Heat rushed against Helia's body as a familiar form stood at her side, larger than any living thing had a right to be. Steam filled the air as Vice breathed out, his mouth twisting into a deranged smile that had Helia wondering again just how much the minds Vice used affected him. The giant man stretched like a damn cat, hands over his head as his joints set, and he even had the gall to squeak like a teenage girl who had just woken from an afternoon nap at the pool. The final breath of relaxation puffed steam out into the wind, and crimson eyes snapped up to meet Riff where he'd taken a step back. It was out of confusion as he tried to figure out what was going on, positioning himself back to prepare for whatever was coming.

"Talamayas Sol," Riff growled, half as acknowledgement and half a question at what could not possibly be real. They'd seen Wren chase after Talamayas as they'd dove into the desert, and he could not be in two places at once.

"In the flesh," Talamayas declared proudly, all of his teeth showing as he retrieved a tie from his pocket to secure the thin end of his hair. It whipped like a pitch snake behind him as Talamayas focused on removing the mage attire that no longer fit. With a deft fingers, he ran his hand down and unclipped each hook before he slipped his shoulders out and folded it, stacking each under layer that barely made it around his abdomen on top. With a foot, he dug a small hole in the sands and dropped the neat pile in so its didn't blow away.

"Do you know no other way to fight but naked?" Riff flexed his hands, eager to rip the man apart, and his eyes sank to pitch as his chains wriggled under the sands.

"Are you uncomfortable seeing a man half naked, Riff?" Talamayas chuckled, bringing a hand to his mouth and touching his chin like it was the funniest joke of the century. "If you're insecure in your masculinity and have naughty thoughts just from seeing a few bare muscles, I have some men who wouldn't mind showing you the pleasures of being a bottom."

Riff ground his teeth side to side, and the first chain struck out for Talamayas. Volatile Song magic pulsed everywhere in nauseating sound waves, but Talamayas side stepped it, still laughing, as he landed on both feet.

"Relax, Song. I would have brought a shirt if I knew it upset you so much. I only took the clothes off because I didn't realize they were a relic. Wouldn't want to dirty something so cherished. Might make a nice drapery to remember this grand occasion." The sarcasm in the words had a dozen chains reaching from the ground, arching and falling on Talamayas like striking snakes. Light magic met them in the form of two shields, the rounded barriers see-through enough that both Helia and Riff caught Talamayas' eager smirk.

"How do you still possess Harper's magic?" Riff demanded, his chains fanning out and circling for any opening to take Talamayas' body. If Riff managed to catch Vice wearing Talamayas Sol, Helia would be as dead as techno.

"Oh, I ate him," Talamayas said simply with a shrug, dipping Riff's pallor a shade. "A little chewy going down, but it was necessary for the magic. You Songs are all muscle so it was like tearing into a juicy steak, you know, except for all the begging." Talamayas snorted a laugh. "I've never heard a sirloin weep so much as I dissected it, mumbling some crap of an apology about someone named Cadence."

"You deranged fuck!" Riff near screamed, his magic climbing with his rage, and Helia took a small step back.

Was it Vice's goal to get them murdered? The plan had been to turn the hostility button down by using Harper, to stall this guy out until Talamayas finished with Wren and reinforcements showed. At this rate, someone was going to be dead in a matter of minutes.

"Just calm down, Song. I didn't eat the kid. No magic to steal, and he was squishy as a water balloon." Talamayas waved a hand at Riff like he was a child upset about someone taking his favorite snack. "That one was fun to hit though. Like a squeaker toy."

For all Riff's rage, he remained where he was, and a slow smile curled his trembling lips, They didn't shake in fear, which was all the more terrifying. "Did you think to goad me? To lure me away from my shields? I'm not so foolish as to step out from my allies' protection, Talamayas Sol."

"Is that a Song joke?" Talamayas cocked his head like he was perplexed, further making Helia wonder if the desert torturer was actually nuts. Inside of his mind was likely a wasteland of depravity, and she wondered if Vice could come back out of it unscathed. "I'm not laughing so it's not very good." Steam leaked from Talamayas' mouth as his magic rose within him, more powerful than anything Helia had ever experienced

It didn't feel right, like it was unstable and could rupture his skin at any moment. That was why he was steaming, because his magic hadn't bonded correctly during his change to vampire. That meant it could backfire on him, on them, and Helia hoped that Vice knew what he was doing with his master's warped magic flow.

"Like I would need some ploy to run you into the ground." Talamayas snapped his fangs together as flames lit the very air on fire. "Allow me to relieve you of such illusion."

With a push of his hands, Talamayas sent a bust of magic so powerful at the Cinder generals around Riff that they flew off their feet. Their yells skipped Helia's heart, the cries of her people, but Talamayas' power merely shattered their shields and had them slumping where they fell in the sand. Alive, yet unconscious and useless to Riff. Steam puffed in the air from Talamayas' mouth and body as he dropped his hands back down into a composed stance.

"Just us now, Riff Song." Talamayas growled low in promise and lust for pain, his scowl flipping to a broad smile at the end as he glanced to Helia. There was nothing in his eyes but glee of carnage, and Helia tightened her hands. "Well, us and the pretty girl, but don't look at her too hard or I'm like to get jealous."

If Helia were not wondering how many brain cells Vice was losing imitating Talamayas, she'd blush. This had somehow gone right from a physical fight to a pissing contest. Riff and Talamayas both had egos bigger than their muscles, as warriors, leaders, and two houses old as dirt and prideful of their kind over all others.

"Here I thought you were obsessed with Wren, but you both left him to fight me and have wandering eyes. How stereotypically unscrupulous." Riff swept his chains for Talamayas' feet and he just jumped over them like rope, whistling an amused tune as he did so. Like this was a playground where grown men could act like children.

That's what this was.

"Don't fret so much, Riff. I left plenty of men to play with Wren until I'm done with the feral dog that dragged him from his home. And I wouldn't for a second wander from Wren for another. As fun as Helia Cinder is, women's screams are much too shrill under torture. Not much fun if they make my ears ring. Wren's breathy moans and cries of agony compare to no one else's." Talamayas paused abruptly, touching his chin and licking his lips. "We should kill each other. All this talking about Wren is getting me hard and it's difficult to fight with a boner."

Disgust worked its wat across Riff's face in an open mouthed sneer and eyebrows so crunched together that they made a mountain range between. Riff's lips still shook like a rabid dog and the standoff went from spitting at each other to blows faster than a tide snapping back to the shore. Except this ocean was filled with flames. Riff flew at Talamayas with his chains following like snakes licking at his heels, and Talamayas met him with fire so hot and pervading, that it pushed even Helia back.

Riff had no aversion to getting close and personal with Talamayas, and he thrust a fist for his face that Talamayas easily dodged. It was only a feint to draw attention from a compact burst of braided chains the rammed Talamayas' other side, and he just barely blocked it with a shield of light. The pointed magic shattered the shield and spun to the side from the momentum, but it rose up ready to strike not a moment later. This time it struck from below, and though Talamayas glanced it to the side, his shield broke again in a shatter of light magic.

Even if Vice could use other's magic, he must also suffer the same effects. Breaking magic shields was the same as taking a hit to the gut with muscles clenched. Sure it stopped the blow, but the hits stacked up until it took the target down. Vice couldn't play on purely the defensive or Riff would eventually find a way to punch through and take his body.

That was why Helia was here though. To fight alongside him.

Helia had no intention of sitting around to 'look pretty' as Talamayas said. She was anything but a potted plant to liven up space, and she moved herself with flames behind Riff. The moment he sensed her, Riff turned, his grey eyes dark as pitch as he struck for her throat. Helia dodged back easily, rolling her flames forth to shove him off balance, but he spun his chains out like a pinwheel of razors. They forced both her and Vice back as Riff saw himself pinned, and then he jumped out of their reach back into the sands. Talamayas cut him off, but it had him stepping into chains below the sands that yanked out his feet. With a curse, Talamayas fell into the searing granules, and Helia moved to cover him.

Riff struck like a freight train hitting a car, his braid of red hair trailing him like the twitching tail of a tiger, and her light shield barely held up from the constant assault from all sides. Above ground, Riff used his physical chains inscribed with his power, slashing them like blades close, spinning them like spears for reach, and wrapping them around to grab limbs, twist to reposition, and secure his prey. They were one hell of a mage weapon, and Riff was as skilled as they came. From Below, black chains made of light magic bit at their feet and reached up for any dark magic they could find, all well he came at them.

It kept Talamayas moving, blocking and circling, and she did the same, trying to find any opening in his near perfect line of attack and defense. Riff had a muscular body made for killing, large enough to hit hard but slim enough for dexterity and that kept him out of reach, dodging blows, and counter striking with the instincts of a wild predator.

As a Cinder, she answered the call of flames, but like her people, she specialized in offensive magic. Defending didn't go well, especially with Riff's precision and brute force behind his movements. Taking a play from his book, she surged flames between them to give her a few feet of space. In the brief reprieve, she pulled her short blades up and severed her sleeves at the shoulders to cast them aside. Helia's calling would give her an advantage here, but only for a limited time.

No matter how powerful Riff was, he could only have so much magic within his body at any time. That was what it was to be human. Limitations. Helia's calling was unique, a means for power beyond those limits of what a human could contain, and she'd used it as stepping stones to climb to the rank of youngest grand mage in history.

Helia's calling was whispers.

The very essence of such was to take spoken word and make it so quiet that others could not hear unless close. With such power she told tales of her magic, compressing it, storing it, hiding it as one did a secret. All until she called forth the hidden potential that she'd tucked away in secret boxes that merely needed a key.

Each and every day, she worked a new spell, intricate glyphs that sometimes took many days at a time to construct, and when she finished, she deposited them on her skin in an invisible tattoo of magic. What made the skill so useful was her ability to accept the whispers of others, to store the most powerful magics of each and every one of her allies. Standing before Riff, she was not just Helia, she was the embodiment of the strongest of the Cinders, even the ones who had broken away to fight with him.

All she need do was touch each stored spell to activate them, and she grabbed the first as Vice and she bore down on Riff again. With a swipe of a hand, she fell into the sand with a rush of wind at her back, incorporeal magic from an infiltrator class Cinder lifting and carrying the sand at her back. It spun around them, keeping Riff in their little circle, and he stood firm to face them as he saw his exit blocked. Though Riff might have been avoiding a bad position, it did not mean he wasn't twice as dangerous when caged.

Riff was an animal, and when cornered they lashed out.

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