~~~ Chapter Notes ~~~
The hunt for the kidnappers begins... Continued from the previous chapter. Thank you for your patience. All chapters in this tale are complete and have been submitted. Hopefully, the kind, gracious, smartly-attired, and gorgeous admins will release a new episode every day or so.
~~~ The Streets ~~~
"Malik, can you track them?" the prince asked.
"As long as the blood trail holds out," a guard answered him, "I can easily follow. It appears to be lessening. We'll see."
Prince Kiro glanced at me as we (and the rest of the guards) followed Malik.
"Malik didn't quite make the cut to be conscripted for the army," the prince explained. "He's still better than most - and the best of the guards."
"You flatter me, my prince," the man said. "I don't have the gift like my father had. Kira's far better."
"Malik...," the prince growled.
I didn't know who Kira was - but it was obviously a sore subject with the prince. The only person I knew who was a decent tracker was the person we were hunting. If Malik got us close enough, I was sure I'd be able to sense her. If not, I'd actually have to try to figure out something that Willa hadn't taught me yet - tracking a person that I hadn't marked with my limited magic.
The blood trail got thinner and thinner. This was good news for the injured - which I expected to be the stonemason and my favorite sneak-thief. There was a chance that the one bleeding was a kidnapper - but the people who took Willa would undoubtedly take their fury out on her if she'd managed to stab one of their little gang members. I was certain that the blood was hers. My vision was already running red - and my blood pounding in my ears - as I fought to control my rage - needing to keep my senses about me - at least until there were people to be killed.
We lost the trail twice and had to spread out to find it again. Each time, I pushed for the magic that I had learned from Willa and was either the one to find the path again - or close by the one who did. We raced onward - not knowing how much of a lead the kidnappers had on us.
The hard-packed dirt was shit for telling us if anybody was struggling or being dragged against their will. If not for the droplets of blood, this would have been nearly impossible to accomplish. I was surprised that the morons hadn't noticed the blood and tried to bind the injury to conceal their trail. Either the group was rushing or the captives were struggling and keeping their attentions from focusing on that. If it was Willa, I was sure that she would realize that we needed this trail and would do everything she could to make sure she was leaving breadcrumbs for us to follow.
Nearly a half-hour passed before we came to a walled compound with a heavy wooden door blocking our entry. The last drop of blood was five feet away from that door. The trail ended here.
A structure half the size of the orphanage was built into the wall with the massive door. Over the six-foot tall wall, I could see a larger building at the back of the compound. The first building was a single story. The rear one was tall enough to hold two or three floors. The windows were spaced oddly and I couldn't really determine the layout - maybe it was some kind of split-level - or the upper floor had vaulted ceilings.
The prince pounded on the door and called out for those inside to open up and submit to search by the guards. Not surprisingly, no one answered.
I reached out with my senses and found a number of people inside the first building. Two of them were seated. One had two people standing over them. The other had a whole group around them.
"Anybody have lockpicking tools?" I asked.
They all shook their heads. I stepped into my store-room and started rifling through containers to see if I could find anything. In a box of nearly-random items, I found a set of lockpicks. I leapt back out.
The prince spotted what was in my fingers and laughed.
"Any good with those?" he asked.
"Only watched it done once...," I said.
The guards moved aside. My dagger was too big. One of the guards had a small knife and handed it forward.
I sent my senses into the lock and tried to figure out what Willa had done. The first two places I stuck the wire did nothing. Finally, I realized that the wire was used to hold up the catch and the knife was used to slide between the catch and the barrel. Once I had the blade in the right place, the handle turned. I eased it to the open position, returned my picks to the storeroom, handed the knife back to its owner, and told the guards to get ready to move.
With the latch already open, I shoved my shoulder against the heavy door, and it swung inward - opening onto a common room or sitting area. The group inside the room were just a little surprised when the guards and I suddenly spilled into their little gathering.
The seated individuals were Willa and the stonemason. Willa was on the left. She wasn't moving. She had two men guarding her - although their job was pretty easy. She was unconscious, gagged, blindfolded, bound, and tied to the chair. Her lip was swollen and bloodied. There was a gash in her right bicep. Her face, chest, arms - every bit of visible flesh - was either bruised, scraped, or sliced.
A rage-fueled roar rose from my chest and echoed through the room - even as I checked on the stonemason. He was surrounded. Men with knives were in his face, threatening him.
I was so filled with fury that I didn't even think to reach for my blade - or any of the pustules that covered my collarbone and chest - I simply reached for men that I intended to obliterate. My hands didn't even touch the first two men before violent injuries erupted from their bodies. Somehow, the bruises, gashes, and blunt-force trauma that I had pulled from the bodies of the Beasts victims flew from my extended hands and fingers and attacked the men in front of me.
I didn't focus, I didn't call for my magic, I didn't think - I just wanted to see every single one of these motherfuckers pulverized. They had attacked and stolen from me after I had embarrassed them in court. Though I hadn't yet laid my eyes on the two faces that were familiar, I knew these were the same men - or the same group. I intended to kill every single one of them.
My wishes became reality. As soon as my first two targets screamed and collapsed, I pointed my hands at the next two. Like dominoes, they fell before me. I had only to set my blood-tinged vision on them and direct my rage at them and their screams turned to the gurgling of crushed faces, torn larynxes, and chest cavities ripped open to reveal burst heart muscles.
I ran out of targets and turned in a circle - finding only friends remaining - two people sitting, the prince, and the guards. The guards all stepped back away from me - their faces filled with fear. Their eyes darting to the unmoving corpses at my feet.
A door at the back of the building opened and a man stepped inside. He took one look at the carnage, squeaked, turned, and sprinted off - leaving the door open behind him. He was heading for the larger building at the back of the compound.
I sprinted after the man. Behind me, I heard Prince Kiro giving orders.
"Guards!" the prince commanded. "Spread out around the compound and see that none escape. I'm going with the champion."
I heard footsteps behind me but I was already passing through the back of the first structure - racing after the fleeing man - my next target.
The runner reached the single door that led to the rear building and fumbled with the latch. He was shaking. I was still a dozen steps from him when he got it open. He stepped inside and began to close the door. I reached my right hand for him as he looked up at me.
I pushed. Magic flew from me. Though I couldn't see it pass through the air, I saw its immediate effect - his body was violently thrown into the room behind him. The door remained ajar. I raced for it.
A second face appeared in the door when I was three steps away. I thrust my hand at that man and he cried out - just before his face exploded.
A third man started closing the door. He was smart enough not to let me see him. I got my foot into the opening before he managed to close it. I reached my left hand around the heavy door, touched his neck, and sent the contents of a random goiter straight into his body. I could hear him drowning on the blood that poured from his throat. By now, that sound was familiar to me.
I pushed the door open and surveyed the room. Prince Kiro stepped up behind me with his sword in his hand.
"Hold here," I told him.
"As you command," he said.
I took two steps into the open space and greeted the burly men who raced at me from four different doorways. I raised my hands like the priest always did during mass. I gave them the blessing of my god - a quick and pain-filled death.
Those behind the first line continued to come without slowing. Somehow, each one was convinced that they would be the one who finally got through. They climbed or vaulted over the corpses of their brethren as if the men meant nothing. Their only desire was to see me cut down. Unfortunately for them, I still had plenty of violence stored up. I opened my arms to receive them. Freely, they came - and I welcomed every single one.
I finally ran out of pustules as one last man stepped into view through the rear doorway. He had to duck and turn sideways a little to gain entry. He was one big motherfucker. He was even bigger than the Beast. The short-sword in his hand looked like a dinner knife would in mine.
"Anybody upstairs?" I asked him.
"Nobody you need to worry about," he said, stepping over a body to approach me.
I needed to queue up some more injuries. Hopefully this Einstein would cooperate.
I remained where I was and simply waited for him to arrive. He watched me as he approached. No doubt, he was curious about why I wasn't preparing either to attack him or to at least defend myself. It didn't matter what he thought. I just needed him to stab me a few times so I was re-armed and could finish sweeping the compound of bad guys.
When he was two paces away (which was well within arm's reach for him) he stopped. I still hadn't moved. He finally gave a little shrug and thrust his knife through my eye into my brain. He held the blade there, waiting for me to react. When he pulled it out to study his work, I healed the injury and stored it in a new pustule.
"What the fuck?"
"You missed," I taunted.
He repeated the same move - stabbing me through the same eye - once again piercing my brain. He pulled it out more quickly this time. I healed myself almost at the same time that the blade was withdrawn. His head tilted sideways and he did it again. I couldn't believe I was this lucky.
