Death Cloud: The Senturians of Terraunum Series (Book 2)

by R. J. Batla

  “Paid?” everyone said at once.

  “Paid,” Gilmer repeated. “By none other than Lord Escobares.”

  Everyone gasped.

  “That shouldn’t be a surprise,” Leona said. “Jay embarrassed him in front of everyone. He couldn’t afford to lose face like that.”

  “Ha!” I managed to get out. “Afford. Rich lord! Ha!” No one else around me laughed. “No? Oh, okay, never mind.”

  “That’s not all I’ve found out,” Gilmer said, finishing the water and asking Morgan for more. “I overheard several conversations about the Darkstone and what else it can do.”

  “Good job, Gilmer,” Royn said. “What’d you find out?”

  “That it can be used as a Reanimator.”

  Me and everyone else gasped. Again.

  “That’s...that’s not supposed to exist!” Morgan said, her hand on her heart.

  “No power can do that,” Troup said. “None. I mean, bringing people back from the dead? Impossible!”

  Hank hung his head. “It’s not bringing them back, Troup. A Reanimator controls the body...the dead body. The user of the Reanimator has full control of the prior abilities of the deceased person.”

  “Their powers?” Celeste asked.

  “Aye,” Hank said, “it’s the most despicable thing you can imagine. Think of an army you’ve just slain, rising up again almost instantaneously. But this time no fear. No pain. No mercy. Nothing. Just the will of the animator being carried out. You have to disable them completely to kill them. Sever the head. That’s the only way to stop them.”

  Euless leaned in, his eyes wide. “You’ve seen this before, Hank.” It wasn’t a question.

  He nodded. “Aye.”

  “What was it like?”

  “Hell.”

  Chapter 42 – Jayton Baird

  “COME ON, ROYN, WE NEED the break!” I said. “Okay, more specifically, I need a break. I just lost. All I’ve been doing is either fighting or watching fights — I need to do something else.”

  “Negative, Jay, after what happened in the arena last time, it’s too risky.”

  “Come on!” Anton said. “We’ve all been on edge lately. Plus, we’ll all be there. How much more protection do we need? Jayton doesn’t have to fight for another two days, which is plenty of time to recover from having a couple beers.”

  The rest of us nodded our agreement as Royn looked at each of us in turn, finally rolling his eyes. “Fine, but be careful, and don’t do anything stupid. Hank and I will be on call if you need us.”

  With big grins on our face, everyone dropped what they were doing and tried to beat each other out the door.

  “Freedom!” Katy said, throwing her hands in the air as we walked into the tunnel outside of my quarters. It had become the new base for everyone since it had expanded enough, finally, for everyone to stay there and have their own room after my last “win.” Anton followed Katy, Troup, Celeste, Morgan, Leona, me, and Gilmer. Sonora said she had something else to do with a look at Royn, and Euless was walking around enjoying the city.

  “Whatever, Katy. You’ve been outside this damn place while I’ve been stuck here literally,” I said, though with a smile. It did feel good to be out, or at least have the illusion of some semblance of freedom.

  Leona laughed and put her arm through mine as we all walked up the stairs. She quickly let go, though, as we exited the fighters’ area and entered the stadium proper. We wandered around through the various shops that were housed inside the actual stadium, idly meandering, not a care in the world, making jokes and just...being. I would say normal, but that wasn’t quite right, since I was still confined to the stadium.

  But because Leona was with me, it was better than normal.

  I wanted to kiss her so bad. She was right there beside me, stealing glances at me with a sly smile. Even through the possible concussion, I would never forget the feel of those lips on mine.

  But I couldn’t do that in public yet. Not here. Not where it would put an even bigger target on her back. Even her holding my arm as little as she did was a risk; they might try to get to me through her.

  “Oy, you’re Jayton Baird!”

  Turning, a group of four men were sitting around a card table outside one of the many bars that lined this area of the stadium. They were different from most people I’d seen. Clean, maybe? Who knew? They looked... normal.

  “Well, are you?” another one said. “It’s not polite to not even answer.”

  “Well, it was more of a statement than a question, but yes, I’m Jayton Baird.”

  “Jayton!” the first one who spoke said, throwing his arms wide like he’d known me forever. “You play cards, mate? Wanna join our game? We need a fifth.”

  “Jay, not a good idea,” Celeste whispered.

  But I was interested. For some reason, I felt like I needed to talk to these people.

  “Oh, come on, Celeste, it’ll be fine,” I whispered back. Then, louder, I said to the group of men, “Sure, why not!”

  “Good on ya, mate!” the same guy said. Slightly bigger than me, barrel-chested, and full of muscle, he and all the others looked like travelers or woodsmen. Leather packs, long knives, and bows lay next to them. Inconspicuous but handy. “Make room, boys. Have a seat! We’re playing Texas Hold ‘Em – it’s like poker.”

  I sat down, and the rest of the crew set directly behind me at another table, each facing a different direction where they had all angles covered. “I’m familiar with poker, but what are the differences?” He explained that each player was dealt two hole cards that were only theirs, then three community cards were dealt face up, called the flop. Then two more community cards were dealt one at a time, called the turn and the river, with a round of betting after each deal of the cards. “Okay, I think I get it. But why’s is it called ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’?”

  “Cause that’s the name,” the one to my left said, shuffling the cards.

  “Yeah, but what’s a ‘Texas’?”

  “Dragon, if you’re just gonna run your yap about nuttin at all, then maybe you don’t want to play?” the one to my right asked.

  “No, I’ll play, I’ll play,” I said, and my group crowded up behind me as the first hand was dealt. Pair of twos; not too bad.

  “So what are you trying to do, Dragon?” the one across from me said. Don’t think it went past me that they didn’t introduce themselves. “I call.”

  “Right now, win this hand!” I said, getting a couple of laughs, but hard stares returned. “Win money. Help people. Keep people from dying.”

  “Help?” the second man from my right said. “By doing what, killing fighters in the tourney? Seems an odd way to help people”

  “Even if it saves others?” I asked. “I call.”

  The dealer flipped three cards on the table, for all to see. A two, three, and a king. That meant I had three twos.

  The man across from me said, “Dragon, you’re pretty strong, with all your powers and such. But what about those without powers? Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could have them?”

  Well this conversation was getting weird in a hurry.

  “So if everyone had powers, that would be the solution to all the problems in the world?” I asked.

  “No, it would just make things easier,” he said. “I raise.”

  Righty folded.

  “How?” I asked. “I raise.”

  “Well, you could, you know, do other stuff...” Lefty said. “Call.”

  “If everyone had them, and assuming there would be way more with lower power levels, would that actually help people, or would they just be in the same situation they’re in now, but with more responsibility?” I said.

  The guy sitting two people down from me folded.

  “What does it bloody matter?” Righty said. “It’s not like all of Terraunum can suddenly manifest powers in the blink of an eye.”

  The dealer dealt the turn card, putting a pair of kings out there to go with my three twos. />
  “Okay then, let me ask you this,” Lefty said, “why’d you free that slave kid and piss off one of the most powerful men on the West Side?”

  “I didn’t like the situation he was in. I had an opportunity to do something about it, so I did. Nothing anyone else wouldn’t have done in my place,” I said.

  Two Down laughed. “I highly doubt that. What about all the other slaves? What are you going to do about them?”

  The river card was dealt. Nothing — a nine. Across raised, everyone else called. We flipped our cards over, and I won the hand with a full house, twos over kings.

  “Looks like the Dragon has the luck right now,” Across said, grabbing the cards, shuffling.

  “You were asking about the slaves?” I asked, watching the next man shuffle the cards.

  “What are you going to do about them?” Two Down said.

  My eyebrows shot up. “Is there something I can do?”

  “YOU’RE JUST LIKE THE OTHERS!” Righty hissed, banging his hands on the table. He jumped up, grabbed his pack, and stormed off.

  His friends — assuming they were his friends, anyway — watched him go. “Don’t mind him; he’ll calm down,” Lefty said. “You there — care to take his place?” he said, pointing at Anton, who sat down eagerly.

  We played another hand in silence. Lefty won with three aces.

  As Anton shuffled, Lefty looked around and waved his hand before asking, “What if there was something you could do?” Around us, all the sound faded into the background. Like we were in our own little bubble. Lefty must have had some kind of power.

  “I might be inclined to do it,” I said. King – Jack suited was dealt to me. Nice. “I raise.”

  They all looked at each other.

  “Can you win this tournament?” the first one who spoke said.

  “It’s my goal,” I said.

  They all called.

  “Yeah, but can you do it?” Across asked.

  “I don’t know. I can only do my best with the talents I was given. But honestly, I’ve got a damn good shot.”

  “Good enough. If you win, we’ll talk. Here,” he said, folding his hand and handing me the Ace of Spades. “You can call me Aces. I speak for the slaves of several lords, though they don’t know it yet. If you can win and show them a way out of their bonds, they will fight for you. I’ll coordinate everything. The card is a communication device, untraceable.”

  “For me? I don’t want an army. I don’t want anyone to risk their lives for me.”

  “If you win the tournament, you won’t have a choice. Don’t lose that card,” he said, nodding.

  “But... why?” I’d really done nothing to earn such outright trust.

  “Because of what you did. Because you’re honest. Because you stand up to the lords. And because we believe in you, Easterner.”

  With that, Lefty waved his hand again and the sound returned. Their group got up as he said, “We’d best be going now. We’ll be betting on you, Dragon.” He looked at Celeste. “The Urchin bids you well, my lady.”

  With that, they left us sitting at the table with stupefied looks on our faces.

  Leona was the first to recover, “Well, that was weird.”

  Anton said, “Yeah, and they didn’t even take their money. Looks like we’ve got the next few rounds paid for anyway.”

  Morgan said, “Two things. This is stating the obvious, but they know who you are, Jay. Though they don’t seem to be threatening you. Seems more like they’re on our side. And the second – what the hell did he mean, Celeste? Who is the Urchin?”

  Celeste shushed her. “Don’t say that name too loud. He’s the most powerful pirate who sails the seas.”

  Katie arched an eyebrow. “And why would he wish you well?”

  “Because he’s my father.”

  Chapter 43 – Jayton Baird

  THE NEXT DAY, WE WERE back watching more fights.

  “Hey, let’s take a break, Royn. I won’t face any of these guys anyway; they’re on the Uland’s side of the bracket,” I said. “Let’s go back to the room – we can rest, get some food, and relax for a minute.”

  Royn looked like he was going to protest, but then sighed. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Royn, Anton, Celeste, Troup, and I headed downstairs.

  It took us no time to get there, and since my room had expanded yet again, I took the opportunity to look around. Two different hallways for bedrooms branched off the main room, which was a big living space, a kitchen with every amenity, and a dining area big enough for the whole crew. And it was comfortable too! All the furniture fit perfectly; there was food, drink, paper and pencils, everything we needed.

  Royn pulled me aside. “Jay, have you had any luck finding the supposed traitor?”

  I shook my head. “Negative, sir. I’ve tried everything I can think of with the Ignis, asked it to find someone in the group being dishonest several times, but I either get no response or what I’m shown comes back as ‘all is normal. You?”

  Royn shook his head. “Me neither. I’ve tried my Mimic Quantum on everyone and we all check out. I’ve talked to every member of the crew, trying to see if something didn’t add up, and I’ve found nothing. I’ve also had Gilmer surveil each of us, and still nothing has presented itself.”

  “Dang,” I said.

  “Right. Which means one of two things,” Royn said, counting on his fingers. “One, that the executioner was lying for whatever reason. Two, that he saw something but it wasn’t actually someone in our group or he misheard. Or three.”

  I finished for him. “That there really is a traitor in the group, and they are so good at covering their tracks that we can’t find them.”

  “You got it,” he said. “Don’t worry though, Jayton. We’ll keep at it, and if there is a danger, we’ll root it out before anything bad happens.”

  I smiled. “I have no doubt, sir.”

  Royn smiled back. “Ok, enough of this talk. You wanted to relax, so let’s relax.”

  We rejoined the rest of the crew. We talked, laughed, joked, and had a grand ol’ time, until there was a knock at the door.

  Did I say knock? I meant boom. And by boom, I mean the door fell off its hinges and onto the floor.

  “Oops! Sorry about that,” a deep gravelly voice said from behind the wall of dust, and everyone froze. Mother of...it was the Uland. The Uland. Here. Now. “Huh huh, I guess I don’t know my own strength. Ha ha ha ha!” Stooping while he laughed at his own joke, he stepped into the room, two “guards” behind him, who looked like they would rather be anywhere else. “Well, it sounded like you were having such a good time in here, I decided I would join you!” He prowled around the edge of the room. No one moved. He never even looked at us, just walked around. “This is an interesting thing,” he said, touching a sturdy oak clock with his finger. With barely any effort he crushed it like it was made of paper instead of wood. “Kinda flimsy though. Ah, is this your sword?”

  I’d hung it on a peg on the wall, and I flinched as he drew it.

  “You know, these are basically useless against me. Iron skin, you know.” He chuckled as he ran his finger down the edge of the blade. I thought for half a second his finger twitched, like the blade actually cut him. His face changed slightly, but he quickly recovered, put the sword back in its scabbard, and hung it back on the wall without another word.

  He kept circling. When the humongous gorilla was directly across the room from me, he sat on his haunches like a dog. He started to pick at his teeth with a sharpened stick he pulled out of nowhere. To call it a toothpick would be an insult, though, since it was a foot long. Molars the size of pecans gave up the treasures they were hiding. “Well, Mr. Dragon of the East, it seems like you have done as well as Malstrak said you would.”

  Our faces must have betrayed our surprise because he laughed. “I had my doubts, you know. An untested kid, even being trained by ol’ blue streak over here. I didn’t think you could make it past the second round.” H
e smiled. Blech – I’d seen more appealing dead pigs. “But it looks like, if you play your cards right, you’ll get to face me in the finals. Too bad for you.”

  He dropped the toothpick and banged both hands on the floor, all the furniture jumping a couple inches. Troup gasped, and the Uland laughed again. “Seems like you’d better pick some braver friends, Mr. Baird. You know he sent me, right?”

  “Who? Sent you where?” I managed to get out without pissing myself.

  “Ha, so it can speak!” the Uland said, sneering. “Malstrak, of course. Sent me to win this thing for him this year. I mean, I’ve won for so many years now anyway, but this time it’ll be for good ol’ Malstrak. Said he would reward me greatly for winning the tournament and bringing him the Darkstone. And, of course, I agreed. He’s not one to take kindly to disappointment, you know.” He winked like he let me in on some secret.

  “You know what it does, right? The Darkstone?” No one said a word. “Well let me enlighten you imbeciles. It has power — raw power. Enough to bring down, oh, I don’t know, say a wall or two.”

  “I... you...” I said, then found my voice. “It doesn’t matter why you’re here or what you’re going to do — I will fight you and I will win. Evil will not prevail, Uland. You will not prevail.”

  He moved so fast that no one could react quick enough. One second he was across the room, and the next, his face was two inches from mine, hot fish-smelling breath fogging up my eyebrows. “You listen to me, little man,” he growled. Literally. “You will die, just like all the others. But you — you will die slow. I will hurt you. Grind your bones to a pulp. One leg, then the other, then your arms. No mercy, no matter how much you beg or scream. In fact, the more you scream, the better it makes it for me.”

  I didn’t flinch. Mostly because it happened so fast, but also because I didn’t want to give the son of a bitch the satisfaction. No reaction. That’s what he got. Okay, maybe a little pee came out.