Chapter 38: Give and take

Chapter 38: Give and take

Turning down the first alleyway he came across, Chance cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure nobody was in the area before he rapped on the stone. Hey, its me. Open up.

For a moment, it looked like the stone wouldnt respond. Then it rippled, peeling back to reveal a cracked pathway. Chance strode into it and, this time, the Old City didnt even try to hide the exit sealing in behind him.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

Okay, weve got a problem, Chance said. Im sorry if this is rude or anything, but what the hell was that? I know you could have killed me when I first arrived or whatever, but Ive already agreed to help you. Why would you try to lure my friends in? You know as well as I do that Yamish will kill them.

A question mark carved itself into the wall. Chance sighed.

Yamish literally said that everything in the Old City wanted to kill me, and he was very firm about not sharing anything about you and him with anybody. It doesnt take a genius to connect the dots. I dont know how strong he is, but I know its strong enough to kill to protect whatever he wants.

The old city didnt respond for a moment. Then the stone rippled and an old, cracked sign pushed itself out of the wall. Tiny flickers of essence hissed and popped off of it, but it was mostly unlit.

It wasnt a word familiar to Chance, so he reached for his dictionary. Ah, damn it. Didnt bring the book.

The ground rippled and a book slipped out from it, coming to a stop at his feet. Chance squinted, then knelt and picked it up. It was a dictionary. A quick glance through a random page revealed it was one written in English, too.

Seriously? Okay, were going to need to have a conversation about just what youre capable of, Chance muttered, leafing through the dictionary and trying to match the word on the sign to something in the book. He spotted it after a few moments and rolled his eyes. Therapist. Seriously? Youre telling me to get a therapist? This is your fault!

The question mark transformed into a circle. Chances eye twitched. The Old City didnt have an ounce of shame, but it evidently did seem to have a sense of humor. He just wasnt sure if that was a good thing or not.

Right, you arent getting rid of me that easily, Chance said, tucking the dictionary into his waistband. Seriously. If you want me to work with you, I expect a little more of an equal relationship. That might be weird to you, since Im sure youre some all powerful living city or whatever and youve never had to debase yourself to work with a weakling such as I, but Im not your slave. If youve been listening to literally anything Ive said, you should know that.

The question mark returned. Chance sighed.

Youre going to make me repeat it?

A circle.

You are such an asshole, Chance said, a tiny grin creeping across his face before he could banish it. He was not about to start bantering with a city. Especially not a murderous one. Im doing this my way. No more jokes. This is my second life, and Im not wasting it for a bunch of musty old alleyways with a terrible sense of humor. Deal with me evenly or just try to kill me and move on.

There was a long pause before the Old City responded. The circle faded away, and a pathway formed. It led up to a large, open town square. Chance didnt think it was possible, but the square actually looked even more dilapidated than the rest of what hed seen.

Purple, thorny ivy covered the walls and large patches of the ground. It was withered, just barely clinging onto its last semblances of life. Huge portions of the buildings making up the walls had fallen apart, and debris was strewn throughout the square.

Lining the ground leading up to the square was a series of skulls. The walls of the alley around Chance shifted, forming into an image of a bowlegged, twisted Soothound with several heads.

Theres a human monster beyond this? Chance guessed, tightening his grip on the urumi. Seriously? Youre just going to brush me off and sic me on another monster?

The image faded, replaced with an x. That was then washed away as a new symbol took its place a scale. Chances eyes narrowed.

A trade. Youre saying that if I want respect, I have to earn it, huh?

He couldnt see the monsters face from where he stood, but it leapt at the Soothound, curling into a ball and literally rolling into the other monster. The spikes on the creatures back ripped through the hard fur.

Blood splashed across Chances glowing monster and the ground, sizzling as it melted through both. The mist dissipated and he dropped back to the ground, spinning the urumi in his hand. The landing sent a slight jolt through his legs. The energy hed drawn from the karmic thread was starting to fade.

The Soothound loped toward him and lunged, snapping at his neck with several salivating, jagged toothed maws. He used the last of his borrowed ability to drop to the ground in a slide.

As he slipped beneath the monster, he raised a hand toward another strand of karmic debt. An instant before his hands brushed the glowing energy, he saw several images flicker through it at the speed of thought.

A woman, only a few years older than him smiling at an alter. The same woman, sitting at a table as someone handed her a plate of steaming soup. Then she was standing in the doorway of a house, her hand raised in farewell and the smile on her face failing to hide the fear in her eyes.

Chance yanked his hand back at the last second, electing to grab a smaller strand of Karma. One that belonged to another Soothound. His fingers wrapped around it and a clear chime rang out as he rose back to his feet behind the monster, his urumi darting out even as the monster turned toward him.

Sickness built in Chances chest as the sword-whip bit into the wound his previous misty summon had inflicted. The Soothound screamed in pain and he ripped the blade free, severing another karmic thread on the way back and filling himself with energy once more.

A golden paw swiped through the air, jagged claws ripping deep into the Soothound and widening the growing wound on its back. One of the monsters heads lolled to the side, nearly completely severed from the rest of its body. Blood sizzled against its fur and its guts sloshed around with every movement.

But, even with the power coursing through his veins once more, the excitement for the fight was gone. All that was left was sadness and disgust.

This isnt a monster. This is a man. Who was that woman? His wife? His daughter? He had hopes and goals, just like me. And now hes this thing.

The Soothound didnt sit around aimlessly while Chance went through his inner conflict. Its many heads screamed and it leapt at him, blood spraying from its wounds and melting through the ground as it lunged at him.

Chance was saved by the second time by his stolen abilities, vaulting backward with inhumane agility. Instinctively, he sent the urumi whistling out once more. The blade struck home, digging deep into the open wound on the monsters back.

He leapt into the air, clearing a powerful blow that smashed the front of the building behind him, and retracted the urumi. Chances feet slammed down on either side of the wound and he drove the blade deeper, pushing it through the back of the monsters main neck.

The Soothound pitched forward and Chance leapt, snagging a protruding signpost that hung at an angle and swinging himself to safety. A claw scraped across his back as he landed, screeching as it met bone. The monster crashed to the ground behind him, a plume of dust rising up around it as its blood seeped into the cracked stone.

Chance staggered, drawing in a sharp breath as pain flooded through his body. He grabbed the bottle of healing pills from his waist and popped one into his mouth before the agony could cripple him.

The burning faded away and he let out a sigh as the wound pulled itself shut. A sizzling pop from his urumi drew Chances attention. He grimaced. The blade was covered with severe pockmarks and the thin metal ropes that allowed it to expand and contract hung open, partially eaten away by the monsters acid. The weapon was completely ruined.

Foul smelling matter poured out of the massive wound in the monsters back. Constrictions racked its body and it bucked, bones popping and twisting as it started to change. Fur receded as more and more of the foul matter poured onto the ground, surrounding it in a pool of black liquid.

For an instant, a mans body appeared suspended within the muck. He had a strong jawline and thin blonde hair. He was probably in his mid-forties, with several scars across his cheeks and chin.

Then he was gone, melted to slag. The black liquid sank into the ground of the Old City, slipping between the cracks in the stone. Within seconds, there was no trace of the man or monster.

Chance drew a shaking breath. He knelt, laying his useless weapon on the ground as well. It wasnt going to do him any more help now not in its current shape. Maybe someone would stumble across it in the future and it would provide them with some aid.

Well? Chance demanded, clenching his hands. You made me kill someone. What did he do to deserve this? Why are you making me do your dirty work? You better give me some real goddamn answers, Old City.