Chapter Eleven: Kidnapped!
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Before she could stop herself, she cried her war cry and charged towards Maximus.
Maximus charged towards her and as they met, a loud clang of swords sounded throughout the forest. They stood face to face at a stalemate, each pushing their strength onto their swords, hoping the other would buckle.
Selena, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to last much longer because she had not fully recovered, quickly cast a dazzle spell, blinding Maximus briefly. She leaped away from him and threw discs of white light towards him. Recovering quickly from his blindness, he cast a dome of protection around him. The white discs bounced off the dome and hit the surrounding trees and bush.
Maximus couldn’t help but smile. "Nasty trick you pulled on me, Husknia, but I will not fall for it again."
Before Selena could reply, Maximus charged towards her, nearly knocking her off her feet. Again they stood face to face at a stalemate, testing each other’s strength. Selena gritted her teeth as she felt the strength in her arms weaken. There was no way she could lose her strength now. She knew that once her arm slipped only a little, Maximus would be on top of her. She wasn’t totally positive that she was able to take him. Damnit! Why do I have to be injured at a time like this? She cursed to herself.
Suddenly, she saw his lips move, as if casting a spell. Quickly, she let down her guard and dove to the left as a large ball of light streamed from his sword. The ball of light hit a tree nearby, sending it crashing towards her.
Instantly, Selena jumped up from her crouching position and thrust her hands towards the tree. The tree stopped just inches above her head. Using most of her strength to gain power from her aura, she pushed the tree away from her and planted it back into the ground.
Sensing someone behind her, she quickly brought her sword behind her head, blocking the sword that would have hit her head. Grunting with effort, she pushed the opponent’s sword high above her. Using the momentum to her advantage, she round-housed Maximus in the jaw.
Maximus stumbled backwards, surprised both by her defensive move and the strength behind her roundhouse kick. Not wasting any time, Selena thrust out her hand, sending a massive shock wave towards him. Not having enough time to put up a blockade, Maximus flew through the air and hit a tree many yards away.
Maximus shook his head to clear it, to only see Selena charging towards him. At the last second, Maximus rolled out of harms way as Selena’s sword struck the defenseless tree. Cursing for missing him, Selena quickly twirled around to only have her face meet Maximus’s fist. She stumbled from the blow, but was quickly met with a kick to her stomach. Selena fell to her knees as she felt her insides grind from the blow. The blow was so hard that she could barely breathe!
Maximus, sensing his victory, swung his sword aiming at her neck. In the nick of time, Selena brought up her sword to block the deathly blow. Determined that she would not die this night, she looked up and gave him such an angry glower that Maximus could only marvel at her ability to block his attack.
Crying her war cry, Selena, pushed his sword to the side with such strength, that Maximus stumbled backwards a few feet. Quickly jumping to her feet, she thrust her arms towards him. A large, wide pillar of fire crashed towards him. Quickly, Maximus sent a pillar of ice to counter-spell it.
I will hate myself for doing this, but I cannot face Maximus alone in my condition, Selena thought, using this opportunity to retreat. Feeling like a coward, she quickly cast a teleportation spell and teleported herself a few yards away from Maximus. Once she re-appeared, she made a dash for it.
You will not get away that easily Maximus thought as he sensed her presence zoom past him. He quickly put out the pillar of fire, twirled around, and cast a spell.
Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted into the air. Shit! She thought as she flew through the air. She landed on the ground by Maximus with a hard thud. Feeling her ribs crack from the blow, she could only cry out in pain.
Maximus, now knowing that she was in his grasp, strolled towards her. He kicked her in the ribs, causing Selena to cry out in agonizing pain. She felt every single rib tear apart. The pain was so unbearable that she could hardly breathe.
Not too far away, Melachus and Eskias dashed as fast as they could towards the explosions and Selena’s screaming. Melachus’s heart broke as he heard Selena’s agonizing screams filter through the forest. He couldn’t bear hearing her in pain any longer. By the gods, Selena, hang on he thought.
"Here, let me take away that pain," Maximus commented slyly as he picked her up like a rag doll. He quickly mumbled a few words and a tree suddenly came to life. The tree used it’s thick branches to wrap around Selena’s body, spreading her arms above her so she couldn’t use her sword and wrapping thick branches at her feet so she couldn’t free herself. Using its strong branches, the tree began squeezing her tightly.
Selena screamed as she felt her sword slipping from her hand. The branches squeezed harder against her already broken ribs, causing her to howl even louder. The pain was so unbearable that tears formed in her eyes.
As soon as the tight squeezing came, it left. Selena breathed heavily, desperately trying to catch her breath and to stay conscious. She knew that she would be dead once she reached unconsciousness.
Maximus, using his gift, commanded the tree branches to lift Selena’s chin so her eyes would meet his. "So, Husknia, is this all you can do?"
Selena gave him an angry glare, causing him to chuckle. "Feisty until the end. I admire that in a person."
"Why don’t you just kill me?" Selena seethed.
Maximus lifted his eyebrow. "And hot tempered too. No, I am not going to kill you. I am going to use you to my own gain."
"I will never join you," Selena seethed.
"Oh, I am positive that you will," Maximus taunted, "once I’ve had my way with you."
Selena spat in his face. "Go to hell."
Maximus, grinning, wiped the saliva from his face. "Your tone will quickly change." With that, he snapped his fingers and instantly, Selena felt massive shock waves run up and down her body, shocking every bone and muscle in her body. She howled as she felt herself being electrocuted. She stubbornly held on, not wanting to slip into unconsciousness.
The last thing she remembered was seeing Maximus’s triumphant face as she felt herself slipping into the awaiting darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED.....