Shadows of Home Page 2

  But less than a season ago, he hadn't sparred every day against a Crux. And as intimidating as the woman might appear to most, she didn't have the size, strength, or extra pair of arms that his sparring partner had.

  As soon as Ean stepped in range, the woman fired a jab at his face. He parried it with his right arm and stepped in closer, his left arm swinging low and delivering a shot to her ribs. She grunted in surprise as she bent into the blow and used the momentum to swing a fist down across Ean's face.

  Even with the added strength and protection the energy of the Abyss provided to his body, the blow rocked him. His vision blurred as his head was knocked to the side, but he kept his feet. Before he could recover, and realize he might have been a bit too confident in his abilities, another blow caught him square in the gut. He doubled over in pain, but it was a pain that also cleared both his head and his sight.

  Before another attack was sent his way, Ean launched himself into the woman. His shoulder drove into her stomach with enough force that they both were off their feet for a moment before crashing to the ground in a heap. Fists, elbows, and knees lashed out. Ean connected a few times as he jockeyed for position, but he also received some blows of his own. Just as he thought he was about to take the top position, the woman somehow got a foot between them, grabbed his shoulders, and rolled back while supporting him on her one leg. Ean shot up and over her, flying a few feet before crashing into the ground. More pain lanced up his body, the energy he held only shielding him from some of the pain.

  I should have spent more time training with Jaan, Ean thought as he tried to shake the cobwebs from his vision. He tensed his body waiting for the next blow to land but nothing came. As he got his head up to see why, he found the woman standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest a few feet away, a sneer making her one canine stick up higher than the other.

  "You're strong," she said as she glared at him, "and hold yourself like one trained by an expert. Unfortunately, you attack like a wild animal. It will be interesting to see how Ezzy fares against you."

  "Fight's not over yet." Ean pushed himself up and got to his feet. "I'm not going to wait around for your little friend."

  "If you want to earn yourself a few more bruises, feel free to try."

  Ean was about to reply when Dao appeared on the woman's back, the scarf still covering the bottom half of his pale blue face. He wrapped one arm around her neck while his other pale blue hand pressed a knife to her throat.

  "So, should I kill her, or--"

  The crimson woman moved faster than Dao must have expected. She grabbed his wrist and yanked the knife away from her throat in one clean motion. With a twist of her shoulders and a further jerk of Dao's arm, the woman dislodged her attacker and tossed him from her back. Ean watched as Dao tumbled through the air, tucked himself into a ball before hitting the ground, and rolled right back to his feet. Ean would have to get the nimble man to train him how to do that one day.

  "You have a knack," Dao was panting but look unhurt, "of making new friends whenever we stop somewhere."

  Ean kept his eyes on the crimson woman as he replied, "And where have you been?"

  "I was on the other side of the room when that little ruckus broke out inside. Took me a while to make it through the crowd. I'm here now though."

  "Can you keep her off me?"

  Dao raised a thin eyebrow. "I can try."

  "Just do what you can."

  Ean sprinted towards the crowd that had gathered around them, putting his faith in the fact that Dao could keep the woman at bay. He only made it a few steps before something wrapped around his feet. His ankles smacked together as the force of whatever caught him pushed his legs together and he toppled sideways. The cobblestone street sent a shock through his shoulder as he hit the ground, but Ean ignored it. A quick twist of his body and he was on his back, staring down at a thick cord wrapped around his ankles, weighted by three maroon balls. The balls had somehow twisted up in the rope, effectively locking his feet together. A dozen or so paces away, Esmerelda glared down at him from the porch of the inn with animosity.

  Grasping the restraints with both hands, Ean yanked the thick cords apart as if they were straw and tossed the remains to the side. His annoyance at being delayed in catching Sadiek turned to anger. This fool woman and her companion were stopping him from catching someone who was a real threat. Sadiek was the murderer, not Ean.

  With the restraints gone, Ean got to his feet. A sizable crowd had gathered around them enjoying a free show. They murmured and joked as they pointed at each of the people inside the circle the crowd had created, their excitement a dull vibration both in the air and in the ground. Ean didn't spot a single member of the town guard amongst them, which was a plus. Whether they were absent because they were busy elsewhere or were waiting to see how things turned out was irrelevant. As long as they stayed away, things couldn't get much more complicated. He just needed Dao to keep the larger woman off him and he could handle Esmerelda by himself. As skilled as she might be, there was no way she could stand up to him--with his enhanced strength and reflexes--in a fight.

  "Stop slowing me down," Ean yelled, while pointing a finger at the woman. "I don't want to hurt you, and you have no chance against me."

  "Let's see how strong you really are then," she growled.

  It was at that moment that Ean realized the dull vibrations he felt moving through the ground, into his boots, and up his legs weren’t coming from the crowd. This was the steady thud thud thud of something stomping closer. Something big. Ean glanced around the crowd, trying to find the new threat. And then it lumbered out from behind a nearby one-story building and into view.

  Standing almost as tall as the building itself, it looked humanoid in the sense that it had discernable arms, legs, body, and head. Flat slabs of iron made up its feet, with large oval pieces in place of its arms and legs. Four fingered hands flexed as it pushed itself off what was left of the building wall. Its body was a huge block, made of more iron than it would take to make dozens of swords. Small, metal joints connected each piece and bent with the flexibility of a blade of grass. On top sat a semicircle for its head; the two glowing, sky-blue gems, sitting where eyes would go, were the only part not made of metal.

  Ean had seen similar versions of the machination before, each made of various materials. Some had been working with the first trade caravan he had ever traveled with, others carrying massive stones to help build the walls around Lurthalan. He had even glimpsed one so large that its wooden hand dwarfed his entire body.

  A Vithalos.

  Of course the woman had a Vithalos.

  Esmerelda was smiling now, all teeth like an animal about to pounce. "Meet Paz."

  Chapter 3

  If the scuffle between Ean, Dao, Esmerelda, and the strange woman had drawn the crowd to them, the lumbering approach of the Vithalos produced the opposite effect. The citizens of Lurthalan directly in the Vithalos' path scattered, as did many of the encircling observers. The ones who remained, the spectators with a harder edge to their appearance, and those who wobbled about where they stood with glazed-over eyes, gave the group a bit more space. They seemed more excited about the Vithalos joining the fight and stayed to enjoy the increasing spectacle of their battle.

  Dao danced around the crimson woman, being more of an annoyance than an actual threat. It was as much as Ean could hope for from the man against such an intimidating warrior.

  Esmerelda stared at Ean with a victorious smirk. The Vithalos passed through the crowd and stood at its owner's side. The crowd hooted and hollered. Ean didn't find anything about the situation humorous.

  And Sadiek was probably gone.

  "You fool," Ean said through clenched teeth. "You're going to regret this."

  "Doubtful," Esmerelda laughed, then nodded in his direction. The Vithalos she had called Paz took a few giant steps in his direction, its metal feet shaking the ground but somehow not damaging the cobblestone street. Ean watch
ed it come, the energy of the Abyss raging inside him. When it was a massive arm's length away, it reached for him with metal fingers that bent and flexed in ways no metal should.

  Ean raised his left hand, letting his energy flow out of it. In the blink of an eye, a dark azure wall of light shot up in front of him. As thin as a window pane, it distorted his view of the Vithalos reaching towards him.

  The Vithalos's hand struck the curtain of energy and stopped. Ean watched with grim satisfaction as the construct continued to push against it to no avail. Compared to the strength of the Fortalam or even the Nar'Grim he had recently faced, the pressure the Vithalos applied to his shield was barely noticeable. It was Ean's turn to smile, and he made sure it was wide enough for Esmerelda to see through the field of energy between them.

  As her smirk disappeared, Ean took little joy in the small victory.

  "So you know some magic," Esmerelda yelled over the buzz of the crowd and the grunts of Dao and his opponent. "It won't keep me from getting my father the justice he deserves."

  Before the last words left her mouth, Esmerelda was sprinting towards him. Ean could only watch her approach as he held her Vithalos at bay. When she was close, she angled to his left, aiming past the wall of energy he had created and his raised hand. Realizing her plan too late, there was nothing he could do to stop her as she moved past the edge of his shield and then cut towards him. It might not take much effort to keep the Vithalos at bay, but he had no idea how to use the energy to do multiple things at a time.

  When she was only a few paces away, Ean dropped the shield. With his energy no longer holding the Vithalos at bay, it stumbled forward, its metal hand still reaching for him. He ducked underneath its fingers and moved between its legs, putting the Vithalos between himself and Esmerelda. Before either could react, he spun and put all his Abyss-fueled strength into a punch launched at the metal construct's back. There was a loud clang as his energy-enforced fist smashed into the metal man. The blow made the already off-balanced Vithalos fall forward. Esmerelda had to leap out of its way to avoid being crushed.

  Even with the added strength and protection of the energy Ean held, the impact sent an explosion of pain through his knuckles and up the nerves of his arm. While the crowd roared with delight, Ean swore under his breath and wrung out his throbbing hand.

  "Ean!" Dao called from his right. "A little help!"

  He turned just in time to see Dao catch a kick from the crimson woman square in the chest. The blow launched the man off his feet and sent him rolling backwards. This time he stayed down after tumbling a few times further down the street.

  Ean charged the larger woman. She saw him coming and braced herself for the impact. The old Ean would have barreled ahead into her, just let emotion drive his actions and his attack.

  Funny how a person can change in a year.

  He came to a halt within an arm's length of the woman and threw a punch slow enough that even an unskilled combatant should be able to dodge.

  She took the bait. The smirk angling her lips a clear sign of what little she thought of him as she easily avoided his sloppy jab by stepping back out of his reach. Rocking forward, she launched a punch of her own, putting all her weight into the overhand blow. It was well placed, aimed at his chest. If it struck, it would certainly drive the air from his lungs. Even crack a rib or two.

  Ean raised a shield of energy between himself and the woman just in time. Her fist struck the curtain of energy with a sickening crunch. A howl escaped her lips as she stumbled backward, her now damaged hand clutched tight against her stomach. Without hesitating, Ean took two steps forward and planted a hard kick with the sole of his boot to the center of her chest to where the woman had her hands clutched together at her chest. The impact put her on her back as she let out a loud whuff of air.

  "Can you handle her now?" he called over to Dao. His friend was struggling to his feet, but he still managed to give him a wave of acceptance.

  Good, Ean thought. Now to get back to the real threat.

  But he had taken too long.

  In mid-turn, he was struck on the right side by something much larger than a fist. Pain lanced from his shoulder down to his hips as bones broke and chipped. The impact sent him spinning like a leaf caught in a whirlwind until it slammed him into the side of a building, where he bounced to the ground. Pain spiked all over his body, but Esmerelda taunted him without mercy.

  "You break something of my teacher's, I break something of yours."

  Ean couldn't think straight, let alone come up with a clever reply. A dampness spread down his right arm. Glancing past the white spots and haze that distorted his vision, he found dark patches in the cloth of his sleeve. Bumps and protrusions poked up against the fabric where they shouldn't be. A tiny, red trickle of blood ran down his hand and started to sprinkle drops on to the street.

  Ean felt something deep inside him stir. Not the familiar waves of emotions coming from his bonds to Zin, Azalea, and his hound. Not the ever-present feeling of Auz floating around in the back of his mind. This was something primal. Powerful.

  And angry.

  No, Ean thought as panic started to take hold. Glancing around, there was still a good gathering of observers watching the fight—innocent, if misguided, people. If he lost control now, who knows how many of them would suffer in the wake of the rage that would be unleashed? He tried to fight it down, but as the pain that enveloped half his body increased, Ean could feel it, another presence snaking its way through his body, wrapping around his mind, squeezing away everything that made him who he was. His vision began to fade as the Vithalos lumbered into his narrowing view.

  "No!" Ean screamed, and unleashed a burst of azure energy directly into the Vithalos. It struck the machination directly in the chest, launching the hulking form backwards as if it were a rag doll and sending flares of energy rebounding into the crowd. The metal body plowed through those directly behind it, knocking them to the side before it crashed into the porch at the front of the High Horse Inn. The crackle of splintering and broken wood filled the air as the Vithalos destroyed the majority of the porch stairs and a large chunk of the porch itself. Most of the metal man was lost underneath the debris except for its two arms, which stuck straight up towards the evening sky.

  Pain still wracking his body, Ean struggled to his feet. Whatever had been fighting for control of his body seemed to have fled back to wherever it waited for him to lose control, either scared away or appeased by the force of his outburst. Whatever the reason was, all that mattered now was getting out of there before someone got hurt or someone pushed him further than he could come back from. Ean began to shuffle towards the crowd, content to see them part before he had taken more than three steps in their direction.

  And then, someone in the crowd behind him began to scream.

  It only took Ean a moment to find the source. At one edge of the crowd directly across from him, a smaller circle had formed around a woman writhing on the ground. Blue licks of energy, Ean's energy, danced across her squirming body—a body that was changing.

  Her face was the first thing to change, her skin stretching tight against her skull; her ears and nose seeming to smooth out until all that remained were the tiny holes of her nostrils and ear canals. Her hair, a golden blonde, fell away from her skull all at once as her skin took on a grayish hue. A similar change affected her exposed hands and any other piece of exposed skin, until the energy stopped skirting across her body. With the energy gone, the woman finally stopped writhing around—the change complete. What remained was no longer completely human.

  Another scream went up. And another.

  Ean spun, taking in the sight of more and more people dropping to the ground, highlighted by the lancing energy of the Abyss dancing over their bodies—energies he had foolishly unleashed. People writhed in agony all around as their bodies began to change.

  It was like the first man he had infected with his magic, the bandit back in Rensen whose face stil
l haunted his dreams. Except now, it was on a much larger scale. Dozens altered because of his magic, changed forever as far as he knew. A change that marked them for death by the Seekers, regardless of whatever small understanding he and the Seeker Kaytlin had come to in the Deadlands.

  It was his worst nightmare come to life.

  Those unaffected by Ean's errant energy stood in shock for the barest of moments.

  Then the gathered crowd erupted into chaos. Bodies slammed together, people fleeing in every direction. Even the slightest bump from a panicked person sent a wave of pain through Ean and made his stomach heave. Focusing his energy inward, he pushed it towards healing his damaged body. The muscles and bones stretching, retracting, and tightening as the power knitted Ean's body back together hurt worse than the initial injuries themselves. He grimaced and groaned in agony, but his thoughts were focused on those he had accidentally touched with his energy. He endured, his concern for those he had mistakenly touched with his energy at the foremost of his mind. There had to be a way to help them...

  Dao appeared out of the crowd, the scarf usually found around his face pressed down so that his blue skin and missing nose were exposed to the world.

  "We have to go!" Dao yelled over the screams and pounding feet. The man placed a hand on Ean's shoulder and attempted to turn him.

  Guilt mixed with the pain, locking Ean's legs in place. He couldn't just leave the people.

  "Nothing you can do to help them now. Let's go."

  "Not until..."

  "Listen," Dao interrupted, giving Ean a shake by the shoulder at the same time. "All the energy you expelled is sure to bring out the Seekers. And it's only a matter of time before that metal monstrosity digs itself out. If you stay, you're as good as dead. And what good is a dead man to anyone?"

  Ean hated the man for being right. Hated himself for what he had done to the innocent people around him.

  The one thing he hated most, though, as Dao led him limping through the throngs of fleeing people, was Esmerelda Ciantar.