Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #22 January 2016 | Page 44

skin tougher than steel and tear them in half without
blinking. Blades that she would stop from hitting her
would bend or shatter on impact, and her wounds
wouldn’t even get to bleed before they healed. The
entire arena was filled with screams of horror, as
demons as tall as skyscrapers fell, and blood and goo
stained every inch of the sand.
Margo’s skills melded with Otalian’s strength
and knowledge meant The Huntress knew exactly
where and how hard to hit demons that haven’t even
stepped on Earth. The blows that were meant to take
her head off her shoulders only managed to slow her
down.
Every move she made felt like a song. Her
muscles didn’t feel exerted, but like a well-oiled
machine, powered by an almost inexhaustible pool of
power. A demon blew fire towards her. The Huntress
used telekinesis to gather the fire in a large circle,
and released it on a group on her left. Most lit up
like kindling. The Huntress lifted her right hand and
drew a circle in the air—a large green swirl blocked
another attack—while using her left hand to beckon
the fire back to her. It absorbed into the lines on her
skin, bringing a part of the demons’ essences with her,
leaving just enough for them to reappear in their cells.
Some of the demons doubled back, letting
others charge the stone-faced killing machine. The
Huntress was bored. She wanted this over with. She
closed her eyes. She could feel every single demon in
the arena. Motioning, she brought all of them towards
her.
The demons flew directly toward her, only to
burst into flames.
The Huntress opened her eyes. There were
three demons left, immune to her flames. One of them
was almost as tall as Babura, with a very thin beard
and three eyes where a nose would be on a human. He
reached toward her.
The Huntress jumped upwards. A second later,
she wizzed through air and flipped over the demon to
land directly on the back of his neck. He tried to reach

over and swat her, but she used her new strength to
snap his head off, then landed on the ground.
By then a thin shadow of a demon had already
suffocated the other survivor. It reached toward The
Huntress, its limbs stretching across the arena. The
Huntress grabbed the limb, and pulled. The demon lost
its footing and flew toward The Huntress. She grabbed
its head and twisted it off.
She stood alone in the middle of the arena,
hearing Babura clap with enthusiasm so far unheard
of. Her bored expression shifted to one of a sister
being annoyed at her younger sibling.
“This is wonderful!” Babura pointed at the
stone. Near the bottom of it, The Huntress’s name
appeared. “I have been saying we needed tougher
fighters. Your violence is very tasty.”
“I want to leave here.” The Huntress put her
hands on her hips.
“You can if you win. Bring your name to the
top of the stone.” Babura grinned.
“Fine.” The Huntress turned around and left
to her cell. She did not give Babura a chance to figure
out he knew her as the small feeble balance deity. She
could go toe to toe with him, but it would be easier not
to.
Thousand years had passed from the time the
old ones stood their ground. Only a few had their
original bodies, let alone governed this much land.
Even the most powerful demon would fall to time.
But now she was strong again. Years of followers
have made her that way, and this body was incredible.
Instead of buckling under her strength, it came alive.
She was certain that if she absorbed enough, she
would be able to collapse cities with a glance.
The Huntress sat down cross-legged in her
cell and closed her eyes, Not even the constant noise
would stop her from falling asleep.

44