Renton said, "I'll get you that meeting. While I contact my people, all of you should clean up. From what I gather, it's going to be a long night for you."
15
Astrid and Fabiola stood behind Zack in the dark corridor the holding cells. Oslo and Mannic had walked into the dark room in the basement of the Rings with torches, lighting the torches on the walls.
Fabiola asked, "Why are we here again?"
The end of Zack's lips curled upward as the light in the room behind him glowed, revealing over a dozen cages of various beasts the Wild Brigade had captured for Renton. Zack asked his friends, "Which is the better hunter, the snow owl or the snow leopard?"
Fabiola answered, "The snow leopard. Powerful. Fast. That's an easy one."
Astrid added her two bits. "I think it's the snow owl. Their flights are silent. They're super patient. Plus, they're really cute."
He spun on his heels and Oslo led him to the cages he sought. Mannic had disappeared into the back and come back out with a cage. Inside the cage was a snow owl Oslo had trapped. It wasn't to be used in the Rings, but was just a simple gift for Renton.
Oslo handed Zack a torch. Zack held it up to the large cage in front of them. Out of all the animals they had captured -- polar bears, warks, and wolves, this one had given them the most trouble. Catching the beasts wasn't the problem. It was taming them.
The trollbear in Zack had made it easy for him to subdue most of them by unleashing his hunger at them. Somehow, the animals seemed to instantly sense the apex predator lurking inside of Zack. After that, the Wild Brigade took their time teaching the beasts commands they could follow inside the Rings.
But the beast pacing in the cages had proven too resilient to the trollbear's presence inside of Zack. It was a mother snow leopard, three times the size as the baby snow leopards Zack had fought inside the Rings. This one could have even been related to those.
The mother snow leopard hadn't succumbed to Zack's presence. In fact, it looked angrier than before, having recognized him on sight. She was angry.
Zack said, "Mannic, when I tell you to, open the cage and let me in. Close it behind me. Whatever happens, you do not open the gate."
"Zack..." Fabiola began, concerned, but she stopped.
Astrid sighed. "Are we getting crazy Zack again? Cause I don't like crazy Zack. I like cool and collected, super muscle Zack."
Zack said, "I can't get into the second state to defeat the other Elementalists, let alone the Adjutant. So, what I can do is gain more power. I know you're concerned about the hunger, but we need every advantage we can get. Besides, you don't have to worry. I think I figured something crucial about my powers."
"You think?" Astrid asked, unconvinced.
He didn't reply. Anything he said wouldn't have made her feel better.
Zack took off his shirt and cloak, not wanting it to get ripped. The mother snow leopard seemed to sense what was happening and stopped pacing. She waited on the other side of the cage, her tail twisting in the air. Her eyes were locked on Zack.
He signaled for Oslo to open the cage and he jumped in. When the sound of the cage door locking behind him resounded through the chamber, Zack realized he might not exactly know what he was doing.
The mother leopard didn't wait for him, and leaped straight at him. His new muscles and pool of strength roared with power as he matched the snow leopard's gigantic paws with his own hands. They were at a standstill, his muscles straining against her power and weight.
But his foot shook, still unhealed from the ice wound with the Elementalist. He roared, pushing past the pain. Zack twisted his body like he had seen Astrid do in spars before, using the bigger beast's weight to his own advantage by transferring it to the ground. It was the closest thing to a fighting technique he had ever used.
With the snow leopard on her back, he pummeled a rain of hammerfists against her chest. The snow leopard wasn't helpless, her claws ripping into his sides. Zack ignored the cries of worry from Fabiola and Astrid. He let the hunger eat his pain, growing more in strength.
Zack didn't let the hunger take over completely. He needed his sanity. Having beat on the same spot over and over with his massive strength, he felt the snow leopard's ribs break. He pummeled more fists into her, and soon, the snow leopard began to shake erratically.
The bones of her ribs had probably punctured her lungs. He kept hitting her, keeping an eye on her eyes. The claws stopped tearing into him, and he realized he was bleeding out. He wasn't as bad as when he had fought the trollbear, barely holding on to his life, but it was close.
He sunk his hands on to the snow leopard's face and gaze into its eyes. He closed his and focused on the hunger.
Zack had made the realization only hours before. His element was the flesh of animals. It was all flesh. Why couldn't he replicate what he had done with the trollbear with other animals?
But even when the idea occurred to him, he realized it could probably the worst mistake he had ever made in his life. With some level of creativity, he had grown his height and muscles to offset the insanity effects of the trollbear's hunger. His new body had given him more access to the power, but at the same level of sanity as before, meaning he didn't have to give into the hunger.
If he merged with the snow leopard, would that mean he lost the trollbear's power? Or worse, would the instinctual rage of the beasts' hunger overwhelm to the point he lost complete control of his own sanity?
He hoped not. That's why he had a back up plan. But all he had was hope.
Zack heard gasps as he felt the massive frame beneath him dwindle, and he knew he had succeeded. The hunger inside of him hadn't grown, but another one had been born beside it. They worked in tandem, clawing aggressively at Zack's mind.
Power coursed through him like never before. His sense flared, and the darkness of the room expanded with light when he opened his eyes. His fingers stretched and his nails thickened, sharpening. With a quick flex of his fingers, his nails extended like sharp claws.
Still, he could feel his sanity breaking. He wanted to say something, but no words came out. No! This wasn't acceptable. He was the ruler of his body. He was ruler of his flesh. Not the trollbear. Not the snow leopard.
Zack. He was Zack Maecker. He was an Elementalist, and his element was flesh. His. Own. Flesh.
Even with the conviction, the tide of bestial wills pounding against him almost overwhelmed him completely. He managed to roar, "Let the snow owl in the cage and close it behind. Quick!"
Manny pushed away a crying Astrid and threw in the bird cage into the larger cage, slamming the gate shut.
With his newfound strength, he tore the iron cage of the snow owl apart, his grip tight around the bird's neck before it could escape. He looked into its eyes as he squeezed the life out of it.
And he ate.
Zack didn't eat with his mouth, but with his body. He absorbed the snow owl into him. But unlike with the trollbear and the snow leopard, he welcomed the snow owl wholeheartedly inside him, letting it take over.
Hunger did not come with the snow owl. It recognized hunger, but it was a master of patience. Its focused calm flooded Zack with a wave of serenity that quelled the raging hungers of the trollbear and the snow leopard inside him.
He was still stronger than ever, but he felt light, precise. With the snow leopard's absorption, he gained the ability to see in the night, but with the snow owl, Zack's vision had sharpened. Nearly every detail in the room had become clear to him.
Panting, he stood up, completely healed from absorbing both animals. Zack was powerful. Like a perfect triangle, the three beasts inside him held perfect balance. He knew on instinct that if he upset that balance with other beasts, he might completely lose his sanity. Zack had chosen wisely.
He flexed his fingers, retracting and releasing his claws. Oslo and Mannic stared at him with wonder and caution. Fabiola held Astrid in her arms who was crying. The desert woman looked concerned.
Zack gave
them his warmest smile. "I'm still me. Don't worry."
Mannic looked to Zack and asked, "Can we open the gate now?"
The giant man didn't sound like he wanted to open the gate. That suited Zack just fine. His answer was to walk to the four inch steel bars of the gate. He placed his hands on two adjacent bars and strained with only half of his new power, pushing them apart.
"Shattered stones," Fabiola cursed.
Zack stepped through, and all his friends took an involuntary step back. He said, "The snow leopard and the snow owl. I asked you which one was the better hunter? It was a trick question. The answer is both."
16
Zack and the Wild Brigade waited in the center of the Ring one, where he had entered his first fight. Back then, the crowds for his fights were thin. No one paid attention to the runaway slave boy. It took time for him to gain the attention of the thousands who ended up watching his battles.
When he first heard the name Zack the Troll, he had been completely bloodied and battered, his hand broken. Only by eating several pounds of meat after was he able to heal. The opponent he had fought was on a completely different level skill wise, and Zack hadn't gotten used to the careful balance of feeding the hunger and giving into it completely.
The Troll. The name had spread like wildfire. Even though he knew it was a title given to him because of his relentless ability to keep fighting, to struggle against all odds, Zack had hated the name. The crowd had come to watch him bleed, and worse yet, to watch him make others suffer.
Truthfully, it wasn't so much the image of Yemiri or Astrid's meditation techniques that helped Zack fight the tide of his hunger. It was mostly spite against the crowd who wanted to see him go berserk. In reply, he maintained control.
Well, most of the time.
He never would have thought it proved useful. Henslow and his followers, a group of twenty or so older men and women, filed into the arena under Winter's moon.
The man had a lazy eye, and his furs were tattered and worn. He was old, probably over seventy. But he held himself with the calm demeanor of a man who spoke little, used to others following his word. Zack knew the man was as soon as he walked in.
He had expected the rebel faction of Bergen to be strong warriors or hardened men and women. Instead, they looked like mothers and fathers, or uncles who gossiped false stories about when they had visited lands beyond the Frozen Sea. To Zack's disappointment, they were ordinary.
The Wild Brigade stood behind him, their weapons to their side. Renton had decided not to be a part of the meetings, not wanting to be seen associated with what was happening. In the end, he had plausible deniability and could blame one of his newer guards for leaving a back gate open for rebels to sneak through.
Henslow shimmied over to Zack and looked up at him. He said, "You look different, young man. I saw your fifty sixth fight consecutive fight. You were nothing but a scrawny slave then, an impressive one, but still scrawny. Now you look like an actual troll."
Zack grunted. "I thickened up."
Henslow chuckled. "It's not just the muscle. Your skin was slightly darker than an Astorian's back then, but now it's nearly paler than ours. Plus, you had hair on your head."
"I like the bald look," added Astrid.
Zack self-consciously rubbed his bald head. That wasn't his fault. He said, "I ran into the Adjutant's twins. One of them shot fire from his hands at me."
Henslow nodded gravely. "Elementalists. That confirms it. And this is why we're here, yes? Leyna sent you?"
Zack sighed. Might as well be done with the bad news. "Leyna and Ulfric are dead. The guard and the Elementalist twins killed them. I managed to kill the captain of the guard."
Henslow shifted uncomfortably.
He said, "We've heard accounts of this already. Some of our spies are in the guards themselves. Unfortunately, it's hard to believe what everyone says these days."
Zack didn't like his tone. "What do you mean by that?
"Some of us are concerned that you may not be who you say you are," Henslow explained. "Think about it. A slave escapes from the Demon's Prospect where only overseers and their guards go? That place is supposed to be completely impossible to escape. Then this same slave boy shows up at the Rings and willingly volunteers to fight? And not just fight, the boy has accomplished something only one man has ever done before? All of this sounds fishy."
Astrid chimed in. "You don't trust Zack. You think he's some kind of plant or spy by the Adjutant to weed out you and your folk. Well, I hate to break it to you, but our man here isn't nearly smart enough to execute something like that. I mean, the guy can barely read."
Zack didn't know whether to thank Astrid or be embarrassed. Her compliments had a way of undercutting you at the same time. Very confusing.
Henslow shook his head. "If that were true, I wouldn't have shown up myself. But it just doesn't sit right with us. Leyna believed in you, said you could somehow help. She never explained to us why. But now you're here. Why did you ask for a meeting?"
Zack said, "I don't care about your stupid political war with the Adjutant. When it comes to laws or anything of the sort, I have no interest. I only care about me and mine. Fortunately for you, my best friend in all the world is the Adjutant's lead harem candidate, and I've been told several times that nobody by twins and the captain of the guard enter the ice tower and leave."
Henslow nodded. "We've heard about your friend, Yemiri. Unfortunately, we can't help you there either. We're having a hard enough time as it is getting the guards off our back since Leyna and Ulfric were killed, let alone rescue a slave girl we've never met. What was it that Leyna saw in you?"
Zack signalled for Henslow to hand him a metal sword. Zack passed to Henslow. The old man inspected it and gave a look of curiosity to Zack. He said, "I don't get it. This is a simple sword of poor quality and make. What's your point?"
Henslow passed it back to Zack, who then held the sword on each end and snapped it in half with barely a portion of his newfound strength. He tossed the pieces to the side and Henslow took a step back, eyes wide in horror. His people instantly surrounded him in defense but Zack put his hands up, unmoving.
Zack assured the, "I mean no harm. That wasn't a threat. It's a promise that I can provide you my strength. Yes, the Adjutant is a powerful Elementalist and he has two other Elementalists under his thumb, but I can help. I just need enough people to help me storm the tower."
The old man shook his head and collected himself. "One of our spies was there during your fight with the twin Elementalists. He said they tossed you to the snow like ragdolls. How can you help us?"
Zack sighed. "I've changed since then."
Henslow scoffed. "In four hours? I doubt it. I think we're done here."
The old Zack would have grown impatient, maybe used threats and anger to get his way. But the snow owl in him tempered his thoughts. He said, "You don't really want change. You say you do. But you do nothing."
Henslow stopped and scowled. "You know nothing, boy."
Zack chuckled. "What I know is this: I was once a slave of the Demon's Prospect, a life so arduous and terrible that the likes of you in your fancy houses and clothes could never imagine. Then I finally had the chance to change my life. I didn't stumble around deliberating and making plans. I took it. I failed along the way, but I used that chance to its fullest. Now, I'm talking to an old man four times my age who has given up, still making plans and waiting for the perfect time. You want a better future? Well, there is no perfect time. There is only now, and I offer you this chance."
The Flesh Elementalist Page 12
