Abad was biting something soft. Warm. Living. His fingers were wrapped tightly around its wrists. His fangs were buried in its supple flesh. Blood filled his mouth, dripping from his lips and down his chin. Two hands were pressed against his chest, pushing him away. He growled as he pressed against them, then he roared as two more grabbed his shoulders and threw him backwards. He flew, rolling painfully in a pile of smoldering coals, singeing his back before slamming into the stump of a smoldering tree. He snarled at the unknown attacker, then froze.


    He saw Firtz holding Shani, whose hands were pressed to her neck. She was bleeding. A lot.


    [Lay on Hands]


    A soft light emanated from his hands, sinking into her tanned skin. A few moments later, Shani''s grip on her neck loosened. The river of blood stopped.


    "You goddamn tainted bastard!" The dwarf roared, charging at Abad. The warlock didn''t have time to react before he was pinned against the tree by the dwarf''s powerful arm. He coughed as Firtz pressed his muscular arm into Abad''s windpipe. "What are you playing at, devil? Was this all some game to you, you goddamn filth?!" The dwarf spat into his face.


    What was he talking about? What was happening.


    Firtz brought his large fist down upon Abad''s head. His vision exploded into stars. The man raised his fist again, but Abad''s lifted his arm deflected the next strike. That''s when he realized his skin wasn''t pale but dusky grey. His fingernails were sharp and black. They could see him. He pushed back against Firtz, keeping the dwarf at bay the best he could. For a time, they struggled against one another, neither wanting to give ground to the other. But, the dwarf was the stronger of the two. Abad''s strength gave out, and the paladin''s next blow struck true.


    And the next.


    Again.


    And again.


    "Stop!" Someone shouted to their side. The fists didn''t stop.


    Abad tried to deflect the strikes, but he couldn''t keep up. Completely spent, he stopped struggling against the powerful dwarf and allowed him to land blow after blow without any resistance. Each punch knocked him back to his senses, replacing the confusion and hunger with white-hot pain. His lungs screamed as he began running out of air.


    "Firtz, stop!" Shani screamed. She was hobbling over to them.


    Firtz strained, something washed over him, and he stopped punching. He was panting heavily, his chest heaving from exertion. Sweat dripped from his brow. His face was twisted in rage. The arm against Abad''s throat dropped away, allowing air back into the elf''s lungs.


    Coughing for several moments, Abad caught his breath. He realized where he was. Remembered what had happened. Knew they had seem him. The real him. He began laughing a dark, bitter laugh. "Not too bad for an old timer. I felt that, dwarf." Abad choked the words out the best he could. His right eye had swollen shut. His lips were bleeding. Every part of him hurt. And he was tired. Utterly and completely tired.


    Firtz tried to strike him again, but Shani grabbed his arm.


    "Don''t..." He lowered his arm again.


    "What do we do?" A-Nis shambled over. She looked horrible. Half of her body was bruised, and thick dried blood covered the entire side of her head. Her shawl was wrapped around her neck, keeping her neck still. "We need to go. Now. More of those things could show up."


    "Not until we deal with this rotten bastard." Firtz had retrieved his axe and looked ready to use it. "He brought them here. Why else would trolls show up like this?"


    "Firtz, stop." Shani commanded.


    "No." Firtz'' face was pure rage.


    "You need to listen to me." Her face was set.


    "Why would I listen to you after that?!" Firtz roared. "He tried to kill you! If I hadn''t woken up, you''d be dead, and we''d be next! And how could he have known exactly where they were the whole damn time?" The dwarf kept the axe raised. "He''s been planning this since we met!"


    Shani kept her hand on his arm, keeping him from being able to strike. Her neck was raw. Clear bite marks decorated it, but blood wasn''t flowing from them any longer. "I saw him. Saw what he was. But he didn''t do this to us. Didn''t try to hurt us. He saved us, you idiot. He almost died fighting that thing! We''re alive because of him!"


    Firtz looked at her. She guided the dwarf''s arm down.


    "He wasn''t breathing, so I tried to help him." Her gaze fell upon Abad. Her eyes were sad. Disappointed. "I knew the tainted can recover if they drink blood, so I cut my finger." She held her finger up, revealing a healed slice through the pad. "That''s when he came to. When he... when he attacked me. I thought I could help him, but I was wrong, and I almost paid for it. But it''s over now. We have bigger fish to fry. Look around. Our supplies are gone. Look at our wounds. It''s not worth it."


    Firtz scowled. "It''s always worth it to cleanse the world of filth." But even as he said those words, he backed away. He paced back and forth in front of Abad, seething. Then, he turned to Shani. "If you''re sure."Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    "I am." She sounded resolute. "There are no good choices. He could be a threat. Maybe he did plan it all. I don''t know. It could have all been a game. But I watched him kill that thing. Kill many of them. I watched him nearly burn himself away to save us. I don''t think someone would go that far just to trick us. What could he possibly gain from it? I think he saved us, and he doesn''t deserve to be paid back with death, even if he''s..." she looked down at him again, taking in his true form with equal parts pity and sadness, "... not who we thought he was."


    Abad chuckled. "I thought I''d be able to hide it a while longer. I guess I failed." He sounded so bitter. Felt so bitter.


    The girl smiled a sad smile, "I''d say you failed spectacularly at that." She turned to face Firtz and A-Nis. "Please, I know you both want to do what you think''s right, but it wouldn''t sit well with me. I might be wrong, but I can''t believe he has any ill will toward us. I knew there was something off about him since we met, A-Nis and I both did, but he doesn''t deserve to die out here. Not after what he did for us." Her tone softened. "We can''t kill him today. It isn''t honorable."


    "Bah," Firtz huffed. He glanced between them both, clearly weighing whether or not he should argue further. "Alright lass, fine. We won''t end ''im, but I won''t travel with him either. Don''t trust his kind." The dwarf stomped a bit more, then added, "and we''re having words about this sooner rather than later, girl."


    "I don''t care." A-Nis said. "He killed the troll. It''s dead, we''re alive. If barely. Whether he''s tainted or not doesn''t matter to me. We''re alive now, and I''d like to stay that way. Even if we did fight, I''m in no shape to take him down anyways."


    "Great," Firtz growled. He walked off toward his belongings. "I''m grabbing my things. Get ready to head out."


    A-Nis turned, but Shani kept looking at him. She seemed like she wanted to say more.


    Before she could speak, he cut her off. "Some great hero, sparing a wicked monster like me." Abad laughed again. "The last great hero, Dark Father curse her name, didn''t give me the same luxury. In that small way, I suppose that makes you the better of you two." He spat blood out of his cracked lips. "But I''m alive, and she''s dead, so I suppose that makes me the ultimate victor." He glared into the girl''s blue eyes with his one good one. "And I''ll outlive you too. Every one of you."


    He saw her flinch, just as he intended, but she didn''t rise to the taunt, nor did she reply. Instead, she turned and joined Firtz in preparing to leave. As they did, he looked up at the night sky. It was changing from the black of night into the dark purple of dawn. Turning his eyes back to the trio, he watched as the they grabbed whatever was left. Most of it had burned away in his spell, and what remained was heavily damaged. Soon, though, they had gathered what they could and readied themselves.


    Shani walked back up to him. "Was any of it true? Did we ever know the real you? Or was it all just a lie?"


    "Does it matter?" He kept his good eye focused on her.


    She didn''t waver. "It does to me."


    Abad found he couldn''t hold the warrior''s steel gaze. "Yeah, most of it was true. I did fail at a spell. I didn''t know where I was. I am out of time. And I did enjoy traveling with you all, even if I''m just a monster to you." He turned to Firtz. "I told you the Goddess and I were at odds. I meant it, just not in the way you thought."


    The dwarf ground his teeth then spoke. "You''ve got a choice now, son. Find a better path." The dwarf turned away from him and began marching up the road. "Let''s go."


    He watched as the girls turned to follow. All of them were worse for wear, but Abad winced as he watched A-Nis. She could barely walk. She wouldn''t make it. And he shouldn''t care. He wanted to let them go. But he owed them for their help, for getting him back to civilization, and he hated feeling indebted. He tried to let it go, but he couldn''t.


    "Wait." He called out. Firtz didn''t stop moving, but the girls both turned. "I can help A-Nis. She won''t make the trip in her condition. We all know it. Call it payback from a man who hates to be indebted to others." He wobbled onto his feet and walked over to the bits of bone left from the large troll. "Come here for a moment."


    "We don''t need any of your black magic, devil."


    "Firtz... he''s helped us so far. If he does anything off, we''ll take him down. But he''s not wrong. A-Nis broke her neck, and your magic isn''t enough to fix her." She looked to Abad. "If you can help my sister, we''ll be forever grateful."


    A-Nis looked pained as she shuffled toward him. Every step was clear agony for the woman. She stopped just out of reach. "Can I trust you?"


    Abad looked her in the eye. "In this, yes."


    "Then do it."


    Abad reached down and picked up the largest bone from the ashes. It was charred and still smoking, and the marrow was scorched. Holding it in one hand, he took the final step toward her and reached out to her, placing his empty hands it on the elf''s neck.


    A-Nis hissed through her clenched jaw, pulling away slightly. Her eyes snapped open wide. "That hurts you bast—"


    "Shush," Abad interrupted her. He reached into his spirit, or what was left of it.


    [Essence Transfer]


    He nearly passed out from the pain. He barely could draw on enough mana to cast the spell. There was nothing for a moment, then small motes of essence started floating out of the charred bone. They were faint, barely visible in the purple gloom of dawn. They floated up and into his body, restoring him slightly, but he willed as much of it as he could into her.


    "What is it? What''s he doing?" the dwarf asked. His curiosity had gotten the better of him.


    "I can pull the last of the life force out of this body and give it to her. It won''t heal her completely, but it''ll hopefully fix her up enough to get to town." As their connection opened up, her told her flatly, "This is going to hurt."


    She didn''t respond, but her blue eyes were filled with fear.


    "Brace yourself." He guided the troll''s essence into her broken bones. Several loud snaps and pops sounded from her neck, and she nearly dropped to the ground. Abad caught her just in time. He held her as he guided the rest of the monster''s energy into her body. Her spirit drank it hungrily.


    Tendons reattached. Muscles knitted back together. Fractured bones healed. She groaned as the essence did its work, and after several minutes, she was healed. At least more than she was.


    Once the pain subsided, she stood and tested her neck. She winced as she turned her head, but she could move it. "You could have warned me first."


    "I don''t think you would have done it had you known. But you''re tough. Most people would have passed out. My magic doesn''t feel soothing like priestly magic does." He smiled weakly at her. "You''ll be able to turn your head more after a few weeks or so. If Firtz can heal you more when he''s recovered, you might get there sooner, but I still wouldn''t overexert myself."


    Shani approached and took her sister onto her shoulder. Two sets of blue eyes met Abad''s. The warrior''s still had that sad look in them, but alongside the sadness was something else. He hadn''t seen it often in his life. It looked like gratitude. "Thank you."


    "Our debt''s paid now." He shuffled. "Get going. I''ll wait a few hours before I follow."


    She sighed. "Take care of yourself."


    Firtz walked up to him, standing less than two feet away, his arms crossed across is barrel chest. "We have no favors left between us, devil. Don''t let us see you again." The dwarf hooked his arm around A-Nis''s back, and together the three travelers walked away without looking back.


    Abad watched them leave.