Zeph Kaizen's Arc

Chapter 28 of 51

The horn faded. Zeph stood in the hollow among the bodies of the front rank. Kaine wiped his blade on a dead man's sleeve and looked past the trees where the heavier figure had gone. Then Kaine froze and pointed at the ground near the shield Zeph had split. A soldier was crawling. He had taken a blow across the ribs but his legs still worked in short kicks against the dirt. He was pulling himself toward the tree line the commander had used. His helmet was gone. Blood ran from his ear. He was staring at Zeph the whole time he crawled, memorizing him. "He saw the change," Kaine said. "He saw the white eyes. He saw the hair. If he reaches the commander, the next line comes with archers and nets and orders written for what you are now." Zeph took a step. His legs shook. The coal behind his sternum was banked low and would not light again soon. He could not call the old form twice in one night. The soldier saw him coming and crawled faster. He was young. His hand scraped at the roots. He was maybe forty paces from the tree line and the dark past it. Zeph walked. He did not run. He closed the distance in a steady line. He thought of the young Saiyan at the door of the ancient hall who had asked for water. He had refused that one and let him die. He had paid for that refusal in the chamber for two days. He knelt beside the soldier. The soldier tried to speak and only coughed. Zeph put a hand on the back of the man's neck. The bracelet on his wrist warmed against the skin there. "I will not let you carry this back," Zeph said. He pressed. It did not take long. The man's arms stopped moving. Zeph held the neck a moment longer to be sure, then let go and sat back on his heels. Kaine came up behind him. He did not say anything for a while. "First time you've done that with your hands," Kaine said. "Yes." "It won't be the last. They already know something is wrong out here. They don't know what yet. That's the only gift you get tonight." Zeph looked at the bracelet. The metal was cool again. He thought of Zento standing on the rock in the white pants and blue sash, arms folded, watching without speaking. He did not try to call him. The door to the ancestor was closed while blood was still wet. He stood. The trees were quiet. The commander was gone with only the sound of a retreat and no picture of what had beaten his front rank. "East," Kaine said. "Now. Before he finds another pair of eyes." Zeph turned east and walked.