Chaos god, p.15
Chaos God, page 15
“Levi has proven himself helpful and trustworthy with every one of his actions and choices since the moment he arrived.” Elora frowned at the mohawked asshole. “And I am thoroughly exhausted by your attitude, your insistence, and your badgering. We are nothing to one another, we never have been, and yet you have spent years pushing yourself on me and blathering on about destiny putting us together.”
“Why have you always denied our destiny?” Ryfon demanded like a petulant child, and I half-expected him to stomp his foot like a toddler. “We belong together, why can you not see this?”
“I have made my opinions on that matter very clear,” Elora ground out. “And as for that ear you sacrificed? I have tolerated your lies about that night for years, it is time for the truth to be known.”
“That is the truth,” Ryfon growled, and there was a touch of warning in his voice that put my guard on high-alert.
“I was indeed with you the night your ear was cut from you,” Elora agreed. “But it was your own fault, and there was no demon involved.”
Ryfon harrumphed loudly, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
“What happened to his ear?” Ayen asked with intense curiosity.
“Ryfon had been pushing himself on me quite insistently for a long while,” Elora explained. “He would not take no as my answer, and he kept making advances toward me. Finally, I was forced to use my dagger to make my point clear.”
“You cut off his ear?” I asked, and I couldn’t help but be impressed by the woman’s fierceness.
“He left me no other choice,” Elora said with grim determination. “I would not allow him to defile my body.”
“Wow,” I breathed, and for a second, admiration was the only thing I could feel, but the rage at Ryfon’s self-importance and entitlement quickly flooded through me. “You are such an unbelievably enormous pile of shit.”
“I have made my choice for myself as much as I have for these people whom I call family,” Elora declared with firm conviction. “You will no longer bother me with your constant attempts to court me, or your conviction that we are destined for one another. I am not your trophy to have, nor will I ever succumb to you, Ryfon.”
Ryfon grimaced like Elora had shoved a wad of rotten sour lemons into his mouth, and his eyes actually started to shine with unshed tears. If the guy hadn’t been such an unbelievable piece of fuckery, I might have felt sorry for him, but I was really just disgusted.
“The choice has been made,” I said clearly in the hopes that would be the end of it. I would be more than happy to beat the brains out of this guy, but I figured one more chance at diplomacy was worth a try. “Leave now, or I will make you leave.”
Ryfon glowered at Elora for a second, and I almost thought he would make the right decision and run from camp with his tail between his legs to lick his wounded ego.
But then, in a flash of movement, he drew his sword and pointed it right at me. “I will not allow you to bewitch these people.”
Elora and all the others quickly backed away from the duel that was clearly about to occur.
“Levi!” Ayen called.
I turned to the big blond man whom I already considered to be a true friend, and I saw him toss me a sturdy-looking short sword. I held out a hand and snatched the weapon out of the air. Then I rotated my wrist once to get a feel for the weight and balance of the blade, and I was pleased to discover it was a simple but well-made weapon.
I silently sent thanks to my old fighting coach, Harry, who’d insisted I have at least a base comprehension of sword fighting. At the time, it had felt like useless information overload, and I didn’t think I’d ever need it considering I planned to fight hand to hand in order to make my money. Harry’s insistence was about to come in incredibly handy.
“What are you waiting for?” I taunted the one-eared piece of shit who faced me.
“Aaahhh!” Ryfon roared, and he lunged forward at me with his sword like a lance.
I easily blocked his attack, side-stepped to my right, and pivoted back around to face him. I got the feeling that Ryfon was in such a rage that he would become clumsy and make mistakes, but he impressed me with his ability to drill his rage into focus.
The clash of steel on steel echoed around us, and the crowd gasped as we traded blows back and forth. I let my boots scuff across the packed dirt beneath my feet as I moved through the paces.
Ryfon lunged and advanced with precise form and sly movements, and I took a defensive stance as I parried and blocked his attacks. Despite his slimy personality, it seemed that Ryfon fought with honor. His stance was proper, and he used the kind of classic techniques that Harry had shown me as a formality.
Too bad for Ryfon, I wasn’t above fighting dirty if the occasion called for it.
We danced back and forth for several minutes as Ryfon lunged and attacked, and I blocked and parried. My body settled into a familiar rhythm of muscle memory, and I was again thankful for the hours that Harry had forced me to practice.
Instead of a full dump of adrenaline, I felt a steady stream flowing through my mind and muscles, and I settled into the comfortable warmth of physical exertion. A tiny buzz itched in the back of my mind, but I pushed it away and focused solely on my opponent.
“Well done, Levi!” Ayen’s voice reached me as if from a great distance.
“Show him who you are!” Goren joined in the one-man cheering squad, and a few other shouts of agreement reached me.
I could see that Ryfon was surprised by my skill with a blade, and it pleased me probably too much to know that I had once again proven myself to this piece of shit, even if he would never admit it out loud.
He lunged forward, and I ducked out of the way and felt the slight breeze as his blade whizzed past my head. That was a bit too close for comfort, and I heard Elora’s sharp intake of breath. From the corner of my eye, I could see her hands had flown up to clasp over her mouth, and her beautiful amber-ruby eyes were wide with fear. Ayen had laid a hand firmly on her shoulder to keep her from interfering, and I made a note to thank him for that later on.
It wouldn’t do any of us any good if Elora stepped into the duel. I wasn’t willing to allow her to step in between us while Ryfon was so irate, but I was also determined to win this battle fair and square. I would not allow the egotistical bastard to try and claim that I had cheated him out of his victory.
Ryfon roared with frustration, and he stepped back to heave a deep breath. He wiped the back of his forearm across his face and the sweat there, and then he glared angrily at me.
“What?” I taunted. “Can’t handle it?”
“Nonsense,” Ryfon scoffed with forced casualness. “I could kill you easily if I so wished.”
“Right.” I rolled my eyes at that, and my voice dripped with sarcasm. “You wanted to feed me to the Demon Lord, and the wolf-sharks, but now you’re not willing to kill me with your own hands. Okay.”
Ryfon growled at me, and I could see that I was really starting to piss him off. His proper form faltered as he lunged toward me this time, and I caught a flaw in his movements.
I didn’t know if it was from an old injury, or just a poor fighting trait, but Ryfon moved too heavily on his left foot. Instead of balancing lightly on the balls of his feet where he could maintain balance and agility, he stomped on his heel.
I tried to stifle my smug smirk so he wouldn’t catch on that I’d figured out his weakness. I forced my face into a stern mask of focus, and I lunged forward with a strike on his right.
The clash of his sword against mine rang in my ears, and the vibrations rippled up the muscles in my arms and shoulders. Ryfon was stronger than he looked, and I had to admit he was a fierce opponent.
I allowed the bastard to strike out a few more times, and I blocked every one of them as I subtly studied the placement of his left foot to be sure of the weakness I’d noticed. I wanted to be certain before I made a move to use the poor footwork to my advantage.
Twice more, Ryfon stomped stiffly on the back of his heel instead of using the more stable position on the ball of his foot, and I noticed that his left ankle was a little stiff. He seemed to favor his right foot, and it put his strikes at a slightly awkward angle when he tried to lunge from the left.
I narrowed my eyes, and Ryfon paused long enough to take a deep breath. Then he swung his sword up over his head and darted forward with his blade pointed straight for my heart. It was clear Ryfon was tired of playing nice, and he was going for the kill shot.
I’d rather not murder Ryfon if I could avoid it, but I wasn’t above giving him a few good shots. I quickly shifted my grip on my sword, and I sliced it forward at a downward angle. I knew I’d caught the one-eared elf off-guard, but he sucked a sharp breath between his teeth and stepped back as a thin line of bright red blood appeared on his forearm.
I gritted my teeth and narrowly evaded the stab of his sword, and at the same time, I shifted my right foot forward at a diagonal angle and hooked the toe of my boot around the stiff joint of Ryfon’s ankle. The moment of realization was plain on Ryfon’s face as his muddy-brown eyes opened wide with shock, and a split second later, I pulled his left foot out from under him. To ensure his topple to the ground, I moved in close to Ryfon and knocked his shoulder back with my elbow.
The whole thing moved in slow-motion, and Ryfon sucked in a sharp breath as he tumbled backward. His sword flung from his hand and soared through the air to land point-down in the dirt a few feet away at the same time Ryfon’s back thumped hard against the ground.
“Ooophh!” The ground slammed all the air out of Ryfon’s lungs, and his eyes slammed shut from the impact.
A quiet ripple of surprise flowed through the crowd around us.
I loomed over the asshole on the ground as he slowly opened his eyes, and they burned into me with hatred and wounded pride before Elora strode over to stand beside me.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” the beautiful elf demanded.
Ryfon’s eyes blazed with fresh fury now, and a cryptic sneer curled on his lips as his gaze stayed locked with mine.
“I should have raped that stupid whore when I had the chance,” Ryfon growled.
Then I pointed the sharp tip of my sword directly at the hollow at the base of Ryfon’s throat.
Chapter 11
“Apologize to the lady,” I growled at the cowering pile of animal shit at my feet, “and maybe I will let you leave with your life and limbs intact.”
Frida snapped viciously toward Ryfon’s toes as if to emphasize my words.
Ryfon’s sour mouth opened and closed twice before he finally clamped his lips together, looked away, and nodded in total humiliating resignation.
I slowly lowered my sword from where it was poised above his throat, and I took a half-step back to allow Ryfon to raise himself to his feet. I didn’t take my eyes off of the bastard because I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw Ayen. I hoped he would take my overly respectful offer and run as fast as he could from this village. As much as I longed to pierce my sword straight through his frozen heart, and as much as he deserved such a fate, I really didn’t want to have to expose these people to more violence if I could avoid it.
But I would do what I had to, and it was completely up to him now how the next few seconds would go.
“Leave, Ryfon,” Ayen suggested in a heavily ominous tone. “Leave while Levi still graces you with the chance to go.”
Ryfon glared at the big blond man to my left, and he slowly raised himself back to his feet. He kept his muddy-brown eyes glued to me as he cautiously backed up toward his sword.
“Go ahead, take it,” I offered with narrowed eyes and deep suspicion.
Ryfon finally looked away from me, and for a second, I thought maybe he would actually leave us be, and a spike of disappointment cut through my heart.
Frida circled around me once and then took a defensive stance just to my left as we waited to see what Ryfon would do next.
Instead, the moment Ryfon wrapped his fingers around the handle, he yanked it from the dirt and pivoted immediately toward me, but I was ready for him.
I skewered him through the chest without mercy or any remorse, and my blade sank halfway into his heart. Then I laid a hand on his shoulder, and I slowly pushed forward as I impaled him to the hilt on my sword.
“You should have left when you had the chance,” I muttered in his ear as he gasped around the blood that was rapidly flooding his lungs. “You utter piece of garbage.”
“You…” Ryfon gasped with his final breath. Then blood dripped down from his mouth, his weight slumped against me, and his dead eyes stared up at me with a look of shocked rage.
I pulled my sword from his chest, and Ryfon’s dead body thumped back to the ground.
“Fucker,” I muttered under my breath as blood dripped from the tip of my sword and stained the dirt at my feet.
My wolf-shark pup growled at Ryfon’s body, and then she sat down and looked up at me proudly.
I took a deep breath before I turned back to the others. I couldn’t be sure what their reactions would be to me killing Ryfon. It was one thing to want him gone of his own free will, it was another matter entirely for me to have killed him. But I knew there had been no room for another chance, and I’d given him the opportunity to flee. There was no one to blame for Ryfon’s demise except himself, at least that’s what I had to hope the others saw as well.
I turned around, and I found Elora’s face first. I locked my eyes on her because I knew her reaction was the most important to me. It was clear in her gentle amber-and-ruby eyes that she not only accepted what had happened, but she was a bit grateful to me as well.
Next, I turned to Ayen, and he nodded at me with a poorly-smothered grin on his broad face. At his side, Sassa nodded slightly with a determined set to her chin. I slowly looked around the crowd and found faces filled with acceptance, resignation to the fact that this had to be done, and even several smiles of gratitude.
“Good riddance,” Wyn announced clearly.
“Wyn!” Elora gasped at her surrogate grandfather’s surprising words. “I know you liked Ryfon no more than any of us, but I have never heard you speak so harshly of another.”
“I tolerated his presence on principle alone.” Wyn shrugged dismissively. “Levi, you have done us yet another service.”
“Huzzah!” Goren shouted. The young half-elf threw his hands in the air, and his black curls bounced wildly around his head.
“Though I do not share the boy’s enthusiasm,” Ylva said dryly as she frowned at Goren, “I do agree with the sentiment. We are, all of us, indebted to you once again, Levi.”
“Let us feast!” Ayen declared, and there was a rumble of agreement from the small crowd.
The villagers settled into quiet chatter as more water was hauled in from the sea to boil the crabs. The cauldron rested in a good cooking position, and the basket filled with drinking water was carefully set aside and covered to protect it from any wayward dust or ash.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked Sassa as she piled fresh logs onto the fire and got the new water boiling.
“You have done quite enough, Levi.” The pretty blonde woman smiled at me, and the scarred side of her face crinkled with the expression. She glanced happily at Ayen where he chatted comfortably with Varian nearby, and then she looked back at me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, and I knew she wasn’t just thanking me for the clean water or dealing with Ryfon’s entitled ass. It warmed my heart greatly to see my new friends finding even a small bit of happiness in this harsh world of theirs.
“Ours,” I reminded myself under my breath as I glanced around at these people.
This place felt more like home than anything I’d had in a very long time, and that was an entirely new sensation. I’d been on my own for so long I didn’t know what it was like to be part of a community like this.
The biggest downside to my cunning and somewhat manipulative nature was the fact that it drove most people away from me. I’d never been able to maintain a relationship for longer than a few months. Even the few friends I’d managed to hold onto over the years were more like drinking buddies than real friends. I was a bit of a loner in the world, but that had suited me just fine up until recently, so I saw no reason to change my ways. I didn’t think I’d be able to anyway, even if I wanted to. Cleverness and trickery were just part of who I was, and I liked myself more than most other people anyway.
But these people here were different, and the situation had changed. I wasn’t fighting to stay on my feet in Boston on my own anymore. These people needed someone thinking ahead for them and considering every angle. They needed someone with a mind like mine to navigate the craziness in this world, and to help spare them from getting into shit with people like Ryfon or this Demon Lord.
Suddenly, I felt like I was in my element, and Asgard seemed like the ideal place to flex my mental prowess and really stand for something bigger than myself alone.
To stand beside others for once.
Elora’s warm amber-and-ruby eyes flicked to me, and I realized I’d been staring at her as I considered this. I smiled at the beautiful elf, and I was elated to see her face flush as she returned my stare.
“We should do something with this,” Ayen said.
I looked over to where he stood over Ryfon’s dead body, and I realized he was right. We couldn’t just leave the corpse there to rot. I wondered suddenly if these people had ritualistic burial ceremonies, but I knew there was a real possibility they hadn’t needed to handle burial rights for a long time. I expected that for many years, their people had already been gone from the camp before they had died.
“We shall give him a proper burial,” Wyn said thoughtfully, and I respected that the man had honor and kindness, even for pieces of shit like Ryfon. “But we shall do so tomorrow.”
“Let us cover his body for this evening,” Elora suggested. “I do not wish to lay eyes on him like this.”
