The heavy wooden door to the room burst open and slammed back against the wall with a loud bang followed by the sound of footsteps. Claire’s eyes snapped open as she was jerked out of her deep sleep. She’d dreamt that she was with her mother again and they had set up shop in Rodem. Her mother’s tavern could be as big a draw as the tournament in such a city; at least, it was in her dream, anyway.
The two guards from before entered into the room; their heavy leather armor creaking and moaning as they moved. The room was dark, the sky outside even more so. A fire burned in the hearth. She must have been out cold to not have noticed someone entering and starting a fire, but at least they hadn’t done anything else to her. She glanced down at herself just to make sure. Everything still seemed to be intact. Blood had soaked through the black scarf, gluing the material to her skin. That was not going to be pleasant to take off.
She sat up on the bed, eyeing the guards, when her new favorite person entered.
“I thought you’d have left by now.” Claire glared at Bren as he strolled into the room.
He gave a pleasant smile and stopped at the foot of the bed.
“Have you come to torture me some more?” She cradled her right arm close to her chest. What more could he do to her? She already told him everything she knew. Or at least everything he’d wanted. Somehow, she knew that telling her life story wouldn’t gain her any sympathy.
“Lord Byron insisted that I stay.” He ignored her question. “Said that I didn’t want to miss the surprise. He became very excited when I told him how your powers… bloomed.” He spread his fingers wide in the air in front of him.
Claire’s nerves stood on edge again. She didn’t like where this was heading already.
“I’m not sure what Lord Byron has in store for you, but for your sake, you’d better hope that thing still works.” His eyes shifted down to her injured arm before he spun on his heel and exited.
The guards approached her and she stood up from the bed in a calm manner. There was no use trying to fight them. She’d just waste her energy, not to mention add to the growing list of injuries she already had. It was a new record for sure. Every muscle and joint in her body ached as she moved, and the throbbing in her right arm grew more intense the longer she was awake.
They walked quietly through the dim hallway and down the stairs, past the main hall to the back of the building and out the back door. Dread grew inside of her. Somehow, she knew she wasn’t going to like the surprise. Lord Byron didn’t seem like the flowers and sweets type.
A dirt path led straight back from the manor into the forest. Torches along the trail lit the way. If she were to escape, the time would be now— if it weren’t for the dozens of guards patrolling the grounds.
Two guards flanked her while Bren led the way. He seemed to be in a rather sour mood, with arms crossed. Perhaps he didn’t like surprises either.
The path opened up into a clear area. A large hill loomed up before them with a doorway carved into the middle of it. Bren entered the black hole and stepped down as if he’d walked the steps a dozen times before. Claire slowed her pace and took each step one at a time, the pain on her left side started to scream out, ignored until now.
A landing lit with torches shined like a beacon at the bottom of the stairs to guide them further into the darkness. The stairs were crudely carved into the stone, the rock above and around them held up with timber beams. The air grew cooler as they descended and she could almost feel the surrounding earth pressing in on them.
Claire tensed when she saw the bright light at the end of the tunnel. She tried to prepare herself mentally for whatever the surprise was, but that was easier said than done.
The growing sense of unease turned to a feeling of awe as the tunnel opened up into an immense room lit with torches and mirrors. A high wall circled halfway around the room with a bench atop it. The guards pushed her forward while Bren climbed up the stairs to the top of the wall to join Lord Byron and two older men she didn’t recognize. They all watched her with eager eyes. A large square doorway stood on the opposite wall, the light from the room fading in the gaping darkness.
Her stomach twisted into a hard knot as she stared into that darkness. She glanced around the room again. It looked like it had been there for centuries. With the seats and the walls encircling a wide dirt floor, it almost seemed like she was in some sort of arena.
One of the guards pushed her hard from behind and she stumbled face-first onto the hard floor, knocking the breath out of her. She heard a clinking sound next to her and she looked over. One of the guards had tossed a sword onto the ground.
“You’ll probably need that more than I do.” His voice was low and grim.
How very gallant of him. She was about to ask him for what, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
The other guard knelt down next to her and grabbed her bandaged right arm. His own youthful face was set in hard concentration on his task; his jaw clenched tight, his eyes avoiding her. Claire gasped, making small sounds of protest, as he slowly peeled the cloth away from her skin. The dried blood lifted off with the scarf, opening the cut again. Fresh air stung at the wound as blood started to drip down her arm and on to the floor to mix with the dirt.
Claire leaned her forehead on her left arm and took deep breaths to help ease the pain. She could hear the shuffling footsteps of the guards as they retreated to the entrance of the room. And then, silence.
Her breath and the steady increase of her pulse filled her ears. For seconds, minutes, she wasn’t sure how long exactly. They were waiting for something, and she bet that it was the surprise.
A deafening roar suddenly filled the room, reverberating off the stone and through her body. Every muscle in her body tensed. Slowly, she lifted her head off her arm to look at the doorway in front of her. The size was too great for humans and had been carved with something else in mind. And what that was didn’t sound all too pleasant. A low hum of a growl drifted from the blackness, growing louder as it approached the arena.
With a new spurt of energy, Claire rose up on her left arm and pushed herself to her knees. Her hand went to her belt to grab for her dagger but the familiar hilt was gone. She’d forgotten to pick it back up after Bren had thrown it away the day before. She glanced at the blade the guard had left for her and crawled over to it. Her right hand almost useless, she grabbed it with her left and struggled to her feet.
She tried to hold it up in front of her, but the weight of a full sword felt foreign to her. It was a lot heavier than her dagger and her left hand had never been the dominate one. Lack of rest and food had taken its toll on her body and she could feel her strength waning. It would have been easier if she were to just give up and let whatever was going to happen, happen. Unfortunately, her will to live overrode that thought— and even greater, her desire for revenge.
The low growl grew louder, drawing her attention back to the dark doorway. The creature finally stepped into view and a cold sweat slithered down her body. A large almost feline head emerged from the dark shadows. Blood red eyes scanned the room as it sniffed the air. The massive beast’s shoulders were almost twice her height. Black fur covered its back and legs and gray scales lined its stomach and chest. Claire took a step back as the beast moved further into the arena. Big spines ran down its back and long tail, blending into the dark fur. She watched the beast carefully as it skulked along the far wall, moving fluidly and surprisingly quiet for a creature its size.
The creature’s eyes finally settled on her and its pupils grew wide as it discovered the source of the blood. It found its target. A shudder ran through the beast, then its muscles tensed as it prepared to pounce.
Claire started to back up slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements and glanced around her. The guards still stood at the door, struggling to remain brave as sweat ran down the sides of their faces. If she made a run for the door, there was a possibility that they’d join her in her escape. But that possibility looked
slim and with the Lord’s unwavering gaze fixed upon her, she wouldn’t get very far. She glanced at Bren standing next to Lord Byron and he turned his gaze away from her. Did he feel regret now? It was a little too late for that.
Another terrifying growl cut through the air. Claire turned back to the creature, but it was too late. The beast was already upon her as it leapt through the air. One of its enormous paws crashed into her and pinned her to the ground. Its considerable weight pressed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Her left hand had managed to hold onto the hilt, so she rose it up above her head and drove the blade into the beast’s furry ankle with all her might. A high pitched scream filled the room and Claire drew the sword from its leg as it jerked its paw off her. She rolled away and scrambled to her feet. Instinct took over and the pain from all of her injuries faded into the background. She swung around to face the beast again while she gripped the sword in front of her with both hands, shaking.
Its eyes found her again, accompanied by two rows of razor sharp teeth. The scream dwindled to a deep, rolling growl.
Claire stepped back until she was pressed against the stone wall. She couldn’t outrun the creature, at least not for long.
The beast charged at her again, but she stood her ground, waiting until the last moment before she leapt to the side. The creature’s immense body slammed into the wall behind her with a heavy thud. It lashed out with one of its paws and grazed her back enough to send her stumbling to the ground. Without hesitation, she rose to her feet again and started to run, her boots slipping slightly on the dusty floor.
She stopped abruptly in the center of the arena and spun back toward the creature. It had shaken off the impact and set its sights on her once again, its tail swinging back and forth through the air. She had to do something; the only thing she’d succeeded in doing so far was making it mad. It was either take a stand now or be too tired to fight later. And being eaten just didn’t sound all that appealing. She tried to suppress her terror, the part of her that told her to run. This is what she’d been training for, right?
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Somehow, she didn’t think Aeron’s training could have prepared her for giant beasts. He’d surely get a kick out of this.
She gathered up the rest of her strength and took deep breaths to help ease the tightness in her throat. With the sword held unsteadily in front of her, she made her stand, her knees slightly bent, ready for action. If she died here… well, it was probably best not to think of that at the moment.
The creature charged at her again and Claire dug her heels into the dirt to keep from running. It swung out at her with a paw and she ducked, crouching low on one knee. She scurried underneath the beast and slashed at its hind right leg. The creature screamed and jerked away from her. She started to run away when its tail slammed into the front of her and sent her flying, knocking the wind out of her completely as she crashed to the ground on her back.
A sharp pain in her side caused her to gasp as she lifted herself up and struggled to her feet again. She couldn’t afford any downtime. The creature licked at the fresh wound on its hind leg across the arena, emitting a high pitched whine.
She took the moment to look down at her side and her stomach sank. A spine the size of her hand stuck out of her side. Blood already started to soak into the surrounding fabric of her shirt. She collapsed to her knees and her arms went limp, the sword falling onto the ground.
Fire spread throughout her body almost instantly, burning through her veins, stinging across her skin. Her breath turned to shallow gasps. She fell forward on her hands as her vision started to blur, growing dim along the edges. She was too afraid to pull the spine out, but had a feeling that it was the cause of her current state. It must have infected her with some sort of poison. Her choices of death just increased. Either bleed to death, suffer from poison, or be eaten by a giant beast.
A faint blue glow caught the edge of her vision. She looked down at the mark as it suddenly burst to life. The black arms slowly started to creep up her skin, winding their way up her arm. The pain faded away, replaced by calm warmth. Then her body began to move on its own, leaving her mind to watch helplessly. Her right hand gripped the hilt of the blade as if the bloody wound was never there and she stood up. Her vision faltered, growing even dimmer.
Her left hand rose above her head and the air around it grew warmer, her skin tingling with energy. Fire from the surrounding torches drifted in a line toward her to form into a ball above her hand as the creature started to approach again with a heavy limp.
Claire hurled the fireball at the creature and the flames engulfed its face. It went wild as it tried to shake the flames away, filling the room with its loud screaming once again. Then her feet suddenly propelled her forward toward the creature. She drew her left hand along the blade of the sword as she ran. Energy sparked along the metal like lightning and hummed up her arm.
And before she knew it, she’d mounted the beast’s left leg and started to climb, her hands gripping onto the dark fur that ran down it. She swung the blade out with her right hand and plunged it hilt deep into the creature’s chest. The beast howled as it reared up on its hind legs. Claire dropped to the ground and backed away as the creature bucked wildly. She dropped to her knees, clamped her hands together in front of her in a fist and slammed them onto the floor.
A shockwave exploded out around her and vibrated up the walls. A crack appeared in the earth above the creature followed by a low rumbling noise. The floor started to tremble. The crack in the ceiling stretched out like a web until it no longer could support the weight of the earth above and it came crashing down. The beast gave one last guttural scream before rocks swallowed it up.
Claire collapsed back onto the dusty ground, the warmth and strength quickly draining from her. Her mind screamed, but her body wouldn’t move. The ceiling was barely visible now as darkness seeped in around the edges of her vision. Shouts rang out in the distance as rocks started to crash down around her. Fire spread through her again; her breath caught in her throat and her body jerked with the sudden rush of pain.
She wasn’t really sure what had just happened. Did she really just beat that creature? It was like her body had been possessed.
The sounds of the room grew distant until the only thing she heard was her pulse hammering wildly. Her eyes grew heavy and her vision blurred even further before she was swallowed up by the darkness. On the bright side, she had a new prospect for her death: being buried alive. Or slightly alive.