“Beast King,” Rhone said. “Will you give me your kingdom?”
“Never.”
“Then, you shall die.”
The soldiers seemed to forget us and began to fire at Kajo. There was running, jumping, clunking, gunfire, and cursing, but I could see none of it. I could only imagine Kajo floating, vaulting, spinning, and fighting against Rhone and his soldiers. I wished I could see it; I knew he would be mesmerizing. But, all I could see was the dust of the coliseum floor. Rhone’s soldiers were falling at Kajo’s hands and soon that dust was saturated with blood.
A cry split my head and I realized it was Kajo calling out in pain. I ducked out from underneath the hovercraft in time to see the third bullet rip through his side. He collapsed to one knee on the hovercraft. Rhone floated up above him with three of his remaining minions. Kajo tried to lash his hand at them, but all he managed to do was rip the three guns from the soldiers’ hands. Rhone laughed, holding his sword out in front of him.
“You can’t win, Kajo.”
Then there was a giant cracking sound and more teleporting bubbles grew. Rhone cursed and looked from his sword to Kajo.
“You will die by this blade!”
“You better leave now, Rhone!” I screamed at him, clambering up the edge of the hovercraft to hold Kajo by his shoulders, keeping him from falling all the way to the floor. I pressed one of my hands into the wound on his side. The other two bullets had ripped through his shoulder and thigh.
“Shut up, your Earthling inferior,” Rhone snarled. Telekinetic warriors from other alliances were raising their hands at Rhone and he grimaced. “Next time!” He roared and then he vanished in a teleport, with his few remaining soldiers following.
Kajo sank to both knees, forehead braced against the ground.
“Kajo…Help! Help! We need a doctor here!” I yelled and the translator spit out some other sentence. One of Kajo’s bodyguards climbed into the driver’s seat. Another was soon there, helping me roll Kajo over on his back, and then we were racing off to the nearest hospital. I held Kajo’s hand, willing for the spark between us to serve as a lifeboat, as a surge of strength and power to live by.
The doctors worked quickly to get Kajo’s wounds pressured and the bullets removed. I waited by his bedside, frightened by every sound in the hall, worried it was Rhone returning to finish off what was left of the Beast King.
“We need your blood.”
I looked blankly at the doctor. I had heard him through the rasp of the translator, but then, I hadn’t heard him, either. I stared. “What?”
“You’re his Destin, right?”
“That’s what he said.”
“He is going to die without your blood. Only your blood can revive him at this point.”
“That doesn’t make any sense—” I began to protest.
“Are you the doctor here on Farian?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then, I suggest you trust one who is. I am trying to save the King. He says he will not force you to give him your blood. You must choose to do so. You must choose to save him. If you do not, he will die.”
I nodded and stood up, squeezing Kajo’s hand. “Tell me what to do.”
Soon, I was lounging on a bed not dissimilar from Kajo’s and they were sticking a huge needle into my right forearm. I waited anxiously as my blood pumped out. Kajo’s blood was pumping out, too, but in a much heavier flow and I was then trying to put in my uncontaminated, fairly healthy, bloodline.
“The bullets were tainted,” the doctor said. I looked at him, not understanding. “There was an ink on it, an ink that tainted the bullets.”
“Poisoned!” I understand the shitty translation and looked sadly at Kajo beside me. That was why they were doing a transfusion. He would soon have more human blood than Curan. Just as I thought that, one of his bodyguards laid down on a bed on the other side of him.
“We will resupply your blood now and get more Curan blood back into the King,” the doctor explained. So, they switched around the pumps and my blood, having flowed through Kajo’s system, returned to me, with a bit of him, I am sure. His bodyguard resupplied the King with what was thought to be purer Farian blood. I wondered if any of the poison would impact me, but I was assured it wouldn’t hurt an Earthling.
I rested in the bed beside him all through the night. I kept the translator close and heard the bodyguards talking. Thousands had been killed. Rhone and his soldiers had been nondiscriminating about the Curan. To the Bordash, they had offered one chance: kill the Curan next to you, or be killed. Thankfully, the Bordash who were there to celebrate the Day of Joy did not stoop to the level that Rhone wanted them to. Many of them had died because of it, but they had not taken lives themselves.
Rhone’s soldiers had led attacks all around the capital city, not just at the coliseum. It had been a massacre. He had made a deal with one of the Bordash empires that Kajo had thought to be allies, and they had been the ones entrusted to guard the coliseum uprights, as a sign of trust between Curan and Bordash. This had been the downfall of the entire security detail. However, more of the true allies had teleported in as soon as word of the battle spread. Most of Rhone’s soldiers had been wiped out. But, the key was getting Rhone.
That, and the survival of King Kajo. It was hours before he was breathing normally. The doctors came in to check on him often, as did Delicha. The bodyguard eventually left, replaced by another, just in case Kajo needed more blood.
Finally, right before dawn, Kajo stirred beside me. His eyes opened and he blinked a few times, getting his bearings.
“Daphne!” He cried and tried to sit up in
