Page 17 of Catatonic


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I threw her easily over my shoulder, ignoring the delicious smell of blood coming from her leg, and then charged at the guards. She screamed and wriggled, but I held her firm. I kicked a guard who was fighting one of the males and pulled him away from the fight before handing him the female.

"Take her. Run into the portal," I ordered.

He repositioned her in his arms far more gently than I had and then rushed through the portal. The other two titans were close, but I couldn't allow these guards to come to my home.

"Go!" I roared at them. "I'll deal with these guards. Leave now."

I heard the clank of wood as they dropped their weapons and raced into the portal, which swallowed them with a watery whoosh.

Cracking my knuckles, I grinned. I was without my magic, having used it all on the portal, but I wasn't without my akari strengths. There was a reason the night was so feared.

I lost count of the punches and kicks. Blood spilled, creating rivers on the ground. I was a slave to the powerful instincts that told me to destroy them. To kill without mercy.

When I was myself again, I counted the bodies to ensure no one could tell any tales of today. Satisfied no one had escaped, I jumped through the portal to another realm. My home.

* * *

We stoodat the edge of the camp where I would drop my newest rescues. It was slightly outside of the main city, Valeir, and therefore gave them a reprieve to heal and adjust before reconnecting with their people.

The sun had set, leaving us in the shadows of street lanterns and unnoticed by the occasional person wandering home. It was my favorite time. My heritage rejoiced at the sight of a darkened sky, and I pulled down the heavy hood that protected me from the suns.

“Baelen, you look worse for wear,” Theris, the commander of my army and closest friend, greeted me.

“Nothing a glass of blood won’t fix.” I looked back at the confused and battle wary group behind me. “You’ll be safe here. Enjoy a warm meal, bath, and bed. Tomorrow, you’ll join the training in the city with Theris,” I told my four newly liberated titan slaves.

They glared at me as the silence between us lengthened.

The young female with shorn gold hair and dark gold skin peeked her head around the arm of her guard. She muttered quietly, “I don’t want to be a soldier.”

“There are more roles in an army than just soldiers,” Theris stated.

“But you’ll still be training to fight. You still have titan strength even if you don’t have the powers of old. You can use it to save yourself.” The males seemed to agree but were still understandably on guard. “You aren’t slaves in this army. You’ll be paid. You’ll be trained. You’ll learn about the titan heritage and get to interact with others.”

“What are we fighting for?” asked a male.

“Freedom.” My soft words were loud in the silence.

“It’s getting late,” Theris interrupted with a clap of his hands. “I will explain more tomorrow. Let's get you a meal and some sleep for now.” They nodded slightly, trusting his golden skin and golden hair. “Baelen, I’ll see you next week. Good work.”

I flipped a blood-sodden piece of hair out of my eyes and nodded at him. They all flinched again. “Enjoy your first night of freedom,” I said softly and limped away.

“He is akari? Why would he free us?” I heard one of the rescues ask Theris.

“Baelen is the son of the gods.”

My walk home to the castle was quiet and dark. I listened to the scurry of small woodland creatures and the nocturnal calls of birds. Titans were people of the sun. Akari are of the dark. My looks and nature aired on my mother’s side, and so the darkness brought me peace.

Approaching the huge castle, I ignored the main entrance and walked toward the kitchens. I opened the side door and ducked my head to get inside. When I straightened, I saw Darshaw, my mother’s brother, sitting at the table, waiting for me.

“You smell like you had an interesting evening,” he said with a bland smile as he stirred his drink with slow, circular movements of his hand.

I unlaced my boots and pulled them off before stepping into the room further. “You look like you’ve had bad news,” I told him and threw my bloody and torn coat in the direction of the washroom.

“Every day your mother is still missing is a day with bad news.”

I didn’t reply. Instead, I found myself a glass and poured the rest of the bottle of blood into it. I took a seat opposite him. “She isn’t missing.”

His red eyes, so like mine, flashed in annoyance at my non-reply. “She—” he started.

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