After the three left her, Scarlett took the chance to rest under one of the trees. With the stalkers and their leader taken care of, there was nothing left for her to do but wait. She was quite drained from the battle. Even with her wounds being healed by Celeste, she knew that without her full strength she wouldn't be too much help. She could only hope that somehow a few of the them would be left alive, and would escape with the book in hand.
While she was resting, her ears perked up to the sound of a branch breaking nearby. Turning around she could see a few people walking over the bodies of the stalkers. One or two of them were trying to get samples of the creatures while the rest made their way towards the stone slab.
"This should be the place, right?"
"That's what the tracker says."
"Then where are they?"
"How should I know.?"
The two people at thw front of the group were bickering as they were trying to find something. The one on the right, held a small device that beeped as it got closer to the stone.
"Well what does it say?"
"It says their right here."
"But their not."
"Well no shit. They must be underground or something, god man, think with your brain for once."
"Hey man guess what. Bite me."
In the next moment, the ground started to shake. They stumbled back as their eyes widened, right in front of them a door appeared. As it opened three people could be seen trying to escape. A lound bang went off followed by yelling, causing them to prepare for the worst.
"HELP ME!!"
A woman yelled out, from inside.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HELP HIM!!"
"I'm sorry, but I have my orders."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, LET GO OF ME!!"
The sound of a gun shot, rang throughout the forest. Two people emerged from the cave. The man ran towards the others, holding onto the screaming woman. He ran past them heading towards the direction they came from, he stopped for a second to give a single order.
"Close it up! Nothing gets out!"
Listening to him the others set explosive charges, as then ran out of its range, one of the men looked into the cave. Inside he could see a young scientist, his mouth was filled with blood, and a small hole in his shirt was bleeding near his chest. Behind him he could see, stone like soldiers in armor climbing the steps. He winced at the sight of them, he looked to the man.
"Sorry kid. Wrong place, wrong time."
After saying this, he turned back. As he ran he felt a gust of wind pass him. Assuming it was just that, he pushed the button without turning back.
--
Scarlett watched as the people gathered around the slab, she tried her hardest to silently move out of sight. Once the entrance opened she could hear the faint voices from inside. Closing her eyes she focused on them, in her head a clear picture opened infront of her. She could see three people, two men and a woman. The woman was trying her hardest to help one she knew to be called Sun, there was a spear protruding from his thigh, trapping him on the steps. She watched as the man at the back of the group, ran off with the book and the girl. Once she opened her eyes she could see them leaving the cave and hear the order, he gave.
She clenched her fists as she watched him run off.
'That traitor, you wouldn't have gotten the damn thing without him. If I find you I'll kill you... better yet if he survives, I'll let him kill you!'
As she said this she stood and prepared to walk towards them. Once she took the first step, the world around her rippled like water. It grew dark, and fog began to surround her, and swallowing her in an instant.
"Awe look at that, he went through all that trouble, just to end up dead. What a pitiful sight."
A voice rung throughout the darkness, around her, annoyance covered her face at it familiarity.
The next moment her surroundings shifted, she found herself once more in the room with the little girl. But something was different, when she looked into the broken mirror Icarus was there sitting right beside her, as she played with the doll.
"The hell do you think you're doing? How did you get in here.?"
"Did you forget, you and I share a sort of... connection."
"What do you want?"
"Just a simple request, is all. Save the kid. Nothing more. He woke us, so it's only right we return the favor, right."
Moving closer to the mirror, she furrowed her brow. She looked at the little girl, she seemed unharmed but it still annoyed her to see him with her.
"What do you want with him, there's no reason for you to use up a favor on something like this, unless you would get something out of it."
He looked to the girl, he gently brushed her hair as she played. She seemed comfortable with him, as if he felt like home. Looking back to her he smirked.
"That is true. The boy was able to set us free and get the book, so that makes him special. So save him and return the favor for me."
'I was going to help him anyway. You fool.'
As she turned to walk away from the mirror, she was startled. He was there, standing face to face with her.
"I'm not as dumb as you think, Scarlett. I know you were going to help him. I may have been away for centuries, but my witt hasn't diminished one bit. So here's what I want, save him. If he is, truly one of you like I think. Help him, be his guide. Then when he is strong enough, bring him to me; no matter what it takes."
He pushed his finger against her forehead, causing her to fall backwards. As she fell, the floor turned into rippling water once more, swallowing her hole, and spitting her back into the real world.
When she opened her eyes she was still in the same position as before. She sighed to herself as she continued forward. Channeling all of her power into her legs, she pushed off, speeding past the man by the tunnel. Running down the stairs past him, she switched her stance aiming for the closest knight.
As the cave entrance exploded behind her, her hand was right beside the neck of the first night. As she swung, her katana materialized, easily severing it. Next she ducked under its body, kicking the second one into the air. Spinning around she sliced through the thirds' abdomen. Throwing her sword in the air, she jumped over the fourth, grabbing onto its head. Twisting her body, she snapped it's neck. Flipping over him, she called the sword back. As she swung down slicing the fifth night in half, the body of the second came crashing down, behind her. Its head, had been run through.
Rising back to her feet, she walked past the bodies and up the stairs. Once she got close to him, she effortlessly pulled the spear from his thigh and threw it aside. She turned him over, placing him on his back. She held his head, so he wouldn't choke on the blood.
"Hold still this might feel weird. Just trust me."
With her hand on the back of his head, she slowly moved her energy into his body. With the loss of blood, he was already losing consciousness, but with her energy flowing through him, he was being kept alive, long enough for his body to be healed. She searched through his pocket until she found the small knife given to him by Sofia. Using it she cut his shirt, exposing the gun wound.
She could see the wound more clearly now, the bullet was deep, but luckily it had missed his heart. She placed her hand over the wound, closing her eyes she focused on the energy flowing through him. She used it to slowly push the bullet out. It was a painful experience for him, he tried to scream out but no sound escaped his tired body. As the bullet finally escaped, he lost consciousness.
She picked him up and carried him down the steps. Walking through the empty hall, she placed him in a seated position on the throne.
'That should keep you upright till I get back. Don't go dying on me kid.'
She turned heading for the exit. Taking a step forward she stumbled, looking at her hands they started to tremble. Closing her eyes she tried to feel the world around her, but there was nothing. Opening her eyes she realized, all that was left of her current power, was keeping him stable. As of right now, she was human.