Chapter 3

Chapter 3: You’re so clueless.

Cameron stared up at the bright night sky; both moons were full out tonight. He sighed. For some reason, perhaps the massive headache, he just couldn’t bring himself to drink. So he just sat back on two chair legs and stared.
He hated when he was like this, stuck between sober and drunk. It was the time the memories snuck past his defenses and played across his mind. This Kailah was the complete opposite of Shaliah. Oh sure Kailah was gorgeous beyond words, but she lacked the bubbly personality Shaliah had that could get anybody to love her after a minute.
Cameron cursed as he put both hands over his face, he didn’t want to remember these things, let alone compare the two of them.
“What to do,” Cameron mumbled as he closed his eyes.
He listened to the dull buzz of conversation inside the bar not paying attention to any of them until a voice in the crowd caught it.
“Sir, I politely ask you to step back,” Kailah spoke softly, but commanding, as a guy leaned closer to her.
“Awe, but you smell so nice, sweetcakes,” The man smirked as he caught a bit of her hair and twirled it in his fingers, “How bouts we find a nice place to chat, just you, me and the boys.”
At the man’s proposal two more men stood up from the table behind Kailah. Her crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as the three men surrounded her.
“Please, leave me alone,” Kailah’s soft voice took on a hard edge as she glared up at the man.
“Awe, don’t be like that, sweetcakes,” The ring leader whispered reaching out a hand and caressing her hip.
Kailah slapped his hand away without losing eye contact with him.
“Now, now, play nice, sweetcakes,” One of the men sneered as he caught her arm.
“Let me go!” Kailah cried stomping on the guy’s foot. As he cried in pain his hold on her loosened, she tried to escape but the other man grabbed her, holding her arms behind her back.
“Wench!” The man who had his foot stomped on slapped her across the face.
Kailah cried in pain and struggled against the man holding her. She kicked out and caught the ring leader in the groin. His eyes watering from the pain and humiliation he punched her across the face.
He drew his fist back to hit her again; shutting her eyes against the pain that was coming, Kailah waited with her jaw clenched. The punch never came.
Opening her eyes she saw Cameron’s fist connect with the man’s jaw and break it. The second man was stunned far too long to react as Cameron hit him in the back of the head with the heel of his foot slamming his face into the floor.
The man holding Kailah let her go and went to fight, throwing a punch that Cameron caught with one hand. He bent the man’s hand back bringing the man to his knees.
“Please-” The man cried. Cameron said nothing as he punched the man, knocking him unconscious.
The second man Cameron had hit stood shakily back to his feet, blood pouring from his flattened nose and busted eyebrow. Cameron noticed him out of the side of his eyes. Fast as lightning Cameron caught him again on the side of his head with the heel of his boot, knocking him to the ground again. The man hit the ground so hard he bounced an inch.
The third man groaned, raising his head off the ground groggily glancing around. Caneron grabbed the guy by the shirt and punched him again. He dropped the guy and straighter back up still standing over the man. The man began to rise, thought better of it and laid back flat.
Kailah stared as Cameron step off from above the man, shaking his fist, “Ow, tsk, that’s gonna bruise. Are you alright?”
She didn’t answer but reached into her boot and pulled out her knife.
“Wait!” Cameron cried holding up his hands.
Kailah threw the knife and it landed in the shoulder of the first man. He grunted in pain as he dropped the knife he had been about to stab into Cameron. Cameron took the opportunity and socked the man in the jaw. After he fell to the ground he tried to rise again but Cameron’s foot prevented that with a sharp hit to the man’s temple.
Cameron’s breathing slowly eased back to normal levels as the adrenaline drained from his system. He bent down and wrenched the knife from the man’s shoulder, pulled a napkin from a nearby table, and stuffed it onto the wound using the man’s body weight to hold it in place under him.
All conversation had died as the little drama had played out, some had started to come to Kailah's rescue but Cameron had handled the situation before they could get completely out of their seats. All the patrons of the bar stared as Cameron turned back to Kailah who had collapsed in shock on the ground.
The other two goons began to stir with groans. Cameron waited, tensed for more fighting. The two men unsteadily got to their feet, grabbed their friend and drug him from the bar, giving Cameron a wide birth.
Cameron waited a few minutes after the door slammed shut behind the ruffians. When none reappeared he relaxed and knelt down next to Kailah. Gently he placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Are you alright?” Cameron asked her.
She startled out of her daze and stared at him.
“Are you hurt?” He tilted her face to look at the bruise.
She didn’t say anything, but tears rushed to her eyes. As they fell down her cheeks she bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling.
“Oi, don-don’t cry, you’re ok now!” Cameron said flustered, he hated to see women cry.
Kailah sniffled, “I’m ok.“
“Here, let’s take you home,” He sighed softly as he stood up.
He offered his hand to her, who accepted his help up. She swayed slightly but Cameron caught and steadied her. The two of them left the bar and walked slowly down the moonlit streets, ignoring the curious stares of the rest of the patrons in the bar.
After a few blocks of awkward silence Cameron spoke up, “Why didn’t you use your magic? You could have taken those guys as an Element Caster.”
Kailah smirked, catching Cameron by surprise, “Except that it’s forbidden within city limits.”
“Oh yeah,” He mumbled, remembering the rule, “Thank you.”
“There’s no need, I couldn’t let my Sword die now could I?” She replied with a soft smile.
“I guess that’s true,” Cameron hesitated, “So what were you doing there to begin with? You don’t strike me as the type to hang around in bars, ‘specially not that kind.”
“You hardly know me, Cameron,” Kailah narrowed her eyes as she replied. The effect was slightly intimidating with the moonlight glinting off her red irises.
“True, but you seemed out of your ‘element’ in there,” Cameron smirked.
She chuckled softly, her laughter sweet to hear, “Yes, I don’t normally grace such establishments.”
“So why were you there?” He asked bringing them back to the original question.
“I was looking for you,” Kailah replied after a few seconds of silence.
“What for?” Cameron prickled.
“To see if you were alright, you left the compound quite angry. I wanted to come and apologize; I should have considered your feelings before accepting a job. It was rude of me. Please forgive me,” She stopped, staring at the ground.
Cameron stopped, “You went to that bar looking for me to apologize?”
Kailah didn’t lift her head as she answered, “Actually I went to several, but yes.”
“Why?” Cameron finally asked.
“Well, you’re my Sword. I don’t want you to be mad at me,” Kailah replied looking him in the eye, “I-“
“Oh, how sweet. Take a look at the two love birds, gents,” A voice from the dark alley to their left interrupted her followed by menacing laughter.
Cameron pulled Kailah behind him as four large men emerged from the shadows. Glancing to his left he saw three more slowly walking toward them. Kailah tapped on his arm and pointed out three more men coming from the right.
“Can we help you?” Cameron asked pleasantly cautious.
“Oh, you can pay for what you did to Rinchy,” The man replied pulling out a club and pointing it at them, “You’re going to pay with your life, and she’ll become our entertainment for the evening.”

10,000 Years Ago
“Are we clear on the terms of the game?” The Seeker asked softly.
The Paradigm glanced up from the glowing parchment that outlined the rules and parameters of this next installment of the game. The Seeker smiled benevolently as the Paradigm turned its attention back to the parchment.
“Seems everything is fair and in order,” The Paradigm mused, “So how long do I have?”
“You have roughly,” The Seeker cocked her head to the left in calculation, “ten thousand years before the game ends.”
“Is that ten thousand before you yourself show up or ten thousand before your forces start interfering with mine?” The Paradigm asked.
“Before I, as myself show up. My forces will be going at the same time as yours and I will have an avatar. You also are not allowed to show up for ten thousand years either,” The Seeker clarified glancing down at the world.
It spun like a jewel on a string between the two of them, the two moons orbiting the lush green and blue planet. Other worlds circled the space around them as did stars. The Paradigm brushed a nebula away with its hand dispersing it.
“But I can have an avatar?” The Paradigm asked, “Same as you?”
“Yes,” The Seeker nodded.
The Paradigm turned back to the parchment, “Only one avatar at a time though?”
“Correct,” The Seeker said, “But, there is a catch.”
“Oh?” The Paradigm smirked, “Like I didn’t see that coming.”

Cameron tensed waiting for one of them to make the first move. Kailah watched as he calculated the best chance of survival; from his expression she knew it was slim.
One of the men on the right inched forward slightly. Cameron noticed and shifted Kailah more away from them. She didn’t resist as Cameron moved her, shifting her eyes from one set of men to the next. Kailah inwardly cursed the law preventing her from using her magic; if she could just use it then they would emerge unscathed. But as things were now, it was still uncertain if they would live at all.
“Can you fight?” Cameron asked her suddenly.
“Yes,” She answered without hesitation as Cameron put his back to hers as the men made a circle around them. Kailah shifted her weight to the balls of her feet cautiously watching the men in front of her. She put the men behind her to the back of her mind trusting that Cameron could and would handle them.
A man to her right moved in to try to grab her but she intercepted him with a quick jab to the nose. He staggered back as the rest of the men moved in. Kailah went with her momentum from hitting the first guy and side kicked the next one in the stomach pulling her foot back and down as the next one tried to grab her from the right.
She brought her right hand up and did a sweeping movement moving his arms out of the way as she spun forward along his outstretched arm and elbowed the guy in the side of the face.
The man she had jabbed earlier recovered and came at her again straight on, Kailah brought her left leg up and kicked him as hard as she could in the chest knocking the wind from him. He fell to the ground trying to catch his breath.
Another man came at her from the left with an over handed hammerfist. Kailah blocked it, sweeping the arm into a hold and striking the man in the face with the palm of her hand, shoving his nose bone into his brain and killing him.
As he dropped Kailah looked to the left just in time to see a fist coming for her face. She ducked down and let the guy’s arm go over her head and when he was unbalanced she grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the gut throwing her full weight behind it. Kailah hit him on the back of the neck with her elbow and he went down unconscious.
She held her own against the eight men facing her, two of whom couldn’t fight anymore and the remaining six leery of her. In her peripheral vision she saw Cameron grab a guy, knee the man in the gut then elbow him in the back, turn and block an over handed swing from another guy.
‘He seems to be fairing just fine.’ Kailah thought.
She waited patiently for the next attack but none of the men facing her seemed to be the one to start it. Kailah allowed a smile to pull at the corner of her lips.
“Something amuses you my dear?” The leader called out to her from behind his men, he was the only one not to have joined in the fight. Relying on others to do his dirty work for him.
Kailah gave him a quick glance but returned her concentration to the men in front of her; it wasn’t the healthiest of ideas to chat during a fight. From what she saw in the moonlight, he was of medium build and fairly handsome with black hair cropped short and styled neatly. He had sharpness to his facial features making him slightly feminine looking.
“Nothing in particular,” Kailah answered still keeping most of her attention on the men in front of her. One of them moved in with a right hook punch which she blocked easily. She countered with a ridge-hand chop to the neck and he dropped. She returned to a stance of readiness and waited for the next attack.
“You hold your own very well, my dear, I'm impressed,” The man continued, seemingly unconcerned that his men were dropping like flies. “But, I’m growing bored with this.”
Kailah was confused by this statement but put it out of her mind and continued to fight. She knocked out another of the lackeys but she was beginning to tire quickly. She knew she was fixing to collapse. Just at the point of breaking the attackers backed off completely.
Glancing around she saw that she and Cameron were in a circle of the remaining attackers, the ring leader had collapsed on the ground where he had been standing. Kailah sidestepped back to Cameron’s side still leery of the ring of thugs.
“Are you ok, Cameron?” Kailah asked.
“R�"n” Cameron grunted, his body twitched but stayed rock still not turning to her.
“What?” Kailah asked over her shoulder at him not taking her eyes from the circle of thugs.
“Run! Get away,” Cameron screamed at her through clenched teeth.
Before she could react, Cameron, quick as lightning, grabbed her by the neck.
“Cam-rn?” Kailah squeaked out grabbing at his choke hold on her.
“This’ll be so much more interesting than letting them kill you both,” The ring leader’s disembodied voice echoed around them. He began to cackle as Kailah’s grip on consciousness loosened by the second.
“No!” Cameron screamed as Kailah blacked out.

Cameron was powerless as he watched his hands choke Kailah. He couldn’t stop them no matter how hard he tried.
“How does it feel to kill her?” The b*****d’s voice echoed softly in his head.
“Let her go!” Cameron cried trying to wrench control of his body back.
“You can’t stop me, I’m a Body Caster,” The voice teased.
Tears began to stream down Kailah’s face as she slowly faded. Cameron cried for her to forgive him, there was nothing he could do. He was beginning to lose it. Shaliah’s face flashed across Kailah’s. His mind riled, he couldn’t lose another one!
Tears fell down his face dropping onto her cheeks, “Forgive me,” Cameron whispered. Kailah smiled softly as her eyes closed and her body went slack. Cameron felt his hands loosen and she slipped to the ground.
“Aw, is that all,” The voice came from the fallen figure of the leader. He stood back up and straightened his clothes, dusting them off. Cameron sat there, frozen, staring at Kailah's face.
“That wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be,” The leader strolled up to them and stared down at Kailah in disappointment.
“What do you want us to do, boss?” One of the few henchmen left whose jaw wasn’t broken asked. Cameron touched her face, tears streaming down his. Grief tore at his body as his sobs filled the night air.
“Hrm, I’ve grown bored, dispose of them both,” He ordered and began to walk away.
He stopped when something grabbed him by the foot. He looked down to see Kailah’s hand holding him by the ankle. He tried to kick her hand off but the grip only got tighter.
Kailah’s eyes shot open glowing fire red. The ring leader tripped backwards onto the ground staring at her. Her hand let go and her body stood up seeming to be pulled by strings from her chest.
“What the hell?” The ring leader cried trying to crab crawl backwards away from her. Kailah slowly turned her gaze to the leader. He froze in horror as she smiled sadistically. She raised her right hand and it caught fire.
The leader started screaming in panic as he turned over and scrambled away from her. The rest of the thugs bolted as well. Kailah laughed like a maniac as she began to shoot fire at the fleeing figures.
“You dare to harm me, you worthless insects?” She cackled as one after another she lit aflame.
The screams of agony and fear slowly brought Cameron out of his grief only to shock him in horror at the sight of Kailah. She had the leader pinned with his back against a stone wall. She was toying with him while he cowered in front of her. The leader whimpered in fear as she scorched places closer and closer to his body.
“Kailah!” Cameron called out to her jumping to his feet; she didn’t pay him any attention.
Cameron ran to her and screamed her name again, “Kailah, stop it!”
The leader screamed for Cameron to save him asking for forgiveness from the woman who was torturing him. Cameron tried to grab Kailah’s arm but when his hand touched her it was blistered from the heat of her body. Cameron cried out in shock as he shook his hand from the pain. Kailah continued on with her sadistic game of hit or miss.
Cameron was afraid, truly afraid, for perhaps the first time in his life. He took a deep breath, prayed this would work, and grabbed Kailah by the shoulders. He tripped her to the ground onto her back then straddled her pinning her to the ground.
She screamed curses at him and the heat of her body intensified but Cameron hung on. He had her arms pinned above her head and no matter how hard she struggled he wouldn’t let go despite the pain.
“Kailah wake up!” Cameron cried out to her with tears of pain streaming down his face.
“I’ll kill you, maggot!” Kailah screamed louder and her body emitted flames that scorched Cameron’s skin and clothes.
“Kailah!” Cameron shouted louder over her curses. He was at a loss of what to do; the pain was starting to cause him to blackout.
Halfway between states of consciousness an idea sprung into his mind. At first he balked from the idea and thought he had indeed gone mad. As Cameron was fading he figured what did he have to lose?
Cameron took a deep breath then kissed Kailah full on the mouth. She didn’t stop screaming and the heat from her lips was excruciatingly painful but Cameron didn’t stop. Cameron didn’t know if he was imagining it but it seemed like her skin was cooling off. He continued to kiss her till she stopped screaming.
When her body temperature was back to normal levels and the red glow was gone from her eyes Cameron stopped and sat back. Kailah’s normal red irises stared at Cameron in confusion; she suddenly blushed the deepest shade of red that Cameron had ever seen.
Cameron laughed as he slowly fell over sideways off of her. The ring leader was still sitting against the wall whimpering. Kailah sat up and stared around her in confusion.
“What did I do?” Kailah asked in a small voice.
“Hell if I know,” Cameron grunted as he tried really hard not to move, “But I feel like I’ve been through it.”
“Cam!” Kailah cried as she saw clearly for the first time how scorched he really was, “Somebody help!”

10,000 Years Ago
“Do you agree to the rules?” The Seeker asked as the Paradigm chewed on a thumbnail.
“Ten thousand years, one avatar at a time,” The Paradigm ticked off the rules on its fingers looking at the blindfolded Seeker, “clues are provided throughout each era, and last but not least-“
“The goal,” The Seeker smiled not at all friendly, “Is to stop me from wiping out the human race. For good.”



Game Start
9,999 years, 11 months, 30 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds to go

Reviews

[Gosia]

Oh my. I was right.
The parts with the doom-duo (the Seeker and Paradigm) make your story and they make it great.
The dream-team (Cam and Kailah) keep being awsome and are gaining my sympathy with each chapter.
I agree with Wolven: the fight scenes should be dynamic, so short sentejnces would be better and, yes, your book is definitely worth reading. I wanted to do laundry, but some mystic invisible power forces me to continue reading.

[Warlon]

Kailah is nuts, that's all I have to say.

[annie lee]

Wow. I have made it through Chapter 3 -- and I applaud you. This is a spine-tingling and fast-moving adventure. The two higher power rogues, the Seeker and the Paradigm, bargain at a game that will merely afford them amusement while the lower beings suffer and perish. I love your characters, well-drawn and vital. Your scene description skills are spot-on, because when I read the scene, I CAN see it. That is pretty great. I promise I will try to read as much as I can this week. But WOW is today's review.

[Dreamer]

thank you!!!! :D

[Wolven]

I'd forgotten how much I love your initial bunch of chapters. They really draw you into the whole thing, and the fast paced action really gets you interested. There were a few things i noticed this time round that i hadn't before, so much. The game between the Paradigm and the Seeker is really foreboding too. Just thought I should mention that. Are you editing the chapters much btw? If so, i still recommend you go into a bit more imagery with regards to things of great beauty or otherwise horror. Shortening the sentences with the fight scenes a bit might also help... generalise them a bit I mean, just to keep it fast paced and everything.
Still great stuff here Dreamer. Oh, and, HEY! OTHER PEOPLE! READ THIS BOOK! ITS AWESOME!!!!
(Sorry... I had to get that out)

[Dreamer]

THanks Wolven, I did a tiny little bit of editing on the previous chapters but not too much. I'll try to get the rest of the chapters posted soon :) I know it's so exciting to see people have read my stories ^_^