“I know what you mean,” she said. “Having this little piece of the world all to ourselves seems too good to be true.” She rocked up onto her knees and sat down beside me. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t leave every once in a while, though. Our house will still be here when we get back.”
“You’re right,” I admitted. “If we’re going to see the world, I guess we have to leave the house at some point.”
“Exactly!” she laughed as she leaned back to rest her head in my lap. “Just think of all the things we’ll see in the capital. I’ve heard stories that Ellawynn has the largest garden in the world, and that the main spire of their Unity Cathedral is made of solid crystal! Doesn’t that sound amazing?”
“It does,” I agreed, reaching out to play with a loose strand of her hair. “So, if we already know our destination, when are we leaving?”
“I’m not sure. We’ll have to talk to Marin and my parents about it.” She laid quietly in my lap for a few moments, serenely rocking her head from side to side until she suddenly perked up. “We should have a special dinner tonight! We can talk about it then and have a nice meal together before we leave.” She hopped to her feet with instant enthusiasm. “I was going to head over to get us some lunch anyway, so I’ll get everything planned then.”
“That’ll be nice,” I said, climbing to my feet as well. “Ask your mother if she’d like a few rabbits for dinner. I’ve been craving some fresh game lately.”
“Can do!” she called out as she jogged through the door.
My stomach growled in anticipation of our upcoming meal, and I set out to make it a reality. A small pulse of Detection revealed multiple candidates for our feast and, after a quick assessment of each rabbit, locked in on a plump specimen a few hundred yards into the eastern forest. I threw my cloak around my shoulders and made my way outside, keeping my footfalls quiet as I stalked towards my prey. The stealth was an unnecessary gesture as I instantly snapped the rabbit’s neck from afar, but it felt unsporting to do so without going through the motions of hunting in some small way.
She says two rabbits would be nice, but I think she really wants three, Lia said at the back of my mind. My father should be home with Marin by sundown, so we should head over to help make dinner before then.
Can do, I echoed back to her as I retrieved my quarry from its resting place in a nearby bush. One down, two to go. My eyes scanned the surrounding landscape for any clues of additional movement, but I unsurprisingly came up empty. I sent another wave of mana forward into the forest, reaching farther than I had before in search of meatier targets. Alright, rabbits, where are—
A bright spot of mana appeared at the edge of my Detection, floating through the forest about a mile away. My subconscious recognized the source before I did, and it threw my heart into my throat as a chill ran down my spine. No. The mental image resolved into a humanoid shape, glowing with a dim purple light behind a radiant, shimmering disk of rainbow energy. She can’t be here.
My dread rushed out along my extended mana, and I heard Lia’s voice a moment later, full of concern. Lux, what’s wrong?
Val. The name rang out like a curse as I watched her slowly pick her way through the forest, her eyes squinted with steeled focus. She’s here.
I’ll be right there, give me—
No, I cut her off. Stay with your mother. She needs you now more than I do; we don’t know if Val’s alone yet.
I heard the equivalent of a frustrated sigh in my mind. Okay. There was a moment of silence as I began to make my way towards Val, then Lia’s voice returned. We’re stronger than the last time we faced her. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. Everyone is still safe. You’re in control.
Her carefully chosen words skirted around the point, but I heard the message loud and clear: don’t let the anger take control. The darkness lurking inside me was a topic I had been able to blissfully ignore during our time of isolation, and I detested the idea of Lia being forced to worry about it. I’m in control, I answered before turning my attention back to Val. Her careful trek put her on a path that would end well north of our hidden homestead, but her presence alone told me it was only a matter of time until she found what she was looking for.
I slipped ahead through the trees until she entered the range of my Enhanced Senses, and the crunching of the underbrush beneath her heavy boots sounded clearly in my ears. Energy raced out along the ground between us and suffused into every rock, shrub and tree, producing a perfect map of the area that I could manipulate as I saw fit. Her measured pace continued to bring her closer until her hand absentmindedly reached out and brushed along the trunk of a large emberwood in her path. As soon as I felt her fingers make contact with the bark, I activated the energy stored within the tree and shattered the entire structure from top to bottom.
An angry hail of splinters peppered Val as she spun away and raised her shield against the unknown threat. Her retreat sent her spinning towards another tree, which exploded into a second round of shrapnel as she approached. She slid back and crouched behind her glittering bulwark in an attempt to collect herself as she grimaced through the multitude of cuts across her face. Her head whipped side to side as she rose cautiously, clearly avoiding the remaining trees around her. When she took her first step forward, I sent a rush of mana up over her body and pressed against her mind with an overpowering phrase.
I see you.
She raised a hand to her temple as she winced, revealing that the message had successfully gone through. “Lux,” she called out, “I need to speak with you. It is urgent.”
I told you what would happen if I saw you again.
“I remember,” she answered through clenched teeth, flinching away from my booming mental voice. “I am willing to die once we have had a chance to speak. Face to face.” The reply caught me off guard; if it had been anybody else, I would have assumed it was a ploy to get me to reveal myself, but Val’s statement sounded genuine.
How did Virram know where to find me?
“King Yorrell does not know that I am here,” she answered. “I have sought you out of my own volition. My presence in Lybesa is...not condoned.”
I see. You’ve suddenly decided to stop following orders now. Now, but not before.
“Lux, please,” she said, lowering her shield. “I cannot change what has happened. This meeting is larger than our personal grudges.”
Grudges?! my mental voice boomed. You tried to have me killed! After everything we went through together, YOU gave that order. Not Virram, not the Trinity Guard—you. I trusted you! I felt my heartbeat grow more erratic as the old wound was cut open again, and I took a series of long breaths to regain my wits. I trusted you. You can’t expect me to forget what happened.
“I do not. I am not here to ask for your forgiveness; I do not deserve it,” she said plainly. “I am not here to make amends, as I have no way of doing so. I am here to ask for your help.”
Two more trees exploded behind her in unison, and she spun to shield herself from the debris. My enhancements flared to life in a sudden burst of energy, and I sprinted ahead through the trees, reaching the circle of fresh wood chips around her in seconds. I extended my arm towards her back, and the point of my sword appeared over her shoulder, resting against her neck. “Speak.”
Val turned slowly, unfazed by the cold manasteel scraping against her skin. With deliberate movements, she unstrapped the glittering relic from her arm and dropped it on the ground, then straightened and met my gaze. “There has been an incident at Shadowmine.”
“Virram mentioned as much at our last meeting,” I said dismissively. “Another issue of his own creation, no doubt.”
“No,” she responded quickly, “not this time. What once seemed like an isolated event has become a recurring problem: monsters have been emerging from beneath the mountains.”
“Monsters?” I scoffed. “You came all this way, and that was the best you could come up with?”
“It is the tru
th, Lux,” she said, without a trace of emotion to indicate otherwise. “There are no records of the beasts in the Royal Archives, nor are there legends or folktales matching their description. They are truly an unknown force.” My stomach began to churn as she continued. “The beasts are remarkably difficult to kill and have been swarming throughout northern Kaldan for the past twenty-nine days. Civilian casualties are rising quickly.”
“I fail to see how any of this is my problem,” I lied.
“It is not; this burden rests upon my shoulders.” As she spoke, I felt as though I could see her shrink beneath a physical weight as her imposing frame sagged the smallest bit. “I am under orders to keep the peace at the Mountain Gate remnants. While I have done so, and will continue to do so, I am also rallying a force to strike at the heart of the infestation. I believe it is in the best interest of Kaldan to stop the source of these beasts in order to maintain the peace.”
“And you want my help to do it.”
“Yes,” she answered bluntly. “You and Lia are the fiercest warriors I have ever met. Innocent people are dying; I cannot let personal matters stand in the way of our best chance of salvation. It is not me that needs you, but the—”
“Don’t say it,” I cut her off abruptly. “Virram needs me. You need me. That’s what this is, nothing more.” Every word lashed through the air with disdain, though they were directed at myself as much as they were at Val. “If you think I’m taking Lia anywhere near Kaldan ever again, you’re out of your fucking mind. You’ve caused me nothing but pain for the entire time I’ve known you.” I took another step forward and rotated my blade to sit across the front of her throat, leaving the width of the weapon as the only thing separating our faces. “You should thank your Primes that I’m even considering letting you leave here alive.”
“You are letting your personal feelings cloud your judgement,” she said quietly.
The statement sent me into a rage, and my arm shuddered as I resisted the urge to open her throat from ear to ear. “The only reason you’re alive right now is that I couldn’t bear the thought of telling your sister that I killed you.”
For the first time in our conversation, Val’s mask broke; for a fraction of a second, her face retracted with pain. “Marin is...here?”
“That’s right,” I hissed. “She’s here because I saved her life. Right after your man Savitz put a bolt in her chest.” I leaned forward, pressing my throat against my own blade. “You will never see her again. I’m not sure you’d like the result if you did; she’s stronger than you now.”
Another wave of emotion flashed across her face, this time a mix of concern and fear. “Marin is not a warrior.”
“Oh, but she is, Valandra. We’ve trained her how to fight more fiercely than any man in your pathetic army. Do you want to know why?” I fought back a lump in my throat as my eyes began to water. “It’s because she begged me to do it. She begged me to teach her to fight, so that if the day ever came, she could protect us. From you.”
The forest fell silent around us as the words echoed away. Tears fell onto both sides of my trembling sword and ran down along its length, merging together at the tip to drip into the dirt at our feet. Our eyes never broke their connection as we stood together, one savage motion away from death. It took every ounce of strength within me not to falter, to turn and run away from the words I had spoken. When the silence grew too powerful to bear for a second longer, I took a ragged breath and blinked away my tears.
“Leave. Don’t come back,” I whispered. “If I ever see you or your men in this forest again, I swear on every god you know that I will make Kaldan suffer every injustice inflicted upon me tenfold.” My blade vanished from between us, and I suddenly found the closeness of our faces suffocating. I took two steps backwards, then stood statue-still as I stared her down.
Val wiped the tears from her face before kneeling down to retrieve her shield. After refastening it to her arm, she stood and unflinchingly met my gaze again. An eternity passed in every second of silence until she turned in place and began to walk back in the direction from which she had arrived, saying nothing. I watched her go until she left my vision, continuing the vigil until she disappeared from the edge of my Detection, at which point I promptly collapsed into the dirt and began to sob.
Lia found me a few minutes later, curled into a ball on the forest floor. When she arrived in the partial clearing of devastated trees, she sat down beside me and tugged on my shoulders until my head rested in her lap, facing into her stomach. I hardly noticed the movement as I continued to weep in an attempt to purge the venomous hate that had risen in my gut.
“I—I feel so empty,” I managed to choke out between sobs. “It’s just anger and darkness, all the way through. There’s nothing good inside me anymore.”
“That’s not true,” she said tenderly. “You’re a good man.”
“No, I’m not,” I cried, shaking my head. “The things I said to her...I just wanted to hurt her. To cause her as much pain as I could.” I buried my face deeper into her lap, holding my eyes shut to try and stop the flowing tears. “She wanted our help. She was willing to die for it.”
“How did she find us?”
“I don’t know. I...didn’t ask,” I admitted. “I couldn’t think straight. I came so close to...to killing her.”
“You were trying to protect your family,” Lia answered. “That doesn’t make you evil. I fought her in the throne room, and I would have done whatever it took to keep you safe.”
“That’s different. You’re good inside,” I said in a small, weak voice. “You’re not like me.”
“Stop it, Lux. I know you better than anybody; you can’t convince me that you’re some monster.”
I pawed at the leather glove on my right hand, eventually pulling it off to reveal the black scars that ran down past my wrist. “You didn’t see what I did to those men in Attetsia. You wouldn’t say that if you had. You couldn’t...love me, if you—”
Lia roughly spun my head around until I was looking straight up into her eyes. “I will never stop loving you, no matter what happens,” she declared. “If there truly is a darkness inside of you, then we’ll fight it together. Nothing is stronger than us.” She gave the words a moment to sink in, then climbed to her feet and pulled me up along with her. “Let’s go home.”
My mind was too overloaded to argue, so I obediently fell in line behind her and followed her back to the house. She led me up to the bedroom, helped me out of my armor and clothes, and tucked me into bed. “You don’t have to sleep if you aren’t tired, but you should at least close your eyes and rest for a bit,” she instructed me kindly, running her fingers through my hair. “Take as long as you need.” After planting a tender kiss on my forehead, she left the room, closing the door behind her.
I hadn’t intended to fall asleep, but my mental exhaustion quickly got the better of me. My consciousness faded quickly after my eyes closed, and I fell into a restless sleep that lasted until the following morning. My dreams were vivid and varied for the entirety of my fitful sleep, but they always ended the same way: with pain, death, and black flames.
11. LAST SUPPER
Marin’s voice echoed through the still morning air. “A test?!”
“A test,” I repeated with a laugh. “If we’re going to be leaving you in charge while we’re gone, I want to make sure you’re really up to the task.”
She continued to stare in slack-jawed disbelief, looking between Lia and myself for explanation. “You never told me there would be some official test at the end of all of this! I would’ve, uhm...I don’t know, prepared myself or something!”
“Don’t worry about it, Marin,” Lia said, rubbing her shoulders. “There’s no passing or failing to worry about; Lux just wants to judge how your training has been going for himself, and he likes to be dramatic about it.” Her lips curled into a grin as she peeked out at me from behind Marin’s head.
“Me? Dramatic?” I asked, holding a han
d to my chest dramatically. “I like to think that my way of looking at things makes life more interesting. And yes, while it is a test, Lia is right; there’s no passing or failing. I just want to get a measure of your abilities. There’s a chance Lia has been going easy on you because you’re her first student.”
“Going easy on me?! Have you seen the things we do every day?” she replied, completely aghast. “I go home with new bruises every single night!”
I clicked my tongue. “If you’re getting hit that often, I guess it’s a good thing we’re having the test, right?”
Marin sputtered as she tried to formulate a response, but Lia clamped her hands down on the fiery girl’s shoulders and pulled her backwards. “Remember what we worked on, Marin,” Lia cooed. “Experience your emotions, but don’t let them control you. Keep your head level and ready to react to any situation.”
After a series of annoyed grunts and groans, Marin let out a long, whistling breath. “I am ready for the test, Lux.”
“Perfect. Let’s begin.” I summoned my sword as I crossed the yard to Lia’s usual starting position. “I assume you can handle blunting your own weapon?” I asked as a faint flicker of orange energy shimmered along my blade.
Her eyes squinted as Lia handed her an onyx longsword. “Yes,” she answered, unable to remove the annoyance from her voice entirely.
I watched as her mana activated and the sword flickered to life. “Okay then. We’ll start with your combat fundamentals and move on from there, so no enhancements for now.” With a quick flourish of my blade, I crouched into a ready position and waved her on. “Whenever you’re ready.”
The words had hardly left my mouth before Marin charged across the clearing. Our initial clash gave me a rough idea of her skillset, and I found myself satisfied with the work Lia had done over the past month. Her attacks were powerful and precise, yet slower than the finessed approach Lia used. She had excellent combat awareness and footwork, but her aggressive style often left her too close to effectively use the full length of her longsword. After a few more engagements to test her defensive reactions to my various attacks, I disengaged and held up my hand to pause her assault. “Good! Now, let’s see how you do with two blades.”
Restart Again: Volume 3 Page 22
