Karn tore his eyes around the cage in a panic, searching for any hint of escape. In the near darkness, he felt mouldy wood under him and the distinctive stench of horses wafting from the outside. He looked up and spotted glints of eyes in the dark. There were dozens of them. Bodies shifted in the shadows, watching the newcomer with calm blank stares.
A flash of light interrupted them as a brown water skin bounced at his feet, and a few drops of cool water splashed up his legs. The hatch slammed closed as Karn reached for the water.
His throat was dry and sore, so he willingly grasped the skin and drew greedily, pausing only when his eyes met a young woman who was staring at him.
She was beautiful. Stunning even. With short black hair, sharp facial features, and toned muscles, she had a savage almost primal baring. As Karn examined her face, he couldn't imagine anyone being as finely sculptured. Her silky lips opened slowly with a shallow intake of breath.
Embarrassed, he looked down only for a moment, then slowly looked back at her. Her eyes never left him.
With that quick glimpse, he found himself gazing into her eyes. She looked around the same age as him, yet the colour of her pupils had been overshadowed by something like smoke. Karn turned to inspect the others in the cage. They, too, had the same pale, smoke covered eyes. They all looked distant and unresponsive.
What’s going on? He wondered.
The thought fell from his mind as a slight shape behind a small group of captives bobbed into view. Karn couldn't tell whether the figure was male or female but what stole his attention was the significant contrast. Dark shades of brown and black vastly outnumbered the solitary captive in the back who had bright white hair.
"The new one's drunk the medicine, Rudnick," shouted a voice from above the cage.
Karn looked down in dismay. Laughter surrounded the enclosure, as many voices congratulated each other on yet another successful catch.
"We didn't have to force this one like the others,” laughed a man. “What a dolt.”
Karn shifted his weight and scampered towards a crack in the cage and jammed his face up to it. There were many men gathered around the cage, a good deal on horseback. They all wore the same dirty leather outfits, with most of them armed with rusting weapons strapped to their waists. A few had perched themselves on top of the cage, dangling their legs over the sides.
"That's four in a week. And two in one day!" Karn recognised the speaker as the man they called Stumpy.
He looked down at the bladder and sniffed the water, but the stench of sweat overpowered any hint of its noxious contents. Either way, the water tasted normal.
"What do we do with the new fellow, then? He’s dressed funny," asked another.
"Don’t care what he’s wearing only that he’s taken my blood potion, and since he is now MY property, he’ll be sold at Branside markets like the others. The girls, on the other hand.” The leader laughed, betraying his ill intent. A chorus of others echoed, sending a wave of dread through Karn.
“I was right to follow you Rudnick!” said the one called stumpy.
“You know what, I think that's the smartest this to come out of your dumb mouth,” he replied.
A chorus of dark chuckled echoed throughout the men.
“Ha, ha,” Stumpy laughed sarcastically, then nudged the leader. “What about the blonde? Don’t her kind have no emotions? That’s no fun.”
“Shut it, she’s mine!” Rudnick ordered. “Besides, I like ‘em complacent.” He laughed again. This time, his laugh ran a shiver down Karn’s spine that turned into a seething anger.
Karn frantically edged his way around the cage, searching again for an escape. When he got to the door, he noticed Stumpy. He was on foot and still had Karn's backpack. Alec was still inside.
While Karn watched as another man strode into view and tugged at Stumpy’s prize. “What you got there?” he asked.
"Let go, it's mine!" Shouted Stumpy. "I took it from the Rat."
"I ruddy saw the bag move. Yah fat goat!"
Stumpy punched the man in the jaw and yanked at the pack, tearing it open. The book and stones flew out, scattering over a grassy patch.
Concern etched Karn’s face as Alec’s loose hibernating form rolled to a stop. His mind rushed, wondering if the Elementlet still needed to charge up for lost energy from the previous day.
"Stop bloody mucking about!" Shouted Rudnick through jagged teeth.
But the two ignored him. With flailing hands, they both dived for the book. Grabbing at its covers simultaneously, they scurried quickly to their feet, swearing all the while. One tugged hard, then the other harder, pulling on the cover back and forth.
Suddenly, the book flipped wide open. For a second, Stumpy and his challenger froze in place.
Then, abruptly, the pair erupted into terrifying shrieks, drowning out all other sounds. The rest of the men, including Rudnick, whirled around to watch as both men desperately tried to fling the book away. Before the red cover had moved an inch into the air, a bright red glow filled their fingertips and flowed down their arms, continuing until it consumed their whole body. The scene fell silent, and the world slowed to a crawl as the book fell and the two men dissolved into ash. The horror-struck crowd didn’t move. Not a single finger budged. Only the horses whinnied and shied nervously.
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A large thump sounded next to the cage, followed by heavy footsteps. The door slid open, and Rudnick stood at the threshold. Thick arms grabbed the front of Karn's shirt and pulled. Karn tensed as his weight surged forward and was thrown to the ground.
“Ah!” Karn grimaced as his full weight landed on his right wrist. Pain shot up his arm as small sharp rocks dug into his skin.
Enraged, Rudnick pulled his axe free.
"That THING was in your pack, wasn't it? Rat!" The words were spat out through black gritted teeth.
The monstrous man held the axe against his neck and forced his face skywards. Karn cradled his arm as Rudnick stared down at him and into his eyes.
"You told me he took the damn medicine!" He screamed enraged.
Sharp steel pressed hard into the skin under his chin. Karn's legs kicked as he fought feebly to free himself. With a grin, the man released him and held the axe above his head. Rudnick studied his face for another moment, then sneered.
“I have an idea,” Rudnick said as he stared down at the wounded form below him. “Let’s give this rat a choice.”
Only nervous chuckles responded. Despite the situation, Rudnick fought to keep some control over his petrified men.
“Your choice is, fight me and die, or run and well will hunt you down and die!” His greedy grin revealing his loaded question. He obviously wanted Karn to look like a coward.
Karn gritted his teeth and scanned the dozens of men on horseback then back to the hulking man before him. The choice didn’t matter, the outcome would be the same.
His eyes darted to the book. “I’ll fight.” Karn croaked.
Rudnick watched where Karn’s eyes darted as his expression darkened. “No magic!”
As if to answer, a few men drew their swords and stood between Karn and the book.
“Shit,” Karn swore.
Howling with laughter, Rudnick threw down a short sword at Karn's feet.
“Here you go rat.”
Reacting on pure instinct, Karn's adrenaline-fueled reflexes kicked in as he snatched the sword and lunged forward, disregarding the searing pain coursing through his injured wrist. However, his strike missed its intended target, leaving him vulnerable.
Rudnick, nonchalantly stepped back, a smug grin spreading across his face. With a swift motion, he aimed a vicious kick at Karn's already bruised face, intensifying the agony. Meanwhile, he twirled his axe in a showy display of his superior strength and well-honed skills, basking in the admiration of the gathered onlookers.
Grimacing through the pain and spitting blood, Karn cursed under his breath. He swiftly switched the sword to his weaker, uninjured hand, unwilling to let his injuries hinder his determination to fight.
Rudnick, fuelled by his arrogance, charged forward, swinging his axe menacingly at Karn's head. In that split second, Karn's body was flooded with a familiar surge of burning pain, but this time it was different. Without even making physical contact with the book, a mysterious force seemed to emanate from within its pages, enveloping Karn with a surge of energy.
Gritting his teeth, Karn heard an ethereal voice in his mind. The words spoken somehow controlled his limbs. Surprising even himself, he swung the sword with an agility and speed far surpassing his limits. The blade sliced through the air, propelled by an otherworldly force.
The crowd gasped.
“What?” Rudnick shrieked.
Laughter turned to shouts as Rudnick’s eyes bulged at the blade that protruded from his leg. Its edge had slid effortlessly into the flesh of the man’s thigh. With a howl, he dropped his axe and grabbed the weapon's shaft, instinctively ripping it clear.
Blood streamed from the wound. He tried to stop the torrent with his hands, but it was impossible. The artery had been severed.
A second later, Rudnick's snarling face turned white. Then, with a thump, he collapsed into a pool of his own blood.
Karn stood shakily in surprise, covered with the sickly hot red liquid that clung to his clothes, seeping into his skin. The dying man shook violently and with a final gasp, lay motionless.
Karn shuddered in disgust.
When he looked up, the remaining men were staring at him in shocked silence. Covered in blood with an expression of grim determination, he was indeed a gruesome sight.
"Warlock!" shouted a voice.
“Demon!”
Then, as one, the group turned and fled. Karn stumbled and fell to his knees in a sudden realisation that he had just killed a man. Nursing his wrist, Karn fought back the urge to retch.
"Alec!" Karn shouted.
He looked down at his legs, still shaking and covered in blood. With a great effort, he pushed himself up and approached the body. The face that had seemed so cruel and menacing only moments before now lay still, a look of confused anger frozen in the embrace of death. Slowly Karn stumbled towards his bag, looking for something familiar in the ghastly scene. After a few steps, he clutched his chest and vomited. The taste, smell and feel of blood was overpowering.
Karn walked past the book. It hadn’t moved since it hit the ground.
"Alec!" Karn repeated, searching around. The cans he had carried for so long had been scattered and crushed under hooves from the panic.
In his peripheral vision, he noticed a large leather pouch on the roof of the wagon. He climbed the wall of the cage and pulled it down. A pile of clothing fell out onto the dirt. Much of it looked unfamiliar, but the majority looked clean.
Selecting some pieces from the pile, Karn paused. The blood had soaked through his clothes and into his skin and he couldn't stand it.
He had to get it off somehow.
Karn reached for a few stray water bladders beside the cart and paused as he spotted the captives inside. Although Karn couldn't see them directly, he could see that they no longer sat still in calm silence. Their shadows moved as if they were lost and confused. Karn moved behind the entrance and gulped down a mouthful of water. Then, standing behind a stray horse for cover, he removed all his blood-soaked clothes and threw them aside.
Karn poured the contents of the rest over his skin and the gory evidence gradually disappeared from the fine hairs on his legs and arms. Fatigued and hungry, Karn looked down at his frame. His body had changed so much over the last few months. He was leaner and stronger than he had ever been.
Amongst the pile of clothing, Karn found a suitably sized pair of leggings and a shirt and held them in front of himself.
A cry of relief made him jump as he watched a group of freed slaves in rags run away in the distance. Before he could don the clothes that lay in his grip, the woman with dark hair appeared from under the wagon.
"You have my thanks, Magic man." She bowed, taking a step forward.
Karn shrank back while covering his exposed flesh. The woman continued forward, ignoring his discomfort, closer to the horse that shielded him.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Karn pleaded while holding a hand up. "Stop right there!"
The woman stood motionless and turned towards a sound coming from the back of the cart.
"How did you save us?" asked a soft voice. A flow of white hair drifted aside as another woman's face fell into sight.
Where are all these beautiful women coming from? Wondered Karn.
Her pretty and delicate features were slender, yet the tone of her voice, while enquiring, posed a demeanour of indifference. Karn flinched and shrank back further.
The pale-headed woman gazed about with a lack of concern. She looked towards the wild brunette woman, then the pools of blood and then at the book. The young woman showed no signs of emotion and barely reacted to her surroundings. She strode towards the book and knelt beside it.
“Um, wait,” Karn called out. “Don’t touch that!”
A rush of panic washed over him as her delicate fingers glided over the leather bindings, then paused for a split second.
Her features instantly turned to one of astonishment as she let out a shriek.