Well, well, well. Look what finally came back. After, what, four months of not posting? Sheesh, it felt like a year. I dunno whether I should apologize or not. Gah, Chaotic needs to come back. I have nothing to watch anymore. You know that "hiatus" means it's dead and it's never going to come back through…

Okay, okay, enough of that. Anyway, thank you guys for (sort of) being patient. I realize that you're probably all sick of the Hanna is Not a Boy's Name fan art I've been dumping onto dA. Anyway, back to the story of Kaz and his horrible life…


The Files of Kazdan Kalinkas

Book Three: Shadow of a Boy

Chapter Ten: Another Way You Can Die


"I see a figure in my rifle sight who does not know that he's there and as I hesitate to take his life the ground explodes, my blood it flows, my heart is racing, time's escaping, as I feel it slowly scraping by."


I had lied.

I did not go back to Kiru City, I did not go to Maxxor's palace, and I did not go back to see Chaor.

I was too scared of him, too scared of what he represented.

Instead, I ported to the OverWorld, to Garv's home, and sat down by the lake. I drew my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs, staring out across the blue waters.

"Kaz?"

I glanced around and there stood H'earring, holding a basket full of dug up plants. I smiled at him. He dropped the basket and ran to my side, flopping down beside me.

"Hey, H'earring."

"Kaz! I thought you weren't ever coming back!"

"I wasn't going to but I…changed my mind." I ran my fingers through my hair, flaking out the stuff holding it in its spiked style so that it started hanging in my face, "What have you heard about the UnderWorld?"

"Nothing much. I really haven't left Garv's since you did." H'earring picked up a handful of dirt and let it fall through his fingers, "All I know is that Lord Van Bloot is…starting to gain a foothold in the UnderWorld."

"I saw Chaor."

"You did!" H'earring cried, "Where was he! How was he! What happened to him! Why did he leave the UnderWorld! What—!"

"H'earring!" I said, "Geez, give me a second and I'll…I'll explain everything." And I did. I told him everything I had learned at Maxxor's. Afterwards, H'earring was silent. We both were.

Then, "Do you trust him?"

"No." I answered immediately. I felt his accusing eyes on me. H'earring may not have liked working for Chaor, may have betrayed him to save me, but he was still an UnderWorlder at heart. I clawed the last of my hair down and took off my glasses, "Why do all of you guys want me to trust him so much? How can I? After everything that happened?"

"But it wasn't—!"

"For erifz sake, H'earring, I know it wasn't Chaor! But for almost a year I thought it was and even if I believed him, how could I trust him!" In my frustration, I picked up a rock and hurled it out into the lake. It splashed loudly into the water, "I can't just…just forget that I thought it was Chaor! It hurt! It still hurts! All of you want me to go back to normal but I can't! I just CAN'T!"

"Alright, alright, you don't have to yell" H'earring muttered, tugging at the ends of his ears, "You're so whiny, Kaz."

"Psh, I have every right to be." I scowled at him but it was a playful one and I was soon smiling instead, "So I have to know, is Garv paying you in Dractly scales to pull out those plants?" H'earring looked like he was going to answer but then his large ears pricked up and he looked around, frowning, "What?"

"I thought I heard…" H'earring blinked a couple of times and raised one ear, trying to magnify the sounds around him.

I tensed, fingers clenching on the dirt and grass beneath me. I fought to relax but I couldn't. A cold fire spread from my stomach to my limbs, the same cold fire I got before I was sent out on a mission.

"H'earring….?" I whispered, my eyes scanning the tree-line for any sign of movement.

"Shhhhhh." The little Creature shushed me, still trying to listen.

"H'earring, I—." Something exploded out of the trees to the right, a dark shadow against the sun, and shot out over our heads. Fire rained down and I shouted in terror, throwing my arms up to protect myself. I heard H'earring cry out and I looked around for him but all I could see was flickering flames and dancing lights. Something hit me hard in the back and I flipped head over heels across the ground, skidding across it and landing hard on my side. The world kept spinning, tilting, I couldn't focus.

Then I heard wingbeats and a putrid stink of death, decay, rot, sweat, and old blood washed over me. My stomach churned and I gagged, pressing my hands against the ground to get up. I stood slowly, warily, eyes glaring at the Creature standing before me.

"Lord Van Bloot." A shiver of fear ran through my voice.

And he must have heard it because he broke into a grin and flexed his wings, saying in a rather unfriendly voice, "I finally found you, Ghost. You're quite hard to track down but I finally found you."

"You…" I growled, fists quivering at my sides, "You did this to me. It was all you…!" The Underworlder seemed to swell with pride, as though I'd flattered him, "You ruined my life!" I roared and charged at him, leaping for him, hands outstretched, rage and fear and hate boiling inside of me.

Van Bloot simply snatched me out the air, one bony hand closing around my neck and squeezing. I struggled, kicking and scratching but he refused to let go.

"You're more trouble than you're worth, human." The Underworlder spat, sneering at my predicament, "But at the same time, you're very, very useful." He chuckled darkly and shifted, his wings ruffling and sending that horrible stink over me again.

"Th-the plans were all destroyed." I managed to choke out past his grip on my throat, "All of them! Y-y-you can't build another Wormhole G-Generator and you can't make anym-more of the IRA…! Just let me go!"

"Insolent brat!" Van Bloot squeezed his hand tighter around my neck, his nails digging in and drawing a strangled cry from me, "You might have destroyed the plans, the Generator, and the armor but it's only a matter of time before I make another one! Chaor may have run like a coward but the UnderWorld is under my control now! Ulmar will make more for me! And then I will have all of Perim!"

"You'll never have it!" Screeched a voice and a fireball smacked Lord Van Bloot in the side, making him stumble. But he didn't release his grip on me.

"H-H'earring!" I gasped, "Get out of here!"

"No!" The little Creature snapped, more flames flickering to life in his hands, "Let him go, Van Bloot!"

Lord Van Bloot snorted, raised his free hand, and shot H'earring with a lance of electricity. H'earring was jerked off his feet and tossed through the air to slam into the ground. He did not get up.

"H'earring!" I shouted. He still did not move, "H'earring! H'earring!"

Lord Van Bloot laughed horribly, "Serves the little traitor right!"

"You…you…" My heart thudded wildly in my chest, my vision swam with red and tears, my skin was on fire, prickling with hate, "You bastard!"

"Don't talk down to me!" Van Bloot snarled and slammed me to the ground. I tasted blood in my mouth, my head spinning. Then the ground vanished and I felt the UnderWorlder's arm wrapped tightly around my middle, hoisting me into the air. The horrible stench stung my nose again as Lord Van Bloot unfurled his wings, beat them a couple of times, and took off. I saw the ground soaring away from me, saw the fire spreading through the trees, saw the front door opening and Garv running out, saw the lake, sparkling and innocent…

Cold dread and fear gripped me and I felt like ice blocks were sitting in my lungs.

I'd been captured again.


Song: Another Way You Can Die by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Short chapter, I know, but, hey, it came back so you can't complain too much. Considering that there's only one chapter left of "What Fools These Mortals Be" and for the life of me I can't write it at all. (facepalm)

Way to go Kaz. Way to be the damsel in distress and get yourself kidnapped AGAIN. Geez, you need not stop running off on your own. You really think the guy would have learned his lesson after, I dunno, the first FIFTY TIMES HE GOT INTO TROUBLE.

Anyway, another chapter coming along sometime or another. Whenever.