XXV. Finale: Fiorenne, Dark Flame of Twisted Heart
Fiorenne Dastonia stood in the shadows of an alley, watching the short sakkat-wearing man and his lady knight companion leave the inn where the company of Swords from Prontera stayed.
It's him, she told herself. Even with that phantom mask on, she could recognize him, remembering him from their brief encounter two years ago in that warehouse in Alberta.
She admired the man's lithe form moving with the grace of a cat. He would be good in bed, she thought maliciously, I wonder if that knight had ever screamed out beneath him? She suddenly felt hot deep inside, and briefly wondered where Rinaldo could be. Why hadn't he captured Diradem yet?
She jumped as someone moaned behind her.
"My...Lady Fi-Fiorenne..." came the weak voice from somewhere back in the alley.
She headed for the sound and found Rinaldo crawling towards her, bleeding from several nasty cuts.
"Good thing I found you..." Rinaldo moaned out, trying to drag himself up.
Fiorenne remained standing a few paces away from the struggling bard. She made no move to help.
"You failed me, Rinaldo," came her cold reply.
The bard looked up at her with hurt eyes. "There was...an assassin...but I...survived...please, I need help fast...if you really love me--"
She broke the man's stuttering sentence. ""Love? Don't be a fool. Men certainly have their uses, but they're fuel for the flames afterward."
"Please...."
She looked down contemptuously at the fallen bard, taking out her skull-tipped wand. "You are of no use to me now. Certainly not like this."
She began tracing the wand through the air.
"Flames of passion! Flames of lust! Flames around the City of Brass--"
"No, lady! Please!"
"--raise before me a consuming wall! Ashes to ashes! Dust to dust!"
The wall of flames erupted from the ground, rising up high above, and filling the alley from side to side. In the midst of it, Rinaldo of the Albertan Shadows screamed as the magical fire incinerated him.
High with pleasure, Fiorenne inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of cooking flesh. She watched for a moment, smiling. Burning men to death is almost as good as sex. And then she turned away, activating an amulet that was clipped to her left wrist.
"Teleport." She uttered the command word quietly.
Dark tendrils of magic wrapped around her shapely form, whisking her away.
