Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Killing for life

 

 

                Nicole stood at the field. Her mother was still a way down the road coming up with Sarwar. Was it possible for her to speak to her father? It couldn’t be. You can’t talk to the dead. Alessandra remained quiet about the topic and insisted that we head here, but was here? It looked like a basic flat on a mountain. Other then the missing section of the mountain it seemed all that normal. But still Alessandra had said we had to go, middle of nowhere.

 

“Mother could you please tell me why we’re here? I don’t see anything of value let alone anything that’ll let me talk to father. Are you sure that your age isn’t catching up to you?”

 

                Alessandra stepped off of her horse and hitched him to the tree nearby. She looked at her daughter calmly and smiled as she walked ahead of her, ignoring her. Nicole hurried behind her as Sarwar hitched his horse before catching up.

 

                 In the early afternoon sun Alessandra’s white dress looked more majestic then before. The way it cascaded along her, even at this age, was still something Nicole hoped she could one day pull off. Nicole looked down at herself and noticed the black jeans she was wearing. The light gold blouse she wore. Ever since she was able to dress herself, the colors of black and gold caught her eye. Sarwar always laughed when she mentioned it. Maybe this was another connection she had with her father? It was all a pain to try to understand but hopefully soon she should meet him and ask him all of the questions she had.

 

                She looked ahead to see her mother stopped at want looks to be a growth of vines. She walked up to her mother and looked down at it, noticing it came straight up on one side then gently descended at an angle. The color of the vine was a deep green and the flowers on it were a soft pink. It captivated her that she just let her mind wander as she looked at the vine. Even when Alessandra bent down to pick one of the flowers, he gaze didn’t move. Something seemed off.  For her life she couldn’t put her finger on it.

 

“Death vines…”

 

                Both Nicole and Alessandra looked over to Sarwar who was walking over to them is a weak grin. He up his arm around Nicole and Alessandra and guided them as he bent down to the vines. He guided his hand long the vines stopping at each flower and gently moving its petals.

 

“Death vines. They only grow if something dies in that spot. It could be anything but I’ll grow there, the deep red the flower the younger the plant. It’s said that if you come across a white Death vine, to pick all of its flowers. They are used in a medicine to help with high fevers. They are also very rare. In some time these should be white.”

 

“I’m sorry Sarwar, but they won’t make it to white.”

 

“Alessandra, what are you talking about? They are health and growing well.”

 

                Alessandra placed a hand over a vine, and then moved so that she had several of them in her grip. She smiled over to Nicole before she stood up quickly ripping the vine from the ground. Sarwar bolted to his feel and looked at her like she was crazy. He went to take the vines from her, but before he could they started to wither away in her hands. Alessandra stepped back a bit and grabbed Sarwar’s arm as he yelled at her.  Nicole remained, looking at were the vines once were.

 

                Beneath the vines was a sword, and on the ground around it were gold bracers, a set of gilded gold gauntlets, and a necklace. She slowly lifted the necklace and her eyes widened as she noticed the charm. It was the family crest. Sarwar turned to look at Nicole as he continued to yell at Alessandra. He pauses when he noticed what was in her hands.

 

“Mother… I’m still not sure why you mean about talking to Father. But I’m going to assume these were his.”

 

“Yes sweetie, they are his.”

 

“And the armor I’d take is was his… along with the sword.”

 

                Alessandra nodded as she looked over to her daughter. Sarwar waited a bit before he walked over to her and placed his around her shoulders. His touch broke her. Nicole started to cry. She buried her face in his shoulder and started to gasp as she cried. Sarwar just held her as she shook his head.

 

“What did you expect Nicole? For him to magically come to life? For him to come back… I know your upset but he’s dead and not coming back. There’s nothing you can do. We need to accept it and move on. I love you, your mother loves you. And I raised you the same way that he would have done so. Little one, accept it and move one. Remember him for what he did.  Not that he wasn’t here for you.”

 

“Nothing makes sense uncle. I always hated my father because I made a childish idea of him to fill a void. Now I know the truth and all the years of hating him are for nothing. It makes no sense to me. How do you undo years of fiction? How do you try to live up to a name like that?”

 

“By doing what he couldn’t do. By doing what is needed for your people.”

 

                Nicole cried again and Sarwar held her. Alessandra walked over to them and looked down at them. She smiled and walked over to the sword, sliding her hand along its hilt.  She pulled it out of the ground and held it up in to the sun. It was covered in rust, but as she held it up, the rust fell away as if rebuilding the blade. Then she realized what she could do.

 

“Nicole, I would like to know something.”

 

                Nicole wiped her tears and looked over to her mother. The sword in her hand seemed wrong in a way she didn’t like. She stood up and looked over at her mother before answering, the tears still on the brink of overwhelming her.

 

 

“Yes mother? What is it?”

 

“Do you love me?”

 

“Yes, I love you mother.”

 

“Do you want to have your father back?”

 

“More than anything.”

 

“That’s all I wanted to know.”

 

                Before Nicole could react Alessandra threw the blade in to the air. It spun twice before coming down. It was horrible. Nicole felt helpless and with every step that she ran towards her mother she felt as if she was further away. The sword was falling down, and its intentions were obvious. Sarwar stood behind Nicole and watched with wide eyes. Nicole was about to lose her mother.”

 

“Cole… Bri… Save her.”

 

                From shadows Cole and Bri, Nicole and Alessandra’s personal guard appeared and lunged for Alessandra. The time was perfect. Cole had lunged for Alessandra’s legs and Bri went for her chest. They managed to push her out of the way, but sword still came down. It impaled both of them in their chests. Pinned together to the ground, Bri started to cough blood as Cole tried as hard as he could to bite his tongue from screaming.

 

“We did it Bri… We saved Alessandra.”

 

                Bri attempted to respond but all that came out was a gurgle of blood and sounds of gagging. She was internally bleeding and dying. Cole, felt pain, and he too knew that he was going to die. But his death was doing to be much slower.

 

“Sarwar, Do something! Use your gift to heal them.”

 

“Nicole… I can’t.”

 

‘WHY THE HELL NOT!”

 

                She started to run to them as Cole pushed himself up, trying to slow the blood that was pouring out of Bri’s wound. Bri’s eyes rolled in to the back of her head and the gurgling sound started to slow and less and less blood started to come out of her mouth. As Nicole got to them, she looked at Bri as she spoke the best she could.”

 

 

“Live on…”

 

                She coughed once more then her body went limp. Cole tried as he could to push put more. Nicole reached for the sword to pull it out and Cole quickly grabbed her hand. He pushed her away slowly and grabbed the blade's hilt and pulled it up ever so slightly.
 

“This things keeping me alive, and there’s so much I need to tell you before I die.”

 

“Cole, please let me help you.”

 

“You can’t, just listen.”

 

                Cole lifted the blade out of the ground. As he went to left himself off of the ground, Bri’s dead weight slide down the shaft of the blade and split in two, falling to the ground. Nicole screamed slightly but then the Blade started to shine, and in second Bri’s body, along with her blood was gone. Cole stood up only to sit down. He could feel his blood leaking so he pushed the sword deeper, allowing the steel to stop the internal bleeding.

 

“Kid, listen, you need to grab the hilt and push the blade deeper in to me. You need to kill me. It’s the only way it’ll work.”

 

“Why do I have to do it? Why can’t my mother do it? Why can’t Sarwar? Why do you have you have to die? NOTHING MAKES SNESE.”

 

“Shut up and do it. It’ll be explained soon.”

 

                Nicole moved behind Cole. She could see the blood soaked in his shirt and the cut in his back. Not only that, she was about to kill the man that made it is life to protect her and her mother. It wasn’t right and she could feel herself getting sick at the idea of what she was about to do. She placed a hand on the hilt and look at him. Cole turned his head and nodded. She gripped the blade and took a deep breath, ready to calm her nerves, it wasn’t enough.

 

“I can’t do it”

 

“God damn it kid.”

 

                Cole looked again and noticed she was holding the hilt. With all of the energy he could muster up he quickly pushed himself back against the blade, pushing the hilt to his back. As Nicole screamed he dropped his body and cut himself cleanly in half. Again, the sword went white and the body and blood disappeared. It now looked as if nothing had happened, it was clean, the sky calm, all that stood was Alessandra, Sarwar, and Nicole. Nicole dropped the sword and stepped back. Cole was dead, Bri was dead, and who was next. Cole said it would make sense, but it was only more confusing. She ran in to her mother’s arms. Sarwar looked at the blade, then over to where the gauntlets are.

 

 

Only problem was. The gauntlets were gone.