Catching Epics

by Halie Fewkes

  Dauer laughed as I regained my bearing. He was an overconfident fool, and I ran straight at him, probably before I should have.

  Dauer kept his large sword in a defendable position right up until I reached him, and I struck twice with my blades, then spun for a surprise third. I was intent on making contact with any part of him, but he was much faster than I’d predicted and had such disciplined form that he blocked all three of my shots. Still, surprise lit his eyes as he realized that between the two of us, I was faster.

  I twirled my right sword around his blade and stuck his tip into the ground, pinning it in place as I struck for the kill with my unopposed left blade. Dauer ducked and punched me in the gut, knocking the wind from my chest for the second time and grabbing my arm before I could hit him.

  I twisted my left arm, trying to get my blade close enough to slice into him, but he cut me off by twisting the other direction entirely.

  Oh shanking life, he was strong.

  I could feel bones popping as pain shot from my wrist to my elbow and I yelped in panic, knowing it was close to breaking.

  I lunged to bite his hand, startling him enough to loosen his grip, and then I led with a sharp blow from my shoulder, knocking into Dauer with enough force that we both crashed to the ground. I kept my momentum to roll away and quickly back to my feet, just barely escaping his grabbing hands, and then I crouched to take advantage even though my entire left arm cried and protested the movement.

  I tried to slice through him on his way to get up, mainly using my right arm, but he dropped back to the ground with a laugh and avoided my swipe. I tried to stab him while he was down, but he knocked my blades away in a loud clang that reverberated through my hands. Dauer surprised me with a sudden jump that put him back on his feet, grinning as he went on the offensive. I was able to block his rapid strikes and throw in a few attacks of my own, trying to learn his habits even though he seemed to change his style with each shot.

  Dauer flung his blade sharply left in a complicated twist that blocked my right sword and knocked the left blade straight from my numb hand. I was left with only one — a weapon that was significantly shorter than his, but rather than try to retrieve the first one, I darted to the side and blocked his next strike as he dashed after me. I had to use several ingenious parries against his longer blade, but I was able to keep him from hitting me.

  He was going to destroy me if I couldn’t pull off a stroke of brilliance, but I already had it planned. I needed to get Dauer close to the first blade I’d dropped without him noticing, and I could do that.

  I darted in and out between trees as I dodged his attacks in something of a warped circle. I was eventually very close to the foliage where I had dropped my blade when I dove for the ground and knocked Dauer’s legs out from under him. His instincts were quick and he broke his fall by throwing his hands out, but he actually managed to grab me with his legs as he hit the ground.

  Dauer let go of his weapon to curl around and snatch my clothes before I could scramble away from him, and from there he dragged me closer until he had his giant hands around mine and I couldn’t possibly maneuver my sword to harm him.

  I couldn’t lose to him like this, so close to my dropped left blade, so close to having an advantage. Dauer used brute strength to twist my wrists until I shrieked and dropped my second sword, and as he snatched my fallen weapon, I had a split second to grab a handful of dusty leaves and fling them in his eyes.

  If Dauer was perfect, he would have grabbed me and dealt with his blindness later, but I caught a lucky break as he flung a hand to his face, giving me just enough slack to squirm free and scramble over to the first blade I’d dropped. In the split second Dauer used to claw the dust from his eyes, I slid the weapon up the back of my jerkin and into the waist of my pants.

  I jumped to pull myself onto the branch above me as Dauer got his eyes open and his feet back beneath him, out of breath and angry. He thought I was disarmed and attempting to flee, so he dropped his sword before leaping to grab my sandaled feet with two hands — and I let him.

  I just wasn’t prepared for the pain of my torso hitting the branch as he attempted to drag me to the ground. Clinging tightly to the limb, I was just about to lose the blade on my back, so I made the riskiest move of my life, let go of the tree, drew the sword as I fell, and swung it at his undefended chest before I slammed onto the ground.

  And it worked.

  I sliced right through the front of Dauer’s gray and silver tunic, and he exhaled an echoing shriek as it bit through fabric and flesh. The impact of the forest floor rattled my brain before I saw a red stain seeping across a wide arc of his chest, and I regained my footing.

  I snatched Dauer’s larger blade off the ground before staggering back from him, leaving him disarmed and bleeding as my head spun and my entire left arm still throbbed. He remained standing and clutched at his chest for a frantic moment. It likely wouldn’t kill him unless I gave him a few more to match it, and though I was incredibly tempted to do so, I hesitated.

  “Dauer?” another of the five called. They’d heard him shout.

  Zeen tore through the trees to see his brother bleeding while I held the offending blade in my hands.

  “What have you done?” Zeen shot me a look of wide-eyed fury, and then he whistled four short chirps to send his dog running at me as Maverick arrived in disbelief and circled behind. I crouched with Dauer’s sword extended, ready to impale the brown dog with white paws and patches, but it recognized the weapon for what it was and pulled up short.

  I felt a rope thrown around my neck from behind and I twisted to confront Zeen with a snarl, but the dog leapt and bit my weapon arm and Maverick crashed into me as well. The two men and vicious beast slammed me into a tree, and within three seconds had pulled my hands behind me, around the thick trunk, and tied them together.

  In the time they’d taken to secure me, Dauer had remained on his feet, stripping his cloak from his shoulders as his breathing grew deeper and more strained. Zeen and Maverick stepped to his side, and with practiced efficiency they each grabbed a side of his tunic to rip it over his head and reveal a muscular chest with a giant gaping slash, nearly reaching both his shoulders.

  They were speaking their own fluid language, and I didn’t understand a word but for Dauer’s name being spoken as they lowered him gently to the ground on his back. Kit appeared as well and said something unintelligible to the others. They responded in kind, and he glared at me before taking off toward where I’d heard Archie’s screams.

  I couldn’t hear Archie anymore. What had they done?

  I tugged at my wrists and rubbed the backs of my arms raw as I struggled against the tree. I was out of rescuers. I was out of options, and nearly out of hope.

  I could stay calm in the midst of a fight, but now I was helpless. I had to keep a steady stream of encouragement running through my head to keep from hyperventilating. Sweat was already beading up all over my body as my stomach cramped and the urge to flee screamed through every part of me.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  The two tending to Dauer had pulled first aid supplies from their packs and were going about the task like it was routine. Like they’d had a thousand practice runs of exactly this, and could bandage him in two minutes and take a nap afterward. They spoke in low, serious voices until Dauer said something that made Maverick and Zeen chuckle. The two glanced at me before they sank back into their task, conversing in a language I couldn’t begin to interpret.

  I tried not to watch, but they were the only things moving, and if I didn’t keep myself distracted from the terror racing through my veins, I was going to throw up. Of course I was afraid for myself, but I also hadn’t heard Archie in several minutes and couldn’t handle wondering if that was a good thing or the worst thing imaginable. He had to be ok. I couldn’t go on if he wasn’t.

  The two on either side of Dauer finished patching him up, got to their feet, and began to build a fire without furthe
r acknowledging me. Dauer tried to sit up, and Maverick responded by pushing him roughly back down with a booted foot. I didn’t know what Ika va tnouagh meant, but the tone made it sound like Stay down. You know better.

  Maverick said nothing further as he and Zeen gathered sticks and logs, and Zeen knelt to light the pile. Flames licked up to engulf the twigs, and just as I began to wonder why they needed a fire in the middle of a warm day, a strict voice in my head demanded I not think about it.

  Do not feed the fires of fear, it said. Discipline governs the embers and the flames.

  I wasn’t sure if I’d just thought that up now, or if it was a memory from my past, but I repeated it over and over. Do not feed the fires of fear. Do not feed the fires of fear. It didn’t make me any less afraid, but the mere repetition of something so flat and simple was better than running through a hundred imagined scenarios for how the day would end.

  “Water?” Kit’s thickly accented voice startled me from behind. I distinctly remembered the dark glare he’d given me no more than twenty minutes ago, and I shook my head quickly, despite an incredibly hoarse throat.

  He unstopped the water skin and took a drink to show me he hadn’t poisoned the thing, then held it out a second time. I shook my head again, and he shrugged and joined the other two at the fire, conversing once more in their fluid, melodic language. It seemed much too soft and... pretty for them, but such is the irony of life, I suppose.

  Dauer finally sat up and inspected the bandaged strips across his chest without anyone scolding him, and I felt drops of sweat join together and trickle down my back as he turned his focus to me. I tried to keep a strong front and glare back at him, but it only lasted until he said something to Kit, who sniggered and responded in kind. I found my eyes on the ground with my teeth gritted like the torture had already started. Dauer got to his feet, and I closed my eyes so I didn’t have to watch him approach me. I was too close to a panic attack.

  I couldn’t help hearing his footsteps though, and I felt his weight on the ground as he came toe to toe.

  Fierce trembling rattled my tied hands as the reality of my situation sank in and I opened my eyes again, keeping them on the ground. Was this the part where I started begging? I was too distraught to even try.

  Dauer leaned very close as I tried to push myself further back from him. “First things first. You fight dirty, you live dirty,” he said. I didn’t realize he had a handful of dirt and leaves until he threw it into my eyes, and I yelped, flinching back as far as I could.

  I shook my head viciously as tears welled into my vision and I tried to blink the dust away.

  “This, you earned fairly,” he glanced toward his bandaged gash, “which makes you very rare indeed.”

  “You cheated,” I said, dust still scratching my eyes, mixing with tears to make gritty mud as desperation made my voice shake. “You and I had a deal if I won.”

  “You hesitated. You knew you had to kill me to win, and you didn’t,” he said with an indifferent shrug. “Don’t feel too badly. I didn’t get what I wanted either.”

  “Untie me, and we can go back at it,” I said, laughing because it was the only thing I could do other than cry with hopeless self-pity.

  “Funny enough, I’m considering it,” he said.

  I smiled thanklessly at the ground. I knew he was toying with me, that the suggestion was a cruel game, and I would be a stupid, desperate girl if I clung to it.

  I was a lot of things, desperate certainly one of them, but not stupid.

  “Do it then,” I said. “And if I can kill you, your brothers let me and my friend walk away from here.”

  Dauer’s smile turned cruel, and I knew I’d just asked too much. “Please,” I added quickly. “He’s important to me. I… need to know where he is.”

  He leaned in closer and said, “Don’t mistake me for a kind man. That, I am not. I simply have an appreciation for beautiful things. It saddens me to see them broken.”

  I huffed a snort of disbelief, because that had to be the dumbest thing I’d ever heard. “You misunderstand me,” Dauer said, unashamed. “I’ve seen the most beautiful woman in the world, and you are not her.” I squinted in disgust to let him know just how much this conversation pleased me. “You are attractive the way a meal attracts the starving, or water brings the thirsty. I find myself bored with endless money and a world that cowers before me, trying to please me. You are different and interesting.” I studied his face, not sure if he was serious, and not sure if this was going to get me off the hook or not.

  I swallowed lightly and said, “You should have been a poet.”

  “Who says I’m not?” His voice sounded playful again, like he’d forgotten I was tied to a tree.

  I opened my mouth to speak, closed it again, then asked, “Can you untie me now?”

  He grinned at the question, but turned and walked away rather than answer.

  The rest of the Zhauri utterly ignored me, leaving me to suffer anticipation in silence. They knew what they were doing. Fear is its own form of torture, but as I blinked and shook my head to get the scratchy dirt from my eyes, I couldn’t lessen my sense of terror.

  They spoke in their own language and began unpacking the outer pockets of their bags. I closed my eyes the second I heard the clang of metal instruments being withdrawn. I didn’t need to know what they were. I didn’t want to guess.

  Chapter Thirty

  Allie

  An argument erupted from the trees. I couldn’t hear the words, but they sounded deep and angry. Kit emerged back into the camp, shouting loudly in his language, followed closely by a disinterested Dauer, and behind him — Sir Avery.

  I slouched forward and took a deep breath as Sir Avery glanced my way.

  Sir Avery spoke in Icilic, then switched to Human and repeated for me, “I was just telling them I’m quite sure Ratuan knows Ebby’s location is a mystery to you. He just wanted the Zhauri to teach you a lesson. I have a different deal for you though, if you’d like to get out of here.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment of disbelief, then opened them again and said, “I’m up for pretty much anything.”

  The hint of a frightening smile crossed his face before he said, “I’m sure you’ve heard we’re having a celebration tonight. I need somebody who can translate Escalira for us.”

  I watched him, knowing that wasn’t the whole of it. He could translate anything I could translate. “And I get to walk free afterward?” I asked, because I’d rather be anywhere but here.

  “If I’m satisfied by your performance, yes.”

  “Alright,” I said, feeling the ties around my hands vanish. I massaged my rope-burned wrists as Sir Avery moved closer and I stepped instinctively back. “The party is a few hours off. You can come with me now, unless you’d rather stay here, of course.”

  I twitched a corner of my mouth, attempting to look just a little amused by the joke. “I’ll come with you,” I said, adding, “Where’s Archie?” in a whisper as he approached further.

  “I saw to him. He’s fine.”

  I worried that we might have very different definitions of fine, but before I could question him further, Kit shoved Dauer back with more shouted accusations. Dauer clutched his chest in pain as Maverick stepped quickly between them with hushed words, and Kit angrily backed off.

  Sir Avery set a hand on my shoulder, and the woods were replaced by an unadorned stone tunnel of the Dragona, the entrance to the Everarc Cave beneath me. “Walk down, and lock yourself in,” Sir Avery said as I glanced around. “If you cause a hint of trouble, I’ll have you wishing I’d left you with the Zhauri.”

  “Understood,” I replied, stepping into the cave where the shock left me breathless and chilled.

  “I’ll come and get you when the festivities begin,” Sir Avery said as I entered a dank cell, smelling of aged straw and neglect.

  I clicked the door closed to total darkness around me, suddenly afraid of being left entirely alone. “I thought Sav was
supposed to get Ebby back to you. What happened to that?” I called into the empty darkness.

  I heard a faint chuckle from above. “Savaul’s interests had nothing to do with Ebby,” Sir Avery replied. Silence fell, and I thought he might have disappeared before he added, “Actually, I should thank you. I didn’t think Savaul would have anything to offer me, but an introduction to Izfazara was quite sufficient.”

  I sank down against the wall, reminded suddenly of my list of tally marks and the side that read Deaths That Were My Fault.

  Sir Avery gave a hearty laugh. “Thank you for giving me his letter. Without you, I never would have gotten past Izfazara’s interaction spell.”

  Maybe I shouldn’t complain about lying in a pile of hay — some horses, cows, and sheep don’t even get such luxury. I’m sure prisoners have lived in worse accommodations than my tiny cell, and for much longer periods of time. I wasn’t shackled to a wall, and I wasn’t being tortured... Well, not by anybody else. I was my own worst torturer, allowing fear to consume me, sadness to wad me up in a little ball, and anger to pour off me in toxic waves.

  I felt drained and exhausted, and I wasn’t sure if it was because there was no magic, or if I’d worn myself down in a fit of worry. But finally the pitch black of the cell sank in and I began to feel hollow. A few hours with no light is enough to make you question your safety. A few hours more leaves you with a gnawing fear, knowing that a rat could be a hand’s length from your face. A few hours later, and you find yourself making noises, just to make sure sound still exists.

  I also felt like I might be starving. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten a meal.

  Careful footsteps began to echo around the cave, and I noticed the very faint outline of my hand appearing. Somebody was bringing light.

  I wiggled my fingers and savored the sight after so many hours of gripping them together to make sure they were still present. Then the light grew stronger, so bright that I could make out the pale fleshy color of my skin.