Chapter 15- Mhia Atlas

Chapter 15

 

Mhia Atlas

 

 

            “Noooooooo!” shouted Mhia.

            “One life so he knows we’re serious,” said Saix, coldly.

            “We were supposed to take them alive!”

            “There’s still two left.”

            Charles’s son and the unaccounted girl cried in horror. Mhia felt knots in her stomach as the little girl’s head rolled and touched her foot. This isn’t how it was supposed to happen…but what’s done is done.

            She pointed her jian at the boy. “Come nicely and your little friend won’t suffer the same fate as your sister!”

            His cold burning teary eyes said he wasn’t about to listen. The same could not be said about the other girl who was shivering uncontrollably. Saix didn’t wait to put the pressure on. He grabbed the girl by her hair and yanked her to her feet and placed his sword at her throat. “Tell him how bad you want to live.”

            The girl pissed herself in fear. “P-p-p-p-please…d-d-don’t k-kill me…I b-beg you…”

            Saix cut her neck just deep enough to draw blood and make her panic some more. “Tell him how much you want live!”

            “V-v-VENIR! PLEASE! PLEASE LISTEN TO THEM! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”

            That seemed to feed the rage fueling inside the boy, Venir, but he obediently got back on his feet and reassured, “I-I’ll listen…just let her go…”

            Saix chuckled. “You don’t make the demands here. I’m sure you’re not used to it, living all perfect at the top of the world, but best get used to it.” He gestured at Mhia with his head. “Follow her. The less trouble you cause the less your friend will suffer.”

            Venir turned towards Mhia, shivering with rage and raining down tears. He didn’t say a word but the look of shame on his face said he was ready to listen. Mhia nodded and started making her way out the room. Before she could step out she heard Venir break down again. He was holding the head of his sister’s corpse, hugging it, crying hysterically. Not such a great feeling is it.

            The hypocrisy of the situation fueled some of Mhia’s own anger and with little remorse she kicked the head from within his arms and grabbed him by the bicep and yanked him to his feet. She used the bottom of her jian to knock some sense into him. “Stop your crying! She’s dead and she’s never coming back! Worry about your friend who’s still alive.”

            The words went in ear one ear and out the other. His eyes were dead and his mind probably lost at this point. If he was experiencing anything like what Mhia felt the day she saw her mother and sister get murdered, he would be lost for days. Right now her only priority though was getting out alive, and for that to happen, he had to start listening.

            “Cut off her ear, Saix!”

            Saix didn’t wait a second to obey the command. The girl’s cry brought life back to Venir. “Stop it please! I’ll listen! Just don’t hurt her anymore!”

            “Best start walking then,” warned Mhia.

            Saix had to carry the girl over his shoulder but at least Venir was obeying now. She could still hear fighting below which meant her friends were still alive. By now she imagined only half the Black Coats could still be alive. When she reached the spiral stairs she went half down the first elevation and stretched her neck to see if she could see what was going on below.

             Bang!

            Red flashed through her vision as she fell back against the stairs yelling in pain. She felt Saix drag her down the remaining steps to the next floor below and pull her into the hallway. She leaned against the wall breathing hard for air and holding a hand against her left eye.

            “It burns Saix, it burns.”

            “Relax,” he said. “Here.”

            He ripped a piece of fabric from the girl’s dress, who was passed out, and wrapped it around Mhia’s eye. Venir stood idly watching but not attempting anything rash. I bet he’s enjoying this.

            “Wait here,” said Saix. “I have to make sure it’s clear below or you’ll never make it through.” He stood and looked at Venir. “Don’t get your hopes up, you’re coming with me.”

            “You’re not going anywhere,” Gia’s familiar voice called out. She was peeking her head through a window form the outside. “There’s a courtyard out here and a tree that’s easy to climb. There’s also a bed of flowers you can drop into and not feel a thing. From there there’s a back exit we can take. I’ve already taken out the two guards stationed there.”

            Saix’s face lit up. “Good. Come help me out over here.”

            Gia leaped through the window and came running. Saix grabbed the passed out girl and Gia helped Mhia to her feet. Mhia pushed her off once she was on her feet, still in pain, but able to walk on he own. “Are you good on your own, your Grace?”

            Mhia ignored her concern. “We can’t leave Odhis and Serevex.”

            “Yes we can, they knew what they signed up for before they came. One of the Black Coats outside went to call for help, I saw him take a horse and gallop down the road. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll all be killed.”

            “But…”

            “But nothing!” shouted Saix. “Now hurry up and come!”

            Mhia nodded and swallowed her tears before they could shed. I knew the risks. This is what I wanted. She grabbed Venir’s forearm and ran for the window. Saix jumped with little hesitation, carrying the girl over his shoulder. Mhia pushed Venir but he hesitated so she kicked him out the window into the flowerbed, jumping shortly after. Once Gia was down she took the lead, taking them out through the back.

            Once they were out the villa, they escaped into the forest of trees at the edge. Gia heeded them all to put their hoods on in case they ran into anyone, with Venir and the girl it hardly counted as a cover but it was better than nothing. As the villa faded in the background Mhia felt a cold hand clench her heart. I’ve lost two more people dear to me. This time she couldn’t hold back the tears, but luckily she had her hood to hide them. The tears from her left eye ran a red streak down her cheek.

            After running deep into the wilderness of trees in the backyard of the Sun District, they decided to take a rest. Mhia leaned against the tree as her mind was soon remembering the pain coming from her left eye. Saix placed the unconscious girl against a tree and started bandaging her missing ear. Gia left to scout the area and see where they were. Venir stood like a ghost gazing at the night sky.

            “I bet by now all of Lumina is crying tears of blood,” said Saix.

            “Was that supposed to be a jab at me?” asked Mhia, unamused.

            “No. You forget, today we’re not the only ones spilling Judician blood.”

            Indeed Mhia had forgotten. At the heat of the moment the rest of the world seemed so small and irrelevant that it was hard to remember anything at all. “What do you think my brother will say when he sees I’m missing an eye?” Mhia joked, bitterly.

            Saix shrugged. “He’ll be pissed, I don’t think he will kill us though.” He looked at Venir. “Hopefully this kid was worth the trouble.”

            Mhia glared at Venir and continued to speak as if he wasn’t even there. “For his sake, he better be. Two good lives were lost for his.” Remembering the little girl, Mhia thwarted her glare towards Saix. “Don’t think I forgot what you did back there. What the f**k was that all about, Saix? We had a mission. We were to take Charles’s wife and two kids, alive.”

            “Why? Because the f*****g Cardinal wanted them alive? If Charles is the enemy of the Church then why does the Cardinal care about capturing his family? Odhis claims it’s to use Charles, the Cardinal might argue the same, but think. Odhis’s argument was that if we kill Charles he’ll simply be replaced. That shouldn’t apply to the Cardinal since his only worry was that Charles, specifically, would bring down the Church.”

            Mhia stood up furiously. “And you wait until now to tell me this!”

            “I wanted to capture his family,” he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

            Mhia was so mad she could’ve punched him. “You…you piss me off sometimes, you know that.”

            “When you first mentioned we were kidnapping his family instead of killing him I was angry, yes. The whole idea seemed pointless. I don’t think you could tame a man like him. It was also suspicious, coming from the Cardinal. I had already agreed to help you though, and knowing so much, I couldn’t just stand by anymore. So I decided to make the best of it. If Charles can indeed be tamed, one hostage should suffice. As for his daughter’s death, now he knows it’s personal, that we’re serious, and that his son is still alive. Else we would’ve left his corpse beside the other one.”

            Venir burst into a maniac laughter. “Even when he’s away in another city he still manages to f**k this family. Father you’ve truly outdone yourself this time.” Mhia and Saix watched as he continued in his hysterical laughter. He’s lost it. It’s a good thing his sanity isn’t one of our priorities.

            Gia came running back. “We’re in luck. I know where we are. We can follow this path all the way around the back of a church near the Town Districts. It’s a bit of a walk, but we should be able to reach it unnoticed and head down the tunnels.” She looked at Venir. “What’s wrong with him? Did I miss some joke?”

            Saix shrugged. “Seems we all did. We’ll need to gag him form this point on, we can’t risk him giving off our position.”

            “Do what you have to,” said Mhia. “Let’s get moving. The sooner we’re in Elysium the better.”

Author's Note

Taking everything that just happened into account, how do you feel about all the major characters? Who do you like and dislike? Did any character fall from grace or gain favor in your eyes?

Reviews

[Dark Rider]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not little Emilia!! *cries* Saix defiantly fell from grace in my eyes. Venir, for the time being until I know for sure what happened to Caius, is now my favorite character. I hope he gets his revenge. I'm still a little sad about the death of Serevex as well. As for Mhia and Gia, my feelings are the same. And I'm also sad that this is the last chapter for the time being. I really have to see what happens next!

[Cynical_Art]

I can't lie, that's the kind of reactions I like to get from people XD and I told you you would probably be flip flopping a lot around my characters lol now that you caught up though I have to hurry up and publish my other chapters. I have 16-18 written but I wanna polish them a bit before I publish it. I'll try to have them up soon though :)

[Dark Rider]

Yay!!! ^^ And if I had to narrow it down, Caius and Venir are my two favorite characters. So I hope one of those next chapters tell what happened to Caius.