"Does Kolo have a hole in her memory?"

Channei's eyebrows rose. A strange question, she thought, but Haode had her attention now. "A hole in her memory?" She didn't know how much was too much to say. "I don't know what you mean."

Haode tensed up. "Just that. Does she seem to be missing something?"

She shrugged. "What does it matter to you?"

He glowered. "It's in your best interest – and hers – to answer me truthfully."

The shapeshifter crossed her legs. "And I will. But first, I want you to answer me truthfully. I need some help understanding your...predicament."

Haode kicked her in the side. "You think you have the right to make demands of me?"

Channei grunted with the blow, then grabbed his foot. "It's not a demand. It's a request. I think it's in everyone's best interests that we be transparent. Sit down for a moment, would you?"

She jerked his leg out from under him so he fell to the ground. He sat disoriented for a second. Violent tremors ripped through his wasted muscles. One wall creaked and his head snapped in that direction.

"How long has this been going on?" she asked. "How'd it start?"

"It's been ages," he said. "I lost count after the first few months. It started when I came down with a fever that nearly killed me. When it passed, my power stopped working right."

"All right. Thank you." Channei lowered her voice. "Now, to answer your question, Kolo does have a hole in her memory."

"Grinner is probably to blame for that." Haode sounded exhausted. "Once I see her, it should be clearer." His eyes rolled with fatigue. "I need her..."

"Are you sure about that?" Channei scooted closer to him. "Are you sure she can end your ordeal?"

Haode pulled his knees in toward his chest. "I don't know how else it could end."

She reached out and put her hands on his arm. He flinched but didn't immediately recoil. Channei sighed. "I could end it for you."

His eyes widened and he stared at her, but still didn't move.

Channei patted his arm. "I'll do it quick. You won't suffer, I promise."

A tear slid down his cheek. Channei couldn't tell whether his silence was acceptance, or he was so frozen up with fear that he couldn't respond. Likely the latter.

She slipped the shoddily-tied rope off her wrists and placed her hands on his shoulders. He recoiled from her touch and fell backwards, hitting his head on the floor. Haode tried to get back up, but the blow to his head and days without sleep kept him down. Watching his struggle, Channei wished now more than ever that she had Master Xigon's power. She had always envied the way he could calm panic and ease pain.

"Rest a while," she told him. "You clearly need it."

Haode eventually lay still, his eyes half-open, not quite asleep but not entirely awake either. Quietly, Channei bent over him and searched him for a weapon. She found a dagger on his belt, but its edges were dull. No good. She put it back.

Channei glanced over at the closet. She knew Ido had her weapons, but it wasn't as if she could simply ask for them back. Taking them back by force wouldn't be easy either.

She stood up and stretched. With the door snapped off its hinges, the cabin was freezing hell. Maybe, if fortune favored anyone, Haode would simply freeze to death. The thought made her half-laugh and half-sob. There was nothing right about this whole mess, Channei thought. There were certain people she would delight in tearing limb from limb and splatter-painting the icy hellscape with their blood. She had also met people she had wanted to pull into her arms and heal their deepest hurts. Never, until now, had she met someone who fell into both categories.

"Channei?"

Haode's voice was a dull croak. It took Channei a moment to realize he had spoken and not made pointless noise. Though, she supposed, anything that came out of that man's mouth was pointless noise.

Channei crouched next to him. "What?"

What he said next sounded more like a scared child than a dangerous enemy. "Please don't kill me."

Channei took a deep breath. She didn't know whether to comfort him or to taunt him. All she managed was a half-hearted jab. "I've changed my mind. You're not worth another scar."

He wasn't even awake to respond.

Channei retreated into the corner most sheltered from the cold drafts, sat down, pulled her knees into her chest, and wept silently until she fell back asleep.

As it turned out, fortune favored no one. It wasn't even morning when Haode woke Channei with a kick in the ribs. She looked up, bleary-eyed and sore in places she never knew existed.

Haode glared down at her. "Get up, Styzian filth."

Channei stood up and stretched until her back cracked. "What's your big hurry?"

"We're going to get Kolo back from those devils' clutches." He spoke with a confidence that sounded very much unlike him. "Maybe we can also find out how she survived the Grinner. Maybe..." A strange half-smile tugged at his lips. "If she could survive, so can I."

She shrugged. "Sure."

Ido spoke up from the other side of the room. "I'll go and get the horses ready, boss."

"All right." Right after Ido left, Haode looked down over his shoulder. "Dakko, you go too."

Channei looked down and saw that Dakko was crawling on his hands and knees. His joints made a cracking sound with each strained movement. The boy's skin was so pale it almost looked translucent.

"Dakko, I said to go with your brother." Haode's tone grew more impatient.

Dakko stopped crawling. "I can't, boss."

"Yes, you can." Haode bent down and yanked the teen roughly to his feet. "Walk like you're supposed to. Go on."

Dakko crumpled as soon as Haode let go of him. Channei rushed forward and caught the boy. His body was so cold to the touch that it nearly burned. She tried to bring him down gently, but Haode grabbed her by the collar of her coat and tore her away from Dakko.

The older man growled at her like a starved wolf. "You keep your vile hands off my boys, you bloodthirsty cur." Then he pushed her backwards. She hit the wall so hard it knocked the air from her lungs.

Channei caught her breath and shook her head. "Hypocrite."

Haode didn't hear her. He didn't even acknowledge her. Dakko, however, looked up and gave her a nod. Almost a half-hearted thank you.

Haode did notice that. He crouched down and snarled at Dakko. "Need I remind you that she is our enemy?"

"I don't think she's so bad," said Dakko. "I mean, maybe her masters are, but she can't be that evil if she hasn't hurt us yet."

Channei cringed. With every word, the boy was digging his own grave deeper and she knew it.

Haode's eyes darted wildly, searching for threats where none existed. "She threatened to kill me last night."

She corrected him. "I offered."

He ignored her. "Don't trust her for one second, Dakko. Now get up and walk."

Dakko tried to stand up again. The moment he put weight on his feet, his legs buckled, and he fell back down.

That time, however, Haode caught the teen and held him like he was a small child. "Do you know what Styzia does to the weak ones, Dakko? The ones who can't keep up?"

Channei took a step closer. "What do you think you're doing?"

Haode laughed bitterly. "Channei, you're a Kai'rei. You've been through a second ascension." He gave her a twisted sideways smirk. "If you think Channei's so great, Dakko, why don't we try what her masters did to her?"

"You've got it all wrong." Channei grabbed Haode's shoulder. "It can only be done safely to someone both strong and willing. Dakko is neither. You're going to kill him, Haode."

Dakko's eyes were wide, and his eyelashes were crusted with ice. His tears were freezing before they could fall. He tried to roll from Haode's grip, but the older man slapped Channei away and slammed Dakko to the floor. "He won't die." Haode's tone made her skin crawl. He drew his knife. "Not if he's worth anything, that is."

"Hey boss?" Ido's voice interrupted them. "The horses got out and I...what the hell?!"

Haode brought the knife down with savage force and rammed it through Dakko's neck.

All of them screamed at once. Ido's arms twitched as his breathing grew faster and faster. A spiderweb of electricity pulsed under his skin. As if yanked by an unseen chain, Channei threw herself over Dakko right as the cabin exploded.

[17] Channei: A Whimper and a Bang

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