Bai

So he was a mercenary, a weapon that anybody could hire but that didn't give Yetunde much information about him and who hired him to kidnap her. That is not good, she thought as she tried to move her body again, is this some kind of paralysis?

"I...," She paused before her eyes lit up as a realization hit her, "I can talk?"

"Yes of course you can," he paused, as if he was weighing something, then he said, "I made sure not to freeze your mouth. You see, the thing is– I need your mouth." He smiled, slow and satisfying.

Yetunde glared, how she wished she could punch that smirk off his face. Need her mouth, he said. Well, she'd give him but it wouldn't be what he and how he expected.

"I don't make it a habit of kissing peacocks in some inn you know," she took a steady breath, counting slowly in her head, she had to summon one of her lesser Sages.

"I have a name, and who said anything about kissing? Unless," he gave her a wide-eyed innocent look, "you're planning on kissing me?"

She flushed slightly, so her mind had gone to kissing when he said 'her mouth' so what?

"You didn't tell me your name, I can call you what I want," she said quickly to distract him.

He drew himself up in his bright blue velvets tunics and bowed before her as if he was a Lord and she a Lady and that they were in a grand castle, "I am Deji, a prince among mercenary and you are," he straighten and spread his hand in a gesture that was similar to those of magicians on stage, "You are the Master battle Sage, Yetunde. You don't have a first name but you and I know that's a lie, don't we?"

She turned a confused eyes on him, what's he talking about now? She had not used her father's name since the last time she last saw him, even in the academy she did not use any first name.

"You know my first name? My family name? I must say you must have dug deep indeed because I don't think I even remember it."

Deji was looking at her smugly now as if he had done some kind of magic, "The gang won't believe it! I was right, after all, your family would pay much more than was paid to kidnap you."

"Wait...what? Whose family?" Yetunde was so shocked she sucked in a hurried breath and cursed him In her head because he had made her loose her concentration. She would have to start again, she was trying to enter a Sage state without letting Deji know about it. While it was easy to do– just concentrate on the Sage you wanted and grasp it with your mind– doing so without alerting your enemy until the last moment took skill and careful planning.

"Your family, they would pay huge sums for your release," Deji continued, waving at her as if she was a fly that was disturbing him.

"I have a family?"

"Of course you do! You ran away from home, don't you? To find adventure and love because your family doesn't understand you and you had to take your destiny into your own hands," Deji sneered at her as if he could not believe she would do something so foolish.

Yetunde couldn't believe it either because she would not leave if she had a rich family.

Deji looked at her expectantly, waiting for her reaction so she did the only thing she was feeling. She laughed, she laughed so hard her small body ached. "Wait.... you....this... think I would leave a noble house to look for some grand adventure? I don't think so." She smiled at him and shook her head at his foolishness.

Deji stared at her as if she had grown an extra head, "But....you don't use your family name and you have an upper Sage that mostly Nobel-born houses have. You have to be!" He clenched his hand so hard that his nails dug deep into his palm.

Yetunde stopped chuckling, he seems seriously disappointed, more than disappointed that she was not a Nobel. Something wasn't adding up, he must either be a very good actor because he wasn't behaving like a hardened criminal. Even when they had fought earlier, he was not that intent on it. More like he was playing a role.

He gave her a smug smile but Yetunde could see the sad turn of his mouth, so he was forcing himself to smile, it must had been a really let down, knowing she was not as Nobel as he wished.

No matter, Yetunde had to end this as quickly as possible.

Since he was distracted she forgo any subtle hints and closed her eyes– she had three Sages in her, one Upper Sage, and two lesser ones. She was born with the upper Sage Ajasoro the goddess of the volcano while the two lesser Sages, Gula a goddess of healing, and Bai a snake demon, she captured herself in the Bracken realm.

She fixed the image of Bai in her mind then she sort of yanked it into her, the power of the Sages flowed into the body depending on the type of Sage summoned. Bai brings coldness as if her blood had turned to freezing water and with it comes the sensation of invisible scales.

She opened her eyes. Eyes that had now turned to bright yellow with black slit running down the middle, she flicked her tongue and it came out thin and forked. She could taste the power of the demon prince that was before her, she could also smelled everything on her tongue.

Her muscles had strengthened but when she tried to move her body was still very much in still in place, still frozen in his time spell.

"Yoss, are a verz presssistantt aren't you?" She hissed at Deji who was looking at her in fascination.

"A demon snake," he breathes, and his eyes brighten, "Bai, one of the great demons but even so you can't imagine overpowering me with a lesser Sage."

Yetunde smiled like...a snake, "I'm not ussing my strength against yoursss. It'll be useless."

Her yellow her glowed brightly and she opened her mouth wide, Bai's power flared up inside her and a yellow cobra shot out of her open mouth so fast Deji could not move out of the way fast enough and the cobra's fang dug into his neck, making his yelp.

The cobra was long and it was only half of its body was out of her mouth, the rest was inside her. It was as if a rope came out of her mouth while the rest of the rope was still inside her.

She grinned around the cobra in her mouth, she was sure he wasn't expecting that. He might not be expecting it but he was quick to counter it, his hand lashed out and his nails slashed the cobra before it could return inside her mouth.

Yetunde could feel the cobra's pain as it hissed while returning inside her.

"So what? You have a cobra bit me ta...." He clutched his neck and frowned before he staggered a little.

"Yes," Yetunde said, "you have been poisoned, the cobra's poison is a paralyzing one but it's very deadly if not treated in the first hour and only I have the antidote."

He cussed and glared, even as his eyes blurred before he collapsed beside the counter.

"Very well, you got me," he said, "but I've got you too and you can't move without my help."

"Without your help?I wouldn't need it In the first place!"

"And so?" He made a disgusted noise in his throat, "you are not what I expected you to be you know."

"Well, sorry to bust your bubble. What now? I can't imagine you want to lose your neck."

"No, let's negotiate. Your freedom for my antidote."

Yetunde knew the table had already turned, "No, you'll tell me who sent you after me and then you can free me and I'll give you the antidote."

A pause but Yetunde already knew the answer, he had no choice after all. He sighed, "Very well. I would advise you to not put your nose in it, he's a very dangerous man, trust me on this," Yetunde wondered what he meant by "trust me on that" but she decided not to ask, "It's the Duke of the Southern Domain."

Yetunde stiffened, she had heard about the Duke, the only Duke to share a very close border with the Capital and who had not hidden his ambition for the throne.

She said nothing and he continued, "A bounty had been put on your head in the kingdom underworld, and every mercenary, and maybe even worse is after you, you were wanted alive."

Yetunde could not think about what she had done to warrant such, she decided to think about it later, "Free me now."

Immediately the force holding her loosened and she could move again. She shook her hands and legs then scowled at Deji as she moved closer to him.

"Now, your turn." He said.

Yetunde smiled, "The paralyzing is very temporary, it should wear off as of... now," almost immediately Deji groaned and moved again, clumsy at first before he could sit up.

He glared at her, "So you were lying? That's not good of a lady."

Yetunde shrugged, "never said I was one."

"Well, I hope we meet again sweet one....and oh, have a great time explaining all this to the innkeeper."

"What?"

But he was already gone and the time spell was broken, Yetunde cussed him as she turned to face a stunned innkeeper.