The Blood King’s Apprentice

by David Alastair Hayden

  Awasa ripped open a muck-demon’s stomach, spilling slime and bits of leaves onto the floor. She dodged aside as it fell toward her, but her feet hit the slime and she slipped. As she righted herself, a demon struck a glancing blow against her back with its huge fist. She stumbled forward, caught her balance and spun around. Lu Bei sparked the demon and Awasa impaled it. She held up her mudra, but the onrushing demons shook off its effect. Either her focus or her strength had ebbed. Breathing heavily, she had to back away and fight defensively.

  Kurine staggered back under the weight of the demons crashing into her shield. She swung her hammer again and again, but the muck-demons shook off her ineffective blows. Lacking a weapon like Fangthorn or Sumada, she depended on brute strength alone.

  Lu Bei swept across and scattered sparks at the frontline nakija-kagi. Without his continuous effort and Zaiporo’s well-placed arrows, the others would've been overwhelmed already. They needed Turesobei’s help. He had taken too long readying his next spell.

  He unleashed the spell of the darkfire bolt, which he could cast reliably now that he’d tweaked it using his new understanding of the kenja subtypes. A crackling, black-and-purple bolt the length of an arrow formed in midair, zipped past Kurine and punctured the forehead of the nearest kagi. Its skull split open like a cracked walnut. The bolt didn't stop there. It rocketed through the room and blasted a simmering crater into the soft flesh of eight different nakija-kagi, killing three and wounding another five.

  Turesobei sensed the battle was at a turning point. He did a quick-cast of the spell of the star-fire blast and aimed it toward the left side of the room where Awasa and Kurine struggled. A crackling curtain of flame fell onto the back line of the muck-demons and vaporized six of them. A wave of heat swept through the room. Turesobei stumbled but smiled. Where a moment before, it had seemed the creatures might overwhelm them through sheer numbers, now the tide had turned in their favor.

  But it quickly turned back again.

  Chapter Fifty

  A horned kagi in the back roared before exploding into a fine mist.

  A thick haze spread through the room.

  Iniru began coughing…then Kurine, Awasa and Zaiporo. Turesobei’s eyes and nose burned. The gas moved into his throat. He coughed a few times. Tears streamed from his eyes.

  The kagi lumbered forward, unaffected. He had to clear the air fast, or his companions would be overwhelmed. He reached into his pouch and drew the strip for a wind spell to sweep the haze away. He croaked out the first words of the activation. The spell strip fizzled. Somehow, he was going to have to restrain the coughing long enough to cast the spell.

  A shimmering force field bubbled up around him. The air cleared inside. He tried to reach for another spell strip, but his arms couldn’t move. He tried to take a step, but his legs couldn’t move, either. The force field held him so tight, all he could do was twist his head a little to each side.

  He knew the spell’s source. He had experienced Hannya’s magic firsthand before and knew its texture. He glanced over and saw her and Enashoma in a similar protective bubble, shielded from the toxic gas that clouded the room. They could move freely, however. Hannya winked and smiled at him while Enashoma shouted curses and accused her of cheating. Turesobei hurled a curse at her as well, but his voice didn’t carry outside the bubble. Motekeru remained stationary but his eyes simmered.

  Lu Bei warned the others what had happened. The gas didn't affect him or the hounds.

  Zaiporo suppressed a cough. “Rally to me!”

  Bent at the waist, coughing relentlessly, Kurine staggered toward Zaiporo and Turesobei. A demon charged her. She barely got her shield up in time to block its attack. The demon cocked its fists back for another punch. Lu Bei sprayed sparks into its face and Zaiporo put an arrow in its throat. The demon fell back and Kurine reached the rally point.

  Tears streamed down Awasa’s face as she gasped for air. She wasn’t coughing, though. Perhaps because of the Warlock’s taint or the mudra she held. She swung Fangthorn in wide arcs to ward away the muck-demons. Respecting the sword, they kept their distance. She limped in, blood flowing from her right hip.

  Eight demons cut Iniru off from the others and drove her back toward the wall. Assuming she wouldn’t need help, Turesobei hadn’t blasted the demons on her side. Now she was outnumbered and hemmed in. She coughed and wheezed and could hardly open her red-rimmed, tear-filled eyes. Slashing ineffectively, she scored nothing more than minor cuts, despite Sumada’s edge.

  Zaiporo sent the hounds to help her and fired an arrow. His shot missed and struck a demon harmlessly in the shoulder. Howling, the hounds lowered their heads and rammed two demons in the back of the knees, bringing them down. They darted back and jumped at the other demons, trying to distract them.

  Lu Bei dropped between Iniru and the demons and thrust his hands about casting sparks wildly. “Get out of here! Maneuver Sixteen!”

  Iniru coughed and stabbed at a demon. “What?”

  “Up and over! Up and over!”

  Maneuver Sixteen? Turesobei had never heard of that one before.

  Iniru sprinted toward the wall and jumped feet first. She sprang off the wall, somersaulted over the demons and landed behind them. Then she rushed in to join the others. The hounds raced back with her.

  Lu Bei beat his wings furiously. “I’m on my—”

  Before Lu Bei could gain altitude, a demon slammed his giant hands together and caught the fetch in a thundering clap.

  Lu Bei squawked and transformed. He struck the floor as a book. Turesobei drew in a sharp breath, focused his senses, then relaxed. He didn’t sense anything wrong. The fetch was okay.

  The toxic cloud thinned. Though their coughing subsided, Turesobei’s companions still labored to breathe and their eyes still burned and watered.

  The remaining eighteen nakija-kagi closed in.

  Zaiporo dropped his bow and drew his sword. “I've got the…middle. Rig and Ohma…you're with me. Awasa, you keep…the left flank. Iniru stick…to the right. Kurine you’re the rover…help wherever it’s needed…but first and foremost make sure…nothing gets…through to Turesobei. He's your—”

  A kagi barreled through and over the hounds and tackled Zaiporo. Kurine tried to dodge aside but got clipped in the side. She fell into Awasa, who then stumbled out of her defensive position and into a demon’s attack range. A fist hammered into her temple and she went down. Fangthorn clattered away and Awasa didn’t move. Turesobei cried out, but his voice merely echoed inside the force bubble.

  Kurine recovered and moved to help Zaiporo. A muck-demon leapt toward her and brought both fists down in an overhead strike. She raised her shield high. The force of the blow cracked her shield and drove her to one knee.

  The hounds tore at the muck-demon on top of Zaiporo, who kicked and bucked but couldn’t get out from under it.

  Iniru flicked a glance at Kurine and Zaiporo. She stepped that way to help but gave up as two demons charged in on her. She spilled the intestines of one and split the kneecaps of the other. But then two more rushed in to take their place.

  Kurine dodged a punch, took her war hammer in both hands and swung it upward. The hammer connected with the demon’s jaw. With a crack, its head bent backward and it fell away.

  Zaiporo grabbed one of the arrows that had spilled from his quiver and jabbed it into the eye of the demon on top of him. He squirmed free and Kurine brought her hammer down on the demon’s back. Its spine snapped like a tree branch in a storm. A demon surged toward her, but Zaiporo grabbed his sword, leapt up and intercepted it.

  Kurine took up Awasa’s position on the left flank where two demons were trying to circle around behind them. As the two stepped over Awasa, she woke and tripped one of them. Then she rolled aside, grabbed her sword and stabbed up, impaling the other through the groin. She leapt to her feet and straight into the path of a third demon’s haymaker. But Kurine’s hammer struck the demon’s arm and deflected the punch.


  Two of the last five demons lowered their heads and charged full-speed toward Zaiporo. He intercepted one and cut it across the eyes, but the demon kept coming and shouldered into him, knocking him backward.

  The other kicked Ohma aside and plunged ahead toward Turesobei.

  Kurine darted away from the demon she and Awasa were fighting and launched herself toward the runaway demon. At the same moment, Iniru kicked a demon back, twisted around and sped toward Turesobei. He saw the problem before they did and cringed.

  Kurine and Iniru noticed each other too late. Iniru deflected Kurine’s hammer but couldn’t change her course. With a thud Kurine and Iniru plowed into each other. The muck-demon bounded over them and struck the force bubble headfirst.

  The demon exploded into a fine mist of mud that scattered across the room.

  A crackling pop sounded in the Training Hall.

  The toxic fumes dissipated, the remaining nakija-kagi collapsed into puddles of goop and Turesobei's force field disappeared. Hannya stormed out into the middle of the Training Hall, her face twisted in rage.

  “Idiots! If this had been a real fight, you would've lost and Turesobei would be dead now.”

  Kurine stood over Iniru and jabbed a finger toward her. “It's her fault!”

  “Me?” Iniru blinked her eyes heavily. “I had that creature dead to rights. You got in my way.”

  “Defending Turesobei was my job and I didn't need your help!”

  Iniru stood and shoved Kurine. “If it was your job, why were you out of place?”

  “I didn’t know Awasa was about to get back up, and someone had to take up that side.”

  “That wasn’t your job.”

  “If I hadn’t done it, they would’ve reached Turesobei from the exposed left flank instead of from the middle.”

  “Fine, but in that case, the responsibility for defending him shifts to me.”

  “Says who?” Kurine asked.

  “No one has to say it. It’s obvious. I’m the better fighter and I had Sumada.”

  Kurine shook her head. “Orders are orders and I was keeping track of Turesobei. That’s why I charged in to intercept the demon. And I got there just as soon as you did too.”

  “Yes, but if I had gotten there,” Iniru said, “Turesobei would have been safe for certain.”

  “You don’t think I can protect him?”

  “Not as well as I can.”

  Kurine’s eyes blazed in anger. She clenched her fists and muttered an insult. Iniru edged toward her. Zaiporo, clutching his shoulder, stepped in.

  “Iniru, you shouldn’t have abandoned your post. It was Kurine’s job to protect Turesobei. And she did that by guarding the flank and then returning to the middle when needed. It’s not like she left the middle open. The hounds and I were there.”

  Turesobei admired Zaiporo’s bravery.

  “Zai, you can't trust her to defend someone,” Iniru said. “You saw how she leapt into battle. She fights like a madwoman, like a berserker. She's just not suited for defense.”

  “That may be true,” Zaiporo said, “but you’re no better suited to defense. And you didn’t follow orders and fight like a team player.”

  “I was trained to fight alongside other qengai, alongside warriors I could trust.”

  “Well this is different,” Zaiporo said with hurt in his voice. “And if we don't all respect the chain of command, then everything will break down.”

  Motekeru caught Turesobei’s eyes and nodded. He caught the meaning. He was in charge. He had to resolve this. Even if it meant there would be hell to pay.

  “Niru, we all agreed that Zaiporo was in command,” Turesobei said. “And right or wrong, it was his call to give Kurine the job of protecting me. You could have protested the decision before we began.”

  She scowled. “He could’ve changed the order.”

  “Maybe he should have but he didn’t,” Turesobei said. “In the middle of a fight we have to trust him. That's how it works. Besides, you should’ve seen Kurine coming.” He realized then that she probably hadn’t even checked, because Kurine was the one Iniru didn’t trust.

  Iniru choked back a retort. Turesobei could tell by the anger in her eyes that she knew he was right, but she wasn't in the mood to admit fault. “You would agree with her, wouldn’t you?”

  “Hey!” Turesobei said.

  “Don’t blame him for your mistake,” Kurine said.

  “But this is all his fault.”

  “How is it my fault?” Turesobei asked. “I sat there in a bubble. I couldn’t do anything.”

  “Not the battle, dummy.” Iniru pointed at Kurine. “Her! She’s your fault. If you weren’t such a…such a…stupid boy, she wouldn’t even be here.”

  “Because the only way you can win his heart is without competition,” Kurine said.

  Awasa’s mouth gaped open. “Hey, I was competition!” She waved her hands and backed away. “Wait, never mind. I’m above all this stupid drama.”

  Lu Bei was still in diary form. Enashoma picked him up and wiped muck off the cover. “Have you guys all forgotten Lu Bei? He may be hurt.”

  “He’s fine,” Turesobei said. “He probably just doesn’t want to come out right now.”

  “Can’t say I blame him,” Zaiporo muttered.

  “I’ve had enough of you,” Kurine said to Iniru. “You think you own Turesobei, but you don’t.”

  Iniru edged closer. “Well neither do you.”

  “No one owns me,” Turesobei said.

  “Stay out of this,” Kurine and Iniru both said in unison.

  “I don’t get a say so?”

  “No,” they replied.

  Turesobei shrugged. Fine, he would stay out of it. He glanced over at Hannya. She met his eyes. A smile tugged at her lips then vanished into a frown.

  “I may not like you, but you love Turesobei and I respect that.” Iniru used her sleeve to wipe away some of the muck dripping into her eyes. “Love isn't enough, though. Turesobei needs a girl who will always have his back, who he doesn't have to worry about in a fight. He’s constantly in danger and I know how to help him. I saved his life more times than I can count before we met you, and I’ll still be saving it after you're gone. You’d never been anywhere or done anything till he came along.”

  Kurine slung her hammer off to the side. It clattered along the floor until it crashed into the weapons rack. “Well…I don’t think you love him…I don’t respect you…and I don’t like you at all. You prance around in tight shorts flirting with everyone to get what you want. But I see through you. You don’t care about anyone but yourself. And like I’ve said before, you’re just a killer.”

  Sumada clanged onto the floor and Iniru stepped up so close to Kurine their chests touched and their noses were only a few inches apart. “The assassin thing again? And tight shorts?! That’s the best you’ve got? Big talk coming from a girl who pulls her kimono down as far as possible to show off her cleavage. I’ve seen you. You’re always finding excuses to bend over when Turesobei’s around.”

  Palms sweating, throat dry, Turesobei stared in horror. He should do something. But what? Maybe Enashoma would do something. She was a girl. She must understand all this. Except she gaped at them in horror too, her face frozen. Zaiporo stared in fascination. Hannya appeared to be restraining a laugh. Awasa. Awasa would do something. But Turesobei cringed when he saw the look of hunger in her eyes. She was biting her lip and watching them intently as she cradled Fangthorn to her chest. This violence probably wasn’t good for her composure. Where was Lu Bei with a well-timed joke when you needed him?

  “I’m not afraid of you,” Kurine said.

  “You should be. According to you I’m a killer.” Iniru shoved her. “But if you're not scared, then do something. I dare you.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Kurine surged forward. Iniru tried to dodge aside. But she was too close to escape. Kurine grabbed her around the waist and tackled her to the floor. There they rolled around in
the mud and rotting plant bits, growling and trying to punch each other and…and he wasn’t sure what they were trying to do. Neither one accomplished much. He heard several mutters of “bitch” and “tramp” and “hate” and his name.

  “Enough!” Turesobei said.

  They paused for a moment. Then Iniru tried to bite Kurine’s ear.

  Turesobei reached into his pouch and drew the strip for the spell of the sudden rainstorm. He drew primarily on the air kenja in the room to make the rain as cold as possible. A cloud instantly formed below the ceiling and poured cold rain down onto them. Hannya shielded herself in time but Enashoma got caught in it. She gasped, wrapped her arms around herself and shot Turesobei a dirty look.

  The rain washed the muck off of Turesobei and the others, but it didn’t stop Kurine and Iniru from fighting. They kept going at it, but at least they seemed to be pulling their punches. He shrugged helplessly. Maybe they would burn themselves out soon.

  Kurine rolled Iniru over and pressed her hard against the floor. Iniru locked her hands on Kurine’s ponytail and yanked. Kurine cried out. Iniru kicked free and slashed her clawed fingertips across Kurine’s cheek. Kurine responded with a punch that Iniru dodged. Iniru counterattacked, but Kurine blocked the blow with her forearm then tackled Iniru. Snarling, Iniru locked her thighs around Kurine’s neck, putting her in a chokehold.

  This was getting way out of hand fast. Turesobei drew a strip for a stunning spell. But he didn’t need it. Motekeru stomped over to the girls, grabbed each by the back of their body armor and tore them apart. He held each one up in the air. They kicked and squirmed but couldn’t get free of his grip.

  “Apologize to one another.”

  “No,” Kurine growled.

  “Not a chance,” Iniru said.

  Motekeru’s eyes blazed. “Apologize. Now!”

  Both girls stopped struggling and fell silent. They nodded. He didn’t set them down.