“Okay.” Jacob’s shoulders relaxed. He must have asked out of a sense of duty. Despite his previous disposition when they first met, he was clearly a young man with a high moral fiber.
Enyo exited the room and walked down the hallway, the floorboards creaking underneath her bare feet. The restroom was indeed where Jacob had told her. After locking the door, she quickly relieved herself before seeking to return to the bedroom that she and Jacob were sharing. She opened the door leading back into the hall—only to be startled when someone else appeared right in front of her.
It was a young man with brown hair and eyes. He was wearing a tunic that looked to have been made from velvet. Likewise, he wore expensive-looking pants, which had golden designs running along it surface. The man stared at her for several seconds, blinking, as if he wasn’t sure what to make of her.
“Um,” Enyo started, “could you please move out of the way?”
“Huh? Oh, right. My apologies. It seems I’m still half asleep.” The man moved out of the way, allowing her to slip past him.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as she began making her way down the hall. However, before she could make it even halfway to her room, the knight called out to her.
“Hold on!”
She froze. Footsteps echoed behind her, getting closer. It was the knight. What should she do? Should she run? Fight? Maybe she should play it cool like Jacob had done down in the bar. He might not even know who she was.
Those thoughts were dashed with his next two sentences. “I thought I recognized you. You’re the woman from the wanted posters!”
Enyo acted swiftly. She spun around, surprising the man who stumbled back, and then took two steps forward, getting into his guard. He didn’t even have time to raise his hands before she struck. The palm of her left hand slammed into the underside of his chin as she thrust it forward. His teeth clacked together as he stumbled back. She then grabbed onto his wrist, pulled him forward, and struck him in the gut with a hard knee.
She stepped back as the man held his arms around his stomach, stumbling around before falling to his knees. His face was green. He looked ready to vomit. Enyo didn’t wait for him to recover. She rushed down the hall, entering hers and Jacob’s room, slamming the door behind her in her haste.
Jacob jerked up with a start. He must have fallen back asleep.
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone recognized me. We need to leave,” she said quickly as she searched for her boots.
“Your boots are over there.” Jacob pointed to the foot of the bed. Indeed, both her boots and her bodice was there. Her sheathes were too, but those were useless without a pair of daggers.
She didn’t bother with the bodice as she pulled on her boots. She also didn’t bother to strap on her sheaths. There was no point. Turning to Jacob, she saw that he was already dressed. He’d put on his boots, his chainmail, tunic, and Durandal rested against his back.
“Should we go out the front or use the window?” Jacob wondered out loud.
Shouting came from beyond the door.
“The thief is here! She went into this room!”
“Let’s capture her!”
“This might not be our mission, but even so, we can’t let her escape!”
She and Jacob looked at each other.
“The window it is,” they said before rushing toward the small window.
Enyo reached it first, and she climbed onto the windowsill, judged the distance to the next building over, and then jumped. Cold wind rushed passed her face. Its chill brought tears to her eyes. Her clothes were buffeted from the biting wind. Closer and closer she got to the other building’s roof, until she was there, bracing herself.
Her knees jolted with pain as she slammed feet first onto the roof. Enyo knew how to fall, however, and she bent her knees to absorb most of the impact, and then kicked into a forward roll. She was back on her feet soon enough. Turning, she watched as Jacob also leapt out of the window. He was just in time. The man from before appeared seconds after her companion leapt.
“She has a companion!”
“There are two criminals?!”
“Don’t let them get away!”
Jacob sailed through the air before landing on the roof, bending his knees only a little before running toward her.
“Let’s go!” he shouted.
“Right!” Enyo agreed.
She and Jacob quickly leapt from their current building to the next one. Because the buildings were all spaced closely together, it was easier to bridge the gap. There were a few buildings that were further away, like ones that were separated by a street, but when they ran into that problem, Jacob would scoop Enyo into his arms and leap across the street like it was nothing.
Enyo thought they must have lost their pursuers by now; that was her hope, at least. When the loud roar of a savage beast rent the air and the sound of flapping wings blasted into her ear, she knew that her hope had been crushed.
Three winged creatures were soaring through the sky. Their leather bodies were illuminated by the moon. Sleek muzzles were covered in scales. Horns jutted from either side of their heads and curled back, looking almost demonic. They had four legs, two smaller front legs, and two thick and muscular hind legs. Large pinions spanning nearly two meters kept them aloft, flapping every so often when they descended too far. They were drakes, a type of type of dragon, one of the only kinds that could be tamed.
One of the dragons came up alongside them as they ran, and the man riding it, the same one who’d recognized Enyo, shouted at them. “Halt, you two! Stop running away and face justice, criminals!”
Neither she nor Jacob stopped. Bad enough this idiot thought they actually would do as he said. They continued running, continued jumping from building to building, though she knew they wouldn’t be able to keep running for long. The dragons were hot on their trail. The only reason she and Jacob weren’t bathing in fire right then was because they were in a city.
“Enyo! Do you have a light spell that can be used to blind them?” Jacob asked.
“Y-yes,” Enyo answered.
Already knowing what he wanted, Enyo concentrated on channeling magic into her right hand. She felt a tug on her naval. Then there was a slight drain of her magic. Her fingers soon lit up in a light glow.
“Lux. Lumin. Luminous!”
Jumping into the air, Enyo twirled around and thrust out her index and middle finger. There was a flash of light. A small sphere shot from her fingertips. It struck the drake in the face and ignited. There was no fire, no blazing heat. What exploded in the drake’s face was light, pure and unfiltered, like an exploding star.
A roar shook Enyo’s eardrums. The drake jerked as if it had been physically struck. Blinded and enraged, it spiraled out of control, crashing into one of the other drakes and sending them both sailing for the ground.
“Let’s get down from the roofs!” Jacob shouted.
“I don’t see any place to climb down!” Enyo responded.
“Don’t worry! Just be sure to hold onto me!”
“Wha—eek!”
Jacob scooped Enyo into his arms and leapt off the building. Enyo felt her stomach rise into her throat as the air whipped around them. The ground got closer. Closer. Closer. Enyo thought they were going to splatter against the ground, but then they landed and Jacob took off without pause.
S-such incredible strength!
She had already witnessed his prowess on the battlefield when he killed that troll, but seeing it again struck his physical strength home. Enyo could now understand how this man had killed her father. His strength alone was impressive.
“Hold on tight!” Jacob told her. “We’re going to be moving pretty fast!”
“Faster than we are now?!”
“Yep! Hold on!”
“W-wait! I’m not prepared yyeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhH!!!!”
The air around them seemed to explode as Jacob suddenly picked up the pace. Enyo felt her cheeks being peeled back as
Jacob ran. Her eyes stung as wind slapped her in the face. Everything passed by in blurs and streaks of color. She could make out nothing, and her stomach was rebelling, and she was going to throw up if she kept watching the world pass her by.
Not wanting to see anymore, Enyo buried her face in the crook of Jacob’s neck. Oddly enough, this helped a lot. The wind still howled in her ears, her body was chilled by the cool night air hitting her skin, but her eyes no longer stung, and she no longer felt sick, and it was easier to breathe. Jacob’s scent also helped settle her nerves. It was an unusually soothing scent—masculine, but not overbearing.
The wind stopped howling. It was such an abrupt change that it took her a moment to realize that Jacob was speaking. His voice sounded like it was coming across from a vast distance—at first.
“I don’t think anyone is following us. Can you stand?”
“Yes… I think so,” Enyo said.
Jacob set her down. Her legs felt a little weak, but she recovered quickly and looked around. The place they were in now appeared to be at the edge of town. There was a river running through the area, and a sawmill stood several meters away, its large wheel slowly turning with a low groan. Most of the ground was not paved, and grass was growing all over the place. Far from the sawmill, thick trees with twisted branches marked the entrance to the Phantasma Forest.
“Doesn’t look like there are any monsters,” Jacob said.
“Monsters?” Enyo asked.
“You probably weren’t paying attention, but the reason everyone is afraid is because monsters have been coming out of the Phantasma Forest.”
Enyo tried not to let her shame show. Even if he was too kind to say it, the reason that she didn’t remember anything was because she’d gotten drunk.
“Should we go in?” she asked.
Jacob bit his lip. “I had been hoping to get a map before we entered, but…”
“Hold it right there!” a voice bellowed.
She and Jacob looked up. A drake flew by overhead, and a man leapt from its back and landed gracefully on the ground. This man, clad only in what looked like a nightgown, gripped the broadsword in his left hand tightly enough that Enyo could hear the leather hilt creaking.
“I do not know who you are,” he said to Jacob before glaring at Enyo. “But you… I know you, the thief who stole an important treasure that belongs to Queen Alice! I demand that you surrender yourself and return the object you stole!”
Enyo didn’t know what to do. She didn’t have her weapon, so she couldn’t fight, though there was always magic. What’s more, she didn’t want to kill this person, or anyone really. Her only goal was to leave this world with Jacob. She had no intention of becoming a murderer.
Jacob stepped in front of her, the sound of Durandal leaving its sheath echoing across the mostly silent clearing.
“Sorry,” he said in a mockingly apologetic tone. “But the girl and I have no intention of giving you anything, and I have no intention of letting you take her.”
Jacob stood still, watching as the paladin shook with rage. The night was dark, but by channeling energy to his eyes, he could easily see the man’s reddened face. Not that it was hard anyway. The guy’s face could easily outshine the sun.
“You would stand in the way of justice?” the paladin asked as if appalled.
“Justice? There is no justice here,” Jacob said. “If there is one thing I’ve learned from my years of traveling, it is that justice doesn’t exist. There are just different people who all have their own idea of justice.”
“Don’t try to twist this situation with your poisonous words!” The paladin snarled. “That woman stole something important from Queen Alice herself! She committed a crime. Those who disobey the law are criminals who deserve condemnation, and the innocent victims who suffer because of criminals deserve to have their justice carried out.”
“Whatever,” Jacob muttered. “I’m not going to trade banter with a witless sycophant. If you want the girl, you’ll have to go through me.”
The paladin’s expression hardened. “So be it.”
There was no warning when the paladin launched himself into a surprisingly swift sprint, but Jacob didn’t need one. He waited until the last second, when the air was whistling as it was cut by the paladin’s sword. Then he moved.
Two steps backward. Three steps left. The air howled as it was cut, but Jacob was no longer there. Having sidestepped the attack, he took two more steps in, bringing him past the paladin’s guard, where he lashed out with a strike of his own. The paladin was swift to recover, and his sword came up to block the attack, the sound of which echoed across the makeshift battlefield with a resounding clang!
Jacob didn’t want to become deadlocked. He leapt backward, putting distance between him and the paladin—or trying to. The paladin stayed stuck to him like glue. Jacob deflected several swings of the paladin’s blade with Durandal. Each swing was strong enough to jar his bones. This paladin’s physical strength was beyond impressive.
Fine, then. Let’s see how he does when I use physical augmentation.
Jacob channeled and distributed his energy evenly through his body, regulating its flow so that it constantly cycled through him. Strength enhanced his limbs. Energy empowered him. With his own power strengthening his body, he attacked the paladin with renewed vigor.
Clang!
His first attack slammed into the paladin’s blade. The ground cracked underneath his feet, and the paladin was sent skidding across the ground. Jacob followed.
Clang clang clang!
He flowed through more attacks, spinning and striking from different directions. The paladin did his best to guard against each strike. It was for naught. Jacob could tell from the last few clashes. This man, enviously skilled and incredibly strong, had no real combat experience beyond his training. He was a rookie.
Dirt was kicked up as Jacob shuffled across the ground. He avoided several swings, which cut the air with a harsh whistling noise. All of them were fast but predictable. Move left. Swerve right. The paladin swung his blade horizontally, but Jacob raised Durandal and blocked the blow. This time, when their blades met, he was not shaken by the impact.
“Who are you?” the paladin asked with angrily gritted teeth. “Why are you helping that criminal?!”
“Who I am is of no concern to you,” Jacob replied calmly. “The same goes for the reason I’m helping her. This is just what I’ve decided on.”
“You bastard!”
The paladin tried to push him back. Jacob let him. He moved backward, pulled his blade away, and, as the paladin stumbled forward, he reinforced his fist with energy and struck the paladin in the chest. A sound akin to clapping thunder rung out. The paladin was lucky that Jacob had accounted for him not wearing armor. Instead of having his ribs cave in, the young man was only sent flying. He hit the ground, tumbled, and then came to a stop several meters away.
Jacob sighed. The battle was—
A glint of light flashed in his eyes. There was a man standing on a roof, clad in darkness, a bow in his hand. The glint came from the notched arrow, which Jacob realized was pointing at Enyo!
“Look out!”
He rushed toward Enyo, his reinforced muscles pushing him further faster. The arrow was let loose. Jacob moved in front of the shocked Enyo and grunted as the arrow pierced his back. He hadn’t been given enough time to swat it aside with Durandal or reinforce his back to protect himself.
“Jacob!”
“I’m all right.”
Grimacing, Jacob pulled the arrow out. He ignored the pain and the blood gushing from the open wound. That could be healed easily enough. Looking back at the roof revealed that their assailant was gone. They didn’t have time to look for him. If they wanted to escape from the knights, they needed to leave before the paladin and his comrades recovered.
“Come on,” he continued, tossing the arrow aside. “Let’s head into the forest.”
“What about the map?” Enyo as
ked.
He shook his head. “We can no longer afford the luxury of trying to get one. Let’s hurry up before the paladin recovers.”
Enyo looked unsure, but she didn’t argue with him, and they ran into the forest together, racing past the first line of trees and traveling ever deeper. Soon the view of Altus disappeared. All that remained were trees, plants, and the occasional animal.
Sounds assailed them from all sights. Scents assaulted their noses. Jacob used Durandal to hack away at several vines that hung from the branches of trees. Roots jutted from the ground, twisted and gnarled, some decayed as if they’d been infected, poisoned. The smell of rotting bark pervaded the air, making him wrinkle his nose.
Jacob stumbled slightly as he misjudged a step and his foot struck a root. Fortunately, Enyo was there to catch him.
“Thank you,” he said.
Enyo smiled. “You’re welcome.” Her smile turned into a frown. “How’s your wound?”
“It’ll be fine,” he dismissed. “It wasn’t very deep. I was reinforcing my body at the time, so it only made it past a few layers of skin.”
“Reinforce?” Enyo blinked. “Is that your magic?”
Jacob shook his head. “I can’t use magic.”
There was a slight pause in their conversation. “… What?”
For the first time since they had met, Jacob grinned. “Surprised? I don’t know how to use magic.”
“B-but that’s… there’s no way! I saw you using magic when we fought the trolls!”
“That wasn’t magic.” Shaking his head, Jacob began to explain the basics of his power. “It’s called Linked Energy Manipulation. What it does is allow me to manipulate the energy within my own body and the energy of others to various effects. For example, I can strengthen my body up to fifty times its normal strength, or I can boost my speed by enhancing the muscles in my legs. Those are basic examples of internal manipulation. I can also externalize my energy, such as when I used it to sharpen Durandal’s blade.”
“It makes me tingly every time he does that,” Durandal added.
Jacob rolled his eyes. “So, yeah. What I did wasn’t magic.”
Journey of a Betrayed Hero- Volume 1 Page 9
