A man wearing black from head to toe, including a mask on his face, wandered through the palace servants passages. When he arrived at the door to Tahsh’s room, he set a back-up plan in place. He placed a small bit of ivoseplex clay right at the doorway, and arranged the activating acid right above it. A bit of string ensured he would be out of range when it would blow. If he was followed out, he merely had to pull the string to dump the acid onto the clay and cause the explosion. That ready, he opened the door slowly.
Looking inside, and feeling with his connection to the dark energy, he felt that all was clear. He entered the room and saw his missing k’patha on a table. He crossed the room and took his property back, clipping the weapon in its place on his belt. He was about to leave when he saw Tahsh asleep on the bed. She apparently had a rough night as all the blankets had been kicked off.
‘This is too good an opportunity to pass up.’ he thought. ‘I can rid myself of her right now.’
Drawing his sword, he approached Tahsh, who looked so peaceful in her sleep. He raised the sword over his head and brought it down aiming for Tahsh’s unprotected heart.

***

For no reason she could immediately determine, Sasha woke from her deep sleep. She looked around the room and saw the man in black, ready to strike Tahsh down. Caring little for her own safety, she flew from her perch toward the man. But, she realized she acted too late as his sword sped toward the sleeping warrior.

***

Tahsh slept soundly until she felt the gyeren feli stirring about her. She awakened and felt another being in her room, approaching her bed. She recognized the energy signature immediately. He had returned.
Feeling immediate danger, Tahsh rolled away from him. While she rolled, she grabbed her dagger from under the pillow and hit his blade away. As she got to her feet, Sasha attacked the man, giving Tahsh time to replace the dagger with her sword. He swung wildly at the bird a few times, then hit her with the flat of his sword. Sasha was flung across the room and hit the wall. She fell to the floor, not moving. Tahsh raised her sword and faced him, the bed between them. She was worried about her celestial bird, but knew she had to concentrate on the threat before her.
The man was shocked at how fast Tahsh sprang to life. His blade had just missed her. He had underestimated the warrior.
“You move fast, Fitga. I should have known it would not be so easy to dispose of you.” he said, walking towards the open space at the foot of the bed. “It will be far more satisfying doing it this way.”
Tahsh also side stepped toward the open area of her room. She pulled the yellow cord hanging from the ceiling, calling for help to come. Then connected with the gyeren feli, ready to defend herself. The two circled, watching each other in the moonlight that peeked through the clouds and into the room through the large windows. He allowed his anger and hatred to flow, the ilev gyeren empowering him. Finally, he lunged at Tahsh. The battle had begun.
Tahsh saw him charge, his sword poised to run her through. She quickly swung her sword down in front of her, knocking his blade safely to the side. She brought her sword around, aiming for his left side. The strength of Tahsh’s block caught him off guard, and he spun, blocking Tahsh’s blade in time to prevent it from hitting him. Their blades clashed and sparked as he attacked Tahsh with a fury.
Tahsh allowed herself to be driven back a few steps, then dropped to the floor. She repeated the move Marna used to get him down, aiming a kick at the back of his legs. He didn’t allow that to happen this time. He leapt over the kick, landing behind Tahsh and aimed another blow towards her head.
Tahsh brought her sword up behind her in a block and in one fluid movement, she returned to her feet. She went on the offense this time, and drove him back. Her movements were swift, but his were too. Tahsh didn’t know how long they fought, but soon she felt the energy of several men outside her room. Trusting the prompting of the gyeren feli, Tahsh closed her eyes as the door burst open and the electric room lights came up at full power. Captain Slader and a few guards had arrived.
The attacker was distracted as the lights came up and security entered. Keeping her eyes closed, Tahsh feigned to his left, then attacked to his right. He fell for the feign, and her weapon cut into his undefended right side. He cried out in pain, but was able to use his blade to stop her weapon from cutting into him further. He called on the ilev gyeren once more and pushed Tahsh and the guards backwards, using the pain to fuel his anger.
As Tahsh fell back, the man put up his sword and grabbed for a small ball from a pouch.
“This is not over, warrior woman! I have your apprentice. She will join me or die!” he called out, throwing the ball to the ground. Smoke poured from the ball, covering his exit.
The man ran to the servant door and went through, pulling the string as he passed it. The acid poured onto the clay, causing it to smoke. It would soon explode. The sword cut hurt badly, but he couldn’t afford to give in to it now. Pushing the pain away, he ran around the corner, just in time to avoid debris from the explosion.
‘Scratch one Fitga Warrior.’ he thought as he continued through the passage to his escape.