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I didn’t spend most of my life building immunity to most poisons for no reason.
I can’t believe our father’s paranoia about being poisoned is actually going to pay off,I think to myself as I force myself to crawl forward.
Uluruk and his guards have left the room, and it seems that I am the only one able to fight off the effects of the poison. By the time I am standing, leaning against the wall, sweat is pouring off me like heavy rains falling from the sky.
My mouth is still dry, and I know the poison has done some damage because my vision is hazy and blurry.
There is a ringing in my ears, a ringing that silences the sound of my heartbeat. A frantic moment goes by while I wonder if my heart is still beating.
No time to wonder if you’re dying. Get going!
If I am dying, I’m going to kill a few of Uluruk’s guards on my way out.
I pull my knife, gifted to me by my father, out of its sheath as I continue to walk unsteadily to the door of the makeshift shack we’re in. The more I walk, the more I sweat, and I know that that, out of everything that has happened, is a good thing.
Because more and more of the poison is excreted with every droplet of sweat that rolls off me.
I cannot help but feel victorious when I finally make it to the door of our meeting room.
Uli is still unconscious, and I just have to hope that he’ll survive and make it back to the Risen Ash clan as its chieftain.
I’ll come back for him after I’ve dealt with Uluruk. I’ll beat him into submission. After getting the antidote to the poison.
They didn’t expect me to survive. When I walk through the door and round a corner, every one of the orcs there looks at me with wide-eyed surprise.
Behind them, I can see the waters that brought us here when I look out of the door that leads outside. The fresh, salty air blows in wildly, and I feel more of the poison clear my system as I inhale the sharp, bright air.
You are still weak,I tell myself as I hold the knife in my hand and advance on the orcs.
“Where is Uluruk?” I growl the words.
Two of the orcs look at one another, and I watch as they exchange something shiny.
“You win,” one of the orcs says and shakes his head sagely.
“You were a fool to bet against him,” the other orc replies. “How could you think that poison would defeat Kian, the Undefeated Gladiator?”
I almost roll my eyes at the conversation.
“Where is Uluruk?” I ask again and continue to stagger toward them. “I want to rip his guts out!”
“You won’t be doing any such thing,” one of the other orcs – there are four of them – says, as if speaking to a naughty child.
When I look down at the knife in my hand, I realize that my grip on the knife is failing and my hand is shaking.
“Our chieftain,” a one-eyed orc speaks and shrugs almost apologetically. “Said we can do what we want with you. We have Uli, and we don’t need anyone else.”
All the orcs rise at once. I blink twice, but my hazy vision hasn’t cleared completely. I tighten my grip on the knife as they advance on me one by one.
“You shouldn’t do this,” the one-eyed orc says. “You should just give up. We won’t kill you slowly. We’ll make it quick. Trust us, we don’t want to torture a great orc like you.”
“Yes,” one of the other orcs, the one closest to me, chimes in. “You’re Kian the Undefeated Gladiator. We want to treat you with respect. Just give up.”
I laugh then, loudly, raucously, and unafraid.
I might die here today, but there is no way on Earth that I am giving up. I will not go quietly into the darkness of death. I am determined to take out as many of these orcs as I can.
Uluruk will have to struggle to rebuild his forces.
