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Morgan
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She was faster than I expected. The cool night air was filled with the sharp clang of armor and the
murmurs of confused bystanders as the guards surged forward.
As the guards closed in, she took a sharp turn into one of the narrow alleyways leading toward the marketplace. The smell of freshly baked bread mixed with the pungent scent of the capital’s underbelly. I followed, trying to search ahead of her to find where she was heading.
“Close off the gate!” a captain ordered, his voice strained. “Send more men toward the western
district!”
The narrow streets of the capital were almost too narrow to navigate with a horse, but I chose a good steed. The stone walls of shops and homes pressed in on either side, casting long shadows that played tricks on the guards‘ eyes. Lady Mei’s form flitted in and out of the darkness, just a flash of fabric here, the gleam of a jeweled hairpin there. She was heading toward a building within the west distric
“Don’t let her out of your sight!” the captain roared, weaving through the tangled streets as they drew closer to the west side of the city.
It was too late. They were already getting lost in the narrow alleyways.
In the chaos, Lady Mei knocked over a stack of crates in the marketplace, sending fruits and vegetables scattering across the ground. The guards dodged the debris, one of them slipping as they raced to close the gap. The way she moved made me think she knew these streets better than most would have guessed.
One of the guards finally managed to get close enough to grab the edge of her robe, but Mei, in a deft move, twirled out of his grip and ducked into a side alley.
“She’s heading for the city wall!” the captain barked, his eyes scanning the high stone structure in the distance, “Cut her off at the next intersection!”
The guards split up, some veering left to block off her escape while the others followed her closely. I could see her starting to lose he breath. I looked ahead and changed direction heading to cut through the alleys toward where she was heading. Mei’s breathing was ragged now, her elegant composure crumbling as the weight of her predicament began to settle in. She knew she was running out of time but she hadn’t given up yet.
Ahead of her, a collection of stone buildings stood.
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“Faster!” I urged the horse, but I saw Mei duck around the side of the building toward the tall, iron. gates I had no control over and out of sight of where the guards would be.
She threw herself through them, shoving the gates closed behind her and putting chains on them. Then, she darted forward, heading toward another path that snaked towards the lowest section of 72 wall.
Was she going to climb it?
I leaped over the low wall and followed her into the lightly forested area within the wall. I lost the edge of being able to see her through the eyes of the capital.
This place is new, Pyra said. It smells of turtles. You have to be careful.
Great.
Was there a way t
to send a message to the guards? I could see them reach the gate i locked, but they weren’t going to be able to catch up.
I could see her just ahead and rushed forward.
“Stop!”
Mei had
She didn’t look back and just kept running. I forced the horse to cut her off, but she leaped and lunged at me, tackling me off the horse. We rolled for a moment before I slammed her into a rock. She groaned and shoved me back. I rolled to my feet, on guard, but all she did was roll over and try to pull herself to her feet. I pulled my sword out, aiming at her as she staggered to her feet, barely keeping her balance. She whipped around, her eyes wild with fear and anger as she glared
at me.
“You…” she hissed, her voice shaking with fury. “Shouldn’t you be busy with your new husband?”
“Right now, I’m busy dealing with you,” I said. “The guards will be here soon. You should make it easy on both of us and give in.”
She snarled. “Never going to happen. You’re just a human.” Her hand turned to claws. “One good hit and you’ll be dead. A lot cheaper than poison in any case.”
She lunged at me. Her claws skated off the edge of my blade as I dodged her attack. Pyra was nervous, skittish even. She lunged at me again, and I kept pushing her back and avoiding her attack. She wasn’t a trained person, so all I had to do was hold her here until the guards came.
“Why won’t you just die?” She shrieked shifting into her dragon form.
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She let out a burst of fire that swept around me, but didn’t burn. Her eyes widened as she slithered through the air, looking a bit like a large snake. Her claws dug into the earth and she charged at me again.
“There!”
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She jolted and turned, trying to escape into the forest. A guard threw himself onto her. Mei struggled to throw him off. She slashed at another guard’s arm, causing him to stumble back with a shout of pain. But it was too late for her. The other guards were upon her now, surrounding her on all sides. She was cornered. The captain of the guards stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword. My blade was still trained on her.
“It’s over. Shift back and come quietly.”
Mei’s chest heaved as she glared at them, her eyes flashing.
She shifted into her human form, panting and pale. She seemed exhausted, glaring at me.
“I won’t go back,” she spat, her voice low and venomous. “You think I’ll let that whelp kill me or turn me human? I’d rather die.”
“That’s an option,” I said, glaring at her. Something dark and vicious welling up in my chest. “I can kill you here, if you’d like.”
She went still and glared at me. “You wouldn’t dare. You wouldn’t have the power to.”
“How long do you think it would take for Tsuneo to come?” I asked, smiling. “He’ll exile you in at matter of minute and I’ll have the pleasure of cutting your head off.”
She gasped. The guards all seemed surprised.
“I’ll give you five seconds to make a decision,” I said, glaring at her.
The dark vicious feeling at the back of my mind was still growing, clouding my mind. Pyra nudged at my mind, my thoughts, like a warning, but of what?
She was a traitor.
Traitors deserved to die, either quickly or at the slow pace of time.
“One.”
Don’t do this. There are other ways.
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What was she talking about? Did she fear spilling blood? That made no sense considering what I saw in that vision. I certainly wasn’t concerned about it. Mei might have plotted murder, but she wasn’t the type to die for someone else’s goals. Even if she was that was her decision. There was no space for mercy here.
“Five.”
