Tainted Blood Anthology

by Jeff Gunzel

  Liam watched the forest from the ground level while hearing the screams of the dying. Staff in hand, he held it high above his head. Bursting through the brush came Owen and Xavier, both sprinting as fast as they could. “They’re behind us!” Owen yelled, nearly falling down at Liam’s feet.

  “Yes, I’m aware,” Liam replied dryly. “And it is here we must make our stand. They must not break through this line.” He began twirling the staff above his head, eyes rolling back while muttering words in a guttural, alien language.

  “I guess it’s the three of us,” Owen groaned, rolling his shoulders. His crossbows clacked down, automatically fastening around his wrists.

  “Four!” came a call from above. Bypassing the steps in a single leap, Thatra leapt down from the platform above. Landing softly like a cat, she twirled a metal staff around her back, hardened muscles twitching from her shoulders to her abs. “Viola is with Assirra. We must defend the temple at all costs.”

  “Their ranks have been significantly thinned,” said Xavier, turning his head towards the growing commotion heading their way. “But there are still plenty left.” The forest seemed to come alive with movement, blurs of movement zipping back and forth, spirals of black whirling from branch to branch.

  Liam’s mumbling intensified, the last words roaring off his tongue like thunder. Slamming the butt of his staff into the ground, there came a boom with no sound, an energy felt but not heard. Like creeping death, the invisible rings of power radiated outward like a tidal wave of force. Laberath bodies came into plain view, as if the trees had all suddenly disappeared. They glowed a dark red for an instant before seeming to vanish once more behind the thickness of the forest.

  “There,” said Liam, stumbling forward a step. “I cannot slow time in so large an area, but I can slow their physical bodies temporarily. They will still be faster than us, but the difference will no longer be so extreme.”

  “How long will the enchantment hold?” asked Thatra as she eyed the first wave approaching.

  “Not nearly long enough,” Liam replied, lowering his goat-head staff towards the first threat breaking through the tree line. Uttering a single word, a head-sized ball of flame burst from the tip of the staff. Unable to dodge, the laberath’s body was instantly engulfed in fire. Seared flesh blackened to a crisp, the creature was dead before it ever hit the ground. Others broke through the trees, leaping right over the charred corpse.

  “Stand back!” Owen ordered, stepping forward with his crossbows raised. A blinding spray of orange energy made short work of them, as well as most of the trees in the immediate area. He swept back and forth, wildly unleashing the weapons’ energy. When they were spent and the gems ejected, he drew his silver blades and moved to the flank.

  They had already done their part, and Liam had no intention of asking for more. The tarrins could have stayed hidden had they chosen to, but didn’t. Awkwardly clutching swords as if they were shovels, they emerged from trees and bushes to join in the fray. Blinding rage overriding their lack of weapons proficiency, the tarrins began circling the boxa tree, swinging wildly at anything that moved. They refused to be viewed as cowards in the eyes of these human strangers not afraid to take a stand, let alone in the eyes of their own families.

  Thatra and Xavier moved to the east side to defend. Xavier’s blades whirled around him, covering so much killing distance that Thatra found herself of little use so near the assassin. She shifted back to the front, her staff whirling defensively to keep the creatures off Liam so he could cast his next spell. The teamwork paid off initially. The laberaths’ most advantageous physical gift had already been subdued, and they weren’t skilled warriors to begin with.

  “Who wants a piece of me?” Owen boomed, his silver blades shredding and slicing, reducing laberaths to shimmering pools of liquid white. “I can do this all day! I can—” His gaze drifted up to the sky. “Oh no... No!” One by one the others looked up, eyes wide with horror. With a whooshing sound, multi-winged hydrogriphs went soaring overhead. Like dry snow, white ash began to fall from the sky...

  Liam opened his hand, allowing bits of fluffy soft ash to collect in his palm. With saddened eyes, he glanced at Owen. “Get out of here,” he said, turning over his hand so the ash flittered to the ground. The sounds of clashing steel steel rang out all around them, yet he seemed to hardly notice.

  “I’ll do no such thing,” the hunter replied, shaking his head. “We’re in this together.”

  “Your steel is useless here,” Liam pressed, just before raising his staff to intercept a falling blade. With the speed of a skilled soldier, he quickly rotated his staff, catching the laberath in the lower jaw. Collapsing, the stunned creature screeched as the butt end of the staff dropped into his chest. Liam muttered a single word and the creature’s body burst into flame. “You must get Viola and go,” he went on as if the minor kill was barely a distraction. “The ghatins are coming. I will do all in my power to buy you time. If you and Xavier stay, death is all that awaits you.”

  Owen stepped towards the mystic, clasping a hand over his shoulder. “Very well,” he said reluctantly. “But once she’s safe we’re coming back for you!”

  Liam smiled at the white lie, even if Owen didn’t think it was at the time.

  “Xavier!” Owen called, watching his apprentice’s blades shred two more laberaths. “Follow me.”

  “But—”

  “No buts! Viola is in danger.” Xavier jumped at that, racing after his master.

  *

  Feeling overconfident, a pair of tarrin brothers slashed their way away from the protective numbers near the boxa tree. The enemies seemed to be thinning; whether that was from retreat or simply death remained unclear. Swords at the ready, they raced towards one who seemed to be hiding behind a bush.

  Rushing around the bush, they charged him from opposite sides. The laberath jumped up and whirled about, his steel flashing in one clean stroke. Severed, both their hands dropped to the ground. One screamed, glaring at his stump as blood pumped from the perfect cut. The other dropped to his knees, shock quickly setting in.

  Orm’rak grabbed the neck of the one still on his feet. “Where are they hiding the girl?” he asked calmly. Trembling, the tarrin revealed his silent answer by glancing back towards the temple high in the boxa tree. Orm’rak grinned. “Thank you,” he said, before squeezing his victim’s neck with only one hand. With a crackling snap, the tarrin’s eyes bulged and crossed before Orm’rak dropped him to the ground.

  Leaping into the air, his body whirled into a black funnel of squawking birds, reforming when he reached the temple’s platform.

  Racing up the steps, Owen had seen the spinning black funnel drift overhead. “Move, lad!” he called behind him. “They know where she is!”

  Orm’rak smashed through the wooden barricade, splintered chips of wood spraying everywhere. Assirra shrieked, turning to run from the room. White-hot pain exploded through the back of her shoulder, a blade tip now protruding through the front. “Where is she?” Orm’rak asked, the calm in his voice chilling. When she didn’t answer he twisted the blade, lifting the hilt to drive her face down to the floor. She covered her mouth to stifle the inevitable scream of pain. “I will not ask you again.” He glanced up as a figure rushed out from behind a chair. He ripped the blade free, sending Assirra spinning across the floor.

  “Viola, run!” Assirra screamed, her head spinning with nausea as her clothes darkened with flowing blood.

  Shrieking in terror, Viola leapt out the widow and onto the outer platform. Leaping off the edge, she whirled about in midair, spinning into a living tornado of black. Setting down on the ground, her terror redoubled when she took in the scene around her. Bodies were scattered everywhere as the battle ensued. Steel clashed and screams filled the air. She glanced up, seeing a second black funnel descending towards her. With no hesitation she ran into the forest.

  *

  Liam saw her land then run off while another laberath gave
chase. Seconds later, he was relieved to see Owen and Xavier giving chase into the forest. But there was nothing he could do to help. He needed to remain here and buy as much time as he could before... He gazed off in the distance, his eyes spotting what he was waiting for. From far away, large white giants with pink eyes glared back at him. Even from here he could feel their hate. Like melting candles, they seeped down into white ash.

  “Very well then,” he muttered, raising his staff over his head. “If it is my life for hers then so be it. Sparing her means millions of lives saved, where mine alone means nothing. A small price to pay indeed. There is nothing to consider.”

  Alien words dripped from his lips in sounds that no human should be able to formulate. White waves raced towards him, the speeding bulges in the ground throwing tarrin bodies into the air as they approached. Recognizing him as the only real threat, they converged and sprung from the ground. Faces contorted, mouths gaping open like white serpents, they washed over him just as his staff slammed the ground.

  There came another boom with no sound, a deep bass that seemed to rattle the planet. The ash around him crystallized, the effects spreading outward. Like a ripple from a pebble thrown in water, the crystallizing wave coated the white men, working its way back through the forest. Frozen like fossils, ghatin faces glared down at him from only inches away. Liam stumbled back, his head swimming from the power it took to cast such a spell. He sat on the ground gazing up at those twisted faces, knowing that all he’d managed to do was buy a little more time.

  *

  High in the trees, Viola leapt from branch to branch, whirling black settling briefly before spinning off to the next perch several yards away. She went to leap again, but her foot held fast.

  “Going somewhere?” Orm’rak asked, gripping her by the ankle. He dropped down from the tree, slamming her to the ground with a heavy thud. “You’ve cost me much this day,” he said, releasing her foot with an angry flick of his wrist before kicking her square in the stomach. “Who would have thought those humans could be so resourceful?” He kicked her again, sending her body tumbling several feet away.

  “Even if the ghatins keep their word and give the laberaths a fair amount of land once they take over, what am I supposed to rule with less than half an army?” He kicked her yet again, driving the last of the air from her lungs. Too winded to scream, she wheezed over and over, both hands wrapping her stomach. “I’m not so sure it’s worth sparing you for the ritual any longer. No, I think I’m just going to satisfy my need for revenge and just kill you now!” He released his blades with a hiss, holding them high above his head.

  Redirecting them, he spun back and slashed the air, deflecting a spinning blade with a shrill clang. With a back slash, he sent the second tumbling away as well. The misdirected blades never touched the ground, only hovered in the air before spinning back to Xavier’s waiting hands. He stood like a statue, his glaring blue eyes filled with hate. Trained to ignore distraction, to ignore emotion, he found himself unable to do that this time. He wanted Orm’rak’s head.

  “Touch her again and I’ll kill you where you stand,” he hissed.

  “Oh, so touching,” Orm’rak mocked, a hand rising to his chest. “So says the monster in disguise who walks among men. Does the killer now stand for truth and righteousness? I suppose now she is your one true love, inclined to be rescued by the famous hunter’s apprentice?”

  “No,” Xavier whispered plainly, his voice soft and dangerous. “You are the monster, and by my pledge I am bound to kill your kind. This I shall do without remorse or regret.” He looked at Viola, trembling on the ground as she gasped for breath. “And by that very same pledge I am bound to protect her and all those like her, no matter the cost.”

  “Oh? And why is that?” Orm’rak mused, his lip curling up in a half smile.

  “Because she is human!” Xavier roared, dropping to the ground as Owen dove over the top of him. Corkscrewing through the air, his twisting blades slashed towards Orm’rak’s neck. Stumbling back, the laberath barely deflected them at the last second. Relentless, the hunter pressed his attack. His blades worked feverishly, crashing against Orm’rak’s swords in a constant spray of sparks.

  “Fools!” Orm’rak boomed, deflecting Owen’s blades high before flashing forward ten feet or so. Owen felt the hot blade cut his side and whirled back to face his speedy attacker. Liam’s spell had given them the edge they needed, but it was clearly wearing off. Orm’rak was dangerous no matter what, and now his unworldly speed had returned to his body.

  Xavier dodged left then right, slashing blades he sensed more than saw. Orm’rak’s swords were a blur, slicing in at wild angles with blazing speed. The apprentice dove to the side, his rings slapping across his chest before rolling back to his feet. Throwing his hands in the air, glistening steel flashed all around him. Together they formed a protective dome formed of twirling blades. Orm’rak pulled up, almost rushing directly into the trap.

  Hearing the clicks behind him, the laberath leader whirled back with blurring speed, knocking Owen’s arm up in the air. A torrent of orange energy fired harmlessly into the sky. The hunter drove his head forward, his forehead smashing Orm’rak’s nose. He followed with a knee to the hip, then a hard elbow across the jaw. Stunned by the heavy blows, the laberaths’ leader sprawled to the ground. Dazed, he rolled away just as Xavier’s spinning blade impaled the ground right where he was lying.

  Orm’rak leapt to his feet and began circling the two humans. In truth, he was shocked at how dangerous they were proving to be. A single laberath at full speed versus two mere humans should have been a rout. He needed to finish this quickly. In a streaking blur, he rushed at Owen with his blades low. One clanged astray in an instinctual block by the hunter that was nearly impossible to comprehend. But the other hit home, biting deep into the hunter’s leg. With a growl, Owen hobbled back, the fabric of his armor darkening with blood.

  Placing almost no weight on the injured leg, Owen countered with a double high slash. When Orm’rak parried, he suddenly dropped low. Airborne steel flashed over the top of his head, Orm’rak barely deflecting in time. Their strategy was obvious now. The bruiser would hold the front position, taking the heavy brunt of Orm’rak’s offense while Xavier used his speed and pinpoint accuracy to attack from the outside.

  Coughing blood into her hand, Viola watched the battle rage on. Sparks bloomed in the air with each crash of steel, but Owen was getting pretty cut up with each exchange. Already she could see dark spots all over the hunter’s body, and more forming every few seconds.

  Owen ducked, allowing Xavier to roll over the top of his back. In a wide arch, his half-moon daggers came raining down on Orm’rak, who deflected each one with a shrill clang. Xavier dropped to his knees as the hunter rolled across his back, flashing his steel aggressively despite his mounting injuries. Working as a single unit, they were doing just enough to keep Orm’rak off balance.

  She glanced at the blood in her hand, bits of white caking the top. It was the ash that had been dropped from the sky. A thin layer was scattered all around them. It felt warm in her hands, somehow. She rose off the ground, feeling its tingle beneath her feet. Nothing more than a mere sprinkling of dusty ash, it should have had no effect on her. But it did. Like sunlight on a flower, she could feel its influence coursing through her, an energy-giving effect that made no sense.

  A cluster of memories assaulted her mind all at once.

  Flesh turned solid, her pale arms had extended several inches, each now resembling the blades of long swords.

  “Why didn’t I see it before?” she asked herself.

  “Only, the conclusion was not clear. It’s as if Odao himself is confused.”

  “I’ve run the tests myself. Her blood consists of both human and laberath.”

  “And so I am,” Viola whispered. “But that’s not all that I am.”

  “Your findings are not in question. It’s just that...there is something quite alien about her. An inf
ection, for lack of a better word. Her blood is...tainted.”

  “You were correct also, Assirra,” Viola hissed, her attention returning to the ensuing battle. “I am infected. My blood is tainted.” She began to sink down into the ash beneath her feet. “I am cursed with the blood of the ghatin!” She disappeared below the surface, ash bubbling like molten lava.

  Owen crashed his swords down low, ducking his head as two small blades zipped past the backs of his ears. Orm’rak blocked the swords and ducked the half-moon daggers. To his eyes these slowing humans were moving in water. Like a bolt of lightning, his swords simultaneously crossed Owen’s chest. Blood misted the air as the hunter spun and hit the ground.

  Xavier charged forward to cover his fallen master, his fingers twitching and body spinning. Orm’rak’s body seemed to teleport back and forth as the spinning blades shredded nothing but air. The laberath’s swords seemed to flash from multiple angles at once. In a virtual explosion of blood, wounds erupted all over Xavier’s body at once. Flashing steel his eyes could hardly register bit his shoulders, chest, and thighs. White-hot pain surged through him, his ruined body crumpling to the ground. No longer controlled by the puppet master, levitating blades clanked to the ground all around him.

  “The two of you were stronger than I expected,” Orm’rak admitted, raising his weapons in the air. “I shall dine on both of you this evening. Consider that an honor.”

  The ground behind him erupted in a wave of ash as a white form burst into the air. Features twisted with rage, red eyes flaring with light, Viola’s warped form clasped onto his back. Like a white sheet of flesh, she seemed to fold around him, pulling him down towards the ground.

  “Wha— No! It can’t be!” he screamed, thrashing to rid himself of the clinging being. It was like trying to escapade from the grasp of an octopus. For an instant, he managed to shed one arm. It melted in the air, reshaping into something that resembled a hook. She drove in back down, sinking it deep into his shoulder. He wailed in pain as she did the same with her other hand, now pulling down with even more leverage.