A Power Game

"Amen!" Reese's boyish voice was dark as he kicked off of the high chair he sat on. "What do you think you're saying? This town belongs to the Queen of Euphoria; your Death Syndicate Deathknights hold no power here!"

The man turned his face slowly to face the upstart boy. Slowly, his smile turned vicious.
"Oh don't we?"

Suddenly, Mhykol got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. A warning went off in his mind. It was as if before the man had appeared, a blanket was lain across him. As the man fixed his razor eyes on Reese, the blanket was torn away, and Mhykol was kicked roughly out of bed.

"Reese, don't." Mhykol's voice was low-pitched, but the man still seemed to hear it clearly.

"Yes, young guard. Do not throw away your life so recklessly, listen to your coward friend and scurry off." His voice was taunting, venomous. "If you challenge me -" He paused to add weight to his next words, "- I'll kill you."

Reese drew his sword, the straight, cold metal hissing against the leather case as he bared it to the man in front of him. "You think I'm scared to die?" His eyes were narrowed, and his voice was rigid with anger. "Let's take this outside the city right now."

The larger man smiled cruelly. "No, let's take it right here." He lowered his trident so that it was pointed at Reese. "I'll kill you slowly."

Reese sneered at the man, breathing out through his nose. "Do you not know this is a Safe Zone, Amen? We can't damage each other here. A fight with no pain's not a fight at all."

"Oh don't worry boy, there will be pain." Amen walked forwards slowly, the butt of his trident thudding into the wooden floorboards. His every movement spoke of hidden strength. He stopped a few feet from Reese, who was nearly quivering with anger. "Ah, but isn't it strange?"

Reese paused, his sword-point hovering barely a foot from Amen's chest. "Isn't what strange?"

Amen's laugh filled the entire room, mocking and malicious. "Your drinks haven't arrived yet."

Reese's eyes widened in horrified anger. The hand not wrapped like iron around his sword quivered at his side, clutching at his shirt. His eyes were wide, the blue-black irises glowing with alarm. When he spoke, his voice was dripping with menace. "I swear to God -" He paused, trying to take control of himself. "- If you've touched her."

Rain stepped beside him, placing one hand on his arm. Both men tilted their faces towards her; one cruelly confident, the other desperate.

"Amen." Rain's voice, if possible, was even scarier than Reese's had been. "I'm going to walk into that kitchen. If Katie's not in there, happy and unharmed, I'll rip you limb from limb."

Amen laughed again, giving Rain a sickeningly sweet look. "Go then, girl. Go see your friend."

Rain held his eyes for a full five seconds before turning and jumping over the bar in a single, fluid motion. She hit the ground and pushed open the door to the kitchen with one hand, entering it slowly. Everybody in the room waited with baited breath for her return. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Fifteen seconds. The door pushed open slowly.

In that moment, time seemed to slow for Mhykol. A red glow filled his vision, and the air heated so fast that he felt his ears pop with pressure, the very atmosphere turning to liquid light. When Rain walked through the doorway, she was wrapped in bands of fire. The look in her dark eyes was murderous.

"Amen." She made the word a curse. "Death would be too kind."

She raised one hand, and a spear of fire leaped from her palm, lancing into the big man. To Mhykol's amazement, it vanished in a flash of white light an instant before it struck him.

"Do not tempt me, girl." The big man's hand was raised, and his eyes were narrowed. So the white magic had been his.

The air smelt of smoke and adrenaline.

"Is she alive?" Reese's voice was no more than a whisper. He looked at Rain, his eyes pleading. "Please, Rain, is she alive?"

Rain hesitated, her mouth half open. Her black hair fell in front of her face on both sides, hiding half of her cheeks. She pressed her lips together, her eyes filling with sadness. She shook her head slowly.

Mhykol had never seen anybody explode so fast. A roar tore from Reese's throat as he launched himself at the larger man, sword spinning. Amen moved like a snake, slick and fluent. His trident dropped, catching Reese's sword between two prongs and trapping it there. The smaller boy gave a shout of anger as Amen spun the trident, flinging the sword across the room. It stuck a wall, falling to the far wall with a clatter. Reese didn't give up. Throwing out one foot, he locked the trident prongs to the floor, bending the wooden handle alarmingly. Amen released the handle, jumping backwards as Reese's other foot cut the air where his head had been in a vicious sweeping kick.

The larger man studied the seething boy in front of him with interest. His snakes eyes danced in the light of the fire. "You're fast boy, but you're stupid." The man reached up, releasing the drawstring of his cloak with one hand. It slithered down his body to lie by his feet on the ground. Kicking it under a chair, he approached Reese gracefully. The boy let him come forwards, lashing out at the last minute with a savage uppercut. The larger man swayed backwards, the punch missing him by a hairsbreadth, and hit Reese solidly in the side of the head. Stumbling sideways, Reese crashed into the bar with a sickening crunch.

"You're fucking dead." The boy's voice was ragged, and blood traced its way slowly down from a cut below his temple. "She was an innocent girl." His breathing was like a death rattle. "She was my friend."

Amen's voice was amused. "You loved her?"

Reese nodded, pushing away from the bar. He spit blood at Amen's feet. The large man smiled, a skull-like grin that made Mhykol sick to his stomach. "You must be Reese then. My men say that she whispered your name right before they slit her throat. Does that make you happy or sad?"

Reese's face was frozen in rage. He raised one hand, fingers outstretched, towards Amen's neck.

"Reese, don't!" Rain voice was worried. "Don't do it!"

"Animus tuus vendiderit se excusaverunt," (1)

Rain's voice rose in pitch as she called to the boy, begging him to stop. She took one step towards him, but he continued speaking. As he did, Amen's eyes widened in alarm.

"That's not..." The big man's voice, for the first time, seemed truly worried. Mhykol glanced between him and Rain.

"sed anima ignis purgabit," (2)

Reese's voice rose to fever pitch, until he was yelling the words. His outstretched hand remained rigid, but the rest of his body trembled like a leaf caught in high wind. His eyes were glowing with power, a orange-red glow wrapping around his pupil like a bracelet of fire. As Reese said the words, the large man turned turned, running towards the door.

"sacrifico animam meam, nunc, ut ignis!" (3)

As Reese uttered the last word, his voice rose in a scream. It was as if his very life was being ripped in two, separating his soul from his body. The large man had reached the door. He grabbed the handle, and turned just in time to see Reese open his fingers. As if they had been a gate holding back water, light poured from his hand. It was so blinding that Mhykol threw his arm between Reese and his eyes. Heat slammed into Mhykol like a physical force, throwing him backwards. He hit the floor without feeling the impact. It felt as if his entire body would catch fire, the heat was so intense.

To his right, Mhykol heard Rain screaming Reese's name, pleading with him to stop. It was too late, Mhykol thought. Whatever magic Reese had used, it was too late to stop.

And suddenly, the heat was gone. Mhykol opened his eyes, blinking them to return his vision. Black and white spots danced across his vision, spinning in circles. Around the room, Mhykol saw people picking themselves up off the floor, staring at Reese in awe. The boy stood rigid and tall, his hand still outstretched. His chest heaved, though with effort or sadness, Mhykol could not say. Probably both. Lines of tears traced their way down his cheeks, falling slowly to the wooden floorboards.

The most stunning part of the whole scene was Amen. He stood pressed against the door, eyes open and staring, but completely sightless. His eyes were nothing but white, his iris and pupils completely burned away.

"Death would have been to kind."

"What did you do?" Rain's voice sounded as if she would be sick.

"I burned away his soul." Reese's voice made it sound as if he was discussing the weather for the day. "He can't see us, or hear us, or feel us. He's trapped in a giant, floating nothingness." Reese paused, his tears finally stopping. "He will remain so as long as I have to go without seeing Kate."

"But what did that do to you?" Rain touched Reese's arm gently with three fingers, and he flinched slightly. Turning his head to meet her eyes, Reese smiled.

"Nothing I would not trade for vengeance."

Rain took a deep breath, obviously trying desperately to take control of herself. It was only then, in the silence of death, that Mhykol heard the shouts from outside, and the ringing clash of steel on steel.

"There's fighting in the city." Mhykol's voice sounded raw, his voice not his own. As he spoke, everyone turned to look at him. "They're fighting inside the city walls. Isn't that supposed to be impossible?"

Rain nodded. "None of this is supposed to be happening, but it is." She paused, glancing around the room. She quickly singled out two men, pointing at them with authority. "You two! Get Reese upstairs and in bed; he needs to sleep. Is anyone in here a healer?"

One man raised his hand, a scarred, tattooed giant of a man. He stood almost seven feet, and a heavy sword hung from one of his hands. Mhykol noticed with interest that he was missing the ring finger on his left hand, the one he carried his sword in.

"Heal him." She gestured with her head to Reese. "The rest of you, follow me. We've got Death Knights to deal with."

Running across the floor, she kicked the door open with one foot. Mhykol followed quick on her steps, his sword vaporizing into his grip. As soon as they left the building, they were greeted by fighting. Men and women were in the streets, swords, arrows, axes and maces broke the night air with the screech and slam of metal on metal. The Death Knights were easily to pick out.

Their armor was black as night, and made of massive metal plates. Each one carried a curved war-axe, usually hanging from their chain belt, and a thick spear. Their helmets were massive, the only openings were in the shape of a cross, showing the men's eyes, nose, and part of their mouths.

One of the men ran screaming at the group emerging from the tavern. Rain raised one hand towards him quickly.

"Incendia de caelo." (4)

The man screamed as his armor turned to fire. He fell to the ground, shrieking wildly. It lasted only a moment, and he was silent after a few seconds. Rain didn't so much as glance at the smoking body.

"Alright, we move together. Kill any Death Knight you see." She whirled on the men with her, and Mhykol was impressed by how easily she cowed them. "Show mercy to none. Give them the chance and they'll plant a dagger in your back before you can blink."
Everyone nodded. Satisfied that they would follow her orders, Rain led the men at a fast jog down the street.

The next hour or so passed in a blur for Mhykol. It consisted mainly of screaming men and the sight of blood. He was unstoppable. He felled every Death Knight that challenged him with ease, the iron sword light in his hand. Mhykol had never thought of himself as a violent person. He had never gotten pleasure from causing pain, or seeing people suffer, but this was different. It was like controlling a computer character in a video game. He spun, drawing his sword across a Death Knight's leg. When the man dropped to one knee, Mhykol finished him with a single blow to the neck. The man faded into mist.

That was how it worked, Mhykol learned. If you were injured, you bled, but if you died, you simply turned to mist. Even with his swordsmanship and control, Mhykol wasn't infallible. His first injury came when a man jumped out of an alleyway, striking him shallowly in the thigh with his spear. The cut hurt, and blood leaked from it every time he put weight on the leg, but it was more irritating than anything. The second came from a lucky axe blow, which caught him just above the right eye. It was by far the more serious, as he had to pause every minute and wipe the blood out of his eye. It wasn't deep, no more than a few centimeters, but it bled profusely.

"You okay, Mhykol?" Rain's voice was tired, but strong. She herself had suffered a spear wound along the back, which was obviously paining her, and another to the foot. She limped slightly as she walked, but she still stood tall.

Mhykol nodded, raising one hand to her. "Yeah, just a little tired. How many of them are there?"

"He probably brought along at least two div-" Suddenly Rain tensed. She shivered slightly, as if she had dipped her fingers into a cold stream. "Uh-oh. This is about to get interesting."

"What is it?" Mhykol didn't care if his voice sounded worried. Anything that could cause Rain, a girl that he already knew as strong as iron, to flinch like that ....

It couldn't be good.

"Forced Teleport." Rain paused, meeting Mhykol's eyes levelly. "God is calling."