Dynasty

Korrin had been distracted, and who wouldn't be? He had turned to face the threat, but he hadn't been quick enough. Between the amount of alcohol he'd consumed and his infatuation with this woman, he hadn't been paying enough attention.

The fist had caught him like a rock in the side of the face, just under his left eye. Stars flashed, but at least the other man had missed his nose and eye proper.

The woman screamed something that sounded like, "Zach!" but Korrin wasn't paying much attention. He had stumbled back against the bar, knocking glasses aside. They shattered as they fell, splashing everyone with half-finished drinks.

The man swung again, but this time, Korrin was ready. He raised his left arm, blocked the punch, and grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck. He yanked the man toward him, bringing his forehead forward, and slammed it against the man's face. Blood exploded everywhere as Korrin dropped the man to the floor. He screamed in pain, clutching his broken nose.

Korrin shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and looked to the left. There was someone's half-finished beer on the bar, somehow untouched when he'd fallen backward. He grabbed it, chugged it down, and slammed the glass onto the bar.

Turning to the woman next to him, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Look out!" she yelled, and Korrin looked forward. The man—Zach—had an empty beer bottle upside down in his hand, and he was swinging it at Korrin. Korrin darted to the side, surprisingly fast for a man of his size, and threw Zach into the bar. The bottle shattered, but this only produced a deadlier weapon.

"Get the bouncers!" Korrin roared. Someone in the crowd ran off to get them, and Zach swung in with the broken bottle. Korrin moved backward, avoiding the bottle, and breathed a sigh of relief as the crowd parted and the bouncers appeared. "He's attacking me!"

Korrin wasn't one to back down from a fight, but he couldn't get in trouble here. He had no ID. Getting arrested here would be a nightmare for his family. He had to stop this before it got out of hand.

Oh, how I wish I could teach this man a lesson.

"Grab him!" Zach yelled, dropping the bottle and clutching his broken nose. "He attacked me! And he tried to grab my date!"

"What?" Korrin yelled, just as the woman next to him yelled, "What?"

The bouncers moved in, past Zach, ignoring him completely, and Korrin realized he was in some serious trouble. The first bouncer came close, a man rivaling Korrin in size, and Korrin did the only thing he could do. He struck one arm out, catching the bouncer in the throat. He dropped down, clutching his throat, and the other man rushed in. He went in low, his shoulder spearing Korrin's midsection, driving him against the bar. Bar stools exploded under their weight.

Korrin slammed his elbow into the man's back, three or four times—he wasn't sure just how many—before the man released him, wheezing on the ground.

"We have to get out of here!" the woman yelled.

Korrin glanced around, wide-eyed. He saw the crowd parting from the front of the club and knew more bouncers were streaming in. Without thinking, he grabbed the woman's hand and started to move through the bar. He paused for one second, looked back toward the bar, and snatched a bottle of liquor from the bartender's stunned hand.

And then they were pushing through the crowd, half of whom were still dancing to some awful-sounding music. He was pulling the woman behind him, but he didn't need to because she was running almost as fast as he was, and his strides were much longer than hers. Her hand, intertwined in his own, felt great, but Korrin couldn't focus on that.

I have to find us a way out of here or I'm going to be in so much trouble. What do they even do to people like me in Prague?

"Is there a back door?"

"I don't know!"

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I've never been here before!" she yelled.

We could be trapped. But then, in the very back of the club, Korrin saw a red EXIT sign high above a door. He pushed through the dancing crowd, taking extra care that he didn't lose grip of the woman behind him, rushing as fast as he could toward the back door.

The door was an emergency exit only, but Korrin didn't hesitate. He pushed through it, expecting to hear a crescendo of alarms, but it was silent. The door slammed behind the woman, and Korrin reluctantly let go of her hand.

Outside of the club, it was mercifully silent. The bass rumble still shook Korrin's bones, but the music had been mostly drowned out. The only sounds were their heavy breathing and the cars down the street to their right and left.

They were in an alleyway overflowing with trash on either side. Korrin took some more deep breaths, trying to suck in lungfuls of clean air, but all he got were mouthfuls of nasty, foul-smelling alleyway air, rotting trash, and stagnant, oily water.

"We should keep going," the woman said. "They'll be after us."

"Where do we go next?" Korrin asked. "I'm not from around these parts."

The woman gave him a smirk, as if to say, I know.

Korrin went to answer that smirk, and the door suddenly flung open. Korrin grabbed the woman's hand, and immediately they were sprinting down the alleyway. Behind them, one of the bouncers yelled, "I've called the cops!" but Korrin didn't slow down in the slightest.

They reached the street, exited the alleyway, and immediately tried blending in to the crowd—which was only a couple of other people. Up ahead, Korrin recognized a police car coming their direction. The woman pulled him over to her, leaning up against a building, almost in a tight embrace, and Korrin couldn't help but smile as the cop car ignored them, assuming they were just a couple having a little bit of fun.

Korrin's lips were close to the woman's, barely an inch away. He so desperately wanted to bend down that last inch and press his lips against hers, but then the cop car passed and Korrin found himself reluctantly pulling away from her. Her face was burning red, and she turned away from him sheepishly, running her fingers through her hair.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then said, "Wouldn't it be better if you didn't know my name? And I didn't know yours? After what happened in there? Maybe we should just go our separate ways. I knew that man in there who attacked you. He's going to come around and so are the cops, and they're going to ask me questions. If we don't say who we are, I won't have to lie to them. I can just honestly tell them, I don't know who he was. Wouldn't that make things easier?"

Korrin nodded and they started down the street. Korrin pulled the top of the bottle off, then took a deep swig. He shuddered as the vodka burned down his throat. He handed it to the woman next to him, who considered for a second, then took it anyway. She grimaced as she took her pull and then handed it back to Korrin. He put the top back on and slid it into his coat pocket.

Then, he took her hand in his own. She didn't resist, and together they moved down the street. The sidewalk was mostly deserted; most people were either in bed asleep or in the bars.

"You're right, you know. It would be better if we just went our own separate ways. But where's the fun in that?" Korrin asked.

"Kris," the woman said.

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Kris," she said, looking at him and giving him a smile.

"I thought you said…"

"Yeah, well, tonight has been a lot different than I imagined. I'll understand if you don't want to tell me your name. On account of the fight, beating up those bouncers, running from the cops…"

"Well, I'll tell you if you want."

She shrugged. "I probably won't remember any of this in the morning, anyway. Can I get another drink of that?" she asked, pointing at the bottle in Korrin's coat. He took it out and handed it to her. She took another deep drink, and Korrin did the same. "So, what's your name, stranger?"

"Korrin. Korrin Gitan."

"You definitely aren't from around here, then," she said. "A little bit out of your element in Club Borealis?"

"And weren't you?"

She shrugged. "I guess so."

"So. Who's that guy? Zach? Is he your boyfriend?"

Kris laughed next to him. It was a deep, carefree laugh, one that reminded Korrin so much of himself.

"No. No, absolutely not. I think he wishes, but I want nothing to do with him. Why? Are you jealous?"

"He's not a very nice guy," Korrin observed, avoiding the question.

"And you are?" Kris asked, one eyebrow raised. "I watched the way you fought in there. That wasn't your first fight. Far from it. The way you took him down, multiple times, and then took out those two bouncers… You knew what you were doing."

Korrin suddenly felt very uncomfortable, but he nodded just the same. Somehow, this woman was able to cut straight to the point. He grinned suddenly; he sort of liked that.

"What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing."

"Reminiscing about some guy's ass you beat back in high school?"

"Didn't go," Korrin said. Next to him, Kris looked shocked.

"You didn't go to high school?" He was silent for a few moments before she said, "You really are far from home."

"I could say the same about you, Kris. Kris."

"Yeah, that's my name. What of it?"

"You're not from around here, Kris."

"How can you tell?" she asked, and Korrin could tell she was getting defensive. "Neither are you," she added.

"Your name. The way you speak. The way you dress and act. Let me guess: You're from America."

"No use denying it. And where are you from?"

Korrin found himself looking north, imagining the dense forests, towering mountains, and wild countryside he'd grown up in.

"Somewhere up north. Far, far to the north."

"So, I was right when I saw you. You're some kind of mountain man, is that it?"

Korrin laughed, and then suddenly, Kris was laughing too.

"In a way."

"Well, Korrin Gitan, I'm glad I met you. I've never met anyone else like you before."

"Likewise," Korrin answered.

"And can I get another drink of that?" Kris asked.

"Maybe you should hold back for a while," Korrin suggested. Kris was obviously drunk, swaying with her steps and slurring her words. But then again, so was he. She shot him a hard look and he handed her the bottle.

Together, they left the bar district, walking aimlessly. They would go minutes without talking, then she would ask something like, "What were you doing in town tonight?"

Korrin did his best to avoid these answers, just in case the cops really did come question her. But then she would shoot him a hard look—a look that told him she knew he was skirting around the answers—and he would answer truthfully, as best as he could.

"Look up there," Kris said, pointing.

Against the night sky, silhouetted by the moon, was a water tower. Korrin had never seen anything like it in his life, though he'd heard of them before.

"So, that's where you get fresh water. Interesting."

"Let's climb it," Kris said, and she was suddenly running—a little bit crookedly—toward it.

"What?" Korrin asked, but Kris was getting farther and farther away every second he stood waiting, so he sighed and with a smile on his face took off after her.