Guns of Legend: Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven Where's
my pendant?That thought was all it took to
bring Kulgan back to full awareness, sitting upright in his bed.Wait, bed?Memories of the previous night flew
through his mind. Finally seeing the
creature. Fighting the creature... Losing badly.
But that had all been in the desert.
He quickly took stock of his surroundings. The room was small and plain, but well
lit. The only decoration was a painting
of an old, gray-furred fuaro hanging on the wall, illuminated by three candles
placed underneath it. On the opposite
side of the room was a small desk, upon
which sat a thick, hardbound book.
All in all, it became quickly apparent to the anxious zik that this was
not the desert. In fact, if the painting
on the wall was any indication, he was in a Church of Embin.Kulgan swore under his breath, and
swung his legs over the side of the bed.
His wounds, he noted, had all been bandaged, and he felt decently
fit. When he stood up, his legs were
strong beneath him, supporting his weight without trouble. Whatever the priests had done, it had worked.Still, all of this paled in
comparison to the fact that his Twisting pendant was missing."Where do you think you're off to
in such a hurry?" a voice came from the corner of the room.Kulgan snapped his head around,
surprised to see a figure standing there he hadn't seen before. It was a zik, like him, but its fur was as
dark as the inside of a cave. He wore a
long, black coat and a wide brimmed hat of the same color. Kulgan noted, with some unease, the snipe
rifle slung over the intruder's back."Luka," Kulgan said after a moment's
hesitation. "Is that you?"A grim chuckle came from the corner
where the zik was standing, "So, you remember me, do you?""I haven't seen you in years,"
Kulgan said. "What are you doing here?"Luka stepped out of the corner, his
spurred boots clomping and jingling loudly.
He stopped when he was only a foot away from Kulgan."I cam looking for you," he said
calmly, and then punched him as hard as he could in the stomach.Kulgan grunted as he stumbled
backwards, his insides lighting up with pain.
Obviously he wasn't nearly as healed on the inside as he was on the
outside. He sat down hard on the bed,
holding his stomach in his arms."Do you know what I've been doing
ever since the moment you disappeared all those years ago?" Luka asked
casually. "I've been looking for you.""Looking to collect on my bounty?"
the gray zik spat in disgust. "That fits
you, I guess.""Nothing so simple as that," Luka
said, and took a step back. "I couldn't
care less about you or the old man you killed.
I want what you took from him."Kulgan's eyes widened in surprise
for but a moment, and then he regained his composure, "Well, you wasted your
time. I don't have it.""Come on, Kulgan," Luka
crooned. "You don't really think I'm so
stupid that I'd think you left something like that behind when it was just
sitting there, free for the taking?""You know the responsibility that
comes with those things," Kulgan insisted.
"Even if I didn't intend to use it, I'd be accepting those
responsibilities as my own."Luka nodded, grinning, "Oh, I do
know. More than you realize, in fact."With that, he reached behind his
back and pulled out his sniper rifle.
Kulgan didn't feel threatened, the long-barreled rifle was too long and
cumbersome to use in such a confined area.
He was, however, shocked by the wave of power that radiated from the
gun, slamming into him like a slap to the face."No way," he said in
disbelief. "Where did you...""Get ahold of one of the Guns of
Legend?" Luka finished for him, a satisfied smile on his face. "Last I checked, they were standard issue for
the Marshals."Kulgan froze."You?" he said slowly. "A Marshal?"He stood up, ignoring the pain that
flashed inside of him, and crossed the room to stand face to face with Luka, "Have
they lost their minds?"Again, Luka's fist lashed out, this
time connecting with Kulgan's face.
Kulgan staggered backwards, his head spinning, and collided with the far
wall. He stood there for a few moments,
leaning against the wall until he got his balance back, and then looked back at
Luka. A bitter smile rose to his face."So, you're a Marshal now," he chuckled. "And here you are, bounty hunting like
always."Luka's laugh caught him off
guard. He'd expected to be hit again
after the insult."I told you," the black zik said,
his voice filled with mirth, "I'm not here for your bounty!"With a swift, skillful movement, he
holstered the rifle over his shoulder again, and then reached into the breast
pocket of his coat. Slowly, he withdrew
something. Kulgan's blood lurched as he
recognized his Twisting pendant."Luka..." he said softly, his eyes
growing abnormally wide with desperate need, "Give me that." His skin itched. His fingers twitched with the urge to reach
out and grab it from him. He needed that
pendant- more than he'd ever needed anything before."So," Luka mused, "this is what
Twisting does to you." He held up the
pendant tauntingly, "Being this close to it, but unable to touch it... it's
driving you insane, isn't it?"Kulgan didn't reply. He just stared at the pendant. The tiny piece of stone that he loved so
much- even though he hated it with all his life. He needed it so badly that his head couldn't
form coherent words."Sure, I'll give it back," Luka
agreed, grinning smugly. Then he balled
it in his fist, hiding it from Kulgan's view.
"Just tell me where you hid Spitfire!"