Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
I was prepared for this fight. I was in my fighting stance and watching as Solanum started to lunge at me, her sword at the ready. I could see the lethally sharp blade and the deadly pointed tip coming right at my throat. I wasn’t going to be stupid enough to just stand there. I was going to fight and do whatever it took for me to win this.
‘Wait! Not yet.’ I heard a strange yet familiar man’s voice talking to me in my head as Solanum charged toward me. ‘Wait until she is almost at you before you dodge. Spin out to the side when she is about to strike. Then you can strike at her and turn your dodge into a counterattack.’
Who was it that was speaking to me inside my head? I knew the voice. I had heard it before, but it was hard to place it right now. I had a feeling it wasn’t someone I knew all that well. Whoever he was, he was right. His advice about moving at the last minute was spot on.
I followed the instructions that had been given to me. When Solanum was almost at me, I spun to my right and swung out with the sword in my hand. I slashed not once, but twice in that attack, and both of them landed exactly where I had intended. The blade of my ice sword opened two large gashes across the bitch’s back.
‘YES!’ I congratulated myself inside my head.
‘Well done.’ The man spoke again. ‘Keep going, it’s not over yet.’
‘I know that.’ I told him silently. ‘Who are you?’ I needed to know that. I was starting to suspect someone specific, someone I had spoken to only once before. But it couldn’t possibly be him, could it?
‘I think you know who I am, Riviana. Hasn’t it occurred to you yet?’ There was a soft note of laughter in his voice when he said that.
‘But how? How are you inside my head? Aren’t you dead?’
I was having this conversation while I was watching Solanum recover her balance from my attack. She had not been prepared for my counterattack. My strikes had caused her to lose her balance and fall to her knees. A smart plan of action would have been to attack her while she was down but that would have also been cowardly of me.
‘Yes, Riviana, I am dead. Does that make a difference? I was dead when I met you.’ It didn’t sound like a joke, probably because it wasn’t one. He was being completely serious right now.
‘OK, yes, you were dead when I first met you, but that doesn’t make this any less weird. I mean, I don’t even know what to call you. I already call Valerian Athair m貌r, but that would be you as well, wouldn’t it?’ I am so confused right now. Why were there so many people ‘talking’ to me during this fight?
‘Calling me by my name is more than acceptable. We never knew each other in life, so a closer connection is not expected of you.’
‘But Rhinum, you are still my family.’ I pointed out to him, finally calling him by his name.
‘And that is why I am here to watch over you. Now, watch out, she’s coming back for her next strike. I will help you with this fight. I will help you destroy this woman once and for all.’
I couldn’t believe what it was that he was saying to me. He wanted to help me to kill his own mother. Who would want to do that? Granted, she was responsible for his death, and two different wars. So, I guess it wasn’t that surprising.
‘It doesn’t matter that she is my mother.’ He said to me, having caught onto my line of thought. ‘She is an evil woman and evil needs to be banished. Now prepare yourself, Riviana, she’s attacking again.’
Solanum was indeed attacking again. She was running at me while swinging her sword around wildly. The sword was moving in large, seemingly uncontrolled arcs. She looked like she was in just as much danger of killing herself than she was of killing me. In fact, I could see a line of black on her face that was slowly oozing after the sword had accidentally nicked her cheek.
‘She’s a psychopath.’ I barely had the time to think before Rhinum was giving me more instructions.
‘To your left. Spin now. Slice up.’ Following what he said I was able to deal another blow to Solanum’s back. It was all going so well. ‘Keep on your toes, she’s not down yet.’
Just as Rhinum said those words, Solanum started to slash out at me again. This time, when I went to dodge out of her way, she hit me with the blade of her dark sword. It didn’t cut me, though, but it did cut away the armor at the spot where the blade had hit. That was a close one.
‘Be careful. She is becoming more and more unhinged as this battle continues.’ Rhinum warned me, but I could already tell. Solanum looked delirious and deranged at the same time.
When Solanum struck at me this time, I parried her blow with my sword again, attempting to knock her back. She wasn’t a large woman, she was taller than me, but not by much. And, she didn’t look overly strong compared to me. However, in her furious state, she was becoming a lot stronger than I was at the time.
With her emotionally fueled rage, Solanum was pushing me back with each blow she landed on my sword. I felt myself losing ground and knew that if I didn’t do something soon, she might get the better of me.
‘Dive!’ I heard Rhinum shout into my ear.
‘What?’
‘Dive Riviana! Into the water. Now!’ Rhinum sounded worried, like he thought I wouldn’t survive if I didn’t do as he said. Fine, I would follow what he said, this time at least.
****
Riviana
****
I stepped to the side, leaned forward, and literally dove into the water like it was a swimming pool. I didn’t hit my head though. I was just below the surface of the water and looking around me in stupefied curiosity.
The last time that I stepped into the water, it was like I was standing there like I was on the ground. However, now I felt like I was literally swimming inside this vast water filled world. I didn’t float to the top of the water like I might have in a real pool, but I was partially suspended in the water, and I felt like all I needed to do was swim toward my target to attack her.
Just as I started to race toward the crazy bitch that I needed to kill, she dove into the water where I was. Solanum came shooting into the water so fast that she was literally coming right toward me.
‘Prepare to move. We’re going to exit the water.’ Rhinum told me what was going to happen, but before I could even think about following through with his words my body moved of its own accord.
Actually, I think it was Rhinum that was moving me. He was not just guiding my actions now. Rhinum was actually moving my body for me. I didn’t know how he was doing that, but he was managing it just fine.
After Rhinum took over my body, I felt myself rocketing toward the surface of the water. I hurled out of the puddle at a breakneck speed and landed on my feet. I was already spinning around and the sword in my hand was swinging in a massive arc. Right as Solanum leapt out of the water as well, she hurtled past me and I heard her scream in pain. She had taken the blow on her right leg this time.
‘Sorry, my warrior’s instincts kicked in.’ Rhinum sounded so apologetic for having moved my body for me.
‘It’s fine, Rhinum. Thank you.’ He had just been protecting me at the time, he was helping to make sure that I didn’t get hurt. He was doing amazingly well with it too.
