Amáne of Teravinea - The Chosen One (The Teravinea Series Book 1) (22 page)

“Why can’t you just listen to me and trust that your aunt sent the right person? I can hear them coming. It sounds like four different voices. Get ready.”

After a scowl in my direction, he reluctantly followed my lead. We flattened our backs to the wall at the corner where they would make their turn. Just before they were upon us, we jumped into the corridor and lunged at them. Surprise was our ally as we each dispatched a guard, dropping them at once to the floor.

“May you rest with your ancestors,” I whispered, suppressing a wave of nausea.

The two left standing had the extra seconds to react. Recovering their wits, they faced us with their halberds. I would have preferred, of course, that they only had swords, especially for Ansel, as a pole axe versus a sword was not an even match.

Sizing up the large man in front of me I took in his slovenly appearance, uncharacteristic of a trained soldier. I could only hope he was as sloppy with his skills. I ducked as he swung at my head, then sidestepped to get behind him and trip him. He stumbled, but didn’t go down as I had expected. I noted a flash of rage in his eyes as he spun around on me and swung again. This could work for me.

“Is that all you have?” I taunted as I ducked his second stroke. “You swing like a girl.” I sneered.

His face reddened, his eyes blazed. He charged at me and threw a shot. I parried his careless blow and jumped back. The man’s anger interfered with his decisions, just as I had hoped.

I heard a clatter to my right and realized Ansel’s opponent had managed to knock away his sword. He lunged toward Ansel for the killing stroke. Ansel dove and rolled out of reach, barely
evading the blade. In the split second I had before my guard closed the gap, I drew my spare sword.

“Ansel!” I shouted as I tossed it to him. He sprang to his feet. To my relief, he caught it just in time to fend off the next strike aimed at him. I turned my attention back to my fight.

Backing up to get my distance so I could thrust my glaive, I slipped on a dead guard’s blood and went down hard, landing on my back. A rush of air forced out of me. I struggled to refill my emptied lungs. My eyes opened in time to see the man with his weapon poised directly above my head — a glare of death in his piercing dark eyes. He brought his pole-axe down on me just as I succeeded in finding my breath. I instantly rolled to one side, but the edge of his blade caught me on my unprotected upper arm. I yelped in pain but managed to leap to my feet. Spinning to face him, I allowed a slight smile as I caught him wrestling to release his blade from the grip of the dirt floor. It was the opportune moment that I needed — the advantage turned my way. Again, a second chance. I thrust my blade into his ribs between the buckles of his sloppily fastened breastplate. He fell with a thud as I relinquished him to his ancestors.

My attention turned to Ansel. He was tiring quickly, but remarkably holding his own. With my success he found a sudden burst of energy, and got the upper hand. I rushed to his aid. At the same moment that I thrust my blade into the back of the man’s knee, Ansel swiped at his neck. The guard dropped where he stood. One more time, I wished a man to rest in peace.

We looked at each other wide-eyed. Our chests heaved as we fought for air. We were pleased with ourselves that we took them, two against four. I remained mindful of the fact I had taken human lives yet again.

Pushing that thought to the back of my mind, I grudgingly complimented him, “Not bad with a sword, I guess.”

“Looks like you can handle that spear after all,” he returned. “Thanks for the sword. But you were taking your chances taunting him like that, weren’t you?”

I shrugged. “I know all about anger and the mistakes it causes.” He gave me a puzzled look. I let him try to figure it out for himself.

“We’re fine and on our way,” I told Eshshah. I could feel her anxiety.

“Yes, I know.” Ansel responded. “I’m standing here with you. I can see we’re fine.”

“I’m not talking to you.”

As we took another moment to catch our breath, I realized my arm was bleeding more than I had thought. Using my dagger to cut off some of my tunic I handed the cloth to Ansel who quickly wrapped my wound. I couldn’t help but notice his skill and speed.

We continued running in the direction of the outpost. Advancing through all the turns I’d memorized, I started to feel relief that we were closer to our destination. But it was short-lived — we found ourselves at a dead end.

“Oh no, did I make a wrong turn? Which way do we go, now?” I asked Eshshah out loud ... again.

“How should I know? You’re the one rescuing me, remember?” Ansel answered.

“I’m not talking to you!”

“Oh, great, you ask yourself questions. Do you hear voices, too?”

Eshshah answered me. “You didn’t make any wrong turns, Amáne, but that way must have been recently blocked in. There’s
another passageway that runs parallel to the one you’re in. If you can go back and find an entry to it, then you can go around the blocked wall and return back to the correct corridor. Do you remember seeing it on the map?”

“Yes, I do,” I answered Eshshah. But it seemed Ansel took it as the reply to his question on whether I hear voices.

He cursed and threw me a bewildered look as he shook his head. “I probably would have had better odds if I’d stayed in my cell instead of running in this sewer with a half-mad boy.”

That was it. I had all that I could take from him — the Healer’s nephew or not. His aristocracy meant nothing to me at that moment, though it should have. I was not about to overlook this self-centered man’s last statement. Turning on him, I unleashed my temper.

“Who do you think you are? You act like you’re someone special. Well, you’re not. You’re just some stupid rich lord who got himself kidnapped. And a friend of mine died trying to protect you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m trying to get us out of here alive.”

I regretted what I said about Farvard dying while trying to protect him. Ansel suddenly looked like the air had been sucked out of him. It was pitiful and I almost apologized, but I was too stubborn — and angry.

He silently followed me back up the corridor until we found a door. I listened to see if I could hear anything on the other side. It was relatively silent.

I made the decision. “Okay, let’s try this way.” I said. “Yes, I’m talking to you this time.”

I turned to look at him and noted his face had gone pale. Pulling the last of the Healer’s vials from my belt, I uncorked it and handed it to him. A little gentler this time, I said, “Here, you look
like you could use this. We’re not there yet so you’ll need the boost. Stay with me. We’ll be out of here soon.” I sounded a little more confident than I actually felt.

He took it and drank half, then handed it back to me. “You could probably use some, too. Finish it.”

His action surprised me and I locked eyes with him. I took the vial from his hand and drained the last half. The elixir was harsh and burned going down, but I managed not to choke. I felt revitalized almost immediately.

Hmm
, I thought,
he could actually be kind when he wanted to
, which improved my impression of him a bit. I would have to make a real effort to stop talking out loud to Eshshah. I couldn’t really blame Ansel for being confused, but he did irritate me ... he also fascinated me.

We stood outside the door and I hesitated for a moment to reassure myself that it was, in fact, the way I should choose. I nodded, then leaned into it. We found ourselves in another corridor, but much larger than the one we had come from. A low hiss echoed off the walls. I figured it was the steam from the workings in the bowels of the castle, or maybe the lit torches sputtering on the walls.

The odors from the dungeon we had just escaped were seemingly mild compared to this passageway — there was an abnormal stench I couldn’t identify. A putrid smell, like rotting flesh. It was nauseating but we had to enter and see if it would lead to our way out. It might be the only way around to connect with the corridor that would take us to Eshshah.

We had not gone a great distance when my stomach tightened — a rock wall stood before us, blocking our path. It was not built to the ceiling, but was maybe eight feet tall. If we had to, I thought we could get a running start and scale it to the other side. At least I knew I could, and was hoping my pampered companion
would be able to as well. I wondered if maybe we should retrace our steps to see if there was another door further down the corridor.

“Great, another dead end. We’re getting nowhere fast,” Ansel grumbled half to himself.

I jerked my head at him, and gave him a black look. Fighting the urge to strangle him, I said, “If we have to, would you be able to scale it with a running start? Or would that be too difficult for you?” I couldn’t hide my irritation. I had no apologies for my rudeness. He was rude first and I had reached the end of my patience.
Don’t cross me
, I thought to myself. Besides, I was starting to fear that maybe I wouldn’t be able to get him out of here alive after all — which added to my dark mood.

“I’ll have no trouble with that wall. I can get over it. The question is, can you?” He said, taking note of my height and turning my sarcastic remark back around to me. He was good — I had met my match.

I bit my tongue, and with some effort managed to ignore his retort.

“First, let’s just go back to the passageway to make sure there’s not another way around,” I said.

The low hiss echoed again. As we turned to go back the way we came, my blood ran cold. Blocking our way was a hideous misshapen reptile-like creature — as black as a nightmare. Choking back a scream, I stood frozen as it crept slowly forward into the torch light, its claws scraping on the ground. I had never seen anything like this monster. It was as if someone’s demented experiment of breeding a dragon had failed. Such a noble being as a dragon could never be bred by humans.

The creature had underdeveloped wings, no longer than my arms — much too small to get his hulk of a body airborne.
His distended belly drug on the ground supported by his short stubby legs. Bulbous eyes, a long snout with sharp teeth, and huge fangs dripping with venom. At first impression, I thought he was dense, and sluggish. I actually had pity for him, for just a split second. It was evident he was mistreated. An iron collar cut into his neck, obviously used to chain him. But at the moment, there were no chains. He was free and heading straight at us — and he looked hungry.

“Eshshah what is this thing and what do I do?”

I heard Ansel take a breath like he was going to answer my question or point out that I was talking to myself again, but he remained silent.

Good
, I thought,
he’s finally learning to bite his tongue
.

“I know of no name for that creature,” answered Eshshah. I could feel her anxiety. “I believe you’re correct, it must be Galtero’s cruel attempt at breeding a dragon. You can have pity, but do not underestimate his strength, his speed, or his deadliness. Amáne, please be careful. Go very slowly. No sudden movements. Don’t try to fight it, you cannot win. The only chance you have is to outsmart it and buy yourself some time to run to the wall. Ignite my scales that Dorjan inlaid in your spear. The flame will help keep him at bay. Tell Ansel he must not look into the creature’s eyes.”

I warned Ansel, “Move slowly when I do and don’t look into his eyes.” I could sense he was ready to ask why, but again he remained silent. Slowly, I extended my spear and whispered “Eshshah.” The scales ignited. This startled the monster. It stepped back with a snarl.

“Now,” Eshshah instructed, “walk backwards slowly and I want you to look into its eyes. You’re linked to me and its gaze will not affect you. You can hold its eyes, which will keep Ansel
from being drawn to him. Use your gaze and your torch to distract it enough for Ansel to start his run for the wall. The timing on this is of the utmost importance. You have to get close enough to the wall to make your break, yet far enough to get a running start to scale it. I have no doubt as to your capability, but I don’t know about Ansel’s.”

She continued, “Instruct Ansel to wait for your word to run. He must start at the precise moment you say, and you need to stay locked on the creatures eyes. Do not break your gaze. Then when you hear him reach the wall, you break and run. Ansel should have scaled to the top and you can spring up after him. It must be timed right.”

I whispered these instructions to Ansel, and stressed to him the importance of the timing.

As we inched backwards, I held the brute’s eyes in mine and could feel the strength in his stare. A normal human would have been drawn in and made easy prey. Thanks to Eshshah’s venom running in my veins, it didn’t affect me. I kept my spear-torch extended in front. The flame held him from charging while I waited for the moment for us to make our escape.

When we were the right distance from the wall, and I felt the creature was distracted enough as he focused on my eyes, I said steadily to Ansel, “Okay, now, run.”

For some reason he hesitated. He didn’t run when I gave the word.
What’s wrong with this stubborn man
?