Page 13 of A Touch of Gold and Madness (Celestials of Arcadia #1)

Chapter 12

Griffin

B one crunched from another blow to the cheek. I savored the pain, allowing it to fuel the cruelty within me. It was risky to permit myself to be almost pushed to the point of no return, but I knew I could handle it. A twisted part of me was a masochist, craving punishment for my crimes. But mostly, I fed the darkness more with each hit.

Their blades hadn’t been wielded yet, but they were coming. Still, I couldn’t use my magic unless I wanted to alert the entire Warrior Guild of my presence. They had specific Kinetics with the ability to track energetic signatures from distances. Mine would light up like a flash bomb if I removed my bracelet.

A booted blow to my ribs had the air forced from my lungs, and a grunt of pain escaped with it. I laughed.

With my vision blackened and outside noise drowned out, I continued to focus my tactile senses on the air’s movement around me. Years of training blinded and deafened prepared me for moments like these. So, when a wisp of air brushed my cheek, I knew a knife had finally been pulled. I’d be fucking damned before I succumbed to the poison of a Kinetic blade .

Just as I felt the slice about to land across my face, I jerked to the side while pulling out the knife strategically held up my sleeve. My blade carved across the Kinetic’s wrist. He jumped back, and I rolled to the side, still blinded.

The roaring in my head eased as I rose to my knee. And I realized that the screeching in my ears stopped when I cut the Kinetic. As my hearing slowly returned, the cursing of the man I cut registered to my right while I heard boots approach.

Buzzing energy vibrated the air, and I spun again as another blast flew at my head. While keeping my senses open, the fucker’s voice in my head resumed his death chant.

Kill. Kill. Kill.

I snapped.

The savagery that swarmed my chest finally won.

Reaching behind me, I slid my double-edged sword from its sheath on my back. The sigils on both blades glowed orange. The familiarity of my sword grounded me, but not enough to control the murderousness singing in my veins. I lunged at them in blind haste. But I was never truly blind as long as I had my other senses.

As I was mid-leap, the sound of two swords sliding free from their sheathes echoed in the alleyway. I knew my strength and body enough to judge how high I’d jumped. Their feet shuffled, indicating they adjusted their stance as I came down on top of them. I kicked one in the chest while crashing on top of the other.

My knees slammed into the rough concrete, sending a searing pain through my bones. I soaked it up, letting it drive me to the peak of my madness. I held my sword above my head, and with a spin, I arced the blade at a downward angle. The glowing weapon sliced through muscle, and cartilage until they no longer resisted my effort, freeing his head from his neck.

In that moment, I hated more than anything that I couldn’t witness the crimson pooling on the ground beneath me. Fortunately, the combination of the metallic scent of blood and its warm wetness dripping down my face was enough to appease the beast within for only a fraction of a breath.

A large, solid force struck my body and tackled me to the ground. With my vision still blacked out, I assumed this Kinetic was the culprit. I struggled to free my arms from his hold yet still maintained my grip on my sword.

My right leg was pinned beneath his body weight, but with my left one free, I jabbed him in the side with my knee. The move was enough to loosen his grasp on my arms, allowing me to roll to where we switched positions. I dropped my sword. Its size was ineffective in this position, and I needed at least one hand unburdened to fight the skilled warrior beneath me—especially without my sight.

I punched in the general direction of where I knew his face would be. A sickening crunch brought a savage smirk to my face as I snatched a dagger from my pants leg. The action opened me up for the Kinetic knife sinking into my side.

“Godsdamnit!”

I locked the Kinetic tight between my knees as he struggled underneath me. With my freed hand, I patted the areas of his body that the thick leather of the warrior gear shielded and began to slice in quick, strategic movements across any unprotected surface. I didn’t stop. Not when sharp stabs to my thigh, arm, shoulder, and side exploded in pain from his desperate frenzy to escape my hold.

As my vision came into focus from his death, I made out the blurry outlines of a marred and mutilated body. Once it cleared, the shredded face and neck of the warrior were painted a deep ruby. The beast within me jeered at the carnage, but he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted more .

I had minutes at best before the poison of the Kinetic blade crippled me. I could already feel its effects burning through my veins, scorching a wildfire of hatred through my body. But I shook it off like I had so many times before, forcing myself to climb off the dead Kinetic and then slide the knife back up my sleeve .

Standing, I took in the widened alleyway. Dizziness unsteadied me from the injuries and blood loss of the stab wounds, but a dark viciousness made my heart sing at the sight I left behind. A beheaded corpse sprawled in thick, dark blood lay feet away from me, his unblinking eyes frozen wide with fear.

I bent to retrieve my sword and swiped the bloody blade on my pants before tucking it back in its sheath.

Another blade clanged free, and I snapped my attention to the lone figure slumped against the wall. He groaned as he cupped his neck with one hand. His life force gushed down his neck and soaked into his black uniform. He wielded a Kinetic knife in his fist, preparing to throw it at me.

I cocked my head to the side as I studied him. “Ah,” I said, my voice hoarse. “You’re still alive, I see.” The dying Kinetic scrambled to sit straighter, wincing as he did. I scrunched my face at his predicament. “Well, isn’t that little wound just a dying pity?”

“Fuck you,” the warrior spat, his words garbled. With the redfern from my Elemental blade surging in his veins, his magic was subdued, so it didn’t concern me about his blasts.

I took slow measured steps toward him, mainly because I felt myself weakening with each passing second, but at least I was still upright, despite all the injuries. I needed to recoup—and fast. “So, I presume you recognize me.”

The warrior’s labored breaths wheezed and huffed. And as I neared him, his paling skin made it evident that the single strike across his neck would be fatal. “You’re dead.” A mixture of fear, hatred, and confusion twisted across his features as he assessed me.

I came to a stop before him and dropped to a squat, ignoring the excruciating pain in my thigh and side. It would soon be healed, anyways. “It would appear that I am, in fact, not dead, wouldn’t it?” I chuckled. “You, on the other hand, won’t be able to say the same in a moment.”

With what little strength he had left, he aimed a careless swipe at me with his blade. I dodged it before grabbing his wrist, apprehending the blade for myself. I tsked and held the knife flat in both my palms as I observed its sharp, angular sigils.

“I bet your king doesn’t provide any of you with the crushed nickel antidote for the redfern that’s poisoning your bloodstream, hm?” I asked, keeping my hazy gaze on the knife in my hands.

“He’s gonna kill you,” the warrior rasped. I snapped my focus to land on the man inches away from me. Short navy-blue hair blurred in my sight, a jarring contrast to the crimson staining his neck and hands.

“Not if I kill him first.”

I adjusted my stance to reach into a well-guarded pocket in my black cargos. After digging with my shaking hand, I sighed in relief when it landed on the last remaining syringe containing the antidote. I shook it in front of him. “Too bad it’s not your brand. We could’ve dueled over it. Now, that would’ve been quite the sight.” I laughed at my own remark as I removed the plastic encasement covering the needle.

“No wonder he’s wanted you dead. You’re a fucking monster.”

“Yes,” I said as I thumped the container while watching the air bubbles rise to the surface. “I am. And none of you should ever forget that.” I pushed the exposed needle into the major vein protruding in my neck, just as I had done with the princess, and mashed down with my thumb to empty the contents into my bloodstream.

Within seconds, I could feel the sweltering inferno begin to cool while I gasped from the instant relief. The darkness that craved death and suffering still harbored its cold rage within me. Soon enough, though, the heat of the black crystal eased to a simmer, leaving only the welcomed pain from the open wounds behind. I inhaled a dramatic breath. “Godsdamn that feels good. You should try it…”

My sight finally restored to its heightened clarity, and I saw just how ashen the Kinetic had grown. He had minutes left, at best. “Just kill me already,” he whispered, his head lolling to the side to rest on his shoulder.

I pretended to ponder the thought because, truly, I wanted nothing more than another excuse to take his life, but I couldn’t grant him what he wanted. He needed to suffer .

Or did he?

Ah! The decisions…

After several moments of pondering the difficult choice, I sighed with my final verdict. “I think,” I said, shoving the empty syringe into a pocket and pulling out another dagger from my weapons belt, “you caught me on a good day. Don’t say I never did anything for you.” I shuffled closer until my lips were at his ear, and I murmured, “Send her all my love.”

I clenched my jaw as I stabbed my dagger up through his ribcage before pulling it out, only to jam the blade deep into his chest, piercing his heart.

The darkness soaked up the brutality of my acts. It loved every second, savoring every drop of blood spilled, but it wasn’t enough. It never would be, no matter how many had to die at my hands. But for now, it was satiated to offer me a slight mental reprieve from the incessant drumbeat of death as it dulled to a low hum.

I braced a hand against the wall to stand, pushing through the pain in my thigh and oblique. Now that the last of my antidote was gone, I had to be careful from here on. I couldn’t afford any more wounds from a Kinetic blade.

A deafening crack of a gunshot shattered the darkened silence of the abandoned city. I whipped my head in its direction, remembering Dash. A shock of fear jolted through my chest. With the beast calmed and the adrenaline from the fight waning, the pain from the wounds came to the forefront of my mind, as well as the dizzying blood loss.

I shoved off the wall and staggered out of the alleyway in search of the sixteen-year-old human boy. We’d split up to flank opposite sides of the nearby perimeter of the King’s Palace. I needed to get to a place far enough away to remove my bracelet so I could heal faster.

Another shot echoed off the buildings, urging me into a sprint through the street. I weaved between forgotten cars, crunching over broken glass and discarded trash through intersections. After several minutes, I quietly retrieved my sword while seeking cover amongst the buildings toward the sound of the fight ahead. By that point, the adrenaline had returned, but my wounds screamed too loud to ignore. I’d fought in worse conditions before, but I didn’t know what lay ahead of me. Stepping into a fight without my magic while severely wounded and recovering from black crystal poisoning put me at a major disadvantage.

A pained scream pierced the air. As quickly as the beast had calmed, it just as quickly reared its head at the sound of Dash’s struggle. It wasn’t so much the darkness coming out in defense of Dash; it was the call of bloodshed that brought it back to life.

I listened to the fight nearby, trying to place how many attackers were present against Dash. No more shots rang out, so I assumed the Kinetics in question used magic to subdue him. And Dash wasn’t the untrained human who’d shoot in a wild panic. Ammo was such a rare commodity these days that one didn’t waste bullets on hopeful shots. If he wasn’t shooting, there must be a solid reason for it.

Based on the sets of moving feet, I gathered that two Kinetics had Dash outnumbered. And with their magic, it wouldn’t be a fair fight. Shoving my free hand through my hair, I made a risky decision.

I unclasped the black bracelet that suppressed my Elemental magic. Shoving it into a pocket inside my cloak, I breathed a relieved sigh from the cold affinity of metal as it wafted through my senses. Its strong, unyielding essence grounded me while it fueled my body to begin healing the wounds. My skin transformed from its usual warm tan to its gilded sheen.

I stepped from the alley a bit more balanced as the dizziness fled my mind.

Kill. Kill. Kill.

The pain in my leg ever so slowly faded as I neared the scene transpiring behind an abandoned salon. Voices grew more distinct, and I paused to take stock of the situation.

“We take him back as a prisoner,” a deep voice sounded.

A pause. “No,” a second male said, “we should kill him. The king hates humans.”

“But he’s a rebel, part of the militia. King Forest would wanna get information outta him.”

“I fucking said no . Orders are orders. The kid dies…or we will. ”

“Godsdamnit. What the fuck was he thinking? He thought he’d hurt us with a gun?” the first voice asked, confusion lacing his tone.

His partner scoffed, “He’s a human kid. What do you expect?”

Hearing them speak about humans like they were nothing sent another wave of raging heat coursing through my chest. The grip on my sword tightened, and I had to remind myself it wasn’t their fault; they didn’t know any better. Forest had everyone’s brain completely fucked regarding this world. But they’d earned their death sentences when they hurt my human ally.

“Come on, Russ,” the first one said, “let’s just get it over with. We need to find the others and spread out. That little cunt is up to something tonight.”

That little cunt could only mean Princess Gray. And an instinctual part of me snarled at the disrespect, which pissed me off more because I didn’t have any fucks to give whether she lived or died after her purpose had been served. She was just as guilty as these two doorknobs I eavesdropped on.

“Wait,” the hard-ass named Russ—I assumed was short for Russet—said. “You feel that? That energy?”

“Yeah, who…”

“Fuck,” Hard-Ass muttered in a panic. “Go. Grab the boy; we’ll finish him off later.”

I took that as my opportunity to reveal myself. Listening to these fuck-twats gave my body a chance to heal while riling up the darkness within me. Sliding my shoulder from the salon’s brick wall, I slunk around the corner, obscuring myself in the shadows.

The men were busy gathering up the boy and his weapon. As they sensed my presence, they froze their frenzied movements, knowing they hadn’t been fast enough to miss my arrival.

“ You’re the king’s warriors?” I asked with a raised brow. “I imagine he’d torture you excruciatingly slow if he knew you were running from the chance to kill me.” I bit my bottom lip and squinted my eyes as I observed them. “Just think of all the glory you’re missing out on. ”

Both men glanced at each other before removing their blades, a sword and two daggers.

“Leave the boy,” I said, my voice hard, dropping all pretenses. “Only cowards murder those that they easily outmatch.” Quickly assessing Dash, I noticed he was unconscious. With a swift check with magic, I noted that the iron within his blood still pumped through his bloodstream. Alive.

Hard-Ass apparently decided to grow a pair when he said, “You mean like you?”

The smile that stretched across my face was nothing short of rabid as I fought to keep the madness and rage at bay. “See…I might be the exception to that little rule.” Reaching out with my element like an extended limb, I removed four knives from my weapons belt and hovered them in the air in front of me. They spun and rotated to the beat of death’s war drum in my mind, the blue glow from their sigils illuminating the dark space.

“It’s sad, really, that I must kill the ignorant like yourselves. But that’s the world we live in—the one that your master so diligently crafted.”

It was dark, and this alley was significantly narrower than the previous one. I couldn’t see the shades of their hair, but the currents that glowed on their necks were orange and gold: infrared and light source magics.

“You are fucking insane. That was all you, man. You started all this.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed, “Godsdamnit, I’m so tired of hearing that.” While it’s partially true I want King Forest dead out of vengeance for killing my father, King Jonas, there was much more to it than any of them could fathom.

“Put the boy down. Now .” Two of the knives redirected themselves to point at the two warriors ahead of me.

Hard-Ass scoffed, “No. He goes with us,” he said, followed by a warmth spreading throughout my body, starting on my back. Infrared magic . It rapidly increased in strength until it became scalding. It sucked, but they didn’t know the history of my training, which prepared me for this—no one did.

With time not on my side, I sent the two knives aimed at the men flying like mini-missiles. At the last second, they diverged, one blade targeting Hard-Ass and the other his sidekick. With a wet thunk , one of the knives embedded to the hilt into Hard-Ass’s eye, while the other sunk into his companion’s carotid. They dropped to the ground, leaving Dash to fall to the concrete in front of them in an unconscious heap.

Hard-Ass died on impact as the blade pierced his brain. To be safe, I sent another knife to his sidekick’s throat, gashing it open to ensure he couldn’t heal once I retrieved my knives. My darkness sang its victory cry, but as usual, it wanted more.

And it just might get it because more warriors and guards approached, their voices and magic scraping against my senses. I assumed they picked up on my energetic signature after I removed my bracelet.

Fine. I’d kill them all, then.

Using my magic, I removed the knives from the Kinetics’ bodies and brought them before me once more. The beast roared for what was to come as I summoned my other blades to encircle me while I slid my sword free, rotating it as my cold power pulsed through me. My element was hungry as it sensed the threats ahead.

My ears perked at the sound of a nocked arrow on the flat rooftop to my right. I sent a dagger upward. Shadows closed in both ends of the alleyway with the varying abilities of the guild, the most elite of them all.

The assassin from the roof plummeted to the ground with the grotesque crunch of bones.

My heart sang to the fierce call of death. Perhaps these offerings would appease the beast long enough to return to the Hollow with the princess in tow without losing myself completely.