Relic of the Future: Chapter 66

Sienna knew it was his feet that crunched across the grass toward her, the sound somehow reaching her over even the flames, screams and shouts. Terror tore though her and she crawled faster still, lungs burning and her windpipe unable to take in the necessary oxygen.

They'd been wrong. They'd been so wrong. He wasn't a human. He was a demon. A monster.

A foot landed on her shoulder and pushed, rolling Sienna onto her back.

Stood against a backdrop of fire and ash, he was like a monster from legend. Something worse than even the Grimm. His eyes, cold and emotionless, watched her without a hint of mercy. This man didn't see her as a person. He saw her as nothing. His foot pressed on her chest. With her throat already sore and weak, she could barely breathe when he leaned down on her.

"Where is she?"

Sienna struggled to draw breath. She couldn't event tell him the truth. He was pushing down too hard on her lungs for it. Her vision grew dark and she knew in that moment that she would die. Her hands scrabbled in the grass for something to use against him. She found a rock and hurled it up.

The stone bounced off his face, knocking him to the side.

When he turned back, some blood leaked from his nose. He pressed down harder still, pinning her in place and bringing his sword up, tip pointed down above her and both hands on the hilt. Sienna watched it with gritted teeth.

If she was to die, she would die fighting.

"Stop!"

Such was the power in the voice that everyone did. Sienna lay beneath Ashari's heel, beaten and broken. The White Fang surrounded them in a loose circle. A hulking figure pushed his way through the crowd. Hazel Rainart's skin crackled with energy but his voice remained calm, deep and echoing as it always was.

The sword above Sienna's chest hovered there.

"Hazel," its wielder said conversationally. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Put down your sword. Sienna Khan is not your enemy." Hazel worked his powerful arms, skin crackling and eyes shining. "If anything, it is I. Face me. Defeat me and I guarantee the White Fang will allow your retreat."

Laughable. As if they were in any way to stop him. Sienna was down and her people were in disarray. It was no exaggeration to say they could kill him – it would not be hard with their numbers – but the toll would destroy them if the Grimm did not. With smoke rising above the treeline, it was only a matter of time until they were discovered.

Ashari looked down on her. His eyes were empty.

"You care for her?" he asked.

Sienna froze. Such a question…

"I do not wish to see her harmed," Hazel replied, surprising her. "It is not my wish to see anyone harmed. I believe you know that."

"You lost someone close to you."

Hazel's eyes closed. "I did."

"You blame Ozpin."

"I do. I believe you know why."

"I do," Ashari said, echoing Hazel. From two men who had seemed so inscrutable, the conversation was nothing if not the same. Sienna understood none of it. "And I know how that feels. I'd tell you to stop. I'd tell you to forget about her and move on." Ashari laughed. "But I'd be a hypocrite, wouldn't I? Her memory drove me ever since Beacon fell."

What? Beacon-?

"Everything I did, I did in her name. And when those I promised I'd protect died; I made a deal with the devil for a chance to save them." He nodded at Hazel. "Just like you."

"Then we are alike." Hazel extended a hand. "Do not do this. Please."

Silence hung between them. Ashari watched Hazel, ignoring her entirely. The sword hovered above her still, clasped in two unwavering hands. Slowly, agonisingly, his face turned back toward her.

Sienna's heart froze.

"We're not alike, Hazel. The difference…" He clenched his hands. "Is that I still have people left to protect. And I will do anything to keep them safe."

The sword pierced down.

—Relic of the Future: Chapter 66