Page 65 of Xeda

Now he understood.

He embraced her for a long moment, just enjoying the feel of her against him and knew it didn't matter what form she came in, his spirit called to hers. And he believed hers called to him.

The sound of the low bell went off again, signaling the games were beginning. The other doors would have opened to allow the fighters to enter the arena, but his remained closed and locked, having to wait the ten minutes.

Ophilia pulled away. "I have to go. But I'll be watching close."

Xeda squeezed her arm and released her. "I'll see you soon."

She nodded and smiled. "Soon." She turned and left, and when the entrance door closed behind her, he popped the lid off each of the vials and swallowed the gross liquid down. Then he waited.

He paced in front of the arena door, letting the enhancements take effect. His heart rate shot up, wild energy rushing through his veins like fire. His skin tingled and his muscles tensed, ready to spring. His heat came back with a vengeance from the rush, but that was fine by him. He'd enjoy the bloodlust first, then Ophilia later.

He braced himself in front of the door. Then, when he heard the lock slide back and the door begin to open, he bolted, shoving the door away with his shoulder and breaking out into the arena. He didn't stop as he found himself in an enclosed maze, flying down one passage, then the next. He glanced above and saw a thick blue-green fog that he couldn't see past. But with the fog, he could see the shimmer of yellow sparks and had an inkling he wouldn't be able to penetrate the fog and traverse the maze above. To test it, he jumped up and swung his tail and, no surprise, he felt a sharp, quick pain as the tip of his tail grazed the surface of the fog. He gathered it was to prevent them from cheating and hopping from one wall to the next.

A growl slipped through his throat, and he pushed his legs faster. Blindly, he swept down one passage and turned sharply down another. He searched for a specific scent, Kaxek's scent. As he turned the corner of another dark passage, he spotted a shadow fleeing up ahead.

He rushed for them, turning down the way the shadow had gone. He spotted a person fleeing and, hunter instincts kicking in, he focused in on them and sped toward his prey.

He caught them by the back of the gray jumpsuit they wore, nearly ripping it from them. They cried out in terror as they looked at him.

A human.

"D-don't," they said, their knees buckling. A young human man with a shaved head stared at him, tears spilling over in his large blue eyes. "I messed up, but I don't want to die, please." He sobbed.

Xeda's eyes narrowed as he looked him over. He saw on his chest was a seal to House Zanis, Tazyn's house. The seal looked to be stitched into the fabric of his jumpsuit at first, but looking closer, Xeda pulled on the seal, and the man yelped in pain. Then Xeda understood it was not just stitched to the suit but was somehow melded into the man's skin. The only way to get it out would be to tear it out.

The man trembled in Xeda's grip, and he let him go. He dropped to the ground, trying to scramble away from him.

In another life, Xeda would have gladly torn this man to pieces and enjoyed it. But that wasn't his objective. He was looking to kill one of his own instead. He had a feeling all of the targets were human. He remembered how rigid and uncomfortable Ophilia looked when she had mentioned the hunt. Likely these people angered whatever house they now had embedded in their skin, and this was their punishment.

It didn't matter. He wasn't looking to play this game the way they wanted, anyway. But he could use these targets to his advantage.

A plan evolved in his mind. It might be impossible to find Kaxek in this maze on his own. So, he'd just have to bring Kaxek to him.

He took out one of his blades and stepped toward the man. He sliced his own hand, then grabbed the man again and pulled him toward him with the bleeding hand. He smeared his blood on him, and the man groaned in disgust.

"What are you doing?" he cried.

"Using you to lead the others astray." Xeda didn't know why he bothered to answer. His scent would hopefully mask some of the man's, throwing Tazyn off, making it harder to track his target. If he lost his weapon after this, it would be an advantage for Xeda.

After he smeared enough of his blood, he let the man go to run off and hopefully not get caught right away. Then Xeda moved off again, searching for another target. Using his sharp sense of smell, he moved for the next closest human that he sensed. Unfortunately, he still had the walls of the maze to block his way from them. As he traversed his way through the maze, he eventually caught another, this time of Aeriz's house. He did the same to them as he did with the man. Then he let them go.

He didn't see another for some time, and he feared he might have lost his chance. Then he heard soft crying somewhere close by and sensed one on the other side of one wall. He went around one way, then another, until he was forced to go off some ways to find a passage heading back toward the voice. After zig-zagging his way through, he found another lone human at a dead-end, pushed up against a corner, trying to press themselves into the wall, their legs bent up, their face hidden behind their hair.

He crept up on them and saw how small they were, too small. And that was when he realized it was a fledgling. A human girl. He slowed as he approached. She caught sight of him and began to cry harder.

He thought of Ophilia then, remembering the story she told him about her encounter with the assassin. Remembering her scars. He might have attacked humans in his past, but he had no reason to harm a child. And he wouldn't become what Ophilia feared.

Still, a bad feeling slithered up his insides as he made himself pick the girl up to see which house she was the target of. As she uncurled her body, he saw the seal on the front of her jumpsuit and couldn't contain his low growl which only scared the girl more.

House Capura's seal stared back at him. He couldn't imagine what the hell a child could have done to upset that house, but he had a feeling it wasn't her fault but likely her parents’. Capura was punishing them.

He held the girl in one arm, holding her tightly. Her cries would definitely bring someone around, but that was fine with him. He just hoped Ophilia could forgive him for what he was about to do.

He retraced his steps out of the dead-end passage and onward, forcing himself to slow down a little to not injure the girl, glad he wore his grivhide which was smoother than his sharp scales. He ran from one passage to the next until finally he found the perfect place to encounter Kaxek. He stepped into an open courtyard within the maze, a circular opening with dozens of passages leading in and out. Large, fake trees were spread out within to try to have more places to hide. The fog rose a little higher here like a dome encasing the space, then tightening again around the passageways.

At the center was a lone statue of a headless beast. Xeda brought the girl to it and set her down.

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