Page 139 of Bloodguard

Spectators are yelling, fainting, fleeing, and hurling.

Spectators who are nowhere near this thing trying to kill me.

I sway in place, my grip falling from my sword and my spine bowing backward. The wizard deepens his chanting lustfully, certain another death is within his reach.

Somehow, the fear of death sharpens my senses.

Only years of practice help my aim. My boomerang blade strikes the wizard in the skull. He collapses.

No time to scream.

Less time to run.

The moment from when I’m bitten to when the wizard falls lasts mere seconds.

Seconds of agony I never want to feel again.

Aumen drops me. It scuttles away in awkward motions and…eats its master. Without its maker in control, I suppose it saw “daddy” as fresh meat.

If hysteria hadn’t spread across the crowd before, it does now and then some.

My feet move slowly at first. Damn. The wizard thought he was in control, and he was, until his blood was too much for Aumen to resist.

My head remindsmewe don’t want to be the next thing it decides to eat.

Loud slurping sounds reverberate through the coliseum as Aumen devours its maker’s corpse.

My goal is to strike when it’s preoccupied. Except it hears me approach.

It spins and hisses, cutting my skin with more needle-fangs. I don’t stop and drive a dagger into its throat. It barely notices.

The way my sword remains lodged, completely unmoving in its chest, explains why I couldn’t kill it the first time. There aren’t mere ribs protecting its heart. I should have guessed. Nothing of Aumen is like it should be.

A large, flat plate of bone protects Aumen’s vulnerable organs like a shield. And my sword is stuck in it.

Once more, my rage becomes my ally, joining the strength I’ve built over my time with Maeve. With a roar, I use my sword to lift the monstrosity over my head, my arms shaking violently as I use Aumen’s body weight against it. There’s a crack as the hard plate shatters and my blade slides into its vital organs. Its limbs twitch in agony, but I can’t bring myself to give a shit about its pain. Not with the corpses of my peers littered around us.

My back bows, and I lose my grip on the sword as the creature falls behind me. It lands hard, limbs scratching at the ground. I leap and ram my fist into the hilt of my sword.

The excited cries from the crowd are muffled. I take my remaining dagger and stab the mouth on its stomach when it tries to open again. With the last ounce of my strength, I wrench my sword free and slice open its jugular. I continue to saw into its throat until its head rolls clean off and I’m bathed in blood.

I don’t stop, taking my blade and striking every part of Aumen’s body I can reach.

I continue my strikes long after it’s dead. The audience chants, celebrating not my victory but Aumen’s defeat.

The monster they feared is dead.

My weapon slips from my slick hands, soaked with Aumen’s insides and pungent with the reek of malevolent magic. And still I fight, punching and kicking its crumpled form.

From the exit, I hear Gunther’s “Bloodguard. Bloodguard. Bloodguard!” chants.

I step away from the creature and almost trip on some random torso. I did it. I damn well did it. I lived. And I avenged. As I stumble forward, I begin yanking needles from my skin. Some don’t give me much trouble. Others, Maeve’s going to have to help me with later. I look around, trying to spot her or Jakeb, Giselle, and Caelen… Where the hell are they?

Trumpets blare, and the audience—those who remain conscious—is on their feet.

But I don’t care about them.

Where are my people? I heard Maeve, but I never saw her. She wouldn’t just leave without acknowledging me somehow. Maybe she thinks I’m dying and ran off to prepare a medicinal bath.

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