Chapter 29

 

She had just finished sealing the hole to the underground tunnels.

And now, Grozette lay winded upon the ground, as the menacing abomination loomed above her. She scarcely managed to turn over when the dark shape flew like a long black ribbon making loops upon loops, in the velvety dark of the quiet night. It darted back and forth as if it were mocking her, until eventually the dark malevolent shape, that was Tallulahs rained down on her heavily with her spear.

The sorceress barely moved in time as the wraith struck the ground hard and fast, narrowly missing her head. She felt the Shockwave even though it didn’t connect and heard the sound of metal on stone reverberate acoustically through the air.

It was now a precedent of do or die. In an instance, the grey wizardess was women and then in a split second more. She let out a shrill as she morphed into hundreds, thousands of grey bats flying in a pattern as they hurtled down upon their enemy like a fist hammering down. They smote their enemy’s ruin onto the clay flooring that paved the ground. As the storm was over in seconds. In the aftermath as an audible sound like a clap of thunder rang out “pi Chuan,” It sounded like and held fast as it oscillated. It almost felt as if nature itself had delivered the thunderous strike like a hammer falling hard and sharp.

The bats swarmed back to a singular point as their mistress emerged from the cloud of fluttermice that disappeared as a lowly witch stood defiant.

The twisted mangled wreckage of the macabre figure lay on the ground like a fly that had been swatted. It was little more than a black stain on the paving of the courtyard/garden. But it was not defeated; it arose once again more like a harrowing silhouette of darkness personified and stood before Grozette, angrier than it had been previously. With eyes of fiery citrine that sat in the rest of its dark countenance that was as black as neptunite.

“Sissssteer,’” it called

“Join us,”
Tallulah’s voice was a whisper a chilling snakish whisper that she would’ve hidden behind a forked tongue, if she had a tongue, Or a face, in fact, she was little more than a dark shadow now, but her spirit was still potent.
A feeling of nausea and sickness encroached it was almost as if there was no clean air.

Grozette answered
“No Tally, who would I be, if I did that? I came to bring you! Some release,” there was a silence before she continued “because you’re not able to do it yourself,”

“Then we shall fight like we used to, in our childhood,” said Tallulah
“We shall have at it,” agreed the witch.
As she drew a sword of pure white steel that shimmered under the light of the moons. “Ivry- tears of the tempest,” announced the wraith as she confirmed and identified the reverent blade.

Tallulah found her lance as moonlight fell upon her steel and readied herself as the tension began to rise.

The night was still, and the only sound was the rustling of the sail leaves from the red wyn trees that formed a dwarf Grove in the regal garden. The faint breeze gentle walked through the long decorative grasses.

White dandelion parasols flitted through the air and did not move or quaver as they went aimlessly towards the sky.
The two adversaries found their corner and made a distance between them as they mentally prepared to face one another in the crucible of mortal combat.

It was sad and poetic.
If the scholar Esmie was still among the living, he would have surely written about the whole affair and preserved it for prosperity, the sad soliloquy of the lost sisters.

Neither one dared move for the longest time, they were playing out the permutations of the battle in their minds.

As they glared at one another almost lost in the white noise of the crashing water that loitered in the music of the night.

It was sad that it had come to this.

Softly and deftly the shadowy figure was the first to break the stalemate, and the witch was right behind her. as the two sallied forth at speed, cut, thrust, Dian.

Grozette parried the tip of Tallulah’s spear as the lance went beyond her as she evaded the attack and with her free hand. She grabbed the shaft of the spear; they stood in deadlock, but the wraith was too strong and levered Grozette around tossing her to the floor like a knight unseated from his steed.

She got up to all fours and there her enemy was holding the high ground. As she pulled the trigger once again Grozette dove forward with her sword tip as if she were leading a charge with a bayonet as the spear tip
came surging forth as the dance resumed.

 

 

A cubit’s length between spear point and her shoulder as she warded off the lance away with her free hand and sent her blade close to her sister. She braced her weight as she pressed with her palm across the dull edge of the blade and into Tallulahs breast doublet that was hard and brittle and made of mirror scales.

The fighting went on it was expertly masterful as the two figures travelled through every inch and end to end of the garden fluidly.

Between the wyn trees that stood in the Grove, beneath the antiquated arches that were relics from a different age. Above the edge of the artificial falls that fell to the lower levels. From the broken aqueduct.

Crashing through the water of the artificial stream.

And then it happened? A misstep or fortuity, the two combatants found themselves grounded as they turned over and over until finally Tallulah won over Grozette and ended up on top as she loomed over her without sympathy or arms to wield. High on Adrenalin she tasted the pleasure rush of being as leer was, and so she took the decision not lightly to drown her younger sibling in the stream, as there was nothing else, she could think of that could snuff out her light more poetically.

It had been many years since being snared and being beneath the water.

As she gripped her head beneath the water, Grozette squirmed as bubbles gushed out between the current of the white water. Water crashing around her ears and over her hair. It was odd how all those years ago, she could breathe in the deep, but was unable to in the fear and the alarm, she was powerless and at the mercy of the fates. The wizardess felt the strings of her life as she kicked and struggled, they were unravelling, as darkness began to take hold of her once again. It would soon be over.

With one great final attempt, she struck both her adversary’s ears sending her reeling back in shock. Releasing the vice-like grip around her throat, which was colder than ice and stronger than iron.

It was a while before she regained her footing.

She coughed out the water and spluttered. Her breathing was shallow and fast. drawing in the thin air.
As she rolled over on the bank and began to claw her way to dry land.

When eventually, she stood again.
She cast her gaze around to see her enemy oddly gazing at her reflection, looking lost, as lost as a denizen of the shadow could appear in the three-dimensional realm. She began to sob inconsolably.
She was weeping
like a baby, something Grozette had never before witnessed or considered in all the years they had known one another.
She promptly found her sword and held it close to her sister’s neck. It felt callous, was she really going to do it like this? She considered destroying all that was left of her memory, it was one fell stroke away, but she couldn’t help be distracted by a tiny voice within her, how tarnished the lines had become. Who was the real monster now it asked? Who was asking immoral deeds of oneself?

Grozette sheathed her sword and sat exhausted on the bank as, she too, wept quietly. Tallulah between her tormented sobbing managed to vocalize “why!!”
The words didn’t come easy, but a second wave came “Why … couldn’t you let me go sister?!” As a black tear fell like a single raindrop.
“I loved you too much,” said Grozette as she recalled those days long ago, “but I know now I made a mistake, I … I was only thinking about myself, that I could not go on without you after losing so much…. and for that, I’m truly sorry … forgive me, sister!”
“it’s NOT FAIR!!” Said Tal emotionally.
They peered at one another, a peculiar pairing “we can’t change the past …!” She continued “we were but children all alone.”
“Can we call a truce, just until the sunrise?” Asked Grozette as they slowly meandered towards the hammocks that sat neatly by the arches.

Grozette thought a while as she invited the frightful looking figure closer “I can’t take back yesterday, but not all spells follow those lines, especially the loving kind,” Tallulah looked on perplexed. The grey witch was fidgeting as she searched for a small makeup compact. She opened it taking more care than a thing of that kind deserved, as it perked Tal’s interest, she felt herself drawn closer to the sorceress, as she unexpectedly blew dust into her face. as if she were blowing a kiss. Tallulah coughed as she fanned the cloud of talc and other questionable ingredients away, But Before She could get furious before her mood could swing she noticed a radiant smile that had broken out over her siblings’ face. The small round flip mirror she passed it to her “see yourself!” She urged her
“No, I … I!” She said shakily
“go on,” she said manipulating her.
Finally, Tal saw herself in the small round hand mirror. However, it was not the face she despised it was a smooth white heart-shaped face that she remembered from her youth when she was young and innocent. She almost couldn’t believe it. She caressed her own cheek it was soft and curved like a peach. Her hair rustled in the breeze that marched from the mountains across to the shores of the pure sea.
Memories, sometimes it was easy to think too much but feel very little.
Emotions like hearts and flowers, a dressed rehearsal for retreading the history and aspirations of yesterday, they all came rushing back like white swans swimming in an armada from the pure shores, the white dress, she dreamt about and the paradise in her wildest dreams, her wedding day.
She glanced at Grozette and saw that she was changed also into a fledgeling version of herself; they chortled “your magic is far beyond the highest high Etty,” she said in the ordinary tones of a girl just reaching the outskirts of adolescence. They frolicked like two summer virgins clad in flowers and silks that showed their bare feet to the midnight hour.

Grozette spoke.
“We shall have this night to clear the air my dearest and make amends, then we shall face the demons, or watch them drown,” as lulah with a flower in her slate coloured hair nodded and agreed.

Putting her index finger to her cheek, she remained pensive, as
Grozette stated as a matter of fact.
“You know. I could always curse you for eternity. I’m not sure if a curse is the right expression given the facts, but you’d be stuck like this forever ‘n ever, or until the curse is broken,” she said standing in the halo of a lantern that was radiating soft light and eerily giving her a supernatural appearance.
It wasn’t a cure, but maybe a curse wasn’t so far away if it had the right intentions behind it.
Tal smiled. She didn’t need to think about it at all “do it!” She said decisively as she closed her eyes and crossed her fingers across her centre line. It seemed unreal was this happiness or just the illusion of happiness.

Were the two just one and the same.

Grozette opened the small round hand mirror. That was made of brass and was inlaid with polished fragments of mother of Pearl. She struck her casting pose as she recited the incantation

and in a clear commanding voice, she recited

Spider spider burning bright,
Bind this shadow to this light,
Hide this face away from thee,
Cover this shame
so none shall see

A smell of Lyger seemed to saturate the air. She recognised it as she loved the nectar of lyger it was one of her favourite fragrances.

As she opened her eyes,
Tal noticed the reflection was that of her true self her heart sank again. She could not move as she felt the arms of her sister hugging her like steel chains as she felt Grozettes chin nudge her shoulder “don’t worry Tal; that’s just where we are going to put your shadow from now on,” she said reassuringly as she peered over to her “take this mirror never open it, in fact, bury it!” She advised her sternly.

They rested for a while spoke about their shared memories.
As the stars above them moved across the heavens. Planning their astrological destinies and throwing down their light on the two old souls that had been held by an anchor of their own choosing, like their actions that also chose them.