by D. Levesque
Did God just say that the reason he gave me the English language was to see how, or what, I would do with it? And was that just a potential job offer? And is the rest of my time on Boromour the job interview?
“Alex?” Leeha says in a panic, looking at me with big, scared eyes.
Rushing to her, I help her up and ask her, “Are you all right?”
“Alex, how did you go from sitting down to standing over there? And how did I end up on the ground?” she asks, disoriented.
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “I had a visit from my God.” What the fuck was that last part he said, about self-defense being allowed?
“Well, well, what have we here?” I hear a shout from outside our wall. “Is that an Elf fucker with that bitch?”
Leeha looks at me in fear and whispers, “Oh no. They were able to track me.” But she isn’t really looking at me.
I get up and look over my wall, which is about five feet tall, and see three men. The one who shouted is short and overweight. He is dressed in a blue robe, and it’s filthy as hell. There are mud and grass stains all over it. He is balding on top and has a scraggly beard, that honestly looks about as good as what I was able to grow back on Earth at the best of times.
The one on the left is tall, skinny, and is wearing a green robe, and like his buddy, it’s dirty as fuck. He has a big grin on his face, but it’s not friendly at all. His right cheek has a large scar on it, and I can see it’s fresh. He has short black hair, but he is clean-shaven, which is why I can see the scar.
The third one is tall and butt ugly, but unlike his friends he is in armor, with a sword over his back. He is staring at us with no emotions on his face. His arms are crossed and he has a crest on his armor in the shape of a star with two crossed swords. His armor seems to be in better condition than the two men’s robes.
“Listen here, animal lover,” yells the first man. “Give us the fucking Elf and you can go on your merry way. We have no quarrel with you. But if you don’t step back, you will die with her.”
“What did she do?” I ask, to buy time.
“Does it matter? She’s an Elf. We can do what we want with her here,” he says with a nasty laugh.
“So, you claim these woods as your own? What are they called again? Mitel Forest?” I ask him, keeping an eye on the other two. The soldier hasn’t moved, but the tall one is twitchy and keeps shifting back and forth on his two feet.
“We are human. We can claim whatever lands we want,” he says, his face turning red.
“Joar, you cannot claim,” starts the soldier, but the short man points to him and shouts.
“Shut it. You are here because of our coin, nothing more. If I want your opinion, I will pay for it.”
The soldier looks at me, and then my wall, and then looks back at the short man again. “Very well,” he says, but I can tell he doesn’t like it. He takes a step back.
“Now. Where were we?” the short man says with a grin directed at me. “Hand over the bitch, and you can walk out of here alive.”
“And if I refuse?” I ask him.
“Then, you will die,” he says with an even bigger grin, making it clear that he was hoping I’d ask him that.
Suddenly I see two large water swords next to him, and they are both aimed at me. I look to my left and see that the skinny one has two large wooden swords which are also aimed at me. Ah, so the robes signify them as mages? And the colors are their Elementals magic?
I glance over to see what the soldier is doing, but he is just standing there, still with his arms crossed, and has not taken his sword out. If anything, he has a scowl on his face and does not look happy to be there.
I reach down and bring Leeha up in front of me and place a hand on her neck. She tries to struggle, but I hold her tight against me and whisper in her ear, “Play along. Quickly, do you remember the word for Water in my language?”
Leeha stops struggling, and as I have my hand on her neck, I am sure to the three of them it looks like I choked her enough to cause her to stop. They probably think I am now threatening her.
“Yes, Water,” she whispers.
“Good. Now, remember those little balls of water that I shot into that tree? Those are—. Actually, I can’t think of a word for it in your language. They are called Bullets. I want you to try this spell when I say go and shoot the skinny one in the face with them.”
“Bultet?” she tries.
“No, Bullets,” I correct her pronunciation.
She tries once more, and it comes out correctly. “Bullet.” I feel the slight power vibration in the word.
“Good, now when I say go, I want you to call that up quickly and shoot him with them, but only when I say so. Got it?” I ask her, pulling her against me. Fuck she feels nice, even in a situation like this.
“You think that just having her against you like that will stop us? Pffft,” the short man shouts. “We will just kill both of you.”
“So, if I am going to let her go, can you tell me first what she did? I mean, not that I care one wit. I am simply curious, really,” I shout to him.
The short man shrugs and shouts, “She didn’t take a contract. I offered her one to kill someone. As an Elf assassin, she should be grateful that I offered her work.”
“Did you offer her a normal fee?” I ask him, already knowing the answer.
“Who cares?” he scoffs. “I, a human, offered her work. It doesn’t matter how much I offered. She should feel honored,” he says, laughing at what I can only assume is his own joke that I don’t get.
But apparently slim boy does, since he laughs as well, and it comes out sounding like a hyena. Soldier boy, however, is scowling at the short man. I will need to go after shorty, or Joar, I guess his name is.
I wish I didn’t know his name, but I know that if I don’t kill him, I will die again. And you know what? I fucking don’t want that. I just got to a world where magic is real, and I’ve met the hottest fucking Elf I have ever seen. Yeah, sorry, Joar, but it looks like it’s your day to die. And your thin buddy too. It might even be your day as well, soldier for hire, or whatever your name is.
With Leeha still in my arms, I let go of her neck, as if I am about to give her to Joar. Then I say quietly, “Go.”
Quickly, I think Water. Water Bullets, and before he can blink, I send six bullets of water right at Joar’s face. All he gets a chance to do is open his mouth, and then his head is blown off in a pulp of red mist. His body slumps to the ground, his water swords dispersing in an explosion of water vapors. Quickly, I say Water Bullets again and point my hand at the soldier, who had just taken the sword halfway out of his back scabbard.
When he sees that I have my hand pointed at him, with six bullets ready to fly, he slowly lowers the sword into his scabbard again, takes his hand away, and puts both hands out to show they are empty. I look over quickly and see that slim is on the ground and missing his head as well, and his wooden swords are gone.
“I did it!” shouts Leeha triumphantly, doing a little jig in front of me. She looks at the soldier and says, “What about him?”
“I don’t know. That is up to him. Are you a hired soldier?” I ask him, my hand still pointed his way.
“Yeah. Worst job I could have taken, but I was short on cash. Although now it seems I am even shorter on cash,” he says with a heavy sigh.
“Why’s that?” I ask him.
“Because he had the money,” he says, pointing to the dead Joar on the ground.
“He didn’t bring it with him?” I ask him, confused.
The soldier just stares at me for a second before saying, “Yes, but you killed him, so to the victor goes the spoils.”
I look over at Joar, with my hand still aimed at the soldier. So, he’s saying that since I killed Joar, I get the money? Let’s see how much money he had. “Leeha?” I ask her.
“Yes, Alex?” she asks me quietly, with a smile.
“Can you watch this man, please?” I ask her.
&nb
sp; “Of course,” she says, and suddenly there are two large water swords next to her, and they are aimed at the soldier. To his credit, he doesn’t budge. Water, I think, and the six water bullets disappear. I walk towards the wall and think Earth, and the rock wall slowly descends back into the ground. Quicker this time than when I created them, as I don’t care about being quiet.
I walk over to Joar and look down at him, and my stomach almost wants to empty itself. God, the smell is awful. His bowels had let go, and well, the bloody mess that used to be his head isn’t helping either. I see a small pouch tied to his robes’ belt. Reaching down, holding my breath from the smell, I untie it, struggling with the leather strings until I finally get it.
I get up quickly and back away with the bag, and I take a deep breath of air that isn’t laced with shit. I can hear the jingle of coins coming from the bag, and untying the strings, I open it and look inside. I see several coins of different colors, and even some jewels.
I squint up at the soldier and ask him, “How much was your pay?”
He stares at me with wide eyes, but he had already been staring at me with wide eyes before I asked the question. “What?” I ask him.
“You just used two different magics,” he utters in astonishment.
“Oh, shit,” I say, but I notice it comes out in English.
Chapter Eleven
“What are you going to do with him now, Alex?” Leeha asks me uneasily.
“Wait!” he says, suddenly taking a step forward. “I am a Knight of the Falling Star!” he exclaims hurriedly. All right, no clue what that’s supposed to mean.
I look at Leeha to see her reaction, but she is looking at him blankly.
“What?” he asks Leeha in shock. “You don’t know of us? But you’re an Elf!”
“Yeah. Hmm. I haven’t been around another Elf in a long time,” she says awkwardly. She turns to me slightly. “I grew up with my family until the age of twelve when I came into my power early. So I kind of grew up on my own, with my trainer. I don’t really get along with other Elves,” she says, blushing.
“Because you never learned their history?” I ask her curiously.
Nodding, she confesses, “I mean, I now know the history. But I never heard of these Knights of the Falling Star.”
“So,” I say to the soldier. “What are the Knights of the Falling Star?”
He stands up taller, which only makes him more aggressive-looking, and says, “We were created over five hundred years ago with one purpose. Find the Elemental Summoner!”
At those words, I utter “Water. Water Swords,” and put my hands out to my side. Surprisingly though, where I wanted two swords, there are six of them, three on each side of me. And they are all pointing at the Knight, ready to impale him against a tree or two.
“Wait!” he screams in panic.
“Why? You just said you were created to find the Elemental Summoner, who now that you saw me do more than one Elemental magic you know is me, and kill me!” I yell at him.
“What? I never said kill! I said find!” he screams imploringly.
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Leeha shouts at him defiantly.
“No!” he turns to her and shouts, both hands out in front of him. “Our Order is to find the Elemental Summoner and work with him to help him understand the races better so that he doesn’t try to destroy the world!”
“But you’re human,” I say quietly, making an effort to not shout, since even my heart had gone up during this little talk. But honestly, his comment annoys me. “How can you, a human, who it seems on Boromour hates all other races, teach me about understanding other races?”
He says with a sigh, “Because we were taught at a young age not to hate the other races. I was sworn into the Order when I was a young man, at 14 years old. I am 34 now. So, for the last 20 years, I have learned not to hate any other races.”
“Oh really?” Leeha says with a grin. “Alex, you got him?”
“Yes?” I ask her, wondering what she is going to do.
“What’s your name?” Leeha asks the Knight.
“Bryan. Bryan Lambs,” he says, looking unsure at what is going on. Don’t worry, dude. I am not sure either.
“Come here, Bryan Lamb,” Leeha says with a big smile. Bryan looks confused but slowly comes towards us until he is about three feet away, and then he stops. Leeha walks over and stands next to him, making him turn towards her. She looks at me.
“He tries anything, kill him,” she tells me, and I nod. Trust me, I am not about to let anyone do anything to you. Not now that I found myself a hot sexy Elf.
Bryan is looking at Leeha, and now that he is closer, I can see that he is taller than her, and quite broad in the shoulders, or is that the armor? The stops just below his neck, with no helmet that I can see. That might be why his face is so ugly, as it is covered in scars, and it looks like he has had his nose broken many times. He has one scar that goes across one of his eyes, not a large one, but enough to see that a blade just missed taking his eye out. Attached to the back of his armor is a black cape, held on the shoulders by leather straps.
Leeha slowly reaches her hand towards his face, but Bryan doesn’t move. Ah, that is what she is doing. She is seeing if he truly does get along with other races. I watch his face as well, looking for any kind of disgust or any sign that he wants to move back. But I also watch him to make sure he doesn’t try anything. Just in case, with the six swords still floating beside me, I think Earth and get ready to shoot out vines to entangle him if need be.
Leeha’s hand touches his cheek, and since he’s facing me, I can see his expression doesn’t change, although he looks puzzled.
“Now, kiss me,” Leeha tells him, surprising me. Oh, that little vixen! She is looking to see if he will do it or turn away in disgust.
“What?” Bryan says in surprise.
“Kiss me,” Leeha repeats more forcefully.
“If you are sure?” Bryan tells her. Leeha nods to him.
Hesitantly, he bends down to kiss her on the lips, but at the last second she puts a hand on his face, stopping him. She backs up and walks towards me, backwards, so she is still looking at him. Once she is next to me, she says, “He is the real deal.”
Letting go of the Summoning I had called up, I think Earth and I can feel the power leave. Leeha looks at the swords still floating next to us and says, “You can let go of those. I don’t think he will do anything.”
Nodding, I let go of the Water Swords by thinking Water. They disappear in a small explosion of water droplets.
“Do you mind if I sit? I think I kind of need to sit after all that,” Bryan says shakily.
“Of course,” I tell him, waving to the fire that is mostly embers now. Leeha grabs a couple of larger branches we had found and puts them on the fire, lighting them.
“We are staying here again today?” I inquire at her.
She nods. “Yes. I think we need to get rid of those bodies, though. Let me go check the other body first,” she says, running over to slim’s body and grabbing a pouch from his belt as well.
She walks back and hands it to me. I can hear the sound of coins again, but not as many as Joar’s. I open it and see that that they are mostly silver and copper-colored ones. No jewels and no gold.
“So, how much was your fee from those two?” I ask, and in my head, I think Earth, and imagine the ground swallowing up the bodies. Bryan glances over at the sound of the ground shifting and sees the two bodies slowly sink into the ground. He swallows hard and looks back at me.
“I was promised five gold pieces,” but then he hurriedly says, “But I will take whatever you think you can offer.”
I open Joar’s bag and see about 25 or so gold coins. I take out ten of them, reach over, and drop them in Bryan’s hand, which had been opens to accept the money. I sit back down and see that he is staring at the coins in surprise. He looks up at me.
“This is too much!” he says.
“I am good. Wi
th the addition of these two idiots’ money, I am good. I also have my own bag with some coins,” I finish, though I don’t go into the fact that I only have one gold and some other coins. These coins will come in handy, I am sure. I don’t want to carry around two dead men’s bags, so I move the coins from theirs to mine. I take out one of the stones and look at it.
Leeha whistles appreciatively. I glance at her and ask, “Good stone?”
Nodding, she says, “That’s a diamond. It’s rough, but it’s easily worth 200 gold coins. Are there others?”
“Yeah, these,” I tell her and take out a blue stone and some kind of orange-reddish rock. “That blue one is a sapphire. The orange one though,” she looks at it reverently, “it’s a fire diamond! I didn’t think I would ever see one in my lifetime!”
“Worth a lot?” I ask her eagerly.
“Yes! I would say a thousand gold coins easily. Though, with the right buyer, maybe even more. It’s uncut, so its value is limited by the cutter.
“Well, I guess I am set for money then,” I say with a smile. Suddenly my stomach growls and I say with a chuckle, “Too bad I can’t eat coins.”
“We might have something better,” Leeha whispers quietly. Both Bryan and I look over, and she is pointing to a tree about forty feet away. Snuffling into the ground is a small pig. Or is it a boar?
Turning to me, she asks with a grin, “You or me?”
“I kill it, you skin and cook it?” I ask her hesitantly. I hope she goes for it since I have no clue how to clean an animal. That Macoa last night was all her, and until I learn how to do it myself, I’ll either need to let her do it or pay someone. Now that I have gold.
“Deal, but I want you to show off another one of your Elemental magics,” she says with a grin.
I decide to show off my power to Bryan, and well, see if this will work. What power should I use? I have done Earth and Water. What can I do with Fire? Maybe a Fire Arrow? But that would most likely burn the forest down. Air then. Let’s see. Compressed air? I look around and see a small rock on the ground. I pick it up and put it in the palm of my hand. Air. Compressed Air Rifle. Suddenly the Air Elemental in my hand turns into exactly that, a see-through rifle, with a scope even. Aiming it downwards as I would in a game at the arcade, I see that the scope even has crosshairs. I move the rifle away from my eye, looking at it and thinking fucking hell. It knows what I want? Is it grabbing it from my memories?
