by R. J. Batla
“Jay, you all right?” Royn asked.
“No, I’m not. This one has me nervous; we don’t know much about him,” I said.
“High on energy. He’s got a power we haven’t seen yet, but it’s on his scorecard,” Morgan rattled off. She’d been the one to get more information from him. “You’ve seen his signature moves, so you know what to expect.”
Gilmer casually leaned back and put his arm around the back of the sofa behind Morgan. And she didn’t move. Interesting.
“Yeah, but his power set and techniques are super strong,” I said.
“You’ll be fine,” Royn said. “He’s a loner. I do know that. No affiliations, no friends. Fights for no one other than himself. No one even knows what his actual name is. They call him Anwhack.”
I nodded. Different moves ran through my head, various techniques I might use depending on what he did. High energy, so I could counter with...
Thoughts racing, I sat on another sofa and did a double take when I saw Katy and Anton sitting close together, holding hands. When the heck did that happen? Anton caught my eye and shrugged almost imperceptibly. Katy didn’t see it. About time. But they might not make it out of here alive, thanks to protecting me. Scratch that – I would make sure they made it out of here to enjoy this...whatever they had. Seemed like everyone was...
Leona stood up suddenly, moving fluidly to sit next to me, and Royn plopped down on the other side. No, no, no, I couldn’t let her distract me. Don’t look at her legs...oh, don’t look there either...oh, not her eyes. Don’t smile, girl, don’t – oh, there it is. Grinning stupidly back, my concentration evaporated, and I opened my mouth to speak. Screw it. If they...but no, it wasn’t fair to her...but still...
“Five minutes, fighter,” one of the guards said from outside my door.
Her smile evaporated, replaced with a guarded expression. Well, there went that moment. Leona looked lost for a second, then moved to the other side of the room, suddenly interested in one of the decorations.
Good Lord, she was beautiful.
I walked to the door, preparing for my friends to leave. Troup and Morgan almost knocked me over with handshakes and hugs, and the rest filed out behind them. Anton and Katy offered an extra “good luck” for me, with a wink from Anton.
“Stick to the plan, Jay. You’ll be fine,” Royn said, shaking my hand and patting me on the shoulder with the other.
As he turned, Leona was literally right there in his wake. She bounced on her feet, and pulled me into a hug. Her athletic frame pressed into me. She reached up and gave me a kiss on the cheek, left her face close to mine, and whispered, “Good luck, Jay.”
I’d been especially kind and going out of my way to make up for what I’d said to her – talking very politely, bringing her treats and flowers, even making sure she had her favorite meals available at all times – even though it wasn’t something you could really atone for, and wasn’t something I had actually meant. I could only apologize and wait for the forgiveness.
Giving her one more squeeze, she let go and walked out the door.
Was I being stupid? I knew how I felt about her, and I was pretty sure she felt the same. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to break her heart if the worst happened and I died in this tournament. I didn’t want to —
“Let’s go, Dragon of the East,” the guard said, poking his head in my room. I followed behind him, my mind going a hundred miles an hour.
“Clear.”
I’d barely registered that I’d already passed through the scanner.
“And here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Jayton Baird, the Dragon of the East!”
Wow, news traveled fast. But I guessed it was a good marketing tool.
Smile and wave, man, smile and wave. I let loose a couple of fire blasts and a small tornado. The crowd responded instantly, the volume pumping up at least a hundred decibels. Okay, maybe not that high, but it was loud.
Anwhack just stood there like a statue until his name was announced, then he drew a huge battle axe from behind his back, popping his neck and rolling his shoulders. He was thicker than I had thought; the slight yellow tint to his skin indicated a Manu heritage. The missing eyebrow over his right eye gave him an odd look, like his face was out of balance.
He nodded. I nodded. No nonsense. All right, that was how it was going to be.
“Fighters, ready? Fight!”
Anwhack wasted no time, rushing in with battle axe held high over his right shoulder, and at the same time, sending energy arcs with his left hand. The energy went out to either side, and circled back behind to trap me.
“Squares!” I said, raising my hands.
Square sections of the stone floor rose up to intercept the energy arcs on my sides. They impacted with a bang, followed by a spray of rock debris.
“Three Element Shield!” Energy, earth, and water leapt at my command, forming a half-dome barrier in front of me with just enough time to block a crushing blow from Anwhack’s axe. The heavy weapon slammed down onto the shield extended from my left wrist guard. The sheer force actually sunk my feet an inch into the dirt. Holy cow was this guy strong! I was able to hold him off with my Strength Quantum, my muscles bunching and screaming in protest.
“Get back!” I yelled, pushing forward with my right hand as a blast of air exploded between us, sending him arcing away from me. After a perfect backflip, he landed on his feet. Damn. Strong and agile.
I engaged the Ignis; I needed to see his scorecard. I was right: he had a strength Quantum too, but it was augmented by Weight. Strength was obvious, but Weight meant he could add and subtract the mass he possessed, or anything he touched. Done right, a very light weapon could get very heavy at the time of impact, and then light again as it was drawn back. Couldn’t let him get in close to me and use that again. I was lucky he didn’t get me the first time.
He rushed me while I quickly made a plan. Upping the energy in my shield and adding more earth and water to it, I blocked an attack meant to cleave me in two. It rattled my bones, my whole left arm shaking with the impact. Just as swiftly, he pulled it back for a double-handed overhead chop, meant to cleave me in two the other way, but this time I dodged.
But only just. Strength made me faster, but it also made him faster too. Spinning around, he swung again, each move highly telegraphed by his body. I mirrored his movements and dodged easily, creating ten yards of space between us.
Frustrated, he hurled energy balls at me, and I went to work with the elements. Fire, earth, air, water, and energy flung his way, each of us blocking and attacking, not gaining an advantage. Good. He couldn’t hit me with that damn axe if he was busy.
Whoa! An energy ball the size of a house headed my way! I jumped back. If that thing went off...
But it didn’t, only burned the dirt and grass between him and me. “Energy Push Back!” I screamed, using my own energy to push it toward him. Well, I tried. It didn’t move backward. It merely stopped, blocking my view of Anwhack. Where was he? Suddenly the pressure on the other side lessened. Oh man, that meant he was moving...
There! On top of the ball! Anwhack rocketed down the edge of the sphere, axe ready for the strike. With a grunt, I dove out of the way at the last second. A plume of dirt erupted where the axe landed like a small explosive.
“Sand Cloud!” I said, adding to the debris in the air, obscuring vision even more.
Moving back, I said, “Water Cannons!” The cannons, literally cannons like they have on pirate ships, formed as I pulled water from the stream on the side of the arena. Windmilling my arms, the cannons fired frozen projectiles toward Anwhack. He busted each one with his axe, the metal clanging against ice sounding gong-like in my ears. The gritty air cleared with each frozen bullet, but I kept up the barrage. Kept him occupied while I crept closer – I’d wanted to stay back before but maybe this would work.
He saw me right before I hit him with my left hand, and he knocked my strike aside with his forearm. We traded bl
ows, and I drew my sword, using his strength and weight against him, dodging and never taking a direct blow.
Both of us exerted a ton of force and energy. I dropped the sand cloud. The crowd roared with each strike, the blows blowing up dust around us. It was neck and neck for a few minutes, but I was waiting for a specific attack.
I gave him the opening he needed as he stabbed at me with the spike on his axe. I brought my left hand down, shield already engaged, and batted the attack. With his Weight Quantum engaged already, he wasn’t fast enough, and his momentum carried him forward. I brought down my energized sword at an angle across his chest. The cut ran deep, slicing a gash from his shoulder to his opposite hip, the blade cutting easily through his armor and skin, intestines spilling out. Blood pulsed from the wound with each beat of his heart.
Anwhack went pale, and coughed blood, right onto my face, the metallic scent filling my nose. His axe dropped to the ground with a clang, and he followed it down a couple of seconds later.
I just stood there, breathing hard. He could yield, and maybe survive, but he didn’t. He sat there bleeding. After a few seconds, he slumped backwards. An alarm sounded somewhere as I cleared the blood from my sword and sheathed it.
Anwhack was dying, but the medics weren’t coming. It was too late for him, hence the alarm and the crowd cheering. I had killed him. Before the trip to the tournament, the weight I would have felt might have overwhelmed me. But now it was only a small pang in my heart. Good. I would be worried if I felt nothing for taking a life, but I was glad I could do what must be done.
Blood continued to pool on the ground, and his breath became more labored. Anwhack looked up at me, shakily pulling some papers from a pocket. He held them and the axe out to me, and with his last breath, he said, “Take the axe, and take the papers. Right the wrongs.” I managed to grab both, then his eyes glazed over and his form was still.
I stood there looking down at him. What the hell did that mean?
Chapter 30 – Sonora Aledo
SONORA WALKED INTO Jayton’s quarters per her instructions from Royn. The rest of the crew was already gathered there, minus Jayton. Sonora looked at Morgan, who said, “Jayton is sleeping — he needs his rest before his next fight.”
That made sense. Royn was sitting at one of the chairs of the small dining room and stood up when she walked in — the last to arrive.
“Okay, we need to go back to the Wall. Leona, you know the drill.”
Sonora watched as Leona nodded and gathered her power together. After a few seconds, she slumped over slightly and said, “Sonora and Josey.”
She gathered blue energy in her hands like before, and slammed them onto Royn’s chest, this time managing to stay on her own two feet, though she wobbled a bit. “Same thing, Royn. You have an hour window in which you can bring both of them back at the same time.”
“Only one this time?” Royn asked.
Leona shrugged, “Guide powers. You’ve only got an hour.”
Royn nodded. “Thank you, Leona. You heard her, Sonora. Josey,” he said, extending his hands to each of them.
As soon as they grabbed his hands, the world turned blue and compressed against them. It was a frightening sensation for Sonora, because as an Aeren, she lived and breathed to feel the air around her. And that place between, when there was absolutely nothing, she had to fight to not panic. It was as if her very life had been ripped away in those few seconds.
They emerged in a gray hexagonal room with a red ‘27’ written in front of them. All three turned as an orc ripped the door of the jump point off and roared at them.
Heath Goodrich, their handler, said in their ears, “The seventh ring is falling. It just happened before you made the jump. You need to get back behind the walls.”
Josey was already moving, hands full of purple energy. She ducked a swipe from the orc’s sword and touched the creature twice on the neck. Large gashes erupted from the spots she touched, and the orc collapsed. Two more were at the door, and Josey did the same to them, with Royn and Sonora right behind her.
Jumping to the ground, the stairs obliterated, Sonora saw the mass of bodies pouring through a gaping hole in the seventh ring. She sent twin arcs of air slicing towards a hole – cutting down dozens of enemies until the force of the air dissipated so much that it merely knocked them over. Josey quickly dispatched three attacking werewolves.
“Our forces aren’t through yet. We need to hold the gate,” Royn said, looking around. His eyes widened. “Grab my hands.”
The two females obliged and they disappeared in a flash of blue again, only to reappear in front of a row of spikes, a large metal gate open in the middle of them.
“Josey, there’s an Elven healer’s tent just past the defensive ring. They’ll need your help – go!”
The purple Elf nodded and sprinted through the gap, along with the throng of troops retreating through the gate.
“We defend the gap, Sonora. Keep the enemy back as long as we can.”
Sonora nodded, her tattoo glowing, and pushed her fists forward, sending blast after blast of air at any enemy that approached, keeping them off her allies. Royn did the same beside her – she’d forgotten he was an accomplished air Senturian – and between them, they were able to hold the enemy off their troops with support fire from behind them.
After a couple of minutes, the number of friendlies diminished while the enemy increased.
“They’re almost all through, Royn,” Sonora said, her light green skin wet with blood and sweat, her lightweight clothes sticking to her as she looked at Royn. “We should –”
Sonora watched as a black scorpion the size of a large dog slipped under his sword and stabbed him in the chest with its stinger. The veteran Ranger merely grunted, then finished the creature off with his sword. His eyes found hers, and were filled with terror – he knew what the poison would do, and he collapsed to the ground.
“NO!” Sonora screamed. With a slight jump, she slammed back onto the ground and pushed her arms out. A solid wall of air ten feet thick rocketed away from her, throwing everything back fifty yards. The amazing display of power lasted only a second, but it was enough to give her time to get to her commanding officer. She was scared, even more than she should be for someone who was her commander. She rushed to him.
His breath came in ragged gasps; she knew he was in trouble. With a wave, she put a bundle of rolling air underneath him, lifting him from the ground and allowing him to be easily moved. She grabbed his hand and pulled him, at a full sprint, through the open door through the sixth ring, which crashed shut behind them once they were clear.
Frantically, she searched for the Elven tent, and found the purple temporary structure to her left. She turned and ran again, pushing people out of the way with air blasts as she ran. She spotted Josey quickly.
“Josey! Royn’s hurt bad. We need help!” Sonora called over the din of battle behind her.
Josey jerked her head around, took one look at Royn, and grabbed three other Elves that were around her. “Come, brothers, I need you.” They met in the middle, and Sonora let Royn drop to the ground. “What happened?” Josey asked, her and the other Elves pulling back their sleeves and lacing their hands in purple energy.
“A black scorpion stung him in his chest,” Sonora said, backing away to give them room.
All three immediately stopped.
“A black scorpion?” Josey asked. “You’re sure?”
Sonora nodded and Josey immediately leapt back into action. “Jack, go get water and any water Senturian you can find. Jim, get a Dwarf. Frank, grab a Phoenix. Go now! We don’t have much time.”
Royn began spasming, and Sonora reached down to grab his hand, shaking with worry. With a touch, Josey knocked him completely unconscious so she could work.
Sonora managed to get out, “What’s happening, Josey?”
Josey’s hands were a blur of purple motion. “The black scorpion poison is a combination of water, fire, and earth, plu
s a neurotoxin. We need users of all three elements to pull all the poison out of him, while I handle the toxin.” She gave Sonora a serious look. “Either way, it will be a close thing.”
The other Elves arrived with three bloody Senturians, all breathing hard and looks of confusion on their faces. Not wasting any time, the three Elves grabbed their charges’ hands with their left hand and put their right on Josey’s neck, giving her access to their energies.
Josey’s purple hands gained streaks of red, blue, and brown, and she placed her hands over the wound. She made circular motions, and slowly a greenish ooze, the venom, seeped out of the wound as the Senturians watched. Once a pool the size of Sonora’s hand had formed at the top of the wound, Josey lifted her own, the venom rising away from his body. She directed it into a glass jar Sonora hadn’t seen her put on the ground.
Instantly, Royn’s muscles relaxed, and Sonora’s face lit in a smile. But just as suddenly, he started spasming again. Josey and the Elves got back down to work on him.
“What’s wrong?” Sonora said, watching them as she held his hand.
Josey said, sweat on her brow, “The poison had already gotten into his organs and started attacking his heart and his spirit.”
“How can it do that?”
“I don’t know how. I just know that it does.”
“How do we fix it?”
Josey’s voice broke. “We can’t.”
Sonora’s throat closed up and she felt tears form in her eyes.
Frank, one of the other Elves, suddenly piped up. “Josey, we could boost his soul, his energy, his chi, whatever you want to call it, with another’s, but it’s risky.”
“How risky?” Sonora blurted out before she’d realized she was speaking.
“Fifty-fifty, and if he dies, both him and the donor die. It’s like they’re linked in some way, at least for a while,” Frank said.