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“Stop her!” Marfgad yelled and only those closest to her could hear over the piercing screech of Whadgaf who was inconsolable after laying eyes on the Bromeris.
Marfgad watched as members of the order struggled to even approach Whadgaf, as if her screech were a solidly moving wind that moved them. In all of Marfgad’s life, she had not heard a screech so loud and with so much force. She watched Liuar grab one of the metal cups from the table and he launched it in a high arch that traveled over the waves of the sound from Whadgaf’s mouth and it landed squarely on her head, knocking her to ground.
While Whadgaf collected herself, Marfgad swooped in and grabbed her up by her shirt. She slammed Whadgaf into the stone wall of the formal room.
“Calm yourself or I will hurt you.” she said earnestly.
Whadgaf shook her disorientation, and her instinct to fight kicked in, overriding the care she had been taking not to ruffle any feathers. She kicked at Marfgad and when her arms were free she swung and knocked Marfgad back on her heels. Whadgaf took flight and when other members of the order were poised to pursue her, Marfgad shot them a look that kept them all in place.
“I will handle her,” Marfgad yelled and she lifted off to confront Whadgaf in midair. The two were a flurry of wings and feathers and everyone in the room watched, including the Bromeris visitors who were shocked at the aggression on display.
“Who is this one that your leader battles?” The leader of the group of Bromeris asks. His name is Falso Brille and though he is a trained warrior, his occupation on Bromeris had been a genteel one and he had few encounters with violence before his delegation started their mission of protecting equality in every sector of space. His shock in the formal dining room stemmed from the understanding that the Auburn Order had no enemies in their lair, and he wondered if the mere presence of Bromeris had caused infighting.
Liuar answered, “As you can see, she is not Realfen, she is not one of us. She is of the Ruling Class…”
“She is your prisoner? Slave?” Falso asked.
“It’s complicated. If you all will follow me, we can regroup in another room to discuss our business.”
Liuar rounded up the elders and lead them along with the Bromeris out of the formal room, and when he came back, Marfgad and Whadgaf were still struggling high above the floor of the formal room.
Liuar watched as Marfgad struggled to get a hold on Whadgaf who would not let her get close.
“Let me help you,” Liuar called out as he flew to their position.
Marfgad punched Whadgaf in the face and while she reeled from the blow, she turned to Liuar and yelled, “Stay back! I can handle this!”
Liuar could see Whadgaf recovering behind Marfgad and it was like slow motion watching the young woman fly with her fists forward into Marfgad’s back, and then connect. Whadgaf flew with enough speed and connected with enough force, that Liuar could hear the wings of Marfgad bones crack like breaking sticks, and she collapsed lifeless on the stone floor.
Liuar watched stunned and he hardly noticed Whadgaf fly from the formal room and make a dash for the door. She was finally apprehended by ten members of the order.
Liuar knew that Marfgad was dead. He could tell by the position of her body, the fact that she never moved as he approached her slowly. When he was standing over her, he looked down at the look of shock on her face. He cried, he could not help himself. He regretted that he had not done more to show Marfgad the folly of her plan to convert Whadgaf. The order’s brainwashing methods only worked when the endgame was death; the Hafjeran mind is prone to aggression when it is meddled with like putty and Whadgaf seemed to be the embodiment of that rage, of centuries of aggression toward a race of horned oppressors, of centuries of subjugation by the weathy and their secrets.
Whadgaf was knocked unconscious and dragged to a cell. Liuar found her later, still dead to the world. One of her wings was obviously broken and he saw bruises on her face and body. He knew that she would not survive for much longer. The Realfen would exact their revenge.
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