THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: DEATH II

Sagiri was still frozen at the amount of blood covering him when a blur passed over him, the man whose head had been severed was still standing. His head though separated from him still had its eyes open in disbelief. Two of the attackers closest to sagiri were still yet to process the death of their friend when a hand was wrapped around their necks and they were driven to the ground with too much force, their necks breaking in unison. Captain Salka had just killed three men in a span of three seconds before they could even move. He was like a beast and his agility and strength made him unstoppable. The other four were just realizing what had happened and pulled out their curved knives and charged.

The one closest to Yavaga wasn’t lucky enough because a sharp double edged knife was pushed onto his jugular before he could react. Yavaga had propelled himself on one hand spinning a whole 360 degrees, landing on one knee in front of the assailant before stubbing him front to back. all in a span of a heartbeat. His companion jumped in and they were engaged in a fight that did not last long before he was pulled into a headlock, his head twisting unnaturally with a loud snap. His eyes went lifeless and Yavaga tossed him aside like a rag doll.

Salka was taking his time with the remaining two as if it was a game. He first landed a scorpion kick to one sending him flying a few yards. His ribs broke loudly and he spit a mouthful of blood before getting up slowly and getting in a fighting stance. He dodged a knife to his side from the other aimed at his torso. He fell to his arms purposefully with one leg sticking out which he used to sweep him off of his feet. The assailant was quick too and he jumped up to escape but that might have been a mistake because Salka lifted his other leg, his weight totally supported by his hands before he landed a horse king on his torso with both feet which sent him flying. He collided with his friend who was charging and they both slammed into a tree creating a visible dent in it’s bark.

The companion’s head crashed harder onto tree taking almost all the assault before he went still life slipping from his eyes. his broken ribs and a bust head were enough to kill him. His friend whose fall had been broken faced forward with rage and a feeling of hopelessness. It was the look of a man who knew he couldn’t win yet was too proud to show weakness.

”The others won’t stop, until we wipe out you Bami scum.” He cursed before slitting his own throat with his knife from ear to ear. He fell forward and his blood soaked into the sand. Sagiri had never been in a real battle and he had not seen people die right in front of him yet he didn’t flinch. He was completely frozen. He could still feel the fight in the shadows. It went on for a minute longer before everything went quiet. He could not feel the intruders’ presence anymore and he knew that they were dead. Moments tickled by before Lotaga and the two Galka elite soldiers appeared all smeared in blood. Sagiri then snapped out of his daze and stared at the blood smearing his clothes, the smell was so thick and the power inside of him stirred. Images of blood flashed his mind so fast and powerful that he sat up clutching his head.

They were images of a place he had never been to. Blood was covering the desert sand and it flowed like a river. He had never been to the place yet he felt so much familiarity and sorrow and pain that was too much to bear. He clutched his head and fell forward on his hands and knees groaning and panting. He could not understand why he felt so much pain in his heart. He knew the memory was not his yet it felt like his. An killing intent that was not his was also mixed in the memory and he felt burning rage that was not his too.

”Hey, is the kid injured or something?” Lotaga asked his companions who were busy swimming in the pride of their kill. ”Salka, were you late?” He mocked his captain who stopped all the gloating and turned around swiftly. He was anything but slow and he did not like the insinuation.

”Hey kid, that assassin didn’t touch...” Salka started moving closer to Sagiri.

”Stay back!” Sagiri snarled, still in all fours. The ground under him shook slightly but all the men felt it. The killing intent from the memory demanded blood. And he feared if Salka moved any closer he did not know what could happen. He had only experienced its bloodthirsty once when he was twelve. He had almost killed five people if Rusha hadn’t stepped in on time. At the moment it did not seem to differentiate between friend and foe and he groaned fighting to stay in control. Until he understood what resided inside of him and why he had sworn not to lose control.

”Hey kid, calm down,” Salka said, feeling an odd feeling he had never felt before. Sagiri shut his eyes for a long minute fighting within himself until the feeling finally passed. He finally fell forward panting. The markings on his skin stirred under his skin before they finally steadied.

”Is there a place with water nearby?” He asked, finally looking up. His voice was surprisingly calm. It was the first time he had seen death happen. He was oddly not scared but the reaction from the power inside him to the sight of blood was what shook him. He feared if he stayed soaked in blood he might lose control again. His different amber eyes one fake one true, that he always hid behind his hood were now burning with intensity as he stared at salka.

”There is a waterfall seven to eight hundred vaara that way.” Kolu, one of the men answered finally speaking. He was the most silent among them but it seemed Sagiri had finally piqued his interest. He tapped his hand to the ground and listened and now that he was concentrating he could hear a faint sound of rushing water. He stood up back facing the men and headed into the darkness.

”Did you feel it?” Lotaga asked the others as soon as he thought he was out of hearing range. He had taken his Oru-shells off since the intruders arrived and he could hear them whisper clearly as if he was standing close to them. He mostly wore them when he slept, meditated or was in large crowds. He needed to get to the waterfall quickly, that was the only thought in his mind however.

”Mh” the others replied immediately. They were battle experienced veterans and they did not miss much when it came to observations. The ground trembling from his voice had caught him off guard too since it had never happened before.

”He must be special then since the council wants him this bad if they sent us to pick him” Yavaga made an observation and Sagiri’s ears piqued. So there was a council who wanted him. It was not just a simple person but a group. Things were starting to look more interesting than he thought.

”Let’s follow him so he doesn’t get eaten by wild beasts. He is our responsibility for now” Salka said and he could feel movement as they followed him. They followed him at a distance and stayed hidden when he got to the waterfall. He could feel their eyes on him. They were not scared of him, rather they now found him interesting. That was the most interesting reaction he had ever received. It seemed it was true what people said. Northerners only acknowledge the strong. Up till now they had just looked at him as an inferior being who won’t last a day in Galka War Academy for a day, yet now he could feel some hope for his survival coming from them. He jumped into the waterfall and let himself sink to the bottom with all his clothes. The east was full of rivers and Sagiri had learned to swim since he was old enough to walk. Back then he and his little friends had always had fun by the river before he had started growing weird senses and the gap between them had grown.

He let the water carry away all the blood from his body as he sank deeper. He sat at the very bottom watching the water turn red till it turned clear. He still held his breath a little longer to make sure not a single spot remained before he let himself move. He kicked his feet after a few minutes and emerged to the surface only to find Salka standing right in front of him.

”I was starting to think you were trying to kill yourself.” he breathed a sigh of relieve. ”You know we northerners are everything but good swimmers.” He said with all seriousness and Sagiri was starting to appreciate the fact that the man had a weakness when he smiled a sly smile and jumped into the waterfall followed by all the other men. He had just lied to him and he had been too exhausted by the power overreaction minutes ago that he did not notice. Either that or the northerners were good liars. Or maybe it was sarcasm and Sagiri could not yet understand sarcasm.

The sun barely peeked through the horizon before they were moving north. They were all still wet from the swim but they did not seem to mind. the sun could soon rise anyway to dry them.

”Hey kid?” Kolu called him after they had travelled a few thousand vaara. ”How did you know intruders were coming and their accurate number?” He was sitting in front of him beside Salka. His eyes were weary and full of curiosity. Suddenly all the eyes shifted to him filled with curiosity.