by Nicol, Andy
“He’s raving mad!” Vince Viktor stood up and shouted, pointing at Soul. My friend was in a rage, but he had zero intent of looking like a fool. He pulled a knife from his belt and prepared to throw it straight at our boss, glancing to the left just in time to see Hyde barrelling towards him. He ducked just as the larger man leapt and sailed over him, hitting the ground with a thud.
I debated getting involved as other warriors stood in shock and terror. I hadn’t let Chrissy know, but I had shorts on under the dress. She’d have killed me. As my war tape was already in place, I just undid the zipper and stepped forward.
“Oh my god, seriously!” I heard Chrissy call from the crowd.
Ignoring her, I slid my own knife from a holster on my thigh and lunged at Hyde as Soul was forced to defend himself against Jekyll. After a few missed punches, I sent a kick to Hyde’s stomach, the heel catching his rib. He fell from the edge of the stage, which gave me enough time to reach the microphone before anyone’s senses returned.
“D-don’t think we’re crazy. It’s Vince Viktor! He forced Soul to go after those warriors. He was going after everyone that was threatening his job, and if Soul refused, he would let Jekyll and Hyde hurt him!” Soul punched Jekyll in the jaw, and then Josh directed the camera man to the burn. The skull was still very prominent on his skin.
“Tell them, Doctor!”
The enraged and aging man stood tall. Glaring, he shouted, “She’s delusional! That lunatic told her lies. I bet he even burned himself!” Robert waved his hand and a few men in uniforms very much like Josh’s grabbed Soul and I, dragging us off the stage. They pulled us past the row of Lilithia guests, and Viktor glared daggers at us. “We will speak once this is over, Ms. Keanin.”
Twenty-Five
The training room on Rhys-Mordred was nothing like ours. More often than not, we had blood smeared across the tiles and props that were half-broken. It was a small room, but it was more than enough for me. In a strange way, being there made me happy. It was like a second, maybe third, home for me.
This place, on the other hand, was dark like a warehouse with concrete walls. Everything was clean, and the equipment was spread out rather nicely, with target practice in one area and strength training in another. The weights, treadmills, and rowing machines were all in one corner.
When I got there, I looked around for anyone that I knew. Of course, Soul was struggling to climb the rock wall. Fight-or-flight training, and flight wasn’t his strong suit. I made my way over and dropped my weapons on the ground.
“Hey, Benji!” an unfamiliar voice called.
Nerves reacting before my common sense, I half jumped, half turned around, prepared to defend myself, my arms instinctively brought to my chest. The voice belonged to a short, bald man who was standing very close to me. He kind of looked like one of those hairless cats with the pointed noses.
“Relax, little lady. My name’s Fred Burnham,” he said, holding out his hand. “I believe you’ve met my partner, Greg?” I stood there staring at him, refusing to shake his hand.
“Just wanted to let you know that those two guys said they’d be here today,” he continued, dropping his hand. “But something tells me you don’t really care…” His face started to fall.
Boots hit the ground beside me. I knew Soul was waiting for me, so I decided to send the man on his way.
“Thanks, Fred, but I don’t think they’ll be a problem.”
I turned my back and smiled at Soul, who was watching me with curiosity in his eyes.
“Y-you … you don’t want my help?” he asked.
“Why would we need it?” I retorted over my shoulder.
“You’re going to regret it. Those guys have it out for you! You need me!” He ran off like a child.
I turned to look at Soul. He shook his head. Right away, I could sense that something was wrong. He wouldn’t look at me and I couldn’t get him to speak. At least his hair was down again, sticking out the way it does. He looked more like himself. Fresh ink was also splattered across his cheek and arm. It collected in the scars down his right arm and into his ear.
I was worried, so I decided to speak up. “Did something happen?”
He quickly shook his head and dumped his axe onto the floor beside my swords. I followed him back to the rock wall, and he attempted to avoid me by pulling himself up as fast as he could. Sadly for him, he only managed to get about a metre off the ground before he grunted and kicked his long legs around.
With a laugh, I leapt off the ground and grabbed at a small handhold. “Will you tell me what’s bothering you if I beat you in a race?”
He grunted and dropped back onto the ground. “U-unfair … K9’s better — smaller!”
I let myself fall back to the floor, crossing my arms as I stared him down. “What if I teach you and then we race?”
He hunched his back and wrung his hands, debating it before finally biting his lip and meeting my eyes. “O-okay. The dog won’t … get mad that the bird can’t fly?”
“It’s going to take you a while to understand that I won’t be mad at anything you do, isn’t it?” I stated it more than asked. He looked at the floor and sighed, then hesitantly reached for my hand, keeping a tight grip on his tank top with the other.
“D-don’t … f-forget. Please … don’t forget.”
I tilted my head, confused by what he meant. “Forget what?”
“The dog is too careless… The bird is fighting too — Crow is fighting too. K9 isn’t … isn’t a-alone,” he stuttered out in a whisper, stepping closer.
I squeezed his hand and softly smiled. “I know.”
“No … too careless! Going to get hurt and then … and then the bird will be alone again! C-can’t let it happen, don’t want you to get hurt!” He cringed and started to tug at his shirt collar.
“Don’t forget… Can’t lose you, can’t let you get hurt.” He whimpered and looked at the floor. “S-still love my K9 … Don’t want to lose her…”
I had to take a deep breath and collect myself. I was a little bit hurt that he thought I’d be so reckless as to get myself killed. My fingers brushed his cheek and he started to calm his ragged breathing. Again he told me he loved me, and again I didn’t know what to do. There’s a reason I didn’t tell anyone I loved them, at least not in a very long time.
“There’s no way that’s going to happen — ever. The K9 and the Crow are a team; we’d be useless without each other.”
“S-still my K9?”
“Who else’s?”
He was still looking down, but he smiled and stepped forward again, wrapping his arm around my back and pressing his face into my shoulder. “My K9.”
I let him stay there for a moment as I looked over his shoulder, mentally kicking myself. This was the second time I hadn’t told him that I loved him too. If I’m not careful, my stupid fear of commitment would come back and bite me in the ass, and it’ll be too late. What if something happens to him? What if he leaves? I don’t want to do that to myself…
His hand was still in mine as I hugged his neck and gripped the back of his hair with the other, squeezing my eyes shut, promising myself that I would tell him next time. I put on a strong face before I finally let him go. He walked over to the rock wall and started to climb. He was struggling less than before and successfully dug his boot into a crack in the rock. He was almost halfway to the top when he stopped and called down to me. “Race!”
“Wait, no! That’s cheating!” I leapt up and started to pull myself to the top, using mainly my upper-body strength. I threw my hand to the top of the ledge at the same time as Soul, and we shared a look before kicking and clambering to get up before the other. After a second, I hauled myself up onto my stomach as my crow’s foot slipped and he dropped about a foot. I threw my arms up as I swung my legs over the edge, watching him claw at the smooth edge before he used his knee to push his large body up.
He sat beside me and rested his hand over mine as we looked out over the
other warriors. We were unique if nothing else.
He kicked his legs back and forth. “T-talked to worm…” I turned my head to look at him. He absentmindedly rocked his head side to side. “Said the K9 would leave … said you always did.”
“Not this time. I … I would leave because I was looking for something better. But this time I found someone who knows how to fight for himself. I’ve never met anyone better. Ignore Dan. I’m not going anywhere, not without you, Soul,” I said, smiling softly at him. “Still going to beat him though.”
Soul chuckled as he looked up at the large projection screen, smirking. Johnny had earned enough of a following that he was now regularly covering the tournament on the Rhys-Mordred city news channel. He was damn good at it.
I pursed my lips as I watched the live interviews. Ignatius seemed rather displeased to have to do them but answered my brother’s questions and kindly shook his hand before leaving.
Johnny had his crutch again. His limp looked worse lately. I chalked it up to stress and watched as they introduced our city’s first interviewee, Dan. The tall blond man stayed perched on the stool and gave a half-hearted wave to the camera.
“Now, Dan ‘Dragon’ Stanton —”
“Dragon isn’t much of a nickname… Kind of feel like I have to earn it back from people. I didn’t treat them the best.” He grimaced, but shook it off and smiled painfully back at Johnny.
My brother chuckled and agreed. “That sounds like a good idea. Do you have anything you would like to say about Lilithia’s warriors in this competition, maybe anything you would like them to know?”
Dan thought for a moment, then nodded and looked back at the camera. “Yeah. Benji Keanin is one of the most intense and intimidating warriors I’ve ever seen. Jekyll and Hyde have made a huge mistake by getting on her bad side. Hell is going to be brought down on them. They won’t know what hit them.”
I smiled to myself. I liked that people were a little bit afraid of me.
“When I knew Soul … I was a really worthless guy. I was a jerk to everyone and left him when I shouldn’t have. We all know that. But this guy is a good guy, and he would fight to the death to keep this from happening to anyone else. When those guys got to his sister, he snapped, no mercy. He’s going to leave them bloody and broken, if not dead.” Dan laughed to himself and shook his head. “‘Fear the man that has only one’ & or something like that.
“He likes poems,” Dan continued. “He was always showing off with his stories and riddles. I never gave him enough credit. I — Soul, man, if you’re listening, I know I already told you this, but I’m so sorry for what I did. You’re lucky. Keep Ben out of trouble and protect that sister of yours. I’m going to do everything I can to make it up to you.” He paused again and uncrossed his arms, pulling out a piece of paper then looking up again. “I’m not great at writing poems but, uh … I got one I think you might like…”
Dan cleared his throat and looked up again.
“He is so hopelessly in love with her
Black and white are the colours of his dog’s fur
Nothing can stop an angry man
Who only wants revenge
There’s nothing stopping him
And anyone willing would be too dim
To see he at least deserves a chance
To try his hand with a lance
Everyone thanked him, even the pastor
And he will never be damned hereafter.”
His blue eyes flipped back to the floor as he smiled softly, quite proud of himself. His cheeks were bright red as Johnny smiled and patted his arm. “Thank you, Mr. Stanton.”
I looked at Soul, who was sitting rather contently. “That was pretty cool of him, even if it was a pretty lame poem. That being said, I won’t blame you for still wanting to slug him. I do.”
Soul smirked and shook his head. “F-friendly fight… Scare him a bit.”
I grinned and bumped his shoulder with my own.
“K9! Crow!” A man with a clipboard was looking around, shouting our names. “Interviews, then you can go.”
I shrugged and stood to my full height, stretching out my back. Soul slid down the wall to the ground.
“Quickly, guys! We only have a few minutes!”
I scowled and mocked him as I looked down at Soul. He waved for me to follow him, so I backed myself against the wall and took a running leap into the air, flipping myself around so I wouldn’t land on my face. My Crow grunted out of displeasure and disapprovingly bit his lip as I hit the ground. I was forced to somersault to keep from cracking a bone, which left me lying on my back giggling.
My partner pulled me to my feet and grabbed his jacket, still disgruntled. The man with the clipboard stood with wide eyes and stumbled as he led us out into the hall and then to an office outside an interview room where Johnny had the camera set up. Chrissy was sitting down there and gushing to him about something, and then she saw me through a big bay window and started to gush about us.
Johnny politely finished the interview, then scowled playfully and shooed her away. Johnny pulled Soul in and closed the door. He sat down and pouted sleepily, resting his hands in front of him in his lap.
“So,” Chrissy started, “this is exciting!”
I shrugged. “You know, the whole ‘public eye’ isn’t my thing.”
“But you have to admit, you like people knowing your name —”
“I like people knowing what I’m capable of, yeah. I guess you’re right.”
She grinned, red lipstick framing her white teeth like they belonged in a museum. She did love proving me wrong.
We watched a small TV screen right outside of the dingy room for a moment; it was fixed to the ceiling and tucked behind a thick grate.
“You’ve known K9 for a short while, and it seems like you two get along well. Is there anything you want to say about that?”
Soul played with a button on the bottom of his shirt and slowly started to smile. He looked away from the camera and muttered. “My K9. Strong, smart, ruthless and reckless … but mine.”
“A ‘good with the bad’ kind of relationship, then?” I frowned and promised to smack my older brother later. He seemed to be having a good laugh at my expense.
Soul smiled so wide his crooked lips stretched the scar on his cheek out of place. He was still buttoning and unbuttoning his jacket, his cheeks as pink as a cherry blossom. He cleared his throat and glanced at me quickly through the window, his face softening enough that the smile stayed but appeared more content than giddy. He was a beautiful, beautiful man.
He started over and rubbed his head lightly as he spoke, a little smile staying firmly in place as he stared at the floor.
“The dog said to the crow
He shouldn’t furrow his brow
For someday he’ll soon join the crowd
The crow said to the dog
He’ll appear as a frog
And really he has nothing to tell
The crowd shunned the bird;
This time was the third
Because he never sang the right song
The dog did the talking
While the crow did the walking
And the act went on for long
They said to the crow
“What a great show!”
Though it was never his to explain
The dog and the bird
Made such a good herd
That the crowd no longer detained
The notion of price
Is set to despise
Those who need it the least,
For those who win
Will never have sin
Unlike those at the feast
The Crow and the K9
Were doing so fine
The party they did decline
As the monsters behind
Staggered (sublime!)
They could not hurt them this time.”
Joy tugged at my lips as I grinned and wrung my hands together, getting slig
htly shy. Chrissy frowned and waved her hand in front of my face. “I-is there something I’m not getting?”
“Usually the poems he recites are old ones he’s found in books … but he wrote that one.” I bit back a soft smile and shook my head. “It’s sweet.”
Chrissy gasped and fanned herself overdramatically, feigning holding back tears. “Isn’t it just so adorable? My little K9’s all grown up and falling in love!”
I backhanded her arm lightly as I continued to watch the interview.
“Keep my little sister safe out there or it’s on your head. I may be out of the game but I remember how to play,” Johnny warned.
“P-promise…” Soul sheepishly nodded as he slid from the stool and shook my brother’s hand. He made Johnny look very small, both in height and muscle. That used to be a lot harder to do.
Before I got a chance to say anything to Soul as he left the interview room, Johnny dragged me inside and closed the door.
“K9! My very own sister, anything you would like to say?” He grinned crookedly at me and waited.
“Yeah. I want to thank the people who helped us,” I said, looking at the camera. “You trusted me just enough.”
“What about your partner, anything you want to say to him?” I quickly sent a scowl to my brother, then bowed my head.
“He … he’s amazing — and dangerous. Which brings me to our opponents: we’re going to crush you. It’s nothing personal, but we’re here to win. We kind of have to. If we don’t, we’re pretty much dead meat…”
“And Jekyll and Hyde?” he interrupted.
I smirked. “Johnny, you and I both know what’s going to happen to them. They’re as good as dead… They’ve threatened the people I care about one too many times — Soul, Tina, you. They better be training right now; otherwise they better be scouting hiding places.”
“Be careful out there,” he said quietly. I hugged him and left the room.
Soul was waiting with Chrissy. She appeared to be teasing him about something. He sheepishly looked up at me, then bolted to my side.
“Wait, are you leaving me already?”
“Chris! We have to train, maybe you can help us with techniques tomorrow.”
