by V. A. Lewis
Bahr did not sit idly either; he followed up alongside me, determining that this woman was as much of a threat to him as she was to him. A large green magical glyph formed where Lilith had been standing, glowing brilliantly for a moment before a jungle of thorns shot out, engulfing the entire area.
I didn’t wait to see what happened next. I turned around and started running back towards the beach. I saw Braz disposing of the last of Bahr’s bodyguards, looking like he was about to come back me up. I waved my hands wildly in the air and shouted.
"Get out of—"
His eyes widened, and I did not think. I just jumped out of the way, following Braz as he dived into the water. A streak of flames ran down the pier where I had been standing, blazing with such intense heat I could even feel it in the water.
I took a deep breath as my head bobbed out amongst the rough waves, trying to pull me away into the sea. I clung onto one of the wooden pillars holding up the pier, turning around once again to Braz and Kai who had paused in shock just before the half-destroyed wooden platform I had been on. I shouted one word.
"Run!"
It took an instant for Kai to process this information and act; he began shouting orders back at the remaining pirates still on land as they scattered away from the docks. Braz took a moment longer to react, but eventually conceded and swam back towards land.
Truth be told, I could have had them help me. I could have asked them to attack her, distracting her as I escaped into the shadows unnoticed. But this did not involve them. This had entirely to do with me and whatever carelessness allowed me to get caught. Did Lisa betray me?
I shook my head as I climbed back up onto one of the intact piers. Think later, I thought, deciding that that did not matter at the moment. Just survive.
I glanced back at Lilith, and saw her engaged in combat with Bahr. He charged at her, his body being wrapped by an armor of vines and brambles— his entire being engulfed by nature. He clobbered Lilith, wisps of green energy around his wooden arm. She was actually knocked back, but not before stabbing at him from a distance.
The Half Elf howled as the tip of the spear nicked his shoulder. It sliced cleanly through whatever protection the magical protection he wore offered him, dealing more damage than any regular spear should have done with such a wound.
She was about to follow up with a lethal strike, but was knocked off balance as two Stone Spears crashed into her back. I was running away as well— trying to escape rather than stay and fight. But she was about to kill him. If he died, she would have easily caught up to me and captured me.
I followed up with a Frost Javelin. She easily smashed it into pieces and was about to leap for me, but Bahr grabbed her by her legs, and with a swing, threw her into The Lightbringer’s Vessel. It was then, suddenly, I felt an intense feeling of unease overwhelm me for just a moment— it was familiar. Like I had felt it before. Similar to how I felt at the beach over a month ago.
It screamed… danger?
I continued down the pier, my foot stomping loudly on the hard wooden surface as I was about to reach the end of the pier back to land when there was a massive explosion. The Lightbringer’s Vessel split into two and began to sink as Saintess Lilith landed right in front of the Half Elf who was also about to flee.
She stood there in front of him, covered in glowing red lines, inside the storm of ice and fire. A brilliant crimson aura exuded around her, protecting her from her own miracles than wildly destroyed everything in the pier. It ebbed away at Bahr’s armor, tearing it apart slowly as he tried to back up.
Then I realized what the feeling was; it was that of mana being pulled— a spell being cast. But this was different in many ways. Firstly, it was a lot of mana. I could practically feel it screaming at me, blaring loudly into my ears— completely taking over my mana sense. That was the danger I felt.
And instead of mana being forced from the surroundings into a magic circle, it was a concentration of mana within her body. Only the mana inside of the Saintess moved, nothing else.
Rushing forward at him, she parried a strike and slashed him across his chest. He fell onto one knee, grasping at both the wound on his arms and his upper body as Lilith brought her spear down at him. I tried sending a Fireball back, but I was too slow. She lowered her weapon—
And it stopped right at the darkened wood surrounding Bahr. The Elysian Shell had stopped the killing blow, with only a small mark where Lilith had struck. She frowned, before getting engulfed by the blast of flames I had sent at her.
She simply backed up as the aura around her protected her from the attack, although the lines streaking throughout her body shone more brightly for just a moment. The Saintess shot me an annoyed look, but ignored me and focused back at the Half Elf still inside his magical barrier.
The Elysian Shell was powerful. If I had to guess— and I blamed Gennady for making me think of this comparison— it was probably a Tier 6 spell. Even my strongest spell couldn’t break through it. Perhaps given enough time, I could whittle it down. But never in a real, active combat situation.
And yet, it was barely a problem for Lilith.
More lines appeared on her body, before gathering itself on her arms and hands. The lines came into contact with the spear and it flashed just for a moment, before being encased by the same red glow that covered her body. She swung her spear down at the Elysian Shell once. The entire pier shook. A visible shockwave sent me stumbling as the ships in the vicinity rocked and swayed along with the waves.
I looked up and saw a crack appear on the darkened wood. It was a light crack— it didn’t look to be much of a problem. Then Lilith swung again. And again. And again—
The sixth swing shattered the Elysian Shell. Bahr looked up, still injured and unable to react as Lilith brought her spear down on him. He opened his mouth, forming some words.
"My people shall no longer be silent—"
Before he was silenced. He fell, dead, leaving only me for the Saintess to chase after.
I could not run. There was no way I could escape. The Saintess turned to face me, a dangerous look in her eyes. I pointed—
And I set the pier on fire. I sent Fireball and Fire Arrows all across the docks. If there was anything flammable, I set it ablaze. The lamps and all the light sources flared up one by one as I forced all the fires I could to burn.
It was not an instantaneous thing. I had to light it all up one by one as I continued blasting fire into the pier. But this was in addition to the flames already created from myself and Lilith. This was all I could do. I couldn’t run, so I had to hide— escape, hidden behind the flames.
I had practiced with fire; I knew the basic spells to manipulate all the elements, but I had learned to control fire more than the rest. So I made the flames blaze— burn wildly at the docks of Luke. It tried to touch me, but I kept it back. I ran through the inferno, trying to escape my pursuer.
And yet, as I continued my sprint away to safety, a spear pierced through the curtain of flames behind me. How—
I whirled around, throwing myself to the side with all my strength. I felt the fire itself push me, giving me enough speed and strength to match the fast Saintess. It was barely enough.
My head moved out of the way of the spearhead as it came at me. I eyed the pointed tip as it came, almost in slow motion, and struck the side of my mask. There was a crack as half of it shattered from the impact, blood spurting out and covering my right eye. She followed up by striking me with the butt of her spear, and I felt a crunch as my arm broke from the hit. I bit back a scream as I crumpled to the ground.
She could sense my magic. That was how she found me so quickly. My only chance to escape had been foiled by my own panic; if I were more calm, I would have quickly hidden after setting the nearby pier on fire. Used the thick smoke and the blanket of flames to my advantage. But I tried to create an even bigger distraction than was necessary, so I was caught.
Lilith was here now. I could not escape. I had once a
gain thrown away my freedom, and was going to be captured. Tried and executed by the Church for such ridiculous rules and laws which harmed so many people. But if I died, at least I would be with my mom, right?
No.
I did not want to die. I wanted to live. I had already made that decision. I could not allow the Church to take me in and kill me for something as simple as magic.
But what could I do? Lilith was already here. She was reaching for me with one hand. Any spell I could conjure up could not hurt her. So I raised an arm, pointing at her, but it was too slow. There was no one here to help me—
And a thin beam struck Lilith in the back of the head. It did not kill her, of course. The aura from her armor protected her. And yet, she was knocked off balance. It caused her to stumble, giving me enough time to cast the spell.
I felt the air above us both as I backed up. A green magic circle appeared, but its color shifted. It was the smoke I manipulated, focusing solely on the gray-black fumes billowing above us. Lilith steadied herself, about to stop me from casting the spell, but was forced to dodge as Kai fired another shot.
I shot a glance at the man as he lowered his gun and nodded in my direction. He was standing next to Braz, and the two finally turned to run as my spell went off. It was the spell I had been practicing with. The Burst Cyclone which created a maelstrom of wind blades. But this time, it was not just air that burst out. The smoke overhead exploded in all directions, covering the entire pier with toxic gas.
I held my breath, ignoring whatever pain I felt, and cut off my connection with the mana in my surroundings as I backed up. Saintess Lilith was engulfed in the smoke. I silently ran away from her as fast as I could, finally finding myself standing on dry land as she sent streaks of fire and ice in all directions.
It could not cut through the smoke. Why would it? In fact, the fire only made it worse. Finally, she tried sending a gale of wind to clear the smoke, blowing it in all directions. But I ran with the wind, and the wind exacerbated the flames and thus the smoke.
I had anticipated this— or rather, I had hoped for it. She seemed genuinely angry when Bahr had hurt her. When he threw her into her own ship with all his strength. While she could manifest miracles of all elements, she did not specialize in using the wind. Perhaps if she did, she’d be able to send such a powerful gust it would disperse of all the flames and smoke all at once. But luckily for me, she couldn’t do that.
So she screamed and shouted for me as I escaped into the docks. She did not stop pursuing me, landing with a loud thud close to where I was. I couldn’t see her. I couldn’t feel her shadow. But I could sense her miracles.
I quietly backed up in the opposite direction of Lilith, trying to get further into the city. The blanket of smoke now covered half of the docks, keeping me safe as long as I did not make any noise or cast any spells.
She continued trying to blow the smoke away, and it worked for mere moments before more smoke always gathered around her. I was almost at the stairs that would lead me away from the docks, when suddenly she changed course.
The Saintess started for my direction as she called out.
"Where are you Aria? You can’t run from the Church forever. I will find you. Just give up and I’ll even tell the Archbishop to lighten your sentence— give you a painless death instead of burning you with the Sacred Flames."
I ignored her. I immediately hid in a small alcove as she scanned the area. Smoke kept covering the area as she continued trying to blow it away. I waited for her to leave— to go investigate some other place. And eventually, she did.
With a click of her tongue, Lilith turned around and looked at the waves. Her gaze was fixed on the ocean— she thought I had jumped into the water to escape and hide. She slowly went further away from me, and only after another minute passed did I move.
I ran out of the alcove and ducked into the streets of Luke. Blood dripped down the side of my face. I tiredly made my way slowly through the alleys of the city. I was exhausted. My arm was broken, and my face felt like it was on fire from a simple cut. My vision was blurry. My entire body was numb. I wanted to pass out.
But I pushed on.
I heard the sound of footsteps from people and horses coming from the distance, and I quickly hid myself. Guards and firefighters pushing a simple fire engine ran towards the docks to investigate what had happened. I waited for them to pass before I went back out.
I continued stumbling through the streets, pushing myself off walls I occasionally found myself leaning on. Finally, I arrived.
I pushed open the door of the safe house and stepped into the dark room. I collapsed onto my knees
"Melas? Goddess grace us, what happened?" Lisa ran over to me. She grabbed my shoulders, and stared at me with a worried look on her face. "I’ll get a healing potion just wait—"
Chapter 35: Tired
Everything after I returned to the safehouse was a blur. I passed out soon after Lisa tended to me with a healing potion, and found myself fading in and out of consciousness multiple times. I barely recalled what happened— it was almost like I was a kid again, sleeping in the car ride home after a long road trip.
The only difference was, instead of coming back from a vacation well-rested and content, I had just barely escaped with my life from an evil Saintess.
I vaguely remembered Braz coming to the safehouse to escort me and Lisa out of the city. They both stopped to look over me for a moment, exchanging a few muffled words that I couldn’t make out. Then I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, we were entering the cove of the hideout. Kai was with us now, alongside the remaining pirates that came with us, and he was in the middle of a conversation with Lisa.
"...if we’d known this, we wouldn’t have let her—"
"...but how why did the— "
"...we’ll deal with that later."
I could only understand bits and pieces of their discussion, but it sounded important; I tried to force myself up— say something to them. All that came out, however, was an odd grouse.
"Hngh…"
The large figure of Braz loomed over me as he gently whispered. "Don’t strain yourself. You’re still tired. Go back to sleep."
Every ounce of my being didn’t want to listen to him, yet my body simply complied with that order and everything went dark again.
The third time I found myself waking up, I was lying in the bed of a small room. Gennady was seated next to me, a worried look on his face. When he saw me move, he quickly rushed over to my side.
"Lass, I’m sorry for not being with you. I’m supposed to be your bodyguard, but I’ve left you alone ever since we came here. Listen, if you want me to return your coin or do anything else for you, just let me know—"
He was jabbering on about serious things— things I didn’t want to bother thinking about at the moment. So instead of listening to him, I decided to close my eyes and go back to sleep.
And finally, some time after that, I groggily opened my eyes and sat up in bed. My body didn’t ache with each movement; whatever healing potion I had been treated did its job well— only the shadow of the pains from the day before remained. And yet, I was still tired.
It was a mix of mental exhaustion, physical exhaustion, and another kind of exhaustion that came from using magic. I wanted to climb out of the bed but my body didn’t allow me to; instead, I just waited there for a moment.
The room was empty. Everyone who had been hovering over me must have left some time ago. Was it night? I didn’t think so. I highly doubted I had been passed out for a full day.
After just sitting there for another minute or two, I mustered up the strength to finally get up and out of the bed. I paused as I saw what had been laid face down on the side table— it was my mask.
My broken mask.
I sighed as I realized I wasn’t even wearing my hood up. That meant everyone now knew what I looked like. And with what happened with Lilith… I had some explaining to do, which I was not l
ooking forward to.
Still, I forced myself to move: I exited the room, looking around the hideout. I was met with the familiar scene of the cove with its rock walls and rock ceiling, as well as the sandy beach. But something was different.
It was… emptier.
That was not to say it was completely deserted and I had been abandoned; I recognized most of the faces that were meandering around, but there were significantly less people about. In fact, one of the ships— the bigger ones— was gone from its usual place. It had been anchored in the same spot for the entirety of the time I had been here, but now it and dozens of people were missing.
I knew what that meant, of course. It was obvious.
Not all of the pirates were gone; in fact half of them were still here. But the ones that were most vulnerable— the elderly, the mothers, and the children— had been brought to another place for their safety. Not all the noncombatants went. I spotted Sevin as he was passing by and I called out to him.
"Sevin."
The young man stopped when he saw me. He hesitated for a moment, before approaching me with an apprehension he did not have before. "Melas, you’re awake," he said. "I’m glad. When you came back yesterday and they told us what happened, I was so worried."
He sounded worried. But the way he eyed me told me he was uncomfortable— still processing the fact that I was a kid and not some Half Goblin like I had led him to believe.
"I’m fine now." I turned and gestured past him, deciding that this was something I could discuss with him later. "Where’s Ginah? Kai?’
"They’re over at their meeting room. The usual place."
"Thanks."
I bowed my head slightly and hurried in the direction of the meeting room. I was about to enter it, but stopped as I saw the man standing guard in front of it. Braz glanced down at me and nodded.
"You’re up," he said simply.
"I am."
Unlike Sevin, he did not seem too put off by me now that he knew I was a kid. He shot me a casual grin and jerked a thumb behind him. "Come on in. Your Dwarf friend has been anxious and getting louder by the minute."
