Salamander

Nix pulled his bare feet from the water and glanced around quickly. He was far from where the Salamander camps had been set up, but a dim glow beneath the river's surface caught his attention. Had the creature escaped?

Taking a deep breath, Nix swam to the middle of the river. The water grew uncomfortably hot as he dived straight down, wincing at the increasing pain. On the riverbed, lodged beneath some deadfall, lay something unlike anything he had ever seen. Within the orange glow was a faintly human shape. Kicking his feet, he reached out and grabbed its arm.

The near-boiling water burned as Nix surfaced, coughing and swallowing some in the process. His hand lost all feeling as the agony spread through his arms and torso. Struggling to the shore, he dropped the dead weight onto the bank and collapsed to his knees, gasping in pain.

His charred hand and arm resembled burnt meat, blackened and blistered. The shirt he had been wearing was still smoldering despite being soaked, so he tore it off and tossed it aside.

"Now what?" Nix muttered, scouting the area. If someone could track it, they would eventually come. They were on the river's edge, where the steep banks made them difficult to spot unless someone was close.

The figure stirred, then woke abruptly. A bone-rattling screech erupted, forcing Nix back into the river. Clapping his hands over his ears, he shouted, "Shut up! They'll find us if you keep that up!"

The creature stopped instantly, its glowing orange eyes locking on him. Nix moved closer, squinting against the heat radiating from its body. The lower half of its form was wrapped in glowing, barbed wire that bit into its flesh. Each movement caused the bindings to tighten, eliciting sharp jerks of pain.

"Those look bad," Nix muttered, gritting his teeth. "Let's get this done." He grabbed the bindings, surprised to find them cold to the touch, but the Salamander screeched in agony.

It stared at him for a moment before nodding, signaling him to continue.

Gripping the bindings again, Nix unraveled the tangled mess. The creature convulsed silently as the barbs tore free from its flesh, spilling tiny drops of liquid fire onto the ground. Although the bindings didn't harm him, the flames searing off the Salamander did. By the time he finished, both of his arms were smoldering blackened masses, barely functional. Blood dripped down his chin where he had bitten through his lip to endure the pain. He collapsed onto the ground, panting as the last binding fell away.

Looking up at the Salamander, Nix rasped, "Not gonna lie—death might be my best option right now."

The creature stood over him, its glowing eyes softening. It pointed at the ring Nix had purchased earlier.

"My limiter ring?" he asked, glancing at it. The Salamander moved closer, its fiery form becoming unmistakably female.

"Hide," she said, her voice clear and concise.

"Hide you?" Nix asked, sitting up slowly with a groan.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Why didn't you speak earlier? My damn hands are useless now." Struggling to his feet, Nix added, "We need to get away from the camps."

The Salamander followed as he moved further from the river. Hovering just above the ground, her glow had dimmed significantly. They traveled for an hour, sticking to low ground. As someone who had evaded multiple agencies for nearly a year, Nix was adept at hiding.

Another thirty minutes passed before Nix spotted a hollowed-out section at the base of a gully. "This should hide us until dark." He left unsaid that after nightfall, her glow would make concealment impossible.

She stood near the hollow, and her flames began to grow. Nix stumbled back as a wave of superheated air washed over him. Without hesitation, she walked into the hollow, her flames melting the rock as if it were air. "Come," she said.

Nix followed, entering the Salamander-made cavern. Waves of heat radiated from the freshly melted rock before being absorbed back into her body.

She slumped against the wall, her breathing labored. "Remove the ring and take my seed."

Nix stared at her, frowning. "Take your seed? That sounds an awful lot like pregnancy… pass."

"Fire seed, idiot." Her tone was sharp. "I must pass it on before I die."

He hesitated but finally removed the ring and knelt beside her. "Die? Isn't there something else we can do?"

She shook her head, extending a glowing hand. A single finger touched his skin, and his entire body ignited in flames.

Nix instinctively tried to smother the fire before realizing it didn't hurt. "This the fire seed?"

The Salamander shook her head. "I ignited your burning aura. So beautiful."

Nix glanced at the ashes of his clothing. "That's going to be inconvenient." He waved his flaming hands, noting the fresh skin beneath the fire. It appeared healed.

She moved closer, her face inches from his. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his, opening her mouth. Grabbing his face to hold him still, she transferred something before pulling back and collapsing to the ground.

"Holy shit. What the f*ck was that?" Flames raged around Nix as his yellow eyes turned orange. "What did you do?"

The Salamander lay still, her eyes open and watching him. Her form had drastically changed—her fiery glow replaced by a young woman's figure. Long red hair cascaded down her back, and her light brown eyes gleamed with intelligence. "I gave you the seed. If I die, so does the seed."

"Are you dying now?"

She nodded. "Losing the seed hastens the inevitable." She sighed contentedly. "My name is Shae."

"I don't want this seed, Shae. Take it back."

"No," she whispered.

Nix felt his temper flare, and the flames around him roared in response. Shae, though she appeared human now, seemed unaffected by the searing heat. He grabbed her face and kissed her, forcing her mouth open and pushing his tongue inside.

She shoved against him, howling loudly in protest. "You can't give it back, idiot!"

"You didn't ask me when you gave it, so now you get the same treatment!"

Shae struggled against him, pushing him away even as they kissed. Somewhere in their clash, her resistance wavered, and her passion ignited. Her arms and legs wrapped around him, pulling him closer. She screeched sonically as the seed began to return to her. Oddly, this time, the sound didn't affect him. "Bastard," she moaned against his lips.

Nix wasn't entirely sure how the process worked, but he could feel the flames inside him surging upward. His clothes disintegrated into ash once more as he willed the fire seed back into her. The roaring flames provided a strange comfort as Shae screamed in ecstasy, her teeth sinking into his shoulder.

You have been slain.

Nix hovered over his corpse for a moment, taking in the scene. Shae sat a few feet away with her back to his body. The flames that had once surrounded her were gone, but he could sense that the seed had returned to her.

She glanced over her bare shoulder, her eyes fierce. "Bastard… you ignited my inner seed."

[Do you wish to recover your body at the nearest spawning point?]

"Yes."

"I hate you!" Shae stomped her foot as his corpse vanished. Then, in a flash of flames, she disappeared from the cave.

"Damn. That Salamander is a handful," Nix muttered as he found himself back at the Temple of Shi. Cyan greeted him once again, raising an eyebrow when she noticed he was naked. Producing an acolyte robe, she handed it to him with a faint smile.

"We keep meeting like this," he said wryly.

Cyan chuckled softly. "Maybe you should leave some clothes here, Nix, just in case."

Pulling the robe over his shoulders, he started walking back toward town. On a whim, he decided to check his stats.

Nix

Level: 17

Strength: 40

Endurance: 49

Intelligence: 25

Dexterity: 25

Perception: 25

Cold Resistance: 90

Fire Resistance: 100

[Burning Aura]

Weapon Skills:

Rifle: 54Whip: 10

Support Skill:

Flame Strands: 0

Skills:

Hunter: 100Leather Making: 100Tailor: 42

"Um… 17? I was level seven when I finished with the deer." His thoughts wandered back to Shae as he noticed the support skill. "What the hell is Flame Strands? And why does it have no rating?"

As he neared the camp area, he noticed the commotion had not subsided. People were still running about, but he muttered under his breath, "She's long gone." A moment later, his HUD dinged. He opened it to find a man in a black business suit staring back at him.

"Mr. Phire, by now you must have realized a mistake was made," the blonde-haired man with piercing blue eyes said without introducing himself.

Nix shrugged. "Should I care?"

"Gladia Corp paid for inmates to become Lifestyle players under our banner," the man explained, his tone brisk. "We also used our influence to grant you stat bonuses unavailable to regular players."

Nix raised an eyebrow. "Wake me up, then, and we'll talk about it."

"How the f*ck did an idiot like you escape the Hub?" The man's irritation was palpable.

Nix smirked at the insult. "Not saying. Is there a point to this conversation?"

The blonde man calmed visibly and nodded. "Yes. We're absolving ourselves of responsibility. We cannot release you back to federal custody—the publicity would cost us more than you're worth."

"Is that so?" Nix felt an urge to set the man's gelled hair ablaze. "All that gel… it'd go up like a Christmas tree," he muttered under his breath.

"Since you are no longer in the Hub, we're making the situation disappear," the man continued. "From now on, you're on your own."

"So I'm stuck here?" A hint of panic crept into Nix's voice.

"Just for a hundred years."

"Very amusing, shithead." Nix knew he was getting a good deal but refused to let the suit see any satisfaction.

The man glanced over his shoulder before flipping Nix the bird and cutting the connection.

Nix stared at the empty space where the HUD window had been. "Very mature."