again, creating another hallway. She took off in a full sprint, and the creatures lunged after her.

Every couple of feet, Death appeared in front of her and pointed in the correct direction, the fire in his hand lighting her way. Raven jumped over rocks, slid under crevasses, climbed walls, and tumbled down hills. No matter what she did, she could hear the creatures behind her.

The ground beneath her feet shifted, and her momentum sent her tumbling down the hill.

***

Colt pulled out another piece of the wall that he and Richard had been working on. They hadn’t made enormous progress, but it was enough to keep Colt from panicking again.

Their coats had been shrugged off a while ago as the temperature rose by the minute.

A rock striking the floor echoed around them. Richard and Colt froze and pulled away from the spot. Another rock fell from above, and they looked up, now seeing a hole. Raven came tumbling out of the gap and to the ground.

Her body didn’t even settle before her boots slid across the rubble as she stood up, continuing to run. Before Richard and Colt could react, she jumped and collided with both of them, sending them flying backward.

Light flooded their visions, and fresh air hit their skin. Richard didn’t even have time to expand his wings before they were all tumbling down the side of a grassy mountain.

Colt and Raven hit the flat ground, continuing to roll and hit one another until they came to a stop.

When Richard hit the ground, his wings expanded, and he managed to flip himself onto his feet.

Colt and Raven groaned as they untangled their bodies from one another. Once the pair managed to untwine themselves, they breathed out slowly and began to stand up. Colt more than happy to be outside again.

She sighed in relief that Death hadn’t done anything to them. But her relief was short-lived when she remembered why she had been running in the first place.

Quickly spinning around, Raven looked at the mountain and saw the creatures descending the side.

“What are those?” Colt asked.

“I have no idea,” Raven said slowly. Looking down, she saw her gloves were back on her hands, and her sword was strapped to her hip again. She looked up and came face to face with Death, and by the fact that Richard and Colt weren’t reacting, she knew only she could see him.

“Where’s Ash?” Richard asked as he drew his sword.

“Lost him when we oll got separated.” Raven pulled out her sword.

Colt’s knives came out of the top of his hands. He fired off an arrow into one of the creatures that leaped into the air. It fell to the earth, dead. From that, they knew they were at least easy to kill.

Raven ignited her sword and tried to ignore Death.

“What’s that?” Death asked as he looked to the side. Raven looked where his gaze fell and saw Knights and a carriage coming along the path. Her eyes landed on the pendant on the carriage, and her entire body froze. She knew that pendant by heart - a downward pointed dagger with vines wrapped around it: the Mundus King’s seal. Anger began to overlay every fiber in her body.

Raven was too busy staring at the pendant to notice that Colt and Richard were already fighting the creatures.

One leaped into the air and collided with her. They tumbled to the ground, and her sword rolled out of her hand and just out of reach. The creature tried to bite and claw her, but she managed to hold it off. Quickly, a dagger slid out of her sleeve and into her hand. Within the same second, she plunged the blade into its face and chest. Grey blood splattered upon her as a deep growling wail exited its throat.

When it finally silenced, Raven threw it off her. Her dagger flew into another creature. She grabbed her sword, slicing it through another Monstro.

Raven stomped her foot through one’s face. Looking to the side, she saw more Monstros begin to swarm the carriage. She smirked, twisting her burned features as she thought about a particular significant person that was in the transport.

Blind hatred consumed her, and she began to walk to the Knights. Spinning around and slicing her sword through the air, parts of the creatures scattered around her. The grey blood began to stain the brown dirt around them.

Death appeared in front of her once more.

The Knights were too busy fighting off the creatures on top of their horses with their swords, spears, and arrows to notice Raven stalking towards them. Or Colt skillfully fighting in the background. Or Richard flying through the air.

“Oh, by the way, they can now fly,” Death said.

Claws latched onto her shirt, and she was lifted into the air. The insect-like wings flapped rapidly as they ascended more.

Raven plunged her sword through the creature, and its claws unlatched. She fell for a second before her back struck something. It gave way under her weight, and she fell through the layer, hitting a harder surface after.

One quick look around told her she was inside the carriage. There was an older, more middle-aged woman sitting on one side. On the other side, there was a younger boy. They both had a shocked expression on their faces.

The boy reached for his sword on his hip, but before he could grab it, another creature crashed through the roof. It landed on top of Raven and began to thrash and claw at her.

Raven kicked and struggled to get it off of her. Her flaming sword had landed on the roof of the carriage, and any second, the flame would spread to the point of not being able to be contained. She slammed her fist into one of the wooden bottom panels, knowing a dagger would be in the hollow space. Her fingers latched onto the handle, and she shoved it into the creature’s head. It’s thrashing stopped, and before it could fall on her, she had violently kicked it away.

Before either person could attack her, her feet were on top of the seat, and her hands grasped the hole in the roof. She quickly hoisted herself up and grabbed her sword, leaving the fire.

Another creature flew at Raven, and she quickly plunged the dagger into its face and threw it to the side, causing it to hit a Knight. The Knight looked up at her, and she looked down at him.

A knife slid out of her sleeve, and she threw it at him. He flinched faintly, but the blade flew past him and into a Monstro that was leaping for him.

“Richard!” Raven yelled. She lifted her free hand and waited.

Richard latched his hand to her wrist and lifted her off the roof, the Knight’s gaze following them. They flew towards Colt, fighting as fast as he could but looked as though he was beginning to tire.

Richard descended slightly. She tossed her sword into the air, and Richard let go of her arm. She rolled on the ground a couple of times before stopping. Richard flew by them again, tossing her the sword.

Colt and Raven began to fight with precise accuracy, seemingly knowing one another’s moves and moving in such a way that it looked practiced.

Spinning around, Colt and Raven sliced through creatures, cutting them clear in half. Richard plunged his sword into a creature’s mouth, forcing the sword through its head.

They all looked around, breathless, sweaty, and covered in the grey blood. Relief washed over them when they didn’t see any more.

“Good to see yeh,” Raven breathlessly said to Colt.

“Good to see yeh too. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“I think so.”

“Both of yeh are idiots,” Richard stated.

They both turned and looked at him.

“Missed yeh too yeh hunk of sunshine!” Raven exclaimed. She turned to Colt. “Yeh were trapped with him?”

“Sadly, yeah.”

“Yeh little -” Richard was cut off by a horse neighing.

They all collectively closed their eyes, sighed, and faced the forgotten Knights. Arrows were aimed at them as they slowly moved closer to the three.

‘Talkin’ or. . . ?” Colt asked in a silent voice.

To answer his question, Raven pushed her sword into her sheath, extinguishing the fire. Richard and Colt followed her movements.

The two people that were in the carriage were at the line of Knights, looking at the three sweaty and dirty travelers. Raven took in every . . . single . . . detail.

The woman had brown chestnut hair with gold leaves in the braided parts, and a silver crown sat on top of her head - emeralds as the jewels. The woman’s light topaz eyes held the most light and kindness Raven had seen in years. Her only wrinkles were that of a smile. Her jade green dress was an elegant material with shiny gold thread. She was filled out a bit more than what Raven had imagined.

The boy had light, shaggy caramel hair. Parts of his hair were pressed against his forehead by the gold crown - emeralds once again were the jewel. His shirt was a mixture and black and green. He had the same topaz eyes as the woman, the difference being a muddy green jasper mixed into it. Freckles resided on his nose and cheeks, partly blended into his dark honey complexion. She knew he was sixteen, making her only a few years older.

Rage was making Raven’s blood boil as she stared at them. She had known about them, but seeing was entirely different.

Death appeared at her side. “Angry, are we?” he asked. “Go on, slice them all to pieces.”

That smile returned.

“Why did you attack us,” the woman with the crown asked in her proper accent.

“We didn’t.” Raven kicked one of the dead bodies, not allowing her voice to betray how she felt. “We were in tha same boat as yeh.” She pulled out the dagger from her belt that she had taken from the carriage. The Knights tensed and drew their bows back more. “Calm down.” She tossed the knife on the ground in front of the boy.

He examined it before he looked back up at Raven, who was staring at him. “How did you know where the dagger was?” the boy asked. The location of the dagger was only to be known by Royals and Knights.

Raven remained silent as she looked around, trying to figure where Death had placed them. The grass was green, the sky a light blue, and the dirt brown. Please, no, she thought. She tried to find any distinguishing features that would say they were in another Kingdom, even thinking the air's earthy smell was a mistake.

“Where are we?” She turned her attention to the Captain, the Knight she had hit with the creature. Somewhere in the struggle, his helmet had been ripped off. Now Raven could see his dark brown hair and mustache. Though he wasn’t smiling, she knew there were dimples in his cheeks. His armor had green designs on it that the other Knights didn’t have.

The Knight looked down at the Queen, and she nodded her head, deciding that getting into a fight over a little rudeness wasn’t worth it.

“We are on the path to the farm village.”

“What Kingdom?” Raven asked.

The Knight looked confused for a second. “The Mundus Kingdom.”

Raven’s face fell, and her skin grew pale. She turned around to Richard and Colt, and their faces resembled hers. They had gone entirely through the Monstro Kingdom. She didn’t even know how that was possible, considering the Morte Mountains didn’t cross the borders.

“I decided to speed our little deal up a bit.” Though Raven wasn’t looking at Death, she knew he was smiling.

Raven turned back around to the Knights. “Did yeh by chance pass through tha Monstro Kingdom?” The timeframes weren’t adding up.

“Yes,” the Captain said.

“What?” Death asked. “You don’t like my surprise?” Her eyes glanced his way before they went back to the group. “Let’s speed this along.” Death walked to the woman and leaned down to her, whispering something in that weird language.

“Kill them,” the woman said.

Colt, Richard, and Raven all took a tiny step back, not expecting anything of the sort. Even the Knights looked shocked.

“Raven,” Death said, “you know what you have to say to get them to let you go.”

The Captain raised his right arm. “Ready. . . .”

“Come on, Raven.”

“Aim. . . .”

“Say it!”

“Elizabeth!” Raven blurted out.

The Captain froze where he was as he looked at her. “Why would you. . . .” his voice was distraught, and he felt his body begin to shake. “Why did you say that name!” the Captain demanded. He hopped down from his horse, and in no time, he was inches away from Raven, but she didn’t even flinch.

Raven half smiled as she tilted her head up towards him. “Hi, Fernando. Long time, no see.” His face grew pale. “Let’s see, didn’t yeh have to babysit a child that never seemed to stay in one place? She would somehow magically end up at tha other side of tha Castle?” That was information no one would know. “Oh, an’ Herbert was so cute when he was younger.”

“Elizabeth?” Fernando whispered as tears appeared in his light brown opal eyes, and he lifted a hand to her burned skin. The cold metal of his armor stung her flesh, and Raven wanted to swat his hand away, but for the moment, she decided to indulge him. Her entire body tensed, and he felt her muscles twitch beneath him.

Quickly, he removed his hand. “What happened to you?” Fernando asked in a whimpering voice that no one else could hear. He didn’t even recognize Raven with all the burns and dirty clothes. Even her accent had changed.

“Nothin’,” Raven said. “Nothin’ at oll.” She gave him a rather sad and pathetic smile on her otherwise emotionless face.

Fernando turned around and faced the Queen. “My Queen, this is Princess Elizabeth.”

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