Chapter 34

They turned a corner and found their path blocked by a trio of their pursuers, blades drawn menacingly. Tij stepped protectively in front of Ona, dropping into a defensive crouch.

The first warrior charged recklessly. With almost contemptuous ease, Tij dodged the clumsy attack and delivered a savage kick to the man's knee, dropping him with a howl of pain.

The remaining two marauders hung back, advancing more cautiously. As one lunged forward, Tij met his attack with a dizzying flurry of strikes - knuckles and elbows deflecting the blade harmlessly aside at the last moment.

Growling in frustration, the marauder overextended, leaving himself exposed. Tij capitalized instantly, his open palm slamming upwards into the man's chin. There was a visible ripple of energy as Tij's power-surge-focus briefly manifested as a shimmering force aura, amplifying the blow's impact. The stunned marauder collapsed in a heap.

The final marauder's eyes went wide at this display of skill. As he hesitated, Tij dropped into a low stance, extending one hand as if grasping an invisible sphere. He drew his arm across, materializing a shimmering force barrier that deflected the panicked slash of the warrior's blade.

With a grunt of effort, Tij dissolved the barrier and expelled a focused kinetic pulse that sent the last man tumbling head-over-heels down the tunnel from whence they came.

Few more assailants lunged at him, only to be repelled by the invisible barrier that surrounded him. Meanwhile, Ona cowered in the corner, her screams piercing the chaos.

Tij's eyes widened as he saw the glint of steel slicing through the air, the assailant's sword aimed squarely at Ona's unprotected form. Without a moment's hesitation, Tij threw himself into the deadly arc of the blade.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the razor-sharp edge bit into the flesh between Tij's shoulder blades. A guttural cry tore from his lips as searing agony lanced through his body. He could feel the unstoppable momentum of the sword punching through muscle, scraping along bone, impaling him from back to front in a gruesome parody of a consummate warrior falling on his own blade.

Tij's knees buckled, but he willed his trembling legs to remain locked, refusing to crumple to the ground just yet. He had to use every last ounce of his waning strength to keep himself upright, to keep that lethal span of steel from plunging into Ona.

She turned at his anguished cry, her eyes going wide with shock and disbelief at the grotesque sight. The blade protruding obscenely from Tij's abdomen seemed to mockingly quiver with each rattling, bloodstained breath he drew, until the assailant withdrew his sword with menace and to meet a groan from Tij's lips.

Ona's hands flew to her mouth, unable to stifle the guttural wail that arose from deep within her core. Tears sprang instantly to her eyes, spilling down her cheeks in torrents as a visceral sob wracked her slender frame.

For so long, she had wished Tij harm, had dreamed of vengeance and suffering to match the pain he had inflicted upon her. But now, confronted with the horrific reality, she realized no quarrel could ever justify something so perversely cruel as this.

A thin trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Tij's mouth as he struggled to speak, to offer what small comfort he could. But no words would come. His strength finally failing him, as he almost crumpled forward onto Ona.

Despite the searing pain, Tij gritted his teeth, refusing to falter. He summoned all his strength, unleashing a powerful blast of pulse that sent the assailant flying across the passage.

Tij grimaced, clutching his belly where the enemy's sword had pierced his flesh. Crimson blood seeped through the coarse wolf pelt he wore, quickly saturating the fur. He stumbled, his legs threatening to give way beneath him.

Ona rushed to his aid, catching him just before he crumpled to the ground. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cradled his wounded body. "You fool!! Why?" she cried, her voice thick with anguish. "Why would you risk your life for me?"

Tij's eyes met hers, their usual intensity dimmed by searing pain and bleeding profusely. Yet his words carried an unyielding resolve. "There's a chance you can save my mother, Princess. Promise me you won't run away again. I will personally take you back to your betrothed when this is done."

Ona nodded profusely, tears streaming down her face. The reason for her abduction started to become clearer. It turned out he needed her, not wanted her as a prize or as a pet to taunt everyday ...he truly needed her.

"You're a fool, Tij," she chided through her sobs, but her tone held no malice. "Throwing yourself in harm's way like that. What would your mother say if she saw you now?"

A pained chuckle escaped Tij's bloodied lips. "She'd probably box my ears and tell me I'm as reckless as my father." He winced, pressing his hand more tightly against the wound. "But you know mothers... they worry."

Ona couldn't help but laugh at that, even as the tears continued to flow. "You're one to talk! Look at the mess you've gotten yourself into this time."

Tij managed a weak smile. "Yes, well, I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew. But I always...get the job done." He coughed, grimacing.

Concern flooded Ona's features again. "Don't speak, you need to conserve your strength." She sniffed back her tears, trying to compose herself. "Just promise me one thing?"

"What is it?" Tij murmured, his eyelids growing heavy.

A warmth crept into Ona's gaze. "Don't you dare die on me, understood? I can't very well save your mother without you."

Despite his rapidly waning strength, Tij's eyes flashed with resolve. "It's a deal..."

Tij gritted his blood-stained teeth, hauling himself up with a pained grunt. His hand was clamped over the gaping wound at his belly, but crimson continued seeping between his fingers in a steady flow. Each ragged breath lanced through him like a white-hot blade.

"This way," he rasped, nodding towards a narrow cleft in the rock face that Ona had never noticed before. "Secret passage...leads back to town."

Ona rushed to support his wavering form, draping his uninjured arm across her shoulders. Tij leaned heavily against her, his face a sickly pallor.

"You stubborn ...halfwit," she chided, though her eyes shone with worried affection. "Holding on to secrets even now."

A wheezing chuckle was his only response as they began negotiating the cramped crevice. The path slanted sharply downwards, winding through the shadowed rock like a serpent's burrow. Ona's shoulder took the brunt of Tij's weight as he stumbled, his strength waning with each agonizing step.

An indeterminable span later, ghostly firelight began filtering in ahead, heralding their emergence. Ona squinted as they spilled out into a secluded meadow, the familiar sight of Kebo's ramshackle huts rising just beyond a shroud of twisted pines.

"Nearly...there..." Tij's words were a rasping whisper in her ear, his head lolling against her with the effort of remaining conscious.

Rather than take the main path, he guided them towards an overgrown trail branching off to the right. Ona followed without question, her singular focus on getting him to safety.

At last, a solitary dwelling emerged through the foliage. A thin tendril of smoke coiled from the chimney into the night sky. Tij raised a fist and pounded feebly on the rough-hewn door.

It swung open to reveal Titi rubbing sleep from her rheumy eyes. At the sight of her brother's crumpled, bloodied form, the sleep turned to abject horror.

"Tijani!" The name tore from her throat in a strangled cry as Ona hauled him over the threshold. "What have you done, you foolon?!"

She bustled forward, steadying him as his legs finally gave out. Haunted eyes rimmed by crow's feet lifted to meet Ona's gaze, silently pleading.

Ona swallowed hard and simply nodded. There would be time for explanations later. For now, they needed to stop the bleeding before Tij's life bled away completely.