The Forbidden Compass Trilogy: Book One- Caged

Krade

The guards lead Krade to the other side of the arena. They show him the weapons wall, but he refuses. He still has his sword, though he hopes he won’t need it. They place him in a metal compartment and shut the door. The compartment rises jarringly and stops, the door swinging open. Krade steps out onto a pedestal. He squints at the bright sun. The arena is a dirt covered circle surrounded by blood iron walls and a chain-link dome. A crowd fills the seats outside the dome. No chance of flying out.

Fenn stands on a pedestal on the other side of the arena. He holds a bow, and a quiver of arrows is slung over his back. “Our next fight, our newest arrivals, the dragon Krade and the thief who can’t be caught and elf, Fenn!” A voice from the nearby tower announces. Krade notices Fenn crouch to run as the voice rings out. “This is a fight to the death! Ready...Set...Fight!” Krade watches as Fenn races forward, bow loaded. Krade feels confused as Fenn aims his bow at his heart. Krade glimpses Fenn’s blood red eyes before Fenn releases the arrow. Krade watches as the arrow comes hurtling towards his chest.

Instinct takes control. He jumps out of the way, rolling to the ground, his wings surrounding him. The arrow buries itself in the ground only an arm’s length away. Krade starts to get up when he’s pushed back to the ground. His face hits the dirt, his hands skidding on the rough ground.

“You’ll pay for ruining my life.” He hears Fenn say above him. What is he talking about? Krade pushes himself up, spitting grit out of his mouth as Fenn loads his bow. Krade flips onto his back, questions on his tongue, only to see Fenn’s arrow pointed at his head.

“There’s no Irelle to protect you now!” Fenn sneers. Krade leaps up, kicking the lighter Fenn off him. He flies into the sky, trying to regain his wits. Below he hears Fenn challenge, “Come down and fight, coward! Or do you only kill those who can’t fight back?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Krade yells back, trying to get some answers.

“Really? You don’t remember Kregis? My mother was the village healer and you burned her and everyone else! Even after she helped you!” Fenn shouts back, his bow still trained on him. Krade realizes where he’s seen Fenn before; he is the kind healer’s son. Krade wants to deny it, but he doesn’t think he can. “You don’t deny it! I am right, you did do it! Why?” Fenn is shouting angrily up at him.

Krade reaches for his sword, remembering what it is. Maybe it will show what had happened in the fire. If only he could get Fenn listen. Krade unsheathes his sword and dives, driving Fenn into the ground. He holds Fenn to the ground, covering them with his wings. He sees Fenn pull a knife out of his boot. Krade shouts at him, desperation raising his voice. “You want to know why? Then listen, Fenn, try to calm down and listen.” He shakes Fenn, trying to break him out of his vengeful trance. Fenn lowers his knife, though his eyes remain blood red.

“I don’t know why, Fenn!” Krade shouts. Fenn’s eyes narrow and he raises the knife again. “But I can show you what happened. Put the knife away and I’ll let you go, and I’ll show you. And… and if I did it you can kill me.” Fenn puts the knife away, and Krade releases his grip.

Krade lays his sword on the ground and… nothing happens. “Come on, come on, show me something,” he begs. He breathes a sigh of relief as the burnt surface disappears and reveals his old home, safe and whole. It shows him, hammering a piece of metal into an unrecognizable shape in his father’s forge. He feels a pang of longing at seeing his old home. Even though it was full of bad memories, it was the only home he had ever known, and anything would be better than this place, where death is a certainty.

The scene changes to show the same black hooded figure as before, standing menacingly in the center of the village. It shows Fenn’s mother approaching the figure, and them arguing. The figure lashes out, and Fenn’s mother falls to the ground, killed by some invisible force. The figure claps his hands and a shock wave ripples through the village. Villagers fall to the ground, holding their heads in pain, their mouths open in screams as they begin to change form. Their faces turn black and emotionless, claws growing from their hands. They turn into monsters; ugly, black monsters with pointed teeth and deadly claws. The figure disappears in a cloud of smoke. When the wave hits Krade he doubles over, his mouth open in a silent scream of pain as flames pour out of his body. The monsters burn in the flames, and the image disappears.

Krade feels a huge weight lift off his shoulders. It’s not my fault the village burned down; it was the hidden figure’s. I didn’t kill those people, just the monsters the hooded figure created. Who else would those monsters have killed if I hadn’t been there? He looks at Fenn, whose eyes are back to green as he stares at the burnt sword. “I’m so sorry, Ma.” He whispers. “I will make him pay for what he did.” They stay like that for a while, thinking over what they had just discovered. “They’re not going to let us out.” Fenn says, his gaze locking on Krade’s.

“What?” Krade is still in shock.

“They’re not going to let us out until one of us dies.” Fenn repeats. Krade feels his stomach turn as the truth sinks in.

“I won’t kill you.” He says.

“I won’t either.” Fenn curses.

Krade sheathes his sword. Then he has an idea. “Fenn, you can heal knife wounds, right?”

“And Irelle says I ask pointless questions. Yes, but why?”

“If you stabbed me with your knife, you could heal it just enough so I wouldn’t die. Then I’d get out and come back for the rest of you.” Fenn’s eyes widen.

“I can’t heal death wounds.” Fenn says, disappointed.

“It doesn’t have to be a death wound. We just have to make it look like one.”

“Alright, I’ll do it, but it’ll hurt.” Fenn readies his knife, his eyes shut tight. Krade steels himself and folds his wings. The pain is like nothing he has ever felt before, even worse than growing his wings. The knife is cold, spreading over his body like frost. He collapses, his breathing becoming labored.

“Is it supposed to hurt this much?” He asks through gritted teeth. He feels Fenn’s hands feeling the wound.

“I can’t heal it!” He hears him exclaim. Krade feels his will give out; he is going to die, and right after he finds out he isn’t as guilty as he had thought. Everything turns black.

I’m going to die.