• The Dark Fires Of Cyphyrus
  • Chapter 26

    Her body trembling in fear, Prya could only stare in complete shock at the figure walking towards her, its every step seeming to shake the very forest to its roots. Prya scooted away from it backwards as it stepped nearer and nearer to her. When it finally stepped into the sunlight that somehow managed to get through the thick leaves and branches of the forest, she gasped once more at its frightful face and immense height.

    The figure's face was definitely not human. It had a large head and face of a creature that resembled one of the long dead mastodon elephants that thrived in the Ice Age on Earth. A long and very strong-looking trunk was swaying to and fro from the middle of its face, and two huge white tusks grew from the bottom part of the mouth on either side of the trunk. The creature also had dark grey, leathery skin that was dry and cracked with age. On the top of his head and to the sides, short wisps of black hair grew, but the trunk was completely bare. Instead of two, four eyes were staying at Prya, making her tremble more. When the creature opened its mouth, the sound that erupted from it was enough to make Prya cringe and cover her ears.

    When it was done, Prya dared herself to look up again to see the creature almost upon her. Its height was nearly seven feet tall, but what most worried Prya was how muscular it was. The rest of its body was all grey-skinned and seemed to be wrapped taunt over iron-like, rippling muscles. The figure's arms, legs, and chest were nearly as thick as the trunks of the tall trees, and its bare chest rose and fell heavily with each breath it took. The creature wore a dark navy blue harem pants that made it seem even bigger, with feet that were encased in black sandals bigger than any size Prya had ever seen.

    The Indian girl gulped loudly as the figure stood before her, and he regarded her with a wary look. "You have trespassed on my land, little one," the creature said, his voice deep and gravelly. "What is it that you seek, so I will know who you are before I destroy you all...beginning with you.

    Quickly, Prya stood up on her feet, her eyes wide with fright. "No, wait! Please...my friends, what have you done with them? Where are they?"

    The creature seemed almost amused at her fear, and smiled just a little under his tusks. "I would not worry about them too much. They will soon be joining you after I'm done with you. But if you really want to know..." The half man, half mastodon creature stepped back, and with a wave of his large hand, the ground in front of him cracked, and a large stalk of a green vine shot up. Higher and higher it went until it grew almost as tall as the forest trees. To Prya's horror as she looked up, wrapped up in the branches of the vine stalk were all her friends, from Jeneta on the bottom to Djoser on top, each one unconscious and hanging limply in the vine branch's hold.

    "NOO!" Sobbing, Prya rushed up to the stalked and desperately tried to pull down Jeneta, but it was no use. The grips on the vines were like iron, and Prya couldn't even begin to pull them loose. She tried shaking Jeneta awake, but the dark-skinned girl remained still, almost dead to the world.

    Tears streaming down her face, the timid girl turned to the figure before him. "What did do you do to them? How could you? We were only on our way to find Iyanish and...."

    The creature's loud laugh boomed throughout the forest, scattering small birds and animals away in fright. "Pitiful mortal! I am the one you seek! I am Iyanish!" At Prya's surprised look, he sneered down at her. "Yes, I know why you've come here. You came to steal back my eye and try to destroy me. Many have tried before, but I have destroyed them all!" To emphasis that he meant what he said, he snapped his fingers, and around his neck appeared a long and heavy looking necklace made out of human skulls. Some of them still had pieces of skin attached to them, as if they were recently cleaned off.

    Prya shook her head and stepped back away from him slowly, disgusted by what she saw. "You're....you're a killer...a monster!" she breathed out, her hands on the sides of her face. She looked up at him with anger. "Those people weren't trying to destroy you! They were only seeking your help! Don't you see, they need your eye for their protection! Kumraa will be upon this place at any time, and they can't defend themselves against him without the Silver Eye!"

    "And they SHOULD be destroyed for not paying homage and loyalty to Kumraa!" Iyanish cried out. "When he comes, I will welcome him, and I will help him crush all who oppose him!" With that, Iyanish once more threw his large head back and roared, his voice nearly deafening Prya.

    "Not if I can help it!" Prya said, standing in front of him. "I know you're under the spell of Kumraa, I can feel it! But if I have to fight you to win back my friends, then I will. My friends are important to me, and I won't let you take them away from me!" More and more, courage entered the young girl's heart. Never in her life had she felt so passionate about anything. She had never really had any friends to be around with much less to protect, as she was too shy thanks to her parents' constant putdowns. Somehow, fate had brought her into this group of friends that were closer to her than her own family. She now knew that friendship was more precious than gold. Everyone, especially Jeneta, had tried their best to protect her, and now it was her turn to protect them. She didn't know how, but she would protect them, even if it costed her life!

    For a moment, Iyanish just looked at the diminutive girl standing bravely in front of him in a fighting stance, then unable to help himself, he started laughing loudly. The thought of this young girl, so small against him, fighting him was almost too much to take seriously. How can this one girl stand up against him when he had vanquished so many experienced warriors? But the girl's angry voice brought him out of his reverie as she shouted at him.

    "Stop it! Stop laughing at me!" Prya screamed out, painful memories of the emotional torture she went through during her childhood flashing through her mind. Her eyes narrowed and her face was flushed with anger. "Nobody laughs at me anymore! STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" With a shout of rage, Prya raced forward, her small hands balled in fists. Still laughing, Iyanish didn't even see the girl as she jumped up, and with quick moves, swung her leg out and kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking him over and back a couple of inches.

    The god landed with a loud thud, shaking the ground and scattering many more birds and animals. He slowly got back on his feet, stunned for a moment, and turned to look back at the Indian girl. Her fists were still balled, but she had a surprised look on her face, like what she just did was something she had never done before.

    Did...did I just do that? Prya thought to herself in complete shock.

    His eyes narrowed, Iyanish growled under his breath and stepped before her. "Fine child, you want to die this day...saving your friends, then I will oblige you. But you will fight me as a warrior would." He flicked his wrists again, and on the ground right in front of Prya, two weapons...resembling Japanese sai that she had read about in school, appeared. They each had three sharp knife points attached to an elaborate handle. At the sides of the handles were two shorter knife points that curved outward and up, and in the middle, one long knife point nearly as long as her arm, making them sharp and deadly weapons. With determination in her eyes, Prya nodded and picked up the weapons, her resolve and courage growing more and more.

    She twirled them in her hands the way she had seen them done in old Japanese movies, then looked up at the tall god. "Alright then. Let's do this." Power like nothing she had every felt flowed through her body then...power she was sure Jeneta, Ling, and Heather felt as they battled to retrieve the Sacred Medallions. She knew this was her best chance in find her own medallion, and she vowed to herself she would NOT lose.

    Iyanish roared his battle cry, and when his arms were raised, the same kind of sai Prya had appeared in his hands. The animal god wasted no time in attacking, and Prya barely jumped high and back flipped away in time to avoid being stabbed through the heart by his quick movements. Prya's eyes were narrowed and her face taunt with concentration and she dodged, ducked, and parried with lightning fast movements. The forest sounds were alive with metallic clangs and sparks as the weapons banged against one another. For long, fierce moments, Prya did her best to make her body move as fast and agile as she wanted it. She flipped, dropped and rolled, and twirled and side-stepped as she brought her arms up to block and attack.

    But soon, fatigue began to overtake her as the god she was fighting for her life against fought on and on, unrelenting as he brought his large, muscular arms with his sai down again and again on her weapons, pushing her back with each hit. Above, the sky began to grow darker and darker with black clouds gathering. But the clouds and everything else was unnoticeable to the two as they fought on. Prya back flipped away three times as Iyanish swung and jabbed his sai at her, but missed every time. A loud thunder crashed across the land, and at that moment, Iyanish brought his weapon down heavily and crashed it against Pyra's own. The girl brought up her sai to block it, and for a moment, the two weapons were locked in one another as the two fighters regarded each other, trying to pry their weapons apart.

    But Prya's attempt was half-hearted and her energy was running lower and lower. Sweat poured like water down her furrowed forehead as she desperately tried to keep herself from going unconscious. No! I can't lose this, I can't! Suddenly, her breaths were coming in short rasps, and Prya's heart beat faster as she felt another attack coming on. "Not now, NO!" she whispered out.

    With a triumphant grunt, Iyanish pulled his sai from Prya and backhanded her heavily across the face away from him. The girl screamed painfully and landed in a crumpled heap nearly a few feet away. One of the sai dropped from her hand, but somehow she managed to keep the other firmly grasped in her hand.

    But the animal-like god wasn't done with her yet. Before Prya even had a chance to at least try and catch her breath, which was rapidly getting shorter and shorter, Iyanish rushed over, picked her up by the throat, and threw her, slamming her against a tree nearby. Prya screamed once more and listened in horror as she heard the bone in her arm snap a sickening crackwhen she hit the tree on her side.

    Pain racked her body as she desperately tried to breathe and sit up, but crumpled in a heap with a strangled cry. At last, fat drops of rain slowly began to fall from the water-heavy black clouds above, which seemed only to reflect the pain and desperation in Prya's heart as she felt darkness threaten to overtake her. It was all hopeless now. Because of her, their mission to free this world would fail. She was the weak link, just as she always thought. With a sinking feeling, she watched helplessly as Iyanish came closer and closer, his weapons poised to end her life. Behind him she caught sight of her friends, still caught in the vine's tight branches..silent and not giving her any support, any strength.

    Dimly, Pyra remembered her time with the friends she made in England, and a feeling of regret like none other entered her heart. How she wished they would have entered her life much earlier and met under different circumstance. Instead, she would be the cause of their deaths. She closed her eyes and resigned herself to the will of the god, when just at that moment, Jeneta moaned softly and her eyes fluttered opened.

    As her eyes opened, Jeneta took in the scenery and turned to see a giant animal-headed figure walking towards Prya, who was bloodied and trembling on the ground below. The girl's eyes widened, and when she tried to move, the vines around her body grew tighter. Desperately she looked up to the others, and saw that they were unmoving, still unconscious. She gasped in horror as she then saw the god raise his arm to give the final blow. He was going to kill Prya! She couldn't allow that!

    Almost without thinking, Jeneta took a deep breath and screamed out "PRYAAA!" The vines squeezed tighter then, nearly rendering her unconscious again.

    At that moment, the brown-skinned girl opened her eyes and looked up to see Jeneta looking at her desperately. "J..Jeneta?" she whispered. At the look of jeneta's hope and confidence in her, Prya's resolve grew strong once again. She wasn't alone anymore! She had friends to fight for! With that thought, she raised her right arm with her sai up and blocked Iyanish just in time as he swung his arm down.

    So surprised was he, that he could only stumble back a couple of steps as Prya pushed him away and got up on shaky legs. Prya's left arm hung limply at her side, but she still faced the god in determination, and she raised her weapon at him. "This...isn't over yet." she rasped. Each breath she tried to take was like fire in her lungs.

    "Oh, I believe it is, mortal!" Once more he raised his arm, but suddenly, a fluttering of feathers and whistles descended on him, landing right on his head and pecking at his eyes. Iyanish roared in pain and flailed his arms in the air as he desperately tried to shake the bird from his face.

    Prya's eyes widened as she recognized the little bird that had greeted her on their way to the city where they met the sorcerer and where Kondolar lived. Iyanish twirled around and around, still trying to get the bird off him, and Prya suddenly saw the tiny, sparkly red jewel shining on his lower back right at his waistline. But before she could move, he turned around again, moaning and crying louder than ever.

    With painful grunts, Prya bent down in a crouch, and when the god's legs were spread wide enough, she dashed forward and jumped through between them, and landed right behind him in a roll. Then still on the ground, she raised her good arm and threw the sai right into his lower back where she saw the jewel shining. The sai pierced it with a crackling sound, and the small bird flew high away as Iyanish's body was then surrounded by a bright, dark blue light.

    Jeneta and Prya looked away as the light grew intensely bright, all the while the god screaming in pain. After what seemed like many long moments, the light dimmed down, and Iyanish appeared on one knee, his hands clasped together as if in prayer. He looked much younger now, and his skin smooth across his taunt muscles. The necklace of skulls were gone, leaving his chest bare once more.

    Almost immediately, the sky above began to clear and the sun once more began to shine down its rays. Right after that, the giant vine stalk that held Jeneta and the others began to crumble, and they all fell to the ground in a limp heap. No sooner had they dropped to the ground than Angeni, Heather, Ling, Tao, Djoser and Kondolar began to open their eyes, moaning painfully.

    Breathing a sigh of relief, Jeneta pulled the crumpling vine branches away from her and looked around to find where Prya was. She heard a painful gasp, and turned to look at Pyra trying to walk towards her. But the girl was so pale...almost ghost-like as she struggled desperately to breathe. Then, to Jeneta's horror, Prya fell in a crumple on the ground and lay unmoving.

    "Oh no, Prya!" cried out Jeneta. She dashed to the girl, Heather not far behind, and gently gathered Prya in her arms as she knelt down.

    "Prya, are you okay? Come on girl, answer me!" Tears of frustration ran down Jeneta's dark brown cheeks as the girl continued to lay still. Why couldn't she have been there for Prya, to help her when she needed her the most?

    "My God, what happened to her?" breathed out Ling as she also knelt down beside her friend. The others hurried up and stared down in concern and confusion.

    "She was fighting him, and he almost killed her!" Jeneta shouted out, narrowing her eyes in anger at the approaching Iyanish. Heather and Ling stood up and was ready to call upon their swords to fight him, but he held up his hands.

    The god, his eyes much softer now that he was free from the mind control, knelt down on one knee in front of the group and looked at them with compassion and regret. "Please...please allow me to help. This is my fault, and I only want to amend my mistakes..."

    "Why should we trust you?" demanded Ling, her hands balling into fists. "The only mistake you made was in messing with us!" Her body shook with barely contained anger. No one hurts her friends and gets away with it, NO ONE!

    "Because I am also the god of healing, and if you don't allow me to heal her, she will die," Iyanish said simply.

    At those words, everyone looked at each other with uncertainty, but knowing something must be done to save the girl's life.

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    To Be Continued...

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