Exiled - 01 (29 page)

“He’s my father.”

“He is not himself.”

“What?”

“His aura is his own, but also…not. He does not know what he seeks.” I wanted to ask what she meant, but she continued. “Death surrounds you, hunter and…” she stopped again. The flashing in Krulear’s eyes slowed and the red began seeping back. Once they were solid again, she looked at Tiki with a hostile expression.

“Leave me. I have seen enough,” she said angrily. Whether she was mad or had just seen something she feared I didn’t know, but something had unsettled her.

 
“I can’t leave Rayna in their hands,” I said.

“Must I repeat myself?” she shouted in voice that was very different from the raspy tone she’d had before.

Tiki’s hand came to rest on my shoulder. “We must go,” he said.

I looked at him and back to Krulear, but I didn’t say anything more. I rose from the chair and turned to leave.

“Take care in your actions, hunter. There will be many who wish you harm. You stand in the way of many wills and they will all try to overcome you. You must remember: you cannot fight fire with fire,” she said.

Questions raced through my mind, but her hand went up before I could speak and she waved me away. I turned and walked out of the hut, more confused than ever, despite knowing Rayna’s location.

“Well, that was refreshing,” I said, trying to rid my mind of the sight of Krulear’s jagged teeth.

“Do not take what she said lightly; she is accurate in her readings,” Tiki said.

“Is that what that was, a reading? She drank my blood and went all freaky demon on me, only to spout a bunch of randomness.”

“You fear that what she said is true. This is acceptable, but do not dismiss her words.”

“Fear what? She never actually told me anything.”

“What she said will make sense in time.”

“She said something about Alkalina Lake. Do you know where that is?”

“Yes, but it is a great distance from here. It will take many days to reach it on foot.”

“Can’t you teleport us there?”

“I cannot jump from one place to another in a single dimension. I can only move from one dimension to another, and where I end up in that world is not entirely under my control. We must find another means of travel.”

Tiki led me back down the alley and further through the market place. After the booths started to thin out, we emerged into an open field.

Green and red blades of grass covered the plain, giving it a festive look. Dirt paths led in several directions, but Tiki chose one and began walking. We went several miles down the road, passing strange plants and animals. Most of the wildlife was similar to things we had on Earth, but each animal had unique characteristics. Birds with two heads fluttered about using multiple pairs of wings, while deer with fangs more fearsome than any tiger’s galloped on six legs.

We continued for a few miles before Tiki broke the silence. “Uh oh,” he said.

“What?”

A large river flowed before us, with the same dark purple water as the lake. It crashed against the banks and white caps topped the rapids. On the bank was a small village that looked deserted.

As we walked towards the river, I saw a thin wooden bridge held together with ropes swaying above the rapids. To the side of it sat a small, strange creature.

“Trolls,” Tiki said.

“Trolls? Like actual trolls?” I wasn’t sure I should be surprised. These dimensions were home to thousands of creatures, some of which I knew of from legends and common mythology, and others I’d never known existed. As we got closer to the bridge, the creature pulled out a small, vicious looking axe and moved to block the bridge.

The troll was short, his oddly shaped head only coming up to my waist. His chin jutted to the side instead of forward, and a few large warts and dark black scars marred his light gray skin. His eyes were beady dots that peered up at us from beneath a bushy unibrow and matted hair. A matching moustache quivered above thick pouty lips as his spoke.

“Not without paying the toll.” His voice was hoarse and deep, and his eyes held fierce determination. His small hands gripped the thick wooden handle of his axe and he puffed out his broad chest.

“You’re kidding me. Not only is this an actual troll, but he wants us to pay him to cross a bridge? How cliché,” I said.

The troll huffed under his moustache and it curled up in a sneer as he spoke. “That’s right, half breed. No demons of pure blood cross this bridge without paying the toll, let alone filthy half breeds. We should charge you double. You should feel blessed by the gods that we give you the option of paying and we don’t rip out your innards and leave you to die.”

“Half breed…” I started to say, but Tiki stopped me.

“What is the toll?” Tiki asked.

The troll stared at me and I could see the hatred in his eyes. “For you, let’s say fifty quartz,” he said, holding out his free hand.

“Fifty quartz? That’s outrageous!” Tiki replied.

The troll snorted. “Ha, even you don’t feel your life is worth that much. Just goes to show we should rid our worlds of your kind,” he said, pointing at us with his axe.

“I do not have this money,” Tiki said to me.

I shrugged. “I don’t have one quartz, let alone fifty.”

“Is there anything else we can offer you that would grant us passage?” Tiki asked.

“No,” the troll was quick to reply.

“This is ridiculous, Tiki. How much trouble can one troll cause?” I moved past Tiki and pushed my way past the troll.

In an assortment of quick movements, the troll hit the back of my legs with the back of his axe. I flipped onto my back and the blade of his axe pressed against my throat. His dark beady eyes stared down at me and I heard Tiki’s soft voice say “Plenty.”

“I am Garsmith, of the Barvish clan, and I will not be disrespected by the likes of you!” the troll shouted, pushing the blade hard against my throat.

Small heads started to peek out of the nearby tents and before long we had a group of warty trolls gathered around us. Each face was different, but they all had the same bushy unibrows, awkwardly shaped heads and beady black eyes.

“Perhaps there is one way we could let you pass without paying in quartz,” Garsmith said, drops of his spit showering me as he spoke.

I squinted through the sprinkle. “And what’s that?”

“A battle,” he said. “Between you two and one of my people.”

I tilted my head towards Tiki. “What do you think?”

“The trolls are known to be savage in battle. I’m not sure it’s wise. Perhaps we can find another way across.”

“Let me rephrase,” Garsmith said. “You can do battle and possibly earn yourself safe passage, or you can die for your insults here and now.”

I looked back up at Tiki and we both said “Deal.”

The troll lifted his axe from my throat and swung it back into its holster. “Then we have an agreement.”

I nodded, still lying on my back.

“Well, get up, I haven’t got all day,” he said.

Funny
, I thought, since he was doing nothing but standing by the bridge making sure nobody crossed it, all day was precisely what he had.

I pushed myself to my feet, brushing off the rocks and gravel that clung to my shirt. We followed Garsmith, weaving our way through small tents and huts, each with its own fire burning. Some of the fires warmed pots, cooking things that smelled awful and looked worse. A thick troll, shorter than the rest, hammered away at piece of steel on an anvil. He grunted as we walked by and I had to keep myself from jumping.

We were led to the center of the village, where a large open space was enclosed by wooden railings.

“This is where you battle,” the troll said. Garsmith pulled at the latch on one of the wooden railings and pushed a small gate inwards. He nodded at us to get inside. I looked back at Tiki, who shrugged, and before we could decide anything, a press of bodies behind us pushed us through the gate. Garsmith shut the gate and slid the latch back into place.

“Are we fighting you?” I asked.

The troll laughed a hoarse and crackly laugh and the crowd that gathered behind him laughed with him. “No, you are not worthy of my blade, half breed. I have something special for you.” He smiled, brought stubby fingers to his mouth and blew a high pitched whistle. When the sound stopped, we waited, and I looked around in the silence.

A thundering sound came from behind the crowd. Something crawled out of a long tent, grunting and snorting, and when the creature rose to its feet I was in awe. It was twice my height, and a long beard hung from its chin to the middle of its chest. Thick gray arms and legs bulged with muscles. Its hands were wide but had the same short, stubby fingers as the other trolls, and somehow its large black eyes still appeared beady below a pronounced brow.

It raised its arms above its head and groaned as it stretched, a deep grumble escaping its lips. The small cloth that covered its groin lifted as it stretched, revealing an organ proportionate to his stature. The
it
that we were fighting was definitely a
he
. I shuddered at the sight and looked at Tiki, whose eyes were wide.

“You will battle Ishmar, my son,” Garsmith said, with a fatherly grin stretching from ear to ear.

Ishmar stormed towards us with long strides that thumped against the ground. His eyes were huge and uneven, but he had the same glare as his father as he stepped over the wooden railing and into the makeshift arena.

“Great,” I said.

“The rules are as follows: the fight begins when I sound the bell, and does not end until either Ishmar kills you or you kill Ishmar. Those are the rules,” Garsmith said.

“One rule?” I said.

“Yep.”

“You honestly expect me to believe that if we kill your son, you’re going to let us walk out of here?”

Garsmith grunted. “If I thought for a moment that you could win, I would’ve killed you myself. I’ve offered you this opportunity only for the entertainment it will bring my people. But should you win, yes, you will be allowed to leave unharmed.”

“And cross the bridge without paying the quartz?” I added.

 
“Yes, yes, of course, and cross the bridge without paying the toll,” he said, waving my words away.

“Okay, agreed.”

Before Tiki or I had a chance to prepare a strategy, a bell rung and Ishmar thundered towards us. In two steps, he had crossed the ring, and a thick fist swung down at us. We ducked as it flew over our heads and I dove through Ishmar’s legs. I came up behind him and Ishmar bent over – giving me a less than pleasant view – and stared at me through his legs. He grunted and turned to face me.

He was raising a clenched fist when Tiki’s small form soared through the air until his small caramel arms wrapped around Ishmar’s neck. Tiki squeezed the thick gray flesh, but Ishmar was unfazed. The giant troll reached a long arm behind himself, grabbed Tiki and threw him to the ground. Tiki’s body hit the dirt so hard it bounced. A groan escaped his lips and I could tell that although he wasn’t unconscious, he was hurt.

I pulled both daggers from their sheaths and jumped towards Ishmar. The blades came down and hit the small of his back, but slipped off, the dull gray skin too thick to pierce. Ishmar turned and swung his fist at my face. Suddenly I was airborne. My body broke the railing of the arena and a large piece of splintered wood stabbed through my side.

I fell into a tent, which collapsed around me as the poles snapped. I struggled to stand up among the heavy fabric, the pain in my side sending waves of agony and then adrenaline through me. It was painful to lift my arm, but I pushed through it, managing to untangle myself.

Ishmar stood over Tiki, raining fists down on him as Tiki curled up to protect himself. Anger flared inside me and I pulled the wood from my side. Blood followed it to flow down my leg, but I took a step forward and pulled my magic up.

The fire flowed through my stomach and chest then down my arms. Blue and silver fire burst from both my hands. The flame shot forward in a stream until it hit Ishmar’s back and engulfed him. He roared and stopped his flurry of punches. His large gray body turned and I pulled the flame back.