Chapter one
I remember standing in front of Shari and how he had somehow controlled the energy whip that came from Landon’s own fingers through the use of the armor. I saw the look of surprise on his face, as he died where he stood. It was not a pretty sight to see Landon being ripped apart one piece at a time, until there was nothing left but, his body parts strewn around me. I turned toward Shari and I saw the smug look on his face. There was nothing that I wanted more than to wipe it off in the most extreme way possible.
I wanted to run, go anywhere that wasn’t here and find some place to hide, until it blew over. The tendrils of energy and the gloves of the armor turned its attention towards me. The armor wasn’t allowing me to do anything to protect myself. I stood there defiantly, looking like I wasn’t afraid of anything, but inside I was shaking like a leaf.
I think I might have blacked out or it’s entirely impossible that the armor had taken control of me entirely body and mind. There was a flash, something that was distinctly familiar. I heard screams, but I could not perceive where they were coming from or what the source of their pain was. They were anguished screams and you could hear people yelling for help. There was none forthcoming.
I finally opened my eyes and what I saw stunned me beyond any words. I was standing in the exact same formation of charred black earth that I had seen when I came back from the Offus hunt. I was unscathed and not even the armor was showing any signs that it had been penetrated by whatever had made this fire. People were dead with those same surprised looks on their faces. It was like it had come out of nowhere. I thought for a moment that I was responsible, but I didn’t think even my armor was capable of something like this. It did protect me and I looked for Shari, but there was no sign of him.
I surveyed the area, turning my head from one side to the other with bile rising in my stomach the entire time. It was grotesque and this was not the aftermath of such an attack. This was mere moments after it had transpired. There was no way that I could wrap my mind around the fact that this entire town had been wiped out of existence. The bend was still there, but there was nobody to call it home. The houses were burned to the ground. There was nothing left and no reason to stay here.
“It came from over here.” I could hear voices coming ever closer. I was the only survivor and if I were to be found inside this massacre, I might’ve been mistaken for the perpetrator. I moved my feet and I was breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that I was even able to move at all. I ran to the only cover that I could find. The trees would give me a way to hide and watch what was going on. It was not one of my proudest moments and running away from my problems was not the way that I was accustomed to handling myself. “I came to get you, as soon as I saw the red armor.” It sounded to me like this person, whoever this was had now drawn their own conclusions.
“Do you have any idea of who was in the red armor, Akin?” I saw through the trees the black castle guardsman coming very close to seeing something that was going to shock them to their very core. “You know, there are many red armored warriors, not only in the competition, but in the red castle as well. We’re going to need something more concrete. Did you notice any kind of sign or maybe a marking on the armor that would indicate where it came from? Every armor is different and the creator of the armor always puts his mark on each individual one in a different way.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you want me to say. All I know is when they came here, I had to warn you. I heard through the Grapevine that there was another sighting of somebody in red armor that had been present at another attack. When I could feel the heat, I made it to a clearing, just in time to survive the onslaught.” From the looks of it, he was a peasant, a commoner that probably lived either at the bend or very near to it.
“I still need something…something…holy mother of… Markham.” They were now upon the devastation and I saw them standing stone cold still and not doing or saying anything. “This is exactly what happened at the end of the Offus hunt. This is not a coincidence. Somebody is purposely trying to destroy everything that we hold dear.” The one thing I didn’t understand was why this man had decided to pinpoint my armor and not of Landon’s white one. I felt like I was trapped and if I moved, they would have surely seen me. I needed to stay still and away from prying eyes.
The armor began to take on a different shape. It was more of a silky feel instead of the steel unyielding feel. I was able to peel it off and stand there in nothing, but my black pants and black shirt that I had borrowed from Braden. It was a little loose, but it had apparently hid the fact that I was a woman. Even the skintight feel of the armor had not been able to mold correctly over the baggy clothing. It allowed me to take on the guise of a man with nobody the wiser. I rolled the armor tightly into a ball and I tucked it underneath my arm and then I stepped backwards away from those that would probably consider me a threat if seen.
“I have to get this information back to Lord Vadam. He’ll be most interested to learn what has happened here today. There were those that were coming here to collect information from Shari.” Upon hearing that name, the young man stopped and folded his arms in a defensive posture. “It does you no good to hide him. Look at all of this, Akin. This is what comes from harboring a criminal such as Shari. We have no choice, but to bring him in dead or alive. This has been decreed by Lord Vadam and you really don’t want to go against his wishes.” The black armor that they were wearing felt menacing and I had no desire to go up against a contingent of Lord Vadam’s soldiers.
My best course of action was to get out of here and stay away from any kind of detection. I could feel the armor underneath my arm vibrating, like it was itching for a chance to go out there and cause more mayhem. It took all of my muscles in my body to hold it and prevent it from attaching to my skin. As it was, the piece that was sticking to me underneath my arm was now drilling like fingernails into the side of me. It was painful and had I been alone, I probably would have screamed in agony. I couldn’t do that and the best that it was going to get out of me was a soft whimper like a dog that was getting chastised for his behavior.
It certainly didn’t look good and I was going to have to feign some kind of surprise when I got back to the Black castle. Tomorrow was the hand to hand combat phase. There would be no armor and no weapons of any kind. It would be a barbaric display of men trying to measure their cocks. I didn’t have a cock, but I was gonna have to grow a pair and become a force to be reckoned with.
“What am I supposed to do? There’s nothing here for me anymore. I can’t possibly stay on the outskirts of the bend. I only live here because I wanted solitude and a peaceful and more tranquil way of living. I come to the bend to barter and get provisions for whatever I need. I don’t have that anymore.” He looked lost and I had to admit if I was in his shoes, I would want somebody to blame. He had obviously seen me in the red armor, but did not see Landon, although I had no idea how that was even possible.
“Lord Vadam appreciates your help in this matter. Unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do for you. I’ve already recorded your formal statement on a device that is built into my armor. This will be relayed back to Lord Vadam.” They tried to turn and walk back through the forest, but Akin grabbed the one in charge and turned him to face him. “This is not something that you really want to do, Akin. I understand that you’re feeling lost, but picking a fight with us is not the answer. Go home, regroup and then decide on what affiliation you are going to stand with. I think we both know that the bend and you are in direct violation of the castle act. You have decided to remain neutral and now that the bend has been destroyed, you have no choice, but to either live on your own and hope for the best, or come and be a part of something that is bigger than yourself.” I didn’t have the time to stick around and find out what his answer was going to be. I had to carefully traverse the forest. I did feel the armor vibrate considerably more when one of those holes into a black abyss was present.
I did not have to use the instincts of the Markham DNA, because I didn’t have it to begin with. I think that somebody was looking out for me, because I did not fall victim to one of those holes. Nor did I go crazy trying to avoid them at any cost. I didn’t even have to contend with any kind of wildlife. There was no sign of any two headed snake like thing. I was glad for that, but I was also slightly surprised, I would think it would at least try to mark its territory by hissing or doing something to announce its presence.
Chapter two
“Let me get this straight. You attacked both Landon and Gemini. You left Gemini for dead and then convinced Landon that somebody had attacked that was too quick for the naked eye to perceive. You took Gemini back to the black castle to recover from wounds that she probably won’t even wake up from in the morning. Then you go with Landon to the bend, after of course reaching out to the source and getting the necessary vision to find him. Landon attacks Shari, gets himself killed and turns his attention towards you. Wait…no… you said that the armor itself turned its attention towards you. You couldn’t move, do anything at all and yet you survived and woke up to find yourself in yet another decimation.” I did see that he was visibly distressed. Braden was pacing back and forth and wringing his hands and looking up at the heavens like he couldn’t believe that he had gotten himself into this.
“I didn’t do it or at least I don’t think I did. The armor has been acting a little bit strange from the moment that I put it on. It almost felt like it was trying to meld with my mind in some way. I tried to resist it, but it became painful and almost an exercise in futility. I wanted to tell you, but I wasn’t sure what your reaction was going to be.” I think I was right to keep this to myself and maybe I should have kept my mouth shut with Braden, but I just couldn’t do that.
“How I would react… How I would react. How the hell do you think I’m going to react? Landon is dead, Gemini may as well be and that town was destroyed by what is going to look like by your hand. This is very bad. Once they find enough clues, it’s going to bring them right back to my doorstep. Just tell me that you didn’t allow anybody to see you. The only saving grace in all of this is that nobody survived the attacks. There have been no eyewitness account.” This was the part of the story that I was dreading telling.
“That’s not exactly true.” He stopped pacing long enough to put his head down and start to shake it back and forth. “I know that you’re not gonna wanna hear this, but somebody saw the red armor coming into the village. Essentially everybody did, but they were all dead when I awoke from my blackout. There was one other one and he apparently saw me from a distance. Maybe he was blinded by the sun not to notice Landon in his bright white armor. The guardsmen are on their way back to Lord Vadam and I’m sure that he’s going to send a couple of men to the Red castle to interview those that own any of the red armor. I can even imagine that tomorrow when we arrive that there will be some interesting question for us to field.” He turned his head over his shoulder, looked at me with his eyes bright. He turned slowly, like all the wind had been blown out of him.
“This is really not good, Shana. I told you that it wasn’t a good idea for you to go with Gemini, but you wouldn’t listen. I know that you didn’t have a choice and once Lord Vadam makes up his mind, there’s virtually nothing that can sway him to a different thought. He’ll eliminate those that have an alibi that is airtight. We need to make sure that you have one as well. Landon is not going to talk and I doubt that they’ll be able to figure out that he was part of the charred remains.” I was going to mention something about criminal forensics, but I had a pretty good guess that they had nothing like that here.
“There’s no way for Lord Vadam to test individual samples?” He looked to me like I was completely around the bend. Actually, I had been to the bend and it was not for the luxury of vacation. I was there for a specific purpose to track down Shari. I still didn’t know if he was dead or alive. I guess, until he raised his ugly head from whatever hole he had crawled into, I was going to have to take it on face value that he was gone.
I pulled the armor from under my arm, feeling it pulling at me and sticking to me like wallpaper or maybe even flypaper. It peeled off and I thought for sure that it was going to take my skin with it. Braden seemed fascinated by this and he took it from my hands, but he did not feel any of the vibration that I had told him about.
“I’ve never seen armor act like the way you described.” He was staring at it and looking at it from all angles, but yet he still couldn’t see and feel what I had seen and felt. “This is all very interesting and all, Shana, but you can’t exactly tell anybody about this. If you did, they’ll eventually find out that you’re not from around here and I’m not just talking about from Markham. I know that you can handle yourself, but methods of torture in Markham are not exactly easy to withstand. You might be able to fight it for a little while, but the truth would come out eventually. Lord Vadam would have no choice and he would have to make an example out of you. Then again, he would be most happy to do that, considering that you backed him into a corner at the tournament.”
“Speaking of the tournament, we have one night and then we have to get back to it. I think I would like you to teach me some of the moves that you have learned in hand to hand combat. I can do the same thing for you. I get this feeling like we’re going to be sharing something very profound.”
“I’m going to try and not think about this for the time being. You know when I came home, Rankin was gone. The pen was empty, but it didn’t look like he had somebody open it for him. If I didn’t know any better, I think that he had unblocked it from the inside to get out.” This was not good news. Rankin was like a member of the family. I didn’t want to lose him, but if he was influenced by what the other Dragos had done, then he might’ve been already lost.
“I’m sorry for that, Braden. I really did like him and I hope that he comes back soon. In the meantime, we need to turn our attentions back to the tournament. I think it might be obvious that somebody is trying to play the angles and the odds. They are stacking the deck and trying to influence the decision of who’s going to win and lose. We can’t allow them to do that.” I think he was thinking the same thing I was. Somebody was leading the investigation right to me. A few more well chosen tactics and my name would be on everybody’s lips. “Before you ask me to pull out of the competition, I think it might be better than I don’t. Just listen to me for a moment.” He nodded his head, but he wasn’t at all happy about it. “If I were to pull out, it would look too suspicious. Right now, they only know that somebody in red armor was at both scenes.”
“That’s more than enough for Lord Vadam to dig deeper. It won’t take them that long to figure this out. It might be during the tournament, or it might be on the eve of the victor raising their hand. For now, we will get ready for the next phase.”
We went outside in the backyard standing toe in tow and watching each other’s reaction to the moves that we were going to bring to bear. I felt his hand strike the side of my head. It made me a little dizzy and discombobulated. I felt like my entire body was sinking ever deeper into the murky gaps of unconsciousness. I was able to shake my head before it happened, but that was the kind of moves that I was looking for. He went through it in slow motion and I was able to pick up subtle nuances that I could use in the field of battle.
“I’m offering you a gift, Shana. These moves have been passed down from generation to generation. This is what is called Garrock. Fortunately, this type of fighting has no uniform style. Everybody puts their own spin on it, so whatever you do that is different from everybody else is going to be your best shot to win this hands down. With the final six comes a possibility that one of us will be knocked out of the competition. After this round, there will be only three. The final three will be going to the unknown factor and those two that come out on the other end will be going to the final competition of the Quest for Vanguard. It is possible, but very unlikely that you and I will be the only one left standing. I don’t believe that has ever happened before.”
He came at me quickly and I moved to avoid him, but got this swift kick in my stomach. It lifted me right off my feet and I landed on the ground with my body doubled over.” You need to be ready for just about anything, Shana.
“No…fucking…kidding.” I did not mean to swear, but it was necessary when I was feeling a pain that I’d never felt before in my life. It was like somebody had pressed their fists into my stomach with such force and determination that it was hard to resist. I did strengthen my abdominal region and that flexing alone had probably saved me from internal injuries.
He reached out his hand and that was the last thing he should’ve done. I grabbed it and I turned him in such a way that I was able to lift him off the ground and flip him, until he was lying on his back with my foot into the crook of his arm and his shoulder. I could’ve easily dislocated it. I went through that move with him several times and he was quite interested to see just how easy it was.
We stood once again toe to toe and this time I brought my boxing skills into the ring. I moved and parried, but found once again that he was unpredictable. His leg struck out and took out my left knee. I was now hobbling around like an old man chasing around nurses in uniform. They would squeal in a teasing fashion, but they knew that he was no threat.
I jumped up into the air and put my ankles around his neck, before pulling down and throwing him off balance and once again back onto his back. I’d learned that watching wrestling. It was not an easy move to perform, but done right, it could seriously hamper your competitors chance to regroup.
“That was quite something, Shana. You’re going to have to go through that with me over and over again, until I master it or at least have a way to counteract it.” We went through one move after another. I brought to the table not only my boxing expertise, but also a couple forms of martial arts. The one that was quite the rage was Karate. I’d also taken a kickboxing class that made my legs almost feel like they were made of iron.
I used my agility to crack him upside the head underneath his ear. I wasn’t wearing any shoes and this was the way that I was going to go into battle.
It was several hours before we finally concluded this little training session. I knew that I was gonna have to make my presence known to Lord Vadam. After all, I was the only one left standing after both Gemini and Landon fell during the mission. “Braden, I really don’t think that I have much time. I see that look in your eye and I know that you’ve been itching to get into my pants from the moment that I came back from the mission. I can give you 20 minutes.” I barely had the words out of my mouth, before he lifted me easily into the air, making me wrap my legs around his waist, before being carried into the house. I saw something a little unusual and there was a young man in the window. I think it was Nicholas, but I couldn’t be sure from this vantage point. If it was him, it would certainly explain his need for voyeurism.
Chapter three
He was taking his time kissing me and moving towards the stairs. He stopped and pushed me up against the wall. My legs stretched over to the railing and I was able to press my toes against it to keep my balance in the air with him against me. I saw that same face in the window. It was dirty and looked like the person had not bathed in days. I thought that it might be Nicholas trying to get a second preview of what sex with me was all about. It took me a moment to realize that it was him.
The dust across the window was obscuring his features. I felt almost compelled to call to him and introduce Braden to what those in my world called a three some. I wasn’t sure how receptive he would be to bringing another man into the act of love.
I nibbled on his ears and then whispered “Have you ever thought about another person joining us? Would you get a thrill out of seeing me with another man? Can you just see me kneeling on the ground and sucking both of your cocks at the same time? You would get, so fucking hard that you would want to fuck me from behind right here on the floor. You would become like a wild man. You would watch, as I sucked his cock, while you were banging me repeatedly and making me swallow his load.” I was just paving the way for something more intimate and interesting between us.
“Shana, you do paint a vivid picture. I don’t think that I would have any problem with you getting in on with another man. I don’t know why, but I feel that sharing you is the right thing to do. It seems almost greedy of me to keep you to myself. I want them to feel what I feel, so that they can bring that back to their significant other.” This was the opening that I was waiting for. I kicked my legs off of the railing, landing and turning. I was going back down the stairs towards the door. I put my finger up to quiet Braden from asking questions and then I opened the door quickly and reached out and grabbed this person by the hair.
“Hey…let go of me.” I dragged Nicholas in and he wasn’t wearing his customary red armor. He was wearing this black shirt and what looked like a leather vest. He looked like a reject from a country western video. “I’m sorry; I was just a little curious and thought that I might be able to get a couple of more pointers.” I grabbed his ear and pulled him into the house by his lobe.
I got behind him and began to take off his vest, reaching around and undoing the buttons on his shirt, until they were both discarded on the floor. “I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but Nicholas is the last person that I want to see naked. We’re almost like brothers and he even lived with my family for a time after his was decimated by a fire.” This was even more incentive to get them both naked. It felt naughty to put them in a position where they were going to have to see each other in a different light.
“I agree with Braden. This isn’t going to…stop that…oh yeah.” I had his cock trapped within my hand. I had slipped into his pants and grabbed onto that piece of wanting flesh to see what I was working with. It was remarkable. If I had to guess, I would say that he was almost a duplicate of Braden. Their cocks were, so similar with that same thickness that it seemed almost a shame to let him leave here without at least showing him what a blow job felt like.
“If we’re going to do this, then we should have some ground rules. The one main one for me is that this stays a secret between the three of us. It can not go beyond these doors or these walls. The other one is that you don’t even think about asking us to do something with each other. I’ve heard you talking in your sleep and let’s just say that some of the things I heard you say were disturbing.” I opened up Nicholas’s pants and I found his cock ready and raring to go. The mushroom head was already a discolored pink color. I motioned with my hand for Braden to come closer.
At first, he was hesitant, but then I turned and gave him that steely gaze. It told him that I was serious. This time, he followed with his two legs moving, but I could tell that he wasn’t very happy with any of this. He could barely look at Nicholas’s cock, but there were times that I saw him spying a glance, just for curiosity sake.
“Braden, I don’t know where you found this one, but I hope that you never let her go. If you do, I’ll be right there to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Trust me, I will be praying for the both of you to break up.” His words were rushed and it was like he was playing off of his adrenaline running through his veins. “I saw the two of you out there hunting the Offus. What she did with her mouth was something that I would’ve thought that we would have figured out for ourselves. I guess everybody can use new techniques to bring into the bedroom.” I was now on my knees, his cock now bobbing up and down in front of me. Had I been into hypnosis, I probably would’ve been able to I feel myself drifting into that unconscious state.
I was staring at the way the head was moving up and down and then I almost jumped back in surprise to see that clear liquid appearing at the top. It was obvious that he was quite excited by just the little bit that he had been able to see from outside the window. Now that he was a part of this, I could see that he was really ready to bring his A game.
“That this is not my idea of fun, Nicholas. I’ve never had any desire to see you naked and I certainly never thought that I would want to see you with Shana. You’re right and she does tend to think outside of Markham. There really is not that many times that she doesn’t surprise me with one thing or another.” I turned and I saw that Braden had taken the initiative. He had taken out his own cock. It was right there and I grabbed the both of them and brought them together to move the heads of each of their cocks up and down. Just seeing this made me crazy with desire. I moved forward to lick both of their heads at the same time. That medley of moans was exactly what I was looking for.
Had they had any reservations before, it was all, but washed away with my tongue now leading them into sinful exploration. “I can’t believe that you wouldn’t be doing this all the time, Braden. I know that if somebody had introduced me to this type of sex, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to let them leave in the morning.” I smiled up at Nicholas, before opening my mouth and fluttering my tongue, before enveloping his knob and letting it move across my tongue.
I did not deepthroat him at that time, because I wanted to leave a little of the mystery alive. I pulled him free with gobs of my spit now clinging to his shaft. I easily turned to Braden and I think that he was bracing himself for what I was going to do to him. I could see his face and the way that he was determined not to fall to pieces. I knew that he was fighting a losing battle, but he was going to have to find out the hard way.
“Shana is a woman of considerable differences from any other woman that you know, Nicholas.” I was glad that he didn’t feel it necessary to reveal my secret. He could’ve easily thought that it would’ve been good for everybody to let him in on the fact that I wasn’t from around here. I think he was worried that if he did that Nicholas would feel himself compelled to inform Lord Vadam of this latest turn of events. “She’s the kind of girl that wakes you up in a different way. You’re probably right and I should have chained her to a wall or trapped her in some kind of cage. Giving her freedom has only made things worse.” He really should keep his mouth shut and it was time that I give them something else to think about.
“I felt this fire inside her that wasn’t there with any other girl that I’ve been with. Even my girlfriend had a hard time accepting that I have this mutation.” I did notice that Nicholas wasn’t breathing funny. He was breathing normally, but his words were gruff. It would be interesting to see how he was between my legs. If he could truly do this without losing his breath, then I was in for a ride that most women wouldn’t be able to have in their lifetime. “I was just as stunned as everybody else, when she stood in front of Lord Vadam and all those that were looking on, She put him in his place by using the only thing that really mattered to him…the rule book.”
Even though his stamina was off the charts, I did notice that his orgasm was now simmering and boiling to the point where he was going to have to explode. I did manage to take their pants down to their ankles. Their shirts were on the floor and I think that both of them were now appraising the situation. I only had to briefly glance up into their eyes to see that they were trying to measure up to each other. There was no need to and both of their bodies were different, but not in a bad way.
“Wait until she…no, I’m not going to tell you. It’s better that you experience it for yourself, Nicholas.” This was my cue. I took Nicholas’s cock by the base, looked at it in the eye and I think it became a little bit afraid of what I was going to do next. It was crying profusely with droplets of his seed now being massaged into his skin with my own fingers. “Let’s just say that something like that has to be felt to understand exactly what it is. There’s no way that I could even describe to you what it’s like. If I tried, it would pale in comparison to the actual reality.” He was really talking me up and I was going to have to do something to show him that Braden’s words were not just for show.
I opened my mouth over his length, letting the cock head touch the back of my mouth. I concentrated on just the head, exciting it beyond words. I could feel that he was close and it wasn’t going to take all that much more to get him to expel what was in his balls. I felt sure that this next moment would make him open his eyes and wonder where the hell I had been all of his life.
“Go ahead, do it, Shana, I want to see his face and the way that he reacts to what you’re going to do next.” I had my mouth full to say much of anything, but what my mouth couldn’t say, my tongue was certainly saying for me. I pulled him back to where he was in the hot confines of my mouth. I was wrapped around him, until finally I opened up my throat and showed him what deepthroating was all about. His eyes were wide at seeing his cock magically disappear with only his balls left to hang there.
“I thought that what I saw in the woods wasn’t true. I see now that it was truer than I could even begin to contemplate. You really do like to do this. It shows in your enthusiasm and the way that your eyes light up at the prospect of me blowing off in your mouth.” While I was giving him lip service, I was also using my hands to keep Braden excited and not thinking about the fact that I was essentially cheating on him with another man. Had I been with Nicholas alone and he had come in to catch us in the act, I think that the scenario would have gone a whole lot different.
“Fuck…fuck…fuck.” Apparently that word was universal in any world. I don’t know how we had so many things alike and so many things not alike.
I let him stay in my throat, feeling the tightness and the way that I was squeezing him in a different way than my mouth could ever do. I finally had to pull away, or I was going to ruin the moment by doing something that was distasteful. As it was, I was able to barely get myself back together again. I continued to deepthroat him over and over again, but each time was only for few seconds apiece. He was rapidly closing in on the best part of sex, as far as I was concerned. His knob had swelled in my mouth and I had taken on a couple of more inches that wasn’t there before. I pulled back just in the nick of time. I worked him with my hand, seeing his balls now showing their pleasure by letting me have it with both barrels.
Those shots were tremendously wild with one hitting the top of my mouth and bouncing back down onto the palate of my tongue. That flavor was delicious and I could tell by the jerking motions of Braden that he was getting off on this, almost as much as I was.
I swallowed that load, letting the intoxicating moment stretch just a little bit longer. I turned to Braden and I barely had my mouth open, before he started to fire off with my hand jacking him hard and fast to the finish line. Most of it went into my mouth, but some splattered against my cheek and dribbled down, until it was moving in a trail down my neck. They were both out of it and I had never seen two men in my life that enjoyed a blow job, as much as they did.
“Damn… I only came here to watch and maybe talk to you about what it was that I had seen in the woods.” I didn’t have to tell him anything and I’d just given him a blow by blow tutorial of what exactly I did to Braden. I’d used him as an example of what to do and how to do it right. “I’m definitely going to have to show my girlfriend how to do that. I don’t know how she’s going to react, but I think that she’ll enjoy having the power for a change.” He did get the basic idea behind what giving oral sex was all about. It was about watching for that reaction and feeding off of that and waiting for the inevitable to happen.
I stood there and I watched the both of them and apparently their competitive nature had decided to come and say hello. They were both staring at each other and their cocks were slowly moving. There’s nothing better than rivalry. I think they were trying to gauge who was going to get hard enough to fuck me. After giving Nicholas and Braden some necessary release, I felt it was their obligation to at least try and do the same thing for me. I doubt that Nicholas was really in any shape to think of much of anything. His main concern was beating Braden.
Braden was probably using vast images of what I had done to him already to bring him back to a full waving flag. He smiled knowingly, twisting me around, until I was on my hands and knees, so that Nicholas could see my face, as I took Braden into my silky insides.
I think that he was putting on a show for Nicholas. He wanted me to scream when he pierced my womanhood with his manly spike.
“Fucking yes…you know I want that. You know that I’m a greedy little bitch.” He was deep inside me and I could feel that his balls were now showing no discernible mark of wanting to let go anytime soon. Had he not fired off with such ferocity into my mouth, he might’ve been able to get there in short order. As it was, he was prepared for the fire that he had come up against inside me. Those hot juices were now streaming over him and he was fucking me with strong deliberate strokes that were meant to make his point abundantly clear. He was essentially marking his territory and letting Nicholas know that this was probably going to be a one time encounter between myself and Nicholas.
I’d never seen Braden so forceful and demanding. I wasn’t sure if I liked it, but I knew the source of it. The way that he was screwing me was exactly like any man that wanted to let somebody know that this girl was off limits. Nicholas could only watch; staring in disbelief, as we both performed to his satisfaction. He never tried to intervene or introduce his own cock. That was a testament to his willpower. He saw that the winner was the one that had gotten hard first and wasn’t going to do anything to take back the spoils of war.
“Shana, you take it…you like it and you want more.” I couldn’t allow him to think for a second that he had me by the metaphorical balls. I squeezed down on his nut sack, making sure to give into my sadistic streak just a little bit. “ARGGGHHHHH.” I enjoyed his painful exclamation. I was reeling back against him in a way that made it look like I was going after him and not the other way around. I was grunting my replies, staring at Nicholas and licking my lips and letting him know that I was the one in charge.
It took almost another half an hour, but finally Braden was showing that his resolve was now breaking apart. His desire to keep going was marred by the fact that my pussy was now gripping him tightly over and over again. There was no denying that I had them both and if I wanted to, I could stop and walk away and let Braden stew in his own juices. I was thinking about doing that, but then he suddenly bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“I’m CUMMING… CUMMING inside of your tight little hole, Shana.”
“Yes, you’re giving me exactly what I want, Braden.” His seed was hot to the touch and I could feel it streaming along the sensitive lips of my sex. I held on for the entire ride and I slumped forward with his cock now exiting stage left.
I opened my eyes and saw that Nicholas had decided to leave us in peace. I had to wonder what he was thinking and if he would be able to hide that smile on his face tomorrow at the competition.
Chapter four
“You need to be careful, Shana and somebody is definitely out to get you. I was a little taken aback by your confession to Braden. I had no idea that the armor was using you to do its dirty work. I never even heard of such a thing, but it could be that your own DNA is causing it. We both know that you don’t come from around here. It’s also possible that somebody has been using a form of dark magic that has been prohibited. If this is the case, then things are going to change drastically and in a hurry. There’s a reason why black magic has been outlawed. It is hard to put that genie back in the bottle. The person uses it can look normal, but underneath there is evil.”
I was standing there on what looked like an ocean. The water was lapping at my ankles, but I was not sinking into the black and oily depths. “I don’t know why you’re here, Falla. Shari was there and then he wasn’t. I get this feeling like he was the one that was playing these games. I don’t know if he’s responsible for what happened to the bend or to those people that were waiting for us at the end of the hunt. I can only assume that it can’t be a coincidence.
“If Shari is still alive, Shana, then he’s going to want to make his point in a very profound way. He likes to be splashy. He has no need to hide in the shadows. If he truly is doing this, then you can expect some grand gesture on his part. I don’t know exactly what he’s planning, but it can’t be good. I’ll send out some feelers and see what they can find. If I find anything of use, I’ll be in touch. Just remember, keep a watchful eye and things are not always what they appear to be.” I’ve witnessed that for myself and I had no interest in going down that road again.
“Are you going to be there with me this time?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If Shari is using black magic, or if anybody is using black magic, then they will be able to determine that I’m there with you. It will give you an unfair advantage and Lord Vadam will have no choice. He’ll have to disqualify you from the competition. I don’t think that it would end there. With your affiliation to magic of any kind, things will look like you do all of this. Trust in yourself and I’m sure that everything will work out the way that it’s supposed to. I’m going to do what I can to find out who’s playing these games and what their true agenda is.” She was wearing this flowing white robe and the water had soaked through the material down at her ankles.
It wasn’t weighing her down and she seemed perfectly calm with the idea that we were walking along the surface of the ocean.
“Shana, you have to wake up. Shana…wake up for fuck sake.” I saw no reason why he had to use profanity, but then I opened my eyes to see that he was shaking me. “My god, I’ve been trying to wake you up for the past 10 minutes. I was starting to think that you were dead, but I saw that you were breathing. I don’t know what happened to you and I really don’t have time to get into it. We really do need to make tracks.”” Falla was in my dreams, but I had a feeling that she was really there and not just a product of my overactive imagination. This was a woman that choreographed everything that she did and made sure that her identity was hidden from those that were looking for any kind of magic.
“Um, I’ll be ready in a little while.” I looked at the red armor, grimaced and wondered if I was going to be able to put it back on. Then I remembered that I didn’t have to. This was the part of the competition where no unfair advantage could be taken by anybody. We only had our wits and those techniques that we had learned to protect ourselves. The Garrock was not for the light of heart. People were known to die. The rules stated that it had to be a full 5 minutes of somebody lying there and unable to get up before the victor would be declared.
We got dressed in a hurry and then we went outside to find that Rankin was right where he was supposed to be. There was no sign that he had gone anywhere. We looked at each other, but we knew that there was no way that we could take him with us. People were already on edge and once the rumor spread about the attack that had happened on two fronts, then none of those that were a pet would be safe. Lord Vadam would make a ruling. He had already said that he only tolerated the Dragos. Now that they were showing their true colors, he could turn his wrath on them without feeling any kind of backlash from the community.
I had no reason to let anybody keep guessing, unless of course I took into consideration that I was a tornado that had brought nothing but bad fortune to anybody that I’d come across. Braden was hiding who I was at great risk to himself, Landon was dead and Gemini was fighting for either her life or her sanity. I felt like all this way was on my shoulders, but then I realized that I couldn’t allow it to affect my performance.
We arrived at the Black castle and were immediately segregated by the black guardsmen. “Lord Vadam would like to have a few words with the both of you.” I knew that this was coming, but I had to show some kind of surprise. I’d already conjured up a believable story for my absence. I was meaning to come here to report what happened to Landon, but I got sidetracked by two young men that had decided to take a liking in my technique. “He’s very cross with you, Shana. You should have come to him immediately with any results. The fact that you didn’t makes him wonder what you might be hiding.” I didn’t want them to go digging. It would not be a good thing. So far, they had taken my word that I’d come from the other province.
All they would have to do was pull at that string and it would unravel before my eyes. We followed the black guardsmen into a room that was barren and had no discernible taste whatsoever. There were two hard chairs made of stone or something along those lines. We sat down and waited, until finally Lord Vadam had given us enough time to sweat it out.
He walked in and addressed me like a child that was being sent to the principal’s office. “Shana, I understand that there wasn’t much that you could do for Gemini. She did survive the night, but she has not yet regained consciousness. My medicine man tells me that the longer that she’s out the more likely that she’ll never wake up. Now, you stand in front of me without Landon by your side. I’m going to need some assurances before I decide to take some drastic action.” I could almost see the smirk on his face. He was itching for the chance to make my life miserable. He was just waiting for the right moment to act on the best interest of the people.
“I really don’t know what happened to Landon. We had just left the Black castle with Gemini in your care, when he disappeared. I suddenly found myself in this clearing, unaware of where was or how to find my way back. It took me most of the night, but I finally made it back to Braden’s place. He nursed me back to health and made sure that I was fully recovered from my ordeal. I was dehydrated and I could barely talk. I needed time to rest, even though I insisted that he call you immediately… I mean call for you immediately.” I had to stop mixing my words.
“Is this true, Braden?” He was using his very intimidating statue to make Braden uncomfortable in his own skin “I need you to tell me the truth, Braden and don’t leave anything out.” I’d learned a long time ago that there was always a semblance of truth in a good lie. If he could really sell it, then Lord Vadam wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.
“It’s true. I spent the night with her making sure that she was OK. I even brought in a friend of mine to do an in depth examination.” He was obviously talking about Nicholas, but not in the way that Lord Vadam had taken it. “He was quite thorough and after he was done, he said that she was perfectly fine. I think he wanted her to remain lying down. Unfortunately, Shana really couldn’t keep still.” I almost burst out into laughter. There was a semblance of truth in what he was saying.
“I believe you, Braden. You can’t look me in the eyes like that and tell me something that wasn’t true. I just have to wonder what happened to Landon and why Shana was spared. I’m sure that he’ll turn up, but for now, we need to turn our attention towards the tournament. I have one from the Black castle that has decided to take over where Gemini left off. Since, she is no longer able to compete; I have every right to put somebody else in her place. Instead of going for some new blood, I have decided to take one out of retirement.”
“You can’t do that.” Braden was beside himself and was trying to get up off the chair, only to have two of the guardsmen restrain him.
“I can and I have. Believe me, Daniel was not happy about it, but he understood the seriousness of losing the Black castle to Lord Russum or Lord Wallace. He believes like I do that I’m the rightful leader of Markham. He knows without me in power there will be only chaos. People will die and the balance of power would have a vacuum that needed to be filled by someone. Those loyal to me would lash out at either Lord Russum or Lord Wallace. It would be a full scale civil war unlike anything that we’ve seen before. It is the only reason why Daniel has decided to dust off his expertise and put them to good use.” I could see that Braden was seething and there had to be more to this than I realized.
“Do you get a sick thrill out of pitting brother against brother, Lord Bottom…I mean Lord Vadam?” I could see that Lord Vadam didn’t like this slip of the tongue. It must have been something people called him behind his back.
“Oh, that’s right; you are half brothers on your father’s side. I almost forgot about that.” I could tell that he was not somebody that forgot about much. He was purposely putting them in direct competition against one another. I had not heard Braden talk about Daniel and maybe there was a reason for that. There was definitely a story to be told and there was animosity that you could feel in the air. “He promises me that he’ll go easy on his little brother.” Once again, Braden could not control himself and he tried to reach his hands out to strangle Lord Vadam.
“I’ll kill you….” It was a good thing that it was not a crime to speak ones mind. I’m sure that if Lord Vadam wanted to make the case out of it, he could have him imprisoned and left for dead.
“You’re really going to have to rein in your temper, Braden. Take a lesson from Shana. She holds up to interrogation better than most. Her story never wavered, but I’m still not entirely convinced that what she said really happened. With that in mind, I believe that I’m going to send out one of my best to do a little bit of an investigation. I do hope that Shari has finally fallen. Oh maybe you haven’t heard. The bend where Shari was hiding has been destroyed.” My eyes went wide and my pupils grew, just so that I could put on the act of someone that had no idea. “My guardsmen told me that nobody survived, but one lone witness said that a person in red armor was seen at the site. I don’t suppose either one of you know anything about that?”
“We just finished telling you that we weren’t even near the bend. We were on our way there, but Landon disappeared and then I found myself lost.” I knew that he was just fishing for any sort of discrepancy to the story that I’d already told. He was good and I had to admit that that technique probably would’ve worked on most people. He was purposely trying to punch holes in my story, but wasn’t having any luck.
“That’s right… I must’ve forgotten. You can both leave now, but trust that my people will get to the bottom of this. I feel that these two attacks are a direct attack against me. If they think that this is going to make me abdicate my throne, then they have another thing coming.” We were forcibly ejected from the room, dragged down the hall and pushed back into the courtyard where everybody was getting ready for the Garrock.
Nicholas was doing sprints back and forth several times with people looking on and wondering when he was going to stop. Landon’s replacement was Devlin and I really didn’t know much about him. The other Black castle competitor along with Daniel was a man named Xavier. He was very quiet and he was having a quiet conversation with another man that Braden couldn’t take his eyes off of. I had to believe that was Daniel.
That man touched Xavier on the shoulder and then walked over to greet the both of us. “I’m sure that you haven’t heard of me. My name is Daniel. It’s nice to meet you and I’m glad to see that my brother has finally found somebody that is worthy to stand beside him. I never did like Gemini. She was always opinionated and liked to have her own way. My brother was always a bit of a coward in front of the ladies. I do hope that you have a short leash on him.” He was directing his comments to me, but I could also see that Braden was almost ready to strike him down where he stood.
“I should kill you.”
“Braden that is no way to talk to your brother. You really should rein in that temper. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that has mentioned that. I do hope that there are no hard feelings after I vanquish you and your girlfriend. As you know, only three can move on. I think you’ve already heard that Lord Vadam has made a decree that it does not have to be one from each castle. He has changed or more to the point twisted the rules in his favor. He can do that, because he is the Lord. You really should see somebody about that temper, Braden. I think we both can agree that it gets you into trouble from time to time. Sometimes I wonder why my father would give you the time of day. It’s not like you have anything in common. I’ve always been there for him and you’ve always shunned him and turned your back on the one person that showed you unconditional love.”
Chapter five
It was a good thing that I was able to pull them apart. If I didn’t, they would’ve come to blows. “Do I need to remind you that we want to stay under the radar, Braden? We can’t be causing waves. It will only come back and bite us and I think you know that.” He was now standing and doing these moves that I had taught him. Others were looking on and probably wondering what the hell he was doing. “Just concentrate on your opponent and let the rest go. We can’t afford the distractions. There are only six of us left and only three will remain after everything is said and done.” The opponents were picked at random and I was begging to their god or even mine to make it, so that Braden wouldn’t have to face his own brother or me.
It turned out Braden had to face Xavier. I was pitted up against Nicholas. He was the kind of man that would not go down without a fight. He had that mutation and I don’t know why that didn’t disqualify him from competition. I couldn’t think like that.
Daniel had to go up against Landon’s replacement, Devlin.
They fought like animals and there were no rules. The only rule was to incapacitate your opponent, so that they could not stand after 5 minutes. If they could do that without killing each other, the more the better. Unfortunately, death was part of the game. If neither opponent went down easily, then they would resort to more extreme measures to get their point across.
All of us watched as Daniel got the upper hand. He struck with a force of an anvil. His right cross was meant to do serious harm. Devlin was completely stunned and was rocking back and forth with his eyes unfocused and swinging widely back and forth with his hands in the air. He didn’t even know where he was. Daniel was stalking his prey and waiting for the right time to take him down like a lion does to its prey in the Serengeti.
“You could just drop down and not get up for 5 minutes. I know that you’re not going to, Devlin. It’s too bad, because I really did like you. I promise that I will not make you wait any longer.” Devlin was not even there anymore and just, as Daniel was preparing to take that final blow, Devlin dropped to his knees. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and then he fell face first into the sand. The clock began to tick off and everybody was silent for those initial 3 minutes.
Nobody moved or said anything and we all waited to see if Devlin was going to make a remarkable comeback. He finally stirred at the 00:04:15 mark. He began to lift himself off the ground, but he was barely able to get halfway up before he went back down. It was at the 00:04:50 mark that he finally was able to compose himself enough that he was able to stand. There was still 10 seconds to go. He could’ve stayed down, but he didn’t.
“You are a fool. That should have taken you out, Devlin. I have to give you credit for at least getting up before the 5 minute mark.” Devlin was still a little fuzzy around the edges and I could see that one eye was bloodshot. It probably meant that he had blown something inside his eyeball. Either way, he was really in no shape to continue, but that wasn’t going to stop him.
“Daniel, you do your best…but don’t expect me to just lie down.” Devlin was pigheaded and had he any sense at all, he would’ve stayed down for those extra 10 seconds. It was his ego that was feeding his desire to stay in the fight for as long as possible. “I’ve taken better beatings from my father. Do your worst, Daniel.” Daniel circled him and when his fist came out, Devlin surprised everybody by dodging the attack and rolling back onto his feet. Those 5 minutes or almost 5 minutes had given him that moment to retrieve whatever reserve he had left inside of him.
“Devlin, you know that this can only end one way. I have been undefeated and I don’t plan to make you the first one that’s going to get the best of me.”
Braden said to me “Shannon, the only reason why he is undefeated is because he doesn’t take any prisoners. If a person doesn’t stay down for those 5 minutes, then he continues to pummel them, until there’s nothing left. He killed four competitors and not just in hand to hand combat. He doesn’t know the word lose and failure is never an option. He thinks that his father is doing what’s best for him, but essentially his father is just living vicariously through his son. He wasn’t able to become one of the guardsmen, but his son did and stayed in that position for the next six years.”
“What happened to make him leave the guardsmen, Braden?”
“He recently found that his talents were not being appreciated. He took his expertise and decided to retire from the game permanently. I knew that if ever the Lord wanted him to compete again, he would jump at the chance.” They were now circling each other and I had to admit that Devlin looked like he was ready to take the fight to Daniel.
“Daniel, you have to know that I’ve been training like mad to get into shape for this. Being an alternate guy gave me at least the chance of competing. I had to be in shape and I went through some trials by fire to get where I am today.” He struck like a cobra, smacking the palm of his hand against Daniel’s ear.
It made Daniel stop in his boots. There was a trickle of blood coming from the ear that had been struck. I think he just blew his eardrum with that shot. He was probably hearing an echo effect. I had a previous injury like that, while sparring in the gym for fun. It took a lot of time to heal, but he didn’t have the luxury of waiting around to let nature take its course.
“What the hell….was that?” Apparently, Daniel had never seen anything like it. It was new and something that Devlin had pulled out of his bag of tricks at the last second.
“That’s for me to know and for you to find out. You’re not the only one that has been searching out different techniques when it comes to the Garrock. I actually found it fascinating to combine different techniques. People showed me their variation and I incorporated it into my training regiment.” He went in for yet another attack on that ear, knowing that he smelled blood and was going to strike while the iron was hot.
Daniel moved away at the last second and brought his fist underneath the armpit of Devlin. He must have struck a rib, because Devlin had now pushed back from the attack and was breathing with gasps. I could see that he was having trouble getting oxygen into his lungs. Daniel didn’t stop there and even though he was a little off balance, he still struck fast and hard. He went after that same spot and when that crack was heard, everybody made a collective gasp at the same time. He pummeled that side of the ribs, until Devlin’s legs buckled out from underneath him. He was now on his knees.
In this position Devlin tried a dirty tactic. He brought his hand up quickly towards Daniels crotch, only to have Daniel grab his wrist and twist it in such a way that it broke like it was made of glass.
“AHHHHHHHHH.” I knew that he was in considerable pain. Devlin’s eyes were now fluttering with a need that superseded his body’s desire to fall into a blissful sleep. He forced himself to stay awake and Daniel grabbed his hair and pulled him up, so that they were now looking at each other.
Daniel lost his balance a couple of times, but he still held true. He aimed his fist at Devlin’s nose. He came in and everybody was on their feet, until out of the blue, Devlin moved his hand up and around to deflect the attack. It hit his shoulder and twisted him around. The force of the impact was most likely going to leave a very nasty bruise in the morning. It was his last ditch effort. He rolled onto his back and looked up at the crowd.
Daniel was about to finish him off, but then the clock began to tick. This stopped him from making any kind of advance.
At the 4 minute mark, everybody was almost half expecting Devlin to make another comeback. He had his eyes closed, but he did try to rise up on his elbows. The pain was too severe to do anything, besides blink his eyes.
“I ALWAYS WIN…don’t you ever forget that.” I could tell that Daniel was having a hard time. He was angry and he wanted to kill him. When the clock began to tick, he had to back down or face expulsion. According to the rules, once the clock began, the person had that 5 minute reprieve.
The 5 minute mark struck and Daniel was the victor. He did not raise his hand, but he did smile, even though he was most likely feeling the effect of that blow to his ear.
“I told you that he rarely gives up. I will admit that’s the first time that I’ve seen him a little off his mark. I guess he wasn’t expecting that shot to his ear. Remind me to remember how Devlin did that. I think that you should do the same thing, Shana.” Daniel had barely made it out of the battle zone, when he collapsed and had to be taken to the medicine man by two of the guardsmen. He would survive, but he was going to need some medical assistance. I’d no idea what kind of medicines they had here. What came to mind was leech’s that would be placed on the wound to draw out the infection.
“Your brother took a bit of abuse. That smile on your face tells that you’re not going to lose sleep over it. Braden, you really should try to mend fences with your family. He may be only your half brother, but there has to be something to say for being blood.” I wanted him to be happy and if at some Point I wasn’t around, then I wanted him to turn to people that would at least understand him. I wasn’t sure if Daniel was the right fit for something like that. He didn’t seem to be all that compassionate to other people’s plights. He really didn’t look like he gave a damn about anybody, but himself and maybe his father.
“I have thought about trying to talk to them, but I just don’t think that they are the family for me. They don’t care about anything. Daniel is the worst of them. He was constantly bullying me and making me feel like I was weak. It was the reason why I left home. I didn’t want anything to do with them. My mother got together with a red warrior. He taught me everything that I needed to know about being a good man. My mother was the one that taught me how to fight, but I think I already told you that.”
It was time to move on to Braden vs. Xavier. This guy didn’t show any kind of emotion and he stayed there with his hands to his side waiting for his opponent to step in and take their best shot. Braden was quite proficient and I had to give him all the credit for learning how to defend himself. He was going to need everything he could find to fight this battle to the end.
Chapter six
“Braden, just between you and me, I really don’t like the look in his eyes. He looks like he has something up his sleeve. If I were you, I wouldn’t take this guy lightly.” Braden was preparing with a little shadowboxing to get him ready for the battle ahead. “He’s not even showing any signs of nervousness. That itself makes me a little suspicious about why he might be, so confident.”
Braden took off his shirt and began to do some stretches just to limber up his muscles. I’d shown him a few different ways to do that from my own world. He was moving his arm across his chest and then doing the exact same thing to the other one. He moved his knee with two hands cupping it up to his chest.
“Shana, the reason why he’s so confident is because he thinks he knows me. He might’ve last year, but this year is a different story. I think that he has become complacent in his own abilities. He hasn’t even begun to assume that I was training diligently all this year. He has no idea that I’ve searched for other techniques that I can use. Let’s say for argument’s sake that he does know that I’ve been researching other techniques. He certainly wouldn’t know the ones that you showed me. That one move should help me defeat him soundly and with conviction.”
“As your Lord, I am now asking for the next two competitors to enter into the arena. Stand at your ready. When I give the signal, you are both going to come out fighting. May the best warrior stay true.” I knew that Lord Vadam would not want Braden to win. I also knew that he probably was counting on the fact that Nicholas could beat me in a fair fight.
The signal was made and I had to wait and watch as Braden hopefully became one of the three left standing. If we could become two of the three, then we would be in the perfect position to give the Red castle a fighting chance at power. To me, it was not as important as the competition. To prove to these people that a woman could stand alongside a man would be worth a lot more than the Red castle getting its hooks into the Black castle. It kind of made me a little bit happy that we would usurp Lord Vadam and bring him down a peg.
“Braden, you are looking well today. I’ve heard of everything that you put yourself through this past year to get ready for this moment. To be honest, I really didn’t think that I would have to dispose of you. I guess it’s all a matter of the odds. I could’ve easily gone against your girlfriend or even Nicholas. If I had my choice, you would be the one that I would want to go against.”
“Let me guess, because you don’t think that I’m not much competition. Just, because you and I tangled last year and things didn’t go exactly well for me, doesn’t mean that there’s going to be a repeat performance.” This was all part of the game. Getting inside an opponent’s head was psychological warfare. They probably didn’t have a name for it here, but essentially they were trying to make the other one make a mistake.
“I’m not saying that you’re not competition, Braden. I’m just saying that you’re not competition for me.” They circled one another, gauging each other’s responses and seeing who was going to strike first. I didn’t like the way Xavier was smiling. It really did put people at an uneasy disadvantage. I just hoped that Braden wasn’t getting caught up in his mind games. If he did, he would feel overwhelmed and would do something that he would most likely regret later.
“I think that you should stop talking. There is something to say for being overconfident, Xavier.” I saw a blur of motion and Xavier was practically in the air with both feet over his head. He stepped forward and caught Braden underneath the chin. It was only a glancing blow, but I think he was just proving a point.
“I’ve been training all of my life. It’s not just for becoming one of the guardsmen. Last year, I came this close to finding that coveted spot. I will not be denied again. This is my destiny and whether you like it or not, you’re just an obstacle in my way.” Xavier had these huge hands and his reach was about 3 inches more than what Braden had.
Braden brushed his hand across the spot where Xavier had hit him with his foot. Xavier had done it with such grace and style that it was almost like it was second nature. That was a very difficult move to perform and yet he had done it like it was child’s play.
“That was just my way of announcing my intention. The next few shots are going to be quick and very painful. I know parts on the body that will make you scream, either out loud or inside your head. I’ll see it in your eyes and I’ll know that victory is at hand.” He did not have a normal stance. He basically stood there with his hands clasped in front of him with his head bowed and his eyes forward to look at Braden with a fixed stare.
Braden came in with five shots, including an elbow that briefly ruffled Xavier’s hair. Xavier had no wasted motion. He drove his fist into Braden’s stomach, but didn’t stop there. He continued to press forward, while putting his hand on the back of Braden to get more leverage. He followed that up with a right cross and then two knife edges to his throat. That attack made Braden stumble back and almost fall onto his ass. This guy was deadly and the worst part of it all was that he knew it.
“That was pretty…good. Let’s see what you can do it against…this.” Braden came after him with strike after strike and knee after knee. Xavier was smiling during the whole thing. He deflected each and every one of them. He struck Braden underneath the elbow and I could see the discoloration of his skin and the way that he was constantly rubbing that spot. It was causing him a lot of discomfort.
“It’s funny, Braden. You’ve given me your best shots and I haven’t even begun to show you what I can do.” I think it was about time that Braden tried that move, but maybe he was waiting patiently for that right moment. He couldn’t rush these things and if he did, he would throw his cards out there, before he was ready to.
Xavier moved like he was made of smoke, almost in slow motion, but it was only with a speed that seemed that way. He hit Braden on the jaw and face, while bringing his knees up to strike against his ribs.
He backed away, but Braden was feeling it. I could see the blood trickling from his mouth and one of his eyes had now closed over. It had this black and blue color that made him look like he had gone a few rounds with Mohammed Ali.
“If you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t look too good. It might be time to concede defeat. I would hate to have to kill you, but I will if I have to. I just finished telling you that this is my destiny and not…” He did not get a chance to say anything else. Braden had attacked and made a move that I wasn’t expecting. He leaped with both feet and even though Xavier moved, he did not go far enough.
He got struck on the shoulder and you could see from the way that his arm was hanging that his shoulder was dislocated. He grimaced slightly, but he narrowed his eyes and decided to improvise with the one arm that he did have.
“I told you that you should have shut up.” Braden looked a little too conceited. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to lose the edge that he had just gotten. “You really should know your opponent better than that. Those first couple of years was the perfect training tool to become better than I was. I don’t just use regular moves, I become unpredictable, so that not even you will know what’s coming.” He slapped Xavier across the face. It was not meant to do any harm, but it did throw Xavier off his game or so it seemed.
“Well, it appears that you have been honing your skills. It’s just too bad it’s not gonna make a damn bit of difference.” You would’ve thought with the damage that had been inflicted by Braden that Xavier would’ve been feeling like doing something reckless and careless. I would’ve thought that he would have attacked with anger in his heart, but he didn’t do that.
He once again showed his agility and even with the dislocated shoulder, he stood on one hand and used his feet, as his weapon of choice. It surprised Braden enough that he wasn’t expecting the move to come. He was slammed in the face twice and made to back away before he could do any more damage. His nose was bleeding and that one eye that had been given a shiner was now bleeding underneath the lid.
Braden kicked out in a sweeping motion down on the ground to go against Xavier’s vulnerable wrist. I heard the cracking of the bone and for the first time there was an anguished cry. Xavier crumpled with his head making contact with the ground. It compacted his spine and he would be lucky if he could walk after something like that.
Xavier struggled to his feet, but Braden was on him and then he was Airborne. He could only see through one eye, but it was more than enough for what he wanted to do. He was able to mimic the same move that I had done on him. He had his ankles locked behind Xavier's ears, as he attempted to use his weight and momentum to throw him over top of him. Unfortunately, Xavier grabbed onto his ankles, held him in the air and then planted him into the ground with such force that it actually blew the wind out of Braden.
Since he was on the ground and not moving the clock began ticking. It was a very tense moment, but after the 2 minute mark, he finally stood back on his feet. Xavier had not recovered sufficient enough to amount any sort of attack. He was still nursing his wrist. He was essentially only able to use his feet, because both of his arms were practically out of commission. He showed that that wasn’t going to deter him, as he began to kick straight out over and over again.
He did it for shock value and hopefully to catch Braden off guard. Braden for his part saw it coming and at first, I thought that he was going to be too stunned to do anything about it.
“Not so fast, Xavier.” Braden put both hands up underneath the one leg that was in the air. He pushed up into the air, taking Xavier off his feet. He landed with a terrible thud that everybody could hear. There wasn’t one person that wasn’t standing and taking in this spectacle.
Braden jumped on him and leveled blow after blow against his face and then concentrated his efforts on his stomach. Xavier did his best to try to defend himself, but it became almost painful to watch. Braden had this one track mind to put Xavier out of the competition. He could’ve stopped pummeling him at any time, but he continued, until he was reasonably sure that he wasn’t going to get back up.
If I thought that Braden looked bad after what Xavier had done to him, then it really didn’t compare. Xavier looked like a piece of meat that had been tenderized. His face was pretty bloody and a couple of his teeth had come loose from his mouth and was now sticking in the knuckle of Braden.
“That’s for last year.” Xavier tried to get up, but he was using his bad wrist. When he realized that wasn’t going to work, he tried his dislocated shoulder, but that was a no go. The clock was ticking and it was already up to the 3 minute mark, before he tried to use his feet to get back up. Unfortunately, he was too big and he needed his upper body to succeed at that task. “Never underestimate your opponent. That’s the one thing that you taught me and probably didn’t even mean to, Xavier.”
5 minutes went by and Xavier was carried out of there, but still alive. He most likely would feel humiliated and his ego would’ve been crushed, but the least he was still breathing.
“I think with that we will take a 20 minute recess. That should give you plenty of time to get ready for your next opponent.” He was directing his comments towards me and I felt like he was mocking me in some way. “You’re going to need everything that you can to go on to the next round.” He was purposely not mentioning Nicholas’s name. I didn’t know quite what to make of that, although his sinister stare made me think that I was biting off more than I could chew.
Braden walked over to me looking like he had just gone through the wringer, but he was smiling. “Shana, if I can do it, then you can. Trust in your instincts and in your training. I’ve seen you do some amazing things. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that you’ll be able to take Nicholas out. Nicholas is quick and he doesn’t lose focus. That doesn’t mean that he can’t be beat. There’s a reason why he stands here and not as part of the guardsmen. I was the one that took him out last year. He might think that it’s going to be easier with you, as his opponent. He doesn’t know what he’s up against.” Speaking of Nicholas, he was making his way over here.
“I just want to tell you that that was some amazing foot work. You surprised a lot of people, not to mention Lord Vadam himself. You may have not noticed it, but he was on his feet the entire time that you and Xavier were going toe to toe. This year is definitely different from other years. We not only know each other better, but we also have the threat of the attacks that have currently happened in Markham.”
“I appreciate what you’re saying, Nicholas. I just don’t think that it’s appropriate, considering that you’re going up against Shana in a few minutes. If you have something to say to her, then now is the time to do it. Once you’re out there, then all bets are off.” I could tell that Nicholas wanted to say something, but I had a funny feeling that it had nothing to do with the tournament.
“Shana, I want to thank you for showing me that new technique.” He was not talking about any kind of fight technique. He was talking about what I had done to him that Braden was always smiling about. “I plan to utilize that technique right after I become one of the guardsmen. I do like you, but do not mistake that for weakness. I will not let that call into play when I’m out there against you. Be ready, because like Braden, I’ve also been researching other techniques for the Garrock.” This was good to know and for him to tell me that only made me feel like he thought that he could beat me.
“Out there, it’s anybody’s game. It would be an honor to either beat you or be beaten by you, Nicholas. If it is all the same to you, I believe that I’m going to strive to beat you. I have a lot of supporters and to say that their dreams and aspirations are on my shoulders is a vast understatement. They need to see me fight and win. This is one thing that I will promise you, Nicholas. You will not walk away from this unscathed. You will remember fighting me for years to come. I will make sure that people are talking about this one fight. I want to become a legend.”
‘That’s easier said than done, Shana. May the best ‘man’ win.” He had emphasized the word man, just to get underneath my skin. The only thing it did was cement the fact that I had to do this for all woman kind.
I trained for the next 15 minutes with Braden using his hands for the target. Finally the time had arrived and Lord Vadam came back out onto the parapet looking out over his people. He looked too happy and I could see that smirk from a mile away. That was not a good smile.
“Under the letter of the rules it states that a competitor can return to competition if they weren’t eliminated by normal means. That being said, I believe that there is going to be another two competitors. Nicholas you’ll face Ansel. He is the alternate of the white castle.” I knew that he was waiting for the best for last. I had no idea what he was going to say, but I doubted very seriously that I was going to like it. “It’s only fair and fitting that this person comes out to introduce themselves.” I heard a door creaking and then I turned to see a figure emerge through the swirling dust that the wind had picked up.
Everybody was on their feet and the person with which I was going to have to do battle with was none other than… Gemini.”