by J E Reed
Kiuno dodged the clawed hand and the flames crawled along her sword as she hacked at the beast’s arm. To her dismay, the blade lodged itself in the creature’s bone and she lost her grip as it reared back in pain.
She tucked the fire close again and turned to her companion. Reece didn’t move.
A clawed arm slammed into her side and pierced flesh as it flung her several feet away. Kiuno cried out as sharp pain radiated up her side. She hit the ground and stood again, fighting to keep her mind focused on the beasts who threatened them.
Half were focused on her, advancing despite the fire flickering around her body. The other half hovered over Reece. Her heart raced and a new wave of panic flew through her core.
Lightning crackled and sparked around her body. The beast holding Reece opened its mouth, but before it could clamp down on his neck her magic soared through the space separating them.
The beast roared in pain as the bolt struck. The others howled in response and took several retreating steps away from her friend. Kiuno shot another bolt to her left then the rest fled, their voices echoing in their wake.
Despite her pain, Kiuno scrambled toward Reece’s body. She dropped to his side and pressed her ear against his chest.
His heart was still beating.
But his chest didn’t rise.
Kiuno threw her satchel from her shoulder and fought the rising panic as she folded her fingers together and placed them over his solar plexus. His shirt shifted and a mark like the ones that ran along her arms revealed itself on the tip of his chest.
She yanked the shirt down and followed the line.
Kiuno cursed. She cursed her magic. Cursed this wretched world.
She took another breath, folded her hands over Reece’s chest again, and began counting.
How many compressions was it again?
Thirty?
Forty?
She did thirty and pressed her mouth against his.
Nothing happened.
Rising panic filled her as she tilted his head back and tried again. This time his chest lifted. She repeated the process and placed her folded hands over his torso again.
Please.
Air filled his lungs, but he didn’t stir.
Kiuno compressed his chest again, her movements growing more frantic by the second.
She pressed her lips to his and salty tears ran down her face.
Forty compressions.
Two breaths.
Compressions.
Breaths.
“Reece!” Kiuno slammed her fists on his chest and crumpled over his body.
This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.
Kiuno took a breath, her body shaking beyond control as she wiped her face and continued compressions. She wouldn’t give up. She couldn’t bear it if—
Reece’s eyes flew open and he sputtered and coughed, desperately sucking in oxygen. Kiuno rolled him onto his side, but she couldn’t let go. His hand gripped her arm as he took in lungful after lungful of air.
Kiuno clutched him to her chest, listening to each intake of breath as she steadied her own racing heart.
“We have to go,” she said. Kiuno took his arm before he could respond and wrapped it around her neck. He tried to help her stand, but the two stumbled back together and a tree caught the pair.
She took a step forward and he followed, leaning almost all his weight against her. Kiuno struggled with step after step under his weight.
“Where?” Reece struggled to say.
“I don’t know.”
He wheezed and coughed as they pushed forward, both stumbling through the foliage. Blood caked the side of his head. Her own blood covered her shirt, but neither stopped for fear of their pursuers.
The mouth of the cavern brought relief, but only for a moment. A roar echoed from behind that had everyone’s eyes darting toward the entrance. “Run,” Kiuno yelled.
Maltack appeared, but she slammed into him and grasped his wrist, continuing deeper into the cave. The rest followed. Fire flew behind, but she knew it would only buy them seconds.
Kiuno glanced back. A wall of flames separated them from the creatures. The beasts buried their faces in their packs and ripped through the tents. Kiuno counted heads. Milo growled, his fur raised and Cybele stood at his side with her spear poised.
A long arm burst through the wall of flames, but Maltack shoved the beast back with his wind. The action fanned the fire and expanded its depth.
“What now?” Maltack asked.
“We hope there’s another exit,” Reece replied.
Two more creatures tried to jump through the flames and the entire group took a few steps back. Kiuno looked at another in the group, glad to see he’d salvaged one of their packs.
Cybele examined the black hole where the cavern dipped into darkness. “Do as you wish, I’m going down.”
Cybele jumped on Milo’s back and the pair dropped into the unknown. The monsters raged toward them, snarling their frustrations.
“Who else uses earth?” Reece asked.
Two men raised their hands, uncertain.
“Good, come with me.”
When they tried to protest, Reece grabbed them by the shirt and threw them into the sloped hole.
“Ready?” Maltack asked her.
“No.”
They jumped and hard rock met her bottom as they slid down a steep rocky slope. Screams followed her down the tunnel as the hard surface bit into her skin and clothes. Kiuno tumbled once and came to a slow halt. She clambered to her feet and ran, following the light in Maltack’s palm.
With the last man through, Reece used his vines to dig into the wide cavern walls and crumbled the entrance while the rest fled. She took a few steadying breaths and coughed from the dust floating in the air. Silence and darkness surrounded them on all sides.
Kiuno pulled at her magic and flames wrapped around her hand setting a glow to the faces of those still panting. Maltack and two others did the same. She assumed the screaming had come from those unwilling to jump. She’d never learned their names.
Maltack made his way to each of them, checking for serious wounds. The fall had resulted in one broken arm, but Maltack cracked the bone back in place and mended the tissue. He healed the gash in her arm but left the rest of her scrapes for later.
As the group took a moment to collect themselves, Kiuno tried to peer through the darkness. She couldn’t tell which way they should go or whether another drop waited for them to stumble to their deaths. Perhaps Milo’s sense of smell could lead them in the right direction.
“What are those?”
Kiuno followed the man’s gaze toward the ceiling. Small, bluish lights lined the top, swaying back and forth. Kiuno squinted and let her fire fade as she tried to get a better look.
“This is disgusting.”
Kiuno turned and Maltack moved to examine the one who’d spoken. A slimy substance dripped from his bicep and he waved his arm back and forth struggling to break free.
“Stop moving,” Maltack said.
While Maltack worked to free him, Kiuno’s gaze followed the path of sticky goo toward the ceiling. It reached beyond her line of sight. Maltack was just about to touch it when the same man went soaring through the air, a screaming echo left in his wake.
The balls above began to shake and then one fell from the ceiling. Followed by another.
Everyone jumped to their feet.
A slithering noise echoed off the walls and a fat maggot-like creature dropped behind Reece.
Reece ducked as it shot a string of sludge from its mouth, ensnaring another. The man struggled with breath as the creature reeled him in and his head disappeared inside a mouth layered with teeth.
Fire burst from Kiuno, Maltack, and two others. They formed a barrier and revealed hundreds of fat, white bodies slithering in their direction. The creatures retreated from the heat, but their slime shot through the flames and grasped another in their party b
y the arm. Kiuno grabbed his free hand and planted her feet. She set fire to the substance, burning him in the process, but it broke him free.
“Run,” Cybele screamed.
Milo led the way, weaving between strands that shot from the darkness. The balls that seemed to float were the only things that told them how many creatures stood in their way.
Another man screamed, and she turned to be sure it wasn’t Reece or Maltack. Someone disappeared, pulled back through the black and a dozen glowing balls congregated to one area, silencing his cries for help.
Kiuno pivoted and turned toward the creatures. She pulled at the white-hot magic in her core and cracks of lightning danced around her body. She surged the energy forward and left a path of oozing bodies wherever it touched.
Maltack grabbed her hand and they ran.
Up ahead, two men with fire crawling along their arms stood at what appeared to be a low crack in the wall. Reece’s head poked through and the two men ducked to follow as she and Maltack neared. Reece had already started to collapse it and held the entrance open just enough so they could squeeze through.
Maltack shoved her in first, but a sticky string caught his leg and he tripped, hitting the ground. Kiuno dove for him, using her feet as leverage against the stone. Fear filled his eyes.
Kiuno grit her teeth and pulled at her magic. Her flames lit up the room as she surrounded them both in fire and burst the energy through the hole.
Maltack’s leg broke free and Reece collapsed the walls around the tunnel, separating them from the deadly larvae.
Darkness encased their group again and the only sound that could be heard was the steady panting of their breath.
Once again, Maltack used his fire to light up another cavern room.
They’d lost two more of their squad in the chaos.
Reece rested his head against the rock. “I really hate this realm.”
38: Elite
Realm: 5
Day: 303
Light waited for him at the end of the tunnel. Either he’d died and gone to hell or his escape was imminent. Vixin ran ahead, leaving him to hobble through the last stretch alone.
Time had blurred within the darkness. It taunted him and claimed he’d be lost to its embrace forever.
Elite had been elated to discover Vixin wasn’t entirely devoid of sympathy. She’d softened upon seeing his continuous struggle and didn’t verbally lash out as much as she’d done the first day.
The two passed the time by talking about his younger sister. Elite shared her likes and dislikes and discovered they vastly differed from Vixin’s. His sister enjoyed dressing up, fixing her hair, and her focus for the last few weeks before his disappearance had been a boy in her high school class. Vixin had found that amusing.
She’d grown up with a single father who’d committed every waking moment to teaching the girl how to defend herself.
They hunted, sparred, learned different languages, and Vixin reluctantly home schooled herself. Apparently, algebra and Shakespeare were a colossal waste of time. Not that he could disagree.
Elite reached the exit and shielded his eyes as he gazed through the hole. Vixin waited and to his surprise offered to help him up.
She wrapped her magic around his torso and carefully squeezed him through the tiny opening. His leg hit a rock and Elite hissed in pain, but the sunshine drove away all his fears.
With the hot sun shining upon his face, Elite collapsed against a rock. He soaked in the sun’s light and relished in the cool breeze racing through the grass.
Fresh air on his face. Warm rays on his skin. Sounds of life as creatures scurried along the rock. Those things alone were enough to make a person appreciate their freedom.
Plains stretched out in an endless sea of green and tan. Trees dotted the landscape and the mountain side stretched along a curved path riddled with rocks and debris.
Vixin scurried away so Elite settled himself on the ground content to rest after the days he’d spent in agonizing pain.
He’d learned not to question Vixin’s whereabouts. She’d thrown a fit the first time and claimed if he was going to be a nag then she’d leave him behind. He wasn’t about to test her patience.
Judging from Vixin’s descriptions they were on the other side of the river, which meant they’d either be heading to Samar, Leena, or Atilla’s domain. He’d prefer the former two. If he had to put money on who might have killed Vixin’s family, it would be Atilla.
Vixin returned with four rats and plopped down to skewer them. He imagined his wife would have vomited from seeing how this girl handled the creatures. Then again, maybe not. What had she learned in the time they’d first been apart?
She’d mentioned her teachings with Elliott in the early days, but what about now? Could she survive on her own if forced? Had he been underestimating her all this time?
“How far are we from the nearest castle?” he asked.
Vixin looked up from her task and scanned the horizon. “A few days on horseback, but in your condition?”
Great, yet another long journey riddled with pain and anxiety.
Vixin set their meal over the flames, then stood and wiped her hands on her pants. “We’ll move along the mountain’s edge. The plains would leave us too exposed at night. Trust me when I say there are things you don’t want to encounter after dark.”
That would take them to the Chinese. Perhaps Scorpios had already been sent for K.J.’s negotiation plans. That would be the most favorable outcome.
“Are you listening?”
“Yes, I think that’s a good plan.”
Vixin huffed. “You should respond when people talk. It’s rude.”
He tried to hide his smile. “Sorry, lost in my thoughts.”
“Well, you better get your head out of the clouds. People patrol this area and we’ll need to hide if they get too close.”
“Wouldn’t they be able to help?”
She shrugged. “Maybe you, but they don’t show much appreciation to a thief. They’ve chased me here before, but I know these tunnels better than anyone. Once I’m inside, I’m invisible.”
“Where’s the camp you steal from?”
“Along the far river. I sneak in from time to time.”
She stole from Leena’s group then. “Could you take me there?”
Vixin gave him a wary look. “Do you think they’d help? I can’t even understand what they’re saying.”
“From what I understand, our leader is forming an alliance with theirs, so yes, I think they’ll help.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll drop you off, but you’ll be on your own from there.”
“I thought you wanted compensation?”
“Not at the risk of my own skin.”
Elite didn’t comment and Vixin returned her attention to their evening meal. If he had to guess, she didn’t actually want him to go. She’d been alone for weeks and was probably lonely, but too proud to admit it.
After a time, Vixin handed him a rat and the two settled and watched the sun dip below the horizon.
~~~
ELITE WATCHED dawn illuminate the sky. He wanted to wake Vixin, but after all the work she put into caring for him, Elite decided to let her sleep.
His mind traveled back to Kiuno and wondered what she might be doing. Hopefully not crying herself to sleep. His brain ran through all the possible things she might do if he died. What would he do? Elite shook his head. Nothing came to mind that eased his nerves.
When Vixin woke she set off to form Elite a pair of crutches and the two started their long trek along the mountainside.
It was slow, but at least now he had sunlight and knew he wasn’t walking in circles.
Vixin often ran ahead and scoped the area for any signs of a patrol. He half wanted to find them and half didn’t. Finding them meant leaving her behind. Alone. Sure, she could care for herself, but stealing was a risk that would eventually get her killed.
Elite’s arms tingled with numbness w
hen Vixin finally pointed to the area they planned to rest for the evening. He tripped over the rocky landscape and struggled to climb among the uneven stone.
They ducked under a lower overhang and entered a space just tall enough for him to fit in. If he jumped, he’d bash his head into the ceiling. The rear stretched back ten feet and stood wide enough for three people.
Elite didn’t care for the small space. Crumbled stone guarded the entrance from prying eyes, but creatures could still pose an issue. Vixin acted as though she’d done this a hundred times. Hopefully that meant the fire would keep whatever stalked the plains at bay.
Vixin stretched out and folded her arms behind her head. “Wake me if anything sneaks in.”
She never was one for courtesy. First watch for him, then.
Elite stared into the shadows and threw another log on the fire when the slight noise of sliding gravel caused him pause. He went for the dagger in his boot only to remember Vixin had relieved him of his weapons.
He waited, listening until a rock rolled across the ground and Vixin shot up, drawing her own weapons. She locked eyes with him then crept toward their pack. Without taking her eyes from the den’s opening she slid a dagger to him.
The pair waited, neither willing to chalk the noise up to something random. After a few breaths Vixin stalked toward the entrance, her stance low and eyes darting from side to side. Vixin ducked her head out and pulled back fast enough to escape the arms reaching through.
Elite sucked in a breath as Vixin slashed at the man, tearing his forearm open with the tip of her blade. Two men barreled toward her from the other side and slammed her against the wall, knocking the knife from her grasp. She kicked, screamed, and growled like a caged animal. They shoved her to the ground and tied both hands behind her back.
Use your magic.
As soon as the man lifted his weight, Vixin rolled to her feet and dashed for the exit, but another grabbed her arm. She jumped at him, sinking her teeth into his neck. He yelped in pain and his fist collided with the side of her head, knocking the girl unconscious. Blood ran down her captor’s neck as he let out a string of curses. His companion tied her legs together.
