Between the Light and the Darkness - Chapter 32

Ileeya fell on her side, choking, while Shirra laughed. But then Shirra fell to her side as well, wheezing along side her sister and cluthing her throat which was constricting tightly.


"Ghoeine," Shirra choked. Instantly the pressure was gone. Both sisters stood and gazed at each other. "Nicely done. You may provide more of a challenge than I thought."


"You can't kill me as easily as you think, either, Shirra. I do have Father's warrior spirit in me."


"Father! I tire of talking about him. Warriors are weak minded. They cannot open their mind to the possibilities of things greater than a sword. My son will wield a sword and practice magic. Very difficult, I know, but I want him to rule with power to vanquish his enemies in any way possible."


"Your son?"


Shirra smiled and crossed her arms. "Yes, foolish sister. I'm pregnant with Tim's baby. Did he forget to tell you? Maybe he didn't want you know how close we were that day. It was the best time I ever had, and from that beautiful union, a child will be born."


"But you're not even pregnant."


"Yes," Shirra sighed exasperatedly, "I am. With your lover's child. How does that make you feel? Even after you both are gone, Tim's genes will live on, and conquer and control. Actually, I think I'll spare Tim. I'll keep him locked in the dungeon so he can watch his son grow up from behind bars. So he can see what a fine man his son becomes."


"No, Shirra. You are not pregnant. Tim is sterile."


"What?!" Shirra screamed.


"What?!" Tim echoed behind her.


"Even multiplied, his seed can't fertilize."

"No. That's not true..."


"He will never father a child."


Tim felt like someone had just slapped him. Sterile? He could never be a father?


"But, even now, I feel a life growing inside of me. Stretching, wiggling, content. I can feel it - I know it is there."


"You want it to be there. You wanted it so badly that you wouldn't even stop to consider that it wasn't possible. Your body responded to your wishes. You imagined the whole thing."

"That's not possible. You're lying. Tim's child will be born."


"Did you use your magic to see if you were actually carrying a child? Or did you just assume you were?"

"I didn't need magic to tell me - I could feel it! I can feel it still!"

Ileeya shrugged indifferently. "You should have checked. Perhaps you're carrying Jondak's child."


"That's not possible. I stopped bedding Jondak when I started bedding Tim."


Tim, wait for my signal. Ileeya's words in his brain shook him out of his reverie. What signal? What was she planning?

Trust me, Tim. He waited while the sisters continued to bicker.


"Shut up! You're just jealous! Jealous that I'm carrying Tim's baby!"


"I have nothing to be jealous of. He never loved you. Never! Do you hear me you, bitch? Tim never loved you. You had to force his passion. It never meant anything to him. Everytime you brought him hear for your pleasure, it meant nothing to him. It was just an act! He came back to me! And he loved me completely."


Shirra's face grew dark. "Bitch, am I? I do believe you're right - dear sister!!"

Shirra abruptly threw her hand out at Ileeya, causing her trip over her feet and land on her backside.

Then, Tim's sword slid across the room toward Ileeya, and stopped right in front of her.


"Go ahead, Ileeya. Pick it up. It's time we finished this." She half smiled, mocking her sister.


Ileeya looked at Shirra skeptically for a moment. Then at the sword. She raised herself to her feet and bent to pick it up. She looked at her sister and took a step toward her. Shirra smiled, waved her hand, and instantly the sword grew hot in Ileeya's grasp. So hot it began to singe her skin.


Ileeya yelped in pain and tried to drop the sword, but it was stuck. She howled as the pommel began to melt into her flesh. Smoke could now be seen rising up from her hand. Tears came to her eyes from the pain, then she closed her eyes and concentrated.


The sword dropped to the floor with a clang. Shirra threw her head back and laughed again, while Ileeya surveyed her hand for damage. She concentrated on it, and the flesh slowly began to heal itself, the burns started to fade, and her normal pale skin could be seen underneath.


But she was distracted. And while she was healing her hand, the sword raised into the air. Shirra moved her hand up to chest level and the sword raised as well. Then Shirra pulled her hand backward pushed it foward quickly, like an open handed punch.


The sword mimicked her movements, and jabbed forward at Ileeya. It plunged into her chest and she screamed. In slow motion, Ileeya fell over, clutching her chest. She fell to the ground, and blood puddled beneath her. Her eyes closed.


"NOOOOO!!!" Tim felt like he had suffered the wound. To see the love of his life fall from his enemy's hand killed him. He shook the bars and screamed it over and over until his throat felt numb while Shirra simply regarded silently.


He sobbed openly. Shirra walked over to the cage. "You really did love her, didn't you? She never realized how lucky she was, how good she had it. I felt love for a brief time..."


"You fucking bitch! I want you dead! I want to kill you myself!" Tim's emotions were muddled. Pain and anger became one, the bloodlust was returning and he desperately wanted nothing more than to kill the witch that stood before him.


Tim let out an anguished groan.

"Is that what you want?" Her sticky sweet voice dripped at him. "Alright. I suppose I could give you a sporting chance."


She turned toward Ileeya's crumpled form, the sword still stuck in her chest. "Ebdien," she mumbled quietly. The sword wiggled itself free, rose into the air, and flew into Shirra's hand.

She approached the cage, sword in hand. Instinctively, he backed away, afraid she would ram it into him rather than give it to him. His legs grew weak and he slumped to the floor.


"Now. I think it's about time I stopped playing with my toys and got back to work. Do you think you can do better than my sister? You have no magic to aid you. And though your sword skills are coming along, they're still lacking."


To be continued...