Chapter 18 – Mistakes

Cold iron chains constrain my wrists behind my back. The chains are reinforced to prevent anyone from breaking them. I have been stripped of all my belongings and in their place a white cloth covers my naked body. Bruises cover my arms and legs. Dried blood is caked on my forehead. My sight is stolen from the bag over my head. I sit cross legged inside a wooden carriage that jumps up and down with each bump in the road.

How did I get in this situation? Just yesterday I was drinking in the bars with all my friends.

…

The previous night

The crisp night air kisses my cheeks as I stumble out of the bar. The streets are light by torches bolted to walls.

Lucarus following behind me slaps my back and says. “(Hick), we need to go to the inn!” He points his finger directly into a wall. “It’s this way!”

Aarushi slips between us shaking her head. “No you idiot it’s this way!” she points straight into the air at the large white moon.

I say “Haha you guys are way to drunk!”

From behind us Rhea giggles. “Hehe, Deadra you drank too! Hehe, you might be more drunk then them! But I guess I can’t talk.”

I spin around on the spot. Glaring at Rhea I ask “Well which one of us are you going to listen to?”

Lucarus puffs his chest out. He brings both his hands to his chest thrusting his thumbs toward him. Puckering his lips he tries to wink. “Come on Rhea. You know I’m the one who is right.”

Aarushi leans forward exposing her cleavage. She places one finger on her lips and tilts her head. Fluttering her eyes she attempts to seduce Rhea. “Don’t you think I know the right way to the inn?”

I shake my head and cross my arms. I will not lower myself to begging.

Rhea hammers her fist into her palm with a humph. “Don’t worry guys I have an idea! You three just need to play rock-paper-scissors to see who is right.”

The three of us huddle in a circle and prepare for the epic three way battle. Shouting “Rock! Paper! Scissors!” I unleash a rock, as does Lucarus. Aarushi’s flat hand envelopes my balled up fist. “Damn it Aarushi won!”

Aarushi jumps up in victory raising her arms above her head. “Haha I win!” She spins around in place then trips over her own feet. Falling toward me she reaches out. I reach out to catch her in response. I grab hold of her as she slams into my chest.

Aarushi lifts her head from my chest and gives me a Devilish smile. “Thanks for catching me, but you know if you want to touch me there you could have just asked.”

I raise my eye brow before saying “Touch you…” My speech trails off as I squeeze my hand. A soft but slightly firm object fills my palm. “I ugh I mean I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry!”

Aarushi licks the corner of her lip. “Why are you still groping it then? Is it you have finally decided to take me to bed?”

I swallow the saliva in the back of my throat. I take a few seconds to think. How should I handle this situation? Am I finally ready to do something like this or is it only the alcohol? I love Aarushi and I don’t want to move too quickly. But for the past six months she has been giving me very obvious hints to take it to the next level. Should I really make her wait for another year or so years when she turns eighteen? She has matured a lot since we made that deal.

“How long are you going to keep foundling Aarushi?” Lucarus gives me a sour look. “Can’t you two wait tell we get back to the inn?”

Realizing I haven’t removed my hand I jerk it away from Aarushi. “I’m sorry I’m very drunk. I wasn’t thinking straight.” I look down at the ground. I need to calm down before I do something I regret. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

Aarushi shakes her head. She holds one finger up in front of my face. “Just answer me one question.” She looks down at her chest. “Did you like them?” The alcohol in her system prevents her usual bashful self from surfacing.

Being honest I say “Well yeah, your ummm how should I say this? Well endowed.”

“Really! That’s awesome!” With a wink she says “Let’s go back to the inn!” She grabs my hand and pulls me in a random direction running down the street.

While being dragged along I say “Wait what? What do you mean? Do you know where you’re going?” Damn it why does she have to be such a pervert. She always pounces at the slightest provocation, but if I start anything she shy’s away and becomes embarrassed. I don’t understand how she can be so innocent yet perverted at the same time.

“Lucarus come on lets follow them!” Rhea grabs Lucarus’s hand and runs after Aarushi and me.

After half an hour of running we come to a dark street. The buildings are worn and some have cracks in them. Trash covers the street. A man sleeps on the ground leaning against a wall. We continue to follow the street further.

Scantily clad women line the streets. They stand half way in their respective door ways. Each one motion with their fingers at Lucarus and I to follow them inside. A few even motion toward Aarushi and Rhea. I notice a man hand some gold over to one of the women before the two close the door behind them.

“I think we accidently made a wrong turned and ended up near the brothels.”

Aarushi lets go of my hand and throws her arms down to each side. She stomps the ground. “Damn it. I really wanted to go to the inn!”

A loud squawk resonates from behind us. We turn to see two Shieks pulling a carriage. Because of the dark we can’t see what is on the carriage, but can still tell it is of someone rich. I man dressed in a white tunic and gold jewelry steps out of the carriage. He clears his throat as he walks down the street examining each girl closely.

Aarushi tilts her head and asks “Who is that guy?”

Rhea responds. “He is the son of this town’s king, prince Bowen.”

Lucarus says “Wow Rhea you’re really smart, how do you know so much?”

“My sister Mica taught me a lot of things. And I have been doing my own research while you all train.” She bows her head slightly. “I wonder what she is doing now?”

Bowen stumbles over toward us. He reeks of the smell of wine. Although our group is drunk we are not nearly as bad as him. He points his chubby finger at Aarushi. “You, how much?”

Aarushi looks over at me with a look of confusion. I shrug my shoulders confused as well.

Bowen continues as he walks closer to Aarushi. “How much?” he grabs her shoulder. “Come on you pretty little thing, don’t be bashful!”

Aarushi shrinks her posture and looks down to the ground. She has no Idea how to react.

Bowen grabs her chin and pulls her face upward. “Don’t be like that, come give me a kiss.” He leans in toward Aarushi’s mouth forcing her head in place. Red hot anger begins build inside of me. I tighten my fists.

She shakes her head and pushes him away. She yells “No stop!”

“Oh right I have to pay you first. Guards grab five gold pieces.” One of the men standing outside the carriage walks to his side and hands him some gold pieces. Bowen throws the gold at Aarushi’s feet. He yells “Pick it up!”

Aarushi continues to stand silently not sure what to do. Due to her lack of reactiveness Bowen slaps her butt. My hand begins to shake as my knuckles turn white from the tension built in my fist. The mark on my hand glows a dark red.

Aarushi squeaks while moving both her hands onto her back side. Red circles form under her eyes. “What are you doing! Don’t touch me you pervert!”

Bowen ignores her and reaches out to grab her breasts. I can see the fear build in Aarushi’s eyes. She has no idea what to do.

Something inside me snaps. How dare he touch the person I love? My mind goes blank as I fill my body with power. Millions of tiny explosions ignite my muscles into action. Without even realizing it my body moves on its own. In a single instant everything ends.

Aarushi screams covering her mouth. Red speckles cover her face. Her eyes bulge wide as she stares ine awe. “Deadra….”

Lucarus shouts out to me. “What did you do?”

Hot fresh blood slides down my right arm. Bowen coughs up a trickle of blood as the light in his eyes fade. My hand throbs with pain. During my fit of rage I used my special technique over my whole body and pieced elbow deep through his ribs with my fist. His body hits the ground with a thud as I wrench my arm from his ribcage. I look at my arm. My right hand is horribly disfigured, each of my fingers points in a different direction. My wrist no longer supports the weight of my hand. Blood is painted on me from fingertip to elbow. What did I do?

I fall to my knees and bury my face into my non-broken hand. My breathing becomes sporadic. My chest heaves up and down as I choke down air. Pain builds in my chest and face as I hold back tears. I cough up a few words. “What have I done?” I killed a man. I killed a man with my own hands. Pain and fear engulfs me as the world around me melts away.

My mind goes blank. Darkness shrouds my vision. The yelling and screaming around me is blocked out by a buzzing in my ears. The taste of blood fills the back of my throat as my mouth goes dry. The metallic smell of iron clogs my nose. Everything except the throbbing pain in my hand goes numb. My body is exhausted and I can’t do anything but bury my face deeper into my hand.

A soothing sensation on my right hand snaps me out of my head. I turn to see Rhea’s blue hair hanging down next to me. Tears flow down her face. She mutters to herself while sniffling. “(Hick), this is what that man meant when he said ‘Forgive the man who murders and heal his wounds.’ (hick)”

Looking at her face washed with tears I say “Are you afraid?” she nods her head and continues to heal me.

The joints in my fingers realign themselves as the sockets re-connect. The bones in my fingers grind as they shift under my skin back to their rightful place. The pain slowly dissipates and after several seconds my hand is completely healed.

“What did he do? Is he a part of the dark clan?” The guards that were back at the carriage finally realize what happened.

“He has to be a part of the dark clan with that speed and strength. Capture him!”

Before the guards reach me Rhea steals the short sword from my waist.

The three guards surround me. One of them throws Rhea off of me. Another one wraps a chain around my neck and arms. I have no strength to fight them as they bound me up and force my face into the ground. After wrapping my hands in chain behind my back they drag me toward the carriage.

As my face skids across the ground I stare at my friends. Aarushi still covers her mouth with her hands completely in shock. Rhea is sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her body shaking. Lucarus stares blankly at me unmoved from his original position.

As I reach the carriage the guards lift me off the ground. “Throw him in the back, you stay with him and make sure he doesn’t try to escape. Don’t be afraid to ruff him up.”

Aarushi reaches out one of her hands as she mouths the word “Deadra.”

The guards throw me into carriage and I hit my head against the floor. My vision goes black as I pass out.

…

I am woken up by a guard kicking at my back digging his boots into my arms. He shouts “You piece of trash! Get up!” He pulls me up by my bound arms and drags me out of the carriage.

A large white building adorned with white towers and golden domes is before me. Lushes flowers line the path to the main entrance. Astonishing marble statues are light by torch fire. Beautiful archways and columns line the outside perimeter. This is a castle of someone powerful and wealthy.

The guards with large iron spears walk on either side of me. A third one sticks me in the back breaking my skin with his spear to usher me toward the castle. Halfway to the castle he strikes my side hard enough to bruise my ribs.

I fall onto my face unable to catch myself with my hands bound behind me. The guard says “get your ass of the ground and go that way!” he points toward a small building a distance away from the palace. I use the top of my head to push my mid-section up then push off to get back to standing. He kicks the back of my knees making me buckle under my weight.

“Stupid shit, you still have too much strength.”

One of the guards standing next to me says “Maybe we should beat him some more?” he then kicks me across the face with the bottom of his metal boot. My head flings into the ground and my cheek skids across the dirt road.

One of the guards spits on me. “This guy is worse then the scum on the bottom of my shoe.”

“Don’t worry he will probably be executed after the king wakes up.”

One of the guards wraps a chain around my neck and pulls me back into a standing position. “Or maybe he will become a slave. The people from the dark clan are great at being slaves because of how resilient and strong they are.” He drags me closer to the small building.

As we approach the building the smell of shit and piss hits me. The building is actually a large prison cell. They open the creaking gate and throw me inside. I land into a puddle of mud splashing what I hope is water onto the other prisoners. I silently roll out of the mud and lean myself against a jagged stone wall.

The guard shouts as he slams the door shut “Stay in there you vile dark walker!”

Looking around the cell I am disgusted. Chains hang from the ceiling. The walls are made of stacked rocks melded together. Black mud and dirt covers the ground. The air is suffocating. This place is not suitable for life let alone human life. There are several dozen other people in here with me, each is shackled and clothed in rags.

After several minutes of silence an old man with long grey hair and wrinkles covering his face says in a tired voice “What are you in for brother?”

In a weak voice I say “I killed the prince.”

Chains rattle though out the prison. Everyone stares at me in silence for several seconds.

A little boy says “Did you really?”

I silently nod in response.

The old man responds with one word. “Thank you.”

Surprise over comes me. “What do you mean? Why would you thank me?”

“We are prisoners of this kingdom. The prince would often abuse and beat us. He would constantly whip us for the most minor mistakes, and sometimes do it for no reason at all. He would rape our women. The eldest prince was a corrupt man, you did something good.”

“Why are you being enslaved?” I never even realized slavery existed in this world. How blind have I been to the suffering of this world? I have turned a blind eye to everything and only focused on my own friends and family.

The old man clears his throat in preparation to explain. “We are a part of the skyless tribe. Our tribe has been enslaved for thousands of years ever since the fall of the gods.”

They are the people who have no magical powers! I interrupt him and say “What do you mean fall of the gods?”

He does not get upset with my interruption and continues. “The fall of the gods happened thousands of years ago. Many do not believe that the gods died and that our tribe merely abandoned our god, but that is not true. One day the god Suzaku began to turn evil and kill thousands of people to steal their strength. His greed drove him crazy and he started to try to kill the other gods and absorb their power. He nearly exterminated his own subordinates of the fire tribe. If he was not stopped by the great hero Xeodra all the whole world would have been engulfed in his greed.”

“So then why do your people not have power?”

“The same reason the fire tribe can only unleash their power through eating the seeds of death. He successfully killed our god and absorbed her power.”

“Why don’t you eat the seeds of death as well then?”

“There are no trees for the people of the skyless tribe. But we also do not hold the same curse the people of the other tribes do. Have you heard of this curse young Dark tribesman?”

“Yes I have, I am a pyromancer.”

The man’s eyes shine. “You’re a part of the fire tribe? They are one of the strongest fighters besides the Dark tribesman. If the guards believe your apart of the Dark tribe you may still be able to escape!”

“Really? How would we do that?”

“Since you killed the prince they will try to execute you. That is when you will escape. Dark Walkers cannot hold or use magic, but in return their body is much stronger and more resilient than a normal person. Some of the strongest Dark Walkers are able to withstand most physical attacks and can only be hurt with very powerful magic or strong elemental attacks. This means they will most likely try to burn you at the stake since very few other methods can kill a dark walker permanently. You will be able to flee in the smoke and fire of the situation.”

“Really? But why would you tell me this? How does this help you at all?”

“I am grateful to you that you killed the prince. Our lives will now forever be easier.”

That’s not acceptable; I want to help these people. I want to free them from their restraints. “No! That’s not good enough. I will come back for you. I will set you all free!”

The little boy from earlier scurries toward me and asks “Will you really do this mister?”

The old man shuffles in place. His chains rattle. “Why would you help us? We have never done anything for you. ”Why would I help them? I’m not really sure myself. I just can’t sit back and watch these people be slaves. They are malnourished and weak. They wear nothing but rags and chains. They are forced to sleep on the cold hard ground. If I was not a pyromancer and couldn’t control the heat in my body I would be freezing in this cold jail cell. No human deserves to live like this.

“I’ll save you because it is the right things to do. I don’t know where we will go but I must free you! Also it won’t be much of a bother since I will already be wanted by this cities government.” I give off a sheepish smile. “Now excuse me I need to sleep and regain my energy.”

…

When morning comes the guards beat me some more and strip me of my clothes. They throw rags on me instead. I am brought to a large room with white marble floor. The walls are covers in paintings and sculptures sit in front of each supporting pillar. Three large stained glass windows sit behind an iron throne. A man with a golden jewel encrusted crown sits in the thrown. Dozens of guards stand at each side of him along two at each door. I am forced to my knees before the king.

The man stands up and thrusts his golden staff toward me. In a commanding and proud voice he says “Is this the Dark Walker who killed my son?” One of the guards behind me nods his head. The king strikes me across the face forcing my face into the ground. His hits are weak, they are nothing compared to what Aarushi can do.

The king commands “Send a notice to everyone in the town. This boy will be killed at dawn by fire.” He turns around fluttering his white cape behind him. “Now get this scum out of my site.”

The next instant a bag is placed over my head and I am pulled away.

…

Dawn comes around and I am put into the carriage that will bring me to my death.