by Scott King
Doug head butted her.
She plunged the knife into his shoulder.
It went in slowly, as if his skin were trying to resist it. The orb on the pommel flickered with a sharp, mossy sheen. The wound hurt, as it should, but the pain felt off balance, like a mix between the heat of an infected wound and flesh burned by frostbite.
The cold ran down his arm and across his chest. His lungs burned, unable to suck in air, and his body convulsed.
Doug screamed.
A mixture of pain, fear and anger, poured from his throat.
Kane wobbled, lost her grip on him, and fell to the sand.
Doug's pain didn't diminish, and it took all his focus to reach up and grab the dagger's handle. The grip was so cold that he thought his fingers might freeze to it.
Pulling, he jerked the knife out. Blood gushed from the wound, and with it came a warm release of heat.
"That didn't go as I thought it would." Kane, now fully in human form, lay next to him with her jaws chattering. "I expect round two to go smoother."
Doug placed a hand over his wound and applied pressure. The pain of which caused his eyes to water and forced a grunt from Kane's lips.
"You felt that didn't you?" Clenching his teeth, Doug shoved a finger into the cut. Shooting pain rippled down his arm and into his neck.
"It's not pain." Kane rolled into a fetal position moaning. "I can barely feel that. It's the hatred and anger. So much of it is nauseating."
He focused on his anger. His anger at Carter for turning him into a human. Anger at Kane for trying to kill him constantly.
Using the anger as a distraction, he crawled to the edge of the pulpit and rolled himself off it.
"Don't forget, it works both ways." Her words slurred.
A wave of hatred struck him, and he slumped over, unable to move.
"How does that feel?" She laughed, and the hatred shifted to amusement.
"I wish I had never married you." He meant it. The marriage was supposed to be something on paper. Not real. He never thought he'd really be married. Dragons choose their mates and mate for life, but there is no ceremony or paperwork, and he had given up the idea of finding a mate back when he was a fledgling.
"That's different." Kane stood on the edge of the pulpit, looking down at him. "That's a hell lot of anger, but it's not directed at me."
Had Kane read his thoughts? Did she know about Bellalyn? Could she see the limp body and the other images that haunted his mind.
"Stop! It's too much." Kane swayed and she had to kneel, to keep from falling over. "Stop thinking about her!"
Doug did the opposite.
"Her name was Bellalyn." He used the lip of the pulpit to pull himself to his feet. "She was my best friend."
"I can tell what you are planning. It won't work. Nothing can stop me from killing you and taking the power."
"We were fledglings together, and there wasn't a second that went by when we weren't hanging out." Instead of pushing the memories away, he embraced them, giving in to his emotions. He heard Bellalyn's snorting laugh, her brave voice, and smelled the scent of her scales.
"Stop."
"She was in danger, and when I went to the dragon council, they wouldn't help. I tried to save her, I truly did, but I failed." Doug thought of not only the pain he felt about her death, but also thought of his anger toward the dragons for doing nothing. He thought of the overwhelming sense of loneliness. He held back nothing.
"No more." Kane buried her face in her hands.
"I didn't turn from my own kind. They turned on me. They are soulless monsters and when I heard what Medrayt had done, I didn't feel bad for them. I was happy, but in the end, it doesn't matter. You know why? 'Cause Bellalyn is dead and never coming back."
Doug drove Bakero's Blade into Kane's chest.
"You get a star for effort." Her body went soft, like gelatin, and absorbed the dagger. "It was smart to distract me like that, but foolish to try and harm me with a knife."
"To the abyss with you." He spit in her face.
"An eye for an eye, right?" She smiled. "How about I show you real pain."
Their bond sprung to life, and he understood why his memories had overwhelmed her. Lost in the feelings, there was no separation. Her experiences and emotions became his.
Being alive caused pain, and he felt the lack of desire to exist. With it came hatred, not directed at the world, but directed at himself. He felt disgusted with who he was and knew there was no hope of ever ridding himself of the feeling. There would be no salvation, only a constant downward spiral, and the only thing that could end it was death. He wanted to die. He wanted the world and everything to go away so that he could rid himself of these feelings and, for the first time ever, experience peace.
Outside of the bond and the feelings, Doug was only vaguely aware of himself and his surroundings. Most of his vision was taken up by the green sun, which suggested he had fallen over. Peripherally, he could see Kane's face and that she held something in her hand. He tried to focus his vision, but couldn't. A crippling sense of regret and jealousy surged through the bond.
Bakero's Blade slid into Doug's gut.
The burning cold overrode his emotions, and he blinked to see that Kane held the dagger in place. Its pommel once more glowed.
Blood spilled from his stomach, and with it came a sense of tiredness. He wanted to throw Kane to the ground. He wanted to fight back but he was too weak. His eyes were heavy and everything grew cloudy.
The last thing Doug saw was a quivering aura at the sides of his vision. It surged, growing and swallowing Kane, wrapping around her body as if caressing her.
"It's mine."
The ribbon of light twisted and then pushed its way into Kane's mouth, and only then did Doug realize that he was the Arg'Natz no more.
27
Stabbed
Ornsday, 41st of Hearfest, 1162.111
Alex wanted to avert her eyes. She liked Doug, and she had no desire to see him die, but she couldn't look away.
Kane pulled out the dagger. The light pouring into her faded, and she flopped across Doug's chest. Like two lovers post-sex they lay there unmoving surrounded by a pool of blood.
Carter pushed past Alex, practically knocking her over as he ran to the base of the pulpit. He dragged Kane's limp body off Doug and kneeled, inspecting Doug's shoulder wound and then the gash. "For gorph's sake, I can't see how deep it is. There is too much blood."
Carter drew an agyl in the air. From the bottom stroke poured a steady stream of water. It crashed against Doug, mixing with the blood and soaking Carter. "Get off your ass and help me!"
"I don't know what to do to help!” Alex said.
Carter pulled off his shirt and shoved it into Doug's chest. His pale skin looked sickly in the green light. "From what I can tell, nothing serious inside was pierced, but if we don't stop this bleeding, he will die. We can't let that happen. I need something metal that I can make hot."
"Well?" Alex turned to Bova. "You heard him. I need metal."
"I don't, I mean, well..." Bova took a deep breath. "We have nothing here. This entire building is stone, and no weapons other than Bakero's Blade are allowed in the arena."
"Carter, the dagger!" Alex pointed at Kane's fist, which still clenched the knife. "Will that work?"
"Get it. We can try."
Alex pried the dagger from Kane's fingers. The metal radiated with an unnatural warmth that caused goosebumps along the back of Alex's neck. "Here."
"Wait." The usual overconfidence that Carter displayed was gone. His tone was serious and to the point. "The second I let go, I need you to hold my shirt against his stomach and press the palm of your hand into the shoulder wound. Understand?"
Alex kneeled, her shoulder blocking the water agyl.
"It's fine," Carter said. "I'll unravel it once my hands are free."
Alex laid the dagger down and put her hands in place. The bloody shirt wasn't so bad, but touching Doug's sh
oulder made her feel queasy. She could feel both sides of the wound, and when she slacked on the pressure, a gurgling warmth enveloped her hand soaking under her nails and staining the faint blonde hair along her wrists.
The amount of blood pouring from Doug didn't disgust her. It scared her. From the destroyed towns to soldiers hurt in battle she had never seen someone lose so much blood and live.
Carter tugged at the water agyl, and it faded. He took up the dagger and stopped, staring at it.
"What?" she asked.
"This isn't normal iron or silver. I don't know what it is."
"So?"
"So I don't know how it will respond to heat."
"We don't have anything else."
"So be it." He traced a series of agyls in the air and muttered under his breath, summoning the wind. Where as before he always brought forth a powerful gust, this time it the air was controlled and focused, lifting Bakero's Blade from his hand.
"What are you doing with that?" Bova asked in a concerned tone.
"I'm saving my friend," Carter said. The air lifted the dagger and held it, hovering, so that its blade crossed through the tiny agyls.
The blade turned crimson.
"No!" Bova hustled past the stone benches to snatch the dagger.
"It is too hot to be touched," Carter said. "Those are four heat-forming agyls. It will melt your skin."
"But the blade!"
"The blade isn't my concern."
The Grekers in the crowd stood shouting and yelling.
"It should be fine." Carter curled his hands and opened them, as if releasing something. The agyls dimmed, and the fiery dagger floated toward Doug. "We are going to have to do this together. The second I tell you to let go, you need to not only get your hand away, but remove my shirt from the wound and try to wipe away enough blood so that I can clearly see where it is."
"What about his shoulder?" she asked.
"That can be stitched. You ready?"
Alex took a deep breath. So far she had done her best to forget Doug's blood as it soaked into her clothing. Having to look down at his gushing wound made her feel sick. "I'm ready when you are."
The blade hovered over the top of Alex's hand. The molten glow of the metal faded, but the air around it still quivered with heat.
"Go when you are ready," Carter said. "But be fast."
Alex didn't lift the soaked shirt. Instead she pushed, grinding it toward his legs and using her forearm to wipe away the blood.
Carter didn't waste a moment. The dagger pressed against Doug's skin. It sizzled, and the smell of burning flesh was all too familiar.
Bile rose in Alex's throat, but she caught herself, swallowing it back down.
Doug's body jerk involuntarily, but neither he nor Kane awoke.
With immense precision, Carter cauterized the wound, being careful to not burn any skin that he didn't have to. When done, the wound, which had been leaking so much blood, was now covered with a black burn in the shape of a triangle.
"It's done." Carter dropped Bakero's Blade into a puddle of pink water. It boiled in a flash of steam. "The cut was deep, but missed his intestines. He might live."
"You did good," she said.
"I only gave him a chance. He may have lost too much blood."
"What about the shoulder? Can I move my hands away?"
"No, but we can deal with that now." Carter turned to Bova and said something in Etriä. Bova shook her head. Carter repeated his words. Bova nodded and frantically ran into the crowd.
A moment later, Bova returned carrying a small bag that the Greker medics had used when treating the fallen challengers.
Carter took a needle and thread from the bag and shooed away Alex's hand. "This is the hardest part. The waiting. There were so many nights when Owen would treat someone, do everything he could, and then we'd have to wait to find out if the person would pull through."
"I don't think we have time to wait," she said.
"What do you mean?"
"Kane." She tilted her head to the unconscious shapeshifter.
"What do you want to bet she wakes up before Doug?"
"Honestly," Carter said. "I don't understand why she fainted in the first place. If she..."
"What?" Alex asked.
"The marriage spell. We know that the two of them are linked. I'm guessing the binding reacted to Doug being wounded and losing the essence of the Arg'Natz. If Doug were to stabilize or die, I wouldn't be surprised if she woke up immediately."
"She won't let us leave here alive," Alex said. "Even if Greker law says we should be spared."
"What can we do about it?" Carter asked.
Alex only saw one option. "We kill Kane."
"I don't think we can," Carter said.
Alex could. She had killed in self-defense before, and the only difference now would be that she was saving not only herself, but others and possibly her kingdom. Would Carter think less of her for suggesting it? He had a strict line of what was right and wrong. "I can. If I have to."
"That's not what I was saying," Carter said. "I don't think we have the means to kill her. She's something different. Then you factor in the Arg'Natz, and I literally don't know how to kill her."
"Oh. Then what do we do?"
"I don't know."
The Grekers brought two carts, one for Doug and one for Kane. The two were loaded, and a crew came in to clean the arena of the blood and water. None of them wanted to touch Bakero's Blade, so Alex took it. She expected the blade to be melted with rounded edges, but it appeared to be as sharp as ever.
On the way back to the shade drenched side of the city, Bova told them that they would all be placed in their cells and held until it was confirmed that Kane was in fact the new Arg'Natz.
"That's not good enough," Alex said. "We need to leave now."
"My hands are tied," Bova repeated for the third time. It was as if that was her answer for everything.
"I read your codex when you were busy signing paperwork with Doug," Alex said. "The challenge has been completed. Carter and I must be allowed to leave."
"You can leave, but Doug cannot."
"He is no longer the Arg'Natz! You saw what happened."
"I did, but these things are complicated, and we must be sure."
"Kane will kill Doug."
"We can keep her under control."
"Even if she is the new Arg'Natz? The factions will follow and listen to her, won't they?"
"Well no." Bova frowned. "It has been a long time since we had a new Arg'Natz. My people will most likely embrace Kane, but there are legal documents and precedents. If you let me use them and do what I do, I can help you."
"No." Alex didn't need Bova's help. Alex needed to get to Kale, and she was tired of waiting and jumping through hoops. Besides, Bova made a mistake showing Alex a weakness. The Grekers thought Doug could still be the Arg'Natz.
Alex pulled herself onto the cart that carried Doug.
"What are you doing?" Carter asked.
"Getting us out of here," she said. "Cover my back?"
"Got it." Carter followed her and held his hand outward, ready to summon the wind.
Doug's breath crackled, as if his lungs held water. She did her best to ignore it, focusing on what she could control, and placed Bakero's Blade against his neck. "This is pretty simple. Let us go, or I kill Doug."
"You wouldn't." Bova snapped her fingers and pointed at two of the other Pontis members, telling them to go around to the rear of the cart. The second they did, Carter unleashed a blast that threw them backward.
"Leaving Doug here for Kane is the same as killing him," Alex said. "At least this way, I know his death will be quick and painless. Besides if the Arg'Natz didn't pass to Kane, and I kill him, then I'll be the new Arg'Natz, and trust me, you wouldn't want that."
More Grekers surrounded the cart, and Bova held up a hand. "What is it you want?"
"I want you to let us go," Alex said. "Doug, Carter and myself. Y
ou keep Kane. Keep in mind you can try to use your little darts, except they don't work on me. And if someone so much as thinks of pointing a spear or sword in my direction, I'll drive this dagger through Doug's throat."
Cholton whispered something to Bova. The two chatted back and forth.
"Alright," Bova said. "We can take you to the tunnel that will lead you to Compitum."
"We don't want to go back to Compitum," Alex said. "Is there another way out of Agnar?"
"There is only one way in," Bova said. "The tunnel that follows the underground river."
"The river!" Alex snapped her fingers and pointed at Bova. "I saw barges on our way into the city. We want one of them stocked with supplies to go down river."
"That's not wise."
"Does the river lead back to the surface?"
"Eventually yes, but those tunnels have not been cleared since–"
"And where does it resurface?"
"On the eastern side of the mountains."
Depending on how far north or south they were, that would put them halfway to Kale. "Make it happen."
Bova chittered to Cholton. The guards and robed Grekers split off and followed Cholton, who directed Kane's cart down the hill and back toward the prison.
The Grekers that remained steered Doug's cart in the other direction to the where the river cut through the center of the city. It took them more than a half hour to reach the port. There Alex saw twenty or so barges, each thirty parses long. Most were stocked with fruit, though some had piles of what looked like salt.
"This one," Bova motioned to a near-empty barge. It had three oars on each side and a round wheelhouse. Half a dozen woven baskets were stacked aft. "It's prepped for a squad of eight for a week-long journey. It should met your needs."
Carter climbed aboard, holding his arms out to keep balance. "Can you steer this?"
"We are taking it down river." Alex didn't fully know how to steer a ship. She had been on plenty that sailed both the East Reach and West Reach Seas, so she had a vague idea of how it worked, but in this case they wouldn't be dealing with tides, sails, or any of the complicated stuff. "So we can let the river do most of the work."
