19. Blood is Red, Bruises are Blue
Cade groaned as the blurry world sharpened around her. She felt like someone had just tossed her in a dryer and put it on high spin. She pushed herself off the ground and waited for the pounding in her head to subside.
Stupid path. If Sam had hurried along like she told him to, she wouldn't be here right now. Cade felt a little guilty at the way she was treating Sam. She didn't want to be so harsh with him, but he needed to learn his lesson. Simple words and apologies were not going to be enough to win her back. And if she was being honest with herself, she still loved him and giving him the cold shoulder helped Cade say strong and not fall back into his arms so easily.
Where had she fallen anyway? Cade turned her head to the sky, or lack there-of. Black fog encompassed her on all sides. How far had she dropped? Clearly not all way to the bottom, she wouldn't be alive if she had. Luckily, there was a ledge for her to land on. Not-so-luckily, she had no way to get back to the others or even if they had made it all the way to the other side safely.
"Cade!" a voice echoed down the trench.
"Huh?" Cade looked back to the sky. That was reassuring. If she could hear everyone else, then she couldn't have fallen down that far. She analyzed the wall behind her. "There's always a solution, you just have to find it," she mumbled her mantra to herself. It was her motto and it had gotten her through plenty of tough times and tricky problems. Her mother used to say it to her all the time.
She hadn't been rock-climbing in a while, but she should be able to climb up the wall without too much trouble. She didn't have much of a choice. It was her only way back to the group. They couldn't get separated again.
"I'm okay!" she shouted back, hoping they could hear her. "A little bruise, but I should be fine. I think I can climb up the wall to get back to you."
"That's a relief!" Kairi answered loudly. "You sure you can make it back?"
"What other choice is there? Unless you've been carrying a rope with you this entire time, climbing is the only option." She studied the wall more closely and found a foothold to experimentally test her weight on. It seemed stable enough.
She started her climb, her muscles immediately aching from the effort. The fall had hurt her more than she had first realized. Her foot slipped off of a skull. She pressed her body against the wall and tightened her grip while she frantically searched for a new place to put her foot. She finally found a small rock jutting out from the wall and let the tension in her body fade. She was not off to a good start.
The thick fog surrounding her prevented her from knowing exactly how far she had to climb. She reached for the next ledge to pull herself up. Now where could she go from here? She looked ahead and tried to visualize possible routes. The closest object for her to grab onto was a bone protruding out from the rock, but she'd have to jump for it. It was risky. If she missed, Cade wasn't so sure she could land on the ledge again, and she had no desire to find out how deep this trench really was.
She loosened her knees and pushed herself away from the wall, keeping her center of gravity low. "You used to rock climb all the time back in Australia. You can do this," she gave herself a small pep-talk. She sprung, stretched her hands as far as they would go, and latched onto the bone.
And lost her grip. She screamed as she started to fall through the air. Her arm shot out and madly grasped for the bone, slicing herself in the process, but she managed to clamp down on the bone. A warm wetness spread down her arm. Cade tried not to think about how much blood she was losing. "We really should have brought a first-aid kit with us," she mumbled and forced herself to continue on with her ascension. She couldn't be far from the top now. If she peered through the mist, she could see the feint outline of four figures waiting above her.
Trying to use her injured arm as little as possible, Cade pulled her body up again and again. She stopped paying attention to how far she had to go and focused solely on making the next jump or climb. It was a pleasant surprise when a tanned hand reached down to help her up.
She extended her good arm and allowed whoever it was that offered their hand to pull her up. She came face to face with Liam and offered him a grateful smile. Her legs wobbled as she regained her balance. She glanced at her still bleeding arm to assess the damage. The cut was deep, but at least it missed any vital arteries. She may be left with a scar, but at least she wouldn't bleed out.
Remembering Sydney's earlier solution to her head injury, Cade ripped off the bottom of her shirt and used it to bandage her bloody wound. But she quickly noticed something was wrong.
"Where's my charm bracelet?" Cade's heart clenched, and she frantically searched the ground around her. Her cherished bracelet was nowhere in sight. She felt naked without it on her wrist. An unfortunate thought popped up in her head. She peered over the edge she had just tried so hard to climb over. A glimmer flashed in her peripheral and caught her attention. She focused on the source of the flicker of light.
The bone that she had injured her arm on was still jutting out over the depthless chasm, and her bracelet was dangling from the end of it.
Liam blew out a low whistle. "There's no getting that back. You'd die trying to get it. At least it was only a bracelet."
"Only a bracelet..." Cade's words were hollow sounding. That charm bracelet meant everything to her. It was one of the few things she had left to remind her of her parents. She needed it in her life, and yet she knew Liam was right. It'd be a suicide mission to retrieve it from its precarious location.
Her heart shattered inside her chest. She had worn that bracelet every day since her mother had given it to her. Now she would never wear it again.
The memory Sydney tilted her head, allowing her neck to pop. She analyzed the opponent standing in front of her. Only ten minutes into the fight and her opponent already had a bloody nose and was walking with a limp. She hadn't put up much of a fight compared to the other adversaries Sydney usually went up against. This poor girl was probably just here to earn a quick buck or two and entering an underground fighting competition was better than selling yourself on the street.
Sydney spat out blood, hoping no one in the audience would notice that it was green. She was supposed to be Sasha Kila, mortal champion fighter, not Sydney Tempus, immortal time goddess. Her wig was on so tight, it was starting to hurt. Despite the other girl's scrappy fighting skills, she had managed to land a punch early in the fight.
The two girls deliberately circled each other, calculating their next move. Sydney could feel the tension in the air. The audience was growing restless. They demanded entertainment. They demanded blood.
Sydney made the quick decision to end the fight. She screamed, surprising the other girl and throwing her off balance. Sydney charged forward, shouldering her opponent into the cage wall.
The girl cried out in pain and begged to end the fight. Too bad that wasn't how fights worked here. The fight ended when one contestant was knocked out or killed. They tried to discourage the latter. Still, accidents happened.
Sydney elbowed the girl in the side of her head. She yelled in response and tried to lash back. Sydney easily dodged it and jumped backwards. Her foe ran forward, just like Sydney hoped she would. She swiftly sidestepped her attack and used the girl's momentum against her. With a swift roundhouse kick to the head, the girl fell down. Her eyes rolled back and she slumped over, unconscious.
The audience erupted into cheers. The manager of the fight ring reached his arm down into the pit to help Sydney get out. He tried to hand her a stack of cash as well, but Sydney merely pushed it away.
"Give it to her." She pointed over her shoulder at the still unconscious girl in the fighting pit. "She needs it more than I do."
And it was true. Sydney didn't come here for money. Entering small fighting competitions like this gave her a chance to let out her frustrations and squash any of those dark urges that sometimes popped up. There was a pleasant freedom in doing it. Anyone who entered was there by choice and knew the consequences. Most importantly, Sydney was there by choice. This wasn't one of the many competitions Nicole liked to throw her in. She was here willingly and that felt good.
Sydney walked out into the cool night air. The night sky was filled with the cosmos and even the occasional shooting star. Stelluna was a beautiful place. It was a shame it had been taken over by bandits years ago and now served as the time-space continuum's black market and home of other illegal and underground activities.
She had just found a dark alley where she could warp to Draylon unnoticed, when a deep voice spoke up behind her.
"Great fight back there."
Sydney inwardly groaned. Most of the people who went to the fights were just there to bet and enjoy a good fight. They rarely bothered her, but occasionally she would pick up a fan or two and would have to shoo them away.
Sydney turned to face the newcomer. Her heart stopped as she took in the boy's appearance. In all honestly, he was the most attractive boy she had seen in her life. She reminded herself to breathe and mentally slapped herself.
It's a just a boy, she scolded herself. No need to start hyperventilating. Maintain your focus.
He looked to be about her age, sixteen, and was smiling with flawlessly straight and white teeth, like they were old friends. He had thick, gelled-up dark brown hair with bits of blonde in it and coffee-brown eyes that glinted with amusement. His face was made of sharp angles and high cheekbones, and was lined with perfectly sculpted and trimmed facial hair. Sydney didn't even like facial hair, but on him it looked irresistibly sexy.
Sydney managed to compose herself enough to speak like a normal person. "Thanks. Can I help you?"
The boy's grin widened and he closed the distance between them. "The name's Jordan, and do I have a deal for you." He stuck his bronzed hand out, eager to shake her hand.
Sydney let it stay there, not trusting herself to stay calm if she touched him. She could feel the warmth his body was radiating from here. She crossed her arms instead. She knew all too well how these 'deals' went. "Let me guess, you want to create a partnership. You promote me, raise the bets in my favor, and then split the winnings fifty-fifty."
Jordan laughed, dropping his arm. Even his laughter sounded sexy and perfect to Sydney's ears. "I have no desire for money, and I know you don't need it either."
"Then what are you here for?" Sydney frowned at him, assuming that if he wasn't here for money, he was probably here for sex. The thought was somewhat appealing to her.
Calm down, she thought to herself. He's just a boy, albeit a very sexy and attractive boy, but you can't drop your defenses just yet.
"Let me cut to the chase." Jordan stepped forward. "I know a time goddess when I see one. This disguise you're wearing is impressive, I'll give you that, but you can't do anything to hide that magical blood of yours. You should be more careful next time. I may not be the only one who notices. However, if you don't accept my deal, I'm sure the manager would love to find out you've been illegally competing."
Sydney tensed up and stepped back, ready for a fight. Jordan was apparently highly perceptive. Which means he's been watching you all night, she couldn't stop the blush that appeared on her cheeks.
"Alright you caught me. You still haven't told me what this deal is."
"Simple really." Jordan shrugged and folded his hands behind his back. "I need your blood."
Sydney had him pinned up against the wall in an instant. "Never."
Blood thieves weren't uncommon. They were people who wanted the blood of the gods for themselves. Given high enough concentrations, they could make the user immortal. Needless to say, blood was in high demand and plenty of greedy people would do anything to get their hands on it.
Being this close to Jordan was doing nothing to calm her hormones. His cologne was intoxicating and his body was so warm, Sydney wanted to curl up next to him and sleep for a thousand years. His muscles were firm and the image of them holding Sydney in a loving embrace flashed in her mind. She shook her head. He just admitted to being a blood thief, and you're still swooning over him?
Jordan only laughed again. "I like you. You've got spirit. You didn't even let me finish explaining my deal."
"I don't need to." Sydney threw him on the ground and immediately hated herself for it. As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to love that body, not hurt it. "My answer is no. I don't care how badly your buyer wants my blood. They can't have it. They'll just have to accept their inevitable death like everybody else." She raised her foot to stomp it in his face.
"Buyer? No, no, no. I'm not giving this to anyone who wants to be immortal. It goes to hospitals." Jordan held up his hands to protect his face.
Sydney stopped her foot. "Hospitals?"
"Yes." Jordan eyed her foot warily. "Not everyone is fortunate enough to have perfect immunity. A lot of people out there really need some help. And the smallest injection of your blood can do that."
Sydney put her foot back down. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"I can show you!" Jordan bounced back up surprisingly quick considering the near-beating he just experienced. "Use some of that warping magic of yours and I can prove to you I'm telling the truth. Once you see that, all I need is a small vial full of your blood and you'll never see me again. That is, unless you want to, which you probably will." Jordan winked at her.
Sydney rolled her eyes. She probably shouldn't have trusted him so easily, but she had enough faith in her fighting skills that she knew she could defend herself if this turned out to be a lie. "Doubtful. And if you're wrong and this is a trick, I will hurt you." Sydney clenched her fists. "And I can't guarantee you'll ever walk again."
"That won't be necessary." Jordan grinned. "I think you and I will be seeing each other a lot more in the future."
Sydney scoffed, but the idea made her heart flutter. "Just tell me where this hospital is."
