The passage was dark and narrow. Tamer trod in silence, relying on his sixth sense to detect any unanticipated attacks. The snapping of claws came from the end of the alley. He had tried speaking to the creatures with his telepathic powers but a barrier had stopped him from slipping through their minds. Because they weren’t natural but mutated beings, the presence of a barrier led to one thing.

Deformed Homunculi.

Their black eyes was proof enough. He sheathed one of his scimitars and exited the passage. Three of the creatures dropped from the buildings to ambush him. One on the left, another on the right and a third one in front of him. He drew out a knife and flicked his wrist. The creature on the left groaned as the blade buried itself in its neck.

Tamer pressed the hilt and black fire engulfed the scimitar. The two remaining creatures circled him, wary of the flames. He moved to the left, stepping over their dead cohort. When one of them swung at him with its pincers, he deflected the attack to the side and slashed at its torso. The third one pounced on him and he sidestepped. He stabbed at the creature, the acrid scent of charred flesh filling his nostrils.

“We cannot be defeated,” came the resonating voice of their leader.

Tamer retrieved his knife and scanned the buildings with his eyes. He saw a silhouette slip between one roof to the next. He followed it. Four Homunculi attacked, their spider forms an embodiment of a living nightmare, and each fell to his swords.

“Come out, you coward,” Tamer said.

The silhouette laughed before dashing into the blackness of the night. Two more creatures surrounded him. Tamer swung his scimitar in a wide arc, hitting the creature on the right and pushing away the one at center with a front kick.

An image darted in his mind. Crooked lines turned into distinct shapes and colors burned with life. He saw statues of priests and maidens standing in two rows and in between them, a group of cloaked men formed a circle around a kneeling man.

No. Not again.

Sigils ran across the floor and a white orb throbbed with light. The man stood back, the cloaked figures chanted a hymn and the roaring flames consumed the orb.

Sharp pain lanced through Tamer’s gut and the vision was lost in a white haze. He felt his back connect with a dumpster. He blinked and leant to his left as claws slammed next to his head. He dipped a knife onto the creature’s pincer. He kicked at it and it stumbled. Standing up, Tamer crushed its face with his boot.

He heard laughter ringing through the street. The silhouette appeared again, balanced on top of a streetlamp, long hair flying in the breeze.

“You,” Tamer said.

The man was the same person who had attacked the Great Scribe in the city of Kirisal. He jumped down, landing on his feet. Cocking his head to the side, the man said, “We meet again, Tamer.”

“How do you know my name,” Tamer demanded.

“I know a lot about you.” The man clicked his tongue. “A lot more than you'd like to see exposed.”

“Who are you? Who sent you here?”

“My name is Enki,” the man replied. “And as for my master, that is none of your concern.”          

Several mutated Homunculi stepped out of the shadows and Enki sank back in their midst, a wicked smile on his face.

As the creatures attacked, speeding bullets stopped a few of them in their tracks. He spared a glimpse at the rooftops and spotted Rai shooting the monstrosities. Clara was taking instructions from Eryx, their hands pulling back strings from bows made of white and blue light and when they released the strings, sharp projectiles whizzed through the air, slicing at any Homunculi that tried to reach him.

They were helping him so that he could fight the leader of the spider army. Tamer gripped his burning scimitars and took a stance, trusting them to take care of the creatures. “Enough of your foolish games, Enki. Come out and fight.”

Rage pumped through his veins. The vision had revealed the truth to him. They had lost the seal in Shabar and the invasion was only a ruse meant to slow them down. Something scratched at his chest and a voice whispered in his ears.

Destroy. Maim. Kill.

He silenced the voice. A dagger shot towards Tamer’s head and he span to the side. Enki stood before him, stripping off his coat. His hands elongated, flesh turning to hard carapace and fingers merging to become hooks. From his back, two obsidian claws unfurled.

“Why do you fight me, Tamer?” the man tilted his chin at the rooftops. “I’m not your enemy. They are.”

Tamer threw a knife at Enki’s leg and the man pulled it out.

“I can heal,” he drawled.

He slashed at Enki but his blade was intercepted by the claws on his back. He pushed on, using his strength until he broke through. Enki placed his transformed arm in front of his chest and Tamer’s scimitar sliced through it, fire dancing along its target.

Before he could pull back, Tamer gasped as the tip of a claw pierced through his left shoulder and another claw flung him back. His feet slid across the ground but he didn’t fall down. He bit back a curse as a bout of pain ravaged his shoulder.

Enki hissed, his burnt limb lying useless by his side. “You killed my soldiers without mercy. You and I are the same!”

“I am nothing like you,” Tamer replied. “You think the villagers’ lives are expendable. You turned this place into a battlefield and now you will face the consequences.”

He moved fast, attacking his opponent before he could lose the opening. Tamer diverted Enki’s claw away from him with his right scimitar and used the left one to slash at Enki’s unharmed limb. He was thrown back again and with his feet out of balance, he landed on his back.

He rose up and retreated into the back of a closed shop. His movements were much slower and he was feeling the effects of exhaustion coupled with blood loss. He leaned on a wall, flexing the muscles in his arm. Blood dripped down his sleeve. With a squeeze, the flames vanished from his blades.

“Running away now, aren’t we?” Enki said, provoking him. “Is this all you have to offer?”

He went to the next storey, steering clear from the dead hybrids lying on the ground, and waited until the man came close—until his back was facing him.

“Why do you deny your true self?” asked Enki. “Show them who you really are.”

Tamer tackled him to the ground, pinning him with his knees and elbows. He lodged a scimitar down, holding a claw in place and twisted the other one until he heard a crunch. The man yelled in agony.

Without releasing him, he pulled back Enki’s hair so that he could see his face. “Where is the next seal?”

“Deny all you want but someday, you will lead us.”

Tamer banged Enki’s head to the ground. “Answer me. Where is it?”

The man spat blood from his mouth, swollen bruises no longer healing.

“Where?”

“Kasar Cove beyond the sea of Mayi. You’ll never make it in time.” Enki sneered.

He wiped off the sneer by pushing Enki’s face down with a force, rendering him unconscious. Tamer backed away, tired of fighting. His companions came down from the rooftops and Eryx placed a set of stones around the defeated man, sealing him in a magical barrier. Clara eyed the scene with a grimace on her face.

“What was he talking about?” Rai asked, pointing at the man with his steelgun.

He shrugged. “He was trying to set us against each other. Do not be poisoned by his words.”

Eryx face hardened. “Your aura is tainted with the color of sin. Flakes of red.”

“Enki said you would lead them. You’re hiding something. What’s going on?” Rai looked at him with suspicion.

He knitted his lips together.

Eryx grabbed Tamer’s shirt by the collar and shook him. “Listen, ahki. You’ve been gone for one whole year and we don’t know what you’ve been up to. I’m sorry if I’m being harsh but you better start talking.”

Tamer scowled at Eryx, a shadow of anger and betrayal darkening his face. They didn’t trust him. His own brothers doubted his actions. Eryx’s grip stiffened, the fabric leaving a mark on his neck but he neither flinched nor spoke.

Rai pried Eryx off of him and pushed him back so that he was standing between the two men. “Don’t piss him off, Tamer.” He pointed at the Zamari with his thumb. “He’s not stable right now. Just tell us the truth.”

He glanced at Clara and saw sadness in her green eyes. Placing his right hand over his left shoulder, Tamer bent his upper body in a stiff bow and stood straight.

“My true name,” he said. “My true name is Tamizan, son of Asad. Thirteenth heir from House  Layth. Crown Prince of Aurion.”

Rai stood back, shaking his head. “You’re lying.”

Tamer gave him a bitter smile. “Am I? Enki meant that I would take my place as the heir to the throne.”

Clara was quiet, her head lowered. Eryx stared at him, seeing through his aura, searching for any ill intentions. He wouldn’t find any. A tainted aura didn’t mean one that had been infected by evil intentions.

“Prince Tamizan is dead! We buried him thirteen years ago,” Rai said.

He knew of that. His mentor had disguised him as a commoner and taken him to the burial ceremony. Idris had told him it was necessary. He had to see it in order to move on from his past.

He had watched as the palace guards buried an empty coffin and he had listened as the king spoke of his dead son with such compassion that anyone with a shred of humanity would have been brought to tears. On that day, Tamizan had died and Tamer had been born.

“That was a lie my father created. He fooled you all,” he replied.

Rai rubbed his neck. “Damn it, Tamer. This isn’t some twisted joke, is it?”

Clara placed a hand over Rai’s shoulder. “He’s telling the truth. I swear it.”

As she explained how they had solved the riddle and the enchantment of the bloodrose, Tamer studied her. Her face was ashen and her dress was marked with blood. He couldn’t tell whether the blood was hers or not but he didn’t like it. She should be resting now that the fight was over. He wished he could have sheltered her innocent mind from the horrors of the battle. She would be plagued with nightmares and he would be unable to protect her from them.

“They said the queen and her son had been murdered by assassins on their journey to Allumar. They had gone for a peace treaty,” Eryx said. “Is she alive too?”

Mother…

His throat felt dry and a searing pain flared in his rib cage. He heard laughter from the voice inside his mind and desperate screams from the echo of a memory. Tamer blinked and took a calming breath. “There was no peace treaty…and my mother is dead.”

Eryx cringed. “The king is a good man. Why would he lie?”

He levelled his gaze at Eryx. “A good man would not abandon his son when he needed him the most.”

“What happened?” Rai asked.

“My own father turned his back on me.” His fists clenched and his jaw ached as he ground his teeth. “He called me a monster and ordered me killed.”

His heart turned into a vortex of emotions. He felt anger and betrayal. Grief and pain. He’d though the past had been long buried in his soul but the conversation had brought it back and it had poured out in vengeful waves. When he looked at his companions, he saw the change in their expressions. What was it? Concern? Pity? He didn’t want their pity.

Clara stepped forward, her hand held out but she tripped on her feet. He moved on instinct. She was in his arms before she reached the ground. He tried to steady her but her head lolled back, sweat beading her forehead, eyes drawn shut.

“Clara? Talk to me.” He shook her shoulder. “Clara!”

She had passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chapter is partly unedited. I will get to it in the morning. Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it and if you could press that little vote button, it would make my day! Check out the picture on the right. Looks like Tamer, huh? ;)