Chapter 5 #4
I hadn’t meant to bombard him with so many questions nor to come at him in such an aggressive manner. But the disappointment that he might in fact share some of the big flaws often linked to performing artists’ lifestyle hit me hard.
“No, I’m not a drug addict,” he said in a clipped tone, his face hardening.
Yeah, right. That’s exactly what a junkie would say.
Although I kept that less-than-charitable thought to myself, I didn’t let go.
“What is it then? And why are you taking it?” I challenged.
He clicked his beak with annoyance and cast an almost murderous glance towards the university. What the fuck was his problem with the school? None of his behavior made sense, and my own aggravation at him refusing to give me clear answers kept growing.
“What is it?” I repeated more forcefully.
Kayog snapped his head back towards me, this time, an angry expression settled on his face. To my shock, his sclera appeared to be bloodshot. He didn’t say a word, his gaze leveled on me, his hands fisted as if he was struggling to rein himself in.
I took a deep breath, berating myself for handling this whole thing so poorly. Antagonizing someone struggling with substance abuse was the best way to drive them away.
“Please, just talk to me, Kayog,” I said in a soft and appeasing tone.
“I should go,” he said sharply, putting the empty wrappers from his meal back into the bag.
“No, wait!” I exclaimed, panicked. “Look, there’s no shame in dealing with addiction, especially considering the rough upbringing you had. There are plenty of programs that—”
“I’M NOT A FUCKING ADDICT!” he shouted.
I recoiled and stared at him in shock. Despite his visible anger, I didn’t fear he would harm me, but my heart broke that he should be in such denial. You couldn’t help someone who refused to acknowledge they had a problem to begin with.
He snorted and gave me a disgusted look that cut deep.
“You know, Linsea, you’re cute, but you’re pretty fucking judgmental. You don’t know me.”
“I don’t, but I’m trying to,” I said in a soft voice.
“It seems clear now that you shouldn’t,” he snarled.
“But—”
“ENOUGH!!” Kayog yelled, slamming his fist so hard on the wooden surface of the table that it cracked.
I gasped, my heart nearly leaping out of my chest. This sudden violence hadn’t been aimed at me.
Kayog was staring at the school with murder in his eyes.
My blood turned to ice when they appeared to glow.
A Temern’s eyes should never glow. Then, with an angry growl, he jumped onto the bench before taking flight.
I sat there, frozen in shock as he dashed away like a vengeful god on a mission.
Then suddenly snapping out of my daze, I absentmindedly grabbed our empty bags and flew after Kayog to figure out what might have prompted this irrational reaction.
He appeared to have been infuriated by something or someone.
But we were much too far from anyone for him to have perceived their emotions, let alone for them to anger him this much.
At a glance, I hadn’t noticed any earbuds or other communication devices from which he could have received some sort of message.
Although he likely had a translation implant—like most people part of an advanced species—those devices couldn’t be used for remote communication. So what in the world just happened?
He did say that he was crazy...
Was Kayog hearing voices? Could he be having some sort of psychotic episode?
There were a great number of non-medicinal or natural substances that were known to help people dealing with mental issues caused by chemical imbalances.
Kayog claimed the pill he popped wasn’t medicine, but that for him, it acted as such. Could that be it?
Any further speculation faded from my mind when Kayog didn’t go for the main entrance but darted instead towards a secluded part of the gardens lining one of the eastern buildings of the campus.
A few people noticed him. Their emotions loudly broadcast their curiosity as they started moving in the direction he was heading.
I could only presume that his facial expression alerted them to the fact that something fishy was happening.
To my dismay, the students’ confused curiosity quickly shifted to a mix of anger from some, and morbid excitement for others.
Whatever the cause, it couldn’t be good.
Sadly, from this angle, I couldn’t see whatever lay around the corner of the large building.
Kayog vanished behind the wall as he swerved right, and a loud, angry shout reached me, but I couldn’t make out the words.
The scene finally appeared in my line of sight just as Kayog landed in front of a group of three human males. It took me barely a second to understand what had been happening when I spotted a terrified Nazhral female pressing her back against the wall.
How in the world did he feel this all the way from the gazebo?!
“Hey, mind your own fucking business!” a man with short black hair shouted, advancing menacingly towards Kayog.
Not wasting his breath on the fool, Kayog grabbed him by the collar and flung him like a ragdoll across the lawn with mind-boggling strength.
The dark-haired man flew at least ten meters before landing hard on his back.
Lucky for him, it was grass and not the hard pavement that graced the front entrance and terraces around the campus.
But that still appeared to knock the wind out of him.
The two other men—one blond, one with dark brown hair and a scar on his forehead—stood together in front of Kayog.
“Leave, and don’t ever harass another person—let alone a female—ever again, if you know what’s good for you,” Kayog hissed.
“Stay out of it, Temern!” the blond male snarled. “That thieving bitch and her fucking people are the reason my family nearly went bankrupt.”
I landed at a safe distance away, countless other students gathering around to witness the altercation.
“Last warning!” Kayog repeated.
“Fuck you!” the scarred man shouted before charging forward.
He threw a meaty fist at Kayog, who easily dodged it.
I gasped when he immediately swiped his left wing at him, striking him hard enough to throw him onto the ground with a loud thud.
That was a very dangerous thing to do unless you fully mastered that kind of move as our wings were fairly fragile.
One blow at the wrong angle could dislocate it, break some of the bones, or damage our feathers in a way that would severely impede our ability to fly straight.
The scarred man groaned painfully even as he rolled to the side in a fetal position. Unlike his first buddy who had been tossed onto the grass, he hadn’t been so lucky, getting slammed instead on the hard stone pavers. I doubted he’d broken anything, but this couldn’t be pleasant.
The blond man emitted an enraged cry and also tried to throw a flurry of punches at Kayog.
Although he effortlessly dodged or blocked them, Kayog was growing increasingly furious at the human for not backing down.
In between two parries, he rammed the flat of his palm in a powerful blow against the man’s chest, who stumbled back, nearly falling on his ass.
In extremis, the blond man managed to remain standing by leaning against the back wall a couple of meters away.
An alarmed cry rose from the crowd as the first man with the short dark hair got back up and ran from the grass with an almost demented look on his face as if intending to tackle Kayog.
I shouted his name in panic when he just stood there, staring at the incoming attacker with a terrifying expression.
My mind froze when he raised his left palm, his much longer arm allowing him to reach his attacker long before the human could strike him.
Kayog covered the man’s face with his hand and shoved him back.
For some insane reason, I could have sworn his palm glowed.
It stopped the aggressor dead in his tracks, but carried by his momentum, his feet flew up, and he banged the back of his head on the hard pavement.
A horrified gasp rose from the crowd. Although no blood pooled around him, the man’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he remained still. My stomach roiled at the thought that the force of the impact might have broken his neck. But the female Nazhral screaming reclaimed all of our attention.
Realizing that things weren’t going his way, the idiotic human lunged for the female, likely intending to use her as a meat shield. But he never got to her. She ran even as Kayog rushed him.
“I SAID ENOUGH!” Kayog shouted in a booming voice.
He grabbed the human’s wrist, who tried to punch him in the throat.
Kayog dodged to the right, then backhanded him with such force it resonated like thunderclap.
Blood exploded at the corner of the man’s mouth.
His knees buckled, and he barely managed to remain standing.
With an almost feral roar, Kayog took flight, holding the human by his wrist.
“Kayog, no!” I whispered, even though I didn’t quite know what he intended to do.
A handful of people ran to the scarred man, who was thankfully coming to.
But I only had eyes for Kayog. My blood turned to ice as sudden understanding of his intentions dawned on me.
He flew a short distance to a tall, ancestral tree and soared to its summit, at least ten meters high, before letting go of the man’s wrist.
The poor human screamed, the sound quickly dying as he hit many of the countless thick branches on his way down, until he crashed heavily onto the ground.
Although the branches had slowed his fall enough to spare him guaranteed death, he’d nevertheless sustained some significant damage.
He curled on the ground moaning, his clothes torn and visible lacerations on his skin.
To my horror, Kayog landed in front of him, a murderous look on his face.
On instinct, I flew towards them, terrified of what might follow.
As I closed the distance, I heard the man begged Kayog through tears and pained moans not to hurt him anymore.
For half a beat, I feared I would be too late when Kayog’s claws extruded.
Without thinking, I landed in front of him, almost on top of the human, and placed my palms on his chest.
“Kayog, please don’t hurt him. It’s over!” I pleaded, my mind vaguely registering that I had dropped our bags at some point, probably after the fight had begun.
He rolled his neck before looking at me. A sense of dread washed over me as I gazed at his face. I could barely recognize him. His eyes were so bloodshot, red veins zigzagged his sclera like Tesla coils. In fact, he almost looked as if bloody tears were welling in his eyes.
I recoiled and subconsciously yanked my hands away from his chest as if its mere contact burned me. For the first time, I was truly scared of him. A wave of anger twisted his features. He stared at me with a hurt, sad, and almost betrayed look before soaring with one powerful flap of his wings.
Numb, scared, and confused, I watched him fly away while people around me rushed to the injured male.
What the fuck just happened?