Kings Game

Chapter 31 - Into the Dark

(1)

Nul sat down on the hard stone floor. Their body shook from exhaustion and pain. Just communicating with Kell had been difficult and that was a simple mark that required little energy. Reaching into their jacket, Nul produced a string of beads. Wrapping it around their neck, Nul fed the beads energy until they flared to life, filling the world with light.

Nul was in a cave. Snow completely blocked one half, having funneled inside after Nul had dug a hole straight into the mountainside. Moving stone wasn't the hardest thing in the world, not for someone like Nul, but they had dug hard and fast, wrending stone like cloth and forcinging themself down deep. They didn't even know where they were anymore.

Pulling off their gloves, Nul found that their hands were wet with blood.

"Damn," Nul said aloud. "I'm an idiot."

Nul pulled off their coat and tossed it to the ground. Wincing, they began peeling their sleeves up. Blood saturated the fabric and their arms burned with pins and needles. Frustrated, Nul produced a small knife and cut the sleeves away. The cold air felt good on the burnt skin. Examining the myriad of symbols and etchings covering their arms, Nul found a multitude that were weeping blood.

Tsking, Nul produced a clean bandage and dabbed at some of the burns. Most of them stung, which was a good sign. The nerves hadn't burned away.

"I overreached, twice."

Twice Nul had pushed their focus markings beyond their limits and now they were paying the price. The intense rush of energy had overloaded the etchings, causing them to produce heat, vast quantities of heat that had seared Nul's flesh. Roran and Kell's focus markings had been designed to avoid such troubles. Nul, however, had decided against designing any safety precautions into their own marks. The precautions took up space that could be used for more markings.

Wiggling their fingers, and tapping a thumb to each finger pad, assured them that the wounds were only skin deep. They would recover, but in the meantime their abilities would be limited.

Reexamining the burns, Nul counted them out loud, "Wind, stone, and inertial dampening." Frowning, Nul looked closer. "And half a dozen collateral."

Only three of Nul's designs had burnt out but those markings were interwoven with other designs and lay on top of several more. Losing three designs had cost Nul a significant portion of their abilities; powerful effects that were now gone, at least until Nul's skin healed and they could reform the circuits.

Tapping their thumb and forefinger together, Nul arced a small bit of lightning between them. "At least I have something."

Deciding that they weren't entirely doomed, Nul began thinking of a way to survive. They started by retrieving another glass bottle from their coat and chugging the milky liquid inside. The concoction burned their throat and settled in their stomach like acid. In minutes Nul would have a headache and lose their sense of smell. The only redeeming quality of the potion was that it would replenish Nul's energy without the need of food or sustenance.

Feeling slightly more energetic, Nul went about producing heat that wouldn't consume their own dwindling reserve. They scooped up handfuls of snow and formed them into little balls. Then, using their own blood, Nul drew several focus markings on the snowballs. Settling a small fragment of fairy rock into the center of the mark, Nul snapped their fingers and the ball began shimmering, giving off gas. With another snap, they produced a spark and the gas caught fire, producing a bright, warm flame.

Settling back down, Nul tossed the fireball against the wall and cozied up to it for warmth. The fire lit up the cave around them. Nul realized that it wasn't a cave but a tunnel. It was big too, wide enough for a couple people to walk side by side and tall enough for Nul to walk comfortably. The walls were rough, as though dug out by pickaxes. Running a hand along the wall, Nul found that it had been smoothed by age. These tunnels were old.