The Man Without Hands

by Eric Malikyte

  Sage got to his feet. Aches and pains spread through his side. “It wasn’t luck.”

  The wind exploded around him as she closed the distance, moving like lightning. Cracks formed in his barrier as her blows slammed into its surface.

  If he’s really out, Sage thought. Then she’ll probably try to attack my feet.

  And sure enough, she stomped at the ring, and white light exploded at his feet. He jumped back as a beam of white light barreled through the air at a forty-five degree angle, dropping his barrier and letting his back hit the floor of the ring, allowing the beam to pass harmlessly overhead. Then, taking advantage of her guard being down, Sage thrusted his arms forward, slamming her with a lightning bolt that sent her skidding toward the ring’s edge.

  He came down with a barrier blade, stabbing it into the ring as Cyra rolled out of the way just in time.

  She was so fast, he didn’t even see her get back to her feet. It was like torture, trying to deflect those blows with his barrier sword. Every time he slashed or stabbed at her, her afterimage lingered, telling him that he’d just barely missed.

  She’s too damn fast, Sage thought. There’s no way I’m going to be able to hit her like this, and she knows it.

  That’s when he decided. He let her come in with a barrage of jabs and leapt backward into the center of the ring.

  Damn his limits. Damn these arrogant, spoiled children.

  He summoned all of his power and formed a spherical barrier around himself, then, thinking of how that mountain of a Sulekiel had wrapped Reysha’s barrier with his Sulen, he wrapped his barrier with pure Sulen until it obscured his senses entirely.

  No matter where she dodged to, it wouldn’t matter.

  Sweat beaded atop his brow; his breath was short.

  Fires ripped through his body. His fingers twitching, writhing, struggling to control the Sulen that surrounded his body.

  If he didn’t finish it with this, it would be over for him.

  “Hiding again?” Cyra shouted,explosions ringing off his barrier.—

  But it was too late. Sage let out a roar and leapt into the air, slamming his fist against the inside of his barrier, causing it to explode with the Sulen he’d built up around it.

  There were gasps and screams as his feet hit the smoldering ring, panting and struggling to remain standing.

  When he opened his eyes, Cyra was nowhere to be found.

  The ring was smoldering with a dull orange glow.

  “Good job,” she whispered in his ear. “You managed to defeat Byshun.”

  “What!”

  She slammed him from behind, and the next thing he knew, he was in the pit, outside the ring, lying next to Byshun.

  Byshun chuckled. “Damn. I never expected a move like that.”

  “What the hell just happened?” Sage said, coughing and struggling to his feet.

  “It was our game from the start,” Byshun said, not budging from the pile of rubble he’d landed on. “Make you think you’d beaten me. I was going to take you out once you were at your limit. You almost got both of us with that attack...”

  Sage looked down on Byshun. “I still lost.”

  Byshun chuckled, coughing.

  “You did well,” Cyra said, limping to the edge of the ring. “Color me impressed, Son...of Yce Ralakar.”

  Sage nodded. “Thanks.”

  “You’re something else,” Byshun said.

  Sage extended his hand, helping Byshun up. “Speak for yourself.”

  “Even some trained Valier have difficulty with mental trickery like that,” Byshun said, chuckling.

  Together, they hopped back up to the ring.

  “Victory,” Padros said. “Cyra, Granddaughter of Elder Makai wins.”

  “Congratulations,” Geidra said, her voice booming through the chamber. “To all three of you.”

  “Thank you, High Elder,” Sage said, smiling.Maybe things would turn out okay?

  Commander Kiel stood from his seat. “Now, remove yourselves from this chamber. We will deliberate and summon you all to the first Trial chamber to announce the results. In the meantime, make your way to the Temple of Ara’ka if you need healing.”

  Sage nodded.

  3

  The Temple of Ara’ka was quiet. A healer he didn’t know tended to his wounds.

  It was like a current of cooling water pouring over the cuts and broken parts of his body, easing the pins and needles and the numbness.

  “Where’s Wren?” Sage asked.

  “I do not know,” he said. He had his hood drawn over his eyes, obscuring his features. Some Sulen Ara’ka practitioners preferred not to allow others to look on them, keeping some level of anonymity.

  “Well,” Sage said. “Can you tell her I said hi when you do? That I’ll find out what the results of the Trials were soon?”

  He nodded. “Yes, I will do so. But for now, please relax so that I can restore your stamina.”

  Sage nodded. In mere minutes, the healer had sealed his wounds, and soon, he felt a surge of stamina come pouring into his body. Like a dying fire that had been stoked once more.

  He grinned.

  They’ll have to make me a Valier now, he thought.

  4

  Padros was waiting for them when he came out of the healing chamber.

  Reysha was sitting on one of the stone benches lining the main hall of the temple. She shot up from her seat, ignoring the Valier. “What happened back there?”

  Sage stared at his hands. “I took Byshun out, but lost to Cyra.”

  “Damn it,” Reysha said, then grinned. “At least you got that arrogant bastard.”

  “The Ascension Ceremony is beginning,” Padros said.

  Sage nodded. “Let’s go.”

  5

  The ten of them were gathered once more before the ever-burning fires. Sage had a fresh tunic, and the others were sporting cloaks, each marked with the colors of their families. Standing there without any colors of his own made him feel strangely naked.

  High Elder Geidra stood before the three pits and the Pillars of Thought, her Council and Valier gathered behind her and surrounding the fires. Padros, Dirkus, Tullis, and so many others were gathered there.

  “Many of you performed well,” Geidra said. “And I’m proud to say that some of you even outstripped our expectations.”

  The ten of them didn’t make a sound.

  Sage’s heart was battering his freshly healed ribs, doubt lingering in his mind.

  Commander Kiel stepped forward, taking a piece of parchment from his cloak and unrolling it. “I will now read the names of those chosen to become Valier. If your name is not called, then you will remain in your home tomorrow for a messenger to deliver a job assignment.”

  Sage swallowed his own saliva. There was no way they’d make him a miner, or a farmer, or anything else. Not after he’d come so far.

  Part of him wondered...

  His eyes found Reysha’s. Her gaze was more than a little nervous, though she was doing her best to keep her fear from seeping into her aura.

  “Nelic, Grandson of Elder Delecys,” Kiel said. “Step forward and kneel before your High Elder.”

  Nelic did as he was told, kneeling before Kiel and Geidra.

  “Tolu, Daughter of Dirkus the Third,” Kiel said. “Cyra, Granddaughter of Elder Makai.”

  Tolu and Cyra stepped forward, kneeling on either side of Nelic.

  “Byshun, Grandson of Elder Kanazh,” Kiel said. “Step forward.”

  Byshun sauntered over and knelt next to Cyra.

  “Daos, Son of Elios, Liyo, Son of Neros,” Kiel said. “Step forward.”

  Daos and Liyo shuffled forward, kneeling with the rest.

  “And finally...” Kiel’s gaze fell on Sage.

  Sage’s heart felt like it would explode from his chest.

  Finally? His gaze drifted from Reysha, Takarus, and finally to Vyce.

  “Reysha, Daughter of Yce’ro,” Kiel said. “And Vyce, Son o
f Padros, please step forward.”

  Vyce and Reysha stepped forward, but not before Vyce turned around and grinned at Sage.

  Sage’s mouth hung open; the Trial chamber felt like it was spinning.

  I’m not worthy? he thought.

  “Those are the ones we have chosen,” Kiel said.

  Sage looked at Takarus. His expression was full of worry, full of fear.

  They... They just passed right over me?

  Sage gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

  “Wait!” Sage shouted.

  “What is it, Son of Kyrties?” Geidra said, grinning.

  “Sage reached the final round!” Reysha said. “Shouldn’t he be among us?”

  “Shut it,” Vyce said. “Do not question the High Elder’s judgment.”

  “High Elder,” Reysha said, looking up at her. “I beg you to reconsider.”

  Sage’s heartbeat thundered in his ears, hanging on what Geidra’s response would be.

  Surely, this had to be a mistake! Right?

  High Elder Geidra glared down at Reysha; a boiling rage that rivaled his own came to fill the chamber. “No.”

  “At least tell me why,” Sage said, his eyebrows coming together. His fingers balling into fists. “I signed your goddamned contract. I did everything you asked.”

  The High Elder’s scornful gaze fell on him. “Yes, and you’ve already managed to violate it.”

  “What?” Sage said.

  “Did you honestly think that Padros would not report the seditious things you said during the fourth trial?” Geidra said. “Claiming that we’ve been rigging the Trials this whole time just because our blood is stronger than yours.”

  “This is bullshit!” Reysha got to her feet, thrusting her finger at Geidra. “You set him up and you know it.”

  “Shut your mouth, girl!” Geidra shouted. “Or I will silence you for good.”

  Sage stepped forward and summoned his Sulen. “You won’t.”

  “Careful, Son of Kyrties,” Geidra said. “You’re on thin ice.”

  “You made me give up my friends,” Sage said, tears welling in his eyes. The storm rising from within himself. “You made me swear allegiance to you and your aristocratic whores. You insulted me, surrounding me with all the luxuries you enjoy while the rest of us toil on rations and scraps!”

  “Sage...” Takarus spoke up at last, putting his hand on his shoulder. “Stop...”

  Sage shrugged Takarus’s hand away and pointed at Geidra. “You’re afraid of me. Afraid I might be right! Afraid I might expose your lies!”

  “Afraid of you?” Geidra chuckled. “Please. You are nothing.”

  “You’re wrong,” Sage said.

  “Seize him!” Geidra shouted. “He is an oath-breaker!”

  Valier leapt forward and approached him, summoning their Sulen. Dirkus, Tullis, and a few others were among those whom he now faced.

  “I didn’t want to fight,” Sage said. “I wanted to change things for the better. From the inside. I guess this was inevitable.”

  Dirkus leapt forward, and just as Sage was going to fire a blast at him, he was hit from the side. Dirkus hit the floor and rolled into a crouch. The other Valier glared at the line of kneeling fighters. Reysha’s palms were smoking.

  “If you’re going to jail him,” Reysha said, leaping over them and landing by his side, “then you’re going to have to take me out too!”

  “So be it,” Geidra said. “You will both be jailed and tried!”

  Kiel stepped forward. “Step aside.”

  The Valier looked at him, then nodded, falling behind.

  Kiel cracked his knuckles, approaching them, summoning an aura that was like a white-hot mist coating his body. “I will handle them both.”

  Sage cursed. “You didn’t have to help me.”

  Reysha grinned. “You can thank me later.”

  “If we live,” Sage said.

  “Before I break you both,” Kiel said, lightning flashing in his golden eyes. “Tell me something.”

  “What’s that?” Sage asked.

  “Was it you who was going to the surface?” Kiel asked. “Don’t bother lying. I’ll know if you are.”

  Sage didn’t hesitate to lie through his teeth. “No.”

  “I guess you’ve got some other oath-breaker to look for,” Reysha said. “Serves you right.”

  Kiel moved like lighting...no. He was even faster than Cyra. He appeared in front of Reysha, slamming a wall of Sulen into her from above, shattering her barrier and leaving her crumpled on the ruined floor.

  She did not get back up.

  Sage screamed and leapt forward, bringing a barrier blade down on Kiel’s head—

  Kiel caught it in his bare hand. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

  Then, Sage was falling to his knees too. Kiel had crushed his barrier blade and sent a kick right through him.

  He could barely stand. “What in the...”

  Kiel approached him. “I’ve tried to get through to you. I’ve tried to instill in you our teachings. But you’ve fought me at every turn.”

  Sage struggled to his feet. “Maybe your teachings are wrong!”

  “Excuse me?” Kiel said.

  “You heard me,” Sage said, panting. “You people...you treat healers like garbage. You scheme and grab for more and more power, because you’re afraid that someone like my father will rise to take it from you! Maybe he was a monster like you all say, or maybe you’re just afraid that he was right about you! Maybe he was sick of seeing his people suffer under your rule!”

  “Enough!” Kiel slammed Sage with a blast at close range.

  He couldn’t even predict where Kiel’s strikes were going to land.

  Sage’s body rolled to a stop. It felt as though his wounds from the previous matches hadn’t even healed. His muscles were already screaming for it all to stop. He could hear Kiel’s boots on the floor, approaching him slowly. To think, after all his training, Kiel was going to take him out with no more effort than it would take to snuff out a newborn’s cries.

  No! Sage thought. I will not fall here!

  His hand slammed into the floor, and slowly, he got back to his feet.

  “Give up,” Kiel said, stopping just several feet from him. “You cannot win.”

  And then he’s surrounded by endless white, and the eternal storms that circle the crimson eye of his nightmares.

  Lightning flashes.

  New strength fills his shattered body.

  He smiles.

  Sage felt something snap inside himself, like the breaking of a dam.

  Kiel went tumbling backward.

  Flames licked at Sage’s vision and ran wild as his Sulen overflowed from his body. The heat pouring out from his body as he rushed forward melted the tiles around him, the stone fanning out in great waves behind him. At the last possible moment, Sage thrust his hand at the floor behind him, letting out a blast of energy from his palm that thrust him up to fly through the air in a wide, descending arc. Sage came down with a kick to Kiel’s barrier before he was even on his feet again. White bands of energy wrapped the surface of his leg as it collided with Kiel’s barrier, and massive ripples formed in its transparent surface; still the bastard’s barrier held strong.

  They stood there, neither of them gaining ground as they traded barrier strikes; but Sage still couldn’t land a single blow, and he couldn’t break Kiel’s barrier.

  Finally Kiel leapt into the air, evading one of his barrier strikes, landing behind him.

  Sage felt his barrier shatter around the kick to his back.

  Whatever that surge of power had been, it wasn’t going to be enough.

  Kiel approached him and grabbed him by the throat, hefting him into the air. “You are his seed after all. And, as it is written, you inherited part of his Sulen.”

  Sage felt himself fall from Kiel’s grip; the force from Kiel’s next kick sent blood flying from his mouth.

  He was
on his back, the rubble jabbing into his spine. The blackness swept in on him from all sides. The last thing he saw was the matching grins on Vyce and High Elder Geidra’s faces.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  KIRANA

  For a long time, she had sat outside the first Trial chamber, sobbing like a stupid child.

  Her world had come crashing down around her. Her worst fears realized.

  I’m not worthy of Father’s blood, she thought.

  It felt as though someone had ripped out her heart and stomped on it.

  She cursed herself for allowing Reysha to get the better of her, replaying the events in her head a thousand times. Sitting on the edge of that stone balcony in the dark, gazing upon the pillars that marked the goal of the trial chamber. Then, sharp pain and darkness. Waking up on the floor of that balcony and noticing that her bells were missing.

  Was there nothing she could have done differently?

  And then she turned to cursing Reysha for having taken advantage of her.

  It’s all her fault, she thought, tears welling up in her eyes. If it weren’t for her and the son of Kyrties, I would be among the chosen! I would be a Valier. Now they’ll be standing above me, laughing and mocking me as I toil away, mining or cleaning some Elder’s tower.

  Since then, she’d sulked all the way back to Father’s tower, moping up the steps and crawling beneath the soft linens that had comforted her since Mother’s death.

  “It’s not fair!” she said, grabbing one of her pillows and sobbing into it, part of her hoping that it would suffocate her and end her life.

  To think. Tomorrow she would be forced to join the ranks of those lowly Sulekiel who worked the market, or the fishermen, or the farmers, or any of the other pointless jobs given to the unworthy.

  “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” Kirana said, staring up at her ceiling. “I...”

  There were footsteps on the spiral staircase. And then, knocks on her chamber door.

  “Kirana,” Takarus said. “Are you okay?”

  “Go away, Takarus!” she said, covering her head with her blankets.

  “But...” Takarus’ voice wavered. “The Trials are over... I lost. And Sage...”

  “Don’t you dare mention that bastard’s name in this house!” Kirana shouted. “Malo’thul can take him and Reysha to the abyss for all I care!”