Chapter 09: thirst
Every movement was a symphony of pain. Darkness pressed at the edges of my vision, but stopping wasn't an option. Doing the only thing I could think of, I flooded myself with Blood-Fueled Strength and Celerity, forcing the abilities to take hold. They tore through what little blood I had left, sending a painful spike of thirst through me. The air was so thick with the smell of blood that it felt like humidity, and my focus swam as red crept across my vision. The weakness and lethargy vanished, replaced by a painful lust in my fangs and a hunger that clawed through my ribs.
Direction was hard to hold onto, but I drew myself together enough to choose. Saros would hold his monster for a little longer, so I moved to try and slow the other one down. The world flew by in a blur, and then I was on it. I jumped onto the back of its leg, my sword arm trailing behind me as I slashed across the tendons in its ankle. The silvered blade cut clean, but the flesh was knitting together even as I leapt up its back.
I didn't have a free hand to grip with, so I drove my dagger into the thick muscle above its shoulder blade like an anchor. Silver burned everything touched by darkness, and this creature was no exception, but it didn't even spare me a glance. It didn't need to. Its wild thrashing was enough to whip me back and forth like a banner caught in a storm while it tore into the soldiers trying to hold it at bay.
Still, I held on. My sword rose and fell in uneven rhythm with its jerking movements, stabbing deep again and again. Each wound sizzled, and each one began to close within seconds. The silver slowed it, but not nearly enough. Then one bad lurch ripped my dagger free. I dropped, hit the ground hard, and an instant later, a careless backstep sent me skidding across the dirt.
I bounced to my feet, feeling my abilities guttering out. There wasn't enough blood left in me to call on them again. I started forward anyway, then caught sight of the monster's filthy, matted fur—soaked in blood. Maybe I did have another option.
I charged without a real plan, only a goal. I leapt onto the back of its leg, pushed off, and scrambled upward. My foot hit the small of its back, and I took a few desperate, bouncing steps as the beast twisted beneath me. I threw myself forward and drove my dagger in high. This time I hit something vital. The creature let out a horrible, tearing howl as my face slammed into its reeking fur. It smelled like mildew and wet dog. It didn't matter. I had no choice.
Hauling myself up by the dagger's hilt, I sank my teeth into the thick fur near its neck. The rancid taste of grime was revolting—right up until the blood hit my tongue. That changed everything. Raw power flooded my mouth, thick and bright with magic. I couldn't help myself. I'd let my reserves get too low. Every bit of my focus went into using Blood Drain.
Blood Drain wasn't just a bite. My magic burrowed into its veins, dragging its blood to me as my venom pushed back. I drank deep, dropping my sword so I could fist a handful of fur and cling tighter. That finally got the monsters attention. It spun in wild, lumbering circles, trying to tear me free, but the longer I held on, the slower it moved.
I barely noticed anything beyond the blood. It poured into me like a river, and I drank as if I'd wandered a desert for a month and found the only well in existence. For several long seconds, nothing mattered but getting more. No matter how much I pulled from it, the thirst demanded another swallow.
I only snapped out of the haze when the creature hurled itself backward. The impact drove the air from my lungs in a painful whoosh, and my teeth tore free of its neck in a hot spray of blood.
That might have been a good thing. Thinking clearly again, I knew that I couldn't hold another drop. The beast tried to get up but managed only to roll onto its stomach, limbs twitching. I pushed myself up, brushed off sand and grime, and staggered toward my sword. It wouldn't stay down forever.
Without a thought, I continued pouring my now replenished blood into my abilities. I snatched my sword from the dirt and turned to face the monster. It still wasn't on its feet, so I surged forward and did the only thing that would stop a regenerating creature. I raised the blade high and brought it down at its neck. The cut only made it a quarter of the way through. I tore the sword free, surprised the narrow steel hadn't snapped, but I didn't have anything better.
Before I could strike again, a poleaxe slammed down beside my blow, carving the wound wider. One of the last soldiers still standing. If any others had survived, they'd already run. The instant his weapon cleared, I swung again. Two more blows from each of us, and the monster's sluggish movements went still. The guard sagged to his knees, heaving for breath, but I turned and saw my party was still fighting. It wasn't going well. Everyone was hurt. Not critically, no one was dying yet, but they had all slowed, and I could see them faltering.
The monster roared at Saros, knocking his shield out of line, and much to its surprise, I roared back. Its claws slammed Saros across his chest, sending him to the ground before it turned to meet my challenge.
I hadn't stood still. As it turned to face me, my thrown dagger slammed into its chest, followed a half second later by my flying form, sword first. I didn't weigh enough to knock it over, but I'd launched myself at the thing with speed, and it staggered back a step. As it regained its balance, I used my sword for leverage, leaping over its shoulder, its snapping jaws missing my legs by a hair's breadth.
I caught fistfuls of its filthy fur as I passed and swung myself down, biting deep. It was much easier to resist getting lost in the bloodlust this time, and I only held myself in place as it thrashed for a moment. My bite wasn't for the blood. It was for the venom. I wanted to cripple this the same as the last, and I knew my bite had impacted the other one. I only didn't know how much of that was from blood loss and how much was from the venom. My weapons were still stuck in its chest, creating wounds that wouldn't heal until they were removed, and I pulled as hard on its blood before a sweeping claw came whipping in at an angle I couldn't avoid.
I kicked off its back, throwing off its aim, and took the hit along its palm instead of being skewered. I curled with the impact, rolled, and was on my feet before it finished turning.
It charged faster than anything that size had a right to. I barely had time to register the blur before it was on top of me. The only thing that kept its jaws from snapping me in two was Lina and Kael's arrows slamming into the side of its head as I tried to dodge away.
It still plowed into me. A knee caught my ribs and sent us both tumbling. It rolled onto its back, clawing at the arrows lodged in its skull, while I landed half across its chest. My Holy Aura dulled the worst of the blow, but pain flared through my ribs, sharp enough to steal my breath. Ignoring it, I grabbed the hilt of my sword where it jutted from its chest. With one hard pull, I ripped it free and rolled off the thrashing beast.
I came to my feet only to throw myself backward again, landing hard as a flailing kick swept through the space where my head had been. I rolled and forced myself upright just as the beast lurched up and charged. I had no choice but to drop flat and let it pass over me. Its claws raked through my aura and tore into my back on the way by. A hiss escaped me, sharp and involuntary, and getting to my feet after that took real effort. I couldn't fight it on the ground. I needed to get on its back again, where it couldn't reach me.
The monster turned in a wide, wobbling arc. It staggered a little, shaking its head as if trying to clear water from its ears. Relief ran through me. I'd worried my venom had done nothing, but it seemed it just needed longer to have an impact on such a huge monster.
It came at me again. I braced myself, watching its stride, and ready to time my jump and catch one of its upper arms, but instead it launched itself straight into the air toward me. My eyes widened, and I braced to dive aside—
Thane hit it first.
He appeared at its flank like an avalanche, his greatsword already raised. The blade came down in a brutal overhead arc that smashed into the monster's neck and drove its entire body into the dirt. The force had to be a class ability; nothing else could hit that hard.
Before it could scramble up, he swung again. The second blow was ordinary steel and strength, but it carved deep enough to finish the work. One last heavy stroke, and the creature's head tumbled free.
The clearing went quiet except for Thane's breathing and the distant crackle of dying fires. For a moment, I just stood there, catching my own breath while my wounds knit themselves shut. Then Lina's voice cut through the haze, raw and terrified.
"Saros!"
I turned, or tried to. My vision swam with black flecks that refused to settle, but I could still make out Lina kneeling over him. Her hands hovered uselessly, shaking, and the panic on her face said everything.
I forced myself toward them. My abilities had bled away with the end of the fight, and my legs threatened to fold with every step. I half-stumbled, half-fell until I hit the ground beside Saros. It was worse up close. His armor had been peeled open. Deep gashes crossed his neck and chest, and the weak pulse of blood spilling from him was barely a pulse at all. Lina was shouting something, but it was already distant, muffled, like trying to listen to someone while underwater.
I reached for the one thing I could still manage. Stabilize. The cantrip flickered from my fingers, but I knew it would do little more than stop him from dying immediately. It wasn't enough. Not nearly.
I drew a breath, lifted my sword, and dragged the edge hard across my forearm. Blood welled, hot and fast. I leaned over him and let it spill across his chest and throat. He was unconscious, but when I pressed the wound to his mouth, I felt the faint pull of instinct—just enough.
The world tipped sideways. I managed to hope it would be enough before my world faded away.
I didn't wake again until close to noon the next day. The world rumbled around me, and I didn't want to wake up, but the nonstop rocking wouldn't let me fall back asleep. I opened my eyes to find myself lying inside one of the wagons. My bedroll was set across the top of the merchant's crates, and I was bundled up tightly in several blankets.
The first thought I had was that Lina was right. Sleeping on the ground was better. I started wrestling my way out, only to find Lina already waiting. She hurried over the moment she saw me moving, ready to help, but I stopped and relaxed at her familiar face, giving my head a moment to clear.
"Oh, thank the gods! When we couldn't wake you, I feared the worst! How are you feeling?"
"I want more sleep," I muttered, dazed. It felt like the most obvious truth in the world. My head was foggy… but underneath it, something else stirred. A tug in the back of my mind.
I was ready to evolve. The realization hit like a spark in dry grass, and a grin spread across my face before I could stop it.
"You… okay?" Lina asked carefully, watching my expression.
I forced myself to settle. "Yes. I'm fine. Is everyone else alright?"
She nodded, "Yeah. Whatever that little ritual you did last night was like a miracle. Saros was back on his feet in minutes. I was worried you'd done something crazy like sacrifice your life for his."
I shook my head, "No, nothing so drastic. I told him if things got bad, I'd keep everyone safe. I did nothing more than keep my word."
"No, Mirela, what you did was a miracle. No healing potion was going to bring him back from that. Without you, he'd be dead. Hells, if what the patrol captain said was true, without you, we'd all be dead."
That was probably true, but there were more important things to worry about. "Is there breakfast?"
She snorted, shaking her head at me, "Yeah. You can wait here. I'll bring you something."
"I'm okay. I'll come with you." I started to pull away the blankets and stopped when I felt them moving along bare skin. "Am I naked?"
"Right. Yeah, sorry about that," she said quickly. "Your dress was falling apart. I took it off so I could bandage you and patch it up, but you healed before I could finish. The dress is fine—just a little stitched. It's drying now. I had to scrub a lot of blood and mud out of it. Do you have a spare? I didn't want to go digging through your bag."
I nodded and pushed the blankets aside, dragging my pack into my lap. It took a little rummaging, but I managed to pull out a clean pair of leggings and my second dress. This one was a beautiful green and black, and I hadn't wanted to risk it on the trip. There wasn't much to do about it, though, so while Lina went for food, I struggled into it using the limited space available. She returned as I was pulling my boots on, and I smiled at the smell of the fresh food.
"This was a gift from the soldiers. They'd done some hunting yesterday, so they had fresh meat. More than half of them were killed last night, so there was no way they needed it all anyway."
"That was kind of them," I said, happily accepting the plate.
I ate in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Thank you for what you did for Saros. I could tell you were hurt, and it's obvious that it took a lot out of you. I don't think we can repay you for that."
I shrugged, looking up from my food, "I do not need repayment. I have breakfast."
Lina snorted and shook her head, "Yeah, if you say so. Look, what I'm trying to say is you made some friends last night. We won't forget that you came to help when you could have run away, nor what you did for Saros."
I stopped eating for a minute, "Friends? Is it that easy?"
It wasn't that I didn't understand friendship. In fact, I probably understood it far more than I should. It was the dreams—the memories I had. I didn't remember making friends with the red-haired girl, but I knew how much it meant. I knew it was something that grew stronger over time, and it was something we chose.
I hardly knew these people, and they were offering me that same bond. A few weeks before, I might have ignored it or used it to my advantage. Now, I understood what it meant, and it didn't sound so terrible. I slowly began to nod before realizing that Lina was staring at me like I was some sort of eccentric.
"You say that like you've never had a friend before."
I shrugged, "Not really. I get along well enough with some of the servants, but I've never had much opportunity to have friends. Father did not let me leave the castle on my own until recently."
She leaned away from me like I'd just told her I had the plague. "Servants? You're not some lost noble child, are you? Are soldiers going to storm the caravan?"
I burst into laughter at the absurdity, "No, not at all! Whatever gave you that idea?"
"You escaped from being kidnapped by brigands, and you have no friends because you were locked away in a castle, spending all your time with servants and getting an incredibly expensive education," she said, annoyance edging her voice.
I shook my head, "Not brigands. Pirates. They had a ship. And, I do have friends now."
"And the rest?"
"I probably shouldn't have told you the rest." I tried to hide the grin by taking another bite of food.
Lina let out a long, tired sigh. "No, you probably shouldn't have. If you are a noble, you should tell us, though. We will keep your secret, but it is important that we know. It could bring a lot of trouble down on us."
I huffed but finished chewing, "No, I'm not a noble. I was adopted, and my father is not a noble, either. He will not be sending anyone to find me, and if he did, it wouldn't be guards or soldiers. You don't have anything to worry about. Let's not talk about my past anymore."
She sighed, moving to climb out of the wagon. "Alright. I'll let you finish eating. I'm going to get back to my post. If you need me, you know where to find me."
I waved, and once she climbed down and let the canvas fall shut, I let out a long sigh. It was just so easy to talk to her. Or perhaps I just needed to practice guarding my words. In either case, I'd be going my separate way tomorrow, and that would be the end of it. I'd do better next time.
It was a sad thought that I'd just started a friendship and would so quickly leave it behind, but they might adventure out west someday. I finished eating and moved to the back of the wagon, preparing to climb down myself, when I spotted our crate of potions. Two of the high potions remained, and about half of the regulars, but someone had left a few bundles of ingredients next to my alchemy pack. I smiled at that. Some time spent doing simple work seemed like a much better way to start my day than walking around and trying to hold conversations after the one I'd just had.
I grabbed the leather straps and tied the canvas open on the back of the cart, waved to the driver and Thane on the cart behind us, and sat down to get to work.
TO BE CONTINUED...