The Guardians

Chapter 53

Lyra pitched forward, having been hit with another of Kyrie's infamous pain spells. She was panting and Kyrie knew that it was a matter of time before she broke.

"You know I'm stronger than you, Lyra," she said. "I always have been. That little rebellious streak caused you to forsake your magic. That little shoving spell you did earlier? Pathetic." Kyrie hit Lyra with another spell, causing her to arch her back from the pain, but she had yet to give her sister the satisfaction of screaming. Much to her disappointment. "Did you get so used to the pain from that collar that it doesn't bother you?" Kyrie slammed Lyra against the wall in Halmont. Hard, finally coaxing a pained gasp from her. She added pressure and Lyra squeezed her eyes shut. "Think of how powerful you would be if you had just accepted Alora's tutelage."

"I... did, you... nutcase!"

"Oh, that's right. She did teach you every piece of magic you knew. Before you started running away. It was your own fault that she had to bind you." Kyrie released Lyra and she fell to the floor landing on her side. Lyra tried to rise, only to fall back to her stomach. "Poor, weak, little sister. See? The sword is nothing compared to the staff." She crouched next to her weakened and defeated sister. "Seems like I got the better deal. Perhaps you should have been firstborn."

Lyra, of course, was only making Kyrie think she was winning. She knew how her sister enjoyed gloating. And elating pain. She was thanking Gaia for all those years of building up her pain tolerance. As Kyrie continued to gloat about magic being better than might, Lyra gripped her dagger, waiting for the sorceress to come closer. Just as she knew she would, Kyrie maneuvered right where Lyra wanted her. Lyra suddenly struck, sweeping the dagger upwards and catching Kyrie's arm and shoulder. She stumbled back and Lyra hopped to her feet.

"Actually, yes, it did." She held her dagger defensively. "Perhaps I should thank both of you for teaching me how to tolerate pain."

Kyrie scoffed and touched her shoulder, holding up her bloodstained fingertips "Hmm, nice trick. You're more conniving than I gave you credit for. But I don't see why you insist on using a blade. They are no match against magic."

"Come over here again and we'll see what I can do with it."

"Bravado and defiance. Must be a trait of our father. Whoever he was."

"Pity he didn't raise us."

Kyrie laughed. "Do you think he would have wanted to have anything to do with a brat like you? A weak child who doesn't even embrace who she is!" Kyrie used her magic to pull Lyra towards her. The dagger flashed and Kyrie dodged, drawing her own dagger and slicing the blade across Lyra's cheek. "You're not the only one who learned how to use the dagger." She knocked Lyra back into the wall and leapt forward, slicing through her left thigh.

Lyra cried out in surprise and pain and fell, the blood flowing freely. Kyrie stepped back to examine her handiwork. She watched her as Lyra placed her hand over her wound and healed herself.

"Hmm. Impressive." A demented smile crossed her face and Lyra braced herself for what would come next.

"Gaia, aid her," Aiden breathed when the cut appeared on her cheek and she made a challenge to Kyrie. Moments later, she flinched and cried out, a red stain appearing on her left thigh.

Saren cursed. "Come on, Lyra. Resist whatever she is doing," he encouraged her. "You can do this."

The bloodstain stopped growing and Aiden knew that she'd healed herself. The only ones still in the room were the spellcasters, Saren, and Aiden, Lex and Kara having run the others out of the room. Suddenly, Lyra arched into the air, finally screaming for the first time since challenging Kyrie.

"What is she doing to her?!" Aiden cried.

"What she does best," Kara said bitterly.

Tears streamed down Lyra's face as she cursed at Kyrie. A red stain appeared across her right hip and another appeared down her left side.

Aiden pulled Lyra into his arms and took her hand. "You can do this, Lyra! You are stronger than her!"

"No!" Lyra screamed. "You wouldn't know the meaning of the word, you bitch!" Saren and Aiden looked at one another, wondering what she was talking about. Lyra suddenly gave a rage-filled scream. "The! Hell! You! Will!"

The pain was so intense that Lyra finally screamed, arching into the air.

Kyrie grinned. "Let me show you something, Lyra. You might enjoy this." She cut across Lyra's hip and used the blood from her wound to intensify the spell. "Don't you wish you could do this?"

Lyra's dagger flashed through the air, missing Kyrie. The sorceress retaliated, leaving a gash down Lyra's side. Kyrie released her, leaving Lyra panting and trying to focus on ignoring the pain. She rose to her hands and knees, her blood staining the floor below her.

"What did you hope to do, Lyra, by challenging me? I will only find the boy again."

"No!" Lyra staggered to her feet, bracing against the wall.

"How do you propose to stop me?" Kyrie paused. "I see. You love him." Kyrie laughed and terror filled Lyra's heart. She knew Kyrie would use that against them. "How could anyone love a broken little slave like you?"

"You wouldn't know the meaning of the word, you bitch!"

"And neither do you. Perhaps I will allow you to live. Just so I can make you watch me kill him. Slowly and painfully."

Her words triggered the rage she needed. Lyra did something she hadn't done since removing the binding collar. She reached for her full power, not holding back, and gave a scream of rage.

"The!" She pushed off the wall. "Hell!" She focused on the spell. "You!" She raised her arms "Will!"

She slammed Kyrie with the shield spell, knocking her down. She called Kyrie's staff to her and broke it across her leg. Kyrie's eyes widened. Lyra then lifted her sister into the air. Kyrie actually looked terrified. A part of Lyra was glad to see the roles reversed for once.

"You will not threaten my friends and my family like that," Lyra's tone was extremely dangerous. "And you will not touch another soul with your demented talents."

"Lyra! Put me down! I am your sister!"

"That did not stop you from torturing me when we were children! That did stop you from dragging me back to her, knowing I wanted nothing to do with her! That did not just stop you from trying to kill me! You are not my sister! You are just another Bloodletter with no value of human life unless you can use that life to your advantage! Just like her!" Lyra slammed Kyrie to the ground and called her dagger to her. "You see, in the end, I am the powerful one."

"Before you kill me, just tell me how. Who taught you that?"

"I'm an arcane warrior, Kyrie. Perhaps if you wouldn't have stayed with that bitch, you would still be more powerful." She leaned close to Kyrie. "And you should know," she whispered into her sister's ear. "She's next." Lyra's dagger slid through her flesh and into her heart.