Meeting Under a Red Sky

Aila sensed that Tyr's mood seemed to be darker than usual. She flew up next to him, "Tyr, what ails you? You don't seem like yourself." Her days of being a slave left her with the ability to read moods well. It had been a life and death skill for her, so it was important for a good slave to anticipate if their master was angry.

Without taking his eyes off the horizon, Tyr replied, "Nothing." He did not understand what Aila talked about. Everything seemed right in the world and his mood could not be better.

The wind ruffled Aila's blond bangs, "No. You seem to have lost yourself. What's going on?" The moonlight reflected off Tyr's face which did not mask his killing intent. She did not know Jarnvid assaulted Macha, so his reaction seemed unjustified.

Tyr turned his head, the coldness in his eyes caused her breath to freeze in her throat. His eyes narrowed, "Aila, you don't understand. I'm happy. I get to kill Jarnvid tonight." Aži made a low growl and snapped his jaws. They shared their sentiments with what would happen upon meeting Jarnvid.

The look in Tyr's eyes brought Aila back to when she was a child. She had seen a slave owner stab one of his slaves in the chest without any remorse. A chill ran down her spine at the memory. "We're not charged with killing him if we don't need to. You shouldn't go into this assuming you have to kill him." She knew Tyr was better than this. Something deeper lay beneath the surface that she could not pinpoint.

Tyr's voice remained icy, "You don't understand." Aila was always so innocent and idealistic. She failed to read between the lines. He did not understand it was because she used to be a slave or if her personality left her oblivious to the implied meanings behind things.

The moment Freyr requested for Tyr to take care of Jarnvid, meant that he had the choice to kill the bastard if he wanted to. The man was already on death row, his cousin used this as an opportunity for Tyr to personally hand out the punishment.

Even if the person Jarnvid tried to rape-had not been Macha, he would still want to kill the man. Ever since Liam forced himself on Luna, he held no remorse for people who raped others. He realized Macha was probably not the first person the asshole assaulted. The thought of other women being forced down against their will enraged Tyr.

Krystof got Aila's attention and she flew back beside him. He brought his mount closer so Tyr would not hear, "Cut it out. Ya didn't know him in the war. He's out for blood tonight. If ya try to stop 'im, you're gonna get hurt. Sierra already knows what's gonna happen, don't worry. Why do ya think Freyr asked him to do it?"

Aila's eyes shifted to Tyr and her brows furrowed. The situation did not sit right with her, but if the Captain of the Guard understood his state of mind, she realized she should let it go. It was true that Jarnvid was already on death row, but she believed it was wrong for Tyr to want to kill him. In her opinion, taking a life was not something one should do easily. That action was something that should only be done if there was no other option.

They rode through the night until the sun began to rise. Brightly colored clouds painted the sky red. The group found a party of five traveling speedily along the ground. Tyr flew down and cut them off. The red light of the sun reflected off of Jarnvid's ostentatious armor, creating a flashing beam that pointed to him.

When Tyr's group landed in front of them, Jarnvid sneered, "Of course you would come. How am I not surprised?" He wanted this fight as much as Tyr.

Although his nemesis often won the tournaments, they could not use all of their moves because they were supposed to not kill their opponents. Tilting his chin upward Jarnvid mocked, "I hope you kissed that pocket pussy of yours goodbye because you aren't going home." He hopped off his mount and drew his halberd.

Tyr cracked his neck. "Cute," Jarnvid's insult to Macha did not phase him. In a typical fashion, the jerk began the fight with insults. After de-summoning his hippogryph, Tyr drew his lances and Aži flew into the air.

Mathis moved to the back. He needed to be ready to give supportive spells and do any quick healing that might need to be done. Fighting against other people was much harder than fighting against monsters. Monsters usually acted predictably and their capabilities were sizeable. He did not know who two of their opponents were, which made this fight dangerous.

As they flew down, regret latched on to Krystof's heart. One of the people with Jarnvid was his cousin Iminathi. Although she had been Jarnvid's second wife, he hoped she would not be so foolish as to follow her husband. Krystof's blue eyes struggled to harden knowing that he would have to kill her.

The action of aiding a fugitive in their escape would be punishable by death. He rather be the one to kill her, than have her dragged through the mud with a trial. A trial would only humiliate her and his family. The result, either way, was death. Everyone could hear the deep misery in Krystof's voice, "Iminathi, why would you do this? You're still so young. You could have remarried."

Iminathi looked at her cousin who had taught her how to hold a bow. Shame gripped her at him seeing her like this.

When Fenrir came to her with the idea of running away, she quickly agreed. The plan sounded so promising. No matter what, she loved Jarnvid and wanted him to live. Fenrir promised they would all start again. All Iminathi needed to do was supply the funds. Now she looked at her elder cousin and lowered her eyes, "I'm sorry Krystof. I love him."

Luna eyed Fenrir. As soon as they landed, she drew her spell book. All the pain Fenrir inflicted on their family over the years would be paid back today. The tears she saw her mother shed while Hrod thought no one was around, the drastic changes to Tyr's personality over the years, the hurtful words Fenrir said to her; Luna swore to give all that pain back to Fenrir.

Fenrir recognized that Luna wanted to fight her. She swung off her mount and gave Luna a lopsided smile. "What? You think you can take me? If I remember, I heard a harpy almost killed you. Pathetic." The idea that Luna believed she could take her made Fenrir laugh. The woman was smart, but nothing more.

Aila sized up the remaining two people. She did not recognize them but determined that the woman who stood in the back was probably a healer or used some sort of supportive magic. The man she worried about had long red hair and wore a crystal sword at his waist. It shined red with the light and his fingerless gloves wrapped around it.

Dailen and his sister, Eeva, had been hired by Iminathi to escort the group to Dijon. Dailen eyed the blonde-haired woman who carried a sword and shield. Based on her weapon choices he guessed that she focused more on defense, but she also had a two-handed sword on her back. That was uncommon and made him wary of what moves she would use. He called out to the woman, "Hey, what's that sword on your back for?"

Aila carried the sword so she would have options. She did not know what sort of fight they would encounter today and she wanted to be prepared. "It is always good to be prepared. I am Aila of Obsidian Dragons. I am honored to fight you," she announced.

The muscles below Dailen's left eye twitched. He laughed loudly, "Are you serious? What a downer. Ha, since you take this so formally... I am Dailen Ringworth." He could not believe he met someone so ridiculous. A person formally introducing themselves before a battle was a first for him.

A hush fell over the icy battlefield. The snow was thick here and came up to their shins, causing any footstep to make a loud crunch. Both sides took the time to assess their opponents and stepped away from the others as the cold winter wind howled on the mountaintop.