The Good vs. The Evil
Lexa shook her head. “No. I’m not leaving you.”
Whatever was coming was dangerous, that much was evident in the way Clarke’s eyes widened with each crash, and she’d be damned if she left Clarke to face whatever it was alone. Lexa felt an inexplicable urge to lean forward and kiss the woman standing in front of her, and that’s precisely what she did.
Lexa quickly pulled Clarke in, kissing her soundly and swiftly, letting her tongue just tease the surprised lips against her own before pulling back.
Clarke chased her lips, and Lexa would have felt proud if it weren’t for the earth-shaking crash echoing to her left. Clarke instantly snapped out of her kiss-dazed stupor and put her body between Lexa and the noise.
Lexa peered over Clarke’s strong shoulder as branches and bushes snapped and rattled. A figure burst through the dense foliage surrounded in a pale green glow. The woman approached them, and Clarke backed slowly away, being sure to keep her body in front of Lexa, shielding her from whoever or whatever this woman was.
The closer she got, the tenser Clarke’s body became. The woman was so near now. Her face would have been beautiful if it weren’t for the twistedly evil snarl she adorned.
“Clarke,” her voice echoed into the night. “Still trying to heal old wounds, I see.” The woman gestured towards the half-grown tree, and Lexa knew Clarke’s face was twisting in a determined scowl. She’d seen her game face enough times to know exactly the picture of power and confidence she would undoubtedly have strewn across her beautiful features.
“And you brought a human. How quaint.”
Lexa bristled at the suggestion that she was useless and attempted to take a step forward. Clarke held out her arm, keeping her back. “Don’t come any closer, Nia.”
“Or you’ll what? Kill me? You don’t have it in you, my dear. Your kind never does.”
The air shifted around her, Lexa felt as if a bow string suddenly pulled taut, ready to fire a kill shot. Sparks danced between Nia’s fingers, eager to be unleashed. And when Lexa looked up at Clarke, her heart leaped into her throat.
Clarke held her arms up, her palms facing down, and a current pulsed over her skin. The ground beneath Lexa’s feet began to soften as water flowed around her. “Don’t worry,” Clarke whispered. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“Worry about Nia. I can handle myself,” Lexa stated far more confidently than she felt. The truth of the matter was that she was entirely out of her element and had no idea how to handle herself. Just moments ago, she discovered that the woman she was irrevocably in love with was something other than human, and now she was caught in some sort of epic good versus evil battle. But she would never admit that to Clarke, especially when she so obviously needed to focus on the threat in front of her.
In the few seconds Lexa pondered her predicament, the entire clearing was covered in at least two feet of water. Clarke’s hair blew in the breeze she created as the current flowed up through her. The water gathered all around her, rippling and sweeping over her stretched limbs, and it was the most beautiful and powerful sight she’d ever seen.
“Oh, Clarke. When are you going to learn? Your little nature tricks are just that. Tricks.” Nia pulled a wicked looking dagger from her belt and flung it with deadly precision right at Clarke’s heart.
“No!” Lexa shouted, but it was pointless. The water flowing around Clarke sprang up in a barrier wall in front of them, absorbing the knife effortlessly. Clarke dropped the water shield, and the blade floated harmlessly to the side with the ebbing waves.
“Ah, well, I guess we’ll do this the hard way.” Nia’s face suddenly hardened, and she raised her hands with lightning quick speed. The sparks flew from her fingertips, sending flickers of electricity through the clearing. Clarke’s wall was up again in a flash, absorbing the shocks. But Nia pressed closer, her face contorting with concentration. Clarke let out a guttural growl, and her arms shook as she planted her feet. The water parted at the sheer force of Nia’s attack.
Clarke began to shiver with exertion. She roared again, her voice springing new life into the water around them, but it wasn’t enough. The sparks punched a hole through Clarke’s shield, and the water pooled uselessly around their feet.
Clarke sunk to her knees, exhausted, and Lexa knelt at her side. She threw a protective arm around Clarke, shielding her from Nia’s slow stalk forward. Clarke shuddered and attempted to stand, but her muscles weren’t obeying her.
Nia was only feet from them now, and Lexa could see the glee in her eyes. “Get out of the way, human. My fight is not with you.”
Lexa stood at full height and met Nia’s menacing glare face to face. She squared her shoulders and bit out a strong, “Attack her, and you attack me.”
Nia sighed and shook her head. “If you wish.”
With a careless shrug of her shoulders, she flicked her wrist sending a shockwave of sparks straight into Lexa. The force of the electricity jolted her off the ground, tossing her like a ragdoll to the side. Lexa’s body hit the wet ground with a hard crash, and pain exploded through her shoulder as her side took the full brunt of the fall. She rolled to her back grimacing as a hard object poked into her flesh.
The dagger.
Lexa rolled to her feet, grabbing the dagger as she stood. She sprinted back towards Clarke, desperate to reach her before Nia was able to land whatever killing blow she planned. As she approached, Lexa caught sight of a strange pendant dangling from Nia’s neck. It shone and glistened in the moonlight, casting eerie reflections on the water soaked ground.
Lexa had one shot. She could use her momentum and drive the dagger deep into Nia’s back, going for a debilitating wound, or she could slash at the pendant that was calling to her.