Leviathan (Fist of Light Series) Read online

  “Uh, Jeeves. I know you're busy, but—” I blurred to the right and struck reactively with a sword, avoiding spiked claws from one of the smaller elementals.

  Unexpectedly, the sword stuck fast within the earthen being and was torn from my grip. I forced my attention on retrieving the weapon before the monolithic monster came and bludgeoned me into submission. The body of the elemental was quickly located, the sword protruding from its chest. I pulled the katana out of the unmoving stone. Although it went against my better judgment, I kicked at the pile of rocks, but I didn’t notice any reaction. Curiously, I nudged the rocky body a few more times before it was finally deemed dead. It looked like there was a way to kill these forces of nature— if you stabbed them through their rocky hearts.

  In my distraction, I had all but forgotten about the giant conglomerate of rock forming behind me. It had actually begun sucking up its living brethren by this time, their small bodies scrabbling futilely for escape. Fortunately for me, that meant there were less of the little buggers to deal with. Unfortunately, that meant I had one super baddy on my hands that didn't look too happy with me. However, I'd rather deal with this hulking beast than the previous array of earthen beings. Those were famous last words, of course. The ground trembled uncertainly as the powerful elemental before me began to exert its dominance on the earthly realm.

  It slammed its rocky fists into the ground. Sand swirled violently up them in the form of snaky appendages. With growing apprehension I watched as these vine-like constructions began latching themselves onto the back of the being before me. By the time the sands had stopped moving and glowing eyes were turned my way, the elemental looked like some sort of earthbound octopus that stretched over ten feet tall. Gulping, I figured things weren’t looking up for one Empowered teen right about now.

  “Crap. This doesn't look good,” I said.

  No helpful tidbits of information or sarcastic responses were evident from Jeeves, though not much was expected from his corner. This fight was my own, which meant that my head had to be in the game if I planned on making it out of this mess alive. Meticulously examining the construct before me, my eyes scanned for breaches, but none were found to be particularly vulnerable, especially with the new upgrades. The ground shook convulsively away from the elemental as it took a giant step forward, its writhing tentacles within range of my frail sack of skin and bone. From what had been gleaned from its smaller counterpart, I needed to stab the elemental in the heart to take it down. If Earth was one of my fortes, it would have been a less complicated to take the beast down. Alas, I had no such luck, and besides, demonstrating another element in front of this crowd would have some very unsavory side effects, likely including but not limited to gastrointestinal bleeding and other related complications.

  I pulled my wandering mind back to reality and brought it to bear on figuring a way out of this mess. After calling Air, I swerved to the right, closely dodging a flailing appendage that sent a shockwave of power into the ground beside me. Taking advantage of the lull as the lumbering creature processed the futility of the attack, I struck powerfully with one katana at the thick tentacle. At first, it seemed I’d made some progress, but then the blade stuck fast in the thick appendage. Despite my violent protests to the contrary, my weapon had become lodged within the elemental. Muttering violently, I heated the design out of its frozen state and called a portion of the construction into a stiletto, which cohered perfectly to the palm of my hand. The same technique was used to provide extra strength to the construct.

  I was so engrossed with the single part of the elemental that it was too late to respond to the being's next assault. A giant haymaker smashed into me from the side, its herculean power blunted only slightly by the fact the appendage was made of sand. My weapons were lost in the ensuing tumble, which flung me end over end across the coarse sands of the arena. The booming steps of a titanic creation led me to believe that the elemental wasn't yet through with games. Forcing myself painfully to my feet, I wobbled uncertainly before turning and facing the earthen construct.

  “You hit like a girl,” I informed it woozily, slurring.

  Spotting my weapons behind the being in question, I ransacked my shaken brain for any idea that might keep me from becoming road kill. In a moment of concussed revelation, it came to me. Grinning childishly and rubbing my hands together, I called Air and shot a cable at the giant, which was fast approaching within haymaker range. As it stuck satisfyingly into the legs of the elemental, I called to Air again to speed my headlong flight around the perimeter. My adoring fans booed and swore creatively at my cowardice, but I pushed the discordant sounds into the background. My thin purple tripwire wasn't noticed by my prey as one revolution went by in a dizzying blur, and the Air-fashioned rope constricted around beefy, rocky legs.

  The confused elemental was no longer moving anywhere as it tried to ascertain my whereabouts and what my next move might be. Luckily, Rocky here wasn't too bright, so my plan unfolded without a hitch. Laughing, I pinned my makeshift rope to the wall, then proceeded to the opposite side of the elemental. A piercing whistle emanated from my mouth, daring Rocky to make another attempt. Happy to have an unmoving target once more, my prey fell naively into my crude trap while it attempted to advance upon me. Once the first move was made, gravity did the rest and the giant toppled to the sands. Grinning from ear to ear, I snatched up my stiletto while the crowd broke out into uncontrollable fits of laughter. Apparently even the subhuman entities that attended the bloody sport offered by the Dominus in this grungy underworld still retained some sense of humor.

  As Rocky face-planted comically, its tentacled appendages burst outward in a coordinated attack, forcing me to close more quickly than planned on the prone form. Dodging through a veritable forest of animated sand, I made my way determinedly to the center of it all. Currents of wind whooshed by my face with the uncountable near misses that stacked up as my forward rush came to its end. I rolled under a particularly low-flying appendage then stood up assuredly before my prey, twirling the stiletto expectantly. The trick here would be getting the dagger in deep enough that it would un-animate this force of nature, but there was little time for deliberation. Going with a gut feeling, I blurred forward, bringing my entire body into a downward thrust on the left side of Rocky's back. Even as the blade sank deeply into the earthen exterior of the elemental, it began to get its feet underneath it, prepared to stand. Obviously, the attack had done little real harm, probably because of the small size of the weapon.

  Crossing mental fingers against failure, I attempted to navigate back out of the infuriated midst of multiple tentacled appendages. That was where my stream of luck petered out entirely, however, and a sandy tentacle bound itself painfully to my left forearm. Similarly, two more appendages attached firmly to my lower limbs, binding themselves to my body and pulling me toward the maw of a very angry elemental. My back scraped on the dusty sands of the arena as the now standing giant picked me off the ground to better examine the tiny being that had just attempted to kill it. Swinging back and forth in the grips of the monster, there was little I could do. My heartbeat pounded powerfully, super-oxygenating my blood and delivering yet more adrenaline. My heart was trying to get out an extra couple beats before it stopped entirely.

  Even now, as I hung stupidly and blood rushed to my inverted head, a dark maw opened to admit my entrance. Cries for my blood and death abounded all across the arena, and I finally realized why Rocky hesitated. The Dominus presented a thumb’s down to the towering giant. Efficient as an assembly line, the extra limbs began to move me inexorably towards my ultimate destination. Rooting around frantically, I looked for a way out of the predicament, anything with a miniscule chance of success. Grinding my teeth together and looking at my solitary free hand, I stared impotently and clenched my fist in denial. Then, in dawning revelation, my hand was drawn backward, as if on its own accord. In a furious, Air-fueled strike, I punched forward with the unrestricted hand, sending a hu
ge concussion at my opponent.

  As Rocky rocked back on his heels, I prepared for an even more difficult task, straightening my hand out and pulling it back behind my head. There would have to be huge inertia and brute power behind the strike, despite its thin consistency and the relatively soft composition of my target. A staggering amount of energy had to be siphoned from the nexus before I was satisfied with the design. I chopped my hand forward while the elemental was still stunned. With it came a razor-thin blast of wind, one of the most finely controlled bits of Air that had ever been enacted by yours truly. Some resistance sought to keep me from my goal, but abruptly the tentacled appendages were sliced cleanly away, sand falling lifelessly, no longer constricting tightly around me.

  As I fell back to the now-inviting looking sands below, I redirected the arcing trajectory of my design, bringing it around for another strike. Low to the ground, it flew true, aiming directly for what I considered to be knee height on the monolithic compilation of Earth. Even more power was necessary if my plan was to succeed, and so I siphoned more reluctantly as my remote-controlled boomerang sliced into Rocky once more. For a moment, the outcome was uncertain and my design dissipated harmlessly back to its natural tendencies. Then a great, grinding bellow of rage emanated from the black maw of the beast before me, and I cracked a smile at the sound of it. The walls practically shook with that roar, but there wasn't any time to dawdle and determine whether or not my eardrums had been blown.

  Stretching out my hands, I called to the Air, bearing my discarded katana upon the winds and into my hands. Its reassuring weight comforted me as I dodged to make it to my goal. Rocky toppled forward, unable to stop its fall. With a forward blur, I stuck the weapon straight into the ground then commanded even more water to flash-freeze on its surface. When the deed was done, a spiked icicle looked as if it had grown out of the sand, a deadly gleam playing along its length. Realizing belatedly that I was currently standing on ground zero of the impact site, I directed a blast of Air before me with an outstretched hand, shooting myself swiftly backward. This time, there was minimal tumbling involved in the maneuver and my clothes only needed a little dusting.

  By the time the walls had stopped shaking from the stone-on-stone screaming of the elemental, I had managed to regain a standing position. From there, I could see that Rocky had been impaled cleanly through where his stone heart would be, if here were anything resembling human. The essence behind Rocky crumbled, disseminated into its component parts. The earthen construct split and cracked, tearing itself apart under the sudden strain of holding itself together. Before a minute was through, all that remained of my opponent was a titan-sized pile of dirt.

  “Damn,” I croaked through a parched throat.

  For a moment, the crowd seemed unsure whether it should revert back to the side of the underdog or boo me offstage. I’d given quite an entertaining show, however, because the masses rallied behind my banner. Cheers echoed endlessly throughout the underworld coliseum as I exited stage left on my own accord, pleased with surviving another round. My mind couldn't hope to wonder what challenges lay before me in the final round.

  — Chapter 7 —

  “Hey, Jeeves. Do we have liftoff, or do you expect me to fight blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back while writhing on the ground in agony?”

  Jeeves flashed in on my right and walked with me to the entrance to the adjoining room. “We need to address your flair for the dramatic. Fortunately, I may as well be a divine being sent down from the glimmering heavens to assist you. Despite my undeniable expertise, it was no easy task to locate the first strand in a complex array equivalent of thousands of convoluted, crossing wires.” If he were radiating any more smugness, it would congeal and drown me where I stood.

  The requisite ego-stroking was provided, but only at a bare minimum. “Great work, I'm happy to have you on Team Caleb. Now, can we get to the part where you tell me we're in the clear?”

  “We're in the clear,” Jeeves grumbled, dissatisfied with my inadequate praise. “The dampening effects of the torc have been neutralized.”

  “Can Jas find us now?”

  Jeeves looked unsure. “In all likelihood, yes. However, there is still the influence of the sigils in the arena to be taken into account, which might still provide some scrambling to any location or communications.”

  We stepped off the sands and into the enclosure. “Great,” I said, and stared hard at the symbol of the Aevum burned onto my hand, a memento of Kathryne's first red-hot contact.

  “Feeling overworked, child?” an overly friendly voice chimed in as my jailer stepped out of the shadows, offering a bottle of water.

  I leaned back against a wall and slid down until my head rested almost between my knees. Then, I informed the less-than-human man exactly what he could do with his bottled refreshment. For a time, he left me to my own devices, all too willing to allow a period for a systems check.

  My adrenaline, coursing so potently in my veins during the match, was beginning to wear off, the torrent of epinephrine dammed to a mere trickle. Pain coursed through my body, blood dripping from the wounds I sustained from the little buggers that came before Rocky. After dwelling for a time on the gleaming red hemoglobin seeping out of my body and splashing to the sands below, a more all-inclusive examination was required. I had a concussion, coupled with another strapping bruise provided by the wicked haymaker from a striking tentacle. Wincing, I determined that I suffered a few cracked ribs and superficial scrapes from the brutish impact and succeeding falls. All in all, there was much to be grateful for that I had even survived this long. However, a dissenting portion of my brain was arguing the rationale for waiting such an interim before making a move. Pursing my lips, I ruminated upon the credence of the argument. Maybe, underneath it all, I was just a masochist.

  My jailer waited for my condition to sink in before plying me for a second time. “Here, how about this: I'll stitch those wounds closed if you drink this.” He thrust the water forward for inspection.

  Licking my lips, I studied the sloshing, clear liquid and saw nothing amiss. Of course, that didn't mean anything. My natural suspicion put me on guard. “Why are you coddling me all of a sudden?”

  “I am merely seeing you to a peaceful death. One should not go thirsty or in such a ravaged state to the grave.” He indicated shredded skin and clothes. “There is little that can be done for clothing, but I can help you with the other two.”

  “If an excess of blood is lost, you'll be at a sore disadvantage in the coming fight,” Jeeves pointed out reasonably from beside me.

  I acquiesced relatively peacefully and he went to work while I downed a portion of the bottle. Although his fingers were light and quick, a revolting feeling overcame me with such close proximity to my captor.

  My jailer broke the silence after a few grueling minutes. “You stand no chance in the final confrontation.”

  “You keep going on about this whole dying thing.” I flourished a wry grin. “I've survived everything thrown at me. What's to say I can’t do it one more time?”

  “Your final opponent.” My guard smiled widely, revealing a gap-tooth grin. “They call him Hercules,” he confided in a near-reverent whisper.

  “Hercules,” I repeated dumbly. “So he's got a cool name. What about it?”

  “What about it?” he parroted my phrasing. “Preternatural strength, agility, the blood of his forefathers. None is more entitled to the name. Done.” He surveyed his work, apparently satisfied.

  As he returned his implements to their proper place, I secreted away the remaining water. It would be invaluable on the sands, as it had become increasingly difficult to congeal any amount of ice into weapons. That would likely be due to removal of the dead from the scenes, therein taking my projectiles and swords with them. As the air had become drier, water molecules would need to be moved further distances, thereby requiring more power.

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  He pursed h
is lips thoughtfully. “It is only just to paint a clear picture for a man about to die.”

  “Justice,” I spat out in hysterics. “You wouldn't know justice if it ran over your desiccated conscience.”

  The man made as if to hit me and I secretly prepared power, corralling it into doing my bidding. The roar of applause and senseless cheering stopped him, however, and he backed away slowly.

  “Not yet,” Jeeves insisted from within my mind.

  It was no easy thing to release the grip on my power; I oh-so-wanted to drown this man in his own fluids and to rid the world of his tainted presence. Slowly, ever so slowly, the anger receded and with it the power that had been marshaled. A lingering torpor took its place, but I shook it off stubbornly and stood. Making my way to the door, not even a last glance was deemed appropriate for my horrible host. I'm sure I only stumbled a few times before making it out onto the arena sands. Grinning crazily as the doors closed behind me, I stuck a finger roughly down my throat, puking up the water so recently imbibed.

  Hacking, coughing, and grimacing, I shook my head in triumph. “What a schmuck.”

  “Humans are such pitifully predictive beings. No imagination,” Jeeves practically pouted.

  “How much of the depressant do you think got absorbed into my blood?”

  A few seconds were taken to consider before he responded. “Enough to make your eyelids sag and slow your movements marginally.”

  “I can deal with that.”

  The raucous cheering increased tenfold at the glorious entrance of Hercules onto the sands. Despite the overjoyed acclaim, the man was only in his mid-twenties. The champion was decked out in red and gold; he even sported a flowing cape. I kid you not, a blood-red cape. Seriously, hadn't he seen that movie where they discussed how heroes die by some far-fetched accident due to a flapping ensemble? Obviously not, but I was unsure whether the rule extended to villains. The man before me was nothing if not confident. His every move projected the stuff and I doubted all of it was hot air.