While they were blinded by the fog, Indenuel acted fast. He kept his eyes closed, sensing Drenai, and forced pain into his gut before ripping it through his body straight to his head. The strongest tree talker dropped, and Indenuel moved on. He listened to the demons, filling two more people with pain before shooting it to their heads. Strongest speaker to the dead, strongest weather controller now both dead.

A man appeared in front of him, forming a strong shield to keep him from using pain. Indenuel threw his arm out, connecting with the nearest tree before moving his hand swiftly and ramming a branch through the man’s chest, the bones cracking as blood splattered all over Indenuel’s clothes. Indenuel moved the branch back out, leaving the man to die. The fog was thick, keeping them from seeing anything, but Indenuel could sense everyone there. All one hundred and sixty-two Kiamese soldiers. No, now one hundred and sixty-one. Men started screaming, and he sensed them moving away. Indenuel threw his hands out, connecting with all the trees before forcing them to drop on top of the men escaping, forming a circle around the camp to keep them locked in. Men still tried to climb out of the circle, but Indenuel skewered them with the branches.

The fog grew, the men struggling to fight where they could, but this was a slaughter, one Indenuel felt little remorse for. They brought this upon themselves.

He pushed himself deeper, feeling corruption leave out of every finger, filling ten more soldiers with pain before flicking his hands up and sending it straight to their brains.

“Behind you,” a demon whispered.

Indenuel spun around and connected with the body trying to sneak up on him, filling him full of pain before throwing it to his head and dropping him to the ground. He listened to the demons as they warned him, telling him where the men were, giving him their secrets, letting him know whether they were strong in their gift or not. There were five weather controllers trying to clear the fog, and he dropped them all with a flick of his hand. The number from the demons continued to dwindle.

“Ninety-six.”

“Ninety-five.”

“Ninety.”

“Eighty-eight.”

The fear was strong among the group, and he used that to feed the demons. The fog thickened, the demons frightening the men who were speakers to the dead, ushering them to hell, giving them a taste of what they would do to them.

There were bodies all around him. His clothes covered in blood. A man tried to climb over the tree wall again, and Indenuel made the branch enter his body, all the way through the throat before it came out his brain, then flicked the body off the branch to make room for the next one. Indenuel continued his execution, as he cared little for the lives these men lived. Cared little as he heard their screams of pain and fear.

Indenuel continued to move through the circle of felled trees he created, sensing the bodies, following the demons as they whispered to him. The air was thick with fog and the ground slick with blood.

“Forty-four.”

“Forty-three.”

“Forty-two.”

One man was on his knees, pleading. “We send message. Let us live,” he said in broken Santollian.

Indenuel threw pain into the man’s stomach and raised it through his head, watching the blood pour from his eyes, mouth, and ears before turning to the others. If Kiam wanted to hurt the Warrior, then he would send a message of his own. Not one person would be left alive here. He shot ten more corrupted pain into the dwindling group, dropping them with a flick.

“I have your girl!” someone else shouted in broken Santollian. “I will kill her! Stop this!”

Indenuel threw the pain over to the man by the tree as it tore through his body. He dropped in an instant.

"Twenty.”

“Nineteen.”

“Eighteen.”

Many of them were cowering in the center of the circle. Indenuel closed his eyes as he threw branches toward them, scaring them enough to scatter as he forced the branches to kill them. They were screaming as he made his sweep, collecting the bodies on branches like pieces of meat on a stick. He kept the movements quick and hard to get right at their hearts, making sure they didn’t remain alive long.

The last one was a tree talker, doing his best to keep the branch from getting him. Indenuel picked up an entire tree before bringing it down hard on the man, crushing him below. The demons hissed in satisfaction before disappearing. Indenuel opened his eyes, the fog dissipating as it slipped out of his control.

There was another male figure, one he must have missed. He reached out and grabbed his fleeing connection with the trees and turned, using his eyes to find the man. Someone had climbed into the trees to escape. Indenuel threw a branch toward the figure.

The branch went right through the individual, but other than gasping, the individual did not act like he was dying. He backed away from the branch at his heart. Indenuel narrowed his eyes and recognized the face. He was a lot younger, but there was no denying it. It was the prophet of the fifth age, the Dengrian. He was maybe twenty. The prophet touched his chest, letting out a terrified gasp as he turned, his eyes widening as he realized Indenuel was staring right at him. Indenuel glared at the prophet who was now his age. Glared at the fear and judgement that flickered through his eyes. This boy prophet didn’t realize the situation placed on him. Indenuel did what he had to. He grabbed his connection with more trees and threw every branch at him. It didn’t matter that the prophet wouldn’t feel it. He just wanted him gone. The prophet raised his hands to block his face, stumbling away from the branches moving all around him, hitting him one after another. Right before the prophet fell, he disappeared entirely.

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Indenuel turned, gasping, feeling his vision start to darken. He tried to keep his balance as he looked before he found Inessa. She was still alive. He was terrified that he killed her accidentally, but she had been protected. He pulled his sword from its sheath as he wiped the blood from his face with his blood covered arm. In fact, his sheathed sword was the cleanest thing on him. He made it to the tree right as the air cleared. He sawed the rope keeping Inessa upright. He didn’t dare look at her. He didn’t expect her approval of what happened, but if she looked at him with fear in her eyes, he wouldn’t be able to take it.

The rope broke and Inessa stumbled. He took her elbow to help steady her before he tried to cut the ropes around her wrists. His hands trembled at a dangerous rate. With this long sword he was more likely to cut her than the ropes.

Inessa reached over with her bound hands, and Indenuel finally looked at her. Saw her terror, saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. He didn’t realize how rapidly he was breathing until that moment. “Indenuel…”

Indenuel collapsed to his knees, the darkness coming in too fast. She tried to help him up. On his knees, he saw the infected cut on her side. “Oh…” he said quietly, reaching out to touch it. She gave a tiny gasp. “I was… I was supposed to heal that. I can…” He tried to heal her, but it was like there was a solid wall between him and his healing power. He couldn’t heal her. Not after what he’d done. “I’m sorry. You’re hurt.”

Inessa still had tears running down her cheeks as she dropped to her knees. She grabbed his elbow, trying to lift him. “Don’t pass out. I’ve got to get out of these trees to send a message. I need your help. Make it past this circle.” Her hands were still bound. Indenuel couldn’t understand what she said as he stared at her eyes. “Indenuel?”

He touched her face, still way too feverish. He was aware there was blood on his hands, but he didn’t know if there would be any other time he’d be allowed to touch her. She was so soft, her eyes full of tears, but still the beautiful emeralds he always coveted. He wanted to kiss her so badly but resisted. He was covered in blood and other matter. He couldn’t do that to her. Not after what she’d seen him do.

“Indenuel!” Inessa was shouting, but she sounded so far away.

A pair of strong hands grabbed him, forcing him to stand. Indenuel reached for corruption again to save him, but someone pinned his hands, and he blinked as the figure came into focus.

“Tolomon?” Indenuel asked, hardly able to see who was in front of him, but he seemed familiar.

“What have you done?” Tolomon asked.

“I didn’t kiss her,” Indenuel whispered. “I swear it.”

He barely noticed Tolomon’s confusion before darkness surrounded him and he collapsed.

***

Inessa backed away, gasping as Tolomon caught Indenuel. His eyes fluttered before they closed completely. Tolomon threw him over his shoulder like he was a sack of flour. He turned toward Inessa, studying her quickly before he pulled out a dagger and cut the ropes binding her wrists. He glanced around at the carnage. “Martin and the others are on their way. This is a desperate time therefore I must beg your forgiveness for this breech in etiquette.”

“What?” Inessa asked, confused until her knees gave out and he wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her standing.

“I’m sorry. I’m going to have to touch you unless you wish to remain here,” Tolomon said, still holding Indenuel.

“No, no please. I don’t want to stay.”

Tolomon nodded before lifting her up and easing her over his shoulder. “Did you see what they gave you?” he asked.

“No,” Inessa said, trying to do her best not to let herself succumb to the fever. Tolomon walked over the felled tree trucks quickly, carrying two grown adults over his shoulders. Inessa gasped as they passed a man with a branch sized hole in his chest, his heart and other organs spilled around him. Inessa shuddered, looking the other way. The screams and the cries would forever haunt her nightmares. She knew her fever was getting worse, because she was certain she could still hear them. Tolomon walked away from the trees before easing both of them down. Inessa stayed sitting up, drawing her knees close to her, hugging them tightly as her teeth chattered. Tolomon ripped open Indenuel’s shirt. Inessa looked, purely out of curiosity, but felt her stomach churn as she saw the deep red mark of the devil on his chest. Tolomon swore under his breath before glancing over at Inessa.

He pulled out the dagger again. “Should you wish to have me lashed for this once you return to health, you certainly may, but I need to make sure you do, indeed, return to health.” He reached under her skirts, tearing a large piece of her underdress before easing her back down.

“I could never have you lashed, Tolomon,” Inessa mumbled.

“Reserve your judgement until after I tie this on you,” Tolomon said before pressing some of the cloth against the wound at her side. Inessa gasped, partially sitting up. Tolomon used the opportunity to wrap the cloth around her waist and trying it tightly. Inessa whimpered, feeling like she was going to vomit. Her side pulsed in pain with every heartbeat.

“I’ll see what I can do, but I’m afraid I don’t have this skill,” Tolomon said, easing her back down before placing his fingers against her temples. A chilly breeze picked up, and her teeth went back to chattering. “Stay with me, Inessa.”

It was far too quiet considering how many bodies there were inside the ring of felled trees. Inessa began to cough, and Tolomon opened his eyes, releasing his hold. She covered her nose, the smell of death hitting her nostrils. She began to gag. “He killed them. All of them.”

Tolomon helped her sit up, holding her to help her breathe easily. “Yes, he did. And he will suffer the consequences of it.”

Inessa couldn’t help it. “Are they… will he be thrown in the dungeon?”

“Depends on whether or not they can get the mark off,” Tolomon said. Inessa gasped again as he held the blood-soaked rag at her side. Tolomon held her close to him, and she wondered why until she realized she was shaking uncontrollably. She was wet and cold, all the heat seeming to go straight to her head. He kept her warm with his own body heat. “You’re not going to die,” Tolomon promised. “Martin is on his way.”

“They keep screaming,” she said, her words slurring.

“Can you sense where they are?” Tolomon asked.

“They’re dead in the ring,” Inessa said.

“I meant Martin. Try and reach out to them. Stay focused,” Tolomon said.

Inessa tried to use her tree talking skills. “He slaughtered them. All of them.” She was shivering with fever chills.

“Focus on where they are. Martin will come help you.” Tolomon placed her foot against a tree. “Stay awake and focus.”

Inessa tried, pushing what little power she had into the tree. “The trees are too scared. The corruption, too much.”

“Alright,” Tolomon said, wrapping his other arm around her. “It’ll be alright. Just focus. I need you to stay awake.

“Can you hear them screaming too?” Inessa asked.

“We’ll talk about that when you get feeling better. Hold on,” Tolomon said.

“I… can’t. I can’t… stop shaking…”

The screams of fear and pain played in her mind. Tolomon touched her forehead, closing his eyes, trying to feed healing power into her. His healing power wasn’t strong, but he did try.

“Martin is coming,” Tolomon said. “He’ll help you.”

Inessa shuddered again. “Indenuel…” she whispered.

“What?”

“Indenuel tried to help me too,” she said.

Tolomon had nothing to say to that. Her mind fell into the effects of the fever. The screams continued to play until they were silenced as she let herself fall into darkness.