Underground Ring: Book 1

by M. M. Reid

  He looked right into my eyes. Through those eyes, I could see his disappointment and pain come to the surface. This moment that was coming to pass would haunt him for the rest of his days and I could see that he knew it.

  “So it is true.” Yayel’s voice was now hoarse and choked.

  He slowly put his hands on top of my own. His grip tightened as he said, “I’m sorry Augrais.”

  Alarms went off as my Earth gift began to warn me. If I had not been weakened, I would have been able to counter his attack. Yayel braced himself by lowering his weight and holding fast. A sledgehammer was coming at me. I shifted, trying desperately to get away but, to my own surprise, I could only resist Yayel slightly. The hammer slammed hard into the side of my ribs; the cracking of bones made me grunt. Enraged, I tossed Yayel hard at the assailant who was now trying to pull the hammer back for another attack. The boy smashed into my attacker, who turned out to be none other than Gerald, causing them both to stumble into the garbage bags nearby. With my Earth gift in full effect, I ducked instinctively as an arrow soared above me, striking the brick wall with a sharp pinging noise.

  With inhuman celerity I dodged the second arrow by merely turning my body sideways and then I counter-attacked with a burst of speed. Lee was fitting another arrow to his bow but, with my speed, I overtook him. I pushed his bow to the side and struck him hard with a brutal elbow to the side of the head. The crack from my attack sent him to the ground, stunned. Gerald and Yayel got to their feet ready to assault me again and I drew my sword free, ready to kill. My Earth gift sent me a warning again and I instinctively slid to the side, dodging an entire spray of slugs. But one got through. The bullet hit me right under the collarbone, my blood splattering on the wall next to me. Balmung clattered to the floor and my feet ground against the concrete as I slid back away from Lee, who was now recovering, his head pulsing with pain. And there stood Ben, his gun smoking. His eyes were much like Yayel’s—cold, heartbroken, but focused and determined.

  Normally, it would have been a simple task to defeat the four of them. But even with the minimal amount of energy I had used until now, I had a serious headache, and the reflexes of my gifts were clearly affected. Damn it, I cursed, my breathing deep and ragged, this had been a trap all along. Yayel was chasing me at such a slow pace, not because he could not keep up, but because he wanted the others to keep up with both of us. They had been expecting me. This was a well-planned ambush. Furthermore, my shoulder and ribs were taking longer to heal than normal. This battle did not look favorable for me at all. Numbness was now slowly travelling down my arm like a slow burning fire. The four of them were on their feet; Lee and Ben were in front of me, their projectile weapons reloaded and ready. I had to act fast before they opened up on me again. I could not use my Water gift, and the headache from using my Air gift just once had caused a skull-splitting migraine. No, I would need one of the two behind me to do something stupid. And that’s exactly what happened.

  “Gerald, stop, we need to do this together,” exclaimed Yayel as the Pagan charged towards me, the vendetta of Vincent’s death obviously spurring him on. I smirked. This created a great advantage for me. Ben and Lee were unable to fire at me without the risk of injuring or even killing their foolish companion. Using my Earth gift to its fullest potential, I ducked under Gerald’s wide, enraged swing at the last possible moment. Then I shifted my injured shoulder and, amassing as much energy as I possibly could, I used Gerald’s momentum and tossed him directly at Ben and Lee. They panicked and, by dodging their incoming friend, they gave me the precious time I needed to descend on them like a diving hawk.

  Ben raised his magnum pistol in surprise but it was too late. I grabbed his forearm roughly and, with a quick twist of the wrist, shattered it. He screamed in pain as he fell to his knees and reached for the gun with his good arm. In a flash, I kicked the weapon out from his grasp. I followed through and my shin collided with his temple so hard that the crack echoed in the alleyway. He slumped silently as I turned to Lee who, under the great pressure, could not quite fully string his arrow. My head was now pounding as my Vitae slowly began to increase and flow about me like a cloak. Reaching over his raised bow, I gave Lee a solid punch to the face. His head snapped back, smacking hard into the brick behind him. The Earth gift allowed me to duck again as a hammer soared above me. I then stepped back and grabbed the handle of the hammer. With a quick thrust, I smashed the butt into Gerald’s solar plexus, causing him to gasp for breath. The hammer clanged onto the ground and I kicked it away. Summoning all of my energy to my hand, I back-fisted the Pagan so hard that he tumbled a few metres away like a bowling ball.

  I wasn’t sure if I had heard the crack of his broken neck, since my breathing had now turned to hyperventilation. My broken ribs made it hard to breathe and the pain from my shoulder now made my left arm next to useless. The pain was nearly overwhelming. The alleyway would have turned black for me if I had let it. What the hell was happening to me? I asked myself again. Why was I so weak? Ben and Gerald were not moving; I could not even see their chests rise and fall. But Lee began to stir slowly with a small groan. I swept past him, picking up the sledgehammer as if my arm were light as air.

  “Goodbye, Lee,” I said and swung with all my might towards his back. As the hammer descended upon him, there was a flash of colour as two small hands grabbed the handle. It was Yayel, now shaking under the strength of my single arm.

  “You should have run,” I panted between breaths. My evil smile returned.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Yayel retorted, though his voice now shook under the effort.

  My smile grew. “Good boy,” I complimented him as I pushed hard. Yayel strained, gritting his teeth as the force made his knees buckle slowly. He struggled under me, still not allowing the hammer to crush his friend. I found that the more I pushed the more precious energy I wasted. It seemed my energy was nearly depleted.

  “Give up now, kid,” I spat, pushing harder. My muscles were now screaming from exhaustion, though the struggle was almost over. He would soon be on his knees, unable to produce enough force to stop being crushed. “You’re too weak to stop me.”

  His response was so fast I did not expect it. In a burst of inhuman speed, Yayel slipped to the side and pushed hard, allowing the hammer to smash into the ground just an inch away from the semi-conscious Lee’s head. He then jumped onto the handle, putting all his weight down and forcing me to release my hold on it. Like a bear protecting its cubs, he roared forward with no fear, swinging his fists at high speeds and driving me back. I countered quickly, my open palm colliding with his chest. He was so light that he fluttered backward, touching each foot to the ground in short bursts to decelerate himself. Wincing in pain as he came to a complete stop, Yayel grasped his chest and fell to one knee, his breaths rapid and ragged. I noticed that even though he could produce great speed, he could not keep that pace for an extended period of time. I myself was in no better shape. I was approaching my limit. My vision was blurred and I began to lose focus of the boy standing in front of me. This needed to end soon.

  “Where is the chain, Yayel?” I gasped between gulps of air.

  Yayel shook his head, tears beginning to well up. Brave as he was, he knew he could not last against the tide of my might.

  “Tell me where it is!” I roared at the top of my lungs and flung myself at him. I struck him hard in the chest with my fist, my energy vivified. Then, immediately, I grabbed him by his throat and smashed him against the back wall of the alley.

  “Tell me now!” I screamed again, my spittle striking his cheek. My grip tightened and I could feel, as well as hear, his neck beginning to collapse under my strength. There was no response except for pathetic gurgles as Yayel’s face began to turn blue then purple. My rage from not finding the answer I sought put me into frenzy. “I guess I don’t really need you to tell me. Die here then. Just die!”

  I started to squeeze harder, but I noticed it made me feel pain in my lower bac
k. Funny, I thought, I don’t remember being struck in the back. The pain increased and that was when I heard it: the gun shot. Ben, that bastard! I bellowed a cry of pain and threw Yayel’s useless body at my former best friend. This time though, Ben was ready. He stepped to the side as the boy’s body plummeted past him and rolled away. The barrel of his gun flashed and I felt the pain as the next bullet struck me in the chest, then another in the belly. My back slumped against the wall as Ben unloaded his weapon into me. I didn’t even feel the third and fourth bullets; I only felt my body rotate from the force of the blow. I slid slowly down the wall, no longer having the strength to hold myself up. Ben’s face was full of rage and sadness as he approached me. The trigger clicked as he kept squeezing it, even after the bullets had run out. He fell to his knees in front of me, as the darkness began to take me. He was silent, staring to the ground, his eyes void of all feeling. Then came the sickening smack of his fist against the concrete. I was dying and he knew it. I knew it . Blood began to trickle from my lips as my ability to breathe faded. My vision was now fully black, my thoughts swimming. No, I can’t go like this, I thought, drifting on the surface of reality.

  “Finish him now, Ben,” came Gerald’s voice. “He killed five Pagans. He killed Vincent. Vincent!”

  Ben gave no response. Only his shallow, distressed breathing gave me any indication he was there.

  “Do it now!” Gerald screamed with hate.

  Again, Ben didn’t respond.

  “Fine, I’ll do it,” the Pagan said.

  There was a scuffle. “Screw off Gerlad!” Ben screamed.

  “What? So you’re defending him now? I get it. I do. He’s your brother, like Vincent was mine, but that thing isn’t Augrais. It needs to die.”

  There was a silence, then the Pagan took a step towards me.

  “If you take one more step, I will fill you so full of bullets your own mother won’t recognize you. Do you understand me?” Ben’s voice shook through his despair and tears.

  Sirens began to blare.

  “Let’s go guys,” came Lee’s voice. “They’re coming. Let’s go.” No one moved. “Look, he’s as good as dead anyhow. Let’s go now!”

  There was no pain anymore. All I wanted to do was sleep. Sleep… No! In one last attempt to fight the urge to pass out, I struggled to open my eyes. My vision was nearly gone. I could see Ben taking one last look over his shoulder at me before finally disappearing around the corner. That was when death scooped me up in its dark cloak. I felt cold, dark, as I gave in to the judgment of its violet eyes. And the thunder rolled.

  Epilogue

  My body ached. That is what I remember most about that moment. The aching, the pain from my bullet wounds, seemed to plague me for hours. That was all I felt: pain. There was no emotion, no feeling of regret, no lust for power, just an empty shell sitting in some sort of purgatory, waiting for a death that would never come. I stirred and slowly opened my eyes. They adjusted slowly to the dim, candle-lit room, which was shifting in and out of focus. Questions raced through my mind. The most prominent was how I could still be alive after taking that much punishment. Even with all my powers, there was simply no chance I could have survived unless…unless someone had intervened. As my eyes adapted to the dim light, I sat up slowly to view a lavishly furnished room. The furniture was handmade of fine wood and the walls were covered with exquisite paintings. Large windows showed me the stormy night sky. It reminded me so much of Lokus’s home.

  “Do try not to move,” came a chilling voice. “Those wounds of yours are in a delicate state.”

  I pivoted about to get the full picture when suddenly, in spite of myself, I gasped in shock. There stood my rescuer, looking out the window, standing so still that I might have mistaken him for a statue. When he heard my inhalation, he turned to me as lightning forked behind him, illuminating a face that was etched so deeply into my memory I could never forget it: Laucian.

  “You!” I began, scrambling back onto my hands.

  “Good evening, Augrais.” He spoke softly as if I were his friend though his eyes pierced me. Those eyes…those violet eyes haunted me.

  I swung my legs about and stepped off the bed only to find them buckle under my weight. Catching myself with my arm I knelt down, pain enveloping my mind. Blood began to ooze from the wounds on my torso, slowly trickling down my body to drip onto the floor.

  “I would not do that if I were you.” Laucian clucked his tongue as he took slow, deliberate steps towards me.

  “I’ll kill you,” I growled, trying not only to will my body to stand, but also to control my fear. Never before had I felt such terror.

  Laucian laughed softly. “You? Kill me?” he asked in disbelief, his smile growing. “Anyway, is that how you speak your saviour? A saint who lifted you from the fiery gates of hell?”

  He saved me? I thought. Impossible. No, it can’t be true.

  Laucian responded as he read my mind. “You’re asking yourself ‘why would a monster save me? It makes no sense.’ Let’s skip that part shall we?” He rounded the end of the bed. “I’m here to help you.”

  “Help me?” I scoffed. “Don’t make me laugh.”

  Laucian squatted down in front of me. “A monster can sometimes help a monster, Augrais.”

  I leaned back as he came in front of me. My heart was beating so quickly that I felt it would burst from my chest. This man, or demon, or whatever he was, could slaughter me before I could blink and we both knew it.

  “What do you want?” I tried to make my voice even and calm though we both knew the pure fear I was facing.

  I flinched as he took his finger and placed it on the centre of my chest. “Revenge,” Laucian said simply.

  “Revenge?” The idea baffled me. “You have tried to destroy me more than once.”

  “If I wanted you dead,” Laucian’s face took a dangerous appearance as he leaned in slightly, “you would be.”

  He took a moment, as if studying me, then stood up suddenly and walked towards the window. As he spoke he peered out into the world as if it were his kingdom. “I have been waiting for this moment for a long time,” he began. “In the forest all those years ago, when you first attacked me after I snapped your poor father in half, I had been originally looking for your old teacher, Lokus. Instead, I found someone like me: a boy who had all four gifts.” He turned back to me and his smile returned. “I give to you now what I gave to you back then.”

  It took a moment, then I registered what he meant: the times when I had brought Selene and my friends back to life.

  “Your Shin energy, your soul?” I sat there, wide-eyed and stunned. Had this been my destiny all along? Had I been guided by Laucian’s invisible hand to this moment?

  The Master of Shadows winced slightly, much like a teacher does when their student gives them the wrong answer to a question. “Partially right,” he said as he read my mind with ease. “Tell me, Augrais, how much do you truly know about Shin?”

  I opened my mouth and shut it. Lokus had never really talked much about it, nor attempted to teach us anything about it. In fact, he only warned us away from it.

  “I figured that Lokus would discourage you from learning the great powers of Shin.” Laucian read my mind fluidly as he continued to pace, his back to me. “Shin is not exactly the soul in itself but the energy that binds the soul to your mortal shell. This energy cannot be regenerated, nor can it grow over time. You have a set amount from the time you are born to the time you die.”

  My eyes narrowed when I heard this. Does that mean…?

  “You have lost your soul?” Laucian completed my thought once again as he knelt in front of me. “Yes, Augrais, unfortunately you have strayed from the flock and become something else entirely. A wolf.”

  “And you think I care?” I smirked. “You’re a fool.”

  “Psychotic tendencies. Apathy. These things are signs. Signs that you truly are a demon, a monster that has lost its humanity.” Laucian’s voice nearly sounded
sympathetic. “It means you are at a crossroads. You must either kill to survive, or you will die within a few months.”

  “Die? You are saying that if I stop killing then my body will simply just give up? Falter and die just like that?”

  Laucian nodded. “The body cannot live without the soul.”

  I shook my head. “No,” I stated directly. “No, I don’t believe it. You—”

  “Tell me something,” he interrupted. “When you finally found Yayel after six months of not killing a single human, how did you feel? Were you able to use your gifts? Able to summon large amounts of Vitae?”

  I didn’t respond. Did that feeling of hunger, of starvation, I felt when I engaged Ben and the others mean I was simply dying due to the lack of energy? How could this be possible?

  “You could not, could you?” he confirmed, and grinned as he did. “The power of the gifts is directly correlated with the amount of your Shin energy. Without Shin, without that guiding light, you cannot beckon your powers to your will. Without Shin, you will die.”

  “You lie!” I spat, still trying to hold onto the now delicate image of my invincibility.

  Laucian laughed outright this time. “Me? Lie? Never!” he exclaimed, miming the meaning of each word. Then without warning he grabbed my shoulders. His hands were cold and strong, like marble. He pulled his face close to mine, and said with a toothy grin, “The truth is far too much fun.”

  He released me with a violent push that sent me reeling into the wall with a heavy thud. I tried to breathe, but could not find the air. I wheezed for a moment, my still raw wounds burning as if ablaze. As my breathing began to recover, I sat in silence for a moment mulling over what had been said. Laucian stood once again and went back to the window.

  “If what you’re saying is true,” I began slowly, still trying to come to terms with everything, “then I will be dead soon regardless.”