Chapter 90Fast Forward 9 - Final Hunt

Back to the skies and my hunt.

So much had changed. I had changed from the innocent hunter, to the fleeting prey and to the knowing hunter. There was no escape this time, the tables had turned. I had received new strength, new powers, new awareness. There remained only one question. Did I want to kill Kryss?

Normally it wasn't a question. I did not want to kill. But he had tried to kill me, leaving me to the sun. Leaving me to burn. But Khuna loved him and if I would kill him she would never forgive me. Would anything less than death keep him off our backs? Mine and Khuna's?

Taking flight I, again, appreciated the gift that Afentis had given me. I wondered if he meant to give so much. It was not easy though, kind of like a hovercraft, steered by the flow of air. Flying straight was easy but I wasn't as agile as I was on the ground. No grip, no easy way to turn. But I did realize the value of it. I could control my jumps infinitely better now. As I could change the trajectory mid-jump.

My eyes had never left the silhouettes in the distance. Only now and then did a bit of light allow me to see them better against the city, I was gaining. I would be upon them soon, what would I do to him that had tortured me so much? Time to find out.

I got closer, but I hovered way above their field of vision. Kind of funny how people never look up. Their words carried to my ears on the wind.

"She survived?" An angry Kryss.

"Eh... Yes... And she knocked out the four you sent for her." Apologetic and scared.

Kryss didn't respond immediately, they continued their path on the rooftops. "We must find her, she's probably weak." Doubt in his voice. "She didn't kill them, so she's probably too weak for that..."

"And now?" He knew what would come, but didn't like it.

"We look for her and finish her off." Kryss tried to convince himself more than anyone around him it seems.

Whispers on the air were filled with doubts on their master, his cruelty toward me unusual, even for them. But this all gave me a plan. A simple one that preyed on his sense of superiority. It was the easiest way. But where would I take him?

Going faster than them, I flew a bit to the side and ahead of them, hopefully still outside their vision and landed on the roof. I relaxed, letting my arms and legs lose their tension and there visible strength. I wanted to look weak. The rest would leave us alone and hopefully leave if their leader was defeated. But how far did I want to take this?

"Kryss!" I screamed, not on the top of my voice but forcing it as if I was. They heard me and headed for me.

They headed for me and arrived on the rooftops around me, keeping a polite distance as Kryss moved closer. He stood on the other side of the roof, smiling at how he saw me.

"So there you are." He raised his arm to order an attack.

"Kryss, you coward! Don't you even dare to fight me alone?" Fake tears in my voice, another sign of weakness I hoped.

He lowered his arm gently. "Alright boys, this one is mine." Full of confidence.

He walked over to me casually, as if I posed no threat whatsoever. Just like he had done the first time I saw him. This time, however, he was not going to wait for my strike. He wanted the victory to be complete. Such a shame for him.

His hand moved fast as soon as he was within reach of hitting me. Aimed directly at my face. Laughable. From weakling to powerful, scorned woman I moved my hand up and stood fast, catching his punch in mid-air and crushed his hand while I kept hold of it. The look on his face was beautiful, that of surprise and fear. So much fear.

"Get her!" He yelled, the others moving for us, jumping toward me.

But I simply rose up before they could lay a hand on me. "Your master has failed you, leave." My voice calm and cold. I hoped it worked.

I did not wait for a response but simply flew up and toward the park. The place where I hid so many times it seems. Even before I was a vampire. Now it would be the place where I grew. Kryss hung underneath me, his face contorted in pain and flailing uselessly at me with his other fist. If only the park wasn't so far away.

"Let me go!" He screamed, some echoes from the streets below.

"No, we'll go to a place we can fight fair." Keeping my voice down so no one else would hear.

"We'll see about that." He suddenly pulled on the arm I had hold of, grabbed my wrist with the other and made a hard kick in my stomach.

No choice but to let him go, he fell down, factory district. Not good.

I let myself fall to change direction. I guess down was the easiest direction to change to. And adjusted my fall as to land close to him. There was a dent in the roof from his fall, not heavy enough to make a hole in the roof it seems. The door to the roof was open. I went in.

Expecting Kryss to hit me with something as soon as I went in I was surprised by what did hit me. Heat. It was so hot inside. Metal-works. Melting iron. The air was baked and heated again, but quite heavy too. Very uncomfortable and it made my eyes water.

Heading down I walked past machinery to cut and shape metal, iron or steel probably. Some laser cutters, some more mechanical methods, presses. Not a good place to fight. Danger everywhere.

"You decide where we fight? Ha!" Kryss suddenly fell down from the ceiling and headed for me. I deflected his punch easily, losing his balance he almost fell over the railing into the dangerous place below. Recomposing himself he ran away with me in close pursuit. More heat. Molten iron.

Kryss struck at me again, but from the side now. I sidestepped and he hit again. Another step. I started to realize what he was doing, he wanted me in front of the railing above the melting pot. All it would take was a push... If I couldn't fly.

Playing his game I dodged his blows instead of stopping them and moved into position. The push. But instead of being pushed I grabbed both his wrists and moved backwards, breaking the railing. I hovered right above the molten iron, the air almost singing my hair and eyebrows. But it was bearable.

I had him. "Kryss, you've lost. Leave town and leave us alone."

"No!" He pulled himself up and kicked me again. The fool!

He fell down, but managed to grabbed hold of the bent railing. He hung there, but his feet were still swinging. They touched the molten iron...

A scream of rage... and of pain.

Instinctively I moved back and grabbed hold of the girders sticking out of the wall. In horror I looked at Kryss whose feet were truly burning now. The fire slowly consumed the flesh and the blood, flaring up now and then as if the blood fueled it. His clothes allowed some flames to dance ahead but mostly the fire was slow and deliberate. He couldn't move, frozen with pain, his fingers clenched so tightly around the railing it was bending in the shape of his grip. Up his legs the fire went, consuming him more and more every second, nothing left but ash dropping into the molten iron, little specks of black that dissolved.

Frozen, I could do nothing but watch. His hips consumed, his stomach, his chest, his head. I could only turn away when his fingers were smoldering and leaving the railing glowing red.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. Even if I had meant to kill him, never like this. But he had not screamed again, he had suffered it all save in silence save for that one scream. There was no evidence here that could be found, the last ash falling and dissolving in the pot below.

As I went outside and took flight I realized this would break Khuna's heart. The two she loved fighting to the death, one killing the other. I didn't want that for her. But what other options did I have? Tell her, leave town?

As I flew toward the center of town I thought on what to do.