Flipp
The Denon walked towards me, a big hulk of black thorns. I put myself into the fighter’s position and had my tail at the ready, just like Xagon taught me. It swung back and forth, a steady rhythm swishing back and forth. Xagon told me that it gave the opponent an idea, that it was a warning, and that they should steer clear.
The creature roared, and it once again shook the Kingdom and reverberated through my bones. I kept my cool, not wanting it to know that it intimidated me in any way. My tail continued to swish, and I tried to read the body language of the Denon to determine its next move. It was pointless trying to fight it like a Siren, because it was huskier and stronger than a Serpent. I had to keep it away from me. If it got its hands on me, I would not be strong enough to get it off.
It started running toward me, and just when it got close enough, I swung my tail out in a gentle curve and took the Denon’s legs out from under it. It hit the ground hard and growled. It rolled over, but I was already on top of it. I had an advantage, and I wasn’t going to risk losing that.
I went to it and spoke. “Listen, we don’t have to fight. We come from the same place. I too am a monster of sorts. I don’t belong here anymore than you do. All you have to do is leave and nothing further will happen to you. Just leave.”
He didn’t leave, instead he slowly got up to his feet and held his hand out, throwing ice at me. I didn’t expect it, and almost didn’t duck in enough time. Citizens ran when he started throwing the ice. The guards were starting to evacuate the citizens out of the courtyard for fear that the end was not going to be the one that they wanted.
The Denon had ice powers, just like Drayven. I would need to be careful, being frozen wouldn’t help me a great deal.
“Stop. You need to stop.”
He held his hands out and I mimicked his stance, before I shot fire out, just as he launched the ice again. My fire melted his ice on contact and he looked a little surprised. He tried again, with the same result. His ashen face went a deep red and he came towards me, almost swaggering confidently. I could have shot fire directly at him as he approached, but I didn’t actually want to hurt him. I was hoping he would just stop.
“I just want peace. I just want to take you out of here. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
He didn’t even blink as he continued towards me. He went to grab me and I blocked it with my elbow. I threw a punch at him that landed on his jaw. He wiped at it with an arched brow.
“What do you think you’re doing? You don’t actually believe that you can take me.”
I shrugged. “Well, I don’t intend on going down without a fight.”
His tail swung out and I jumped over it. He swung his tail again, but that time, he sent some ice onto the ground by my feet, so when I jumped, I landed on the ice unexpectedly and I slipped. I landed on my hip and cried out. He bent down with a smile on his face. He was pleased that he made me slip and fall.
Leaning over me, he put a hand around my neck and squeezed. I started choking, but then I couldn’t breathe at all. My tail was whipping him from the back, and he lost some of his hold on my neck. It wasn’t doing much to him, except making it hard for him to keep a good grip on me.
Just then I heard a voice call out. “Flipp, use your knowledge. Use what you know.” I recognized Azil’s voice and I turned to see where he was, but I couldn’t see him. I started to hit the Denon as I wracked my brain for what knowledge I was supposed to have in that scenario. Suddenly, it clicked.
I gasped. “I’m Queen Lilith, let me go!”
There were gasps all around me, from the citizens of the Kingdom. Some of them stopped in their tracks to stare at me.
The Denon blinked and let go of my neck, looking down at me. I was coughing now as I tried to roll over, but he still held his weight on me, waiting. When my coughing fit was over, I screamed at him. “I am Queen Lilith, get off me.”
He didn’t move. His eyes watched me intently and I could tell he was trying to figure it out. He looked me over closely, his eyes falling on my horns last. He slowly moved off me and stood there, still assessing the situation. He wasn’t sure if he should believe that I was the Queen, but he didn’t want to make a mistake either.
I got up slowly, not sure if he was going to attack me again. My throat felt raw. I rubbed at it and wondered if he had damaged anything. I looked around the courtyard, and I could not see Azil anywhere. Had I imagined it? Was he now hiding? I couldn’t figure out why neither of them would have shown up. They could have helped me convince the Denon to end the fight. Or at the very least, make sure that I didn’t die.
“Queen Lilith?”
I swallowed, and it hurt to swallow. “Yes.”
The Denon bowed down before me immediately, and my face burned with embarrassment. I felt bad for lying to the creature, but I probably would have been dead if I hadn’t said something.
“You must come with me, immediately.” The Denon was firm.
“That’s not necessary. I have work to do here.”
He looked confused. “What work? You don’t belong here. You need to come with me right away, so we can go back home.”
The last place that I wanted to go was back home. The tables were starting to turn in a direction that I didn’t like.
“I have prisoners that I need to free here. It is not time for me to go.”
The Denon knew that Queen Lilith was no martyr, and didn’t go around saving people. She belonged in the Underworld, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.