Misfortune Market: A HASEA CHRONICLES STORY (BOOK 1.5) (7 page)

“Grey, get ready!”

I jumped and dived into the air. The leader passed right underneath me, howling in fury. I kept flying and when I felt gravity kick in, pulled up my knees into my chest and flipped over, landing hard on the back of the second Skinshifter. I slammed the tip of the Crimson Twin blade down into his spine, using it to slow me. There was a deep tearing sound, followed by a loud hiss as his skin split and burned around the blade. I tumbled off his back and rolled over several times, smashing through the wooden walkways and landing in foul smelling water with an echoing splash.

Stumbling to my feet, there was a heart-lurching second before the leader reached Grey. In a deft movement, he grabbed the Elf and leapt to the side, drawing up his legs and launching into one of the recess homes. The beast bowled past him, snapping out with his colossal jaws and missing by inches.

Yes, Grey!

The Skinshifter skidded to a halt and raised onto his back legs – his tremendous head scraping against the arched ceiling – before slamming back down again in the other direction. A second later there was a blinding flash of light and the whole passage ignited orange as Grey unleashed a stream of fire from his hands, coating the Skinshifter in flames. Purple squealed in pain and crashed back down the tunnel, smashing its hide against the walls and damp ground until the flames were doused. Thick smoke curled towards me, coated in the acrid scent of burned fur and flesh.

I returned my attention to the other shifter.

Red’s fur was matted and stained with blood. Like the leader, rolls of smoke climbed from his body as the wounded Skinshifter scrambled around so that he was facing me. He was in a bad way, dragging one of his back legs uselessly behind him. But he was also beyond furious and seemed almost unaware of his injures. In a sudden burst of energy he coiled onto his working limbs and pounced at me. The force of his head butting into my chest smashed all the breath from my lungs and sent me slamming into the floor. The Crimson Twin broke from my grip and clattered down the tunnel  - well out of reach.

The Skinshifter’s weight was colossal as he bore down on me – it was like having a motorbike dumped on my chest. He seized my arm between his teeth and immense pain tore through me as his powerful jaws clamped down. A crunching sound filled the passageway as bones broke and tendons tore. A heaving scream escaped my lungs, echoing down the tunnels. Trying to ignore the sickening pain, I scrambled around my belt with my free hand, searching for something to use. My fingers clasped around an iron dagger.
It won’t kill him, but it’ll slow him.
With a yell, I freed it and pushed upwards, sinking the dagger deep into his eye socket. It popped and white fluid oozed around the blade. The creature let out a high-pitched screech of agony, but instead of retreating, bit down harder. My bones became splinters in a skin bag.

Much more and he’ll tear my arm off! No healing from that.

Through pure instinct I twisted my body and slashed my blade sideways along his mouth. Sliding the razor edge along his gums, I used all my strength to carve away at the membrane above his teeth, until they were barely hanging on. I dropped the blade and punched as hard as I could.

CRUNCH

His top incisors broke free, disappearing down his throat. He made a harsh coughing sound and I used my other hand to pull my arm out of the hole. Scrambling away, my crushed limb hung uselessly at my side as I staggered over to my weapon. The shifter was hacking and coughing as it choked on its own teeth. It’s body seized and a rush of foul smelling vomit poured from its maw, smattered with chunks of food and teeth. Beyond, I could see Grey doing his best to battle the leader – the Elf still cowering in the small recess away from the battle.

I picked up the sword and tried to focus as my furious internal voice seethed at the indignity of what the creature had done to me.

Kill the bastard.

I ran over to where the struggling shifter was trying to come back to his senses. He swiped out with his paw and I countered – removing most of its claws with an arching swipe of the blade. He staggered and I whirled around him, stabbing the sword into the space between his ribs as I moved. The creature howled loudly, the noise descending into a whine as the blood spilled from him. His legs gave way and he slammed into the ground, his head lolling to the side and a heavy rattling breath escaping his throat. His huge frame rose up and down as he struggled to hold onto life.

I felt a twinge of guilt. In my time at the Alliance I had killed many Pandemonians and Hybrids, but it was always a dry pill to swallow.  That said in this world it was kill or be killed – simple as that.

“You are one of them aren’t you? The Alliance,” he gasped as he struggled to breathe. A guttural growl underlined his words, but I was in no danger. There was always a moment  - a second where the fight goes from your opponent and you know they have accepted death. This Skinshifter’s moment had come.

“Yes.”

“Then by your code of honour, make it quick. Please,” he said and coughed, sending blood spraying between his remaining teeth and mixing with the grey water that swirled around his half submerged head.

Do not do ask this pathetic beast asks. Make him suffer.

I squeezed my eyes shut.
No…that isn’t me.

There was a hissing sound and then the dark thoughts rushed away like a receding wave.

“Of course,” I said.

Crouching down, I used the shoulder of my good arm to roll the Shifter over onto his back exposing the vital parts of his body. With a decisive movement, I plunged the blade deep into his heart. The creature let out a low howl that diminished as the life poured out of him. A second later it was done.

The pain came then – absolute and unavoidable. I flopped onto my back and cradled my broken arm. Closing my eyes, I focused on the wound and willed it to heal. After a few seconds a warmth joined the searing pain – starting at my shoulder and sliding down to the oozing teeth marks that punctured my wrist. I felt every pop and crack as the bones reordered themselves back into place and knitted themselves together. The pain of the bones repairing was so intense I had to take deep gulps of air to stop myself from being sick. A moment later it was done.

That was a bad one,
I thought as I climbed back to my feet.

“Alex, help!”

I glanced up to see Grey doing his best to avoid Purple, who was swiping and butting at him with the ferocity of the insane. He skipped from foot to foot, shooting flames at the beast, but his opponent no longer seemed to care. Even as the fire caught and started to spread, he was determined to take Grey down.

Both arms working again, I sprinted towards the Skinshifter, jumping and landing on his back. The whole front of him was a raging inferno and I had to grab a patch of fur that wasn’t alight. The leader bucked upwards with his hind legs and the sheer force sent me flying off and colliding with Grey. The Guardian staggered backwards and through pure luck managed to keep us both on our feet. Next to us, I could see the wide, terrified eyes of the Shinroba Elf staring at us from the shallow followed my gaze with his flaming head. His eyes stared into the narrow home and then narrowed.

No!

The Skinshifter turned his head sideways and snapped his jaws into the space. There was the sound of teeth meeting flesh and a piercing scream. Grey and I rushed forward together, slamming our bodies into the creature, neither caring that it was like running into a pure ball of fire. The shifter stumbled sideways and tumbled to the floor, with us piling on top of him. Fire jumped onto my overalls and started to lick my skin with its acid tongue. Wrenching up one of the walkway covers, I grabbed Grey and threw us both into the water. There was a lingering hiss and the flames went out.

Scrambling back to my feet, I moved around the semi-conscious, burning shifter towards the shelf home.

“Oh god.”

The Elf girl was shivering in shock, her hands hovering above a deep, seeping wound in her side. The wound was bad – fatally bad. The Goblins were holding her and talking to her in an effort to keep her conscious. She was trying to reply, but her words came out as nothing but short sharp gasps.
I can’t heal her without Gabriella.

“Shit! Grey go and find something for her wounds
now!”

“But the Skinshifter!”

“I’ll deal with him. Go!”

He didn’t try to argue twice. Instead he jumped to his feet and sprinted back towards the market.

“What’s your name?” I said, placing a hand on her arm.

She took in a few gulps of air. “Edeline,” she managed to say.

“Listen to me, Edeline,” I said, placing a hand on her arm for a second. “You’re going to be okay…I promise.”

She nodded, the shock making the movement harsh and erratic. I stared up at the Goblins. “Don’t let her go. Keep talking to her. Do anything you can, just keep her alive. You hear me?”

The father - a wizened Goblin with tufts of black hair - nodded back. “We’ll do what we can.”

I turned back from the recess and glared at the Skinshifter who was staggering back to his feet, somehow despite everything, still ready for a fight.

No more.

I spun the sword around and squared my feet, crouching down and holding the blade horizontally out in front of me. “Come on you son of a bitch, let’s finish this.”

The Skinshifter was only too happy to oblige.

He rushed towards me, the flames that still ravaged his body making him look like a wall of flame with a head – as of he were some damned creature bursting from the depths of hell itself. We both attacked at the same time, him swiping out with a claw and me swiping upwards with my blade. His claw sank into my chest and I felt the hot splash of my own blood hit my face. A second later I was pinned on my back, roaring from pain as the searing creature swept over me.

Once it had passed by, I rolled over into the foul water once more, putting out the flames. I stood up onto shaking legs as smoke curled from my ruined overalls and prepared to fight. Instead, I saw the Skinshifters legs fold inwards and his colossal frame crash down onto the floor. His giant head tumbled from his shoulders and rolled along the tunnel. Thick smoke rose from the wound where my Crimson Twin had decapitated him. Stepping backwards, my own legs gave out and I sat down with a bump.

My chest hurts…a lot.

I looked down and saw that his claws had torn the flesh to ribbons. A mess of blood and meat was pushing through the deep marks. I winced as I placed the trembling palm of my hand against the wound and urged it to heal. The warm sensation spread through my entire body. It much more effort – my body drained from the toll of the fight, but eventually the flesh wove itself back together and all that could be seen of the grievous injury were a few pink scratch marks that would heal overnight.

If I make it through the rest of today,
I thought bleakly.

Grey burst through the drape a moment later, clutching a vial of pink liquid in one hand. He took one look at me and started to rush over.

“I’m fine,” I croaked raising a hand. “See to her.”

He nodded and turned his attention to the trembling Edeline. With massive effort, I dragged my battered and burned body back onto its feet and staggered over. The Goblins had moved the girl to the front of their home and in the light of the lanterns I could see just how badly the Skinshifter had bitten her. Some of her ribcage was exposed – the bones poking through the ripped flesh. The Goblin mother was cradling her head, comforting her whilst also preventing her from looking at her terrible wound.

“This is Griffin Blood,” Grey said as he poured a thick golden substance from a clear pot onto his hand. It seemed to glow and had a sweet smell to it – like honey. “The trader said it does wonders for Luminar injuries.”

I’d never heard that anywhere before. I hoped that it wasn’t like one of those hokey remedies that ‘alternative’ health practitioners forced on desperate patients. I gave Grey an ‘I don’t know’ look. He shrugged and then pressed his hand against the wound, smearing the paste in. Edeline grit her teeth together and hissed as the odd substance bonded across the holes. There was a tense moment of the unknown and then the Elf gave a sigh and seemed to relax.

“How does it feel?”

“Better,” she breathed. “The pain is better.”

“Good.”

I moved away thought for a moment.
Can we really just leave her here?
As if he had read my mind, Grey placed a hand on my arm.

“The mission, Alex. We have to go. It won’t be long before someone discovers this mess.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger. “Damn, you’re right.” I looked back up at the Goblin father. “Listen to me, I’m a Guardian of the Alliance. Reinforcements are on their way now, but until they arrive I need you to keep looking after Edeline. When they get here, tell them what happened. They’ll keep her stable until I can come back with someone who can help me heal her.”

“Don’t worry Guardian. We’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“Thank you.”

I looked down at my ripped, wet and blood-soaked overalls and cursed my impulsive anger.
I should have waited until they left the tunnels. How are we going to get away with this? 
“We need to change,” I said aloud. “There’s no way this will go unnoticed – even with the Kapre belts active.”