The door slammed shut behind me with a resounding thud. Stella glared at me like it was somehow my fault before trotting away to lie by the roaring fire. Theo’s room was much larger than mine, even sporting a cozy little sitting area. Still, the place felt awfully cramped with six people and one dog stuffed into it.
I was a little surprised to see Jacob sitting at a small round table beside Miranda. It was good he was here. I didn’t plan of leaving him out of any big events in the future.
Theo handed me a mug of ale and sat on the bed in between Gabby and Nora.
“I’ve spent the night conferring with the Elders. They are very angry that I couldn’t get the Count’s help. They’re even angrier still that the man has been replaced by his predecessor,” he said gruffly, not bothering to mince his words. He took a long swig of his beer before turning his eyes to me. “They know the Count’s death is your fault. They want to make an example of you.”
I frowned, draining my mug in a few deep draughts. “What are they going to do, stick me in the naughty corner for a few days with no dinner?”
I saw Nora’s lips rise in the shadow of a grin, her mirth at odds with the serious look on Theo’s face.
“They want to strip you of your belongings and send you bare as the day you were born into Croc territory. They’ll play it off as an offering to keep the beasts at bay and a way that you can repent for the sins you committed on the people.”
What the fuck! “That doesn’t even make any sense. How many of the players here even knew Count Banksia existed at all?”
“They don’t care about that. The day you left three of your group, the Goshawks, were killed out in the field. They plan on blaming you for their deaths. They’ll be sending men for you soon. Even now, the rumors of your murderous spree are sweeping through Oliver’s Rest.”
I tossed my empty mug across the room and let free a string of curses. Running my fingers through my too-long hair I marched over to the fire. “They won’t get away with this,” I snarled.
Stella whined at my feet. I bent to stroke her head; my eyes still locked on the flickering flames. They considered me a danger. That’s all this was. They heard I dethroned a player taking advantage of the weak and worried I would do the same thing to them. Well, that’s exactly what I wanted to do now.
“We have to get him out of here,” Nora said. “We can’t let them capture him.”
Jacob stood up and said, “yeah, Joe’s a thief, he can sneak right out of this place.”
I smiled. “Nice to know you think so highly of me.”
“It would upset Nora and Miranda if you died,” Jacob said in a rush, horrified that he might have complimented me.
“Don’t worry, champ. You won’t lose me so easily.”
“Shut up,” Jacob snapped. “Maybe we should just let them take you.”
“Jacob!” Miranda gasped. “Don’t say stuff like that.”
I turned, warming my backside as I let my eyes sweep every player stuffed into the room. They continued to argue over what could be done to save me, but I tuned it out, focusing instead on Theo. He wasn’t joining in with the others. His face, despite the deep black smudges under his eyes, was twisted into one of determination. Gabby reached out and squeezed his hand. He offered her a quick smile before setting his face in stone once more.
I knew the man had a plan. Judging by the way he was avoiding speaking up, I knew it was not going a be a fun one. Especially for me. I might not be a psychic, but I knew the look of impending danger better than most.
Well, there was no time like to present to find out what horrors lay in store for me.
I spoke loudly over all the arguing voices. “Theo, what are you planning.”
The room fell silent as the giant warrior lifted his eyes to me. “I want to hand you over to them.”
“What!” The word echoed around the room, shouted from the lips of just about everyone aside from me. And Gabby, she didn’t seem surprised by it either.
I couldn’t help but smirk at the idea of it. There was something in the man’s eyes that spoke of mischief. Something I had never expected to see there.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Sounds good,” I said, ignoring the chorus of disbelief. “What’s the plan?”
“Oh, it’s something you’ll enjoy a great deal. Don’t you worry about that,” Theo said.
Quiet settled as Theo laid out his plan. It took a lot of talking before the others finally agreed to it. Nora was especially averse to the idea but that wasn’t surprising. She didn’t mind putting herself in danger but when it came to me, or Miranda and Jacob, she was steadfastly against it.
Our plans made, we separated. I returned to my room, determined to get some sort of rest before they came for me.
----------------------------------------
The guards dragged me to the top of the cage to the thunderous jeering of the entire population of Oliver’s Rest. Seeing them all crammed together in the bowels of the main hall was surprising. There weren’t nearly as many of us as I had thought there had been. Had that many players died while I’d been away or was it always this sparse? Granted, it was still hundreds of people, but it didn’t feel like enough.
One of the guards punched me in the side with his gauntleted fist. My health dropped the tiniest amount even though I’m sure he broke a rib. That was the only thing that explained the extreme stabbing pain his strike left behind.
The two Elders I had met on my first day in Oliver’s Rest sat in throne-like chairs across the odd iron arena. The squat hairy fellow named Connor was looking a little green in the gills. Whatever his friend Leon had planned for me was clearly not something he agreed with. That was good. I wanted the pair to be at odds with each other. If nothing else, it would serve to help our plan.
Leon quieted the throng of onlookers with a wave of his hand. “Joe the thief has been judged and found guilty. He has stolen from the people. Murdered three of his own. And worse, tried to evade the justice due him by running away.
It is only due to our great Champion Theo Thundershield that he was returned to us to serve the sentence he so deserves. Rejoice, for he will no longer walk among us; a villain among the hearts of the true.”
He paused his boring ass speech to listen to the roar of approval from all the spectators present. I stiffened waiting for the pain I was sure was coming.
“Send him to meet his Maker!”
The guards holding me tossed me forward. I bellowed as I fell through the gap in the iron bars and dropped the distance to the dirt floor below. I landed heavily on my side, yelping as the rib the guard had injured earlier sent waves of agony coursing through me.
I carefully rose to my feet, a little hunched over from the pain. It frustrated me to no end that my health could still be so high when I was hurting so badly. It was good I suppose, it's not like I wanted it to be lower.
The heavy metal gate in front of me began to rise. I swallowed nervously as I dug into my bum bag, pulling out the rare potion Theo had given me earlier. I downed it in a single gulp before smashing the tiny pearl bottle at my feet. I yanked out my blades, watching the counter in the corner of my vision slowly tick down.
From the shadowy maw of the tunnel revealed by the rising gate stepped Theo, decked out in his full steel armor with his tower shield in one hand and his long gleaming sword in the other. His face was twisted into one of loathing as he advanced on me.
I stumbled back, only marginally embarrassed to admit I was scared of the man. This isn’t how we’d planned it. It was supposed to be a monster. A Croc or an emu or a fucking elemental kangaroo of some kind, not Theo. If our plan had faltered this early on, it didn’t bode well for the rest of it.
Theo stopped in the middle of the arena, flicking his blade up to point at my face. When he spoke, his voice boomed. “Prepare yourself, thief. You will no longer be a scourge on our people.”
I smiled and twirled my blades before I snapped right back, “bring it on.”
I charged, Shadow Rushing around him and stabbing my blades into his back. Theo bellowed and slammed his shield into the ground, letting loose one of his shockwaves. I stumbled back but held my feet, rounding him again to strike.
I had to stay behind him. Battling him head-on was a surefire way to get a sword shoved right through my gut. He seemed unbothered by my quick movements as he spun in place, slashing the air with his sword. I could hear the whistle it caused as it flashed by me, just barely missing something important.
I stopped running, my stamina already a third down. I sucked air into my burning lungs, wiping away the sweat beading on my forehead. I’d only landed a single hit. Theo’s health bar had appeared the moment we’d begun battling. My hit had done little to lower the red line.
I eyed the counter; it was getting too low. I needed to conserve some of it, or I was royally screwed. Time to do something stupid.
I rushed forward, screaming as I lifted my blades above my head, bringing them down together in one wild swing at Theo’s head. He blocked my strike with his shield and with an underhand blow drove his sword into my stomach. My health dropped significantly as my swords clattered to the ground. I grabbed at his blade, feeling the sharp steel slice through my fingers as I tried to get it out.
The pain. It was all-consuming. Eating me up from the inside out as it traversed my entire body. Black spots danced in my vision as my health dropped low enough to flash dangerously.
I locked eyes with Theo. His face was stuck in his stoic mask, but his eyes sparked with a sick pleasure at seeing me die. Panic washed through the pain. I wasn’t ready. This wasn’t right. The plan.
“Goodbye, Joe. Enjoy the underworld.”
With that, he twisted his blade and my health dropped to nothing. The roar of the crowd filled my ears as my vision turned black. I felt like I was floating. Or maybe it was falling. Whatever it was, it took me from the pain.
A bright light flared in front of me. A short figure stepped into it. He reached out to me. A wave of joy blasted through me at seeing Rory again. It had been so long. I reached for him. Our fingers brushed and a spark of energy shot through me. I tried to speak but nothing came out.
A sharp tug at my midsection jolted me back. His hand was ripped from mine as I was thrown away from the light. I opened my mouth, silently screaming for my brother as the darkness enveloped me again.