Crossblood - Completed

Chapter 44

All I can think of is the pain that ventures down my spine, focus on the blood splattered across the unnaturally smooth platform, ears throbbing as it replays each crack of the whip against my burning flesh, the memories of last night never leaving my thoughts.

"Are you in pain?"

Without bothering to look up I nod, the simple movement enough to rip open at least one cut, blood rolling down the once more uneven terrain of my back.

Ezra sits beside me, pulling me close to his body by the waist so he may place the cool cloth against my back, the contrast between it and my skin reminding me of just how many days I've been here. As the last bit of water morphs into steam I look up at him for the first time, his eyes weary, wrinkles forming between his brows as he looks down at me. He's been like this since last night, worry constantly on his shoulders as he slouches from its weight, a brief sigh escaping his lips every moment he chances a look at me, though they're few and far between.

I've refused to think of Niko being here, of him getting to Kai before I have the chance to. The small light of hope I had for him has been extinguished, childish fear taking its place as my foot irritably shakes against the pavement, hand impatiently following foot. "It's gotten better."

Forgetting the question he'd originally asked, his eyes widen with shock, gradually coming back down with a grim smile when he realizes. "I'm thankful they didn't take you from the gates."

Do I address his very quick attraction to me or what lies beyond the gates first? Pushing the first question out of mind I focus purely on the second, eyeing the walls of the sectors with newfound hatred. "What's behind the gates exactly?"

"A worse torture than what you received." His eyes avoid mine, head downcast before continuing. "You can hear the screams sometimes...the humans eat it up." There's an obvious disturbance on his face, eyes focusing on something that isn't there.

"They just choose? They'll take us at random?"

He catches onto the underlining meaning of my question, a small smile cast against his lips as he takes away my worries. "They don't take from the infirmary or from the nursery. Most of the time they'll take the trouble makers, it makes their job easier. Or they'll just take the loser of a fight, combattre des animaux is pretty big here." The last part is added in casually, as if it isn't something to be afraid of.

We sit in silence, skin burning under the touch of the wind, it's iced lips drawing itself over my skin, the lack of fractures alarming in itself. Even Ezra seems to notice, his lips drawing in a thin line before he grabs hold of my arm, instantly pulling back as his palm reddens in pain. I've never had to explain to him that I'm a shifter or that Liam is my mate, only one mention of Julius was enough for him to catch on that I'm a Blood Servant. I'm silently thankful that he's quick to catch on, it alleviates the fear deep set inside me.

I know I need to mate, it's all I've been craving for so long but a part of me holds back, fearful that the miracle that happened overnight won't happen again, the death of a man once again on my hands.

All this place has done is install fear in me.

And it won't stop now.

The courtyard floods as the doors of each sector are opened like clockwork. Sector A is the first to let out, a dark haired boy peeking out from the back of the crowd, his waif body bent forward as he talks to a woman, smiling once our eyes meet between the crowd.

We seem to go unnoticed once the courtyard is filled, the only door still closed being that of Sector G, it's timing late as the rusty gears creak open, a silence falling over the crowd as the rowdy are freed. After a few moments they turn to old news, the crowd blending as I leave Ezra in search of Kaiien.

The crowd closes itself in, a human barrier between the two of us as I slip between skirts and dresses, dull cloaks swirling with colors at the bottom, spinning with the wind until its an ensnaring trap. Between a blond headed bun is the boy I search for, lavender and vanilla becoming overwhelming as we near closer to each other. My struggle seems to amuse him, a smile washing over his features as he grabs hold of my hand, pulling me from the sea of cloth into more than one pair of open hands.

Julius kisses the top of my head, Andrew wiping a silent tear as he presses my head against his chest, a hiccup escaping his throat as he runs a passive hand over my bloody back. Each brother takes their turn at a hello, Clide's becoming stuck in his throat before he grins, kissing my blood crusted temple with fragile care.

There's a rush in my chest, warmth overcoming me as I hug Kaiien dearly, his lips resting against my collarbone, head securely tucked into my neck as I wrap my arms around him, tilting my head onto his and merely inhaling our scent. Peace overcomes me, a tidal wave to wash from my bones any doubts I may of had, our breaths syncing until we're one rhythm, one body, one soul. I want to stay with him like this, the dip of my bones catching his relieved tears as he places his open palms against me in embrace.

The quiet is interrupted in a moments time, chanting heard from the center of the square, it's intensity rivaling that of last night, the rumbling echoing throughout the ground as they stomp in unison, their cries growing louder with each devilish yell, each piercing scream as the floor dies red with a victim's blood.

The hasting beat of my heart screams no but my feet rebel, inching me closer to the center of the cries as another rings out, the crowd drowning it with a hint of displeasure. Another earthquake ensues, their claps echoing in unison as names are thrown alongside dollar signs, their shouts dying down as another victim is slaughtered, though I'm spared the gore by a row of women ahead of me.

As they look back for the next contestant their eyes fall on me, a false reputation having traveled through their ears during the night. The woman ahead of me gifts a sickly grin, her grip deadly as I'm thrown into the middle of the crowd, a man twice my size glaring down with disgust. There are no rules here, no order as the guards merely turn their heads from the chaos, traveling blood splattered over their shirt sleeves and draining onto their boots.

Though I approved of Kaiien's fighting past, I refused to listen as he tried to teach me to fight in the style of the game, ignoring him as he acted out move after move. This is the moment that I regret the choices I had made back then. I know how to fight, to quickly pick out their weak spots and use it against them, it was I who taught Kaiien that single trick, but the usefulness of it now is a dangerous roulette.

Though he's unharmed he walks with a wounded gait, shoulders slouching forward as he takes a step closer to me, smile forming at the ends of his lips before its forced away, nostrils flaring as he takes in my scent. Hate clouds his eyes, pupils dilating as he falls forward onto a more comfortable four foot stance, raised hand crashing into my jaw with a nauseating crack as I fall into the concrete ring, ears buzzing with the nearby chants.

The man charges, dark brown hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, bare chest dripping each time his chest contracts, body ramming into me when he lifts onto two feet, pushing me into the makeshift enclosure as I struggle to fight back. His strength is unbearable, the animalistic hint in his eyes, his grunts and snarls, how his lip curls to show the pointed teeth of a carnivore, his grip around my neck only tightening until I'm too weak to hold my own against him.

As he falls to bear his weight against me I catch him in my arms, pushing the beast away until he swats at my face, his main defense being his body weight and arms. It's the first thing I aim for at this newfound realization. Knowing that in combattre des animaux the use of magic is likely to get me killed, I rely on my strength, rolling to avoid the crashing of his body weight above me and reaching for his right hand, twisting the entire limb until it snaps.

He falls forward onto my body, pinning me as the crowd cheers louder, his teeth reaching out for my neck and for the first time I catch his scent, memory lighting at the familiar musk.

This isn't a man.

It's a bear.

The bear.

It makes sense now, the slouched shoulders, injured gait, growls, lips curled as if a muzzle, reliance on his weight and forward paws as if he were still a bear. The black blood that flows on my hand as I scratch him, painted with red dots, the opposite of my blood, the opposite of me. He's a reverse shifter, an animal that shifts into a human instead of the other way around.

In my stupor he gains the upper hand, my advantage quickly going downhill. I only remember his attacks from the video I was shown, my memory of the event firsthand being lost somewhere in my mind. The only thing that keeps me going is fear of being taken out of the gates, of being killed for the amusement of humans. As my foot slips on the new fallen ice a voice cries out, the crowd dying down as they pick up on something I hadn't heard.

The same woman who threw me in the ring helps me out, her death grip loosened in sympathy as she holds a hand to her heart, my attention directed towards her stares.

Kai steps into the ring in my place, an air of confidence floating around him I haven't seen in years. His love of fighting was the only thing that kept his demons at bay, all his energy put into his fights persuaded him to eat and put on weight. There's a flash of the healthy Kai in the way he glows as he takes his stance, his animal of choice having always been the snake.

My worries melt away as he's the first to strike, the shifter hitting the ground with enough force to quake the first two rings of the gathered crowd. Kaiien only smiles, winking to me as if he already knows who he is up against. Someone in the crowd seems to recognize him from when he was famous. And why wouldn't he be? He was a human child, brought to the rings he slaughtered the immortal. He was unstoppable. And they loved it.

At ease I now search the crowds for the familiar mop of brown honey curls though I don't have to look far. She rests with her hands over my eyes, lips pursed on her tiptoes as she peeks between her fingers and gasps for the sake of Kaiien. As her eyes fall on me she seems to know what I've come to say, a gentle nod enough to convey the message between the two of us.

Though she appears calm she is drenched in fear, her fingers falling to her side with unease as they drum against her plump thighs, wringing each other until they pop. Her feet bounce her body up and down, jaw clenched tight as she confusingly looks around her. She shouldn't be here and she knows it. Humans aren't to be trapped here.

The gasps of the crowd turn my attention from her, my stomach turning as a familiar stench takes over, skin warming with anger though he's already recovered from his fall. It's the same piece of ice that'd brought me down, blood dripping from his head as he continues his fight though he other wise seems alright. My heart can't slow though, legs trembling as I rake a hand through my blood matted hair in an attempt to calm myself.

It burns. My entire body burns. My breaths are puffs of boiling steam, sweat dripping down my body though its below freezing where we stand. The nausea has yet to subside, the sensation only growing as I fall to the floor, Mikayla clearly panicked as I push her away, Kai's blood clouding my vision as I shut my eyes to orange-red darkness.

As I open my eyes I'm engulfed in a shifter's smoke, the burning purple and black gas clouding me from the rest of the crowd though its obvious all eyes are on me. As the cloud dilutes I notice the man in the ring smiling, Kai's eyes wide as he stares from me to the man and back again. Smoke engulfs the man and he emerges in true form, Mikayla stepping away from the two of us as round two begins and the crowd rallies its chant.

Let the real fight of the animals begin.