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[Kai]

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Kai

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Chapter 3

Kai swung down from the roof, slipping into the window of the dark house. The small room she landed in had a dirt floor, and was dimly lit by a solitary candle in the corner of the room. Most of the flickering light was blocked out by the huge figure sitting at the desk. Kai heard the fervent scratching of the pen against parchment.

Her gaze traveled over the room, taking in the desk, the large bed, the trunks with her Master’s belongings. Finally her gaze travelled to the cage resting in one corner. The metal bars were rusted. A dirty blanket covered the floor. He would make her sleep there tonight, when he learned that she had failed.

Kai huddled in the corner just under the window. She dug her bare toes into the dirt floor, hoping that maybe if she stayed here and stayed quiet the monster that owned her wouldn’t notice her. The girl began to fidget, crossing her arms over her bare legs, scratching at a scab on the pale skin of her shin. The bruises from her tussle with the pale man were beginning to manifest. She became lost in the tiny movements, sitting there in the corner, when the scratching of the pen stopped.

Her multicoloured eyes darted to the hulking figure sitting at the desk. He was silhouetted in the candlelight, but Kai knew that he was aware of her presence now. He turned to pick her out in the darkness.

“Kai, sweetling. I’m so glad you’ve returned. And unharmed! Great news. The Atalan is dead, then! He must be, if you’re here“ He stood and made his way toward her. Kai stared into his dark, cruel eyes. She could see the lash hanging from his belt. His enormous girth swayed to and fro as he lumbered toward her.

“…And without a scratch on you!” His eyes roved over her body, and Kai huddled even further into the darkness.

“M-Master. The At-talan was s-s-so strong!” Kai didn’t even have time to close her eyes before the blow struck her face. The tiny girl sailed across the room, crashing in a heap against the opposite wall. For such a huge man, he could move quickly when he wanted to. His fingers closed around her throat and soon she was hanging from his grasp. Survival instinct still intact, Kai braced her feet against his chest and pushed back. She tore at his skin with her nails. His grip tightened and Kai blacked out.

She woke minutes later to find herself in the spot where her master had dropped her. Kai stayed as still as she could, hoping he would not realize she was awake. She should never have come back. Kai could have run, could have made it a few weeks free of him, even if he would find her and kill her at the end of that blissful time.

“I realize that my temper may have escaped me, child. So please, tell me that the Atalan is dead and perhaps I will forgive you for keeping the news from me.” She could hear his voice, but was unsure where he was in the room. Kai tried to shrink, to get as small as possible. But it was to no avail. Her master’s fingers hooked around her biceps and dragged her into a sitting position.

“Kai, you begin to anger me. Tell me how he died before I put you into the ground.”

Kai hesitated, and the longer she took, the tighter his grip on her arms became. She felt as though he would break her bones. He had, many times before. Only to beat her some more for the expenses incurred to heal her. She was constantly covered in bruises that were neatly concealed by the clothes she wore, and the wrappings around her hands and feet.

“I f-f-fail-” He tossed her across the room. The unfortunate chair that she landed on splintered. Kai hit the floor and rolled into a crouch, prepared to defend herself. She was unsure what exactly about today was different than any other. Why would she choose to defend herself today? Perhaps it was because she was newly made aware of a threat more menacing than this man.

“Kai, you tempt me. You have not been earning your place around here for a long while now. Soon I may have to make you earn it in other less desirable ways. Similar to how your mother earned HER coin. With grunting riff raff between her thighs!” Her master’s face was purple with rage. Spittle frothed from his mouth as he screamed at her. “You’re worthless! I’ve less use for you than the flea bitten mongrels that beg and die and in the street! You’ve failed me for the last time!”
His fat hand went to the lash at his belt, dragging it out and lifting it into the air. His eyes blazed, but Kai was unafraid. She slipped the small knife from the wrappings at her ankle and palmed it, blade down at her side. She waited for him to advance.

The lash snapped in the air as he made toward her. As he began to bring his arm down toward her, Kai rolled forward and slipped between his legs. She gathered her feet beneath her and leapt upward and onto his back. The knife held firmly in her grasp, Kai brought it down to the vulnerable spot between his neck and shoulder. The knife was small, and a small trickle of blood formed at the puncture spot.

Her master howled and swung the lash back at her. His weight hindered him here, he couldn’t bring his arm around far enough to get at her. Kai rode upon his back, holding on as he failed. He would tire soon, and Kai could hang on all night.

Her assessment came true and the fat man faltered, crashing into the desk that held the candle. The light rolled and dropped to the floor, landing in a pile of rushes in the corner of the room. The light blazed, and Kai decided to end this. She braced herself and held the knife aloft.

Kai inhaled and drove the knife down again. Over and over.

The peal of her laughter mixed in with the horrible gurgling screams of the man beneath her knees. She kept a steady rhythm, slamming the small blade into his flesh, cutting through the skin, fat, and muscle. Blood splattered her face and chest. She could taste the delicious metallic flavour on her tongue. Kai licked her lips and kept on stabbing. The size of the knife made the job take quite a while, giving her the time to relish the kill.

The strength went out of the man’s knees and he began to drop. His weight brought him down quickly and Kai went right along with him. She landed on his back and began to giggle. A pool of blood began to form around the torn up flesh of her ‘master’s’ neck.

But it was getting warm in here. Kai pried the lash from the dead mans fingers. She must be quick. Flames were already licking up the sides of the house, smoke was billowing from the open window. She went to the small trunk where her meagre belongings were gathered, flung open the lid and grabbed the clean wrappings and tunic she kept there. The tunic was much too big for her, so she went back to the dead man. The belt was thick and much longer than she possibly could have needed. She took the small knife and quickly sawed through the leather. Kai planted her feet and hauled on the belt. It wouldn’t budge. She dropped the belt and began to push on the corpse. He rolled over, exposing the belt enough for her to drag the belt out from under him.

Kai stuffed her stolen belongings in a small satchel and turned to survey the room. He would never make her sleep in that filthy place again.

As she climbed through the window she looked back. The flickering light glimmered off of the gold coins sitting on the table. Her master had been counting his earnings from the day. Kai jumped back into the room, grabbed the leather coin purse at the dead man`s hip and shoved a few handfuls of coin into it. She dropped it into the satchel and slipped out the window.