By Amber Michelle K.
myaru@etherealvoid.net

... Judas wasn't sure why he'd kept the girl alive. She had slowed their progress through the desert to a crawl, and to make up for her many deficiencies and the wounds he'd dealt her in Amenti, they were following the route they'd used to get /into/ Amenti. It was a deep crevice, once a riverbed, carved out of sandstone and dusted with ash and sand. Leftovers from the volcano at the southern tip of the continent were often blown north on the wind.

More importantly, there were still pockets of water accesible to one who knew where to look. He didn't need it /or/ her, but there they were, sheltering beneath an overhang of rock while she drank the tepid water with shaking hands.

Perhaps he was driving her too harshly. Maybe she would die if he kept up the pace.

"Finished yet?" he muttered. Of course not; she was still slurping greedily, the ferret with her, and didn't bother to answer his question. Ingrates.

He sighed, rolling his eyes, and let his gaze wander over the edge of the opposite wall. Nothing made itself known. Puffs of sand drifted over the edge, glittering. Heat waves set the air shimmering, rising from the rocks. Even the ring he wore couldn't protect him from the stifling heat. Lawfer would have been miserable in that armor of his.

Lawfer would have tasted rather good around now. Judas glanced at the girl, and she chose that moment to look up. Sweaty and sunburned, Raeger was a pathetic sight to behold.

"Need a bite?" she asked, an edge to her voice. The ferret hissed at him.

Judas snorted and turned his face away. "A poor attempt at humor."

He couldn't tell what her response was, but he heard her drop to the ground, and then an indignant squack from the ferret - she had nearly flattened him, Judas presumed, and thought it a shame the little rat got away.

Hindsight was such a kicker. Thinking about it now, he really shouldn't have killed Lawfer. A little more pain would have made the knight more pliable, and that damnable valkyrie would have left them alone. Judas knew he was powerful, but not at all strong enough to draw the attention of the gods by himself. Yet.

"Why did you kill him?" Raeger asked for the tenth time, her voice thickening ominously.

More tears? Judas twisted his mouth into a smile. "Why indeed..."