CHAPTER 13: Corpus Delicti - (
The Body of the Crime
)
Ethan did the only thing he could think of to avoid Kendra's charge: he jumped to the side. Thankfully, his legs were as powerful as ever and he managed to get clear of her sword before he lost a limb.
Barely.
He hit the ground awkwardly but managed to roll into a standing position. It was a lot harder with his arms pinned to his sides by Kendra's bolo. He was still healing his left arm and the wound wasn't too severe anymore. But it wouldn't matter because it was pinned anyway.
She skidded to a halt wearing a large smirk on her pretty face. She wasted no time in charging to close the distance again. Again, he jumped out of the way and came up breathing hard after fighting for so long.
"You look tired dragon." She taunted. "Perhaps you should stop jumping around like a rabbit."
"Sure, if you stop charging like a rhino."
She gave him a confused look and shook her head.
Then she changed her approach. She started walking toward him. Her legs were spread wider and she was crouching slightly so her center of gravity was lower. If he jumped again, she'd be ready to pounce on him instantly. He started backing up and called his hammer to his hand, having dropped it after her first charge.
*It's now or never.* He thought to Alana and focused his will and mana into his hammer. He focused on making it positively charged, altering the electrical potential so it started sucking up electrons like a sponge. When they hit critical mass, he would release it as a bolt of lightning. Well, maybe more like a Taser or stun gun.
That was the hope anyway.
He waited as long as he dared, backing up as long as he could and allowing her get as close as possible before striking. He whipped his hammer at her as fast as he could. Unfortunately, with his arms still strapped to his chest that wasn't very hard or fast.
She was ready.
She neatly sidestepped the hammer, using a downward angling block with the flat of her blade to ensure it missed. The moment the hammer touched her blade, he released his spell. He thought it would surge through her like a Taser.
He was wrong.
Her sword block had been angled down, with her blade's tip pointing towards the ground. The electricity surged out of the hammer, down the blade, then arced through the air towards the earth. There was a loud crack, a bright flash and the smell of burning ozone. Kendra herself was completely unharmed.
Her eyes went wide.
A stunned silence fell over the crowd.
She looked at her sword for a moment, then dropped it like a hot potato or poisonous snake. She took several fearful steps away from it, staring wide-eyed at him with shock written all over her face.
"What sorcery is this?" She breathed.
"It's not sorcery; it's science bitch!"
His hammer flew back into his hand and he quickly whipped it at her as hard as he could. She leapt out of the way like he had thrown a vat of acid. She rolled through her dive and came up ready, having picked up a discarded sword while rolling.
Ethan considered what had happened with his first electrical attack. He realized that her sword hilt was probably made of dry wood - an electrical insulator - so the electricity had chosen the easier path through the air instead. In order to hit her directly, he needed to make sure she was the easiest path between his hammer and the ground.
He called it back to his hand and gave it a flourish that was intended to intimidate the dragon huntress.
She seemed intimidated.
He started charging his hammer again, using all his willpower and mana to give it even more power.
Kendra was quickly recovering her shock and raised her sword to a ready position. She started closing on him cautiously. That suited him fine; he didn't know how long he needed to get a really good charge. He didn't think he'd get many shots at this, so they had to count.
Finally, Kendra lunged at him. He hopped backward out of her reach, then leapt as high as he possibly could, aiming to hit the apex of his jump when he was directly over her.
It worked.
Kendra aimed a slash at him as he sailed overhead, but he was just out of reach. She followed him with her eyes, and he waited until her missed sword strike had carried her blade out of a defensive position. When it had, he released the spell directly over the irate dragon huntress.
CRACK!
The electricity surged out of his hammer, arcing through the air with the characteristic sizzle of a true lightning bolt - though at a fraction of the power - and struck Kendra over the heart.
He landed and eyed her cautiously as she turned to look at him.
She clapped her hand over her heart.
Her mouth was open and it almost looked like she was gasping for air. It looked like she'd gotten the wind knocked out of her and couldn't recover it. She stood there for a several seconds, staggering and apparently trying desperately to remain on her feet.
Then she fell to her knees.
Shock and pain were written all over her face as she gasped for air. Her hand was still clutched over her heart.
Her heart.
It clicked in Ethan's mind. The bolt of electricity must've stopped her heart.
Kendra's eyes went wide.
She fell backwards to the earth and lay completely still.
Her eyes were open but were unmoving, unblinking, and strangely vacant. The bolo that encircled Ethan's torso - the one that she'd said would only release with her death or his - loosened and fell to the ground.
Her hand had fallen away from her heart as she had hit the ground, and he saw a zig-zag hole had appeared in her shirt. Underneath, he could see the slightly charred flesh where the bolt had struck, surrounded by pink, healthy skin. The scar was jagged and almost lightning shaped.
A lightning shaped scar...
That jogged something in his memory.
Gabriella had said he'd fight a deadly enemy and leave a lightning shaped scar over their heart. She'd also said he shouldn't let that enemy die no matter what. She said it was an instruction from "her lord" and given that she looked like an angel...
He looked at Kendra's dead body.
Well, not
permanently
dead; not just yet.
He knew CPR, so he could bring her back as long as there wasn't any other damage. He just had to do it. Without Gabriella's visit it probably wouldn't have even occurred to him. He had struck with the intent to kill because she was intent on killing him.
It was self-defense. He was fully justified.
But still...
* * *
Kendra opened her eyes to discover the blinding pain she'd felt only moments before was completely gone. She felt perfectly fine... except something was very wrong with her vision. The entire world around her was bathed in various shades of purple...
...And she was floating upwards.
She looked down to see her body lying there, slowly getting smaller as she drifted upwards.
Above her was a blinding light that - despite its brightness - felt gentle and pleasant on her eyes and skin. She was slowly floating toward it, a gentle pull making her feel safe, warm, and loved. It was a wonderful feeling. She savored it like she'd never felt it before, because she hadn't.
It was incredible.
Could this be what having someone love you felt like? She didn't know; she didn't have anything to compare it to.
"No." She whispered. "This can't be the end."
She felt a great weight settle overher that had nothing to do with her recent death. She knew no one would mourn her passing, except perhaps Falkaan. But that was only part of what was bothering her. She wasn't sad that she'd died; she was sad that she'd never truly lived.
She felt regret.
Regret that she'd taken such a lonely path in life.
Regret at not knowing any true friends.
Regret that she'd never know love.
She looked down to see the dragon standing over her body. It had started to pace back and forth, casting furtive glances at her unmoving form. It seemed like the beast was conflicted and fighting an internal war with itself.
The crowd in The Arena was completely silent and sat unmoving, like they had all been collectively stunned with a stasis spell.
Movement below her caught her attention, and she saw the dragon leaning over her body. It appeared to have healed the wound on its arm because it put both its hands on her chest and pushed hard.
She felt nothing.
The dragon did this for several seconds, then leaned over her face. It almost looked like it was kissing her and she shuddered at the thought. She was glad she was dead, because she didn't think she could live with the shame of having a dragon touch her like that. It started pressing on her chest again.
Then she felt a jerk.
Her slow rise upward halted, momentarily and she was forcefully jerked downwards several feet. After a moment, she resumed her slow upward ascent. The dragon continued whatever it was doing, then she felt another jerk; this one much stronger. It felt like she was being violently yanked down to the earth.
She plummeted towards her body. The moment she touched it, she blacked out.
* * *
he
Kendra woke with a start, coughing and spluttering as air rushed into her depleted lungs. She gulped huge mouthfuls of oxygen until she felt like she could breathe again, then looked up...
Into the eyes of the dragon.
It looked at her with cold fury softened only by frustration and annoyance. It wiped its mouth with the back of a clawed hand, then spat on the ground. She realized her own lips felt moist... and they smelled like the dragon's breath.
She clutched her stomach, then - realizing their lips had actually touched while she was dead - turned and vomited all over the ground. She would've killed him right there if she had any energy.
How DARE that beast touch her like that!
"Stay down." The dragon growled as it leaned over her.
She didn't have the strength to argue. She could barely move, let alone stand up. She wiped her mouth as thoroughly as she could.
"This isn't over beast." She spat once she'd gathered enough wind.
"I saved your life after you tried to kill me." It held up two fingers. "Twice. You could be a little more grateful." It said with derision in its voice.
She opened her mouth to retort when she realized that it was right. This bloodthirsty, disgusting beast had indeed saved her life. She had been dead. She was sure of it. Yet here she was, alive and mostly unhurt. The wound over her chest still burned badly and she felt completely exhausted, but otherwise she was perfectly fine.
Why?
