by Cody Loewen
The world became a better place with each death.
We have made camp near to our latest target, which I can sense has taken up residence somewhere close by. The information I get from the ruby is still vague, but I feel like I am more in tune with it, able to determine who my target is much sooner, making the hunts simpler than they used to be.
“How different do you feel?” Rayfe asks out of nowhere, pulling me from my own thoughts. I look over at him curiously, not sure of what exactly he is referring to. He takes note of the confusion in my eyes and elaborates. “From the ruby. A few months ago, you said that you were finally beginning to feel the powers in the gem as we made kills. How different do you feel now?”
“Right now, I don't feel any different,” I reply after thinking for a moment. “It seems as if the feeling of power only comes to me in combat. I feel like my normal self until we go into battle against one of our enemies. Even then, I don't feel enough of a change to really be able to say if it makes a difference in my fighting. I feel stronger and faster, my reflexes sharper and my instincts clearer, but that could be attributed as much to all the fighting we have been doing as the powers of the gem.” Rayfe considers my answer and nods in reply, digesting.
“I wonder just how much the power will grow, and just how strong and fast you'll become by the end of this long journey.”
“I have no idea, but I'm going to need an amazing amount of strength if I have any hope of defeating a monster like Kromm in direct combat.”
I think back to the last time I saw him in battle, on the field against the human-elf army, fighting Octavian. The way he batted aside enemies as if they were no more than gnats, and I try to imagine just how much I will need to strengthen my fighting abilities to be able to defeat something like that.
“If Kromm is really as extraordinary as the dragon says he is and is tipping the scales toward evil as much as we fear, I don't know if any amount of strength will be enough.”
He ponders my answer for a moment before looking up and grinning. “I guess you will just have to fight dirty then,” he says to me. “Obviously, the brute doesn’t utilize enough beauty sleep.”
I laugh loudly at the remark, the ugly face of the monster popping into my head. “Maybe I can kill him by simply showing him his reflection in a mirror.”
“Not a bad idea. But let’s back to the actual important matters at hand,” Rayfe says across the fire. “Dinner is ready.”
We eat the rabbit that he managed to catch in a trap earlier today, cooked perfectly, and I let out a sigh of pleasure as I bite into the tender flesh. I am grateful for the hunting and trapping capabilities of my partner, keeping us well fed throughout the long year. With the various skills that he possesses, along with his attitude and personality, this journey has been much easier than it would have been if I had to go it alone. We eat the meal in silence, enjoying the flavors, before gathering our things, preparing to make our way out for the night in the hope of gathering some intelligence about our newest enemy.
We creep through the trees that grow heavier as we travel further into them. I walk lightly and carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible, but the needles underfoot become impossible to avoid, and I wince with every crunchy step. Rayfe seems to make much less noise than me, and I try to focus on him, copying how he moves, to no avail. Luckily, the wildlife around us covers much of the noise we are making. The chirps of birds and constant drone of insects creates a blanket of white noise. Suddenly, Rayfe extends an arm, stopping me in my tracks. I look over at him, so focused ahead of us, and wait for him to explain.
“People up ahead,” he says quietly, his voice barely rising over the noise. I focus hard but can’t hear anything resembling a camp up ahead, and give up, knowing that Rayfe, who grew up in a large forest not so different from this one, must have ears trained to pierce through the noises of the animals to the more distinct noises beyond. I resign myself to let him lead us forward slowly, not wanting to alert the unknown figures ahead of our presence. Eventually, we stop behind a cluster of trees, and Rayfe motions forward. I follow the gesture and see a camp of people ahead of us, still a few hundred feet away. The urging of the gem grows stronger at the sight of the camp. Even though I haven’t singled out any particular enemy yet, I have to fight my instincts to charge straight into the camp.
I peer out, taking in the details from this distance as best I can. The group seems to be diverse, a mixture of adults and children of various ages. I quickly count 15 people, but expect there to be more in the area, or inside the tents that are set up on the perimeter of the clearing. The gem continues to send strong emotions into my head, urging me forward, and I can feel the strength of the ruby flowing through my veins.
“I fear that if we get any closer, we will be spotted and lose any advantage we have over whoever the enemy is in the camp,” Rayfe whispers as we watch the scene before us. “We should stay here and see if we can single anybody out.”
I shake my head in response, feeling the red mist of my anger rising.
“We should go in now while we have the element of surprise. The gem isn’t targeting anybody specific, its targeting the whole camp.”
Rayfe looks at me in surprise.
“Lykara, there are children down there.”
“You don’t think that I can see that?” I answer snappily. “I know what the ruby is telling me to do. It’s been right so far. We need to go now, before we are spotted.”
Rayfe snorts in defiance.
“There is no way the ruby is telling you to slaughter an entire camp of men, women and children. You’re mistaken. We need to wait and figure out what is really going here before making any moves. You need to manage that rage and wait until we know for sure.”
I sigh angrily at those words.
I’m the one with the ruby. I’m the one who is being told where to go and who to hunt. He should be listening to me, not the other way around.
I reach for my sword, sliding it from its scabbard and take a step out from the trees, headed for the camp in front of us. I feel a hand grip my arm and turn angrily to see Rayfe holding me back from the evil we are supposed to be hunting together. I glare at him, ripping my arm from his grasp and turn back toward my prey. As I take another step toward the camp, Rayfe grabs my arm once more. Seeing only red, I rip free, swinging my sword back at him as I turn toward the elf who I thought was my partner.
He dives to the side, avoiding my sword, and draws his own blades as he rolls back to his feet.
“Lykara, think about what you are doing,” he says to me warily as he holds his blades in front of him. “Think about the anger that you know comes over you in these hunts. This isn’t you. This is the gem. And you know it deep down. Please, don’t do this.”
I let out a primal growl and stalk toward him, my longsword held in both hands. I loose a mighty overhead chop at him, which he blocks with a cross of his two swords over his head. I disengage him and begin circling, shifting my longsword into a shorter variation, and draw my dagger from my belt. Rayfe gives me a pleading look, but I don’t fall for his treachery, knowing that this attempt at stopping our mission must mean he is sympathizing with the evil we are supposed to be killing. I charge back in, a downward diagonal chop of my sword leading the way. He picks off the strike with one of his swords, the other moving to intercept the second strike that immediately follows. I continue launching attacks with my sword, slowing, forcing both of his blades up in defense. Suddenly, I thrust forward with my dagger, hoping to catch him off guard with a lethal stab, but he barely avoids it, leaping backward away from me.
I close the distance between us once more with a snarl and launch into a series of blindingly fast attacks with both sword and dagger, but Rayfe manages to keep up with them, blocking each attack, as if he knows they are going to happen. Even with the increase in power that comes from the gem, he is still my equal in combat.
If only he would’ve waited to betray me a little longer, for me to become st
ronger.
“Lykara, stop this madness,” he pleads with me once again, giving up ground as he picks off each strike. “Stop and think about this, I am not your enemy here.”
“Obviously, you are,” I growl at him, continuing my assault. A flash of a memory from training camp, sparring with him comes into my mind, but I stubbornly push it back, not allowing any doubts to cloud my focus of the mission in front of me. My frustration grows as he continues to thwart my attacks, and I can’t seem to make any progress breaking through his defenses.
He knows me too well. He has watched me fight too many times. I need to do something different.
I try to think about all our sparring through the last year on our journey, and the patterns that he would have learned about me during that time. I continue my assault while I try to strategize, and Rayfe continues to back up in defense, unwilling to launch any sort of counterattack against me. I shift my sword into a pike and swing it in a long arc horizontally at Rayfe, hoping to catch him off guard. He manages to leap over the attack, landing lightly on the balls of his feet. I bring the long weapon in close to my body and thrust it forward with as much force as I can muster, but he swats the weapon aside with both of his swords, taking a step sideways to maintain his balance. I step forward, engaging every muscle from my hips to my shoulders to build the power in my strike, and throw everything I have into a slice of the spear tipped pole, hoping to cut him from shoulder to hip. I watch one of his swords come up to deflect the blow aside, and at the last second, I shift both of my hands to the end of the pole and will the weapon to change. As they collide, his legs buckle under the force of the battleax that I suddenly hold.
His sword flies out of his hand, and he falls to his knees in front of me. His other arm drops to the ground beside him, sword loosely held in his fingers. He gives me a sad look, full of the knowledge of his defeat. I flash a wicked smile at my sure victory, returning my sword to its normal form and bringing it up to deal the killing blow to my traitorous partner.
I guess I didn’t need the extra power after all.
“Lykara-“ Rayfe says, utterly defeated as I prepare for my latest kill. Something in his eyes triggers that same memory of fighting with him at the training camp when we first became partners. His emotions--sadness, disbelief, love—flow through our blood bond, breaking through the red haze like a tidal wave, washing my rage away. I look up at my sword, held high. And back down at my friend and partner. Horror comes over me and I lower the sword quickly, sliding it into its sheath and backing away from him. He regains his feet and recovers his swords, the look of sadness never leaving his face.
“I can’t watch this anymore,” he says as he brushes himself off from the fight. “I can’t watch what is happening to you as we continue this journey. For the last year, I have slowly watched you descend into nothing but anger and vengeance, gradually shifting into the things we are supposed to be hunting. I can’t help but feel like this mission is changing you into something you can never recover from, and I won’t be around to witness it. I’m sorry, Lykara. I know I told you I would be by your side, but I won’t watch you destroy yourself because of the anger that this quest and the ruby is building in you. I hope that I’m wrong, and you make it out of this okay, But I won’t be here to witness it. Goodbye, Lykara.”
With those words, he turns on his heels and quickly fades into the forest, back toward our camp. A deep sadness comes over me at his departure, and for the first time in well over a year, I am truly alone. I feel tears well in my eyes on at that fact, but I stubbornly push them back, unwilling to show weakness.
This was always my quest. He told me he would come along and help. But this was my mission to complete. And my vengeance to enact. I will see it through.
With those thoughts, I feel the gem push a new wave of anger my way. And in my heightened emotional state, I welcome it with open arms, reveling in the rage that washes over me. I return my attention to the camp in front of me, pushing any remaining thoughts of Rayfe from my mind, and focus back on the mission at hand. The group appears to have been undisturbed by our conflict, and I redraw my sword, quickly covering the distance to my latest targets.
Chapter 23
I walk back the way we came, into the forest where we left all our items. So unusual for me, a deep sense of sorrow envelops me, seeping into every part of my being. I walk quickly, not wanting to be anywhere near the carnage that I know is happening behind me. Before long, I stand in our makeshift camp and quickly collect all the belongings that I need to take with me. Already equipped with my swords and my bow, I grab half of our rations and any other supplies that I may need for my long journey home, making sure to leave plenty behind for Lykara. With my traveling bag slung over my shoulder, my swords belted to my hips, and my bow slung across my back, I leave behind the greatest friend and partner I have ever known.
My mind wanders as I walk, reflecting on all of our memories together over the last year, and before. I remember first meeting that shy girl, so focused on her revenge, and becoming her partner. I think about how quickly it became apparent that the chemistry between the two of us on and off the battlefield was pure and perfect. When we took the Reaver blood bond, that connection was truly cemented. I reflect over all the time we spent on the road, nothing but each other's company to push the boredom away as we covered mile after mile of open ground. All the stories we shared with each other, and the information I passed on to her from my studies and experiences.
My mind moves through each of our hunts over the past year, the hints of the darkness seeping into Lykara with each kill. Her impulsiveness to go into battle, her rage during the fights, and the difficulty she had trying to come out of it once combat had ended. I had hoped as she grew stronger she would learn to control the rage that drove her, to wield the gem rather than have it wield her. Obviously, I was wrong. Whatever power the gem possesses is much stronger than she is.
I had feared this from early on but hoped that I would be able to help her to better learn how to control the gem’s hold over her. I know now that those hopes were foolish because the gem isn’t really to blame. Lykara’s deep sense of rage at Kromm and what he has done to her village and her father always festers just below the surface; the ruby just encourages it to come forth. This darkness was already within her, guiding her path, and leading her in a direction that I cannot follow.
Good luck, Lykara. I truly wish you the best. Maybe one day our paths will cross again, and I hope that when that time comes, the woman who stands before me resembles the one who I first met, and not the one I just left behind.
Chapter 24
I leap into the air, pulling my legs up to my chest and easily clearing the swipe of the huge sword underneath me. Landing lightly on the balls of my feet, I turn and duck under a second sword already approaching my face. I utilize my greatly enhanced speed to stay just in front of the tremendously powerful strikes that the two ogres I battle launch at me. The monstrous creatures, standing over 9 ft tall and possessing the strength of giants, launch brutal blow after brutal blow at me. I can feel the full power of the ruby coursing through my veins and I press on with fury, never tiring and never slowing as I face the brutes. I manage to disengage and step back, taking a moment to assess my foes before they close the distance between us to resume the fight.
They resemble the trolls that I met in combat so many years ago but are much larger and thicker. Two tusks sprout from each of their faces, curving out from their jawbone and arching back in, resembling a set of giant pincers. Each one wields a massive sword, longer than I am tall, easily capable of cleaving me in half without effort. While these ogres aren't the most intelligent creatures I have faced, they're obviously accustomed to fighting together, coordinating their attacks out to either side, hoping for me to lose one behind me. I've learned to not only use the speed the gem has provided to me but also the increased strength in my legs to move blindingly fast, working around the two ogres and constantly keeping th
em in front of me as much as possible.
The two monsters, who were traversing the countryside destroying homes in their path for the fun of it, continue their assault together. They close the distance between us and come forward swinging their weapons together, one high and one low. With the agility of a gymnast, I jump forward, bringing my legs up as I dive in between the two strikes, somersaulting in the air before coming back to my feet on the other side. A low rumble escapes my throat at the two of them, and I begin to go on the offensive, tired of dodging their attacks and making no progress against them. I swing my sword at the first ogre, who raises his own heavy weapon in defense, but I pull the feint at the last second. I reverse my momentum, bringing my weapon, now a curving scimitar, in a slashing arc. A bright line of crimson appears on his chest, and he lets out a grunt of pain, but hardly slows from the injury. I continue my spin, letting my momentum carry me toward my other enemy as my weapon shifts into a heavy battle axe
Flexing all the muscles in my upper body, I throw a tremendous strike at the chest of my second enemy, who manages to get his sword up just in time to deflect the blow. The battle-axe stops inches from his chest, colliding hard with his sword, and the force of the blow causes him to step back several steps, his eyes widening from the tremendous strength that I possess. I instantly change the battle axe into a dagger to pull it back quickly, getting a rotation toward my other enemy, using the speed of my turn to throw another powerful strike, the blunt edge of a massive mace crunching into his chest. He is unable to react in time to the speed of my blow, and I feel his ribs cave in underneath the head of my weapon. He lets out a shallow gasp, no air getting into his destroyed lungs, and collapses to his knees, suffocating.
I extricate my weapon from his caved-in chest. With a strong kick, I force him to the ground, and he does not move again. I turn back to the other ogre, now the sole target of my fury. I give him a wicked smile, sure in my victory, and shift my sword back into its traditional longsword form, confident that it will be plenty to defeat him. I see fear in his eyes as we square up, but he stubbornly approaches anyway, throwing both of his arms out and launching a devastating diagonal strike of his huge sword. I step forward to meet the blow with my own weapon, and our blades connect with a thunderous crash, stopping the momentum of his blow like a stone wall. I hold my sword there, staring up into the monster's eyes with the look of victory. Using the muscles in my chest, I shove him away from me with my sword and come back around with a strike that cleanly takes off his head. The giant sphere hits the ground and rolls away as the rest of his body crumbles as if all the bones just disappeared.
