Calm Before the Storm (25 page)

Tyr was led out of the great hall flanked
by two shedu guards and followed by a number of Choronzon’s entourage. The
Ophiuchan warlord, Phenex, was one of them and as they entered a large chamber
containing weaponry of every kind, he planted himself in front of Tyr, his
attitude full of hostility. “So you are War?” he sneered. “Why are you
challenging the Lord of the Abyss? You should be proud to give your allegiance
to him and the Discordant cause.”

Tyr surveyed Phenex critically. He was tall
but not as tall as himself, with long blond hair tied back into a braid, a dark
blond beard and whiskers. His appearance reminded Tyr of one of his own Norse
ancestors. He stood in front of Tyr, arms across his chest, aggression in his
eyes that blatantly challenged. “I owe him nothing,” Tyr replied, refusing to
be intimidated.

Phenex leaned forward. “You are new to this
world, Earthani!” He spat the word at Tyr obviously considering it a great
insult. “You do not yet realize our ways. The Lord of the Abyss is not to be
toyed with. You think to save your woman—think again! Choronzon will kill her anyway…after
he uses her.” Tyr’s blood burned white hot. He grabbed Phenex by the throat.

“Then I will kill him and all of you,” he
growled savagely. “I am War after all.”

“You are only the vessel for the essence of
War—you are not War itself.” Phenex spat back at him. The shedu guards dragged
Tyr back, allowing Phenex to break free. They held both his arms as Phenex took
the opportunity to punch him hard in the gut. “You are not indestructible,
Earthani!”

Tyr fell to his knees the air knocked from
his lungs.

Bending down as Tyr regained his breath,
Phenex whispered in his ear, “I am master here, not you. Even if you beat this
champion you will be nothing more than a bonded slave. Keep that in mind before
you touch your betters.” He snapped his fingers signaling the shedu to pull him
up. “Choose your weapons, War. You don’t want to keep Choronzon waiting. He
might get hungry and take a bite out of your little whore.”

Tyr stood, ignoring the burn and trying to
regain his composure. He had to remain focused. He glanced around at the array
of weapons. Borealis had praised him for his skill with the long sword so he
tested one for weight and balance wishing he could slice off Phenex’s head with
it. Unfortunately he thought that Choronzon might object to that so he confined
himself to imagining it was Phenex’s head he was swinging at as he tried it out
for size.

“You are also lucky,” said Phenex, watching
Tyr execute practice swings with the sword, “that Choronzon has a weird sense
of fair play. He will match like for like. He has sent for an Earthani champion
and not a shedu or saevici. Personally, I’d like to see you pitted against a
chemosh beast. I doubt you would last more than two minutes.”

Tyr knew Phenex was trying to rile him
again and knock him off balance. He refused to play that game. His experience
as a boxer had taught him the benefits of keeping a clear head and there was no
way he would jeopardize Irina by deviating from his usual strategy. He
continued to try out swords until finally he found one that felt good.

“An excellent choice,” said Phenex as if
surprised by Tyr’s ability to source a good weapon. “You’ll need this.” He
threw Tyr a shield. “Now come. No more time wasting.”

He led Tyr back into the great hall, their
entrance greeted by a barrage of shouts, jeering and taunts. Tyr sought Irina’s
slim form and found her still seated at Choronzon’s feet. At least he wasn’t
pawing at her but instead was chewing some kind of bone. The thought of what
that bone could be sent ice sliding through his chest. He felt a sudden crackle
of energy and warmth displacing the ice with reassurance and love. It was
Irina. He sent the emotions back to her magnified, the magnetic compulsion
between them bolstering his determination to succeed and keep her safe. A
sudden loud roar erupted from the back of the great hall. Tyr reluctantly
withdrew his attention from Irina and turned to face his opponent.

He supposed he wasn’t really surprised that
it was Jaro Rodach who strode toward him fully armed and ready for battle. Silver
eyes filled with aggression fixed on Tyr as Rodach prowled into the
gladiatorial ring, bare-chested, muscles taut, a predatory male out for blood.
Having fought him before, fist against fist, Tyr knew his moves well and if
this had been any normal contest he would have been confident of an easy win.
But this time it was different. This time they were fighting with weapons and
Irina’s life was in the balance. He steeled himself to meet his foe.

Rodach stopped in front of him, leaving
only two feet of space between them. Mercury silver eyes met his black ones,
the iciness in his gaze a contradiction to the rage and fury that Tyr sensed as
it seeped from Jaro’s skin and into the arena. “Bellor,” he said coolly. The
one word, a challenge.

“Rodach,” Tyr acknowledged, accepting his
salute.

They were both of a similar height, broad
and muscular. Both exuding raw power and savage masculinity. Both radiating
danger. Tyr knew they were evenly matched and standing face to face as they
were, it was almost if he were staring at the brother he never had. If the
circumstances had been different, Tyr could have called Jaro a friend. Even
though he knew Jaro hated him, he was a fighter he respected and it weighed
heavily on his mind that he was going to have to kill him.

“I guess finally I’m getting that rematch,”
said Jaro, eyes glinting with anticipation. Tyr could sense his anger but also
something curious. The anger was not solely directed at him. Rodach’s rage was
a festering wound, open and bloody, the pus and gore seeping from every pore of
his skin, crawling in every direction. He had no love for Choronzon, Phenex or
any of the Discordants. He had no love at all.

“Why are you fighting for him?” Tyr asked.
“You know what he is. The last time we fought you had some honor, some
loyalty.”

“I have no morals, no loyalty to anyone or
anything. You should know that by now,” replied Jaro. “All I have inside me is
anger.”

“What happened to you?”

Jaro gave a shrug. “Life,” he said flatly,
silver eyes narrowing. The blue that ringed his mercury irises intensified.
“And now we need to fight!” He swung his blade toward Tyr, catching him
unawares and almost slicing into his arm. Tyr pivoted away andnarrowly missed
being caught. A loud roar broke from the crowd as they realized that the battle
was on. Tyr steadied his shield and circled Rodach warily. He had always been a
cunning opponent and Tyr would have to tread carefully.

His foe grinned smugly. “Too used to
waiting for a bell?”

“Nah! Just waiting for you to make a fool
of yourself.”

Rodach swung at him again, a wild slashing
that cost him more in energy than it did Tyr to jump out of his way. Tyr smiled
to himself. Jaro’s weakness. He was easy to rile and that would be his
downfall. Tyr drew back. His strategy was clear. Let Jaro attack, draw him in,
tire him. Frustrate him. If he knew Jaro, he would soon lose his cool and then
Tyr would go in for the kill. Their swords met again. A clanging of furious
metal echoed around the space, reverberating amid the noise of the onlookers
who were mostly baying for Tyr’s blood.

Jaro advanced, slicing at his legs, forcing
Tyr to jump and spin away to the side. Tyr swung his blade but Jaro managed to
kick out, knocking him backward. Rodach’s sword slashed down at Tyr’s head but
he rolled away quickly springing to his feet, charging back at Jaro, weapon
glancing off his shield. They drew back from each other. “What’s the matter,
Rodach,” Tyr taunted. “Out of breath already?”

Rodach’s eyes narrowed. “Worry about
yourself, Bellor, and then about your woman. Choronzon is not known for
honoring his word.”

“Then he will die.”

Rodach scoffed. “You think just because you
are War you are invincible? He will bind you to him. You will be a slave just
as I am. Do you think I really want this? I have no choice.”

“There’s always a choice.”

Rodach laughed again sounding bitter as
they continued the dance, blades clashing, each matching the other strike for
strike. “You know nothing. You cannot break such a slave bond, Bellor. The only
outcome is torture and death. So it’s either you or me and I’m sorry for it. In
many ways I have respected you as an opponent but I choose to live… so…” He
whirled his blade quickly arcing down toward Tyr’s neck. Having anticipated the
move Tyr dodged to the side and found Rodach open.

Tyr could easily thrust his sword into
Rodach’s spleen but he hesitated, Rodach’s words echoing in his head. Tyr had
thought he was a mercenary, paid well for his services but it seemed that was
wrong. Jaro was a slave. Expendable. His hesitation allowed Jaro to jump to his
feet and twist away.

“Boring!” Choronzon’s voice cut through the
noise of the crowd. “Too much chat—not enough action.” He pulled Irina up by
her arm, grabbed her cheeks with one hand and licked her face. “Do I need to
remind you of what you fight for, War?”

Tyr burned to take off Choronzon’s head for
even breathing the same air as Irina, but logic held him in check. He faced
Rodach again, tamping down the fury heating his blood. “Sorry, Rodach!” he
shouted, pressing forward to attack. “This is a fight I have to win!” Swords
crashed together, the metal grating as steel met iron. They continued to combat
each other’s moves, evenly matching each other blow for blow.

“Let’s make it more interesting,” ordered
Choronzon. “Release the balauri!” As he spoke, three large trap doors opened up
on the arena floor each one expelling a balauri, a three-headed dragon with
dripping fangs and snapping jaws.

Both of the combatants had to jump to avoid
the snap of those lethal teeth, the balauri having no discrimination for their
food. They would eat anything, their first goal to pierce and poison their prey
into paralysis.

However, Choronzon wasn’t making that easy
for his pets. They were all leashed, being able to move only a few feet from
their lairs. Rodach began to laugh. “That should show you, Bellor. Choronzon
couldn’t give a flying fuck about either of us!” He slashed at Tyr again.

Tyr managed to spin around narrowly
avoiding one of the beasts. He realized in that moment that he would have to
kill Jaro and he regretted that. But Irina was more important. His brain
calculated his next few moves. Rodach attacked again as expected and Tyr
twisted away, quickly gaining an advantage. Jaro stumbled. As he did, one of
the balauri broke free from its chain causing the crowd to roar in panic. It
lunged forward excitedly toward the two men, its three heads snapping, vicious
jaws opened to take a bite out of Rodach’s arm as he lay helpless on the
ground.

“Fuck!” Tyr cursed. He couldn’t watch it
happen. Lunging toward the beast he sliced off two of the heads before it
reached Jaro. He then swung wildly at the third head just as its jaws were
about to snap at the fallen man. Tyr managed to deflect its teeth and stab it
in the neck but as the beast’s head whipped sideways, it glanced off Jaro’s
shield and it rebounded in Tyr’s direction its mouth gnashing in surprise. Tyr
fell to the ground, the balauri landing on top of him, crimson blood gushing
from the wound at its throat.

“The mighty War is down!” laughed Choronzon
with maniacal glee. Much of the crowd had run away when the balauri was
released, but those who remained responded with a cheer. Whether it was for Tyr
or the balauri was hard to tell.

Irina had watched the whole fight with her
heart in her throat, choking her breathless and fear clawing at her chest.

The stand off at the beginning had been so
nerve-racking that it had only been by staring at Tyr’s beautiful face that
drew her like a magnet, that she was able to stop herself from screaming. She
could see they were an even match and had hated the way Rodach’s expression
seemed to penetrate Tyr with a fiercely probing glare.

Irina shivered as they began to fight. Her
fear sitting like a lead weight in the pit of her stomach. Tyr had already died
in front of her once. She could not bear to even imagine she might see that
same nightmare unfold again. So she did the only thing she could think of. She
began to use the power of the voice, her whispered words for protection, a
prayer, as she endeavored to weave a blanket of safety around Tyr, around them
both. At the same time she placed her faith in the hands of Cassi and the
Eunomi. They had to come because if they didn’t, she knew without a doubt that
both she and Tyr would die today.

It was pure torture. Everytime the blades
clashed, words faltered on her lips and when Tyr suddenly went down beneath the
balauri, her heart nearly burst from her rib cage, agonizing pain shooting
through her veins. Tyr was hurt. She could wait no longer. Irina wrenched
herself away from Choronzon and dashed toward him, narrowly avoiding the
chained balauri. As she ran, Irina’s breath caught in her throat, the silent
words she’d been chanting in her head for protection dissolving as her fear
surfaced. For the first time in her life she prayed to Gaia.
Please, Gaia,
please don’t let him die!

Jaro stood up shakily, dazed but whole. He
walked slowly to where Tyr and the balauri lay tangled in a heap together.
Glancing toward Choronzon, his eyes were drawn to Irina’s slender form running
toward him screaming Tyr’s name. Her cries piercing his chest, he felt her
agony crescendo. Choronzon was giving a thumbs down. Jaro knew that Choronzon
meant for him to kill Irina. There was no way he could do it. Tyr had saved
him. He knew without a doubt that those jaws would have broken his neck if Tyr
hadn’t defended him. Why the fuck had he done it?

Jaro could not fathom why anyone would
sacrifice themselves for him. He knew about sacrifice, had made his own for
others more than once—but never again. His sacrifice had been for his own blood
and look where that had got him. Standing over Tyr as Irina reached him
sobbing, Jaro felt a stab of pity at the sight of her tears. Even though he
hated Tyr and had been jealous of his success, he had always respected him as a
warrior and a fighter. Watching her pull Tyr into her lap, cradling his head,
he almost wished that he was the man she was running to. If he was down in the
dirt, would anyone care enough for him to risk their life? He didn’t think so.

Jaro was still standing over them, his
resolve crushed by admiration for the pair, when Choronzon rose to his feet.
Two things happened simultaneously as Jaro hesitated, frozen with doubt, his
anger at circumstance increasing. A loud explosion ripped the ceiling apart and
as debris flew in every direction, hundreds of ropes cascaded down followed by
a multitude of black-clad warriors armed and firing, their bullets aimed at the
shedu who were poised to attack them as they landed on the arena floor.

Jaro moved quickly, grabbing Irina by the
shoulders. “Quick!” he shouted. “Move!” Irina still appeared to be in a state
of shock but she automatically followed his instructions, helping Jaro drag Tyr
from the middle of the arena to relative safety behind a column. Tyr’s
breathing was shallow, his rigid form stiff with paralysis from the balauri
poison and Jaro knew from his sickly pallor that he didn’t have long. He didn’t
have the heart to tell her that and instead concentrated on protecting them. He
picked up a semiautomatic, which he had used to clear a path by firing at any shedu
who got in their way.

“Why are you helping us?” Tyr’s woman
asked, regarding him suspiciously.

He shrugged. “Fuck if I know. Let’s just
say one good turn and all that,” he said, shoving her out of the way to shoot a
bullet into a shedu that was charging at them.

“Thanks,” she said, sounding surprised.
“You saved our lives.”

“Don’t thank me,” Jaro said, continuing to
stand guard. “The next time I see him,” he motioned to Tyr, “I’ll have to kill
him.”

Jaro turned back to watch the devastation
being wrought by the Eunomi on the Discordant forces as he guarded Tyr and
Irina from the relative safety of their position behind the pillar. Most of the
crowd had dispersed when the Eunomi warriors descended from the roof, only
Phenex, Choronzon and his shedu hordes remaining to confront them. The shedu
had reverted to their saevici beast forms but were matched by the speed and
strength of the Eunomi saevici contingent, the resulting confrontation a fierce
fight to the death between a huge range of beasts ripping, tearing and biting
at each other in the center of the great hall.

Weapons of all kinds were being used and in
the middle of the arena, Choronzon himself in beast form was being held at bay
by dozens of Eunomi, the bullets they were firing not strong enough to
penetrate his leathery hide. The balauri were all dead and Jaro caught a
glimpse of Phenex under pressure at the far end of the hall. His duty was tied
to him. Although Chronzon had used Jaro as his champion, Phenex was his
slavemaster, his overlord, the one he was bound to protect and serve. “Fuck!”
He would have to go.

At that moment Borealis appeared from the
fray and both he and Jaro were only prevented from killing each other by Irina
who lunged between them, shouting for them to stop. “He helped us,” she
shouted. “Let him go!” Borealis turned his icy glare to Jaro and nodded.

“I will—but only this once. Leave now!”

Jaro nodded in acknowledgement and
disappeared in the direction of his master.

Borealis knelt down beside Irina and
checked Tyr for a pulse. “What happened to him?”

“I think the creature bit him!” cried
Irina, distraught that Tyr’s heartbeat was growing fainter with every passing
second.

“Balauri poison!” spat Borealis. “Ziad is
here somewhere. We need to find him now if Tyr is to be saved.”

Irina turned her attention back to Tyr. His
skin was a bluish gray, the tips of his fingers a sickly green. The thread that
connected them was taut, stretched to breaking point but she forced her energy
to hold on and keep him safe. She had done it before and she would do it again.
Tyr was her life now and she damn well would not let him go! Ignoring the crash
and rumble of the battle in the background, she concentrated her power of the
voice, directing her words at Tyr, willing him to survive.

Borealis signaled two warriors who were
nearby to carry Tyr and ushered Irina toward a door. “Choronzon will have
reinforcements here soon. Our informant gave us an escape route via some
tunnels.” Irina headed down the dark corridor following the warriors carrying
Tyr and was relieved when finally Ziad’s hand touched her shoulder.

“Borealis told me about Tyr. I need to see
him now or the poison will be too strong for me to purge.” His jade-green eyes
although somber were full of reassurance. Irina was shocked to feel Ziad
absorbing the full force of her pain, the energy of her connection to Tyr
tangible to his sensitive healer’s instincts. She trembled, feeling his heart
bleed for her and his hope that his touch would not come too late.

Irina nodded and gestured the warrior
carrying Tyr to open one of the chambers. Just as they were laying him on the
floor, Merak entered and Irina found herself in his familiar embrace. “How are
you holding up?” he said. Irina could hold on no longer. She sobbed into his
chest. “Please don’t let him die!” Merak turned to Ziad. “Do what you can.”

Ziad went to work. Irina was shocked to see
him bite into Tyr’s wrist and realized he was drinking his blood. This was the
first time she really saw Ziad for what his was, a sanguini, a vampire. She
hadn’t really thought about how sanguini purged disease but in that moment she
discovered that it was basically a blood exchange. Having taken Tyr’s blood, he
then gouged a slash in his own wrist holding it over Tyr’s lips, encouraging
Tyr to take back what he had lost by giving him his own healing blood in
return. Almost immediately she could see some color returned to Tyr’s face at
the same time as Ziad’s already pale skin began to fade to a sickly bluish
gray, the result of the poison.

Irina fell to Ziad’s side brushing Tyr’s
cheek, feeling some warmth return. Grateful, she turned to the healer with
concern in her eyes. “Will you be all right? Won’t the poison affect you?”

Ziad turned his mesmerising green eyes
toward her. They were feverishly bright. “A little,” he said, “but I’ll
survive. Tyr would have died, however, as the poison had nearly reached his
heart.” Irina threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you!” she cried. “We owe
you. Anything you need from us, ever. We’ll be there for you.”

Ziad smiled at her weakly, the poison
already fighting against his own blood. “It’s my pleasure.”

Merak and the two warriors lifted Tyr. “We
need to move,” he said, urgency in his tone. “The portal is a temporary one,
only open until sunrise, we don’t have much time.” Irina rose to her feet
helping Ziad up. He looked almost translucent, his skin faded, veins evident
beneath the surface.

“Go on,” he said, sounding slightly
breathless, “I will follow.”

“Are you sure?” Irina searched his face in
concern. He didn’t look good at all. The sickly bluish-gray tinge did not
appear to be dissipating.

“Honestly,” he whispered, “I’ll be fine.
You need to get Tyr out of here. He will need further treatment.” Irina turned
away, following his advice. She could only hope that Ziad was tougher than he
looked.

They left the chamber and were swept up
into the crowd of retreating Eunomi and down into the labyrinth of tunnels that
lay beneath the palace. A few minutes later, Irina found herself outside, the
tunnel exit opening at the edge of a forest. She looked back and found Merak
with Antares, one of the Eunomi commanders, coordinating the escape. He was
making sure the injured were ushered quickly toward the starportal, which was
apparently just a few hundred yards away. Her eyes searched for Ziad in the
group behind, but she couldn’t see him and Irina was just going to ask Merak
where he was when someone grabbed her in a rough embrace.

“Irina! You’re safe!” It was Tani. “And Tyr
too. I’m pleased for you.” Tani’s amethyst eyes were smiling with warmth.
“You’ll be pleased to know that Cassi and I sweet talked Abrasax into giving us
your pendants. Have you seen her yet?”

Irina shook her head, worried. “No,
shouldn’t she be here?”

“Don’t panic—that girl’s like a cat with
ninety lives. She’ll turn up. She always does.”