Relaxing her breathing, her lashes fluttered as she called in the land’s energies. Listening as a twig snapped, her eyes opened in the shape of her dragon eyes and saw him coming at her in wind form. He was a black cloud with the faces of those he’d killed screaming to get out. Her chest expanded as she breathed deeply, letting it out as fire. She kept up their deadly dance by following him when he tried to get away and stopping when he dissipated into nothingness.
Mari knew he’d try anything to win, even backhanded dirty tricks from the last time they’d fought. She was glad her mother had the foresight to send Rhys from this area, for Olipisies would, in no uncertain terms, use Rhys and his safety against her to get what he wanted.
Mari’s head tilted, her ears tuned into the woods around them, her gaze scanning the areas within sight. She caught a blue flash from her right peripheral vision and turned. Using her wings to create a wall of wind as the lightning bolt came at her, she took a deep breath and released her dragon’s fire as he ran and dived into a nearby lake. She sucked her fire back as it skidded along the water’s surface. Turing quickly, Mari jumped to a tree as Olipisies came up from the ground beneath. “Well that’s new. Who’d you steal that from?” Jumping, she somersaulted through the air landing on another branch as he came up after her. Jumping again, she turned heading toward the ground. Mari turned mid-air, sending fire balls up at him, smiling when he grunted in pain. Flapping her wings she shoved toward him and came up in a one-eighty. Thrusting her foot out, she kicked him, sending him flying into a cluster of trees, breaking several before he finally stopped, hunched against one.
Mari roared as she charged Olipisies. Her knuckles met with his jaw and sent him straight up through the branches. Mari smiled as she glanced behind her, reaching for the obsidian sphere her mother had given her—and that’s all it took. Glancing back up, Mari gasped as he shot toward her. Her lips parted as the hit knocked the wind from her lungs; then her wrist was being grabbed and he swung her downward.
Mari groaned as she came up out of the hole her plummet to the earth had caused, the warmth of blood dripping down the side of her face. “Yeah, I guess we’re even now, huh asshole?” She never should have thought it would be that easy to take him down. The minute she took her eyes off him, he went for the attack. Well, she wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“Always the smart mouthed little bitch,” Olipisies growled.
Mari chuckled. “Well what other kind is there?”
“You will die this day, Mariwen Gawain, and then I’ll get the little brat and lastly your vamp, just for the laughs.”
Swiping the blood from her lip, she smeared it on her thigh. “Yeah and what makes you think my father won’t wake up just to kick your ass to Mars?”
“He’s sleeping, it won’t happen. And when I find his lair, I will take him out as well.”
“You have awfully big goals for such a small—well what are you, are you even a man anymore?”
Mari smiled when she saw the forest start attacking him. Tree limbs came down swatting him; animals came out of everywhere and descended on Olipisies. “The land doesn’t want you here,” she said as he thrust limbs away and took to the air. “You’ve never had good luck on Alston, have you Olipisies?” Taking to the air she charged him, kicking and punching. Unfortunately, he blocked every move and came at her with a lightning attack. Growling, she created a vortex that devoured the lightning, and cast it back at him. Her eyes narrowed when he held up his hand dissipating the wind and lightning. Unsheathing her sword, she lifted it, deflecting his menacing looking one as it came down at her head. Turning, Mari went in for the killing blow and gasped, her sword lowering, tingles spreading throughout her entire body. “Saul,” she whispered as tears turned to cries of agony. She glanced down to see her stomach ripped open from a long slash. Her hands got bathed in blood as she tried holding in her organs. She collapsed, falling, the wind hard on her back as she plummeted toward the ground. Mari’s eyes closed as Saul’s face turned into Olipisies, her groan hardly heard from the impact tremor of her landing.
“You blamed the ancients all this time when it was me you should have been gunning for, Mariwen. He had a good soul for a human, but don’t worry, love,” he growled as he gripped her hair, lifting her head, “He doesn’t blame you anymore for failing to protect him. Well, not since I told him it was I who initiated everything.”
Her breathing was raspy as she dragged breath into her cooling body. Mari knew the life force was leaving her as Olipisies slammed her head to the ground, laughing about taking out Rhys next. “N-nooo…” her words garbled as blood gurgled from her mouth.