Merlin 3:35 “Strings of Hypocrisy”
~ @mjbanks
Merlin lighting fires allows brightness, confusion, and power for Ana who recklessly yearns so close to connect with Nickolas and enters the chaos. The ground dries near her, but the extended drought drinks from the sky with undeniable thirst, lightning would be her ally in light alone too strong to purposefully wield. Downpour mixes mud with crestfallen corpses, when she realizes the empty town is full of terrors, Ana hides her unborn child in the only place she feels safest, a shop with a swinging fascia reading ‘Alchemy & Oils’, where fire fueled by apothecary wares will utmost protect her. More than half of the town vampiric clings to unholy existence, but are more than inadequate against Merlin, Scarlet, Malachi, and Nickolas, in their formations, and as a small group enters where she hides she must confront.
One of them tries to bite her, grabbing her by her collar and opening fangs she grabs its hands and begins defensive flames, walking it backward toward the door causing the others to run in fear of her fire. Outside they run into the phoenix with open wings of unrelenting fire, cawing and clawing them and their ashes unto death.
In the doorway, Ana stands until grabbed clawed hands by one of Matteus’ comrades and fatedly Nickolas comes to her rescue, running at her and her captor. The vampire wraps his arm around her, holding a blade to her throat, but seeing Nick moves quickly between her and his approach, putting arms outward one blade point to her. Holding two daggers, one two Ana’s throat as vampire stands closely against her and the wall, the other at Nick.
Inscius: “If either of you move, you cut the other’s throat, now get back!”
Nickolas without blinking reaches to the vampire and pulls toward himself, cutting his own throat, but freeing Ana. Drawing the vampire closer he takes the other blade from him, but it is hot at touch and dropped as he takes the bloody dagger from his own chest. The vampire thirsting for the blood immortal to strengthen and conquer is denied by a cut throat and a pierced heart, even then Nickolas rages, taking the sheathed sword of the vampire and severing head on the ground. He tries to ask if Ana and child are safe, but cannot speak thru bloody cut throat, falling to his knees he struggles to be persistently pointing into the doorway, which Ana thru drags him to dauntless escape with blood trail. Ana throws a tiny bottle of oil at the featureless creature, and then with her magic makes it burn alive undead with fire’s pain unending. Before she can act, angered screams arise, in both parts from his resurrection and her of the vampires taking him for reclamation.
The phoenix forced to flight and fight elsewhere, Ana has not escape or ally, and uses her magic powers of fire on her closest foes to fend and follow Nick. Kept is she at bay protecting her child from attack, more so than considering herself deprived of an immortal, whom if even partially lucky, in due time, will find her again. She hides in shadows, fearing the light, maternally hiding her child. Using their strength in bloodlust, more vampires seek her for the blood of an unborn child, an evil and common desire of the undead, most imperial magistrate of sin. Again saved by Nick he escapes others and collides with the three hungering for her, as she escapes dragged he is into yet another fight.
Matteus, bound by puerile sensations, orders his dwindling amount of allies to spike Nickolas to the ground, as he and others prepare to find and attack Malachi when the blood warlock himself locks into eyes from distance, only to walk-out-of the picture down the street. Matteus thinks of himself near victorious, only to see Scarlet enter the street. Scarlet is winning his siege of two against now less than almost forty, and calls magnanimously into the night.
Lord Scarlet: “Kneel if you wish to live…”
Matteus: “Marcus, go around and throw something big, a table, at him, then I will kill him myself.”
Matteus in assumption begins to realize some of the other vampires, new and very old, have returned their allegiance to Scarlet in kneeling so.
Anders: “How says our danger that he come himself, we do not cross the elder.” (Kneels)
Matteus: “Damnedest fools, fight you must!”
Malachi has run via circle to behind them and stabs one in the throat from behind, then tearing the lifeless heart from vampire thru its back, the body falls and he holds it in his hand, forcing all but Matteus to suffocate and fall nearby. As a wrought black heart, woven for afterlife, becomes a heavy and course black ash.
Cloud cover thick soon the rain makes mud, Scarlet walks with the drops washing the blood, showing his face in the darkness of weather surrounding them. A long sword in his hand he watches less fearful allies of Matteus spearhead the isolation by tackling Malachi and allowing Matteus a chance at escape. Tho having skillfully used the weapons of enemies against themselves, this is the first that Malachi uses his own sword, throwing it into Matteus to slow his escape. The rebellion against the warlock, extricated by valiance into dying combatants, hack into Malachi, deep cuts like a bleeding tree he strains, desperate and striving in a pain of fear almost tiring. Lifting black magic ethereal as a highly contagious fire consumes his closest foe and soon others, and with so brightly makes anguish, they flee with Scarlet ever getting closer. Those who are not allegiant begin their escape from judgment, and Merlin watching from the shadows.
Matteus assumes reprieve, rebels resisting arrest come to battle, but they know not the new allegiances, too little, too late, before Matteus can enjoy his smile of pride, Scarlet stands beside him, hammering a knife into his chest, dragging it down thru raw bone and undead strength, enough to see his heart.
Scarlet: “A scene of death for traitor, lastly spoken, Matteus.”
Matteus: “I will submit again, you are my liege and law.”
Scarlet: “Am I to trust someone, whose proof of validity is pure bias?”
Matteus: “Healthy words for a sick man.”
Scarlet: “I hear your allies encircling us. Will they be able to save you?”
Scarlet reaches into Matteus’ chest.
Matteus: “We draw our hearts and only hope…vengeance is mine.”
Scarlet rips the heart from his chest, Matteus gasps and cringes taught contracting rigidly, as if his breath had been stolen, as he has owed death a life for ages, as his body begins to collapse the allies attack, Scarlet uses Matteus’ body as a shield and moves until he can run.
From rooftop, these late arrived allies watch in wait.
Dark energy from the warlock Malachi that burns the flying arrows that would harm him, the flash temporarily blinding the shooters, as the archers draw second arrows he sees their vantage and rushes toward their building, more arrowheads scatter at him running. Elsewhere archers trap Scarlet behind a wall, still holding the heart of Matteus. He takes a small jar and pours it onto the black heart, the heart begins to turn white and brittle, and as he crushes it in his hand, he inhales the white dust and black ash mixture. The archers watch Scarlet exit from hiding, shooting him with many arrows they watch each shatter and bounce from his skin or stick into his clothing.
Scarlet: “Wild hearts! I shall enjoy your macerations!”
What's This....?