The Blood Pact (Part 2)

Leonard was sitting on a bench with other warriors, preparing for battle. He was anxious, and he had to do a lot of pep talks in his head to not run away.

He hated violence, and after his experience with the war, he was sure he wanted no part of it. He hoped the job of the saintess’ personal guard would consist more of standing behind the door and waiting than the actual fighting. He was not expecting she will come up with this tournament and right after he joined.

Now, the first fight was about to begin, and he was panicking. Only Sanguis, lying on his knees, was vibrating, buzzing with energy. It was a sword, so it probably enjoyed fighting more than flying.

Deciding, there is nothing more to do, just to clench teeth and get on with it, he stood up from the bench.

The first round consisted of multiple duels at once, as many people wanted to compete. Now, around him, many groups of two were getting up and ready for the signal to start.

Leo looked at his opponent, praying to all the gods of this world. The man standing against him looked ruffled. Messy hair, long beard, strong arms. Many scars on his body proving his usefulness in fights. This man did not care for a sword, he held an axe in his hand.

Leonard knew who would be the winner. You will be able to slash quicker with the axe than with the broadsword.

The fight started.

The man with the axe roared like an animal, jumping at him, raising his weapon. Leonard moved his sword. The broadsword was heavy and long. Moving it was extremely hard. But now, it jumped into the air like a feather. Sanguis felt the blood in the air. It swished at Leonard's opponent, hacking away the axe along with his hand.

The man screamed, falling onto his knees. He clutched his wounded hand with another, trying to stop the bleeding. Leonard let go of bloody Sanguis, horrified. He was not expecting this will happen.

The wave of battle roars dissipated in the air, now only a single horrifying scream hanging in it.

Selena jumped out of her seat, seeing the result of the first round. She turned to Soren. He was staring at the man without a hand, his face pale. Leaving him there, speechless, she quickly moved through the people, onto the field, where the tournament happened.

“Bring me his hand!” she ordered.

Someone with enough bravery went to fulfill her orders. She stopped before the wounded man, ignoring Leonard. Man stopped screaming now, his mouth open, but quiet. A pool of blood was quickly growing under him. He was in shock now.

“Do not fear,” she said gently. “I will heal your hand.”

One of her priests stopped near her with the cutoff hand. She took it gently, attaching it to the open wound. She drew out the shock of the wounded man, using it to activate her powers. She closed her eyes, hiding the crimson glow in them. Once she opened them, the hand was back as if it had never been cut.

“Does it still hurt?” she asked gently.

The man looked at her, now aware of what had happened. He moved with his fingers, made a circle with his wrist. The hand was intact.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, Your Grace,” the man said, astonished. “I can move it just as before.”

“Praise the Moon Princess!” someone shouted.

“All hail our holy saintess!”

Selena turned around. Leonard was still there, his sword on the ground. The disbelief in his eyes was just too great. He clearly did not want to injure this man so much, and he was not believing his own eyes.

“You won the first round,” she told him. “I am looking forward to another round.”

She returned to her seat, next to Soren. The atmosphere changed now, once they saw the priestess heal such a grave injury. A poor man would end up without a job if she did not save his hand. Seeing, nothing could happen to them now, they were even more ferocious in the battle.

“Looks like you were mistaken,” Selena turned to Soren.

A flame of anger burned within him, slowly consuming him.

“Do you think he will be able to advance to the third round? After that one, we will be watching each duel one by one.”

Rousing his emotions once more, she could see the color go straight into his face and neck. He was red as a tomato now, steam ready to come out of his ears. But he controlled himself properly. Amused by him, Selena turned her attention back to the fights, with a hint of a smile on her lips.

Leonard picked up Sanguis again, now standing against another opponent of his. For the first time in his two lives, he could see a man standing before him, covering in fear. Witnessing how Leonard mercilessly cut off the hand of his previous opponent, this warrior was considering that he might lose more than just his honor.

Leo clutched Sanguis in his fingers.

“Don’t you dare to wreak havoc again! We are fighting because of the contest, not because we want to kill.”

“Too thirsty. More blood.”

“You can cut them and lick their blood. But don’t you dare injure them gravely. Don’t you dare kill any of them!”

Leonard was growing more nervous, not sure if he would be able to control his own weapon. Mira did say she needs to wield it more strictly, but how? How do you parent an old, cursed weapon?

“Only small cuts. No serious injuries. Got it?”

“Yes, master.”

The second round began. Then the third. Then the multitude of duels, being watched one by one. Soren was growing more impatient and angry. Selena looked at the last person standing at the end of the tournament.

Leonard was there, raising his broadsword into the air. People were celebrating his victory, and some were even throwing flowers at him. Seeing him getting flustered, she had to smile. Leo never liked being the center of attention. This was probably a nightmare for him. Not to mention that he hated fights and always avoided conflicts.

“Dears,” Selena stood up. “Since we have our winner now, I would like to appoint this person as the head of my personal guard. Let's celebrate the result of this tournament and with it, the victory in the war against Silgorod.”

People continued to cheer, and Selena let them enjoy this day freely. Turning to Soren, who was still angry, she decided to pour more oil into the flame.

“Soren.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“After this celebration ends, go to the winner of this tournament and show him around my tower. Let him meet the rest of the guards and tell them to prepare him. Once he is ready to take his new position, send him to me.”

“…”

“Soren? Is everything well?”

“Yes… Your Grace.”

“Great.”

“Then, on our next monthly mass at midnight, I will appoint you as the high priest of Lunaria.”

“Pardon?”

“If you are unhappy with my decision, you can always reject my offer. I will be returning to my tower now. The sun is still too strong for me, I prefer the soft moonlight more.”

Soren waited until the saintess left and then stood up. The celebrations were now moving to the square, with many market stalls open, musicians playing, and people quickly flocked to where it was most lively.

Leonard was now almost alone there, cleaning his sword. Other guards and priests were standing around awkwardly, not sure what to do with him. But Soren waved with his hand to shoo them away. They saw him sitting with the saintess the whole day, so they quickly understood.

“So you learned how to fight now?” Soren said, his voice dripping with poison. “You goddamn mutt!”

Leonard turned around, shocked. He recognized this voice immediately.

“Soren… I thought you were dead. I saw you fall with the banner.”

Leo was glad that he saw him. He really thought him dead. And he regretted deeply that the war was a fiasco because he was unable to fulfill the prophecy. But it looked like the pleasure was not mutual.

“You wish,” Soren spat.

“What are you doing here? Why are you not in Silgorod?”

“Glad that you are asking. I came here to finish your job.”

Seeing Soren will curse him until he dies, Leonard decided to change the tone, too. Soren was always pushy and controlling.

“And how do you plan to do that? By being the priest and damn your own Silgorod’s god? Seems like you are the deserter to me.”

“You!”

He thought Soren was going to explode.

“If you want to see how I can really fight, I don’t mind dueling you,” Sanguis said.

Leonard stopped. Did that just now sound like him, or was it just his imagination?

“Someone's gotten bold since the last time on the battlefield, where he was barely able to stand due to his weak knees,” Soren answered.

So it did come out of his mouth.

“I just came here because the saintess ordered me. I will bring you to the quarters, where her guards live. I swear to you, if you annoy me too much, I will just take a sword and cut you down. I should do that right after they summoned you. We wouldn’t end up in this mess.”

“Do it,” Sanguis said, but his words came from Leonard's mouth. “I will gladly take you on. I will drink your blood up to the last drop.”

Soren looked at him. “You are a madman.”

Turned around, fuming, Soren forgot about the orders and left Leonard there, standing alone. He was not used to Leonard replying to him with snarky comments, and something in his voice now sounded alien. He swore to himself, there would be a day when he would stab him.

Leonard was just standing there, dumbfounded. Either Sanguis was able to speak through him, or he was getting mad for real. He had to meet with Mira to confirm this, otherwise, this could end up badly.