“You will return to the palace to stand trial, Bakura!” Mahad was snarling, his Magus of Illusion locked in battle with the thief mage’s Diabound.
“Return to the palace?” Bakura demanded, with a bitter laugh which made the messenger that the Pharaoh had sent flinch, “For a trial? What trial? The Pharaoh has already decided I should die, has she not?”
‘She?’ The messenger couldn’t help but wonder as Diabound loosed an attack that tore up the ground and nearly blew Mahad and his mage away. As it was the pair had to pick themselves out of the sand.
“If I had my way, you would die for your crime, right here and now!” Mahad snapped at her, his Magus covering for him as he got up.
“My crime?!” Bakura stared, in furious disbelief, “My only crime was to trust the Pharaoh! That treacherous, backstabbing witch! I should have outted her secret to the rabble years ago and watched them tear her apart! Diabound!”
Another blast flew through the air. This time Mahad and his Ka beast managed to dodge it and it struck one of the nearby buildings.
“You betrayed her!” Mahad seemed to be considering something as he stepped back, moving away from the battle slightly, “She trusted you and your men nearly killed her!”
“I have done nothing to her! Not yet!” Bakura retorted, her eyes narrowing, “And she’s the one who ordered my execution! She wasn’t even noble enough to see the sentence through herself!”
Mahad paused, confusion obvious on his features and Bakura took the opportunity it presented. Her Ka beast vanished for a moment before appearing behind Mahad. The High Priest had just enough time to half turn to see what was happening before he was blasted at point blank range.
The messenger watched in horror as Mahad screamed in agony as the beam of light struck, consuming the High Priest, whose cry died as he did. Then he had to shield his eyes from the sand and dust that had been kicked up by the attack.
When he could look again, when everything had died down, he saw the Magus of Illusion warp and shift, taking on a new form, one that looked a lot like the newly deceased Priest, before fading away entirely.
Bakura moved towards the crater where the High Priest had once stood, a look on her face that spoke of an odd mix or shame, victory, delight and disgust. She picked up all the remained of the High Priest, the golden treasure that had been entrusted to him when he had joined the upper echelon of the court and stared at it for a moment before looking around at the few remaining men who had come with Mahad.
As one they turned and ran. She didn’t let them get far before she destroyed them and turned to the messenger’s hiding place.
Having seen what had happened to the High Priest, he didn’t even bother trying to run. Instead he bowed at her feet, hoping that begging would make her spare him.
“Please.” He tried, “Please, I have a wife and child. I’m not a warrior, or a mage, I’m just a messenger.”
“Oh?” Bakura growled at him, “Look at me.” The messenger did just that, willing to follow her orders if she would spare him. “I think your message is for the dead. Should I send you to give it to them?”
“No!” The messenger backed up, “No, it’s for you. Only for you. From the Pharaoh.” And he didn’t care that the Pharaoh was a woman, or that Bakura had been helping her lie to the people, he just wanted to live.
“I don’t want to hear anything from her.” Bakura snarled, pointing the blade she had been wielding against Mahad at him.
“Please…” The messenger begged, terrified now, “Please don’t kill me.”
“Leave.” Bakura growled at him, lowering her weapon, “Now. And you can pass a message onto her majesty for me.”
“S…sure, whatever you want.” He nodded.
“Tell her that for breaking her word and attempting to bury the truth, I pass judgement on her. When next we meet, she dies.”
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