“I wish that I could say that this was going to hurt me more than it is you. Unfortunately, we both know that that’s not true.” Her eyes told me everything that I needed to know and more. She was not going to back down and even though I saw doubt in her eyes, didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to follow through.
I was standing there like a deer in the headlights, unable to move and continually staring at this bright white energy beam that was consisting of one short tendril. She would need to take a few steps closer, but I could see that that was not a problem.
“I implore you, Gemini not to do this. You need to finally see the truth. You can’t do this and she means more to me than you can ever know.” I think that was her wakeup call and her eyes opened at the realization that I was more than just a partner in crime. “I couldn’t love another after you were gone. I know how pathetic that might sound, but you had a hold on me. When Shana came into my life, I thought that those feeling could never be rekindled. With her, it was different and she allowed me to be the man that I was supposed to be. I’ve never told her what to do and if I tried, she would always make up her own mind.” I liked that he was praising my virtues, but that wasn’t going to stop Lord Vadam’s assassin from killing me in his name.
Her eyes were wide and then she fell to the ground on her knees with the tendril slipping back within her finger. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and I could only see the whites for a second, before she fell face forward at my feet.
Chapter two
You could have heard a pin drop. I looked toward Braden; half expecting that it was him that was responsible for stopping her from killing me. He was a few feet away and there was no way that he could do anything from where he was. Even he looked shocked at this latest turn of events.
I heard the crack of the branch and a man stepped forward out of the shadows. He was the same man that I had fired an arrow at. I had forgotten, but now that I had fired four arrows, it left me with only one. It would need to be the kill shot to take out the Offus.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, Scar isn’t working for anybody. He does not fight for any side, but his own. Scar deserves to win, but you did him a solid and now he is returning the favor.” I’d never heard anybody talk about themselves in the third person. “This is the last thing this guy does for you. His debt to you is paid in full.” He had wavy black hair and was shorter than Braden, but he certainly did know how to make a good first impression. “Scar will do what’s necessary to win. He will use whatever methods he has at his disposal to make sure that you do not stand the victor. However, Scar does admire your strength of character. He has not seen someone like that in some time. He wants you to know that he thinks that you might be a worthy competitor.” If I didn’t know any better, I would think that he had some kind of split personality.
He was wearing red armor like Braden and that made them direct competitors, whether they wanted to be or not. I turned toward Braden and then back to Scar, but he was already gone with only the whisper of a tree branch to indicate that he was ever really there. I looked towards Gemini and she was moaning, but she was still in one piece.
The arrowhead punctured the space between her shoulder and the rest of the armor. It must’ve been a weak point and something that Scar had decided to use. I had a feeling that he was using something else than instinct to know just where to strike. It was possible that he was getting his information from the same person that had been keeping an eye on me. If that were true, then why didn’t she interject? If I needed somebody to have my back, then it was right here and right now.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Gemini. It was a very painful time in my life and I really didn’t want to revisit it.” I could understand that, but he led me to believe that she was gone from his life for good. “I know you thought that she was dead and I did nothing to dispel that rumor. To me, she was different and the woman that you see today is not the one that I fell in love with. That girl is dead and I don’t think that there’s any way to bring her back.” I suppose from his point of view it would make sense, but to me, it felt like a bold face lie that he should have to answer for.
“I understand that she hurt you, Braden, but there was no need for you to hide the fact that she was alive. Just tell me that you’re divorced.” He looked at me strangely and once again I had a feeling that there was no such thing as divorce on this world. “Maybe I should reword that. Was there at any time that you dissolved the relationship?”
“When she left me, it was severed and there was no unbreaking something that was already broken.” I looked behind him and he had already bagged an Offus. It was looking up into the sky with dead eyes and now we had one more to complete the cycle. It would make us two of the six going forward.
“I’m going to forgive you for being less than honest. I can see that she affected you. I just hope that you can get past it, because if she’s going to be our direct competition, then we’re going to have to work against her. Not only that, but we are going to have to work against Lord Vadam. He has made it his life’s mission to destroy me and the message that I represent.” I could see some of the looks that I had gotten when I stepped into the arena to battle those in the flying of the arrows. Women had stood and watched intently to see how I was going to make out. When I vanquished my foe, I could see that they were elated, but they were unwilling to voice their jubilation. They didn’t want Lord Vadam to single them out.
“I see that you’ve been busy, Braden. You did that all on your own. That must’ve given you a sense of accomplishment and pride. As everybody has said and we have both witnessed firsthand an Offus is not exactly an easy animal to capture or kill for that matter.” There were at least three of us that were wearing red armor and at the end of this; only one from each castle could be represented. It was known from the very beginning that the black was always the hands down favorite.
Gemini was holding her head and she turned and pointed her finger and I moved to avoid the tendril. It did not come and she looked down at her finger and suddenly realized that something was wrong. “I can’t bring it to bear. It won’t come.” She reminded me of a man that couldn’t perform. That was one thing that Braden didn’t have to worry about.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Gemini. I will say that this makes me very happy.” I could tell that her mind was a little fuzzy about the details of what happened. She obviously didn’t know who had taken her out and it was not my place to tell her. After all, Scar had done it and I had no reason to put a spotlight over his head. It would remain a mystery, unless of course she was able to weasel the information out of Braden. He was weak around her, but I think that strength within was the only thing that mattered. He did not want to kill her, but I don’t think that he wanted to go back to her. He had already crossed that bridge, burned that bridge and salted the earth to make sure that nothing grew. Metaphorically speaking.
“Shana, we need to get on with what we came in here to do. Gemini will have to answer to Lord Vadam and that is not something that is going to be pleasant by any means.” She was shaking her head and most likely trying to clear the cobwebs.” Whatever arrow he had used to puncture her skin had no doubt some lasting effect on her latten supernatural abilities. I didn’t think that it was going to last long, but maybe long enough for us to complete this cycle of the competition.
I took a moment to enjoy my surroundings and the way that the branches seemed to reach out like a living entity. The leaves were stretching to accommodate the breeze that was making them dance to their own tune. The sun was strong and the later that we got into the day, the easier it would be to catch an Offus. Unfortunately that meant everyone else would have the same advantage.
We were walking on the path and no more than 10 feet away from Gemini, I saw Scar. He was dragging his prize behind him like a badge of honor. He looked like he was having problems pulling it along behind him, but he was not one that was going to give up. He s
miled and I gave him an imperceptible nod in return. There was no reason to say anything and to do so would only make it possible for Gemini to know who was responsible for stopping her from killing me.
“Scar has been hunting for most of his life. He comes from a long line of hunters and trackers. I knew that when I threw my hat into the ring of the Red castle that he would come along with it. He just started training last year and this is his first year. That’s the main reason why I tried to get into the position of victor the last couple of years. Unfortunately, my Achilles’ heel had always gotten in my way. He has since been taken out of the competition.” With Scar in the competition with us, it’s going to make it a lot more difficult for either one of us to stand, as the sole survivor of the Red castle.
I admired Scar and his unique way to look at life through the eyes of another. His way was strange, but it wasn’t the first time that I had heard of something like that. It made you think that somebody was talking through him with his own voice.
“I’m not going to begrudge Scar his position, Braden. He did me a favor to cancel out the one that I did for him. I believe in paying it forward. I do a good deed, and then somebody else does a good deed and it continues like that. If I hadn’t helped him out, then I have this funny feeling that I wouldn’t be amongst the living. You didn’t even lift a finger to help me. I know that it was hard for you to fight against your emotions for me and for a past love that has long been dead and buried.”
“You don’t know how sorry I am. I should’ve acted and done something. I did try to reason with her, but you saw that she was dead set on what she had to do for Lord Vadam. I couldn’t stand idly by and do nothing, but I decided that words were better than actions. I know how foolish that might sound, especially when you were the one that was on the receiving end of that energy whip. That whip was meant to kill you. I’m kicking myself for not doing something, but I’m glad that Scar was able to do what I couldn’t. I hope that you don’t take that as a sign that I don’t love you.” I wasn’t sure how to take that.
“We can talk about that later, Braden. We are wasting daylight. Scar is already one of the six and we don’t even know if there are others. We do know that there is still room for two. If there wasn’t, then there’d be some kind of message to inform us that there was only one spot remaining. With no message comes the possibility that we could still get out of this with our hands raised in triumph.” There was no point getting into an argument that was going to go around and around for hours on end. I would definitely have to talk to him about this. There had to be a way to let him see that Gemini did not have his best interest at heart. I had to poison those memories and make it possible for him to act the next time.
I knew in my head that Scar would not always be there. Our debt to each other was done. Braden had a better chance, because he was in my life and he wasn’t going anywhere. I’d yet to find anything on the looking glass and I figured that the first person that might know something was the mysterious woman inside my head. I could feel real power coming from her and why she hadn’t decided to rise up against her oppressors was beyond me. It was possible that she was in need of an army and that her first salvo was to recruit me into her ill advised crusade. Others would not even entertain the idea of joining forces with her, but I was built from a different DNA strand. I did not bow down to any man. Whether it was lord Vadam or even the love of my life, Braden. Nobody had the right to tell a woman what to do. It didn’t matter if it was common practice. This practice had to end and if I were going to do something, then becoming one of the guardsmen would be a huge step in the right direction.
I knew that eventually, Braden and I might have to go toe to toe. It was a wonder which one of us would stand over the other. I really didn’t know the answer, but right now that had to be left alone or it was going to drive me crazy.
“I know that I’m a bit of a disappointment. I know that you expected more from me. I guess I’m going to have to try to do better. I will tell you that just knowing you has made me see things differently. It was all about becoming one of the guardsmen and hoping to rekindle something that was extinguished a long time ago. I thought that I could win her back. After the second time, I realized that I had to do this for me and nobody else. It was the one thing that was keeping me from thinking clearly.”
“I’m glad that you’re being honest with me, Braden. Why you decided to hide this from me does concern me. Was it because you still have feelings for her, or maybe you just didn’t want to admit that she still has a small piece of your heart.” I watched his face for any kind of reaction, but he remained mostly passive. He wasn’t showing any signs that he was even remotely interested in her. It’s just that he wasn’t able to kill her. Maybe I should take that as a sign, but I couldn’t in good conscience leave him. If I did, I would lose a part of myself, as much as he had lost a part of himself when he felt his relationship with Gemini get broken beyond repair.
“For now, let’s concentrate on bagging us another Offus. We have one, but that is only half the battle. We need a second one and then we can walk out together. We need to do this quick, because if Scar is not the only one, then time is of the essence. Then again, if Scar is the only one, then we still need to move quickly. Others are doing the exact same thing that we’re doing and they’re not going to get distracted by past loves that come out of the wood work at the most inopportune time.” His hand touched mine through the armor and I wasn’t sure if I could get over what he wasn’t able to do.
It did feel nice to have him in hand and it was that intimate connection that I had always been missing. There was always a physical component in past relationships, but emotionally, I was barren and void of any and all entanglements when it came to matters of the heart.
Chapter three
For the better part of an hour, there was a silence in the air that was deafening. I couldn’t get over the fact that he still held a torch for Gemini. He might’ve not believed it himself, but his inability to kill her was very telling in my book. I’m sure that he knew that I wasn’t happy, but we had bigger things to worry about than my hurt feelings.
“I hope you know that that was an anomaly back there. If it came down to saving your life or letting another die, then I would allow that other person to perish. I need you to know that Gemini has always had that effect on me. I can’t help it and I’ve tried to get that Acton off my back.” An Acton was a monkey like creature with eight legs. “It continues to hang on and I don’t know what to do about it. I thought that I was over it, but seeing her brought back all of those memories. You might think that it was all bad, but for the most part we had the love of the ages.” I had read about what the love of the ages was and apparently it’s when two souls meld together from the moment that they see each other from a distance.
To me, it was love at first sight, but apparently they had another name for it. It was that emotional and physical connection that every person was looking for, but rarely ever found.
“I know what you mean, Braden. It still doesn’t make me feel good about any of this. I thought we had something special, so you can imagine my surprise when I see you hesitating. It makes me think that we’re not, as connected as I thought we were.” It kinda gave my heart a tug, but I still felt these insane feelings that wouldn’t go away. It didn’t matter what he did or what he didn’t do. I may not like what he did, but I was going to have to let it go. It wasn’t going to be easy and the one thing I have in common with most women is a long memory.
“I just don’t know what you want me to do to prove to you that I have no interest in going back to Gemini. Did you know that that’s not even her real name? When she got involved with Lord Vadam, he decided to call her that, because she was his rising star. I don’t know how she doesn’t see the writing on the castle. It’s not like he has been trying to hide his true intentions. If anything, he has been nothing but honest with her from the very beginning. I’ve seen it firsthand and
he has this weird way of pulling a woman’s eyes into his own. Once he does that, he singles them out and makes them his new pet project. This is not the first time that he has used others and it won’t be the last.”
“That might very well be, Braden, but that still doesn’t explain your reaction. You claim to be over her, but everything that I have seen is to the contrary. You say one thing and you do another. I’m just not sure what I can believe in anymore. I still love you and I don’t think that will ever change, but you’re going to have to do something about your feelings for her. The best way for you to deal with it is to confront it head on. You need to admit to yourself that you still love her, or you don’t. I know that I probably shouldn’t be pulling at that thread, but I feel it’s my obligation to at least make you see what you haven’t been able to.” If he really did love Gemini, I would let him go. It wasn’t because I wanted to, but it was because I would feel like a second thought. I would be the consolation prize, where I wanted to be first place.
“Shana, I’ll take your words of wisdom under advisement. I really don’t see anything being there. She burned that out of me a long time ago. I might still think of her fondly, but it’s only the memories of the woman that I lost that I still think about. It’s not this conniving piece of work. I thought there was a chance for me to save her. I believe now that his claws are dug in, so deep that there’s no way for me to extract them. I don’t want to admit it, but I’ve never had the chance to grieve my relationship. I went straight to denial and I’ve lived there ever since. This is the first time that I’ve seen that final nail drive into the coffin.”
I knew all about the ritual of death and the coffin was the only thing that we had in common. They apparently set their dead on some kind of wooden raft. They would then send it out into the ocean never to be seen from again. There was no fiery end and wherever the coffin would end up, it would be up to the person that found it to do something about it. They really did believe that the east and the west were the only colonies. I was not under the same sentiment. To me, there was a big possibility that others had surveyed the north and the south. It would only stand to reason that somebody occupied that space. What would they think when they saw dead bodies floating towards their shore. Would they really bury them, or would they sink them in the ocean, so that they would not bother anybody else? I suppose it was all a matter of perception.
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