33
Crius made the first move. He lifted the heavy piece of metal over his head with both hands and swung down with brutal force. Liam rolled forward and to the right dragging his sword across the side of Crius’ kneecap as he did. It was a glancing blow but it quieted the Kraven onlookers momentarily and led to several gasps. His purple blood trickled slowly from the wound. Crius looked at his bleeding knee but didn’t let a sound escape his lips. He only turned and readied his next blow.
With the Kraven onlookers out of their way, there was a good ten meters square with few obstructions to mar the fight. Liam planned to use every inch. Crius’ sheer size meant that he could only take a few steps before running into his brethren. Liam would have to use every ounce of his cunning to get out of this fight alive.
Crius swung across his body. Liam hopped backward, the blade missing his face by mere centimeters. The Kraven warlord fumed, blood rushing to his face. He bared his two rows of pointed teeth and growled from his belly, a horrible sound that resonated inside Liam’s eardrums. Crius’ yellow eyes reflected the holographic image of Garuda as they squinted down at him. The Kraven took another swing and hit only air as his jagged blade flew through the image of the planet, disrupting the projection briefly.
Liam tried to roll around the Kraven warlord again but was kicked by his massive leg. Liam tumbled onto his face, his sword sliding a meter away from his fingertips. His ribs felt crushed from the force of the blow, but Liam clenched his teeth and hardened his muscles in anticipation. Crius didn’t waste any time and swung down with both hands on his gruesome blade. Liam rolled to his right, grabbed his blade, and barely got it up in time to meet the Kraven blade. Liam struggled against Crius’ serrated blade using his spare hand on the back of his sword as leverage.
Liam’s scimitar began to bend under the pressure, the jagged edges of Crius’ blade splintering his curved blade. Liam’s eyes widened when they shot to the tiny fissure. He shifted his weight and Crius’ blade slid down Liam’s sword and into the grated floor to Liam’s left, where it became lodged. As Crius struggled to break his sword free from the seam between the grates, Liam found his feet and glanced another blow off the Kraven’s knee, crossing his previous cut. Crius swung his elbow back at him but Liam was able to back away to the corner of the open area, putting as much distance between him and the Kraven leader as possible.
A steady stream of dark purple flowed down Crius’ calf. The Kraven leader howled. Liam couldn’t say for sure whether it was a howl of pain or anger, but he guessed his approach was working. If he was lucky the Warlord would begin to slow down. Then again, he had a lot more blood to lose than Liam.
Crius stomped his good leg over the grate and yanked his grisly sword from its clutches. He took two labored steps toward Liam, crossing much of the distance between them, and said, “You have lasted longer than I expected, outsider, but your time has come.”
He swung his massive blade with reach Liam couldn’t match. Liam squatted down to one knee. The Kraven blade missed his skull but severed a few strands of his blond hair. Liam saw them floating down as he looked up at the titan before him. At the end of his swing Crius twirled the blade behind his head and came down with it, aiming to cut Liam in half. Despite his large frame and heavy weapon, Crius swung the blade fast. It took everything Liam had to get out of the way of the sword in time.
Somehow, he found himself between the Kraven’s legs. He felt Crius looking around for him. Liam used the opportunity to lift up his blade and stab downward through the back of Crius’ bad kneecap. The Kraven dagger became wedged between flesh and bone. Crius fell to his knees, his arms swinging wildly behind him. The warlord’s arm caught Liam and flung him ten meters through the air, into a group of Kraven, who quickly muscled him back into the tiny arena.
Liam’s blade was still stuck in the Kraven’s knee, irretrievable. Now he was unarmed and about all he’d accomplished was piss off the Kraven giant. Crius lifted himself onto his good leg and yanked the dagger from the back of his knee, tossing it into the crowd. A jet of purple spurted out from the wound, eliciting a wail of rage from the warlord. He tried putting pressure on his left leg and stumbled back to his knees. Liam may have hit an artery because the Kraven’s blood was flowing freely now, dripping down into the grated floor.
The Kraven onlookers became hushed, watching in silence as their leader suffered. Even on his knees Crius was a couple heads taller than Liam and frightening to behold. Liam skirted around the edge of their makeshift ring, searching around him for any kind of weapon. Crius lifted himself up again to one foot and gritted his teeth. He was determined now to remain upright. Crius’ jaw tightened as he forced himself to stand on both feet, crying out in pain as his bad leg straightened.
Crius began to limp toward Liam, slow at first, but with increasing speed. He dragged his sword along the ground creating a slew of sparks, raising it up as he neared his target. When Crius tried to swing Liam leaped toward the titan’s wounded side. The Kraven warlord tried to turn on his bad knee in pursuit but it was too much for him. He plummeted to the ground.
Nix cried out to Liam, who turned to see the Dinari’s weapon flying through the air toward him. He caught it and turned in time to see Crius readying his next strike from one knee. The two of them froze, a ball of energy readied at the tip of Liam’s weapon. Crius sneered, “You would break the ancient rules of combat?”
Liam lowered his weapon. The grate under the Kraven leader was coated with blood, dripping down into the floor so there was no way to tell how much had been spilt. Crius’ face had begun to lose color. His eyes were having trouble keeping focused. Liam made a snap decision and tossed aside his energy weapon. It clanked as it slid across the grates.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Liam said, praying he would be right.
Crius steadied himself with one hand and let his sword fall to the floor. His yellow eyes found Liam’s and his gaze softened. “You are a worthy opponent Liam of House Kidd. Finish it, and let me die gloriously in battle.”
Liam shook his head. “I’ve beaten you. Give me the key and my crew and I will be on our way. Nobody needs to die today.”
Crius’ expression hardened. “Perhaps you’re not as worthy as I thought. You would dishonor me with mercy,” Crius said, spitting at Liam’s feet.
Liam shook off his boot and turned his back to the Kraven leader, rejoining his crew. He approached Ju-Long, whose face contorted as he advanced. His hand was pointed past Liam. Crius was on his feet, sword in hand, coming down with his blade with one last ditch effort. Liam’s eyes widened. He didn’t have time to get out of the way.
Mere meters away, Crius stopped in his tracks, sword falling to the grated floors. He collapsed to his knees with a dazed look in his eyes. Finally he fell onto his face and Liam’s suspicions were confirmed. Six metal spears were sticking out of his back. He was killed by his own people.
A rather large Kraven advanced on Liam, his face adorned with blue face paint that covered countless scars. He might have been even taller than Crius. The Kraven looked down at Liam and the crew and said, “Crius dishonored the Throng, he was unfit to lead. Your battle is honored outsider. Take the Azure Key and leave quickly.”
Another Kraven stepped forward holding a small black box. It appeared dense like lead, but when he placed it in Liam’s hands it was far lighter than he expected. It was hard to imagine such a small thing was responsible for their presence on Garuda, for traveling across the galaxy.
The blue-faced warrior continued, “Without this ship, the Key is meaningless. It is but a small part of a much larger whole. This ship itself was designed to integrate with it.”
The Kraven giant moved his eyes around the ship, examining the damage and the occasional spark. “I cannot imagine what you plan to do with it, but take it far from here. It has brought us nothing but trouble. The Ansarans will pay for what they’ve done this day.”
Several of the other Kraven yelled out “Lia
rs” and “Cowards” at the mention of the Ansarans. The blue-faced Kraven had sad eyes. Liam imagined he was weary from far too many battles. The other Kraven seemed to respect him as an elder, though he looked no older than Crius.
“Thank you,” Liam said. “Your integrity will not be forgotten.”
“Pray it is not, outsider.”
Liam knew the Ansarans would not leave the crashed vessel unsearched for long. The new Kraven leader must have known this too, because he picked up Crius’ sword and began barking orders to his warriors.
“What will you do now?” Liam asked.
The Kraven titan looked down at Liam with a glint in his eye that was almost hopeful. “We will fight, as Kraven do.”
The Corsair Uprising #1: The Azure Key Page 33