Chapter 18

Mel picked her way around the black trees, placing her foot on tree roots and stepping at awkward angles to avoid as much of nature as possible. She would stumble and brace herself against a tree with every second step. That was usually followed with a curse. Mel always hated coming into contact with anything in the forest and would try to get out before she was contaminated with fresh air. Sam smirked at the sight of Mel covered in dirt and blood. Even the smallest piece of revenge was good at this point.

The grin faded when Sam looked at the two young mages behind her. She clenched her hands in a rage, tensing up her shoulders and watched them start to choke. Releasing her fingers and lowering her arms, they stopped and started gasping for breath, dropping the litter with Kuma. Any resistance triggered the reaction.

“Sorry.” She reached out to the two children.

They pulled away from her, fear filled their eyes.

“I told you what would happen. You’re so easy to read.” Mel glanced back at the three of them.

Sam wanted to knock that satisfied smirk off her face.

“Come on, Akira is just up ahead,” Mel said.

Sam played out endless scenarios in her mind.

What if I killed Mel before the spell reacted? She dismissed that. Just clenching her fists caused the spell to hurt the children. That was not an option.

How about slowing down? She tossed that one as well. All it would do was delay the meeting. She needed this to happen. Most of her anger towards Akira was gone. She’d never forgive him, but he wasn’t worth it anymore.

Just run away, and don’t worry about who dies. She glanced at Kuma. He was being dragged on a litter by a soldier and the two young mages and shook her head. No, I gave my word. I can’t do that. Mel’s trap was perfect.

They picked their way through the forest in silence. Each step brought them further away from the sounds of fighting. Sam missed the sounds of battle. It was at least predictable. She shivered when she saw the blasted remains of the trees stacked to the side of the freshly cleared space.

“Do you feel that?” Sam asked Mel. The feeling that someone was watching her reared up again. It had been gone during the battle, but she felt it pushing down on her now.

“Be quiet!” Mel shushed her, ignoring her quesation.

Sam glanced around the camp. She expected more noise from this many people, but it was quiet. Interspaced in the sea of tree stumps was a smaller open space. The army must have expanded it when they arrived.

“Look, we’re here.” Mel pointed to where the Relancia army had established a command outpost.

The grand tent in the center kept the sun off the commanders. It stretched most of the width of the original space, butting up against the stumps. Outside the lines of soldiers were prisoners, guarded by several brutal-looking human soldiers in blood-soaked breastplates. Sam recognized two of Kale’s generals. They had been in the room when she challenged Kale to a fight. Sam bit her lip. How was Kale doing? What information could Akira get from them?

The shine of the Relancian men’s new armour had been dulled by blood. She noticed its strength as she walked through their ranks, not that it could stop her. She had already destroyed a few sets in the battle earlier. Even with all the rumours, it still broke as easily as the old armour.

Walking past the men, she recognized a few of them. There was Tolbert, with the broken nose. She went drinking with him before the first mission to kill the Demon King. She saw Froth talking with another man. Froth had a lazy eye and had always been friendly with her before. Now he spat when she walked past.

Sam refused to bow down to their stares and lifted her head. She had made her choices, and she wouldn’t go back on them. She would see them to the end. There would be no begging, no regret.

“Akira, look who I found,” Mel said as they reached the tent. “It took some doing, but I have her.” Mel had the guards drop Kuma in front and then directed Sam to drop to her knees. When she refused Mel ordered one of the soldiers escorting them to kick the back of her legs. Sam sprawled in the dirt. She could hear the two young mages gasping for breath and she pounded the dirt. Even that small act of rebellion caused the spell to react.

Why do I need to control everything? Sam thought.

Kneeling, she could see Akira standing behind a table. A new sword was strapped across his back, and his clothes were covered in blood. He must have been on the front lines.

Akira stared at Sam. She could feel his hatred drilling into her and refused to look away. If he was going to make this a contest, she would win.

His hand moved up and traced his jaw. He had gotten someone to fix her handiwork, but it wasn’t perfect. “Your jaw’s bigger now, isn’t it?” She teased.

Akira lowered his hand and narrowed his eyes, glaring at her. His lip curled up in disgust. Ignoring the meeting he was in, he came out from behind the table and exited the tent. Turning to Mel he pointed to Kuma.

“Who’s that?”

“That is the Demon King’s spawn.” Mel gave a flourishing bow, sweeping her arm down. “I picked him up with Sam and thought, they would make a good present.”

“Yes. Thanks.” Akira’s glare combined a mix of loathing and disgust as he stared at Mel. Sam had never seen him look at her with such signs of contempt before. What had happened between them? Sam shook her head. There was no way Akira would ever see Mel as a romantic partner no matter how much she wanted it.

Akira continued to rub his jaw.

“What are going to do to me, Pooky? Eat me? You keep rubbing your jaw.” He hated that name, and anything to mess with his dignity would make him more vulnerable. She needed him angry if she was going to win.

“I’d planned so many ways to kill you.” Akira was quiet. Sam had to strain to hear his voice, even kneeling in front of him. “I thought about cutting off your head and displaying it for everyone to see. I toyed with giving you to everyone to use and then tossing you off a cliff. I’ve lost count of the ways I wanted to kill you. But now that you’re here I have just one question.” He swallowed. “Why did you do it?”

Sam twisted her head. He sounded scared, frightened, like a lost by. There was an undercurrent of anger to his words, but not enough. She needed him angrier, off his game. “What did you say?” He’d hate this. Anything to dig at his dignity would give her more time to plan a way out.

Akira was on the verge of tears. Sam had never seen him like this. He raged forward and shouted, spraying spittle over Sam’s face, “Why did you destroy my sword, you bitch? I thought it was back, but the song has changed. It’s less than it was!”

Sam wiped her face off and looked at her former lover. This was the man she had spent the last year with. He’d tried to fill in the blanks of her missing life. There had been talk of love, family, dreams. All of it had been a lie, cooked up by him, and probably Eon. It had been a comfortable lie. Sam had been happy there.

With her memories back, everything changed and there was no way she could ever return to that person. She stuck out her chin and met his stare. “I wasn’t going to let whatever was in that sword take over my mind. It was wrong. The things it was telling me to do,” Sam shuddered. “I’m grateful it undid that spell Mel put me under, but it’s evil.”

Akira was silent. His mouth went up in a sly smile. “I know where you came from. I talked to a person from your London,” he said. “He doesn’t like you.”

Sam shot to her feet and grabbed Akira’s armour. “Tell me. Who? How?” She heard two screams and spun around at the sound. The young mages were writhing on the ground, clutching their throats. Sam let go of Akira’s armour and sank to her knees. The two children stopped wriggling and gasped for breath.

“I hate you,” Sam snarled at Mel.

“I told you several times now, not to move,” Mel smiled and polished a ring on her blouse. She had changed into a clean set of clothes. “It’s not my fault you’re too stupid to listen. That’s on you.”

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Akira brushed off his armour where Sam had touched him. “I asked him why he sent you here, what you were to him, but he wouldn’t answer.” He walked around Sam and pulled out his sword. “I thought maybe you’d wronged him, betrayed him. You do that a lot. He was rich and well-off. Strong jaw. I couldn’t say what you did to him. He only mentioned a promise.”

Sam couldn’t believe Akira’s revelations. The man he was describing sounded like Lord Robert. He hated Sam, that was unforgettable. Their many fights had shaken the house. The last time she threatened to sick the government on him for his abuse of the factory workers at his new exoskeleton workshop. He’d just said it’d be his word against an orphan. But to send her here? Impossible. Wasn’t King Eon responsible? Something happened over there. Something she missed.

“Didn’t like that, did you?” Akira turned to Mel. “Release the spell.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? She’s much stronger than you.” Mel looked worried, her concern touching her face as she reached out to Akira. She still cared for the man, even if he’d rejected her.

“I said, release the spell, Mel. Be prepared to cast it again if she tries to escape. I won’t debase myself to cut down a woman who can’t defend herself.” Akira held his sword in front of Sam. He directed Froth to drop a mace in front of her. “You have one chance. If you can scratch me, I’ll let you and the boy go and take you to the portal.”

Sam stared at the mace, then at Akira. “If I lose?”

“I think you know what will happen then,” Akira said. He stood at the ready, in his first stance.

Sam looked at the mace and then at Akira again. From her fight with Kale, she knew she was no match for a Sword Master, and Akira was as close to one as they could get. He wasn’t angry enough yet to make a mistake. She could try to throw him off his game and get in a lucky hit. All he said was a scratch.

This is my chance. Mel released the spell and Sam saw the two mages scamper behind the tent and sighed in relief.

At least they are safe. She had no idea what to do about Kuma. She couldn’t even consider running out of this fight and leaving him here. Sam grunted. She had barrelled her way through enough bad situations to recognize when she had screwed up.

She had to use everything. “So, how does it feel not to be the promised hero, Akira?” She picked up the mace. This was her last card. The prophecy of the Realmwalker could help push him over the edge. He’d tried to push her buttons with Robert. It was her turn.

“Shut up!” Akira stood in his first position, ready to strike.

There weren’t any openings in his form. When they practiced against each other before he would block every attack she threw at him. Her usual method of charging ahead wasn’t going to work. It had never worked. He’d always beaten her.

“It must hurt knowing your choices brought you here. Maybe I wouldn’t have snapped your sword if you'd been honest with me.”

“Shut Up!” Akira drew his sword and rushed Sam. She pulled up her mace and blocked the blow, forcing Akira to change his stance and come in low. She brought the mace down and stopped the sword again, barely. A second later she would have lost her leg. She used her strength to drive him back, forcing his sword to go high. Using her shoulder she plowed into his armour, knocking him off balance. Akira stumbled backwards, catching himself before he fell.

Unlike her fight with Kale, Sam focused on blocking Akira’s strikes. She didn’t have the skills to attack an enraged Sword Master, and without her shield, she was vulnerable, even with her strength. “You worked so hard, just for me to come in and steal everything from you.” Sam saw Akira’s face darken. “I’m stronger than you. Faster, more beautiful, especially now with that huge jaw. Would you like me to break it for you again?”

Akira rushed in and started swinging his sword like a madman. Sam couldn’t see where he was aiming, his sword was going too fast. It was all she could do to match his speed. She needed a moment. If she could get the blade, and use her strength, she could break it.

He went high, towards her neck. Sam brought the mace up to block it. He reversed the direction and came down across her thigh, slicing through the leather armour she was wearing and sending out a spray of blood.

Sam screamed, let go of the mace and dropped to the ground. She placed her hands on the leg wound to stop the blood, but it kept gushing out. She was going to die here. “Dammit!”

Akira smirked, stepped back and wiped the blood off of his sword. “You tried to make me careless, Pooky. It didn’t work. I’ve been able to see through all your tricks from the very beginning.” He turned to Mel. “Heal her.”

Mel raised her eyebrows in shock and pointed at Sam. “Are you sure? She will probably die from that.”

“I don’t want this to end that quickly. Heal her, but leave her weak.” Akira had a soldier bring out a stool and an apple.

Mel went over to Sam and placed her hands on the wound. She chanted and Sam gasped as the wound closed. Mel moved her hands and Sam saw a pink scar slicing across her leg. “Thank you,” she panted.

Mel scoffed. “Don’t thank me. I wanted to see you bleed out.” She stood up and returned to the circle of people watching this fight. She snapped her fingers, and a young mage brought a tub of water for her to wash the blood off her hands.

Sam was alone, surrounded by Akira’s soldiers. The rest of the camp was silent. She watched Akira bite into an apple and cringed at the blood around her. She wasn’t getting away from this. “Damn you! You’ve been playing with me from the beginning, trying to make me think I had a chance. I’m not going to play your game anymore.” Sam turned a defiant face to Akira. “Either kill me now or send me back home.”

“Why would I send you back home? He doesn’t want you, and he doesn’t care what happens to you here. You’re right, though. It’s time to end this. I don’t care for torture, unlike some.” Akira turned to Mel who gave a shy smile and put her fingers into her cheeks, giving herself dimples. “That doesn’t mean I won’t use it. The common punishment for treason is being drawn and quartered. Women are usually burned at the stake,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “We don’t have the horses to spare and the trees aren’t strong enough for hanging, so we’ll have to improvise.”

“Bind her arms and legs,” Akira ordered. “And prepare a fire.” He turned to Mel. “Mel, have the spell ready if they fail.”

Several soldiers rushed out and surrounded Sam. She punched the first one in the face and broke his nose, but he continued forward. She tried to fight them, push them off her, and failed. She’d lost too much blood. Her strength was failing her. She sent two flying back and broke Froth’s arm, but there were too many. They piled on her, smothering her with their armour.

“Get off me!” Sam screamed. A blow to her head dazed her, giving them the chance to tie ropes around her arms and legs. Restrained, they forced her to the ground again.

Dammit! The battle had started around dawn. Now the sun was approaching the highest position in the sky. It’s not even noon yet.

Akira tossed the apple, stood up, gestured for an axe, and walked up to Sam. “It’s time, Sam. I’ll give you one last chance. Apologize, beg me for forgiveness. You do that and I’ll make it quick. Continue as you have been and I’ll chop off your arms and leave you for the men.” He stood over her. “Be ready to heal her Mel.”

Sam didn’t hear Mel’s response. She pulled on the ropes, feeling the tension in them. Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes and yanked. The ropes didn’t move. She tried again, exhaustion sapping her strength. She flailed her arms, panic settling in. If she could break the rope holding her wrists she stood a chance.

Akira stood over her. “Last chance.”

“Go to hell!” Sam shouted in tears.

“Nothing? Defiant to the end.” Akira shook his head. “Why am I not surprised? I don’t want you to give up this easily.” Akira licked his lips. “Let’s take the right arm first. Maybe you’ll change your mind after your first taste of pain.”

“No!” a voice cried out from below Akira as Ayasse jumped out of Sam’s shadow and stabbed him in the groin. Akira let out a scream, fell back and dropped the axe. He rolled on the ground, covering his crotch.

“Get him!” Mel commanded, pointing to Ayasse. Soldiers surrounded the man while she ran to Akira, hands preparing to cast a spell.

Sam struggled with the ropes, her fingers forgetting how to move. The world spun. The hours of fighting and the blood loss had weakened her. She couldn’t break the ropes around her wrists, Not now. Her fingers were numb. She could reach her ankles. Swinging her body through the loop formed by her hands she reached the rope. Untying them, she stumbled to her feet, swaying. Akira was still writhing on the ground, covering his groin. Mel was hovering over him. Sam saw the light from her healing spell spill out behind the mage. They didn’t see her. Sam picked up the axe and took a step toward the two heroes. She could end this with a swing.

“Gyaaa!”

Ayasse’s scream blasted through the ring of men, shocking Sam. She stared at the axe and shuddered.

Flipping it over and turning towards her friend, Sam waded into the melee, stunning the soldiers with the back of the axe. She couldn’t bring herself to kill them.

The last two turned and tackled her. She stunned the first one with a blow to his temple. He slumped on her chest allowing the other to punch her in the face. Grunting, she shoved the first man into the second, knocking them both into the stumps around the clearing.

Crawling over to Ayasse, she felt for a heartbeat. There was a small thump under her fingers. “Thank god!” She forced herself up and stared at him. Blood and bruises covered his face, his arm was at the wrong angle.

Sam shied back. “Your eye!” It was a bloody pulp. “Why’d you do that? I could have escaped,” she lied, picking him up, almost dropping him.

Ayasse smiled. “Maybe. This was my choice. I had to take it back. Akira took it from me when he stole my knife. I will not have you take that from me.” He closed his left eye. Sam heard his raspy breathing and set him down, beside Kuma. She turned back to Akira.

Mel stood over him, the light from her healing was still visible. “Why won’t it close?” She yelled to Ayasse.

“I used a special poison on my dagger,” Ayasse mumbled. Sam leaned down, even then it was hard to catch his words. “Only my Master, Thane, could counter it easily, and she’s gone.”

“You’ll need his Master, Mel. Ayasse’s poisons are too good for you,” Sam shouted to her as the sudden noise of swords clashing filled the camp.

Mel lifted her head, reached up and stopped a soldier. “What’s happening over there?”

“The Demon King has launched a counterattack. We are defending our position now,” the soldier replied and ran to his unit. Chaos filled the area as both Sam and Mel held the two men and stared at each other.

“I’ll get you for this.” Mel sneered at her.

Sam stood up and stalked toward Mel, staggering. The rest of the soldiers ignored them as they rushed to the front. Swords clashed in all directions, the sound filling the space. Kale must have surrounded the human army. There was an explosion in the distance as the ground rumbled. Someone was shaking the ground. Kale was finally using the magic users on the offensive. Sam steadied herself.

Mel raised her hand and cast a wind spell at Sam, sending her tumbling back into Ayasse. “You can’t have him,” she screamed, picking up the injured Akira. He was no longer screaming and had passed out. She waved her arms to the side and brought her hands down, casting a wind spell at the ground. The two of them flew into the trees.

Sam watched them escape and collapsed on the ground. She blinked her eyes to get them working again. Everything looked blurry. If Mel was using that spell, she must have been desperate.

Sitting up, Sam put her hands flat on the ground. Everything was spinning. It was going to be difficult to get back to Kale’s line. Crawling towards Kuma, she shook him awake. He groaned and opened his eyes. She needed his help. Together they could get Ayasse back to safety.