Her efforts felt futile. She knew nothing of how to fight on the ground, though Sulel didn’t appear any more knowledgeable. His strikes were less powerful than she recalled from previous encounters, the expression on his face making it clear that he wasn’t comfortable with their position. Based on the uncertainty in his eyes, Kaori started to doubt whether Sulel knew how to fight at all. He could throw a punch but his technique lacked skill, his aim wild and unfocused. It just didn’t seem right. Men of noble birth were known to dabble in combative arts for sport. But even Deliao exhibited a lack of confidence in Sulel’s ability to handle her by himself. If only she could get her hands on a weapon! Sulel didn’t require proper training if his intention was to merely hold her down, and her small frame left her powerless to stop him.
The sound of swords clashing continued to echo through the room, assuring Kaori that Therek remained alive – for now. Her time was limited. Everything she learned in training was useless from her back, and she wasted precious seconds lying there doing nothing. She had to stop thinking of this fight as if it had rules by which to abide. Fight dirty. Whatever it would take to get herself free. Relaxing her fists, she spread her fingers, forcing her shoulders off the ground with a final burst of energy to rake the tips of her nails across Sulel’s face. It was a disgusting sensation, the way his skin slid underneath her fingernails, moist from the blood which came to the surface under the marks.
This was her chance. Sulel was focused on the discomfort of his injuries, the flat of his palm pressed against his face to try and stop the bleeding. A pathetic sight, really. Carpaen’s brave Emperor screaming like a child over a few minor scratches. Kaori couldn’t imagine what he would be like if she managed to get her hands on a sword. But she couldn’t get too confident. Her sword wasn’t going to be easy to find and there was no proof to her suspicion that Sulel knew nothing of combat. Perhaps it was a ruse. A cheap trick to try and make Kaori think he couldn’t fight so she would let her guard down.
Off-balance, Sulel fell easily to the force of Kaori’s hips as she threw her weight upward to try and knock him to the floor. Scrambling to her feet she fought to catch her breath, mind racing, torn in every direction for what to do next. Therek needed her help but Sulel remained a threat. He would continue to stand in her way until she managed to restrain or kill him. Her hatred toward this man made it harder to think rationally. The plan was to keep him alive. Make him stand trial for the crimes he committed against her people. But she wanted justice for her family. Her mother and father. Sivar. Liurn. Because of Sulel, she had lost every person she ever cared about other than Therek, who was in danger of being killed while she stood there trying to make a decision.
Sulel deserved to die. His actions alone were enough to condemn him to death, though she fought with herself over whether she was qualified to make such a judgment. She was no god. Her place in this world was not to play judge and jury. If you do not kill him, he will continue to slaughter innocent people. It wasn’t a matter of religion. It was a matter of life and death.
The decision seemed so clear yet her conscience screamed for her to consider what she was about to do. She was going to take the life of an unarmed man. How did that make her any better than him? Sulel was a coward, utilizing power to destroy the lives of his subjects. He killed your parents… “Sarid, please tell me what to do,” she prayed under her breath, hoping the gods would send her some kind of sign. Vengeance wasn’t enough to condemn this man to death. The call had to come from a higher power or she would doubt whether her choice to kill him was based on facts and rational thought rather than a desire to make him pay for the deaths of her loved ones.
A loud clatter pulled Kaori from her thoughts, turning her head just in time to see Therek deliver a hard blow to Deliao’s head with the pommel of his sword. Unprepared for the strike, Deliao stumbled backward, the tips of his fingers losing their grip on the smaller handle of Kaori’s sword which was still clutched in his left hand, opposite his own weapon. In his attempts to steady himself, the sword tumbled onto the ground, skittering along the tile to land a few feet from Kaori’s boots, her eyes watching it in disbelief and awe. It was right there within her reach if she moved quickly enough to retrieve it. There is your sign; she urged silently, struggling to force her legs into motion. The gods have provided you the weapon to deliver their judgment. Do not waste it…
In a flurry of motion she managed to regain her senses, rushing forward to snatch the sword from the ground. Spinning to face Sulel again, she brought the blade up, its tip reflecting the light from the chandelier, giving the illusion that the sword itself was somehow consumed by a ghostly flame.
Hands up in a defensive gesture, Sulel gave a confident smirk, staring Kaori down. Challenging her. “You would kill an unarmed man?”
“My parents had no weapon when you had their heads removed from their shoulders,” Kaori hissed, choking back the emotion which overcame her to see Sulel there at her mercy. It would be so easy to lunge forward and take his life. For some reason she couldn’t bring herself to move, afraid of making a misstep which would cost her the advantage she now held.
“So that’s what this is about?” he chuckled, unfazed by the harshness of Kaori’s tone.
She stared at him, anger stirring at his lack of concern for the sword in her hand. He doubted her ability to use it. Questioned her resolve. He doesn’t know me very well… “That is only the beginning,” she stated calmly, taking a step toward him, chin held high, prepared to strike if Sulel made any sudden movements. “You are a tyrant, Sulel. A false Emperor who uses his power to make himself feel more important. You hide behind your crown while commanding the deaths of innocent people because you cannot let go of your jealousy toward the man who has given you everything you wanted when he did not have to give you anything.”
“This has nothing to do with jealousy, girl. I could have had anything of that man’s I wanted – and I did,” he motioned toward Therek near the center of the room where he continued to battle with Deliao, oblivious to the conversation taking place between Kaori and Sulel. “Has he told you about Lady Orith? The woman who spurned him for a man of greater power and wealth?”
“I know of Malita,” Kaori narrowed her eyes, disgusted to even think of the woman. The girl was a trollop. Undeserving of Therek’s affection. Stay calm. She couldn’t let herself become upset over something so trivial. It was Sulel’s intent to distract her. To try and injure her by bringing up Therek’s past.
Noticing the discontent in Kaori’s eyes, Sulel took a step forward. Satisfaction written over his face to see he had gotten under her skin, the smirk on his lips widening. “She is a perfect example of something I was able to take from him.”
“She was a whore,” Kaori spat. “A woman like her is not difficult to steal away with expensive gifts. It is the crown which I referred to. Your father left it to Therek and it eats away at you that a Vor’shai was more suitable for the throne than you.” Her arm tensed to see Sulel start to take another step forward, renewing the strength of her hold on the sword positioned between them. “Your father must weep in his grave to see the despicable man you have become. Killing innocent people. Persecuting them for their religion and heritage. Your own wife cannot stand you and your bigotry.”
“My wife?” Sulel scoffed. He took another half-step forward, stopped again by Kaori’s arm, the tip of the sword held only a few inches from his throat. “What do I care what she thinks? It is not as if she is the only woman in my bed. If she cannot accept me, I will find another who can.”
“Another impressionable woman you can ruin like Lady Orith? Tell me, Sulel. How many other women have you abandoned after discovering them to carry your child?”
“That depends.” Smiling broadly, Sulel side-stepped Kaori’s sword, a soft chuckle escaping him to see her follow his movement, never easing her stance. “Malita was the first. I was young and cared only about taking her from Losuva. The child was an unfortunate accident.�
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“Did you not lose sleep to think that your own flesh and blood died with that woman?”
“Why would I lose sleep? I was the one who ordered her death.”
Kaori stared at Sulel, taken aback by his words. He ordered her death? How is that even possible? “You?” she asked. Although she had been the one to pose the possibility to Therek when he first told her of Malita’s untimely demise, it didn’t change the surprise she felt in discovering her suspicions were true. Shaking her head, she pushed the thought back, unwilling to accept it. “The girl hung herself. Everyone knows that.”
“Everyone knows what I want them to believe,” Sulel folded his arms across his chest in a haughty display of pride and arrogance. “She would have told someone whose child she carried. The truth would have saved her reputation by destroying mine. My father would have forced me to marry her. I couldn’t take that chance.”
It sickened Kaori to consider. Sulel was more cruel than she thought. Capable of greater evil than any man she’d ever known. His mind was filled with nothing but a selfish desire to acquire what he wanted, regardless of the cost those around him paid. He was just too much of a coward to act on his evil plans himself. “So you sent one of your men to do your dirty work?” she turned her nose up in disgust. The more she learned about this man, the more she realized why the gods wanted her to end his life. He wasn’t worth the skin on his bones.
“Deliao helped give me the backbone Losuva tried so hard to prevent me from having,” Sulel stepped sideways again to try and distract Kaori’s aim with the blade. He scowled as she moved with him, preventing him from escaping her sight. “You are only fooling yourself, Kaori,” he exhaled irritably. “You wouldn’t dare kill me. My men would cut you down before you reached the palace gates.”
“I am not afraid of your men. Their loyalty to you makes them share in the guilt which lies on your head.”
“Guilt? The only one here guilty of anything is you. Such treachery! Turning on your Emperor –”
“You are not my Emperor.”
“I have the crown!” Sulel shouted, a sudden flash of anger visible in his dark eyes. His reaction brought a smile to Kaori’s face, realizing she struck a nerve. His confidence was linked to the circle of metal atop his head. Without it, he knew he was nothing. It was why he was so desperate to make everyone believe it was his.
In a swift motion she tipped the blade of her sword toward his head, swift and precise in her aim to slip the edge under the base of the crown, a simple flick of her wrist lifting the gem-encrusted headpiece from Sulel’s hair to slide down the weapon onto her arm. He cried out to feel the weight of it leave his head, lunging forward to try and get it back. Pleased by the reaction she incited, Kaori shifted her weight to one side, smiling at the sight of Sulel stumbling forward, nearly falling to the ground in his desperation. “I believe this belongs to Emperor Losuva,” she mused, staring down at the elegant craftsmanship of the object which now encircled her forearm. It was the most incredible thing she’d ever seen, let alone held in her possession, the base formed of smooth, thickened silver, each tine adorned with a large diamond at the tip, their round, glittering surface measuring close to an inch in diameter. Smaller stones lined the entire crown, interspersed with sapphires and rubies, the colors not quite complementing each other, applied more for the image of wealth and power than for fashion.
“I should have had your head on a platter long ago!” he seethed, lunging toward her again, no longer thinking clearly. His eyes were crazed, staring only at the crown on Kaori’s arm, paying little mind to the sword still clutched in her hand. “Give me back the crown or I will see you tortured in ways no woman has suffered before.”
“Your threats do not work on me, Sulel. Physical pain is nothing compared to the scars I already bear and there is no one left in my family for you to kill. Your leverage has run out.”
“There is always something which can be taken from you,” Sulel grabbed at Kaori’s arm, his fingers barely brushing along the surface of the crown before Kaori pulled it away, the pointed tip of her elbow connecting hard with his jaw, silencing his idle threats.
Taking advantage of his disorientation, she struck again, the back of her hand landing a solid strike to the other side of Sulel’s face, snapping his neck hard in the opposite direction. “That is for my mother,” she hissed, taking pleasure in seeing Sulel forced to his knees under the power of her hand. Anger welled up inside to think of everything this man had done. He deserved so much worse! A thousand blows would never make him feel the pain he caused so many innocent people. Overcome with emotion she brought the pommel of her sword down on the top of Sulel’s head, knocking him further to the ground, his palms extended to catch himself before his face connected with the tile. “That is for my father…”
“Killing me won’t bring them back, girl!” he coughed, his eyes somewhat glazed where he rolled over to look up at her from the floor. Kaori didn’t care what he had to say anymore. Nothing he did would change her mind about what had to be done. Sulel would be brought to justice for his crimes. Just not in the way she originally intended.
Careful not to leave any openings for Sulel to strike, she quickly retrieved the crown from around her arm, utilizing the weight of the object to deal another devastating blow to the side of his face. “That is for my brother!” she shouted, watching the spatters of blood hurled across the floor under the speed and power of the strike. He was at her mercy. It would be so easy to end his life now and be done with his wretched existence. Dragging it out longer would constitute as torture, and she refused to let herself sink to such a level. She was the hand of the gods in delivering his punishment. As their vessel, she couldn’t abuse the power they granted her.
Bringing her knee up, she felt it collide with Sulel’s nose, or what was left of it after the tines of the crown had dug into the side of his face. A gaping hole in his cheek left a disturbing image in her mind as he was flung backward, landing with a dull thud onto the floor at Kaori’s feet. Sheathing her sword, she gripped the crown at the base, turning it over to aim the sharp, diamond tipped tines outward toward Sulel. The crown had been the source of Sulel’s vanity. The reason for his greed and lust for power. Justice was best served if the object which caused his avarice was the very thing which took his life.
Filled with an almost otherworldly strength, she lifted the crown over her head in preparation to strike. Everything culminated in this moment. All the suffering of her people. The destruction of her family. Her home. This man destroyed her life. She no longer cared if it was healthy to take joy in knowing his death would come at her hands. In the back of her mind she had envisioned this moment since the day she watched her parents slaughtered in the street under Sulel’s command. “And this is for me,” she whispered, drawing back one last inch before descending upon Sulel, kneeling over his battered form to drive the sharpened tips of the crown deep into his neck, turning her face away to try and avoid the spray of blood which accompanied the deadly blow. Under her legs she felt Sulel’s body twitch with the final spasms of life, a loud, grotesque gurgle the only sound she heard as he choked on his own blood before falling still under her hands.
Her head slowly started to clear, realization dawning as to what she’d done. She was covered in blood, the warm droplets rolling down her cheeks and her forehead, dripping along her neck to soak into the fabric of her shirt. Afraid to see the aftermath of her actions, she let her head turn, hesitant, bile rising in her throat at the sight of Sulel’s mangled body. It was a brutal death. One she never thought herself capable of causing. The crown remained embedded in Sulel’s skin, the diamonds soaked in the thick, crimson liquid which flowed freely from the wounds, an occasional stone still managing to twinkle in the light from above. It was almost pretty, though morbid, acting as a reminder of what greed could do to a person.
Content with her victory Kaori started to stand, relieved to hear the sound of clashing swords still coming from somewhere
in the room. Therek was alive. Between the two of them, they would be able to take Deliao down with little trouble, solidifying their triumph over Sulel and his tyranny.
A commotion from the doorway caught her attention just as she heard Therek’s voice call out a warning, drawing her back to the reality of the moment and the danger they were in despite Sulel’s death. “Kaori, look out!”
Through her peripheral vision she saw a shadow approaching to the left, turning to find a human soldier running toward her, sword upraised, prepared to strike where she stood over Sulel’s corpse. Instinctively, she grabbed for the weapon at her waist, exposing the blade just in time to stop the man’s attack, the tip of her sword sliding easily through the soft skin of his midsection. It came as a shock to her senses, unprepared for the assault. She had to stay on her toes. Deliao’s men could come for them at any time, much like the man she had just run through, his blood still pooling at the tip of her blade where she withdrew it to let the body collapse onto the floor.
As the man slid down out of Kaori’s view, she took in the sight of Deliao and Therek where they remained at the center of the room, Therek’s eyes turned upon her, distracted by the unexpected intrusion. She noticed the error he made before she could warn him, reaching toward Therek with a frightened cry to see Deliao’s arm raise, the sturdy pommel of his sword coming at Therek’s head with alarming speed, a loud crack echoing through the room as it came into contact with his skull. Instantly, Therek went limp, sinking to the floor in a heap, eyes rolled back in his head, their azure glow winking out into darkness. It only took a moment for Deliao to recover, his weapon coming up again in preparation for the second strike, the blade of the sword spinning in a display of skill to point downward toward Therek’s limp form. Kaori’s legs were already in motion, carrying her across the floor without thought to the danger she placed herself in by charging a man like Deliao. He wasn’t weak like Sulel. One wrong move and he would see her dead without breaking a sweat. But she had to save Therek. The sword was coming closer, its tip growing nearer to its mark. I will not let this happen; she told herself, defiant, unbending. The prophecy of her dream would not be completed. Not today.
The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Four: In the Beginning Page 85