Ravaged

Chapter 7

Feng can hear her heartbeat racing, can smell the sweat dripping off her, can hear the labored inhales and exhales within her lungs. He can hear each step she takes, can count the seconds between them and how hard it is for her to move.

She really is a stubborn fool. She's going to make herself sick.

They've barely gone three levels when she starts to faint, her hands sliding off the wall, her legs buckling. Feng places one hand on the wall and uses it to push himself off it, swinging around the startled Elliot to land behind the girl.

He catches her before she hits the ground, cradling her against his chest. She's out cold, her breathing still labored, sweat soaking her brown curls and simple dress. He needs to do something about her chains, too.

He'll have them off by the time she wakes, he vows.

With a sigh, Feng hops up past the confused Elliot again and continues moving. They have at least twenty levels to go, but Feng is plenty fit and strong. Carrying the girl--who is far too light for his liking--doesn't even make this a light workout. This is nothing compared to the massive boulders he and Den used to hold on their backs as they ran up the side of the mountain or descended the narrow cliff path from the mansion to the beach.

As promised, there is no one on this staircase but spiders and dust. When he went into Iaeda's mind, he was only looking for the information on how to kill Cruciatus--which was very disappointing, since it means Feng is going to have to go traipsing around the world looking for random items before he'll be able to kill the God of Pain and go home--but he certainly didn't complain about finding this little gem.

He was half expecting that he'd have to fight his way out. This makes things so much simpler, especially considering that he's going to have to come back here once he's gathered the special items and made a weapon.

It's a good thing he's a blacksmith already, or he'd have to find someone capable of doing that, too. He absently muses over what sort of weapon he'll make out of the metals and crystals as he carries the girl up the stairs, Elliot on his heels.

A sword, perhaps. His preferred method of killing is a katana--but that is his weapon of grace. A dagger or a set of small knives would be more satisfying.

Of course, there's also the fact that Feng will be fighting Cruciatus at full power, while Feng himself will have only his physical abilities. He's strong, and fast, and skilled with just about any weapon. It helps that he can't die, and that he's clever.

But it still won't be easy, which is almost a good thing. Feng almost revels in the challenge.

If the situation was slightly less serious, he might even be excited.

Who is he kidding? Feng is excited.

But he has to find the metals and crystals and make the weapon, then get it blessed by the gods of life and death, before he can come back and face Cruciatus in mortal--or not so mortal in his case--combat.

First things first, he needs to know what Elliot wants to do. The kid won't really be safe until after Cruciatus is dead. He could always go live with Rohan. Feng should probably take the girl there, too.

For some reason, he doesn't feel like letting go of her.

He tells himself it's just because he's doing for her what he was never able to do for his mother. Feng tells himself a lot of things.

Besides, she's already been with Rohan, it seems. If he was capable of protecting her, she wouldn't be here.

The siren didn't do such a great job, either--though she did try, Feng will give her that.