Markram Battles: Omens of Doom (Part II) (7 page)

Seven’s voice comes out flat. “You are not a monster.”

“Are you sure about that? We kill for a living. Thrust our blades into the souls of our rivals only to satiate the blood thirst of a crowd that wouldn’t enjoy anything more than to see us die.”

He lets out a grunt, barely loud enough for me to hear. “We fight to live.”

“We fight to survive. This is no way to live.” I drop my head and look at the metal floor before me.

“What are you saying?”

For a second I don’t think I am strong enough to answer, but when I open my mouth, my words come out in a whisper. “I’m saying maybe this isn’t worth it.”

Seven leans closer. “I think we are worth it.”

My eyes snap back up, tears pooling at the edges of my vision. “I think we are damned.”

Seven grunts in disapproval and I turn my eyes in his direction. My lips curve slightly at his wrinkled forehead. I don't think I've ever really smiled at him. I’ve laughed with him over trivial matters, but never really smiled. The thought makes my insides flutter and I want to suppress the feeling, but I can't. Pain stabs my chest as the longing inside me clutches every inch of my mind. It is easier to suppress the way he makes me feel when I know he can't sense it behind his soldier wall. I shove my thoughts aside before he can grasp their full meaning, but the warmth emanating from him pries me open. I am not sure if he knows how detectable his Markram ability can be, especially when it derives from the considerate man and not the brutal soldier.

His mental touch wraps around me like ribbons of fire, traversing through my mind and decoding every emotion. I turn my attention back to the wall, concentrating on keeping the one emotion I don’t want him to find tucked inside the most secluded corner. Seven leans closer to speak in my ear and his breath brushes against my neck. Chills spread down my spine at the caress of his lungs, doubling the speed of my heartbeat.

"Thirteen." I try to bury my treacherous feelings deeper into my core, even though I know he already sensed them. "Thirteen." My neck moves instinctively at his commanding tone, but my eyes won't set on him. They hesitate, scared, exposed, fragile. "Look at me."

The pleading sound of his voice breaks through my resilience and my gaze moves as if by an invisible force. His blue eyes ripple through me like two profound oceans full of longing, and the blazing heat from his touch intensifies as he dives deeper, pouring every word he can’t say into this simple touch.

I can feel myself slipping. “Stop it.”

The gate begins to open and he freezes, immediately withdrawing from my mind. His expression hardens back to the emotionless leader, but something soft and tender lingers for a moment. “We aren’t done yet.” Then, it is gone.

I let out a scoff. “Of course we are.”

He frowns, visibly irritated, but turns around to address the rest of the unit. “Whatever awaits us outside this gate, I expect you to fight for your life. Abide by the rules as much as you can. But if you find yourself in mortal peril, or if any of your teammates requires your assistance, you have my permission to engage. No, you have my order to do so. I will take full responsibility for your performance. Don’t hesitate. Don’t flinch away. Honor cannot be taken from you, unless you give it away willingly.”

Adrenaline begins pumping through my body. Something about the certainty of his words makes me realize he always meant to tell us this. The charade back at the training facility, in front of the army officials, was just that, a show. He bites down, fighting a smile. “Courage in battle and honor in life.”

We rush into the giant stadium, only to be immediately scattered by an ambush. The rival unit wastes no time, their razor-sharp swords slicing through the air, killing nearly half of us within the first five minutes of the battle. I hear Seven yelling commands, but his voice gets lost amid the bloody chaos that surrounds me. I begin to move away from the main group, only concerned with my own survival.

A rival player approaches me. I see the matching symbol on her arm and move toward her without hesitation. Raising my sword high above my head, I thrust it down, meeting her blade with a loud clash. The momentary vibration traveling through our limbs distracts me, guiding my eyes to her face. Blood drains from my body, turning me to stone.

No.

She smiles at me. “Hey, sis.” My lips are shut tight. My legs have turned to ice. My heart has stopped beating. She can’t be here. She is an illusion. An illusion created by Eleven to torture me. I stumble back, directing my eyes to the fights around me, until I find the one person I am looking for. His purple eyes meet mine in spite of his confrontation with Seven and he grins, pleased. My stomach knots as every image around me begins to spin and my legs give out from under me, slamming my body to the ground. I clutch handfuls of sand in a feeble attempt to crawl away from the nightmare standing in front of me. Something clicks under my palm and the ground begins to tremble. The fear in my sister’s eyes makes me turn around toward the dark, repugnant-smelling tunnel opening under the arena.

Four red eyes peek out of the darkness and an ape-looking creature with six long limbs exits the tunnel. My heart skips a beat just as the beast fixes its attention on me. It lunges forward, grasping my armor and pinning me down. It digs its nails into my leg, making me cry out in pain and begins dragging me back into the tunnel. I lose the grip on my sword and hear my sister scream, leaping forward and raising her blade against the animal. The sharp sword pierces through one of its limbs and the creature releases me.

I roll away and watch my sister lean over me. She places something inside my hand and gives me a big, reassuring smile. “I love you.”

I open my mouth to speak, but the hairy creature bites into my sister’s torso and pulls her away, shaking her body like a ragged doll. Her horrific cries of pain scorch their way through me, tearing my insides apart and releasing all of the anger I had been bottling up. The high-pitched sound of my own scream echoes around me as I leap to my feet and pick up the sword resting next to me. I tuck whatever she gave me inside the pocket at the hollow of my throat and sprint into a run. The beast doesn’t even turn as I leap onto its back and plunge my sword into the top of its neck.

The animal wobbles down, dropping my sister onto the floor and collapsing next to her. I crawl to her. “What are you doing here? How did they find you?”

She coughs blood. “I let them catch me. It is all … part of the plan.”

I shake my head. “What plan?”

“I’m sorry.” She coughs again, turning her head to the side. I can barely believe my eyes. This can’t be happening. “I love you, sis. I’m happy I got to see you one more time.” She tightens her fingers around my hand. “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

I see my sister’s shoulders shake as the last ragged breath leaves her body, turning her into a corpse. I take her hand in mine, tracing the scar on her palm with my thumb. It really is her. Lying in front of me. Dead. The reality of what just happened hits me with full force. My baby sister just died at the hands of a beast, in the hell I’ve been trying to escape. An almost uncontrollable rage wells up inside me, racing through my limbs like an unquenchable fire. My monster breaks free. The excruciating shriek escaping my lips pierces the air and I have to cover my ears to restrain the pain it causes. It absorbs every noise, consuming every shout generated by the observing crowd. The stadium seems to have grown quiet, silenced by the agonizing cry hurting every part of me.

I stand up amid the massacre of lacerated bodies and look around to find most of the fighters around me dead. My lungs struggle for breath at the sight of the fragmented armors, twisted limbs, and pools of gory blood. The macabre spectacle extends, only to meet the eager expressions of a silent crowd that requests an even more gruesome conclusion. My stomach heaves at the sight of Eleven, watching me intently, inviting me to approach. I search for anything that could quench the unbearable grief and find my sword, covered in blood, lying next to my sister. I pick it up and gaze up toward the dusking suns, two golden stars bracing each other for an inescapable fate.

I hear Seven shout out just as I begin to walk forward, set on an undeviating course toward the leader who used me to get to him. Confronting him in battle will mean my certain death, but if he dies in the process, then my life will have meant something. I see two rival fighters darting in my direction. One pauses while the other prepares to engage. I don’t even blink. I don’t even think. They are obstacles. Deterrents to my purpose. I duck under the first blow and in one swift motion, rotate my body and swing my sword across my attacker’s torso.

The next rival hesitates, but I don’t even give her time to retreat. I raise my blade and she meets it in the air, pushing back against it. I release the pressure and step aside, letting her wobble her way forward as she losses her balance. My steel cuts through the back of her armor and she falls to her knees. I begin to turn just as someone grasps my arms in an iron clutch. “Don’t do it.” Seven’s words fill me with rage, boiling a ranting rave of emotions.

I push against his arms with every ounce of energy I have left. “Let go of me.”

“I can’t let you do this. Please.” His pleading tone only enhances my anger. Did he not see what just happened? I stop, shocked. No. He did. He understood. And he knows what I’m about to do. Had he known all along that my sister was here? Did he know I would have to fight her today? My lungs inflate as I inhale all of my feelings of frustration and betrayal into them and bash my head back. Hard. I hear something crack and Seven grunt in pain. His grip loosens and I use the newly acquired space to yank my elbow into his stomach. Then, I run.

Eleven waits for me, only three of his fighters remain. He gestures for them to stay grounded as I spring forward, sword in hand. Nine and other fighters from my unit shout at me as I break the first rule of the battles by engaging Eleven in the arena. He grins openly, meeting my blade in the air and shoving it aside with his own. His legs take a swift step in my direction and his hand grips my wrist. The arena and everyone in it disappear from before my eyes, quickly replaced by a field of wild flowers. I struggle in vain against the unseen clutch of his fingers and hear Seven
let out a powerful shout just as a stabbing pain cuts into my waist.

My eyelids flutter and I swing my blade against my attacker, but there is no one there. An agonizing cry escapes my lips and I fall to the ground, unable to remain standing. The dusty air of the arena rushes into my eyes, blinding me, and I collapse at Eleven’s feet. I hear Seven screaming in the distance. His tone of rage rises above any other sound and, for an instant, everything in the stadium goes still. My body wants to give up, but my mind hangs onto the sound of his voice.

I turn to see him move toward me amid the sandy haze that surrounds us. The rushing wind picks up loose strands of his long white hair and when he crouches down next to me whispers of astonishment break from the crowd. He places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes tight before looking for Eleven, who has retreated back with the rest of his fighters. He probes the side of my waist and I see his wrinkled forehead relax. “Stay put.”

The rival fighters begin to creep their way back to us, but Seven’s commanding tone freezes them on the spot. “Stay where you are!”

I pinch my eyebrows together, tears rolling down the sides of my face. Unit leaders aren’t allowed to intervene in the battle. He could die for this. I place my hand on his forearm. “To suffer myself to be burned with fire, tortured with rods, or killed with steel if I disobey.”

He scoffs, irritated. “I don’t need you to remind me the Oath of Unit Leaders, Thirteen.”

“I am done for. You know the rules. I can’t fight anymore. You know what awaits you if you try to save me.”

“I know what awaits me if I don’t.” He wraps his hand around my neck as if the contact is somehow the only thing keeping him sane. “I’ll be damned if I let that happen.”

I want to rebuke him, tell him that he is crazy, that it isn’t worth it, that I don’t think I want to continue living like this, that I don’t know if I can. But every attempt I make to speak crumbles as soon as it reaches my tongue. The truth is I don’t want to die. Not here. Not like this. I swore to myself I would fight. I direct my eyes toward the furry beast lying dead next to my sister’s lifeless body. I can barely make out her silhouette on the sand.
Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.
Her words singe through me, consuming the monster inside, cleansing its dark cave, and bringing light to the darkness.