“Wait!” Daniel rushed in front of the orc.

  “Look, I know he deserves punishment for what he did, that’s non-negotiable. But please, let me handle it!”

  The orc frowned deeply. “No, you will be too lenient on the boy. If he isn’t corrected with the proper discipline this will only happen again.”

  Daniel lowered his head. “You have my word, I will not hold back. I can promise you that.”

  The orc narrowed his eyes. “Hm fine, but I will decide when the punishment is satisfactory.” He turned to his guards. “Form a ring for our two combatants.”

  The guards formed a wide, circular perimeter and drew their weapons. Daniel glanced at the ring with an unreadable expression, before he marched into it.

  I dropped down from my wagon and followed him in.

  “Boy, this was a foolish thing to do.” The dragon hissed.

  I don’t care. If I have to beat Daniel I will. I’ll kill everyone here before I let them hurt Gargon.

  “Dry arrogance is a recipe for disaster.” The dragon replied.

  I joined Daniel in the ring.

  Daniel stared into my eyes with a look that was both remorseful and determined. “What I’m about to do, you brought it on yourself.”

  I raised my fists and narrowed my eyes. “I know and I’m sorry. I’ll try not to kill you if I can avoid it.”

  Daniel closed his eyes and gripped the hilt of his swords. He tossed his blades aside. “Don’t worry.”

  I blinked.

  And in that fraction of a second, he launched forward. I dashed back, but I couldn’t get far enough in time.

  Daniel grabbed my hands with the grip of a vice and crushed them.

  He… he crushed my hands.

  The bones, the muscles, all of it, smashed.

  I couldn’t even process the pain because his knee was in my stomach. I lurched forward with a gag. He grabbed me by the neck and flipped me on my back.

  “Gah!”

  I arched in pain before he slammed his knee into my chest. The wind was sucked out of me.

  And that’s when it started. He punched me in my face. Again and again and again. Right, left, right, left. I saw my blood splattered on his face and dripped from his fists.

  I hadn’t stood a chance.

  He broke my hands to stop me from casting externally.

  And with how he was beating me…

  There’s no way I could focus through it to heal internally.

  Vis watched with simmering anger and frustration.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Bascovock watched with a grin and crossed arms.

  Gargon barked and slammed against his cage. Bam! Bam! Bam!

  Louise cried as she hid in her cloak, she shook her head as she rocked back and forth.

  The orcs laughed and cheered Daniel on.

  They reveled in my pain, my misery.

  They loved it.

  The world seemed to fade for a moment. The pain was too distant to care about. Was I dying again?

  Well, I guess that’s not so bad.

  At least I’ll die standing up for myself. No one can ever take that away from me.

  I know I promised to come back.

  But I don’t think I’ll make it.

  “Hm, I believe the boy has learned his lesson.” Bascovock mused. “You can stop.” He turned to one of his guards. “Bring me ten gold coins, I’d like to reward our guests of the show.”

  He turned to another guard. “You, take the hounds to the pens.”

  The guards nodded. Two of them went to open the first cage, and as they did, the hounds rushed out, attempting to attack the guards.

  The guards reacted swiftly and slammed the hounds on their sides before they slammed a fist against their maws. The hounds whimpered as they were dragged along.

  The other guard returned with a pouch and handed it to Daniel.

  Daniel stood to his feet and wiped his bloody face with his sleeve. “Thank you, Lord Bascovock.” He took the pouch and bowed.

  Bascovock nodded, “Of course. Now do me a favor and leave this place. I’ve had enough of your presence.” He turned to leave.

  Daniel let out a long sigh and scooped me up. He threw me over his shoulder and marched back towards his wagon.

  As he walked I struggled to think. My senses were overloaded and deprived at the same time. The only clear things in my mind were a few questions.

  Why am I still here?

  Haven’t I suffered enough?

  Will it ever be enough?

  I can’t see.

  I can’t feel my face, my hands, my chest. It’s cold, so, so cold.

  Soon, darkness took me.

  — — —

  I opened my eyes to see a wooden ceiling above me. I was in a dim room, and the quiet sound of sniffling echoed from the left.

  My head throbbed with a nauseating pain. I tried to sit up but my chest ached.

  When I reached to place a hand on my chest a white-hot pain raced from my hand to my brain and had me silently screaming.

  I was hurt, badly.

  And it was Daniel who did this to me. That rat bastard, he betrayed me. And I was going to show him how I felt about that.

  With a broken breath, I closed my eyes and pumped my body with raw Ouro. It burned like hell, my bones audibly popped back in place and my swollen injuries healed.

  When the process finished I was practically brand new except for the blood.

  I rose and swung my feet off the bed. I stood up and exited the room. Louise looked from the corner and didn’t utter a word as she scrambled to her feet.

  In the hall, I approached the neighboring door and raised my hand. I wasn’t even going to give the pleasure of knowing he was in his last moments.

  He didn’t give me a fair fight. He let my damn dog die. He beat me to a pulp…

  A waterball emerged from my palm and spun. It hummed and condensed until it let off a high-pitched whine. When I fired this, it would blast out the entire room.

  I wasn’t taking any chances.

  “I figured you’d try something like this.” A blade was placed against my neck. Vis.

  She pressed the cool blade of her dagger into my neck. “Choose your next move wisely. If you kill Daniel, I’ll kill you.”

  “You think I’m scared of dying? You sold out my dog. I’m ready to go. And if I can drag Daniel with me that’s all the better.”

  “You’ll throw away everything over a damn dog?” Vis hissed in my ear. She sounded both disappointed and frustrated.

  “Absolutely,” I replied.

  My tone was absolute. “It’s not just about the dog, it’s about the betrayal. I’d rather you left me to fight for Gargon than beat me to a pulp and drag me away.”

  “We saved you.”

  “You didn't save me, you made me a victim. Now I’m going to show you how it feels.” I dispelled the waterball and summoned a clone behind her.

  It kicked the back of her knee and slammed her to the ground.

  “Gah, shit!”

  I summoned two more clones who held waterballs aimed at her head.

  The hallway went silent.

  I kept my back to her. “I want you to feel how I felt. Maybe then you’ll understand why I’m doing this.”

  Vis gritted her teeth. “You’re a fucking idiot! All of this for a mutt you barely knew!”

  I smirked. “Yep.”

  Just then three beams of blood shot through my clones and popped them like balloons.

  I glanced in the direction from which the blood came. Louise was there, her hand pressed together and her eyes a solid red with white pupils that glowed.

  “Lafayette, stop this, please.” She stood her ground but I could see her trembling. The scent of iron was thick around her.

  I frowned. “So now you decide to fight, but not when I had my hands shattered? You’re a coward.”

  “I-I know, but I was scared. I’m still scared but I can’t let you hurt anyone. I-I know you’re mad, and if you want we can… we can…”

  Her cheeks flushed a bright crimson. “I don’t know, b-but whatever you want, okay?”

  “I want my fucking dogs back.”

  Louise fell silent.

  That’s when I heard the door click and creak open. Daniel emerged from the room with tired eyes and a soft smile. “Damn, you nobles—.“

  I raised my hand and summoned a waterball.

  “You son of a bitch!”

  Louise fired a blood beam through the water ball and shattered it.

  Daniel stumbled back as he finished his sentence. “Really don’t hold back.”

  My eyes panned around the hall. I was surrounded. Vis at my back, Daniel at my front, and Louise at my side.

  I was trapped, it was almost comical how I could never get a fair fight.

  I couldn’t do anything but laugh.

  “You all can’t even give me the decency of a one-on-one. That’s mercenaries for you, always looking to come out on top at the sake of others.”

  I turned to leave. “I’m done with this.”

  “Where are you going?” Vis asked.

  “To get my dogs.”

  Vis frowned as she looked at Louise.

  Louise spread her hands apart and fired a ball of blood at me. It splashed on my back, and where it touched my skin, it sank.

  Her blood sank and drained into my body.

  And the next thing I knew, I was stuck in place.

  This feeling, this sensation was unlike anything I’ve experienced. It didn’t just feel like I was tied up, but that my body was being hijacked.

  It literally refused to listen.

  I gritted my teeth. Dragon, is there anything you can do to get me out of this?

  The dragon sighed deeply.

  “Her blood is clotting on our flow points. The only way out is if you somehow expose our core to the elements.”

  How?

  “The fastest way would be to get that elf to cut a hole in your chest.”

  So there’s nothing I can do.