Hot Blooded Episode 1: The Prodigal Prince (Supernatural Thriller Series) (3 page)

Kilar unhooked the ropes of the rescue boat hanging off the side of the ship, needing two hands just to get a grip on the large ropes.  The boat plunged into the water, off balance, creating a resounding splash.  Kilar climbed through the pillars of the rails.  Most of them were bent out of shape, mangled from the turbulent waters, but he squeezed through a splintered set to get to the other side.  He was just about to jump off the ship to reach the boat below when he stopped.  Turning around, he peered at Latrib through the distorted rails.  He tightened his scarf around his neck. 

“Never know what to say in moments like this,” Kilar said, his gaze meeting Latrib’s for the last time.  Kilar held his gaze a moment longer before looking away.  “But anyway, thanks for the ride.”

Latrib’s breathing increased as the obsidian closed its cocoon, entombing him within the glowing rock.  As his flesh melted and his bones sizzled, he somehow felt cold.

Chapter 2 - Taking Charge?

“Chief Akna!  Plumes of smoke have been spotted along the cliffs!” a man in a rowboat called across the stretch of water to the beaches of the small island.

Chief Akna of the rebel human tribe peered over her shoulder to catch the eye of the lookout.  She acknowledged his statement with a nod, and then turned back to the young student who took advantage of the interruption to have a brief lapse in his training.  He jumped when he felt Akna’s eyes upon him once again, and his fists pounded away at the mountain of falling sand with renewed force.

He and twenty-one other human trainees hammered away at the sloped sandy mountain, the red particles cascading down the rocky ledge like a river.  The dust that kicked up from the descent smelled of ash.  It was the job of the thirty-seven older trainees to collect sand from underneath the children’s feet into sacks so large, their arms didn’t reach all the way around.  Accomplishing this, the next duty involved carrying the sacks all the way up the mountain to dump the contents down the slope for the younger students, to soften their blows against the sharp rocks.  The rate at which the older students completed this task devastated the newer recruits, who yearned for a break to rest their battered bodies.  They smashed their tiny fists against the falling sandy streams, the sand losing its conformity to the shape of their blows almost as soon as they landed.

“Keep an eye on them, Tiambla,” Akna said.  The youngest student’s eyes opened as wide as the moon when she heard her name called.  Not much older than a toddler, this was only her second month of training.  Chief Akna often gave students a turn to practice leading their team members, as any of the real leaders could be rendered incapacitated or killed at any time in the heat of battle.  Tiambla turned away from the flowing torrents, her small fists covered with the crusty red sand that blended in with her bleeding knuckles. 

“I’m counting on you,” Akna said. 

The child’s back stiffened.  She fumbled an attempted salute, her body shaking the entire time.

Akna met the lookout on the island’s shore as soon as he pulled in.  He stepped over the side of his rowboat onto the sandy coast and tied his boat to a wooden pole that was sticking out of the beach.  Right when he finished, he faced Akna, snapping to attention.  “The smoke was spotted by Lakerdi just before the sun reached its peak in the sky.”

Akna looked in the direction he motioned.  She squinted her eyes, and sure enough, she saw a black cloud of smoke.  It was not dissipating, which meant whatever it was, it was still burning.  The source of the smoke was hidden behind the expansive cliffs, but she could tell that the distance was not far.  “Good work,” she said.  “I want you, Lakerdi, and Yavmah to check it out.  Report back when you have any information.”

He raised an eyebrow.  “Yeah, that’s going to be a problem.  The...Head Chief Naslen told me to consult him at any signs of trouble.  He doesn’t think you’re ready for a full-scale assault yet, and if there really are fire giants nearby...”

“Damn it, Revfran, my father is not in charge anymore,” said Akna.  “The sooner you stop catering to his whims, the better off we’ll all be.”

“That so?  Is that why you’re still using all of his training exercises?” Revfran asked, pointing over Akna’s shoulder.  She turned her head toward the rocky slopes.

The senior students conquered the mountain faster than ever, dumping sand on the heads of the students who they felt needed to pick up the slack.  The students struggled to stay on their feet as the sands poured down.  Tiambla didn’t like this one bit.  “What are you doing!  Stop hurting them!”  She stamped her feet as she screamed; her young voice crackling.  Huge tears poured down her face as she tried to make her voice heard.

Akna turned to face Revfran once again.  “What’s the problem?  My father’s training exercises build character.  This is the stuff warriors are made of.  We went through all of his ordeals, and we turned out pretty good.”

Revfran raised his eyebrows.  “Are we still talking about the man who carved ‘Fireball Fodder’ into your leg when you were five years old because you showed up late for training?”

She smiled.  “Ah, but I was never late again, was I?”

“I’m pretty sure my chronic insomnia stems from all the trauma he inflicted on us when we were kids, thanks.  I still hear his voice screaming at me in my sleep...”  Revfran shuddered.  “To think that you actually still follow his methods even after all he put us through.”

Akna frowned.  “I’m quite capable of making my own decisions.  Just because I agree with his methodology doesn’t mean I laud his every word.”  She noticed Revfran’s eyes widen as he turned his focus to a point over her shoulder.  She held her breath, feeling her stomach compress.

“And why the hell not?” Akna heard her father say.  She sighed, turning to face him.  There he stood, his only hand resting on his hip while he puffed out his chest.  His right arm consisted of a stump that cut off just above his elbow.  It was covered in healed blisters and burns, scars that were still quite visible over two decades after receiving them.  His left arm showed the same scars from his shoulder to his fingertips.

Revfran’s arms flew to cross himself over his chest in salute, the displayed whites of his eyes in stark contrast to the dark bags underneath.  “Afternoon, Head Chief Naslen.”  His voice came out with a pitch higher than he intended it to be.

“Dismissed,” came Naslen’s curt reply.

Revfran’s eyes quickly fell on Akna’s for confirmation.  She nodded her head.  He waited until he had turned his back to them to break out into a grin, thanking Rekanii for his good fortune while he hurried back to his boat.

Akna turned to her father, a stern look of disapproval etched onto her dark features.  “Father, don’t give orders behind my back.  All that accomplishes is a feeling of disunity.  If you have a problem with my results, see me personally.  It’s bad enough that you insist on a high status within the community even after you relinquished your position to me, but this is unacceptable.”

“If you weren’t the most incompetent leader since your uncle, it wouldn’t be a problem,” he said. 

“If you’d like to kill me too, go ahead and try,” said Akna.  “Until you do, however, I’m in charge.  Is that clear?” She fixed her gaze on him.

Naslen grunted.  “You’re just like your mother.  All right, do as you like, see if I care.”

Akna smirked.  “I’m glad I have your permission.”

“Sure you do,” he said.  “Just don’t forget who made you what you are today, you ungrateful little shit.”

“Fair enough,” said Akna.

“So, what’s with all the commotion?”  Naslen nodded toward the ocean, where Revfran was paddling up to the boats of his comrades to brief them on their assignment.

“Smoke was spotted along the coast, near the cliffs.  The fire giants don’t normally get this close to the water, so I told them to check it out,” Akna said.

“As usual, your stunning lack of foresight makes this a fine day for humans everywhere,” Naslen said.  “What else could it be besides a fire giant?  Fire doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, especially not since the water giants started flooding these lands.  I’d bet you my good arm that Drarke sent his soldiers to look for this island again.  We need to send an armed squadron, not a few measly lookouts.”

Akna squared her stance and looked her father dead in the eye.  “I’m not going to scatter our resources until I know for sure what we’re dealing with.  It could be Drarke’s troops, but it might be a decoy.  I’m not going to play into their hands by taking chances like that.”  She turned to face the ocean.  “And those three are not ‘measly lookouts.’  They’re trained soldiers, just like you and me.  I’d wager the determination of any one of my warriors against ten of King Drarke’s toughest soldiers any day of the week.”     

“Thinking like that is what gets people killed out here,” said Naslen.  “It’s exactly because of our fewer numbers and limited resources that we have to hide ourselves, out of reach of the enemy.  That’s a handicap that no amount of valor can make up.  Even with the presence of the water giants putting pressure on Drarke and his people, inland journeys are few and far between, and about as dangerous as standing barefoot in a nest of vipers.”  He lowered his voice.  “And if you have some misguided notion that we, or any other remaining groups of human rebels are making progress, you’d best wipe your mind clean of it right now.  We’re not fighting to win this war.  We’re fighting just to stay alive.”

Akna’s face relaxed, taking on a somber expression.  “That’s not something I’m willing to accept.  The day we expect defeat is the day it will most assuredly come to us.”  She cocked her head to one side.  “And it surprises me that you feel this way, considering you of all people should know that it’s possible to overcome a handicap.”

He scoffed.  “Like I’d ever let the lack of one arm stop me.  I could still kick your ass with the other arm tied behind my back.”

Akna smiled.  “I was talking about your insane stubbornness, but your arm is a good example too.”

“Chief!  Chief Akna!” came the bawling voice of the toddler Akna left in charge of the training exercise.

Akna turned, and her eyes blinked as they registered the oncoming tyke.  Tiambla’s face was red and puffy, and the tears kept pouring as she ran.  Akna saw this overwhelming display of emotional frustration in almost every beginning student as their body and mind adapted to the challenges of this life.  It was a necessary step in their progression, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch.  “What is it, Tiambla?” she asked with a soft voice, squatting down to meet the child. 

“There’s smoke coming from the mainland!  That’s probably really bad, because smoke comes before fire!  The other kids told me to tell you, so I did!”  The three-year-old’s tears streamed down her face faster than the red sands feel down the mountainside behind her.

Naslen’s nostrils enlarged.  “No sniveling allowed!”  His left hand grabbed the handle of the stone knife secured by the pelt around his waist. 

Akna turned her head to glare at Naslen.  “Back off,” she said.  She shifted in front of the child, her bare feet scraping against the sandy rocks.  “There are a lot of disciplinary policies I agree with you on, but gutting small children isn’t one of them.  They have to be at least ten years old.  Maybe eight.  But three?  That’s pushing it, Father.”  She whipped her head around to face Tiambla, who jumped.  “I’ve already sent someone to investigate the smoke by the cliffs.”

“T-the cliffs?  But the smoke is coming from over there!” Tiambla pointed to the edge of the coast, just beyond the edge of the island.  Akna did not like what she saw.  This smoke was much closer than the burning substance that she sent Revfran to investigate.  If this was the same party, they were closing in, and fast.

“I told you this would happen,” said Naslen.  “We need to assemble the troops, and we need to do it now.  I’ll head the troops on land, and drive them to the cliffs.  You head the boats to below the cliffs, and attack from beneath.”

“No!  We still don’t have enough information!  I will take a scouting party out to investigate.  You will stay here, on standby,” Akna said.  She stood up, her shoulders back.  “If there is trouble, I will give the signal for you to bring the troops over.  Is that clear?” 

Naslen crossed his left arm over his right stump in front of his chest.  “As clear as our fates, Chief Akna.”