Chapter XIV: The Duel
The rain fell heavily when Deborah found her way to Saragose. The ground was already flooding and the water moved at a slow pace. The cheetah walked along the cursed land looking at the statues of idolatry that were now ruins upon ruins. Deborah‘s mind was set on Iya. The fox was nowhere to be found, and the cheetah was losing patience. Two hours went by and still there was no sign of Iya. Deborah gave up and began to return to Shavron.
"Giving up so soon?" Iya said overlooking the cheetah on a broken column.
"It‘s about time you showed up. I was beginning to think you forgot."
The fox was dressed in a black cloak that covered her from head to toe. In her left hand she held a long, wooden staff. Iya pulled the crest of instruction from under her garb and placed it around her neck; the action had the desired effect, the cheetah was upset from the sight of it.
"I‘m going to enjoy beating the life out of you," the old vixen said jumping from the column.
The fox twirled her staff with great speed and skill. Deborah watched as she tried to contemplate Iya‘s next move. Abruptly, the fox slammed the staff to the ground and disappeared into thin air, Deborah was caught off guard.
"You see, you have to be fast to beat me. Now I could be behind you or I could be above, but if you‘re not careful…you might lose some blood."
With a shriek the fox reappeared swinging the staff at her head. Deborah dodged the attack, but fell back over a block of rubble. Iya stood idle for a moment; and with ease, she turned the wooden staff into a long, needle like sword. The fox pounced; Deborah got up and stayed clear of the blade. Iya swung like a crazed animal. The fox brought the blade high into the air, but Deborah caught hold of her arm before the blow was dealt.
There was a short scuffle. Deborah twisted Iya‘s wrist removing the blade from her grip, but the fox bit Deborah around the neck. Iya locked her jaws tightly around the cheetah‘s throat and did her best to tear it out. To save herself, Deborah drove her elbow hard into Iya‘s gut. The fox released her jaws and Deborah punched her across the face.
Deborah held her throat; the damage wasn't as bad as she thought, but there was a copious amount of blood. Iya got up and sneered, baring her blood stained teeth.
"I didn‘t know killing you would be this easy."
The fox went for her blade, turned it back to a staff, and threw it just in front of Deborah.
"You missed," Deborah said picking up the staff.
The trap was set. Iya eyes glowed and the staff went limp and took on the characteristics of a snake. The staff wrapped itself around Deborah‘s body, Iya jumped up and down in glee.
"Squeeze her! Choke her!"
The coils of the staff turned and twisted giving the cheetah no room to breath.
"Over so soon?" said Iya. " Just die and let us be done with this."
With all her strength Deborah tried to break the staff. Her muscles shook, the staff began to crack, and in the end she broke the devilish device into pieces. Iya shielded her face from the flying debris. The fox wasted no time coming upon the cheetah as she punched and clawed to finish Deborah off. The battle was fierce; blow for blow was given, but at the end both were badly bruised. Iya came out the worst of it; she held her chest and spoke faintly,
"I never lose."
"There‘s a first time for everything," the cheetah said disappearing.
"That old trick again. It won‘t work on me."
The breeze passed by and it was silent. Iya stood idle with her attention straight forward. Suddenly she grabbed into the air and threw Deborah near a stone pillar.
"Fool, I can see you!" shouted Iya.
The fox raised her hand and brought it down in a cutting motion. The action sliced the pillar in two. The top half fell into the flooded street with a splash. Deborah got up and ran for cover. Iya continued to slice stone statues and pillars that Deborah came near by. Finally, the cheetah found refuge behind a large, cubical pillar that was once apart of a pantheon. Iya laughed at the attempt.
"You think your safe behind there, you silly beast?"
Deborah was thinking of how to get out of this mess. Her willingness to fight was gone and she knew Iya would not give up. The rainy clouds darkened; a flash of light appeared and the thunder proceeded.
"Iya…Iya you win," Deborah siad desperately. " I give up. I want to call a truce."
"A truce, are you out of your mind?" said Iya. "There are no truces in a duel. When I fight, I fight until my opponents are killed. You can‘t hide behind there forever. You‘ll have to come out and when you do, I‘ll drag you carcass to Shavron. Gideon and the others will break under the loss. Shavron is for Jezerah and me. Now come out!"
Deborah stayed put.
"Want to do it the hard way, eh? I guess I‘ll come and get you."
Iya made her way over. Deborah could hear the splashing water as the fox got closer. The cheetah shook with fear. She closed her eyes and silently prayed for help, but her thoughts were interrupted by Iya‘s voice.
"You‘re pretty quiet back there. You wouldn't be praying now would you? I guess it‘s appropriate at this moment. I‘m going to have a good time ripping you to pieces." Tears ran down Deborah‘s face.
"Now on the count of three I‘ll come over on the other side, kill you slowly as you beg for mercy, and just for my pleasure you‘ll bow in reverence to me, ready…one." Deborah balled up her hand. She clinched it with all her strength.
"Two…two and three quarters…three!"
When Iya‘s head came around the corner, Deborah, with all of her strength, punched the fox squarely in the face. Iya went airborne until she smashed into the wall of a ruined temple. The cheetah cradle her hand, it was broken. Glancing through the heavy down pour, Deborah saw the hole that was left by Iya‘s body. The fox was buried under the rubble and it looked as if the fight was over. Deborah began to walk away until she heard a sound from the pile of rubble. A deep moaning slowly rose until it became a high pitched shriek. A black mist oozed from the rock pile. The flow was scarce at first, but quickly became abundant, and then; like a plant sprouting from the ground, Iya emerged from her shallow grave. Her fur was now jet black, almost matching the mist. The fox‘s eyes were still green, but were now more menacing than before. The mist wrapped around her and formed tentacles to make her larger in appearance.
Deborah ran, but she did not get far. At Iya‘s command, one of the tentacles took hold of cheetah‘s leg. The cheetah struggled as she was dragged back through the water. Deborah fought back the best she could; she grabbed a small rock and tossed it at Iya.
"FOOL, YOU STILL FIGHT?"
The tentacle picked Deborah into the air and slammed her back to the ground. Deborah was unconscious. Iya dragged the cheetah closer still and when death seemed certain for Deborah; she was saved by a power far greater than her or the fox‘s. A mighty crackle swept through Saragose. The Holy One took aim and ended the life of Iya. The lightning strike sent the fox to her knees; Deborah was thrown to higher ground. Iya‘s cloak was tattered and brunt; her body was rigid as the black mist left her. Then the fox looked up, gave one long exhalation, and fell flat into the flooded street never to work her evil again.