Chapter 19: Chapter: 19 Bloodbath

I hesitated for a moment as I stood outside the Blooming room. Inside a child wept and a woman hummed a lullaby. Whatever was happening in there I was definitely not ready for it.

Will I kill a human being if it comes to it? 

I wasn't sure but I was about to find out. I rested a hand on my spellbag, leant against the door and pushed it open. 

The smell of sweat, piss and rusted iron hit me in a nauseating wave as I stumbled forward into the dimly lit room. 

I could make out a bunch of men dressed in fancy clothing sitting around a table. 

Fucking pigs.

I drew Polyblade and waited for the guards to respond. But nothing happened. No one said a word. The only sound in the room was the sobbing of a little girl and someone humming. 

Through the smoky haze I saw blue hair, a red dress, and nobles staring up at the roof. 

My shoes squelched from something sticky on the floor as I took another step forward. I squinted my eyes and saw Ahri standing on the table and clutched to her side with her face buried in the red dress was the weeping child. 

  

Ahri stroked the girl’s head. 

“Keep your eyes closed, Giselle. I'm taking you somewhere special.”

I stepped closer and saw the nobles blank stares. Their throats had been torn open and blood cascaded down their chests and dripped onto the floor all around the table.

Ahri lifted the child into her arms and held her close. She whispered soothing words to the child and stepped off the table. She stopped in front of me and the look she gave me sent shivers down my spine. Her face was covered in blood, her eyes shone and her jaws were set in a grimace.

I felt sick. There was so much death and bloodshed in the room. It was almost unreal. Maybe these men deserved what they got. Maybe their deaths would save many children from a terrible future. But that didn't change the horror I felt at seeing these lives snuffed out and Ahri standing there with the face of a killer. 

I led them back the way I’d come but my balance was out and I stumbled often. Each time I stumbled Ahri reached out and helped me out but neither of us said a word. I was still in shock and she was preoccupied with protecting the girl. I didn't ask Ahri about the child. I figured she would tell me at the right time. For the moment we just needed to get out.

A light was up ahead and a refreshing breeze blew down the tunnel giving me the strength I needed to keep going. As we drew close to the exit Ahri grabbed my arm and held me back.

“Wha--” I started to ask but she placed a finger on my lips.

I looked around in confusion and then I heard people talking. They were too far away to hear their words clearly but I could make out the shape of two people. I wanted to scan them and see who was behind this operation. The nobles were just the client but I was sure the master of this place was still alive.  

I looked at Ahri to tell her that I needed to get closer but the look she gave me froze me in my tracks. Her face had transformed from vengeful demon to terrified rabbit.

I knew she was distraught. I couldn't imagine what she had been through but I needed answers. So I snuck along the walls as silently as I could and got as close as I could without giving myself away but I could barely make out the speaker’s words. 

I heard snippets of a woman’s voice, she said something about the poor harvest and a male voice said something in reply that was too low for me to make out. I tried to scan the nearest person, maybe that would give me answers.

* Target out of reach

I took a step closer and something crunched under my foot.

I froze. 

“We have guests, Talbot” said the woman.

A rift appeared in the narrow passageway casting a gray light in the tunnel. The woman’s eyes locked with mine and a smile spread across her face. 

My bones grew cold as blind panic overcame me. This woman, I knew her. I felt powerless like a mouse facing a dragon. I’d felt this terror before when I’d seen the harbingers destroy a whole village in search of a single spell card. 

The woman stepped into the rift and a sound of rushing winds filled the passage as the rift closed.

I reached for the wall and found Ahri's hand instead. She squeezed it and I saw terror mirrored on her face.

---

The man named Talbot quickly exited the mountain and we chased after him before the door closed on us. If we got locked inside we could be lost down there forever.

Giselle tripped on a rock and Ahri reached out and picked up the girl and ran. 

“Faster,” I cried as the passage began to close.

The light was fading and my lungs were on fire. We ran as fast as we could and just as the door began to shut, I yanked Ahri forward and we dived through the hole.

The world exploded in blinding light and I breathed in fresh air. I looked at Ahri, her skin was pale, dark rings were around her eyes and she swayed as she held the child in her arms.

A shadow stirred and I saw the man named Talbot watching us. He was flanked on either side by guards armed with long spears.

“You come into my house, take my children from me,” Talbot shouted. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

If I was all going to die, I’d die like a hero looking cool in front of the hot girl.

“Don't worry, Ahri,” I said. “I've got this.”

I stepped towards Talbot and said, “Any chance we can settle this one on one, man to man?”

Talbot waved his hand and said, “Kill them all.”

Something blurred in front of me and a guard screamed and disappeared.

What the hell was that?

The guardsmen hesitated for a moment and looked around in confusion.

“Get them,” shouted Talbot.

A second guard shrieked in pain and vanished. 

“What’s happening?”

A black polished giant hand appeared out of nowhere, snatched up a man and pulled him into a nearby bush. 

Flint.

I could kiss the titan.

Talbot opened his suit jacket, touched a card that was sewn on the inside and twin ice daggers appeared in his hands.

“Useless guards,” he said. “I'll kill you myself.”

He ran forward and slashed his daggers in a downward arch releasing two ice blades that flew directly at me.

I twisted my body and felt a blade slice open my left arm. The attack was so cold that my wound didn't bleed. I felt the cold spreading down my arm, freezing it in place.

Two titan hands launched directly at Talbot. The man spun like an acrobat and easily evaded the attacks. The hands flew past him and smashed into the two remaining guards scattering them like bowling pins.

Talbot stabbed both of his daggers into the ground and a wave of ice rolled towards us. 

Flint shouted a warning as he burst out of the bush and  charged to defend me. But there was no way he’d make it in time. 

Ahri clutched Giselle tightly and turned her back on the rolling wave of ice to shield the girl.

I drew Mold Earth, slammed it on the ground and tried to raise a wall to defend us. It was the first time using the new spell card and the spell did not work as expected. Instead of a wall the ground turned into rows of tiny protruding spikes. 

The ice crashed against the spikes like ocean waves against the rocks. It blocked most of the ice but a cool wind washed over my legs and froze me in place. 

Talbot twirled his daggers and sneered.

“I see you have a spell card of your own little boy, good, that makes killing you all the more interesting.”

I struggled to break free from the ice. I lost my balance and Flint reached me in time to catch me.

“Don't worry I’ve got you,” he said as he held me against his chest.

“I could kiss you, Flint.”

“Don't let me stop you.”

“You can let go now.”

 

“So the rock troll belongs to you,” said Talbot. “You are full of surprises.”

“Did he just call me a rock troll,” Flint said. “Listen here you sack of meat, I'm going to tear off your face and use it as toilet paper.”

I tried to smile then winced in pain as my head throbbed. “You’ve clearly been spending too much time with Ahri,” I said.

---

Talbot stopped on the other side of the spiked grounds and paced up and down like a caged tiger. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he worked out his odds of beating me.

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I raised my hand.

“Talbot, nobody else needs to get hurt. I don't know what your involvement was. But this is your last chance to turn yourself in before things get bad.”

Talbot laughter echoed off of the mountain behind us.

“Turn myself in to who? There is no authority higher than me in this town.”

“He's the boss here,” said Ahri behind me. “Everything that happened inside the mountain was his fault. There is no way I am letting him get out of this alive.”

A spell card appeared in Talbot’s hand and as the spell took effect a whistling sound permeated the air followed by a rushing wind. A blue bird trailing snowflakes soared overhead. 

It opened its beak and let out a piercing cry and a beam of ice cut across the land freezing everything it touched. 

I threw out a binding card to catch the spell and the beam hit the card. But the card froze and shattered. 

Ahri dived, pushing me to the ground.

“You can't bind a summoned creature’s spell,” She punched me in the chest. “You could have died, you idiot.”

With Ahri still sitting on top of me I scanned the bird.

*

Name: Calista 

Race: Arctic swift

Level: 7

Health: 63

Skills: Ice Lance

Status: Summoned

*

I stood up and drew Mimic before the bird attacked again. The spell disintegrated in mid air. Flint flickered and there were two of him. The two Flint’s flickered again and there were four.

The four Flints stood in front of me with the wall of spikes between us and Talbot. 

Talbot drew another spell card and a bolt of brilliant lightning arced across the battleground and hit a titan duplicate in the chest. The duplicate shattered and stones flew in every direction. Stone and dust showered on all of us. 

“Do something now,” shouted Flint. 

“Aim those hand cannons at the cardmage.” 

“You mean my gravity arms.”

“Whatever, just fire them, now.”

The arctic swift made a loop in the air and headed back at us. 

Six titan hands rocketed over the spikes all aiming directly at Talbot. The man spun and dodged four of them. One hit him in the chest and another wrapped around his leg and pinned him down.

“Ahri shield us,” I shouted. 

In a blink of an eye Ahri’s god’s raiment tore the red dress off of her body. The shredded clothing fell to the floor and Ahri was dressed in a black flowing robe. 

“Flint, drag him back here.”

Flint obeyed immediately. He pulled the man across the field of spikes. Talbot screamed in agony as the spikes tore his feet into shreds like soft mozzarella across a cheese grater.

The bird released another wave of ice and Ahri raised her right arm and her sleeve enlarged and transformed into a perfect circle that hardened and became a shield. She held her arm up and Giselle and I stepped behind her. 

The ice hit like a truck and we flew backwards and slid into the base of the mountain.

“This is so much easier on video games,” I said.

Flint dragged Talbot in front of me. The man was foaming from the mouth and screaming in agony as he looked down at the bloody stumps that were his legs. 

Talbot was too out of it to maintain his summon and the Arctic Swift dematerialized and returned into its card form.

I cast Polyblade and the light exploded above me and I snatched a glistening scimitar out of the air. 

The titan propped up the man's head in his clenched fist waiting for me to finish him off.

I so badly wanted to end this man's life. He deserved it. But as I stared down at the man and felt sick. He looked pitiful. His tears mingled with blood and streaked down his face. His legs were a mangled mess and he blubbered as he begged for mercy.

“Do it,” said Ahri.

I shook my head.

Ahri put down the girl and snatched the scimitar out of my hand. 

Her hands shook as she held the blade against Talbot’s throat. 

“Don't do it, Ahri.”

“Why not?”

I laid a hand on her shoulder. 

“That's not who you are.” 

“You don't know who I am. This piece of shit deserves it.”

She was right, he didn't deserve our mercy but I couldn't watch her kill a human.

“We can't let this monster go,” she said. 

How many people had Ahri already killed? When would the killing stop? If she kept going she would become a monster and somebody would have to kill her. The cycle of death would never end.

I’d seen my mother die in front of me. What I would have given for just one more day with her. Life was easily lost but once it was gone nobody could bring it back.

“There has to be another way,” I said.

Ahri's eyes narrowed and the sword cut into Talbot’s skin. 

“Don't Ahri, please.”

She bit her lip and then raised the sword.

“You are right Talasin, he deserves worse than a swift death.”

She tossed the weapon aside and placed her hands on Talbot’s head. 

“Close your eyes Giselle.”

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Not killing him.”

Thin threads of silk snaked out of the hem of her sleeve and slithered over her hands. 

“Hold him tight, Flint”

I looked at the little girl with her eyes shut. Ahri had followed her into that mountain and brought her out alive. That had to mean something. She was so ready to kill but deep down I was sure she had a good heart.

Thin threads of the god’s raiment slid up Talbot’s nose and all of a sudden his eyes sagged like a veil had been cast over them. 

“What happened?” I asked.

Ahri withdrew the threads and droplets of blood dripped out of his nose. 

She looked completely calm. 

“His mind is blank,” she said. “He won’t remember anything ever again.”

---

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