Elated Fury/Vs. The House Of Bells

The 13th day of Descending Fire, 337 in the Year of Our Empress. Fallstavia

Trees and bushes streaked by without notice. The ground was uneven, quite rough in places, yet its obstacles were unheeded. The man named Elated Fury was far too busy running for his life to pay attention to the scenery.

Behind him, the horns of the House of Bells sounded in the late morning air. Elated Fury cursed and picked up his pace still further. There were only a handful of other condemned criminals out there, all released for the Hunt like he'd been, but he had no doubt the others would get themselves killed in the first day. Elated Fury wasn't worried about getting caught and put down before dark. He was worried about getting enough of a head start to cover his tracks. Five hours wasn't much against Exalts.

Three days to get off the School grounds. That's all he had to survive. Three days against two dozen Dragon-Blooded students looking to prove their mettle. Three days of surviving the outdoors with Exalted hunters looking to pull him down.

He'd seen the terror on the faces of the others, knew that their fear and panic had already doomed them. Sure, he'd even admit privately that he felt the same way. But he was going to survive this, one way or the other, and no fledging Exalt was going to kill him for practice, no matter how well trained. Prisoner or not, Elated Fury was not the kind of man to go meekly to his death.

The forest grew up thickly around him now, great cedars stretching up toward the morning sky, sheltering the ground and all those on it beneath its expansive canopy. Elated Fury could hear the wind rustling the ocean of leaves above him, even over the sound of his flight in his ears. That was both good and bad. It meant the Dragon-Blooded would have to work harder at listening for him. It also meant he'd have a harder time hearing them coming.

Elated Fury charged up another hill and sped through the underbrush. Although his clothes were already growing ragged on the underbrush he heedlessly burst through, his taut, toned body was unflagging. When he'd been taken by the Black-Helms and brought to Arajuf for this Hunt, Elated Fury hadn't given in to the resignation that filled the others. There had been little else to do during his captivity but exercise. Now, it was paying off since he had been sprinting for over an hour and was still only a bit past winded.

Another horn went up behind him.

Elated Fury still wasn't worried about his trail, though. The other condemned were going to be better targets to chase down. The elite students would get them before they came after him, simply a matter of targets of opportunity. All he had to do was get far enough into the preserve surrounding the House of Bells to hit some water. From there, a fast switch up or downstream would cover his tracks, even from a Dragon-Blooded.

Unless they cheated and used Charms. His survival depended on their pride.

Elated Fury ran for hours, until his breath came too short for him to keep. He slowed only reluctantly, found a hollowed out tree with a deep base that would keep him out of sight, and he ducked into it for a good half an hour. The sword on his back was a small reassurance but it was very likely that, if it came to using it, he would already be a dead man.

With his breath back and no pursuers on his trail yet, Elated Fury shot out of the tree and resumed his frantic pace. Now was the time to get distance and he was going to get every mile he could. Once he hit water, he'd have to start being a lot more careful.

The sun rose, crested the sky, waned and had touched the horizon by the time Elated Fury found a creek. The flow was a bit heavier than he would have liked but it would do. He stopped only enough to tank up on water, filling his throat and stomach with coolness until he sloshed when he stood.

Elated Fury looked at himself in the running water's surface. No gray in his hair still. That was a little surprising, given the hell he'd been through since his captivity. Not that he was that old, it just ran in the family. He'd lost a bit of his tan, unfortunately but there wasn't anything to do about that. His build was more muscled than ever and none of his scars showed. Things were looking up.

Enough wool-gathering. He unstrapped his hard-soled leather boots and laced them across the sword sheath. It would make running a little more awkward but he couldn't do that anyway. From now on, he had to take it slow to avoid leaving a trace. Elated Fury couldn't afford to get his boots wet, either. Surviving three days would take every ounce of concentration and ability he had and getting blisters from wet boots would not help with that.

The stream was cool on his sore feet. He didn't start getting cold until hours after the moon had risen, maybe around midnight. The day's pace had worked up a fine fire inside but, bit by bit, the cold water swept it away as the hours stacked up.

Still, Elated Fury pressed on. He was exhausted, sure, but what else did you expect when you ran all day? He was still doing alright and that's what was important at this stage.

He didn't know how many miles he'd made running uphill and he guessed he made a good ten miles upstream before the dark sky began to gleam with the returning sun. That should be enough for his skilled but young and impulsive pursuers. If the Goddess of Chance was with him, all the students would have gone after the other condemned prisoners and they wouldn't even start chasing him until some time today. If She wasn't, then he'd already have a couple on his tail.

Either way, he had a good lead and he needed to rest.

Elated Fury stepped off the side of the stream, took another good drink, and spent twenty minutes working his way in until he found a good-sized tree with broad enough branches. He took pains to climb carefully, balancing nimbly with his hands and his still bare feet to reach a large enough branch to sleep on.

As he drifted off to sleep, he saw three ways this could go if the hunters came after him, and they would. First, they lost his trail entirely in the creek. The Dragon-Blooded were arrogant but not stupid so he thought that was pretty unlikely. Second, they traced him up here but missed his turnoff, which would buy him a great deal of time. Third, they would find where he left the stream to sleep and go after him from there. Which was why he wasn't going to keep going in this direction when he got up.

He'd be fine, as long as they didn't break their own rules and use Charms.

Elated Fury closed his eyes and fell into the sleep of the utterly exhausted. His dreams were thankfully few and short for he needed to regain as much energy as he could. The worst was yet to come.

It was early afternoon when Elated Fury woke. It was quiet enough but he could still hear the sounds of the forest life. Reassuring. However good they might be at hunting, a bunch of jade-wearing soldiers didn't impress the animal life much and that would have been his first tip-off if they had caught up to him.

With a soundless grace, Elated Fury poured himself down off the tree and onto the ground without disturbing a thing. They might be good enough to follow his trail to here and see what he'd been up to but they'd have to be very slow and methodical if they weren't cheating with magic and that bought him more time. Elated Fury glanced over the tree and nodded in satisfaction. Good enough.

He crept to the creek again, took ten minutes to make certain the area was secure and then he bent for a long drink. His lips had touched the water when he realized he was not the last person to have touched this ground. If they were still here, they already had him so Elated Fury took his drink and sighed in satisfaction. It was already a hot day, after all.

A thorough search of the area turned up a surprising fact. The Dragon-Blooded must have been hot on his heels because they'd already come up this way...and kept going. Elated Fury grinned at their mistake. They weren't underestimating him, that much was certain, but they hadn't been as careful as they should have been.

Of course, he was going to exploit it.

With his boots still laced around the sword strap, Elated Fury set off down the stream, heading back the way he'd come. It was perfect, really. The Dragon-Blooded students on his tail were probably going to be looking up that stream for quite a while. Then, they'd come back down and be very, very thorough and they'd find where he left the creek. He didn't doubt they'd find the tree he slept in but then they would make the mistake he expected them to. Any way you looked at it, it was a pretty safe bet he'd have a clear shot down the stream.

A few hours later, Elated Fury hit a fork he'd passed. His original plan had been to keep heading up the creek until he found another fork, backtracking that way while heading for the School boundary. Now, he might as well do the same thing. He certainly wasn't going all the way back to the House of Bells so now was as good a time to turn off as any.

"That was very clever."

Elated Fury didn't hesitate and he wasn't dumb enough to go for his sword first. Instead, he dropped, hit the water and rolled before he started reaching for his weapon. A jade daiklave shot over him, where his head had been and then he was on his feet, sword in hand.

"Thought I might come back this way," Elated Fury grinned ferally. "Good guess."

The young slip of a girl facing off with him had scorned the armor many of the others had carried, opting for a forest-colored set of green and brown clothing. She might have passed for a mortal, if not for the blue jade sword in her hand and the way the water caressed its way across her legs where it touched. She had to be young, she was a student after all, but there was nothing soft or forgiving in those pretty little features.

"You're throwing off the fucking record," she said, sniffing at the insult. "We got all the others within two hours of after starting, you know. I have a lot of jade riding on us bringing the last person down by sunset today. Already lost the last fucking one when people thought we'd catch you all yesterday."

"There will always be another bet," Elated Fury said indifferently. "I'll make one with you right now. Loser gets the other at his mercy."

"Fine. But I'm not a him," the Water-Aspected student said with a slight growl.

"You're not going to win anyway," he chuckled. Anger clouded her eyes, twisting even the practiced features of a Realm-trained Dynast, and she lunged for him. Chance bedamned, she was fast!

Elated Fury danced backward, jerking his sword left and right to ward off each of those lightning-quick thrusts from the daiklave. He could feel the drag of the water on his legs and it was obvious she wasn't being slowed by it in the least. Perfect.

He baited her on, concentrating on nothing but keeping that monstrous magical sword from spitting him like a pig. The longer they fought, the madder she got. After all, he was just some escaped prisoner, wasn't he? Some mortal keeping her from her record. That's right, little girl, get mad.

Finally, with a howl of frustration as he neatly parried an overhand swing, she charged in and tried to ram him with her shoulder. Elated Fury grinned like a wolf as his foot snared hers and they both went down into the water. This close, he had the advantage of mass and leverage over the small little Dragon-Blooded and, with him on top and the weight of the creek on top of him, he had a lot more resistance than she did. So she could move through water like it was air. He couldn't, and right now that was giving him the advantage. He could pit his strength against hers just fine but she was fighting the resistance of the water on his body when she tried to push him away.

He would have the upper hand until he ran out of air.

Their hands roved, struggling for the right grip, for the right angle to overcome their enemy. She twisted his knee savagely, wrenching a grunt from his clenched teeth. Then, he got his hands around her neck and slammed her head into the creek bed. It wasn't enough to kill her but the fight was over like that.

Elated Fury burst from the water's surface, gasping in deep lungfuls of air. He allowed himself half a dozen and then he picked up the stunned Exalt and slung her over his shoulder. She wouldn't drown there, she was a Water-Aspect after all, but he had other plans for her.

Iselsi Denasi fought a frown as his band of Dragon-Blooded heroes stomped their way down the creek behind him. That was why he was in the lead. His team of elite students were good men and women in a fight but they were tired and angry at the mortal who'd lost them. They weren't being careful and that could wipe out the one track they needed to find him again.

Denasi blocked the descending sun's glare in his eyes from the water's surface. It was getting into evening and still there was no trace of the slave. For a mortal, the man was amazingly resourceful. Not that he would admit that to anyone else but privately the dead man had his respect.

First, a frantic run up into the hills. Not bad, not unexpected. The first sign that this one was anything unusual was the fact that they hadn't caught him by nightfall. Iselsi Denasi and his band of House of Bells near-graduates were used to running all day, but apparently so was he and the condemned man wasn't wearing a full suit of armor. It had been an unexpected pace and the slave had gained distance on them because of their expectation that he would tire.

When they hit the creek and his trail disappeared, Iselsi Denasi had to hit the few who groaned about it. They'd gotten overconfident with the easy kills earlier. One by one, they'd caught every other prisoner. There might be one other one left but there were two other teams just like his and they must have run that one down by now.

So, Denasi and his band had spent most of the night and much of the morning going up river after this slave. The fact that the prisoner apparently walked it barefoot had made tracking him very difficult. They'd gone twenty miles before Denasi realized that the man had fooled them.

When they backtracked, they found he'd slept in a tree for a good chunk of the day but he was long gone. Of course, the rest of his team had charged off past the tree, expecting their quarry to keep going after the nap. Why not? The tree had been a brisk 15 minute walk into the interior, much further in than someone would usually go if they were just trying to catch a little shut-eye.

By that point, nothing this prisoner did surprised him. Iselsi Denasi went back to the creek and caught an hour's sleep before the rest of his squad came back sheepishly. Maybe it wasn't what the ideal commander should do, and he wouldn't dare do it in the field, but here it made the point better than any shouting could have done.

Denasi was from the Manoton branch of the Iselsi and, above all else, he had to hold on to his position here. Since their attempted coup on the Scarlet Empress a few decades ago, his House had been whittled away. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if the Empress actually took it off the books in another century, at the rate things were going. Napping a bit to show his squad how wasted impulsive effort was might be considered grandstanding by some, but he didn't have the time to waste. His squad was going to catch this man, they would catch him as a team, and a solid place in the Legions would be assured.

Assuming they kept it together.

Right now, they were moving fast downstream. Everyone was getting tired, having been relentlessly on the move for over 36 hours. They were getting clumsy, which was why Denasi had the point. He couldn't afford to lose the condemned man again. At this rate, if they were lucky, they'd bring him down by sunset and win the standing wager.

Privately, he knew better.

Who was this man? Was this some kind of strange test-within-a-test? Perhaps the man was actually one of their Professors, making them sweat for breezing through the rest of the Hunt earlier. If that was the case, Denasi intended to see the Professor work very hard for it. He had his House's future to worry about, after all.

"Oh shit."

The words from one of his men brought his attention away from tracking every edge of the stream and surrounding trees. Looking straight ahead, he saw the creek had forked in two. That made it all the more critical that they pick the right fork this time, given how careful this man was being.

Of course, there was the small matter of Ragara Inaisa up on that stake there.

Somehow, their quarry had managed to not only defeat a fully-trained soldier of the House of Bells...he'd stripped her naked and strung her up on a wooden pole standing straight up out of the ground. A couple of the boys snickered but the rest and none of the women did. Good. His team was still able to think despite their fatigue.

"Who the fuck is this guy? How did he take Inaisa down? And...what the fuck is he trying to prove? Does he really WANT us to make his death slow and painful?"

"He's baiting us," Denasi said, quietly confident it was the truth. "He's trying to anger us. The madder we get, the more likely we are to make mistakes. It's the only edge a mortal has."

"Hey, who's there," Ragara Inaisa moaned weakly from the pole. She was a very pretty picture, arms bound above her and entirely on display. Not that she had much of a figure but, really, what House of Bells soldier did?

"It's just us," Denasi said, not bothering to conceal the aggravation in his voice. "Which way did he go?"

"Fuck if I know," she groaned. "Motherfucker hit my head with a rock. I'm still not seeing straight."

"Cut her down," he ordered. With aplomb, his men complied and she was down in moments. His fingers gripped her head, turned it this way and that. "You'll be fine. Probably a concussion though. Be glad you're an Exalt."

"Oh, Daana'd knows I am. Stupid cocksucker."

"Did he...," Denasi paused at the word, suddenly uncomfortable with the situation. They were all soldiers but they weren't that old, in the end. Even in the ever-practical Realm, you just didn't know how to deal with certain things until they happened. This was the first time the issue had ever come up for him.

"No," she said, wincing as she shook her head. "No, he just tied me up. I caught him by surprise on his way downstream. I think he was going to take this other fork but I surprised him. I was winning until I got mad and got too close. I knew he was the only one who could drown and I guess that made me cocky when we got into a tussle. Wasn't expecting him to try braining me on the fucking river bottom."

"He's certainly resourceful enough," Iselsi Denasi said grimly. "You always preferred your own company, Inaisa. That's fine if you want but you're welcome to join up with us. I could use someone good enough to catch this man once and we certainly have the numbers to make sure he doesn't pull any more tricks."

"Fine by me," she said, rubbing her head. "Let me get my things."

"He didn't take your gear?" Denasi said, surprised.

"No, he hid it over here, behind these bushes." She pushed the brush aside and pulled out her camouflage, followed by her sword and gear. "Shit, I spoke too soon. He took my food."

"I bet. Probably pretty hungry, from the way he's been moving. This will make it harder. He won't need to stop and reprovision now." Denasi looked down one fork, then the other, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"So which way?" asked one of his men.

"We go the other way," Denasi said. "Where she caught him going."

"He knows I saw him heading that way," Ragara Inaisa argued. "He'd be a fucking idiot if he did."

"Which is why he's going to do it," Denasi said, grinning out of respect in spite of himself. "He's played us for a day now, pulling one trick of misdirection after another. Oh, half of my team is going back down the first fork, back toward the House of Bells, but I'm going this way. I have his thinking down now."

"Who the fuck is this guy?" she muttered.

"I don't know," Denasi said, shouldering his pack and moving out, feeling his team flanking him. "But I think I'm going to ask before we kill him."

"You know they're going to catch you."

"Maybe they will, maybe they won't," Elated Fury said, shrugging as if he didn't care. He did but he'd be damned if he was going to show some plain peasant girl his fear. Besides, he was the one holding her at sword point.

It had been a close thing, he thought. The fork in the creek had gone on longer than he'd wanted to, even though he started running again after a point. There was no doubt that he was the only one left and the possibility of another band of Exalts flanking him had gnawed on his mind but, if so, they weren't showing themselves. No, they were probably following his trail or blindly wandering the woods, hoping to come across a sign.

Elated Fury had sprinted down the side of the river bank, aware that the band behind would start catching up to him once they realized he was running again. They had armor but they were Dragon-Blooded, the Princes of the Earth, and he was really starting to feel his mortality now.

Then, he'd hit the road. It'd been risky to take it but Elated Fury hadn't had many options at that point. His best chance at the time had been to make it to one of the two villages in the school grounds and try to lose his trackers there.

It was night time by the point he'd finally found one. Unfortunately, a glance behind had been enough to note a band far in the distance, running for all they were worth. He'd only had an hour, maybe half an hour, before they caught up to him in town. Hopping into that farmer's cart heading home after a late market had been a stroke of luck. Unnoticed over the ring of the horse's hooves, Elated Fury had settled beneath a blanket and caught a little more sleep, desperately weary of the race.

"Do you really think you'll make it to the walls?" the peasant girl asked. She sounded vaguely curious, not at all sympathetic to his plight, and not very worried about what he might do to her. Her spirit made him grin. She hadn't even flinched when she'd caught him on her cart, nor when he'd drawn his sword and threatened her life.

Elated Fury looked up at the sky and marked the cresting sun. Third day of the Hunt. Either the Dragon-Blooded had exhausted themselves tearing the village apart for him or they'd wisely caught some sleep. Either way, he knew he'd lost them for the moment and had a lead on them again.

"I know I will," he said confidently. "Even if you hadn't caught me sleeping and I'd gone on foot, I would. Now...well, the cart's making good time."

"You've got a lot more determination than everyone else on this fucking island," she said diffidently, slapping the reins against the four horses to encourage their pace. "You ever think about leaving?"

"Do you?" Elated Fury retorted, laughing at the shocking condescension toward the Blessed Isle in her voice. He'd never met a peasant who thought so little of their homeland.

"Oh, now and then. It's a big world."

"It is," Elated Fury said, nodding agreeably. "And maybe I will. But not yet. Once I'm out of here, its back to the Imperial City for me. I have things to do. I worked hard to get where I am and no one, Black-Helm or Exalted soldier, is going to take what's mine away."

"Ooooh, scary," she said mockingly. "What could you have that's so important?"

"You're a fucking peasant," he answered, a little nettled despite himself. "But maybe you can understand. Your family works a plot of land, doesn't it? Don't you feel some satisfaction, knowing that your food grows because of you? Don't you take pride in what's yours, in seeing the work of your own hands?"

"Sure," she said, not sounding like she really cared.

"I'm a smuggler," he answered. When she glanced back to smirk at him, his cold eyes were already ice-hard, his expression as serious as it ever got. "I run my own ring, getting weapons and drugs in and out of the Imperial City. I have clients I always deliver for and employees I trust. I see that people get what they want and I know I'm the one who did it. There's a dozen families who might have starved to death by now but they're happy. Why? Because a family member works for me and I take care of my own."

"Such pride in something so petty," she snickered.

"I take pride in what's mine," Elated Fury insisted. "My business is mine. Those men are mine. A magistrate got lucky and here I am, that's all. But once I get back, I'll settle up and its business as usual, girl. I survived the fucking Legions in the Vengeful Harvest Rebellion. I survived the Guild and the Imperial City's Black Market. I made my own business and I defend it from any who try to break it down. Can you say you've ever done shit like that?"

"You'd be surprised at the shit I've done," she said.

The young girl was decidedly strange, he thought. Black-skinned, where the Scarlet Dynasty was known for its pallor, she didn't look local but she certainly dressed like it. Her arms were swathed beneath heavy robes but they were bound and moved in the kind of way he'd seen cripples move. Someone had broken her arms to near-uselessness once, maybe to break her. It hadn't worked.

Elated Fury couldn't call her pretty but there was a certain appeal in her clear eyes, in the no-nonsense determination she exuded. She was too iron-willed for a peasant cripple. Maybe she was a Professor, maybe not, but he wasn't taking his sword off her for a second.

"You ready to run again?" she asked. "They're going to be on you pretty soon."

"I'm always ready to run...or fight," Elated Fury said with a savage smile. "What's your name, girl?" For it occurred to him that he'd had her at his mercy for half a day now and he still didn't know who she was.

"Call me Secret," she answered, chuckling as if it were something funny.

"Secret, that's rich," he chuckled. "So, got any secret to share?"

"Sure. You're going to get an arrow in the back in a second."

"What? What are you...argh, fuck!"

The back of his shoulder blossomed in agony and he staggered with the impact of the arrow. Someone had shot him! Elated Fury kept his sword on Secret, where it belonged, but he looked back. Sure enough, way back there, that band of Dragon-Blooded were coming after him.

How the fuck had one managed to get an arrow this far? So they didn't have too much pride after all! No mortal could have fired an arrow from that range and hit him with any significant force.

"Fucking cowards," Elated Fury hissed through teeth clenched around the pain. "Children. They couldn't beat me fair and square so they had to cheat with fucking Charms. Well, I'm not done yet!"

"Then you'd better do something," Secret said, smirking at him again. He wanted to punch that little smile off her face but he was better than that.

"I am."

Elated Fury shoved her forward, off the driver's bench. She fell across the back of one of the four horses and had the good sense not to unsettle herself. He hopped after her, landing on the central shaft between the horses. Raising his sword, he cut the horses free from the cart with a single mighty blow, cleaving the wooden shaft in two.

"C'mon, these aren't mine!" Secret protested, awkwardly rolling until she was on her stomach, then up and sitting across a horse's back. "Everyone around here's a fucking peasant. Do you think anyone can afford horses like these? They belong to the House of Bells and they're going to kill you if you get them hurt!"

"You've mistaken me for someone who gives a fuck."

Elated Fury balanced on the rocking shaft, bounced up onto another horse and took up the horse's reins, trimming them with a small cut. Another slice and the horse was free of the shaft. One more and so was Secret's horse. Snaring her horse's reins in one hand, keeping the sword in his other, maneuvering his mount with his knees alone, Elated Fury whooped and they picked up more speed.

"Hey...Elated Fury!" she called out to him from behind.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"You've got something on your back."

"Shut the fuck up," he snapped. But he couldn't help laughing. It hurt but pain had always kept him alive. He could worry about it once he was over those stone walls.

Speaking of stone walls...yes, that's what that was in the distance!

"I'm going to make it!" he roared, at the girl, at the Dragon-Blooded, at the world. "No Hunt, no Exalt, nothing is going to bring me to the ground."

Over his exultation, Elated Fury was almost too late in noticing the arrow that streaked in at him...from ahead of him. He jerked to the side, the wooden bolt narrowly missing him. Then, he heard Secret's horse scream behind him and suddenly he was pulled backwards right off his horse.

Elated Fury hit the ground and was unable to do a fucking thing when her horse, shot by the arrow meant for him, rolled right over him.

"Shit!" he groaned, as the horse thankfully kept going. He might have a broken rib now and the arrow in his back had been driven deeper, though at least the exterior shaft had broken off in that tumble. It'd make it a bitch to pull out later but for now it wouldn't get in his way.

"Well, that was fun," Secret growled, crawling up next to him. She moved a little stiffly and her arms clearly couldn't support her weight so she inched up using her feet and knees alone. "Someone's going to pay for that fucking horse."

"You know what, bitch..." Elated Fury bit off whatever he would have said next. He had bigger problems, like the three Dragon-Blooded coming his way from ahead. He glanced down at the sword still in his grip. Not much hope against three Exalts. But he wasn't going to lie here and die, either.

"Give up yet?" she asked, grinning as if this was a perfect afternoon, as if the horse she'd been complaining about didn't matter after all. Women.

"Fuck no," he groaned, shoving himself back onto his feet. Oh yes, broken rib. Arrow in the back. Body exhausted from three days of pursuit. One problem at a time.

"Are you seriously that fucking stubborn?" Secret asked, a peculiar hope gleaming in her eyes. Was that hope or something else? Elated Fury rubbed his own eyes, wondering. For a moment, he'd thought her eyes were glowing.

"Three in the front, five in the back and just me," Elated Fury said, pointing out the advancing Dragon-Blooded. Yeah, they weren't in a hurry anymore. No more arrows either, it was personal enough that someone wanted to gut him up close. "Tell you a secret, Secret. If the entire fucking School of Bells was out here, I'd still go down fighting. If I go down at all. You see, I don't intend to die."

It was desperate bravado at this point but he could do nothing else. Deep down inside, Elated Fury was a survivor. It was simply impossible for him to quit. That drive had gotten him through the sword through his stomach in the Vengeful Harvest Rebellion, through the poison and beating the Black Market had given him when they'd left him for dead. That drive had made him rise when all others failed.

Even now, pinned by advancing Dragon-Blooded, Elated Fury swung his sword up and jauntily waved it at them.

"Come and get me, you fucking snake-bloods!"

"I can help you," Secret whispered in his ear.

"You can help me by staying the fuck down. You're not their quarry, I am."

"You've got more heart than anyone on this whole shitty island," Secret insisted. "I want to help you. Just say yes."

"What?" Elated Fury asked, annoyed at her distraction. He had five minutes, no more, before they got him. He hoped he took at least one with him.

"Do you fucking want to survive?" she growled at him, gripping him by the front of his torn tunic and shaking him.

"Don't lose it now, girl," he snapped. "There's no way you can get me out of this."

"Just say yes," Secret repeated. "Do you want to survive?"

"Fuck yeah," he said, looking her right in the eyes. So there was no mistaking the sudden light that welled up from inside of her black orbs.

"You'll have your chance then, Elated Fury. As one of My Chosen. Most of My Children are barbarians, rangers, survivors in lands all over Creation. Out of the whole of the Blessed Isle where Meru once stood, you are the only one I see with the right grit. You'll find kin out in the wilds of the world, if you ever want to seek them out, but I have a feeling you like it here, don't you? You've even staked out your own territory."

"Who the fuck are you?" he asked, backing up slightly at the radiant but pale light that fell from her like fog. A quick glance at the advancing Dragon-Blood students showed no change in their behavior. Did they not see this? Or had he already lost enough blood to start seeing things?

Funny. Elated Fury took an experimental breath and realized that nasty arrowhead was only barely bothering him now. Even his rib was tolerable enough to run on, if he had to.

"I know, it's the daylight appearance," she chuckled and shrugged nonchalantly, her crippled arms not quite swaying correctly. "Who am I? To some of My Children, I am Mother, to others Sister, to yet others Wife. Sometimes I'm Father, Brother and Husband too. Who am I to you?"

"You're fucking crazy is what you are," Elated Fury laughed. "But I must be crazy too."

"Of course you're fucking crazy," Secret said, laughing with him. "I don't choose ordinary people and you have enough courage to easily match a dozen obsessed men. Now, you've got the strength of a dozen too. And more. There's a lot to being one of My Children, Elated Fury, but I'm sure you'll manage. You've survived your life so far and that's fine for My purposes."

"Well, I've enjoyed this little sidetrip from reality but they're about on me so...I'll catch you later."

Secret giggled and wrapped her arms around his free hand, pulled him toward her and kissed him just beneath the ear. The touch burned suddenly, a sizzling heat that broke sweat from his forehead. Then she released him and took a step back.

"Make Me proud, Elated Fury. Get the fuck out of here, get your territory back and do whatever you damn well feel like. Who knows? If you're good enough, you might see Me in...three or four hundred years. Although from now on...I'll always be watching you. Now be a good little wolf, stay away from people with purple eyes, and put on a good show for Me!"

With one last giggle, she just faded away.

Elated Fury rubbed his eyes and looked around. Sure enough, she still wasn't there. It was just him and a dead horse. Oh, and the dozen Dragon-Blooded closing in, now close enough to throw a spear at, if he had one.

That was funny. She was gone but the pale white light was still all over the place. What was that about? Elated Fury looked around a moment before he realized it was coming from him.

"Oh fuck," he muttered. "I'm a fucking Anathema."

Then he looked up and saw the faces of the Exalted students. They were afraid. Every last one of them was terrified of even coming near him. Elated Fury suddenly laughed, a full echoing sound that rang across the fields they were in.

"Well, assholes, here I am. Come and get me!"

Elated Fury charged the three in the front. A small, still-rational part of his mind warned that, Anathema or not, he was still one man with a sword against three soldiers in full armor. He wouldn't stand a chance. Maybe he shouldn't have if not for the fear that broke them.

They closed ranks, moving adequately if stiffly to block his advance. Elated Fury felt a deep growl well rising out of his chest and he sprang cleanly over them. He hit the ground and rebounded right backwards, far more agilely than he'd ever done anything in his life. His left fist knocked one down, his right dented a second's helmet it, and he body-tackled the last.

They fell in a thrashing tangle of limbs and screams, only Elated Fury wasn't screaming, he was still laughing. The Dragon-Blooded, an Iselsi by the crest on his armor, tried to twist him around for a good grapple but Elated Fury could not be held. The punched Prince tried to roll over and join the fight but a swift kick knocked him back.

These were the best the Realm had? This was pathetic! Elated Fury tore at the Iselsi's armor. The desire began as the need to best this man and quickly changed into a cruel kind of predatory hunger, to kill one who had dogged his every step with such determination.

"He's a demon!" the man beneath him cried out, presumably to the other five Exalts running up to join the fight. "Flanking formation, box him in, he's mobile!"

Elated Fury wanted to rip the Iselsi's throat out with his mouth. Bloodlust pounded in his head, throbbing red in his eyes. He was tired, mad, and these men had hunted him. He couldn't let that slight pass.

Yet, inside of the fury, he was still the same man he'd always been. The need to survive pushed through the rage. He wasn't doing much to this Prince of the Earth, his companions were getting their wits, and they were about to be reinforced by five more. Demon or not, there was no way he could take that many no matter how good he felt.

With a frustrated growl, Elated Fury shoved off the downed soldier and sprinted for the low stone walls. Part of him wondered at his speed, at how freely he ran despite an arrowhead in his back, but there was no time for thought. Behind him, he could hear the hunters giving pursuit.

Ahead rose the wall. Once he was over that...well, he was an Anathema now. There was no reason to think these Dragon-Blooded would let him go now. On the other hand, they were only students. How stupid did you have to be to go after a demon on your own, off school grounds?

"I have him!"

The shout came ahead of him. Elated Fury's sharp eyes picked across the rubble of the field, across the weather-worn stone of the wall, and spotted the well-concealed Dragon-Blooded behind it. This one was off grounds and wearing lean jade armor without the student insignias, which meant he was probably a Professor.

Just what he needed.

Elated Fury shifted course away from the Dragon-Blooded. It didn't do much good. The Exalt rose, a swirl of thorns and vines manifested around him, and his palm spat a twenty-foot long spear of writhing shards of wood.

He threw himself down and the spear only tore the back of his shirt clean off. He'd have splinters but, all in all, not too bad. Only problem was the Dragon-Blooded students still chasing him.

The sword was still in his hand, Elated Fury realized as he rose and raced even faster. He couldn't afford to dodge again or the students would be right on him. But maybe he didn't have to.

Turning his head, he tracked the Professor just in time to see another blaze of thorns flash forth. Elated Fury ground his teeth and took the full force of the Charm. Thorns dug into his flesh, wicked wood lashed his skin away, but then the force was gone and he was still running. Bleeding but running.

Elated Fury hefted the sword in his hand, eyed the distance carefully and nodded to himself. He could do it. It was a gamble but Chance hadn't let him down yet. Though maybe he should start praying to Secret instead.

He grunted with the effort as he hurled the sword at the Professor. Spinning end over end, the blade sped right across the field. Just as the Dragon-Blood raised his hand for another Elemental Bolt...the sword slammed right through his palm. Elated Fury laughed at the Exalt as he grasped his impaled hand and fell backwards in surprise.

It was all he needed. He bunched his leg muscles and took the wall in a single bound. He hit the other side running and he didn't slow at all as he moved toward the copse of trees far across the field.

Instinct made him turn around. Elated Fury swore as he dived, narrowly avoiding yet another arrow in the back. His momentum rolled him across the ground and he was back up on his feet, with hardly a loss of speed.

Keeping an eye out, Elated Fury poured on the power, running for all he was worth. Unarmed, he stood no chance against the House of Bells and their students. But they didn't have a prayer of stopping him now, either.

One more arrow shot into the sky, arching high across the afternoon blue before descending in a perfect arc toward him. It was that Iselsi, that was the bowman. Should have killed him when he had the chance, Elated Fury thought.

Instead, he'd just have to show him up.

When the arrow came, falling with great speed despite the extremity of its range, Elated Fury snapped his hand out and caught the shaft. He raced up the small rising before the copse of trees and paused to look back. There on the wall, the students milled about the archer and the wounded teacher. Elated Fury lifted the arrow high in the air...and snapped it in two with one hand.

Free, he bounded into the woods, alive with a feeling of energy and hunger like he'd never known before. Secret had saved him, somehow. Was She a demon? Or were the old folk stories true, the ones about the Sun and Luna? It certainly wasn't sunlight that misted from him like ghostly fog but it certainly looked like the moon had last night.

Thoughts for another time. He had a long way to go to get home. And then...well, Anathema or not, he had a business to run, families to support, and a financial territory to protect. But if the Black-Helms actually got their hands on him again, they might find taking him prisoner for a Hunt much harder than it had been.