Nerdy and the Beast

Liam didn’t like Emma being left alone with Natasha, but he hoped she had a plan and was using this opportunity to get the hell out of here. He was still trying to figure out a way to get the key for the ship, and how he was going to get it to Emma now that Kamon had them separated.

This is a fine barrel of pickles, he thought. He was tired of being prodded at with the tip of Kamon’s sword, his face hurt from Natasha’s blow, and he was worried about Emma, even if he was impressed by her show of quick thinking. They continued following the stream, and before long they could hear the rumble of a waterfall. Kamon shoved Liam forward when he began to lag.

“I don’t want you out of my sight,” he growled.

“I know you said I had a pretty face but this really seems like too much, Viper.”

“Shut your stupid mouth, Bardot.”

They came to the top of the waterfall, and despite the slightly disconcerting view of a wall of water plunging down into darkness, there wasn’t much to see. Kamon made an impatient noise, stalking forward. Liam leaned against the cave wall. Kamon whirled on him.

“That little bedtime snack of yours is playing us for fools,” he said.

“She doesn’t have to try very hard.”

Kamon’s eyes narrowed to fiery slits and he stalked forward, pointing his blade at Liam’s throat.

“Do you think this is a joke, Bardot? Because your life is on the line here. If she cheats us I will slit you open.”

“Again with the threats,” Liam sighed. “You and Natasha spend too much time together. If you wanted threats on my life to mean anything, maybe you should have waited until this was over to tell Emma that I’m worthless criminal trash. She has no reason to care if you kill me, which means my life isn’t much leverage for you. Realistically, you’d probably be doing her a favor.”

He saw a flicker of movement behind Kamon, in the shadows. He realized Emma must have followed them. He wondered how she’d gotten away from Natasha but that relief was short lived because there was still Kamon to deal with.

“Her own life is probably pretty precious to her,” Kamon said. “You think I won’t chop off her pretty head?”

The threat triggered a spark of intense rage in his chest. He smacked Kamon’s blade to the side and punched him square in the jaw. Kamon stumbled back, caught off guard. Liam grabbed him by the front of his shirt and spun him around to slam him against the wall.

“Let me be clear with you, Viper,” he said in a low voice. “You killed my brother. You took my sister. You turned me into someone I can’t even stand to look at. If you hurt Emma, it will be the last thing you ever do.”

Liam barely felt the sting of steel as Kamon slid a blade into his side. He’d dropped the sword when Liam hit him, but had had a small dagger hidden up his sleeve. Liam stepped back, pulling the blade free. Someone stepped forward and yanked the knife from his hand, while someone else got a grip on his shoulders so he couldn’t attack again. Kamon, never one to let a slight go, rammed a knee into his gut as he walked by.

“Someone go and fetch the girl,” Kamon ordered. “She’s still keeping secrets it would seem.”

“Hey…Viper? It looks like there’s some stairs over here, they go behind the falls.”

Kamon walked over to where the man was pointing. “Could lead to the treasure,” he remarked. “Or a steep drop.”

Liam’s eyes went wide as a figure leaped out of the shadows at Kamon, and he turned in time to block the worst of Emma’s attack. The blade of the small knife she was holding bit into his forearm but didn’t do enough damage to keep him from knocking her back.

“So, you want to play games?” Kamon gripped her wrist as she tried to stab at him again, squeezing until she had to drop the knife.

“Let her go,” Liam said, trying to break free of the iron grip on his shoulders.

“Maybe you’d like to see where these stairs go,” Kamon said, hauling Emma to her feet. “You’re such an intrepid little explorer, after all.”

“I’ll go,” Liam blurted. “Send me down.”

Kamon laughed. “Why not? It’s about time you made yourself useful. Let him go.”

Liam was released, and he made his way slowly to the stairs. Kamon stood behind Emma, his blade against her back.

“And don’t try anything funny,” he said. “Either of you.”

Liam kept his arm pressed against the wound in his left side, and pretended to stumble. He almost fell into Emma, sneakily slipping the key for the ship into her hand before he kept walking like nothing had happened. He’d managed to lift the key during his scuffle with Kamon. A man handed him a lantern as he began his descent. The carved stairs were slippery from the falls and Liam had to move carefully. He prayed that this really did lead to treasure and not a cliff or the yawning maw of a sea monster.

His feet touched flat ground again and he could see an opening in the cave wall to his right. He stepped inside cautiously, and his breath caught. The cavern was filled with jewels and coins and all manner of other glittering objects. He’d almost believed the treasure wasn’t even real.

“Still alive down there, Bardot?” Kamon’s mocking voice came floating down the steps.

“Too scared to come see for yourself?” Liam shouted back. “I found your fucking treasure.”

Liam glanced around, spotting a huge goblet covered in gems and sporting Cantaciran writing. He picked it up, then used it to scoop up several fistfuls of gems. He limped a little further into the chamber, finding a round gold pendant that also had Cantaciran writing; and a rather impressive ring that he knew had been stolen by Pierre Furieuse from a Ventalian ship carrying gifts sent to their queen. He stuffed that into the goblet too before footsteps sounded outside the cavern.

Everyone looked awed when they stepped inside; even Kamon’s mouth fell open slightly. He even let go of Emma and she scrambled away, though she glared daggers at him. She approached Liam, and he gestured to her bag.

“Here,” he said quietly, stuffing the goblet inside. “At least you know you won’t be leaving empty-handed.”

She looked like she wanted to say something but Liam couldn’t deal with her reprimands now. His priority was keeping her alive. Kamon had wandered up on a dais with an impressive gold statue on it; his back to them.

“We have to go,” he said, nodding back toward the stairs. Everyone was distracted by the treasure. “We have the key, and we need to get back to the ship.”

Emma nodded, then tensed as a strange and ominous sound echoed around the chamber. Then a piece of the floor opened, sending several men tumbling down before it sealed shut again.

“It’s booby trapped,” Liam breathed. “Of course. Of course the cave is booby trapped. Why the fuck wouldn’t it be?” He grabbed Emma’s hand and began towing her back to the stairs. The cave was filled with screams and more ominous noises as traps were triggered. Liam felt something whiz past his face and dragged Emma down into a crouch until the arrows stopped firing.

“I hate this place,” Liam muttered. When the arrows stopped he pulled Emma up again, ushering her up the stairs. The underground stream was spilling over, more water somehow being let in from somewhere. The thunder of the falls behind them grew louder.

“If we can make it back to where we came in, there’s a chance,” Liam gasped. Running was becoming difficult between the pull of the water rising around them and the ache in his side and ribs. He was starting to think Kamon might have broken a rib when he kicked him. It felt like an eternity but they finally reached the rope, and Emma looked up nervously.

“I don’t know if I can climb up,” she said.

“You can,” Liam told her. “Just hold on, and don’t forget to breathe as you go. We don’t have much time, Emma. Go.”

Maybe it was pure adrenaline but despite a slow pace, Emma finally reached the top and scrambled to safety. She peered down at Liam. He gripped the rope and started trying to climb. Each breath was becoming more and more painful. His strength was flagging. Then Emma called out and he felt more weight on the rope. He looked down to see a murderous Kamon following him up.

“Liam, hurry!”

But Liam had stopped climbing.

He knew he couldn’t make it up the rope and fight off Kamon. And Kamon would kill Emma, and likely Duncan too. Liam wasn’t going to let that happen. Kamon had taken enough. He knew what he had to do. Liam pulled the knife from his pocket while he stared up at Emma, who was watching him anxiously.

“If you can, please find Laure,” he said. “Tell her I’m sorry. I’m so sorry to both of you. And take care of Ivan for me?”

“Liam, what are you doing?”

Liam raised the knife to the rope, gaze locked on hers. “It wasn’t all a lie. I don’t deserve to, but I love you, Emma.”

Her eyes went wide as he sliced through the rope. “Liam!” she screamed. He tumbled back into darkness, taking Kamon with him. They hit water instead of stone, caught up in a swirl of water. Somehow there was a current dragging them back into the caverns instead of the water simply rising.

“You stupid bastard!” Kamon tried to claw toward him in the water. His face was a twisted mask of rage, and fear.

“Afraid to die, Kamon?” Liam actually laughed. “I thought snakes could swim.”

“You’re going to die down here too!”

“Yeah,” Liam replied. “Yeah I am. That’s okay. At least I get to die knowing you’re going to a watery grave. And you’re handling it a lot worse than I am.”

Kamon was thrashing in the water but Liam let the current carry him along. Maybe it was blood loss, or just the knowledge that he’d gotten Emma out; but he felt oddly calm as the water grew choppier and they neared the falls. He wished he could’ve said goodbye to Laure. And he would’ve liked to die without Emma hating him. But they’d both be okay now, and that was really all that mattered.

Kamon lunged at him with a roar, but Liam still had his blade in his hand. As Kamon tried to wrap his hands around Liam’s throat, Liam jammed the blade into his stomach, as far as it would go. Kamon actually looked surprised.

“That one was for Ivan,” Liam said, keeping a grip on Kamon as they were thrashed by water. He stabbed him again. “That’s for Laure, and for Emma. And this, is just because you deserve it.” He slid the blade in one more time and then shoved Kamon away from him. He slammed hard into the cave wall and then Liam was airborne, plummeting over the falls into darkness. He knew death was inevitable but his body insisted he hold his breath anyway. He was carried along by a swift current, barely able to even tell which way was up in the dark. His lungs screamed for air and then he was in the air again, dizzy and disoriented but now he was plunging into open ocean. The cave water let out in a hole in the cliffs, splashing down in a tidal wave. Liam slammed into a rock on his way down, and the pain sent a jolt through him.

He was underwater again, barely even able to raise his head above the surface to try and take a gulp of air. He began to wonder exactly how long it took to drown. After several chaotic minutes, the waves brought him up onto a sandy shore. Liam gagged up salt water, then collapsed onto his back. Every bone and muscle in his body ached, and his strength was finally spent. He lay where he was, unable to move anymore. Water lapped softly around him as he gazed up at the sky. Dying didn’t sound too bad in that moment, since his entire being felt like it had been raked over hot coals.

Well, he thought. At least I finally got to have an adventure. You could say the adventure of a lifetime. He managed a weak laugh. Then the world went black.