Chapter 117: To The Death

The elf leader spoke first. "This was Grange territory. If it isn't anymore, then we have every right to it."
The rat leader sauntered forward in front of his minions. "I have come to claim it. Fight to the death. Whoever's left standing, wins."
Don Archer stayed back. His men stood quietly behind him while he watched this play out.
I turned my attention to the other two. "I took out The Grange Faction, so this is my territory. Get out."
The rat-man snickered, sending a wave of laughter through his group.
The elf leader regarded me. His blue lightning crackled in the palm of his hands. "I highly doubt you did that. They were a strong contender in this town. You're brand new to this. We don't even know your name."
Don Archer nodded in agreement.
Liam stepped in at my side. I held my hand out to halt him. I didn't want to play games. This would not be won through talking. I was going to have to demonstrate my power.
"This is my territory now," I growled. I let the pink god power explode inside of me. It flickered just a little, threatening to die out. I gritted my teeth and pushed the magic bending to my will as hard as I could. My pink wings exploded out of my back. I lifted off the ground in front of the three leaders. Don Archer bowed his head in acceptance. I looked at the other two.
The elf leader watched me in the air. The rat-man laughed. He was pissing me off. I focused. I could see the auras of the two factions in front of me. The power inside of me raged. I pulled, concentrating it on the rat man's army. I sucked in their energy like I was breathing in the night air. The laugher quieted, as the people around him began to fade and fall.
The rat man's laugher died. He hunched over and howled. Muscles bulged and built on him as he exploded upward into a huge giant, eye-level with me. The power coming off him was immense. It glowed with yellow and green. His fist swung at me like he was swiping at a fly. I zipped out of the way. Each faction took a step back as he stepped forward. I was in for it now.
My rage bubbled up, sending power flaring to my wings. I could feel that magic coursing through me to my fingertips. It was so easy to use now. In the back of my mind, I briefly wondered if it would fail. I pushed that thought aside. I needed to win this. I knew I could. I opened my fingers and sent a stream of pink power at him.
The giant rat-man held up his hand to shield his face. The pink fire splashed across his arm. He shook it off like it was water, then pulled back a swing and aimed it at me. I darted up out of his reach and flew behind him. I took both hands and tried the fire again. It splashed down his back. He shook it off again and jumped for me. The ground below him cracked. It looked like the rat-man was immune to this magic.
"Reveal," I commanded. My swords slipped out of my skin and roared to life. They were hungry for more action. I could feel it consume me.
I used my wings to spin towards the rat-man as he reached back for another punch. I moved forward like a tornado as I held the swords steady. I slashed out as I reached his center. He tried to flatten me towards him with an open hand. Both my swords ripped through his meaty flesh as I spun around.
He jumped away from me. I stopped spinning to look at him. He held his hands up and out towards me. "Wait," his voice boomed because of his size.
I didn't give in. The power coursing through me didn't let me. It felt good to be this powerful. It felt good to slice into him. The hesitation I felt before was gone entirely. I charged forward with both swords at the ready. I caught one in his wrist as he stepped to the side. I doubled back and charged again after him. I spun as I came in at his center, slashing his abdomen open.
"I submit," he boomed.
I wouldn't give in. Not to a challenge like this. He had said to the death. He couldn't back out now. I poised another strike.
Blue lightning streaked down from the sky. It walloped me, striking me down to the ground and flattening me to the surface. The breath was knocked out of me. I felt like a bug that had been smacked with a fly swatter. Lights flashed in my eyes. As they cleared, the stars in the night sky sparkled above among the light pollution.
The blue eyes of the elf leader looked down at me. "When leaders say submit, you get to stop."
"He said to the death," I huffed.
"He changed his mind."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "He doesn't get to change his mind."
"He's decided to let you have this territory. So have I. Can we change our mind now?"
I sat up on my elbows so I could breathe better. "I guess that's acceptable."
"Good." He lifted his head to include everyone. "The Grange now belongs to the Ardor Brothers. All current truces are still standing."
The crowd remained silent.
"Go home," the elf leader ordered. He looked back down at me. "Until we meet again, little girl."
He walked away and I stuck my tongue out at him. I don't think any of my people saw it, that was good. It was very childish, but if he was going to treat me like a child, then I was going to be one.
Liam hovered over me. "Beloved?"
I smiled up at him. "Did we do good?"
"You did well." He offered me a hand. I took it. He pulled me to my feet so quickly I caught air before I hit the ground. "But you should have stopped."
"But he was going to kill me. He said to the death."
"I know," Liam grumbled. He looked over his shoulder as the rat-man who was back to his normal size climbed back into his limousine. "He's a coward."
"I'm sorry. I think I just got so caught up in protecting our people that I... I don't know, lost control, maybe?"
Liam frowned. He looked to the elf leader. "You didn't win this battle, Scorn did. Politics are much more complicated than just fighting. That is the easy part."
I hung my head. "But we got the territory."
"Sort of. We are going to have to protect it closely. The other factions now know what power you have and will be able to work around it to get the upper hand. Today was a loss."
He held his hand out to me. "Come, Beloved. We need to get you off the front lines."