The first Abyssal Hound launched itself at Kel.
Kel saw the teeth first. Too many of them, packed inside a mouth that opened wider than it had any right to. He pushed Internal Qi into his legs and jumped sideways. The hound flew past him, its claws tearing through the dirt where he'd been standing.
Kel barely had time to turn before the second one came from his left.
Two insects landed on his shoulder.
Danger.
"Yeah, I noticed."
Kel brought both arms up and remembered Harven's lesson. Instead of flooding his whole body with Internal Qi, he forced as much as he could into his forearms.
The hound slammed into him.
Its weight still knocked Kel backward, but its teeth failed to sink through his reinforced arms. Kel planted one foot, shifted his Qi into his shoulder, and drove forward hard enough to knock the creature off balance.
Doss's iron club came down across its skull before it could recover. The impact dropped the hound into the dirt.
"One," Doss said with a grin.
"Stop counting."
"Why?"
Kel saw three more hounds rushing around the corner. "That's why."
Doss's grin disappeared.
Another insect landed on Kel's right shoulder. This time there were three of them, and Kel remembered the signal Luno had given him.
Direction.
"Right!"
Doss turned just as another hound came around the side of the building. He swung his club and caught it across the jaw, sending the creature stumbling sideways.
The signals were working.
Not perfectly, but enough.
Kel couldn't see Luno anywhere from here, but his friend was still part of the fight. The thought barely had time to settle before another hound charged him.
Something felt different.
Kel sensed a concentration of Internal Qi gathering inside the creature's rear legs.
He moved before it jumped.
The hound launched itself toward the exact spot where Kel had been standing a second earlier.
Kel's eyes widened.
He had actually felt it.
Harven's training was working.
Then a paw slammed into his chest and knocked him flat on his back.
Apparently, it wasn't working well enough yet.
"Kel!"
Doss swung at the hound standing over him, but another crashed into Doss from the side and sent him stumbling.
Kel rolled as jaws snapped shut beside his head. He pushed Qi into his right fist and punched upward, catching the creature beneath the jaw. The hound flew off him and rolled through the dirt.
Kel scrambled back to his feet.
His chest hurt. His arms hurt. Worse, he was already using more Qi than he wanted.
Harven's voice came back to him.
Your Qi should flow.
Kel forced himself to breathe.
He couldn't keep strengthening everything at once. That was exactly what Harven had been trying to teach him.
Legs when he moved.
Arms when he blocked.
Fists when he attacked.
The river had to move where he needed it.
The hounds circled them again.
Kel raised his fists. "Come on."
Doss looked over at him. "You talking to them?"
"Maybe."
"That's weird."
"You talk to your club."
"My club understands me."
One of the hounds lowered itself.
Kel saw the Internal Qi beginning to gather in its legs.
He smiled.
"Sure."
Then they moved.
---
At the rear of town hall, everything had become chaos.
"Keep moving!" Mira shouted as she pulled an elderly woman through the doorway.
Puck came out behind her carrying a small boy under one arm and dragging his sack of supplies with the other.
Luno stared at him. "Why do you still have the sack?"
"Emergency bread."
"Leave the bread!"
"No."
Luno decided he didn't have time to argue with him.
More citizens crowded toward the back exit. Toma stood farther down the alley, directing them toward the road leading out of town.
"This way! Stay together! Don't stop!"
For somebody who had been terrified earlier, Toma was doing surprisingly well.
Luno would've told him that if his own head wasn't currently filled with frightened insects.
The thing upstairs was moving.
His insects refused to stay near it for long. Every time one got close, the same feelings reached Luno.
Wrong.
Dark.
Strong.
But not Harven strong.
That distinction mattered.
Kel had ordered them to leave the moment they sensed anything around the level Harven had demonstrated back in Durnfield. Whatever was upstairs hadn't reached that point.
Not yet.
Spark stood on Luno's shoulder, staring toward the ceiling.
"It knows."
Luno glanced at him. "Knows what?"
"That you're taking them."
A heavy thump came from upstairs.
Several citizens near the door froze.
Luno immediately turned toward Mira. "Keep them moving."
"What are you doing?"
"Finding out what's up there."
"Kel said—"
"I know what Kel said."
Luno wasn't planning to walk upstairs himself. He wasn't that stupid.
Instead, he closed his eyes and reached for the Hive.
Several insects slipped through cracks in the walls. He didn't force the frightened ones toward the presence. He sent others around it, using different rooms and different paths.
One found blood.
Another found a broken chair.
Then a third found something that made Luno's stomach tighten.
People had been tied up upstairs.
Not all the citizens had been kept together. Some had been separated from the others. The insects found ropes, blood, and tools scattered around one of the rooms.
Luno didn't understand what everything had been used for.
He didn't want to.
"Something happened up there," he said.
Mira looked at him. "What?"
"I think they were hurting people."
A growl sounded behind them.
This one didn't come from upstairs.
Mira turned and drew her knife.
Puck put the child he was carrying behind him and grabbed a broken piece of wood.
One of the Abyssal Hounds stepped into the alley.
Luno's insects immediately scattered.
The creature lowered itself and prepared to attack.
Then Spark jumped from Luno's shoulder.
"Wait," Luno whispered.
Spark landed in the dirt between them and the hound.
For a moment, neither moved.
Spark made a low clicking sound.
The hound's ears flattened.
It took one step backward.
Then another.
Luno stared as the Abyssal Hound turned and ran.
Spark casually climbed onto his leg like nothing had happened.
Luno picked him up. "What did you do?"
"Nothing."
"That thing was about to attack us."
"It changed its mind."
"Why?"
Spark climbed toward his shoulder.
"I'm scary."
Luno stared at him.
He couldn't tell if Spark was joking.
That bothered him more.
"We're talking about this later."
"You say that a lot."
Another crash came from upstairs.
Luno looked toward the ceiling. "Yeah, because you keep doing weird stuff."
---
Kel wasn't having nearly as easy a time outside.
Doss had taken a claw across his shoulder, and blood ran down the side of his shirt. Kel's lip was split. Two hounds were down, but the remaining creatures had stopped rushing them one at a time.
Now they were circling.
Kel noticed the change immediately.
"They're learning."
Doss wiped blood from his shoulder. "Then we kill them faster."
Kel watched the hounds carefully.
Something wasn't right.
Every few seconds, one of them would stop. Then the others would change direction almost at the same time.
Kel looked toward town hall.
"They aren't learning."
Doss followed his gaze.
"Something's telling them what to do."
An insect landed on Kel's hand.
Three more immediately flew toward town hall.
Direction.
Kel understood.
"Luno found it."
Doss raised his club. "Good. Let's kill it."
This time, Kel agreed.
They moved.
The hounds attacked immediately.
Kel pushed Qi into his legs as one came from the front and another rushed from the side.
He felt Internal Qi gathering in the first hound's legs.
This time, he didn't watch its teeth.
He watched the body.
The instant the Qi released, Kel moved.
The hound jumped.
Kel ducked beneath it.
Doss swung his club and knocked the creature out of the air.
The second hound reached Kel before he could fully turn. Kel barely managed to reinforce his shoulder before its claws struck him.
Pain exploded through his arm.
The reinforcement kept the claws from tearing as deeply as they should have, but it still hurt enough to make Kel grit his teeth.
He grabbed the hound around the neck.
Qi flowed into his legs, then through his back and into both arms.
Kel lifted.
Then threw.
The creature crashed into the side of a building.
Doss stared at him.
"You could do that the whole time?"
"No."
"Do it again."
"I don't think I can."
They ran toward town hall.
---
Most of the civilians were already outside by the time Kel and Doss reached the building.
Luno stood near the rear entrance while Mira and Puck continued moving people toward Toma.
Luno tried counting everyone, but there were too many moving at once.
"Is that everybody?"
A man near the doorway shook his head.
"No."
Luno's stomach dropped.
"How many?"
"Three."
"Where?"
The man looked toward the stairs.
"Up there."
Of course.
Mira grabbed Luno's arm.
"We need Kel."
Luno knew she was right.
Then Spark looked toward the stairs.
"They're alive."
Luno turned toward him. "You can tell?"
"Yes."
"Is that thing with them?"
Spark nodded.
Luno thought quickly.
"Can you tell Kel?"
"No."
Luno looked at the insects around him.
"But they can."
He closed his eyes.
He didn't have words for what he needed, so he pushed the thought toward the Hive as clearly as he could.
Kel.
Here.
Danger.
The insects moved.
A few moments later, Kel and Doss appeared around the corner.
Five insects landed across Kel's chest at once.
Kel stopped so quickly Doss almost ran into him.
"What?" Doss asked.
Kel looked at the insects before turning toward Luno.
"Something's wrong."
"Three people are still upstairs," Luno told him.
Kel looked toward the staircase inside town hall.
"And the thing controlling the hounds?"
"Up there too."
Doss stepped forward. "Perfect."
Kel grabbed his arm.
"No."
Doss stared at him. "What?"
Kel pointed toward the civilians moving down the alley.
"Our job is them."
"There are three more."
"I know."
Kel turned toward Luno.
"How strong?"
"Still below Harven's warning."
Kel nodded.
"Then we get the three and leave."
He looked toward Mira and Puck. "Keep everyone moving. Get them toward Toma and don't stop until you're clear of town hall."
Both nodded.
Kel turned back toward the stairs.
"You stay here," he told Luno.
Luno immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Luno."
"My insects are the only reason you know where anything is inside that building."
Kel stared at him.
He hated when Luno made sense.
"Fine. Behind me."
Doss smiled. "And me?"
Kel sighed.
"You're coming."
"Best mission ever."
"You got cut open."
"Still fun."
A scream came from upstairs.
Nobody joked after that.
---
Kel went first.
Luno followed close behind him, while Doss stayed at the rear. Spark sat silently on Luno's shoulder as they climbed the stairs.
The second floor smelled terrible.
Blood.
Rot.
Something burned.
Kel found the first prisoner tied inside a room near the stairs.
Alive.
Doss cut him free and pointed him toward the exit.
The second prisoner was across the hall.
Luno's insects found her before they did.
Kel broke the damaged door open, and Luno quickly untied her.
"Go downstairs. Everyone else is leaving."
Neither prisoner needed to be told twice.
Then they heard the third.
Someone was crying at the end of the hallway.
Kel slowed down.
Now he could feel it.
Internal Qi.
It wasn't overwhelming. It wasn't anywhere close to what Harven had demonstrated.
But it was stronger than the hounds.
Kel approached the open door carefully.
A man was tied to a chair inside.
Behind him stood something almost human.
Almost.
Its body was thin and gray, with arms too long for its frame. Black veins spread across its skin, and curved claws extended from the ends of its fingers.
Its eyes were completely dark.
The Abyssal being smiled when Kel entered.
"The warm one."
Kel stopped.
Luno did too.
"What did you call him?" Luno asked.
The creature ignored him.
Its attention stayed completely on Kel.
Its nose twitched slightly.
"Strange."
Kel raised his fists.
"Let him go."
The Abyssal being tilted its head.
"That heat."
Something cold moved through Kel's stomach.
"What heat?"
The creature smiled wider.
Then it disappeared.
Kel barely sensed the Internal Qi gathering in its legs.
Barely.
But he felt it.
He reinforced his arms just before the creature slammed into him.
Kel flew backward through the doorway and crashed against the opposite wall.
Doss charged past him.
The Abyssal being caught his club with one hand.
Doss's eyes widened.
It threw him down the hallway.
"Doss!"
"I'm good!"
He was not good.
Kel pushed himself away from the wall.
The creature walked toward him.
It had better control.
Better speed.
Probably more strength.
Harven's training came back to him.
Kel wiped the blood from his mouth and smiled.
"Finally."
The creature stopped.
Kel raised his fists.
"Someone better."
It attacked.
Kel lost the first exchange badly.
A claw ripped through his shirt and opened the skin beneath it. A kick nearly folded him in half. Another strike sent him crashing against the wall.
But every time it attacked, Kel felt something.
Qi gathering in the shoulder before a strike.
Qi moving into the legs before a burst of speed.
Qi flooding an arm before a block.
The creature was stronger.
Kel didn't need to be stronger.
He needed to understand it.
It attacked again.
Qi gathered in its right shoulder.
Kel moved left.
The claws passed inches from his face.
Kel pushed Internal Qi into his fist and drove it into the creature's ribs.
For the first time, the Abyssal being stumbled.
Kel's eyes widened.
He'd hit it.
The creature looked surprised too.
Then it got angry.
Its attacks became faster.
Kel blocked one.
Dodged another.
The third caught him across the jaw.
He learned.
Again.
Block.
Move.
Hit.
Again.
The river moved through him.
Not everywhere.
Only where he needed it.
The Abyssal being pulled its arm back.
Kel felt the Qi gathering.
Too much.
He wasn't fast enough to dodge.
So he didn't.
Kel poured everything he could into his left forearm.
The creature struck.
Pain tore through Kel's entire arm.
But the sound that followed wasn't his bone breaking.
The Abyssal being screamed.
Its wrist bent at the wrong angle.
Kel stepped forward.
His Qi moved out of his arm, through his shoulder, and into his right fist.
Something else moved with it.
Heat.
Small.
Deep.
Familiar.
Kel didn't have time to think about it.
He punched.
His fist slammed into the creature's chest.
The Abyssal being flew backward and crashed through the thin wooden wall.
It hit the floor in the next room.
It didn't get back up.
Kel stood in the hallway breathing hard.
Luno stared at him.
Doss slowly pushed himself upright.
"Did you just—"
"Get the prisoner."
Doss blinked.
Kel turned toward him.
"We're leaving."
Luno smiled.
Harven really had gotten through to him.
They freed the final citizen and headed downstairs.
Outside, the remaining Abyssal Hounds had stopped moving together. Some wandered through the streets as if confused, while others had already fled.
Doss watched one disappear between two buildings.
"We could finish them."
Kel looked toward the civilians.
Then he looked at his squad.
Everyone was alive.
"No."
Doss sighed.
Kel started toward the road.
"We're going home."
---
By the time Durnfield came into view, the sun was beginning to fall.
Toma looked exhausted but hadn't complained once since leaving Rookwell. Mira's clothes were covered in dirt, while Doss had spent most of the trip telling anyone who would listen about the hound he'd knocked out of the air.
Puck still had the emergency bread.
Somehow.
Luno walked beside Kel with Spark resting inside his hat and several insects crawling across his shoulders. The Hive seemed calmer now that Rookwell was behind them.
Kel looked around at everyone.
Mira.
Toma.
Doss.
Puck.
Luno.
Then himself.
Six had left Durnfield.
Six were coming back.
Luno noticed him counting.
"Everyone came home."
Kel smiled.
"Yeah."
His entire body hurt. His left arm throbbed every time he moved it, and his Internal Core felt like somebody had reached inside him and squeezed it dry.
But for once, Kel didn't care.
The gates of Durnfield opened ahead of them.
Captain Harven was already waiting.
Kel's smile disappeared.
Luno saw Harven's face and immediately understood.
"Oh."
Kel sighed.
"We survived Abyssal Hounds."
Luno nodded.
"And an Abyssal being."
"Yeah."
They continued toward the gate.
Kel looked at Harven again.
The captain had his arms folded.
He wasn't smiling.
Kel swallowed.
"This might be worse."
End of Chapter 19 — Fight Someone Better, Part 3