“Where were you? We looked everywhere,” Sade angrily threw the accusation toward us.
“No time to talk. They found us and Beru is going to fight him. We need all the weapons we can find to take with us.” I leaned over and placed my hands on my knees, out of breath from the unexpected effort. He may not be at full power, but his speed put mine to shame.
“What? That’s mad. You can’t fight.” Iri stood up and gazed at Beru with horror.
“Talking about it further is wasting time. Gather everything up and follow us back to the village.” Beru turned away from Iri’s worried eyes and began to frantically search the wagon for anything he could use.
We all searched through our personal items and dumped everything that could be used as a weapon into a pile. We stood back and took stock of what was available, frowning at the result.
“That’s not much. Not nearly enough.” I rubbed my face nervously.
“We couldn’t buy any weapons,” Iri added, obviously aware we were under stocked for the fight.
“It will just be me fighting, unless Vinug wins, of course. Then he’ll come after each of you.” Beru looked around our circle.
“What does winning mean?”
“Death.” I didn't look up. Instead, I stared at the unimpressive pile of weapons we had gathered. My stomach felt weak. I’d brought this on Beru.
“You’re not serious. You agreed to those terms?” Sade grabbed Beru by the wrists and pulled him toward her.
“At least they were said,” he responded automatically. He pulled away from her and selected a few items from the pile.
“Let’s all grab the rest. We may need them to protect ourselves or give to Beru during the fight.” I loaded my pockets with the smaller items then grabbed as much as I could with my arms.
We walked back to the fountain together, loaded with our makeshift weapons and a sense of impending doom. The ur’gel army had settled in and was working on construction of a fighting ring. They had already built a circular wall that came up to Beru’s chest. It would be difficult to get over the wall if we needed to intervene, which I supposed was the point.
“This is it.” Iri dumped his items on the ground. “They are serious.”
“He would be.” I watched as Beru’s eyes inspected the ring. I turned my gaze to it as well, looking for any weaknesses or spots we could use to help him if he needed it. It would be hard, but with the giants’ help, we could get over the wall in a decent time.
Beru walked a few paces away and began to jog lightly in his own circle, swinging his arms up and down before dropping to the ground and stretching.
I stood back, careful not to break his concentration. He took off his shoes and jumped up and down in bare feet and I watched with my heart in my throat as he transformed from the shy, sad Beru back into the warrior I’d met in the prison.
“You're not going to let him go through with this are you?” Sade asked, incredulity giving her voice a higher pitch than usual. She’d been watching his preparations as I had, but now was looking at me as if I was responsible for his decision.
“I can’t stop him. He challenged Vinug not the other way around. Besides, we don’t exactly have a better option for getting away with the large army large army of ur’gel standing here, blocking our escape.” I waved my arm in their direction, in case she’d somehow managed to forget we were completely outnumbered.
“Then you’d better get ready to fight, because he isn’t. Say whatever you need to say to him before it starts, but he’s going to die if he goes up against that ur’gel.” Sade stomped back to Iri and Astor.
Her words stung even though I could see the worry behind them. It wasn’t as if I didn’t share her concerns as I watched Beru prepare for the fight. But despite her demands, I couldn’t tell him what I needed to before the fight. He needed all his concentration to stand any chance of winning.
A loud horn sounded and the ur’gel took their places around the ring to watch the fight. Beru did one last stretch before striding over to me.
“Are you sure . . .”
Before I could finish asking my question he grabbed the back of my head with one hand and looked deeply into my eyes. When I stared at him in wonder, he gently pulled me toward him with the other. My mouth fell open as his soft lips touched mine, then the warmth of his tongue filled my senses. My eyes drifted shut as I fell into the kiss and embrace. After a far too of a fleeting moment, he pulled away and walked to the ring.
I stood shocked—speechless—at what had just happened as I stared after him.
“That was a long time coming.” Sade came up from behind me, slapping me on the back.
My heart raced as I tried to gather my thoughts. I knew my cheeks and neck had turned a bright, scarlet red. I hadn’t expected him to do that and regretted how little time I’d had to enjoy the moment.
“Let’s just focus on the fight.” I finally managed to blurt something out. Sade’s smirk told me she wasn’t going to let it go that easily, but when I turned to the ring, she followed without speaking.
Sade and I raced over to the hoard and fought our way to the front of the ring. Beru and Vinug walked around each other as they waited for the second horn to sound the start of the fight.
“He’s certainly come alive for some reason. He’s looking more like the Beru I remember meeting.”
Sade was right. The fight seemed to be invigorating him. I began to wonder if his family was truly his anchor or if fighting was. Even as he faced potential death, he remained calm and unflinching.
The horn sounded and I jumped. It was too soon. I wasn’t ready.
Beru looked back at me and winked before he approached Vinug. His choice of weapon was a long sword, as was Vinug’s. At least it would be an even fight.
Vinug swung first. It easy to tell he was a skilled fighter but the way he moved, balancing the sword evenly and cutting the air with a clean swooshing noise. He narrowly missed Beru, but the move seemed to be more for intimidation and demonstration of his might. Without a doubt, he could have swung closer.
“Shit,” Sade hissed under her breath.
I nodded, numb and unable to add anything to her comment.
They danced around each other in a circle, careful not to expend their energy too fast. This would be a long fight. They watched each other intently, waiting for the other to attack first.
Beru didn’t wait long. He swung his sword swiftly and with force, but he didn’t get close enough to hurt Vinug. Then it was Vinug’s turn. He swung just as hard as Beru, only missing him by a hair.
I let out a big breath when they each retreated for a short time, but It wasn’t long before they were back at it again, this time using more force after gauging each other's strengths in the first round.
Vinug aimed for Beru’s sword and knocked it out of his hands. Sade gasped, and I covered my mouth with my hand. Unfazed, Beru pulled out his small knife as Vinug leapt at him with the sword, slicing a thin line on his bicep. My mouth went dry as blood from the sword wound trickled down the weapon in his hand.
Beru jumped back to give himself space, but Vinug kept pace, shortening the distance. He was relentless, clearly eager for it to be over. He was, perhaps, a little too overconfident because he rolled his ankle on his next offensive strike and landed awkwardly on the ground, landed on the ground, the look on his face showing he knew exactly what the mistake meant.
Beru lunged, kicking Vinug’s sword out of reach. Wasting little time, he plunged his knife in Vinug’s neck just below the ur’gel’s ear. Blood spurted out in a torrent, coating his arm before he yanked his knife out, allowing his lifeless opponent to fall to the ground. He stood and raised his arms over his head in victory. He walked around the ring, covered in blood and sweat but chin raised high. He bore no resemblance to the man who’d been so sick and weak only a few days earlier.
The ur’gel threw food and booed at him.
He brought his fists to his chest and growled at them. He tu
rned to where Sade and I’d stood watching the death match, but all of his attention was on me. He walked in my direction confidently, the fierceness on his face penetrating my soul. I froze in place, unable to take my eyes off of him.
Beru still had it. He was indeed a warrior.
Chapter 10
Beru easily hurdled the ring, using his uninjured arm to leap over it. Walking right past us, he went directly to the fountain. He dipped his hands in the water and washed the blood off his body. His demeanor was different, overconfident, perhaps.
“What was that?” Sade asked.
“I don’t know.” I didn’t want to turn my back on the army of ur’gel, but I also wanted to make a connection with Beru, especially after that kiss. I flipped back and forth between the two until it looked like the ur’gel were getting ready to disband.
“They are leaving.” Iri shifted to obstruct my view of Beru.
I tried to hide my annoyance and stepped slightly to the side as I watched Beru wash off the blood. It had all happened so quickly, I was still on edge, waiting for the next terrible thing to arrive. I couldn’t believe they would consider leaving and giving the town back so easily.
The ur’gel picked up Vinug’s body from the ring and wrapped him in cloth. They loaded him into one of their wagons while speaking in their language. I couldn’t understand them, but they looked to be packing up to leave.
“I think they really are. Shouldn’t they stay and fight us?” I was confused, and had no idea what to think. My world had just been upended by Beru’s success.. Moments earlier, I was ready to tell him goodbye forever. Instead I had to figure out how I was supposed to face him after that kiss.
“It would be disrespectful to Vinug’s name to disobey the terms.”
Instead of coming back to us, Beru began to stride down the street.
“Where is he going?” Sade lifted her hand in his direction and narrowed her eyes.
“The only thing that way is the camp,” I offered. I didn’t know if I should run after him or stay where I was.
“We should follow.”
I nodded in agreement and grabbed Iri’s arm and pulled him along.
We made eye contact with the Astor and waved for the giants to follow us. As I walked along the sidewalk, my nerves were on edge, still expecting to be attacked at any point. I was even more uneasy that Beru had gone on ahead of us without waiting.
We kept our eyes on him as he walked along the boardwalk. He was acting different than I’d even seen him act. He would pick up food from various vendors, take a single bite then throw the item on the ground. He had never been a wasteful person. Maybe it was the high of potentially losing his life.
“I guess we should be happy he’s awake.” Iri sounded as confused as I felt as he walked beside me. .
I had a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach telling me I should defend Beru. But my head was telling me to be happy he wasn’t still in a deep sleep. We just needed to give him some time. He had to adjust to being a warrior again.
“He will have good days and bad days. Today was a good day. Let’s let him have his moment.” I tried to act like everything was normal, but I was worried about him. His reaction to winning was not what I expected and it was making me uncomfortable.
We watched as he arrived at the campsite first. He made his way through the center, kicked a few pots that were left on the ground and pushed a stump out of the way before finally settling down on a chair. He kicked up his feet and leaned back.
“And now it appears as if we have a child in our midst.” Sade rolled her eyes.
“We have to give him a chance to adjust. He’s been through a lot, and we have nothing to compare that to. We just have to be there for him.” As I defended him I stood back, afraid to get closer to him. He seemed even more like a stranger now.
“How are you doing?” Iri walked over to him and touched his shoulder.
Beru shrugged his hand off. Iri’s eyebrows went up and he let his hand drop to his side. It was easy to see his reaction offended Iri even though her didn’t react. They had become close friends over our travels and Iri had stayed many nights alone with Beru when he was in his deep sleep.
“I’m fine.” Beru stood up and stomped over to find his pack. He pulled out some clean clothes and stripped down to change without bothering to turn or find a more private spot.
I looked away, embarrassed I’d let my eyes linger a little too long. It was mostly from surprise but I knew it wasn’t the only reason I’d been unable to turn away. I moved my gaze to Sade, seeing her mouth scrunch up. She held back whatever wanted to fly out of it, but I could see her struggling.
“We have to leave.” Beru came barreling toward us with urgency as soon as he was clean.
“We will, once we know the children are coming back.” Sade reminded him.
“No, we must leave now.” Beru started to throw whatever wasn’t already on the carriage onto it without any concern about the possibility of breaking anything.
“Stop.” Sade ran toward him with her hands up. Her personality would not be able to take this new Beru.
“If you had picked this up before, I wouldn’t have to clean up now.” Beru stood his ground, eyebrows lowered menacingly.
We all stood in our places in silence. We didn’t know this Beru and weren't sure how far his new behavior would go. I knew I could be the buffer, or at least I thought so. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to test my theory.
Iri walked over and stepped between them before a fight broke out. “I think you’ve had an exceptional day, so I’m going to give you a break. But I warn you—do not talk to Sade like that again.” Iri’s tone was firm but low, deceptively gentle in quality.
Something in Iri’s voice must have reached him, because the look in Beru’s eyes changed. The anger receded, and he backed away without another word. He took a seat by the carriage and avoided any eye contact with anyone, hanging his head down and resting his arms on his knees.
Iri came over to me and pulled me aside. “Do we trust him? This isn’t the guy I know. Something is off.”
I looked back at him, uncertain how to answer. I felt like Iri did at that moment, but I couldn’t turn my back on Beru while he was processing and dealing with everything that had happened. “Let’s hear him out, but I agree we should proceed with caution.”
Iri nodded, but I knew he was agreeing reluctantly. He’d follow my command because he trusted me, not because of Beru. I walked back to where my pack was and loaded it onto the carriage while Iri and Sade wandered off to talk alone.
“I know where we need to go.” Beru came up behind me. “We have to leave soon.”
“Where?” I finished what I was doing and then turned back to him.
His eyes were wider, and his facial expressions seemed more animated. “South. We need to go south.” He grabbed my arms and shook me. He pulled back once he was done speaking and shook his head.
“What’s south?” I questioned him.
“What?” He looked confused at my question.
I narrowed my eyes at his erratic behavior. “You want to go south.”
Beru walked away from me and packed up the rest of our camp with a calmer and gentler demeanor. Sade and Iri watched us from a distance as if they were ready to pounce on him if he did anything inappropriate. I left Beru to finish up and walked over to them. I had seconds to determine if and what I was going to tell them about our conversation.
“Did he mention the kiss?” She wanted to know as soon as we were out of earshot range.
“No.” I had practically forgotten about the kiss given his new attitude.
“What did he say?” Iri put his hand on my back as if to protect me.
“That he knows we should go south,” I told them quickly, while I had the nerve.
“What’s south?”
“He wouldn’t say.” I turned my head just enough to see him.
Astor was with him, and they were laughing at something. He appeare
d to be his usual self again.
“What do we do?” Iri pulled me back into the conversation.
“He is the key. Maybe whatever we need is south.” My instincts told me to follow him. I could be completely wrong, but I decided to go with my gut.
“Let’s load up, then.” Iri walked past me before I could read his expression.
“Is he mad?” My eyes followed Iri.
“He's never mad at you.” Sade offered a somber smile, and then followed Iri.
We cleared camp and settled on who was riding and who would go in the carriage. Beru and I led, and the others followed. I wanted to get him alone to see if he knew why we should go south and where exactly we needed to go.
“How are you feeling? You’ve got everyone worried about you.” I used a warm tone, hoping I’d worded my question in a way he wouldn’t take offense to.
“I’m good. I mean, as good as I can be.” Beru stared straight ahead.
“That was a tough fight back there.”
“He fell, and I got the better of him. If he hadn’t fallen, I wouldn’t be here.”
“You might not be.” I didn’t dare contradict him. He was right. He wasn't equipped to win a fight with a sword. I wanted him to keep talking, so I didn’t challenge him on anything he said.
“We need to pick up the pace.” He kicked his horse, and it sped up.
I tried my best to keep up with him. When I realized d the carriage wouldn’t be able to go as fast, I yelled at him. I didn’t want to lose them. “We have to slow down.” When he didn’t respond, I yelled even louder. “Wait!”
He slowed his horse enough so I was able to ride alongside him again.
“What was that?” I grabbed onto his sleeve. I wanted him to look me in the eyes.
“You’re too slow. I have to get south.” He pointed ahead of us.
“The carriage can’t go that fast. We would have lost them.” My plan to talk slowly and warmly had vanished. . He was acting irrationally, and I needed to call him out on it.
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