by Jake Daniel
Each of the women left his side slowly, moving like game show models revealing a new car or some other fancy shit that never lived up to the hype. Their scaly tails whipped back and forth behind them, and their wings stretched out to their sides. They positioned themselves around the cart and one particular dragon woman, who I presumed to be Nymona, walked to the end of the cart and gripped the sides of the tarp.
With a quick tug, she pulled the cloth off. It fluttered to the ground and settled a short distance away. By this time, many others had joined, each packing in close around us, curious what the strange man was about to reveal.
It wasn’t actually a crate, but an iron cage. Inside was the meanest looking creature I’d seen yet. Its massive fur covered body pushed outward against the bars and its muscular arms actually spilled out each side of the bars like a fat guy in an airplane seat. Two massive horns extended out from its cow-like head, and a thick bronze ring hung from its slightly moist nose. It let out a roar and its black eyes landed on me.
I stared back, taking in the creature’s massive size, but did not back away as many others did. Isobel stayed right at my side as Gwen and Isobel crossed back over from near the bakery.
Isobel’s hand hovered over the sword she’d grabbed earlier.
Amos held his hands out at his sides and let out a loud laugh. “Feast your eyes on the future champion of the one-hundredth Tournament of Aurilon!”
The gathered crowd gasped in unison, and some even cheered.
I cocked my head and shifted my eyes from the minotaur back to Amos. “Not bad.”
“Not bad? Not bad?! He’s more than not bad! I’ve spent good money on this champion, I know he’ll not let me down.” He fished a key ring out of his pocket and held up a single silver key in the air. “How about we let him look around, he probably needs to stretch?”
Fapplejack moved toward the cart and looked up at the gigantic beast. “If you let that monster out of his cage, I promise you he won’t be leaving here alive.” The goblin moved his neck to the left and right as if preparing himself for a fight.
I nodded. “You’ll be taking quite an unnecessary risk if you release him here. Why not save him for the tournament?”
Isobel grabbed her sword and moved into a slightly defensive position. She shifted her gaze to Amos. “What have you done to that minotaur? He’s not in his right mind. Something is off.”
Amos shook his head and held his hands out in front of his chest. “Oh, I’ve not done anything except sedate him for the trip. A brief stretch may do him good.”
I turned toward Isobel and furrowed my brow. “Are you able to see something I’m not able to?” Before she answered, I used my Sight skill. I hoped to gather some information, but when I activated it, I couldn’t see anything. One thing I’d noticed since receiving the Sight skill was that monsters were much harder to use it on than other humans were.
Isobel pointed toward the minotaur with her sword and leaned closer to me. “Look at his eyes, something isn’t right.”
I turned my glance to the enormous beast’s eyes and saw a bit of cloudiness in his eyes. The minotaur laughed and spoke, his voice scratchy and a little unnerving. “Prepare to die, human. I’m going to fucking destroy you.”
Dahlia and Gwen spread out slightly and readied their weapons. Gwen kept her eyes focused on the massive beast, her knives held ready to slash. Dahlia brought her vines up to her wrists and her petals turned a dark shade of violet as she eyed the dragon-kin circling around the minotaur.
I braced myself and held my position as he let out an ear-splitting roar. Several of the gathered onlookers fled from the scene, while others pushed closer and exchanged money amongst themselves. I knew they were taking bets on who was going to win, or die.
I lowered my hand down to my waist and hovered over my knife. I’d had my run-ins with plenty of pissed off creatures in the past. This one really didn’t seem any different, besides the fact that they had it caged. I calmly turned to Amos. “Impressive, although, I agree with the wolf-kin, it looks like something may be wrong with him.”
Amos let out a hearty laugh. “Wrong?! There’s nothing wrong with him. Let me show you.”
I closed my hand over my spirit draining knife and prepared to pull it out of its sheath. “No, I’d rather you not. He looks a little... unstable.”
“Mona, please release Viares.” Amos waved a hand dramatically toward the cage and the four dragon women moved forward and gripped a side of the cage.
I held an arm out instinctively to keep the women and Fapplejack behind me. I took a step forward, placing myself between the cage and the women.
Nymona removed a pin, releasing the cage door. It swung open and smashed into the side of the cart with a loud crash. The minotaur rose and let out a guttural roar. He stretched his massive arms and stepped out of the back.
Amos clapped his hands and smiled. “Very good, very good! Come my champion, show these unbelievers what they’re up against.”
“I’m pretty sure we never said a damn thing about your champion. Why don’t you save it for the tournament?” I remained planted firmly in place and removed my knife from its sheath. I knew it wouldn’t do much, but I was pretty sure this man didn’t know what other skills I possessed.
“Oh, Mr. West, that knife will not save you.” Amos let out a thunderous laugh as the minotaur stepped closer.
The crowd surrounding our carts had grown quite large by this point.
Gwen called out from behind. “What should we do, Logan?”
I responded while keeping my eyes focused on the approaching minotaur. “It appears Mr. Moses here wants to prove a point. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know what he’s about to get himself or his champion into. Stay near me.”
Gwen let out a laugh as she joined my side. Dahlia gave me a small smirk as she stepped forward.
Viares huffed and glared at us with his blood-red eyes. “All the better. Do you need any more protectors, or is this it?” His long curved horns atop his head shifted toward the ground as something appeared by his giant feet.
“Get back. If you’re going to attack them, you must get through me first!” Fapplejack stood with a length of rope in his hands and an angry scowl on his face. “Go on, make your move.”
My heart sank. I appreciated the goblin’s loyalty, but he was about to get fucking stomped.
Amos laughed and dismissed the goblin. “Go ahead, Viares. Try not to make too much of a mess.”
The minotaur rushed forward before Fapplejack was ready, landing a hoof directly to the goblin’s midsection with a sickening crack. Fapplejack flew back and landed in a heap on the ground. Before the minotaur could take another step, I activated my Charge skill. I closed the distance between us like a flash of lightning and my shoulder connected solidly with the minotaur’s ribcage. I felt his ribs crack under the force of my blow, prompting a loud roar from the beast.
I spun behind his back, still seeing red from his attack on Fapplejack, and brought my knife screaming down. To my surprise, the knife did not cause even as much as a scratch on the minotaur’s back. I jabbed forward a second time with the same result. The blade was completely worthless.
Viares laughed and spun backwards, landing a giant forearm to my shoulder. “Your weapons are useless. Give up before you hurt yourself.”
I dodged his next attack and rolled forward. Gwen and Isobel circled and avoided the minotaur’s massive fists, while Dahlia’s vine stretched out from her wrist like a leash. I called out as I scrambled to my feet. “Dahlia, get his legs.”
Dahlia nodded and pushed her arm forward, sending a thick vine forward which hit its mark and wrapped itself around one of his thick legs. She called out as she held the vine with both hands. “I don’t know how long I can hold him!”
Viares struggled against the wrapping vine, shaking his leg vigorously to free himself.
Gwen and Isobel rushed forward and sliced at the trapped beast with their blades. A couple of lig
ht streaks of blood rose to the minotaur’s chest where they’d cut him, otherwise it was more of the same. They each managed around five swipes before Viares swung forward.
A second before he landed a punch, I dove forward and pushed them out of the way, taking the brunt of the minotaur’s massive fist in my kidney. Gwen and Isobel rolled down onto the ground and were surrounded by guards, who prevented them from reentering the fight.
Gwen kicked back with her hooved foot and landed a direct shot on the guard’s balls, sending him to his knees. Isobel spun and helped Gwen deal with the guards.
I got back to my feet and refocused on Viares. He struggled against the vines around his legs for several seconds before shifting his attention to Dahlia. He grabbed the exposed vine which remained connected to her wrist and wrapped it around his boulder-sized fist. Before I could slice the vine free, he gave it a fierce tug, pulling Dahlia toward him and catching her in one of his fur-covered palms.
I instinctively grabbed Fapplejack’s discarded strap of rope on the ground and moved back in front of Viares. He squeezed down, prompting a small squeak from Dahlia. I loosened the loop at one end and rushed forward. The beast took a wild swing and missed me by inches.
I jumped forward and met my mark. The loop fell over one of his long curved horns and when I pulled the long end, tightened around it. I fell back to the ground, gripping the end of the rope, and dragged his head down with all of my weight. His roar echoed against the backdrop of the tents and burnt-out buildings surrounding us. Dahlia fell free from his grip and rolled onto the ground. The gathered men and monsters all let out a cheer. I wasn’t sure if they were cheering for me or the minotaur, but I didn’t give a shit.
Amos yelled from nearby. “Get that rope off your horn, Viares! He’s making you look weak! Show him what you’re made of!”
The minotaur pulled his head up violently and lifted my body up off the ground a couple feet. I clung to the rope and rolled across his wide muscular back to his opposite side. He stumbled and I pulled it tight, twisting the minotaur’s head violently to the left and flipped his body down onto the ground.
Amos screamed out with intense anger, spit flying from his mouth, pissed his precious little champion wasn’t winning. It gave me a little short-lived satisfaction seeing Amos seethe. I concentrated on my arm and brought a solid vine out of my wrist as Dahlia had. My nature manipulation skill was only Specialist, rank three, but my vines had been much stronger over the past few days. There was an audible gasp from everyone who had gathered as the vine became visible to everyone.
A young boy yelled out over the crowd. “Look mother, the man has leaves coming from his arms.”
An older man followed up with his own commentary. “The freak! Careful, he may be a shifter!”
I didn’t like where this was headed. I broke the vines from my wrist so I wouldn’t attract more attention than I needed and avoided Viares’s sweeping horns. I scrambled to my feet and before my attacker could regain his footing; I kicked him in the snout. He shot back in surprise, staring at me with fiery eyes. Now fully enraged, he lunged forward. As he neared, I took advantage of his momentum. I swung my knife forward as he came within striking distance, sinking the blade deep inside the beast’s left nostril. A pool of blood appeared in the corners of his eyes as he blinked in shock. Fighting Viares reminded me of a hog hunt I’d been on in West Texas. Mean bastards with a lot of fight in them, but even they were much smarter than this minotaur I was currently fighting.
I stepped back and kicked forward. My heel landed on the butt of the knife and pushed it deeper inside the beast’s head.
Viares let out a pained roar and swung his arms wildly. He nearly hit Dahlia again but I shifted in between the beast and her so she could get to safety. I pulled the knife out with a sickening slurp and the minotaur struggled to his feet. He released an unnerving laugh as blood poured from his nose. “After I kill you, I’m going to fuck your girls, kill them, and eat your little fucking goblin for dessert. I am...”
Before he could get out another word, I activated my Charge skill once more. I flew forward with my knife held firmly in hand. I smashed into the minotaur and the sound of shattering bone filled the air. This time my blade not only broke skin, but shattered the minotaur’s skull. I released my grip on the handle and pulled my gore covered hand out from inside of the minotaur’s head. Viares struggled to his feet and laughed. My knife handle was barely visible and sunk in the middle of the bastard’s forehead.
Amos stepped forward, a look of disbelief on his face. “My champion, what did you do to my champion?!”
The minotaur coughed, sending a spray of blood from his mouth. He took a wobbly step forward toward me and raised a fist to strike. He brought it down with intensity.
Instead of dodging to either side, I rushed forward. I’d always known that one key to hand to hand combat was to close the distance between my attacker and me. If he couldn’t swing his arms or get his body behind a punch, the amount of damage that he was going to inflict was negligible.
His head followed his fist to the ground and came down to my level, I gripped the handle of my knife that remained wedged deep inside his skull. With a quick turn of my wrist, I felt the hole in his head become larger. The bones around the blade crunched as it spun.
I closed my eyes for a moment and saw hundreds of spirit strands flowing out from the wound as if my blade was drawing them out of him.
He let out another roar and tried to swing at me with his opposite hand, but I was in too close to his body.
I kept my eyes closed and concentrated on the wound in Viares’s skull. I took a deep breath and concentrated on the spirit flowing from his head. I blocked out all other distractions in my mind, as if I were back at the manor cultivating with Master Teng and slowed my breathing. The strands of spirit bent and, just as if I’d redirected a river, they flowed into me and sunk into my core. The minotaur’s two gigantic hands wrapped around my neck and the crowd released a collective gasp. I kept my eyes closed, bringing the spirit into my core, concentrating on each strand as it coiled around the others.
Viares tightened his grip and laughed again. My bones felt as if they were about to snap at any moment, but I’d almost drained the beast of all of his spirit, I wasn’t about to give up. The last colorful strand drained from the minotaur’s core and darted into mine. I opened my eyes in time to see Viares’s eyes turn gray and lifeless. A second later, the beast dropped to his knees.
Amos let out a roar from nearby as his champion fell limp into a heap on the ground. He ran up to me and screamed into my face. “You don’t know what you’ve just done!”
Chapter Six
I pulled my knife out of the minotaur’s head and wiped it clean on the dead beast’s hair covered chest. I turned my attention to Amos, who was crouched over his champion, shaking him furiously. “I’m pretty sure I just saved not only my life, but several others. Why would you unleash him like that, especially if you weren’t willing to accept the risk that this could happen? Did you really think you were proving a point? Fucking Idiot.”
Before Amos could respond, I turned to check on the others. All three girls stood together, all three with awestruck expressions, much like those gathered around to view the fight. I tucked a few strands of hair behind Gwen’s ear and eyed her cautiously. “Are you okay?” I waited a few seconds for her to respond, but all she could do was stare at me with her big pale blue eyes. I smiled and bent to give her a kiss. “Let’s keep the hand to hand combat to things that are not ten times your size.”
She let out a quiet laugh and wiped a small trail of blood from her forehead. “I’ll try to remember that. I forget sometimes that things can injure me. You give me so much confidence in what I’m capable of, that I didn’t even think twice to attack him.”
“You’re an amazing fighter, just remember to use your skills, you’re much too talented to get into a fist fight with minotaurs.” Gwen nodded and blushed slightly. I could tel
l she agreed. Gwen was much better at stealth and using her wits in battle, melee was not her specialty, and she knew it. I hoped she’d be more careful in the future, but with Gwen, that probably wasn’t going to happen.
I turned to Dahlia who was standing wobbly by the cart. “Are you okay?” She looked exhausted, but had avoided any serious injury.
Dahlia nodded shyly as she glanced around at the gathered crowd, many of whom were now inspecting the dead minotaur on the ground. “Yes, thanks to you. There was something wrong with him. Minotaurs rarely attack unless provoked. Also, his reflexes. He was much quicker than minotaur are known for.”
Amos let out a frustrated scream. “Do you have any idea how much you just cost me? I’ve won eight of the last ten tournaments. You provoked him, and I demand payment. You do not want my brother to catch wind of this.”
“Provoked him? You were putting on a fucking show. If you could’ve kept your ego in check, you’d still have your champion.” I shook my head and turned my attention to the goblin on the ground. I took a deep breath as I approached and knelt at his motionless body. I held a hand to his chest and to my surprise it lifted slightly. I looked up and met Gwen’s eyes. “He’s still alive. We need to find someone that can heal him. I don’t think he’s going to hold on for too much longer.”
Isobel fished out her healing potions and handed them to me. “You can try these, but I’m not sure they will be strong enough for what he needs.”
I accepted them and quickly poured them down the goblin’s throat. I was hopeful as I coaxed the liquid down his throat, but my hope faded as nothing changed.
Dahlia knelt next to me. “The old woman’s bakery. She had a secret stash of potions in her floorboards. I know she had a few healing potions in there.”
I stood and glanced at the bakery across from us. “Perfect. Hurry and go with Gwen. Bring back whatever you find.”
She grabbed Gwen’s arm and they rushed off together, pushing through the crowd to the old bakery.