Hunt of the Bandham (The Bowl of Souls: Book Three) (61 page)

“There was no stopping. I was damned. I knew it. What was the point of trying? I loved the fight. I loved the challenge. I knew that . . . no matter what, until I found someone better than me, I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

“But that’s over now? You are ready to give up the fight?” Justan said.

“Yes. I’m ready for this to be over.”

Justan shook his head and sheathed his sword. “I can’t help you.”

“Wh-why? Please?” The giant tried to sit up again and this time more glass and rock broke free before he gave up and lay back down. “You don’t understand, there is nothing for me here anymore. I’m ready to pay for what I’ve done. Kill me”

“Sorry. This is not my decision. This is up to your bonding wizard.”

“He’s right, Charz,” Coal said. “You go back to your cave. You talk to him. Tell him what you told us. He’ll look inside of you and if what you are saying is true . . .”

“Let him be the one to kill you,” Justan said. “Or set you free, so that you can rejoin him.”

“Free?” Charz laughed and coughed again. “B-but we haven’t spoken in years. What if he won’t talk?”

“He will,” Coal assured him. “He’s just waiting for you to come to him.”

“Ohh, I can’t. I can’t face him now. Not after everything.”

“The only thing I am willing to do is help bust up that rock around you,” Justan said. “We’ll do that in thanks for you helping us out during the battle.”

Justan and Coal called out. Fist and Bettie arrived moments later dragging a bewildered Lenny along with them.

“And why in the gall-durn, pitch-forkin’ hell are we helpin’ this rock-biter?”

Fist shrugged. “He says he is done fighting.”

“Hello, dwarf.” said Charz. “Is that you I hear?”

Lenny looked down at the giant’s half-melted face and smirked. “Hoo, look at what that thing did to you. I thought you was dag-blamed ugly before.”

Charz snorted. “Too bad I can’t see to check your thieving face for improvements.”

“Thievin’? That dag-blasted hammer was mine to begin with!”

“I won it in battle. By rights, it was mine,” the giant argued.

“It weren’t never yers. Yer the blasted thief that stole it from me!”

“Spoils of war, dwarf. It’s a law as old as time,” Charz argued.

“And I beat you Charz, so it became mine.” Justan reminded him. “I gave it to Lenny, so now it’s his.”

“Dag-gum right,” Lenny said. “I guess . . .”

“Now both of you stop it,” Justan said. “Lenny, you don’t have to help us, but I promised Charz that we would help him break free from the rock.”

“I’ll help, gall-durn it,” Lenny said. “He’s pretty well sealed in there. Maybe I’ll get lucky and hit somethin’ important.”

Lenny, along with Bettie and Fist, broke the rock up around the giant. Despite the dwarf’s threats to the contrary, they were careful and only a few times did they hurt the giant. Once freed from the ground, the extent of the giant’s injuries was evident. One of his arms had been so badly melted he was unable to move it, and bits of rock and glass that remained fused to his skin jutted out of his frame at odd angles. With Fist’s help, the giant was able to stand. Every move he made pained him. He was wobbly on his feet and walked with a pronounced limp, but still he was able to move.

“Can you make it back to your cave?” Coal asked.

He giant nodded his twisted head. “I can feel it pulling at me. Telling me to come back-.” He started coughing and doubled over so hard, he nearly fell over. Fist grabbed his arm to help steady him. Charz spat out a gob of black blood. “Gah! Anyway, I’ve been stuck here so long, I could never get lost. I’ll make it there and the stupid place will heal me up.”

Charz stood for a moment in silence, hunched over, his head hanging low. “I’ll get going then. Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll forgive me.” The giant limped to the treeline and then, with one hand grasping a trunk, turned his head back to them. “I . . . well, thank you is all.” With that, he entered the forest.

Coal stood by Justan and shook his head. “I can’t believe it. I tried hard for years to help him, Edge. Years. I felt I owed it to his wizard. When I finally gave up, I never thought this would happen.”

“He’s been humbled,” Justan said with a half smile. He had been humbled before. A vision of Jhonate swam before his eyes. “I know how powerful that can be.”

“I hope you’re right.” Coal said.

“Now before we leave, I have my own bonded to deal with,” Justan said. He called to Fist and Gwyrtha and made sure that they understood what he wanted to do. Then the three of them went to talk to Deathclaw.

The raptoid’s pain reached out like a beacon. Without even looking inside his body, Justan knew that Deathclaw’s side was in agony, as was his arm, and for some reason the raptoid’s head was pounding harder than ever. They walked to the forest’s edge and stood under the tree he hid in. To Deathclaw’s irritation, Squirrel was sitting in the branch next to him calmly chewing a nut and ignoring his threatening hisses.

Justan left the bond wide open and linked all his bonded together.
Deathclaw, we are here. Let me heal you
.

The raptoid didn’t immediately push them away this time. Justan sensed that Deathclaw felt their concern. He was stuck in a state of confusion. These were feelings he had never experienced before. He didn’t understand why they had come back to the river for him. He didn’t understand why they had fought for him.

They stood patiently until Deathclaw responded,
You . . . Why?

You are part of our tribe
, came Fist’s thoughts.

Deathclaw. Tribe
, echoed Gwyrtha.

We are your pack
, said Justan.

Each statement was matter of fact. Despite his agony, a hint of understanding entered Deathclaw’s mind. His heart beat faster. A new pack? Could this be true?
Human
. . .
Justan . . . you can fix this?

Yes. I think so. But I’m still learning. I may need some help from Master Coal.

The wizard?
Deathclaw recoiled at the thought of a wizard touching him again.

He will observe only,
Justan assured him. He sent over soothing feelings regarding Master Coal, but he didn’t push it. Justan wanted Deathclaw to know he could be trusted, but he also understood how intense the fear was.
I will not allow him to work his magic on you.

Deathclaw’s mind burned with uncertainty, but the pain was so great that he finally acquiesced.
I . . . allow it.

Justan sent Gwyrtha to get Master Coal and dove into the bond. When he switched to mage sight, he was stunned. Deathclaw’s body was alive with magic. Every cell was bound with the elements. His very blood was coursing with it. The magic seemed unstable yet at the same time it held together. The way the magic moved reminded him of Gwyrtha’s body. He didn’t have the same source of intense energy, but the flow of it was very similar.

Justan went to work. He looked at the biggest problem first. A great swath of skin and flesh on the left side of Deathclaw’s body had been eaten away. Fist provided the memory of the acid that the modified orc had spit on him. The damage was deep. Most of his abdominal wall was eaten away in areas. Deathclaw was lucky that his climb into the tree hadn’t caused his internal organs to burst out.

A human would have been crippled for life after such damage, but Deathclaw’s body was already working on the problem. The flesh was being restored at a rapid rate. It was already doing more than Justan knew how to do, so he just pulled some energy from Gwyrtha to help speed it along. He discarded some of the ruined flesh and cleaned out some dirt and debris that had gotten into the wound and left it at that.

Justan looked at Deathclaw’s arm. One of the bones in his forearm had been broken but was partially healed. From Deathclaw’s thoughts, Justan knew that normally it would have healed by now if his magic hadn’t been busy elsewhere. Justan soothed the swollen nerves around the break and stimulated the healing process further. He then moved on to the other minor cuts and bruises, but they had already mostly healed.

Finally he went to find the source of the raptoid’s headache. It wasn’t difficult. All he had to do was follow the pain. A tiny bulge in Deathclaw’s brain was pressing against a major artery. Justan wasn’t sure what could have caused it. Perhaps Ewzad Vriil had been messy when transforming him, or perhaps the additional changes brought about by their bonding had caused the problem. Either way, this wasn’t something Justan knew how to handle. It was Deathclaw’s brain. What if he made it worse?

Deathclaw, I have done what I can from here, but now I need Master Coal’s help. I need you to come down from the tree. Please do it carefully. The wound in your side could get worse.

The raptoid didn’t come down right away. The wizard and his beasts had arrived. How was he supposed to trust them? But Justan had been true to his word so far. The pain in his wounds had lessened and his body felt revitalized. Despite his instincts crying out against the decision, Deathclaw climbed down the tree.

He stood, watching them, his heart beating fiercely. He kept his back to the tree and made sure that he had an escape route available. If forced to, he was ready to fight.

It’s okay, Deathclaw. There will be no need.
Justan sent. “Would the rest of you back away though? He’s not comfortable around everyone.” Bettie and Lenny left and Samson backed away, leaving Justan and Coal standing in front of the Raptoid.

“Is he alright with me getting close?” Coal asked.

“I’ll let you know if he has a problem,” Justan said. “The thing is, he wants me to do the healing. I just need you to tell me what to do.”

Master Coal stepped closer and put out his hands above the raptoid’s head. “Please stay still,” he said. Deathclaw watched the wizard’s fingers, ready to run at the first sign of any unnatural movements.

A vision appeared in the air between the wizard’s hands. Justan could see the pathway in Deathclaw’s head where the tiny bulge was. Justan dove into the bond and listened intently to Coal’s instructions. It only took a few minutes and they were finished. Justan immediately felt the relief in Deathclaw. For the first time in weeks, the pain was gone.

Justan turned and smiled at the wizard, but Coal was still staring at Deathclaw, his face wide-eyed with wonder.

“You see it, don’t you?” he mumbled.

“What?” Justan asked.

Samson walked forward to stand by the wizard, his face etched in concern. “What is it?”

“I know how Ewzad Vriil has been creating these creatures.” Coal turned to the centaur. “Samson, he has the Rings of Stardeon.”

Samson’s fists clenched. “I see.”

“What are you talking about?” Justan asked.

Master Coal opened his mouth to answer but hesitated. “The rogue horses don’t like to talk about it. Samson . . . I know this is a sensitive subject. Are you willing to tell them?”

Samson stood with brow furrowed, thinking about it. Gwyrtha walked over to him and nuzzled his hand. Finally he nodded. “Stardeon was the creator of the rogue horses,” he said. “What Coal is saying is that somehow the same device our creator used to make us is being used by Ewzad Vriil to transform his creatures.”

“It has happened before. In the past.” Coal said. “One of the Dark Prophet’s wizards used it, but the rings disappeared after the war.”

“But how can you tell that just by looking at Deathclaw? I mean, I see that his body has some similar qualities as Gwyrtha, but he is still very different.”

Deathclaw looked at Gwyrtha in confusion.

“He may not have all the other attributes she has but-.” Coal shook his head. “Just look closer. Look at him with your spirit sight.”

Justan did so, drawing a wisp of the bond over his eyes. The traces of magic in Deathclaw’s every fiber were reinforced and held together by strands of spirit magic. “He’s . . .”