11/07/15
Okay, so I may have accidentally overwritten this chapter with the first part of the next one. I was up most of the night rewriting it, but by the time I'd finished I was too tired to give it the edit it deserved. Normally I never upload anything half-finished, but as this was supposed to be released yesterday I decided to make an exception.
This is a very rough version of the chapter. I'll replace it with the polished one some time this evening, so it's up to you whether you read it as is or wait until then.
Something jolted his aching skull, and he rolled fuzzily into awareness. His whole body was numb, and he found he was quite unable to move it, but it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. There was something soft beneath his head; something warm and welcoming, like a pillow. He tried to remember why he had awakened, but the idea of sleep was just too tantalising. He let his mind drift off again, wandering back into whatever world it had been exploring before-
Something smacked into the back of his skull and he choked down a scream, furious eyes snapping open in an instant. His legs were caught! He snatched them away; they came free and he fell into the earth below.
Pain struck his body like a wildfire, all his forgotten injuries returning to batter him remorselessly, defenceless without the shield of an adrenaline rush. This time he did scream, rolling onto his side and curling into a ball as the agony dragged him under like a fishing boat in a maelstrom. The world disintegrated before him, vision clouding over and fading to black.
He didn't know how long he lay there, crying in misery, until he finally regained his cracked senses. Liz was knelt beside him, worry and fear etched across her face, hand on his forehead as though checking his temperature. He slapped it away. "Hell a you doing?"
She withdrew her arm, hurt. "I'm sorry, I tried-"
"Enough!"
"I'm... sorry?"
"That's what I mean," he scowled, "always sorry. Always your fault. Always wrong. D'you have any idea how old that gets?"
"You mean...?"
"I'm tired enough already, without you apologisin' every second. Cut it out."
"Right." She looked down. "I'm so- no, I mean, yes. Okay. I'll stop- but it's harder than it sounds."
Lamb snorted. "Ain't difficult for anyone else. Now- why the hell d'you decide to start dragging me across the forest?"
"It was... I didn't mean wake you. But we aren't safe here."
"Course not. We're bein' hunted. Why would it be?"
"That's not what I mean. What I meant to say is, we're trapped."
"Trapped?" He sat up suddenly, grunting as it reminded him of all his aching pains. "What do you mean, trapped?"
"I thought I should look around the forest while you were unconscious, see if I could find a way out."
"And did you?"
She scowled, and under normal circumstances he might have found her pouting cute, but this time there was something darker in it. "You could say that. I found the edge of the forest, alright."
"But?" he asked, already predicting the answer before she responded.
"But the edge is a chasm. One step it's trees, the next you're falling to your death. It stretched as far as I could see, and I don't think there's a way around it."
Lamb swore under his breath. It looked like his lack of interest in life outside the city had come round to bite him in the arse. Otherwise, he might have known about this beforehand. "There has to be a way across, right? Must be something."
"There's a crossing," Liz said, "but just the one."
"So it'll be guarded."
"I didn't see anyone, but the Wardens aren't stupid. If they know we're here, and they know it's our only escape, they won't just let us cross."
"And behind?"
"I thought I'd check that out too, just in case we got lucky. There's nobody inside the forest, but there are a lot of lights outside the treeline. They've got us trapped; they're just waiting now to see where we head."
Lamb sank back against a tree, resting against it for support. "This is bad."
Liz, half-smiled. "You don't say."
Lamb shook his head."Not what I meant. You thought you'd go lookin' around. You start making decisions, it's dangerous for both of us."
"Oh, screw you," her face soured and she punched him in the arm, only to draw it back with a look of remorse when he gasped at even the light impact. "I'm so-"
"Say sorry again an' I'll tie your mouth shut."
Liz fixed her gaze on the ground. "I told you; it's hard."
"An' I said everyone else gets by fine."
The two of them went silent for a while, both trying to figure out what to do next, until Lamb decided to take the initiative. "Well they ain't gonna leave us alone, an' we can't stay here forever. Reckon we should just make for the bridge and hope for the best."
Liz shook her head. "It's too risky. I can't fight, and you're in no state to go up against a Warden. We need to go back, see if we can find a way to sneak past."
"Then what? I can't run if they see us. Even if we get past them, we've still got to escape."
"But we'll have just the same problem with your idea."
Lamb shook his head. "This is why I said you shouldn't make the decisions. We take the bridge, an' we destroy it. Nothing simpler."
"Destroy it how?"
"Dunno. I'll figure it out."
Liz thought on it a moment. "If you're sure. But at least wait a couple of days. You can't face a Warden like that."
Lamb laughed. "Can't face a Warden either way. 'Sides, we don't all heal like you."
"You mean...?"
"Months. Couple of days ain't gonna make a damn bit of difference."
Liz stared at him like he was some kind of alien creature. "You heal that slowly?"
Lamb laughed weakly at that. "Everyone does. It's only you who doesn't."
"Then," she sat back, lost, "we really don't have a choice, do we?"
"Nope." Liz made no move to take action, so he decided he had to take charge again. "Help me up."
The girl blinked, brought out of her thought. She walked over to him and he put his intact arm around her shoulders, painstakingly lifting himself to his feet. He looked around for a second before speaking again. "Where's my statue?"
"I couldn't carry it and you at the same time. Why do you care so much about some weird statue, anyway?"
"It's mine. Ain't nothing else that's mine. An' since it's here, might as well take it with us."
"But it's just going to slow us down."
"Well," lamb snorted, "look on the bright side. Worst comes to the worst, it'll be good firewood."
"We're in a forest."
"Yeah, but not for long. Stupid girl."
He took a single hesitant step, arm still around her shoulder for support, gritting his teeth against the pain. A second and third step, and they grew into an uncomfortable rhythm. It wasn't like the pain faded at all, but with practice Lamb found that he was able to ignore it to a degree, forcing it to the back of his mind.
He was surprised to find his statue a couple of hundred yards away. He'd thought he was just asleep, but if Liz had dragged him that far before he woke up maybe it could have been something more. He'd been angry at the girl for pronouncing him a dead man, but looking back he'd certainly slept like one. Just how badly injured am I?
Broken heel, the thought inserted itself into his mind, broken ankle. Two cracked ribs, multiple damaged organs, and a big hole in the centre of your chest. Plus a skinned right arm. Plus a whole host of minor injuries.
Damn, Lamb frowned- then realised, as somebody who had never been injured before, that he had no idea how bad those kinds of injuries were.
Bad. If you don't get help soon, you're going to die of blood loss.
He sighed inside. It was a hassle, but he knew better than to doubt his inner voice. He'd never known it to be wrong before.
They reached his statue and he had Liz cut him some vines for it, with the knife she'd conveniently had stuffed down her boot. Doing his best (and failing miserably) to avoid touching his open wounds he managed to strap it awkwardly to his back. Then, deciding it was best not to leave time to dwell on anything, he began to lead them towards where she said the bridge was situated.
A half hour's careful shuffling later, and Liz brought them to a halt. "It's up ahead."
Lamb half smiled, half shivered, caught between emotions and reactions even he couldn't understand. A week ago he wouldn't even have dreamed of doing this, and the thought would have filled him with nothing but terror- but he was no longer the same person he'd been a week ago.
Things had been changing inside him. It had started with Liz, gradually, as he began to understand the concept of self-sacrifice and the desire to protect; but it was the fight with the Warden that had made the drastic change.
Lamb had never been an angry person. Sure, he'd been irritated, and frustrated, but never angry. He'd never been violent either, never using more force than required and never taking pleasure in it. Now he could no longer say either of those things. He hated the Warden, for his arrogance and his actions, and that hate wasn't fading any time soon. When he'd kicked him it was as though a lever had been pulled in his mind- in that moment he'd felt a savage joy unlike anything before, as though destroying an enemy could in some way help him feel alive.
He wasn't sure he liked the change. He didn't think he wanted to be that kind of person- like those brawlers who went round picking fights just to batter anyone they took a dislike to- but at the same time it seemed somehow natural, as though this was how he'd always been.
The change hadn't just been mental, either. Lamb had never been a fighter, simply because his superior strength was more than enough to deal with any threats, but during the confrontation he'd felt like a natural. He hadn't even needed to think; his body had simply acted on autopilot. It was all, he felt, somehow linked to his missing memories, and he really did need to get around to looking into those.
"Great." He forced his trembling face into a twisted smile, still unsure whether he was shivering through fear or excitement. "Then wait for me here. I'll deal with this."
Liz said nothing, and she didn't need to. He could read it all off her face. He turned his back on her, setting his jaw and making for the edge of the treeline.
"Lamb," she called him back and he turned. She paused, playing with her hands and suddenly fascinated by the ground at her feet. "Come back safely."
He grinned to himself. "Don't worry. I think I've remembered."
"Remembered what?"
The grin turned into a predatory smirk. "How to fight."
He'd expected some kind of rope bridge, but it looked like this place was more important than he'd thought. It was stone, arched and wide enough to cross in a cart, and a trampled path led away on either side. The chasm itself wasn't that wide, maybe only fifteen or twenty yards, but stretched down into the bowels of the world like a great wound. Had he been any less injured he might have stood a chance, but right now it was too risky. Liz, remarkably, had made the right decision.
The Warden stood there in the middle of the bridge, arms folded across his chest, greatsword slung across his back. Lamb couldn't tell how long he'd been standing there, but impressive as it might look it didn't seem very practical. Unless he'd known he was coming. The man didn't seem particularly surprised to see him- but then it was hard to read somebody covered head to toe in plate.
Lamb emerged from the treeline, limping out into the open and untying his statue, stopping and setting it down at the base of the bridge. "Don't stand on my behalf."
"Funny," the man rasped, "look what washed up at my feet. Come to grovel, you half-dead mutt?"
"Ain't the desperate animal supposed to be the most dangerous?"
The Warden didn't respond, only raised his right hand, palm outstretched. "Fallen Star," he muttered, and Lamb had just enough time to think of a few choice words, "Hellcannon."
A ball of fire blossomed in the palm of his hand, bursting outwards and flying towards the boy. Lamb's eyebrows lifted slightly. He'd been right, then, about remembering. Before he couldn't even follow it, and yet now it seemed clear as day.
He raised both arms before him, blocking the shot with his forearms. The impact of the detonation knocked him backwards and he rode it, bracing his feet and skidding backwards across the path. He lowered his arms, chuckling to himself. "Please sir, let me cross. Wait until the next fugitive arrives- she's much more wanted than I."
The Warden grunted. "A real joker." A moment's pause. "I hate jokers."
He fired a second shot and Lamb sprung into action, twisting out of the way, digging his toes into the dirt and propelling himself forwards. He couldn't beat this man in brute force- he wasn't sure he could have even uninjured- but in this case he didn't need to. All it took was a little thought.
He reached the statue, spinning on his rear leg and side kicking it towards the Warden, fighting instincts blooming inside him even as he moved. The knight took a step back, charging another Hellcannon shot in his right hand and batting the statue away with his left. Lamb leaped in behind it, unseen, and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath when the man realised how close he'd gotten. If he'd had the time, he might have made some kind of snide comment.
The Warden tried bringing his right hand to bear but Lamb slapped it aside, the magic discharging into the bridge and blowing a hole through to the other side. He struck out with his own fist, punching up towards the man's exposed chin. Not like that! came the voice in his head, too late to prevent anything.
The uppercut landed with bone crushing force, snapping the Warden's head upwards and lifting him off the ground, armour and all. Lamb had a split-second to feel satisfied before the pain of his shattered knuckles and snapped wrist made its way to his brain.
He fell backwards, screaming and cradling it to his chest. His vision flashed out again, white this time, and he barely had time to react to the glint of silver flashing through his peripheral vision.
He rolled to the side, springing dizzily onto his feet as a greatsword blade chewed through the bridge where he'd been lying. The knight swung at him again and he backed away, skipping left, right, back again. It was remarkable how quickly the pain faded in a fight- focussed entirely on the man in front of him, he could barely feel it anymore.
Don't punch, his voice commanded him, not now.
I know, he responded through gritted teeth, I'm not stupid.
The greatsword swung at head level and he leaned out of the way, hopping in before the knight could strike again. Another Hellcannon shot appeared and Lamb forced it down, blowing another hole in the masonry of the bridge before kicking the man in the stomach. The Warden flew backwards, bouncing off the ground and rolling to a stop as Lamb tried to ignore the throbbing from his broken heel. Not much further now.
The Warden rose to his feet, firing off another shot which he dodged, and the two flew towards each other. Lamb leaped over the next swing, kneeing the man in the face and denting the visor, landing behind him and elbowing him in the slight fracture he'd made back at the tavern. A wild swing which he dodged, following up with a palm heel to stumble the man. Hellcannon shot, deflected into the ground. Stabbing sword, sidestepping to avoid it. As the encounter drew on, Lamb began to become more and more hopeful. This wasn't as bad as he'd expected. He might actually be able to win this.
Then he made a mistake, stepping backwards and finding nothing underneath his searching foot. He stumbled, arms windmilling as he fell backwards, guard dropped and unable to react the next swing of the greatsword.
The blade struck him across the chest, carving through his skin and ribs and barely missing his lungs. He shrieked, landing heavily against the cold stone, but there was no time to pay attention to his injuries. He rolled again, jacknifing to his feet and putting some distance between the two of them. His head slumped, beaten and broken, and he panted from the exertion. He'd gotten cocky. How bad was it?
Bad enough, came the response. If the adrenaline runs out you'll be too hurt to move, and if not you'll die of blood loss. It's now or never.
Now, then. He had to end it. He watched through misting eyes as the Warden approached, leisurely, convinced he was no longer a threat. And a way he wasn't- he was dead on his feet.
One step. Two. Lamb couldn't do it. He just couldn't. He'd blown it, and now he had neither the strength to finish the job. He couldn't even muster the strength to sigh.
The Warden came to a halt in front of him, and Lamb raised his beaten face to lock eyes with him. There was no mercy in them, no pity; but then he hadn't been expecting any. There was no other outcome.
The man raised his sword above his head and Lamb fell to his knees, legs giving way beneath him. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he might have seen somebody else behind the knight, running towards him, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like the man needed reinforcements.
The setting sun glinted off the executioner's blade, painting it a blazing orange and imbuing it with a dazzling fire. Lamb slumped, overstretched muscles relaxing into inevitability. The man took the blade in both hands, preparing to cut him in half-
A stone bounced of his pauldron. "Over here!" The man turned in surprise, and Lamb followed his example, to fine Liz striding from the treeline, face a cross between fury and horror. "I'm the one you want!"
The Warden froze. Then he began to chuckle, a deep and evil chuckle. "Aren't you the brave one. How generous." He took one hand from his blade, fireball generating in his palm. "Now I can kill you h-"
Something snapped inside Lamb. Drawing upon reserves of strength he hadn't even known he owned he rose to his feet, hand knifing into the man's sword-wielding wrist. The man gasped, dropping the blade reflexively and Lamb caught it. He forced his shoulder into the Warden's breastplate, knocking him backwards and sending the cannonball off target.
Despite everything, Lamb found himself giggling in grim satisfaction. The Warden looked at him in confusion. "What's so funny?"
Lamb fixed his gaze on him, centre of a circle of devastation, creaking under his weight, and a glint entered his eye. "You fall for it." Then he brought the great blade up above his head, driving it into and through the stone of the bridge with all the strength he could muster.
A spiderweb of cracks ran through the stonework and the Warden gasped, realising too late the danger he was in. He hurled himself forwards, charging towards the boy, but Lamb twisted the planted sword, shattering the demolished bridge with a resounding crash.
The floor gave way beneath the Warden and he fell, feet treading on air. "Son of a-"
Then of a sudden he was gone, and with him the entire centre section of the bridge. The second man stopped, pulling to a halt in horror, and Lamb closed his eyes. One out of two wasn't bad. He'd done what he could. Now it was Liz's turn.
Tired beyond belief, he finally allowed his body to sleep, toppling forwards into the abyss.
