We called our society great. But great society wouldn't produce the likes of the Eight. They had ways, they said, of cheating death. Ways, they claimed, of transcending mortality. Dragons could do it, and theoretically, the Sidhe could. But humans? Calixa? Tethyd? The thought was unheard of!
***
"I grow tired of this chase, Agyar Prince." Why was he calling Laidu that? Agyar prince? Laidu wasn't Agyar. At least, he didn't remember being an Agyar. It was possible, he reasoned. He didn't remember anything in his real early childhood. But how would Kazalibad know?
"The boy has such beautiful skin." Immediately, Laidu's blood froze. Skaria and Karik'ar looked stunned.
Indra closed her eyes. "It's him. It's Kazalibad." Kyra closed her eyes, hopelessness painted on her face. Skaria, Thaen, and Karik'ar looked confused.
"I know," Laidu said. "But why did he talk about Tom's skin? He's not going to...?"
"No, not violate the boy," Indra said. "He's called Kazalibad the Corrupt, Kazalibad the Avaricious. He's also called 'Skinstealer.' He rips off the skin of his victims, and wears it. Lets him appear as his victims. A giant monster is kind of conspicuous."
"Disgusting," Laidu spat, rage building in his stomach.
Let me rip him apart! Let me paint the world and stain the seas red with his blood! Let me take that eye of his and show him his dead corpse! Kasran was raving again. But Laidu let him. Kasran would give him ideas.
Laidu stormed out of the building. "Hold this," he said to Kyra, handing her his shirt and boots. His boots weren't fireproof, and he didn't want to give Kazalibad anything else to grab on to. He needed every advantage in this fight.
He walked out to the quarry edge. There, under a small tree, the Erinyan shopkeeper Laidu had bought the sword from waited. Tom was sprawled on the ground, hands tied behind his back. "Ah, you came. I was wondering if you would show." It was odd, the Erinyan suddenly having Kazalibad's voice.
"Let him go," Laidu said. Rhaem, Kasran, the depressed voice, and the paradox voice babbled, but all of them told him to kill the thing in front of him.
"Of course." The Erinyan's arm split open, and a long, slobber-covered pink tongue wrapped around Tom's waist, before tossing him towards Laidu. Laidu froze, Tom's limp body soaring through the air.
Karik'ar stepped in, and in one motion, caught the unconscious child. Tom didn't look harmed. He was actually snoring a little bit. "He's fine," the Kai'Draen assured. "I'll take him and the others away. I have a feeling that this might get... messy."
"Right." Laidu closed his eyes, then looked at Karik'ar. "Protect them. Keep Kyra safe."
"On my life," Karik'ar promised.
Laidu turned and faced Kazalibad. "Look, drop the charade." He was maybe a hundred and fifty meters away. Pretty far, but Laidu was loud enough so that the monster could hear him. "Why wear another's skin?"
"True," Kazalibad said. "This skin smells like charcoal anyway." The Erinyan man's chest jerked, and the head began to swell. A large tear ripped across the face, and the entire skin rippled.
Like a caterpillar shedding its cocoon, the giant grey monster emerged from the widening tears in the Erinyan's skin. First the faceless head, then the claws, and then the arms and top of the chest. Finally, the thing stepped out of the skin. "Much better." Kazalibad's eye opened. "You know, I have been looking at the others in your group."
"That Vesperati has a fine pelt, a fine pelt indeed." Laidu began to walk forward. "Though I am not too fond of furs and pelts. The Kai'Draen's skin is tougher. Leathery, almost. Protective, maybe, but not nice. Same with the female mercenary. Too calloused." Laidu frowned. "Your scales, however, are beautiful. Like little diamonds." That's surprising. Laidu frowned and ignited the Fever Blood.
"You know, it's the other two. That scholar, her skin is nice. But her hands have seen too much work." Indra did work with her hands. "But the other one, that girl, she has wonderful skin." Laidu stopped. "But you see, it's more than just the skin for her. I will take her skin. But I will sample the pleasures of flesh with her first."
Rage, anger, and burning hate built up in Laidu. The voices were screaming, reaching a tumultuous peak. And then, suddenly, they were gone.
We must kill him. The voice was all of them, but whole. It was... pure. We cannot let him escape.
Who... who are you? Laidu asked.
I am the lost. The fallen. Once, I was named Wrath of God. I was a king. A murderer. A bastard child. A warrior. Now, I am mad. Or was. And I will be again. We have precious little time together. The voice was almost mournful.
Are you... Rhaedra? Laidu asked.
Immediately, a stab of pain made him reel. That is...not my name. It is the word that is my name, but it isn't the thought. You must know the true meaning of my name. Name me again, when you know it. That might help keep the madness at bay. Meditate on it after this battle.
If we live through this battle, Laidu said.
The voice was almost scornful. You have no faith in me? I was named Wrath of God for a reason!
I am not the Wrath of God.
Right. So you will Sing the Blood with me. Suddenly, Laidu felt it. Fever Blood was burning in his veins. Weightless Blood lay dormant. But there were others, now. Fever Blood felt like fire when he reached out to touch it with his mind. Weightless blood felt like a breeze. But this one...it felt like solid stone.
Armor Blood. Use it, and focus on a part of the body. Armor Blood. That sounds interesting. Another one of the Bloods buzzed and hummed with life.
Vital Blood. Use it to heal smaller wounds. The voice was silent. This one, however, don't use. Don't use this one, the voice said, indicating the Blood that felt like complete emptiness, unless you have no other option.
I understand. Laidu marched forward.
Kazalibad stared at Laidu with that nasty giant eye. "Have you come to die?" Kazalibad asked. "You aren't terribly smart, prince. Or is it king?" he asked, that rasping voice sending shivers down Laidu's spine. "If you don't value your life, then I could take it from you. At a price, of course." Kazalibad's mouth twisted into a smile. "I'm greedy like that."
"They don't call you 'Kazalibad the Avaricious' for nothing," Laidu said. "But it is you who shall die. It is you who shall face the Cold River, you who shall be pierced by the Fangs of Night." He didn't know what he was saying. It was as if the words had already been said, and his scaly lips and (mostly) normal tongue were just catching up with the fact.
You are. I said them. The voice seemed to smile. But I like how they sound when you say them.
"Now that...that, I haven't heard that poem in ages." Kazalibad's voice was full of scorn. "The one who wrote it went mad, you know." The monster shrugged. "Be that as it may, I doubt some Alberion-born Agyar half-wit like you would have learned that.
"Alberion-born?" Laidu asked.
"How else are you in the Ranger Corps?" Kazalibad asked. "You see, I am immortal. And old. Very old. I learn quite a bit. And the Ranger Corps -the soldiers that police the kingdom and guard the royal family- can be of any race. But they have to have lived in Alberion for all their life."
Laidu chuckled. "Those elitist thugs?" He stopped, and started to laugh. First, it was a few chuckles. Then, it grew to sniggering, and then full-out bellows of laughter.
"What's so funny?" Kazalibad asked angrily. He put his hand on his hips, an odd gesture, seeing as he had no clothes on. Not that he needed them, though Laidu wouldn't mind if the monster covered up his stony skin.
"I...am not one of those hacks!" Laidu said, on his knees, unable to control the laughter.
"I saw the coin you gave me," Kazalibad said, thoroughly unamused. "It was a real and veritable coin. Are you saying you stole it? That you've pretended to be a Ranger?" Kazalibad opened his mouth, and that disgusting slimy pink tongue whipped out, before darting back into the thing's mouth. "That's risky, even for a dragonling."
"I'm not suicidal." Laidu sighed. "You really are that ignorant, aren't you?"
Kazalibad frowned. Or, at least, his mouth did. "Well, then, spit it out!"
"You forgot that there are foreigners serving in the Ranger Corps," Laidu said. "I wasn't born in Alberion. At least, officially I wasn't. I was born in Ten-Zuan. Spent some time in Ajand...then got recruited." Laidu smiled. "Into the Foreign Ranger Corps."
Kazalibad's eye opened. "Foreign Ranger Corps?" he asked. "Well, that means something else?" he asked.
"Yes." Laidu smiled. "You see, the normal Ranger Corps train in the mountains near the capital. See, we trained on the island of Monata. On the largest island, we lived in a desert. Vents of toxic gas, shark-infested waters, and the like. See, it's basically a little slice of Hell on our earth. And for two years, it was home."
"You see, the Foreign Corps, Foreign Regiment, whatever you want to call them, they pride themselves on one thing. We're tougher than steel, grittier than gravel, and tougher than those pansies up in Alberion proper." Laidu smiled. "You call me a Ranger. But you have no idea what you're talking about." He held out his hands. "And among them, I have a neat trick." He advanced, and the veins lit up with fire. Fever Blood. It was his name, and it was his power.
Kazalibad sighed. "A boastful man is always a disappointment to fight. For they always overestimate their own abilities." He sighed. "Come. Die. I want to taste a dragon's blood."
"You know, I had a friend who said something similar," Laidu said.
"Oh?" Kazalibad tensed up.
"Yeah." Laidu was only a few meters away from him. "He said it was too hot to handle!" And with that, he charged forward, flaring up the Fever Blood, feeding the fire in his veins with rage. He would never let that beast touch Kyra, or Thaen. Or anyone.
He slammed into Kazalibad with burning force. Laidu could smell the stench of burnt flesh as he shoved Kazalibad into the tree. Then, with a push, he moved off the monster and into the air.
The ground rose up to meet him, driving the breath from his lungs. "Ugh," Laidu said, rising slowly. Then he saw the damage he had done to Kazalibad.
The creature's torso was a mess of grey skin and bright red streaks and blisters. But not for long. Thin dots of grey began to appear as the creature's skin regrew over it.
Kazalibad isn't just immortal. He has a thousand lives to draw from, legions worth of vital energy. The voice sighed. Incinerate all of his body. That might work.
Great. Laidu rolled back. Do you know how much easier this would be if I could breathe fire?
That probably would kill you, the voice said.
Wait. Laidu paused. I can do it?
It was that pause that earned a blow from the recovering monster. But not before the second person in Laidu reacted. In one split second, he could feel the cool night air, the coldness of it, and he couldn't move his chest or arms. Well, the tops of his arms. He could bend at the elbow, he found out, just as Kazalibad sent him flying into the air.
Laidu slammed into a tree, splintering the branches and leaves. It hurt, but it felt weird when it did. Like he was wearing armor under his skin. Armor Blood, the voice said as Laidu hit the ground again. The voice was silent for a second, merely a second, before speaking up again. Burning Breath would drain you of all your blood in a few minutes.
So I'd need to get more blood? Laidu asked.
You'd need to get bigger. The voice sighed. I can help you, but I'll need time.
Time? What kind of time? Laidu asked.
Later! Big, grey, and ugly, incoming! the voice warned. Laidu switched over to his Fever Blood -it was getting easier to do that- and charged forward. He was screaming, now, his torso and arms glowing cherry red as all his blood lit aflame. He slammed into Kazalibad, but instead of toppling the abomination, the immortal grabbed Laidu by the neck.
"Foolish...little...whelp," the thing hissed, the yellowed talons digging into Laidu's shoulder. Kazalibad's hand blackened, before grey skin began to creep back down the arm, repairing all the damage Laidu's dragon powers caused. "Learn your place! You're just a mortal, challenging a god!"
"You? A god?" Laidu struggled to get the words out. Light above, his grip was strong! "You're too ugly to be a god! You are an abomination, not a god."
That did it. With a roar of anger, Kazalibad tossed the Ranger into a storage shed. The force of the throw sent Laidu into the ground, through the aged wood. It also ignited it. Great. Laidu went to rise, before something slammed into his back. The pain wasn't the alarming part. No, the jagged, angry monster ripping into his back called pain was nothing.
The alarming part was the fact he couldn't feel pain in his legs. He couldn't feel anything.
A beam fell, and I think it broke your back, the voice said. We can't use Vital Blood, the flames will devour you before we can fix the nerves. It was silent for a few seconds. I might be able to fix it. I might be able to repair it. It won't take away scars, or smaller wounds. And it will hurt.
Will I live? Laidu asked. And will I be able to fight? He couldn't let that thing touch any of them.
The voice was silent for a second. It felt like eternity, though. Yes. Now, surrender to me. Let me take over your body.
Why? Laidu asked.
Don't ask. Just let me! the voice ordered.
Laidu paused. I want to remember what I do. No matter how bad it is.
Done. It will be so.
Laidu gritted his teeth in pain as the rest of the building collapsed onto him. "AAGH!" he screamed. It felt like his breath was being pressed out of him, but it didn't stop. Light above, it hurt!
And then, for the second time in his life, Laidu surrendered to the madness.