by Riker Kane
“And this Thomas… He a professional swordsman?”
“Well… Not exactly…”
Kailani twisted her lips but she couldn’t fight it. Like a dam bursting, she rocked her head back and cackled with laughter, her hands across her belly like she was in pain. Clayton let her have her laugh as he rolled his eyes.
“Can we get moving already? I’ve gotta kill as many creatures as I can get through.”
“Sure, sure… You’re the fighter.”
“That’s right! I am the fighter.”
“Lead the way, BB.”
Clayton proceeded forward through the cavern with Kailani in tow. As they got deeper into the cove, the rush of water grew louder. Clayton held his weapon up to illuminate the path and saw a small creek running across in front of him.
“Hmm… We should follow this water. Maybe it’ll lead to something.”
“Careful now,” she said. “They put signs up for a reason.”
“Looks like we’ll just have to take our chances.”
They followed the trail of water. The rush continued to grow louder as the creek got bigger and bigger. They kept walking until Clayton saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
“What is that…” He moved forward until he was suddenly standing outside of the cove. The creek led to a waterfall that cascaded down into a pool. All around them were palm trees making up the rest of the forest.
“We’re on the other side of the island.” Kailani pointed forward. “The horizon is different from here.”
“That’s great… We walked through the cove just to walk out of it. So much for leveling up…”
“Maybe we should just hunt in the forest. There are bears and tigers and deer out there.”
Clayton stepped down the side of the entrance until he was on the ground. He took a moment to look up at the waterfall. It was more than 20 meters high, the water cascading down into the lagoon below, the size of a large swimming pool.
“This water…” He narrowed his eyes at it. “It’s different…”
“What do you mean?”
“Look… The waterfall is clear. The same blue. It’s coming from the sea. But look at the lagoon.” He pointed at the water with his sword. “Why is it darker?”
“Who knows? Maybe it’s from all the trees and dirt. This water’s just sitting here. No telling what it’s connected to underneath.”
“No, that’s not it… It would filter out…”
Kailani put her hands on her hips. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, I think…” Clayton narrowed his eyes as he stood at the edge of the lagoon. He slowly moved his head forward, trying to look into the water. “There’s something in there…”
Kailani looked over the water. “I don’t see anything…”
A sudden rumble shook the ground underneath them. They looked at one another without saying a word then turned back to the water. The surface started to ripple. They watched as the ripples grew until the entire lagoon was shaking.
“Is that an earthquake?” Clayton asked, already knowing the answer.
“We don’t have earthquakes on the islands…”
Clayton didn’t take his eyes off the water as something slowly started to emerge from the center. Something black and scaly appeared, taking up all the surface of the water.
“Oh… crap…” He was near speechless when he saw it. “It looks just like the kraken…”
The giant squid stared at Clayton with its dark blue eye then raised up one of its tentacles.
“Crap!” He grabbed Kailani and dashed both of them out of the way just before the tentacle slammed down on top of them. He tried to take a moment to recover but suddenly felt something wrap around his ankle. The wet, slimy limb of the squid pulled him back.
“Hold on!” Kailani rushed up and stabbed the limb over and over. Black blood spilled out of its scales and a squeal erupted from the water. The two worked together to pull Clayton free but just as they were able to get away, two more tentacles climbed out of the water and swiped at them. One of them caught Kailani right in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Clayton just managed to avoid the other.
He ran up to her and helped her to her feet.
“We gotta run—”
“No.” Clayton watched as the massive squid moved all of its limbs up and down in an almost hypnotic rhythm. “We can beat this thing.”
“How are we gonna fight that thing?”
“There’s a way… I just…” Clayton searched his head for an idea when something came to him. “I think I got it. You just gotta listen to me.”
“I’m listening…”
Clayton didn’t have a chance to explain as another pair of tentacles came slamming down to the ground. They narrowly avoided getting hit. Clayton responded by igniting the Zeal Blade and shooting a fireball that caught the squid in the eye. It screeched in pain and retracted all of its limbs.
“There! See! It’s weak in the eyes!”
“Great… Just keep shooting fire at its eyes.”
“My wisdom isn’t high enough to kill something like that. It won’t do enough damage. I know it.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“We’ll take it down piece by piece. Bleed it. Watch.”
Clayton moved toward the edge of the water just as a tentacle rose up in front of him.
“BB! What are you doing?”
Just before it slammed down on him, he moved out of the way. With all of his strength, he came down with a slice that separated the tip of the tentacle from the rest of it. The squid retracted again, its scream echoing through the trees.
“Piece by piece,” Clayton said.
Kailani gave him a nod and moved to the edge of the water. The two worked together to bait the attacks from the squid. Clayton had just enough agility to avoid being hit, not dashing away to avoid moving too far. Kailani used her flexibility and stabbed at the limbs. Over and over, they kept fighting until the squid’s blood filled the water and covered the ground.
The beast didn’t relent though. With eight limbs, the number of attacks seemed endless.
“BB… I’m… I’m getting kinda tired here… I don’t know if I can keep this up…”
A tentacle rose up and snatched Kailani by the ankle. She fell to the ground with a hard thud.
“Kailani!” Clayton saw the dazed look on her face and rushed up. But in his haste, he didn’t see the other limb that rose up and hammered him in the stomach. Two tentacles wrapped around his legs, he felt himself being pulled into the water.
Kailani shook off the cobwebs and blinked her eyes only to see Clayton being dragged in with her. “Yeah… This is just great.”
“Hold on!” he said. “I got this…”
The beast had been weakened enough it was pulling them in slowly. Clayton hoped it was just enough time he needed to gather the stamina he needed.
“This better work…” he muttered to himself.
He gripped both hands tight around his hilt as he was pulled under the water. He stared through the murky water and found the squid’s eye. With all of his strength, he plunged his broken sword as deep as he could. The eye was tough but eventually gave. Clayton struggled underneath the water, pushing until his hilt was pressed right up against the squid’s eye.
All of the beasts limbs flailed in every direction, knocking Clayton around in the murky water to the point he couldn’t tell where he was going.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm and rose up to the surface. Kailani screamed out as she violently stabbed at the limb that still had a hold on Clayton. She managed to free him and the two of them swam back to the shore as quickly as they could.
They stared at the squid as it continued to scream. Its wild movements started to slow until it stopped completely. Its body rested in the blackened water, gold coins floating to the surface around it.
“Hey! Look at that!” Clayton pointed at the gold. “Big-time loot.”
“Ye
s. Gold. Very useful.” Kailani rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with obvious sarcasm.
“You telling me the gold wasn’t worth that? It’s really valuable, you know.”
“I already told you. You’ve been to the village. Did you see anybody with gold?”
“Actually…” Clayton raised his finger up to respond then thought about it. “Come to think of it…”
“You’d need more than some useless metal to buy anything around here.” Kailani got up to her feet and wiped away the slimy water. “You can go bobbing for the gold. But you’re carrying it yourself.”
Clayton looked down at his lack of pockets and sighed. “At least I got the essence…”
Chapter 11
The battle with the squid drained Clayton more than he realized. Kailani was just as fatigued. The two headed back into the caverns, moving down the path and fighting all of the bats they came upon. When they emerged back on the other side of the cavern, she brought him out into the forest to find something to hunt.
“Now… the trick is to stay quiet. You don’t wanna make too much noise. Don’t sneeze. Don’t cough. Don’t breathe. And don’t talk.”
“Like you’re doing right now?” Clayton raised an eyebrow at her but Kailani kept her eyes focused ahead.
“I’m whispering… You can whisper. Trust me. This is how hunters do it.”
“I thought Tamwa is full of farmers.”
“Come on, BB. We like to have a little fun every now and then, too…”
They hid behind a tree, standing still and listening for any movement around them. Clayton knelt on the ground with Kailani behind him, her hand resting on his shoulder. There was some movement in the treetops and in the brush around them.
“Hold on,” she whispered. “Something is coming.”
Clayton watched as a tiger emerged from between the trees. He didn’t question how a tiger could survive in a tropical setting like this, only focusing on how to take down the beast.
The orange fur of the tiger shined from the sun coming in through the treetops. Black stripes made it blend in with its surroundings.
“All right.” Clayton unsheathed his sword. “I got this.”
He began to move forward but Kailani pulled him back. “Me first. Then you. Then me again.”
“I… I don’t know what that means.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just hold on a second, okay?” She moved with the flexibility of a gymnast, climbing the trees and moving to the branches above the tiger.
“What is she doing?” Clayton watched as she pulled a knife from her waist. She gave him one last look and nodded before suddenly firing the blade.
It caught the tiger right in the neck. A violent roar echoed through the trees as the tiger raced away.
“Great,” Clayton grumbled as he rushed forward. He chased after the tiger while Kailani did the same through the treetops. The trail of blood made it easy to follow and it wasn’t long before they got to a forest clearing.
The tiger finally decided to stand its ground. Another loud growl stopped Clayton in his tracks.
Clayton tightened his grip around his hilt. “Let’s rock.”
He charged at the tiger as it leaped forward. He just managed to move out of the way of its swipe, slicing the tiger underneath it. Another gush of blood lined the fur on its belly.
The beast was slowed but remained on its feet.
“Now… Just need to finish it—”
“Ahh!” Kailani came roaring from the treetops. She jumped down and pierced the tiger right through the top of its skull with both of her bone daggers. It came to rest after struggling for a few moments underneath her.
Kailani hopped off the large tiger, a look of satisfaction on her face. “And that’s how we hunt. What do you think?”
“I could do without the running through the forest but whatever gets the job done.”
“Oh, you complain about everything…”
“Hey! I need to preserve as much energy as I can. I need it for combat.”
“You don’t say…” Kailani’s attention had trailed off as she looked over Clayton’s shoulder. She didn’t pay him any mind, walking forward.
“What is it?” Clayton followed her, wondering what kind of trouble she was getting him into now.
Kailani moved toward the entrance of a small cavern without saying anything.
“Hold on! We don’t know what’s in there!”
“It’s okay…” Kailani put her hand up. The cavern wasn’t very deep and they quickly reached the basin after just a short walk. It was completely empty except for the pool of water in the center. The steam rose up toward the ceiling, which wasn’t as dark as the other caverns Clayton had been in.
“What is this place?” he asked.
“The spring. I guess nobody found this place.”
“I guess not.”
Kailani removed her weapons and moved closer to the water. She knelt down and ran her hand through it.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” Clayton asked. “Might be another squid lurking in there.”
“I can see to the bottom. It’s clear… Nothing but bubbly steam. We should use it… I think I need to recover after that incident with the squid.”
Clayton moved to the edge of the water and looked down. It was clear but the steam and bubbles rising from it made it more inviting.
“I guess I could wash off some of this blood.”
“That’s the idea.”
Kailani didn’t waste a second as she stripped off her shorts. For the first time, Clayton saw the bright bikini bottoms she had underneath.
Kailani didn’t seem to mind though. She just grinned as she splashed into the water. “I’m not waiting for you, BB.”
Clayton removed all of the leathers and armor he wore until he was completely naked. Kailani had her eyes closed, too distracted by her enjoyment of the hot springs to look at him.
He dropped the Zeal Blade down then dipped his toe into the water. “Ow… That’s hot.”
“Oh, don’t be a baby. It’s nice and warm.”
“Yeah, yeah…” He pushed the rest of his leg in and stepped into the springs. He sat down on the basin below him. It was just high enough so the water was around his stomach. For a moment, it reminded him of the rejuvenation pool back in Nalore. The water wasn’t as vibrant but it was just as relaxing. He closed his eyes and sighed as his energy slowly returned to him.
“There are springs like this all over the island,” she said. “They say the ancients built them. Pretty inconvenient if you ask me, considering how far it is from the village.”
“Maybe they were built for travelers. For people who would be out hunting.”
“Maybe… I’m not gonna question it now.”
Clayton was slowly drifting off when he heard her giggling. He peeked his eyes open and saw Kailani grinning like she always was.
“What’s so funny?”
Kailani bit the corner of her bottom lip and looked off to the side. “Oh, nothing… You just look pretty cute when you’ve got your eyes closed.”
“Cute… That’s what every guy wants to hear…”
“Oh, sorry… I meant to say you look like the manliest man a woman could ever lay her eyes on.”
“That’s better.”
They shared a laugh as she slowly swam toward him. She didn’t say anything. Clayton could sense something on her mind but he didn’t question her.
“Hey, BB… The other night… I was maybe a little drunk and I kissed you. I hope you’re not mad about that.”
“Why would I be mad?”
“The thing is… I know you don’t want to be here. You’re shipwrecked and I sorta pushed you into the Fire Fights. The thing is…” She sighed, still unable to look him in the eye. “…I’ve been on these islands my entire life. Tamwa Village is all I’ve known. Sometimes I get lonely and… It feels nice to meet someone new. It’s hard to make new friends when you’re stuck on an island out in the middle of th
e Great Sea.”
Clayton could see how sincere she was. Her innocent smile was gone and the mischievous glint in her eyes was nowhere to be found.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I understand what it’s like. Your father… He told me about your mother.” Kailani turned to face him but didn’t say anything. “I never knew my mother either. I never knew my father either. It was always just me.”
“My father has done everything he could for me, for all of Tamwa. Joakim is always pushing him though, so my father has to spend all of his life in the fields along with the rest of the village. Just once, I’d like to see him relax and enjoy himself after the work is done. He’s always worrying about the next set of crops because Joakim demands there’s always a surplus.”
Clayton nodded in understanding. “That’s why you want me to win so badly.”
“When you win, my father will change things. We won’t have to focus on a war that’s not being fought or a threat that’s never coming. We can just live our lives in peace. It will mean a lot to my father if you win.”
Kailani swam forward. Clayton looked into her eyes, waiting for her to stop but she didn’t. She moved right up next to him. The softness of her breasts pressed against his chest even through her bikini top. He closed his eyes as she moved her face to his. Their tongues stuck out and met in a wet, sloppy union. Their kiss echoed in the cavern.
Clayton’s desire for Kailani was always there but now he felt it burning hotter than ever. He wrapped his arms around her and began undoing her top. She didn’t protest as he pulled it off. She drifted away slightly to let Clayton get a good view. They were just as he imagined, small, perky breasts with the same golden tan as the rest of her body. He swallowed to wet his suddenly dry throat.
“I know the kind of risk you’re taking… But I’m here for you… No matter what…”
She moved back toward him and pulled him close for another kiss before trailing her mouth up toward his ear.
“Thank you… Clayton…”
Her breath was warm against his cheek. He let out a deep sigh as he pulled her close. No more words. No more emotions. No more trying to read one another’s feelings. They simply lost themselves to their desires as their kiss grew deeper.