Cutter fought his way through his own fighters to get to Red. She was crouched, two daggers held out in front of her, just daring someone to make a move. Blood ran down both her arms.
“You won’t get away with this, Cutter!” she hissed, glancing at all the white arm bands surrounding her. “The Guild will hear about this!”
Cutter laughed. “If you can’t hold on to what’s yours then you don’t deserve to have it. Just another reason why girls should never be allowed to lead. He raised his arm and motioned his beaters forward. “Kill her . . . slowly.”
I hit Cutter’s front line before they took their first steps.
My magic woke something primal inside me, something I hadn’t felt since my trip to Norshag with my father that resulted in a fight for our lives. I gave in to it. My arms flew with deadly accuracy. My swords pierced feet, legs, arms, and anything else I could reach without causing fatal injury.
Kids fell so fast around me that those responsible for taking their place had to be forced to engage. It wasn’t until Cutter drew his own blade and started threatening the lot of them that they began to press.
I was running on pure adrenaline and magic. My body was near exhaustion and my injuries from the Pit threatened to overwhelm my other senses. Every breath was excruciating. Red was there, along with Toothless, fighting with everything she had in her just to keep up.
I danced among the beaters, spun, dodged, sidestepped, and glided in and around every blow they sought to land. Their frustration at not being able to hit me only fueled their anger. Each beater only had a single swing before my swords found their flesh.
“Kill him, you fools! What’s wrong with you? He’s only one boy!” Cutter screamed.
I weaved between fighters, never staying in one place long enough to be taken. Cutter called for more reinforcements, forcing me to give ground. I couldn’t keep this up, magic or not. Pretty soon, all I could do was divert their weapons.
Red never said a word. It might have been that all her attention was on the beaters and their attempt to cut her down, or it could have been she didn’t like the idea of owing her life to someone she had just sent to the Pit. Either way, she continued to fight with a fierceness that earned my respect. Unlike me, she had no qualms killing anyone and everyone who came within reach of her daggers.
Toothless hollered as one of the Avalanche beaters stuck him in the side with a pick. Another fighter clubbed him in the back of the head and sent him bleeding to the ground.
There was nothing I could do for him but keep fighting. Red was right beside me, her face half-covered in blood. No matter how skilled I was, no matter how much magic I used, in the end, the numbers won out. Red cried out. I turned in time to see one of the beaters pulling his blade from her shoulder. She stabbed him in the gut and he went down cursing, but the damage had already been done. She was off balance, down to a single arm and forced to compensate with the other. She could either block or strike, but not both.
I grabbed her by the back of her vest and yanked her out of the way of a bludgeon, but lost my footing in the process. The Avalanche fighters seized the opportunity and flanked us. I fought harder than I’d ever fought before, made more difficult since I was trying not to kill the kids, knowing most of them were only there because of their fear of Cutter.
Red and I stood back to back. I took a hit to my right side, trying to fend off three clubs at once. The shock of the blow momentarily paralyzed my arm and I dropped my sword. We were almost completely surrounded. Red’s shoulder was pressed against mine as she fought with her one good arm. I parried another strike, redirecting the rusty blade away from my head while in the same motion driving the tip of mine through the beater’s left thigh. The boy screamed, grabbed his leg, and fell.
“Hold your breath!” a familiar voice behind me yelled.
A wash of liquid struck the kids behind us as they attempted to cut off our escape. One whiff nearly brought me to my knees. The entire line of Avalanche beaters dropped where they were, opening up enough room for me to pull Red back.
Sapphire was suddenly there beside me, cutting down anyone who came close enough to be a threat. I pulled Red back as Reevie used whatever ether he had left on the closest beaters.
Cutter had managed to cut us off from the rest of Wildfire’s forces. Even with the small reprieve, I knew there was no way we were going to survive this. Reevie was right. I was cursed.
“I told you to stay with Reevie!”
“Since when have I ever listened to you?” Sapphire said, blocking one sword with her own. I smiled. As angry as I was at them for getting themselves into this mess, there was still a part of me that was comforted that they would be with me at the end.
“Attack! Attack! Attack!” Cutter was yelling so hard, I thought for sure his head was going to explode.
I glanced over my shoulder at Sapphire. “I’m glad you didn’t listen.”
She smiled and then stabbed the next fighter in the chest. I managed to recover my second sword. By now, my ability to maim only was no longer there. I cut and stabbed at anything I saw. My mind was clouding. My breath came in deep gasps. I heard a hard crack followed by a soft groan, and felt, more than saw, Sapphire go down. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Reevie kneeling over her.
We were completely surrounded once again. This time there was four of us, not including the unconscious black-haired guard I had knocked out earlier. Red was trying to drag his body closer to her. The little kid clearly meant something. Her legs wobbled and she went down, the loss of blood finally catching up.
I was the last one still standing. I stabbed two more beaters and nearly decapitated a third.
“Wait! Don’t kill him yet,” Cutter’s voice rang out.
The Avalanche fighters stopped, but kept their weapons pointed at me, ready to finish the job.
Fatigue washed over me. My knees were wobbling and I could barely lift my arms. The right one ached from the blow it had taken earlier. Sweat dripped from my face and I gasped for air, watching the wide brimmed hat move through the crowd of beaters towards us.
The ranks parted and Cutter took a of couple steps closer, making sure to stay out of my sword’s reach, not that I could have done much with them at this point. “So, you’re the one I have to thank for all of this, huh?” Cutter gestured at the battlefield with his sword. “I could use a fighter like you on my guard. You’re wasting your talents in Hurricane, you know. That red-headed twit can’t appreciate what you have to offer like I can. Avalanche is the true power behind the Guild—”
“The true ailment you mean!” Red said in her usual diplomatic way. “You’re a disease, Cutter, anal leakage from a faerie’s backside!”
Cutter nodded to one of his beaters and the boy kicked her in the face.
Red responded by spitting her blood back at him.
“That’s more like it,” he said with a smirk. “Girls should learn their rightful place in this world. When a man speaks, they should hold their tongue.”
“When you see one, be sure to let me know,” she said. I had to admit, Red’s tempter might get in the way of her common sense, but she certainly had guts.
Cutter sneered. “I’m going to save you for last. In fact, I think I’ll save you for my boys. They deserve a reward for all the hard work they’ve put into capturing you.”
“You come near me and I’ll castrate you all.”
The battle around us continued to wage. There was no telling which of the tribes were still fighting and how many had made it out. It was obvious that Cutter had kept his behind hoping for something like this. He had clearly wanted to do away with her for some time, considering how he had treated her during the Guild meeting. My uprising had given him the perfect chance.
All I wanted was for me, Reevie, and Sapphire to have escaped all this nonsense unscathed, leaving it as far behind us as we could. But, yet again, another one of my plans had gone horribly wrong.
Since my arrival in this cursed city, everythin
g I touched seemed to fall apart. All I could surmise was the Creator must be punishing me for Flon’s death. I just wished He hadn’t decided to include my friends in that punishment.
“So, what will it be?” Cutter asked, pointing the tip of his blade in my face. “Come be my new champion, or suffer the fate of your friends? Actually, I’ll do you one better. You come join me and I’ll even consider letting them live.”
I slowly turned to look at Reevie and Sapphire, and even Red. I finally understood why my teachers had stressed keeping myself free of such relationships. But I wouldn’t have given them up for the world.
Reevie smiled weakly and I returned it.
I turned to give Cutter my answer when I caught something out of the corner of my eye. There was movement in the distance behind Cutter and his guards. It seemed to be flowing counter to the battle. In fact, it seemed to be moving straight down the middle of the fighting and heading directly for us. “As tempting as your offer is,” I said, “I think I’m going to have to pass. Besides, I don’t believe I could ever manage to take the place of your current champion.”
“And why is that?”
“Because, I think he might have something to say about it.”
I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth when cries of fear erupted and beaters on both sides scattered in all directions. They trampled each other to get out of the way of the rampaging masked giant with blood running down his mouth.
Cutter’s eyes bulged. He raised his blade with a quivering hand and pointed it in Flesh Eater’s direction. “Stop! Obey me!”
The mammoth boy roared, sending the rest of the Avalanche forces scurrying for the exit. Cutter didn’t waste any time catching up. His hat flew off his head as he knocked kids out of his way.
Flesh Eater stopped and looked at me. I couldn’t see his face. I couldn’t tell what he was about to do. The last thing I needed was for him to decide to finish the job he had started back in the Pit. He barked out another animalistic roar, but instead of charging in my direction, he turned and chased after Cutter and the fleeing Avalanche forces. I could have sworn that for a brief instant, I had seen a smile.
For the first time since being volunteered to fight in the Pit, I was able to breathe a real sigh of relief. It was over.
Flesh Eater’s sudden arrival had managed to completely thwart the entire battle, making those still remaining reconsider the wisdom of lingering. In the time it took Reevie to stabilize Red’s wound, and me to check on Sapphire, every tribe but Wildfire had exited the premises.
“That thing sure knows how to break up a good fight,” Red said with a painful grunt as she struggled to her feet. Her legs were about as unsteady as mine.
“Will you hold still? Colic!” Reevie exclaimed. “You’re the worst patient I’ve ever treated.” He passed a quick glance in my direction. “Except for maybe him.”
One of the older beaters picked up the small, unconscious boy Red had been protectively cradling. Even Toothless had somehow managed to survive. He was lying on the ground holding the wound in his side and spewing complaints and curses with every breath.
Reevie finished tying off Red’s bandage. “There, that should hold until you decide to attack some other helpless kid walking down the street.”
I sighed and gave Reevie a harsh look. The last thing we needed was to anger Red with her entire tribe standing behind her.
“I could have you killed for impersonating another tribe, you know,” Red said as she inspected Reevie’s work. Blood was already seeping through the bandage.
Reevie crossed his arms and glared at her. “You could, if you want to die an excruciating death.” I gaped at Reevie. Was he trying to get us all killed?
Red turned back to face him. “And why would you say something like that? Are you planning on pulling a blade out of your underpants and challenging me to a duel?”
“I won’t need to.”
This time, it was Red who didn’t say anything. She looked troubled.
Reevie snorted. “In case it’s escaped your notice, the members of Avalanche aren’t exactly the most well-kempt of kids. They wouldn’t know what hygiene was if it reached up and bit them on the nose. And their weapons looked to be in as rough a shape as they are, meaning that the metal that pierced your flesh was probably covered in rust and who knows what else. I give you a week before that wound starts to blacken. Once that happens, there’s not much you can do besides find a quick way to kill yourself.”
Reevie smiled. “However, if you were to see to it that we left here in one piece, then I might be persuaded to stop by and treat that wound with a mixture of herbs I have at my disposal.”
Red looked at me, then at Sapphire, then back at Reevie and started to laugh. “I like you, little one,” she said. “You got spunk. But how do I know you won’t just poison me yourself?”
Reevie raised a brow. “If I wanted you dead, we wouldn’t be talking right now.”
She stared at him a moment longer then gestured toward the open arches. “Let’s go!”
Wildfire gathered their wounded and headed for the front gate. Halfway there, Red turned back around. She pulled off the chain from around her neck and threw it at me. “For being my guardian.”
I caught my father’s ring in midair and cradled it to my chest. Red gave me a sultry wink and limped away, leaning on one of her beaters. The three of us stood there in silence as we watched the last of Wildfire disappear into the night. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be my last encounter with the brash tribal chief.
“Let’s go home,” I finally said, sliding my newly acquired swords through my belt. The thought of my bed was the only thing keeping me moving at this point. I put my arm around Reevie and we helped each other toward the gates.
“What about all of them?” Sapphire asked, looking out across the open yard. Bodies covered a good portion of the ground around the small cooking fires. Many were still moving.
“Leave them to their tribes,” Reevie said as he took a quick glance at the wounded and then turned and continued for the exit. “Their people will come for them eventually. And if not . . .” he shrugged. “Good riddance.”
The torches lining the front of the depository disappeared as we headed west on Mora. The stars were still out and bright, but I didn’t think they’d be for much longer. I had no idea what time it was, but dawn couldn’t be that far off.
We had only made it as far as Pilneth when a familiar growl echoed off in the distance. I stopped. The sound was quickly followed by a couple of high-pitched screams.
“What was that?” Sapphire asked, looking north into Cheapside.
I released Reevie who had been leaning on me for support, and took a couple steps toward the far side of the street. “Sounds like some of the locals just had their first run-in with Flesh Eater.”
“Well, let’s not be next,” Reevie said, following me over to tug on my arm.
I didn’t budge. Instead, I turned to Sapphire. “Here, take Reevie. You two head back to the granary and I’ll see what I can do about Flesh Eater.”
“What’s the granary?”
“Reevie will show you.”
“What are you going to do?” Reevie asked.
“I’ll think of something.”
Sapphire gave me a look to let me know how crazy she thought I was.
Reevie snorted. “Have you lost your mind? Did Cutter’s boys beat out what little sense you left? You can barely stand. Let the patrollers deal with him.”
“He’s my responsibility.”
“And how, for the love of Aldor, do you figure that?”
“I’m the one who turned him loose.”
Reevie and Sapphire exchanged a quick glance. “He has a point,” Sapphire said. “We’re the ones who opened the door. How do you think you’ll feel if a couple of innocent children are eaten alive because we decided it wasn’t our responsibility?”
I could see Reevie’s conscience battling his survival instincts. “I
’d feel glad it wasn’t me,” he mumbled. I knew him well enough to know that wasn’t true.
“Take Reevie and go. I’ll be alright. Flesh Eater’s likely to get more upset seeing three of us anyway.”
Reevie handed me his travel bag, which still held a decent number of the supplies. “Make sure he’s good and dead this time. We can’t have a monster like that roaming the streets of Aramoor eating people. I have a little more of my ether left if you want to use it.”
Sapphire looked like she wanted to argue about being left behind once again, but she didn’t. “Just be careful.”
Reevie threw his arm around her. “Let’s leave the fool to his folly.” He didn’t even spare a glance in my direction as he limped off, dragging Sapphire with him. During our brief time together, I’d come to understand that whenever Reevie got upset, it was usually because he feared for my safety.
Needless to say, Reevie was angry a lot.
Sapphire offered a sympathetic smile over her shoulder as Reevie half-towed her down the street.
As I watched them shrink into the distance, I ran my hands across the hilts of my two swords, reassuring myself they were still there. I swung Reevie’s bag over my shoulder and headed in the direction of the screams.
I didn’t have to go far.
Most of the shouting was coming from the second and third-floor windows as residents were woken out of their sleep to see the giant masked creature roaming the streets, which I was sure was quite frightening. Still, I hadn’t found a trail of bodies pointing the way to where Flesh Eater was. Maybe he had already gotten enough to eat during the battle. I shivered at the thought.
I cut between two buildings, angry voices getting louder as I went. He had to be just ahead. I came to the end of the narrow alleyway and slowly stuck my head out.
No one was there. I must have just missed him. I cocked my head to the side and listened for any hint as to which direction he had taken.
I didn’t have to wait long.
Metal clanged loudly from an alley across the road. I ducked out my hiding place and dashed across the street, making sure not to kick up any loose cobble in the process. When I reached the corner, I stopped and listened. I could hear what sounded like crates being crunched under foot and another barking growl. It was definitely him.
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