The Flower Among the Flames

Chapter 32

The search for Soo-Won was not a long one. Even with all the rubble and floating clouds of dust, there was no mistaking the sound of wild laughter from a man who just slew a mighty beast. Yul shook his head, huffing in amusement– and from the pain. Grabbing at his throbbing side, the man walked up to the carcass of the dragon lying forty paces away from him, eyes set on a figure whose foot was grounded against the dragon's skull.

"That'll teach ya, ya filthy dragon," Soo-Won cackled. "Don' mess wit' me."

What remained of his armor was in terrible condition, some of the iron plates hanging loosely from strands of thread. The blue robes beneath were visible and shredded, exposing the whaler's tanned unscathed skin. The only "injury" Yul could see was a small cut running along the length of his right forearm– shallow and not even bleeding.

"How the hell...." Yul trailed off with a shake of his head.

Soo-Won's head perked up. Although the man was whispering, the whaler could spot Yul's voice from a mile away. With a broad grin, he turned on his heel and saluted the commander.

"Enemy 'as been terminated," he proclaimed proudly.

As if on cue, a jet of brown ooze sputtered out from one of the wounds to the skull. The smell was indescribably horrible, both men moving to cover their faces. With quick jumpy steps, they dodged the sludge pooling down from the carcass onto the stone floor. While their noses certainly were not saved, their boots still had a chance.

"I can see that," Yul muttered, hacking away with a fit of coughs. "Good, uh, work."

"T'ank you, sir," Soo-Won responded, half-choking. With his free hand, he moved to pull his trident out of the corpse. It took him a few tries, the blades lodged deep into the bone. When the whaler drew out the weapon successfully, a trickle of the vile fluid was free to flow. It took him all of his willpower not to heave out his insides.

"By the gods, may this thing burn in Nihil," Yul groaned. "Actually, that will be the first thing we do when we are finished here. I don't know what'll kill us faster– the undead or this awful smell."

"I 'ear that," Soo-Won agreed, his eye twitching instinctively. "Even t'e whales nev'r gave t'is much juice."

"Juice?" Yul wanted to vomit.

"Ye'h," Soo-Won grimaced. "Juice."

"Any injuries to report?" Yul was curious...and wanted to distract himself from the smell. By the gods, it was not going away. My boots...

With a frown, the man started moving his hand across his body. The whaler answered, "None. Unless ya count ma cut as an injury. Tis but a scratch."

By the gods...

Rapid footsteps with the weight of lead approached the two men from behind. Soo-Won peered over Yul's shoulder and caught sight of a slender figure approaching. He let out an amused grunt, resting his fist against his hip.

"You are one crazy bastard, you know that?" Shao Li scowled. She got right up in his face, making the whaler lean back slightly. "You could have gotten us all killed."

"I didn' though," Soo-Won replied with a shrug. "I know wha' I am doin'."

Swiveling her head, the woman gave Yul a harsh scowl with narrowed eyes. He let out a nervous chuckle, his hand gripping more fiercely at his side from the action. I need to stop doing that.

"Hey, don't look at me," Yul grunted, his arms up in defeat. "I told him not to do it."

Shao Li refocused her gaze on the whaler. "Act like an adrenaline-fueled knucklehead again, and I will kill you."