Conjunction

Shattered pieces of its plating sloughing off, the beast lashed out at him, claws the size of daggers slicing through the air. Caden had his staff raised in preparation for another strike, its mass slowing him as he tried to leap clear, those curved blades catching him across the chest. The wounds weren't deep enough to cause mortal damage, but they cut through fat and muscle, blood quickly soaking the front of his tunic. It dripped down onto the sand, its crimson color lost in the sea of red.

He heard Kadal wail from somewhere behind him, and he realized that he was standing between her and the Bone Eater now. A new sensation began to override the bloodlust, an urge strong enough to overpower it. Caden was not here to kill, to maim, he was here to protect. If he let the dark urges that flowed from the staff rule him, he would not be able to accomplish that goal.

Almost as if it was consciously fighting him, he felt its violent energies flow into him, roiling in his veins. It was so hard to concentrate, to wrest back control of his faculties. Caden had so little experience of rage, there was so little malice in him, it was like trying to fight off a fever through willpower alone.

The Borophage scraped at the sand, preparing to charge again, lowering its skull to bring its one remaining tusk to bear. Brute force could not win this fight, he had to harness the energies of the staff, direct them into something more creative and refined.

The words of the Master echoed in his mind, Caden remembering the moment that he had been presented with the staff in that dusty room at the top of the tower. It seemed like half a world away now, half a lifetime.

Where a lesser man would only see a weapon, you see a tool, and that is exactly why I feel I can trust you with this responsibility. The staff is not a mere cudgel, it has many potential uses. If you possess the necessary knowledge, you can conjure light to illuminate a dark path, or freeze water to make an ice bridge across a river.

A weapon could only do harm, but a tool could protect, it could create. He finally understood now, why possession of these artifacts was only entrusted to the most learned and responsible sorcerers. The staff had a will of its own, not a consciousness, but a drive that it transferred to its wielder. Like a wild horse, it had to be tamed, brought to heel so that it could serve a constructive purpose. So far, Caden had been driven by a selfish desire to survive, and by a mission of such a grand scale that it was intangible. But no longer. Now, he had a person to protect, a friend who urgently needed his help.

The will of the staff began to bend to his own, he could sense it, the boiling rage that had overtaken him slowly subsiding until he began to feel like himself again. With purpose as clear as crystal, he forced back its influence, reigning it in. From now on, he would wield it, and not the other way around. It would never get any easier, his constant vigilance would be required to prevent it from taking hold again, but that was the cost of harnessing such terrible power. In a way, he welcomed that burden. It would serve as a constant reminder to never let it run unchecked.

His conflict and subsequent realization had taken but a moment, and he was snapped back to the present by the snorting of the Borophage. Caden began to back away, his mind racing as he started an incantation, uttering the words under his breath. He waved his hands over the bronze figurehead, shaping the magic strands, trying to quieten his racing heart. Concentration was key, visualizing what he wanted to happen...

The Bone Eater afforded him little time to prepare, loosing a grunting roar as it began to run, the ground shaking beneath Caden's feet. As his eyes wandered down to the sand, he could see the individual grains vibrating with its every step, as though dancing to the beat of a drum. Rather than try to escape, he merely stood in its path, making no attempt to save himself. Time seemed to slow as the thing bore down on him, its armored mass filling his field of view, Caden waiting for the perfect moment to enact his plan.

As the monster reared up, intending to crush him beneath its immense weight, Caden struck. He recited the final words of his incantation, slamming his staff into the ground, the beast's shadow enveloping him as Kadal's cries rang out.

A great bolt of lightning was discharged into the sand, its incredible heat melting it in a flash. Fulgurites sprouted from the ground around him like the petrified branches of trees, formations of black glass twisting and winding their way from the red sand, without purpose or direction. One of the glass sculptures had a purpose, however. Directly in the path of the charging Borophage rose a spear of molten sand, electricity arcing across its uneven surface as Caden directed it to form, its tip like the point of a great lance. In the blink of an eye, it had grown to be nine or ten feet long, its base as stout as the trunk of a tree. If the Borophage had any understanding of what was happening, it was too late to change course, too late to stop.

The beast's own weight and momentum was its undoing, the sharp tip of the spear piercing through the dark scales of its underbelly, puncturing its hide. It carved through flesh and muscle, glancing off bone, impaling the thirty-foot monster like a rabbit on a skewer. It loosed a bellow of agony and surprise that quickly morphed into a wet gurgle, its organs breached, dark blood beginning to seep from its mouth and nostrils. The glass lance held it upright as it raked the sand with its claws, fighting for purchase, its struggling sending it sliding further down the widening spear.

After a few more moments, its movements slowed, its powerful muscles going limp. Though it was not yet dead, the wound was a mortal one, the rasping breath of the fading beast blowing Caden's cloak as he lay on the sand before it. Its snout was but a foot away from him, he had cut it close...

As he stumbled to his feet, pain overwhelmed him, his slashed chest and his self-inflicted wounds driving him back to his knees. Kadal quickly rushed to his side, leaving her crevice in the reefs, her concern for him stronger than her fear of the dying Bone Eater.

A yelp of pain made her recoil as she tried to help him. Even touching his arm sent a stab of agony coursing through him. His bones were covered in small fractures, his muscles and ligaments shredded. The battle had put too much stress on his body, he could scarcely hold his staff.

"Caden!" Kadal gasped, crouching beside him. Her hands hovered over him, she was too afraid to touch him for fear of hurting him again. "You are wounded! Are you alright? Gods, why did you not run? I told you to run!"

"I couldn't let that thing eat you," he replied, wincing as another stab of pain rocked him. He couldn't even breathe without pain, had that tail strike broken his ribs? "Are you alright?"

"Am I alright!?" she exclaimed, her frill flaring. "What about you? I thought I was going to have to watch you die," she said, her voice starting to crack as tears welled in her amber eyes. "This is all my fault. If I had not tried to..."

"There will be time for blame later," Caden grumbled, "help me to my feet."

She did her best to support him, but he was so covered in injuries that it was practically impossible to touch him without hurting something. He was a mess. His arms were ruined, something inside him had been damaged such that he kept spitting up blood, and he could feel the dull ache where the Borophage's claws had raked across his chest. Some part of him knew that he was done for, as though his body was warning him that he didn't have much time left on an instinctive level. He was starting to get dizzy, his mind growing hazy. If he was going to do something, it had to be done fast.

"Y-you can heal, right?" Kadal asked. There was a desperation in her voice, as though she was trying to convince herself more than him. "You can use your magic?"

"I...I don't know," he wheezed, holding his injured side as he leaned on his staff. Kadal did her best to prop him up, his eyes scanning the surrounding reefs. "My healing magic draws from life, there are no plants here, no animals. Unless..."

He eyed the dying Borophage, its blood streaming down the black glass to pool on the sand beneath it. The Bone Eater was related to dragons, a magical creature, imbued with vital energies far greater than that of any shrub or snake. The silver strands were slowly leaving it, leaking out of it along with its lifeblood. Although the beast was unresponsive, at death's door, its heart had not yet stopped beating.

"Step back," he said, struggling to stand on his own as Kadal released him. She waited nearby, wringing her hands, her tail flicking back and forth nervously. He understood how she felt all too well. It was a terrible feeling to be powerless to help someone.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"If I am going to take this creature's life, I may as well put it to good use," he explained, starting to mutter the incantation. As he spoke the words, he felt the threads of its vital energy start to rise from the dying beast, Caden willing those silver strands to mend his wounds. Despite its vast abundance, drawing out the energy was far harder than taking from a flower or an insect, it required more concentration. The creature had a rudimentary intelligence, a will that resisted him in its primal bid to survive at any cost. That resistance was short-lived, however, Caden hastening its demise as the glittering strands reinvigorated him.

He felt his organs shifting, returning to their proper places, hairline fractures in his bones mending. Ligaments and tendons that had been torn were repaired, sliced fat and muscle closing up, the parted skin knitting together. His body was heating up as its natural processes were accelerated, he was starting to feel feverish, sweat beginning to pour down his face. This wasn't like before, his injuries were too severe, just the mental fortitude required to direct the energy was exhausting. It was a race to repair enough of the damage that if he passed out, he would stand some chance of waking again.

The Borophage exhaled its last breath, its barrel chest going still, the life contained within its limp body starting to dissipate into the air like smoke from a fire. Caden needed more, just a little more...

Kadal caught him in her arms as he fell over backwards, his staff landing on the sand beside him.

***

Kadal lunged to catch Caden as he fell, grabbing him before he hit the ground. Panic wracked her for a moment, but she brought her emotions to heel. Caden had almost died in his bid to save her life, and now, she had a chance to repay the favor. After sparing the Bone Eater a wary glance, she brought her hand to Caden's mouth, fighting back tears as she checked that he was still breathing.

She loosed a sigh of relief. He was alive, but for how long? Had his spell worked? She needed to get him to shelter so that he could recover his strength, his kind were averse to the desert's heat. Fortunately, he was small enough that she could lift him with one arm, pack and all. As she reached down to retrieve his staff, she hesitated, her outstretched fingers slowly curling into a fist as she reconsidered.

Like the ivory axe that had been presented to her by the Shaman, this artifact was imbued with powerful magic that might pose a risk to the uninitiated. It exuded an aura that she could sense like a foul odor lingering in the air, a kind of malice that gave her pause. She couldn't just leave it here, Caden needed it. Thinking on her feet, she tore Caden's blood-stained cape from his shoulders, wrapping it around her hand as though she were preparing to pick up a hot coal. Gingerly, she reached down and lifted it, careful not to come into contact with the varnished wood. It was oddly heavy, moreso than it looked, but not enough to be a problem.

She turned her head to glance at the Bone Eater one last time. Now that her fear of it had faded, she was left in awe both of its immensity, and of Caden's fighting prowess. He professed not to be a battlemage, not to be a warrior of any kind, but he had fought like a demon to protect her. A man who was scarcely larger than an adolescent of her own kind had felled a beast that inspired such fear in her people that they no longer dared set foot here. He had outwitted a hunting party, he had bested a warrior-shaman, and he had slain a Bone Eater. She was starting to believe that there was nothing he couldn't accomplish, no obstacle that he couldn't overcome. Maybe he really was destined to save the world...

With Caden cradled in her arm and his staff in hand, she made her way back in the direction of the oasis, figuring that it was a suitable place for them to rest. If the Bone Eater was as territorial as the legends claimed, then the safest place to be was in the heart of its lair.

It didn't take long for her to carry him back to the ring of greenery, as they hadn't fled far. Kadal took off his pack, then lay his limp body down on a bed of ferns in the shade of the palm trees. She hovered over him, wanting to help, but not knowing how. He was breathing, his chest rising and falling gently, a peaceful expression on his face.

If nothing else, she should remove his blood-soaked clothes, make sure that his wounds had healed. She carefully pulled off his tunic, raising his limp arms above his head, the quantity of blood turning her stomach. The fabric was soaked, three large cuts trailing across its chest. She prepared herself to find mortal wounds beneath it, but although Caden's smooth skin was drenched with drying blood, nothing remained of his injuries save for a trio of pink trails that couldn't even be described as scars. She had known that he possessed the power to heal, but this was miraculous, even for him.

It took her a moment of fiddling to figure out how his boots worked, sliding them off, then pulling down the coverings that he wore over his legs. The belt impeded her, and she had to remove that first, taking special care with the enchanted knife that hung from it. When it was done, she set the bloodied clothes to one side in a pile. She would clean them in the oasis once she was sure that Caden was alright, she could leave them to dry on the rocks in the sun. As for him...

Her eyes played across his strange anatomy, his white skin caked with congealing blood. She couldn't leave him like this, it would turn foul if he spent more than a few hours in this state, make him sick. Kadal turned her head, her frill fluttering with indecision as she eyed the pool of sparkling water.

He was a modest creature, but his health was more important than his sensibilities. She lifted him again, carrying him to the edge of the water, gently placing him in the pool until his entire body was submerged save for his face. She slid in beside him, feeling the wet sand against her scales, lying on her side. The cool water hadn't roused him, he was still unconscious.

Her frill starting to flush red, she began to run a hand across his bare chest. She was washing off the blood, or so she told herself, her fingers tracing the unfamiliar contours of his body as she went. A crimson cloud obscured him for a moment as it dissolved in the water, Kadal running her hand across his belly, feeling his muscles flex beneath his skin. There was that strange hole that she had remarked, just above the hem of his loincloth.

Scales could be smooth, but this was something else entirely, doubly slick when it was wet. She could feel a scant few tiny hairs beneath her fingertips, but that was the only imperfection. His hide was so flush, far softer than the finest fabrics that her people produced, like nothing she had ever felt.

She found herself wondering how old he was. Young for his kind, certainly. He had described himself as an apprentice, a novice, yet his body was as developed as any of the males in her village. He was not as strong as they were in a purely physical sense, but his shoulders were broad in the way that she liked, and he had muscle enough that it was visible in places. She prodded his chest, enjoying the feeling of the firm tissue resisting her finger. He was so warm, making her cool hand feel even colder in comparison, his heart beating beneath her scaly palm like a drum.

Why was her own heart quickening so? Why was her frill flushed red, her eyespots clear and vibrant? Caden was so strange, so unlike her own males. Despite his diminutive stature, he was not submissive as they were, he did not vie for her favor and attention as prospective mates did. So many of the males in the village had tried to court her, and she had rejected them all, one after the other. They had brought her gifts, rare flowers found in the desert, tokens of their admiration carved from wood and shells. They had heaped their praises upon her, and although many of them would have made for fine partners who would have sired a strong brood, she had never felt what she was feeling now.

Caden had no expectations of her, he put his own life at risk for her sake, yet asked nothing in return. He didn't see her as a warrior, as someone who could elevate his standing. The affection that he showed for her was completely separated from that. It was refreshing, so much more genuine than the fawning of her fellow tribesmen.

She raised her hand, daring to run her fingers through his mop of brown hair, watching the wet strands float in the water.

What was she thinking? Was it just adrenaline, fear, relief? She was so unfamiliar with these emotions, and so much had happened over the last few days that it was so hard to tell if what she was feeling for Caden was real. It was foolish, she knew that. He was an outsider, he was as different from her as a mouse was from a snake, but logic played no part in matters of the heart.

Her breath caught in her throat as Caden opened his eyes, blinking up at her as he lay in the water, her frill flushing an even deeper shade of red.

CHAPTER 9: COMING TOGETHER

Caden awoke to see Kadal peering down at him, the frill that framed her head flushed a vibrant shade of crimson, outlining her eyespots. He felt like he had been sleeping for days, and he couldn't remember where he was. The blue sky was above him, but he was in the shade, and he was immersed in cool water.

"Hey," he said, giving her a groggy smile. "Why am I all wet?"

"C-Caden! You are awake!" she stammered, a blend of relief and what might be embarrassment flashing across her scaly face. "You collapsed, and I didn't know what else to do, so I carried you back to the oasis."

"You carried me here all on your own?" he asked. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you're as strong as a carthorse. Hang on, my staff!"

"Be still," she said, placing a hand on his chest to prevent him from sitting up. "I brought all of your belongings, they are safe."

He relaxed back into the water, letting slip a sigh of relief.

"Good, I'd be lost without it. You didn't touch it, did you? How did you get it here?"

"I know better than to touch your artifacts," she replied. "I wrapped my hand in cloth before picking it up."

"Clever," he chuckled. "Where are my clothes, by the way?" he asked as he glanced down at his naked body. He was nude save for his underwear, and it looked like he had successfully healed his wounds before passing out. "Somehow, one of us always seems to end up unconscious and in the water..."

"Oh," Kadal mumbled, averting her eyes. "Your clothes were soaked with blood, as were you. I was going to wash them, I wasn't sure when you might wake up again."

He reached up to grip her scaly forearm, her hand still on his chest, his touch seeming to surprise her.